Prowling at dusk...(Scorpius/open)

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

Lucio Valtori stood silently outside the Whomping Willow. His head was tilted to one side, as if looking at the tree from this angle would reveal to him the prize he sought much faster than just looking at it properly. What he was looking for was not known by all who attended the school, only those who had something to hide or had been told how to enter the tunnel below the tree without casting a spell on the tree itself. The knot on the tree’s trunk acted like an off switch, freezing the tree in place just long enough for someone to enter the tunnel below. The problem was getting to the knot without being swept away like a speck of dust just for trying to get close to the marvel of plants. Anyone else who really wanted to get into the shack would have just used their wand and been done with it. Not Lucio though, he wanted to do things the hard way, and with dusk fast approaching, it was obviously because he wanted to get his aggression level up.

He waited until the tree had taken a half-hearted swing at him with one of its many branches, before he dove toward the base of it with both hands pounding on the knot. The tree brought one mighty branch down upon the back of the Werecat, eliciting a howl of pain from him before it froze in place. Snarling, Lucio wacked the branch with his hands, putting a large dent in the wood. He then disappeared into the hole with the fluid grace and speed that defined his species. The tunnel was dark, silent and damp. No sounds echoed off the walls around the Werecat, save for the cracking of the now animated tree above. Lucio ceased all actions as he took in the scents that permeated the area. It was obviously a well traveled path, for the smells of many a young man and woman tainted the air. Children loved the shack evidently, as did a Werewolf or two; their scents lingered like warning signs to intruders with noses sensitive enough to read them.

Lucio’s blue eyes changed slowly to an off gold color; their pupils lost their round shape as the seconds ticked by. He smiled at the thought that soon he would be able to just tear apart whatever he felt like killing in the shack, living or otherwise, as he lost himself in his beastly form. He traveled the long path in utter silence until he came upon the entrance to the shack. Slowly, he pushed aside a board that had been laid there by a previous visitor so that he could gain entry to the one place that would act as his shelter for the evening. A bag was slung over his right shoulder which contained his cloths for the morning after his transformation. This bag was thrown onto a bed that stood at the ready for a tired person to rest after a long and hard night of being a ‘were-creature’. Lucio looked at the other additions to the shack with a raised eyebrow; obviously someone had been quite bored at one point. Many chairs were strung about haphazardly, a piano with many a broken key stood in the middle of the room, and a trolly with uneaten candy was shoved up against the back wall.

With an audible snort, Lucio climbed the stairs that lead up to the next landing. This area was quite bare, it lacked the chairs and bed that the room below had, but did contain a rather large wardrobe that was big enough for two men to hide in. He approached the wardrobe carefully, his footsteps were so light on the floor, that the boards made no sounds. He opened the door and stepped into the empty space, shutting the door partway behind him as he sat down on the bottom of the wardrobe. This place would be perfect for a few moments, just to escape the dust that flew around the area and the cold air that was somehow making its way into the shack. A sound downstairs made Lucio growl quietly and peek out through the crack that was left from the open door. His gold, cat eyes would have been glowing in the darkness of the wardrobe, had their been any light to reflect off of them. He was not expecting company tonight, so this intrusion had better mean someone had a contract for him; one that he could carry out tonight so as not to waste his transformation that would be taking place in about thirty minutes...


((OOC: Don't fear the length of this post, I just wanted to get some detail in there and wound up having fun with it...)

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius shivered as a cold wind whipped through the chilly night air. He was somewhat nervous about meeting this Were-cat alone; he'd have to be a fool not to be. He had already sent Al an owl, with the following letter:

Al,

It's time. I'm at the Shrieking Shack, and am about to talk to the Feles Diabolus. I'm going to attempt to greet it in it's human form, but save the major conversation until you get here. Please don't bother sending an owl back, as I don't know how long we have until it shape-shifts.

Scorpius

Having done that, he hadn't waited for the Marvolio student, but ventured outside at dusk. Now his robes were whipping around him, green trim clearly visible against the black. His prefect's badge, which was a capital 'P' superimposed over the Slytherin serpent, gleamed in the moonlight.

Scorpius pulled out his wand and froze the bloody tree before diving into the hole. Standing up, he brushed off his robes before continuing down the path through Hogsmeade. Opening the creaky door, he lit his wand and called out "Hello? Mr. Were-cat? Are you here?"

