Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished

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Her eyes followed the Runespoor. Her fingers gripped the wand tightly, watching it materialise in the air. The patronus moved down the corridor, sharing its light. It worked. It gave enough light without causing everything to disappear. But it also caused her heart almost gave out instantly. A look of horror crossed her face. It might have been far too dark for anyone to see it  but it was there, nonetheless. It might have been mixed with the feeling of disgust or fear. She was too distracted to tell. There was not one creature, not two or three. Hell, it was not even ten or twenty or fifty... No... It was worse than a place that needed fumigating. When was the last time anyone had ever called pest control to Hogwarts? Because it was much needed!

A involuntary shudder ran down her spine. Hjørdis was always one that appreciate cleanliness and... it was disgusting. The floor, the walls, the ceiling... Everything was alive. The darkness itself was a whole mess. The shadows... were alive. It was not spiders that bit them, it was truly the shadow itself. It felt disgusting. She felt like she was horribly unclean all of a sudden. The sensation of these creatures around her legs or climbing up her back was horrifying. It was nauseating. Vermin. The dungeons were full of vermin, she could almost feel the diseases crawling up her skin. Nothing in the world seemed better than a nice warm bath, far away from the castle, in her own house. She felt gross.

His scream echoed through the room, causing her to jump a little out of surprise. He was yelling something but it was far too hard to actually concentrate on his words. She felt disgusting. A desire to scratch her entire body all over came over her. This thing, whatever it was, was touching her and it was sickening. Her wand gripped tightly on her wand. Her eyes followed the trail of the runespoor. Hjørdis jumped involuntary once more as she felt something bump into her. A shudder ran down her spine. She was so ready to blast whatever it was into kingdom come, stopping only when she realised that that was Caradoc. She almost bombardo-ed the heck out of her colleague but in her defence, she did think he was a creepy creature instead. 

Would the Runespoor be able to attack them? Perhaps it could. She watched it, trying to see how the darkness reacted to it. Could the patronus destroy it? Would that be enough?

Hjørdis said nothing. She had no idea what the hell it was. It? Them? Was the darkness full of multiple entities or was it one...? Was everything connected? She could not answer his questions. Words were not coming out of her mouth. Because she did not know the answers to the question. She felt icky. She wanted to lumos the hell out of the place. Destroy everything she could see. Her fingers gripped her wand to start casting but stopped. She couldn't. They were here to investigate the darkness and they needed to know... If her suspicions were correct, light would not help. They needed to stay here, long enough to figure out a way to permanently remove the mess. But... boy, was it disgusting, "Scourgify!" The word left her mouth before she could even react. She needed to clean the place. To clean herself. It felt gross.

What was this? How long had it been there... Was it... everywhere? Her eyes widened, realisation dawning on her quickly. The dread filled her. She had to know. Was it everywhere? How did they stop it? "Wait, wh-" She started, trying to stop Caradoc from screaming the lumos charm. It was too late, he already did it. She was hit by a bright light, far sooner than she wanted to be. Did they go? Her mind instantly wondered if they had actually disappeared. 
ACTION: Scourgify everything in sight, feeling gross.

This is my former staff account.
I also play: Serena Towers (Graduated PC), Arjan Oberoi (Graduated iNPC), Xiomara Torres (Current Student)
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
The patronus did not attack the disembodied living darkness. They appeared to coexist, both seemingly unaware of the other. The darkness had no intention, only primal instinct and hunger. They were drawn to the duo, their wiggling and writhing forms. They did not bite or lash, they did not have to for them to know that whatever the living darkness was, whatever it represented, it was dangerous.

The shield protected them from consumption. 

Caradoc let out a scream. A shiver ran through Nora. It was human nature to be disgusted by filth. To be fearful of the unknown. There was no need for a disclaimer to know that they needed to get away, that was written in their genetic code - this is dangerous, it is a part of your survival instinct to stay way from this.

They knew how to eliminate the risk, however they would not be able to forever shield these children or for that matter the children from the encroaching darkness. But for this moment they could delay the inevitable. Caradoc Browne already had his mayhaw wood wand in hand. 

"LUMOS SOLEM"

His word of power commanded the light, like a sun under his power that would illuminate the hall with a blinding light. The shadows, those skittering, creeping creatures of darkness would disperse as if they were made of smoke. In their wake, nothing was left behind. A relief? Perhaps. But it was also a terrible mystery. From where did they come? When will they return? Will they return when their back is turned, when the hall darkness and becomes a bleak yet never lonesome stretch?

