Mortimer Brockert
September 10, 2022 9:25 PM
Returning Feast by Mortimer Brockert
As usual, Mortimer was glad to be back at Sonora after midterm. Yes, teenagers were irritating but he didn’t actually have to interact with them all that much. As opposed to the forced inane small talk with the general population of nincompoops that tended to attend parties. Or that was the majority of the human race. Not that he was hoping for or expecting deep conversations but really small talk was more mind numbing than any alcohol could ever be.Even worse was,of course, Eustace. Mortimer knew that saying that his son needed to be satisfied with the child he had and deal with it-especially given that Honora was two now-was advice he should take about having Eustace for a son, but the difference was that the child was only two and hadn’t done anything to deserve the disappointment had in her while Eustace had done plenty to make Mortimer disappointed in him.
Honestly, he did not understand how his son had turned out so awful. There were times that he’d almost wished that Vivien had cheated on him and that Eustace was not his son after all. However, then Gene, who was Eustace’s twin, wouldn't be either, and Mortimer was happy enough to claim him.He didn’t seem to have much of a backbone but the Headmaster supposed if he had a twin like Eustace, he wouldn’t either. Eustace probably ate his brother’s backbone in the womb.
And to make things worse, it was all so completely tedious-and not just in the way parties and small talk inherently were. It was also the same bloody thing every year. Mortimer was so completely bored by it all.
At least at Sonora, there were The Challenges going on. That was at least different. He’d always been weirdly fond of them, mostly because they kept everyone busy and busy students were not going to make as much trouble. Although, Mortimer supposed the most hard core of the troublemakers would find a way. Hopefully they would not do so during a particular Challenge event and ruin things for their teammates. Especially considering that one of those hard core troublemakers was on Olaf’s team, somehow. He sincerely hoped that Miss Thorn would confine her most obnoxious and vile behavior to the free time that she had left if she absolutely must do it at all. Either way, it was too bad that Mortimer’s grandson had to put up with her at all.
Still, the general population of the school, most of whom were admittedly not huge troublemakers anyway, would be less inclined to cause problems when, between the Challenges and their regular schoolwork and in some cases, preparing for the concert, they’d be too busy and probably too tired to cause problems.
Of course, Mortimer supposed they could end up having disputes around the Challenges themselves. Either because people on the same team did not get along-and they did not put known enemies together, for the most part, they didn’t put people together who had any sort of relationship whatsoever-or because people got competitive with those on other teams. However, Mortimer had not heard of that really ever being a huge issue, so he wasn’t worried about it. Besides, disputes between teammates, unless they were really out of control should be dealt with by the team leader and it would have to be pretty bad before it came to his attention,unless one of his grandchildren mentioned it in passing. Rivalries between those on different teams were likely pre-existing things where someone wanted to trounce their enemies.
The students entered and Mortimer stood, casting a quick Sonorous on himself. “Welcome back, I hope you have all had a nice break.” Of course, he didn’t actually care any more than he did every other time he had said that. It was just what people said. Despite the fact that he’d never really understood why people said those things that were just what people said. Still, as much as he never felt the need to say too much, he supposed he had to say more than just welcome back and people expected others to want them to have a nice break. Why they felt entitled to that, he did not know. After all, Mortimer did not expect them to care about his holiday. If one of the students said that they hoped he had a nice holiday, he’d probably be highly suspicious that they were up to no good. Or wanted something. Which was arguably worse.
“As a reminder, the school Concert is at the end of the year, so please continue your concert prep.” Honestly, he didn’t understand why people would want to do an extra concert performance when they already had the Challenges and schoolwork but at least Isla would get to put on her puppet show. And the concert was supposed to have Challenge highlights so he was just picturing a bunch of puppets running into age lines. Honestly, Mortimer had been shocked over just how few people had been able to figure that out and that it was mostly relatives of his that could. He could understand how a Muggleborn first year could miss it, since they had not been in the magical world that long, but really, others besides the purebloods had been in the magical world long enough that they should know about such things. Maybe it was a gap in their education and the knowledge that these things existed at least should be on curriculum, regardless of when they should be taught how to do them.
Mortimer sat back down and took the Sonorus Charm off himself, as the food appeared on the tables.
