It had been about a week since she'd stopped texting Peter, it was to her surprise that he'd actually stayed gone for that long of a period of time. Sure, it would have been selfish of Gwen to admit that she expected to hear from him after she'd kicked him out, boxes left outside of the door as promised, but she honestly hadn't expected complete silence. Not about to be caught not sticking to her guns, things had been tricky for them ever since that night they'd snuck into the lab, finding out later that he'd messed with the one thing neither of them knew much about. Almost positive that the change in Peter's behavior had something to do with it, that didn't mean that she was capable of sticking around while he continued to treat her like garbage. Still with the sample of his blood, still having studied into it further, she'd yet to figure out how to unbound whatever it was from his blood cells, and that was just with the small amount she had. Who knew what was going on in there really, not having seen him in person.
Taking one of her classmates up on a study session, thinking that it would be something to take her mind off of things, Gwen had met up with the boy at a cafe in the small town close to campus. Books scattered across the table close to the window, laughing at something that had been said, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. What a nice change of pace.
"Okay, okay. What state is west of Virginia?" Tobin asked, smirking in amusement at Kris as a frown crinkled at her face. They'd been sitting out on the pool deck testing each other back and forth for the last half an hour and neither of them were proving to be very talented at geography in the least.
Shaking her head, Kris had to take a few minutes to think. Honestly, she didn't know why she was this terrible at geography, but apparently she was. Even with all the travel she did, she was just bad. "Maine. It's Maine," Kris announced, grinning at her answer as she looked up towards Tobin. From across the pool deck, they both heard Ashlyn burst into laughter, guffawing loudly at the two of them.
"West Virginia, Morgs," Ashlyn yelled across the pool, shaking her head at them. With a frown, Kris looked back towards Tobin with a pleading look. Obviously that couldn't be right and it was definitely Maine.
Shrugging her shoulders, Tobin could do no more than agree with Ash on that one. "Definitely West Virginia. Maine is like in the corner, right?" Tobin asked, pulling a face as she spoke. She wasn't much better than Kris was, that was for sure.
"Mmph. I didn't know we even had a West Virginia," Kris admitted, shaking her head. That made no sense. Why would you have more than one Virginia? "Okay, okay. What is...the capital of Tennessee?" Kris may not have known geography, but she could totally do capitals. Maybe.
Grimacing, Tobin shook her head, not sure of the answer. "Ahh, it's Tallahassee right?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Again, they heard Ashlyn burst out into laughter before a loud splash muted her. Looking up from the books in front of them, Tobin and Kris started to crack up, watching as Ashlyn flailed about in the pool. Somehow, she'd managed to roll off the chair in her laughter and right into the pool.
Doubled over and gasping for air, Kris felt something barrel into her side and knock her over further. "Kris! Kris! Kris! Kris!" Riley's voice chanted as the girl sat on top of her, followed quite closely by Reece Rampone. With the two girls crawling over her and giggling, Kris got back up, wrapping her arms around the two before pulling them into a hug.
"And what are you two rascals up to? Where's your mum?" Kris asked, flicking Riley's nose with a soft smile. If there was anything that could bring a smile to her face, it certainly could be these two kids. Reece grabbed onto Kris's side, clinging to her as she nestled her head under Kris's arm. Riley stayed seated in her lap, looking up at her with a toothy grin.
Riley poked at Kris's stomach, laughing every time she felt the recoil of Kris's abs. "We're bored, mom is sleeping, take us somewhere!" Riley said, nodding eagerly. Somehow, the two must have escaped from their room with Captain asleep and come to find her. Shaking her head, Kris could tell these two would be in more detentions than she and Colleen in the future.
Ruffling Riley's hair a bit, Kris leaned back, letting the girls have their fun. "Well, alright. Where do you want to go?" Kris asked, her face crumpling up when Reece licked her elbow. Both Reece and Riley, along with Tobin, found that absurdly hilarious, and they all started laughing again as Kris wiped her elbow off on Tobin's knee.
"Pudding! Pudding!" Reece shouted, tugging on Kris's shirt as Riley started to eagerly chant along with Reece. Kris was technically not supposed to be near pudding that afternoon, per Dawn's orders, but it couldn't hurt to take the kids down to the kitchen for something to eat. They were little, they could have pudding, and obviously they could share with her.
