Private eyes

[grandhighwizard]

WHO: Rhys Rhydderch and OPEN
TONE: Varied, but probably some element of creepy
RATING: PG-ish, unless something weird happens
WHEN: Throughout the day and evening, Novermeber 15
WHERE: All around Hogwarts
WHAT: Rhys has some questions about one of his students
STATUS: Ongoing

Rhys had to admit - Hogwarts didn't disappoint when it came to interesting things happening. No, it wasn't anywhere near so high stakes as the Wizengamot, but then things were more chaotic and he appreciated that about the environment. The volatile mix of teenage hormones, children's bad judgment, and a staff that seemed prone (and least some of them) to interpersonal drama made for a constant source of amusement, anyway. He was part of none of it, of course, knowing better than to get his personal life mixed up with work, but he did enjoy how incredibly unprofessional so many of his colleague could be.

But lately, something had started to engage him personally. Or someone, rather - the older Makara boy. The younger one was talented at potions, certainly, but it was the elder that had that intriguing edge, that intellectual curiosity and inherent darkness that made him stand out. But he had to know more, and that meant doing more than just examining school records. That meant questions.

He knew Kurloz was close to Dolores, so he'd start with her. But he thought it might be good to talk to some of the other students he'd seen hanging around the boy, as well. Of course, he'd have to be discreet about it. Take them aside after class, or speak to them briefly in the hallway for those he didn't teach, and depending on the conversation, possibly a little memory charm to modify things just slightly. It wouldn't do to be seen as too interested, after all.

[OOC: Essentially this post is open to anyone, teacher or student, who might have ever interacted with Kurloz. They don't have to be pals - Rhys doesn't know which students are friends and which have just talked to him in passing.]

Comments

[innocent_insanity]

[Again comes the willing nod, looking expectantly up at the professor and waiting for him to lead the way because the man could part the student body mass like a boulder in a river.]

[grandhighwizard]

[Which he does on both counts - it's not only his height, but his sheer presence that tends to get students moving out of his way. He leads the boy back to his office and closes and locks the door behind them, indicating a seat for Kurloz to take and settling behind his own desk.]

Shall we take a look?

[innocent_insanity]

[He takes the offered seat and rummages through his bag to pull out his sketchbook which has improved since the last time in that the charmed pages are no longer blank but filled with random anatomical sketches, the occasional scenery and mostly people. Once Rhys disenchants the book some pages will have neat writing in indigo pertaining to Kurloz's dreams (usually nonsensical ones like all the water at school turning into his favourite ink) but the nightmares always have sketches accompanying them, be it one of Mituna trapped in a maze with no way out or the bloody version of himself that the boggart had assumed, and a portrait of his mother bound and gagged with the nightmarish Kurloz grinning in the background.

Kurloz lays out the charmed paper he'd gotten from Rhys and writes:]

didn't dream none too much lately but these are all the ones this here brother did.

[grandhighwizard]

[The big man looks over them silently, his face unreadable, noting each drawing. He sees the Captor boy with interest, then the bloody Kurloz, and finally he mother. He turns the book around, taps that picture. The woman looks familiar. It's hard to tell with the gag, but she looks like someone he's seen for sure, he's almost certain of it.] Tell me about this one.

[innocent_insanity]

[He scratches his head and charms the quill before explaining:]

that's me mam. in the dream she's trying to get hold on the monster me to get the motherfucker to calm the fuck down.

[He hesitates at how his swearing is still getting through and then continues:]

she never wins though and the fucker ties her up like that and even if a brother tries to get that shit to stop, he never does and he never actually tears into her but she doesn't stop crying so i can see she's hurting inside, you know?

[grandhighwizard]

Who is your mother? [Rhys asks, but there's a musing tone to it, and he shakes his head after the question.] Hm. And you're present, in the dream? Or just this you? [taps the other Kurloz on the paper]

[innocent_insanity]

me mam? her name's maeve, if that's what you're hankering for an understanding of, sir.

[He glowers at the 'other' him on the paper, the quill writing a bit more forcefully:]

no. that bastard's there getting a good laugh at how i can't do nothing.

[grandhighwizard]

[Rhys is still for a moment, his face utterly blank. Maeve. Maeve Makara. He's not sure why he never made the connection before, except there were several Makaras in the school, and he hadn't known Maeve had any children. It's been a long time since he's thought of her, too, almost 17 years since he's ... seen ... her.

Rhys is a man with iron self-control, and he exercises it now, shoving aside all the sudden clamoring thoughts and questions, forcing himself to look down at the paper and focus on what the boy is saying.]

He shows up in your dreams often? [flipping to the other picture, then looking up at Kurloz with a raised eyebrow] You're an intelligent lad. Tell me what he is.

[innocent_insanity]

yes.

[He hesitates for a moment, not meeting Rhys' eyes before answering, the quill shuddering a bit with his unwillingness.]

he's

me. but not

he's what this here brother could be if i

[He growls, annoyed at himself for being so skittish, and runs a hand over his face, smudging his eyeliner just a bit.]

if i let go and go too deep down them twisted paths in the fucking wild forest like what the fae-folk from the unseelie court kept on trying to pull me along on.

[grandhighwizard]

[Well. Yet another surprise.] You know the fae? When was this? [When he was a child, of course, Rhys answers his own question mentally. The twyleth teg love children, love to steal them, though it hasn't happened in years.] Tell me about that, the paths.

