The Nature of the Beast [Theodosia]

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

Wandering the dungeons in the middle of the day was not one of Grey’s favorite past times. Hell, it was bad enough having to go down there for Potions class, sticking around for hours on end just to catch a glimpse of the Slytherin girl that was apparently bullying his younger sister. He wasn’t sure if he was going to approach her at first, but if the opportunity presented itself he would jump at it. Addi had given Grey the girl’s name; Theodosia Washington, as well as a brief description of what she looked like. Luckily for Grey, the only class he had that day was, conveniently enough, Potions, so he had woken up bright and earlier and headed into the dungeons for a day full of exploration in the dark, damp, tunnels of Hogwarts. What had to have been a few hours earlier, he had met up with Addi close to the Slytherin common room and she confirmed that Theodosia wasn’t in wandering around in there. Not that it helped much, since it was so easy to slip in and out of a common room, anyone with even a faint hint of stealth could get out unnoticed. Grey wasn’t the quietest person in the world at times, but he had managed it on numerous different occasions in the Gryffindor common room.

After Addi had left him alone, a few students would occasionally drift past him, either heading to class or one of the two common rooms. It was blatantly obvious that he didn’t belong down there, but Grey was past the point of caring. This girl had hurt his sister, and she was going to pay one way or another. Addi seemed to think Theodosia was irreconcilable, but Grey thought that was irrational. He had “motivated” people to change their way of thinking before, so it wasn’t like this was going to be any different. It definitely wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but convincing the girl through whatever means necessary without getting violent was simple enough. He also wasn’t looking for a fight, but if she initiated, he’d have to fight back; it was all for Addi after all. Restless, Grey walked back towards what he believed was the Slytherin common room. He didn’t think it would be too strange to wait outside, and if anyone asked him what he was doing he could just say he was waiting for his sister. Leaning up against a wall, Grey let out a deep sigh and rubbed his eyes. He could only wait so much longer before calling it a day. And unfortunately in that time Theodosia could strike again. The whole situation was a mess.

grey xavier slater & @theodosia
447
Hell in the Hallways by Ice Nine Kills

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Theodosia wasn’t stupid enough to expect there to be no retaliation for what she had done to Addilyn; it was part of the reason that she had picked a fight with Edmund Windsor – he was one of the girl’s only protectors. A little bit of digging revealed that Addilyn had an older brother, a Gryffindor, so Theodosia knew there would probably be another altercation before the whole matter was settled and she could start the cycle all over again. She wasn’t particularly afraid of what was going to happen; if things went sour, who on earth was going to believe that a poor little Slytherin girl picked a fight with a Gryffindor boy two years her senior? Nobody, that’s who. Addilyn’s brother would be in deep trouble, and Theodosia would be scot-free. Still, despite all of her planning and her confidence that everything would end in her favor, Theodosia wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation. It was going to be messy. After spending the entire day in the library – the only place she knew that no Gryffindor would be caught dead in – Theodosia had finally decided to return to her common room. There was a boy she didn’t recognize standing outside the common room door, and Theodosia assumed this was the boy she was looking for, and who was looking for her. She stopped in front of him, hands on hips. His move.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

He was so close to giving up on his stakeout mission. So close. Giving up would have meant having to explain it to Addi, and that wouldn’t have been fun. She was already going through so much because of her confrontation with Theodosia. Grey also didn’t want his sister to be targeted again before he could have their little chat, so he was conflicted on what to do. Checking his watch, he was convinced that the girl had either snuck by him or was off studying somewhere. It wasn’t worth any more of his time today either, he had work that needed to be done, and he’d have plenty of other chances to find her. Turning away from his spot by the Slytherin common room, a small girl approached him and stopped, placing her hands on her hips. Addi had given him a pretty damn good description, because here Theodosia was. He waited for a second, staring, trying to get an idea of what she was all about. She was either going to yell at him to move out of the way or knew he was coming, Grey honestly expected both.

Adrenaline kicking in, he decided to make the first move. “Theodosia Washington, right? I think you’ve become pretty acquainted with my little sister Addilyn recently. I’m Grey.” He thought about extending his arm for a handshake, but figured she’d decline it. Addi’s statement about their encounter made this girl out to be the violent sort and Grey didn’t want to risk one of his arms for a friendly gesture. “You’re smart, I can tell, so you know why I’m here. I also know that asking you to stop messing with Addilyn and Edmund probably isn’t going to work.” Grey took a deep breath before continuing, “So what is it that you want from them? I’m willing to compromise in their stead.” He knew there was no way she’d stop from a simple deal, but it was better to start there than escalating the issue.

grey xavier slater & @theodosia
335
Still Echoes by Lamb of God

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

The Slytherin didn’t have all day, and she tapped her foot impatiently as the older boy stared at her, trying to find something to say. She should have expected this – Gryffindors were thick, all of them. Well, all of them except for the one that she had met in the library that day, and, of course, this boy wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near a book, let alone a place with multiple books. He gave his whole spiel about how she was smart and how he knew asking her to stop messing with Addilyn and Edmund wouldn’t work. Both points were true, but it didn’t exactly take a genius to figure that out. Obviously, if this Gryffindor boy had figured it out, any semi-sentient being could reach the same conclusion. Theodosia’s cat probably could have come up with that quicker than the boy. The one thing that Grey Slater had gotten wrong was that he assumed Theodosia would compromise: everyone knew that she got what she want, always. Compromise was only in her vocabulary because she knew that she wouldn’t ever do it.

