innocent_insanity: (Default)
innocent_insanity ([personal profile] innocent_insanity) wrote in [community profile] sortinghat_logs2012-11-04 10:17 pm

Red Pill

Who: Kurloz and Rhys
Tone: Edgy, just a tad creepy knowing these two
Rating: PG-15+ most likely due to subject matter
When: After the Shadow event 
Where: Dungeons 
What: Rhys made Kurloz an offer. Kurloz took some time to make a choice.

Kurloz wasn't too sure it was such a good idea for him to go through with this, but there he stood outside one Professor Rhys Rhydderch's office, staring at the door before lifting a hand to knock slowly. He desperately wished he'd worn his full-makeup today - if only for it to serve as something to hide his nerves behind. As it was, he stood there in his uniform that he was beginning to notice was getting a bit small (he made a mental note to Owl his mum about it later), satchel slung over a shoulder, his trusted quill and notebook ready for communication.
grandhighwizard: (Her proudest child)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-04 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
The door swung open on its own. Of course, in a magical school, that was hardly a sinister thing, as all it required was the simple wave of a wand. Still, there was something deliberate, almost ominous about the pace. Revealed inside was a not-terribly-unusual professor's office, with the expected potions acoutrements around - spare vials and glasswork that Rhys was storing in here, a cupboard with ingredients and reagents inside, neatly labelled, papers in the act of being marked on the desk at the back wall.

However, two unusual pieces of art hung on the walls, one to the left, and one to the right. They were the professor's own work, not that any student had ever asked. On the left, a painting of a stone building atop a hill. To the right, a man who appeared to be praying.

The professor himself sat at the desk, his black robes open to reveal the deep purple tunic he wore underneath. Quill in hand, he wrote something in the margins of the paper he was examining, then looked up, smiling slowly. He had wondered if Kurloz would show up, and it pleased him that the boy had done it. He'd seen promise in this one at first, even more now that he'd done his own examination into the boy's recent past.

"Mr. Makara. Come in, m'bach. Have a seat." He gestured with his wand at a chair put up in one corner, and it spun across the floor to settle in front of his desk.
grandhighwizard: (I am your vulture)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-04 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
The big man set his quill aside, however, and didn't look put out. Instead, he opened one of his desk drawers and drew out a sheaf of blank paper. He handed them across the desk to Kurloz, then pulled out a slim journal, which he opened in front of himself.

"It's similar to the school journal paper," he explained. "But what you write will only appear in this book. Now. What can I do for you?"

He suspected that the boy wasn't there because he needed some help with a particularly confounding assignment, but he wanted to see what Kurloz would write. How would he explain his interest, what he thought the professor had been offering to teach him? It was thin ice Rhys was treading, and he had to be sure the boy was the fertile ground he seemed to be, before he said too much about what he might offer. But he had a good feeling about this one, and the older man had learned to trust his instincts.
grandhighwizard: (Default)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-04 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, clever, clever boy. Rhys was internally delighted - it was the right question. Nothing accusatory, nothing dangerous, but a probing question nonetheless, one that would tell Kurloz a good deal about who he was dealing with, should the professor choose to answer honestly.

"I wasn't aware you were here for art instruction," Rhys said, with a hint of a smirk around his lips and an arched eyebrow, a subtle challenge. "I did. A habit I picked up in my youth."
grandhighwizard: (Variations on emptiness)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-04 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm, interesting. Not a direction Rhys had expected, which pleased him - god forbid this should be boring. There were so few actual challenges here, that it was more than refreshing to realize that a boy no more than fifteen or sixteen was engaging him more than many of the adults in the school. He said none of that, though, merely held out one long fingered hand for Kurloz's art.
grandhighwizard: (In your hunger to believe)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-05 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
"You shouldn't leave the pages blank," Rhys said absently, as he flipped through the book, then murmured the spell to make the white paper give up its secrets. "It makes people wonder what should be there, especially when the book looks old, like this one."

As the drawings revealed themselves, the professor went silent. He studied each page carefully, saying nothing at first as he took in the drawings. Sometimes he smiled faintly, but other than that, his expression didn't change. Truthfully, they reminded him startlingly of his own work as a student, so many years ago. The themes were obvious, over the top and without a certain subtlety, but the boy was young. What they were not was crude, or drawn for shock value. It was clear from the level of detail that these were images that Kurloz either felt he had to get out, to exorcise, or they were something he enjoyed. Perhaps both. The technical talent was strong, but the professor knew that wasn't really what the Slytherin was asking about. This was the child's own test, for him.

