Headmaster Brockert

December 26, 2014 4:07 PM
Another year, another feast. Mortimer still couldn't say he'd mastered looking anything close to pleasant and cheery, but he could at least claim that he was getting used to the Sonora routine. Plus, last year had gone so much more smoothly than the previous one. No mishaps, not to his knowledge. Whatever personal issues the students had going on their daily lives was none of his business. It wasn't his fault or his problem.

That said, there was one student Mortimer had a slight interest in this year, his great-nephew Owen-and even with him the Headmaster was not that interested in interfering or anything. Mortimer simply did not have time and fortunately, his nephew was bright enough to realize that Mortimer was not the warm and friendly type. Thankfully, Owen's mother knew that as well. He'd just gotten rid of his cousin's daughter and couldn't have been more glad to see the back of that one, in part so he didn't have to deal with her mother anymore. Having to deal with Annabeth's over-protectiveness had the potential to be even worse, given he had to deal with her more often than Pearl though. At least she had the capability to be rational, however and her husband, his nephew, was an excellent go between as he was even more so.

He rose from his place at the table "Welcome to Sonora for the new first years and welcome back for all older students. In just a minute, you first years will be receiving a goblet distributed by Deputy Headmistress Skies, in order to sort you into your houses. You will turn the color representing your house which are blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari. Afterwards, you may join your house table." Really, Mortimer was pretty sure he'd said the exact same words last year. With mildest curiosity, he watched for Owen's turn before continuing on the endless repetitive rituals.

"Would Anthony Carey and Wendy Canterbury please come to the front of the room to recieve your Head Student badges? In addition, I would like to call Emrys Lucan, Portia Dobson, Eleanor Vandenburg, and Ji-Eun Park up to recieve their prefect badges."

As they returned to their places, Mortimer announced. "This year's Midsummer event will be the Fair, details will be announced later in this year. First years, do not leave the Hall until your Head of House calls for you. We will now sing the school song."

Sheets of music appeared in front of the students. This was pretty much the only time the school song was ever sung, and he would be shocked if even a graduating seventh year knew it by heart. He certainly didn't.


Every day we strive
Learning to survive
Life’s hardships and to solve its mystery.
Learning to defend
Our honour and our friends,
Flying high to meet our destiny
We will stand and face those who want to harm us.
We won’t let the world transfigure, jinx or charm us
I won’t fight alone, as long as you are with me.
Sonora be my home, my tutor and my spirit
Vasita quoque floeat; Even the desert blooms.


With that, the students were released to their meals and conversations and Mortimer didn't have to deal with this nonsense again until the Returning Feast after midterm.
Subthreads:
11 Headmaster Brockert Opening Feast 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5


Caelia Lucan

December 31, 2014 7:46 PM
A month before school was to start Caelia had been so excited to finally join her older brother at the fairytale Sonora that she had packed up her trunk the moment her father brought it home for her. She had missed her brother a great deal the past four years and from the moment Emrys had received his acceptance letter she had been counting down the days until she would receive her own. At first she had spent the long days playing with Matthew from next door but as she got older she began to find him repulsive, disliking neither his frank way of being nor his less-than-magical attitude. By the time she was ten, Caelia had cut of all contact with her childhood playmate (to the displeasure of her mother). It was much easier once they moved in with Grandmother Viviane and today, as she left her room for the last time until winter break, Caelia made sure to drop Matthew’s latest letter to her in the bin, assured that Grandmother’s house elf would toss it before Mother could find it and be angry. A smile drew across her face as she closed the door behind her and bounced down the hallway and stairs to meet her family in the entrance hall of their house.

On the way to being dropped off to take the wagon, Caelia made sure grab hold of Emrys and yapped his ear off asking him questions about the different professors and the classes and which house was the best house to be sorted into. Once on board, however, Caelia slipped her hand into Emrys’, squeezing it tightly and set out on an attempt to distract him from the motion sickness he always seemed to get from any sort of transportation save for walking. “Even though you said I probably won’t be in Aladren with you, we will be able to see each other, won’t we?” She asked imploringly as she stared up to him, her blue eyes growing large.

“Of course,” Emrys replied, teasing one of her blonde curls. “We can always meet up in the library and study together and whenever you want to eat dinner or breakfast together just let me know and I’ll be sure to come find you in Cascade Hall to eat, okay?” Though he face was beginning to get grey as they soared over the country, Caelia took it as a personal victory that it had not yet turned green nor had he worsened it by pulling out a book. Her older brother had the habit of sometimes making things worse by trying to make them better, she thought. And, in her opinion, a lot of boys were like that. But it’s a good thing I’m here to take care of him now, she smiled to herself while chatting his ear off.

