Selina Skies
May 06, 2023 10:23 PM
The Bonfire - Make a Wish by Selina Skies
Right now, it was Selina’s job to celebrate the end of term. And that was what she was doing. The incident with Xavier was as resolved as it could be, in that he had been sent away for further treatment, and the steps that had led to this happening had been investigated. It was never easy when something went badly wrong. In some ways, it became all consuming—for several days, dealing with the fallout of the incident had been Selina’s number one priority, and normal responsibilities and previous carefully scheduled plans had had to be roughly shoved aside to make room for talking to parents, investigating the incident, arranging counseling sessions… But at the same time, life didn’t stop. The rest of the world did not grind to a halt because of one person’s emergency. Being deputy head was always like keeping a series of plates spinning, and even this didn’t mean the rest got put away or could be allowed to crash down. There were exam procedures to run (with a tiny, overlapping hitch of removing one of the candidates from the roster), there was the bonfire to arrange. Selina’s heart hurt, but those feelings had to be packed away in the interests of keeping everything moving. Rather than having an acute attack of tears or sorrow, she carried it like a chronic weight throughout the week—the deep, dragging and ever present sensation of something being very wrong. The feeling spiked whenever her mind circled back around and actively thought about the situation, but then she put it away again.It was both on her mind and distant from it as she prepared to welcome students to the bonfire. This was about everyone. It was a celebration. It needed her attention. But the ritual she’d been trying to work out had only just crystalised in the last few days, and she couldn’t say how connected it was to recent events.
“Good evening,” she greeted the assembled students. “Welcome to the end of term bonfire. As usual, we will have food available, including items you can cook over the small fires around the edge. We will be reserving the large fire in the middle for setting positive intentions.” Selina indicated the large bonfire in the middle. Around it, at a distance, sat smaller ones to make cooking easier, and so as to not muddle the purpose of the main fire—if fire was power and purity, then shoving a baked potato or a marshmallow into it wasn’t really appropriate. “Whilst fire can be destructive, and can be used to burn away things you want rid of, in many cultures, fire is seen as offering power. The idea of burning a wish in fire is said to transport the idea out of this realm, and lend it strength. Tonight, you are encouraged to make a wish on behalf of a classmate.” This was the part that had come to her in the last few days. The idea of setting a positive intention using the fire had been knocking around her mind for a long time, but teenagers often wished for selfish or unrealistic things for themselves—wishing someone would date you didn’t respect their free will, and wishing that you could get the best grades in the class couldn’t work if everyone wanted it. Not that the wishes would really have the power to make those things happen, but it didn’t feel like a positive act when Selina had so many concerns about what might be wished for. Hopefully, by transferring the focus to other people, they would give it more careful thought. It also carried a message of caring and community, which felt like a stronger message to send. “This ritual is optional. You may choose not to participate, or to offer wishes for multiple people. Other than that, you are free to enjoy the fire, socialise with friends, and enjoy the snacks.
“As a reminder, it’s a minimum of three per tent and no maximum. Please register your group with an adult by eight pm so we know that everyone is accounted for and can start assigning tents.
“Enjoy your evening.”
Subthreads: I wish I'd been a better sister by Robyn Lundstrom with Patience Reed-Fischer
A Brief Moment in Paradise by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Thinking of others by Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher with Leviosa Scurlock
The first year Aladrens and me? by Alexander Pierce with Quillan Arcadius, Desmond Brockert, Nicholas Pierce
We are doing what now? by Nausicaa Scapetello
This might be a little awkward (tag Chris) by Lenny Pierce with Christopher Brockert
Food! by Samara Crosby with Misty Brockert
We need to talk. [tag: Val] by Bonabelle Row with Valentine Duell
Here at the end of all things (Phillipe) by Jasper Brockert with Philippe Delachene
Back where it all began (tag Quincy) by Bertie Jackson
This is so much fun! (Yarielis) by Piper Wilson with Yaniel Ayala Velez
I wish everyone would go away by Olaf Brockert with Phil Carson
A quiet realisation by Yaniel Ayala Velez
This is nice. by Ida Stanford
Happiness for some, I guess by Iris Cobb
Just lingering by the fire by Lyla Holland with Gwendolyn Brockert
An important wish by Ian Malone
Gaming was good by Bertie Jackson with Philippe Delachene, Valentine Duell
13
Selina Skies
The Bonfire - Make a Wish
26
1
5
Robyn Lundstrom
May 06, 2023 11:17 PM
I wish I'd been a better sister by Robyn Lundstrom
Why was she here?Robyn could identify the thought processes that had gone into that decision. She had been offered the chance to go home when Xavier had. And the anger and unfairness of it all had come crashing over her like a wave so that her answer had been no. No, she wasn’t missing the end of term and time with her friends because he had made a stupid decision. Because of an accident.
Now she was standing on the pitch, feeling like a selfish brat because had she really prioritised roasting marshmallows over a family crisis?
