| Details for Mousie & Needle Join the Gang |
| Summary: | Lucille and Elise join the Pirates, earning new nicknames. Captain learns he has a pair of Archers in his crew. |
| Date: | 1938-05-03 |
| Location: | Moving Staircase |
| Related: | — |
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The Grand Moving Staircase Stairwell
It is a spring morning. The weather is cool and clear.
Hogwarts' stairwell is a grinding, twisting mass of controlled pandemonium. Stairs are visible above and below swinging past, students holding onto railings waiting for the arrival of their stairsteps, lifting up onto a moving stairway, dropping down onto the floor below. First-Years suffer the sting of their peers' laughter as they miss making their appointed position and are left stranded on the landing as the others continue on. A flood of activity surges in all directions, a cascading tide of humanity with students, teachers and even ghosts milling throughout the stairwell. There are waves of students from the floors above hurrying at various times to get down to the main floor, and the rushes of students hurrying upward toward their classes or research. Traffic jams are not uncommon, especially when the stairway is blocked by a hapless student caught in a stair with an appetite for sucking in the legs of the unwary. At times, confetti drifts lazily through sunbeams after someone sets off a firecracker or other magical gimmickry on a higher level, and occasional shrieks of students who've become victims of stink-bombs thrown over the railing rise above the general bedlam calling out the gross unfairness of their treatment.
Cillian just blinks slowly and stares at Elise with something akin to being approached. "Yer like a little mouse ye know? Squeakin' alot and sayin' alot of tings. Its excitin'." He remarks and then smiles sadly at the mention of tings being prophetic and he ducks his head sheepishly. "And yer really smart." He taps the side of his nose and then oos softly. "Peonies are pretty and a flyin' ship will allow us to fly in the sky…and look down below for the good chocolate and sweet and gold spots."
Elise laughs a little, a little-kid-adorable smile that shows off the gap between her front teeth and the dimples in her cheeks. "Thanks," she says. "I think. "Most Ravenclaws are awfully smart. Rowena Ravenclaw like that about us, that's why she started the House." She shrugs. "And Gryffindors are supposed to be very brave. I suppose maybe that's why you look for adventure so much, isn't it?" She leans against the bannister and considers his idea for a moment. "Wouldn't it be easier just to get some brooms?" she asks. "My father said I can have one for Christmas this year, if I'm very good." Pause. "What's a sweet and gold spot?"
"Two of my very good friends are Ravenclaws, and me Father was a Ravenclaw aswell. He thought I was gonna be one but he's still okay wit' me bein' what I am…and no, its not because m' a Gryffindor that I like adventure." Cillian just shakes his head slowly and chuckles. "No, ye can't 'ave an entire pirate ship crew on brooms. Then ye won't have anywhere to put the booty." Then he clarifies. "A spot with sweets and gold."
"Then why do you like adventure?" Elise asks curiously. "Luci likes them,too, and she's a Hufflepuff." She nods at his explanation for the necessity of a ship. "Yes, that makes sense," she agrees. "There really /ought/ to be a place for booty. How about a dirigible?" she asks. "I've seen them in London. They're very large balloons, you see, they float around, but there's a great basket hanging from the bottom that people sit in, and they steer it. Somehow. It's a Muggle contraption. It might be much easier to build a dirigible instead of a pirate ship. We could use magic to steer, instead of sails."
Bounce bounce bounce go the Hufflepuff's curls as her mary janes tap againstthe stone. She approaches with a dimpled smile and a book that is growling under her arm. Whether she means to be, she is quite the little doll. When she spots Cillian, her eyes widen and she makes her way over to the firsties. She listens to the girl who she doesn't remember her name yet, not willing to interrupt as of yet.
"We'll start wit' a ship!" Cillian chirps brightly. "And I like adventuresbecause I like to learn new tings." He then shakes his head slowly upon seeing Charlie he waves enthusiastically. "Curly! Come! Come meet Mousie!"
"Learning is one of my favorite things," Elise says. "Come meet who?" she asks, eyeing Cillian and the bouncy girl he's apparently addressing as Curly.
Charlie's eyes widen even more when she is introduced to 'Mousie.' MOUSE. RAT.Her brain starts bounding through the connections at rapid fire, allowing some sort of recognition to show in her eyes. "Are you going to help me find other mice?" she asks, totally stooped in the fantasy. Either she's a really good little actress, or she's simply insane, but regardless, her enthusiasm seems boundless and genuine. She thrusts her hand out towards Elise for a shake, "We all have pirate names. It makes more sense. It protects the innocent. Mine's Curly." Serious, very serious wrinkle in her brow.
"Its a term of affection, Me Lady, yer like a tiny mouse and now the pirateswill be takin' care of ye from now on." Cillian assures Elise before looking back to Charlie. "Be gentle wit' her, she's a flying gardener who's very very smart, Curly."
Elise looks a little dubious at Cillian's assurances. Still, she shakes Charlie's hand. "I don't know," she says. "I never said I wanted to be a pirate. Innocent from what? I have to be good, or my father won't get me a new broom for Christmas. I /really/ want that broom." She mulls over Charlie's request. "I don't know any other mice," she says. "I mean… I'm not a mouse. My name is Elise."
"Right, well, if you ever want to be one…I have plenty of mice spots. We neednice ones and probably a head mouse to make sure they don't get out of control and do things like chew on the ropes," Charlie mentions with a flip of her hand after it's free. "I'm always on the hunt for them these days. My name is Charlotte, but no one calls me that. The professors call me Charlie, and everyone else now just calls me Curly," she says with a puff of her chest.
"Even if ye aren't a pirate…we'll still protect ye. But ye do want to jointhe Pirates, ye get chocolate all the time and we dun ever get in trouble…we 'ave to be really really careful." Cillian sighs softly and looks around thoughtfully before peering at Charlie suspiciously. "Charlotte? Really? Well that's a fancy name indeed…."
"Can't I just be a girl?" Elise asks. "I'll join your club, I suppose, ifeveryone is so nice… and if there's really as much chocolate as you say. And as long as I don't get into trouble." She thinks for a moment. "Can my cousin Luci join, too? She's in Hufflepuff and she's /ever/ so nice."
Ker-thunk, pad-pad, ker-thunk, pad-pad. It miht be hard to tell what the thing barreling down the staircase might be - at least until it gets close. Thin scrawny tail held high and big paws padding loudly against the steps, a hairless cat comes bounding from up above and leaps through the knot of people with much more agility than its pudgy stout body should be capable of. It's just possible to see the fact that it's wearing a tiny sweater.