“Honestly, I was expecting this.” She said when Grey had finished speaking. “I was surprised, though, to see that you’re even uglier than Addilyn is – and that’s saying a lot.” Theodosia continued with a smirk. “I honestly would pay good money to see what your parents looked like, and then to slap them in the face for ever thinking it was a good idea to procreate.” Basic insults out of the way, Theo now felt it was within her realm of tolerance to continue on to the negotiations that Grey seemed sure would happen. “What you’ve gotten wrong, dear, is believing that I want anything from your sister and her pathetic excuse for a boyfriend. They are together, aren’t they?” Theo’s smirk grew larger. She didn’t know for certain that Edmund and Addilyn were together, but it wasn’t hard to guess that when a boy was that protective of a girl, he had feelings for her. “Honestly, the best that I could say I want from them is for them to go into a hole and die, but somehow I don’t think that you’ll be amicable to that idea.” The Slytherin blinked at the Gryffindor. “I could, however, settle for something a little less extreme, under the right circumstances.” Theodosia already had an idea of what she wanted, of course, but if Grey thought that he was bargaining her down, well, there was no harm in that. The Slytherin paused to give time for the Gryffindor to consider her offer and respond. His response would, of course, shape how they moved on with the rest of their discussion.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

It looked like someone had their daily breakfast of spite and insults. Addi had told him Theodosia was the impatient type, but Grey would never have imagined she’d come straight out of the gate with that level of intensity. To say he was slightly taken aback by all of it was an understatement. He gave her credit though, it had been a long time since anyone had personally attacked him like that without already knowing him. That usually happened when the newspaper ran a story and someone didn’t like it, resulting in him getting screamed at or sternly talked to by a professor, and sometimes that didn’t include a filter. He also wouldn’t have been the editor-in-chief of said school paper if he couldn’t take a few pedestrian insults here and there, and personal attacks never meant much to him. Too often had he turned people off from his irritable attitude that they resorted to that route. “It’s the facial hair isn’t it? You know, I’ve been meaning to get rid of it. Too scratchy for my liking.” He said grinning. Theodosia was a tough one, and there was no way he was breaking through to her. He just had to hold on to the compromise as long as possible. “I almost forgot, you don’t like filthy half-bloods like me right? Sorry for getting so close to you princess, don’t want you catching my halfie cooties.”

Grey could feel his eye twitch when she mentioned that Addi and Edmund were dating. According to his sister, Grey was the only one that knew about this, but Theodosia here obviously knew about it. “Studying up on your prey like the ferocious little snake you are, I see.” Grey said. He was slightly ticked that she would even bring up the fact of them being killed. If she didn’t care about them, why keep going? Was the game that fun? “I’d prefer my sister stay alive, yes. Don’t really know Edmund at all so I guess that’s up to you.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. While he knew Addi cared for Edmund, Grey had no connection to the kid, and he could honestly care less what happened to him, especially if his sister was targeted because of a pre-existing problem between Edmund and Theodosia. That had been his thought process from the start, and it while it wasn’t the most tasteful outcome, not everything in life ended with sunshine and rainbows. “So the conditions are…?”

grey xavier slater & @theodosia
412
Hell in the Hallways by Ice Nine Kills

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Grey made a comment about his facial hair, and Theodosia rolled her eyes. “No matter what you do, I’m sure most people will have a hard time finding you attractive.” Theodosia assured him sweetly. She certainly would never find him attractive unless he magically changed into a girl, which didn’t seem likely for him. Besides, she had her eyes on someone else – she just needed to develop a plan to get that someone else not to be terrified of her. That was alright, though – Theodosia had a way of getting what she wanted. Like now. She wasn’t going to let Grey’s attempt at self-deprecation dampen her hatred for him. “Trust me, if being a half-blood was something you could catch, your sister would already be dead.” She said with a laugh and an even wider smile. Death threats were nothing big for Theodosia. She had, after all, almost killed Addilyn, and she had plans for Mathieu Helvitius’s badger interest, too. Death was just the next big adventure or something.

