Why So Silent

It was an odd time, to be sure, for the girl to creep into the great hall. Surely she'd be caught out of bed at this hour, if she decided to remain in such an obvious place.

However, her feet had just seemed to direct her right towards that spot, and there was nothing she could do about it either way.

Creeping forward she slipped up to the professors table, sitting in one of the seats, smiling as she looked out at the empty room.

Now this was where it was at.

"What are you doing here, Firstie?" Karma's voice was light, even as she slid from behind the chair J.J. had chosen, shadows clinging to her as if they did not deign to release her. The girl was careful to keep her left side toward the Hufflepuff, even as she gazed over the empty hall. The bandages from the hospital wing were hidden beneath a grey long sleeve shirt, her cacki pants just long enough to hide the scars. Scars... there were so many of them. So much pain.

None was allowed to show on her face.

"It's a nice veiw, from up here." She commented. Her voice was soft, caressing, the voice of compulsion, though she didn't know nor care whether her power was working. At the moment, it wasn't, but her voice stayed saccharine and lingered in the air like a fine mist. Perhaps it was the hour of night, but Karma did not feel herself.

Juliet suprised herself by not jumping at the sudden voice, nor at the appearance of the girl. She merely glanced at Karma and glanced back out at the rest of the room.

"Can't a girl just want to enjoy the view?"

There was something off about her slytherin companion, but then again... there was always something off about Karma Black. Perhaps that was just the way she held herself to the world.

"And I haven't been a first year for over three years now Karma."

"Suppose you can." She shrugged, before moving over to the Headmaster's chair, lounging across the arms and faceing J.J., though half her face stayed in shadow. "Right. You've gotten older." She nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose suddenly feeling tired, and old beyond her years. "You'll always be Firstie in my eyes, though, J.J." she blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "Though I heard you're going by Juliet now."

Juliet titled her head, trying to glimps into the shadows the girl seemed to be purposely keeping herself in. She almost missed what the girl was saying.

"Oh, well," she shrugged and shifted in her seat, "You can still call me J. J. if you want. I mean... its still sort of my name I just... wanted a change."

She looked out at the empty room, and leaned forward slightly on the table before her, letting out a sigh.

"Haven't you ever just... wanted a change?"

Corvus was late, really late. He had went into the forest that afternoon for a few hours when he had decided to take a seat underneath and old yew tree for a late afternoon snack. He had just shut his eyes for a moment to listen to the noises around him, but when he opened them again the whole world had gone dark.

Swiftly, as though he had recieved an electric shock, Corvus was up and heading quickly towards the enterance to Hogwarts. He knew he wouldn't be in trouble for being in the forest as his condition had given him certain allowances, but being out of bed past midnight might not be the best thing to try and get out of.

Soon he was into the enterance hall and it wasn't long before he reached the Great Hall. Still something made Corvus freeze in his tracks. Two girls were talking just inside the Hall. Were they prefects? No, Corvus had heard one of those voices before and since neither of them were annoyed or upset, Corvus surmized that niether was a prefect. He padded through and fished in his pockets, he pulled out a rough dozen of fallen Unicorn tailhairs he had found during the walk and began counting them in whispered tones.

"One...two...three....four...." Corvus continued to count as he passed one of the girls pretending not to see her, but stopped as he hit twelve. "And...twelve. That should get me some Extra credit in Care of Magical Creatures." Corvus looked around and gave a perfectly executed start of surprise.

"OH, SORRY!" Corvus said looking at JJ with well acted startled expression. "I heard voices and just thought that some ghosts were talking. Were you speaking to someone? You know it is late, don't you"

Corvus grinned inwardly knowing his ruse was almost inperceptable. Rule one of deception; always put yourself in a good light.

Karma tilted her head back, eyeing the night sky as a cloud made its way across the moon. The room was shroaded in darkness, the girl nearly invisable the moment she stopped talking. She stopped breathing as well, and suddenly it was like Karma Black had stopped existing, simply not there any longer. Slowly, she took a deep breath through her nose, her eyes flashing in the darkness before she was gone.

The wolf she'd smelled the moment he'd stepped in the castle was acting - she could tell that much, an accomplished actor herself - and while he wasn't bad at it, he was missing one vital point.

While acting the part of the good guy was all well and good, the bad guy was always more believable.