"Winston!" comes the frustrated yell from just behind it as Lucille comes hopping down the stairs after her wayward cat, the edge of her robes and skirt billowing slightly with her movement. She, however, is less graceful than her cat and, upon seeing the tight knot of people, ends up over-doing her attempt to dodge. She wobbles ungainly on one foot and then ends up flopping on her rear on one of the steps with a *whumf*. She blinks up at the three people for a second before a bright grin spreads over her face. Fall? What fall? "Funny place to just be standing around. Hello there!" She manages to get to her feet and, upon noticing her cousin, brightens further, "Elise! Hey - did you see which way Winston went? He ran off before I could put his scarf on." Her grin turns into a frown of concern.
Charlie looks over at Cillian suspiciously…right back really. "Well I can't help it. It's me Da's fault!" she explains her name. "I'm pretty sure 'Just girl's are really just Ladies," Charlie says before glancing towards Cillian for confirmation. When she spots Winston, she giggles to herself at his tiny sweater, dimples at ready and tiny hand covering her smile. "Hey Luci! He went…I don't know, but I'd imagine if he was really cold he'd come back for his scarf," she says with a smile and a shrug.
"…I tink that was a giant rat cat, it was adorable…" Cillian blinks as he eyes Winston and then hears Lucille and he blinks slowly before looking back to Elise. "Of course! The more the merrier." Then he nods slowly to Charlie. "Aye…they are the same." He turns away for a moment, worrying his bottom lip and looking thoughtful.
"Oooh," Elise says as Winstons pads by. She's on the lookout for her cousin, who of course follows and falls into their company in a timely manner. "Charlie is right, I think if he was cold, he'd have waited for the scarf," she tells her cousin with a grin. "He must be after something to eat, so let him go for now." She reaches down, offering a hand to Luci to help her up. "Luci, this is Cillian. If you're nice to him, he gives you chocolate." Pause. "Are all the pirates first years?" she asks everyone curiously. "And anyway why do you have to be careful not to get caught, Cillian? Are you…" she gasps as something occurs to her. "Are you stealing the chocolate?"
Lucille brushes her hands over the pleats of her skirt, smoothing them out with fastidious movements to be sure no remnants of her tumble are left. "I know.. but .. but .. his outfit is so not complete," she says with a hint of disappointment in her voice and a little pout to her lip. But all is soon forgotten and she soon brightens, her attention still on Charlie for the moment, "Who wouldn't want to wear this?" She holds up the offending tiny scarf - it's a bright neon blue-green complete with fringe. She wiggles her fingers in a wave to Cillian as she's introduced, her smile bright and friendly, "Hi there - I'm Luci. And Winston's a full cat - I don't think rats and cats can make babies. That would be strange. And I'm sure you're right, Elise. He probably wanted to go get something to eat." She wrinkles her forehead a little, her hand clutching the scarf tight, "What do pirates and chocolate have to do with each other?"
"I'm not sure it's possible to be a Lady this young, but Captain would know," Charlie mentions idly as she taps a finger against her chin. She mumbles to herself thoughtfully, "Giant rat cat…" then she snaps out of it with a bright grin as Luci brings her attention to the AWESOME scarf. "Can I wear it?" She reaches out to touch the fabric. "What do you mean what do they have to do with each other?" She is asking a serious question…and more, "…" Her eyes slide slowly back towards Cillian.
"This is getting too conspicuous…" Cillian looks around with a thoughtful expression. "Come, we must go to the gallery." He gestures to the girls before just sighing and shaking his head at Elise. "Most of the pirates are first years, aye…its good to build a crew to start wit' with people who are like you. And there's a complicated system to get the chocolate, ye 'ave to be smart. Now come along." He bows all gentlemanly to Lucille. "I'm Captain Cillian and yer scarf there is beautiful, and yer full cat is lovely as well." He sighs and gestures towards Charlie. "Ye will be the escort to the cat lady, I'll take the mouse lady…"
"I think it's darling," Lucile opines of the tiny little scarf. "The colors are so… vibrant. Where did you get that shade of blue?" At Lucille's question, she opens her mouth to explain. "Oh, Cillian is the Captain of a club here at school. The Pirates. But they're nice pirates. They collect chocolate and give it out. They're going to build a flying ship, and sail around in the sky looking for more booty. Charlie is a pirate, too, and they've asked me to join, but I would like it if you could be a pirate, as well." She smiles. "If we're in their club, they'll take care of us." She gives Cillian a curious look. "Please don't call me Mouse," she pleads. But she'll follow him to this Gallery.
Lucille breaks out into an infectious giggle at Charlie's words, "It's too small for you, though - unless you wanted a wrist scarf. And who in the world has cold wrists?" The absurdity of it has her giggling a little more, though she soon sobers except for a small grin, "I can make you a full-sized one in Hufflepuff colors? Granted it will be too hot for scarves soon! But you can be fashion-forward for winter months ahead of time." She'll let Charlie touch the fabric of the scarf before tucking the thing into a pocket. "My mom got me the yarn! I was saving it for something special, though now Winston won't even wear it!" She huffs a heavy, disappointed sigh, "Oh well. There's always tomorrow." She perks up at Elise's explanation, "For real pirates? And chocolate? Wonderful! Who wouldn't want to join?" She flashes some teeth in her wide grin, "I could make the most amazing pirate outfits." She hops a little in place, clearly excited and willing to follow the others anywhere.
"But you're…Mouse," Charlie says as if this were perfectly natural. "It's either that or Tit! Take your pick." She'll let someone else clarify the connection. She's like that sometimes, things coming off her lips that are half-thought. "I'm not too big for anything," she says as she looks down at herself. "I can use it as a good luck charm!" she insists, but doesn't seem like she'll be put out by any disappointment. "This is why everyone calls me Curly," She explains carefully to Lucille as if to clue her in, "It's my pirate name. Everyone needs one." Then, she just starts to skip in the direction they ought to be heading…yep, totally inconspicuous.
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Armor Gallery Hogwarts Castle
It is a spring day. The weather is cool and fair.
Unnerving - that's the atmosphere that permeates this room. Empty suits of armor stand guard along every wall here, to either side of every door, across small islands in the middle of the room. All eras and nations are represented, including many that would definitely be unfamiliar to any muggle history book. From the shiny metal of Medieval knights to bamboo spikes of the warriors of the Chinese Dynasties, it's all here. Some of it is practical, some of it is ceremonial, some of it is downright silly-looking to some … but all the empty shells that once housed long-gone protectors silently stand watch around you on every side.
