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]

[Tobias sits up a bit at that, frowning a little as if some heavy worry just fell right on top of him. He wraps his arms around the book, glancing around nervously before finally looking back to his current tent mate to nod slowly.]

O...Okay...

[windseye]

Huh, they're...coming back after all...

[That was weird. The rest of the Outsiders were slowly making their way back to the tents, and Vaati sat back on his bed again, wondering how the hell they'd all managed to be so quiet all of a sudden.

He was going to have to learn that trick.]

[corruptedsouls]

Oh.

[Well, it made sense. These were their "safe places," right? So naturally, they'd eventually come back, but it was true it was nice and quiet in here...

Tobias gets through the rest of the book just as eagerly, but when he finishes, he looks up at Vaati curiously.]

...Do you have paper...?

[windseye]

Well, kind of.

[Vaati had been given stacks of what seemed to be parchment from the same witch who'd given him the book he'd just been reading. Pulling out a heavy chest from under his bed and rummaging through it, he handed Tobias a few sheets.]

It's not paper but I've been using it fine. Do you know how to use a quill?

[corruptedsouls]

Mhm, I can use it...

[And as soon as he gets one, he goes to work with a focused single-mindedness. It's apparent after a minute or two that he's not really writing something -- obviously, seeing as he said he can't really read -- but is instead drawing with a... fairly skilled hand.

The subject... seems to be Vaati himself, and almost picture-perfect from how it's coming out.]

[windseye]

[Whoa, this kid seemed to be enjoying himself a lot, if the big grin on his face was anything to go by. Without bothering to ask if he could look, Vaati leaned over and peered down at the sheet of parchment.... and saw a likeness of himself staring back up at him.]

Wow, you captured my scowl perfectly...

[Not many people could, admittedly.]

[corruptedsouls]

Mhm.

[Tobias gives a bright smile up to the wind mage, chuckling a little quietly.]

I know... how to draw things... so they look like a picture... It was the only way... I could really remember things... back home... so I practiced it a lot...

And... you're my friend... So I want... to remember you too...

wow vaati quit being a JERK

[windseye]

[Friend.

Vaati hadn't heard that word applied to him in a long time.

So long, that it now made him feel uncomfortable. Because this time, he sensed it was sincere.]

I....

[Why was he hesitating with the caustic remarks he was so used to saying? He wasn't really this boy's....friend, he was just being nice to him. He didn't have friends.

He only had himself.]

Seriously Vaati come on. Tobias likes you!

[corruptedsouls]

[If Tobias notices his mental struggle, he doesn't say anything. He's back to his drawing of Vaati, putting the utmost care in every quill stroke and line. This is one thing that can encompass all of the boy's attention, especially when the subject is someone who -- regardless of their own feelings -- is held dear to him.

So he doesn't so much as look up until it's done, and when it is done he's smiling brightly, holding out the picture for Vaati to see.

...It's almost perfect, down to the last detail.]

See? Now I'll... always remember you!

[windseye]

Yes, well, someone else told me that once, and it didn't end well.

[It hadn't ended well at all.

Vaati had meant for that outburst to come out bitter, but it sounded more...sad to him than anything else. He didn't even have the excuse of the dementor's presence to cover up for him.

Ugh.]

[corruptedsouls]

...Really? Why...?

[And now he's looking straight at Vaati with all the curiousness of a three year old, even with the slight head tilt as well. It seems the sad tint to it kept the boy from cringing away this time.]

[windseye]

I...I don't feel like talking about it. I've said enough already.

[A small part of Vaati did want to speak, though, but he couldn't. He just couldn't.

He had already made himself look pathetic enough. Although Tobias seemed to have no qualms looking vulnerable around him, something was holding him back from returning the favour.

He was tired of feeling so anxious.]

[corruptedsouls]

Oh. Okay.

[At least Tobias leaves it at that. He puts the piece of parchment with Vaati's drawing aside gingerly, as if it was something that would break at the slightest jostle.

That done, he goes back to drawing again, though this time it's quicker and a bit less detailed.]

This is a Charizard.

