Questioning Fire {Wyst}

[Caitlin Collins]

Caitlin had not been doing that well this past week or so. Everywhere she went, she seemed to be seeing fire burning up the school walls, or trees, or even students on a few occasions, which had been most disconcerting. And then mixed in with all that had been Alessandro’s face, trying to speak but she couldn’t hear him. Nothing had been quite as bad as that first time, when she’d had the vision and realised about how her heritage was apparently not as muggle as she’d thought. But even so, there had been times when she’d gotten visions again. Quite a few of the past – especially Alessandro falling from the tower and bursting into flames – but also of random scenes that could be past, present or future at Hogwarts.

She honestly didn’t know what to make of it. Was she going insane with so much pressure everywhere? She’d never had visions like this before – the closest she’d come was the crystal ball-gazing in the divination classroom all that time ago, and that had been with Alessandro. Everything seemed to link back to him. So what did it mean? She really didn’t want to be thinking it at all, considering the reaction she’d gotten from Keaira before due to her apparent naivety and knowing from experience how crushing it was to have your heart slowly broken all over again when confirmation came that someone really wasn’t coming back – her thoughts turned to Bryan here. But if she was getting all these visions, then did it mean... could it mean... that maybe Alessandro wasn’t dead...? She winced slightly as she processed the thought while walking along the corridor, scared about what reaction she was about to get.

Last night she had gotten a particularly volatile vision while sitting up awake in her bed. It had come with the slight warning of flames licking at the bottom of her bed before overtaking her vision, showing a fiery figure she had come to recognise as Alessandro, no longer in with the rest of the flames. He was going somewhere, fast, and a blonde-haired boy was trying to follow him, calling after him. She had an idea of who that other boy might be, but wanted to think about that topic even less than she wanted to think about how the Master of Fire might still be alive.

But that had pushed her to taking this action; said action being, to try and find some answers. D’rorah might be the best usual person for answers, and she was a little less intimidating recently but on this occasion, she didn’t want to speak to the Ravenclaw. Instead she headed to the Room of Requirement, pacing the three times as she thought about how she wanted to see the vampire. She had some questions for the Shadow Warrior, but still hadn’t quite formed in her head how to phrase them without sounding too suspicious. She didn’t want to reveal the visions and her possible hope, but that might be inescapable if she wanted certain answers. It was just a few theories she had, and the only person who could test them out was someone personally knowledgeable with this situation.

Taking a deep breath, Caity edged the door open slowly to enter the moment she noticed it appear, trying not to think about what might happen if the vampire didn’t like what she had to say.

[Wysteria Edwin]

Wysteria did not expect Caitlin to pay her a visit. She made a small surprise "hm" noise as she looked at her peep hole reflector by her bed. Wasting no time, she gathered her research materials and stored them neatly in a hidden shelf behind her armoire Caitlin was a positively neutral person in Wysteria's mind. She knew the death of Mallan had left a profound impression on the girl, but only because of the updates she had received from D'rorah. On that alone Wyst felt they had something in common. She was not fond of Caitlin's initial reaction to finding out about her transformation...the slightly appalled stare from Cait recalled in her mind made Wyst's mouth turn downward.

She returned to her mahogany table, back straight and hands in front of her clasped loosely together. Wysteria did not want to stand, aware of Caitlin's uneasiness around her and wasn't sure she could withstand another reminder that she was capable of violence. Keaira's conversation a few days ago was enough to remind Wyst of her own danger to society.

"Well hello," she said, forcing a crooked smile and hoping Caitlin would lead the conversation. She had no idea while the girl had come to visit her, and was hoping it was a simple matter of relaying information or a question on homework about vampires.

[Caitlin Collins]

Caitlin wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about Wysteria having been fully turned into a vampire. She now knew that she had been part-vampire previously as well... three quarters was the number her memory picked up on, but she couldn’t recall if that meant three quarters human or three quarters vampire. Either way, it was a substantial amount, so Caity figured it probably wouldn’t make a massive amount of difference... she suspected that the ordeal that resulted in the change would have had just as much an impact as the loss of mortality. But then, she didn’t know a lot about vampires. She could be totally wrong on that count. That whole night had been a bit of a blur with shock after shock, so she couldn’t really remember her original reaction.

Realising she was stalling, Cait took the extra few steps that would carry her into the room and paused for a second upon seeing Wyst again. It was still a little confusing, seeing someone who she’d thought to be dead for so long. Her formal pose, sitting straight and apparently waiting for her to come in, didn’t help much either.

[yellow]”Um... hi,”[/yellow] she replied quietly, taking another awkward step forward before stopping again, unsure whether she should continue or just stay where she was. Since she wasn’t invited to move forward, nor did Wyst make any further signs of continuing the conversation, she stayed where she was.

