Searching ((open))

[Gregory Greenwich]

If Gregory's calculations were correct the one they hunted would be in this very forest. Staring around eyes rather wide and startled in fright Greg moved ever so cautiously through the forest, picking his way through the undergrowth wary of crunching brittle sticks and leaves, bone dry from the lack of rain in this god-forsaken forest. The darkness was so complete his spell barely peirced ten metres ahead of him.

Scowering the ground he knelt sniffing the dirt like a dog, he was famed for his acuteness of smell, he wasn't nicknamed Snuffly for nothing. Mere minutes ago a figure had raced through this undergrowth, followed closely on the heels by another, and it was just those heels that gave her away; his esteemed mentor Quinn Locksley, trust her to be many steps ahead of him. Crouching low he ducked branches moving at a steady pace keeping the tracks in clear view. Grimacing at each unearthly noise erupting around him, he nigh cowered upon the ground in fright, but summoned up his measly dregs of courage and put on foot in front of the other, carrying him onwards; his goal was nearly in sight and her goal (jail)if he somehow succeeded.

Though skilled in the art of tracking a foe, actually defeating them was another matter entirely, and this foe was more than able at both, frankly he was quite petrified of her, but his duty instilled a sense of necessity to bring her in. None of his colleagues would rest until she was behind bars, so neither would he.

With thoughts of the deep dark forest ever present in his mind and the rumours he had heard tell of it he gulped down a ragged breath. As nightly noises assailed his sensitive ears he cowered still further, nigh creeping upon the very ground darting scared looks all around.

But then he came to a clearing up ahead and the noises of a battle reached his ears, piercing through the nightly noises. With fear gripping his heart he obeyed the commanding voice inside his head; of his old instructor in the art of duelling and such forms, by ceasing his creation of light spell.
Pitch darkness consuming his form he crept onwards poking his head through a bush. To see him one would think it quite comical a short youth's head with deathly white features poking his head through a hedge, yet one would have to be in the same place of horrors and your own fear would be nearly so conquering.

Peering ahead he heard a deafening cry of "Stupefy!" Thinking the spell was aimed at him he conciously ducked, stumbling back through his hedge. Fear constricting hsi throat he realised as he lay cowering that the spell had missed.

Presently hearing further noises he sniffed and the realisation hit him; the spell hadn't been aimed his way. Risking a peek back into the clearing he stealthy moved into the bush once more, just in time to see his own mentor suddenly lying constricted upon the ground.

Letting out a low gasp, barely stopping a full throated scream erupting he lay in fear, how was he supposed to deal with her? A person he respected and admired extremely was bound with apparent ease. Thankfully he was saved from a difficult decision by De Conti moving swiftly onwards.

Waiting moments longer he berated himself inwardly, why hadn't he struck? Fear, the all paralysing fear that lead to all his training flying out of the window when faced with danger. Eventually after many moments making sure the area was clear he crawled out from his hiding place. Dusting himself off and trying to stop the rising bile in his throat he stumbled over to his mentor.

"Miss Locksley!" He cried in terror "what can I do?" The obvious thought of uttering the counter-curse failed to enter the lad's panic striken mind as he gaped down, crouching by her side he waited for his instructions, finding himself incapable of using his own initiative.

[Gabriella De Conti]

Gabriella heard a cry, a distinct one at that.

"Miss Locksley!"

She growled and quickened her pace. She was a fool to not notice that someone, a young man by the sound of it, had been watching. Even she could certainly not take the two of them by herself; even if the boy was obviously young and inexperienced. To shout out on any occasion would certainly mean bringing mroe danger and foes upon yourself. She smirked hoping that the gameskeeper or a centaur would be led towards them because of it.

She had no desire to be caught so quickly after their last fight. Granted, with the pace she was keeping now the likelyhood they would actually catch her was unlikely. She quickened her pace once more, she was in her lieu, she had always been athletic and a strong runner. It had worked as not only a workout in Hogwarts years but also as a stress reliever. She smiled as she felt her body and mind relax almost immediately. The familiar ache of her muscles was a joy to her and she grinned and pushed onward as the forest became denser and lighter. She put in another burst of speed like the one at the end of a marathon; she needed to get out of that forest now.

[Gregory Greenwich]

With thankfully only sharp ears and no sharp mouth to boot Gregory picked up the sounds of retreating footstps haring off at a good pace. Should he go after them? He knew his duty was to take her down, but he also knew he lacked the capability to manage such an act. Where his esteemed mentor failed he wouldn't stand a chance.

Thoughts slipping through his mind like butter he struggled to find a suitable option for the current frightening cirumstance. What would Locksley herself do? Enact the counter-curse of course. Slapping his forehead in frustration having squandered vital seconds he muttered the counter-curse, stumbling once upon the words and having to try once more. Now he was in for her pure and unabated wrath and fury, which would be increibly violent due to her present situation of failing to catch the villian. Knowledge that she would be in an increasingly foul temper constricted Greg's throat still further, but in times of need a small voice inside his head took control and produced sound advice.

Listening intently he quickly surveyed the surroundings, making swift calculations and noticing the merest difference in a blade of grass he stumbled to his feet pointing with a wavering hand to the direction the escapee had fled.
"Sh..she we..went that way mi'lady." He said in a quavering voice fearing the lash of her viper's tongue.

Though he acted in such a fearful fashion he was nonetheless quietly confident in his abilities as a tracker, he was in fact famed for it, being modest he would never truly admit the extent to his qualities he was without doubt one the finest the Ministry had to offer at tracking down a criminal; it was the taking them in where he fell to pieces. Inevitably this constricted his career opportunities, but with careful tutoring he would improve. Offering a shaking hand to help up his superior he tried to smooth out his clearly terrified features.

