Antebellum [Open]

Lacey glared at Nocens and spoke lowly so no one could hear, "Just stay calm. We won't be here long, anyways. Just until after it rains and until mum and dad get back from their. . . . 'meeting'."

Turning back to Arsen and Cepheus, she smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Arsen. A transfer from Durmstrang?" Excitement rose in her voice. "I hear they teach a lot of Dark Arts there! How is it? Do they really??"

Lacey looked at the new girl then at Cepheus. "Um. . . I don't recall ever calling a Hufflepuff anything besides Puff." she laughed. "My cousin was in Hufflepuff, you know."

He closed his eyes and gripped his side where the most pain came from. "It's fine, you weren't to know. No one knows." He said taking a deep breath. He nodded. "Atheist, the only way to be if you want to live free." He agreed.

"Yeah i'd imagine ill be old and grey before this good thing happens to me. But i don't plan on living that long anyway." He shrugged, he wanted to go the way his uncle wanted too. In battle, dying whilst fighting for something you believed in, a hero's death. Dying of old age never appealed to him he hated the thought of not being able to move freely. Maybe being in his condition he wouldn't have to worry about that but he didn't know for sure, he didn't know any other part demon other than the Highmaster of Durmstrang but he knew just as much as he did.

He raised an eyebrow. "Where's the logic in that?" He smirked well nothing good has ever happened to him so that can't always be true. "It kinda is weird to me. I've never seen someone like you before. It's amazing how easy you make it look." He smirked. "It must come in very usefully. Can you turn yourself into someone else?" He asked curious at how far his talent went.

He nodded then went back to throwing a rock in the air. He had no idea what they were talking about, he had only just learnt the names of the different houses. He smiled. "Well it is a school for the dark arts so i hope so. Let's just say this, there are plenty of dark lords in training in that place and with the help of being an apprentice i can see a lot of them succeeding." He nodded. "It's a great school though." He frowned wishing that he hadn't had to leave.

"Nobody knows, huh?" Cepheus whispered. "I'm still sorry, though," Looking out over the rain-clad grounds outside the cave, he frowned. "I always thought Wizards and Witches would be pagans. I'm not sure, really." Thinking it over, they were either that or atheist.

"I doubt that. Friends are good things to happen, unless they annoy you," Sometimes, Chepheus was a bit too optimistic. He could be a pessimist, too! "Oh? I hope to grow old. I want to see how the world changes before I die." He nodded his head, as if just making a decision. "One thing I would hate is seeing everyone around me die before me, though.."

He snorted. "There's logic in everything. Sometimes," A sheepish look appeared on his face for a second. "I think so. I've never really tried without someone around to help me, in case I do something wrong. I can't change my organs, it's fatal, but I can change bones and all that," He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. Moments later, he looked exactly like Arsen - maybe a few things a bit different - before he let go of the image and changed back to himself, black hair and all. "I guess I can." He muttered.

"You must have loved it there," Cepheus pointed out. "I can hear it in your voice," He would never admit it, but he had always wanted to learn some Dark Arts. After all, there is no Light and Dark, it's only the intention behind it. "Dark Arts sound.. Fun."

Lacey looked at Arsen, interested.

"You know, one might call me evil, but the Dark Arts enthrall me. . ." she blushed. "Erm, it would be nice if you didn't repeat that. I wish I could've gone to Durmstrang. . ."

She eyed him carefully, her brown eyes sparkling. "Do you miss it there?"

Lucy looked at them all talking about how they were enthralled y the dark arts. Truth be told, she would have loved to learn the dark arts. But that hadn't really been her choice. She winced slightly at the memory of her mother telling her that the dark art were pure evil. That was why she as even at durmstrang and not hogwarts.

"I don't want to look like I'm jumping on the banwagon here, which I'm not, but honestly, if I could have chosen which school I went to, it would have been durmstrang. The dark arts are so, interesting."

She looked around - the cave seems so crowded now. There are thoughts everywhere - thoughts that are simply loud. She cannot take this.

She saw a girl who kept sneezing. She reminds her of her mum - such an adorable lady. She missed her.

She went towards Lucy and handed her an unused handkerchief. "You need it more than I do," she said with a smile. "And it is getting quite crowded. I should go. And-"

She looked at the two men. "Thank you for letting me stay."

She went for the cave's mouth, looked at the clouds and ran towards the castle where it's perfectly dry and comfortable.

"Well i'd say three people alive today know. The rest have died." He shrugged. "They weren't important anyway... Well they are usually one of the two. Some wizards are stupid enough to create their own god. Others worship satan. Believe me i've met those people and they are crazy." He smiled shaking his head, his uncle being one of those crazy people.

