Virtues and Vices

Blows Out of Nowhere

Went to sleep after getting cast a damned spell wasn't easy at all. Her body was aching, longing to get a long rest, not a quick nap. Her mind wondered how Ominis fare back then. She knew how vile the Gaunts were— except for him, he was like an angel fallen from the sky, a gentle and loving soul. It must be really hard for him. But at least he was safe now, with them. She had a mission now; she must give him a hug when they met.

She didn't really get enough sleep, though. The same nightmare that would come whenever she was stressed had been haunting her was back, screwing up her sleep. She only had 3-4 hours of sleep each night. She'd wake up with rushed breath, and a pounding headache. But she was glad she never disturbed her roommates' sleep; Nerida and Gretchen. Sometimes she would stare at the empty bed, wishing Anne was sleeping there.

But at last, she felt much better after two days passed by. However, she found no appetite at all. No urge to force herself out of bed and join everyone else to eat either, thus she purposely skipped her meals. She was rather grateful Elliot wasn't in the same house as her in this kind of situation, as he wouldn't be able to get into the common room and force her to eat.

Today's schedule was doing a favour to her, it wasn't as tight as the other days and she could go back to find her room was still empty. After a quick shower she had, and with a white blouse and a grey skirt adorning her figure, she went back to do her assignments right away. She had loads of assignments to do tonight. 

Her hand hadn't stopped writing for half an hour now, creating a stack of papers on the table. Arithmancy was the first one to be finished while Charms was the second one.

"... After the drinker drank this potion, there is no doubt they will be belligerent and reckless as the effect of the potion," she mumbled to herself as her quill kept moving. "Due to its effect, it would be much better if the use of this potion is supervised by a–" Her hand stopped after she noticed blood dripping onto her writing. The blood wouldn't stop flowing from her nose as she tried to find her handkerchief to wipe it off.

"Good, now I have to write all over again." She loved perfection, no ink drops or anything that could be seen as a flaw in any of her work. Everything was perfect until a drop of her blood messed it all up. With a handkerchief still covering her nose, she noticed Sebastian's owl was already sitting on the table, waiting for her. Assignments and blood had taken her focus so much that she didn't even hear him flying into the room.

"Oh– hi there, sweetheart." She softly stroked his fur as she smiled. She gently took the letter from his beak and he flew right away. Her expression changed as she read the letter, Sebastian asking for her help wouldn't be a good sign, or would it? She shook her head and continued to finish her essay a little bit more as her nosebleed stopped, she didn't have much time to stress over her perfect assignment. She left the room as she took her coat and ran quickly before anyone noticed her gone from her room past curfew.

"There you are, I've been looking for you since morning– where are you going?"

She immediately regretted her decision not using any spell to hide her as she heard Elliot's voice. She turned around with a wide smile, trying not to be suspicious. "Oh, hi, Leo. I just want to go out to get some fresh air," his brow raised at her words. She was grateful her nosebleed had stopped but with his questioning gaze, she felt like the blood might come again.

There was a shift in his expression, but he stayed silent. She sighed, she was certain he knew something was up. "I'm going to meet Sebastian near a catacomb outside of Feldcroft, do you want to come with me?" A sigh escaped his mouth, "I've expected it was him, again. Lead the way, I can't let you go out when you clearly have been neglecting yourself for a while now." She chuckled as both of them walked out and left the castle.