She couldn’t stop worrying. Medically, Xavier was fine. He didn’t seem to have done a lot of long term damage to himself but that was only the first step in dealing with the problem. He wasn’t going to be at home when she got back. He was going to be in treatment. Even if Robyn had been there, it wasn’t like anyone would have asked her. It would have been a lot of sitting around being shut out of conversations. But she would have at least been able to see him, and talk to him, and give him hugs. She’d be able to do that during visiting hours, she supposed. She should have done more of that when he was at school. She remembered the Quidditch match, where he’d sat digging his fingers into the bench. It had been obvious he wasn’t okay, and all she’d cared about was the fact that he was acting weird in front of her friends.
She was a terrible sister, and a terrible Teppenpaw.
Everyone knew most of those things too. Everyone knew something had happened, and Xavier had left early but that she was still here. She had heard the phrase ‘medical leave’ which she suspected was the official line being put out by the staff, and she had heard rumours that twisted the truth. She didn’t know whether to correct them or keep out of it.
When Professor Skies told them to make wishes for other people, it was easy to know what she wanted to say. She took a little slip of paper and wrote ’I wish for Xavier to be okay.’
She folded it up and threw it into the big fire, watching as the flames grabbed it, crumbling and erasing her words. Whatever Professor Skies said about fire being powerful, it still felt like it was drowning out her wish, snuffing it out with a ’ha!’ Robyn stood staring into the flames, letting them be the reason why her eyes were smarting.
13
Robyn Lundstrom
I wish I'd been a better sister
1558
0
5
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
May 07, 2023 10:12 PM
A Brief Moment in Paradise
by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Co-written With: Billy Cobb
OOC: CW: Implied implications of possibly implied physical intimacy. BIC:
Enhanced senses working hard told Billy that the coast was clear. His ears and nose were particularly suited now for the task. His nose was also well suited to find his quarry. Her smell drifted through the air and was practically intoxicating. The wolf burst from the tent and cleared the gathering unseen.
This would be the last time Billy would get to see Ray until the summer was over. They had decided to set apart some of the time during the evening to say farewell to one another. Just your standard get away alone time for some snugglin', smoochin' and whatever. They hadn't actually had a lot of time doing such things previously. As such, he was rather looking forward to tonight.
The plan of theirs was a masterwork. Get food, eat it, then sneak off. Eating together was a must, anything else might have looked suspicious. Then they'd part ways, maybe find other folks to chat with a bit, then break away from the party.
Billy went back to his tent, smartly chosen on the periphery for easy escape. No one had been there and he had made his change to carry out their plan.
The plan tonight involved Billy in his wolf form, using his wolf nose to find her and get them where they planned to enjoy a picnic, stargaze, and make out. At first, Ray hadn't thought too much of that, but she did make sure to shower extra well when she knew Billy was gonna be wolfing around. For a minute there, she'd actually thought she'd be on her period the night of the bonfire. It would have been inconvenient and uncomfortable under normal circumstances - leaving her tent to run to the bathroom periodically was already bad, making out through cramps was worse - but when he'd sprung the idea of using his wolf form to find her, it was a terrifying prospect. The idea was that she could wander off wherever she found an opening and he would be able to track her down anyway, solving any need for them to blunder through the dark to find each other once they snuck away. She did not like the idea of Billy tracking her down by the smell of her period. Not that this was a normal teenage dynamic but she thought that if it was, it would be a pretty normal fear. She wasn't gonna ask around. Luckily, it had come a little early. Now, two weeks later, she was safely between cycles and ready to enjoy the evening, inconvenience and embarrassment free.
An important part of the plan involved eating and socializing, which Ray took to mean she should be stashing extra food in her bag throughout the evening as well. She had given Billy a peck before they parted and she was proud of herself for having smuggled enough for a nearly proper picnic by the time they'd meet up next. Not that it would be a surprise to him… stinkin' wolf sniffer.
She used her stolen goods as a cover for her escape too, making a show of glancing around and not finding Billy before taking a donut out of her bag and seemingly meandering away to look at the stars, pointedly in a different direction than Billy's tent, although she veered that direction as she got further from prying eyes. She even passed a few other students on her way away from social spaces, so she was confident that this wasn't strictly forbidden. Yet.
If there was a rule against gay kids sitting in bed together, there was probably a rule against sneaking off to make out with your boyfriend in the dark.
Not that that's all she intended; as much as she'd ruled herself out as a romantic, she'd found that perhaps she could enjoy the soft moments too. It was nice just sitting together, talking quietly, and letting the moments carry them away.
Billy's nose led him back to his target and confirmed that there wasn't anyone else around. He found the spot they'd decided to use yesterday and made sure no one else had had the same idea and taken it first. It was still clear. So now it was stealth mode time. He slunk low to the ground as quietly as he could. Only once he was close enough, did he rise next to her, brush against her legs and duck his head so her free hand drifted through the fur there and down his neck and back. That felt really nice. And from the smell of things she had loaded up on some goodies.