"There's a cheerful laugh and a shake of his head before Cillian is leading the way. "A pleasure to meet ye both again…come along, come along." He gestures and heads back up the stairs and towards the Armor Gallery, very focused as he peeks inside to make sure its empty before gesturing for the ladies to enter enter enter. "Curly, dun call Mousie a Tit, that's rude." He scolds softly before tilting his head to the side once they are in. "Welcome, me ladies, and let me introduce ye to me friends." He gestures to all the armor around him. "And Welcome…a group, a crew…that'll back ye up for the rest of yer lives."
Elise scowls at Charlie. "If you call me Tit, I will tell on you," she says to the girl's back as she skips away. "Besides, a titmouse is a bird!" She grins at Luci. "Oh, you could! You could make absolutely smashing pirate outfits!" She turns to the other two once they're in the room. "Luci is a genius when it comes to making clothes. Winston is probably the best-dressed cat in all of England." She takes time to peer around at all the armour, taking in the various styles with avid interest. "What do you mean they'll back us up?" she asks curiously.
Lucille follows along happily, her steps almost bouncy in her exuberance. She gazes around with wide eyes at all the armor, her head cocked to one side, "The armor … those are friends, too?" There's a hint of confusion in her voice, "They are pretty big and probably would hurt if one fell on you, I must admit." She does giggle a little, "I like your new nickname, Elise - Mouse! It suits you!" She trails off for a second and then brightens, "Does that mean I get a nickname, too?"
Charlie /completely/ ignores Elise, her skipping coming to a stop as they nearthe Gallery. She looks over at Cillian and shrugs, "I didn't know that!" But there's some part of her that seems like someone's rained on her parade and she turns a bit sulky, looking off at no one. "They usually watch over us during picnics," she explains to Lucille, not quite able to keep herself from participating fully.
"Cuuuurly. Lillith says if ye dun cheer up, ye'll make all the baby owls cry. "Cillian drawls before removing his dark robes and satchel, placing them neatly on the floor and then rummaging around in his burlap sack for another couple pieces of chocolate. "No, the pirate crew will back y-okay, let me try again. The armor knights are all our friends, guardians for our secret meetings and picnics. The /crew/ ye be joining, are the friends that will be there for the rest of yer lives." Then he focuses on Lucille, looking thoughtful. "Hmm, ye be likin' to make stuff don't ye? Outfits and such?"
Oh, is Charlie ignoring her? Elise apparently doesn't notice. She sighs a little bit when Lucille seems to like her nickname, but it's because of her cousin that she finally nods, accepting Mouse as her pirate handle. "Well, alright, but don't call me Mouse in front of people who aren't Pirates, please," she requests. "Do you have picnics in here?" she asks Cillian. "Isn't it a bit… unnerving?" she asks, pinning down the pervasive atmosphere of the gallery. "I usually think of picnics in a park or a meadow or something. In the spring. With lots of sunshine." All of a sudden, inspiration strikes and she whirls around, pointing at Lucille. "Needle!" she cries. "That can be your nickname! Since you're so handy with one! Isn't it keen?"
Lucille cranes her neck and peers up at the nearest suit of armor, reaching onehand out to touch the metal thoughtfully, "Well - they certainly are very guardian-ish I must say. Stately and regal and imposing and all that. I'd much rather be their friends than their enemies." She bobs her head several times in understanding at Cillian's words, her usual grin spreading wide across her face, "I unerstand now." Her bobbing head turns more emphatic at the last bit, her grin growing, "I make all sorts of outfits and accessories. It's my favorite thing to do!" Elise's sudden words startles the grin right off of her for a second, though it soon returns, "Needle? That's a good idea! It's all sharp and pointy like a sword but not a sword. Very pirate-ish … sort of." She turns her imploring gaze to Cillian and Charlie, her head tilted, "What do you think?" And then she glances around the room again, "And how often do you guys have picnics or meetings here?"
"I'll make your baby owls cry," Charlie says with a lift of her chin and a bounce of her curls. Chin held high, she can't keep it up forever and breaks out into a friendly smirk. Cillian can have that affect on her. "Oh I'm sorry Elise. I didn't mean to call you a bird," she still doesn't get it fully, but at least she's genuinely apologizing! "Oh, do you want to be Head Mouse and help me find more mice for this ship?" Now it's like she's back to bestest buds. Anything for mice. Anything. "Pirates aren't frolickers," she explains to Elise. "We have to have real discussions and usually the wind carries your voice to eavesdroppers." She looks back to Lucille and shrugs. "Sounds good to me, but that's Captain's call," she defers. "All the time," she says matter of factly. She helps Cillian spread out the 'supplies.'
"Alright, Mousie and Needle, it'll work out I suppose. Ye'll have to meet Gunny and Strings soon…and of course Josie…" Cillian explains before he moves over towards a bamboo set of armor, reaching behind the legs and tug…tug…tuuugging out a medium sized light wood chest and he tugs it over towards the center of the room, settling down behind it and reaching inside his shirt for the key. "I have some bad news, and this is news only…pirates can know. Bad tings may happen soon, in the world which means bad tings may happen in the castle as well one day and we 'ave to be prepared. I saw it in me dreams, and well…we 'ave to start practicing and gettin' better with our wands and our swords." He looks to Lucille. "Do ye know how to make belts? We need belts with a place for the wand and the swords…" Then he looks to Elise. "And we also need to know of some special plants that could be could for protective like tings…" And the to Charlie. "Do ye know how to use a sword?"
Elise claps her hands from sheer excitement that Lucille likes Needles as her pirate nickname, and then looks eagerly to Cillian for approval, all her hopes pinned on a benign nod. She will simply grin at Charlie. "That's alright," she tells the curly-haired girl, and her tone is just as best-friendsy as Charlie's. "Apology accepted." She'll even start helping to spread out the supplies, too, looking over everything with some interest. "So your left-eye dreams are prophesies?" she asks Cillian, going still and staring hard into his good eye, and at the patch. "What kind of bad things will happen?"
Lucille hops once in place at the acceptance of her new pirate nickname, a wide grin flashing into place, "Great! Needle! It makes me sound sharp even though I am far from sharp." She seems pretty gleeful about the supposed opposites that her pirate name has with her personality. She taps at the armor one last time before making her bouncy way over to the supplies and Cillian. She leans over, as well, to peer down at the stuff. "Belts - yes … yes. I can make any kind of belt you like - silk? leather? rope? twine? I'll make them really dapper and dashing, too." Her gaze goes out of focus for a little bit as her mind gets carried away with visions of fashionable belts and swash-buckling swords hanging from them. She only comes back to reality at Cillian's words about bad things and then Elise's mention of his eye. She blinks once and then twice, her attention going to the eyepatch, "You have a fortunetelling eye?" Her own eyes widen in interest, "What bad things do you see?"