Subthreads:Aladren
I feel older now. by Phil Carson
Ugh, why? by Nausicaa Scapetello
Teppenpaw
Nothing happening here by Philippe Delachene
Continuing on by Valentine Duell
Crotalus
Home again by Lyla Holland with Iris Cobb
Two challenges down by Sadie-Lake Chalmers
Pecari
It's weirdly good to be back by Oz Spellman with Billy Cobb
End of an era (tag Mab) by Xavier Lundstrom with Mab
Staff
11
Mortimer Brockert
Returning Feast
6
1
5
System
September 10, 2022 9:25 PM
System
September 10, 2022 9:25 PM
System
September 10, 2022 9:25 PM
System
September 10, 2022 9:25 PM
System
September 10, 2022 9:25 PM
Oz Spellman
September 11, 2022 12:48 AM
It's weirdly good to be back by Oz Spellman
There was a fizzy feeling in Oz’s chest as he stepped off the wagon. It was weird to be this happy to be in a school, but he was. Admittedly, it had more to do with the fact that he would get to make out with someone again than it did with academics but still… He was happy to be at school. Because of a hot boy. Eleven-year-old him wouldn’t have believed any of that. Eleven-year-old him would have been way not cool about the second part, but that guy was a fool. It still wasn’t an easy thing to think, but Henry had been totally cool about it, which had eased one of the bigger knots in his stomach. And all the scary stuff about labels and what this meant and who he was as a person were things he could easily push to the back of his mind whilst his excitement at being here was in the driving seat.He took a seat away from Xavier at the feast, cos it was frustrating to be right next to him and not be able to do anything. The headmaster spoke briefly, reminding them about the concert, but happily not about the challenges… That was the one part of returning to school that felt like a rock in his belly. Team one was not number one. Or number two, or three or four… The only thing keeping them from being the absolute bottom of the list was that the team they were joint last with had been written underneath them. Oz was gutted. He had really liked the first challenge when he was doing it. He never got to excel academically at school. Stuff like this was supposed to be his chance to shine, and he had crashed and burned. He and Morgan had found each other quickly, and she had said he’d done a good job but… But what if he’d just been screwing up like usual? What if they were last because of him? He hadn’t checked in with the team since the announcement, so the feeling that they all blamed him was gnawing away at his stomach. He would have liked to shrug it off and pretend that the challenges were cheesy and pathetic and that no one should care anyway, but Xavier and Henry were coming second. He knew how much his friend needed a win, and even if Henry got to show off glowing report cards all the time, it wasn’t like his confidence was sky high… He wasn’t going to take away that win from the two people in school that he cared about the most. Which meant sucking up the fact that he sucked… As usual.
Right now though, he was pushing it aside. There was food to be eaten. He was with his fellow Pecaris, not his teammates. Xavier was in the corner of his eye, and every time Oz saw him, he wanted to smile. He turned away from that direction, trying to school his face into its usual happy and carefree grin, rather than its guilty-happy-excited Xavier grin.
“Hey. Good break?” he asked the person next to him, reaching out for some chicken wings.
13
Oz Spellman
It's weirdly good to be back
1514
0
5
Billy Cobb
September 11, 2022 4:58 PM
I suppose by Billy Cobb
Billy plopped down in the seat next to his one roommate for the returning feast. He gave Oz a 'Hi' quick before the speech got underway. As usual, it wasn't much of a speech which he always preferred. This time around it was just a quick mention about the concert. He still wasn't really sure if he was supposed to be doing anything for the concert. He hadn't really done anything yet, nobody had said a lot to him directly, at least that he remembered, or had noticed. Music and presentation stuff wasn't really his thing, but if someone insisted he get up on stage and do something... sure, why not? But so far he didn't distinctly recall anyone doing that, so... that was fine as well.As Oz reached for food and asked him about break, Billy thought the other boy looked odd. There was something about him that wasn't Ozish. Or at least not in the way that he'd know Oz so far, though now that he thought about it... had it been around at the end of last term? Eh, maybe? Didn't really matter. Billy shifted the mandrake leaf in his mouth so he could talk better. It'd been a week now and he was finally starting to get used to the thing being there. "Eh, fine for the most part." He responded without a lot of extra difficulty. "How about you?" He asked in return, "Anything exciting happen?"
Normally he grabbed all sorts of food to load up on at these feasts without much thought. Now though he perused the selection before loading up his plate. Somethings just did not mix well with mandrake. Mashed potatoes should be safe, a slab of ham might be fine. One way to find out, a lot of this type of stuff he hadn't be able to experiment with at home.