"Scourgify!"

Nora would try to scrub the empty hall. Perhaps she saw shadows where there was none. Life and night that moved on its own accord yet had no form. A fearful potentially variable. Yet there was nothing there but dust, cobwebs and rat droppings.

Aamon
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
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Relief burrowed itself in Caradoc's face as the warm beam of light had caused all shadows to disperse and vanish like a cloud of smoke through the halls. Darkness would dawn upon them again as the spell faded. Breathing freely now that he could. His wand lit up to give them some respite. Sliding his hair back, he looked over his shoulder towards Nora. Leaning onto one leg, he'd cock his head as his eyes stared at her in mild surprise. Only a pursed lip would give away how unimpressed he was.

"You pull out that savage Runespoor of a patronus and then you decide it is time for a bit o' cleaning?" His head shook in her direction to get some form of explanation for it. The Head of Hufflepuff could not help but grin widely as he thought about it. He raised his arms in disbelieve of what had just occurred and he only lived to enjoy this moment because they came out of it without a scratch.

Looking around there was no more sign of the imminent danger. But now they knew it was here. The darkness had not been able to touch them. Presumably his shield had some effect in that regard. Which was pleasant to know as the patronus on the other hand did not seem to affect the creatures in the slightest. "You were right though... We do need to go deeper in." His eyes narrowed, gazing down the hall. A thought he did not fancy in the slightest. For 'nora.

His wand went dark again. Their two figures were lit by the Runespoor's slithering light. Calmly it was stalking the hallway, protecting its mistress. It was a very beautiful creature, much like it's summoner. Doc's eyes locked on Nora for a second before turning his head back around. "Right then. Ladies first?" He smirked just a little, but there was a seriousness behind his eyes. Something that would tell he was aware they were only getting deeper in trouble. But the darkness was out to get them. He would rather have it be them than any other student getting attacked. "Protego seemed to do the trick last time."
Action: Holding protego ready for when danger reappears.

If you're reading this... You're awesome.
Calming Presence/Healing Sage/Wandless/Non-Verbal

STA - 16 | EVA - 6 | STR - 15 | WIS - 16 | ARC - 8 | ACC - 4
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
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Hjørdis stared into the empty room, now brightly lit. She could not unsee what they had seen. The place was crawling with filth. It felt unclean, even being in there now. At the very least, the dust, cobwebs and rat droppings were starting to be cleaned up by her spell but... it was not enough. She wanted to rid the whole school of this mess. Her entire body felt disgusting at this point in time. The sensation of them running against her skin made her shudder. Caradoc's voice was pretty much the only thing that broke through her thoughts, as he questioned her actions.

Of course he did not understand. She could not explain it. It just... happened. Her cheeks went slightly pink. She felt gross and it needed to change, "I- Well yes. It was disgusting. I- uh just... had to... I didn't want to actually remove it... We need to... test... something," She replied,  shuttering a little at first as she was not sure how to even explain her actions.

Hjørdis ran her hand over her hair, pushing it off her face before holding her upper arm awkwardly, "I- I don't think you realise how much I need to bathe now..." She continued, shuddering slightly as she imagined these things touching her. Hjørdis needed a shower or perhaps five to actually feel remotely clean. Despite the room looking clean, she felt as though it was all still there - just hidden. Her eyes snapped to Caradoc, "Fair warning though... Next time you touch me, please... warn me. I- I- I almost blew your face up, you idiot! I cannot be responsible for what may happen if you don't." She continued, recalling that she almost threw an explosion spell right into his face when he bumped into her. She thought it was this filth and it horrified her. She was so ready to murder him right there and then on the spot. That would have been a little... unfortunate.

She swallowed slightly, afraid to actually voice the thing that she was thinking. Trying to ignore her awkwardness, "Caradoc... what if..." She hesitated for a moment, "What if this... thing... is everywhere? The light might not remove them, it might just hide them. They could exist... in every dark corner of the castle or... be here, spreading to the rest of the castle through the dark..." Which would be how it spread to Slytherin and why they were the first to experience this. It could have spread from the dungeons to her house... If it found a route, it could move throughout the castle. Or perhaps, it was already there. 