He nodded but the truth was he never stopped long enough to make friends, too many people annoyed him and he was always on the defensive. "Well i guess we all have our own wish list. I'd love to be around when Wizards win this war though. I want to see the looks on those muggles faces when they realise they are in fact the weaker race." He smiled. "I don't have to worry about that because i don't care enough for anyone so if they died before me it wouldn't make much difference to me." He shrugged he found it hard to feel any emotion that wasn't anger or annoyance.

He nodded. "Sometimes being the key element there." He smirked. "You wouldn't really have to change your organs though to look like someone else would you?" He asked, maybe if he was to turn into a man much larger then he might need to make his organs to fit in order to survive but he couldn't see any other reason why. "Okay never do that again, that was creepy." He said it was like looking in a mirror.

He nodded. "It was a great school. If you consider seeing someone get decapitated on your first ever day at Durmstrang fun then yes it is fun." He smiled, the memory of that day was still etched in his mind.

He smiled a little at Lacey. "Doesn't it everyone? You have to be careful though the dark arts are incredibly addictive. It's sent many great witches and wizards insane. Yeah i miss it." He said it was the first place where people accepted him for who he was.

He nodded to the first girl they had met and watched her leave.

".. Fair enough," Cepheus muttered, almost raising an eyebrow inquiringly. He didn't. Why should he, when he felt he'd intruded on Arsens personal life enough? It wasn't in his place for him to ask these questions. "Satanists. I know one. They were quite scary, actually..." He trailed off, shuddering slightly.

"I think Muggles could do quite well, despite us having magic," Cepheus said, wrinkling his nose. "They have things like nuclear bombs, guns and we Wizards haven't got any protection against them," He shrugged. It was true. "And Muggles easily beat us in numbers. Six billion of them, and we're at least only a quater of that in the whole world, maybe a bit more. If we started an all-out war against them, we could be easily defeated," That was also true. There weren't as many Wizards as Muggles, and a lot of Muggles killed their Muggle-born children once they started using accidental magic. "And think of all the squibs we have been producing from inbreeding, too." Purebloods. Inbreeding. Cepheus shuddered at the thought.

"Nah, you wouldn't have to change 'em, but it may come in handy if I've got kidney failure or something," He chuckled lightly at the look on Arsens face when he changed into him. He was uncomfortable in his body though, and was glad he was back in his own or he'd be fidgeting a lot more.

"Durmstrang sounds nice." The metamorphmagus chuckled, a crooked grin on his face. Then he waved goodbye to the quiet girl who was leaving.

Lacey shrugged. "I know they are. . . trust me." she snorted. "I know two great people who have become mere nothings but bendable putty because of them. Two great people who live in fear of someone else because of their choices. . ."

Clearing her throat, Lacey smiled. "Decapitated? That sounds most. . . intriguing? I don't think I would go as far as to say that seeing someone lose their head is my idea of fun. . . maybe I'll stick to Hogwarts." she laughed.

"Cepheus, your talent is interesting." she commented, the scene of him changing into Arsen made her smile. "Someone in my family was like you as well, though I never had the pleasure of meeting her. . . great stories follow her death."

"I can talk to animals. It's pretty stupid, I know, but it can come in handy. Because not only just regular animals but all matter of magical creatures as well and Halfbreeds like Werewolves and Centaurs. I can also decipher the differences between animals and Animagus. That can come in handy sometimes."

Lucy accepted the handkerchief from the girl happily. Although she was sad she left, she had looked like a nice person. Satanists were not her cup of tea, but disusing the upcoming war was something she could do in detail. "I really think that the wizards would have a chance though. I mean, there is such a thing as 'accio bomb' and then learning how to use it an all," she chuckled slightly at the image of a wizard simply summoning a bomb.

"Really though, even if there are less wizards, we know who to defend ourselves, and with all the people with special talents out there, I'm sure we could get the snakes to join us, or the other animals," she nodded slightly at the girl with the wolf, "and all sorts of other things. Not that I don't think muggles are strong, it's just, they aren't as strong. It's like when I was a kid, back before hogwarts, and I didn't know using magic outside of school was banned. Anyway, me and my friend had an arm wrestle. He was two years older, and much stronger, well, as strong as a ten year old boy can be. He was winning, and I didn't like it, so I sort of, used magic. I don't even know what I did, but one second he was almost winning, and the next his arm was pinned to the table.

"I know I wasn't stronger, we did all sorts of things when we wee young, and he was always the tougher one. But that day, I beat him. It was a one time thing too, I could never beat anyone else who was as strong as him. People he lost to beat me all the time," she sighed as she thought of her friend, he was a muggle, and one of the people that made her wish the war would just not happen. But his brother was a different kind of person. His brother was a muggle, and his brother had done things to her mother. She could still see her mother's face in her minds eye. Stony, shocked, a gash on her cheek, and her clothes torn apart.

He nodded thankful he didn't ask more questions like anyone else would. "Yeah they are i don't think they are all there to be honest, but some don't really have a choice. They get sucked in and have no way of getting out." He shrugged.

