Walking round the grounds singing stormy weather... on Labyrinth Gardens

The Cravens

June 09, 2005 3:46 PM

Walking round the grounds singing stormy weather... by The Cravens

OOC - this is set during class time, continued from the second years' COMC lesson. Just pointing this out, because chances are, most people will be in a class during this. Therefore, I'm not necessarily expecting a reply (and if you do, bare in mind the context of it being in class time, ie why your character isn't in one) I just thought I'd give the opportunity for one. If I don't get it, I'll just post away with myself.

IC
The high walls of the maze afforded the Cravens more protection against the high winds, although a good deal of dust and dirt was skimming about up to knee level. If asked, neither would be able to give an exact reason as to why a load of sand floating about required close inspection. Their want to see it was mainly because they'd never seen it before and had been told they shouldn't now. If they were being dragged away, that meant it had to be dangerous. Dangerous things were exciting. So far all they'd got from this experience was ingrained dirt (always a plus) and dirt in their mouths a little in their eyes (which was less preferable). Sand really did get everywhere.

They walked a little into the maze to take them immediately away from the exit and away from view of anyone passing by it. The wind tore around, actually audible, whistling and whooshing.

"Holy-" cried Sorrel, as a bench rocked dangerously. "It must be getting pretty intense out of there. I'm going to take a look!" she grinned, jogging towards a staue, who stuck up above the top of the hedges. "Gimme a leg up."

Ash hesitated. He didn't want to be wussy, but balancing on a statue in high winds...

"Be careful," he said, "You're too much of a lump for me to carry back if you do something stupid like break your leg."

"Yeah yeah," she smiled. Sure, he was insulting her, but she knew him well enough to read the compliment in it. He cupped his hands, forming a step which Sorrel used to reach the legs of the centaur. She grabbed hold of them and pulled herself up. The brief shelter of the hedges had made her complacent, made her forget the strength of the winds, which had also picked up since she and Ash had been in it moments before. She grabbed the neck of the centaur with one arm, throwing up the other to shield her eyes. Through her squinted eyes, she could see very little, but got an impression of wall to wall dust.

"Holy crud," she said, once she'd scrambled back down to Ash, "This is incredible!" \n\n

0 The Cravens Walking round the grounds singing stormy weather... 0 The Cravens 1 5

Professor Kijewski

June 28, 2005 12:11 AM

Back out into the storm by Professor Kijewski

Kiva half jogged, half ran through the storm. It was so terribly hard to see anything through the dust and dirt and her voice hardly heard and echoed oddly. She called out the Twins names, hoping they could hear her and show themselves to her. She worried that they were injured, scared, and confused. She also worried that if Professor Bulla and her couldn't find them, that something terrible will ensue.

It was her fault of course. If she had paid closer attention, if she had made it perfectly clear to everyone that this storm could be extremely dangerous and potentially fatal to living breathing creatures, then maybe this could have been avoided. But, it was too late to fix it and so, now she had to deal with the guilt that she had caused great harm to these two students.

She made it to the Owlry and stopped short when she noticed the chaos. The Owlry had open windows at the roof for the birds to fly in and out of. Because of this, the dust and dirt were raining down open the birds and without any way of sheltering themselves, the birds were left to fend for themselves against the storm. She couldn't do anything within the bubble, quickly removing the spell, Kiva went to do her duties with the birds.

It was extremely difficult to do anything even with the bubble removed. The wind was relentless against her and without her robes to deflect some of the debris, Kiva was left to hiss in pain whenever some of the larger chunks of dirt whipped at her. She quickly waved her wand to close off the windows, making a mental note to come back and reopen them once the storm was over, and made her way around the Owlry to see if there were any injured birds. There were a couple of birds with only minor injuries, but one of the school's owls had a broken wing. Kiva gently craddled the bird in her arms and walked back to the door. Making sure everything was secure, she quickly waved her wand to produce the bubble once more. With the bird in her arms, Kiva walked back out into the storm.

After finishing her trek around the school, Kiva returned to the front steps of the school to wait for the Deputy Head. She was nervous about the students and nervous about the bird in her arms. She waited impatiently for some sign that the children had been found.\n\n

0 Professor Kijewski Back out into the storm 0 Professor Kijewski 0 5

Deputy Headmaster Bulla

June 28, 2005 1:55 PM

Perhaps you'd best brush up on your gaol songs instead by Deputy Headmaster Bulla

Even with the use of a full body bubble charm, it hadn't been easy making it from the doors to the start of the Labyrinth. After watching his younger college disappear into the storm (there wasn't any point in trying to give last minute instructions, thanks to the combined deafening effects of the bubbles and the storm) Manfred sweept his cloak around as he turned abruptly and set off the other way.

