excitate vow e somno, liberi fatali

[hdmaster_cid]

WHO: EVERYONE
LOCATION: EVERYWHERE
WEEK: 65
TIME: Early (12:15am onwards) Saturday morning through Sunday evening
WHAT: ANNIVERSARY EVENT
RATING: Inferi, violence, shenanigans - It could get pretty high. M to be safe, for now.
We will be posting another giant event log for the recovery stuff, this is purely for stuff during the event!

Please note

Comments

KAIRI; Running through the halls like an idiot; Open

[driftingtides]

Things looked bad.

Her journal was filling up with terrified entries, confused students and angry professors trying to take back control. She'd had to close it to block out the rising tide of panic brought about by so many chaotic posts, and now it was stored away safely in her pack, where she could get to it quickly enough if need be. No one knew for sure what was going on except that the undead were walking the halls of Hogwarts, and students were supposed to stay put.

Well. Considering that the people who worried most about were the two least likely to do just that, Kairi was moving, hoping to find either one of them. Sakura hadn't had much of a head start on her, but Kairi still hadn't been able to catch up with the pink haired girl, wherever she had run off too. And she was fairly certain that Harry had already left the Gryffindor common rooms, but just in case, that was where she was headed.

Even though she had promised Sakura she would go to the Hospital Wing, she had never promised she would stay.

The hallways were dark despite the fact that it should have been midday, ominous in their threatening silence. As she ran, she kept her eyes wide and ears open for any hint of a threatening approach, but so far the worst danger was the glass crunching underfoot as she sped through the passageway. She had a medkit tied to the side of her belt, as well as a few other healing supplies that she probably wasn't supposed to take from the infirmary but she didn't think anyone would miss.

Please, please be okay, She whispered in the recesses of her mind, fear aiding flight to her footsteps. Please don't get hurt.

[delbosqueverde]

It hadn't taken Yellow long at all to figure out that nobody was really listening to the people giving orders.

Especially not the people giving orders.

In a way, he could understand that. Some of the tasks he'd undertaken back in Kanto had gone directly against what he'd been told to do by people who were a lot older and smarter than he was. He'd made the choice to trust his instincts and it had paid off alright.

So when first Sakura, then Kairi, had slipped discreetly out of the Hospital Wing amid the bustle of students and helpers trying to get things ready for the inevitable slew of injured people, Yellow hadn't thought to stop them. Instead, he patiently finished a handful of other tasks that would save the nurses time later, grabbed one of the medkits lined against the wall, and headed for the door himself.

Though alert, he didn't let the silence in the corridors bother him. He knew how to handle a fight if it came to that. He concentrated, listening closely for the sounds that would tell him where to go, and managed to catch some footfalls not too far away.

Yellow didn't run blindly, and he was thinking ahead about where the corridors led as he moved. So it didn't surprise him some three minutes later when he managed to reach the end of one hallway a few seconds before Kairi did. He timed the jump so that he'd land directly in front of her path, arms outstretched, panting from the run.

"Buddy system!" he said, smiling. "So, who are we looking for?"

[driftingtides]

Her breath was caught somewhere between her throat and her heart, and even though she could feel her lungs working, she wasn't sure anything was actually coming out. There had been no Inferi to cross her path so far, but every single tiny sound was like--

And then a monster jumped right at her from around the corner, and Kairi screamed, leaping backward and jerking up her wand, an unknown spell on the tip of her tongue. Abruptly the monster turned into a smiling Yellow, who seemed to be saying something, but Kairi's heart was in her throat and pounding so hard she could not hear anything, let alone form a coherent reply.

She took a moment to regain her bearings and lowered her wand, gasping. "Yellow! Please don't do that!"

[delbosqueverde]

Yellow's bright smile had faltered when Kairi drew her wand, but he didn't even think to raise his own in return. Kairi wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't.

"Wha!! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" he said frantically, putting up his hands in apology. "Well, not that much. You should have told someone you were leaving!"

(You should have told me you were leaving, she thought. Keeping a secret was one thing, but what if Kairi had gotten hurt somewhere alone in the corridor? One injured person can't make it to the hospital wing alone.)

