Achronum

Of Blood and Magic

_{Time: 2:26 - The Forest}

Lilie/Ben

The Beast nodded along in agreement, not stopping in his lumbering steps to the sleeping girl. This time only his claws elongated as he drew nearer to her. “How bookish, little bloodsucker. For all your years, wisdom clearly is beyond your scope. It's a wonder your plaything sleeps so soundly.” It’s laughter rumbled across the island. The Beast stopped barely inches away from Ben. "Your move, leach."

Salem/Victor

The paper lantern pulled off the tree with as much resistance as an apple plucked from the boughs. Following the line of stones to the right led to a path through the woods that seemed frequently travelled. The path led to a pit twenty feet deep and smooth on all sides except for the small natural ramp that led down to the center. A single wooden post, just large enough to fit the lantern on top, stood in the center.

On closer inspection, footsteps could be seen in the dirt around the post and cracks and divots in walls of the pit that seemed out of place. The wall across from the post shone with a blue message:

“Ahead a challenge, a puzzle, a fight. Which you find is what you chose but no matter what, find the ” The rest of the riddle was missing. Just a single word but someone had carved a chunk of the earth out where the word should be. There didn't seem to be any bits scattered around either.

Maddie/Amaris

“Of course, Countess. It was just a little water.” Maddie’s voice was even and pleasant as she’d been trained to keep it but inside she couldn’t help the dread bubble in her stomach. She had been trapped in a box with water rising every second and Ari was having fun? Maddie wasn’t entirely sure she would be able to face a pool or a tub of water for a little while after this and the Countess was enjoying herself. Removing the concern of drowning really allowed the Countess to take a different perspective on this because Maddie wasn’t experiencing anything close to fun. She left locked in a leaking box at the bottom of an ocean firmly in the not fun column.

But the Countess wanted to continue and Maddie’s grades encouraged that approach so Maddie guided her over the stream and past the statue, giving it a wide berth. “I hope this next challenge is far less stressful that the last. I’m not sure I could handle another round of confinement again.” Maddie admitted. Hopefully, thus next one was a simple puzzle or even a complex one as long as she could move. The cold outside was barely anything compared to the water but a shiver rolled down her spine that she wasn;t certain she could attribute to the weather.

The path was simple and easy, a welcome reprieve after their last encounter. She didn’t notice any writings in odd places and followed them even if they seemed to deviate her from the actual path. It was slow going for a moment as Maddie carefully maneuvered Amaris through the undergrowth but it was worth it when they stepped into a circle of softly glowing lanterns. She let her spell fall with a relieved sigh. The pressure behind her eyes was growing and she was already looking forward to getting out of this mess.

The clearing itself was rather small, barely larger than her room at the dorms. Sft yellow lights hung from trees over a small curved table with two simple stools in front of it. On the other end, a faceless mannequin stood with what looked like a set of playing cards in its hands. Maddie looked around for any sign of instructions but sighed and cast the Dark Eyes spell again, wincing a little. The tell tale blue lit up across the mannequin’s face.

“Fame and fortune, wonder and glory, at the table all bespoken. But fates are fickle and luck so willful, can you find that which they claimed, given to you in an earlier game? Unless you fear you two to one at which a simple left lets you find the sun.”

“I think… I think the challenge is gambling.” Maddie said after painting the scene for the Countess and explaining the riddle she found on the… creepy mannequin. Whoever thought putting a mannequin in the woods was a good idea clearly didn’t understand horror stories. “But I’m not sure what this thing they gave us in an earlier game was unless it was that token the Serpent left us.”

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_{Time: 3:46 - Exam Staging Grounds}

“You’d find yourself hard pressed to find a vampire of my age who didn’t hold a special regard for illusion magic but no, I don’t hold any such sentiments for them. I’m far more partial to charms.” Ryner laughed quietly.

“Charming, I’m sure.” Varis spoke calmly, forcing his irritation down long enough to have a civil conversation in public. Once he got her behind closed doors however… “On a more pertinent note, I believe these should suffice to guarantee full marks despite our mages failing to discover any more challenges after this.” Varis pulled out the onyx eyes and deposited them in Ryner’s hand. Her confusion turned to disapproval quickly.

“I fail to see how vandalism and destruction of school property count as a reason to give you full marks despite your completion rate, or lack thereof.” Ryner said dryly.

“Technically, each one of those represents a number of full coins equal to the number of students here. I doubt you didn’t consider the unlikely fact that every student pair had a possibility of stumbling across it so I’m sure there are more than enough coins to complete our grades.” Varis explained, holding up a hand when Ryner tried to speak. She narrowed her eyes at him. “It will also go a long way towards convincing me not to bring you in front of the Council for attempted assault, subversion of the Treaty, and willful ignorance of Council authority but perhaps those are better left to private discussion?” Varis counted each charge against her on his fingers but kept a sharp eye out for anyone trying to eavesdrop. Meanwhile, the Ryner’s’ face went blank and a tense silence settled between them. It took a few moments of consideration but eventually, a predatory smile crossed her face.

“An interesting interpretation of tonight’s events. You’ll have our meeting time in the mail tomorrow night. Have a pleasant morning, Count.” Ryner dismissed him with a fake cheeriness. Varis bowed properly to her and made his way to the cars, where he expected the boy to be. Ryner focused her attention on Eris.

