With the capture of Verandi Farley and several high-ranking Trossach members, the British wizarding world has finally caught a break. The rate of rogue werewolf attacks have started dropping at a steady rate and, hopefully, things will stay that way. The Ministry is starting to loosen some restrictions, like not arresting werewolves standing on the street for loitering, however there’s still an obvious power imbalance between wizardfolk and werewolves.
The Cotswolds pack are continuing to advocate for the rights of werewolves and petitioning to change the legislation that has been set in motion by the current Minister for Magic, whilst the remaining Trossachs members are trying to stay out of the spotlight and keep a low profile… for now.
Whilst the British wizarding world seems to have calmed down, the same cannot be said for over in Northern Europe where a rebellion of magical creatures has risen. The state of things has gotten so bad that the European Ministry has enacted protocols to protect those under eighteen whilst their adult witches and wizards fight to keep control of their countries.
Students from Durmstrang have been sent to Hogwarts to keep them safe and those not old enough to attend school have been sent to live with relatives or designated British Ministry officials outside of Europe for the time being.
Will the low rates of werewolf attacks in Britain continue? How long will Durmstrang students stay at Hogwarts? Will the creatures usurp the wizardfolk in Northern Europe? Only time will tell.
SEPTEMBER 2019 It's been a very long, eventful summer in the wizarding world. A baby was stolen, several high ranking Trossach members were imprisoned, and werewolf attacks have drastically dropped as a result. What will happen now school has returned?
MAY 2019 An attempt to capture the beta of the Trossachs has been launched. Were the Aurors successful in their mission? Go read more here!
Post by VERANDI FARLEY on Jun 20, 2019 9:59:15 GMT
There was something soothing about the Forbidden Forest that had always called to Verandi. Overhead there was the rustle of night creatures in the trees and more than once, the werewolf felt the hair at the back of her neck prick up. She wasn't the only deadly creature close by. Her dark cloak was wrapped around her shoulders and the hood was up; to any misguided student or staff member that may stumble upon her all they'd see is a shadow moving amongst the fog.
In this particular forest, Verandi had found it easiest to collect the long strands of unicorn hair that the Trossachs healer used for bandages. She knew the bends and turns of the pathways as she'd made a habit almost a decade ago of collecting what she could from the forest. After a little while, Verandi found herself close to the border of the forest and from it she could see the Groundskeeper's Hut. There was a small trail of smoke leaving the little Hut and she followed it all the way up into the night sky. It was clear and the stars shone brightly, the lawns looked ethereal in the light of the almost full moon.
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jun 21, 2019 2:48:34 GMT
It was strictly forbidden to venture into the Forbidden Forest.
Never once had this deterred Nadezhda Kareva, who had jumped at the first chance to explore the forest as soon as she had arrived at Hogwarts, having always dreamed of the woods, the haunt of veelas rather than the giant city she lived in. To her, it was like a territory of her very own, so expansive that she could sit in a tree listening to all the creatures and never have to worry about the intrusion of a single human, bar the half of her that was.
(Most of the time. There had been... a few instances of detention. Which she'd had to serve indoors.)
Wishing for fresh air, she had tossed off her blankets back in the dungeon, slipped on a sweater, picked up her shoes to carry so that she would make no noise when tiptoeing past her roommates' beds. Though by the time she reached the forest's edge, she knew that she would take them off again anyway. Since there was still no snow, she'd have to take the chance to touch the earth while she could, no matter how much she knew she would shiver.
Getting out of the castle was a success--Nadya was far better at it now than when she'd made that first attempt so long ago. If anyone was observing the lawns at the moment, they would see only a solitary, pale figure, bright blonde hair shining in the moonlight as Nadya hurried through the open space. She looked up at the moon as she ran--round but not quite full; there would be no problems. She reached the edge of the forest with relief. Harder to catch her once she was in these shadows, her platinum hair being a dead giveaway in any sort of light.
It was then that she saw a dark-cloaked figure moving through the trees, and she glanced upward, trying to judge if she could swing up into a tree quick enough to avoid whoever it was.