Ray jumped, barely stifling a scream. It came out as a yelp of the girly sort and she was none too proud of that, but it was hard to get used to dating an animal! Her brain didn't go to boyfriend when she felt unexpected animal body, it went to headlines of the gothy kid at Sonora who got eaten by a wolf at the bonfire.
She gave a full body shiver. "I don't know if that will ever not freak me out," she told him.
Billy had found that chuckling as a wolf was weird, but he did it anyway. Ray was cute and awesome. His tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as he smiled at her. He winked at her and led the way off to their secluded hide-away. The urge to change back and wrap his arms around her was almost overwhelming, but he needed his nose and ears yet. Just to make sure all was still well. It was, and once they reached it he quickly shifted back to himself. "Hi!" He grinned at her, "Nice night. The stars are almost as pretty as you."
It was disconcerting to walk around in the dark alone except for a literal wolf, but Ray shoved the feelings down for the sake of making this work. It was worth it. She held his tail for guidance in areas where the moonlight wasn't enough for her to see where she's going and grinned back at him when he changed and had his picture perfect Billy expression on.
"Good boy," she smirked. "You're not bad yourself." She pulled her bag off her back and opened it to show off her haul, glad they'd planned to meet somewhere clear enough that she could indeed see by the moonlight. Still, she retrieved her wand and added a glowing orb of light above them to help them get settled until they were ready to stargaze. "Hungry?"
Ray knew the answer to that question, she had to. "Always." He responded. Man, he had won the jackpot with Ray. The way the light cascaded around her made her look divine, he couldn't wait any longer. Billy pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her and brought his face nearly nose-to-nose with hers. "But, at the moment, not for food." His normal grin was gone, something more earnest was in its place, filled with a longing hunger.
Movies had been a big part of Ray's introduction to romance etiquette but movies weren't very much like real life. A tingle of adrenaline shot down Ray's spine when Billy looked at her like that. There was a certain default nervousness she'd picked up spending so much time on the streets of Denver but that wasn't to say she was necessarily afraid of Billy, just cautious. But caution wasn't her M.O. so she pushed it aside in favor of enthusiasm, the other side effect of adrenaline, particularly for a very kissy, grabby, hungry teenager.
She leaned in as if to kiss him but dodged last minute, planting a series of suckling kisses along his neck instead before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and kissing him firmly on the mouth.
"Finite," she said breathlessly, putting out the light. They didn't need it.
22
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
A Brief Moment in Paradise
1525
0
6
Billy Cobb
Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher
May 08, 2023 8:42 PM
Thinking of others by Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher
Lazarus had made it through another year. That was sure swell. He had promised his mother he would try a little more to be social this year, and while he did try a little more… he didn’t really try a whole lot. The penalty of this, he was slowly beginning to realize, meant he would have to return at the end of this and face two choices when she inevitably asked about his new friends. The first option would be to be honest and face her disappointment. The second would be to lie, and to lie creatively. The fortunate part was that his tone would not give him away as it would another other Sonora student who actually communicated verbally, but still, lying to one’s mother almost never ended well.Still, he was fifteen years old, and that meant making mature, responsible decisions… such as procrastinating dealing with stuff that sucked, so for now, Lazlo decided to do what he could to just ignore the upcoming maternal storm on the horizon and enjoy the bonfire. Of course, that in and of itself was laughable, because who could enjoy a school event alone? The Aladren had gotten this far in life by staying on his own, and he really did understand Mom’s impulse to make him befriend someone. Even a misanthrope like him could only run so far from his own feelings: honestly, he was lonely.
He looked around for someone, anyone, he thought he could approach, and across the way, he spied a girl. Robyn Lundstrom was a school year below him (so two years younger in age). There was some major to-do recently involving her brother, Xavier, and Lazlo couldn’t help but notice a sadness within her. As he found himself approaching her, it crossed his mind briefly that she had to be about the same age that Icarus would have been now, if his little brother were still here.
However, as he started to get close, he panicked and bailed out in a different direction. Still, as he stood by the fire, he couldn’t help but think about her. On his own piece of parchment, he scribbled, I wish for whatever Robyn said, and tossed it into the flame. He had a feeling he knew what she would be thinking about right now.
12
Lazarus Jareau-Fletcher
Thinking of others
1548
0
5
Alexander Pierce
May 08, 2023 9:08 PM
The first year Aladrens and me? by Alexander Pierce
Alexander arrived at the bonfire, with a pretty solid plan for who he wanted to tent with. Nicholas was an obvious choice that hardly bore mentioning, and the only reason he did think it specifically was because they hadn't been sharing a room for most of this year. He was mostly okay with that now, but it had definitely required an adjustment.Two, however, was a forbidden number. Tents started at three people and moved up from there. They needed more than just the two of them. But that was fine. There were other people here they both liked. The first year Aladren boys were a good set. He played Quidditch with Quillan, and chess with both of them. Anyone who liked chess was worth sharing a tent with.