“How can you ruin someone’s life if you know nothing about it?” Theodosia asked with a raised eyebrow. It was her prerogative to know exactly where people were weak. The chinks in their armor were opportunities of her, places she could strike hard and fast and relentlessly. She needed to know what made people hurt, otherwise there was no point in trying to hurt them. At least this confirmed what she had suspected. When she talked to the pair of them later – if she talked to the pair of them later, dependent on how this conversation went – she would be sure to tell them how helpful big brother had been in their torment. “Well, at first I was going to suggest that they should break up in exchange for my silence.” Theo said, inspecting her fingernails before looking back up at Grey. “But knowing them, they’d just ignore me and squabble about how love conquers all and all of that mess.” She went back to her nails. For all that she had done to Addilyn and Edmund, they seemed so unconcerned with her power. Maybe next time she’d have to drown one of them for real for her point to get across. “So, I have a different set of terms. You cut off all contact with sister dear – no owls, no eye contact, and certainly no conversation – and I do the same thing. She’s off the hook with both of us.” Theodosia wasn’t sure how sibling relationships worked, since she wasn’t all that close with her little brother, but she could imagine that having your brother refuse to talk to you with no reason given would be hurtful, at the least. “Edmund is still open season.” She added, just in case that hadn’t been clear. “And if I see you and your sister together, all bets are off. On both of you.” That was her offer, take it or leave it.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

He wasn’t exactly a fan of how easily Theodosia could talk about death like this. It was one thing if she was using it as a scare tactic or a really sick joke, but he could tell she was dead serious about it, no pun intended. Grey had heard stories about people like this before from friends and family, but never would have expected to run into it in the form of a fifth year. She had definitely been through things that made her like this. Bullying other students and threatening them with death like they were expendable was beyond messed up. Speaking of expendable, Grey’s comment about not caring about Edmund seemed to interest the girl. He hadn’t intentionally meant to get rid of the kid, but if Grey could use him as a bargaining chip to protect his sister, well, that would have been a bonus. Regardless, Theodosia seemed to be the type to observe her targets intently. Looked like he wasn’t far off the mark by calling her a hunter earlier. She certainly exhibited those traits openly. “I think it’s easier to ruin a person that way. No emotional connection. Sure, Edmund is seeing my sister, but that doesn’t affect my life other than him existing in it more than he normally would.”

The problem with the conversation they were having was that Grey was still a step behind Theodosia, and they both knew that. He had quickly lost his footing at the start, if he even had it to begin with, and now the compromise he had striven to get was turning into the girl going after him. That, he had expected no matter what went down. The biggest problem was that Grey went in only knowing what Addi had told him, and that was it. Theodosia had everything about his sister and Edmund carefully calculated and knew when to place her cards down. She was also too smart to bluff, and if Grey did try that, it wouldn’t be long before he was called out on it. He never was good at poker. And apparently not that great at investigative journalism either. He’d definitely make a note to cover himself if he ever had to come up against this girl again.

Patiently listening to Theodosia put out her demands, Grey tried his best to hide that he didn’t like the condition he needed to agree to for everything to stop. If Theodosia actually held true to it, that is. Luckily, it seemed like Theodosia didn’t know Grey and Addi that well. Anything she had observed or learned since school started would have shown the two siblings to be best buddies, always there for each other. “Deal. And do whatever you want with Edmund. It’s a school-age romance, nothing either of them won’t get over, given time.” He said firmly. There were definitely going to be short term repercussions, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed again with time. While Addi wouldn’t understand Grey turning away from her again, it surely couldn’t be too hard for her to readjust to how things had been the past few years. Plus, once he graduated or found a way to get rid of this pesky snake problem, then he’d have time to explain it. “Same goes for you too. Come close to her, whether she’s with Edmund or not, and we’re going to be meeting again. And when that happens, one of us will either be carried out of this castle in a body bag or locked up for the rest of our life in Azkaban. Trust me, I’ll have no problem snuffing your frizzy little head off this plain of existence if you break the deal.” Grey said smiling at Theodosia. Maybe that’s what she wanted as an end result as well. She had certainly gotten him riled up at this point, so it wouldn’t hurt to let her know what he really felt like doing to her. Since she was so obsessed with death, she might even like the prospect of duking it out with him. “We’re done now right? Hopefully we won’t be talking anytime soon. And don’t worry, no talking to little sis either.”

grey xavier slater & @theodosia
698
Remorse Is For The Dead by Lamb of God

Was wondering how much longer you wanted this to go. I think I can get one more post out of Grey here. He needs to go punch a wall as he walks away

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Deleted]