It was hard to see anything much in the uniform haze kicked up by the dust. There was little to no point in shouting, as the bubble and the wind muffled all else. He couldn't even amplify his voice without the nasty sideeffect of blowing out his ear drums due to the confined space within the bubble. All in all, it made searching for the two missing students a decidedly difficult task, particularly given the fact that the grounds were set out in the pattern of a maze, complete with lots and lots of different dead ends.

Manfred was fairly competant with finding his way around - a useful skill picked up from long years spent at the school - but with visibility as it was, even this skill threatened to desert him. There had to be a better way than just looking! Frowning with concentration, he continued on methodically (he had no intention of not finding them due to negligence on his part) while trying to think of another solution. Seeing a vaguely humanoid shape up ahead, he hurried forward, but only in the last few seconds as he reached within a metre of the object, did he realise that it was one of the smaller statues that littered the grounds.

But - resting his hand on it's shoulder momentarily while looking around - it did give him an idea. He wasn't very certain of spells that already managed what he was trying to do... but was he a Charms master, or was he a Charms master?

Videor Somes Estus... that was the basics of what he wanted... but how to put it... and what wand movement would go best...

Trial and error always being a useful methodology, Manfred decided it would be best to impliment it - if he didn't come up with a viable solution within a few minutes he would return to the previous search pattern. Three trials in, he got results.

There were spots in all directions. The wind itself had a shade, thanks to the heat that permeated it - but it wasn't the only thing he could see now. Small shapes were visible in most directions - the smaller animals who lived in the gardens obviously taking cover against the storm. He couldn't see anything big enough to be the students though. Manfred hurried on.

In the end it didn't take too long to locate them once he had the spell firmly in place. It became necessary to renew it once (it was fairly unstable, but that could be fixed at a later date), but when he spotted the double splotch that had to be them, he hurried forward, had to backtrack and go around a hedge, but then found them huddling in a corner.

There wasn't much time for pleasantries. A couple of 'Bulla Cingi's later, he had the two protected by bubbles like his own, and moved closer, expression torn between annoyance and relief.\n\n

39 Deputy Headmaster Bulla Perhaps you'd best brush up on your gaol songs instead 2 Deputy Headmaster Bulla 0 5

The Craven Twins

June 28, 2005 5:09 PM

How would we know any of those? by The Craven Twins

The storm, at first, had been cool. Provided you squinted up your eyes and pulled your T-shirt up over your face, it was a thrill and a laugh to have the wind throwing things around you, trying to make you just another bit of debris in the storm. It was when it began to seem like it might succeed in that ambition that it became less of a fun adventure.

After climbing on the statue, Sorrel had absent mindedly rubbed her eye, which had got more dirt in than was comfortable while she'd been up there. Her dirt coated hand only added more. As she squinted around, she found that the huge clouds and swirls of dust she'd seen gathering from her vantage point on the statue were filling in the air around them.

Ash tightened the grip on his robes and Sorrel did the same with her t-shirt. Although neither one was usually ready to admit defeat, they could feel that they'd bitten off more than they could chew, and they both knew that the other knew it too.

"I think we should-" Sorrel began to shout through her t-shirt and over the howling wind. She was cut off as they both were toppled off balance, Ash ploughing into her and driving her into the hedge. As the gust eased off slightly, though a vicious wind was still trying to wrong foot them, Ash struggled back to standing, pulling Sorrel with him. The solidarity of the dirt along her arms was punctuated at frequent intervals by angry red scratches where the bush had scratched her. Several were deep enough for the blood to trickle, though all bar the worst two were stagnant enough that they were quickly covered by more dirt, which stung more painfully than ever.

Ash grabbed her arm, feeling guilty that she'd taken the fall, and began to pelt for it, as fast as the storm would allow him, in the direction he thought their common room entrance was in. Sorrel stumbled along behind him for several minutes, before trying to tug him to a stop. It was no good... They couldn't see, the wind was getting stronger than they were. She tried to put her covered mouth as near to his ear as possible to explain this, but no message could get through.

Ash wouldn't have listened anyway. If they gave up struggling against the storm, that meant they had to ride the entire thing out. There wasn't anywhere sheltered any more. If they kept this up, they at least had a chance of getting out of this. He tugged Sorrel's arm, unable to read her expression because they both had their eyes screwed almost closed and faces pointed to the ground.

They battled through the maze, unaware that they were drawing nearer to the site of their fort than to the Pecari entrance.

