Grayson Wright
December 02, 2022 6:43 PM
Orientation for First Years by Grayson Wright
The wizard who stood under the 1st Years Here banner off to the side of the wagon landing site could, to some eyes, have seemed assembled from an incompatible set of stereotypes. His unremarkable face, greying dark hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and none-too-boldly-colored tie could have belonged to any non-magical man in his mid-forties. Then, though, what could at first have been mistaken for a businessman's dark blue jacket just kept going, extending into a long, wide-sleeved wizard's robe, and he wore a matching pointed, round-brimmed wizard's hat, overshadowing the mundanity of his hair and glasses a bit."First year students...All first year students to me, please...."
Finally, all the older students seemed to have gotten off the wagons and dispersed, leaving only the new students. A quick head count came up to the expected number, and Grayson Wright smiled around at them all.
"Welcome to Sonora," he said pleasantly. "My name is Professor Wright. I look forward to getting to know you all this year. For now, though - leave all your luggage with the wagons – I assure you, they’ll be taken care of, and I’ve never heard of a case of anyone losing anything in all the years I’ve been here - and follow me, please."
He only led them a short distance into the Labyrinth Gardens, walking down a wide path which opened onto a hedge-walled courtyard with a central fountain, several stone benches, and three tables in it. On one of these tables, there were as many dark green folders as there were students present. On another, there was a buffet of light snack foods, with lightweight plates and paper napkins available so students could gather several refreshments in one trip if they wished. On the third table, there were several large apparatuses, each topped with a clear (and unbreakable) glass bulb which showed the color of the drink within, though they were also distinguished by written labels on their fronts above the spigots which, when turned, would dispense the contents into glasses: pumpkin juice, apple juice, grape juice, iced tea, and plain water. There was also a box of ice (charmed not to melt) with a scoop in it and plenty of clear cups.
"Come in, everyone, and please take one folder each," he instructed them. "You'll get to the refreshments soon, but if you could give me your attention for a few minutes first..." Once they seemed relatively attentive, he cleared his throat and began delivering the speech he delivered, with minor variations, every September 1.
"Tomorrow morning, you will all start taking seven classes - Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and flying lessons. I'll be your Charms teacher, so you'll see a lot of me for at least the next five years, though you may choose your own classes in your sixth and seventh years. For now, though, you have schedules in your folders which tell you when and where each class meets.”
He blinked affably at them all and tried to sound as matter-of-fact about what he’d come to think of as the important part of this speech as he could. “We know that you all may have had very different educations before today. You'll also each learn magic at your own pace, and you’ll find that some subjects are likely to suit your powers better than others, which will show up in how easy you find learning spells in those areas. If you find yourselves struggling in any of your classes, we - your teachers - will all understand, and so will many of your fellow students, so don’t be embarrassed if you need to ask for help. You'll each be Sorted into a House tonight, with a Head of House from the staff and several older student leaders we call 'prefects' who you can go to for support, along with all teachers having regular office hours and the option for scheduling special sessions if that's what's needed. Don't get discouraged, or let things get out of hand. It's best to address the problem as soon as you see there is one, so we can find a way around it sooner and easier.
"On more cheerful notes, we also can provide enrichment for any subject where you find you learn unusually quickly, and you'll have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities here during your free time. Club leaders will post sign-up sheets in the next few weeks, and the school Quidditch sign-up sheet should appear in the Cascade Hall. You'll also most likely find people in your Houses who you can create activities you're interested in with, if we don't already have something - you're Sorted into different Houses based on personality traits, though you're welcome and encouraged to make friends from other Houses as well. The Sorting Ceremony will take place later, in the Cascade Hall, where you'll dip the blank badges attached to your folders into a potion. If it turns blue, you're in Aladren, and will get to see even more of me, since I'm Head of that House. If it turns red, that means you're in Crotalus with Professor Skies, our excellent deputy headmistress. Yellow badges go to Teppenpaw, and your Head of House is Professor Xavier, our very capable Herbology teacher, and brown ones will go to Pecari and Professor Carter-Xavier, who is the person who keeps classes running whenever one of the rest of us has to be away for some reason. Some people think of their Houses as a sort of extended family here, and I hope you'll all do your different Houses proud during your time here."