Rolling up to her feet, Kris lifted the two kids up with her, both of them yelling excitedly and giggling as they were hefted up into the air. Reece settled up on her shoulders, grabbing onto Kris's neck as Riley scrambled back down to the ground. Grabbing onto Kris's hand, Riley started to lead her back into the hotel and off to the kitchens.
It didn't take long to get there and Kris helped sneak the girls into the kitchen as she grabbed them both pudding cups. Reece opened hers, quickly splattering pudding all over herself and Kris's face. Riley was slightly more cleanly, only managing to give herself a pudding mustache. Kris chuckled a bit, shaking her head at the two girls in front of her. They were perfect and she couldn't have loved them more.
Finding a napkin, Kris wiped her own face off before reaching over to start cleaning off the two kids. Riley cooperated, but Reece took off, running out of the kitchen to escape the wet napkin. However, she didn't make it far and ran right into the waiting body of Dawn Scott. Dawn picked the girl up, holding her hostage as she squealed in delight. To Reece, it was all fun and games, but Kris knew better.
Without even saying anything, Dawn motioned for Kris and Riley to follow her and, of course, they quickly did as they were bade. Dawn put Reece and Riley back into their room with Captain before turning on Kris. "Detention, Morgan," she said simply, shaking her head at the younger woman.
"I didn't have any! Honest!" Kris retorted, sighing and frowning at Dawn. Clearly, Dawn didn't believe her one bit and Kris started to trudge towards the detention room. The door behind them opened again and Reece and Riley came streaking out, grabbing onto each of Dawn's legs.
"Run Kris! We've got her!" Riley yelled, meriting a grin from Dawn and Kris. Dawn shook her head, waving her hand a bit. "Only this once, Kristal Morgan. You can go."
With a raucous cheer, Reece and Riley let go of Dawn, running and leaping into Kris's arms. Kris planted a quick kiss on each of their foreheads, holding them tightly. "Thanks guys. You're the best," she said, bending down so that she was at their height.
Reece and Riley both nodded eagerly, kissing Kris's cheeks and returning her hug. "We love you, Kris. Thanks for taking us out," Riley said, nodding once before sprinting back to her room with Reece in tow. Sometimes they were exactly what Kris needed to brighten up her day.
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Having apparated a good bit away from the location of the Obscura base, Ari was in the middle of a forest, getting her sense of direction about her. It would have been nonsensical to just apparate straight to the middle of the abandoned castle, as there were likely to be wards placed up all around the perimeter, so she had to be careful, move slowly. Ari wanted nothing more than to barge straight in and rip the castle down to find her father, but she knew better. This was one of those times where she had to channel the wolf side of her, stalk her prey slowly, calculate her every move.
Trekking through the forest was easy for Ari, even if it was pitch dark all around her. Her eyesight was heightened by the werewolf DNA inside her and it was little effort for her to make her way across the expanse of the area, quickly nearing to the castle in question. As far as she knew, it was the only Obscura base in Hungary and it was definitely the one that her father had been asked to infiltrate. She wasn't sure how many people were inside, if her father was even there anymore, any number of things, but she knew enough to warrant the attack in her mind. It wasn't the best plan in the world and she knew it would be dangerous, but she didn't care. There wasn't time to be wasted, she had to act fast.
The closer she got to her destination, the more Ari could feel the thrum of magic in the air. Magical barriers and wards were up all around, there was little chance of simply sneaking in. Ari's only hope was that she could cast a few quick spells of her own to get her through the wards undetected, giving her at least a few minutes before the Obscura were on her. Crouching down in the woods, Ari pulled out her wand, casting a charm that would make visible any hidden spells that could trip if she touched them. As she had expected, there was a shielding charm around the castle which would alert the Obscura to any intruders the moment they stepped into the bubble. Other than that, however, there was nothing.
Though the castle wasn't in the most defensible position, it was in one of the most remote locations they could have found. Quite honestly, unless you knew it was there, you probably weren't going to stumble upon it. Extensive magical barriers would simply be an unnecessary hassle, but that worked to Ari's benefit. This spell, she was at least confident she could get past it. Murmuring the counter-charms under her breath, Ari felt a sharp coldness surge through her body, the effects taking over immediately. That should give her a few minutes to get into the castle without them knowing and then it was all up in the air from there. Whatever happened, happened, and Ari was content to deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.