Post by VERANDI FARLEY on Jun 26, 2019 4:04:13 GMT
Hunter's eyes never missed a thing; the quick movement of a pale figure across the lawns was bleedingly obvious to Verandi. She watched with quiet interest, her fingers tracing the rough bark of a tree as the moments passed for the figure to enter the forest's tree line. Verandi glanced once again to the castle, to see who might be following this silvery wisp of a girl and her thin lips pulled into a devilish grin as she confirmed that they were alone.
Verandi took steps towards the figure, keeping a casual eye out for unicorn hair as she did. She caught the fact that the figure looked in her direction but the shadowy figure did not immediately hide. Fool, Verandi thought harshly of this stranger. They should be running from a dark figure in the Forbidden Forest and yet Verandi's well worn dragonhide boots closed the gap between them with swift and skillful purpose.
"Pray, tell what me what lures you to your inevitable doom this evening?" Verandi asked, her English accent tainted with a hint of Scottish picked up from her many years in their Highlands. Verandi paused a few steps away from Nadya, her face still hidden beneath the hood of her baroque cloak though the keen eyes took in as much detail of her company as possible.
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jun 29, 2019 2:27:36 GMT
So there was not enough time to jump. She had been spotted. But perhaps this was to be expected on a night when the moon was shining. It meant she shone along with it, that she could look the part of a veela. It was not the best for camouflage, but this was what a wand was for, wasn't it?
Still, Nadya did not worry; there were far worse things she could have encountered than a perfectly human voice, even with its sharp and ominous words. Though she did not recognize the voice, which could mean any number of things. Someone playing a prank, someone sneaking into or out of the castle, or someone interested in the creatures of the forest for whatever reason. This, Nadya could understand. She peered forward, her eyes searching through the darkness, trying to get a glimpse of the face behind the hood. It was just a little too dark--if the figure could move just a little further, into the spot where the moon shone between the canopies of the trees.
"I think doom is a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Nadya said, the lightest touch of Russian accent in her voice. "I'm here all the time. So I could ask you the same question." She stood taller, pulling her hair to the front of her shoulders and putting her hand near the handle of the wand in her pocket.
Post by VERANDI FARLEY on Jul 5, 2019 22:58:31 GMT
Had giants been breeding with veela? Verandi was glad to be standing on tree roots that added inches to her height because the figure before her was undoubtedly taller than her - she'd lose the advantage of being ominous without it. When the reply was a rather smart reply, Verandi knew almost instantly that it was a student she was talking to. There was hubris and idiotic bravery up the whazoo that could only come from teenage inexperience. Beneath her cloak, Verandi's hands stuffed the strands of unicorn hair into the pocket and replaced it with her wand.
"Those other times I wasn't in the Forest with you," Verandi replied with a hidden smirk when accused of being overly dramatic. Oh, if only the moon was full ... Verandi would so very much enjoy sinking her teeth into that milky white flesh and hearing the screams of pain until Jack O'Connor woke up from his cosy little room in his ivory tower in a cold sweat. Oh, the glorious moments that she would have eviscerating the giant woman to leave a marvelous bloody piece of artwork for the staff to find.
Alas, she was human for now, so Verandi fluttered her lashes as if that would shake such fanciful thoughts from her mind and lowered her hood. "These forests are naturally abundant in unicorn hair. It's a very useful resource for those that have time enough to collect. The shops charge us wolves exorbitant rates for something that is simply shed by the magical creatures." Verandi carefully pulled a silvery white strand from a nearby twig and held it up in the sliver of moonlight. "Did you have a nightmare? Or are you meeting a lover for a tryst?"
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jul 16, 2019 1:51:05 GMT
As the cloaked figure came even closer, Nadya could tell that she was taller than whoever was underneath the fabric, though she supposed it shouldn't be surprising. The voice that came from the person might be tough, but undeniably feminine, and Nadya was used to towering over most of her female classmates. Of course, with magic in play, it was not necessarily an advantage in dangerous situations. The little vampire who'd defeated her in a duel had proved that. Good work with a wand was everything, was the difference between victory and pain.
But the classroom was not Nadya's territory. The forest was. She had been coming here ever since she had arrived at Hogwarts, undeterred by threats of detention or of the creatures that hid between the trees. How could she be afraid, when she was a creature herself? This was the firm belief that kept Nadya coming back to the Forbidden Forest: she must belong.