He arrived on the Pitch with his overnight bag. He had considered waiting for Ida so the two Crotali of their year could walk into the bonfire together, but he was anxious about securing his overnight arrangements, and sent her a mental apology and just headed out by himself. He'd try to meet up with her at some point tonight, but first he needed to make sure his plan got put into motion before somebody else decided Quillan and Desmond were good potential tentmates. He really should have talked about this with them earlier, but it had never seemed like quite the right time.
So he entered into the gathering crowd with a mission. He wasn't sure if they'd all walked in together as a roommate group - Alexander couldn't help a frisson of envy that they got to share a room with each other all the time while he was alone in his, though that had its own advantages, too - or if he just got lucky while they were passing near to each other, but he approached the three first year Aladrens. "Hello! Did the four of us want to stake out a tent somewhere before all the good ones go?" He was pretty sure the tents were all fairly equal to one another in quality - in as much as a tent could be considered of good quality - but they did have a variety of outside appearances, and he thought that if he phrased it like a done deal, they wouldn't question him being a part of their group.
1
Alexander Pierce
The first year Aladrens and me?
1566
0
5
Nausicaa Scapetello
May 08, 2023 9:46 PMNausicaa Scapetello
StudentHouse: Aladren
Year: 5
Written by: Gami
Age in Post: 12
Birthday: August 5th
We are doing what now? by Nausicaa Scapetello
What was wrong with these people? Nausicaa had wondered that to herself countless times since she had arrived at this place that claimed to be a school. Most of the times she could manage to come close to rationalizing things, but this...? No, she just couldn't. Up until now, it had been an abstract thing, like a terrible painting that didn't make any sense, but people kept looking at and commenting on how great it was. People that didn't know anything. Now she stood on the pitch with her arms crossed looking over the madness before her. Thankfully the terrible school uniforms were not required. She could dress properly, well as much as possible for such an occasion.There were tents everywhere, there were fires around the place. Fires and canvas, what could go wrong? Nausicaa rolled her eyes skyward, shook her head and approached. They honestly expected her to sleep in a tent on the ground? Was she supposed to cook her own food over a fire as well like a neanderthal? The Deputy-Headmistress talked, and apparently yes. Yes she was supposed to sleep in a tent and cook her own food. This was downright outrageous. Fire was power, that she understood. Making wishes for her classmates? Why... no, wait. She could do that.
Nausicaa obtained a paper and quill and quickly wrote a note in her flowing handwriting. 'I wish for all of my classmates to come to their senses and be reasonable people.' She folded it and tossed it into the fire. It wouldn't do any good, but she could always hope. Now, off to more important matters. When she had first heard about this nonsense she had checked in with the staff and confirmed that she could reserve a tent for just herself. What would be worse than sleeping on the dirt? Sleeping on the dirt with two other people in the same area. No thank-you.
Once the terrible sleeping arrangements had been taken care of, she was forced to investigate the dining selection. It did not look promising. Cooking her own food was completely out of the question, that was simply not something someone of her position did. There were a few options that didn't require cooking, but they were mostly side dishes, and eating only those would not be particularly satisfying. She wondered if she could convince someone else to cook her something? She really hated to go with the 'poor me, I've never done this before, can you help me' routine. It made her look foolish and incompetent. What she needed was minions that would do whatever she said without questioning it, and she hadn't found any of those yet. She glanced around her to see what options she did have in unwitting lackeys.
2
Nausicaa Scapetello
We are doing what now?
1561
0
5
Lenny Pierce
May 08, 2023 10:05 PMLenny Pierce
StudentHouse: Teppenpaw
Year: 6
Written by: Nathan
Age in Post: 13
Birthday: September
This might be a little awkward (tag Chris) by Lenny Pierce
Lenny wasn't exactly nervous about the camp-out. Bonfires were cool, and tents were as familiar to him as beds were to everyone else. He knew dozens of vegan campfire recipes. He'd brought his own vegan marshmallows since some weren't. He was excited to help Rosalynn lead the school in some hearty campfire songs (once they heard him sing, nobody should be self-conscious about their own voices joining in, and they'd probably want to drown him out, which should also encourage participation). That wasn't the problem.The problem was after the food and the singing and the socializing, when they split into small groups in tents. He'd never had a problem with Cole. Cole was a great roommate. But Cole was his brother in every way that mattered. None of the other guys were exactly people Lenny felt entirely comfortable getting changed in front of, or climbing into a sleeping bag beside. He'd chosen a pair of pajamas instead of a nightgown, but they were pink and sparkly and from the girls department like most of the clothes he owned.
It still wasn't blatantly obvious that he wasn't developing like the other boys were, yet; puberty had a pretty wide range where it could kick in, and he wasn't outside of it quite yet, but he was definitely reaching a point where he clearly seemed to be on the late end of that spectrum, especially if one happened to know he was closer to fifteen than thirteen, with his birthday in September, making him one of the oldest in the class.