“My apologies for the unpleasantness. I expected the Count to have some objections.” Ryner gave him a calculating look. “Were there any issues you wished to discuss or did your time in the test fair better?”

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

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Location: First Floor: Entranceway -> Cayden and James' room
Skills: N/A

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The connection dropped and James was just confused. Unsettled as well of course but that was a given; he didn’t like people invading his head in the first place and much less so when he’d barely had time to process all the issues associated with the other world. What happened that she’d made a connection unconsciously? Not to mention the physical distance. He’d assumed she wouldn’t be able to contact him this far away. Apparently he was wrong. They definitely needed to talk when she came back. He’d add it to the list of things to break down about later.

It took him a few seconds of staring at Cayden for him to realize Cayden spoke. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “I think so. A little confused but yeah, I should be fine.” James offered him a reassuring smile. “I’ll just be glad when we see everyone get back from this issue with Max and the innocent in one piece.” James fervently hoped everything would go fine. He didn’t need another emergency on their hands with everything that had been going on. He should have pulled Casper into a room, locked the door, and pretended it was just them for a bit rather than deal with everything all at once. And speaking of Casper…

James laughed at Casper’s comments and went to respond only for the urgency of Casper’s revelation to hit him full force. Jack was Sunshine’s… In all the chaos, James had completely forgotten about the time traveling incident. To be fair, he’d been rather skeptical of the whole affair and it had been shortly before the mess with the Morlocks and the attack on the original Underground headquarters so it just slipped his mind. “Oh that’s bad. I made a promise not to tell but I’m going to recommend we put some distance between us and the training room.” James said grimly. This could either go two ways: Sunshine accepts the fact he had to return to his own time or she violently rejects it. James had a sneaking suspicion the latter was more likely but hopefully Jack could prevent anything terrible from happening. James wrapped his arm around Casper’s waist almost unconsciously before steering them upstairs towards James and Cayden’s room, gesturing for Cayden to follow. He wanted that area as clear as possible.

“And Luna just made contact. I’m a little conflicted about that. On one hand, a gross violation of privacy. I hate it when people poke around inside my head.” James grumbled. “On the other hand, apparently the last time she did that, she was dying so I’m a little concerned things aren’t going too well up there. But that’s probably not something I can clear up until they come back. How are you feeling, babes? It looked like it took a lot of work back there.”

Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Quest - Discontinued

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Artemis “Arty” Harrington

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Location: Dumbledor’s Office
Magic: Legilimency

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‘Aw, bugger.’ Arty thought glumly, still snickering as one managed to get his brother. He really would have liked dropping those classes. He wasn’t going to pass those O.W.L.S. anyways. Even with his friend’s help, he could barely make adequate marks in History of Magic and Astronomy because they were just so boring. How anyone managed to keep their heads on straight in those classes blew his mind but to each their own he supposed. He’d drop care of magical creatures though. Muggle Studies was way too easy for him to want to give up and even if he wasn’t sure about something, he’d just send a letter back home. Why stick to dusty old books while you had living, breathing muggle parents who could just look stuff up for you? Easy peasy!

“Oh no, sir. That definitely won’t be necessary!” Arty stammered out at the suggestion of being obliviated. Not only did he definitely not want that, the twins bounced between each other’s heads often enough that he’d just ;earn about it again, find out he was obliviated, and have to get obliviated again and again and again. That would be a horrible experience. Plus, Apollo would probably feel bad and offer to leave and that would make Arty feel terrible and it would just be more problematic than not. “Of course I’ll join, Professor! Gotta keep Apollo out of trouble when I can, right?” He teased, nudging his twin.

The vial in his pocket weighed heavily as he preened under the praise Dumbledore gave him, him and Professor Sprout apparently. It made him feel good being recognized by the Professors. However, he needed to get Dumbledore alone for a moment to give him the memory. He shuddered at the memory of watching himself dying and chewed his lip. Arty reached out, brushing against Dumbledore’s mind. He couldn’t get anything from it but he didn’t need to.

‘Sorry for the intrusion! I don’t want to upset Apollo again but I need to give you something privately please.’ Arty sent quickly. ‘Something about Chimera from the Death Eater on the train.’ Arty felt awful going behind everyone’s back but the sooner it was in his hands the better. And if he could do it without Apollo figuring out he had a complete meltdown on the train, Arty would suffer the guilt that was chewing away at his heart a hundred times over. He just hoped he could keep it secret; Arty wasn’t naive enough to think he could keep anything he was feeling under wraps.

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

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Location: Outside -> First Floor: Entranceway
Skills: N/A

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James let Sunshine go with a wave but he decided to sit outside for a while. It was cold but he didn’t let it bother him; the snow was pleasant to watch and it made the world look wonderful again. After the incident with Sunshine and Max in the comic shop, the world seemed so hectic, so dangerous and dark. They saved who they could, hide those they couldn’t, tried to keep some semblance of normalcy for their team. James felt oddly pensive as he watched the snow fall, an alien feeling in his chest. Worry and frustration boiled up and then was gone, just a hollow in his chest. James hadn’t quite felt anything like it before, at least not in this reality, and he frowned. Contemplating the beauty of snow wasn’t his thing. He wouldn’t even have noticed something like that.