[innocent_insanity]

a lot more when i was still a little kid. i used to play with them by the village and they taught me how to play the fiddle proper.

[Smiles a bit in fond memory - they sometimes scared him but for the most part they were good friends.]

the paths are

twisty, like what a brother said before. you know they're going to go somewhere dark and bad but you still want to go because it looks like all sorts of motherfucking fun.

like with the bad fae - one of them took me into the woods and got me started down this really steep path what would've sent me right into their world. the steeper the better because then that's what you can run and tumble on down over and that's all sorts of fun for a kid. but then one of the seelie fae came and got me before i went too far and part of me hated it for doing that shit but the other part was so grateful to be going home because even then you know somehow that you don't want to be going down that rabbit-hole.........

[The ellipses drag on for a while as Kurloz recalls that incident, and still considering how different things would have been if he'd just gone with the faeries.]

[grandhighwizard]

And why is that bad? [Rhys's eyes are intent, as he watches the boy - the answer to this question will tell him a lot about where he needs to push.] Not just the fairies, but giving over to that part of you?

[innocent_insanity]

[He thinks on that for a long time, trying to think of a succinct way to answer it.]

right now?

because i can't control it. it's not even about the kind of magic i might be up and getting my brain all absorbing the knowledge on - it's about how i can't get a grip on it.

i like the fall, it's fun. that tumbling through and feeling like you're flying down into the great motherfucking unknown. but it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt and i hurt two precious people, i'm scared i'll do that shit again.

[Frowns and glances up worriedly at Rhys.]

does that make sense?

[grandhighwizard]

[The older man nodded.] Chaos is, by its very nature, a powerful and uncontrollable thing. That's why it can feel so good to give into it, and it should be surrendered to. But at the time of your choosing, when you know who and who won't be at risk.

[He taps the picture of monster Kurloz.] This is a boy's chaos. Without restraint, but also without focus. It causes damage at random to whatever's nearby, whether you want it to or not.

[Then he pulls the boy's sketchbook towards himself, and pulls out his wand. He murmurs a spell, and then starts using the wand like a pen or a brush, sketching out something that flows with color as he draws, filling the page with brilliant reds and oranges, until the finished piece adorns the page.]

This is a man's chaos. Do you see the difference?

[innocent_insanity]

[He watches with keen eyes as the picture comes together.]

you destroy everything, not just some things.

[grandhighwizard]

[An interesting interpretation.] That's one way of looking at it. The power. But there's more. What can you tell me about fire?

[innocent_insanity]

[Blinks and cocks head to one side as he re-examines the picture, the quill slowly writing out:]

it'd melt or burn off all the weak shit, wouldn't it? only leave the pure and proper tough stuff behind?

[Smiles a bit and his shoulders shake with silent laughter as he adds:]

or a really well-cooked side of long pig ready for the chow-down.

[higherthaneverybody]

A bit of both. [agrees, with a dark smile] Fire is more than a destroyer and more than a force of life and rebirth - it is an elemental thing that cannot be controlled, only shaped momentarily. But in that shaping, we change everything. Fire birthed the world and it creates the dust of stars, because it must consume. And because of this, we see it as evil and we see it as good, though it's truly neither, but its own thing.

You must never think of chaos as a tool, m'bach, but you can use it just the same.

[innocent_insanity]

[Watches with rapt attention, nodding slowly in understanding. He then hesitates before asking:]

i be getting that it's not a tool but... can a fucker still learn how to control it? i mean in the sense of how to control when to let it out, not how to control it.

[Sighs and runs a hand through his hair, smiling sheepishly.]

this here brother's not making too much sense, huh?

[higherthaneverybody]

No, the question is exactly to the point of what I will teach you. You can control when you let it out, if you learn properly. Never one hundred percent - when one chooses to use chaos, there are no guarantees, this is the price we pay. But to an extent.

It's one of the reasons the fae will never truly rule this world, or even make a truly significant impression on more than a few people. They are of the wild, old magic, which gives them power, but they are mere gateways for it. On and off, you see? Like a faucet. Whereas we can be channels, we can take that magic and create. The fae cannot, not truly.

[innocent_insanity]

[Tilts his head to one side, curious now.]

but how do we fuckers be getting to that stage of letting the power through like that? if it were so easy, every motherfucker out there would be as fucking powerful as anything and we wouldn't have much of a shithole to stand on with all that destruction going on.

[higherthaneverybody]

You are correct, and the power would be meaningless, were it so simple to obtain. Getting there is extraordinarily difficult, and it requires sacrifice. [His expression is very serious, even grim as he regards Kurloz.] And the complete dismantling of who and what you are, m'bach.

[innocent_insanity]

[Pauses and considers that, glancing down at his hands, the quill writing as he thinks.]

is there anything left what needs to be taken apart anyway?

[higherthaneverybody]

Oh, yes.

[There's something in the way the man says it, an almost sensual pleasure and anticipation, that of all the little hints he's dropped is one of the clearest flashes of his true self, and it is not safe or sane.

Last chance to run, boy.]

[innocent_insanity]

[Glances up at him and stares, expression completely devoid of emotion for a long moment.

Then that creature inside coaxes him, and he lets a small, expectant smile curl his lips.]