Group #6

[Bentley Beauregard]

What Bentley wouldn't give for a pair of his good winter gloves. Instead, he had taken the ministry issued bandages and wrapped them around his hands. He would have used his socks, but he only had the pair on his feet and they needed stay where they were. They'd been cave hopping and climbing the mountain for over a week now and Bentley was sure he was going to lose a toe, maybe two from frostbite. He did warming charms on his socks and the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, but he was starting to think that his body would be permanently numb.

Unfortunately all this time spent in the mountains with little else to think of than surviving, left Bentley wondering about what would happen if, or when he got back to Hogsmeade. He had to fix things with WInnie, he knew that. But how? Everything had gone so wrong before he left. He had reacted poorly to her news and he felt sorry for it. This trip through hell and back had him realizing that it didn't matter if she was a werewolf, vampire, troll or goblin, he loved her and that was all that mattered.

As they settled into another cave for the night, Bentley set one of his blankets down near the fire, wrapping it around his legs and then the other around his shoulders again, trying to fight off the cold. The fire was burning hot, a bluebell flame Hamilton had lit and boy was it warm. Bentley could feel his muscles relaxing after being so frozen. Before he could truly nod off a distant roaring shattered the eerie silence outside the cave. He didn't know what it was, nor did he want to. "No, I think it best we stay here. No sense in messing even more with the unknown." In agreement with Rupert, Bentley rubbed his hands again, hoping to reactivate the blood flow.

  

[William Pendergast]

William has, so far, ensured that his disposition remain patient and pleasant throughout the whole of the expedition. There was no need to be unpleasant or disagreeable when the event at hand required some patience to endure it. But of course, there was only so much wooded scenery, lack of hydration, and hiking a man could handle, and the frigid cold nights were not of any assistance either; thus, though Will attempted to keep patient and chipper, his optimistic outlook was steadily fading in place of a man whom was irritable and desiring for home. Yet, the vision in Will's conscience of gaining the reward money and benefiting from its use since he was a second son refrained him from having a mental breakdown or altering into an unpleasant person that was unworthy of such good companions as his group possessed. There was a goal ahead of him, and he will continue to strive towards this goal with unwavering steadiness of character, vigilance, and persistency.

However, he must question his sanity that he supposed was being tampered with by the Antarctic chill. Whenever he would lay his head down to rest each cold night, huddling his knees close his chest to contain what little body warmth he possessed, he would close his eyes and an image of the exotic woman he approached in the apothecary would appear, along with Miss Odira Browne's fair face. The women were in separate scenes. The exotic woman was sitting upon a chaise in a dim and elegant parlor room, a black lace fan covering her perfect sculpted nose and plump lips, only her warm and entrancing brown eyes were seen flirting with him, pulling him to her enticing form which he soon realized was only a gold robe of thin silk. The image of Miss Browne, however, was most definitely more innocent than Will's dream of the woman in the apothecary. Miss Browne was sitting upon a blanket in a meadow surrounded with wildflowers and grass (the very same that she and Will sat upon at the Lestranges' garden party the previous April), clad in a gown of pure white and peacefully deep in a book. To Will, this image was hardly worth recollecting until she suddenly snapped her book shut only to gaze upwards and her expression immediately altered into one of pleasure, illuminating her features immensely. This was where Will realized how fair and beautiful Odira truly was. The way her blue eyes lit up like ice blue diamonds, how her cheeks would be tinged pink from her excitement, and how engaging those plump lips were as she uttered out his name in her delightful, feminine voice.

To say the least, Will nearly always awoke in a cold sweat that would soon give way to a certain warmth trickling down his spine to which he identified as æblushing furiously'. Fortunately, none of the men in his group seem to acknowledge his odd behavior in the mornings, but he figured it was bound to be a moment in the future of when they would suspect that his dreams, no matter how pleasurable and positive they were, were troubling him. No need to be dubbed as the youngest member of that group that possesses troubling night terrors, Will thought as he and the members of his group settled down for the night in the cave.