With a last shaky breath, Ari darted across the barrier, closing her eyes for just a moment. Nothing seemed to happen, though she wasn't about to let her guard down just for that. There was no telling what else they could have in place to alert them to intruders, Ari knew that, but she had to keep going. Rolling her wand between her fingers, Ari remained in a crouch as she neared the castle, sticking to the shadows to make it less likely they would notice her approach. From where she was, Ari couldn't see anyone, meaning they were all still inside the castle. At least, she certainly hoped that was the case.
To be perfectly honest, Ari had no idea how she was going to proceed from there. Barging in through one of the doors didn't seem quite so sensible, but there wasn't much else she could do unless she wanted to tear the entire castle down. Gouging out handholds in the wall of the castle with her wand, Ari started to scale it, moving slowly but surely up to the battlements. Hefting her body up and over, Ari crouched down, keeping herself low as her eyes scanned the area. Below in the castle grounds, there were a few Obscura members milling about, but no one seemed to be up on the battlements with her. They were all completely calm, seemingly unaware of her presence there. This was the best that she could hope for as she scoped things out.
Remaining low on the top of the castle, Ari started to creep to a better vantage point, not sure what she was hoping to spot. It was highly unlikely they would have her dad just wandering about freely, but perhaps the people down below could give her some indication as to where prisoners were held. That seemed like the best place to look for her father, if anywhere. Watching silently from her location up top, Ari spotted two men dragging a woman between them. The woman was passed out, blood dripping from various wounds on her body. She was with the Order, she was an ally, and they had her. Instinctively, Ari leaned forward, watching intently as they dragged the woman across the expanse, stopping to take her down a flight of stairs. That was where Ari needed to go. Somehow.
Her wand at the ready, Ari cast a disillusionment charm along her body, shivering at the feeling of it. It would last long enough for her to get across to the staircase she needed to go down, she hoped, but after that she knew it would likely start to fade. She would have to fight her way out of this castle at some point and though it was a dangerous and perhaps fatal decision, Ari knew she was going to do it. She'd come this far and fear wasn't going to turn her back now. Dropping to the ground below her with a soft thud, Ari was quick on her feet as she picked her way as carefully as she could across the area. Ari was nimble on her feet, she always had been, but the added reflexes from being a werewolf made it that much easier to cross the middle of the castle with no trouble at all.
With her back pressed against the wall, Ari waited, watching the staircase next to her anxiously. She couldn't just go down there, for fear of bumping into someone, so she had to watch and wait for the perfect opportunity. Though there was some activity elsewhere in the castle, this particular stairwell seemed quite barren, giving her hope that it was exactly what she was looking for. There was no need for a steady stream of people through the jail cells, making this a logical place for her to check first.
As someone started to come towards the stairwell, Ari slowed her breathing, trying her best to remain as silent and undetectable as possible. The man started down the stairs and Ari quickly fell in behind him, letting him lead the way through the maze of tunnels as they descended further into the depths of the castle. The further down into the tunnel the got, the more Ari could feel a sense of dread building in the pit of her stomach. There were screams, cries of pain, and worst of all the steady weeping of a young woman echoing through the walls. If she was going to find a prisoner of war, this would be the spot.
The man in front of her stopped suddenly, forcing Ari to catch herself before she ran into him. Turning, the man opened a door, striding into a room, with Ari slipping in past him as the door slowly came to a shut. The room was fairly small, with little ornamenting the area. All that Ari could see was a small chair in the center of the room and the red stains of blood throughout the room. Nothing good could possibly have gone on in this room and just the thought of it made Ari queasy. She had a lot of bravado about her desire to fight and kill, but this wasn't right to her. The torture that inevitably occurred in this room would never be something Ari could be even remotely okay with. She may have been a monster, but she certainly wasn't evil.
Ari moved across the room, crouching herself down in a corner, her wand drawn and at the ready. She wasn't sure what she was planning on doing next, but as the door swung open again, her mind was set. A man came into the room, a young woman in his grasp. The two men chained her to the seat in the middle of the room, flicking their wands a few times to place spells on her to ensure that she didn't move.