"What were you doing in the Forbidden Forest so late at night, wolfcub?" Her voice had regained its compulsive touch, though the power was not fully in effect. Appearing behind the boy, she cocked her head to the side, watching him carefully. "And why did you find it necessary to walk up to the Staff table if you hadn't noticed us before?" Keeping behind him, she traced a light finger down his spine, caressing the pressure points, but not pressing them, not yet. Her face remained in shadow, even as the moonlight reentered the room, and the rest of her was illuminated.

"Where did you spend your last full moon?" She asked quietly, circling him, her walk slow and preditory. "In the forest? That's where I spent mine." Pausing when he was between her and the staff table, she grinned wolfishly, the smile containing just enough fang to be dubbed inhuman. "Change is good." She purred, taking a step toward the wolf. "Change is very good."

Juliet blinked at the boy who had come bursting into the room, interupting... whatever it was she was having with Karma.

He was... odd to say the least. Ignoring Karma completely and...

"Well," she blinked again. There was just something... cocky about him? Or perhaps it was just... too smooth. She shrugged it off, "Of course I know its late. Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here."

She openned her mouth again, but Karma interupted. She blinked looking between the two.

Hmm, more magical creatureness. A frown formed on her lips. Just when she had wanted to sit and... get away from things, she some how got dragged into a swirl of personal issues.

And she some how felt she was quickly going to go unnoticed.

Dammit! Corvus knew he had heard one voice. It was Karma Black, the half leech. He should have known! He stood stone still as she came closer and had to exercise a force of will not move as she traced a finger down his spine. It was too close to the next full moon for the action to go completely ignored, however. So a low growl bubbled up from Corvus' chest and his eyes flashed in the moonlight. Wolfcub! He hadn't been a cub since the first time he faced an alpha who tried to assert dominance over him. That time he had been called cub, the man who said it had lost an eye and Corvus was forever known as Muninn. Still, he let Karma's insult pass. She was flirting, not with him, but the beast inside of Corvus and he knew it. Karma would do anything just to prove she could.

"Don't start what you won't finish Karma." Corvus said suggestively as he cracked his neck slowly. After all she had outed him in front of someone he hadn't even met before. Karma was due for a comeback or two. "And you know where I go. I go to the forest and I hunt. Ever taste Bicorn?"

Corvus rolled his eyes about her mention of change. Again, she hinted at his wolfish nature. Why? The girl Corvus didn't know probably got it at wolfcub and definitely got it when she mentioned the full moon. Yep he was a werewolf.

"Gods, Karma." Corvus sighed angrily. As he passed her and walked up to the girl he didn't know. "You wanna hit the horse again? I think I saw its leg twitch."

"Hey, I'm Corvus." Corvus said offering a hand to her. "Corvus Corax, and as you've probably guessed by now I'm Hogwarts' resident werewolf. But we're gonna keep that between us, aren't we?"

Corvus didn't threaten JJ with his last statement. All he did was smile.

"I'm not starting anything." She said blinking inncoently before a wicked grin split her face. "Nothing I can't handle. I finish acceptionally well though, thanks for the concern." Karma could smell the shift in his emotions. Had his inhumanity been a secret? Wondering idly what the reasons for that could be, she shrugged again. "I wasn't beating any horses, silly. I only made one comment. It's hardly my fault you attach everything to your furry little problem." She said softly, tracing her fingers down his jawline as she moved past him, and back toward JJeh.

"Gods?" She asked softly, wandering back to her spot lounging across the Headmaster's chair. "What have they got to do with anything? Never did more but cause trouble, those ones."

"Nice to meet you, CorCor." Karma said, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. "Even though I have never once heard of you til now." She yawned, idly. "You should call the tabloids, Firstie. Perhaps they care about this one specific boy." She yawned again, not bothering to open her eyes as it distorted her next words. "Even if he's Greyback's grandbaby."

Juliet tilted her head, face nuteral as the boy turned back to her. In all honesty she had never had any interest in telling on the boy. It wasn't her information to share, and besides, she merely did not care about it.

But the way he told her not to.

"Oh, yes, oh yes, yes of course, just between us," she said her voice sugary sweet. "I don't know Karma... tabloids usually have... higher standards than this, just don't know if it will be worth anything to me."