DH Skies and Headmaster Brockert
July 07, 2018 7:22 AM
The Ball by DH Skies and Headmaster Brockert
There was rarely a convenient time for a school wide epidemic and a quarantine, but the ball year was especially bad timing, given that they usually relied on a certain amount of outside entertainment. The good news was that everyone would be going home, something Selina had announced to the students the week before exams. The disease was still something of a problem, and there was not yet a satisfactory cure - things had progressed a little, in that those working on it had found a potion that suppressed the accidental magic bursts, which meant that the symptoms could be tackled earlier on and reduce potential damage and danger. The potion had the undesirable side effect of suppressing all magic, and so had not proven particularly popular with the adult population. However, for school children who weren’t supposed to be using magic in the holidays anyway, it was a reasonable option, and was enough of a solution that they were all going to be free to go. Whether individual parents felt it worth curbing the accidental magic or not was up to them. There was also the risk that a few of the more mischievous students might use it as a license to mess around with magic in the holidays, but happily that was not going to be the school’s problem. In just under twenty four hours, there would be blissful, quiet weeks stretching out in front of all of them where none of it was their problem….One thing that had been their problem was entertainment for the ball. Usually they had live entertainment, but finding a band all of whom had been through the illness and thus could breach the quarantine had been impossible, and by the time it had been lifted, it was too late to book anyone. Thinking of a way around this problem had led to a rather fun idea to celebrate the house cup winners. Instead of a live band, they had a large enchanted jukebox, ready to play everything from classical waltzes to the latest magical and non-magical chart toppers. Selina was quite pleased with this solution, it seemed rather fun, and the hall seemed no less festive for the lack of musicians - as usual, the house tables had been removed and most of the room was taken up with a large sprung wooden dancefloor. Around the edge of the room were smaller tables where small groups could sit and talk should they prefer not to dance, and against one wall was a large buffet with a variety of refreshments. The staff were stationed around the room, aiming to keep an eye on everyone - the normal ball risks of people spiking the punch or couples trying to sneak off paling in comparison to what a cocktail of jealousy, hormones and accidental magic might bring down upon them. Selina would most likely end up heading up those forces. Mortimer would kick off proceedings, but he tended not to involve himself with the students very much. Case in point that, as the students assembled, she was pulling the prefects and their dates out of the group - and indeed checking they did indeed all have someone to perform the opening number with - before leading them into the hall, whilst Mortimer waited inside to greet the rest of the student body.
The ball was, overall, Mortimer’s least favorite school event. Teenage hormones. Terrible music. Socializing. No scotch. How could one have a party with no scotch? That’s why parties meant for teenagers were barely tolerable because alcohol was the only thing that made socializing tolerable. He’d probably end up sneaking away and letting the rest of the staff chaperone. Which was basically his policy in general, come to think of it.
First though he had to give a speech, for lack of better word. Introduction might have been more accurate. Why one needed to be introduced to a ball, he wasn’t sure as Mortimer felt that even the dimmest Pecari could figure out what they were supposed to do.
He stood and cast the Sonorus Charm on himself. “Welcome to our Midsummer Ball. Our house winners will be announced halfway through the ball. Each member of the winning house will receive a token for the magical jukebox which is providing this evening’s entertainment. Before that though, we will have some more traditional dancing, and to open the evening, our prefects and head students,” With that Mortimer sat down and removed the spell from himself.
Ten minutes. He’d give it ten minutes before he’d sneak away. There was, after all, plenty of scotch waiting for him in his office along with a model of knee splitter-a device built of spiked wooden blocks that would be placed on either side of a person’s knee and screwed together until their knees split. Which was pretty much what going to a school ball felt like to him.
OOC - welcome to the ball. If you have a prefect without a date, Selina would most likely let you off the opening dance, unless there was another dateless prefect she could quickly pair you with. Ask in chatzy if this affects you. Other than than, have fun, and try not to kill anyone. You can set your posts at any point during the first half of the evening, i.e. you can post as if the prefect dance is over, if that’s more interesting for you.