"Now, you're going to tell us where they are, or we'll do you just like your friend,” one of the men said. His voice was deep, angry, and vehement. It was obvious that he'd dealt with this woman before and that she had proven to be quite troublesome to whatever ends it was he was trying to achieve. The woman, however, simply remained silent, looking on at the man with a steely determination.
Almost as if he had been hoping for such a response, a sadistic smile rose on the man's face, further marring his features as the lines of his face contorted. “Much as we'd assumed, then,” he shrugged, hardly even sparing a second glance as his hand flew forward, smacking the woman across the face. The impact made a harsh, resounding crack and immediately Ari could smell the bitter, metallic smell of blood pervade the room. It was nearing the full moon and just the smell brought further anger out in the young werewolf. She couldn't just sit here and watch this, that wouldn't be right.
Without hesitating a moment, Ari darted upwards, slashing her wand through the air as she murmured a string of curses. Not expecting the attack, the two men went down immediately, knocked out by Ari's spells. However, it also meant that her disillusionment charm dissipated, leaving her at the mercy of anyone that came upon her. Rushing forward, Ari stooped down next to the woman, countering the charms in place and helping her back to her feet.
“You...you're...with...us?” the woman asked, hesitating with every word. It was clear that she didn't trust Ari, despite the fact that she had essentially just saved her life. Ari nodded once, not saying much else. Further noise could simply alert the rest of the Obscura in the area and that was the last thing she wanted right now. “There's no way out of here. Not a safe one, anyway,” the woman added, rather morosely. Clearly, she didn't have any hope of getting out, but Ari wasn't about to just lay down and die. First, she would get this woman to safety, and then she would find her father.
“Yeah, well, no time for doubting it. Take one of their wands, stay close, and don't do anything stupid,” Ari commanded, giving out instructions as she started towards the door. Though the woman's eyes furrowed, as if she were going to protest, she did as Ari bade her and silently fell in behind the woman. Pushing the door open slowly, Ari poked her head out, looking left and right before exiting. No one else appeared to be in the area with them, making it fairly easy to go right back out the way she had come into the dungeon.
The woman remained right behind her, following closely alongside Ari as they crept up the staircase. Keeping low, Ari made sure to pay close attention to every sound and scent around her, tracking anyone that came close enough for her to notice. There were only a few people near the top of the stairwell, at least as far as she could tell, so Ari was confident that she could help the other woman out before making her way back down to the dungeons. Waiting at the top of the stairs, Ari kept her attention on alert until there was a safe moment to move. Motioning for the woman to follow, Ari sprinted to a spot that was mostly covered, pulling the woman down with her behind the obstruction.
With her wand, Ari started to make footholds in the wall, hoping the other woman would be able to climb at a moments notice. "You should be able to get up and over, then just...get the hell away from here. You can't apparate from in here, but get a bit out into the woods and you'll be fine. On my signal, yeah?" Ari explained, whispering rapidly as the other woman nodded along. Turning back around, Ari observed the people moving in and out, waiting until no one was paying attention. Nodding once towards the woman, Ari motioned for her to quickly leave.
"Thank you...I...you saved my life, so thank you," the woman said, saying nothing more before she started to climb. Ari kept a steady watch on both her and the area behind them, ready to jump into action the second anything threatened to stop the woman. This was simply adding to the potential dangers on Ari's end, but she didn't care. This wasn't something Ari could stand for and if she had the ability to save people, she knew that she had to try.
It wasn't until the woman was near the top of the castle that the shout of alarm sounded. Immediately, Ari flung a spell at the man, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying into the wall behind him. The woman above her finished her climb, taking off and leaving Ari to deal with the mess behind her. Obscura members were coming to attention, though there were far fewer of them than Ari had originally expected; a fact which she was more than thankful for.
Their spells started flying over her head and Ari took off running, back down to the dungeons. She could deal with them far easier from there, funneling them into the stairwell, not to mention it would give her time to find her father. That, more than anything, was what she needed. As long as she found him, she could get out of there and avoid the trouble of the Obscura members that were hot on her trail. As she was sprinting forward down the hallway, Ari felt something grab onto her hand and pull her into a room. Struggling against the grip, Ari tore away from it, crossing the room and turning quickly with her wand pointed at the man.