Setting his mind upon the task at hand the faintest glimmer of a smile fled across his lips, he knew for a fact they would meet again, but would his courage fail him so completely next time?

[Gabriella De Conti]

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Hogwarts castle come into view. If she wasn't in such a hurry she might've stopped to enjoy the view. Hogwarts at sunrise was a beautiful thing to behold. When she had attended the school it had been a particular joy of hers; at least when the sunrises weren't at 5:00. She smiled as she ran for the Hogwarts gates, ready to apparate once she stepped off the school grounds.

She allowed herself an arrogant smirk at having escaped the ministry clutches once again. No doubt, she would have others on her tail now, the boy was inexperienced but with with Quinn as his mentor he would doubtless become stronger at a quick rate. She frowned slightly at the thought, she could barely go out in public anymore.

She sprinted across the field as soon as she reached the edge of the forest. Her goal was now in sight and she was glad. The long run was starting to take a toll on her, her legs were burning and her breath wsa becoming shorter with each stride. It was of no matter now, they would not catch her again today even if they had managed to correctly guess her trail. The boy who had doubtless watched his mentor's and her duel but had been too afraid to make himself known before she was out of sight, even when she had no idea of his presence. It would've been a good ambush oppurtunity. That thought provided her with some hope, he was too naive at the moment to truly know the horrors of this war and the negative consequences. Right now, he could not kill anyone.

She smiled as she reached the gate and climbed over top of it with large amounts of difficulty. She would definitely need a hot bath after this workout. She smiled as she apparated out of there with a pop.

((Hey Greggory want to have some sort of confrontation between these two characters...it'd help develop them...and I also need something for Gabriella to do...lol))

[Quinn Locksley]

Quinn lay on her back, a stump digging into her back but she couldn't do anything about it. She controlled her breathing and tried to think. She looked around as best as she could, trying to see where the stupid wench went. She was fuming; her inability to do anything but watch her prey get away was as uncomfortable and infuriating as her inability to take the root out of her back. She could have kicked herself, would have if she could have. But the most infuriating thing was she couldn't, she could do nothing but blink.

Then she heard footsteps, she whirled her eyes around, looking for the source. She didn't have to search for long, in fact the source came to stand over her. It was her apprentice, Gregory Greenwich. She tried to scream at him to counter curse her, so she could get after the rogue.

The silly boy seemed to want to go after the rogue himself. She screamed at him, screamed obscenities but of course nothing came out. Just counter the curse, already she thought. She would have cursed him if she could have. She would have smacked her head on the ground too if she could have just out of frustration. And low and behold, he did.

He muttered something, but Quinn didn't hear it. She was too busy care about his pathetic mumblings. She gave an angry cry and grabbed his throat, pinning him to the floor. "You let her get away, you insignificant wretch!" she spat at him, pushing hard on his throat. But this brash action did not satisfy. Giving another cry of exasperation she put a hand to his face and pushed his head into the ground as she stood up.

She kicked the blasted root that had been in her back. She looked down at the boy, a deep and abiding hatred burning into his face, "get off your feet, fool, and tell me, which way did she go?" He didn't move fast enough for her. She leaned down and grabbed his collar. She pulled him up, spun him around and pushing him against a tree. She pushed him up it with her forearm under his chin. "When I say move boy, you move," she roared, "do I make myself clear? You are wasting time, now show me where she went." She stepped back and unceremoniously dropped the boy to the floor.

[Gregory Greenwich]

Greg had anticipated some bad bad remarks to be flung his way, but those coupled with the physical assault he barely endured where enough to leave him rather dazed and confused. In some pain too as his mentor really did pack a punch, especially with such hatred and annoyance cursing through her veins. Of course he deserved all he got so only emitted a few cires of pain and shock that he couldn't stop escaping.

Crumpling to the floor once more his head aching Greg looked up at Quinn with bleary tear stricken eyes; he had failed her, she'd never give him one ounce of respect or even kindness again. Hopes of his career somehow moving forwards were dashed.

Absorbing all the blows both phsyical and mental to help him in the future, even when angered she gave good advice; move quicker, that's the key.
"er..sh.sh...sh...she went, th..that way. Ma'rm." He managed to splutter out in between ragged breaths and fierce stutterings, pointing with an even shakier arm in the direction that the villain had fled. Lying prone on the floor he wondered if he should wait until she allowed him to rise, but their objective was to catch the criminal, and catch her quickly.

Stumbling to his feet, he remained low to the ground, dog like he began to lead the way, studying the trail with a seasoned experienced eye, and moving swiftly onwards. But he didn't dare speak a word to Quinn, her eyes blazed full of unabated hatred, anything he said or did would bring her fury crashing down upon him once again. Whimpering he moved off, this job was so strangely scary.

[Quinn Locksley]

Had she not just instructed him to move faster? was all that went through her mind. She stared a hole into the top of his head but resisted the urge to swat him. She had acted rashly and she knew from experience that that would get you into trouble.

Waiting for a moment, she watched him in sadistic amusement. How he coward in front of her, how his fear was etched onto his face and as clear as the coming dawn. Gabriella had already reached the Hogwarts gate and appearated, Quinn knew this for sure, but thought she would make the most of the destroyed evening.

Walking up behind Gregory very quickly, while he was still crouched low, Quinn hooked a forefinger into his belt and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him up straight. "Never do that again," she ordered, "do you know how stupid you look? And stop being so frightened, even that bush could tell you’re about to wet yourself.” She pointed to a bush with a loose fling of the hand.

“Your outwards appearance must always be closed and hard; never let them see you flinch. Stand up straight,” she barked, pushing his shoulders back, “steady your shifty eyes and keep your hand steady." She hoped that that was not too much information for this slow child to handle but hoped that he would be able to hide any doubt from her.