After Astrid had convinced the headmistress it hadn't taken her very long to get around to asking Ophelia to join the team. Regardless of her close friendship with Astrid, Ophelia knew she was a natural choice, with her capabilities and knowledge she would be a great asset to the team. And she accepted the invite easily, she wouldn't leave something as important as their mission to her ignorant peers.
Which is why while everyone was down the corridor being merry, Ophelia was reading through heavy, dusty tombs in the quiet library, hoping to gain one last piece of useful knowledge. However, Etienne her skeletal cat, had started to stir and the ruckus from het mess hall was beginning to deter her from her study. So, with an exaggerated sigh, she flipped the last book closed, tucked it into the returns trolley and headed to the mess hall. She had after all promised Astrid that she would attend.
She slipped through the large doors at the end just as the crowd broke out in the traditional chorus of Καλὴ τύχη. In case you were wondering, Ophelia didn't join in the chant, she merely muttered to herself, "Oui."
Then there was a crashing sound. Large ornate windows ringed the mess hall impressive height and grandeur, and all at once they shattered inward. For a moment Ophelia just gazed skyward as all the tiny shards of glass seemed to hang beautifully, then the feral beasts descended from the sky, following the glass. She recognised them instantly as Harpies but her body couldn't keep up with her brain, as one of the harpies descended straight towards her. It's meaty talons griping Ophelia's bicep, ripping through her t-shirt and skin.
Ophelia was a reader, not a fighter, so she was woefully under equipped to physically fight such a beast. She reached for the nearest table blindly groping for whatever was closest, her fingers snatching up a butter knife. Without thinking, she plunged it straight into the leg of the harpy attached to her. Causing the monster to shriek, releasing her and giving her enough time to duck away, she begun weaving her way through the chaos the mess hall had turned into, heading straight for the long table up the front, where Astrid and the other's had been seated.
She ducked into cover next to the blonde that moment she spotted her, letting out a French curse. "C’est vraiment des conneries!" This is really bullshit. It felt good even if no one would understand her words, and the fact that they slipped out in French revealed how strongly she felt about the situation. Ophelia swiped a hand over the blood rolling down her arm before turning to Astrid, her words directed at her friend this time. "Flight. They're weak against flight." She was racking her brain for any information she knew about harpies and that was all she could come up with. Astrid would know what to do with that information.
Of course. he'd gotten himself distracted and ended up halfway down the mess hall joking around with some guys he took math with. With a few slaps on the back, Jem headed back to his empty seat, at the front of the room, up next to Able. He slung his arm around the smaller boy's next. "Not long now bud!" He said giving Able's hair a solid ruffle before releasing him to dig into the food.
He had his plate stacked high with food when Headmistress Galarius called for the attention, but added his own loud voice to the rally of "Καλὴ τύχη" that rose around the room. Adding a few solid thumps on the table for emphasis. The everything exploded, shards of glass flying around his ears and screams crying out from every direction. It was absolute chaos.
Jem heard a horrible squalling sound from above and when looked upward he saw horrible, grotesque, flying beasts. Like nothing he'd ever seen before, they for one awful moment hovered above. Then all at once they descended on the mass of students. Jem jumped out of his chair, toppling it as he did.
He watched as one of the horrible things focussed in on Astrid a few metres down from him. It swooped down the blonde girl, talons extended. Jem did the only thing he could think of, drawing on his powers he summoned a flower to bloom inside of the flying beast's mouth. It worked somewhat the of thing paused it's attack, it's half bird, half human face scrunching up before it spat out a crumpled blue mess.
Jem's eyes locked on the slobbery mess that landed on what had been his plate of food. A soggy, blue carnation. He'd been trying to conjure a yellow daffodil that would knock the beast out. When he finally raised his eyes, he saw that the monster had changed targets and was now beating it's wings and charging at him.