He shook his head, feeling a little more normal as he shoved that thought out of his head, and jogged back inside. Sunshine probably still felt terrible but at least it was controlled. He couldn’t ask for anything more than that, much less do anything about it. Identifying issues was one thing; solving them a whole other deal. James could patch up someone’s body but the mind was a whole other mess and frankly, one he didn’t want to try and figure out. He didn’t need anyone trying to turn that on him after all.

James paused in the entranceway, originally planning on heading to the dinning room for food before figuring out what he missed in the past week. Something felt… off. Like a sudden pressure against his mind. As quick as it came, it disappeared and instead Luna spoke in his head. James looked around, poking his head into the training room and then into the dinning room trying to find them.

“Luna, what are you doing?” James responded, concerned. He felt his skin crawl at the sudden invasion and he actively attempted to push down any stray thoughts even as worry bubbled up. “Is everything okay?”

Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Quest - Discontinued

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Artemis “Arty” Harrington

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Location: Knight Bus: Carriage 2 -> Dumbledor’s Office
Magic:Legilimency

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Arty drowned out the rest of the chatter in the carriage, focusing entirely on the voices booming in his head. He cradled his arm carefully so the jostling of the carriage wouldn’t irritate the injury any further as he slowly unwound the various things bouncing around behind his eyes. Voice by voice, he shoved them out. It was a slow, draining process. Arty had always struggled getting this back under control but once he had it, normally he was okay. He let out a sigh of relief as the last voice quieted down and it was just him in his own head. He slumped against his brother just as the carriage came to a stop and he filled out with the rest of the group.

He stayed quiet as they headed into the castle. He felt drained and honestly, just wanted to see Madam Pomfrey and head to bed. He was so excited to lead the first years but now he just hoped Penny would handle it on her own tonight. He was glad Georgina hadn’t ignored them for the carriage ride and he sent her a weary smile and a wave with his good hand. He patted his pockets and sighed again. He left all his candy in his luggage with his robes and he wouldn’t get his stuff until he got to the dorms.

Arty was expecting questions about the train ride, detention for what everyone did, or something but being invited into a secretary society by Dumbledore of all wizards hadn’t even been in the realm of possibility. It was interesting but he was nervous. He didn’t mind most of these people but one person stood out. Paige Atwell, Death Eater born and bred. He shifted away from her a little. He didn’t necessarily have any experiences with her but the others seemed to think poorly of her and he was inclined to trust his friend’s judgement. And as a muggleborn, anyone with close ties to Death Eaters made him nervous.

But Dumbledore thought she was a good pick. He chewed nervously on some candy, juggling the handful of licorice snap he’d excitedly snatched up at the offer. He wasn’t one to turn down good candy. It would just be rude. He hummed appreciatively at the taste but silently agreed with Mary.

“I’d totally join if I didn’t have a ton on my plate too, Professor. If it’s considered a class, maybe we could swap it out with another one?” Arty asked hopefully, giving his best puppy dog eyes. “Maybe one of our current electives or like, maybe even… Astronomy or History of Magic?” Arty would absolutely not mention they were his least favorite classes and thus also, his worst grades. If he could swap out for something interesting, maybe it’d make up for the terrible first day.

Of Blood and Magic

_{Time: 2:21 - The Forest}

Lilie/Ben

“Fuck no, little bloodsucker.” The beast grinned as Ben stood his ground and took the hits. It took a few steps back, still tense and wary, and cocked it’s head. It seemed to consider him for a moment and started shifting back. “What is might, little bloodsucker?” The beast finished turning back into its smaller form, shook its head, and lumbered towards Lilie.

Salem/Victor

Will update you guys separately once the lantern has been picked!

Maddie/Amaris

Maddie chewed her lip nervously. She’d been trained against assuming control over anything. It was always her family’s job or her future husband’s and, more recently, her vampire’s. The only thing she wanted control over was her magic. The Countess permitted her control over her own life and Maddie seriously doubted the Countess would deny her anything that wasn’t dangerous to either of them. Which means at the same time, the Countess probably wouldn’t abandon her. She was a Marivaldi and a good person all around.

This was difficult. She was almost tempted to pick one at random but she swallowed her nerves and went with her gut.

“The lie is Only a fool believes the vampires won’t abandon thee.” Maddie spoke uncertainty. Nothing happened for a moment and terror crept through MAddie. She messed it up, she fucked up when they needed to pass, Amaris was going to be so disappoin―

The water boiled and bubbled. The Serpent cackled somewhere in the distance. A current tugged at Maddie. The faint light disappeared. Maddie felt like she couldn’t breath, like she was suffocating, drawing, dying…

She gasped as she sat up. Amaris and Maddie were laying on the ground next to the little brooke and the Serpent towered over them. The bell was nowhere to be seen but between the pair in the grass was a blue candle that seemed speckled with glitter. The faint cackling could be heard until it finally gave into the night breeze.

Maddie stood and reached down to Amaris, who would have lost her sight again, helping the Countess up while looking around for clues. She recited the dark eyes spell, a hint of tension in the bridge of her nose, and noticed another message on a tree.