The siblings separated upon reach of the school, Emrys likely going inside to find his friends to sit with while Caelia waited with the other first years to be brought into Cascade Hall. Emrys had told her stories about the beautiful dining room with the water cascading down the walls and the light that reflected off the chandeliers. Nevertheless she let out a happy little sigh when she first stepped foot into her new school. “It’s beautiful,” she sighed to herself. Another girl wearing jostled her slightly and Caelia’s frown wrinkled her smooth forehead while straightening out any wrinkles in her new dress that the bump might have caused despite it not being visible on account of the uniform robes. The frown left her face, however, once the Headmaster began his talk and Caelia quickly replaced it with a pretty smile. It wouldn’t do to look too agitated when it came her turn to drink from the goblet and she snuck a look out on the crowd as she accepted it from the Deputy Headmistress. She didn’t see Emrys, wherever he was, and so she took a drink. Her skin began to turn a lovely shade of red which, in contrast to the forest green of the school uniform made Caelia feel as though it were Christmas time. Crimson, crimson, Caelia thought as she stepped towards the Crotalus table. It had a nice ‘sss’ sound to it and beside, Emrys’ friend, Charlotte was in that house so it had to be good. When she reached the table, Caelia carefully tucked her robes underneath her, letting her eyes wander and search for Emrys at the Aladren table to give him a thumbs up.

However, before she could locate him, she heard his name called up for prefect and Caelia’s head snapped to the front of the room. He never told me he was up for prefect, she thought to herself as she watched her older brother make his way to collect his badge. Caelia fidgeted a little bit, playing with the hem of her forest green robe wishing that she wasn’t wearing the dratted thing so that she might show off the pretty blue dress she was wearing but Emrys had insisted on her wearing the school attire her first night there and now she realized why he had probably been asked to be prefect. He winked at her as he headed back to his seat and her eyes followed him until he sat down again and she decided that when she saw him next she would give him a hard time about it.

“When do you suppose this will wear off?” She asked the person sitting next to her, selecting a piece of cornbread and spreading some clover honey on it, finding that she was short of company and still quite red. She wrinkled her nose in distaste a little bit as she examined her hands. Even if she liked the sound of the word crimson and even if she didn’t mind Christmas-y colors, they still reminded her of her favorite raspberry jam which Grandma Quinn made and for obvious reasons was not available at the Opening Feast.
10 Caelia Lucan Crimson and clover. 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 04, 2015 4:02 AM
Alistair Johnson saw no reason to be nervous and therefore decided he wasn't going to be. The only uncertainty in his mind was as to which house he would be sorted into and that was clearly no matter to fret about. He was not picky as to where he ended up for he was sure that there would be suitable acquaintances awaiting him in all houses.

Pecaris were, he felt, a little two impulsive for his liking. Alistair had always been much more thoughtful in his actions and therefore resolved that he should not end up in this house even if he had so desired to. Teppenpaw was another that he could felt he could not relate to. Having a father, three brothers, and plenty of relatives and friends who had attended Sonora enabled Alistair to understand a little about what life was like here and he therefore knew of the qualities each house was known for.

After contemplation on the subject early last year, he had been so sure to be sorted into Aladren. Alistair rather fancied himself as the logical, learned Johnson. However, a suggestion made by his childhood friend Joella had thrown him off guard. Crotalus was the house in which all three of his older brothers (technically half) and his father had been a part of during their time at Sonora Academy but Alistair had believed to be the odd one out, his dear mother perhaps providing him with fresh characteristics that differed from so many other Johnsons. Aladren seemed to be very much the most complimentary house. Surely to be the problem solver was the best quality? Still, Alistair had never been one to kid himself and he had a feeling that whilst he possessed a love of independence, he had yet to find out whether his love of learning extended outside of Quidditch.

And so Alistair resolved not to dwell on the whole house issue for it wasn't really an issue in the first place and therefore required no dwelling upon.

It was the task in hand that proved far more difficult. To remain cool and calm as he entered the legendary Cascade Hall of Sonora Academy was not easy and it took all his power not to stop and stare too blatantly at the rippling waterfalls which lined the walls, the sparkling chandeliers that looked as though they cost a whole lot more than an arm or a leg, and the smooth shine of the marble floor beneath his feet. Years had it taken for Alistair to finally live this life for himself and he felt truly dumbfounded. Never one to marvel moronically at the work of others, however, he moved along quickly and stood straight and proud as he waited with hidden excitement and baited breath for the goblet that would decide his destiny.

