Let me out on Crotalus Commons

A Memory

October 25, 2020 4:46 AM

Let me out by A Memory

A small bundle of silver mist skittered across the floor of the Crotalus Common Room. It was getting late, and the room had all but emptied out. However, one person was still close enough that – whether intentionally or unseeingly and accidentally - the mist reacted, resolving itself into a figure, sitting in one of the plush red velvet chairs of the common room. His age probably depended on who you asked. Although he was definitely not an old man, for most of the students, he probably just fell within the broad category of ‘clearly an adult,’ whilst the actual adults might have taken care to subcategorise him and guess him to be in his mid to late thirties. His age, however, was probably amongst the least interesting things about him. Besides his sudden appearance in the room was the fact that he was fully silver (though the precise shades suggested lighter colouring – perhaps blond hair) and the fact that there was a large gauze wad taped to the side of his head. The remainder of his garb was also suggestive of hospital attire. If anyone could look past all that (which might, admittedly be a challenge) they would perhaps find something familiar in the shape of his nose, and the set of his features… But the rest really was rather distracting.

Initially, he sat, his head against the back of the chair, staring listlessly off to the side, though the impatient tapping of his foot betrayed something of what he was feeling. After a moment, however, he looked up, as if at some sound. Whether or not there really had been one was as much of a coincidence as whether his eyes locked with another person or came to rest on empty space. Although the action had been triggered by another person’s proximity, there wasn’t a sense of interaction beyond that – beyond the fact of being seen.

“Lena,” he stated. A short lived half smile flicked over his face – a token gesture at an effort he clearly didn’t feel like making. “Or do I have to give your full name as well to convince them to let me out of here?”

OOC: This post relates to this year's plot. The number of subthreads in reply is limited to two, hence the groupings below. Please see the OOC page for more details.

Subthreads:

Subthread 1 with System, Felipe De Matteo, A Memory, Jessica Hayles

Subthread 2 with System, Allegra Brockert

13 A Memory Let me out 0 A Memory 1 5

System

October 25, 2020 4:46 AM

Subthread 1 by System

0 System Subthread 1 0 System 0 5

System

October 25, 2020 4:46 AM

Subthread 2 by System

0 System Subthread 2 0 System 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

October 28, 2020 11:29 AM

I would if I could. by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe was very often up late, alone in the Common Room long after everyone else had gone to bed. There were nights where that wasn't true, of course, and there were nights when others were up later than he was but he eventually woke up and returned to the shared Crotalus area, but most nights found him up much longer than he should've been. Often, he stared into the fire. Often, he read a book or worked on homework. Sometimes he tried his hand at poetry, although it rarely succeeded. In any case, although there was rarely anyone else around, Felipe probably wouldn't have noticed them anyway, wrapped up as he was with the thoughts that swirled around his own mind, like a silver mist.

A silver mist that seemed to be manifesting itself in a very real way in front of him all of a sudden. He shook his head, worried about his sanity in such a moment, but found that the mist was still there, and soon wasn't mist at all but the figure of a man. Felipe's first guess was a ghost, but he'd never seen a ghost do that, and he'd never seen this man before as far as he could remember. There were definitely ghosts who bore signs of injury, but this particular figure seemed not to have been dealt something fatal, as it was wrapped and healing. In any case, he didn't acknowledge Felipe, but spoke instead to the seat next to him. Felipe checked to see whether another ghost had arrived there but found no one, only an empty seat. The man's eyes were locked on a spot that could presumably have been someone else's eye-level if anyone had been there.

This was, of course, after he'd made a display of being impatient; Felipe had spent most of the time the man had been tapping his foot trying to decide if he'd lost his mind. The man seemed to be entertaining similar thoughts, because his smile was hardly a real one and his voice was hardly happy, despite the familiar tone it took. Felipe glanced again at the empty seat where someone named Lena was apparently sitting, and then glanced back at the ghost.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, glancing around the room to see if anyone else had noticed this, but finding himself alone. "Do you . . . can I help you with something?"

22 Felipe De Matteo I would if I could. 1434 0 5

A Memory

October 29, 2020 8:10 PM

I'm sorry by A Memory

“Sorry,” the man stated, bowing his head in contrition. Although Felipe couldn’t see or hear it, he had not been admonished - he had been greeted, quietly and gently by his sister, and asked what was wrong. “I don’t mean to snap at you.” He held out a hand, and judging from the way his fingers curled around the space in front of him, it had been accepted.

“It’s just been a frustrating afternoon. All these doctors coming asking me… Do I know my name, do I know who the president is - when of course I damn well do! I’m not going to forget Hargreeves’ existence in a hurry, not after how impossible he makes everything for us.” If Felipe knew the current political landscape of the USA, he would be able to say with certainty that this was not correct. If he was well versed in magical history of the area, he would be able to say that it had been some thirty odd years ago. Hargreeves had been a hard line Pureblood president who had pushed for relaxed wand control - a mantra which was dangerous enough for muggle-baiting, but which certain extremists had pushed to the point of vigilantism. But there were faults with every president, and a lot of them to keep track of. The scale of the disaster had not been a national one. It had just added a little depth to the small pockets of nastiness that had always existed. Perhaps not enough to be memorable to someone who was reading a history book, perhaps not even to someone who was writing one. And history was written by the victors, after all. There were plenty that praised Hargreeves.

