He could feel his heart in his chest sinking with the heavy burden of being a heart. A hot, laviscous quicksand which at the moment was weighing him down and physically plastering him to the floor...his eyes practically protuberant with their puffiness and red from the tears that took up former residence there and still seemed to be falling. Cutty's breathing was laboured as if he were short of breath. It was hard to breathe in such times when one was experiencing such a severe panic attack.

The boy laid there, his body limp upon the surface of the cool corridor floor absolutely in the throng of this self-administered suffering when he inhaled and very suddenly stopped.

Halcyon was doing her usual strutting about the corridors.

School, thus far, wasn't any different than the awfulness of last year; with the exception of Casper Duluth being her unlikely ally and friend. Though, of course, she had little tolerance for his melancholy and was quick to tell him when she felt she didn't "have time for" his negativity. With that, she also found him shockingly easy to identify with. Troubled souls connection and what not. Talking to him was simple and she'd been lacking in easy and free conversation since her sister's childishness or selfishness or whatever is its had put an invisible wall between the usually inseparable twins. Either way, this school was still and isolating, and Hallie, as she'd learned about herself recently, detested being still. She was an ever-moving force; she was a tornado of a girl. Hence the constant stomping around like she had somewhere important to be.

While she was walking, Hallie's vision focused quickly on what appeared to be a large growth protruding from the floor of the corridor some 50 paces ahead of her. What on earth...? Hogwarts was a strange place, but it's strangeness always seemed to have some purpose behind it. What could the reason be for a large lump in the corridor?

Hallie maintained her regal walk and pursed her lips, allowing herself to squint in attempt to focus more clearly on the strange mass on the ground. Oh. It's a boy.

She approached steadily, soon realizing that it wasn't just a boy, but a boy that she knew.

"Mr. Mordaunt," She called out to the floor-lumpy boy. Her walk changed from a steady and straight gait to a smooth and coy side-step around him as she reached where he lay on the ground.

Something wasn't right. His eyes were red and he seemed...crestfallen. What is it with these Slytherin boys and their crying? Of course, Cutty appeared to have ceased whatever emotional reaction he was having, but Hal's complaint was valid still. "Whatever could be wrong with you?" she asked, pressing a finger to her cheek. She had an arm folded across her waist, feigning a sort of old-fashioned innocence that was both mocking Cutty's situation and establishing a launching point for further questioning without raising too much suspicion.

She squatted near his shoulder and smoothed her skirt over her knees, tilting her head in a motion that resembled her sister more than she would like pointed-out to her. "I was certainly not imaging this when I pictured our reunion, Cutty."

Either he'd noticed her and was ignoring her or he was so involved with his own thoughts that Cutty Mordaunt wasn't too bothered by the approaching body of one, Halcyon Aldrich. He could hear her voice, though. Soft, and perhaps squeaky in his opinion when compared to some he'd heard. It was sort of funny and he took amusement therein, though he did not smile. He wore instead a sort of blank expression. The intensity of the innermost wall of the emotional hurricane brought upon by his own doing having passed (if it was ever even really there to begin with).

Finally, when the girl had gotten close enough that he was nearly eye-to-eye with her skirt-shielded knees he inhaled and sat up. "What did you have in mind, Aldrich?" He asked in a calm, but not melancholy manner. As if he'd never experienced an upset in the moments preceding. "Chandeliers and cherry blossoms? Animals? Fudge? I know where we can get all three of those things." He may have been considering a visit to his lab or else that was really damn random.

Hallie lifted her eyebrows in the same moment Cutty was lifting his shoulders off the ground. She rolled her eyes a little, as was a natural response to most of what he says to her, but she was smiling in an amused way, too.

She then said in a voice so sweet and excited and absolutely un-sarcastic she wondered if Cutty would pick on her mocking matter-of-factness: "Actually, a white rose garden at twilight, beside a huge fountain with little toads sitting on the rim." She tapped the ground with a single gloved finger when she mentioned the toads, as if some would hop up and be an example. She then dropped her tone from the excited Disney Princess voice to her usual snooty and sometimes cold one. "I'd accept the fudge and chandeliers, too, though."