"No, I just know how to use a bow. I'm really good with a bow," which means she's great for a wizarding kid! Charlie probably isn't the next olympian. "That's how I hunt." She glances to the chest. At Cillian's words about doom a soft solemness falls over the young girl for a moment or two. "Should I learn a sword instead?" she pipes up brightly. The curious creature suddenly is not brimming with questions about Cillian's dreams. She reaches for a bar of chocolate and tears into one end to start gnawing on it.
Cillian gives Elise a curious look before unlocking the chest in front of him, lifting the lid and pushing it backwards with a thoughtful expression. There are a few tiny glass potion bottles and a few glass jars of things like worms, dirt, buttons…dried flowers…cocoa powder and the like. But he's digging around for a thick bundle of folded up parchment which he handles carefully. "Me eye…me dreams, its complicated, really. But I see tings sometimes and you can NEVER ever tell ANYBODY about this, alright?" He looks to each girl with a rather serious expression. "We need to figure out whatever we can about golden hearts, if ye hear or see anybody wit' a golden heart, ye need to make a note of it. Or anybody acting particularly…dark and shifty. Once a very bad person does something very bad, in me dreams it tells me it will spread! But somebody may have already done somethin' bad, so we must be prepared." Then he looks to Charlie. "…do ye 'ave a bow here at Hogwarts?"
Elise beams. "I'm glad that's settled, then," she says of Luci's pirate name.She turns to Charlie, excitement in her eyes. "You can shoot a bow?" she asks eagerly. "I can, too! We should shoot together!" she says, bouncing in place at the thought. "I… I don't hunt, though. I only shoot targets. But my father levitates things for me to hit, and I'm pretty good." She doesn't look very convinced about learning how to fight with a sword. "I don't know," she says. "I don't think I'm strong enough for sword-fighting." She gazes back at Cillian, picking up on his serious mood. "But why can't we tell people?" she asks. "I mean… not even professors? Surely they can help us. That's why we're here, after all," she says logically. She gets a quizzical expression when he starts talking about golden hearts. "What… what kind of bad things?" she ventures.
Lucille peers curiously into the box at all the things within, though doesn't voice any opinions on whatever is in there. "I can't really shoot a bow," she says with a hint of disappointment in her voice, "But … maybe I can learn about swords. Small swords, though. A dagger? A knife?" Her voice gets a bit more animated as her train of thought goes on and she's back to smiling again before long. Not that it lasts that long, though, as Cillian's serious voice has her turning serious, too - her eyebrows knit together and she frowns in great concentration, "If we aren't supposed to tell anyone else, I won't tell anyone! I keep a secret." She idly rubs at her chin, trying to wrap her head around this whole thing, "Do you know if they're .. um .. hearts made out of gold? Or hearts that are colored gold? How very confusing! How do you stand having weird dreams like that?"
"Pish posh dish wash," Charlie says. It's one of those 'curse words' he's taught Charlie to substitute with. "We can just get someone to charm your sword to be lighter," she says with a brilliant smile, her thoughts actually decent ones now. "Professors will do what they do whether we tell them or not," well maybe it's a hit and miss sort of thing. "I mean, you tell them about John making faces behind their back and you still get detention."
Folks are gathered around a medium sized chest, Cillian is behind it idlyunpacking a few choice items and he nods to Charlie and Elise. "Then ye both can be archers…" He comments softly. "I'm sure we'll need those as well. A-and I'll help ye Needles, with the blade work." Then he looks back to the chest. "And Mousie, all the adults who need to know already do. But sometimes…Adults can't see tings that we can see. They grow up and they lose the imagination, the ability to really see with their eyes and their hearts and with their guts." Then he carefully spreads out a few sketches and drawings. The first, is of a heart that looks a tad lopsided and like its leaking. "Its a golden colored heart, m' not sure if its made of gold or not…just somebody sick and dark touched it, and it turned black…" He's quiet before he takes a deep breath. "But I just need a count of how many hearts are in the castle…"
Elise frowns, still not entirely convinced that they shouldn't be tellingprofessors about Cillian's prophesy-dreams. His assurances that some adults do know eases her worries, somewhat. "Need archers for what?" she asks softly. She peers down at the drawing he has, tilting her head first one way and then another to study it. "Clarify for me — is there one golden heart, or many? And how are we supposed to know where to look for them?" She shudders. "Hearts pump blood." The fact seems to really gross her out.
Lucille breaks into a burst of giggles, "Pishposh dishwash. I like that. It's fun to say!" And she repeats that several times to herself, a grin on her face. "And what a wonderful idea! A charm to lighten a sword - it can look all big and menacing and I'll be able to lift it!" She scrunches her face up in thought before adding, "Unless … unless - I can get one of those really really thin and pretty looking swords. That'd fit my name! Needles!" She bends forward at the waist, her blonde hair falling in sheets to either side of her face as she squints down at the drawing of the heart, "I can keep a look out for hearts around the castle. But what if it's like … not a real heart? But some kind of puzzley make-belive heart? My dad likes riddles and he can always figure out ifs omething is real or if they're just saying something is like something else." She scoffs at Elise, "Don't pass out, El - I mean Mouse. A golden heart wouldn't have blood - don't be silly!"
Charlie just stares/ at Elise in shock, "You've never seen a heart before?"Either she's just taken over by the shock or she isn't grossed out at all by the prospect of a heart that pumps //blood. "Well if you need a count," she snaps out of it when prompted by the problem…something to solve as she munches idly on her chocolate bar. "We should take sections. All of the Houses are in different portions of the castle…but wait, does this include human hearts? Animal hearts? Hearts on the wall, in someone's earring, or clothing? On the stone? In the passage ways?!" Charlie's mind is going going gone.