Subthreads: Hoping I don't turn into a pumpkin... or snag a Prince by Cleo James with Parker Fitzgerald
Making an entrance. by Lily Spencer with Jozua Sparks
Hoping this goes reasonably well (tag Georgia). by Joe Umland with Georgia Kirkly
Hoping for a non-dance (tag Jasmine) by Michael DiCaprio with Jasmine
Free agent right here by Isaac Song
The best kind of ball is the kind you fetch (tag N and S) by Raine Collindale
Masquerading is appropriate at a ball, right? by Danny Fox-Reynolds
Having a little fun (tag Fabian) by Ingrid Wolseithcrafte
Let's give it a whirl. by Tatiana Vorontsova with Dorian Montoir
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DH Skies and Headmaster Brockert
The Ball
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DH Skies and Headmaster Brockert
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Cleo James
July 09, 2018 9:41 AM
Hoping I don't turn into a pumpkin... or snag a Prince by Cleo James
Cleo really wasn’t convinced that she wanted to go to the ball, but she was going anyway, for two reasons. The first was simply that she wasn’t sure she had any choice. She hadn’t ventured to ask, but no one talked about not going, and there was a general air with these school events that they would all come together and demonstrate their school spirit and have mandatory fun. The second reason was more personal, and made the apprehension she felt about it almost worth it; Parker clearly wanted her to go. She could tell herself he had other friends – he was on the Quidditch team, and in that gaming group, and he was a nice, chatty kind of a guy. But she knew that she was his best friend, and that he would choose her company over anyone else’s. And he had been a really good friend this year. He had excitedly told her about the suit he’d purchased for the event, and she had found herself saying ‘I look forward to seeing it,’ and as he obviously wasn’t going to be wearing it casually down to breakfast, she knew that was a sort of tacit agreement that she would see him at the ball. Besides the fact that she felt like she kind of had to go anyway, she hadn’t wanted to let him down.She hadn’t actually purchased a dress. She had had a little look around the sale, but she had just felt all the styles were too grown up for her, and she wasn’t sure her daddy would like her wearing anything like that. He had always been a fan of simple and practical, and even though she knew he would probably relax that opinion for a party, she found it hard to know where he would draw the line – it had all felt very showy and attention grabbing, and even without her daddy’s dislike of such fanfare, those were also the last things Cleo wanted to be right now. A few of the sellers had also tried to reel her in with compliments – telling her what a pretty girl she was, and how nice she would look in their various wares. She knew it was just sales patter, and that they said that kind of thing to everyone, but she didn’t want to feel like a dressed up little doll. The ideal scenario at the ball would be blending into the background.
She had one nice-ish outfit in her wardrobe, which her daddy had bought in case she needed to look smart for something. It consisted of a black skirt, which came just below her knees, and a puff sleeved blouse in peach. It was much more the level of school picture day smart than going to a ball smart, but Cleo thought she might be able to embellish it a little bit, bring it up to a level that made it a little more special without being too showy. She had transfigured the fabric of the blouse to change its cottony texture into a more silky one and had cast a glitter charm over the skirt to give it a bit more sparkle. She had transfigured a belt she owned into a smart silky black sash with a bow on the front, which she placed around the top of the skirt, and which tied the components together nicely, matching the colour of the skirt but the texture of the blouse. She was fairly sure her spells were good enough to last the evening, although at least the outfit was still wearable if they wore off – she wasn’t going to suddenly be standing in Cascade Hall wearing a garbage bag or, worse still, nothing at all. The whole process did rather put her in mind of Cinderella though, and she briefly considered transfiguring her shoes (a pair of plain black ballet pumps) into glass slippers just as a little joke to herself before she decided that that would be both uncomfortable and dangerous. She tried making them clear plastic instead, but they just looked strange, so she settled for making them silver and glittery. The whole look was a far cry from the swanky, sophisticated number that Winston had dressed her in during Defence Against the Dark Arts, but that was definitely a good thing. She still felt like herself wearing it. And, whilst she was still not entirely sure what that possibly meant as a concept, it definitely felt better to be it than to feel alien and uncomfortable when she looked in the mirror – she had already had quite enough of that for one year.
She had been unsure about what to do with her hair. Normally, her hair was cropped short, ending just under her ears – another of her daddy’s tendencies towards practically, or so she believed, as he didn’t have the time or inclination to do a lot of brushing or learn how to braid and the like (Cleo had never reflected on how many other things he had willingly learnt, in having to play both mother and father, and thus had never noticed that this perhaps was something of an inconsistency in the otherwise devoted parent who seemed ready to do anything for her). However, as they neared the end of term, her hair had grown out quite a bit, almost brushing her shoulders. She had very little idea how to style it, and it wasn’t really long enough to do much with even if she did. However, she had worked two small braids into it, one starting from each temple, joining in a slightly messy knot at the back of her head, whilst the remainder of her hair hung loose. She had collected a few flowers from the garden and inserted these at intervals around the braids. It felt right to have something garden-related in her outfit seeing as she would be hanging out with Parker. She had considered bringing him a flower for his buttonhole, because she thought people sometimes did that with suits, but she wasn’t sure that girls brought boys flowers, and it made it feel a bit too much like a date, when it was just two friends hanging out.