Theodosia nodded when Grey explained that Edmund didn’t really matter to him. Of course he didn’t. In every war, there had to be some casualties, and Grey wouldn’t have minded if Edmund was one of them. What was it that they called those people – collateral damage, right. Well, it was too bad for Grey, because Edmund wasn’t going to become that, if he agreed to her terms. It was kind of sad, how confused he seemed by all of this. The most remarkable thing about Theodosia Washington wasn’t that she was a bully – it was that she was a bully with a brain. She didn’t need brute force. She didn’t need to nearly drown Addilyn to get under her skin; that had just been a small part of it. Psychological damage always ran so much deeper than physical, and Theodosia knew that. Her friends did, too. It was easier to destroy someone by using their own brain against them, and while Theodosia hadn’t started on Grey yet, she was laying some fantastic groundwork. Every bully knew that the first thing you had to do for a victim was separate them from the ones they loved, from the people who lied to them and told them that they were worth something. Maybe Grey thought that separating himself from Addilyn was being noble and saving her, but all he was doing was making them both more vulnerable to attack. Theodosia had promised to stop bullying Addilyn herself, but she had plenty of friends who would be more than willing to do the job for her. Hell, they would probably be even more effective than Theodosia would be. Finesse wasn’t her strongest suit.

“You’re entirely right.” Theodosia said breezily when Grey called Addilyn and Edmund’s relationship a ‘school-age romance’. Maybe they thought it was more, but Theodosia (and obviously, Grey) knew better than to think that she knew what love was at the age of fifteen. She couldn’t see how sixteen was any different. This blessing to harass Edmund was beneficial to Theodosia in more ways than one – she was sure that little sister wouldn’t be too pleased if she were to find out that big brother condoned the behavior. Theodosia would find a way to make sure that the information came to light, even if she had now agreed not to speak to Addilyn, or look at her, or owl her. She was going to keep her word – not because Grey scared her, but because when he inevitably broke the promise, she would be able to rub salt in the wound. She would be perfect, and he would not – then again, wasn’t that always how things went when a Slytherin and a Gryffindor went toe-to-toe? Maybe Gryffindors had ideas that they were noble or took the high road, but they always broke the rules. Always. Slytherins just used the rules to their advantage.

The younger girl chuckled when the boy said that any confrontation of theirs would end in a body bag or Azkaban. Did he not think she’d gotten similar threats before from similarly protective older siblings? Everyone was all talk, and then when you asked them to perform the unforgiveable, they never went through. Again with the noble ideals. “You do realize I live with her, right?” Theodosia asked when Grey was done with his tirade. “As much as I try to stay out of the way, it’s inevitable that we’re going to cross paths at some point. I’m not saying I’ll do anything, but there has to be a little bit of leeway in light of that fact.” The girl shrugged. “If you go home for the holidays, I’ll certainly grant you that same leniency.” Then again, who was going to go home for the holidays, with the Yule Ball occurring? Theodosia couldn’t think of a single soul. She paused, listening to Grey’s snapping about them being done. “Yes, I’m quite satisfied with this agreement.” Theo said with a smile. “We should do tea sometime, Grey, have a chat about how things are going. I’ll have my people talk to your people.” She ended the sentence with a scoff. Like Grey actually had any people for her people to talk to. No matter, though. Theodosia continued her walk down the hallway, opening the door to the Slytherin common room and immediately beginning the search for her friends. There was a lot for them to catch up on.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

The Monsters

walk among us

Ineffective. Everything he said. Theodosia was a lot tougher than he had made her out to be. He had already concluded that she was smarter, at least in the bully department, but there had to be something that made her tick that he could go after. No matter. If she broke the deal he’d have to hold up on his end, if he didn’t find dirt to ruin her with first. That was the only way to prove how serious he was. She did have a point about leniency though. It wasn’t impossible for her to avoid Addi, but Grey was sure now Theodosia would go out of her way to try and torment her from a distance. If only his sister had been in Gryffindor. Then at least they’d have the safety of the common room to discuss what was happening. Now that was reserved for the holiday break. It was a long ways off, but if Grey could manage to avoid Addi until then, then he would be able to explain all of it. She’d be pissed, but that was better than dead at the hands of Theodosia. Grey nodded, showing that he understood. “Tea sounds great. The more the merrier right?” He responded as Theodosia left him in the hallway.

He felt like he had been a little unreasonable the way he had acted at the end, but that was out of his control. If he even had control at all. Grey took a couple of deep breaths in a row, now aware of how fast his heart was beating. All he could think about was how he had failed Addi and Edmund, and was probably going to make things worse for them. So much for being the good brother he was supposed to be now. Everything he had worked towards was now going to become undone, exactly what he didn’t want to happen. Walking towards the exit of the dungeons, Grey became increasingly angrier with himself for what he had just done. Turning sharply, he punched the wall, pain shooting up his arm. He didn’t care. He deserved a lot more for what he just did. Leaving the dungeons, he finally checked his throbbing hand, and it didn’t look pretty. Still frustrated, he headed off to the hospital wing. The nurse was going to have a fun time asking him how that happened.

grey xavier slater & @theodosia
397
Dying In Your Arms by Trivium

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0