“Forward finds interesting tales, of glory and gold and gambles, while left reclaims the passing time far more swiftly than the other.”

“Seems like we can choose another challenge or head the other way to get past it.” Maddie suggested. The air was still cool and she was glad they hadn’t reappeared wet. She shivered, the memory of being trapped in a filling box still terrifying.. “But before that, are you okay Ari? That was… certainly intense.”

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_{Time: 3:41 - Exam Staging Grounds}

Varis demanded to be carried again, not at all interested in stumbling his way through the forest. He’d have the boy let him down before they broke the treeline but until then, it gave him some time to think. The boy in the skull had mentioned a lot of things that left him confused. Yvaine was certainly a name he would have remembered and he’d barely been involved in the Marivaldi job. Even if he had a large role in the Lord’s death, Varis certainly didn’t feel any guilt about crippling the second weakest family further. In his opinion, the entire family reflected poorly on vampire kind. He certainly wouldn’t be upset to see them all wiped out.

However, the illusion brought up a far more important issue that he’d taken for granted. The boy’s affinity might become a problem in the future and while he was decently convinced the world would have to end before the boy turned against him, the tiniest seed of doubt had been planted. Ryner’s plan would leave him vulnerable to such a thing and now Varis was reconsidering after having his ear sliced in half. Varis was silent and pensive the entire way back, considering his options.

The path back was easy and straightforward enough with two mages on the lookout. As expected, Varis demanded to be put down as soon as the treeline was visible to the mages. He clutched Aaron’s arm tightly again and tried not to stumble. As soon as the vampires crossed the forest edge, their vision returned and they’d see the clearing they originally set up at.

A mage that had been waiting made a short hand signal and Ryner walked briskly down the way, her face kept into a serene smile even as her eyes sparkled with laughter as she looked over Varis who kept his expression politely neutral even as he vibrated with fury. She stopped in front of the four and her smile turned far more genuine.

“Welcome back, Count Varis, Mr. Samael. I see your mages returned you in one piece.” Ryner greeted them. “Congratulations Aaron, Max. You passed your first practical exam. Head over to the tent to turn in any challenge tokens you’ve received and then we have cars to take you back to your dorm. Class tomorrow has been cancelled for first years so you may have a day to recuperate so please take the rest of the evening to relax.”

The Gifted - Concluded

Sunshine and James

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Location: Aboveground
Skills: N/A

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If Ben wasn't already dead, James would have killed him on the spot. He had a shiny new arsenal of awful ways of hurting people and he could have taken Ben's pain tolerance out for a spin. Instead, he shot Ben a pissed off look and bit back a comment as Sunshine bolted. Sunshine clearly had some major emotional baggage that needed addressing, Casper was sick with hopefully boring more than a cold but who knew besides the one person he just pissed off, and he felt the need to casually set the whole situation on fire. James regretted asking for Casper to try this. Not because he disliked Ben but the whole situation clearly stabbed Sunshine somewhere vulnerable and he felt responsible for that now.

"Okay, let's not do that again, Ben. Sweetheart, why don't you go relax? I'm going to see if I can get her to calm down enough to reverse it." James suggested as he started after Sunshine, pausing to give him a kiss on the cheek. He looked at Jack apologetically. "Give me some time with her alone. I don't know what's going on but since it's clearly aimed at you, you're probably the last one she'll open up to." James rushed out of the training room after Sunshine. He really hoped he could figure it out. She shouldn't have to deal with whatever it was alone.

It took him almost no time at all and his heart broke at the sight. He made his way over, making sure she would be aware he was there. "Hey, can I sit? I don't have food but I have hugs and distractions."

"I dunno, can you?" Sunshine mumbled. She rubbed her eyes on the back of her arm, trying to keep the tears from pooling up. She viewed James like a brother, but she still didn't want him to see her cry. It was hopeless to keep that a secret, but still, she had to try for the sake of her pride. "You can," she then added, a bit too quickly - as if she had been worried that her initial knee jerk reaction was going to scare him off. "Not that I need you to or anything..."

James sat with a quite huff of laughter, settling down next to Sunshine. "Thankfully, I still have functioning legs." He was quiet for a moment before continuing. He didn't want her thinking he expected her to open up to him so he'd have to chose his words carefully. "I know you don't need me. You're strong enough to stand on your own two feet; you did it before here and if you absolutely had to, you could do it again. But that doesn't mean you have to. I'm here if you want help making this suck any less."

"I definitely couldn't do it. Fuck, half of us just came back from Magneto wiping the floor with us in an alternate reality and all I could do when I came back was find somewhere to cry." James sighed. "Everything's a mess right now and pretending it isn't, like half of us are doing, is just going to hurt more." James shook his head, lifting an arm so she could get a hug if she wanted. "Anything you want to get off your chest? I'll take it to my grave if you want."

She looked at him suspiciously. She was taking his promise of keeping the secret to the grave seriously. An idea then occurred to her. She was hellenistic. There was one promise that could never be broken, one that even the gods had to abide by. "Swear on the river Styx not to tell," she requested. If he made that promise, then.... then she supposed she could tell him. It wasn't like telling him would hurt or change anything. She knew for sure now that what had happened to her had been real. She hadn't been imagining her sudden transformation into a six year old kid. She hadn't just dreamt that her father's real identity was Jacques Theriot. "It's, like, the biggest thing you can swear on. You can't break it or... I dunno, I think you die or something."