"Well, well. This was an unexpected surprise, Miss Solo," the man said, closing and locking the door behind them as he started to stalk towards her, a cruel, unyielding look on his face. Tutting softly, the man leaned against the wall, crossing his arms for a moment. "You know, I never imagined you'd simply give yourself up to me. I was anticipating much more effort, really." The man continued speaking, slowly inching his way closer towards Ari.
Not about to be caught off guard, Ari circled the man slowly, not dropping her wand for a moment. "Who the fuck are you?" she growled, an unfriendly expression settled on her face. She didn't know the man, she'd never seen her in her life, yet somehow he knew her and although she could understand it to a point, given her fame, it was more than that. It was something much deeper and it worried Ari to no end.
Tilting his head, the man gave her an almost sympathetic look before his lips curled up into another smirk. "I was well acquainted with your father," the man said, his eyebrows shooting upward when he noticed the reaction from Ari. Though Ari was doing her best to keep her face neutral and emotionless, the mention of her father caused her to drop her guard for just a moment. That was what she was here and this man in front of her was the key to figuring out where her father was.
Swallowing down the urge to blow up on the man immediately, Ari breathed deeply to attempt keeping her cool. Though, with Ari, keeping her cool wasn't exactly the most calm of things, even at her best. "Where is he? I'll rip you apart if you don't fucking tell me," she said simply, the glare in her eyes deepening with every passing second. This asshole was toying with her, playing with her emotions and attempting to rattle her. Ari knew that she couldn't let that happen. She was dealing with dangerous people, people that could kill her quite easily, and taking that lightly would send her straight to the grave if she wasn't careful.
The man's head tipped back, laughing heartily before he looked back at Ari, shaking his head. "It's almost a shame that I'm going to have to kill you. You have some fire to you," the man sneered, a lamenting tone to his voice. Ari knew this type of person well. He was heartless, there would be no mercy from this man. If he wanted her dead, he would do it, but he would torture her before he went through with it and Ari had to be prepared for that. She was confident enough that she could best him in a duel, but there was no telling what shady things the man would have up his sleeve.
Not responding, Ari simply maintained her position, waiting for him to answer her question. She wasn't going to let him toy with her, she didn't have time for that. She needed to find her father and get the hell out of there. "You look like you'll scream just as loud as he did while I was gutting him. But, you have a prettier face, a much prettier face," the man continued, his eyes lighting up when he saw the color draining from Ari's face.
Her father was dead, killed by the man in front of her. There was no great ceremony, no big reveal, just a casual, brutal, mention of the pain the man had suffered. After years of searching for her father, it all ended here. In an old, abandoned castle in Hungary with a sadistic, twisted man, her quest was over. For a moment, Ari almost felt all of the fight being sucked out of her. Everything she was here for, everything she was trying to accomplish, it was to no avail. Her father had been dead the entire time and there was nothing that she could do to save him.
"Such a pretty face. It's been a long time since someone like you has been around here. Really, you'll thank me when I'm done fucking you before I kill you. I'll make sure of it. I want to hear you beg," the man added, knowing full well that he was starting to get to Ari. He was breaking her down mentally and he was hoping that he had rattled her enough to make this an easy win. But, Ari had other plans. The rage that she had to fight to keep under control day in and day out had bubbled over, taking control of her mind. It was as if she were being blinded by the werewolf side of her and nothing was in her mind aside from the intense urge to kill this man. He had taken her father away from her and she was going to get her revenge, no matter how she had to do it.
Done listening to the man talk, Ari whipped her wand through the air, yelling curses as she twisted her wand this way and that. The sudden change caught the man off guard and he took a spell to the arm before dropping to avoid the others. Almost as quickly, the man recovered, flinging spells from his own wand towards Ari. Growling irritably as she felt her arm singed by a dark fireball, Ari threw up a shield before she started moving forward. If this man was going to torture her father and threaten to torture her, she would kill him slowly, painfully, and brutally.