He resisted the temptation to add especially if you're Aladrens; he was not only Head of House, but had also been an Aladren student during his years in school, long, long before any of these kids had been born. Instead, he said, "if no-one has any questions about all of that, you can talk for a while and have some snacks until we begin our tour of the main building. If you do have any questions, feel free to come see me before we begin our tour – and welcome again to Sonora.”
OOC: Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming.
Now, go forth, new first years of Sonora! Post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC board or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can. Have fun and we’re glad you could join us!
Handy link to the class schedule, if your characters wish to discuss that: Schedule. The Class Overview page also has helpful information and can be found in the School Locations drop-down menu.
[Credit to Nathan Xavier's author for the content of this OOC notice]
Subthreads: New school, new home, new teachers by Alexander Pierce with Quillan Arcadius
This is fine. Everything is fine. by Nicholas Pierce with Ida Stanford
Crashing the party by Dora Xavier with Leo Lyons
I'm ready to go! by Donovan Peters
16
Grayson Wright
Orientation for First Years
113
1
5
Alexander Pierce
December 02, 2022 9:12 PM
New school, new home, new teachers by Alexander Pierce
Alexander Pierce was not nervous. He was totally calm. "There's nothing to worry about," he told his twin brother, Nicholas, as the wagon lost altitude as it approached a large hedge maze. "This year will be fine." These words were said to reassure his younger brother, not himself, because Alexander was calm and not at all nervous. Yes, it was the first time they were really away from their parents for an extended period of time, and yes, there was a possibility that they may not end up in the same House (Alexander figured he was 50/50 between Aladren and Crotalus, while Nicholas was . . . definitely not going to be in Crotalus), and not sharing a room with his brother was an even more horrifying prospect than not living in the same home as their parents.But it would fine. It would. They'd be sorted into a House that suited them, and they'd do amazing in their classes because they were both very smart, and Mother and Father would definitely not disown them (probably) if that House didn't happen to be Aladren.
When the wagon touched down, Alexander got down first, as he was sitting closer to the exit, and easily spotted the banner summoning the first years. "This way, Nicholas," he said, taking his brother's hand and leading the way over to the middle aged professor standing there. Once there, he did not let go, because Nicholas probably needed Alexander's support in this strange new place so far from home. It should be reassuring to his little brother to have Alexander showing such care for him instead of being too grown up and dignified to hold hands with a younger sibling (Alexander was the elder by six whole minutes). It had occurred to him that they shouldn't look too dependent on each other, but in this case, at least right now at the start when everything was so new, he though family mattered more than appearances. (Barely. He stood extra close to Nicholas so it wasn't so obvious they were holding hands.)
They were fraternal twins, not identical, but the resemblance was strong enough that it would not be difficult for anyone to guess, between their appearance and how closely they stood together, that they were twins.
Alexander looked around them, eyes taking in everything - the Gardens, the wagons, the other students (both in his year and the older ones who wandered off toward the mansion) - and assessing them, trying to guess if they would be trouble for him and Nicholas or someone who might be helpful for the twins.
He knew the other two Pierce branches had representatives here a few years older. Cole Pierce of the Boston Pierces had even been on their wagon, as they were all from the northeast, but they'd successfully managed to stay out of each others' way even in the confined space. He was glad the other, older, two Bostonians that had recently been Sonora student successfully graduated last year. He would much rather be the only Alexander Pierce in the school, thank you very much.
He hoped he didn't need to work too hard to make people forget about the previous one and only remember him bearing that name.