After assisting in the creation of the fire (the men were pleasantly surprised that a man of his upbringing was aware of how to create a fire of rubbing wood) which Will used his wand to add an additional flame to the fire to provide more warmth, Will huddled into his blanket and prepared to suddenly see the outline of either women of his dreams to only be startled by a roar coming from inside the cave at a distance. Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes in sarcasm when Rupert inquired if everyone had enough common sense to refrain from searching the cave for the source of the beastly sound, and in this he succeeded; even when he asked, "Should we move farther into the cave, though? Just for precautionary purposes?"

tag: Group #6 | outfit: A suit | notes: none

made by Emily exclusively for Charming

  

[Marcus Carter]

Marco wasn't scared of freezing, though he left his human companions late at night, when everyone were sleeping, to hunt and feed himself. Each day it was more difficult to keep up with appearance and his good nature was telling him, that he should confess the truth to those humans. But could they keep his secret? Marco wasn't sure if he could trust them, however he couldn't just lie to them all the time.

A distant roaring caused him to make his mind quickly. When other decided to stay, Marco grabbed his hunting tools and stood up. "I'll go and find out what it is" he said, straightening his jacket. "Keep the fire lit and stay here. I'll be back soon."

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER - ROUND 6
Your group decides that is best to move a bit farther back into the cave, aside from Marcus, who has gone out into the biting cold in order to find out what sort of animal belonged to the dangerous noise. As you move farther back, you see that the water that drips from the cave has formed stalactites and stalagmites. There are icy patches on the cave floor as well. Just as you are settling in for the night, William slips on a patch of ice and falls - breaking his wrist in the process. Shortly after, Marcus returns perfectly unharmed. However, he brings the news with him that he has discovered a Peruvian Vipertooth nest. The dragon had gone inside for the evening, but she'll have to leave in the morning to find herself some food. Do you plan to steal the egg, or leave her be? And what of William? There isn't a healer in your group - what are you going to for him?

Round 7 begins June 7th

  

[Rupert Hamilton]

• "Is he insane?" Rupert had questioned Bentley and William, utterly bewildered, when Marcus had suddenly gotten up and left the cave in order to search for the source of the noise. The rest of them moved back into the cave, which Rupert had thought was a rather good idea - until an unlucky slip on William's part injured his wrist. He would have offered some help if he had any practical knowledge of healing wrists, but the most he'd done was read a book with some healing spells. At that point, he had remembered he'd packed the very same book in his bag, and told the others so aloud, if William was willing to risk a spell going awry: "I have a book with healing spells, but if no one here's tried them before..."
  
  Otherwise, all they could to was await Marcus' return. And return he did, with some interesting news. "Dragons? But Peruvian Vipertooths aren't even native to Europe, the eggs must have been smuggled in..." He mused, mostly to himself. The word dragon, to him, sided with the thought of avoiding it entirely, but what would he give to study a dragon egg that he'd not usually encounter unless he travelled halfway across the world... of course, there was a niggling worry that someone would want to sell the egg if they got one, which Rupert would not approve of... but he didn't know what the others would have in mind to do.
  "I don't want to add any more perils to this expedition than necessary, and I'm sure 'dragons' would count as one of them... but I'd love to see that egg." He explained quietly, torn. In the end, he'd go with the rest of the group's decision.

  

[Marcus Carter]

Marco returned with bad news. There was dragon outside and they couldn't go out until morning. They had for him bad news too: William broke his wrist. Well, good that it wasn't leg, because then they would have to carry him.

When Rupert showed a book, Marcus asked if he could read her for a while. It was for him like refreshing his long forgotten memories. Marco once or twice used that kind of spells, though he didn't remember if it went all right. They will need to risk and try them later.

"Well, I don't think that she would be pleased, Rupert" Marcus answered softly on young Hamilton's musing. "I'd rather let it be. You wouldn't be pleased if someone walks to your home and stare at your children. I suggest to move from here as soon as possible and don't stop. Which means next morning."

Marco looked around faces of his group mates. Should he tell them who he was? "Well, we won't go out until morning, so I think it is the right time to tell you something..." Marco stammered, still not convinced if he should tell them. "I grew quite comfortable with you all and I learn to trust you, so I wouldn't like to let you down and give reasons to not trusting me. I hope that you are able to keep this in secret..." He took a deep breath. "The thing that I want you to tell have to stay just between us." Another deep breath. "I am a vampire. I don't wish you any harm and certainly I won't harm any of you... I just want to be honest with you. I don't drink human blood, so there is no reason to be afraid of me..."