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

Lucio snarled at the voice when it floated up the stairs; it belonged to a young man, probably not even of age yet. But that didn’t bother the assassin quite as much as what the boy had said; he knew what Lucio was and had come here looking for him! Unacceptable! No Student or any other child would know of his condition...Unless of course they were a part of either the Order or the Death Eaters. Whichever side this person was on, they chose the wrong time of day to approach Lucio. Bursting out of the wardrobe in a flurry of movement; Lucio darted to the staircase and launched himself down the steps four at a time. He landed with a loud thud on the boarded floor, throwing up dust from the hard landing. His cat eyes locked onto the boy, who was probably a Malfoy from the look of him, and he held his head up with pride. “Who dares interrupt me at this time of night? Do you not know of what you are about to face? Do you not care? Who has sent you and what do you want?” he leered for a second before continuing. “Speak quickly youngling or you shall become either my meal, or my offspring...If you live”.

He approached the young Slytherin with an almost stalking manner. Part of him was already hunting the boy and the rest of him would soon follow. ‘Ah, a boy of my former house, at least I know his mind is in the right place, but is his heart?’ Lucio’s stomach gave an involuntary growl as he stared at this new addition to the many things that littered the Shack. What was the reason for his being here? What was to come of this meeting? And would he be the last one to enter here this night or would someone else arrive to assist him? These questions and many more raced through the mind of the slowly changing Werecat. Lucio started to circle the boy now, trying to see if he did indeed come alone or if he had a friend hiding nearby. No other scents were on the air, so one question was answered; he was indeed alone for the time being.


((OOC: Sorry it is so short, but you didn’t give me much to work with And I'll get Aldebaran in here shortly, I want Lucio and Scorpius to get acquainted first.. ;D Ember had posted here, but I deleted it and PMed her with the reason. She will be joining us once we get this thing going. ))

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius flinched as the Were-cat flung himself down the stairs, seeming to jump them entirely. He coughed a bit as the dust floated up, and waved his hand in front of his face before smoothing back his hair. He managed to stammer out, "My name is Scorpius Malfoy...and...and I come here on behalf of the Dark Lord. He wishes to know more about you and your kind, and hopes that you will join him. May I have your name, or a fake name? And some information? Something I can bring back to...HIM?" His voice sounded almost pleading. He hoped the creature would cooperate. He had no time for games.

He shuddered as he heard the Were-cat's stomach growl. Scorpius needed to get in and out quickly before this guy transformed. He had no desire to smear his pure Wizarding blood with the taint of a Were anything. His father and grandfather would have a cow. And they wouldn't be too happy if he was eaten, either. He paused and hoped like mad that Al would get here soon. Like, yesterday-type soon. If he couldn't bring back enough information, he might as well not even go back. Lord Voldemort would kill him. And quite possibly torture him until he went mad first.


((Oh great; get Scorpius turned into a kitty snack. Or a Were-cat. Wonderful. Either way, his family will kill him. And by the way, it was long enough. )

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

“Lucio Valtori, only my close allies may know my clan name.” he said smiling, now content on making the best of this conversation while he could. “Your master wishes to know more about me and my kin? How flattering...” His eyebrows had gone up in the beginning, but dropped and contracted at the finish; in no way did they convey that he found it at all flattering. Lucio stopped circling the boy, now coming to a stop in front of him, his eyes scanning Scorpius’ clothes. He didn’t look dangerous, than again, he did work for the Dark Lord so he would seem harmless until provoked. Lucio looked over at the Malfoy’s left arm, as if searching for the mark, but couldn’t see through the cloth; either he hadn’t gotten one yet and this was his initiation task, or the boy was a full fledged Death Eater carrying out one of many tasks he had for the week. Lucio was betting money on the former. “My kind are like Werewolves, only we change every night at dusk and return to out human forms at dawn. Like Werewolves, we are unable to fully control ourselves in our beast form, but some classes of us are able to retain more of our humanity than others. There are three classes of Feles Diabolus, the first class is the most common, and is more humanoid in appearance. It is bipedal only and can breed through proper methods.” Lucio paused here and walked over to a nearby chair, taking a seat in it very gracefully as he watched the boy’s reactions. “Class two is more beast like when they transform, in that they are monsters and retain none of their human mind. They can breed properly, as well as bite to infect others. Class three is my class, we are the rarest of the classes and retain the most of our human self when transformed. We are also the biggest of the classes and can only bite to breed” Again he paused, this time to catch his breath while he felt a wave of pain shoot through his body. He shut his eyes tightly and gripped the chair arms; small growls and whimpers emitted from him at this time. But it was over almost as fast as it had begun, and Lucio opened his eyes once more.