After a little while the wizard led them to another area, and Alexander let go of Nicholas' hand to pick up two of the green folders he pointed out, and gave one to his brother. After that, it would have been awkward to try to hold hands again, as they were holding the folders now, and they'd already let go, so Alexander just held onto his folder instead as the wizard introduced himself and told them about the school.
He didn't expect to have any trouble with his classwork as he was on the upper end of that spectrum of educational backgrounds Professor Wright mentioned. The rest was fairly straight forward, and then they were instructed to mingle and snack before the tour began. Alexander decided to start with a glass of water and headed over to get one.
This tactic provided him with a good excuse to not speak immediately to anyone, and he took the opportunity to quietly sip at his water and eavesdrop on his yearmates, trying to learn more about each of them before risking direct confrontation. Unfortunately, the tactic did not account for whether someone else might approach him and he jumped just a little when somebody spoke closer than he'd realized anyone had gotten.
He counted himself lucky that he'd already taken enough sips that he didn't splash any water all over himself.
OOC: This post may have an unreliable narrator and Nicholas's need for reassurance should not be assumed based on this post. You can, however, assume that Alexander looks a little bit nervous (he's trying to hide it though, so it's not very obvious).
Permission for Alexander to hold Nicholas' hand is granted by Nicholas' author.
1
Alexander Pierce
New school, new home, new teachers
1566
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
December 03, 2022 10:41 PM
That's a lot of newness by Quillan Arcadius
Quillan had told himself that he would maintain an upright and dignified posture throughout his wagon ride to Sonora, and absolutely not fall asleep with his face slumped against the side of it amongst a group of total strangers, whose opinions might well Matter-with-a-capital-M and whose intentions could not be trusted. He had read boarding school books, and was aware that sleeping people presented themselves as ideal victims.In spite of this bad press, he was considering himself incredibly lucky to be going to boarding school, and to be rather looking forward to it instead of absolutely dreading it. Over the course of his early education, a number of his tutors had been fired for their failure to make him learn, even though it had been his own… his own… self? He was not supposed to say ‘failings.’ Difficulties? Differences? At times those still felt like polite euphemisms for ‘failings’ but he was, day by day, shaking the habit of viewing them as such. He wasn’t sure that the idea of not sending him to school had ever truly been considered. That would be a source of shame and gossip, but he could honestly say that he now liked the idea of school and even felt there was a possibility of his doing well here. Had he been able to say that to himself of three years ago, that Quillan would never have believed such a thing.
Between the gentle swaying of the wagon, and the lack of much else to do (he could not easily ‘read’ with so many people around), he failed to keep his promise to himself, and he woke with a start as the wagon bumped to a stop. He gathered his wits, but was told to leave the rest of things. He hopped down from the wagon, hoping he had neither drooled nor got anything drawn on his face during his absence from consciousness.
There was nothing reflective immediately available, so he did his best to infer. Based off a lack of staring and giggling, he presumed himself to be fine (though he would relish the first opportunity to double check) and followed the rest of the first years as they were led to their orientation point by a rather strict-looking teacher. There wasn’t any real reason for Quillan to form that idea, beyond perhaps the glasses, and maybe some subconscious association with other wizards of a similar age trying to drill vowel teams into him whilst he swallowed on a dry mouth, wondering how anyone memorized things that slid around and blurred into each other.
As the professor began speaking, Quillan began revising his estimation of him (whilst running a background analysis on what had led him to form an incorrect conclusion, as that wasn’t something he was fond of doing…). The man spoke softly, and when he talked about needing help and not being ashamed about that, he sounded like he really meant that. In that moment, he reminded Quillan of Ms. Faulk. Officially, his parents had chosen Sonora based on the fact that it was led by a Brockert and attended by people like the Pierces (two of whom were apparently in his year, and which he thought he might already have correctly identified). The Arcadiuses were a little east of Central, and so geographically they were more in the catchment area of Ilvermorny. His parents were also alumni there, but his father had been the first of his family to attend school there, so it wasn’t like there was a long-established tradition. It was, perhaps, a bit of a snub to send Quillan to Sonora, but enough families with similar aged children did the same that it could also be regarded as logical and sensible. And if the Pierces could do so from New Hampshire without it seeming strange, then certainly a family in Illinois had no reason not to. These were reasons that had largely been discussed behind closed doors, and which Quillan only knew a few details of, such as who his peers might be. What he did know was that Ms. Faulk had favoured Sonora too, and had attempted to lightly steer his parents in that direction, whilst never mentioning its strong academic support program directly to them, even though she’d been sure to talk that through with Quillan.
