Fallout

Damian stood in the Clock Tower, staring at the window as he idly rubbed at his left shoulder with his hand. It didn't hurt, of course, as it was long since healed. It was simply a habit he had developed after having broken it during that admittedly disastrous training session.

His thoughts were elsewhere, far away from Hogwarts castle. That didn't mean the boy did not hear the approaching footfalls. Damian just wasn't particularly concerned about them at the moment.

Karma walked into the Clock tower, Nightmare somewhere in the shadows, looking around. Her eyes fell on Ian, and she smiled. "Hey there, Ian." She greeted. "You look... old...er..." She leaned against the railing of the clock tower, taking a deep breath through her nose and sighing. She grinned and looked down at the court yard. She realized the last time she was up here, she'd been completely depressed.

Damian pulled his gaze from the window to look at the older girl before looking back again.

"Hey, Karma," he returned quietly. A small smile tugged at his lips, "It's only be a few weeks since you last saw me. I can't have aged that much."

He turned from the window to lean against the railing himself, blue gaze sweeping the inside of the clock tower. Memories, phantom apparitions, appeared before him. Iva and him by one of the other windows as she tried to teach him a phrase in Russian; holding her close, hands exploring; kissing her, the taste of her mouth, the scent of her shampoo -

"I don't think I'm going to come up here, anymore," Damian declared abruptly, eyes moving to look at Karma rather than the rest of the tower. "I never did like it here." Which was true, of course. It was only then that Damian dislike the place at all.

Karma shrugged. "You'd be surprised what could happen during a break." She said with a sigh. "You look older to me. Maybe I'm just used to you as a firstie."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before turning to face him, the look on her face worried. "...Did... something happen?" She asked cautiously. Her eyes followed the path his had taken around the place, seeing herself looking down on Arsen and Aria... hugging Rhys for comfort she didn't deserve... Her eyes went away then, back to him, and she sighed. "It's not a very happy place, is it?" She asked. "I don't think I'll come here much more either."

Damian gave a small laugh that lacked much of the youthful vibrance his laughter usually contained. "I like to think I'm at least a bit taller than I was as a first year," he declared teasingly, then shrugged. "Maybe I am older.

"Nothing important," Damian uttered bluntly, though it certainly didn't feel like nothing to him. Nothing wouldn't have him persistently experiencing waves of anger and betrayal. But the fact that it wasn't nothing and that it did seem important made him feel even worse.

His gaze dropped to the floor - an avoidance of the matter. "Everything that happened here was a lie," he muttered, toeing the edge of a flagstone. "Just a bloody big clock, anyway. Nothing great about that."

"Whatever it was." Karma said softly. "It will get better." She reached out as if to cup his cheek in her hand, but thought better of it, passing off the motion to brush her lengthening hair out of her eyes. It was beginning to get shaggy, and annoying, but she never took the time to cut it. She was liking the way it hid her eyes whenever she ducked her head in thought, just like it was doing now.

"Some lies make you better." She decided. "Trusting is always hard, and the harder it is, the less chance there is of being hurt." She shrugged her shoulder, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning backwards on the railing. She reached into her uniform pocket and took out a blood pop, unwrapping the candy and sticking it into her mouth. She was starting to get hungry again.

She shook her hair out of her face and looked up at the giant gears of the clock as they moved, watching the second hand go around and around. "I come here when I need to remember." She said, her voice soft. "Time changes everything, even the things we hope to keep forever. It's not controlled by anything or anyone, and even if you go back in time, you're still subject to it. It's like the greatest power on earth, you know?" She sighed. "Realizing that I don't control everything makes it easier to be thankful for the things I do control. Taking life into my own hands and such. You can choose to be outwardly angry, or you can choose to hide your anger in favor of making her... or your enemies, feel like they don't have any power over you... because they don't.

"No one controls you but you." She closed her eyes and laughed, shortly. "I'm just ranting. Feel free to disregard anything and everything I've said... but feel free to think on it too."

Damian scoffed. "Whatever," he mumbled.

"Some lies are just lies," the boy pointed out. Damian only half-listened as the girl continued, not really interested in what she had to say. Until she had to go and mention a 'her'. His hands promptly curled into fists, temper flaring.

