December Project: Lost

[Aylarah Scale]

Aylarah fumed as she stormed into the library, ignoring the curious stares of the other students wondering that someone dared to let the door slam on their way in. She couldn't deal with this right now, refused to in fact. That stupid, stupid kitten! He deserved whatever happened to him in her opinion.

Walking over to a table to the far right of the library, Aylarah dropped her bag and sat down with a sigh. Today was meant to be such an easy day. She had arranged to meet up with Barbara for a homework session, after discovering that her weakness, charms, was Barbara’s strong point, and that one of her strong points, herbology, was something that Barbara struggled with.

Letting her head fall to the table with a muffled thud, Aylarah thought back to where everything had gone wrong today. She knew that to anyone else, she must look extremely stressed, but she was. She’d been walking around the grounds with her kitten Jacob, when at a crash of thunder he suddenly froze, before quickly running away from her. Hoping that he wasn't too scared, Aylarah had tried to follow him to see where he was going, when he had ran into the forbidden forest. Knowing that she couldn't follow and noticing that it was starting to rain heavily, Aylarah had turned back towards the castle, worried out of her mind. There was no knowing what could happen to him in there.

She turned her head slightly on the table to listen to everything going on around her, thinking that she could hear footsteps heading in her direction. What on earth was she going to do? What if Jacob didn’t come back?

[Barbara Phoenix]

The footsteps belonged to Barbara who was heading to meet Aylarah in the library. It had taken a while to spot her among the students - she could hardly call out her name in the silent library - but now she walked towards her. Aylarah did not look anything near happy.

Barbara dropped her Herbology and Charms books on the table and looked at her friend. She was sure that even she herself had never looked that stressed and miserable.

"Something is wrong, Ayla. Speak up." She flashed her a suppostive smile.

There had been moments that Barbara had felt as miserable as Aylarah's face now showed. The first time had been at an age of four when she and her brother were told that they were to be send to the boarding school. The second time was after that Christmas party... She had hurt him. So much. But he had hurt her even more. Mudblood... Helena...

She pushed the thought away. She should abandon that thought. After all they made up. Now Aylarah was in trouble, and that asked for all her attention.

[Aylarah Scale]

Wincing slightly at the sound of the books hitting the table, Aylarah glanced up at her friend, before pulling herself to sit upright.

“Oh it’s my stupid, stupid cat Bar, you wouldn't believe it." She frowned and turned to face the other girl. "I was out walking around the grounds before, when it started to thunder. Jacob got scared and ran off." She thought back unhappily to the event. "I did follow him for a bit, but he ran into the forest, and I couldn't follow him."

Aylarah remembered when she had first been given Jacob, the year before she had started Hogwarts. He had been a year old, but was still just as small as if he were a kitten. Aylarah had taken him everywhere. If she was reading outside, Jacob would be playing nearby, if she were sleeping, Jacob would be curled at the end of her bed. She was never lonely with him around.

Elsbeth had never really told Aylarah why she was given Jacob; it wasn't just so that she had a pet to take to Hogwarts with her, because she was later given Rowen, her owl. Sometimes Aylarah thought it was because her aunt felt guilty for leaving her alone so much, not that she actually minded.

"What am I to do though?" Aylarah asked bringing her mind back to the present, face falling as she thought of where her cat might be. "He could be anywhere by now the poor, stupid creature. What if some giant monster has got him backed into a corner and he can't escape? What if he wants to come home and can't find his way back? He must be soaked by now in all the rain."

[Barbara Phoenix]

"God, Ayla..." Barbara glanced out of the library window, barely able to see the edge of the Forbidden Forest through the thick raindrops flowing across the glass. A flash of light was followed by a loud thunderclap. The poor cat had to be scared to death.

Scotland was used to quite extreme weather, but not *this* extreme.

"What on earth can we do? Wait until he gets back?" She knew the chances for Jacob to find his way back would be little in this weather, but perhaps when the air cleared up he would return. On the other hand, he was in the Forbidden Forest now, a place where he would be a nice snack for several of the creatures inhabiting the dratted place.

"I mean it's a smart cat and he adores you. Of course he would want to return to you."

[Aylarah Scale]

Aylarah gave a wry smile. "Well I'm sure that he'd like to return to the nice warm, dry castle, but whether he can or not is a different matter." She was silent for a moment, until an idea started to form in her head.