2
Billy Cobb
I suppose
1519
0
5
Phil Carson
September 11, 2022 5:55 PM
I feel older now. by Phil Carson
Phil sat down at the Aladren table, feeling like he was all but grown up. Over break, he'd gone to a wedding of a person he wasn't related to. Granted, he did not actually know Gary or Korraline Harper beyond the brief introduction he'd gotten at the wedding itself, but he'd been invited (well, Gabriel had been invited and Gabriel had invited him, so it was close to the same thing) and he'd even gone to the event without any adult supervision (unless one counted Gabriel who was seventeen and legally an adult by wizarding custom and that argument had actually worked on Dad when Phil used it). He gotten to meet and put faces to many of the legends of Past Gaming Club Members that he'd heard stories about over the past three and a half years, and he almost felt like he had completed some kind of achievement now that meant he wasn't just the Gaming Club Baby anymore. All those legendary people - Gary, Ness, Evelyn, Heinrich, Zevalyn, Kir - had now seen his face and heard his name (he doubted many of them remembered it two minutes later, but they'd now heard it once at least).He could officially pass the Gaming Club Baby torch down to Xarryn now. He probably could have already, of course, what with being two years older and having a bunch more XP than the newer new kid, but it had still felt more like they were both Gaming Club Babies, while everyone else was Gaming Club Veterans, and getting to go to the Gaming Club Founder's wedding was the quest he'd needed to move up to the next tier.
Phil sat a little taller in his seat at the Aladren table as he waited for the Headmaster to start the Feast. (Taller both literally and in posture, because he was pretty sure he was going through a growth spurt judging by how starving he was.) The speech was mercifully short (as he had come to expect, though given how much his stomach was growling, he wouldn't have put it past Murphy to make tonight the day Headmaster Brockert decided to become loquacious).
Murphy was not out to get him though, and the food appeared readily, and Phil set to filling his plate with rather larger portions than was his norm. He apparently needed to work on getting his body leveled up to Gaming Club Veteran size, too.
Phil smiled at his neighbor. "The food looks really good tonight, doesn't it?"
1
Phil Carson
I feel older now.
1536
0
5
Philippe Delachene
September 11, 2022 6:37 PM
Nothing happening here by Philippe Delachene
Philippe had been invited to a wedding. He assumed because Val had told Gary he'd joined the Gaming Club, because it sounded like all of the Gaming Club, current and past, had been invited. Even Phil had made arrangements to go with Gabriel, and he didn't even know Gary so far as Philippe knew.Philippe had declined. Not because he couldn't make it, or even because Freddie couldn't make it, but because . . . well, because Gary had dated Philippe's big sister and was now getting married to someone who was decidedly not Jasmine, and it was all just really weirdly awkward and Philippe wanted nothing to do with it. He was sure this Korraline was a perfectly nice person, and Jasmine, as he understood it, was the one who broke up with Gary, and they'd done so on good terms, but it was still weird to go to your sister's ex's wedding, and Philippe couldn't do it.
He'd sent in his regrets and tried not to look too weirded out whenever the other gamers talked about it, not wanting to dim their own excitement about getting to reconnect with graduated friends, but Philippe hadn't joined the club until Gary was gone and, though he had played with the others a little, he'd never gotten very close to Heinrich, Ness, or Evelyn. The age difference had just been too vast (not that it seemed to have stopped Val at all, proving once again that she was the far superior Teppenpaw to him).
And now it had taken place, and he was afraid there was going to be a lot of talking about the wedding over the next few club meetings, and he was going to feel like he'd been a jerk by refusing to go just because of the groom's long past dating history, and missed out on an important bonding experience with the current game club members.
Just like he'd been one of the last people to find anyone in the maze challenge. They'd all had shared stories and he'd just been wandering around on his own for most of it. Team Nine wasn't at the bottom of the rankings, but they were in the bottom half, and he felt like it was maybe his fault for not finding his way to the others sooner. He was one of the Advanced students. He should have been thinking more about finding the others than dealing with the immediate barriers that came up. In retrospect, he'd thought of several spells he could have used to do that.
He slumped down at the Teppenpaw table, hoping the new year would turn around and start looking better again soon. So far it wasn't great, though none of it was really the year's fault. All of the problems had started last term. Starting with Freddie not being here anymore.
Philippe perked up a little bit when the food appeared and he made an effort to smile at his neighbor as he added some potatoes to his plate. "Doing anything for the concert?" he asked, hoping that was a safe topic that would preclude anyone asking about his break, where nothing happened.
OOC: Given wedding invitations generally go out well in advance of a wedding, I assume Gary's wedding has been a recurring topic of conversation at the Gaming Club meetings when not actively gaming.