His complete lack of expression didn't surprise her much, but it was as off-putting as ever. She shifted herself to be kneeling beside him, with her skirt splayed out in a perfect circle around her. "Why are you laying on the ground?" she asked, eyes tracing him in search of dust picked up from the floor.

Why did she answer that question? Cutty found that interesting. Also, her movements. The gesture toward the ground when she spoke of the toads, his eyes followed her fingers. Could she conjure them? Did she really like any of that stuff? Ugh. She made him sick with her exaggerated ladylike ways that neither Beverly nor Agatha could, though he wore no outward expression of disgust as he lifted himself from the floor. "A better question would be why did yew chose to come to the ground. It's cold and dirty and absolutely no place for yer." He said offering out a hand to help her up.

Hallie was utterly delighted at the offer of his hand. "Well, I suppose I thought you'd hear me better if I was down here," she said, curling her hair behind her ear and taking his hand in her gloved one. Once standing, she brushed off her skirt and squared her posture to an eerily perfect T.

"Is there a reason you aren't answering the question? It's not a normal occurrence, to be lying on the ground obstructing the corridors. And with a splotchy face, too." She put a hand on her hip and quirked her head to the side, maintaining an air of curiosity.

The way she stood was straighter than Agatha. And Happygoody, as he learned, was a ballet dancer. Watching Aldrich straighten up was a bit like watching the defense dummies right themselves. Automaton-like putting herself back together for it was entirely too perfect. Something about that hinted that she might be the sort of person who would have understood the position of having less intense emotions.

Maybe.


He'd never seen Halcyon lose it.

Cutty shook his head. "No." Came the simple answer to the first question. "If yer must know, I was experiencing an upset. My father." That was all. Just his father.

An upset? Hallie tilted her head to the side. She looked him up and down under a tilted brow. "What about your father?" she asked, needing more detail for context.

"My parents upset me too. Of course, you know that." She said, pulling the glove on her right hand tighter. "But I've never felt the need to sprawl myself on the ground over it. Must have been something big."

She wondered about Cutty's parents. She didn't know much about the boy. She couldn't imagine what the people who made him were like. He was so....nuanced. Yet not, at the same time. In fact, the more she though abut it the harder it was to define him.

"Are you alright, then?" She wasn't sure if she should ask if he needed anything. If he was anything like herself, he'd hold on to that "anything" until he needed it, and she wasn't sure if she felt up to owing him something. "You seem to have found your composure, at least."

SPOILER!!: Adi and Angel

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

He could go too? Clearly both of his friends were delusional. "How can I? I don't think I'm allowed in your common room.'' But it got Adi thinking. If a friend from another House let you in their common room, was that okay? Adi saw nothing wrong with that but then again that would be pure chaos since everyone would just be lurking in common rooms that weren't their own.

"I think I'm going back to-'' The Puffer had been following Benny towards the Fat Lady's portrait but fell silent when the other boy switched directions. Oh. He figured it out immediately. So they were going to the Hospital Wing then. Maybe he would tag along. For a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry174

Angel was still totally out of it and she was very tired now and was thinking about falling asleep in her boyfriends arm but she wanted to see the Gryffindor common room. "Good... Adi is nice." Angel whispered as she felt her head. "AJ will be pleased."

Angel then felt stair... why were they going down some stairs her head was hurting her though so she didn't say anything.

Benny had kept his movements slow and deliberate to try and keep up the ruse, despite them actually descending down the stairs. He had almost though Adi was going to bale on him...on them, but then it seemed his best friend caught on to what he was actually doing. Good...he could use the support. He wasn't usually the one who had to take charge but with it concerning Angel, he felt it was as good a time as any to try it out.

Yes...Adi was nice.