The poor thing wasn't standing up to the storm overly well. Although it had a minimal amount of shelter from the tree in was in, this was nullified by the disadvantage brought about by its height. The tree also make for a precarious platform. It wasn't that the few advances they'd made with the project had been shoddy. For a treehouse, it wasn't bad. They just hadn't really factored such inclement weather, and necessary protections against, into their building plans. Within minutes, the structure was all but ripped apart. The pieces took off, becoming part of the detritus being tossed about like boats on the ocean.

And, as the pieces were flung through the air, their narrative collided with the Cravens'. Or, to be more specific, one of the corners collided with the hedge, and then Ash's leg collided with it.

The two were battling blindly through the storm, unable to look where they were going. The piece had wedged itself at about just below knee height, thus making it the perfect thing for tripping over, rather than just walking into, but likely to send the tripper sprawling further than if it was at ankle height. Ash surged straight into it, taking advantage of a less vicious gust to try and get a spurt on. His hand was pulled from Sorrel's as he went flailing through the dust-choked air. His foot went down first on the other side, the rest of his body - a considerable weight in comparison with one foot - falling after it, twisting sideways and taking the rest of him with it to the ground, not quite neatly. His body fell, twisting to the side, his leg followed suit, but his foot stayed planted as it had been.

His hands had flown out automatically to try and break his fall, meaning his robes slipped away from his face. He gasped in pain, quickly pulling his robes back around his face as that part of what had happened sunk in. As he tried to get his breath back, difficult, considering that he felt like he couldn't breathe at all, he felt hands smoothing his hair.

"Ash?" Sorrel shouted through her robes, "Ash?!" They'd been together, and then she'd suddenly found his hand pulling away, and him vanishing from her limited range of vision. She stepped tentatively forward, feeling the wood that Ash had stumbled into against her legs. She stepped around it, dropping to her knees and scrabbling along in the dirt hands outstretched. She bumped lightly into Ash, feeling around until she found his head, gently stroking his hair. She knew he'd just tripped, and that he had to be fine - his hand was clenching his t-shirt, his face was screwed up, rather than his eyes passively closed by unconsciousness, but it was still horrible having him unable to open his eyes and look up at her. She pulled him to his feet, or rather foot, as he was hobbling on only one now.

Ash put his arm across Sorrel's shoulders for support. Both the literal support of having her bear some of his weight, and also because, not that he would admit it in a million years, he was scared. This wasn't fun any more, and - although it would protect neither of them from choking to death - he didn't want to let Sorrel go. He tested his ankle, putting a minute amount of weight on it and wincing. It felt wrong. Not broken, he knew the feel of broken limbs well, but it definitely wasn't in full working order.

Sorrel assisted him away from whatever it was that he'd tripped over and round the corner of the maze. They'd been struggling to fight against the storm, and now she had to half carry Ash too, she didn't stand a chance. The wind would keep knocking them down, they'd be worse off than if they just curled up in a ball somewhere and tried not to breathe too much. She pulled him around a corner and into the nook of a dead end, kidding herself that it was relative shelter. She lowered Ash into the corner, sitting beside him, nestling her head onto his shoulder and pulling his own onto her own. Even with eyes and mouth shut off from the storm, she couldn't forget it was there. Everything was swirling, she could scarcely breathe and, worse still, she had no idea how long they were going to be here for, whether anyone was even looking for them, and - if they were - whether they had a hope in Hell of finding them. She and Ash were just two very little needles in a huge, shifting haystack.

***

The next thing Sorrel was aware of was the feeling of something closing around her head, of the air changing. She jerked her head up from Ash's shoulder, hands flying up to press her t-shirt against her face, but found something between her hands and her head. Her first panicked reaction had been that she was suffocating, but as she reached for her face she realised it was the reverse. She could breathe again! Well, the momentary comparative clarity of the air made it feel like that, before she found that every breath hurt and made her feel sick. Within a second she had spun to check that Ash had been protected too. Seeing him with a bubble over his own head, she helped him to his feet again.

They stumbled over to their rescuer, the entirety of their relief drowning out any anxiety over who it was, and how angry they were going to be with them. Sorrel positioned Ash between herself and the professor, keeping one of her twin's arms over her own shoulder. He leant with his other arm on the professor. Sorrel wanted to be in the middle too (not that was possible without a second professor), to be being half carried along... Sure, her ankles were in fine working order, but she felt like death. Still, someone was here now. She just had to take a few more steps and then she could give up... \n\n

0 The Craven Twins How would we know any of those? 0 The Craven Twins 0 5

Professor Bulla

July 01, 2005 6:14 AM

keep this behaviour up, and they'll become very familiar... by Professor Bulla

It was only as they approached that Manfred realised that there were definitely some injuries other than just the dust and grit induced. Thinking quickly he ammended the bubble spell as the two came closer (although he had to stop to do so, making them walk a slightly further distance than they otherwise would have had to come to him) and as they reached him the bubbles melded together to become one large bubble around all three.