1
Philippe Delachene
Nothing happening here
1489
0
5
Oz Spellman
September 12, 2022 3:44 PM
Yeah... by Oz Spellman
As teenage boys in general, and as themselves in particular, Oz and Billy didn't tend to hold back when it came to food. However, the absence of something was often harder to notice. Oz couldn't pinpoint what the shift in Billy's behaviour was but he felt like there was one... But maybe that was just paranoia. Billy didn't know anything and had no reason to act differently towards Oz. Oz was pretty good at faking what others wanted to see. He could get through this..."It was chill but nice," he answered, regarding break. He hadn't gone seeking adventures or parties. He had just watched movies with Henry and Mom, or gone to the batting cages at the park. They were a lot less glass-strewn than the old neighbourhood, and he didn't have to worry about running into people who would cause trouble. At least, not ones that had personal beef with him. It wasn't like they'd moved into white picket suburbia. The place was still rough around the edges but at least it was just the edges and not all the way through. He'd been able to take Henry with him, and have him stretch out on the grass reading while Oz batted. "Went to the park a lot. Watched movies at home," he summarised.
He searched for something else to say. He didn't really want to talk about being back, which felt dangerously close to personal or like it would lead to talking about the challenges.
"Can't wait for Quidditch. I did a lot of batting during break but nothing beats being on a broom!"
13
Oz Spellman
Yeah...
1514
0
5
Valentine Duell
September 12, 2022 4:31 PM
Continuing on by Valentine Duell
So far, this year seemed to have gone rather uneventfully. Sure there had been the first challenge so far, but apart from that, there hadn't been much exciting to write home about. Break had been really neat with Gary's wedding, but she really wished she could have taken someone other than her Aunt along. But if she hadn't taken Aunt Giselle, that nice man would have needed to find someone else to talk to for a bit. Aunt Giselle had refused to do much more than acknowledge that she had indeed talked to someone. Oh well, time will tell…As she dismounted the wagon and began to socialize her way through the incoming students, she found herself counting down. Two more times. She would only get off that wagon at Sonora two more times yet. Could that be right? The thought started to crystallize at thought that had appeared at the wedding. Wally. What was she to do? She'd pushed it to the back of her mind, categorized as 'something to deal with later'. Now she realized that 'later' was sooner than she'd thought. Still, maybe it could be a 'tomorrow' thing, instead of a 'today' thing.
She found her way to her lonely room and got her things sorted until it was time for the feast. Then she wandered down early. There wasn't usually much prefecting to do at the returning feast, but it was always good to be on hand, just in case. Plus it gave her more time to mingle. When the time came, she took a seat at the Teppenpaw table and listened to the Headmaster give one of his famously short speeches. Challenges and the concert, that was all.
The food appeared and Val was delighted to see some lasagna within easy reach. Completely ignoring it however, she turned to her neighbor to chat. "Hi!" She began cheerily, "Have you decided what you're doing for the concert? I'm not actually sure for myself." While she talked, she maneuvered a good sized serving of the lasagna onto her plate.
2
Valentine Duell
Continuing on
1490
0
5
Lyla Holland
September 13, 2022 7:57 AM
Home again by Lyla Holland
Lyla didn't get quite as airsick her second time on the wagon. She'd had the foresight to braid her bouncy curls tightly against her head, so instead of ending up with a haystack on her cranium, she only had to deal with some frizz.She'd thought that she'd missed her little sister while she was at school, but about three days after returning home, Lena had screamed at her for eating the last cereal bar, so Lyla decided that school was quite a nice vacation from home. Her mom had been thrilled to hear about the Challenges, and Lyla told her about her teammates. She'd been squeamish about Hans' ability to speak to snakes, as she didn't normally do well with Creepy Crawly Things, but after meeting Redrock and not getting eaten, she'd relaxed. He was a very nice snake.
Her father had been away for work while Lyla was home, which was probably the most disappointing thing that had happened on break. She was able to speak to him on the phone, but it wasn't the same as getting wrapped up in a great big bear hug.
She was eager to get back to school not only to see the results of the first Challenge, but to see her new friends. Rushing to the dining hall, where she knew everyone would congregate, she was among the first students to sit down. Lyla took a quick pit stop at the message boards to see that her team was in first place! There was still time to lose it, but it was an exhilarating feeling to see Team Six at the very top of the list.
Lyla tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her classmates to sit down so she could talk to them. Wasn't anybody as eager as she was to get back to learning? Just as she was about to stand up to go find someone to chat with, someone sat down beside her.
"Oh, hello!" Lyla said, grinning brightly, "How was your break?"
