nexus_crossings | The Silence of the Storm

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event

The Silence of the Storm

Rations have been cut. Again. Everyone is on one bowl of watery soup a day. Sometimes with crackers, sometimes not. Most people are too tired and weak to do much more than sit around and talk, and nobody discourages them in the slightest. Work has to be rotated constantly as people weaken quickly, but the fires still need to burn, people still need to guard the cooks and rations, and the sick still need to be tended to. Soon the hardest job is keeping up morale while the big expedition comes back. All the gods and heavens of the multiverse help them if they don’t come back with supplies, and soon.

The boundaries have tightened to an almost suffocatingly small space. It doesn’t take much to imagine where they will be by the end of Winter, which at least makes planning a little easier. People are already relocating to deeper in the Plaza. Unfortunately it means that those who have enough energy to often end up fighting with their neighbours, as the close quarters tests everyone’s patience. There are a few spaces carved out for like minded people to shelter from the dreary situation. Mechanics and those like them have set up a nice little place close to the Crossroads Café, and a break area for those helping the sick is sheltered in a room behind the injured and ill. Zandros moves from groups to individuals, looking for help in creating some form of morale boosting display that will adhere to Isidor's instructions. People are surviving in whatever ways they can, but it's reaching breaking point.

((It's the Final Event Post, everyone! OOC Post is here! This is for those stuck at the hub while the Main Expedition is going on. There will be a second part to this post for the Return of the Expedition. In the meantime, have fun!))

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Hermione had made herself copies of some of the Nexus maps that Captain Kirk had provided earlier scouting teams. That was one advantage of having such a good memory -- is that she was able to draw out maps for herself, without sacrificing what was needed for the other scouts. Right now, Hermione had several spread out all around her, doing her best not to take up too much room in the already crowded space.

A large mess of hair was piled up on her head. The winter weather made her hair dry and frizzy... and without the Sleekeazy's Hair Potion that kept her wild locks tamed and smooth ... Hermione just was not bothering with trying to maintain her curls.

Without her wand, Hermione had been spending a lot of time around the sanctuary areas. She had helped out in the infirmary, or the kitchens, or with just keeping company with other people during this whole time. And while making those small connections -- Hermione Jean Granger was strengthening the information for her Arthimancy matrix. Every new name provided her one more rune to add to the equation. Learning about their pasts, and their hardships, helped provide more information to strengthen her numbers.

And right now, Hermione had several of her runes spread out on the maps. Her rune -- Thought -- was spread out in several different locations, creating the main points of several different triads. As one of the Golden Trio, Hermione knew the power of a Triad.

Hermione had not received any more clues about where her wand was taken by that 'Rabbit' since her search with Danny and Azwel had to be forsaken. And it had been difficult being without her wand all this time. Being unable to help others with a flick of her wrist. Unable to multiply food or blankets. Unable to cast healing spells.

And while there were still some simple magic she could do -- Hermione wanted that piece of herself back. Her wand. Her focus. Her connection to her magic.

Which is why she was so focused on the runes and the map right now. Hopefully she had enough information that her runes would guide her to the right place to start searching. The right place where her treasured wand was being hidden. Or the right person who would have answers for her.

Hermione Jean Granger was determined to get her wand back. One way or another.

Winter is a great many things to a great many people. It is the darkest time of the year. Among other things, it is a time of secrecy and hiding. The magic of a witch, one without her focus, even with all that information she has collected, means little to a primordial aspect of Nature. Reynard, and Winter, does not want her to find her wand. So it remains hidden. Even when she thinks her runes are about to show her something, it changes to a different location time and time again, and then vanishes. Perhaps if she had the right names her magic would be more precise. Instead she has to watch her runes give her flickering, unhelpful information, if they give any at all.

Days turn into weeks without any luck. The end of Winter is steadily approaching, but there's no sign of her wand. Once the Season ends, who knows where it will be. If it's intact at all.

Then one day, her runes finally give her a definite answer. Clear as day and so bright and obvious that there's not a shadow of a doubt that this is it. It's so certain that the runes almost seem to insist that she should go here. Right in the middle of a clearing within the boundaries, too!

Hermione honestly just feels like crying in those moments when her runes are unable to show her anything of use. And every time they failed her, she lost a little bit more optimism.

She was getting to the point of despair, believing that her wand is completely lost -- when the runes suddenly give her a definite answer.

Hermione marks the spot on the map, and collects her runes. The location was within the boundaries, so she doesn't think she will need assistance. So Hermione heads out alone for now, but she is still going to the spot with extreme caution.

Streets meet and leave an open area at the point which Hermione's runes lead her to. The well trafficked paths have turned the white snow into more of a grey sludge that occasionally gets cleared. It's to the side of this sludgy centre that a white hare sits up, ears twitching.

There's no sign of her wand, but it's unmistakably the same hare that stole it from her, its hat still sitting on its small head.

