Army Of Two

[Victoria Chase]

Whoever mentioned Victoria Chase backed out from dares was a fool. She knew as hell she did not and she would never, because that would only mean she was a coward who cared to hide behind curtains and wallow in shame. These dares always ranged from something that caused no to minimal danger or from moderate to massive chaos. It was seldom the latter because life never gave her the opportunity to wreck up something as bad as an entire building as of now. Today, Vee felt like she had to prove herself for herself. Not for acceptance, but for assurance that she was not a Gryffindor for nothing. It all started when a certain younger blond mentioned something and Victoria quickly supported it with words that were built of the concept of courage and boldness. One thing led to another and before she knew it, she was being dared by her best friend to explore a certain place that led her shivering in the inside. Bleak Street, as everyone knew, was filled with dirt, beggars and the worst; unknown beings that could do absolutely anything to anyone. It was a sheer moment of bravery when Victoria accepted the dare and right now, she felt her breath lose her as she stood in front of the hall that exhibited the darkness that contained the unknown.

"It's not so bad..." Victoria trailed, her tone uncertain of what she was saying herself. As a growing young lady, she was used to the splendors of having everything served right before she said she needed it. All with the exception of new books and clothes. Now she wished she face the grand setting of Italy or Japan instead of this depressing street. She swallowed her own saliva and ignored her inner child that wanted to stomp her foot and whine. This was the worst dare she accepted and the only consolation was, she had her younger best friend to accompany her. At least Tommy was not as scared as she was... Right?
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[Tomas Hayes]

This little adventure of his and Victoria's reminded the young Slytherin of their adventures in the dungeons. That was some good fun, though it felt like a lifetime ago. He was happy to be doing this. They were not looking for ghosts, however. In fact, they weren't really looking for anything, well, he wasn't. He doubted that they would find much down in Bleak Street, the reputation gave it something to think about, but the Slytherin was not that intimidated. It was the holidays. He was not within the constraints of the school, nor was he completely powerless (even including the fact that he was technically not allowed to use magic) he was pretty confident that he and Victoria would not get hurt. Because, while his father had been out of sorts because of Cameron, that was what told Tommy that he and Victoria probably wouldn't run into anything terrible in the 'dark street' without also finding Austiin there too. He lurked there when angry. The part-veela had lived with his adoptive father since the age of three,he knew him better than he knew anyone else.

However, perhaps his sense of security was wrongly formulated, as he noticed that Victoria - while doing splendidly to hide it - was a little rattled. This was especially certain when she spoke. He trusted her opinion, and so this fearful disposition made him begin to reevaluate their situation, but his assurance in family also told him to relax. "Someone sounds frightened," he said, eyeing her sarcastically, complete with a smirk. "Does the little lion want to back out?" He took a few steps towards the street, being the first to officially enter the darkness. "See? No dementors, beggars, bad wizards or other stuff here. It's just a street." He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the shady corner. "Race you to the end?"
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[Victoria Chase]

She scoffed when he suggested she wanted to chicken out. Bravery was not her forte, but impulsively accepting challenges like these was. She was a stupid little girl, thinking that perhaps this time the darkness would not intimidate her. Right now though, it was like she was reduced to being a little, squeaky mouse in long stretch that contained nothing but dim light and a weird scent that Victoria thought was not fragrant. There were no strong sounds yet however from afar she could hear barks of stray dogs probably bothering one of the residents. Well, their journey here would not be really so bad if nobody cared to bother them. She hoped in vain that no one would dare touch the fine fabric of her clothes or even look at her. Right now she wanted to be invisible and daring but she was well aware of the fact she could not have both. Being daring was what she solely had right now and she was half ready to use that trait to make it through the street and back.

The suggestion rang in the air and it struck Vee heavily. Wary of the sight before them, Victoria bit her lip in reluctance. There cannot be just nothing out there. There must be beggars, stray animals, outcasts of the society that practiced dark magic and the like. Victoria wished she could use her magic - at least with her wand she had a little self defense to show off. "Race?" Vee almost squeaked, but managed to hold her tone down with a breathy inhale. Well, there was no backing out now. They came here for a reason and if she had to be the one for this adventure to be canceled then let her be damned. A wave of instant courage came to her and Vee held her chin high to exhibit the self confidence she imagined she was losing earlier. "Fine. A dare is a dare and, you'll see I'll get through this first. Watch me." She smirked and sped off to the darkness, just running blindly despite her eyes being wide open. The dimness was a shock to her own pupils and the air around her was sharp as she ran through it. Victoria had no idea where Tommy was however, he felt his presence nearby. Losing him (literally) was the last thing in her mind.

She ran blindly for a few more seconds before strongly bumping into something. Well, someone was a better way to put it. She felt herself stagger back for a second and she cursed under her breath harshly. When she looked up, she immediately stiffened to see a cloaked stranger looking down at her in a sneer that was formed with crooked and unhygienic teeth. "Sir," breathed Victoria, trying to gather herself for an acceptable apology. "My apologies. The darkness misguided me whilst I was running." Victoria shifted on her other foot and took a cautionary step backward, hoping Tommy would be around to assist her here. If he wasn't then fine, she would prove that she could get out of this alone. However his presence was comforting and Victoria thought that someone must help her if she got hexed or something like that. She stilled herself before a whimper can even escape her lips.
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Out of Character:

you could godmod the old man, i don't mind! plus i hope it's fine if i added something like this!