"Hey, Bar, I've had a great idea, we could go and look for him! I mean, he's only a tiny little thing and it would probably take him hours to find his way home, but if we went and got him, it could only be like half an hour or something." She said quickly, words tumbling over one another. "I mean, you can fly can't you? We could take our brooms, then we'd be even quicker."

[Barbara Phoenix]

Barbara paused for a bit, wondering whether it was really her eagle friend who suggested this. She was used to crazy proposals, at least from her Gryffindor friends, but going into the Forbidden Forest could be considered plain stupid. And then taking the thunder into account, and Aylarah's suggestion to FLY in the Forest while the trees could be hit by the lightning any moment.

"Ayla, sorry, but... Are you out of your mind? You have NO idea what danger we would put ourselves in?" Her voice became louder, causing a couple of other students to look around.

"At least I want to live a little longer than today! I am really really sorry about Jacob, but Ayla, we have to be reasonable!" Her voice dropped a little.

"Two second years in the Forbidden Forest... We cannot deal with whatever is awaiting us there! There are creatures such as unicorns, but also werewolves, acrumantulas... Just use your Eagle brains and see that it's impossible!"

[Aylarah Scale]

Aylarah frowned as she listened to Barbara's rejection of her idea. She couldn't believe that she was refusing to help her.

"Well thanks a lot Bar!" She exclaimed, "I thought you were my friend. Friends help each other out. I bet if it was someone or something you loved lost in there you wouldn't hesitate at all!"

Her voice raised slightly, "Jacob is one of my best friends. He's my only company when I'm at home in the summer, and I promised myself that I'd always look after him because he's so tiny! I know he's only a cat, but still..."

She lowered her voice and looked imploringly at her friend, "Please come with me? I know it's dangerous but I'm sure it won't take long. The nasty creatures will probably be much deeper into the forest, we probably won't even see any! Besides," she smiled cheekily, "I thought you were a Gryffindor! Where's all that famous courage?"

[Barbara Phoenix]

Barbara looked as if she was slammed in the face for a moment. Yes, it was true. Had it been someone she loved she would have tried to save them, no matter what. She looked at Ayla, and realised how much her friend cared about her pet. She would have to abandon her worst memories, face her worst fears, and go with her. She would find too guilty if something happened to Jacob and she did not do a thing to stop it from happening. Aylarah would never look at her again, she was sure.

"Fine. I'll come," she said in a low grumble.

"NOT because I think Gryffindors should be brave enough to go to the Forbidden Forest to save a cat," she added in a whisper, "but because you are my friend." She did not worry about herself getting hurt. She never did, for she attached only little value to her own life, but she was so worried for Aylarah...

"Broomsticks it is. Let's go."

[Aylarah Scale]

"Fine. I'll come,"

Relief flooded through Aylarah as she heard her friend say those three words. Until then she was sure that something terrible was going to happen to her beloved cat.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, jumping up and giving Barbara a quick hug. "You don't know how much this means to me, if there's ever anything that you need me to do, anything at all, just ask." She grinned, "Oh you don't know how happy you've made me!"

She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, almost bouncing in excitement.

"Right, brooms, I've left mine in my dorm, so how about we meet outside in say, thirty minutes? That way we can get whatever we need. I think I'll probably grab a warm cloak too. Oh, thank you so much!"

[Barbara Phoenix]

Where a glare had shadowed Barbara's face at first a smile appeared now. This relief on her friend's face was worth whatever danger they may end up in. Danger... She looked at Aylarah and studied her face.

"Only one thing... We have to be careful. Very careful. I could not handle you being hurt, or..." She did not finish her sentence. It would not be the first time someone got killed in the Forbidden Forest.

"Thirty minutes. Sounds good." Barbara hugged her friend back and hurried out of the library without making too much sound. She knew how much those eagles hated to be disturbed when they were doing their homework.

The Forbidden Forest... It spooked through her mind as she made her way to her dorm. She knew she would completely panic if she would even get anywhere near that Watchtower...

About ten minutes later she was up in her dorm, getting her thickest cloak, gloves, scarf and ear warmers. After that she hurried down to get her broomstick from the broomshed near the Quidditch Pitch.

The cold wind and icy rain hit her in her face as she opened the oaken front doors. Pulling her cloak over her head to protect herself from the rain she ran towards the broomshed. The sky was thundery grey, and Barbara knew that a thunderclap could follow any moment.

As she opened the door to the broomshed the thunderclap came, making the whole building trimble. In a hurry she grabbed her broomstick and closed the door again. She decided to fly towards the castle, but she would fly no higher than 3 feet off the ground. It was too dangerous with the lightning striking a few times a minute. Someone looking outside would think she was a black bullet heading right towards the castle.