Hermione rubs at her eyes. And slowly approaches the white, hare. She cautiously approaches, still keeping alert to her surroundings.

"Hello again." She is not sure if the Hare can speak, but animals in her world are often a lot smarter than meets the eye.

"Are you looking for something?"

This animal looks up at Hermione, nose twitching, and doesn't say anything. Instead he holds her gaze for a minute, and then hops off down a street. Although he starts off fast, he stops to make sure she's following before he bounds on, every so often making sure she's still behind him.

On and on he goes until he's passed the boundary torches and still expecting her to follow.

When the rabbit hops away, Hermione wipes away tears from her eyes. He is moving pretty fast. And she is pretty exhausted, that she doubts she could keep pace if she chased him. But then the rabbit stops to make sure she is following.

Oh.

Hermione nods slightly and gathers her energy to trudge through the snow. This is not like the last time, where she lost complete sight of the creature. And even as tired and exhausted as she is... her runes guided her to this place. And now the rabbit is guiding her. She has to see this through.

When he passes the boundary torches, Hermione pushes forward to keep on following the creature. Her Gryffindor alignment does mean that she can be brave, courageous and determined. But out here... past the boundary torches... anything can happen. She is quite aware of how much deeper the snow is. How much colder the wind is.

And how she is alone... chasing a rabbit. She stays alert, quite aware that she is nearly defenseless without her wand right now. At least she does know how to fight like a Muggle if the situation calls for it.

Hermione just hopes that she is not walking into a trap.

Walking through this abandoned part of the Nexus is like walking through a frozen apocalypse. The rabbit hops and bounds past buildings that only get more desolate the further from the torches they go. With the wind whipping up snow, white blurs and dark shadows seem to move just out of sight.

Suddenly the hare takes a sharp right turn and sprints into a building. It's a shop, the sign obscured by frost and the door ajar with its lock frozen open.

Inside is dim, mostly because the snow and frost cover the front windows fairly well. Most of the shelves are empty, and those that aren't are filled with fairly mundane items: Pots, pans, brushes, containers... The hare is nowhere to be seen, and the shop looks entirely devoid of life. Until Hermione turns her back on the cash desk.

"See what you're looking for?" When she turns around Reynard will be behind the desk, leaning on the counter like an expectant shopkeep.

Hermione wraps her arms around her body, trying to keep warm as she walks further and further away from the torches. She frowns at the white blurs and dark shadows in her sight line. And keeps her focus on following the hare.

Stepping into the building is a little welcome. At least she is out of the wind here. She surveys the mostly empty shelves. And glances around for the missing hare.

Hermione had bent down to look under one of the shelves, when that voice startles her slightly. She stands, and automatically positions her body in a dueling stance.

"No." She answers Reynard. "I am looking for my wand. It was taken from me."

"Well it just so happens I have a wand."

Reynard taps the glass of the counter and then reaches down to pull a cloth from a covered item. Underneath is a block of crystal clear ice and within it, a wand. Hermione's wand, to be exact.

He leans on the counter again. "Is that what you're looking for?"

Well that explains why she can't even sense her own wand. It is encased in ice. Hermione leans forward a little. At least it wasn't destroyed.

"Yes. That is my wand." She can determine that much, even without holding it.

"Why do you have it?"

Reynard stares at her, and then at the wand, before looking back at the witch. "Is that really the first question you thought to ask?" He doesn't wait for her to answer. "Does it even matter? Perhaps I found it on the road, or bought it from a beggar. What difference would it make to you?"

Hermione decides not to explain why his answer would make a difference to her. Certainly, she would offer compensation to him, if he had gone through a trial to claim the wand. But it is best not to speak about rewards or payment, until she knows what is on his mind. This could be some sort of test or trial, after all.

"May I claim it back?" She holds out her hand.

"Claim it?" He blinks at her and then laughs, waving a hand to their surroundings. "This is a shop. No shop ever stayed in business by handing out its wares."

Folding his hands together, he grins at her. "But perhaps if you have a wand, you can trade a wand for a wand. It would make no difference to me and a great difference to you."

Hermione frowns slightly. "If I had another wand, I would be using it."

It is true that she has a spare wand, but it was in her clutch, which had been stolen from her. "And I have been unable to go into my world to Ollivanders to get another."

Does this mean Reynard desires his own wand. Hermione is uncertain to why he would want one.

When it's clear that's all she's offering, he shrugs. "That's not my problem."

Hermione looks at the wand encased in ice. That wand meant a lot to her. It was there for her during a very difficult time in her life. It helped save her life multiple times during the Second Wizarding War.

She is tired. And exhausted. And it takes a little longer for her mind to work through the ways she could solve this situation.

"I will have to find my clutch. It has another wand in it."