Around a special light wood chest of a medium size, Cillian and others are gathered, examining some parchments he's laying out flat and explaining things. Its not the chocolate chest, its the supply chest, with the worms and potions and dirt and dried flowers and other stuff you really don't need in their appropriate glass jars. "Archers, in case on our adventures we be gettin' attacked." Then he hmms softly. "I don't know why the heart is significant? Mebbe there are some tragic love stories?" He sighs and shakes his head. "Ye remember when the mirrors went funny and the scary scary scary scene with the screamin' started? I tink it might be connected to that." Then he looks to Elise. "This heart pumps mystery." He assure them before laying out another piece of parchment where a crudely sketched knight is with a box. "Just…find gold colored hearts if ye can. And make a note of where you found them. I think it is a puzzle…" Then he looks between all the girls. So many questions! He just blinks and blinks again. "…just gold colored hearts."
"I… I won't faint," Elise says. "Not as long as I don't have to see anything bloody." She shudders. "I can barely handle my own. Anybody else's blood is just too much." She looks at Lucille. "Remember that time you pricked yourself with a needle and I nearly fainted?" she asks. "What do you think will happen if you get a /bigger/ needle and stick someone with it?" She shakes her head at Charlie. "No, of course not - why on Earth would I?" She frowns a bit and think about what Cillian says. "I was already asleep when that happened," she says. "I heard about it, though." It's a good thing she didn't witness it; the sight of that knife cutting into the poor Muggle woman would have knocked her unconscious! She frowns and grabs a hold of her braids with both fists, tugging gently while she thinks. "If I find any, I'll let you know," she promises solemnly.
Lucille chews fretfully at her lower lip as she listens. The mere mention of that mirror episode has her twitching a little, "Oh that was horrible. I only watched a little bit of it before I had to look away! Did they mention the gold heart thing there?" Cue more confused looks and a frown of consternation. But she soon nods solemnly before breaking into a small grin, "I'll look for gold hearts wherever I go. If I find any, I'll run and tell you - no problem! Thankfully gold should stick out like .. well … gold. It's sparkly. Or it should be if it were properly gold and all." She chews a bit more at her lower lip before bouncing once or twice in place as she pipes up, "You think this gold heart thing is dangerous? Should we maybe not touch any of them if we find one?"
"Um," this is the moment Charlie figures out that not everyone is like her. She's been having quite a few of those lately and it only makes the world a little smaller, which is kind of saddening to the girl. "I don't know. It's pretty brilliant," she says, a little lack of luster. Charlie will find hearts where there were none before…she will scour the secret passages (that she's seen big kids take). She will go everywhere. If this were an RPG, she'd be the person pressing the 'X' button at every pixel. But then as Cillian speaks of the mirrors, she looks over at him, snapped out of her heart thoughts, "Cillian? Do you think that really happened? Me Mum's a Muggle," she says somewhat softly as concern folds into her brow.
The Armour Gallery isn't really his destination, but as Angelus walks along the corridor he passes by. He's unconsciously tapping a rolled up piece of parchment against a palm of a hand as he walks, which is casually tucked away when he peeks into the gallery. The blonde haired youth enters quietly, a curious glimmer in his blue eyes as he looks to the other children. "Planning an adventure, Peele?" Angelus announces his presence with the inquiry.
"That's good then, lookin' for golden hearts…" He murmurs before pausing and staring at each girl in turn. "Who's bleedin'? No no, dun bleed…I haven't enough bandages!" Then Cillian blinks and takes a deep breath. "I know…this Golden Heart ting is…dangerous. I dun usually 'ave dreams about tings unless they are dangerous. Now some older kids and adults might be lookin' into this too, so try to be umm…not very obvious." Then he worries his bottom lip. "Iffen ye find it, dun touch it…just make a note of where it was." Now he looks to Charlie and looks a bit concerned, offering her a hand and if she accepts, a hug of comfort. "I-I tink we'll send yer mum…a package of chocolate to go wit' yer letter to her to make sure she's safe." He sighs. "If only there was a spell, we could do on a map, that would make it possible for us to see who was where…just like of all the wizards or witches or people in Hogwarts, or…anywhere really…" Then he jumps a bit when he hears Angelus's voice, eye widening as he closes the chest and just stares at Angelus for a moment. "…um nope. Just. Planning me…wedding."
Elise perks up at Lucille's excellent question about whether or not they can touch the hearts. She gives her cousin an admiring nod. Another nod of affirmation for Cillian's instructions not to touch them. She gives Charlie the sort of grin someone gives to a girl they're trying to stay friends with, but don't really understand. "Well, I'm sure Healers think the same," she says consolingly. "But I'm just not built for that, myself." She will reach out and pat Charlie's shoulder in comfort, if she's allowed. "There, there, Curly," she tells the girl. "Your mother is fine, I'm sure." At the entrance of the blonde second-year she turns around, blinking. "Hello," she ventures uncertainly. She doesn't know his name off the top of her head. Her eyes dart to Cillian, since the boy seems to know her Captain. She titters when he says wedding, but sails right on in. And here's something to be said for Elise - she's a terrific liar. Extremely talented at it. "Of course, we still need to find you a bride," she says with a nod. "I think Lucy would be good for the job. She's always so cheerful and anyone can see she'll grow into a beauty. And with six years to plan it, this will be the best wedding ever!"
Lucille's face falls into a concerned expression at Charlie's words, as though she somehow soaked up whatever emotion the other girl was dishing out like a sponge, "I'm sure all the big and important Wizards are working to catch that madman if it was real. I don't understand how anyone can be so cruel to muggles - they're just like us … without magic, of course. But it's not like they can help that." Her expression falls into sadness and her shoulders slump a little at the thought of all the cruelty in the world. But at least the search for the golden hearts seems to re-animate her a bit - she can't help but think of places to look for the things, too, and her eyes are bright with the possibility of adventure. She opens her mouth to say something more, though all that comes out is a squeak at the sudden appearance of Angelus. She gives a nervous little giggle at Cillian's save, "Yes - wedding. Weddings always have lots of hearts. It'll be such a cute theme! And very sparkly!" She can't help but blush a bright shade of pink at Elise's words and she aims an elbow at her cousin, "Who says you couldn't be the bride to be? I mean come on - brains are worth more than beauty. But you've got both!" She also bobs her head at Charlie, "And Charlie has the curly hair and dimples going for her - it'll be a hard choice!"
By the way Charlie chews on her lower lip, she hadn't thought so far as to send a letter yet. Thank goodness for Cillian to remind her of such things. She takes both from the boy, never to shy away from physical affection/comfort/expression. And so as she's hugging Cillian, she doesn't stop Elise's pat on her shoulder either. "I think that sounds like a good idea," she says to them. "She's always traveling by herself on those Muggle trains, the ones that take forever, and sometimes I worry about her." At Cillian's words of a map or something like it, she squints her eyes and breaks off another piece of chocolate, by now quite extricated from her friends. As a new lie takes air, Charlie arches a brow. Cillian, marrying? A wedding? And then Luci just goes. "Eww," Charlie says, promptly rises to her feet and turns to greet Angelus. "Hey. How are you doing?" Completely normal.