Yellow quickly brushed off the train thought, smiling and refocusing on the task at hand. "Anyway. Who or what are you looking for? It's not good to be out here for too long, so let's get it done quickly! It would be best if no one got hurt."

[driftingtides]

"Sorry," She whispered, making sure her wand was good and pointed at the floor. Of course she would never hurt Yellow, even if he scared the gumdrops out of her by jumping out at her from around the around the corner in the middle of a zombie attack. "It's okay." Let her just catch her breath a minute, and she would be fine.

Straightening, Kairi put on a brave face and tried to look, at the very least, slightly optimistic.

"Heading to the Gryffindor common room," She said, hoping her voice did not suddenly sound as uncertain as she felt. Just risking herself was one thing, but Yellow too...? "Yellow, if you want to meet me back at the Hospital Wing, that's okay."

s-scared the gumdrops out of her /dies laughing

[delbosqueverde]

"The common room?" Yellow asked, puzzled. If Kairi had wanted to wait it out there, why had she gone to the Hospital Wing in the first place? Surely Sakura wouldn't have made her stay if she hadn't wanted to. No, Kairi was probably going to check on one of her housemates, and he could understand that. Yellow didn't pry further on her reasoning.

"Do you really think you'll be alright on your own?" he asked instead, smile fading. If Kairi didn't want company, Yellow wouldn't follow her...but an uncomfortable ache threatened to rise in the pit of his stomach when he thought about leaving her alone out in the halls with the threat of Inferi looming all around. He hadn't seen anything yet, but there was broken glass everywhere and even now some strange, inhuman noises could be heard from a distance. And Kairi looked so scared. "Well, maybe I can just get you as far as the Common Room? Then I can head back to the Hospital Wing and wait for you."

Either way, Yellow had no intention of staying out in the halls. He was needed in the Hospital Wing and besides, he couldn't well protect his friends if he was just wandering around and getting attacked himself.

No other word would fit XD

[driftingtides]

She just nodded, already beginning to realize how ridiculous her sudden quest was. Sakura's yelling had not been enough to deter her; Yellow's safety was, however, more than enough.

Would she be all right on her own? No more then Yellow would be, and she could hardly send the younger student away now. If the hallways she had passed through had been empty before, there was a large chance they weren't, now.

Okay. She swallowed, nodded again, and glanced around. "I don't want you to go off by yourself either," she told him, trying her very hardest not to sound as worried as she felt. She reached out and grabbed Yellow's hand, squeezing it gently. "Thank you for coming to get me. Let's keep moving for the Common Room; it's safer and it's not to fa--"

A sharp screech interrupted her words, a terrifyingly delighted Ehehehehehe... ripping through the silence. Kairi jerked, her hand tightening over Yellow's instinctively as she raised her wand, her head rapidly scanning the corridor to find... nothing.

They seemed to be alone, but then there it was again, a creepy, almost inhumane ehehehehehehehe!, echoing off the dark walls.

[I hope this is okay. >_> IF NOT they can just, you know, run away and fall into a trap. <3]

[delbosqueverde]

"Of course!" Yellow said enthusiastically, trying not to blush as Kairi grabbed his hand. "I was just worried. It wouldn't be very good to be caught out here alone."

He was about to agree about heading for the Common Room when an eerie laugh tumbled through the hall, setting his hair on end. Yellow tightened his grip on his wand with one hand, the other clenched in Kairi's fingers. Looking around frantically, he tried to pick up where the noise was coming from, but it was no use.

"Too much echo," he said, starting to pull Kairi down the hall, eyes darting all around. "I can't hear where it's coming from."

He'd barely finished the sentence when something moving too fast to be human rushed out at them from the shadows-Yellow couldn't react fast enough-

[No, here is fine! I'll let you decide who gets attacked by the Jockey. ._____.]

[driftingtides]

She didn't know what it was, what could possibly make that kind of horrifying giggle, and now matter how many times she turned around she couldn't find it. The laughter was getting louder, almost right in her ear, when suddenly one of the shadows moved and leaped and --

Something heavy and foul crashed into her shoulders. She lost Yellow's hand and screamed, stumbling backwards and just barely managing not to fall over. There were hands-- claws-- covering her face and gripping her hair and jerking her head back and she lost all sense of direction, didn't know where to point her wand or what was going on and that stupid laughter was still surrounding her, peels and peels of unholy giggles as she cried out and tried to shake this thing off.