"'Her'?" Damian snapped furiously. "Who said anything about a her? You've been talking to Popov, haven't you? Figures. You can tell that - that... Just tell her to mind her own bloody business! If I'm angry, or in trouble, or dying, it has nothing to do with her! She dumped me! So, she can be alone and confused and damaged all by herself. I don't care, anymore!"

His tone had risen to an angry shout by the time he finished, at which point, he whirled on his heel and stalked away. Both hands were still curled into tight fists even as angry tears stung at his eyes.

It didn't matter. He didn't care anymore.

Merlin, he could really do with a fight.

"Iva did this?!" She muttered. "Everything I do after this is to help you." She promised, knowing he could hear her. She was in front of him in a millisecond, cutting off his exit. "We aren't finished here." She growled. Suddenly, she smiled, taking in his fists and his tears. "Punch me." She said pleasantly. She looked at him with a far off glint in her eye. She wrinkled her nose. "And I haven't talked to her. Haven't seen her since last term."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How did she do it?" She asked, cautiously. "She had the guts to do it to your face, right?" The look on his face seemed to scream at her to move out of his way, but she wouldn't. She may have somehow developed a fondness for the boy. "Punch. Me." She repeated.

Damian gritted his teeth, causing them to grind audibly together. "I'm not gonna punch you," he growled. He tried for an ineffective moment to move around her, before deciding it wasn't worth the effort. She wasn't going to let him past.

"To my face?" Damian echoed. He let out a sharp, derisive laugh. "You really think I wouldn't have at least tried to talk her out of it if she'd dumped me to my face? She wrote me a letter - over Christmas. Oh, and she sent me back that necklace I got for her, too. That's how she did it."

A growl rose up in the boy's throat and he finally gave the girl a hard shove in an attempt to force his way past her. "I told you - I'm not fighting with you! You think I'm stupid?"

Karma scowled, but dropped that particular bag of worms. She's tear Iva to shreds when she got her hands on her, if it was before she calmed down. She shouldn't have...

"Why not?" She asked. "I won't hurt you... much." She rolled her eyes. "And you'd appreciate the pain, I'm sure."

Karma grinned at him as she allowed herself to be shoved a bit back, though she regained her balance almost a second later. "I dunno. You're acting kind of stupid, aren't you?" She asked. "Come on Ian. I know you want to punch something. Might as well be me. I won't get you in trouble." She smiled angelically. "Unless of course, you're too scared. In that case, go on and run." She shrugged, though she made no move to unblock his path.

One of Damian's greatest strengths, when it came to physical fighting, anyway, was that he was quick. Not as fast as a vampire or some other beings, of course, but certainly faster than most. He struck out with his fists, even as he aimed with his foot to knock her feet out from beneath her.

Damian wasn't stupid. Hand-to-hand, a vampire would have greater strength and speed than he would. Still, he'd wager that he'd at least get in a few lucky hits. And as long as he didn't end up in the hospital wing, again, his mentor didn't have to know that he'd been fighting.

Besides, she'd good as called him a coward, and for all his faults, that was one thing Damian was not.

Karma brought up her hands in a simple defensive block, letting him get a lucky shot to the side of her face, her speed kept at a moderately human level. She did, however, back up in time to miss his foot. She wasn't going down on his first attempt, that was for sure. She swung once, her fist moving only slightly faster than what a human would have done, aiming at the side of his face, before juking out and aiming for his chest with a quick left-left-right combo. She aimed a kick at his leg, attempting to use his own move on him and trip him.

"Aw, come on Ian. You can do better than that."

She'd gotten a few hits in - which was inevitable. She was holding back, though. Damian was certainly smart enough to figure that out.

When the girl kicked at his leg, he evaded the motion. It took at least two or three opponents to get him with that particular move. Defending yourself against several others was difficult when you were on the ground, so Damian had gotten rather good at keeping his feet in a fight.

Grabbing for Karma's leg as it left the ground, he aimed his shoulder for the middle of her diaphragm.

"Either wipe the floor with me or leave me be," Damian growled when he had moved away, again. He was irritated, now, though it was no longer the blinding anger he had felt a moment before. That had receded again, for now.

"I'm not supposed to be fighting, anyway. Master Chaos would have my head." He sounded more weary than angry, though his eyes clearly expressed just what he felt about her holding back on him.

