Jack Frost

January 08, 2010 6:42 AM
With the arrival of midterm, the weather charms surrounding the grounds of Sonora Academy obligingly provided a good covering of soft, white snow. The gardens looked dazzling, the pathway was slippery, and the Quidditch pitch had been completely transformed: The prairie elves, under the guidance of groundskeeper May Gail, had worked all morning to create a Winter Wonderland. Instead of the expanse of even lawn that usually filled the space between the stands, the land was now a series of slopes and drops, and had sprouted shrubs and even a couple of fully grown fir trees.

Scattered about the pitch were five or six little wooden cabins, each the size of a large wendy house. If a student were to venture inside, they would discover each little hut contained comfortable seating, a real fire, and a never-ending supply of hot chocolate. These charming grottos were connected by a series of winding open walkways, marked out by knee-high rows of young conifers.

Buried in amongst this small village, just waiting for explorers to stumble across them, were two ice-skating rinks, accompanied by a pile of skates in assorted sizes. Other hidden treasures included wooden toboggans laid strategically near the top of some steeper slopes, some fences that seem to have been placed perfectly for a snowball fight, and lone tree that bore edible chocolate-covered fruit.

No doubt those students who had remained at school after midterm would be entertained for several days, should they decide to venture outside into the cold.

OOC: feel free to invent your own additions to the Winter Wonderland, but please keep to realistic limits. Enjoy!
Subthreads:
0 Jack Frost A seasonal alteration 0 Jack Frost 1 5


Amelia Pierce

January 12, 2010 1:26 PM
Amelia was here for the duration. Well, almost the duration. She was going to slip away for a few hours on Christmas to see her two grown kids, but for the most part, she was staying at the school. Bel had been less than pleased, but oddly less so than Amelia had truly been expecting. She suspected it had something to do with that 'Danny' person Bel had gone on about in her last letter, though she had enough survival instinct to know better than to ask confirmation.

Bel would reveal what she wanted revealed when she wanted to reveal it.

In the meantime, Amelia had headed out to the Pitch and was pleased to see the place transformed to a mountain wonderland that almost reminded her of New England. She entered one of the little cabins and found herself in one of the most cozy rooms she'd ever encountered.

This was better than home, almost. She sank down into one of the armchairs by the fire and put her feet out in front of her. After a few minutes just sitting there, listening to the fire crackle, she lazily summoned over a mug of hot chocolate. She took a sip. Perfect.

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the hot liquid warm her belly and her fingers. She could have sat like that for two minutes or twenty before she heard the door to the outside open again. There seemed to be some kind of spell on the mug to keep the hot chocolate steaming but not scalding. She was also almost positive it was refilling itself every time she took a sip.

Keeping her eyes closed, she huddled into the chair cushions and pulled the mug closer to her body until the cold inrush of air stopped. The door closed and she opened her eyes to see who had joined her and gave her new companion a smile. "Good afternoon. Have a mug of the chocolate. It's fantastic."


1 Amelia Pierce Relaxing by the Fire 20 Amelia Pierce 0 5


Jacob Carter

January 13, 2010 1:16 PM
Jacob needed to walk his thoughts were a confused bundle at the moment. He had just returned from a supper with his former boss from Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. He had offered Jacob a promotion head of the Squad something he had been passed over for in June. Of course now they realized that he had been the best person for the job. Jacob had said he would think about it but he knew where he belonged, here at Sonora. He loved being a Professor but still the pay would be incredible at the Squad.

Jacob’s thoughts calmed down some as he walked around the winter wonderland and he knew he would never take the job back. He stood watching the children playing on the slopes and laughed. Though he missed snow he didn’t want to join the kids on the slopes for sledding he thought it would look a bit odd, though he might take a midnight ride later tonight. He smiled thinking about what the students would say seeing a Professor sliding down the slopes. He laughed to himself as he rubbed his hands together. ‘Time to get warm.’ He thought as he spied a little cabin and nodded, the promise of some hot coco laid beyond those walls.

He walked over and slowly opened the door hoping he hadn’t chosen one that students were occupying. He heard a voice and he grinned. There sat the Quidditch Coach enjoying a cup of coco. He laughed and nodded. “In fact that’s why I came here, I can never say no to hot coco.” He said with a smile as he grabbed a mug and took a seat on the couch opposite of Amelia. “It’s nice to see you again.” He said as he shrugged out of his pea coat exposing his dark blue button down shirt and black slacks. He took a sip of the coco and nodded. “You were correct this stuff is fantastic.”
0 Jacob Carter Joining the party 0 Jacob Carter 0 5


Amelia

January 14, 2010 3:45 PM
Ah. Jacob Carter. Though there weren't any students she particularly disliked, she was still a bit relieved to find her new cabin-mate was another staff member. That he was one of the professors she considered a friend was even better.

"Good to see you again, too," she returned his pleasantry with one of her own. She truly meant it, too, which wasn't something she could always say.

She nodded in agreement and took another sip of her own hot chocolate as he confirmed her assessment of its worth. Once he was settled down into his chair, and the fire's warmth overcame the last of the chill from the temporarily opened door, she asked, "So, we're halfway through our first year. Are you glad you came out to teach at Sonora? And, more importantly," she smiled a little teasingly, "have you managed to avoid getting lost in front of the students?"
0 Amelia Glad to have you. 0 Amelia 0 5


Jacob

January 15, 2010 9:35 PM
Jacob thought for a moment when she asked about being glad about teaching. “I love it here.” He said after a moment’s thought. “And I’m very glad that I cam out to teach.” He smiled and sipped the hot coco. “Thankfully I know my way around now so no more fear of getting lost.” He laughed for a moment. “So have to teach any student the point me spell?” He asked with a grin.

He paused and sipped the coco again. It was wonderful and he couldn’t get enough of it. He smiled at Amelia and said. “Well the first Quidditch Game I must say was quite entertaining, even with the Ms. Eagle’s accident. It seems as though she didn’t want to be out of the game for long.” He said with a wince. It had been hard to watch the young girl with the broken arm fly around. He had been very glad that Amelia had flown out as soon as she could.
0 Jacob A pleasure 0 Jacob 0 5