Forbidden Forest

Forbidden Forest
hogwarts grounds

The forest is a very old place that holds many secrets and houses many creatures, some dark and dangerous, others friendly. The trees in the forest are considered ancient, they are dense and rough looking from years of exposure to the elements. As the forest's name suggests, it is strictly off limits to students — except in the case of detention, or Care of Magical Creatures lessons that occasionally take place there. Of course, with the various dangerous creatures living in the Forest, few students would even want to venture into it.

Amor Santiago

first year healing student
ateleia

Amor stumbles out towards the Forbidden Forest, struggling to hide a limp from a cramped leg. His back is arched just slightly as he hobbles, reaching the forest edge and immediately having to fight himself. His heart wants him to stop and try to regain some of his strength before he continues his trek into the forest, but he knows he shouldn't. His sleep has been terrible as of late though, so he is exhausted and he leans up against a sturdy tree and groans at a tightness in his chest. He has developed an unusual pallor, appearing ill and quite terrifying. Amor used to sob before the transformation would begin, but he has become so used to it that only a couple of tears will come up. Some do tug at that moment and he instantly scans the surrounding area for fellow students, but only finds the shadow of someone coming down the hill. He moans again, turning his head down into his hands before lifting it to stare at the full moon. It alarms him and he instantly scrambles to his feet, forcing his tight muscles to move. He tries to stretch and pushes his hair from his sweaty face, eyeing the shadow before he starts to turn back into the forest.

Arden

seeker for the tutshill tornadoes
paintedred

Arden has been on edge since her last class of the day, when she received the notification that she was being added to a group chat on Witchagram. Some sort of surprise her old team was planning for Alexi on top of her already sure to be extravagant yacht party. She should've just read the instructions then muted it, honestly, but something compelled her to actually engage with her old friends instead of just ignoring them. Nevaeh was sickeningly sweet, of course, in the most horrible, passive-aggressive way asking her questions like whether or not she's on her house Quidditch team, if she's dating anyone new (because apparently Nev and Vince are dating now? What the fuck?), when the last time she talked to her mom was... Arden does not cry often and she was sure she could hold it in, but then after an exhausting trek up the Ravenclaw Tower, she couldn't solve the riddle *again*. It seemed pathetic to just stand there and wait for someone else to come along like she always does, especially when she was on the verge of tears, so she quickly descended the spiral staircase again to get some fresh air. She doesn't even know where she's headed. The Quidditch Pitch, maybe? There's bound to be a broom there that she can borrow for a bit of practice just to prove to herself that she can still fly well. She reaches a fork in the path and can see the Pitch clearly, but then the sight of it just makes her want to cry even more, so she turns to go in the other direction, walking down the hill towards the Forest instead. She sees a shadow in the distance and her vision is blurry because of the tears, so she wipes her eyes and continues her descent to see if she knows who it is. Talking to people always makes her feel better, even if it is a stranger. Once she gets close enough to realize it's Amor, it is almost as if the weight on her shoulders has gotten lighter and she sighs with relief. "*Mi amor!*" she yells, running to catch up with him. They're close enough for her to not be annoying him, right? He's certainly never made her feel like a bother. "Hey! Wait up!"

Amor Santiago

first year healing student
ateleia

The familiar voice sends his world crashing down. "Shit," he grumbles, face falling into his hands again as he struggles not to just collapse to the ground in his defeat. This would be the fourth moon since they started...whatever amorphous, label-less relationship they have with one another and he knew it was foolish to pretend it could go on forever. Amor stops, not having the heart or energy to dash further into the forest and try to lose her, but his time is ticking. "*Mi sol*," he says weakly, giving her a tired smile as he once again pushes his hair out of his face. He searches her face. Arden is beautiful...so beautiful, but something is wrong. He can sense it, and that exacerbates his guilt. "What are you doing?" He's a bit impatient, but he bites down on the fleshy part of his mouth to try to hide it from his voice as best he can manage. His eyes continue to search her, but his head is aching and his vision is getting a bit cloudy...His fingers reach to massage his eyeballs from within their sockets to try to alleviate some of it.

Arden

seeker for the tutshill tornadoes
paintedred

He looks like he is having a bad night himself, and that makes her frown just a little. She wants to ask what's wrong, but he asked her a question first, though, and she wouldn't want him to feel as if she is dodging his attempt to find out what is bothering her. "I..." she doesn't really know where to begin, staring at the ground. "I couldn't answer the stupid riddle." she ends up saying, finally. Her voice cracks a bit as the words leave her mouth, and when she looks up at him again, her eyes are glassy. "Well, some other things happened before that, but it's a long story." Instinctively, she reaches for his hand as if to calm herself. "Are you okay? You look like you're not feeling well..." she eyes him with concern, "Maybe it's better if both of us go back to the castle together and I tell you the rest of the story there?"