The air left Karma's lungs all at once, and she lost her balance, falling back. As she fell, her legs wrapped around his waist and she flipped them, making it so that he took most of their weight. Her knees pressed down into his shoulders, pinning him down.

"You want me to use all my strength?" She demanded furiously. Her arm raced backward, and she slammed a punch toward his face.

At the last second, she checked herself, her fist slamming into the stone floor instead. The indent of her fist left a small crater, cracks running across the flagstone.

"I thought you enjoyed having a face."

Ric appeared almost without noise and pulled Karma up by the back of her robes, throwing her back into the wall. "First, you interrupt a very important meeting of mine with the minister of magic herself no less by terrorising my apprentice. She was not impressed." He said marching around to his apprentices side to help him up.

"Secondly, you try spur him on for a fight. Yes Miss Black, i know you were... how is it you kids say it now a days? Egging him on? I think thats twenty points from your house, your badge." He said holding out his hand so the prefect badge appeared in his hand seconds laters which he then pocketed.

"And a bit of community service for destroying my school. I think the toilets on the third floor need a good clean, no magic. You can get this badge back when i think you've earned it back. Damian keep your eyes pealed for a note for further training and keep your head down. Don't you both have homework or something to be doing?" He asked, making a mental note to make sure the professors were giving enough.

Damian was only half-surprised when Karma took him down with her pinning him against the floor. Her sudden fury didn't surprise the boy at all. In fact, it had been expected. The boy's eyes glinted, his expression unchanging though he had little reason to believe she wouldn't hit him.

He won.

The Hufflepuff grimaced as a piece of flagstone flew up and cut the side of his face. "Everything you do is to help me?" Damian parroted back at her. "Bang up job you're doing."

Lynne had made her way into the tower, at some point, laying obediently in the doorway. The daemon knew her master would not have her intervene unless necessary. Clearly, she had greater faith in the half-vampire's good will than Damian did. She did start silently forward when the boy was pinned, halting her movement only when her mother's master arrived. The wolf stood where she was, halfway across the floor, pale golden eyes fixed intently upon the scene and ears perked to listen.

When Asric appeared, his presence brought with it the first real anxiety Damian had felt since a simple chat turned to something more violent. To say that the boy was surprise he was not in trouble, for once, would have been an understatement. He diverted his gaze respectfully.

"Yes, sir," Damian responded. "Sorry, master." And he was, in some sense, because he respected the man, and he was far from ignorant of how much trouble he caused him.

Karma hit the wall hard, her head cracking back and hitting it after her spince did. A little bit dazed, she rubbed the back of her head, wincing when blood came away. A wry smile flashed across her face as she looked up at the Headmaster. "Oh right. I forgot about the mentor thing." She rubbed the back of her neck, wincing as Nightmare, who had turned pather at Ric's appearance, started licking her head. She reached out an arm to encompass her familiar, not even flinching when her prefects badge vanished into his hand. She supposed she'd have to be punished in some way, and this most likely meant less first years.

"Guilty of all charges, of course, Headmaster." She said, sounding chipper. "Tell Mini I say hi please?" She yawned, tired again. Jeesh, she needed to stop getting hurt. Healing took entirely too much energy.

"I meant no disrespect, Headmaster, I'd just rather Ian take out his anger on something less likely to hurt him than the room of requirement, is all." She stood, slowly, careful to keep her balance. "We've all used the RoR at one point, and most of us don't heal." She kept her eyes on the ground, wavering slightly and watching her panther. Nightmare gazed up at her, and Karma raised an eyebrow.

"I'll get right on those punishments, no problem."

"Mini?" He asked before holding his hand up and closing his eyes. This so called gift was getting out of control again. His mind was suddenly filled with the many thoughts of those students surrounding him, as if the box in his mind had suddenly burst open under pressure.

Finally when he looked up he looked older and more tired than he ever had. "No you did, and that's what bothers me most. You wouldn't know respect if it dropped out of the sky and threw you into a wall. Most people would say that's okay, but we both know that's not how your mother raised you." He said rubbing a hand across his brow as he saw the first signs of a lost soul appearing on his right, with a sigh he sent it away with a wave of his hand.

"If you feel the need to unleash anger you can come to me Damian not some teenage girl who gets high over peoples downfalls because she's got nothing better to do." He snapped, he didn't mean to take it out on her but the splitting head ache and the constant visits from the dead was driving him insane.

