Open Walk in The Woods

[Leah Thorne]

Open after Maria posts with Conan

Leah was breathless as she stood in front of the forest. The looming trees had been taunting her for years now and she was curious to finally see what the big deal was. The temptation was always there every time she walked across the grounds but there was always something that kept her from making that leap. But she was feeling older and wiser now. She hadn't done great in the dueling tournament, she had been against Anisha after all, but she at least knew a few spells that would keep her safe. She nudged Conan with her elbow. "What do think we'll find in there?" she asked in barely more than a whisper. The sun was till shining but it was dipping lower and lower as they stood there. It wouldn't been too long before it was dark so they needed to be quick about this.

 

[Conan Burke]

Conan had always been curious about the forbidden forest. Even though it was forbidden to go in there, the boy was curious as to why it was. Sure there might be dangerous creatures in there, but surely they weren't that dangerous right? Conan felt Leah nudge him as he was still staring at the forest with awe. At first, the boy shrugged at his friend's question, unsure of what they could possibly find in there. "I heard once that there are massive spider's in there. You think they have set up huge web traps in there?" Conan asked, matching the same volume as Leah as he spoke, as he still continued to stare at the forest.

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah shifted her weight from foot to foot. Any minute she'd get the nerve to take the next step but when Conan mentioned massive spiders her enthusiasm wavered for a moment. "An acromantula?" she asked, her voice not sounding as confident as it had been a moment ago. "I didn't know about that. But that is how spiders hunt so...probably." she hated to admit she didn't know something but she thought it'd be better to be honest at a time like this. "I've heard there's also a whole herd of centaurs in the forest. I wonder if they're friendly?" Leah said and let her self wonder out loud. But surely it couldn't be that dangerous. It was forbidden but it was still attached to the school and she had heard some lessons even took place there.

 

[Conan Burke]

Conan nodded a little at her question. "That's true. What would happen if we got trapped in one of the webs?" Conan questioned, trying to imagine if they actually got stuck in one of the webs of those huge spiders. He was already nervous, and having that thought just worsened his nervousness a little more. His eyes went wide at the mention of centaurs. "I hope they're friendly, otherwise we might be doomed in there" Conan mentioned, as his eyes widened at the thought. "Do you think we'll ever see something nice or friendly in there?"

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah chewed on her bottom lip as Conan came up with more questions. "Well Anisha has been teaching me the Incendio charm. That'd probably work on webs." she said, her voice quiet as if the spider was just beyond the first layer of trees and waiting to hear their plans. She swallowed hard and glanced at the shadows getting longer and longer as the sun set. "I think so." Leah said quickly. "I mean if students have stories about them, they can't be that bad." she blurted out, because if students weren't talking about them then that would mean they never made it back. She shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind. "I hope so." she told Conan and straightened her shoulders. She wouldn't be afraid. Not of some trees or anything. She wanted to be an Auror one day, she couldn't go running in the face of danger. "Alright, I'll go in first." she said confidently and took a few more steps, but froze as she stepped on a twig and it made a loud snap. Her heart was racing as she wait to see if anything stirred in the forest.

 

[Conan Burke]

In all honesty, Conan had been relieved that Leah at least knew a charm that could possibly save them from this possible doom that they were about to enter. If they were doomed at any point in their adventure, there would be no charms that Conan would be able to think on the top of his head. "I guess your right," Conan said with a nod. Surely the stories that the students were saying about the centaurs were true right? Conan gulped nervously when Leah volunteered to go first. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. I'll just stand here for a bit... Keep an eye on things... Be a lookout... Yeah, I'll do that" Conan says with a nod, as he watches Leah make her way inside, though he flinches a little as there was a snapping noise. "I-Is everything okay?" Conan said nervously.

 

[Leah Thorne]

A part of Leah wished that Conan would have insisted on coming with her but having some one to watch out was a good idea too. She took steady even breaths as she waited for her heart to stop beating so fast. It was just a twig, right? She jumped again when she heard Conan call out to her. "Um, yeah!" she called back. "So far so good." Tentatively she continued forward and she could practically feel the shadows growing longer and longer around her. She could still see back to Conan and the castle and spared a glance back when she felt something brush her arm. She wiped her head around to see if anything was there. It could have been all in her head but she involuntarily took a few steps back. "Did you see something?!" she asked, her voice sounding far from cool and confident.