The Inspection

[acciomod]

On the whole, the weather had been temperamental lately. One minute, it was absolutely bucketing it down, and the next, it was bright sunshine. The amount of rain had turned the ground into a muddy mess, but at least the tents provided perfectly adequate shelter, and a gazebo had been erected over the community dining table to protect everyone from the elements.

Despite the temperamental weather, however, it had been fairly warm throughout the past two weeks, so the chill in the air during dinner that evening was particularly noticeable, even before the dark, hooded figure by the Ministry's representative's desk had been seen.

Nervously, the Ministry representative approached the table.

"I'm afraid we have a visitor," he said, addressing everyone at the table and hoping that anyone not there could hear him. "This is a Dementor, one of the Guards at Azkaban. It's a high security prison. He's just here to, well, ensure that a certain escaped criminal isn't hiding amongst you.

"I don't expect he'll be here for more than an half an hour, so do try not to worry too much. They can make people rather, well... uncomfortable."

Bowing his head slightly, he left the Outsiders to their meal.

[And so, a Dementor is lurking around the camp, just in case one of the Outsiders is secretly Sirius Black. They're known to sap the happiness out of the environment, and - in cases where there are true horrors in someone's past - cause traumatic memories to resurface.

The chilly, depressed feeling can be lifted by the deliciousness of chocolate, though the Outsiders will need to discover this on their own. Good thing there's dessert.]

Comments

[corruptedsouls]

[The ruffle causes him to cringe and shrink, clearly not all that comfortable with touching.

He nods, though, if a bit slower than usual. Lots.]

[fierybluebird]

[Withdraws the wing slightly, back to shield position.]

Hey, you want to get some food or something? Might help, eh?

[His usual solution to upset new kids.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Nooo, wing, come back! You're warm and comforting!

He blinks a little, nodding somewhat more eagerly. It stops, however, as he looks over towards the actual table and the people sitting at it, the boy rubbing his arms and instead shrinking a little bit more into the blue feathers.]

[fierybluebird]

[Oh CUTE. He can't help the small hug with his wing.]

Or I can get you something. What kind of things do you like?

[corruptedsouls]

...Anything.

[Ahh, wing. This gets a small smile out of the black-haired kid and he tries to bury his face in the feathers as best he can.]

[fierybluebird]

[Cutie. Have two wings, accentuated feathers and all.]

No favorites?

[corruptedsouls]

[You have the wings around him now, Marco. Can't you tell how incredibly and dangerously thin this boy is?]

I don't remember.

[fierybluebird]

[Nope.]

What, seriously? What have you been stuck eating lately?

[corruptedsouls]

Whatever I could take.

[fierybluebird]

[Oh :(]

Okay. Will you be okay here while I get something?

[corruptedsouls]

[He nods a little bit.]

[fierybluebird]

Okay! [Grins.] I'll be right back, eh?

[Hurries off, but true to his word returns with a bunch of food, a little bit of everything and whatever Marco thought would look good. Which is mostly bird things but, at least some of them are fattening yay.]

Here you go, eh?

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias' eyes light up and Marco can barely get him the food before he's got his hands on it, devouring it like a starving bear with barely a break to breathe.]

[fierybluebird]

[A little worried.]

O-oi... don't get sick, eh. Take it slow. It's not going anywhere.

[corruptedsouls]

[He blinks a little, looking up at Marco confusedly.]

It's not?

[fierybluebird]

Aye, I promise. I'll always find you a way to get you more here, so don't get hurt, okay?

[corruptedsouls]

...Okay.

[He eats a bit more slowly now, like an actual human rather than a starving animal.]

[fierybluebird]

[Relieved sigh.]

Should I even ask why it's been so hard for you to get food lately, before all this?

[corruptedsouls]

...People... hate me... because I'm a monster...

[fierybluebird]

Oh good. I like monsters. We share something in common.

[A gentle grin and he switches into his phoenix form.]

[corruptedsouls]

[He's about to ask exactly why Marco likes monsters, but the shift from human to the giant blue bird causes Tobias' jaw to drop and it's all he can do to simply stare at this.

Of course, he hadn't given much thought to the wings before, but seeing this now causes him to reach out an amazed, but almost hesitant hand, as if terrified that the bird is going to disappear like a mirage.]

You...?

[fierybluebird]

[Nods his head and leans a phoenix head into Toby's hand gently.]

[corruptedsouls]

[He tries to be very gentle with the touch, but his eyes widen further as the feathers come in contact with his gloved hand. For a moment, he can't even breathe.]

...You're... real...

[He pauses for a moment, taking in the looks.]

...really pretty... not... like me...

[fierybluebird]

[Shakes his head and nudges him again before switching back into a hybrid form so he can still talk to him.]

Kid you're plenty adorable. If you were a pirate, I'd be forced to adopt you on the spot, eh?

[corruptedsouls]

Pirate?

[He blinks a little at that, as if he doesn't quite register that pirate-pirates actually exist. Still, the sight of the phoenix transformation -- and even this hybrid -- seems to have done wonders in calming him down.]

...no one... wants to really adopt me... do they?