Red. That meant Crotalus. And also meant he wasn't very different from all the other Johnsons before him. And that Joella had been right. Alistair didn't like either of these thoughts but he knew that the Crotalus qualities were respectable. He was to spend the next seven years of his life belonging to this house and he was immediately proud of it, determined that his new house should win as much as they could. The only thing bothering the first year was his knowledge that Crotalus hadn't managed to get together a Quidditch team last year and therefore hadn't been able to compete in the inter-house matches. He could only hope that the Crotali had had a change of heart this year.

"I really couldn't say," Alistair said in answer to the fellow first year beside him. "Hopefully soon though," he added, feeling a little ridiculous even though he wasn't the only one. "The name's Alistair Johnson," he continued on to introduce himself, wanting to know who he was talking to. "Of Arizona." Alistair was well aware that the name Johnson had become a common one and was appalled that some Muggles may even share it, but he sincerely hoped that a fellow pureblood should know that the Arizona Johnsons were wholey respectable members of society and therefore not consider him in anyway beneath them.
8 Alistair Johnson Not concerned by colour quite so much. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5


Caelia Lucan

January 04, 2015 8:05 PM
Caelia bit into the cornbread, her eyes closing as the delicious morsel touched her tongue. Though not nearly as delicious as the cornbread Grandma Quinn made it was still pretty up there. The taste almost made her miss home—almost. Occasionally she did miss her room and occasionally she did miss running around the hallways with Emrys and running off to the Quinns. A minuscule part of her missed Matthew but the rest of her shut that feeling down before it had much time to get bigger. She was at school now surrounded with proper people of which she could make proper friends out of. And, it seemed, she had picked the right sort of person to ask her question of without even meaning to. She smiled, Grandmother Viviane would be proud. “I, myself, certainly hope this fades away quite quickly,” she replied before returning the greeting. “Caelia Lucan, of Massachusetts. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” Back in Wales where Caelia’s grandfather originated, the Lucan family was significantly more prominent than her mother’s family, the Quinns who had been in the United States for sometime now but who mostly kept to themselves, so Grandmother Viviane had impressed upon Caelia the importance of making the right sort of friends so as to bring back the Lucan name. Emrys, she had explained, had done well in certain friend choices but poorly in others and Caelia was not to make that sort of mistake.

“Have all your family gone to Sonora?” Caelia asked, curiously. Grandfather had gone to Hogwarts and sent Father there as well since he didn’t quite trust the American schooling system but Mother had been sent to home-schooled by her parents who, being in Massachusetts, had gone to Salem. She wondered what it was like going to a school where one’s family had a legacy at. “My brother was the first to come here as my Father’s family is from the U.K.” She reached for another piece of cornbread to spread butter and honey on while deciding what else she wanted to eat. “Would you mind passing me that teapot?” There was a heavenly smell coming from that direction and she was certain it was the smell of Darjeeling, a favorite tea of her grandmother’s and thereby a tea Caelia was determined she, too, liked.

Though Emrys had explained to her the magical feast where almost any sort of food was available, the spread was still a sight for the first year to behold as she’d never seen so much food in one place save for Grandmother Viviane’s dinner parties. Even then, she thought, there was a certain theme to the night though it did make sense to have more than one option available for an Opening Feast given the number of people present. There were chicken, lamb and pork dishes from what she could see in the area surrounding her, as well as various types of breads and vegetables. Unable to make up her mind she finally settled on steamed asparagus and a seafood pasta which had been hiding behind a basket of rolls. “This is really delicious,” she said after taking her first bite.
10 Caelia Lucan Oh? 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 06, 2015 1:05 PM
Alistair wasn't familiar with the name Lucan but he knew that this fellow first year must be respectable else she wouldn't introduce herself so properly. At the age of eleven, he wasn't particularly clued up on all the pureblood families he may come into contact with at Sonora and this irritated him for Alistair suddenly thought this should be neccesary knowledge for someone of his background.

"The pleasure is all mine," said Alistair smoothly, perhaps too smoothly for someone of his age but that was the way he was wired. Age was never an excuse for anything in Alistair's books, and he prided himself in being mature and well mannered. Although many would not describe the youngest of the Johnson brothers as warm, he could seem so should he have a reason. He was manipulative, almost. It was obvious that he saw Caelia Lucan to be an appropriate acquaintance, hence the reason he deigned to reply. Should her response to his initial greeting have been less than satisfactory, one couldn't be sure how Alistair would react but one could garauntee the exceptional manners of which he so prided myself in would have been scarce.