The urge to issue a lecture was strong, but Manfred resisted it, aware that now was not the time. Taking the time to renew the heat tracing spell one more time so he would be able to find his way back to the school, he slipped his wand away and regarded Ash for a moment before reaching down and scooping the boy up.

"In closer, Miss Craven," he ordered Sorrel tersely. "If we're closer together the bubble has less space to cover and is both easier to maintain, and more durable against this onslaught. Are you hurt too?" He asked, although she didn't seem to be having as much trouble as her twin with moving. "Let me know if you're having difficulty," he added as he shifted his hold on Ash slightly to ease the task of carrying him (using traditional methods of magical transportation of the injured wouldn't work if he wanted the bubble to last) and then set back off to the school at a pace he hoped she'd be able to match.\n\n

39 Professor Bulla keep this behaviour up, and they'll become very familiar... 2 Professor Bulla 0 5

The Craven Twins

July 02, 2005 5:52 AM

I'm guessing you're not overly pleased with us then? by The Craven Twins

Sorrel felt Ash being tugged away from her, and felt her already dust-riddled chest tighten in panic. She tried in vain to keep his arm across her shoulders, but it slid off as easily as butter rolled down hot potatoes. Her view was hazy, and her eyes stung like Hell, but she could just about figure that he'd been picked up. Ash normally would have protested at being scooped up like a baby, especially when his ankle wasn't even broken. He normally would have protested that he wasn't a wuss, that he didn't need help. This time however, he only really registered what was happening as a weird sort spinning as the ground was taken from under him. They both choked and hacked out horrible, ragged sounding coughs. In the brief respites between fits of coughing, Ash allowed his head to loll against Bulla's shoulder.

Sorrel didn't even realise the bubble had changed until she found herself able to hear Bulla's voice, and found herself able to follow his intruction to stumble in closer. She knew her throat was too dry to even try speaking; she was having enough trouble breathing without it sending her into a coughing fit. She shook her head minutely at being injured, it was just a few scratches, and nodded as he told her to tell him if she was having difficultly. It was a mark of how exhausted she was that she didn't even think to protest at this. The only thing she could think of was getting inside.

She stumbled along behind him, wondering why he was running (at least, it felt like that to her tired body, which protested at every step) when it was obvious she wouldn't be able to keep up. Before he got too far, she tugged slightly on his sleeve. She wanted to ask how far. If it was two more steps, she could manage. Of course, she couldn't ask. She kept her grip on his sleeve. If she couldn't ask, she would just have to make him go at her pace instead. She tried to forge ahead as hard as she could, but it was considerably slower than the pace Bulla had set. \n\n

0 The Craven Twins I'm guessing you're not overly pleased with us then? 0 The Craven Twins 0 5

Professor Bulla

July 10, 2005 4:00 AM

All I ask for is a little common sense... by Professor Bulla

The haze seemed to have thickened in the time it had taken to gather the twins and start the trek back. If it wasn't for his new spell Manfred doubted that he would have had so much as a clue about where he was headed. As things were, it still wasn't an easy task with the hedges that made up the labyrinth obscured from view almost until one walked right into them. His sense of location was completely useless, and only the deep red that indicated the position of the school kept him moving.

And then he felt a tug at his sleeve.

Looking down with irritation - didn't Miss Craven realise that this was not the time for silliness? They had to get back in to shelter, and as quickly as possible. There was no telling when the bubblecharm would give out under the pressure it was having to deal with - and was forced to realise that even the measured pace he had adopted, thinking it slow enough that she could keep up, was too much for the girl. Again irritation fluttered through his mind as he inwardly berated the two for being so stupid. Outwardly - although a frown creased his brow - all he did was slow a little adjust the boy in his armsa reach down quickly to pull the girl's arm through his own before renewing his initial hold.

"Not much further, Miss Craven," he said, hoping that his words were the truth.\n\n

39 Professor Bulla All I ask for is a little common sense... 2 Professor Bulla 0 5

Professor Kijewski

July 12, 2005 7:14 PM

With these two? Not likely... by Professor Kijewski

Kiva stood in her bubble at the foot of the stairs leading into the Mansion. She was biting her lower lip again because her worry was overwhelming her. If anything happened to those two students, she would never forgive herself for it. If anything happened, she didn't deserve this spot as a Professor, didn't deserve to be anywhere near the vicinity of a school.