As she reached the oaken front doors again she pushed herself flat against the wall to protect herself from the weather. There she waited for Aylarah.

[Aylarah Scale]

Almost as soon as Barbara had left the library Aylarah quickly made her way towards the Ravenclaw common room. It was all she could do to stop herself running all the way there, something she knew would not go down well with the amount of people that were seeking refuge from the rain indoors.

She did realise that what they were about to do was extremely dangerous. There was no knowing what could be lurking in the forest, and flying their brooms in a thunderstorm was crazy, but that was the precise reason that Aylarah desperately wanted to go. She couldn’t leave Jacob out there in those conditions, he’d be eaten or something!

Reaching her dormitory, Aylarah ran over to her trunk before rummaging through it until she found a dark, sapphire blue cloak Finally her aunt’s many shopping trips would pay off – she would never have chosen this herself, but it was the warmest cloak that she owned, even if it was a bit fancy.

Grabbing her broom from besides her bed, Aylarah made her way towards the assigned meeting place. She could see the lightening flashing outside from every window she passed, and she shivered at the sight of the rain. Stepping outside into the cold made her wonder whether this was really such a good idea, but there was no turning back now.

She spotted Barbara flattened against the wall and walked over.

“Right, are we ready to go?” She asked, voice sounding a little more brave than she felt.

[Belle Black]

Belle had been on the other side of the bookshelf listening to the girls in her RP class talk about going into the Forbidden Forest. Were they crazy?? In this weather?? and on broomsticks?? However, Belle had to admit that she liked their sense of adventure.

Belle listened as the girls packed up their belongings and then headed out- to get ready. Belle was not going to allow them to do this- at least not alone. She was a post graduate- 18 years old- an adult in the wizarding world. She at least was allowed in the Forbidden Forest, but she knew bringing younger years into there was forbidden. She had to talk to them before they did anything dangerous.

Belle was able to accio her cloak and broomstick without having to physicially go to her dorm room- one of the advantages of being an adult. She then walked to the main entrance and tried to stay out of sight. She saw Barbara arrive, and then Aylarah and they both seemed ready to go. At this point, Belle stepped in front of them.

"Hi girls. I just came from the library and I overheard something very interesting" she said as she looked at the 2 second years.

[Barbara Phoenix]

Barbara glanced at Aylarah, biting her lip. No one would want to be outside for fun with this weather. Belle had overheard them, and now there was no way they would ever get to go. She just hoped Belle would not tell one of the Professors about it, they would be in big trouble.

"Goodday, Belle. The weather is lovely, isn't it? Exactly the time of the year to be outside," she said, sarcasm clearly in her voice. Not that she wanted to act rude, but she couldn't help it. She was so angry with herself for even considering Aylarah's plan.

Poor poor Jacob.

[Aylarah Scale]

Aylarah's heart sank as she raised her eyes to look up at Belle. There was no way they would get to go look for Jacob now. Swallowing, she tried to come up with a good excuse for what they were doing, but realised that it was no good. If Belle had overheard them, then she knew exactly what they had been planning.

The thunder crashed again, and Aylarah knew that she couldn't leave Jacob out there. Thinking quickly, she looked at something past Belle and screamed, pointing at some unknown terror in the distance. Having suitably distracted the other two girls, she quickly mounted her broom and started flying towards the trees.

Flying in the rain was both simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. She didn’t dare look back to see if she was being followed in case she crashed into something, or missed the little black bundle of fur that was her target.

Then suddenly the rain ceased and it went dark. She had entered the forest.

This post has been edited by Aylarah Scale on Jan 2 2009, 07:19 PM

[Barbara Phoenix]

First Barbara turned to see what had scared Aylarah, a tenth of a second later she realised it was a trick.

"Ayla, no!" As if triggered by a natural reflex she jumped on her broom to follow her friend, paying no further attention to Belle and the trouble she might get into. She could not let her go into the forest alone, she just couldn't. Like before she stayed low to the ground, not wanting to risk being electrocuted by the lightning.

Another lightning bolt followed by a thunderclap split the air in two, illuminating the edge of the forest. Barbara sped up...

... And caught up with Aylarah as they practically flew into the forest.

"Ayla, let's get off our brooms," she said. "Belle won't find us here."

(OOC: Belle - sorry for leaving you at the castle, but it'd be very out of character for Barb not to follow her friend. Perhaps she follows them into the forest? )