He flipped back to the picture of the skeletons dancing. It was his favorite, by far, and he slid it back over the desk to Kurloz. "You're talented. But this one is the most pure. You're getting lost in the details with some of these other ones, trying to include too much at once. This tells the most cohesive story, and there's a joy here that's quite impressive. It's not something many people would understand, the imagery is too macabre, but I quite like it. Death as a celebration, a dance, certain expectations perverted and tossed aside. Yes, I like it very much. It captures a certain truth about the world, about the things under the skin."
grandhighwizard: (Soon red will be the color of the snow u)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-05 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
"That depends," Rhys said, quite seriously. His face was forbidding, almost frightening when he got serious, a face hundreds of condemned criminals would have recognized. The judge, a face of brutal, unrelenting justice. "Are you prepared to learn?"

"To smell the blood that runs in the veins of the world, the see the bones that dance beneath the skin - these experiences do not come easily or naturally. You've seen before," he tapped at his own lips to indicate Kurloz's bitten-off tongue, "The kind of price that must be paid for that vision. You're on the path, but to go further requires that you allow yourself to think in ways that will be uncomfortable, even terrifying at times. What I will show you can't be unseen, what I would teach is knowledge that can't be revoked. Do you truly want this understanding? Or are you only prepared to dabble in darkness, and not take the next step?"
grandhighwizard: (Variations on emptiness)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-05 12:07 pm (UTC)(link)
The professor was disappointed - it was a child's question, and a short-sighted one. But then, Kurloz was still a child, still immersed in a world of other children, of friends and family, still probably holding on to a childish view of Dark magic. And the fear was healthy. It made Rhys want to sniff the air, to grin as he rolled the taste of it over his tongue. He didn't - merely raised his eyebrows as he considered the Slytherin seriously.

"I'm not offering to train you as some sort of proto-Death Eater. This isn't about their brand of petty thuggery, or the selfish pursuit of power. What do you think, boy?"
grandhighwizard: (We are drunk with death)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-05 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
The professor smiled then, wide and cheerful, not bothering to hide his pleasure at the decision Kurloz had made. This was what he had been waiting for, this was why he had come to the school in the first place, to find fertile minds, young people who might be willing to learn. But none of the children here had had what he'd been looking for. Oh, there had been a few he had thought maybe, that he'd been hopeful about, but nothing solid. No one he'd had such a strong feeling about as this boy, no one he'd been as sure of. Getting Kurloz's agreement had been critical, but at the same time, there'd been no doubt in his mind that they Slytherin would eventually agree. All of his instincts told him that here was a like mind he could enlighten, he could mold.

"Good lad. Now tell me, what is it you expect me to teach you?"
grandhighwizard: (Variations on emptiness)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Hm, let's try a different approach. What is it you want me to teach you?" Rhys asked, watching the boy carefully, cataloging his reactions.
grandhighwizard: (We are wolf memories)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 07:49 am (UTC)(link)
Rhys stared at the drawing for long moments, in complete silence. His expression was impossible to read, but after a bit, he nodded slowly. "Yes. I can do that."

He looked up at Kurloz again, and his face assumed its more normal mien, the 'professor' expression. "You understand, I can't teach you to get rid of it. But you don't really want it gone, do you? Simply not ... running rampant. There are times when a lack of control - a little chaos - is a useful thing. But at the time of your choosing, hm?"
grandhighwizard: (Even the moon lies to you)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 08:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Do you ever remember your dreams?" Rhys asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands loosely in front of him. It seemed as good a place to start as any. For Kurloz to truly learn anything about the nature of fear, the secrets that made the world turn, he would have to understand himself, and dreams were one of the best ways to do that - unfettered unconscious with no censor, no safety valve, no limits.
grandhighwizard: (where EVERYONE is SANE)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 08:35 am (UTC)(link)
"Tell me about one," the professor directed. "Whichever you like."
grandhighwizard: (In your virginal fear)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 09:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Lesson one," the professor said, with that note of expected obedience in his voice, that authority that brooked no argument. "You don't stop. Not in here. When I ask something of you, you give it, when you have a thought, you finish it. Nothing goes past these walls, not in here, but you do not hold back, even if it's painful, even if it's terrifying. You can't control what you won't face, lad, and that is the stone cold motherfucking truth."
grandhighwizard: (Her proudest child)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Don't make me tell you twice, Mr. Makara," Rhys said, eyes narrowing.
grandhighwizard: (We are wolf memories)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-06 01:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Nodding approvingly, the professor explained, "You will find, m'bach, that dreams are one of the most important expressions of a person's soul, the rawest expression of both their desires and their fears. Often, these two are connected so strongly that one cannot be untangled from the other. For example, with the dream you just related to me - would it have such power over you if it weren't appealing to some part inside of you? As humans, we are drawn to the dark just as much to the light, and it is the shadows that give the light shape and meaning."