“I just want to get back to work. I’m fine,” the figure insisted.

13 A Memory I'm sorry 0 A Memory 0 5

Jessica Hayles

November 07, 2020 6:49 PM

Probably not for mildly alarming us, though. by Jessica Hayles

Night was a strange time, at Sonora. A time when they couldn’t go many places or do many things, but when there was also no-one insisting that the students be in a precise place, performing some precise task. There was freedom at night, of a sort, at a price – specifically, being sleepy the next day.

Unless, of course, you’d never slept well and were going to be sleepy anyway. Then it was merely a time of some freedom, albeit of a very limited kind. Jessica fell into this second category of people. The daytime felt as though it was something she had to get through, more often than not, but night was her own, to while away as she pleased until she fell asleep. Whether she spent it alone or shared it, even, was to a degree her choice, depending on whether she went downstairs and whether she stayed in bed, or at least in her own room.

Tonight, she had decided to get up, throw a lightweight caftan – almost white at the throat, gradually darkening through shades of peach to where it stopped at her feet in a band that looked almost orange – over her pyjama shorts and top, and go downstairs. She didn’t mind it if she was alone there, but also didn’t mind company, assuming Felipe wasn’t too terribly disappointed about the prefect thing…but if he was, he probably wouldn’t be in the common room at night, as he knew she haunted it sometimes, too, she reasoned as she stepped out of the girls’ staircase and froze in place upon realizing they were not the only entities haunting the common room right now.

For a moment, she simply stared at the apparition, which was speaking to thin air, looking far too old, far too injured, and far too not-a-person-like to be in the Crotalus common room. Recovering from this, she walked slowly over to Felipe, never taking her eyes off the apparition, though it seemed utterly unaware of her.

“Is this one of those things that’s normal here and it’s just that nobody told me yet?” she asked, in barely a whisper. Only, of course, because it was after hours, and the last thing she wanted to do was wake half the House, or especially their Head of House. She definitely was not feeling distinctly freaked out right now.

16 Jessica Hayles Probably not for mildly alarming us, though. 1442 0 5

Allegra Brockert

November 09, 2020 12:51 PM

You're not real. by Allegra Brockert

Allegra rubbed her eyes. She was really tired but had to finish her homework. She wasn't done with it yet, because earlier, she'd been helping her cousin Sapphire with her homework because the younger Crotalus insisted she needed help, but Allegra really didn't think she needed it as much as Sapphire thought she did. The fourth year was so much smarter than she thought she was but Allegra understood why Sapphire felt as she did, because Topaz had put this idea in her head that she was dumb. And Allegra could relate as a fellow victim.

Which was why she knew that no matter how much she tried to encourage the younger Crotalus, Sapphire was not going to change her mind. She would continue to believe she was dumb. It made Allegra deeply sad but she was no different. She might not think herself stupid, because that wasn't what Topaz said to her, but she felt very powerless to fight back. To stand up for herself or Sapphire or Isla or Uriah and the other little kids would only make things worse for her and things were bad enough. Especially over the summer since Topaz didn't have access to her roommate to torture her instead.

Hopefully it would be better for Allegra now that they were back at school. Not that she wished harm on anyone, except possibly Topaz herself or Uncle Eustace , but really, it was a matter of survival to the Crotalus. And any of her cousin's other favorite targets were people Allegra cared far more about than she did Ness McLeod. Especially since her sister Isla was now in Aladren too, and therefore easily accessable to Topaz and Topaz seemed to resent the first year a great deal.

Allegra yawned....and blinked as she suddenly noticed some silver mist taking the form of an adult man with gauze on his head. She stifled a scream. She knew there were such a thing as ghosts but this was....well, she had not seen a ghost like this at Sonora.

Which meant it was something worse . It might mean Allegra was going insane and if she were to go insane, she'd never marry or have children and it might even affect the prospects of her younger siblings. She'd be an object of shame and pity. A burden.

That said, it could also be that Topaz had slipped her something to make her think she was going insane rather than an organic cause. Now, that would actually be preferable scenario in this case because it would mean Allegra's life wasn't going to be completely ruined. It just meant her cousin was a monster. Which she already knew.

Yes, that had to be it. Topaz was trying to gaslight her. Again.

The man spoke to her, addressing her as Lena. She felt for him, she did. Or she would if he was real but he was not. He was a hallucination brought on by some potion or herb that Topaz had slipped her. The best thing to do was not engage. Allegra turned around, and ran up to her room.

Where, despite being exceedingly tired, she failed to fall asleep for some time.