  

[William Pendergast]

"Evidently," Will answered Rupert as he gathered up his thin, worn blanket and dirtied pillow to move further into the cave for precautionary purposes. No need to risk their lives when it was seemingly very much at stake. So far, his group had not faced any particularly dangerous subject, but Will was confident that the peace and serenity was bound to discontinue in some form of violent fashion. "However, it was his choice to sought out the source of the noise, and who are we to sway him when his mind is so firmly set?" Will was never this unreasonably harsh towards the wellbeing and safety of another human being, but his patience had been wearing thin since the strange and alerting roaring sound awoke him from his dreaming of the exotic woman and Miss Browne. The dreams were a source of pleasure for Will, and to be awoken so dramatically (and quite rudely in his frame of mind) caused him to become rather unpleasant and irritable.

However, it would seem that luck was intending to avoid him that night, and the repercussions of his foul mood towards others had presented itself in the form of accidentally slipping upon a bit of ice and greatly injuring his wrist. Damn!, Will cursed mentally as she grasped his injured wrist to his chest as his eyes watered from the sharp pain. Taking a sharp intake of breath, Will attempted to compose himself and resist the urge to curse quite appallingly as he uttered out between the clenched teeth, "It could have been worse. No need to be overly concerned, I believe."

A mere half hour later since Will's unfortunate accident, Marcus finally returned and informed the group that a Peruvian Vipertooth was nesting near the entrance of the cave, and that they would be unable to leave until morning. Will gazed at Rupert incredulously as he mentioned the desire to lay eyes upon the dragon egg. There was a deadly, venomous female dragon nesting near the entrance of their abode, and he wanted to go near the creature? It was unfathomable to Will, whom just quite yearned to be home and studying his music compositions rather than traipsing through the woods, no matter how appealing the rewards bestowed afterwards may be. "I would prefer to stay clear of the dragon. As Marcus has insinuated, this is a mother protecting her unborn child; maternal instinct, y'know?"

However, before Will could return to sleep and peacefully dream of his women, Marcus chose the moment to confess his true identity. Will just attempted to smile politely as he mentioned, "I knew there was something different about you from the beginning, but I just could not decipher just what it was; but now I am aware, and I will ease your mind by confessing that I know you will not harm us. If you truly did desire to harm one of us, you would have done so long before this moment." After slapping Marcus on the back in a friendly and accepting manner, Will glided towards a rock, laid his soiled pillow upon the surface and intended to sleep and dream until morning, his wrist having received no assistance in Will's haste to rest.

tag: Group #6 | outfit: A suit | notes: none

made by Emily exclusively for Charming

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER - ROUND 7
Your group decides to stay inside the cave for the evening in an attempt to hide out from the dragon. The shelter keeps you warm and out of the biting wind. In the morning, you venture outside into the snow. The only trouble is, the dragon decided to do the same thing. It catches sight of your group easily against the blanket of white snow in the background. Within seconds, the creature is roaring and flapping its wings - it throws itself at your group with alarming speed. The trouble with being so small, is that it's awfully quick too. You're near enough to the cave you spent the night in to run back inside, but you could also get trapped there. She's also small enough to fit inside of it quiet easily.

Round 8 begins June 10th

  

[Bentley Beauregard]

It seemed that Bentley was destined to be surrounded by all manner of different creatures lately. He supposed that wasn't a fair statement, but for a lack of a better term, creatures was what he came up with. First he found out his fiance was a werewolf, now he was learning Marcus was a vampire, which didn't startle him all that much, and now there was a dragon sharing their space. What else could he possibly deal with?

Perhaps he had learned from his mistake with Winnie on how to react when Marcus shared his news. In having gotten to know the guy over the last few weeks and spent plenty of time in his company, Bentley was not concerned about anybody's safety, in fact, having a vampire around could turn out to be handy.

The night went by uneventfully, but it was not to last evidently as the dragon spotted them and Bentley froze. "We should make a break for it." He said, brandishing his wand, though he wasn't sure what in the name of Merlin's beard he would do with it. Going back inside of the cave seemed like a death sentence, standing here to face the dragon wasn't a smart choice and though he wasn't sure they could outrun it, they may find a better hiding spot.