It wasn't so much Alistair's nature but his upbringing that caused him to be of such narrow mind. His father was ever the businessman and therefore had a necessity to make the right acquaintances. Whilst the new Crotalus had three older brothers who did not share quite so strict views on the aptness of certain persons, Alistair had managed to obtain this trait. It could perhaps be a retaliation to the occasional sceptism regarding his mother (his brother's being so only by father not facing this issue) and therefore creating a desire to be welcome amongst all members of decorous society.

"Yes," nodded Alistair. He omitted the fact that his mother had not - although he loved her dearly he would never voluntarily bring her into conversation. In actual fact, the first year only actually knew that all the male Johnsons had attended Sonora, but again he refrained from mentioning the minor detail. Alistair only really knew a small proportion of his family and had no idea whether he maybe closely connected to other Johnsons he had not met. But nor did he care. "At least, all of the Arizona Johnsons did."

When his company mentioned her brother being the first of her family to come here and that they were originally from the U.K, Alistair relaxed a little and he allowed himself some reason for not knowing Caelia's family name. Perhaps they weren't yet so well known in the U.S. "Of course," he passed her the requested teapot.

"It is," he agreed quite amiably to her comment on the food, selecting some meats off the dish in front of him. "You say you're from Massachusetts," Alistair mused,interested to gather information on her background and also keen to show good etiquette. "Do you happen to have any ties with Salem?" Caelia had said that her father was from the U.K. but she hadn't mentioned her mother being so too.
8 Alistair Johnson No, more concerned by numbers. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5


Caelia Lucan

January 06, 2015 9:02 PM
Alistair was nice, Caelia decided, and just the sort of boy that Grandmother Viviane would approve of as a friend. She felt very pleased with herself for having randomly selected a good dinner conversation partner on her first night there. Already doing better than Emrys, she thought to herself. Perhaps polite society would be the only place in which she would beat out her older brother. He would always be smarter than her no matter how hard she tried to keep up, he had made prefect, something Caelia was fairly certain she never would get, and no matter how disappointed he made Grandmother and Grandfather, he was still (kind of) the eldest grandson. In Emrys’ opinion, however, Caelia had gotten the better end of the stick as she got to play the part of the innocent granddaughter and, most likely, the favorite since she was easily manipulated into doing what Grandmother Viviane wanted. This wasn’t an opinion he was likely to share with his little sister as he never wanted to intentionally hurt her, so it was one she would never know but it was a valid point of view nonetheless.

"Wow,” she said, puckering her forehead slightly as she thought about the implications of his statement. There had to be a lot of branches of Johnsons if there were Arizona Johnsons and then other Johnsons who hadn’t gone to Sonora. Her brain kind of hurt just thinking about it. The Lucan family was relatively small, all that was left was Grandmother Viviana, Emrys, herself, their parents, and Wesley. “Is your family rather large then?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. Caelia was a very pretty girl but not too bright and often times needed reassurance from others to see if her idea was at all valid.

The tea was exactly what she was looking for and Caelia poured it into her cup, pleased that there was at least something she was good at.“Yes, my mother’s family went there,” she said, leaving out the bit where her mother was home-schooled. She thought the idea was weird and since Grandmother Viviane didn’t approve of that she figured it wasn’t something most people in polite society liked either. “My father should have but my grandfather wanted him to go to his alma mater, Hogwarts.” Though she wasn’t sure she knew exactly what an alma mater was, Emrys had used the word enough in reference to Hogwarts that she knew it was a thing. Hopefully Alistair would not need an explanation. Caelia blushed. She really had to stop using words she didn’t know.

“The hall is so pretty,” she commented after their discussion on family and schooling was drawing to a close. Pretty things were amongst the sorts of things that rated very high on Caelia’s list of Things I Like. “I will be happy to eat here for every meal I think, I hope the common room will be as nice as this. This hall might be my favorite thing about going to school here.” She smiled happily as she looked at the way the light was bouncing.“What about you?” she asked. The sorts of things that Caelia liked and that her brother liked were very different and she wondered if all boys were the same. Probably not, she reasoned, as Matthew was very different from Emrys and Wesley was an entirely different sort of person all together. However, Matthew didn’t count anymore and Wesley barely did, so all she really had to go off of was Emrys.
10 Caelia Lucan How so? 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 07, 2015 1:14 PM
It may seem strange that Alistair knew little detail about his family history when he seemed so interested in that of others. But this was mostly (although he would deny such a thing even to himself) because he feared what he may find. Whilst Alistair was confident that the Arizona Johnsons were nothing but pure and reputed, he had doubts about the lesser known branches that his father never seem to care for.