She made her way to the entrance hall, keeping an eye out for Parker. Spotting him, she made her way over.
“You look very nice. It’s a good suit,” she complimented him. She felt a bit uncomfortable doing so, partly because saying that sort of thing to Parker was strange, and also because most people tended to return compliments, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear him say that about her. But it just felt like something they had to get through, to say to each other, because she knew he was excited to wear his suit and it would be unkind not to comment. It was also true, she supposed, she just felt funny drawing attention to how someone looked because it was the last thing she wanted anyone to do to her.
OOC – permission for Cleo and Parker’s pre-ball conversation about the suit established with his author
13
Cleo James
Hoping I don't turn into a pumpkin... or snag a Prince
389
Cleo James
0
5
Parker Fitzgerald
July 09, 2018 1:27 PM
No princes here, and I don't think any pumpkins by Parker Fitzgerald
The tie had been a hassle. The spell hadn’t worked the first four times he tried it and one of the times he felt he might strangle himself in the process. He had grown frustrated and threw it across the room sitting down on the bed in a huff. Once he’d taken a few breaths to calm down, he looked around and was thankful that he didn’t have a roommate at the moment. His mess, which had been kept in check at home, had exploded this year in his room, and it took him awhile to find the tie again as he hadn’t seen where it had fallen. This just added to his growing nervousness about the dance. Lots of thoughts went through his mind: Would he look like a fool? Would people talk to him dressed like this? Would anyone dance with him? Would Cleo be there?The last question was still up in the air. He would understand if she didn’t go, and part of him wished she wouldn’t. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable and he felt that she wouldn’t want to dance with anyone. The other part though wished that she would come. He remembered the fire from the year before, and he remembered how great it had been to talk to her before leaving for the summer. Now though… a dance. With Cleo’s hesitation towards physical contact and hugs, he felt she wouldn’t want to dance, and didn’t know how awkward it might get if he danced with someone else, or how he’d feel if she ended up dancing with someone else and not him.
It didn’t help that Parker wasn’t sure if he wanted to dance or if there were specific dances that he was supposed to do. He’d not gone to the dance lessons that had been held, mainly because they were indoors, but also because he felt super self-conscious about how his body looked while dancing. He always felt that his sister was a good dancer, but JJ had always made fun of Parker when he’d tried to dance with his sister. Now all he could think of was his brother laughing or making snide comments when he thought of dancing.
But the tie had eventually worked, and Parker had styled his hair for the second time in his entire life. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he was again struck by how mature he looked and his apprehension was pushed away a little. The green tie shimmered with hints of blue and purple that tucked into a grey vest. Parker imagined that the tie looked like a dragon’s tail hanging from his neck. Though his white shirt was simple, it seemed to work with a blue jacket and pants that seemed to match his eyes exactly. Parker wasn’t sure what the spell was, but matching his eyes was a really good touch. The suit looked like something he could wear at home and not get in trouble for having something magic around non-magic users. Seeing himself in the mirror made Parker smile. He thought about the photos of his mom and dad from dances and their wedding. Suddenly Parker realized something was missing. Nothing was in his lapel. Looking around Parker saw the bit of the juniper he’d brought with him the first year and put it in the lapel.
Perfect. thought Parker.
With that Parker walked out of his room and towards the Hall. He was about halfway there when he remembered that his mom wanted a photo of some kind and he had money to get some. He ran back to his room, grabbed the wallet off the dresser and ran back towards the hall. He got to the entrance hall a bit out of breath, and was pretty sure he was sweating, but hoping he hadn’t made himself look like a mess.
He was standing around looking for any of the people that he knew when Cleo walked up to him. He smiled. Cleo looked like Cleo, nice, but not done up like some doll. And judging by her comment he wasn’t too sweaty or messed up from the run he’d just done.
“Thank you,” Parker responded. “I like the flowers in your hair. What type are those?”