Amor Santiago

first year healing student
ateleia

Amor listens, but his mind is preoccupied and he appears closer to death with every passing second. He is deathly pale in comparison to moments ago, feeling nauseous just as she captures his hand. Her touch has always brought him peace and comfort and he tries to remember what it felt like to drift to sleep in her arms not too long ago, but he's too sensitive and repulsed by his form. His hand pulls from hers, falling along his nape just as his muscles start to twitch. He can feel the topmost part of his scars, reminding him of why his hair is grown long. "No," he grumbles, for some reason *upset* that she would even bother when she clearly noted he wasn't. What is wrong with him? "No, but you should go. We can tomorrow, but you have to go to the castle. Arden, please. We have to do this tomorrow." His own voice trembles as he pleads, wincing as his left side starts to cramp. Amor's heartbeat races, starting to sweat despite how cold he feels. Never sit and wait again. He can't afford that. He can't afford this. "I l- I'm sorry." It doesn't sound very insincere. He's so anxious that the words are rushed and almost dismissive and angry. He huffs after and that doesn't solve it either.

Arden

seeker for the tutshill tornadoes
paintedred

"*Oh*." she says. Her voice comes out quiet and she is suddenly grateful that he let go of her hand so that she can bring it to her face and rub away some traitorous tears that spilled. She is trying her hardest to keep from crying any more than she already is. She doesn't want to make him feel bad when it is obviously her fault for assuming that he is available for her to vent to, for assuming that he even wants to *listen*, really. He does not seem too concerned with her current state, which is so mind-boggling to her considering that the two of them were getting on just fine the other day. He even agreed to be her date to that party, and that made her so, so happy. Her mom would typically ice her out whenever Arden did something she didn't like. Yes, that must be it. What could it be, though? Would he be even more upset that she doesn't seem to remember? "Did I do something wrong?" she asks, her brow all furrowed as she frowns. "Are you upset with me?" Her voice is small and noticeably more anxious than usual. "I don't know what I did, but if you tell me, I can be better." she insists, sniffling in between words.

Amor Santiago

first year healing student
ateleia

Cold air rushes through his nostrils when he inhales sharply, stressed by this sudden shift. Her tears had been evident before, but something he felt he could ignore for the time being and bug her about tomorrow... if he could manage to get out of bed tomorrow. Usually he would stumble through the castle and collapse in his room, missing his classes and getting assigned to another detention. However, these are not tears he can ignore now. He shouldn't have tried to ignore them in the first place. What is wrong with him? How heartless. "No, Arden. Please," he shatters. Amor doesn't know how to scramble around and gather all of the pieces to start again. He's too nervous to just spit it out. He tries, parting his lips to explain before he shuts them and appears by all means silenced by some sort of embarrassment. It's foolish and said foolishness slices a cut of anger through his soul, lighting a torch within him. "I don't- I don't need you to *be better*. I need you to leave. I have to leave, Arden. This is serious." He starts to get frantic, but he doesn't want to stress her out. Again, he opens his mouth to explain and stops. "Please," he begs again, "I'm not. I'm not upset." *I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you,* he repeats over and over in his head. This is his worst nightmare. This is what he was scared of.

Arden

seeker for the tutshill tornadoes
paintedred

It certainly does not sound as if he is not upset, and while she knows that he might be upset for other reasons, she still can't help but panic that she might have done something wrong and that is why he is shooing her away when she is in obvious distress. The *I need you to leave* rings over and over again in her head and it is really taking everything in her not to cry or insist that she really needs a friend right now, because that would just be pathetic when she's clearly overestimated how invested he is in this relationship. "Okay." she manages to get out, and she smiles weakly because she doesn't want this interaction to end on a totally sour note. It is obviously forced though and doesn't do anything to detract from the fact she's crying. "I'll just... I'll just talk to Div about this. It's no big deal, honestly." It is a very big deal to her, obviously, but she lets it go. Arden is sure Divya will be willing to listen, unless that's another relationship she was severely wrong about it. "I hope you feel better soon. Sorry for bothering you." she adds quickly, before turning back towards the castle, walking quickly until she's out of sight.

Amor Santiago

first year healing student
ateleia

Amor crumbles and watches as she turns. His instincts once again tell him to call out to her, but he knows he has to go. It is too close to half past the hour and he doesn't have much time after that. He has almost no time at all. Why does he have to choose between her and this disease? He's so selfish. He has to be selfish. He knows that, turning and immediately starting to sob as he hobbles through the forest as quickly as he can manage. Not managing to find his spot in time, he trips and stays there, hovering over the dirt before starting to dry heave. Everything starts to tremble, bones seemingly snapping and muscles stretching. He howls, hearing others in the distance, and reaches his feet again. The night begins.