64
Lyla Holland
Home again
1559
0
5
Xavier Lundstrom
September 14, 2022 3:52 PM
End of an era (tag Mab) by Xavier Lundstrom
Xavier enteted Cascade Hall in remarkably good spirits. Coming back to school had always felt something akin to being imprisoned or punished. Even when he hadn't been feeling that melodramatic, it was still a place that sapped his spirits. This time though, he was excited to be back. He wanted to see Oz, more than he ever had before, but whereas his friend (now boyfriend?) had always been the silver lining to his otherwise grey and stormy existence here, he was now one of several reasons Xavier was happy. His studies were going well, especially in divination but also his other classes too. His challenge team was excelling. He... was a long way from saying he belonged in this world, but he no longer felt that he vehemently did not.He took in a seat in the hall, a little miffed that Oz wasn't sitting with him. As that wasn't an option, he went towards his other Pecari default. He guessed he should make the most of being able to sit with her while she was still here...
He let the non-existent speech wash over him, then turned to the much more interesting food. He grabbed a quesadilla.
"Your last one of these," he noted to Mab, wondering whether she had enough attachment to the place to have any particular feeling about that. "Do you know what you're gonna do after here?" That was more interesting... The idea of wizard careers was still utterly baffling. He had just about got to grips with being a school age wizard - he couldn't imagine being a grown up one. Luckily, he had many more years to figure that out.
13
Xavier Lundstrom
End of an era (tag Mab)
1529
0
5
Iris Cobb
September 15, 2022 5:26 PM
It does feel like that more and more by Iris Cobb
It was good to be back at school again. Home was home, and always would be but… every time Iris went back, she felt more disconnected than the time before. Here at school, the feeling went the opposite way. Each time she returned, she was more glad to do so. What would it be like once she actually graduated? What would she do then? The question had been plaguing her since last year, and she still didn't have a good answer. She didn't like that.Iris drifted through the students sorting themselves out into houses at the tables, not really avoiding people, but also not really going out of her way to find them either. She got to the Crotalus table as everyone else was settling down, and she hadn't been there for more than a moment when Lyla greeted her very enthusiastically. Iris smiled back because it was the polite thing to do, although she didn't quite mirror back the same level of excitement. "Hi Lyla," she responded to the first year. She didn't know the younger girl very well since they didn't share any classes, but she liked her well enough just with knowing what one learns from being in the same house.
The older girl gave a very slight sigh, "Break was..." but before she could continue she was cut off by the Headmaster giving his 'speech'. It wasn't a long interruption. She turned back to her housemate to continue. "Break was fine," she responded without a lot of conviction. "How about yours?" It seemed a weak attempt at conversation. "I'm sorry, my mind just seems to be elsewhere at the moment." As always she was doing her best to keep her enunciation proper, but the first few days back were always a challenge. It didn't seem to matte how long she was at school, a few days back home had her sliding back to that very familiar southern, backwoods drawl. That really didn't work well when you had to say magical words very precisely.
"Did you see how the first challenge went?" Iris asked, "I didn't get the chance to examine the results yet." That seemed like a better topic of conversation maybe. She was pretty sure her team hadn't done very well, what with people standing on the hedges and trying to light them on fire and everything.
2
Iris Cobb
It does feel like that more and more
1526
0
5
Mab
September 15, 2022 6:21 PM
I guess by Mab
Mab was still a little surprised her team was doing as well as it was. She didn't think it was because of her astounding leadership abilities, but it did make her feel pretty pleased with both herself and her team. They had done quite well finding each other in the maze, she thought, even if age lines had proven to be a little more of an obstacle than they probably should have been. Luckily, Jasper had recognized it for what it was, and a simple finite from her wand had resolved allowed Xavier into the area with the defeated pogrebin which, obviously, had been well over his level, and she should have figured that out sooner, but age lines were not a thing Bel had ever used in child handling - even with Reilly - and though Mab had heard of them, she hadn't had enough first hand experience with them to recognize them in action. She probably would have figured it out eventually, but Jasper had fortunately been there speed things along more efficiently and put them solidly into second place.She had almost, dare she say it, enjoyed the first challenge and was almost looking forward to seeing what came next, though she wasn't overly hopeful that it would fall so nicely into her team's - and especially her own - skill sets as the first one had. Still, they were a fairly well-rounded and self-motivated group, so she thought they should be able to handle whatever the teachers threw at them next. Maybe.