"The Arizona Johnsons, no," Alistair shook his head. "But there is a large number of other branches, some in the states and others abroad, that I couldn't account for." He wouldn't usually mention this but he'd already insinuated such a thing so it was a little late to change his mind.

The young Crotalus nodded as Caelia spoke about her family and Salem and Hogwarts. He guessed it made sense that her grandfather had wanted to continue their Hogwarts tradition. Alistair lived in the same state as Sonora so it was convenient whether it be tradition for the Johnsons or not, although the fact that their bloodline had always attended may have had more evident influence had they lived in close proximity to another school. "That makes sense," he said more out of politeness than anything.

"Yes, it is rather," agreed Alistair but he refrained from sounding too interested or too excited. He liked to take everything in his stride and whilst he couldn't help but be amazed inside, it wasn't his nature to show such thing on the outside. The eleven year old could not pretend, however, that he wasn't at least mildly impressed by his surroundings, byt it wasn't really his intention to do so either. "My favourite thing?" Alistair mused, although he in reality needed little thought on the subject. "I'd say I'm most looking forward to getting out on the Quidditch pitch," he told Caelia. "It will be very handy having such close facilities." He smiled somewhat with excitement, something he couldn't claim to be completely devoid of. "And of course the common room, as you say," it wasn't polite to be unduly indifferent and Alistair could imagine some good chess games taking place in the Crotalus common room in the evenings.
8 Alistair Johnson The Crotalus Quidditch team seems to be lacking in them. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5


Caelia Lucan

January 21, 2015 1:11 AM
Caelia knew all about not talking about lesser-branches or covering up little discrepancies on an otherwise unsoiled family tree and had been well educated by her Grandmother on how it was tacky to embarrass someone into admitting these things so she didn't press any further after Alistair said he didn’t know much about his other branches. Though that probably meant there was some in his family that couldn’t be considered respectable Caelia was sure that was the case with any family and the reluctance to admit relation to them only proved to her that Alistair was exactly the Right Sort. She smiled and nodded in acquiesce to show him that she understood what he meant. Society and propriety were two areas in which Caelia prided herself in being able to navigate without misstep. For some reason when remembering genealogies or tea party do’s and don’ts her brain didn’t get fussy like it did when she attempted to learn something out of a book.

So, she thought when he mentioned the Pitch, Alistair was a Quidditch playing kind of boy. That meant he was mostly likely more like Wesley than Emrys and Caelia wondered if that meant he would come without the niceties Emrys had that Wesley lacked. “The Quidditch Pitch sounds interesting,” she said politely. “I don’t like to fly myself, Grandmother says it isn’t ladylike, but sometimes I like to watch my cousin.” That wasn’t often though as Welsey was to rambunctious to be allowed on a House team and she only ever saw him play pick-up game with his equally rowdy friends when their family visited him. “Will you be trying to join the Quidditch team then?”

Emrys didn’t really play much Quidditch as he was much more into reading and playing music as well as being unluckily afflicted with horrible motion sickness so Caelia herself didn’t pay much attention to the few times he had mentioned Quidditch at Sonora. She wasn’t interested in it herself and since her beloved older brother wasn’t either she didn’t feel a need to like it to support him. However, she did remember that only two of the houses had played Quidditch the year before and she did know that Aladren, her brother’s house, was a frequent winner of the Quidditch Cup. She was proud that her brother’s house did so well even though it was an area neither sibling was interested in. It still reflected well on him to be in a House that was nicely decorated.

While Alistair answered, she toyed with the sleeve of her robes, fingers still red as raspberries, and wished the color to leave. She was wearing such a pretty dress underneath and it would not look nice when she finally did get up to the common room to present herself to her future roommates in such a horrible, clashing way. At the very least, she consoled herself, her curled hair would look nice and the quality of the fabric of her dress and hair ribbon would show that she had some sense of fashion and didn’t normally clash so terribly.
10 Caelia Lucan That's really too bad. 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 22, 2015 7:24 AM
Alistair found himself smiling a little as Caelia responded to his Quidditch reference. It was good to have company of his own age in the form of someone so polite and evidentally well brought up. He didn't have a great amount of experience talking to others around the same age as himself. Joella Curtis was a couple of months older and from a good pureblood family yet she had become so keen to disagree with him and he would even go so far as to say she took pleasure in contradicting him. The idea of her saying "told you so" when he next saw her after having been sorted into Crotalus was not one that appealed to Alistair.