"Perhaps those punishments weren't harsh enough. You seem awfully chipper for someone who's just been caught terrorising one of my students."

"I know how to train in the Room of Requirement without killing myself," Damian muttered mutinously, swiping a hand across his face and grimacing at bit as he brushed the cut that was there. Lynne had moved to his side, positioning herself so that she was right under his hand when he lowered it, again.

The boy's teeth ground together, fingers curling against his palms. "How dumb do you think I am?" he gritted slowly, both because he was having difficultly unclenching his jaw and to keep himself from slipping into a disrespectful tone. "Even I know I'm not a physical match for a bloody half-vampire. I didn't go to her, but I wasn't about to let her call me coward for walking away, either."

Karma's eyes stayed on the ground, but near her left ear, Kama started talking, murmuring things that made her clench her fists and tense. Here that? We take pleasure in other people's down falls! What a nice, productive thing to say, don't you think, Karma?

"I'm sorry for being happy." She said her voice draining of all emotion. We don't know any better. Mother died a long time ago. She barely had a chance to teach us the alphabet. Are we to be punished for taking what little pleasure we can find in life? Watch this one, he'll try and take Arsen next.

Kama laughed, switching to her other ear as Karma tried to mentally push her away. She didn't need anymore trouble. "My mother." Was all she said, but Kama kept talking, her voice getting louder. She tried her best. Its not her fault your a total failure. We'll make her proud. We'll slaughter the entire school. We'll...

"Mini is what I call the minister." Karma inturrupted, trying to stay focused, dispite the fact her other half was currently trying to amp up her anger. "And of course it's completely my fault." That's how it always will be with these mortals. All they want is your power, and when they can't have that...

Karma's eyes, still on the ground, flashed darker, and for the briefest of seconds, Kama was in control. She looked up at the headmaster, grinning. "Can you see me?" She asked, smiling wide. "For what I am?"

But then Karma was back, and her eyes were bright. I'll have my fun, you know. she whispered, and with that she was gone. Karma wavered on her feet, and Nightmare rubbed against her legs, trying to comfort her. Kama had gotten... Different lately. She'd have to see what was going on there.

"Permission to get started then, Headmaster?" Karma said softly, sounding excruciating timid.

"Oh no you are, you are more than capable of taking out a full vampire once ive finished with you. You are a hunter Damian, by blood and birth. Nothing is going to change that." He said looking at the boy to make sure he saw how important it was that he knew this.

He had been looking over at the lake when he'd first heard her. A tiny voice, faint, but he heard her. It took him a few seconds for him to notice where it was coming from but when he did his eyebrow shot up in surprise. Floating beside Karma was a ghost, no not a ghost a part soul whispering into the girls ear. Clearly trying to annoy her.

He stood by and listened to the soul speak, making notes on everything she said. He could use that later but for now Karma was his objective. "I think the Minister deserves a little more respect don't you? She's done well to earn herself that title, the least you can do is address her as such." He really wasn't in the mood for such disrespect, especially from something that didn't even have a body of it's own but he'd surprise her in a minute.

"Oh i know exactly what you are?" He smiled as he moved to stand right before Karma. "Not not just yet. I want a little chat with your friend now i know where she's hiding. Im one person she can't hide from... this might hurt a little." He smiled and punched his fist through her chest. That she wouldn't feel, she wouldn't even feel his hand tightening around her soul what she would feel however is her soul being torn from her body.

"I always knew you were different but i would never have guessed you were torn." He said looking at the two parts of the one soul. It made sense now though. Human and vampire, they couldn't willingly be fused together. He took Kama by the throat and brought her close. "You wont lay a finger on my school. Not only do you not have the power, but if i so much as hear you mention an attack against anyone or anything i will personally send you to hell myself do i make myself clear?" He asked. "The same goes to you too." He said turning his head to address Karma.

Damian looked up at his mentor, taking in the man's words. A small smile tugged at the boy's lips. He was capable, he was a hunter. "Yes, sir," he responded. Lynne leaned into his leg and Damian gave her a pat on the shoulder.