If he had trouble, his teachers here would understand. As would ‘many’ of his fellow students. Quillan wasn’t so convinced about the last part, though the first bit was deeply reassuring.
It was only slightly undermined by the fact that Professor Wright labelled the next point a ‘more cheerful note.’ Theoretically, Quillan knew that his struggles to read and write weren’t a happy topic. He would have been the first to say so, easily remembering the years of frustrated tears he had poured into the process before Ms. Faulk came along. But… There was just something about academic excellence being contrasted as a more ‘cheerful’ subject that reminded him of how very much his parents might wish for him to be different, if they had been aware of the full and continuing extent of his difficulties. Coming from the person who had just assured him there was no shame or embarrassment in needing help, it left a bitter taste.
As they were dismissed to mingle, he spent a little time sorting through and processing those thoughts, arranging them into neat and tidy arguments that he would never dare put to an adult (except maybe Ms. Faulk for a debate class) and then went to get a green folder. He pulled his reading glasses in their case from his pocket, and spent some time shuffling through the contents of the folder for show. He glanced up a couple of times, trying to check whether people had observed him as someone who Needs Glasses to Read, as that was a very important thing to establish before going into class, so that misplacing them could be used as an excuse for squinting at the board and taking his time. Some of it was easy enough to read, some of it he would need more time, or some highlighters, or a read-aloud charm to access, none of which he was about to do or ask for in front of his peers—given that only ‘many’ and not ‘all’ of them would be understanding. It was also his first hour at school, and much as he wanted to know about his classes and his schedule, he also wanted to know about his peers. And the snacks…
He put his glasses away, and collected himself a cookie (because he was eleven) and some fruit (because he was a responsible eleven-year-old), then went to greet one of his peers. He noticed one of the probable Pierces had detached himself from his brother and was getting some water. Quillan was also rather thirsty himself.
“Hello,” he said, noticing that the boy jumped slightly, like he was surprised. Quillan at least hoped that was why, and that it wasn’t that he was somehow already a social outcast that the Pierce boy flinched upon being addressed by. He glanced casually over the spigots, trying to see whether they reflected his face. From what he could see (which wasn’t much) it looked fine and drawing-free, and the other boy wasn’t staring at any particular part of it. Quillan had probably just startled him out of a thought. “I’m Quillan Arcadius, of the Illinois Arcadiuses,” he said, hedging his bets that that was the right form of introduction for the person in front of him.
13
Quillan Arcadius
That's a lot of newness
1570
0
5
Alexander Pierce
December 04, 2022 4:14 PM
Maybe a little too much newness by Alexander Pierce
It wasn't Nicholas who startled him. Alexander flushed slightly at being caught by surprise, but the other boy introduced himself properly and Alexander relaxed at the familiarity of it. "Hello," he said politely, "I am Alexander Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces." Arcadius was a proper family, and it was likely the Brockerts had some representatives or near relations, so it was hopeful that he would made some respectable friends Great-Grandmother would approve of. He gave the other boy a small polite smile that he hoped look friendly. Nicholas was the more personable of the two of them, and it was distressing both that Nicholas wasn't at his side right now, and might not be once they got sorted either.It was also not very independent of Alexander to need Nicholas in order to talk to people, and he was afraid this was lowering his chances of being in the one House they both had a shot at, as Independence was one of Aladren's traits. Of course, it wasn't exactly that he couldn't interact with new people without Nicholas beside him. It was that he he'd never had to before, and was now finding he was awkwardly looking to the side and waiting for Nicholas to make his own introduction when Nicholas wasn't there.