  

[Rupert Hamilton]

• Rupert knew Marcus was speaking logically when he advised against the egg-getting; he knew he was right and so didn't push the matter. What did catch him off-guard later was Marcus' confession. "A- a vampire?" He repeated, more surprised than anything. Like the other boys, he could not have spent these exhausting days with the guy and be prejudiced against him, never. He was more bewildered by the fact they hadn't realised. "Come to think of it, that does make sense..." He added to himself, now all of Marcus' behaviour clicking into place.
  
  The matter of the dragon the next morning hadn't gone away. Once they were outside in the open, they realised the dragon was too. Rupert couldn't bear to hide in the cave again, not when the dragon could just follow them straight in. "Agreed, getting out of here would be the best way," He seconded Bentley, already seeking out a path in which to flee with his panicked stare, but gripping his wand tightly nevertheless.

  

[William Pendergast]

The first thought soon after William awoke (his wrist was still very much injured, but at least it was wrapped and numbed by a charm to ease the pain) and he and his group's belongings were packed was, I cannot believe there is snow in the beginning of June. I suppose it is because of our current destination atop of a mountain, but it is a wild occurrence nonetheless. Despite the strangeness of the morning due to being surrounded by the whiteness of the snow, Will had to admit that he had never felt more well-rested since the beginning of the expedition, which was a little over four weeks ago. However pleasant the morning had been, Will was positive that it would soon discontinue.

And discontinue it did when he and his group discovered that the dragon apparently had the same intention of wandering out of the cave when they catch sight of its gleaming gold scales and voluminous yellow eyes. However, they were not subtle enough in their slow movements to resist attracting the dragon, and aforementioned voluminous yellow eyes suddenly swiveled towards his group, and Will froze, his own blue orbs boring into the dragon's unwilling to move for fear of the dragon intruding upon him and his group. Will soon realized that it had been seconds rather than minutes before any real action had taken place.

Within seconds, the dragon is suddenly flapping its wings wildly and roaring viciously as it sauntered forward to end their lives with alarming speed. No longer able to be cautious in his movements, Will's eyes widened in alarm as he yelled, "Move!" With that, Will ran back into the direction of the cave his group spent the night in, not even thinking of the consequences that could arise with such a rash and hasty decision. Not even deciphering the thought of how the dragon's following his group into the cave could trap them until she left once again to sought out food. The dragon was small enough for entrapment, after all.

tag: Group #6 | outfit: A suit | notes: Sorry if it's bad. I have a headache, and I need sleep soooo lol

made by Emily exclusively for Charming

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER ù ROUND 8
Half of your group decides to run away from the cave, while William and another decide to run inside of it. The dragon isn't sure who to follow and seems bewildered for a moment. However, the cave is nearer to it and it plunges inside. Rupert and Bentley are able to make it away safely, however William and Marcus aren't so lucky. The dragon roughs them up quite a bit, bites both of their wounded bodies once, releasing the venom. The two are able to find shelter where the dragon can't reach them, but the venom has begun to spread through their blood stream. She grows tired of not being able to reach them and leave the cave in search of food.

The others return and send for the Ministry immediately. They're taken to the hospital in order to have the venom removed - though it's possible that there might be permanent damage on their nervous systems and scar where they were bitten and scratched.

With only Rupert and Bentley left, your group heads southwest. As you travel further downward, the mountains become more forest than snow. Eventually, it's simply forest. On June 7th, your group comes upon a trio of young women. Beautiful, angelic-like and entirely ethereal in appearance. The two men are immediately putty in their hands. They speak seductively and invite your group to come explore the forest with them. You completely disagree and end up spending three days with them - completely unaware of the time passing - until another group happens to come upon you.

Luckily, this group has women who seem unaffected the by the beautiful trio's charm. They persuade (with difficulty) the men to continue on with them. Your group could inform the Ministry about the veela's presence and hopefully get permission to return home, or you could continue - which would mean climbing back up the mountains and heading due east.

Group 6 should now post in Group 16's thread. This thread will be closed.