And he bit back the chuckle at the mention of AJ. But the younger Gryffindor wasn't protesting so it was time to pick the pace and just head on to their ultimate destination. Hospital Wing it was. The older GRyffindor lightly kissing the top of Angel's head before slipping from the sixth floor landing to continue on.

Feeding. That was the next priority with her fairies. It had been exactly twelve hours since their last feed and by the expression on their tiny faces they were ready for their next bite. She had taken them up to the sixth floor corridor as she slowly made her way back to the common room. She wanted to go to bed soon after all, for some reason the Ravenclaw was extremely tired.

In terms of actually feeding the creatures it was pretty easy. The fifteen-year-old placed them onto the floor in their jar and quickly unscrewed their lid. The buzzing seemed almost as if they were excited for their food and for once she started feeling a little sorry for them. They were basically miniature humans after all and SHE wouldn’t like to be cooped up inside a jar with a giant face staring at you every once in a while. It could give them a complex.

She followed by unscrewing the lid of the food and sprinkling it over the fairies as they danced underneath for their dinner. She let out a small smile before doing the lid back up and picking the jar up with the satisfied fairies inside. Now just one more floor and she could flop down on her bed and be done with this homework.. Almost.

"He doesn't know what he wants." The Slytherin sort of blurted out. The the situation as he saw it. Complex a bit, but that's what it boiled down to. The people who didn't know what they wanted. You could line the walls of the castle with them. Or maybe Adonis Mordaunt did know what he wanted and it simply didn't include being around Cutty. Maybe he was trying to keep all parties involved satisfied.

It was difficult to say.

"Yeah. I'm alright." He chimed in confirming that he'd found his composure. "Anyway, you shouldn't be concerned. Dirty hall, dusty floors." He held his arm out for her and as a byproduct of his mental transfiguration reminded him of what a gentleman would do. "No place for a lady."

"If yer headin' down, I'll walk yer." The castle was known to have surprises and clever as he found Miss Aldrich, she'd been homeschooled.

Hallie pressed her eyebrows together. "Other people's indecision can be frustrating, so I sympathize." Not that she had really grasped what he meant. But he seemed evasive, and though she was certain she could hold personal information over his head, she wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

"Well, Mr. Mordaunt, I appreciate your chivalry." She took his arm and gave him a stern but somehow soft and grateful look. "But if I choose for the floor to be a place for me, it will be. Albeit, I would select a cleaner floor. Perhaps one with carpeting."

"I'd like that, thank you." She began walking him, dragging him on her arm in her usual way, and her boots clicked at the spring in her every step. "I adore walking in tandem with others. You are a good height for it."

Crazy. Freakin'. Amazon.

Had him by the arm and was practically dragging him along. Would she notice if he were to suddenly go weightless? Free ride. He mourned the fact that he did not known yet the ways of mastering broomless flight. "Am I?"

An amused smile he let onto his face. He fixed it there though it veered a bit toward tolerant at first when she began her dragging. "Hey Aldrich? What do you call a boy at your side?"

"Dragon." He said, reaching a finger up and with a surprising amount of gentleness for an old world primate, beeped her nose. "Walk slower." Walk slower what, Cutty?




"...Please."

"You are. Your shoulders are high enough, but not too high."

Hallie didn't look at him until he addressed her by name, focussed steadfastly on her path. "A boy at my side?" She tilted her head him and gave him a very slow cat-like blink; a perfect mirror of the signature blink of one Casper Duluth III.

Dragon? That was new. But she absolutely adored it.

Her eyes crossed as they focussed in on his finger, and upon being booped on the nose by Cutty Mordaunt, she scrunched her nose and gave him a little smile. "Apologies. I am a determined walker." She nodded three times and slowed her pace to a survivable one.

Hugh was, well, undone.

The previous night he had kept awake to REALLY, really understand the Critique of Pure Reason. All it had gotten him was a pounding in his head and a less concrete faith in existence. Harumph.

He would just do what the rest of the people did, he supposed. Ignore it. The big UNIVERSE questions. How did they though? It consumed him most days. When he wasn't climbing things or getting stuck in pretzel like formations or eating to maintain his hour-glass figure, of course.

