Vladlena Savitskaya noticed things.
Minute details were categorized and stored and while her memory wasn't precisely eidetic, it certainly was well organized. She did not take details for granted, and part of the reason why she rarely engaged in conversation was because she was busy observing and categorizing. So when, upon returning to her dorm, something changed, she noticed it. The box she had carefully stored to the side of her desk had changed.
A thestral peered to one side, bat-like wings stretch out from the center.
Vladlena frowned, ever so slightly.
A thestral was an odd choice.
She could see them, because the dragon sanctuary was a dangerous place, particularly when it predominately kept Hungarian Horntails, and her parents had made no efforts to shield her or her younger brother from the facts of life. And while she suspected those who were selected as champions were likely to be, on the whole, a bit more worldly than your average selection, she doubted that all twelve had come to terms with the necessary knowledge that was associated with seeing the creatures. The traditional associations of thestrals did not immediately seem the most relevant to Lena, although she stored them away to return to. As she had noted during the first task, death was something the tournament was attempting to distance itself from. You weren't supposed to see thestrals.
Which led her to another thought.
Perhaps it wasn't a thestral at all. Or perhaps it wasn't a box at all. Could it be under a disillusionment charm?
She did pause--after all, there could be consequences to a failed guess--but there was nothing to gain from complacency, so Vladlena raised her wand and held it even with the engraving, whispering a charm to unravel illusions.
[Oct 1] A Particular Puzzle [PM]