Jumping out of the way of another spell, Ari rolled to her feet again, lashing out with another curse, which the man deflected narrowly and spun back around. "I told your father that I'd kill everything he'd ever loved and I'll do the same to you, Ariella Solo," he commented, stooping below a table to avoid another curse from the woman. Blasting the desk forward towards Ari, the woman barely jumped out of the way as it crashed into the wall, sending shards of wood into her back. With a grunt of pain, Ari faltered for just a moment, giving the man an opening.
With a roar, he sent a quick sectumsempra spell towards her, slicing into her arm. The spell cut through muscle and bone, leaving her arm hanging useless at her side, barely hanging onto her body as the warm blood started to spurt out of her. Switching her wand to her other hand, Ari threw up a shield, taking the few moments of protection to at least assuage the bleeding in her arm. She didn't have time to fix it, but she could make it so that she could continue fighting for now. There would be time later to be concerned with the injuries.
"Perhaps family from back home? Friends from Hogwarts? I'd imagine you're close to some of the professors there, maybe even some of the students," the man continued, letting Ari fix her arm as he continued to talk. He knew that he had her, he wasn't worried. He could talk as long as he wanted, say anything he wanted, and it wouldn't matter because she was his. There was nothing she could do about it, she was done for and the man knew it. At that point, he was just toying with her, making a game of it, just like he'd done with her father. They couldn't best him, so he would take his time, draw it out, cause them unimaginable pain before they started to beg him to kill them. And then he would torture them more.
Ari remained silent, not saying anything as he continued speaking. Her breaths were coming heavily, the blood loss quickly draining her, despite her temporary fix. The wound was bad, potentially fatal, but Ari couldn't really stop to heal herself right now. She had to fight on, even if it killed her. The man's smile grew, not minding the time it was taking to wear Ari down. "Mm, you look like you'd be close to a blonde, I'd bet. A Hufflepuff, even. That's what I would bet," he finished, his eyes glimmering with a gleeful amusement. He had Ari right where he wanted her. Physically abused, emotionally broken, and ready to accept her fate.
However, the man completely underestimated the woman. She could take a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, and still press on. Though she was wearing down, the alluding reference to Becca was all it took to spark the fire in her again. Whatever it was she was dealing with right now, it didn't matter, she could make it out, she had to. They knew about Becca somehow and that was more than enough to bring out every last bit of anger and determination Ari had. If not for herself, she was going to get out of here to protect Becca and stop these assholes from hurting anyone else that she cared about. They may have taken her father, but that was the last thing they would get from her.
Not pausing for a second more, Ari swiveled her wand back and then forth, pointing straight at the man before yelling out the final curse. As the killing curse rippled through the air, the man could do nothing more than widen his eyes before it struck him in the chest, sending him flying backward at the wall. With a loud crunch, his body broke, shattering the bones as it fell to the floor. But, Ari wasn't done with him. She may not have been able to draw out the pain the man felt while he was living, but she could send the Obscura a message. They'd done it themselves plenty at Hogwarts, now it was her turn. If she could strike even a tinge of worry and fear in the Obscura, she would feel as if she had done her duty. They needed to know that people weren't just going to roll over and let them have their way with things. They needed to know people would fight back.
With her wand, Ari lifted the man's body, wrapping ropes around his arms before hanging him from the hooks in the wall that were meant for hanging torches. Emotionless, Ari used her wand to carve into the man's body, leaving three large gashes across his entire frame. It was a crude attempt at a claw-mark, but it would suffice. Ari was making her mark, letting them know she would strike again. Blood dripped from the body, leaving a deep, red stain all around the floor under where the man hung. If these people were going to hurt her family, she would make sure that they suffered.
Despite the brutality of the scene in front of her, it wasn't enough for Ari. There needed to be more, the Obscura needed to get the message. Stepping forward, Ari dug her hand into one of the deeper wounds, covering her hand in the blood of the man hanging from the wall. Ari started to smear the blood across the wall, writing out a gruesomely finger-painted message to the Obscura. She was done playing around about the issue, done stepping back to let other people make decisions, and done accepting what was going on. She was coming for the Obscura now, in whatever manner she could. Your days are numbered, watch your backs. As Ari finished smearing the blood across the wall, her message relayed to the Obscura, she took her leave from the room. Everything was silent, the rest of the Obscura having gone back to their duties, assuming their leader had taken care of the threat.
They were wrong. Entirely wrong.