He began to reach out to touch them, but then stopped himself and merely pointed to the flowers. He recognized them from the garden but couldn’t think of the name. Her style did make her think of a song his mom used to sing while gardening though. A song about gentle people and San Francisco, which Parker mentally noted definitely matched Cleo. He wondered if that song would be played.
Parker reached nervously into his jacket pocket to feel for the money, momentarily worrying if he’d dropped it on his run. It was still there. “Also, my mom wants pictures of me with friends. Do umm, do wizard balls do pictures?” He’d never thought to ask, and honestly didn’t know what the answer would be.
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Parker Fitzgerald
No princes here, and I don't think any pumpkins
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Parker Fitzgerald
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Cleo
July 10, 2018 8:25 AM
So far, so good by Cleo
For a second, Parker looked like he was going to reach out and play with her hair, but he stopped. Had she imagined that was his intention, was she being paranoid, or had he nearly but then stopped himself? Either way, didn’t that prove he was alright - that she could trust him? She glanced at the floor, trying to not overanalyse but everything just felt so complicated all the time...“I’m not sure on all of them - I mostly chose for the colours,” Cleo replied, regarding the flowers. She found that his compliment wasn’t as scary as she’d expected, mostly because it felt like he was complimenting the flowers rather than her, and because that was such a normal topic of conversation for them, “I’m pretty sure there’s some ragwort in there, and I found the orange one working its way around the edges of the wishing well. In one of my books, I found something that’s actually called a wallflower,” she added, smiling a little self-deprecatingly at how obviously appropriate that was, “I always figured that was just a… generic term. I’m not sure if it’s that or not. And I’m pretty sure I’ve got some St. John’s Wort too,” she chatted, relaxing into herself as she talked about the flowers. Her knowledge of the Irish flora that covered the gardens was a lot less detailed than her Herbology knowledge, and it was tricky sometimes to tell exactly what species or subspecies she had found - even to her loving and interested eyes, a lot of them looked awfully similar. But the ones that they had rooted out on Potions scavenger hunts were easy to identify. The Purebloods would probably think she was strange for putting Potions ingredients, things that were possibly classed as weeds, into her hair. But they would think she was strange for not wearing a fancy dress. They would think she was strange or unworthy for being of unknown parentage. She didn’t care what they thought.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never been to any either,” she answered, when he asked about photographs. She noticed that he had said friends... Did that mean that she was going to have socialise with the other people he knew, or was he going to go off with them for parts of the evening? She supposed she would worry about that when it happened. As they made their way into the hall, she noticed an archway with a backdrop at the other end of the room with a sign reading ‘Photographs’ but no one in attendance. “Maybe we have to wait until after the speeches and stuff,” she shrugged to Parker, but it at least looked like he’d get his wish.
OOC - if you want to, you can assume in your post that the speech and the prefect dance happen, and then pick up after it
13
Cleo
So far, so good
389
Cleo
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5
Parker
July 20, 2018 2:57 PM
Worts, Walls, all kinds of flowers here by Parker
Cleo didn't know all the flowers. For a second Parker was stunned. It was as if someone had told him the sky wasn't blue, but actually undulating purple. He was skeptical at first. He quickly realized though that it might be that the flowers were non-magical. The names he mentioned were some of the flowers his mom grew, and liked because of their medical reasons.Cleo mentioned wallflowers and Parker scrunched up his face. He didn't know they were a real thing either.
"Huh. I just know the band. I like there are actual flowers though. Walls are a good place for flowers to grow. Make boring things more beautiful in the process," Parker said. He didn't quite get the term Cleo was referencing.
If Parker had thought about Cleo before the ball, or really thought at all, he might have assumed Cleo had never been to a ball either. From what she had told him, her father wasn't the sort to make her go to them and get all dressed up like Tatya. He was sure Tatya was around here somewhere in a much different dress and jewelry, but probably with Dorian who Parker found himself enjoying whenever they were together. Well, the two times they'd been together.
Either way, when Cleo motioned to the photo booth Parker perked up.
Great. A picture of us will be great. Parker thought.
Parker had known he wanted a picture with Cleo, but as the speeches and dances had dragged on he'd been able to think more. He had gotten worried that she might think he was trying to get a photo to get closer to her physically. Parker had only ever seen the one way people were positioned together, and they were basically hugging.
He also thought of how awkward that photo might look, as Parker hadn't really started growing yet, or so he thought, and so Cleo was taller than him.