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy had not expected her to run so quickly, and rolled his eyes as he lost sight of her. She was such a girl, sometimes. The blond gave her a little time to gain some ground, before starting to run himself. He was confident in his running abilities, and was quite confident that he would be able to catch up to and surpass Victoria if he really wanted to. However, he did not. He wanted her to win, if only to get her to feel some sense of accomplishment and confidence, in an attempt to get her to relax. It was a plan that he wasn't sure would work, but there was absolutely no harm in giving it a try. He had the urge to use his wand to light the darkness, but knew that he ran the risk of getting into trouble. He wasn't sure how it all worked, as his father had never truly explain to him whether the Ministry could detect if he specifically had cast the spell, or that magic was performed, but Tomas was not about to use magic without knowing whether he could cover himself. He was not looking for an expulsion, and so his wand remained away. The only reason he brought it was strictly out of habit.

Tommy was a blind as Victoria was, being unable to spot his friend until he heard her voice, and paused his running. At some point, he had passed her. He looked over his shoulder, and stopped himself from pulling a face of disgust at the person she was currently being forced to converse with. Did the man know the meaning of dental hygiene? Honestly, if a requirement of being a 'bad wizard' was to have poor dental health, than Tomas was all ready to walk the side of good and work as an auror or something, which he was sure would have his father dying. The part-veela walked to her side, and positioned himself a little closer to the elderly man than Victoria was. He certainly didn't look friendly, and the blond may have been second-guessing his decision to do this. Perhaps it wasn't the brightest idea he had ever had, but nothing had happened. Yet. But he knew that could change rather quickly if this wasn't all settled.

The man had not seemed to take Victoria's apology as well as both students were so obviously hoping. He spoke with a crooking voice, just making himself that much more unattractive to the ears and eyes. Especially the eyes. The Slytherin slowly nodded as the man reprimanded them, and then began to go on about what bad things could happen to children that wandered. Already finding this line of conversation unacceptable, Tommy glanced over at Victoria - about to speak with her - when he thought that he saw the man reaching into his robes. Making a snap decision that resulted in the Slytherin pushing against the stranger, causing the elderly wizard to fall backwards, Tommy grabbed Victoria's hand. "Run! Run!" He may have felt a little bad for causing an elderly member of society to fall down and possibly break something, but he was sure the wizard would be okay. "Come on, Vicci," he said, still holding her hand and attempting to run further into Bleak Street (as he had not thought about turning around the other way when he first pushed the man). "Down here, he won't find us down here." He was right, as he had managed to take them into an even darker, dirtier part of the alley, and now had no idea where they were.
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[Victoria Chase]

Victoria visibly stiffened, but the dimness of the area did not really make that obvious to a lot of people. She felt another source of body warmth around her, that consoled her even whilst looking at the old and daunting man. She stepped back and hit Tommy on the shoulder softly and she suppressed the urge to gulp. Trouble never really followed her - and this kind of trouble with a wand and an adult planning to hex them was not Victoria's cup of tea. "Sh*t!" Vee exclaimed when the man flourished his wand in preparation for whatever was coming to them. There came a fast motion, but it was not the man's wand. It was Tommy who bumped purposely into the man. Victoria's eyes flew wildly at him and she felt the electric shock pump in her blood. Adrenaline kicked into her system at the same moment and when Tommy pulled her to run, she tightly grasped his fingers and allowed herself to be carried by her legs as far as possible from the fallen and nasty wizard. She shrieked in surprise and ran, despite being slower than the blond in front of her. How was that in the first few seconds of plunging into Bleak Street, they already encountered trouble? Victoria felt dumb and energy driven, so she poured all those unexpected energy into their run.

Tommy led them into a darker corner and all Victoria could hear was her own panting and mental whimpers. She pulled him to slow down and she put a hand to her chest and let go of Tommy and leaned on the wall. She felt the heat of her body increase and her pulse did not help. "He's gone, he's gone," she repeated between pants and leaned on the wall for support. Victoria was no runner, although she swam sometimes, her feet that were in fine shoes that were not suitable for any running. Vee approached Tommy, catching her breath still and put her hand on his shoulders. "How Gryffindor of you; to act that fast and recklessly." She grinned albeit the shaky energy that threatened to take over her but she was recovering from their spontaneous chase. "But, I could have handled him. All he needed was some sweet talking," Vee was not going to admit that the man was beyond her capabilities, so she settled in for the usual speech that she could sweet talk anyone. "Nevertheless, I owe you," whispered Victoria in a solemn tone, whilst her green eyes were looking directly at Tommy with a glimmer of sincerity. Her best friend always knew when to save her because physical strength was not her forte at all.

Her panting stopped and ceased to deep breathing for more oxygen. It hit her that the smell around them was horrifying. It was not too pungent, but there was a faint trace of molds in the air, whilst the ground was damp with god-knows-what. She immediately stood upright, hoping that she was not stained with any kind of foul smelling thing that came off the wall. "...Where did you just bring us?!" Victoria looked around for any sign on the wall, because this was definitely not the main street. It was like a sideline and here they were, probably expecting beggars to be pulling on their clothes. "We could have turned around rather than going deeper into Bleak," she stated, biting her lip in slight worry. "Do you smell that? It's like rotten eggs and wet paint combined." True, the air was not fresh. Victoria was not going to give up on her sheer courage and she planned to explore the street in order for them to see any kind of safe place to dwell in for a whilst.
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