His brows drew together, a frown slowly overtaking his features. Lynne's ears fell back, an inaudible growl vibrating her chest. The wolf's response was a little much, from what Damian was able to tell. Sure, Karma was acting strange, but -

And then, Asric put his hand through Karma's chest. When he withdrew it... well, he appeared to be holding something, though Damian wasn't able to see it. Blue eyes grew wide as he listened to the man's words. What in Merlin's name was going on?

"Mini doesn't seem to mind." Karma said quietly. "I'm sorry if I seemed..."

She resisted the sudden urge to step back as the Headmaster came toward her, writing it off as ridiculousness. She was probably imagining the dangerous change in tone she sensed from him. She was probably just...

Nightmare growled, her ears flattening against her head as the Headmaster stepped ever closer to her human. The panther twined behind Karma's legs, baring her teeth at the man.

Karma looked down at her chest, cocking her head slightly as she looked down, feeling nothing but confusion. Kama, however, snarled as she felt it, felt the tightening grip of a foreign hand on their soul.

Get him o-

There was pain, unintelligible, blinding pain, and Karma's body sagged to the floor, but for some reason, she did not sag with it.

What are you-

Let go of us you sick-

Why did you...

You think this will make me-

Headmaster, please it hur-

Do you plan to reap us, SoulSnatcher? Kama asked, meeting the man's eyes with a grin. You're going to just slay us, are you? In cold blood? Ignoring Karma's mounting struggles, the Vampire half cocked the equivalent of her head to the side. The repercussions would be troublesome, no? Though I don't doubt for a moment that you'd get away with it, but it's still your school. The Carde wouldn't let up the investigation for a very long time. Half-Flame wouldn't either. I have too many people invested in this one. Kama patted Karma on the head, uninterested in the fact that the mostly-human part of her leaned away from her, as far as she could get.

Headmaster... Karma pleaded, the only one out of the both of them to seem to think living was a good thing. Please... Something changed within her, something differed in her awareness. Kama hissed, and Karma grinned. If you are going to exorcize us, or whatever it is you do, could you get it over with? And make sure Ian over there has a good view. I like a good audience. At least one of the people I care about gets to witness my death. Maybe he'll tell Arsen you did it. That would make me feel loads better.

Stop...

Then again, maybe not. Maybe I'll find a way back here. Haunt the hallways forever. Maybe I'll sweep over to see Arsen's father whilst I'm in hell. That way, someone will know what really happened here. She hummed in thought, taking her turn ignoring her other half. You know, Headmaster, I used to admire you. She observed, almost out of the blue. Odd, how the people I tend to admire either die or threaten me. It's a wonder I have any role models at all. And still you wonder why I know nothing of respect.

Nightmare, after nuzzling her nose against Karma's body for the umpteenth time, seemed to hear something. An order, a whistle, whatever it was, and was in motion, darting around the Headmaster toward the boy; Damian. She whined, tugging at the boy's pant leg gently, urging him to do something; anything.

Frantic, she partitioned for help from the boy's daemon, so much like her cub, whining and growling and trying to convey her need.

Ric didn't even flinch as the panther growled, Ghost was already on her way through the door to watch and stand her ground. It was in her nature to protect her master no matter what. So with a threatening snarl of her own she placed herself between Ric and the threat.

Ric smiled. "You doubt my power Kama. Lesson number one, never under estimate someone. There aren't many half humans, half vampire hybrids in the world how long do you think their life span is?" He asked glancing back at her body. "Would be unfortunate if both halfs fought it out. Point is if you were to suddenly die in my school with only me as witness people would believe whatever i said. Maybe not your boyfriend or Nolan is it? But everyone important." He didn't care about those two. they weren't a threat.

His eyes flicked to Karma as he tightened his grip on Kama. It was after all her that he was interested in even if Karma did need to learn a little respect too. He shook his head. "I wouldn't exorcise you. Exorcising means sending you somewhere with people. I'd leave you here to walk the earth, neither ghost nor human. Where no one but myself could see you." He said releasing his hold on Kama and setting them free. "I hope you like being alone Miss Black. You have around 20 minute before your body dies."

He stopped on his way out to look over his shoulder at her. "Things change Miss Black and so do people, it's about time you learnt to adapt."

Damian backed up instinctively as the cat made her way towards him. He felt more and more bemused as he listened to Asric talk.

"What?" he squeaked out in utter confusion and rising alarm. Just what was going on here? His gaze went from the Slytherin to Asric and back again. "Master?"