He wasn't a girl. But he wasn't wholly a boy, either, and he knew he looked like a girl. Even if one didn't account for his clothing, his face was relatively delicate, his limbs willowy. He'd be attractive to a boy, he liked to think. Pretty to look at, at least, even if they were straight. Certainly, that was what he was going for. He liked being pretty.
But normally, he wouldn't have to change out of his pretty clothes into his pretty pajamas in front of the kind of people who might be thinking that. And he honestly wasn't sure if he was more nervous that the other guy or guys in their tent might be thinking about how pretty Lenny was as they undressed . . . or that they wouldn't be.
He was a little bit afraid that he'd be mortally offended if he changed in front of another guy and they just acted like Lenny was any other guy, and not like they were somehow exploiting the rules and getting to tent with a pretty girl.
Either way, it was going to be awkward, sharing with somebody other than Cole.
Cole had expressed an interest in sharing with Christopher Brockert. Lenny didn't object to him any more than anybody else, and he trusted Cole's judgement of people, and if he thought Chris might be a good addition to their group, Lenny would take it under advisement. But Lenny had said he wanted to vet the guy first, and Cole had agreed to that.
So as some people were cooking and some people were sending pieces of paper into the fire - Lenny wanted to do that, too, but not yet - and other people were just milling about and socializing, Lenny found and approached the slightly older Crotalus.
"Hi," Lenny started with an easy greeting and smile - that wasn't exactly flirty, but wasn't exactly not if Chris wanted to interpret it that way - "You're Chris, Cole's friend, right?" he checked even though he already knew he had the right guy. The school was not that big. "He wondered if you wanted to tent with us? Thought I should be the one to ask, though, so you knew what you were getting in to, and to make sure you don't have a problem with, um, me?" He picked up the edge of the glittery purple skirt he was wearing and flared it out to demonstrate what some guys might have a problem with (and coincidentally flashing a little bit of leg). Brockerts weren't entirely known for their progressive politics, after all.
1
Lenny Pierce
This might be a little awkward (tag Chris)
1547
0
5
Patience Reed-Fischer
May 09, 2023 1:53 AM
I wish my sister had been a better sister. by Patience Reed-Fischer
OOC: CW internalized homophobia BIC:
Jezebel was five years older than Patience, which meant the last time there had been a bonfire was Jezebel's last year at Sonora. It felt very strange for Patience to be standing in approximately the same place her sister once had, in the same crazy world, without her sister nearby. In fact, Jezebel was so decidedly not nearby that Patience hadn't even spoken with her for months; she'd missed the most recent family holidays becuase she'd been with Martin. What did Martin have that they didn't, except some fancy pureblood status that no amount of posturing would truly get Jezebel access to? And it wasn't like Jezebel really even liked him. Patience had known that since she was old enough to understand what it meant to like girls.
Not that Jezebel knew she wasn't the only one in the family who didn't uite line up where she was supposed to. Patience had been the brave one though; she didn't lie and she didn't hide and she didn't wear a cross around her neck and pretend she still said her Hail Mary!s on the beads anymore.
Gus probably didn't either but he worshipped at a dinner table all the same. He was a good big brother though, and that counted for something.
Patience had listened to Professor Skies with a bored affect, although it was a chosen one. All she wanted was to believe wishes made any difference in life, but it seemed that even a world of witchcraft and wizardry couldn't make that happen. Still, she was a romantic at heart and she took a paper to the fire to drop her wish into the stars: I wish someone else's life is better because I touched it. Technically it was about her, but she doubted Professor Skies had jinxed the fire to deny selfish wishes or something, and it was ultimately focused on the benefit of other people. Teppenpaws were diplomats after all, not necessarily altruists.
"Hey," she said to the younger diplomat beside her when she'd finished dropping off her wish and noticed a sad gleam in the girl's eyes. She recognized her immediately as Robyn Lundstrom, both because she knew who was in her house and because everyone knew who Xavier was. "Do you want something to drink?" Patience gestured at the fire. "The smoke's really getting to me and my older sister said having something to drink really helps when it gets going even harder." It was a lie, both because Jezebel had never said that and because it was a magical fire and Patience doubted it grew or dwindled at all, but it was polite. It was diplomatic. She shrugged. "I don't have anyone else to hang out with if you don't mind my company."
22
Patience Reed-Fischer
I wish my sister had been a better sister.