"All I'm getting from that is that I know these trees better than you," Nadya murmured, enjoying the back-and-forth even as she kept her hand firmly on the oak wand in her pocket. She watched with curious eyes as the woman finally lowered the hood of her cloak, revealing a face that would have been sweet were it not for the somewhat wild look in her eyes. This was no student, else Nadya would know her, and certainly no professor. What she realized as the woman began to speak again was that she was a wolf. Who besides an actual werewolf would refer to themselves as such these days? As the woman held up one of her strands of unicorn hair, Nadya felt her heart wrench a little. In this school they had as many magical ingredients as they could find, in the storehouse or in the greenhouses, given to them for the sole reason of--not having a status out of their control.
Ah, and there it was, the assumption that she did not know what she was doing here. "If you call enjoying nature meeting a lover, I suppose you're right."
Post by VERANDI FARLEY on Jul 28, 2019 16:04:26 GMT
Verandi couldn't help the slight cock of her head as she silently mulled over the student's words; I know these trees better than you. The reason for this was because the wild-one could not immediately decipher if the young woman was bragging that she knew the Forbidden Forest better than Verandi in which case the child was sorely mistaken and the wolf would scoff haughtily OR if she had simply meant that she knew the trees but that Verandi herself was unknown. There was a powerful, almost arousing feeling that came from anonymity that Verandi often indulged in - when people didn't know who you were, they had no expectations of you and you had none of them and so inhibitions were casually thrown out the window. The predator let her eyes rake the girl's form for a moment and Verandi was not displeased with what they saw. Externally, Verandi let the silence fall between them because she was not a woman afraid of a pause in conversation.
When the girl replied that spending time amongst nature was as blissful as … Verandi gave that sigh the conveyed her disappointment of the fact that the tall blonde girl was a virgin. "Do you think that nature loves you back?" Verandi asked as she stooped to collect another few strands of unicorn hair that had clearly snagged on a particularly grisly root. "I'd advise you to stay in the confines of the Hogwarts castle after tonight; should we meet again in a few nights it probably will be far less cordial," she said calmly. "It would be such a shame to make a meal out of something so pretty." Placing the hair into her pouch again, Verandi walked a few more steps.
"So, nature girl, do you have any secret spots you've come across with useful resources a woman might harvest this evening? Perhaps a patch of fluxweed?" Verandi asked, then tapped her finger against her lip as she thought for a moment of what else would be useful for the pack. "Dittany or horklumps are also on my list to gather. The coming moon will cause a lot of my... family a significant amount of pain and our healer will need supplies."
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Aug 8, 2019 19:15:27 GMT
Nature not love her? The concept was foreign to Nadya. The girl viewed herself as part of the forest, not an intruder to it. Nature was as good as a mother to her, who had none, and more trustworthy than any lover might be. Trees were not about to spill her secrets to the world, not even those magical ones which she knew must exist in some places in this forest. She was certain she could feel the air of magic and mystery all around this place far stronger than she did at the castle.
"Why would you think she wouldn't love me back?" Nadya asked, eyebrows raised just slightly. "I'm half-veela, I am a forest creature. I belong here." Even though London was home on paper, it was only home to her because her family was there. In truth, she felt she should be running through Russian forests, not trapped in the castle as she was now. Only months left to go, and still she wouldn't be able to disappear into the woods, not when she had plans and obligations. In time, she was hoping to work at St. Mungo's, to intercept those who were bitten and taken for treatment, to direct them to where they could be helped--it was the least she could do, as a creature who was allowed to participate in society, even if she would rather leave the city.
Nadya did not miss the woman's note about a few nights, and, glancing up at the moon, she had a fair guess of what she might be referring to. How she had gotten inside the Hogwarts grounds was anyone's guess, but Nadya could not begrudge her the collection of herbs and such in the forest. She herself came here for those things all the time. Not everything could be grown in the greenhouses. And it seemed that the woman had met the right student in the forest that evening, because Nadya had certainly seen all the items she had mentioned, though she would have to go deeper in the forest for some of it.
"Yes, all those grow here, but you might have to search--it's very late in the season for dittany, it blooms in summer. Fluxweed, I can tell you it's all around, but it's most potent when picked at the full moon, so I hope it is enough for you. Horklumps are pests, though, so I'm sure those will be easy to get."
