Foot of the Astronomy Tower

Because so many people seem to like jumping off the astronomy tower...

Fred ran out of the castle in search of George. In his distress, the only place he could think of to go was the bottom of the Astronomy Tower. He ran onto the grounds shouting, "George! George?!"

Angela ran out after Fred, trying to find George, half of her not really wanting to because he had hurt her so badly, but the other half frantic to find him. she didn't see his body anywhere

Fred didn't see his brother anywhere, which partially relieved him and partially worried him. "Where could he be?" he wondered aloud, not thinking of the obvious place [the hw]. He turned and saw Angela. "Where is he?" he asked, his eyes looking into hers deploringly.

she stared at him wide eyed. "I dunno...what about the Hospital Wing..." she shrugged half-heartedly

Fred's head cleared for a moment. "Yeah.. Right. Good idea," he said. "Let's go there." Without waiting for her response, he took off.

Alecto is taking a stroll. OMFG she's doing something IC!!!!

Gellert is walking along after talking to Dee because that's when I feel like this is when he sees Alecto. Bored, he walks up to her. "Hi," he says, cooly, "I don't think we've met. I'm doing that thing where you walk up to people and introduce yourself, I think it's called being friendly and you look pleasantly normal. I'm Gellert."

Alecto arches an eyebrow at the straightforward greeting.

"Normal, maybe. Pleasant? Depends. I'm Alecto. So you make a habit of walking up to random strangers to have a chat?"

"No, I prefer to be spontaneous, even within my own head. I'd be bored to death, otherwise. But do you make a habit about interrogating random strangers of their everyday activities? Are your next questions going to be whether I bite my nails or pick my nose, because I'll just tell you in advance, the answer is no to both of the above."

Alecto smirks.

"What can I say? I'm not all that into small talk. But to make a stab at it, my answer to both those questions would be 'no' as well. Shall we discuss bathing habits now?"

"I shower and wash my hair every day, thanks," he says, flipping it, as he smirks down at her, "but you can refrain from the recitation of your own, unless you really have the urge to tell somebody, initiating interaction, I suppose I've brought it upon myself."

[Sorry sorry my computer died.]

[no worries.... *goes to sit in the corner and think of a cool reply for Alecto*]

She twirls her wand absently between her fingers.

"Ah, but wasn't that the whole point of your decision to speak to me to begin with? To initiate interaction? I can only suppose, then, that you would like me to reply. And then when I inform you that I bathe on a daily basis as well, I imagine you might take that as a sign we have something in common, and be encouraged towards further interaction? Perhaps we both eat on a daily basis, as well?"

"Ah, the possibilities that lie ahead. It is, then, probable that we both brush our teeth, and our hair, not to mention sleep, talk, walk, perform magic," he says, glancing, with a smirk, at the wand in her hands, "and perhaps one day these similarities will lead us to travel down the same road, become good friends -- oh, the mystery is killing me. I have to admit, I've never been particularly blessed with the skill of Divination, although," he clicks his tongue stud once against his teeth, "it's possible that you are, and there, I suppose, would be where our paths diverge."

Alecto arches an eyebrow again, almost close to smiling. Almost.

"Perhaps, indeed. I would seem, then, that we share the simple common ground of being human. Or so I assume. And yet more common ground we share in relation to our skills of Divination. Worthless tripe of a subject that it is. Are you not disturbed yet? Maybe we should search valiantly for some superficial difference between us, besides the obvious of the physical, to convince ourselves that we are indeed separate entities, and not mere victims of some shared, common consciousness?"

[I am laughing really hard. This entire conversation is absolutely preposterous and is exactly the kind of conversation that I would have.]

[LMAO. I love playing this game! The 'what's the most ridiculous fucking thing I could possibly think to say?' game! ]

[Hahaha Mya I just burst out laughing. I absolutely love conversations like this:)]

Gellert suppresses a smile, but he wouldn't lose in this game that they were playing, no, he merely cocked his head to the side, his eyes alert with apparent surprise. "Such uncanny similarities, you are right on the whole, of course, it's disconcerting. However, I wouldn't be too quick to make assumptions about such humanities, it is completely possible that I'm some kind of genie, god, or djinn -- in which case it would do you well to watch your words for I hear the conviction of hubris is one that isn't taken kindly amongst otherworldly spirits. And with all due respect to the differences that probability says should come between us, would it not be quite a pleasant surprise to find some other lost piece of soul who just happens to be wandering around at the bottom of the same tower -- and the inclination to come here, it must be said, is yet another mysterious similarity between us -- at this point, it must be said that fate is making fools of us -- how disconcerting."