He had decided during the dancing that he was definitely worried about how his mom would react to a picture of him alone with a girl. But he wanted a picture of the two of them for when he was home, at the very least to show his sister so his sister would know Cleo next year.
So even though Parker did want to get closer to Cleo, and had seen how some of the older students were acting with each other, he wanted to make sure Cleo was ok with the picture and know it wasn't something she was making him do.
After all, Parker thought, she definitely needs a friend now more than ever. Not someone she needs to be worried about.
After the speeches ended and the first dance was over, Parker turned to Cleo.
"So umm, wanna take a picture with me?" Parker felt he needed to explain himself, so he quickly added, "I'd like a picture with you for when we're both not at school. You know a wallflower for my wall perhaps." Parker said the last bit in a joking manner, but immediately regretted it. He didn't mean to be flirting, did he? He paused momentarily, was still himself. No flashes of uncontrolled energy.
"Sorry, bad joke." Parker took a deep breath, "Come on, lets get a photo and some punch," he said with a smile as he nodded his head in the direction of archway. He reached up to pat the piece of juniper in his lapel and turned to begin walking towards the photo area. Parker felt a bit unsure of himself. He might have just seriously messed up their relationship with one poorly timed "joke". As he turned around he saw an elf standing around with some food and an eye on the two of them.
God, I'm such an idiot. Parker thought briefly, feeling like he was the wort on St. John.
41
Parker
Worts, Walls, all kinds of flowers here
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Parker
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Cleo
July 21, 2018 9:02 AM
There's got to be something better than in the middle by Cleo
“They’re a band?” Cleo asked. Although she spent a lot of her life listening to the wireless, her daddy had always preferred talky shows, nice radio dramas, or shows that played that music that he knew. Cleo’s knowledge of music was relatively good, just mismatched to her age. She also tended to forget the names of artists. “I tend to know songs more than bands… What have they done?” she asked. “Oh, and did you know that Professor Wright wrote plays for the wireless? Before he was our teacher, I mean,” she added, her musings naturally leading her back to that point. “I don’t know if that’s something he wants all his students knowing,” she added to urge caution in how much Parker repeated this interesting fact. She trusted him with it because Parker was nice but she thought other students might make fun of Professor Wright - not because there was anything inherently comical or uncool about writing for the radio but because children were mean when they didn’t like somebody. Professor Wright was quieter and gentler than some of the other Professors, and she could imagine some of the bolshier students giving him a hard time, which she didn’t want to happen. She liked him.Parker’s reference to wallflowers making things more beautiful merely got a nod. He was clearly referencing the flower and Cleo, being rather literal and none too poetic, was in no danger of misreading this as a veiled compliment, which was lucky because it would have startled her if she had been inclined to do so. The joke about a wallflower for his wall got a smile. She assumed he was referencing her as the wallflower that time, but it was in a funny, friendly way, and it also reassured her that he had understood her implication that she might prefer to lurk around the periphery than be the center of the action, which she appreciated.
“I thought it was funny,” Cleo reassured him, as he apologised for his joke. Of course, having grown up with a single father, Cleo’s baseline for humour appreciation was dad jokes, undiluted in their power to amuse as there was no mother to give a counteracting eyeroll and pass on the message that this humour should be tolerated rather than enjoyed.
“Sure,” she agreed, heading towards the archway with him, as he suggested getting their pictures done and having a drink.
OOC - if you get around to replying, feel free to write for the ball photographer. They’re part of the scenery, so they’re up for grabs for anyone to control.
13
Cleo
There's got to be something better than in the middle
389
Cleo
0
5
Parker
July 22, 2018 7:48 PM
Me & Cinderella, we put it all together by Parker
Parker nodded to Cleo's question. He realized that possibly the Wallflowers weren't popular in the wizarding world."They, umm, are a band my parents listened to. The one my dad used to play a lot is I think called Heroes? The line I remember from the song is 'We can be Heroes, just for one day."
Parker was a bit surprised about Professor Right. He knew that the professor was an interesting person, but hadn't thought of him as a play writer. Parker fidgeted a bit with his jacket though. He was uncomfortable feeling like he was missing out on what might be a big part of wizarding culture.
"That seems cool. I promise to keep quiet, but umm... what is a wireless?"