1535
0
5
Samara Crosby
May 09, 2023 5:34 PM
Food! by Samara Crosby
Samara was really looking forward to the Bonfire tonight. It was going to be so neat to sleep out in a tent with her friends. Naturally, she had never been camping before as it was not something her family did . Their vacations tended to be a little bit more on the high end luxurious type befitting those of their social and financial status, things like summers-or at least part of them-in St. Berylla’s. Camping was not…something that it seemed like her parents and brother would enjoy.To be honest though, sometimes Samara was not all that sure that they enjoyed much of anything. Her parents had initially bonded with each other over their hatred of almost everyone and almost everything, for Merlin’s sake! The second year actually, even though she felt bad about it, thought that finding things to hate might actually be her mother’s favorite hobby. Like, to the point where if Mother uttered the-presumably rhetorical-question, “Do you know what I hate?” that it was almost like a guessing game though Samara did not dare guess out loud as the last thing that she would ever ever ever want to do was bring Mother’s wrath upon herself.
There was literally nothing that terrified the second year more than that. She was always worried that even though her mother seemed to like her and her brother, that Samara would disappoint her and the Mother would turn against her. The Crotalus had literally grown up making sure to at least appear to agree with her opinions.
However, now Samara was at school, away from her family, and she truly didn’t hate everything. Or everyone. That most people were likable and that she didn’t truly hate anyone was still a bit odd to her. She really had expected the Pecaris to be loud,obnoxious, arrogant and self-centered the Crotali to be snobby and elitist in a pureblood way,the Aladrens to be… snobby and elitist in an intellectual way-and to be fair, some of the Beginner Aladrens kind of did come across like that-and the Teppenpaws to be boring sanctimonious goody-goodies, all things she had heard Mother utter at one point or another.
But that wasn’t the case. In most cases, some of the Aladrens aside, the people weren’t like Mother’s version of their house stereotypes. Maybe activities that her family didn’t do weren’t so bad either. Although Samara couldn’t remember camping specifically coming up since aside from ranting about boring parties full of snobby people, Mother tended to rant more about specific people, usually family members, than activities.
Tonight though, Samara was going to get to try some new things. She listened attentively as Professor Skies began the…opening ceremonies where she talked about fire and its power and setting positive intentions for other people. Which sounded like a nice thing to do though she could just picture Mother rolling her eyes and admittedly, she had been hoping for something that was a tiny bit more fun. Although she had heard rumors that there was supposed to be a sing along later so that could be.
And there was food including some items that Samara could try cooking over a fire. Plus, all the trimmings that could be put on hot dogs or sausages and baked potatoes. She did love a good baked potato full of cheese, butter, bacon, chili, and everything else. And there were even little cooking pots so they could cook other things over them!
Then she spotted Robyn over by the fire.. Samara had heard about her brother being sick and wanted to go over and say how sorry she was and be supportive. After all, if she understood anything, it was family issues although there was a huge difference between illness and the sort of drama her family had.
However, she saw that there was already an older girl over talking to the Teppenpaw, so she headed off to fill her plate. It would give her time to think of what sort of positive wishes she could make for others. Samara had a few ideas already but she was really hungry. She got her food and took it over to one of the fires, hoping her friends would join her soon. “Hey!” The second year greeted someone who had just joined her.
11
Samara Crosby
Food!
1563
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
May 09, 2023 11:52 PM
Obviously by Quillan Arcadius
Quillan was excited for the bonfire—as he expected everyone else was. After all, what was there not to like? There was a big fire. He couldn’t quite identify why that was so appealing, but it was. Perhaps it was some primal level that he was supposed to have civilised past, but given that adults were sanctioning enjoying the pretty, dancing warmth, he couldn’t see the harm. There was food. Perhaps a little rustic, but one was allowed to bend the rules of fine dining just a fraction for things like picnics. And he would get to camp out with his friends, which would be just like sleeping in their dorm, but with Alexander joining them, and the stars above. It all sounded great.And, presumably, had minimal to no required reading. He could fake looking through a book if they had down time where everyone was doing that, but he was unlikely to be caught out by how much he struggled with it. That was another reason why he liked the idea of the bonfire—it symbolised the end of his first year, which he had survived. Maybe even more than that. He wouldn’t say he was quite thriving as he had with his personal tutor, who could tailor everything to his way of doing things, but his work arounds were working well enough for now, and he had friends and Quidditch—things he wouldn’t have had if he’d been privately tutored at home.
He made his way to the pitch with his roommates, though wasn’t surprised that Alexander found them before they’d really had a chance to do much other than be welcomed to the event.
“I don’t know how much choice we get,” he said, when Alexander asked about scoping out the tents. “But we could register our group with Professor Skies and then ask if we’re allowed to scope them out a bit.” Getting everything settled and sorted sounded like a good first step, and he was keen to see where they were sleeping. “It’ll be good to see what they’re like at any rate.
"Do we want to do the fire thing?" he asked. Much as he didn't want to introduce writing into his evening, it was one sentence, and one he presumably wouldn't have to show to anyone. "I know it's not real, but my sister will be starting next year, and I'm sure she'll think I've done her terribly wrong if I don't at least try putting luck on her side where I can." He said it with a smile, sure that Ursula wouldn't really have a major strop over it, but he would feel like a bad brother if he didn't cast a wish for her. And hopefully it being to appease a baby sister covered any issues with it being 'immature' or not properly intellectual and Aladren-like.