In case of awkward social emergency, fall back on asking questions to show interest in the other person. Alexander decided this might qualify already. "I don't recall the Illinois Arcadiuses being a Sonora family. Are you the first of your family to attend?"
1
Alexander Pierce
Maybe a little too much newness
1566
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
December 05, 2022 12:47 AM
Here's hoping it works out by Quillan Arcadius
Quillan's inference had been correct. He loved when that happened. He was now talking to Alexander Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces, which wasn't a bad start to things.Alexander's first question might have been meant as a challenge or a snub, but Quillan didn't think so. Or rather, even though he considered the possibility, he decided to discount it. It wasn't going to be easy to make friends if he went around assuming ill-intentions and double meanings to what everyone said. Talking with people had always been something he found easy, and he was keen to leverage as much good feeling as he could before classes began, and he had to start making excuses for himself. People would be a lot more likely to swallow those excuses if they liked the person providing them.
"I am indeed," he said pleasantly, as if he was glad Alexander had noticed a particularly neatly tucked handkerchief in his pocket. "Great-grandfather was in international imports, back in the day when that involved going away for extended periods, and I suppose grandfather rather took to moving around because he became a diplomat." Because of this, the prior generations of his family had either been privately tutored by someone who went along with the family, or put into the best boarding school on the nearest continent, so as to at least be within reach. "Father and mother both went to Ilvermorny but it's very far from being a family school, and things change," he said, figuring that Mr. Pierce could infer that the leadership of a Brockert and the prominence of families such as his own (and not the growing presence of a learning support department) could push people into considering Sonora the first choice. "Yours has been coming here a while though?" he returned to be polite, even though he more or less knew that from the tone of Alexander's question. "Have you heard a lot of good stories about the place?"
13
Quillan Arcadius
Here's hoping it works out
1570
0
5
Alexander Pierce
December 07, 2022 4:02 PM
I am hoping that, too by Alexander Pierce
Alexander smiled as Quillan confirmed his family was new to the school, and even explained some of their family history, which Alexander found interesting. International imports and diplomat both sounded like quite impressive professions. And it sounded like they had something in common in that they both had parents who met in their respective magical boarding schools. (Though Quillan had not specified that exactly, only said they'd both attended. If it became important, he'd ask to clarify the point, but for now it felt safe to assume if they both attended Ilvermorny, and presumably weren't more than seven years apart in age, they'd met there.)He nodded in confirmation that his own family had some history with Sonora, though, not any more than if Quillan had attended Ilvermorny. "My parents both attended Sonora. They were Head Boy and Head Girl together, though they were the first Pierce generation to come here. We had been a Salem Institute family before that. I think there was a school rivalry thing or something?" The worst rivalries between schools or sports teams or even families always seemed to be between ones who were close together in physical location, from what he could tell. There wasn't much point in holding a grudge against people you were unlikely to run into very often, he supposed. "So that's why we transferred to Sonora when it shut down, even though Ilvermorny was closer."
"My parents' favorite story is from the year they were the Head Students. There had been a Charms factory explosion nearby, I think, nothing that was the school's fault really, but it messed with their wards and all of the adults were suddenly deemed dangerous and got locked away for a whole semester. Mom and Dad ran the school and organized the advanced students to teach the younger ones and tried to keep everything running as much as normal. They loved it!"
"Most of the time, it's not that exciting though. Mom and Dad were both Aladrens, so most of their stories have a lot of studying in them. Dad was on the Quidditch team though, so there's that. Also, the school does have a four year midsummer event cycle, and there are Team Challenges every seven years. I heard they just did the challenges last year, which means we'll get to be the team leaders when they come around again! I'm excited for that!" His polite smile turned genuine for a moment as he thought forward to that.