The small owl lay in her arms, small noises emitted from it as the pain from the broken wing became unbearable for it. Kiva wanted very much to let the owl rest without the pain, but she was rooted in her spot by the orders of Professor Bulla, so the bird would have to wait.

Her cuts sting even without the wind whipping past her and her body was aching from the whole experience. She kept having to blink the dust from her eyes, but more would just fall back into to them. She was covered with dirt, she felt filthy to her core. Filthy, guilty, and ashamed for having let such a thing happened, but she had been so unprepared for such a catastrophy as this that she had reacted in panic instead of with a clear head.

And because of this, two students are lost within this mess.

Kiva saw movement to her right and squinted into the storm for some sign of life. Slowly and with great difficulty, the movements began to take shapes. After what felt like a lifetime, Kiva breathed a sigh of relief. Out of the storm came Professor Bulla, Ash and Sorrel Craven. Kiva immediately left her spot and rushed down to meet them.

"YOU FOUND THEM!" Kiva shouted, only to remember that she was in a bubble where her voice echoed painfully in her ears. She smiled appreciatively to Professor Bulla before turning her attention to the twins, "Thank goodness, I was so worried about you. Do you need help, would you like me to take one of them?" Kiva asked her former Charms Professor.\n\n

0 Professor Kijewski With these two? Not likely... 0 Professor Kijewski 0 5

Professor Bulla

July 24, 2005 1:04 AM

unfortunately true by Professor Bulla

And he had made it.

Manfred, nodded in recognition of Kiva's address, then jerked his head, trying to indicate that she should get up the stairs and inside. He was feeling stretched, and it was quite possible that additionally the gesture passed on his irritation, and the idea that he thought she was an idiot to have tested the bubblecharm against the force of the storm unnecessarily by remaining outside.

The stairs meant that he had to slow down, to take them one at a time and keep more of his attention on Miss Craven than otherwise he would have to be certain that she wouldn't trip or collapse, but make it up them he did, with both his charges present. The door was navigated with some difficulty due to the increase in the wind, and Manfred was at once grateful that Kiva had remained outside to assist with this. He didn't say that though. On gaining entrance to the school, he looked back to make sure the door was securely closed before he let the bubble fade.

A second passed. Kiva was holding an owl, obviously injured in the storm.

"Go on," he told her. "I can get these two to the Infirmary. As you can see they've been found. You've further duty to see to now. Although I'd ask that you would pass on a message to Professor Connell that I would like to speak to her at her earliest convinience." If the situation hadn't been what it was he might have been half amused by that statement. "One hour, in my office, tell her," he ammended before adjusting his hold on the boy slightly to allow circulation to continue, and looking down at the girl.

"Miss Craven," he said in a slightly softer voice. "I'm taking you and your brother to the infirmary now. I can use magic to float your brother there, but I need to know: do you think you can make it there yourself? I can help you walk if you feel you can make it that way. Unfortunately the spell I am going to use can only be used on one subject at a time, so I won't be able to float you both at once."

He adjusted his hold again, looking down at Sorrel, waiting to hear what she would say. It wasn't that they weren't in trouble, but the most important thing at the present time was to be sure that they were alright.

The repercussions weren't going anywhere.\n\n

39 Professor Bulla unfortunately true 2 Professor Bulla 0 5

The Craven Brats

August 06, 2005 8:31 PM

Bleeeeeugh by The Craven Brats

It should have been such a relief to get in the castle. She'd set that as her goal.. The end of it. For some reason, she'd decided that once the bubble was gone, the air would be clearer and she'd be able to breathe again. She flopped back against the wall, the words being exchanged between the two professors little more than buzzing.

She snapped out of her slight trance slightly when something snagged at her throat especially badly. She hacked violently. It was the sort of coughing that makes you breathless, and she was already short on it.

She picked up the vague jist of Bulla's words and nodded, which didn't feel good. Nothing felt good. She leant on his non wand arm, not wanting to bring Ash down with a bump. It was creepy, watching him floating along through her stinging eyes. She slogged a few steps beside the professor, stopping as another bad coughing fit seized her. It felt like she was about to bring up a lung. Something came up, anyway. She managed to turn her head away from Bulla as she was sick down her own sleeve and onto the floor.

She resented the infirmary for not having been right by the door. If it had been anyone other than Sorrel, they probably would have started to cry by now, at the fact the self-promised end to it all hadn't come about. As it was, even she was beginning to feel like she wanted to, just a little. \n\n

0 The Craven Brats Bleeeeeugh 0 The Craven Brats 0 5