Mab looked up as she sensed someone nearing her claimed space at the table, but relaxed and let the scowl that she used to secure and quiet buffer around herself fade as she recognized Xavier. She didn't quite smile at him, but the lack of growling was almost the same thing and a welcome.
"Hi," she said as she allowed him to sit next to her. There wasn't much time for awkwardness or conversation before the Headmaster gave his two statements that passed as a speech, and then the food arrived and Xavier noted that this was her last feast. She . . . wasn't going to miss them, she didn't think. There were things about Sonora that she probably would miss, but everyone sitting too close together and talking too loudly all at the same time wasn't one of them. The food was fine and plentiful, but now that she was getting enough food at home regularly, that wasn't quite as astounding as it had seemed when she was eleven.
She hummed noncommittally and shrugged when he asked after her plans for what she wanted to do with her life. That was still a work in progress. "I applied to an auror training program," she shared. Aware that he was a changeling like she was, she explained, just in case he hadn't picked it up yet, "That's like a magic cop, but with more chance of dying horribly from a dark creature or dark magic. It's what my adoptive mom does. I don't know if that's what I really want to do, but I haven't thought of any better ideas yet."
1
Mab
I guess
1473
0
5
Lyla Holland
September 16, 2022 9:18 PM
Just happy to be here by Lyla Holland
As the headmaster's speech- if you could call it that- subsided, it gave way to a general cacophony of students' voices, greeting each other, asking their friends to pass the mashed potatoes, discussing the Challenge results. Lyla grinned to see the comradery between members of each house. She felt lucky that she got to be a part of it."My break was fine," she told Iris, who she had seen in the common room but had never actually spoken to before, "It was nice to see everybody, but I'm glad to be back. My little sister was driving me nuts."
Iris was the sort of girl that always looked neat and tidy, her shiny red curls bouncing in perfect unison every time she moved her head. Lyla wondered if she used magic to keep them contained, or if it was a special shampoo. She certainly didn't know Iris well enough to ask.
Lyla helped herself to some green beans as she answered Iris' next question.
"I'm not sure what team you're on, but Six is in first. I think One and Five are tied for last. It still could be anybody's game though, with another task on the way," Lyla paused for a moment, her head cocked to one side as she chewed thoughtfully, "Do you think the next one will be more sporty or more school-y?"
Lyla wasn't entirely convinced of her prowess in either category, seeing as a walk in the garden was about the most sport she liked to participate in, and as a first year, she wasn't terribly educated on the magical academics. She'd done alright in the last task, so hopefully she would continue to squeak by on luck and nerve.
64
Lyla Holland
Just happy to be here
1559
0
5
Nausicaa Scapetello
September 17, 2022 12:57 PM
Ugh, why? by Nausicaa Scapetello
Nausicaa did not know how to feel. The horrible wagon trip again to the terrible back county school was just as bad as her initial ride. The thought of continuing at the school was still maddening. Yet, it was better than Uncle Franklin's terrible little apartment that she had been stuck at over break. Was she supposed to feel happy about this return? Hardly.There were a very few good points about the school. She had her own room for one; she didn't need to share one with her maid. However, for whatever reason, she couldn't have her maid with her at school. Also while at the school, she didn't need to put up with her Uncle. She did however need to put up with the slow students and pandering staff. It was just all around terrible and she had no idea why Father had thought it was a good idea to inflict such hardships upon her. It wasn't fair or right. She should be attending some elite European academy where her status was properly recognized.
The Aladren girl made her way through the incoming students to find a seat at her house's table. It was like she was being treated just like any of the rest of this rabble around her. Her initial plan was in shambles thanks to this place. It had been simple, use the first term to scout out the various cliques and groups around the school, determine which were the influential ones and start to make inroads into them while gathering some lackeys about herself from the less important groups. Simple and straight forward. Did it work? No, because this place was weird. There weren't any real cliques that she could find. There were house groups, there were year groups, there were club and activity groups, and that was really about it. Now that might work out, but there was a lot of overlap between the groups and there wasn't any tension between them. The Quidditch players didn't openly mock the library gaming group or the arts and crafts group. The upper tier students didn't even bully the lower tier students. House rivalry was non-existent, it was just bizarre. How was one supposed to get in good with the top tier group if there wasn't one?
There was only one answer to that, she was going to have to make one. That was going to set her schedule back a bit, and she was going to have to put some serious thought into how to do it. It would be much easier if there was a staff member around that she could work with. She scanned the head table, recalling what she'd learned about each of them so far and didn't come up with much in the way of an ally for her cause. The headmaster got up to give his speech, and sat down after only a very few words. From what she knew, he may be her best chance, but he had very little interest in interacting with the students. Not that she could blame him much, with most of them.