"That serious, huh?" James asked. The name ringed some bells but to be honest, he really had no idea what he was swearing on or why it was so important. Normally, he'd dismiss the idea, agree, and move on but considering he was dragged into an alternate dimension to fight for his life against a witch recently, he wasn't so skeptical now. "Then of course, I swear on the river Styx not to tell anyone without your permission. A thought occurred to James as he made the promise and he frowned. "Will I still die if I'm mind controlled or something? I'm not 100% certain I can promise that."

"I have no idea," Sunshine admitted. "It might be a best effort thing." A lot of her beliefs were rather simple. She hadn't been raised in a community that worshipped the Greek gods. Everything she knew about them had been from old VHS tapes at public libraries, usually stuffy documentaries that didn't go into much depth or detail. She had watched them, searching for clues about her father or maybe just some way to feel connected to him, since all her mother told her was that he was Greek. It then occurred to her, her heart sinking, that that had been a lie. She wasn't Greek. Her father hadn't been. If Jack were really her father...

Her pain fluctuated between sorrow and anger. "I met my dad. In the... whatever that was."

"The other world was meant to make every mutant happy." James said, the last part of that catching in his throat for a second. He didn't want to acknowledge that piece of information so he ignored how it made him feel. Sunshine needed him here and now. There'd be time for aggressive compartmentalization later. "Is it who it was that made you upset or just the fact you had a life with him there?"

Sunshine hadn't known the purpose behind the other world - that it hadn't been random, everything that occurred there. The Scarlet Witch apparently decided that Sunshine would be happy if she were reunited with her father and turned into a six year old girl. She didn't consider the logical follow up to that - that Jack must have been happy to be with his daughter, otherwise that wouldn't have happened. No, it just made her hurt all the more, knowing that something designed to make her happy instead brought her more suffering. "My dad was Jack," she said quietly, not answering James' questions further.

That clarified everything. With Sunshine's abandonment and trust issues, the outburst was far more reasonable. "Wow. Jack's a great dude; I bet he was a great dad too." James said, matching her volume. Memories of his dad still alive in the other world came back to him; the auto shop still going strong, finding someone else to settle down with, supporting him when he opened his own shop on the otherwise of the country. His eyes burned with tears before he blinked them away. "Which means you were also a great daughter, huh? The woman with power over all of reality chose you because she thought you would make Jack the happiest parent in all of existence. Maybe you should consider getting closer with him."

Sunshine looked away from James, directing her gaze towards the sky instead. It was easier to talk without looking at him - it was like no one could hear what she said that way, as if her words just melted away into the air. "If... If the Scarlet Witch wanted to make me happy, I would've wanted my real dad. If Jack isn't my real dad, then I still don't know who my dad is and why he abandoned me... And if Jack is my real dad, he's such a nice person that the only reason he'd abandon a freaking baby would be... if the baby was a monster."

"I'm very certain Jack isn't your father. He would have been what ten when you were born? I'm going to err on the side of nope on that end." James denied the second part. He frowned as he thought about what to say to the first or if he should even offer anything. "You aren't a monster. We have no way of knowing why your dad did something stupid but I'm sorry it happened. If we ever find him, I'll hold him down for you." James said.

She nodded again. "Whatever, it's not like I know how old Jack is anyways... We don't even know if that's his real face. He could actually be the Zodiac Killer or something," Sunshine mumbled. She seemed to have calmed down though, the anger, sorrow, and just tension leaving her. Instead, she looked almost hollow - like when a grieving widow finally accepts that their loved one was gone and nothing could change that.

James chuckled at that, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "Thank you for telling me, Sunshine." James said quietly.

Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Quest - Discontinued

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Artemis Harrington and Apollo Harrington

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Location: Knight Bus: Middle Back -> Carriage 2
Magic: Legilimency, Charms

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Apollo rolled his eyes at Tonks as she cheered on for the Knight Bus. It wasn't so much that he didn't enjoy the excitement, rather that so much had already happened just moments before that he was unable to understand how anyone could possibly be cheering at a time like this. As the bus continued to rock and sway, tossing its patrons to and fro, Apollo remained seated and clinging for dear life. He could hear the hisses of pain coming from his twin further down the bus, though it was much more difficult to see as everyone was flailing about.

If he wasn’t hurt and upset, this would be right up Arty’s alley. It was like a rollercoaster but way more dangerous and he could totally get behind that. But right now for the first and probably last time in his life, he’d wished they just waited. The bus ride wasn’t getting any easier with the constant stretching and swerving, the little joints resonating in his broken wrist drawing out a hiss of pain every time. Though, he whimpered as the last lurch slammed his wrist into the side of his chair and he doubled over around the wrist, rocking in the seat as he bit down on his lip to keep from crying. Everything got loud after that, so many different snatches of conversation swimming around him and it felt like he was suffocating.

