[Forest] Almost Human [Troy Rigby]

[Selene Beaufort]

It was cold. Her breath billowed in great plumes of gray, rolling softly from her lips as she exhaled slowly. A small hand, her hand, snaked around her neck, rubbing tentatively at the purple smattering of colour there. It was an ugly bruise; with hints of yellowed green edging the outline of his hands. Not even an hours worth of bathing in cover-up would have lessened the severity even a little bit, and she hadn't tried. Didn't have anyone she knew around to hide it from. A point exhibited so effortlessly as she, foolishly, went outside, walking constantly by rows and rows of couples and groups of friends on their way to class or just sitting around. Wrapping her sweater tighter around her she held her head higher, realising suddenly it had been hanging, low and sullen. How did the hierarchy at this blasted place go again? Ah yes. If you demonstrated weakness, you got stepped on.. Ripped apart. Hogwarts was nothing more than her own home on a grander scale, with stone floors replacing wooden ones. And more people. She could barely get through class without having emotions and worries rotting her head, and more than once had she hurried to excuse herself. Two more years of this?

Gnawing softly on her bottom lip Selene stopped at the base of a large tree on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, though at the time she hadn't known the rules concerning the taboo's of entering it. Stumbling, her head drunk with emotion and lack of sleep, the Gryffindor pressed her hand to the bark, trying to steady herself as she rubbed her temples. "Whats.. Whats going on with me?" She murmured softly, voice flecked with anger, as she shook off the woozy feeling. This 'cold' was nothing, and it wasn't about to stop her from.. Well, doing what she had been doing before. Wandering aimlessly, perhaps. Convincing herself that she just needed to get more air--if that were humanly possible, that is--Selene began her ascent, wrapping her palms around branches and hoisting herself further up the tree. It would be calmer up there.. Clearer. It hadn't crossed her mind that very stupid things had happened when people climbed trees while temporarily incapacitated.

Nestling into a cranny wide enough for her back, she stretched her legs out on to the large branch, resting her head against the frost-peppered bark. Closing her eyes and sighing, Selene crossed her arms over her chest, basking in the silence. Seconds, minutes, hours ticked by; morning turned afternoon yet the chill remained, relentless. Her eyes hadn't opened once since they first closed, and her lips had faded from their pale pink to a cold blue. She couldn't go back down there, she'd get overwhelmed again, she was sure of it. Though this cold.. This was nothing, right?

Wind caused her to totter, but by then she had long drifted out of consciousness, leaves toying at the buttons of her jacket as she slumped to the side, her arms heavy as they dropped to dangle mid-air; her body followed suit. She was falling now, pretty little snowflakes scoring her cheeks like claws, the breeze winding its fingers into her hair and tearing madly. But Selene remained blissful and unaware of it all..

[troyrigby]

Since the previous week where branches from the trees to the forbidden forest kept whipping him as he tried to enter in midday, Troy had gone nowhere near the evil things. He still held the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that they weren’t offspring of the whomping willow but in fact that this odd magic that was happening around the castle had somehow spread to the forest too. Just the thought was enough to send a chill down the Hufflepuff’s spine, and giving a dramatic shiver he rubbed his hands together and blew into them as he continued his walk towards the forest.

The wind began blowing leaves into swirls of brown and red as the leaves began circling each other in mini tornados of foliage. Troy took a doubt take at them thinking that they might be trying to attack him like the branches had done beforehand. Troy gave them a small scowl and narrowed his eyes as he looked through the leaves and to the opening of the forest.

Staring deep into the mouth of the forest, even though it was pitch black in the afternoon there was something strangely spooky about the place and Troy was not the bravest of souls he got the heebie jeebies about it and he felt like running back to the castle but something told him to try and stand it, so he slid down the bark of a nearby tree and waited for the branches to start attacking him again.

The branches never came, and even when he had waited patiently for over an hour, nothing stirred. Sighing he stood up ready to leave before hearing cracking of branches and within a split second as he looked up, a falling body fell into his arms, the sudden weight shocking him and making him slide onto his bum and in the dirt once again under the tree.

The girl’s hair was blocking her face, and Troy was in confusion at a random body falling from the sky. He even looked up into the tree to see where she had fallen from. Looking back down at her lifeless body, he could still feel her breathing as he gently wiped away her hair from her pale face he found himself skipping a breath from how peaceful she looked and subtly beautiful she was. He was stuck, and he wasn’t sure exactly what to do with a body in his arms of a stranger, especially one with violet bruises in the shape of a hand around her neck.

[Selene Beaufort]

Warmth, in the guise of two arms wrapped around her, slowly trickled into her system; and the blue tinge was soon dabbed daintily from her lips as the blood flow increased. Breath rushed into her lungs, but she didn't want to open her eyes, not now. Out there it was bright and harsh and blinding, but here? Black, and warm, and comforting. You're weak. A voice from her memories spat, and she tightened her eyes, murmuring softly. "Five more.. Minutes.." She whispered, curling closer to the man whose arms were around her. Waaaaaiiit a second.. Who the hell--? Selene thought, and realization struck: someone was holding her. Her eyes flew open and she leaped from the person's arms, on her feet almost instantly. "Who.." She accused with a slight frown, staggering as blood rushed to her head and her knees buckled. She was surprised, however, when she didn't hit the ground. The stranger had her in his arms again, and it would be a while before her limbs started working again. Damn.

Grinding her teeth together audibly, Selene tensed, imitating a stone statue in the courtyard as she froze away from his touch. "Not to diss your hobby, but cuddling with unconscious bodies is highly frowned upon." The Gryffindor shot smoothly, a biting edge to her calm voice. Though he had saved her from smashing her face against the ground, he still hadn't the right to hug her in his lap like that. Then again, maybe he was trying to heat her up? At least he wasn't trying to mack on her dead body. Now that would cause a severe drop in brownie points. "Who are you, and why am I not in the tree anymore?" Shivering noticeably, she tried standing up by herself, to no prevail. Her calves wobbled, and she collapsed to him once again.