An amused expression flickers on Angelus' face, but the remark in his headstays there. Instead, the youth takes a moment to glance over each student with a studying gaze. His shoulders roll back casually, one hand lifting to run over a suit of armour as he briefly looks it over even as he lacks any particular interest in it. "Settling down a little fast, don't you think, Peele?" The boy says as a smirk crosses his lips. The tone is mocking, teasing, as he shrugs lightly. If anything else in the conversation is picked up on, Angelus decides not to comment, just offers an easy smile around.
Gabriel walks in just in time to hear all the talk about Cillian getting married. His face fills with a look of horror as he drops his book bag and the books he had in his arms and rushes over to Cillian, drawing his wand as he goes with a quick "Lumos!" Once he reaches Cillian his free hand goes up to the boy's forehead in the classic posture of someone checking a patient for a temperature and he flashes the light of his wand from one of Cillian's eyes to the other checking his pupil dilation. "See! I knew letting so many girls on the crew was a bad idea. You've been infected with their cooties!" As he starts trying to get Cillian to lay down on the floor his eyes go slightly vague and he starts mumbling to himself, "So little research has been done on cooties… Don't know if they're a bacterium or a virus… I wonder how they manage to make a perfectly healthy boy think that kissing and all that other stuff is anything but… eeeewwwww… And talking about weddings! Poor Cap'n's infection must be horribly advanced. It must be a couple of different strains at the same time…" In his worry for his Captain he's either not aware of or is ignoring the rest of the people in the room.
"Well." Cillian clears his throat and just blinks a few times, fidgeting. "Its,um, never too early to be prepared. For those tings. With the…" Then the girls assets are being pointed out and he just blinks a few moments, opening his mouth to respond before he blinks. And blinks again suddenly when there is Gabriel, and he's being given a doctor's exam! "…Gabri-Gabriel…Gunny!" He exhales softly. "GUNNY! I be FINE, I 'aven't got any cooties!"
"Me?!" asks Elise. "The bride?" She looks like she's never thought about it,before. Then she looks at Cillian consideringly. "Well… he probably doesn't like me like that, anyway. Do you?" she asks her Captain. "And… and anyway, I'm not as pretty as you, Luci." She nods in agreement at Luci's assessment of Charlie and her curls and dimples, and then laughs at the girl's reaction. "Looks like Charlie's not up for the job," she tells her cousin with a giggle. Gabriel's subsequent rush in and fuss has her giggling even more, until she's bent double, clutching her stomach. And FYI, Elise hasn't really got any assets to notice, quite yet.
Lucille can't keep up the charade any longer - she starts giggling right along with Elise. She eventually giggles so much she gives a little snort, which in turn makes her giggle even harder. Eventually she manages to suck in a big breath, her grin wide, "I think the Captain would be smart enough to cast a protective charm against cooties, don't you think?" She reaches up to rub at her eyes, wiping away any lingering tears of mirth, "Not that it isn't good to be prepared about such things. I already know what colors I'd have at my wedding, after all." She goes silent for a few seconds - daydreamy silence. And then she blinks her eyes, her focus going back to Angelus and Gabriel before focusing back on Cillian, "I take it you know these two?" She wiggles her fingers in a greeting at the two newcomers, "Hi! I'm Lucille - Luci for short." Not knowing if they're part of the club, she abstains from offering up her new piratey nickname.
Charlie's eyes widen at Lucille's words and all this talk about her cute dimples and curly hair and Cillian getting married and Elise asking if he likes her like that and…. "I'm going to look for hearts," she announces quite suddenly and leaves the Gallery, passing Angelus.
Elise dodges after Charlie. "Oh, don't go!" she pleads, trying to catch the other girl's sleeve.
Gabriel casts a wary eye over the giggling girls, especially at Lucille, beforeturning his attention back to Cillian,"Are you sure you're not infected Cap'n? Even if you have cast a protection charm, they wear out a lot quicker than one might think. I mean, look at all the snogging going on with the older students." He stops speaking for a moment and then nods to himself before leaning in to whisper something in Cillian's ear, angling his head so he can see the other boy's expression out of the corner of his eye.
"Gunny…okay, this is Lucille….Elise…" Cillian makes the introduction sbefore he looks back to Gabriel and then to Charlie who's leaving. "Oh for…somebody get the intruder and feed him wit' chocolate." Then…Gabriel is whispering in his ear and Cillian's eye just widens and widens and…widens as wide as it can be. "…ye be gross. Gunny, that's just…I tink I want to throw up now…" He slumps over to the side and holds his stomach. "…we-oh, somebody gag Gunny as well…"
"Who's the intruder!?" Elise asks, her voice squeaking, not knowing Gabriel or Angelus to be a part of the group as her own pirate-y membership is all of ten minutes old. She dashes toward the chocolate. "Who's Gunny?
Lucille bounces up and calls after Charlie, "Don't go just yet - it's just getting fun! Besides - maybe we can look for hearts together? Or .. um … figure out where we're going to look so we all don't go looking in the same place?" She brightens and adds, "And I promise to not talk anymore about cute things or wedding colors. Besides - it was Cillian who started it." She flashes Cillian a grin before her gaze fixes on Gabriel, her head tilting to one side, "Is it wise to make him sick like that? Whatever did you whisper to him?" She's all curiosity and innocence here.
"Who's the intruder!?" Elise asks, her voice squeaking, not knowing Gabriel or Angelus to be a part of the group as her own pirate-y membership is all of ten minutes old. She dashes toward the chocolate. "Who's Gunny?" She grabs up a couple of chocolate bars and looks back and forth between people, at once concerned for Cillian's apparent health and Charlie leaving them. She decides to offer one of the bars to Cillian. "Don't be sick," she tells him urgently. "Please?"
Charlie shakes off Elise's hand from her sleeve automatically, as if not expecting it. "What? Oh. No. That's okay really," she says, bearing a little charming smile. "It wasn't that. I just need to go to the loo is all." The quickly she adds, "I was going to look on the way there." And then a thought pops into her head of how all the older Ravenclaw girls go to the loo together, "I don't need any help." She beams and wiggles her fingers at Cillian. "Good luck Captain!" then she slips away.