Wireless for Parker meant phones and internet, and he was pretty sure that Professor Right didn't write for those, though maybe he did some stuff on YouTube. Parker wondered if there was a wizarding YouTube. From what Parker had seen there weren't really movies, unless you counted the moving photos in books and newspapers, so he doubted there would be a YouTube for wizards. Though maybe there were moving comic books. Parker made a mental note to check in with the librarian to see if they existed.
Parker let out a sigh that was louder than he had anticipated when Cleo mentioned that she thought the joke was funny. He saw the elf turn away with the tray of food, and Parker slowed down so he could walk next to Cleo instead of in front of her.
Trying to distract himself as they walked, he began to talk. He meant it to be about nothing in particular, but the subject that jumped out of his mouth surprised him. He hadn't mentioned it yet to anyone, though once he got going, he didn't stop.
"So, umm... my sister, Lyssa, will be coming next year. She apparently got her letter. Surprising our family again, cause what's odder than have a magical child when you aren't magical? Having two. Though this time it happened without someone appearing in the kitchen and freaking my mom out. I do't know what house she'll be in, but my mom told me I am supposed to take care of her. I don't know how I am supposed to do that if she isn't in Pecari. And to be honest, I don't know if she would be. How do you take care of someone when they aren't near enough to you to take care of? I dunno"
Parker paused briefly as they walked up to the photo booth. He turned to look at Cleo. The flowers in her hair definitely suited her.
"Look, I am sorry that we didn't get to spend as much time together this year. I know I couldn't always be the one to help you. But umm...anyways, I was reading up on a few things, and I don't think my sister will experience anything. And I was wondering if you could help me keep an eye on her next year?"
Parker had hidden in his request for Cleo something he'd been wanting to say, without knowing how. He wanted to help her in some way. He knew she wouldn't want him to help her, or believe that he could help her, but he wanted to do it anyways. He was reading about anyway he could help or just to know stuff in general, cause he wanted to spend time together with her. Parker knew he wanted to help for selfish reasons, but he felt either way help might be help.
He turned to see the photographer was sitting smiling at the two of them with such a wide smile that Parker momentarily was startled and moved his head back a bit.
"Hi. We'd like to have our picture taken?" Parker said stepping towards the woman with curled hair.
She clapped her hands together as she walked up to them,"So great. The first photo of the night, and my first couple of the evening."
Parker's eyes went big. "No, we're just friends," he responded quickly. To Parker's horror his voice actually cracked on the word friends.
Oh.God. was all Parker could think as the woman nodded slowly raising one of her eyebrows.
"Come this way and stand here then friend one," she said pointing to an sparkling gold x on the ground. Parker noted that she was saying friend in a slightly odd way, that made Parker think she didn't believe that they were simply friends. "And you stand here friend two, facing friend one," as she pointed to a sparkling silver x. As Parker stood this close to Cleo he could swear he could smell the flowers in her hair.
In his head he started to count down from ten.
41
Parker
Me & Cinderella, we put it all together
1402
Parker
0
5
Cleo
July 28, 2018 6:57 AM
We could steal time just for one day by Cleo
“Oh, I might know it. That sounds familiar anyway,” Cleo mused. And if it was something Parker’s parents listened to, then that made sense with the rough age of her musical experience. The version going around her head was actually the original by David Bowie, but she didn’t know that.
“The radio,” Cleo clarified, when Parker asked about the wireless. Her daddy was Muggleborn, and so she knew a bit about Muggle technology, and the names for things in both worlds from him and from her grandparents, plus she had gone to Muggle elementary school. She therefore also knew the word WiFi and the concept of what it did but, having never assumed it wasn’t just… a word in its own right was unaware with the confusing overlap in vocabulary.
“You did look after me,” Cleo assured him. He seemed to feel like he’d let her down somehow, even though he’d consistently been the best friend ever. “Hey, I was the one that kept shutting myself away,” Cleo reminded him, when he apologised for not spending enough time with her. “And I doubt your sister’s going to do that, so you’ll be more than capable of looking after her. But of course I’ll help - especially if she’s in Crotalus. And everyone will look after her if she’s in Teppenpaw. She’ll be fine. Any idea where she will go?”
The photo lady presumed they were a couple but Parker hastily set her straight on that point, and then she seemed to accept it, calling them friend one and friend two in a cheerful manner as she stood them on their spots. Cleo was a little naive and tended to take what people said at face value, or not pick up so well on their tones of voice. She smiled happily, ready to have her picture taken.
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Cleo
We could steal time just for one day
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Cleo
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5