She brings out her runes, to adjust her equation to start searching for clues to where to find the missing clutch. This calls for different runes to be used. Runes that belong to names and identities of other people in the Nexus, for perhaps one of them know who took her clutch.

"Would I still find you here, once I have done that? You won't sell it to anyone else, while I am searching for a proper trade."

Edited 2019-03-21 22:34 (UTC)

"You'll find me here," he confirms with a nod. He watches her runes for a minute, and then meets her gaze once more. "But if you come back here with more people, or try to trap me, I'll know, and I'll throw your wand on the fire like a Yule log."

She flinches when he mentions throwing her wand on the fire. It is a cruel statement if he has any idea of the bond between her and that wand. And it cuts deep in her heart, knowing at one time she had fancied him a little.

"I won't."

He is not a person to be trifled with. All Hermione can rely on right now is herself. Her intelligence and resources to find her clutch. And come back her.

The runes have an easier time with identifying which direction to find her clutch, than they did trying to find her wand. It does mean she will have to venture back outside, and trudge through the cold winter weather again.

She leaves one rune on a shelf, so the others can find their way back to it when it is time. And with a short nod in his direction, Hermione bundles herself again, and heads back outside.

Magic without a wand is always tricky. Where charms rely so heavily on posture and intonation, where potions require a deft hand to cast the cauldron ladle or a mortar in just the right way even apart from memorization. Most witches and wizards cannot manage without their wands. Even the runes Hermione uses were charmed by her wand at some point. The missing piece of her now held hostage by Winter's clutches.

Hermione may have always struggled with divination and scrying but arithmancy offers a work around for those shortcomings. Using logic in the place of listening to the unknown. All one needs is the proper formula. For a magical item Hermione herself charmed in the first place locating such a thing should not be beyond her.

And yet, the runes do not give her a straight path. The witch will find herself retracing her own steps through the snow more than once. Doubling back on her old paths until the chill is felt in her fingertips, in her ears. Until her breath hurts her lungs with every inhale. They do eventually bring her further into the old shopping district, to a burned out building that has a hint of a firelight visible through a crack in the boarded up windows.

Hermione will hear movement inside...but before she can finish digging out the door to get it open a man in a threadbare cloak pushes it open with a suspicious frown stamped onto his features.

"I'm not taking anyone else in." His voice is stern, raised loud enough to be heard over the wind. "You'll have to find shelter elsewhere."

Edited 2019-03-22 00:49 (UTC)

It is even harder on a witch when she hasn't had her connection to her wand for nearly two months. And add in the fact that she is exhausted and tired, it makes things even harder. It is a challenge not to feel frustrated when her runes once again do not provide a straight path. When she finds herself retracing her own steps through the snow.

She feels so cold. And it hurts to breathe. But she can not give up.

Who would she be without her wand? Hermione feels lost without that connection. And her drive to retrieve the wand keeps her pushing forward.

Reaching the burned out building, she approaches with caution. She doesn't know who will be inside... or if they will be welcoming or not. And when the man opens the door and frowns at her, it is definitely not a warm welcome.

"I am not looking to share your shelter, good sir. Just information. If you have a moment, please."

He leans further out to get a good look around, trying to see if anyone else is with this girl or happens to be looking their way. With the foul weather though it is only the two of them out here in the cold. When he opens the door Hermione is free to get a glimpse inside.

There's nothing by way of supplies scattered about, just a tiny campfire and a tin of some kind of canned food half eaten next to it. He must be sleeping on the sooty floor which cannot be healthy for him though it is out of the cold somewhat.

Rather than invite her into the small shelter though he takes a step outside to join her. These are desperate times and the small fire and meager meal are more than many have.

"Alright. It's gotta be important if you're out here in this weather. What do you need?"

It is not much for supplies. But in some cases, he has more to himself than most other people. Hermione wraps her arms around herself, a small smile when he steps outside to speak with her.

There are so many people to help. And she can't even start to help those in need, like this man, without her wand. So that puts her focus back on her search for her clutch.

Her runes lead her here. Perhaps he has information that can take her further.

"It is important. I am looking for a small beaded bag, that perhaps you have seen in your travels. Purple, with feathers."

Aw hell. Beldr damn it there was something familiar about this witch and her scent. The 'man' doesn't answer right away but that's probably for the best. Means he's at least giving her request some thought, right?

"This place was raided before I got here. Seemed like some thieves might have been using it before they were run out. Might have been with them."

Damn humies. Neko's going to have to abandon this place as soon as the witch leaves. No telling when she'll come back or if she'll come alone if she gets suspicious. The bag itself has been more or less useless to Nekomata but she's well aware of the idea of revenge.

"Raided?" Hermione frowns for a moment. Why would her runes lead her here, if it didn't bring her any closer to any answers. She will have to consult them again.

"I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me, sir. When I find it, I will return to provide you some extra supplies for your survival."

Hermione Granger -- Runes, Maps and Wand Retrieval

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