Whilst it horrified her, she knew what they needed to do, "The dark. If it's dark... will they return?" She asked him, though she was mostly just asking out aloud. The idea of it being everywhere horrified her. It had already reached her common room... what if it was in her office? In her bedroom? The shudder that ran down her spine was visible to him. She ran her hand over her hair again, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. "This... is gross. Let's just get this over with," She agreed as he spoke of going deeper, exhaling audibly. 

Her eyes flickered to him, catching his gaze, she nodded as the light faded from his wand. Hjørdis took a glance back down the corridor. She was leaving her students once more. Kibitzer and Vernatis would have to care for them tonight. Perhaps even Price, he was close enough. They needed to go further in. As the darkness fell over them once more, she quickly looked towards the Runespoor, curious to see if the shadows still existed, sitting in the same place as before or if new ones would come over to them. She observed this for a minute before she did anything else. The Runespoor moved around, "Hjørdis, let's go," She called as she moved in front of Caradoc and walked further into the dungeons. The Runespoor, that she called her birth name since it was meant to be her, moved in front of her, lighting the way to prevent them from walking straight into a wall.
ACTION: Waiting to see if the darkness was immediately alive or if new creatures would appear, before walking further in with the patronus.

This is my former staff account.
I also play: Serena Towers (Graduated PC), Arjan Oberoi (Graduated iNPC), Xiomara Torres (Current Student)
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
She had every right to feel uncertain. To abide by that sense of looming threat and terror. Yet bravery returned quickly to the fodder that chose to continue their adventure in the gloomy, darkness. It was easy to be confident when the obvious peril was vanquished so simply, no painlessly. Rather than accept the risk at face-value, that there was something fearsome in the night, they decided to continue this mad trek.

The walls and the floor might appear to be clean, the lack of filth might have given them a false sense of safety. There was something about everything being neat and orderly. About the lack of rat dropping or carcasses of dead insects that made things seem fine. That the danger had passed. The lie of aesthetics.

Nora commanded her patronus onward, its' long slithering form would make a serpentine pattern that vaguely lit the floor. The undulating darkness was there beyond the penumbra of Caradoc's light. So effective... No danger at all...

What fools they were.


The light does not destroy the dark, it merely shrinks the darkness. The darkness would linger still in the cracks and the crevices. Only thin, tall shadows would remain, erased under the glare of light before they could lash out or coil itself around their ankles. They would perhaps erroneously believe that they were untouchable. Unassailable as long as they stayed within the light. That the light always destroyed the darkness.

Think magic so cliche?


It was but a nightlight keeping their fears at bay. A lie parents tell their children to keep them in their beds. However the darkness is never gone, children have a sense for these things. The darkness only hid, in the closet and under their bed. That terror was not in their head.

As the darkness consumed the hall behind them, the magical light too far ahead. The living darkness would return, like tendrils that would grasp and reach.

Aamon
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
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As they both stood in the dark again, the badger smiled nervously to himself. "Well... here we go again..." Grumbling under his breath as the cold took a hold of his heart, he could feel his hairs standing back up as the skittering drew closer to their location. They were coming for them and they needed to act quickly if they wished to find out a thing or two tonight. It seemed evil was on the move tonight and that wasn't a good sign.

Focusing his line of sight down the hall, the black hole they were drawn to. Caradoc would stick out his wand towards the empty space and cite the incantation in his mind. Homenum Revelio. If these creatures were the product of any spell, Caradoc would know shortly if anyone would be close by them. Setting a trap for them most likely. Drawing them in.

They still had some time before the creatures would reach their position. Before they'd be trampelled by hundreds if not thousands of crawling and skittering shadowlike creatures. He had no clue what Nora was planning to do. There was no plan they had discussed before hand. All they both knew was that they needed to move forward and find the source to all these attacks.

With wide eyes, Caradoc peered into the dark as his spell took effect. Was there nothing he could see? No one he could notice slipping away? There had to be someone behind all this? They had to find soemthing, or they'd be fighting forever.
Action: Cast Homenum Revelio

If you're reading this... You're awesome.
Calming Presence/Healing Sage/Wandless/Non-Verbal

STA - 16 | EVA - 6 | STR - 15 | WIS - 16 | ARC - 8 | ACC - 4
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
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Her suspicions were correct. The light never destroyed the shadows permanently. Where there was an absence of light, the darkness would always exist. And this darkness was alive. She could feel it trying to hit her, trying to grip itself around her ankles as they walked. This could have reached the entire school by now but it might only be in the dungeons. Slytherin was attacked at night - where there was more darkness. There were candles that lined the walls of most of the castles... Were they intentionally removed that night or did the dark shadows overpower them... or sneak in another way? Was her common room and office crawling with these shadowy creatures, just waiting to lash out as soon as the light fell.