“My kind can Shimmer, or become mostly invisible for a time, it is very much like a chameleon changing color to protect itself. Class two cannot do this, they are too beast like to be able to use the magic required of them to Shimmer. My class is the only one of the three that can force a transformation during the day by becoming quite angry, though we lose our ability to ‘think’ as a person and are much like our class two cousins at that time. Only calming down will return us to our former state....There are only three true ways to kill a Werecat, which I will not tell you about..Because I don’t trust you enough...” he said with a smile. His pointed teeth now much longer than they had been moments before. His face was gathering large amounts of fur around the jaw line and near his mouth; giving him the look of having a beard and mustache that had just grown in length over a period of a few moments.

"So aside from wanting to know about me and my kin in general, what does your master want? And why, did he send a child to acquire such information?" He glared at Scorpius for a split second, before looking over at the doorway, someone was coming; Lucio could smell them.

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius listened closely as Lucio told him all about his kind. This was interesting. And now he had information to take to the Dark Lord, who, hopefully, would be pleased with him. And maybe make him a full Death Eater. He shrugged. "It's my initiation task. I was supposed to find a Feles Diabolus, ask my questions, and bring back information." He frowned for a moment before continuing. "And I'm 15...not a child." It sounded a bit pouty, but oh well. It was the truth.

He was still waiting on Al, and was beginning to wonder if the Marvolio would even show up. Or if he was off having a laugh somewhere. Turning back to Lucio, Scorpius nodded to Alex, but spoke again. "So Lucio...Mr. Valtori...er, how do I address you?" He had another question, but it would wait until Lucio spoke again.

[Aldebaran Zephyr Orion]

Al dashed onto the grounds with such hast, one might think he had just learned of some wicked party that was going on outside and he was about to miss it. He had one large, white, flat nosed cat gripped firmly in his arms as he made his way to the ‘Smash your Bones to Dust Willow’, which is what his mother had called it when she attended school. The cat was borrowed from an acquaintance in his house, who had been a little out of it and very airy when he said that Al could take the cat out for awhile. Al never said why he needed the cat, only that it might be a few hours before the owner got the cat back. So with his new furry friend in one hand, and his wand in the other, Al immobilized the tree and slipped in just as a branch came back to life and landed on his hair.

He was pinned for all of five seconds before the tree wanted to have another go at his head, missing of course because the boy slipped into the hole with ease once freed. He trotted down the long tunnel that led to the shack, his heart pounding loudly in his ears as he heard the shouts of an unknown adult ahead of him; no way Scorpius went in alone and faced it without waiting for him? But the truth was revealed only moments later when he finally made it into the room. Scorpius was there all by himself, and obviously hadn't gotten Al's message about bringing a cat with him. Al scanned the room for the loud adult he had heard earlier in the tunnel and found him sitting in a chair. ‘Oh great, he is already transforming!’

Al shook his head and walked up to take his place at Scorpius’ side, hoping that the beast wouldn’t do anything rash.

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

Lucio snarled in warning at the boy. “You are a child, anything below twenty years is a child in my book..” he spat loudly, his cat like habits now taking hold even further. But he pulled himself together once again and calmly smirked in reply to Scorpius’ question. “Mr. Valtori will do, I don’t know you well enough to be on a first name basis. Your lord wishes me to join him does he? I’ll have to think on it, I’m sure I can find some member of your Lord’s followers to inform of my decision when I make it?” he chuckled and propped his legs up on a stool that was laying near his chair. At least the company was good if not at all smart. But no sooner had he had time to relax around Malfoy, another person arrived, dressed in Marvolio colors. He had his hands full of what looked like a ball of white fur, which Lucio immediately recognized as a full grown cat.

The Werecat got up from his seat and slowly inched behind the piano, eyes blazing in the Marvolio’s direction. “Keep your pets on you at all times or I’ll make sure you never leave here alive...Or human if you somehow survive..” he said with a hiss. Now he was angry, not really at the children, but at himself for allowing his other side to converse, when he should have just left them to the shack; the forest would be such a nice place to visit right about now. And even as he cursed himself for being so stupid, he had to ask his more human side; why are they here, surly one is enough to recruit him?

Annoying was what they had become, no matter why they had gathered here in the first place. Perhaps he was the new attraction at the school? Or maybe these two were here to kill him, and Scorpius had only come to gather info about the species before the deed was done. “Why are you here?” Lucio asked the Marvolio boy before looking back to Scorpius. “Come to slay me perhaps? A price on my hide even? This has all been a ruse hasn't it young Mr. Malfoy, to catch me off guard?”

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius shrugged. To each his own, he supposed. Out loud, he said, "I understand. I am still under age, after all." He looked down and scuffed his trainers on the floor before looking up again at Lucio. "Yes, you can find Father or Grandfather at Malfoy Manor, or me at Hogsmeade on the second weekend of every month."