OOC: OOC - you can assume that Professor Skies takes their registration and tells them that, yes, they are welcome to have a nose around the tents if they want to.
13
Quillan Arcadius
Obviously
1570
0
5
Bonabelle Row
May 10, 2023 12:38 AM
We need to talk. [tag: Val] by Bonabelle Row
OOC: Contains spoilers for the linked post. Tenting plans confirmed with Lavender's and Valentine's authors.
Disdain for other characters. BIC:
It hadn't been long enough for Bonabelle to feel like she was keeping secrets from her girlfriend, but it was getting close. With the end of the school year, the end of school at all, and everything else going on, it was reasonable that she hadn't gone straight to Valentine after her conversation with Stanley. She'd taken the opportunity of time to swear him to secrecy, even from Wally, and then froze. What was she supposed to do? Normally Uncle Killian was her go-to, but she wasn't about to tell him about this particular issue. She'd thought about going to Ema, and she would have if she'd been confident that everything was perfect in paradise for them on the issue. As a result, she'd mostly ended up mulling it all over in silence, avoiding leaving her dorm as much as possible and trying to focus her energy into her studies and wholly avoid any sort of emotions. Valentine, well-used to the way Bonabelle got before exams, probably didn't think much of it at all.
Disdain for other characters. BIC:
She'd made up her mind to talk to Val at the bonfire because it was about the longest she could put off the conversation without it exploding out of her and she wanted to give the Teppenpaw the opportunity to opt out of sharing a tent with her if she wished. Plus, she knew she'd need to discuss it before they retired for the night, as Lavender Brockert definitely wasn't going to be interested in overhearing that particular conversation. The girl was preppy at best and snooty at worse, neither of which had any place in a conversation like this.
Then, Bonabelle had found out that it wouldn't just be herself, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend's prudeish best friend. It would be any other girls without a place to go. She already knew she couldn't avoid having a third person in the tent, and right now she preferred it anyway, but now it was too much. Now it went back on all the same old feelings she'd yelled up and down about to Stanley. And if the only thing that made her any different from anyone else in Valentine's life was that sometimes they made out, then that just wasn't going to work. Bonabelle kept her feelings close to her chest but that didn't mean she didn't have any. If anyone knew that, she would've expected Val to.
She did her best to get steadied and calm before approaching Val from elsewhere in the crowd of students. She didn't know where exactly Stanley was, but she avoided looking for him. In fact, she avoided looking around at all, just in case he was looking for her too.
"Hey," she said when she found Val. Normally she would've taken her hand; the distance she kept between them was palpable to her and she wondered if Val could feel it too. "Can we walk? We need to talk about some stuff."
When they had extricated themselves from the throngs of classmates, Bonabelle began to doubt herself. This was their last real night at Sonora ever. This was it. No going back, just looking back, from here on out. That felt poignant and salient in more ways than one and she held onto that as she decided with a certain determination to move forward. No going back, no looking back, just moving forward.
Except... how did you tell your polyamorous girlfriend that you might have cheated on her with her boyfriend's brother but you weren't totally sure because of the aforementioned girlfriend's boyfriend? How did you tell your girlfriend that you felt like a favorite jumper on a clothesline strung up with a dozen of them without sounding like you weren't cool with the aforementioned polyamorous thing?
"I have a lot of thoughts and they are all tied up with feelings and I need to get them all out at once, so please let me finish before you say anything," she began, looking hard at Val before scrunching her eyes shut for better access to her brain words. It felt like trying to get at a plate of neeps and tatties stuffed inside a crystal ball with a pair of chopsticks - nothing was in the right place, nothing made sense, and nothing was getting anywhere. She took a big inhale and let words come out when she exhaled.
"Stanley and I made out and I wasn't sure if that was alright with you but I really like him, and then I found out that you just invited anyone at all who wants in to join our tent and I feel like I'm just one of your many friends and if that's the case I just wish you'd tell me and I love you so much but maybe I think I kind of wonder if maybe we were better as friends."
Her eyes and her mouth opened together, a look of shock popping onto her face as she realized what she'd said. Then it all crumpled into despair. "Tell me I'm wrong," she begged in a whisper. "Can you really convince me we aren't just friends who kiss too?" Her voice broke every few words. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. "Can you honestly say we're not going to just be flatmates who share a room after this?" She was begging. She didn't want to be begging. Anger rose up in her throat again. "I don't want to lose you, but I don't even know what I'm hanging onto right now."
22
Bonabelle Row
We need to talk. [tag: Val]
1488
0
5
Jasper Brockert
May 10, 2023 3:16 AM
Here at the end of all things (Phillipe) by Jasper Brockert
OOC: CW-a bit of emotional abuse and homophobia. You guessed it, it's a Eustace thing BIC:
Jasper could not believe that it was his last night at Sonora. The last seven years were…well mostly good. He had helped out with two charity booths his first year, supporting amazing organizations which were kind of personal to him. One of them was personal because it helped out people like his cousin Miles and made places more…allergy friendly.
