gooseberryhigh | (no subject)

Who: Hazel Keating & Avery Davenport
When: Tuesday late evening
Where: Big Horn Sheep Trail
What: Hazel gets stuck under some miserable mistletoe on the trail and has a very one-sided meeting with a mysterious antlered individual. Avery comes to her aid!
Warnings: A little bit of cursing

It's dark, and it's cold, and Hazel is really ready to be back in her room, cuddled up by the fire and pretending like it's not winter. Her trek back from the lodge should have been uneventful given how careful she was being of mistletoe (why was it everywhere now?!), but the light of the moon and her wand aren't enough to save her from a rather pesky patch of the stuff hanging just up out of view in one of the trees along the trail. She curses immediately as her body jolts her to a stop - she's really going to have to murder someone for this. Especially if she freezes to death waiting for a kiss.

Looking around, she realizes that, this close to curfew, there probably won't be too many people out. Shit. She's about ready to throw up a flare with her wand when she sees...someone, off a ways into the woods. She calls out to them before even considering that their silhouette is strange. Or that it's strange that they're off the path. She calls out again, leaning towards the figure, pointing her wand out, hoping to get a better look... but it's no good, it's too far away, and it's too dark, and no matter what she does, the figure does nothing. It just stands, and watches. It's freezing and maybe, just maybe, a little panic is rising up in Hazel's chest as she asks the figure if it's ok. If it needs anything. Who is it? She even asks for its help in freeing her from the mistletoe. But still, there's no reaction.

She's freezing now, though, and as much as she wants to see who this is (maybe they're scared? She tells them not to be scared), she throws up a bright burst from her wand into the air, teeth chattering. Maybe whoever comes for her (please let someone come for her) can help this person, too. But only moments after her flare the figure simply... leaves, its walk into the woods sending a chill up Hazel's spine that she tries to tell herself is just the cold.

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Avery had some catching up to do with studying, so she had spent some time in the library after dinner, helping people out from being stuck under mistletoe, and generally just avoiding going back outside to get to her cabin. Stupid, because the later it got the colder it got, too. Logic wasn't always strong, though, and despite that fact it was particularly late (and awfully close to curfew!) before she ended up leaving to head along the trails towards her cabin.

She was almost back to her cabin when she saw the flare go up. No one sends up a flare for no reason, and Avery didn't hesitate for a second to go see what was up. Although not technically in a house more inclined to run to the rescue, Avery wasn't cold hearted either. However, she did take her wand out just in case as she approached the area where the flare had been sent up.

Upon arriving, though, she saw it was just Hazel. Who looked... well, freezing of course but also a little weirded out. "Hey - mistletoe?" She asked, before glancing up and seeing it was in fact the dreaded mistletoe. "You okay? Here, give me your hand." She held hers out as she drew nearer, still clutching her wand in her other hand.

The crunching of snow underfoot drew Hazel's attention away from the place where she'd last seen the mysterious figure, and it was with some relief that she took stock of Avery and not some other antlered denizen of the woods. Despite her rattled state, though, she was still having nothing of stupid hand kisses.

She jabbed her own cheek with a gloved hand rather fervently, eyes darting between Avery and the woods. "Thank god. Kiss kiss kiss, I'm fine, there's some shit," Hazel fumbled, teeth still chattering, her free hand gesturing somewhat wildly towards the woods as if that explained everything.

Avery almost laughed, and went ahead and bent down so she could properly reach Hazel's cheek and give it a little kiss. When the girl was properly freed, Avery quickly used a charm that blew hot air to try and warm her up without damaging her at all. She was about to comment about getting her inside asap with something warm to drink when Hazel gestured towards the forest and mentioned something about some 'shit' being there.

"Wait, what? Something or someone?" She asked, holding her wand up and aiming it where Hazel had kind of pointed. 'Lumos' Avery said, lighting up the tip of her wand to try and see farther into the forest, but it looked empty as far as she could actually see. "Are you sure?"

Hazel let out a thankful sigh as she was freed and another as the warm air blew over her frame. Her teeth stopped chattering quickly as she relit her own wand after Avery with a quiet 'lumos' and... started tromping off the path into the woods. She didn't go more than a few paces in, though, before thinking better of it. It was dark and cold, and already the warmth from Avery's charm was leaving her bones. She turned quickly to the other girl, looking less cold but just as out of sorts as when Avery had found her.

"I'm positive. There was... it was a person, with..." She raised her hands, wand still glowing, motioning above her head in the form of antlers. "Out that way. And I just... I talked to them. They didn't do anything. They just stood there. And then before you came they just walked into the woods and poof." Hazel let out a sharp breath, trying to slow her talking. "What the hell."

She was glad to help - both free her and warm her up. Still, she was just as concerned about whatever Hazel saw in the forest as she was about Hazel being stuck and partially freezing. Once neither of them can see whatever was in the forest and she noticed Hazel shivering again, Avery repeats the charm to keep her warm.

"A... person with antlers?" She asked, incredulous but not necessarily unbelieving. People don't just lie about that sort of thing. Well, most people. "Come on... we should go." The concern in her voice is extremely apparent. "That sounds really weird and haven't people been complaining about weird stuff in the forest?"

Avery reaches out to take Hazel's hand, clearly wanting to get them both away to safety.

"Yeah I just... I swear it's what I saw," Hazel stressed, once again receiving the warmth charm with relief even if she's more preoccupied by what she saw than the cold. "People have been. And there's just... the anonymous writer... and what does it mean when someone just... doesn't do anything?"

The young Coppertale hesitated, looking at Avery's hand before slowly reaching out to take it. "...what if whoever it was is lonely and scared? So that's why they wouldn't do anything."

It kind of made Avery hesitate, thinking about it that way. What if whatever the thing was happened to actually be scared and lonely? She took hold of Hazel's hand, pondering her question for a few moments before tugging her towards the cabins.

"Even scared and lonely things can be dangerous, Hazel. I think you should tell someone what you saw but I think we need to get to our cabins now."

Hazel bit her lip, unable to stop herself from squeezing Avery's hand for a moment. She knew it was childish to rely on the older girl ;ole tjat, especially since she'd just turned 16 and was supposed to be some kind of adult... but she was so bewildered and upset, she wasn't so worried about being a 'grown-up' at the moment.

"Yeah, but..." All she could think about was her uncle. "Maybe. Yeah, we should go back." She didn't fight being pulled along, though she did take another glance back into the forest.