He stared the were-cat in the eye. "Mr. Valtori...this is kind of my mission, so if maybe you could send me an owl when you've made your decision? Because a lot of the Death Eaters who are pure-blood don't, you know, like anyone who's not completely and utterly human and pure-blood. I just wanted to let you know. For your own safety." Scorpius hoped that sounded respectfully enough. He didn't want this possible ally to get hurt due to ignorance.

Scorpius looked shocked. "What? No! Like I said, Mr. Valtori, the Dark Lord wishes for you to join him." He pointed to the boy in the Marvolio colors. "This is my friend, Al. He serves the Dark Lord too," he added, just so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings. He seriously was depending on Lucio being good-natured. A foolish thing to do, and his father had taught him better, but he was nothing if not a risk-taker. Maybe I should have been in Delacroix, he thought to himself.

[Aldebaran Zephyr Orion]

Al looked slightly shocked at how quickly the beast had turned from being calm, to snapping and snarling, then returning to a calm nature...Somewhat. It was a new experience for the boy, and obviously for the cat he had in his arms, for it leapt out of his grip and landed hard on the floor. The cat then darted under the bed with a yawl, but not before plowing into a table that was littered with tiny glass phials of a dark black liquid, knocking a few over, but not breaking any. This was not at all going as planned. Not only was Scorpius having to come up with more and more ways of convincing the Werecat that they were here for a chat only and not to attack him, but Al was starting to feel there was more than meets the eye with this man. The two of them really needed a more mature, skilled person or two as backup and fast, in case this turned ugly.

With each passing moment, it seemed like an hour had passed instead, making Al uneasy as he gazed upon the monster before him. Now that his main weapon had abandoned him...Stupid cat. “Um, Scorpius, I think we should call it a night, even though I just got here....I don’t think this is a good idea without a few more mature people here to assist” he said quietly, keeping his eyes locked on the brute in the chair. The dust was starting to collect on the Marvolio’s shoulders as he stood now in silence, letting the Death Eater recruit do his job.

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

Lucio wasn’t convinced in the slightest, but didn’t say anything more on the matter. It would be futile to continue this line of questioning seeing as the boys have it in their heads already that they are doing good for their side, not trying to harm the Werecat. And just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse than the current situation, the cat that the boy named Al had been holding, decided to leap from his owner’s arms and charge under the bed in the corner. Sure he hit the table on the way by, but didn’t cause any damage to the phials there, thankfully, or else these children would have become food right then and there. The phials were full of a potion made of Black Grass, which was basically like the Wolfsbane potion for Werewolves. Lucio was having it brewed for a price, which kept increasing with the feeling of a new war starting.

Another even that only added to the building paranoia that Lucio was feeling, happened to be the whispered conversation between Al and Malfoy. This made the whole ‘They’re trying to kill me’ theory seem more and more possible. “Whispering does not make the story you’re trying to sell sound convincing, in fact, it instead makes it seem weak and unlikely” Lucio said, smirking as he came around to stand in front of them now that the cat was well out of the way. This Dark Lord was either very stupid or had a strange, yet interesting way of recruiting new members to his Order. Sending children to talk a powerful and dangerous creature onto his folds, wouldn’t seem the type of thing that a true Lord would do, seeing as children can be so unpredictable and would in most cases, screw up any chance of success. But maybe these children were more than they looked, perhaps not even children at all...That idea didn’t set too well with Lucio at all.

“Perhaps you should just go back and tell your Dark Lord that if he really wants me, he can send two adults of his Order to recruit me. Or invite me to one of those secret meetings I know you people have...Until then, the answer is no, I will not follow some mutation when I can lead my own army of my kin...All I need is a few people who are either willing to take the bite, or are stupid enough to linger long enough for me to strike.”

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Not taking his eyes off of Lucio, Scorpius nodded slightly and whispered, “You’re right. Time to go.” This was not going well at all. He didn’t need to be turned into a kitty snack for this Were-cat, but nor did he want to be the bearer of bad news to the Dark Lord. Then his life really wouldn’t be going well. He placed his hands together and gave a short bow, keeping his head up but folding over the top half of his body. Exposing his neck would be an unnecessary risk, and not one he was willing to take. The purity of his blood mattered a lot to him, and he was already risking it just by doing this mission.

As Lucio spoke to him again, Scorpius straightened and flushed. “Oops. What I said was, this is not going too well for me, and I think it’s time for us to go and er…leave you to whatever it is you were doing before we got here.” He backed up slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements, and his eyes widened as he called Lord Voldemort a mutation. Whew, it was a good thing the Dark Lord hadn’t heard that. “I will tell him, Mr. Valtori. But as I said, most Death Eaters look down on any who aren’t pure of blood.” Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and muttered, “Oy, this will not bode well for me at all.”