[yellow]”I, uh, wanted to ask you some stuff... about Alessandro...”[/yellow] she trailed off there, nervously waiting to see the reaction. It wasn’t all directly to do with him, but the majority linked back to him fairly easily.

[Wysteria Edwin]

Wyst raised her right eyebrow slightly as Cait mumbled a nervous greeting. It was expected but boring to her that Cait displayed fear signals once she entered the room. But there was a refreshing honesty in the girl's actions: most people tried to hide their true feelings about her return, whether because of their pride or their own ideas of what she might do if disturbed. Wyst decided Caitlin must have a good reason for coming to her if the girl was uncomfortable from the moment she walked in the room.

”I, uh, wanted to ask you some stuff... about Alessandro...”

Wyst's pupils dilated and her head jerked forward slightly. At the mention of her Elemental Master's name she tried to quickly assess the girl's features and smells. Alessandro was the last person she expected Cait wanted to discuss. Did Keaira send her to get information? Was Keaira trying to get her ashen jewel that was the only token Alessandro left for her, other than the orb? She would greatly resent the girl if he was coming on behalf of someone else. But D'rorah would not send Cait...Dee preferred to deal with people directly.

Wysteria worked quickly to decide if Cait had a hidden motive. She could not smell any trickery or subterfuge... not even a hint of hidden agenda; her features were not calm or betraying the fear in her voice. Cait appeared to every way Wyst could decipher to be sincere in her question: honestly looking for answers. But Alessandro and Wyst had not spoken for months before his death, so she might not be the best person for information. However, he was...maybe still could be her Elemental Master. Wyst returned her eyes to their normal shape and relaxed her posture a bit. Her reaction to the question made a flash of surprise show on Cait's face for a fraction of a second, and Wyst didn't want to scare her into not asking what she came to inquire about. Hopefully she had not come with ideas of how to resurrect her old friend, since she planned to share those details with no one.

"What..." she cleared her throat, trying to remember what she had done in her mortal life to reassure someone or make them comfortable. It was not easy, and became more difficult with each day to recall her human mannerisms. "Why are you...what made you want to inquire about Alessandro?"

Wyst became increasingly aware of her seated position and Cait's stance, looking uneasy and unsure. Did she want to sit down? Why didn't she just sit? The niceties and etiquette that half-human Wyst considered silly were non-existant to vampire Wyst. She had forgotten about them and made no effort to appear more human to the others. Most vampires study human behavior if they want to mainstream, hoping to make themselves appear friendlier and less frightening. But her efforts were geared towards survival, and in her mind any effort to appear more human was like putting duct tape on a detached limb.

[Caitlin Collins]

Caitlin did try not to show her slight alarm at Wysteria’s reaction, but despite her months of practice at trying not to show her depression she couldn’t hide the tiny widening of her eyes, intake of breath and slight lean backwards. She wasn’t so great at lying normally, and apparently wasn’t much better on this occasion. Of course, on this occasion Wyst would notice anyway even if her reaction was near-invisible due to her enhanced senses.

The vampire’s eyes returned to normal and Cait tried to relax a little, but mostly failed. She didn’t like feeling so uncomfortable around someone who might once have become a friend... and it wasn’t entirely the vampire thing that made her anxious, it was also the fact that she had thought Wysteria to be dead... and at the time of being told this, she hadn’t really had a lot of reaction. She had just kind of avoided thinking about it. And now... she guessed what she was feeling was guilt. For not feeling much at her housemate’s death, even if she had only met her a few times. Because just because Caity might not know Wyst particularly well, that didn’t mean her death was any less tragic than Mallan’s, or Alessandro’s... Shifting uncomfortably through this apparent guilt, she was relieved to hear Wysteria speak, even if it was a little faltering.

[yellow]”Um... I...”[/yellow] she began nervously, tensing up subconsciously. Keaira’s reaction to her previous doubts about Alessandro’s death were making her worse than anything to do with Wyst not exactly being human. She really didn’t want to be pushed down so violently again. And not just because it made her feel terrible – if she was told she was wrong again, that would cement Alessandro’s death and destroy whatever fragile hope she had left. [yellow]”I saw him fall. I – I couldn’t do anything, but then he burst into flame... and it didn’t seem right... but then Keaira said I was wrong... but... can fire even harm you?”[/yellow] she rushed out falteringly, voicing one part of a theory as she did so. She didn’t wait for long, wanting to continue with the other part as soon as she could before losing nerve.