"Oh they will. Muggles arent stupid they know what they are doing. They must do how else would they have been able to live this long? They do have bombs and guns but we have means to a quick escape. They don't know how to apparate. Some people might think you a coward for running but it's called being smart. Besides you don't have to leave you can just apparate a few meters away from where you were before. Then you wouldn't be running at all." He shrugged.

"Ar but the first thing they teach you in durmstrang is numbers isn't everything. Power doesn't come in numbers it comes in experience and skill. One man alone can kill 20 men on his own if he has enough skill and determination. Besides a surprise attack is a good way to kill off some of their numbers." He said rubbing his eye. "Wait! Who said the squibs would take their side? Some are born to families with blood as pure as yours. Not all squibs hate the wizarding world you know." He said turning to listen to Lucy. "She has a point. We have giants, centaur and all other magical creatures on our side. We have a lot more than they do. Giants can kill about 20 muggle with one foot."

He smirked. "Oh that is a good point, i never thought about that." He smiled. "It is if you're into that kind of thing." He smirked. "The guy was convicted of rape so he deserved everything he got. Rapists are the scum of the earth. If it was up to me i'd have all their heads on a spike spread around the country to warn others." He said his face screwed up in disgust just thinking about those low lifes.

"I've never met a bunch of people with talents before. Usually you'll find one in a crowed room but today i find two in a cave." He smirked it was unusual to find some many gifted people in one place. If you can call what he was a gift.

Lacey's face darkened "Then he deserved every painful second of losing that ridiculous excuse for a head." she bit out. "I can't believe their are actually people who want to hurt women in such a way."

"Yeah. . . a bit weird. I can't say I even expected to meet anyone in this cave other then a slimy frog." her lips twitched upward. "And you may not consider what you have as a gift, Arsen, but no matter what it is you were given, it can be made into a gift by how you decide to use it." she hadn't read his thoughts, she was no good at Legilimens, but she could read his face.

Lucy stiffened at the mention of rape. She bit her lip, and tried to take deep breaths, but it was nowhere near working. Of course, she was used to it being mentioned, used to people joking about it, but back then Josh was always there to comfort her, or something. She knew loads of stuff had come about other people in this cave, the whole devil thing with Arsen, Lacey talking to animals, and Ceph being a metamorphmagus, but this wasn't something she was just going to spout out.

She was grinding her teeth together, trying not to say anything that would make them think she was some overly violent crazy person. The guy would have deserved death no matter what, but in her mind he deserved so much more. Her throat was clenched, but she forced out a question, "Do they know why he did it?"

Cepheus hummed. "Poor them. I wonder if there are any normal satanists out there, of if they're all kind of weird." He grinned slightly, remembering the two different ones he had met, both friends of each other. They were kind of scary..

"You make a good point," He nodded. "Though I doubt we would want to accio a nuclear bomb, seeing as Wizards don't know how to disarm it and stop it from exploding." Not many Wizards knew anything about Muggles, unless they're muggle-borns or have a muggle parent.

"I wouldn't do well in Durmstrang, but I'd like to see what it would be like to attend," Ceph wasn't the best at dueling, but he was best in DADA and could hold his own against another person. "But a lot of squibs are cast out by their families," He pointed out quickly. "Surely that would make them feel some resentment towards the Wizarding World." He shrugged. It was just a point.

"Nymphadora Tonks?" He asked. He'd heard about her and her part in the war, and how her mother was cast out from the Black family for marrying a muggle-born. Way to go Tonks, he thought.

Lacey nodded. "Yep, Nymphadora Tonks. She was straight up from my family line, her mum disowned for marrying a Muggle-born. Wouldn't even remotely refer to themselves as Blacks. The only Black she'd say she was related to was Sirius Black. They were cousins. She was a Hufflepuff."

"Fair point," she conceded, having not fully thought through the whole disarming a bomb idea, which she had no idea how to do. She was sure that any other which or wizard could research it and find out, but she wasn't really in the mood to bring it up. While the muggle subject of science fascinated her, she doubted that anyone else in the cave shared or would look happily on this passion of hers.

Lucy grinned at the mention of Tonks, "My family knows her, well a couple of them did. She always sounded so cool from the stories I heard. When I was a kid I always got my Dad to tell me stories of her and that Lupin man. They seemed like such a cute couple, only I do feel bad for their son." Her enthusiasm died away as she thought of their son, and how he must have grown up without a mother or father.

"Really?" Lacey smiled. "Yes, I've heard many stories about them. It's quite silly, really, that Remus Lupin didn't want to love her because she was younger. Anyhow, Teddy Lupin grew up to be a great guy. I knew him a little bit when I was really little. My parents didn't like him, then again my parents are-" she cleared her throat. "-well, I liked him a lot. He used to bring me candy whenever he came to visit me. He'd also tell me a ton of stories. . ."