#theo001

Date: Late March, 2023 Location: KBW - Observation Room

So far, working on a smuggling ship was shaping up to be a deeply confusing experience. It was quite thrilling (in a terrifying sort of way) to be able to say now that he had been to Earth, though the trip had hardly seemed focused on smuggling at all - instead, the crew had gone to see... a concert? Daniel had never heard of My Chemical Romance prior to joining up on the Prosperity, but he could now safely say that some of their music was a little frightening. He’d quite liked some of the theatricality seen on stage though, so it had been a good experience overall. Until the subsequent realization that the crew had accidentally smuggled a human, somehow. That had led to several days of solid panic, during which Daniel’s primary focus had been getting through the day with his work done and sanity in place. Knowing that there was some sort of plan that seemed likely to keep everyone out of jail had helped on that front, at least enough that he was able to start enjoying life somewhat again alongside being terrified of the turn his had taken.

Being at the Kuiper Belt Waystation again helped as well. It wasn’t solid land, not even close - but still, it was quite nice to have a bit more room to move around as compared to the typical living and working space on the Prosperity. With the plants on the ship tended to and the cleaning that was his responsibility done, Daniel had a bit of time to himself, and so he made his way over to one of the KBW’s observation rooms - viewing the galaxy was one of the activities at the waystation that was in the range of what he could afford (free). Better still, there was a good amount of open space - and with the smuggling event over, he had the observation room to himself for the time being. After looking out at the stars for a bit, he got out his comm and began playing some of the Taylor Swift music that Ryder had shown him, through his earbuds so as not to be a disturbance. Truly though, there wasn’t anyone around... maybe now would be a good time to get some dancing in. With space limited on the Prosperity, he’d have to take his opportunities when he could find them.

The downside to having his earbuds in was that he didn’t notice as quickly as he otherwise might have when he was no longer alone - he jumped, startled when he saw a fellow crew member, and promptly stopped dancing. “Oh - sorry! I hope I wasn’t in your way,” he said sheepishly. He had been between them and the observation window, technically, though there was still plenty of space to see around him.

Mulciber was a dolt.

He still can’t believe that someone would do something so utterly reckless yet, spectacularly fail in the end. It was a risk, staging Fisk so blatantly in the castle like that. Walden might have been impressed at first. His shock was genuine. He couldn’t believe that one of them had actually done it. His face easily blended with those of the crowd around him. 

But hear, hear! After a few days, it turned out that Filch was alive after all. The old creep turned out to be harder to kill than a cockroach. That or Mulciber had no fucking idea how to do things properly. Who cares if that fool gets caught? What about them? If Filch remembers anything from his torture, they might be all doomed. That’s why he now has to be extra careful with every little thing he’ll do. No more flamboyant wings, he thought. He was glad he ditched the wings even before entering the castle. He hid it somewhere in the castle grounds safe from curious eyes.

All he has left of the wings are a couple of feathers he plucked before stashing the wings away. Said feathers now filled his pocket as he raised from the Ravenclaw Tower heading towards the dungeon. He didn’t notice that a single feather escaped his pocket before falling in the ground just waiting to be found.

The police had already cleaned up, gotten as much information as they could (or were told to). There was only a small yellow sign with the number ‘ 7 ‘ emblazoned on it where the note once stood. Part of the rope still hung from the light, tied too tightly to be fully removed. There was a line where it had been cut, letting the man down.

The hotel staff would be coming by later in the day to clean up. They had been on the site before, and none of the police had tried to protest. But there was something, something not coming loose, a frayed edge of a piece of cloth and they couldn’t stop tugging at it. An itch, and uncertainty.

But that was all of Wonderland, wasn’t it?

They stood, staring up, not looking at the bed. At the way the table was in easy reach for someone lying there, at the soft white fabric crumpled. No blood on it, but they swore they could smell it, could taste it on their tongue, the sounds of shouting blending in with loud music that vibrated through the floor the taste of tears and blood drying on skin and -

A new arrival. In the middle of this storm. Ayla hadn’t quite believed the call over the radio when it had come in. Frostbite was a primary concern, as well as hypothermia, and Ayla had felt quite bad about asking the new arrival to change into a gown for the standard medical examination. She’d made sure to leave plenty of blankets at the end of the cot to make him more comfortable and regretted the inability to heat them as she could have once upon a time. 

“Mr. Pozdnyakov?” Ayla called from the opposite side of the curtain after giving him plenty of time to change “May I come in?” 

Amos was prepared to practice alone. Armed with his gear and his broom, he marched on his way to the Quidditch Pitch that Wednesday afternoon. Unlike most of the other Quidditch positions, Beaters can actually practice on their own pretty easily since bludgers were enchanted to attack players on the field. And if Amos was going to be the only player in the field, he’ll surely end the day racked with sweat. 

But coming up to the Quidditch pitch, he was greeted by a familiar silhouette. “Hey!” Amos called out Theo with mild surprise as he drew nearer. “Gotta say, didn’t expect you to be here.” He dropped his broom on the grass by his feet. “But if you’re not busy, mind practicing with me? Just getting it outta my system ‘fore I get sick of Ludo’s mug if I’m being honest.” Amos smiled easily. There was a past between the two but nothing worth dwelling over. “You can just grab one of ‘em extra brooms they have ‘ere lying ‘round.”

        For a person who wasn’t a huge fan of the sport, Fabian found himself at the edge of his seat multiple times during the match. There were a couple of close calls where he couldn’t help but hold his breath. His brother Gideon made a couple of incredible saves blocking the other team from scoring. Edgar, Gideon’s close friend, had similar instances, even almost falling off his broom at one point. He can’t help but be concerned for both of the Keepers’ safety. Maybe that’s why he found himself rooting for both teams.

         Sports is so complicated. What are you supposed to do when you want both teams to win? Rooting for both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor made it impossible for him to figure out which one to cheer for. To avoid looking like a fool, Fabian celebrated each goal block and each successful score in silence. However, what he was able to join was the crowd’s collective intakes of breath whenever someone collides with another player or whenever they injure themselves. Thankfully, Gideon wasn’t one of the players who had a relatively serious injury.

         It still didn’t hurt to check though, Fabian thought. After the match concluded and the teams went back to their tent, the Ravenclaw went over to the Gryffindor side to congratulate and check on his brother. He was about to sneak into the tent when he bumped into someone else rather forcefully. Fabian took a step back and realized that it was Theo. “Hey. Great game,” he just said. Truth be told, he doesn’t like how aggressive she can sometimes be in the game. He’s seen her playing Gobstones. That’s nothing compared to how she plays Quidditch.

Another demon

  There was another demon

         He wasn’t alone, some one.

                                      Something,

   Shared. His. pain

Walking through the courtyard up to the girls dorms Derrick body shivered. The luminescent scales that covered his back, and thighs vibrated at the thought of meeting someone who he could connect too. This woman had to have known exactly what it was like to grow up shunned and mistreated.

                                   she had too.

Walking up the steps to the girls room he found his breathing heavy, each step adding a weight onto him. His aura radiating a cold and dark mist around him.

Lonely

  He was so tired

           Tired of being lonely.

Stepping to her door he knocked three times before speaking. HIs voice cracking at the thought of her not being here.

       But she had to be.