As soon as the bus halted Apollo removed his wand from where he had stashed it and flourished it towards his feet. "Finite Incantatem" A brilliant blueish white light shown from the wand and then faded as he tried to move his ankles and then his feet. Chuffed that it had worked he doubled over on the spell, casting it behind him as he made his way over towards his twin brother in rather a hurry. "Bloody hell what happened to you? You alright mate?" He was now kneeling before Artemis, wand hand on his shoulder, the other outstretched asking to see his injured limb.

Arty barely registered people moving around, overwhelmed by the noise of the bus and the background noise in his head. He looked up at his brother and opened his mouth, trying to get words out that felt like molasses in his throat, but nothing came out. He offered his wrist out gingerly, the broken wrist discolored and lumpy. Arty just shrugged helplessly.

Apollo sucked in air through clenched teeth as he looked at Arties wrist. It definitely didn't look good, and unfortunately healing wasn't one of his main academic focuses. "Its probably best we let Madame Pomfrey take a look at this. Until then I can offer a splint to help ease the pain and keep it straight. Ferula" He removed his wand arm from Artemis's shoulder and pointed his wand at his wrist. Banadages began to conjure out the tip as the wrapped around the wound and tightened. Two wooden beams placed above and below the injury to keep it safe and straightened until a professional could look at it. "How's that?"

Arty watched with apprehension as his twin conjured a splint. He braced himself for the pain, hissing reflexively as the bandages wound themselves around the break and the wooden beams. It hurt, nothing could stop that, but it felt better than it did before. Arty gave a little sigh of relief and gave his brother a weak smile. He looked around for Mary with a frown.

Apollo followed his brother’s gaze, glancing around only to notice that both Mary and Georgina were missing, all the while Madalyne was missing a tooth. He shrugged and wrapped his arm underneath Artie’s, using himself to support his brother’s weight and lift them both up. "You know prefects, jumping towards the orders of a House Head before the drop of a sickle. Best we get ourselves going too, wouldn't want to keep Dumbledoor waiting of all people."

Arty nodded, letting his brother support his weight as he stood. The voices in his head were growing louder, almost painfully so, and he clung harder to Apollo as they walked out of the Knight Bus. There were just so many voices, so many people, so many things going on, it was so much. Too much! He knew he should be doing better; he was a prefect just like Mary so he should be hopping to it too but he couldn’t focus past the sound in his head. He shut his eyes as he tried to focus, trusting Apollo to keep him stable.

It wasn’t difficult to understand what was happening here. Apollo had been through these fits himself and the damage caused by both the Knight Bus and the attack on the Hogwarts Express was clearly stress enough to allow their Legilimency classes to slip. There wasn't much Apollo could do except to take his brother out of the bus as quickly as possible and to a less dense area. "Make way Make Way! Got a prefect that got banged up real good here! Move aside the lot of you." He hurried his way through the students, taking them down to the lower decks where he spotted Georgina.

He wasn't quite sure what was said or done to have her sitting alone in the bus, but all he could do was offer her an apologetic smile as he nodded towards Arties wrist and continued on his way out. "Alright make way people! Banged up prefect coming through! Thanks!" Once they were outside he noticed McGonagall standing there, her firm face plastered as usual behind her glasses. "Sorry it took a bit madame, Artie here seems to of broken his wrist something fowl, perhaps you could take a look at it before we head off?"

McGonagall’s stern face softened. “Of course, Mr. Harrington.” She pulled out her wand and whispered an incantation as she tapped Artemis’ wrist, a plaster cast appearing to keep it from being injured further. “After speaking with the Headmaster, Madam Pomfrey will mend his wrist.”

Arty was so focused on trying to keep the voices in his head from getting louder, he startled when the plaster cast appeared around his wrist. He jerked back instinctively but after some inspection, nodded at the Professor’s instructions and mustered up a smile as best he could with everything pressing inside his head.

"Thank you again. C'mon Artie let's get in the carriage." He offered her a warm smile as he made his was towards the first carriage when he heard Mary tell them Paige had gone into that one."Blimey, thanks Mary. That would've been a long ride for sure. Though I can't say I ever really know what the headmasters thinking." With that the twins entered into the second carriage, guiding Artie into a corner furthest from the door.

Testing well everything!

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Artemis Harrington and Apollo Harrington

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Location: Knight Bus: Middle Back -> Carriage 2
Magic: Legilimency, Charms

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Apollo rolled his eyes at Tonks as she cheered on for the Knight Bus. It wasn't so much that he didn't enjoy the excitement, rather that so much had already happened just moments before that he was unable to understand how anyone could possibly be cheering at a time like this. As the bus continued to rock and sway, tossing its patrons to and fro, Apollo remained seated and clinging for dear life. He could hear the hisses of pain coming from his twin further down the bus, though it was much more difficult to see as everyone was flailing about.

If he wasn’t hurt and upset, this would be right up Arty’s alley. It was like a rollercoaster but way more dangerous and he could totally get behind that. But right now for the first and probably last time in his life, he’d wished they just waited. The bus ride wasn’t getting any easier with the constant stretching and swerving, the little joints resonating in his broken wrist drawing out a hiss of pain every time. Though, he whimpered as the last lurch slammed his wrist into the side of his chair and he doubled over around the wrist, rocking in the seat as he bit down on his lip to keep from crying. Everything got loud after that, so many different snatches of conversation swimming around him and it felt like he was suffocating.