The food appeared, and she took what was proper and began to think while she ate. She didn't have a lot of time to work, and she had better get started soon.
2
Nausicaa Scapetello
Ugh, why?
1561
0
5
Iris Cobb
September 17, 2022 1:14 PM
I guess I am as well by Iris Cobb
It didn't sound to Iris like Lyla wanted to talk to much about break, but she did raise an eyebrow in the other girl's direction at her one comment. "Oh? Speaking from the perspective of a little sister, she may have been doing it on purpose." Heaven knows she did enough if only to drive Billy away so she could get some peace and quiet. "How much younger than you is she?" Fortunately she hadn't needed to resort to that tactic much over break, Billy had found enough other things to do rather than bother her. She had found some things to do as well.Iris scanned the food selection while Lyla talked about the challenges. As usual, there was a rather varied selection. She picked some broccoli, noodles and chicken, then grimaced at Lyla's words. With a sigh she responded, "I'm in team one." She hadn't really counted on her team winning, but tied for last place just seemed poor. Someone had to be in last place, but she would really rather it be someone else, like maybe Billy's team. Actually, she didn't really care where her team was, as long as it was ahead of Billy's team. If she recalled correctly, he was in Team 4.
She considered Lyla's question for a moment while she took a bite of her food. "I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was more of an academic one." Iris hoped that Lyla wouldn't take the word replacement as some sort of pretentious correction. 'School-y' just sort of fit into the type of colloquialism that she was doing her best to avoid at the moment lest all of her diction collapse in upon itself again. "How do you think this will all relate to the concert? I was at the last concert and it was more of a series of plays than anything else."
2
Iris Cobb
I guess I am as well
1526
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Sadie-Lake Chalmers
September 17, 2022 7:50 PM
Two challenges down by Sadie-Lake Chalmers
Christmas break had been one of the best Sadie had had in a long time—and one of the most nerve-wracking. The good part was that she now had someone outside Sonora’s walls, besides her grandma, that she wanted to see, and so Christmas had meant getting to see Dathan again. And Christmas was just made for romance, with hot chocolate and blankets and cosy kisses. And meeting his family. That had been the scary part. Given how different she was to her own family, she couldn’t assume that just because Dathan was lovely they would be too. But they had been. They had been just about the most normal people you could imagine. They also seemed to like him having something going on in his life that they could relate to—getting a girlfriend, bringing her home to meet them. Those were some of the milestones they’d expected, which hadn’t been stopped by his entry into the wizarding world. And she was a nice girl who knew what Pixar movies were and wanted to be a vet assistant. It was like all the things that normally made her too ordinary were special, desirable qualities.She had not braved introducing him to her family. She supposed she would have to, some day. Her dad was okay. She wouldn’t mind him meeting him, or her grandma… But they were a package deal. She knew her mom would pitch a fit if she was ‘left out.’
Still, that was a problem for another day. Now, it was time for her last feast. That was a strange thought, but she was more than ready to move on. She didn't have many close friends at all, and even fewer in her own house, especially since Sapphire had graduated. She considered taking a seat next to Lyla. The first time Sadie had ended up sitting with Lyla for the feast, it had been by accident. It wasn't unusual for her to end up with a spare seat by her. This time, it would have been more intentional. Sadie was one of her prefects and her team captain, and she felt responsible for the younger girl. The transition back to school could be rough - and, if it wasn't, it was probaby a sign that the holidays had been. However, she noticed Iris slide into place beside Lyla. Iris was very chatty, and easily made friends with most people. She also wouldn’t be leaving next year, which meant Lyla was probably better off forming a relationship with her.
She picked a spot at random, leaving it up to the other members of Crotalus to decide whether or not they wanted to come and sit with her. The ‘speech' passed, as usual, in the blink of an eye. She hadn’t volunteered to do anything for the concert, and now she wondered whether she should. She absolutely would not be on stage, but she would paint scenery if anyone asked…
“Hi,” she said to her neighbour, figuring it didn’t hurt to be friendly (at least, since Martin Crosby and Jeremy Mordue had graduated, it didn’t). “What do you think looks good?” she asked, gesturing to the table before them.
OOC: Parts about Dathan's family provided by his author.