He tilted his head to one side, and decided he would relate something of his own, to show Kurloz that he did understand. It was a risk, but it felt like the right thing to do now, the correct way to help bind this fascinating boy closer to him. "When I was a young man, perhaps a few years older than you, but not much, I had a recurring dream about my sister, whom I loved, and still do, very much. I dreamed that I took her down to the river that we used to play at as children, and I led her into the water, and then I drowned her - held her under the water as she struggled and cried and begged me to let her go. I could hear her, though she was under the water, in the way of dreams, and each time she pleaded, she took in more into her lungs, until she died, and then I carried her back to the big cauldron my mother used to mix the potions for the goats in the back barn, and I boiled the skin from her bones. Then I took the bones and put them in my trunk, and locked the trunk and swallowed the key."

"That dream terrified me. I would never want to hurt my sister, and yet I murdered her, quite serenely, night after night. But I could not simply dismiss it as a nightmare, something that would never happen. This dream was more powerful than the ordinary ones of being chased or falling, because there was a part of it that appealed to me, as well. My subconscious was telling me I had the desire to keep the people I loved close, as close as was humanly possible, and that went beyond the boundaries of life. Do you understand?"
grandhighwizard: (Conceiving the creed)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-07 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yes," Rhys said quietly, though there hadn't been many. He'd never been close to many people, after all - those sorts of relationships never seemed to work out well for him, and over the years he'd learned to trust less and less. "Not the drowning. But something similar, yes."
grandhighwizard: (Her proudest child)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-07 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
"It depends on how you think of nightmares. If you mean, are the dreams always frightening, then no. If you mean, do conventionally 'bad' things happen in the dreams, then also, no. What do you consider a nightmare, Mr. Makara? Define it for me," Rhys told him.
grandhighwizard: (I am your vulture)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-07 11:41 am (UTC)(link)
"So you are judging a nightmare by how it makes you feel," Rhys said, and he nodded his approval. "But think on what we've been talking about. Why does one particular dream frighten you, and another doesn't? Can you always tell? Or does it come to you later, or not at all?"
grandhighwizard: (To carve strange symbols unknown to me)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-07 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Understanding this better will be key in your continuing education," the professor told the boy seriously. "This is your first assignment. This week, you will keep an account of all your dreams, both good and bad. When you wake from one, you must write it down immediately. Later, you may write a paragraph for each describing how the dream made you feel, and we will review and discuss it at our next session. If you would prefer to use drawings for this account, you may, but I hope I don't have to tell you to keep it separate from your school journal."

Rhys took out his wand then. "I will teach you the charm for automatic writing today, which should make it easier for dream recording in the middle of the night. Do you have any questions about this assignment?"
grandhighwizard: (Breed my flame)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-08 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
Rhys returned the amused look, arching an eyebrow. "As many as it takes, Mr. Makara, as ever." He would never punish a student for a joke ... unless it was a very bad one.

The big man demonstrated the motion, first, a sort of swooping curl, much like an embellished cursive loop, in writing. Then, "The incantation is Perscribo mentis. Make sure you have a quill and ink handy, or the charm either won't work, or will use whatever is nearby, including a classmate's supplies."
grandhighwizard: (They promised me a miracle)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-08 07:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Never on my account, m'bach," Rhys said, with genial amusement. "Remember what I told you? I would expect you to show your respect for my position in ways other than not using crude language. Swearing is not something I'll object to, at least in here."

He examined the clown face with interest, though he hid it. There was another boy who used the same little faces, wasn't there? Ah, yes, the other Makara. Hm, the two boys did look a little alike, too, though they acted very differently. Perhaps they were related somehow? That seemed the most likely, considering.
grandhighwizard: (where EVERYONE is SANE)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-08 08:10 am (UTC)(link)
The professor nodded, but gestured at the paper he'd given Kurloz. "Keep that. If you need to contact me outside of the classroom or office, you can use it," he explained. It wasn't an offer he made to any other student, but the Slytherin had protege potential. Perhaps it was too early to put so much on the boy ... but he was doing it nonetheless, and he wouldn't question his instincts now.
grandhighwizard: (A knife tattoos a smile on my lips)

[personal profile] grandhighwizard 2012-11-08 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'll expect you here next Tuesday at seven in the evening. I imagine our next lesson will be a little longer, so anticipate being out late," the professor instructed, though he smiled back at the boy's enthusiasm. Once more he was reminded of himself at that age.

This had the potential to be a great deal of fun.