[delbosqueverde]

She didn't have to scream. The thing didn't have to laugh. Yellow's chest had already seized with fear when he felt Kairi's hand tearing out of his. He had already known something was horribly wrong before he turned around. Except, really, he hadn't, because he did turn around, and nothing could have prepared Yellow for the creature-the monster-that was attacking his friend. It was horrible, rotting, laughing. He screamed,

(she screamed, unable to suppress the reflex)

but his wand was already drawn and incantations were tearing through his mind even as Kairi fought the claws raking across her face. Lightning, the Chairman said lightning, he thought numbly, and shouted, "F-fultacio!"

Sparks shot weakly from his wand. Kairi cried out again, unable to shake off the Jockey. Yellow had failed.

(She'd never cast a curse successfully in her life, of course it wouldn't have worked now. Even if she needed it to.)

"Let her go!" he shouted, circling them desperately and trying not to show how helpless he felt. The thing only laughed. Fire. Fire, I can do this, I can do this. "Incendio!"

The flames were strong, stronger than he was usually capable of, but they veered off and fizzled out just before reaching the Inferi wrapped around Kairi's shoulders. Yellow couldn't do it. He couldn't risk hurting his friend. His will kept giving out and hindering the magic. "There has to be something I can do," he gasped, blinking back tears.

[driftingtides]

It wouldn't let her think, wouldn't even let her breathe, as she opened her mouth to draw in breath to scream again and the creature grabbed her jaw, laughing like a hyena as it jerked her head one way and then the next. She bit her tongue, hands coming up to fight it ineffectively-- she had no leverage to land a good blow and her wand was hardly a match for it, when she couldn't even see to cast anything.

The creature was horrible and strong and it smelled and suddenly, Kairi felt her shoulder smack into a stone wall with a bright, piercing pain. She tripped over her own feet and tumbled to the floor, attempting to roll, anything that might get this thing off of her...

[delbosqueverde]

Yellow shouted, watching as Kairi was jerked around like a puppet. Panicked, he began noiselessly mouthing the incantation over and over again but was unable to put any strength behind it. What if his friend got burned? What if he couldn't control the spell?

(She didn't want to fight!)

But then, without warning, Kairi collided with the wall, completely disoriented with the Jockey impeding her vision and movements. The girl fell, flailing, but the monster still wouldn't let go.

Something in Yellow snapped. The thing wouldn't stop until it killed her. Nothing he did could be worse than what the Inferi was doing now. Taking a deep breath, he drew his wand again. "Kairi, I'm sorry. Don't move."

(Sometimes you had to fight. She knew that. And sometimes your friends got hurt.)

"Incendio!"

This time, Yellow didn't let the flames falter. He gritted his teeth and aimed as best he could. The Inferi finally stopped its terrible laughter with a chilling shriek, jumping back, and Yellow ran forward, not letting up on the spell. He closed his eyes and put more power into the magic, trying to ignore its screams and the fact that, up close, the Inferi's face was still almost recognizably human. Yellow didn't look again until all that remained was a charred, oozing mass of flesh.

He lowered his wand, bile rising in his throat. Forcing himself not to be ill, Yellow slowly turned to Kairi and tried to smile.

[driftingtides]

Something very, very hot swiped past her cheek and touched her shoulder, but then that creature finally, blissfully let go. It shrieked and clambered off, and suddenly she was alone on the floor, lying there gasping.

She struggled to sit up, to help Yellow, but a burning pain pierced her shoulder and she nearly dropped again. Levering up on her good arm, she was able to see just as Yellow fell in on the creature, and the flames ate it black.

Even when Yellow turned and offered her a timid smile, she just sat there, staring at her friend with one hand grasping her shoulder, trying her hardest to still the shaking that still trembled through her body. After a good moment she finally managed a quiet, "...Thanks," slowly trying to get back to her feet.

She swallowed, staring once at the charred mess that that had so recently been clawing her to death, then looked away again. This time, in a firmer voice, she repeated, "Thank you. Really."