[I have NFI what I'm saying.... but I'm loving it! LMAO]

"Disconcerting indeed," Alecto replies, face impassive. "Although is it fate that conspires to bring us here, or merely boredom? Or is it the fact that at the base of this tower lies a path that runs directly between parts, and other parts of this place we call Hogwarts? It is not wholly inconcievable that two lost souls - although I doubt we could each truly be called such - should find themselves on the same path purely by chance, is it?"

She pauses a moment, then speaks again, as if having just remembered something of vital importance. "Oh, and I suppose it's also entirely possible that you are indeed some form of higher power, and your human appearance is superficial. But then, I had always assumed that those with great power and wisdom would be somewhat inclined to talk less shit."

"Blessed as I am with the ability to drone on on a certain, untrue point of subject matter for extensive periods of time, I'll spare us both in assuring you that I am, in fact, human -- although the doubt of, what was it, great power and wisdom does come as a blow. The broadening of your mind, is, though, something quite to your advantage, for if my ego is going to be deflated yours should be the opposite, bearing in mind the soul-synchronization that is at work. You do bring up a good point, though, but I must disagree that boredom is chance, or that anything, for that matter, can really be called chance. See, if it were truly chance then there would be no chain of events leading up to it, and I daresay I am correct in assuming that the two of us both entered this place from that door," he gestures towards the only door, behind him, "that we both progressed up that staircase, at some point before that put on our shoes, donned our jackets, left our dormitories, and such a trail of happenings must have been sparked by some intuitive thoughts -- oh Merlin, are we having the same intuitive thoughts now, too -- which leads me to the conclusion that there is some greater power which has influenced us to have such a potentially monumental chat."

[... I love you Rachel.]

"I appreciate your attempt, unsuccessful as it may have proved, to remain brief in your entertainment of points of conversation which prove to lack truth. But I must disagree, and take great comfort in the finding of a fundamental difference between us, because what could it be, besides chance, that led me to take this path, instead of, say, that one," she points in a random direction.

"If I'd done so, who knows what would've happened? Maybe the thoughts of what may have been will torture me on many a sleepless night. But I find it difficult to believe that fate has so little to do, or has such control issues, that our meeting today - enlightening and monumental as it may be - is the work of forces greater than our own whims."

"Ah, well, this appreciation is tickling my ego, and I'm feeling altogether pleased with myself from keeping you from the potentially sleepless nights of which you speak. What is it that they say -- when the two paths diverged, I took the one less traveled on, and that, that made all the difference. The question, then, is whether this one is less traveled on, for only then are we to learn the true capacity of our souls -- for I think that if we are fundamentally the same person, that will have made all the difference. My stomach here is unsettled. Perhaps we should make a list, finding something different between us -- keep these butterflies away so that the two of us -- or, possibly, the one of -- can continue on our ways, and maybe we'll meet again some day."

He looks up at her, a grin creeping across his face, a glint in his icy eyes. "I would start, then, with assuming that I am male and you are not, although I know I can't be sure -- what if your shirt is merely stuffed with tissues, that would need to be verified, or you would have to quite truthfully assure me to put me truly at ease."

Her eyebrows hit her hairline.

"For the time being, I can't help but wonder that you could conceive of this path being the road less traveled, when this path contains two people, and the other none. But that opens up a whole new dimension to our dilemma, does it not? The concept of time? Is there some great, cosmic counter that tallies all the souls to ever travel a particular path, and determine one the less traversed? Or, gentle person who may or may not be myself, are we bound by this moment in time and doomed to never experience that beyond what we feel and see in the present?"

Her grin slides over her face, matching his.

"As for the other - well, I can attest to the contents of my shirt being flesh, as opposed to tissue. Perhaps you could now assure me of the contents of your pants not being a pair of rolled up socks? Or shall we just promise each other that we speak the truth? For what do we have, if not trust? Is this something we can take on faith, or shall we be rude and insist on proof, which seems somewhat crass, does it not?"