Cutthroat Yet Literate | Lyka

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If there was anything Bludworth Bathory had an appreciation for - besides money and the corpses of other pirates - it was a young student who was docile enough to listen to his poetry during lunch. The ghost had approached (floated) the student and boldly requested that they listen to the poem he planned to recite at his next Death Day. Although it wasn't due until next October, Bludworth loved to plan ahead; he and the Sorting Hat had that in common.

The student's back was facing the table, for they had turned in their seat to give Bludworth their full attention as he recited his poem, which was centered around his being kidnapped as a child and slaying the pirate who had victimized him.

"Thar's only one person I've ever truly despised
'n tha's th' pirate who was me childhood's demise
He toys wit me mind n' savours me pain
This vile wretch, Ivan Daggerhorn by name
Nine wee sprogs kidnapped 'n bound in chains
Eight o' them useless in his eyes 'n sent teh a watery grave
Mercy 'n compassion his black heart holds not
He slaughters me loved ones, tha' me innocence may rot
Surrounded by pirates, yet still quite alone
I submit teh his bidding, lest I become a pile o' bones
Me dagger swipes across his throat 'n makes him bleed
Th' ghosts o' me past implore me teh finish th' deed
Blood fills his mouth, submergin' his last breath
As I turn him teh a macabre portrait o' vengeance 'n death
Leavin' th' carcass, I walk off in delight
Drippin' blood on th' quarterdeck, me eyes void o' light
Away on a broomstick, I take flight
Laughin' in victory in th' nebulous night..."

Composing himself from the bittersweet resonating that was caused by the reciting of the poem that was also the lurid fraction of his life, Bludworth beamed and chirped, "So, wha' do ye think?"

[lyka cruz malkin]

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Eating in the Great Hall didn't happen frequently for Lyka, as it was typically reserved for the MAGIC students. Living on campus did allow her to stop in if she wanted for lunch though, and seeing as her first class for the day ended near the retrofitted dining hall and she happened to be hungry, the Great Hall was the perfect place to grab food. Trying to deal with the crowd at Flobberworm and Lettuce was always ridiculous, and she'd eaten there three days in a row already. Plus, her dinner was either going to be there or at Blishwick's pizza in Hogsmeade. Who needed to eat healthy when she was flying it all off every day at Quidditch practice? Reserve or not, she had to keep up with the practices just in case. The blow to her ego in the fall had been substantial, though Lyka was hoping her newfound perseverance would mean she'd finally have a playing position during her seventh year. Maybe.

What she hadn't accounted for at lunch today was being approached by one of the school ghosts. With so much more space on the campus now, it always felt strange running into one of them. From what she could tell though, they mostly enjoyed haunting the older parts of Hogwarts that hadn't taken damage from the fire. The Great Hall included. This particular ghost was Bludworth Bathory, whom she was positive she had never interacted with before. But she did know he was a pirate of some sort whilst alive. Listening to his poem was certainly an interesting experience, and she munched on a chocolate chip cookie while he recited lines about kidnapping and throat slitting. Somehow it didn't make her stomach turn, but was this really the sort of thing to be sharing during a meal time?

"I mean...it's certainly worthy of of a Death Day celebration," Lyka responded as she finished chewing her cookie. She didn't really know what a Death Day entailed, aside from macabre poems apparently, so maybe this fit the criteria. "Is this just for other ghosts? Because I don't think reciting it to first years would be in your best interests..."

@dess ● 362 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

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“A thousand thanks fer tha' comment, little Hufflepuff,” Bludworth replied with a simper. “The poem be a little...macabre, I agree. But such a thing be excused fer the festivities o' one's Death Day. I always host it in the Slytherin common room – what was the Slytherin common room, that is.”

Since the school had been rebuilt, the common rooms that had been utilized in Hogwarts's earlier years were now deserted. Bludworth's spirit had seized the empty area as an extension of his haunting area; both the Black Lake and the old snake den had become his turf.

“I've been searchin' fer at least one honest opinion...the Black Lake 'n the common doesn't grant many listenin' ears these days.”

lyka cruz malkin