Gabriel looks very satisfied at Cillian's reaction. Finally he starts trule paying attention to the rest of the people in the room, starting by nodding to Lucille, "Its for his own good. "tis the only way to know for sure if he'sinfected with female cooties or not. But I won't subject you to the test because its extremely disgusting and only to be used in case of emergencies." Then he looks around the rest of the room, ending up with his focus on Elise and her question, "I'm Gunny… Or Gabriel for people not in the crew. And Eibon over there is the intruder. So what's all this talk about golden hearts and such if it doesn't have to do with things like weddings?"
His feet don't make a whole lot of noise as he sort of meanders into the Armor Gallery. Cathal's got his nose in a book that he's reading his somber expression still quite the same as usual. He approaches Gabriel and Cillian without seeming to be noticing a thing about what is going on. He only looks up from his book only once he gets close to them. "Did I miss something?" The serious boy asks blinking at the comings and goings.
The amused expression remains as Angelus' blue eyes shift over everyone. He silently studies the giggling girls before another smirk twitches at his lips. He turns his gaze onto Cillian, but before he can speak he's watching the scene between Gabriel and Cillian. The youth clears his throat and shakes his head. "At least wait a couple of years," Angelus remarks, not sounding very serious. "You definitely don't want to make a hasty decision." A snigger escapes from the boy before his gaze shifts to eye Charlie. Angelus steps to the side, not exactly in front of Charlie but the arm that stretches out tries to be, reaching out to try and turn to face away from the exit and drape an arm over her shoulders. "What's the hurry, Fletcher. I'm not that intimidating, am I?" he says light-heartedly and playful.
"There's no such thing as cooties!" Elise scolds Gabriel. "And anyway if there were, it would be boys that had them, not girls!" But she may only be saying this to see his reacting, because she flashes him a quick grin. "Hi, Gunny," she says. Then she marches up to Angelus and presents him with a chocolate bar. "Here," she says. "Come on in, no need to linger in doorways. It's rude." She eyes the newly arrived Cathal, as well. "Hello," she says to him. "Come on in, we have chocolate."
Charlie is spun right round from her hyperfocused leaving, causing her to elicit a startled blink as her intent was to get away from the cooties ridden girls only to end up with an older boy's arm around her. She quickly recovers and snarks, "Oh you? Never," she teases back. What?! What?! A look of why in Merlin's Beard did that come out of my mouth flashes over her features, which she banishes with a beam of her pearly whites. She glances over at Cillian during the smile, the flash of 'OH GOLDEN RETRIEVERS WE'RE DOOMED!'
Cillian lays on the floor, nose twitching when he smells chocolate, eyeing Elise and taking the chocolate before just deciding to be quiet for a few moments, taking a deep breath, then another deep breath…and then another deep breath. "Its a ting Gabriel, we're searchin' for tings in the castle that may help save people from dyin' due to darkness and all that. I shall explain it. After I get the image of a puppy lockin' tongue with a toad out of me mind." He takes a bite of his chocolate and sits up, eyeing people over his now closed medium sized chest. "…Ahh, Strings…yes….welcome. We were just um, pretending to plan a wedding to throw the intruder off of our scent as we planned a secret pirate mission." A pause. "I was going to wear a robe of pink taffeta." He meets Curly's smiling stare with one of his own, biiiiiig smile.
Lucille opens her mouth to say something further to try to detain Charlie, though closes it immediately as yet another person wanders into the room. She blinks those wide green eyes of hers before she lets out a short giggle, "So much for a secluded hide-away. The armor seems to be popular for some reason." She cocks her head to one side as she examines Cathal, her thick blonde hair swaying with the movement, "If you're in the crew, too, I imagine your nickname has something to do with .. books?" She taps absently at her chin before giving up the analysis with a tiny shrug of her shoulders and a wide, bubbly grin, "I'm Lucille - or Luci, if you please. Nice to meet you." This is all said to Cathal, of course. But her attention is quick to wander back to Cillian and she blinks, "You don't believe in cooties, do you? If Elise says they're not real - they're not real. She reads all the time. I imagine she's read a book about cooties, too."
"So what, I can write a book that flobberworms can sing operas but that doesn't make it true," Charlie pipes up.
"Oh, this is too much," Elise says. She just plops herself back down next to Cillian. "What do we do, Captain?" she asks plaintively. She is not usually a social butterfly, and clearly all these people are overwhelming her.
Gabriel arches his eyebrows at Cillian's newest explanation. "Hello Cousin, come on in and join in the confusion." Going over to the door he starts picking up his dropped belongings. "By the way Eibon, Curly's almost one of the boys but she still has cooties like any other girl. Extended contact like that puts at risk for contagion." None of the concern he showed for Cillian seems to be attached to the idea of Angelus being infected as he turns to answer Elise's assertions about cooties,"And they do exist… They're unicellular organisms that are normally invisible to the eye. You need a Muggle microscope to see them. But with one of those and some of your spit I can prove it to you."
Lucille pipes up in a sing-song voice after Charlie's words, "How do you know? Flobberworms might sing wonderful opera in flobberworm-standards! All that horrible squishing noise they make might very well be them breaking into song about the loveliness of lettuce or their true love." Judging by the hitches in her voice, she's having a hard time keeping herself from laughing. At the end it eventually bursts out as she breaks into a giggle. She eventually manages to suck in a deep breath and, with a flourish of skirts, flops down on the floor next to Elise, "You all are so/ silly about this cootie-talk. How can all the older boys and girls be so close and not get sick? And adults?" She wrinkles her nose before adding, "But //anyhow - the golden hearts are more important than cooties."
"I do NOT have cooties!" Charlie exclaims indignantly. "Cillian! Tell him. Set him straight!" And yet there she is, still standing next to Angelus, arms crossed, his arm draped around her shoulders. Then she looks over at Lucille, "They are infected Needles. Once you get infected, you can't be in the crew!" This is a serious matter! "But yes, you're right, I once heard a lovely flobberworm chorus in the garden," she concedes to Lucille nonchalantly with her eyes lightly fluttered closed.
"How do you reason that the older boys and girls are not? Adults have recovered like from any disease that is not terminal. This is just how things are if you look at it from a logical stand point it would be normal for a disease to be spread and then for a recovery to occur. It is possible that in the future that one might relapse but it is not a matter of speculation as there is evidence that older students do become quite abnormal in their behavior when they are around of someone of the opposite gender and for some, around those of the same sex." Cathal says without taking a single breath of air and looking like he was discussing something of the utmost importance. Taking a long deep breath, he steps closer to his friends and cousin, and looks from person to person,"And I think that you would have to choose a different colour Cillian, pink would probably be a very bad choice for you. It would clash with the eyepatch." Did he just tell a joke?