[yellow]”And, why I came... I...”[/yellow] Here she stopped again, glancing down at the floor and toying lightly with the necklace always hung around her neck; the elephant one her grandma had given her, the one that was supposedly going to lead to the journal kept by her great-grandmother while she was a Shadow Warrior. She’d gotten that vision just after seeing Alessandro for the first time. [yellow]”I don’t know why... but, I keep seeing fire everywhere... I mean, it’s not really burning, and it doesn’t last long, but it keeps appearing everywhere... and sometimes, he does too. Alessandro,”[/yellow] she added, as if it wasn’t clear who she was talking about. [yellow]”It’s like... he’s trying to talk to me. But... he can’t. I can’t hear him, most of the time,”[/yellow] she admitted, falling silently again and risking a hasty glance up to see the reaction this confession had garnered.

[Wysteria Edwin]

Wysteria waited patiently for Caitlin to get her grounding and explain her purpose for coming. Whatever she had to say was difficult to put into words, and possibly hard for her to believe, so Wysteria surmised it must be interesting. Caitlin had some interesting visions in the past, so whatever she saw might be valuable information.

”I don’t know why... but, I keep seeing fire everywhere... I mean, it’s not really burning, and it doesn’t last long, but it keeps appearing everywhere... and sometimes, he does too. Alessandro. It’s like... he’s trying to talk to me. But... he can’t. I can’t hear him, most of the time."

Surprise, hope and skepticism lined Wyst's face briefly as the idea of Darko's return flashed into her mind. She knew that this, if it was true, would be a good sign that Alessandro could be brought back for good, and that he never was meant to die by burning up in flame. But there were a number of legends relating to elements and bringing someone back from the dead. Wysteria's manner of reanimating her Elemental Master would depend on the details of Caitlin's story...if it was even true.

Tilting her head slightly, Wysteria wondered briefly what lying about this kind of thing would do to benefit Cait. Gaining information on Wyst's current research was one possibility, but Wyst was convinced that no one knew what she was doing in her free time. Wyst knew Cait was not stupid enough to think she could pull one over on her, and Cait's earlier comment of distaste in Keaira's reaction to her thoughts amused Wyst...so apparently the Slytherin girl's stubborn outlook was noticed by others.

Deciding that the easiest way to see through any cracks in her story was to simply question the tale without adding to her suspicions regarding Alessandro. If Caitlin was telling the truth...well that would change a lot of things in her life. A small bubble of happiness formed in her, extracting a crooked smile from her lips before Wyst squashed it from her being. She did not want any kind of hope regarding Alessandro before she could be sure of her theories.

"Well, that is very interesting Caitlin. I want to thank you for giving me this information. I know I am not the most...approachable person in the group. But I do have some questions regarding what you've seen. I'd like you to be as detailed as possible."

Wysteria rose out of her chair and began pacing--it was something she did as a mortal to help her think, and as a vampire it made her more comfortable when turning over new ideas.

"When you had these visions, were you asleep in a dream? Or were you awake? Also, does Alessandro look in pain, trapped, or simply communicative? And have you spoken to D'rorah about these occurrences? All details are vital, you see." Wysteria said, her face looking a bit severe but not hostile.

[Caitlin Collins]

Wysteria didn’t reply to Cait’s original question about whether she could be burnt, probably distracted by her second lot of speech involving why she had come. But she herself was distracted by the scepticism on the vampire’s face. She vaguely noticed the surprise and hope as well, but since she was half-expecting disbelief that was what she saw most prominently.

Wyst tilting her head while considering did not help Caitlin to feel any more relaxed and she twisted her right foot to rest on its side on the ground in an anxious motion. She didn’t want to have what she was saying questioned or attacked again, because it wasn’t like she had a lot of self-confidence to start with. She couldn’t imagine what Wysteria would think to be her reasoning for lying – perhaps she was still in denial, and imagining things to convince herself.

But rather than immediately rebuke her as Caitlin had been expecting, instead she replied in a mostly calm voice... She shrugged slightly at the mention of her lack of approachableness, because however true it was she didn’t really know how to reply to that. She nodded when the request was made for her to be detailed, although that wasn’t going to be particularly fun. Thinking about Alessandro just took her back to the night she watched him fall, and any hope that he might still be alive didn’t really do a lot to counter that.

[yellow]”Awake. And he was... um, kind of made up of fire. You could see the outline of him, but no skin or clothes or anything. It was his voice I recognised, although that didn’t sound really right either...”[/yellow] Again she was staring anywhere but at Wysteria – this time above the pacing vampire’s head, blankly at a wall that really held nothing of any interest. [yellow]”He didn’t look in pain... just like he was trying to talk to me. But he kept fading out.”[/yellow]

It felt strange talking like this about Alessandro – as if he really was still alive, preposterous as it might sound. A dull ache started up inside her at this train of thought, telling her that whatever this vision might mean, there was no guarantee that he was out there somewhere. Most likely, he was dead, and she would never see him again. That was what caused the ache to start, and now to intensify.

[yellow]”No, I haven’t told Dee. Haven’t told anyone,”[/yellow] she admitted, glancing back to see Wysteria’s face with some apprehension.