[windseye]

[Vaati sighed with relief when Tobias dropped the subject almost instantly- he'd half-expected him to keep pestering him with questions, like a little kid would.

But he seemed to move quickly onto something more interesting, like little kids also did. Within minutes, he was holding up a sketchy drawing of what sort-of looked like a dragon.]

Huh, they look pretty interesting... I've never seen anything like that back in Hyrule.

[...saying that, he hadn't seen much of Hyrule apart from Minish Woods. He was sure there hadn't been anything like dragons there.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias wasn't all that intelligent or insightful, but he knew all too well having something you didn't want to talk about. Why would he pester, then?]

They're... different than stuff here... I guess...

[More sketching, and the next is a little yellow thing with sparks coming off it.]

This is a Pikachu. I have... one who likes to stay with me... but I don't know... where she is now...

[windseye]

Oh hey, that thing looks...sort of familiar...

[He was sure he'd seen something similar to this 'Pikachu' before, but he couldn't quite think of where. Something from his childhood, maybe? He was reminded of something to do with a story, strangely enough.

But he wouldn't have any of his old books around here. Sadly.]

[corruptedsouls]

Mhm!

Do... you wanna see... more?

[windseye]

If you want. What else can you draw?

[Tobias' drawings were pretty nice, and at least him sitting there doodling and talking about his art kept a more awkward atmosphere away.]

[corruptedsouls]

Um... almost anything if... I see it for long enough.

Did... you want me to draw something... else?

[He's looking at Vaati carefully now, clearly waiting for an order or request or some such.]

[windseye]

[He would have asked him to draw the princess, but Tobias would have NO IDEA what she looked like. Vaati barely knew, either...he'd only caught glimpses of her, years ago...]

You should draw yourself as a wizard.

[They were technically wizards now, being in the 'Wizarding World.' Still, Vaati preferred being called a mage.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias frowns at that, looking down at his parchment, then up to Vaati, clearly lost.]

What do wizards look like?

[windseye]

[Vaati was tempted to state the obvious, but no, Tobias was...genuinely confused.]

You've seen those people in the brightly coloured robes visit the camp, right? The ones with the funny hats?

Those are what wizards look like.

[Ah. Another reason he preferred to be called a mage- the wizarding dress sense seemed a little too dramatic, even for him.]

[corruptedsouls]

Oh.

[Well, that's that, then. Tobias begins drawing, as intent on it as he was the others.

However, unlike the others, his hand shakes every so often as he draws, forcing him to pause between little fits as he scratches the lines down on the paper. He clearly isn't as intent on this one as he was the others, but because Vaati suggested it, he seems unable to stop.

By the time he's done, the wizarding dress is spot on, but the picture itself is barely recognizable as Tobias. The eyes are giving off that sinister glow, there are pieces in the air similar to what was given off when his hand deleted the ground, and the entire demeanor of the picture is more of a vicious beast than a timid kid.

Vaati told him to draw himself... so Tobias drew what he viewed his "self" as.]

...There....

[windseye]

Whoa, you look pretty frightening actually.

[Frightening was good in Vaati's books, but he didn't think Tobias felt the same way, if the way his hands were shaking as he drew was anything to go by. Struck by a sudden idea, Vaati pulled out a quill for himself, grabbed another sheet of parchment, and quickly sketched out his own drawing, holding it up when he was done.]

See? Now we match.

[He'd drawn himself too- the sketch was a lot messier than any of Tobias' drawings, but the flowing robes, similar glowing eyes and menacing demeanour were there all the same. Vaati was taller in the sketch, though, and wearing a horned golden crown, with what looked like a third eye in the centre of his outfit.

He...he didn't know where the design had come from, but it felt right.]

[corruptedsouls]

...That's because... of what I am...

[He blinks a little at the drawing, tilting his head to look at it intently. Vaati did indeed look matching in that, and it seemed to confuse the boy a little as he looked at the two drawings.

Huh. Did this mean...?]

Do you... have weird powers... too?

[Hopefully not at all like his, but the drawing... yes, he was beyond curious now. Vaati hadn't run when the accident had happened -- something Tobias couldn't understand -- but assuming the two of them shared something similar...

He could barely bite down the hope.]