11 Allegra Brockert You're not real. 1426 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

November 10, 2020 10:19 PM

I'm still sorry for that, even if he's not. by Felipe De Matteo

Jessica appeared on the stairs and Felipe's eyes rounded at her, watching as she approached. He was pretty confident that the silvery being couldn't see him and didn't know he was there, but the fact that the figure didn't acknowledge the newcomer's approach made him more confident of that. That almost made it creepier though and Felipe almost had the urge to tell Jessica to run. He didn't though, and she didn't. Instead, she approached, and her words made Felipe want to give her some amount of kudos just for the bravery.

"No," he whispered back, albeit in slightly less of a whisper than she'd done. "Not normal. But I don't think it sees us."

Jessica's eyes were on the figure, which Felipe thought was probably pretty smart, but his eyes were on her. If this thing had been about to attack him, that was going to suck, but he'd figure that out. If it was about to attack them both . . . well, he'd probably do something stupid because chivalry was important. At the same time, he probably had a much better chance of fending it off if that was the case.

"I think I'm glad you see it too," he added quietly, feeling like that was admitting, and explaining, quite a lot. "You okay?"

22 Felipe De Matteo I'm still sorry for that, even if he's not. 1434 0 5

Jessica Hayles

November 11, 2020 9:34 PM

You didn't do anything...this time, anyway. by Jessica Hayles

“I’m going to hope that’s a good thing,” whispered Jessica in return when Felipe said that the apparition didn’t seem to be able to see them. Indeed, it was still seemingly carrying on a conversation with thin air.

She glanced away from the apparition and to her friend in surprise, though, when he asked if she was okay. “One second,” she said, and pinched her nose before trying to pat the top of her head and rub her belly at the same time, flailing predictably. “Yeah,” she said, upon concluding this experiment. “I’m definitely not dreaming, and I have no reason to think I’ve started seeing things, so I guess I’m okay. Are you?”

It occurred to her after she said it that this might not be the best thing to ask, or the right way to ask it. Probably more the second one. As far as she knew, Felipe had never seen things or anything like that, had just…been in a state where what he thought about reality wasn’t quite right, like having a panic attack all the time. However, it was entirely possible he hadn’t told her everything, not least because it wasn’t really her business. He thought he was glad she could see that thing, too? What was the alternative? Or was that just…something else wizardish that she didn’t know, something to do with things existing that some people could see and some people could not?

Melancholy tried to rise up, for a moment – the thought that there was nowhere to go where she could avoid making mistakes. In business, campaigns failed, products flopped, and it was impossible to maintain a perfect record. In school, there would always be that one day when you were off your game, when you marked the wrong answers. Here, there were always things she was going to be behind on….

It probably, she reminded herself, was not wise to dwell on this in the actual situation where she was confronted with a phenomenon she couldn’t explain. “Should we – do anything? Tell anyone?” she suggested tentatively.

16 Jessica Hayles You didn't do anything...this time, anyway. 1442 0 5

A Memory

November 13, 2020 5:01 AM

Bring me a crossword by A Memory

“Breakfast? Same as usual, I suppose,” the figure stated, paying as much attention to the dialogue between the two Crotali as he had previously. The presence of another person had done nothing to change his stance or the way he reacted to the world around him.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, frowning at whatever question had been asked. “Only since...since this morning, I think?” He ran a distracted hand over his head, wincing as he hit the bandaged part. There was just the slightest hint of confusion, hidden well beneath a jaw that jutted defiantly. “Things are a little fuzzy around the accident. I don’t remember the details but heck, that’s normal. I can piece it together well enough. I can work out what happened. John and I knew- Merlin, John’s alright, isn’t he?” he asked, suddenly concerned, though whatever answer he received to this seemed to confirm that there was nothing to worry about. “Good. Good. Anyway, I was saying…” he paused for a second, “I was saying I feel fine. I don’t know what more proof they want from me. Bring me a crossword. Heck, bring me the damn 47a requisition form. I can still tell you every blasted step of filling one of those things out. Crossword would be better, but I’d take either at this point..” He twitched his foot impatiently, clearly not used to being left with nothing to do.

“Oh,” he responded, reaching off to the side, “Oh yes,” he nodded, pulling a newspaper back into view. “Alright,” he flipped it open with all the familiarity of a well-practised routine, a man who could go by muscle memory to exactly which page he wanted, “Damn cheek, somebody’s already-” the puzzle page dropped into his lap, as his eyes moved over the letters that were clearly visible in the crossword grid. “Alright. So… so I did the crossword over breakfast. Same as usual. What did John get this morning?” he asked, tapping a circled number next to the puzzle, “Ha, beat him again,” he stated, a ghost of a grin passing over his face though he still looked concerned, “But I suppose that doesn’t prove much. That was before the accident. Things are a little fuzzy around the accident,” he admitted, “But that’s normal and I feel fine. I remember everything else up until that point perfectly.”

13 A Memory Bring me a crossword 0 A Memory 0 5