[Lucio Marcus Valtori]

Lucio smirked as the two boys started to back away, attempting to leave the shack unscathed both mentally and physically. That smirk turned into a snarl as he started to slowly get into a more crouching stance; most of him was already painfully trying to take the shape of the large cat. He didn’t want to hurt them really, just to let them know he wouldn’t be forced to make a decision about his allegiances so quickly. And with that in mind, Lucio started to stalk forward, growling as he came. If there was any thought flitting through their minds of a chance to escape, it was probably crushed the moment he started walking toward them. Less light filtered into the shack as the Werecat kept coming closer to the two boys, always letting his eyes dart from one to the other so that neither one felt he had the upper hand if the Werecat were to attack. He readied himself for a pounce, leaning forward enough to land right on the one named Al first. But instead of pouncing on them, he pounced to the side of them and took off running through the door and into the tunnel that would lead outside.

Once he was shot of the tree, the Werecat continued to dart away from the village, away from the school and more toward the hills and expansive forest that lay before him. Tonight he would be far away from prying eyes when he transformed. And he only hoped no more recruiters from the Death Eaters would show their faces for the next week or two, giving him enough time to think about what was happening to the world around him and how to survive the coming war. If he sided with the Death Eaters and the Order won, he would be looking at a dull life in prison, where he would rot away slowly to his death. However, if he sided with the Order and the Death Eaters won, he would no doubt be used as target practice for the Dark Lord, or perhaps just a pet in a dungeon, to be fed and conditioned as a Cat of War.

Neither situation set well with him, so the only true answer was to be on his own side. To remain neutral in the war, attacking only those who posed a threat to him and seeking revenge on those who dared try to force his kin into their service.

[Aldebaran Zephyr Orion]

Al swallowed hard and looked to Scorpius; they really were in deep trouble now. Just the slight posing that the Werecat was doing, the crouching and flexing of his legs, made Al realize that one or both of them could possibly become dinner very soon. And now that Lucio was getting closer, eyeing the both of them with each step, it was not the chill of the air, but a tingle of a fear that now ran down Al’s spine. Suddenly, the Werecat leapt forward toward Al, who shut his eyes out of reaction to seeing something come flying toward him, and knowing that no spell would do him any good; at least none he knew of at his year level. But a thud next to him forced his eyes to open quickly and he took noticed that Lucio had decided to leave them unharmed in the shack. Lucky night this one turned out to be.

“Oh man, that was bloody close...I thought we were done for..I mean, for sure!” Al said, turning to Scorpius and trying to see how well he had taken to the mock attack. It had not started off too well in here tonight, but apparently it had ended well enough; they were, after all, still alive. “I think we should head back to the castle, just in case he comes back...Or someone else comes here looking for him or us”

Al started heading toward the door, but stopped momentarily to look back at the phials of dark liquid. Curiosity took over and the young man ran back to the table, snatched one of the phials off it and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he looked over to Scorpius and patted the pocket with the phial in it. “So we know what makes him tolerable yes?” he quipped, before heading back toward the door. “Don’t think he’ll miss one of these, though if he notices he is one short, I think he will know which one of us took it....I do look the type don’t I?”

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius looked alarmed as Lucio stalked toward him, his body partially changing. He swallowed hard, and continued backing up, slowly, then faster and faster until he was running backwards. Tripping, he landed on his butt. He wanted to turn tail and run, but dared not give the Were-cat his back. That would surely mean death, or at least disembowelment. As Lucio got ready to pounce, he grimaced, gripped his wand tight, and stared the Were-cat in the eye, or as best as he could from the floor, wanting to look death in the face if this was the way he should die.

But Lucio surprised him. Even though Scorpius knew that there was no way he could have the upper hand in this battle—Lucio was, after all, an older and more experienced wizard, while he was merely a fifth year student—the Were-cat pounced to the side of Al and left the building. Shakily, the blond Slytherin got to his feet and gave a small smile to his companion.

“Wow. I thought we were dead for sure,” he replied. As the raven-haired Gryffindor took one of Lucio’s vials, Scorpius’ eyes widened. “Bloody hell, Al, what are you doing?” he hissed. “You heard him—he’s an excellent tracker. Do you honestly think that he can’t find you? The instant you set foot out of the castle, you’ll be a kitty snack.” He nodded his agreement of Al’s assessment. “You do, my friend—but then again, he might think I took it in order to force him to join the Dark Lord.” Brushing off his robes, he spoke again. “Yes, let’s head back to the castle.” He headed for the door, kicking a chair out of his way as he walked.