"Your grandmother sounds like a very wise person," said Alistair, ignoring the fact that he had actually been introduced to the sport by a girl and, similarly, been taught the game by a girl. Being from the background that he was, the Crotalus was well accustomed to hearing the same views as Caelia's grandmother being expressed but it was only now that he no longer needed his female coach, Alistair felt free to share such an opinion. His recent decision to agree with Caelia's grandmother (and many other respectable members of society) was not to spite Joella Curtis (although this may have been a bonus), who had predicted his house more successfully than he had himself, but down to Alistair's attempts at leaving the realms of his childhood and making decisions for himself about who he wanted to be and what he believed in. Or so he liked to think, anyway. He didn't much like the prospect of his future wife being as interested in Quidditch as himself, which would no doubt mean competition in the home. He didn't think it fit the image of a reputed pureblood girl; it was, as Caelia's grandmother put it, unladylike. Was it right that girls should be playing against men when they were so gifted with different assets? He had heard of WAIL but didn't think he cared enough about the argument to read their theories. For the time being, he would just be glad to get on a team, irrelevant of whether or not it was mixed.

Caelia mentioned that she sometimes liked to watch her cousin. The thought of this appealed to Alistair's proud nature. He liked to show off his talents and the idea of an audience giving him glory was more than satisfactory. Especially should the audience include girls as pretty as Caelia Lucan.

"Yes, I'll be joining the Quidditch team," the first year nodded, not deigning to use the term 'trying' as Caelia did for he felt so sure in his own abilities as much as he felt sure Crotalus would be desperate for anyone merely willing to play. "Although," he added ruefully. "By the sound of it there may not even be a team to join this year." It wasn't an idea that appealed to him but he knew it was a possibility he had to account for, it wouldn't do to raise one's hopes so unrealistically high.

"Have you any clubs you plan on joining?" Alistair asked, keen that she should have her fair share of expressing her interests. He knew there had been a dance club last year and wondered if this was more up her street than Quidditch.
8 Alistair Johnson I'd almost go so far as to call it tragic. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5


Caelia Lucan

February 03, 2015 4:05 AM
Caelia blushed and smiled at the praise Alistair gave her grandmother. Even though she knew she wasn’t smart, she did think that certain members of her family were and anyone who praised her family members proceeded to get a step-up in her book. “I do hope there is one then, for your sake,” she said when Alistair expressed his doubts of a team. “It wouldn’t be very fun to have to watch other people play something that you’re good at, I should think.” Even though she didn’t know Alistair’s skill on the Quidditch field, his assertiveness in the conversation so far and his being of the Right Sort lead Caelia to believe that he probably was however good as she imagined him to be and more than likely more civilized on the field than Wesley and his mates.

He further impressed her with his interest in the things she liked and was glad it would not be a conversation dominated by a subject she knew very little about and did not care to learn a great deal about. “I suppose I might join the Dance Club,” she said though she had never really thought about it much before. “I think that dancing is much more appropriate a hobby for a lady to take up, though I don’t know what other clubs there are that interest me.” Certainly she would never join the Book Club—the thought of having to struggle through reading a difficult book and then discussing it with peers who were obviously superior to her in intellect was a daunting thought, and both Fencing and Archery Clubs sat alongside the status of Quidditch in the eyes of her grandmother as being Not for Ladies.

“I suppose if even after joining Dance Club I am still at a want for group activities I might consider Baking Club but…” Caelia trailed off, letting the implied statement hang in the air. While having knowledge of baked goods was important for Caelia to have, especially considering the tea parties she was expected to attend and eventually host, she wasn’t sure if baking itself was something someone of elevated rank ought to do. Certainly it was more appropriate for her than Quidditch, but she also felt it might be a little bit too much of a servile hobby and wondered if Alistair thought the same.

What was truly Caelia’s passion was painting, but she hadn’t heard mention of an Art Club as far as Emrys had mentioned. She did remember vaguely there being one when he was a first or second year, but she had only been five or six then so wasn’t sure if her memory was correct at all. It liked to play tricks on her, sometimes, making her think things had happened when they really didn’t or confusing real life for a dream. “What do you think about art?” she asked Alistair, eager to know this gentlewizard’s opinion on her most dear hobby.
10 Caelia Lucan Oh dear, that doesn't sound fun at all! 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5