1
Alexander Pierce
I am hoping that, too
1566
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
December 08, 2022 2:52 PM
It's off to a decent start? by Quillan Arcadius
Alexander had a family history here, but not a huge one. That was a relief. Plus he seemed to be being perfectly friendly so far. He then went on to describe what sounded like a living nightmare with a huge smile on his face."Wow, that's very impressive," Quillan said, regarding the Pierce parents' achievements. He hoped nothing like that happened again. The seventh years did look very big and grown up, but he wasn't sure he trusted them to replace the actual grown ups. Luckily, Alexander said nothing like that had happened since. Hopefully that meant it had been a one time thing, and not that they were due for a disaster.
"I'm hoping for Aladren!" he said, when Alexander mentioned the houses. "Though I can see a few of them fitting," he said, deciding to keep it vague for now, in case one of the houses was Undesirable. On paper, they all sounded fine, but that didn't account for the secret but-everyone-knows-that-really-means... which would be passed amongst students. Clearly Aladren was safe though, if Alexander's parents had been there. "Oooh, what kind of challenges?" he asked, both because he was genuinely interested in the subject, but also because he had noticed that Alexander seemed to be too.
13
Quillan Arcadius
It's off to a decent start?
1570
0
5
Alexander Pierce
December 10, 2022 5:58 PM
So far so good by Alexander Pierce
Alexander nodded proudly when Quillan called his parents' ability to run the school as seventh years 'impressive'. He thought so to, and while he didn't quite wish for something just as terrible to happen so he could be equally instrumental in keeping the school functioning, he did want a chance to prove himself.He smiled when Quillan offered that he wanted to be an Aladren and nodded in agreement. "So do I. My brother and I - Nicholas, that one over there," Alexander winced slightly as he pointed out his brother just in time to see him half-bow while the girl he was talking to half-tried to shake his hand and neither quite succeeded. Too far away to try to help, he turned back to Quillan and tried to pretend they hadn't just observed any awkwardness. "We're hoping to be in Aladren, too, like our parents." He grimaced slightly, as some of his worry showed on his face. "It's the one House we both have a chance of getting into. I'm a bit more Crotalus, while he has some Pecari and Teppenpaw traits, so if we're going to be together, it has to be in Aladren."
Fortunately, the conversation shifted to the challenges and he was able to at least temporarily divert some of his nerves in favor of discussing that topic, what he knew of it anyway. "The individual events are different every time. I'm not close to anyone who just did the recent ones, so we may need to ask some of the older students about those. The ones my parents did, though, had a haunted school including a boggart and riddles to solve to know where to go next, an obstacle course, and a magical skills challenge. Dad's team won," he added.
1
Alexander Pierce
So far so good
1566
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
December 12, 2022 4:35 AM
I think so too by Quillan Arcadius
Quillan glanced over at Nicholas a beat after Alexander, just in time to not witness anything particularly strange about the interaction. He vaguely ascribed Alexander's facial expression to Nicholas being 'over there' but didn't worry too much about it."Good luck," he said, when Alexander explained his house plight. Judging by the other boy's tone, staying with Nicholas was something he very much wanted. Quillan wasn't sure how it would be to room with twins. Based on the size of the year group, it seemed like it would most likely be just them. On the one hand, a third of the roommate dynamics would already be taken care of, in that person A and person B knew how to get along. However, he thought it might be easy to feel squeezed out, or like an intruder in his own room, if he was forced to share it with two people who already knew each other so well. Luckily, that wasn't up to him to decide, or to any of them. He would just have to wait and see. "I could see myself in Teppenpaw or Crotalus too," he admitted, now that these had been deemed safe. Aladren was the one that really made him excited, but he couldn't deny recognising parts of himself in the other two as well. He held back the question 'What would make you an Aladren?' as it seemed rather personal. His own answer involved tiptoeing around his various wounds. He did love learning, regardless of what a struggle it had been at times. Still, he didn’t want to put his love of history on the table, and then have Alexander immediately suggest bonding over a long and wordy book. It didn’t seem like there was an immediate threat of him doing so, but with wizarding pockets you never could tell.