The idea of her sitting in an office full of these disgusting creatures that kept touching her made her feel a little nauseated. But that was a problem for another time. She focused on the matter at hand. There had to be another way, a source to all of this. They could not just keep the castle fully lit in every corner, every moment of every day. There had to be more.

Hjørdis swallowed as she heard his voice. Did they actually ever stop? The darkness was moving, it was capable of attacking. It was alive. She had no idea how or why it was alive. It acted alive. Pointing towards the darkness that she could see, she chanted immobulus! Honestly, she had no idea if it would work but testing it out now seemed smarter than going deep inside and getting trapped, especially if lumos failed them for any reason.

They should have come up with a battle plan. Hjørdis had no idea what they would find down here, if anything but they continued nonetheless. They were both determined to - at the very least - try and find a source for all of this or a way to control it. Any information they gathered would help them in the long run.
ACTION: Cast Immobulus on the darkness

This is my former staff account.
I also play: Serena Towers (Graduated PC), Arjan Oberoi (Graduated iNPC), Xiomara Torres (Current Student)
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
The darkness would always return, it was just a matter of -when-

Past the penumbra, where night meets day the darkness seemed almost fluid as it reached out towards the light only to recoil as it breached the ring cast from the luminescence of the Professor's wand. From the faint ambient aura expelled by the Patronus she would see the darkness recoil as it cut down the hallway. However, that would not last forever, which was a terrifying reality. The darkness would become brave and the tendrils of inky blackness would reach further into the light nearly touching the runespore. Long, twisted, thing strands of gloom would extend and nearly fade before recoiling back with a snap. Yet each time they seemed braver.

Homenum Revelio

The Human-presence-revealing Spell (Homenum Revelio) is a charm which reveals the presence of other humans in the surrounding environment. He would feel something, a presence. A movement. A pressure even. So close he felt that they might be breathing on their neck, but there was no hot, moist breath. No scent, human or otherwise less his lovely companion.

Unrelated, he would get a whiff of something that resembled sulfur. Nora would smell it too, this faint lingering scent.

Immobulus

The Head of Slytherin would have to try, but there were so many, even if she could find one among the sea of many, it would not prevent the onslaught. It did not work regardless, there was no form. No biology to hinder. Just this disembodied calignosity.

Something would reach further, like a long blackened hand and finally grip the runespore in it's slender, spindly hands. When it did, Nora would see a change in the creature. A darkness. A corruption. It was like snuffing out a candle, only after the puff of smoke the light was not gone but rather Cimmerian shade and it answered to Nora no longer. The runespore would turn on them and attack!

Aamon
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
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There was something. He could feel it pressing on. But there was nothing clear or vibrant. Hidden? Or perhaps not exactly human? The smell of sulphur reached his nose. Fire? Caradoc furrowed his brow as he peered into the darkness before him. There was something burning ahead? "Do you smell that, Nora?" He said as he still tried to look for anything out of the ordinary. Something was around, something was definitely attacking. He just could not place his finger on it.

His wand waved around and spiralled through the air. "Appare Vestigium" He whispered softly trying out something new to see if it would lead them somewhere. Perhaps some footsteps, perhaps a clue lying in the dark. They could maybe trace it back to its origins deep within the dungeons. Caradoc wondered how far down the tunnels actually went, and for what purpose. Who had built these and with what intent? There was no need for extra classrooms in here. Broom closets enough upstairs, so even something as mundane as that made no sense at all.

And now the possibility had grown that someone has been using these passages for hiding their malicious intentions. Schemes in the dark. But how did they enter? The possibility they were let in was still there. A scary thought to be sure.

The faint light Nora's patronus had given them seemed to be snuffed out behind Doc's back. It seemed to make the skittering only louder. His head would turn, just to see the runespoor lashing out in attack towards his friend. "NORA!"
Action: Cast the tracking spell.