Yoooooooooo, it was wicked confusing. Well, not CONFUSING. He wasn't stupid. But puzzling, more like.

So puzzling that he just sat on the floor. Plop. And started to think.

What was the universe? How did we all get here? Did he really exist? Did any of it REALLY matter in the end?

Making her way down to the sixth floor Cassie felt a bit more jumpy then she did before. She heard the music and was certain she saw something, but maybe her eyes were just playing tricks on her. No she knew Zhenya saw something too. It had to be here somewhere and they were going to find it and catch it.

She was lost in her own thoughts and moving around the corridor. Turning she finally stopped to wait on the group. Though her green eyes kept scanning the area. Waiting on a certain glow or whatever else that thing could do.

Following Professor Cassie, Lux made her way to the Sixth Floor. Looking around, she wondered if the book was currently nearby or if it was somewhere totally different. The thing sure liked disappearing on people.

Reaching the woman, Lux waited for the others to arrive. Would a summoning spell work, she wondered.

Zhenya had followed Professor Cassie down to the sixth floor. She was thinking about the book and how silly she had been; it had been RIGHT THERE in front of her! And she walked right into the Professor.

"Oh sorry Professor," she squeaked. She looked around to see if she could see any strange glowings, or hear any strange music...

Pulling out her wand she was going to be ready this time if the book would show up again. "Why don't we split up again. That seemed to be the best idea to get as many places as we can in a short amount of time. Search all over don't leave anywhere out." She smiled towards her little group.


Moving along the corridor she started to look around. "Remember don't read it." That's what Leo thought was the trigger at least, she hoped he was right. She did not want to be the Evil Queen ever again. Glancing in some classrooms she wondered if it could be in there.

She stood listening to Professor Cassie speaking to the group and thought splitting up was a good idea. Unless the book came when only one person was there… especially if it was Zhenya. She would probably stand there watching it, disbelieving. What could she do? She didn't want to touch it and turn into a rabbit who was running late for a very important date… where did THAT come from? Ah… whatever. Yes, splitting up. "Sounds like a plan," she said, thinking out loud.

Oh, no, she DEFINITELY would not be reading the book. But fairy tales did sound quite interesting… maybe she would have to find a non-cursed version of the book and read it. But for now, she trotted off and started searching up and down the sixth floor corridor; her senses on high alert for any music or glowings that she might just happen to hear...

As Professor Cassie instructed the group Lux nodded along. Definitely sounded like a good idea to her. "I am definitely never touching that book again," she told the woman. They had both been under the spell, as had Cinna and she was pretty sure she could remember Caleb being off too. Of course she didn't really KNOW him, but she remembered him being strange in classes for a time a while ago.

Heading off on her own, she kept her eyes peeled for the book. It liked to move around a lot it seemed, so she would need to be careful and pay a lot of attention to her surroundings.

Cinna met back up with Lux and the group as soon as her and Lux got done searching on the seventh floor and around lachlan the lanky. They came up with nothing there. But she found out that there had been a sighting of something glowing like the book did.

So the book was still around and no one had caught it yet. She looked up and watched professor Cassie. She seen that she had a wand out. Should she get hers out too? The gryffindors hand reach around her and closed in out her wand. You know just in case.

"Alright." She nodded when professor Cassie made the suggestion that they should split up again. "Nope definitely not reading it again " She looked at Lux then took off down the corridor. She was going to check out the other side of the corridor.

Search high and search low, but a Fairy Tale book you will not find.

Searching high and low Lux was not having any success with finding the book. Every once and a while she would stop to see if Cinna or anyone else was having any success but as far as she knew they weren't faring any better. For one thing if someone had seen the book they would have called out.

Continuing searching, Lux moved down the corridor more while still not having any luck. Maybe the book was on another floor. For all she knew it might have poofed back to the Seventh Floor after they had relocated but she needed to try and stay positive.