By that point, Ari couldn't have cared less if anyone heard her coming. In fact, she welcomed it. The more of them she could kill, torture, and destroy, the better. If they were going to threaten her girl, they were going to pay for it accordingly. Ascending the steps, Ari's eyes were almost glazed over, her mind entirely shut off as her body moved forward on autopilot. Any sense of rational thought was lost to the werewolf inside of her and all Ari could feel was the deep desire to kill everyone that stood in her way on the way out of the castle.
As she reached the top of the stairs, Ari swished her wand, blowing the door open with a loud bang and sending it flying across the courtyard. The door slammed into one of the Obscura members, killing them on the spot. There were only two others in the courtyard at the time and though they turned instantly towards Ari, she was faster. Her wand darted forward twice, felling both of them with killing curses. There was nothing keeping Ari from hurting them as much as she possibly could, she had shut that side of her off. She didn't care if they died. If anything, they deserved to die and she was doing them a favor by killing them so easily.
Bending down next to the three bodies with a thin sneer on her face, Ari used her wand, digging thick gashes into each of the bodies, just as she had done to the first. Piling them together, Ari looked down just once more before lighting them on fire. If that didn't send her message, she wasn't sure what would. Satisfied with herself and what she had done, Ari turned to the wall of the castle, quickly sending a blasting curse at it to bring it down. A hole opened up, letting her out of the castle as more Obscura members started to slowly flood out into the courtyard. Ari wanted to stay and fight, to take each and every one of them down before she apparated home, but that would be dangerous. Stupidly dangerous. Then again, what would it matter, really?
Ari was used to doing things with reckless abandon. The only thing that was really keeping her from just standing and fighting was the realization that Becca was back home waiting. If she even was. It was stupid of Ari to think that Becca didn't care, deep down she knew that, but for some reason it just didn't register in her mind at times. The younger girl had been so insistent that nothing would happen, that she would be fine, and Ari simply didn't get it. In Ari's mind, that translated to Becca just not caring what happened, not caring that Ari was potentially walking straight to her death with this mission. An argumentative attempt at a goodbye had left Ari drained, hollow, and certainly in a bad place. A bad place that was urging her to just turn back around, stop, and fight. It was stupid, it was reckless, but it was Ari.
In her moment of hesitation, Ari paused looking back at them with a snarl in her throat. The Obscura members shot spells her way, one of them hitting her in the chest, leaving another bloody gash there. More of them were rushing out, ready to capture her and presumably to kill her and that was enough for Ari. If they wanted a fight, she'd damn well give it to them. Twisting around, Ari threw a shielding charm up in front of her to block the next wave of attacks, holding it strong before lashing out with another curse of her own. Another Obscura member fell, his chest hacked to pieces and bleeding profusely. The odds were entirely against Ari and though she stood her ground, taking them out one by one, there were far more of them.
Another curse burned into Ari's skin, bringing a yelp of pain from her throat before she slashed her wand upward, blocking another spell as it flew towards her. She was holding her own, but the Obscura weren't stopping. The few that were left were starting to branch apart, slowly encircling her so that they had her surrounded. The grim realization that within a few moments she would likely be cut down by a wave of spells from all around her was sinking in and all Ari could feel was an utter rage bursting forth inside of her. This wasn't how she wanted to go down. It wasn't time for that yet. Though they clearly wanted her dead, she wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.
Breathing out deeply as she twisted again, avoiding another of the spells, Ari's eyebrows rose in curiosity when she saw one of the Obscura members fall. One by one, the remaining Obscura members that were around her were starting to go down and not only by her own hand. Ari wasn't going to question it much, however, and simply focused on staying alive, keeping her attention sharp, and taking out as many more of them as she could. Her nose crinkled up, sniffing out when she sensed someone else in the area. Between the stench of the now dead Obscura members, she could sense one other person- the woman she had saved earlier.
"You're a fucking lunatic, I hope you're aware," the woman said, striding across the bloody field towards Ari. There was no one left but the two of them and Ari lowered her defenses slightly, letting the woman approach. Replying only with a shrug, Ari had nothing left to say. She was done, the battle was over, and the intense pain of her injuries was taking it's toll. The woman looked Ari over with a pitying gaze, realizing that the injuries were extensive, possibly life-threatening. The woman healed the minor things, fixing Ari up as best she could, but there was little else she could do. She wasn't a healer, she couldn't fix it. "You should get yourself to a hospital, yeah? I did what I could," she shrugged, leaving it at that. Clearly, Ari wasn't in the mood to talk and the woman wasn't about to push it.