“Those sound great,” he smiled, when Alexander described the challenges. They sounded like they involved thinking on your feet, and real-world problem-solving, which played much more to his strengths. He hadn’t thought that ‘school-wide challenges’ would be very reading/writing based, but it was good to get confirmation that they were more practical, but without having to fish for that information in an obvious way. “Still, it’s going to be a while before we have those to occupy us. I’m hoping for a chess club and a debate team. How about you?”
13
Quillan Arcadius
I think so too
1570
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5
Alexander Pierce
December 13, 2022 6:31 PM
Very good by Alexander Pierce
Alexander's eyes lit up with delight and a true smile formed on his lips. "Chess? I love chess! I'll have to challenge you, even if there isn't a club for it."He shook his head slightly as he addressed that part of the question. "Unfortunately, all my information on clubs is about twenty years out of date. Even Caitlin - the most recent New Hampshire Pierce to attend - graduated four or five years ago, so even her information wouldn't necessarily be good anymore. I do know they're student run, so if they don't exist you can make them exist. I heard one of the Boston Pierces," who metaphorically don't exist, but actually do because he hears about them all too often for people who aren't there, "ran a dueling club, but she graduated last year so whether she passed it on to anyone or not is anyone's guess."
The Boston Pierces posed a strange conundrum because, strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to acknowledge them, except there was one at the school only two years older than them, who technically hadn't done anything wrong himself and even his father had been the one of that lot who got disinherited rather than disowned, so basically, Alexander was going with the plan that he could acknowledge that Cole Pierce was not a blank space of nothingness and he could talk about the branch in general. Even the recent graduates Mallory and The Other Alexander, though claiming one of the Actually Disowned as a parent, were both fostered and adopted into the branch rather than born to it, so they could also be acknowledged as People Who Existed. Alexander liked this plan because it did not involve any faulty logic of denying things that actually happened by people who were actually there to people who very well might have witnessed such events and people and knew he wasn't being accurate.
Alexander hated not being accurate.
"What about Quidditch? I do know there's a school team for that." It had been in the school literature, and Dad had grumped about His Day and House Teams, but Alexander thought playing other schools sounded more fun than going up the same three other teams all the time. "Do you think you'll try out for that? My dad was a seeker, and he's hoping we try out and make the team.
It looks good on the resume - teamwork and leadership - so I'll probably try it at least."
1
Alexander Pierce
Very good
1566
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
December 14, 2022 4:39 AM
Woo, chess buddies! by Quillan Arcadius
“Absolutely!” Quillan grinned, excited to have already found an appropriate chess-buddy within only a few minutes of starting to socialise. “If there’s not a club, maybe we can start one? If not, at least we’ll have each other to play. And Nicholas?” he added, because it seemed like Alexander was very attached to his brother, and he didn’t want to seem like he was leaving him out.“Duelling could be exciting,” he agreed, more out of amiability than enthusiasm. He was more of a thinker than a fighter, and whilst he didn’t suspect anything less of Alexander, he just wasn’t convinced that a duelling club suited his personal priorities.
“I’d play,” he shrugged in response to Quidditch. “Like you say, it’s good for teamwork and leadership and all that. I’d probably be joining it more for that than the love of the game itself, but it’s good to do something to stay in shape and connect with people you might not otherwise. Would you go for Seeker like your dad, or something else?” he asked, so that he could avoid stepping on toes when signing up. He had noticed that Alexander had said ‘we’ would be trying out, which he took to mean him and Nicholas. And the trouble with Seeker was that there was only one of it. Of course, the trouble with Chaser was that it was in threes, which might be a crowd. Of course, there was a position that came in pairs… But he couldn’t quite peg the softly spoken boy his own age, who played chess and wanted to join Quidditch for leadership skills, as a Beater.
13
Quillan Arcadius
Woo, chess buddies!
1570
0
5