If you're reading this... You're awesome.
Calming Presence/Healing Sage/Wandless/Non-Verbal

STA - 16 | EVA - 6 | STR - 15 | WIS - 16 | ARC - 8 | ACC - 4
Sniffing in the Dark PV Caradoc Browne Finished
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The head of Slytherin walked through the dungeons, the sound of her boots tapping lightly against the stone cold floors echoed throughout. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the Runespoor. The darkness would recoil from it but... it felt like they were getting closer. As though they were becoming unafraid. Long dark strands of shadows reached out before snapping backwards. It felt like a game of don't starve where you protected the light from being diminished by the long hands of the dark.

Her eyes tore away from it to cast the immobulus on the approaching hands. It did not work. It was not a single entity that she could hold back. They had to find another way to destroy it. Keeping the castle in light might have been the only option for now. It was a temporary measure. For where there was light, there would always be shadows. The only way to remove a shadow was to remove everything around. People had shadows. There was no guarantee that their own shadows were safe from this... A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of it. Students being attacked by their very own shadows, that came alive. There would be no end to the massacre.

"Yes..." She responded to Caradoc. She could smell it too. The burning smell. Was there someone deep within the dungeons, that had a fire lit for warmth? It seemed to be getting stronger as they walked, it was likely coming from within the dungeons rather than from the Slytherin common room. Though her mind did fear the worst for a moment, despite it defying the logic she knew. "Burning...?"

The runespoor was caught. Her eyes widened. The creature was changing in front of her eyes. She saw smoke. The darkness had grabbed her patronus and... it removed it? She readied her wand to cast lumos. They needed lig- her gasp escaped her lips. The patronus was still there but it looked so different. No. That was not possible. Surely. A patronus was a defensive spell, a shield against the worst. Her heart pounded. It was also no longer hers. Her mind was filled with everything that was not happiness.

The fear of students suffering - or worse, dying. The lack of trust for people she ought to be able to trust and the constant worry that they will betray her. The helplessness at not actually knowing what was going on. The fear of failing... Watching everyone she cares about get hurt in front of her eyes.

Hjørdis knew it was no longer the patronus that she had summoned. She had no idea how it turned but the darkness was capable of corrupting it. That was kind of terrifying. A very terrifying thought, actually. She instinctively waved her wand in front of her, protego! Taking a step back as she cast the shield charm, moving to a defensive position.

Her frickin' patronus was attacking her... What was going on with Hogwarts? She did not look at the Head of Hufflepuff. She heard his voice though. He was seeing what she was seeing, right? This was a thing that was actually happening? "What the hel- it corrupted the patronus?!" Her voice was clearly panicked, confused and a little louder than it normally was, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. How did the darkness corrupt a patronus? The darkness... The spiders... They were the ones that bite the students. A shadow was capable of wounding the students so badly, potentially even the curse itself. And now this...

She should have lit the room up but light would not protect them from the attacking runespoor. Her instincts told her to shield first, question later. So that was what she did. Happy thoughts. She needed happy thoughts.

Think happy.

. . .

Come on. Come on. Come on.


Meeting new people that weren't insufferable idiots... Opening up to a whole new world...

A flash of her grandmother smiling warmly at her. The image of her grandpa being proud of her. Seeing her father grinning like a dork. The first time she was learning how to bake with her gran, flour everywhere and the sound of laughter in the room. Her grandpa reading to her as a child, tucking her into bed. Her dad walking in to surprise her on her birthday one year, when he said he would not be able to make it. The day she learned magic was real, the time she brewed her first successful potion, winning an alchemy competition, the moment she first saw Jeger. The moment she first gazed into his beautiful blue eyes...

Baby Dymphna reaching out and grabbing her little finger. The look of excitement on Callie's face when Hjørdis told her that she was a witch. Finding out about Elaine, and how they happened to be working together. Seeing the look of pure joy on a Nico's face as she enjoyed her baking. Being hugged by Kaegen, despite the fact that she was convinced he would attack her at any given moment. The heartbreaking-ly beautiful words of Tyranni that melted her cold heart in an instant and filled it with warmth. Receiving a secret santa gift from a student unexpectedly over Christmas. Brewing potions in the middle of the night for nothing but the pure fun and love of it. Baking for hours on the morning of her birthday with good company and tea. Being happy and confident - and drunk - enough to sing and play in public...

Hjørdis focused on pushing out the dark, filling it with every single happy moment she could think of.
ACTION: Cast Protego

This is my former staff account.
I also play: Serena Towers (Graduated PC), Arjan Oberoi (Graduated iNPC), Xiomara Torres (Current Student)