13
Sadie-Lake Chalmers
Two challenges down
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5
Xavier Lundstrom
September 19, 2022 4:11 PM
To the future by Xavier Lundstrom
Magic cop. Huh. That wasn't what Xavier would have thought. Something about Mab had always seemed quietly rebellious - she didn't seem to answer to anyone but herself. It didn't fit with the idea of being an upholder of rules for the system, especially when those rules were wizard ones.She was talking about it more like it was an adventure, like it was being paid to take Defence Against the Dark Arts for the rest of your life. That part, he could understand, but the cop thing...
"Chasing down creatures, duelling bad guys... upholding wizarding law?" he asked, not quite able to stop his face and tone Doing A Thing on those last words. "Sounds like a blast," he said, sounding more sarastic than anything else. He tipped his head, trying to relieve the knot of tension he could feel building.
He also didn't want Mab to die. He hoped she was just joking. Cops did die in action sometimes but he hoped that was a rarity. Though with the magical world, and its cavalier approach to safety, who knew? He could look into it... He could do some crystal gazing or a tarot spread to check whether this was a terrible idea.
13
Xavier Lundstrom
To the future
1529
0
5
Lyla Holland
September 19, 2022 11:37 PM
You don't sound too sure by Lyla Holland
Lyla winced when Iris said she was a little sister. She hadn't meant that all little sisters were annoying, just hers. It wasn't for lack of trying, Lyla wanted to get along with Lena, but Lena threw a fit every time Lyla tried to spend time with her. Whether it was picking out the 'wrong' movie to watch, or trying to play a game of pretend and 'not doing it right', Lyla was glad to be back in a space where she didn't have to cater to a five-year-old."She's five and a half years younger than me," Lyla told the older girl, "She yells at me a lot. I think she just doesn't understand how to compromise with people yet. It makes me tired, though."
Lyla winced again when Iris said she was in Team One. She felt a little guilty for delivering the bad news, but she reasoned that Iris would have to find out sometime. Maybe her team just wasn't good at the skills that the maze had required, and they would knock it out of the park in the next one. Similarly, maybe Lyla's team would completely flunk the second Challenge. She was hoping for less running in the next round. Maybe they would have to write a novel or something.
Lyla thought about the Concert with some concern, though Iris telling her that it was mostly plays last time threw her off a little. When Lyla thought about concerts, she thought about music, which was not one of her talents. In fact, her talents were almost exclusively limited to planting things, writing things, and researching things; none of which were very interesting to watch on a stage.
"I think the teams with a lot of people in the concert probably won't have a lot of time to study for the challenge, so they might not do as well. Although," she added, "Nobody really studied for the last one, either, so I guess that doesn't matter much."
A horrifying thought crossed Lyla's mind. What if the concert was the challenge, and they all had to do something on stage? She dismissed it almost immediately, since they had told the whole school that the concert would have highlights from the challenges, and they couldn't do that until the challenge was over. Still, that thought didn't go away, it just lingered in the back of her brain, behind Transfiguration homework and the Charms essay that she had written but forgotten to turn in.
"How many siblings do you have?" Lyla asked, curious about the Cobb family, now that Iris had mentioned she had an older sibling. Lyla didn't have any classes with Iris, and normally only saw her in passing in the common room, so she realized that she didn't actually know very much about the redhead.
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Lyla Holland
You don't sound too sure
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5
Billy Cobb
September 22, 2022 7:30 PM
Yup by Billy Cobb
When he had started here Oz's response would have confused Billy a bit. Of course it would have been chill, it was winter. Now he knew better, and nodded along in confirmation that he knew exactly what Oz was talking about. Parks were good in Billy's opinion, someone had decided that there still should be plants and stuff in the middle of the big cities and such. Though, why anyone would really want to live there still baffled him a bit. Movies were still a bit of a foreign idea to him, he got the concept, he just hadn't actually gotten to experience any of them yet. Someday when he wasn't stuck going between home and here, where such things didn't exist in either location.There was a bit of an odd pause then. Billy filled it with eating, so it was fine. Eating was really kind of a pain now, making not to swallow the dumb leaf in the process. Three more weeks of this to go yet. Then he'd... he'd have to check his notes again. There was the leaf and the words each day, then other stuff... a storm? He'd look it up again later. It was fine.
Oz came back with a great topic. "Yes!" Billy agreed enthusiastically, only slurring the word a bit as he fought the leaf back into place. "I had to give up on trying to get folks back home to play anything, so I just hit some rocks around. Wanna go hit the pitch as soon as we get some free time to get back in the air a bit?" That sounded like an awesome idea to him. They could get some actual flying done and maybe even break out some bats and a bludger.
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Billy Cobb
Yup
1519
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5