Slowly, Ari left from the area, her injuries making even the small walk away from the castle seem like a grueling task. Ari apparated back to Hogsmeade as soon as she had passed through the wards surrounding the area, wanting nothing more than to sink down to the ground and black out. She could tell that she needed to be healed, but her mind wasn't there anymore. After all of the stress, all of the loss, and all of the intensity of the day, Ari had shut down mentally. It was a dangerous state to be in, but there was little she could do aside from trudge on back to the castle.
Once Ari was back to Hogsmeade, all she wanted was to be back in her room. The injuries riddled across her body were taking their toll and now that the adrenaline of the blood lust was fading, Ari too was starting to fade. Her arm was still hanging limply at her side, ripped to shreds, and various other cuts were scattered about her skin. Her back, as well, had gotten quite beat up, with shards of wood digging into her skin with every step that she took. But, Ari didn't notice the pain. Her mind was still consumed with everything that had happened, taken over by all of the overwhelming emotions.
The trip back to the castle took Ari a lot longer than usual, her injuries slowing her down and causing her to drag quite a bit. However, she reached the castle without incident and slowly was making her way down to her room. She was completely zoned out and didn't notice any of the students around her, all she was focused on was getting back to her space. She wanted her room, her dogs, her human. Completely overpowering her mind was the intense desire to be with Becca. Though her thoughts were far from rational at that point, the image of the girl stood out in her mind, causing pangs of need to rise up in her with every step.
Throwing the door to her room open, Ari trudged in, ignoring everything going on around her as she sank down to the ground near her desk. Her head smashed against the desk and her body fell further to the ground, the pain blocking out everything else around her, dragging her into darkness. Ari didn't notice Aspen crouching in front of her, nervously looking over the injuries she had sustained. However, as soon as Aspen reached out to touch her, Ari lashed out, batting her away with a furious growl. She didn't want anyone near her, no one but Becca.
After everything Ari had endured that day, there was nothing more she wanted than to curl up next to Becca and forget the events of the day for awhile. Finally, after years of searching for the man that had been there for here every step of the way, she'd found him...and he was dead. Just like that, the one last link Ari had to the only good parts of growing up was taken away from her, leaving her feeling almost empty. Ari didn't have many people in her life that she truly cared for and losing the man that had taken care of her, looked after her, protected her from her mother, was tearing her apart.
Her father was gone and while it hurt more than anything, it succeeded in leaving her with an extreme sense of purpose that she had been lacking for years. While she had been motivated for so long by the need to find her father and the need for revenge, this was different. Now, she had something to fight for. If her father was willing to die fighting for this cause, Ari knew it was something she would throw herself into. Whatever it took, however much pain she had to endure, the Obscura would be stopped and she would put herself right in the middle of it all. No matter what the cost, Ari was throwing her lot in with the Order. She couldn't save her father, but she could take up his cause and she could fight to make the world a safer place for the people she loved. They'd stolen her father's life, but that was the end of it. It stopped here, Ari would make sure of that one way or another.
Staring straight ahead at the wall, Ari was shutting down. Her body was brutalized by the efforts of her attack on the Obscura, her emotions were shot from the discovery of her father's death, and her mind was simply gone. All Ari could do was sit there on the ground, her body shaking, her eyes fluttering open and shut as she fought to stay awake. She wanted to fall asleep and let it take over her tired body, but something inside her told her that it would be too dangerous. She couldn't sleep, not yet. Dying would have to wait, she had things to live for, things to fight for.
Aurora was walking down the street from her motel to the Puckerman house. She was glad to get to hang out with Noah again. Though she was having odd thoughts since they parted ways. She wasn't sure what to think of it all. It felt like seventh grade all over again when she and him dated and never told anyone. Though they were dating. They were just best friends that both happen to be miserable and recent dumped. She got to the Puckerman house and saw no cars and Noah's open window. She crawled through and flopped on to his bed like she always use to.