As soon as the bus halted Apollo removed his wand from where he had stashed it and flourished it towards his feet. "Finite Incantatem" A brilliant blueish white light shown from the wand and then faded as he tried to move his ankles and then his feet. Chuffed that it had worked he doubled over on the spell, casting it behind him as he made his way over towards his twin brother in rather a hurry. "Bloody hell what happened to you? You alright mate?" He was now kneeling before Artemis, wand hand on his shoulder, the other outstretched asking to see his injured limb.

Arty barely registered people moving around, overwhelmed by the noise of the bus and the background noise in his head. He looked up at his brother and opened his mouth, trying to get words out that felt like molasses in his throat, but nothing came out. He offered his wrist out gingerly, the broken wrist discolored and lumpy. Arty just shrugged helplessly.

Apollo sucked in air through clenched teeth as he looked at Arties wrist. It definitely didn't look good, and unfortunately healing wasn't one of his main academic focuses. "Its probably best we let Madame Pomfrey take a look at this. Until then I can offer a splint to help ease the pain and keep it straight. Ferula" He removed his wand arm from Artemis's shoulder and pointed his wand at his wrist. Banadages began to conjure out the tip as the wrapped around the wound and tightened. Two wooden beams placed above and below the injury to keep it safe and straightened until a professional could look at it. "How's that?"

Arty watched with apprehension as his twin conjured a splint. He braced himself for the pain, hissing reflexively as the bandages wound themselves around the break and the wooden beams. It hurt, nothing could stop that, but it felt better than it did before. Arty gave a little sigh of relief and gave his brother a weak smile. He looked around for Mary with a frown.

Apollo followed his brother’s gaze, glancing around only to notice that both Mary and Georgina were missing, all the while Madalyne was missing a tooth. He shrugged and wrapped his arm underneath Artie’s, using himself to support his brother’s weight and lift them both up. "You know prefects, jumping towards the orders of a House Head before the drop of a sickle. Best we get ourselves going too, wouldn't want to keep Dumbledoor waiting of all people."

Arty nodded, letting his brother support his weight as he stood. The voices in his head were growing louder, almost painfully so, and he clung harder to Apollo as they walked out of the Knight Bus. There were just so many voices, so many people, so many things going on, it was so much. Too much! He knew he should be doing better; he was a prefect just like Mary so he should be hopping to it too but he couldn’t focus past the sound in his head. He shut his eyes as he tried to focus, trusting Apollo to keep him stable.

It wasn’t difficult to understand what was happening here. Apollo had been through these fits himself and the damage caused by both the Knight Bus and the attack on the Hogwarts Express was clearly stress enough to allow their Legilimency classes to slip. There wasn't much Apollo could do except to take his brother out of the bus as quickly as possible and to a less dense area. "Make way Make Way! Got a prefect that got banged up real good here! Move aside the lot of you." He hurried his way through the students, taking them down to the lower decks where he spotted Georgina.

He wasn't quite sure what was said or done to have her sitting alone in the bus, but all he could do was offer her an apologetic smile as he nodded towards Arties wrist and continued on his way out. "Alright make way people! Banged up prefect coming through! Thanks!" Once they were outside he noticed McGonagall standing there, her firm face plastered as usual behind her glasses. "Sorry it took a bit madame, Artie here seems to of broken his wrist something fowl, perhaps you could take a look at it before we head off?"

McGonagall’s stern face softened. “Of course, Mr. Harrington.” She pulled out her wand and whispered an incantation as she tapped Artemis’ wrist, a plaster cast appearing to keep it from being injured further. “After speaking with the Headmaster, Madam Pomfrey will mend his wrist.”

Arty was so focused on trying to keep the voices in his head from getting louder, he startled when the plaster cast appeared around his wrist. He jerked back instinctively but after some inspection, nodded at the Professor’s instructions and mustered up a smile as best he could with everything pressing inside his head.

"Thank you again. C'mon Artie let's get in the carriage." He offered her a warm smile as he made his was towards the first carriage when he heard Mary tell them Paige had gone into that one."Blimey, thanks Mary. That would've been a long ride for sure. Though I can't say I ever really know what the headmasters thinking." With that the twins entered into the second carriage, guiding Artie into a corner furthest from the door.

Of Blood and Magic

_{Time: 2:11 - The Forest}

Max/Aaron/Eris/Varis

On the backside of each coin, there was a little phrase.

“The night does end when the sun ascends to where your escape does start. But if you fancy another round, follow where the moon does descend.”

Varis’ eyes narrowed at Eris’ stilted response. It was quite out of the ordinary for him to consider an invitation. He would discuss that with him when they were in private and he turned to Eris fully to discuss plans. Varis needed time to deal with the boy a shower so he would call the blonde when he was ready for visitors but his vision went balck again. Every muscle in his body tensed, he could feel his joints lock, and he distantly registered the sound of ceramic cracking as he reflexively tightened his grip on the skull. He’d been so relieved to have his eyesight back he’d forgotten he’d lose it again.