Somewhere…in that box of Cillian's? A cricket chirps.
Elise listens to Cathal very intently. And at his little joke, she cracks up. After a good hearty laugh, she looks around. "It's not cooties, I think," she offers. "My mother told me something about it. She said that, well, as girls and boys get older, they change. They grow taller, and boys get shoulders and start having to shave off their mustaches, and girls… change, too." She colors a bit, but doesn't go into detail about all that. "She says that it's all part of growing up, and that part of being a grown-up is getting ready to start a family. Well, you have to fall in love to start a family, right? So all the weird behavior is just… practice for that. Only sometimes people get it right the first time, like with my sister Ruth and her husband." Ruth only graduated last year, it's possibly people in this room might have known her.
Its just so beautiful, really. People are sniping and piping and flopping and ringing and Cillian, eats his chocolate calmly, nodding politely to Elise and Lucile as they settle down nearby and his eyebrows riase as he looks from person to person and he announces just for Charlie. "Curly! Does not 'ave a cooties. She has flooties, which allows her a special kinship with flobberworms and keeps her safe from cooties." A pause. "But just in case, I shall work on an anti-cootie potion, for us all." Then he takes another deep breath. "…this is why we need a ship…" And he loses his train of thought when Cathal begins speaking, Cillian can only stare. "…y-you are alright Cathal. I shall be stayin' away from pink…" And he nods slowly when Elise begins speaking, nibbling on his chocolate. "I think…we're all just a wee bit mad already however, so we'll be okay…"
Lucille exhales a long breath, sending a stray strand of blonde hair flying, "I most certainly do not have cooties, either." She, too, falls silent to listen to Cathal with wide and attentive eyes. She then breaks into a huge grin, "I do agree - pink would clash." So says the fashion design 'expert'. She hugs her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. She's silent for once - perhaps she's been giggled out for today.
Gabriel is in the process of agreeing with Cathal's assessment of the effects of a cooties infection when Elise starts talking about puberty. Knowing all about the physical aspects of human maturation and sexual interaction thanks to having a doctor for a father and a nurse for a mother drops to the floor writhing as if in pain and covers his eyes,"Stopstopstopstop! Its disgusting, and gross, and horrible, and you're making me think all about it and I don't want to think about it and you really have to stop talking about it right now!" And then he stops, looks up at the group and tilts his head to the side, "Well, if he really wants pink I learned a charm that can change the color of his eyepatch. Watch!" And putting action to words he pulls out his wand again.
As long as the imagination continuum is kept intact, Charlie is happy as a clam, and Cillian's declaration of her special kinship with flobberworms of protection simmers her down from her inflammatory attitude. She keeps her arms crossed, and still looks as if she has some unfinished business, but there's a small smile tugging at the edge of her expression. "See," she says to Gabriel. "You can't just go on a Cootie-hunt." And then Elise starts in. That shuts her up until the girl is done, "You're sure you don't have cooties?" as if a cootie-hunt might be a good idea. Just maybe.
"I'm not mad, Captain," Elise immediately protests. "And I don't have cooties," she promises Charlie. She stares at Gabriel's intense reaction, and recoils a bit like a puppy faced with a rolled-up newspaper. "Don't!" she cries, trying to bodily throw herself between Gabriel's wand and Cillian's eye.
Angelus removes his arm soon after the girl is facing the other direction. "Good, then you can stay a while longer, yes?" A soft smile drifts over his lips, kindly enough. It stretches into a faint grin as he looks to Elise, dipping his head gratefully. "Thanks," he replies politely, but the chocolate is only taken, not eaten. His eyes stray over to Gabriel, pondering a second before he lifts a hand up in front of him as if studying it, adjusting a look of worry. "Oh no - I'm just doomed now." He sighs dramatically, even as his tone is clearly teasing. "Well!" The youth pipes up optimistically. "I do accept sympathies. Do you have a satisfying gift for me?" With the light grin pulling at his mouth, and the chuckle, it's quite clear that he's joking around.
"I do not think you should do that." Cathal says shaking his head a little bitat his cousin,"He does not like pink I don't think." He says shaking his head some more,"There's really no reason to consider cooties at the moment. I think even if they have them it would not be a disease that could take root at the moment." He says most seriously,"We should change the course of this discussion so that it does not tread upon anyone's sensitivities." He says matter of factly.
Lucille watches the goings-on like it were some riveting tennis match - her wide green eyes go from one person to the other. When Cathal makes his remark, though, she's quick to pipe in with her own agreement, "We should be talking about those hearts and things, right? It's what's causing people to be hurt. Cooties, real or not, aren't hurting anyone in this room." She seems almost surprised at her own logic and gives a pleased little smile, "Besides - chocolate! It's much more entertaining."
"Gunny!" Cillian's good eye widens a bit before he slaps a hand over his eyepatch and shakes his head quickly. "No no! Its okay, we believe ye." He looks touched by Elise's brave attempt to save him from the horrors of pink eye and he pats her shoulder before exhaling softly and placing a hand over his face. "Yes! Yes! Lets talk about something else." He lowers his hand and peers curiously at each Pirate in turn before smiling slowly to himself and looking up towards the ceiling before looking back to the pirates…and Angelus. "Give the intruder another piece of chocolate and threaten him with something scary if he tells on us." Then he smiles softly and exhales shakily. "Aye, hearts…I tink we've got enough heart together to take on any scary golden heart…because we…" He pumps his chocolate in the air. "Are Pirates!"
Gabriel looks from his wand to Elise to Cillian and back to the wand. He's slightly disappointed by the reactions but puts away his wand regardless and moves over to the big group after he finishes putting his things in order. "So fill me in on these hearts. And Eibon is only a year older than us. He might yet prove to be trustworthy."
Charlie, for her part, did not bat an eyelash during the whole debacle and she steps quietly backwards towards the door, but keeping her head ducked in to make sure no one got hurt.
Elise sits back down, shaking a bit in reaction to her own unexpected bravery. She lets someone else deal with the chocolate and the intruder, for now she just concentrates on not trembling like a little leaf. She's a bit pale, but the sight of Gabriel's wand being put away seems to put her at ease, some.
Lucille reaches out to pat her cousin's shoulder comfortingly. She even gives her one of her bright and cheery grins. But then it's back to listening to Cillian. That and sneaking a chocolate bar - she hadn't gotten one yet!