There were soft thumps sounding from not far down the all, and Kairi gulped, walking quickly towards Yellow. "Let's keep moving..."

[delbosqueverde]

Yellow's poor attempt at a smile nearly disappeared completely when he didn't get an immediate response from Kairi, who was shaking badly. For a moment the terrible thought crossed his mind: Did I really look so terrible, fighting that monster? But he didn't linger on it, dropping to one knee and helping the girl to stand. And Kairi's muttered word of gratitude, though quiet, sounded genuine.

The wash of relief he felt when she finally spoke didn't last long, however, and not just because of the sounds she had pointed out. "Your shoulder," he said, dismayed. He reached for the wound out of instinct and slowed his walk. With the adrenaline slowly draining out of him, the Inferi seemed so much further away, and Yellow could tell the wound was painful.

"Let me heal it," he said quietly, unable to look her in the eyes. He didn't bother to reach for his wand, not with the emotions still swirling around in his mind and making it difficult for him to choose a specific incantation. One hand began to glow white, and as soon as it made contact with the burn it started to fade-powerful magic.

Magic that Yellow couldn't afford to be spending right now.

[driftingtides]

"It's okay," She protested, not wanting Yellow to waste more energy on a simple burn-- but Yellow had already committed herself. The pain faded away abruptly underneath the cool waterfall of Yellow's healing magic. She reached up, catching Yellow's wrist and gently pulling his hand away. "I'm okay." She gave him a rough smile. "Much better than I would have been, without you. Thank you."

The groans were getting closer, and Kairi made the mistake of glancing back. Something... something had definitely just darted past the crossway just behind them. She gripped Yellow's hand tighter and pulled her around the next corner, heart picking up. Then again, had it yet slowed down?

Her other hand tugged at the charred remains of her sleeve and pulled the rough threads loose. Her shoulder felt... baby soft, like brand new skin. How powerful of a healing spell had Yellow just worked?

LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN.

[delbosqueverde]

"It was nothing," he told her with a smile much brighter than the one he'd tried a few minutes ago. The panic and fear in his stomach began to loosen at her words. "You would have done the same for me-"

Yellow was cut off as Kairi glanced over her shoulder and abruptly quickened her pace, pulling both of them around the corner. Was that another Inferi moving in the corner of his eye, or just a shadow? He turned his head too slowly to tell, movements just a tad sluggish, almost unable to keep up with his companion as they sped down the hall. Maybe he should have held off just a little bit on the healing spell...

"Kairi," he started, and then it happened.

One minute they'd been darting through a dark, relatively empty corridor, and the next a shimmering wall sprung up directly in their path. Yellow shouted, skidding to a halt, and whipped back around around just in time to see a similar barrier materialize directly opposite the first. He began to move to the left, but it was no use: within seconds they were completely boxed in.

Tightening his grip on Kairi's hand, Yellow fumbled for his wand with the other and aimed a spell for the magical barrier. A jet of energy fired from his wand, however, the second it hit the nearest wall it simply vanished, with only a handful of ripples in the surface left behind to indicate anything had happened.

"What is this? A trap?" he muttered anxiously, running forward to test how solid it might be...but the instant he released Kairi's hand, she vanished.

"No!" he shouted, spinning back around, but to no avail. He couldn't see her, or feel anything but air when he reached out a hand for the spot she'd been. He ran along the length of the confined area, but no use: he was alone. "Kairi!"

Outside the barrier, a number of Inferi were slowly being drawn in by the noise and light. They circled and clawed at the walls but were unable to get through. Spooked, Yellow drew back into one corner of the box; they were like an audience waiting for a spectacle. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when a sinister laugh echoed through the ring and made his blood run cold. "Where are you?" Yellow screamed, spinning around. He was alone.

(She was alone.)

But then there was suddenly noise echoing from all around, aggressive music without any clear source. The roars of the cirlcling monsters became jeers and hollers, and a booming voice shouted, "Round 1…FIGHT!”

And then, abruptly, Yellow was not alone. An Inferi, terrible and rotting, appeared in the opposite corner, crouched to jump. Yellow pulled out his wand and braced for a battle. This time, he didn't need to be told twice.