He swore internally as he took a moment to push down the rising panic. He could feel the wind on his skin, he knew he was in the forest, he wasn’t locked away. It was nighttime. The image of the fake boy appeared, sunlight spilling from his hand, and Varis shuddered. He would have to crush that possibility even if he had to break the boy’s mind. Hopefully, Varis’ personal touch to the training schedule he developed would keep that from happening but now. Now it was a possibility. He forced his muscles to relax, the tension slowly seeping out of his as he concentrated.

Once he felt under control again, he felt around the skull for the eyes and pushed through the ceramic like it was soft clay. Shards of ceramic crumpled to the ground under the pressure and he pried out the onyx eyes. Unbeknownst to him, wisps of rainbow energy materialized as he dug into the skull and writhed harder with every tug on the onyx. He made a little grunt of frustration and then yanked. The first eye popped out and the left side of the skull caved in with a sigh and a faint shimmer of light. Varis moved onto the right eye and the same thing happened, the entire skull turning to powder as Varis pocketed the two stones and held his hand out for Aaron’s arm.

“Unless anyone has any objections, I suggest we leave.” Varis’ suggestion was far more a demand, clearly quite done with this entire situation.

Lilie/Ben

“Action calls for a response in kind. A vulnerability for a vulnerability.” The beast growled, massive chunks of earth flying behind it as it’s claws propelled it forward and slashed wildly at Ben, aiming for the vampire’s face and chest. “What is might, bloodsucker?”

Beneath Lilie, the edge of the water crept higher up the shoreline.

Salem/Victor

The mist ended at the treeline line directly in front of the small deer trail cutting through the underbrush. It was barely wide enough for a mage, much less a Victor. They’d have to tromp through for a bit but the trail connected to a larger path free of debris and roots. It was still a little uneven but it was clearer than most paths they’d walked so far. The directions were written on the trees and rocks, a few on the ground, and some sneaky arrows on the backside of branches.

The pair would manage to make it through the woods relatively easily. Unlit paper lanterns hung from a tree, swaying in the soft breeze. There were three different designs: one boasted a boar, another a curling wave, and the third a blade balancing a flower on it’s tip. Small rocks circled the tree with two lines stretching from it. Writing on the trunk glowed in Salem’s vision:

“To whom walks amidst Time’s tangled web, look close at that which walks removed. Three keys to enlightenment of our kind-Might, Majesty, and Mastery-and yet not all three command them. Pick the light that guides their way and keep it safe on your way to have your diligence paid in kind. Stay to the right as it shines.

Though if sand does drop far too fast, feel free to take the left path.

Maddie/Amaris

“Indeed, this is false and the others true. The Serpent's voice boomed. The cracks in Maddie's barrier disappeared though the water remained. The cold seemed out of her and her shivering slowly came to a stop. She tapped against the barrier, hoping that she’d be let out now. She hadn’t considered the underwater death trap as a possible challenge.

The Serpent swirled around the area lazily, slowly picking up speed. The water followed building up speed until it was tearing violently at Amaris and the barriers. The Serpent laughed. “Now let us see when it’s the other’s truths.” Suddenly, Maddie was outside where Amaris had been standing and Amaris in the barrier. The water level hadn’t receded but Amaris had a few inches on Maddie, the water not reaching her waist. A crack formed in the ceiling of the barrier, water spilling in.

Meanwhile, Maddie’s mother appeared in one barrier, looking around for a few moments before focusing on Maddie. Confusion was apparent as she tried to speak but no sound came out. In the other, Ms. Merryweather appeared, crossing her arms and tapping her foot as she stared at Maddie expectantly and a familiar shiver went down Maddie’s spine. Just like before, the barriers became opaque and flickered into different positions. Each one read the following, from left to right:

What matters in life is not family or friends for happiness comes from perseverance.

Only a fool believes the vampires won’t abandon thee.

Keep still, keep silent, keep watch; through vigilance can you control her lot.

The Serpent repeated his instructions and disappeared into the depths, leaving Maddie staring at the statements. After seeing her, Maddie couldn’t help but read each one in her former teacher’s snide voice because they all sounded like something she’d say. In fact, the first one was something she said nearly verbatim. Maddie sighed. She thought she escaped that awful woman after suffering under her rule for five years but apparently even the Noila’s couldn’t keep her away.

As much as she hated to admit it, Maddie knew it was true. Staying alive and healthy meant you could always find something that makes you happy in this world. These vampires tear family and friends apart with little to no concern for how it affects their mages. Family and friends couldn’t be counted on to keep you sane and safe. The second choice seemed true and false simultaneously; after all, the Marivaldis were renowned for their respect of their mages and what freedoms they could afford them but an eternal creature could easily lose interest in someone who aged so quickly in comparison and she would have to live under a rock not to hear the rumors of what some vampires did to mages who displeased them.

So, all in all, Maddie was inclined to choose the last option as the lie but she didn’t really understand it. Who was her and what was this lot? She frowned at it. She didn't want to make a choice that would jeopardize everything she just went through. Maddie flipped it over a few times but just came back to the same question over and over.

“Okay, I think I narrowed it down to two options Countess.” Maddie called out, knowing that Amaris would be able to hear her from inside but not sure how loud she needed to be. “I’m stuck between Only a fool believes the vampires won’t abandon thee and Keep still, keep silent, keep watch; through vigilance can you control her lot. I’m leaning towards the former but I don’t really understand the latter. Any suggestions?”