Actually, now that that was on his mind and he was at the Bonfire, he couldn’t help but worry about how this particular event might not be good for his cousin. First of all, um, nature. Miles did not get on with it very well, all that…pollen. Then there was the fire, which of course, produced smoke, which Jasper did not think his cousin could handle. Worst of all, there was a potential cross-contamination issue with cooking things in the same fire that had been used to cook things he could not eat.
So, now the Teppenpaw was worried that this particular Midsummer Event was going to be inaccessible for his cousin and since Jasper’s decided passion in life was helping people with disabilities and making things better for them, in any way possible whether it was teaching or taking care with people with intellectual disabilities or making things more accessible for people like Miles, he was less than thrilled with the idea that his cousin couldn’t fully participate in this particular activity and felt sad and angry thinking about how isolated the boy might end up. He probably wouldn’t even be able to cook in the same fire as Uriah, who was his best friend and favorite cousin since Jasper was sure that Uriah would be all about the food. Even though he was usually sensitive and accommodating of Miles and his allergies.
Anyway, the other charity he’d been involved in his first year had been personal because it was an issue that affected Christopher, and that he was pretty sure would affect Honora even worse eventually if it wasn’t already.
And it was something that affected him . Through the charity that Jasper had worked with, he came to realize that he was both emotionally abused by Uncle Eustace and emotionally neglected by his mother who basically was seriously immature and emotionally stunted and became overwhelmed by having so many children in such a short time. It wasn’t even really an excuse though when she had one child with a condition that had gone unnoticed until their tutor figured it out and one child who was a psychopath that terrorized all the others.
Jasper would probably never really forgive either of his parents for this. Well, not necessarily for producing a child who was pure evil since they really could not have expected it and they had five other decent children, but for not…noticing the behavior and doing something about it. As well as not paying enough attention to notice Sapphire’s epilepsy.
Of course, his uncle had no excuse whatsoever for the abuse he’d heaped on Jasper and Chris and even though Uncle Ben and Uncle Elmer-and Aunt Madeleine-stuck up fo the sons, and they weren’t forced into the Quidditch activities, Uncle Eustace still bullied the younger boys. Even though Olaf didn’t care at all. In this case, Jasper had to admire the second year’s…not caring about what others think of him that much.
In fact, Olaf had actually pointed out to the rest of them that Uncle Eustace was someone whose opinion should not matter. In a weird way, the Aladren was showing he cared about them. Though he’d probably rather die than admit it.
Anyway, the other big event of Jasper’s school career had been the Challenges last year. The whole thing had been…particularly interesting. Like he’d spent the whole time having weird tension with Xavier but had sort of come to a place where he realized that the Pecari wasn’t a hyper aggressive toxic alpha male jock who looked down on Jasper for being unathletic. Oz on the other hand had triggered some of his Uncle Eustace-related issues. Someone acting aggressive towards him like that just…made him stiffen and shrink into himself. Like he wanted to act normal and not like he was freaking out, similar to how he was when he was faced with riding a broom. Flying lessons were actually his worst memory, now that he thought about it.
However, the Challenges had also been really cool because he’d bonded with Liesl, and oh yeah, they got second place which was pretty good. Jasper had also liked that his cousin had gotten a chance to shine even though they didn’t get first in the last event. He still thought they got robbed on that one.
So, mostly he guessed he considered his Sonora days a success,
The Bonfire began with Professor Skies talking about the fire and symbolism and setting positive wishes for his classmates. Jasper definitely thought it was a nice thing and had every intention of doing it for a lot of people. Although, part of it was hard, because a lot of people he wanted to set them for were not students anymore. Like, he wanted Sapphire to feel better about herself and realize she was not stupid and he wanted Emerald to have a healthy pregnancy-so far, so good-and a healthy baby. He wanted Allegra to feel safe and Miles to…actually be safe. From not just Topaz and Uncle Eustace but from possible anaphylaxis and also not to be excluded due to his disability. He wanted happiness and love and babies for Ruby who wanted a big family. He wanted nothing for Topaz except her to go far far away from them all but that wasn’t at all a positive wish. Well, technically it was for everyone else, but it was still wishing negative things about Topaz.
Still. Jasper could make wishes for Amethyst, Isla, Christopher, Liesl, and even Olaf and Desmond. And Phillipe.
And one more, for Xavier to get better. The Teppenpaw felt truly bad about him getting sick. Not that it was Jasper’s fault just that he had sympathy for someone in pain. He’d heard all sorts of rumors and had figured from some of the behavior he’d seen, that the Pecari’s issue seemed to be a mental health thing, and Jasper really hoped he got the help he needed. Also, it probably meant that last year the Teppenpaw wasn’t the one with the issue. Except that he actually did, thanks to his uncle.
For now though, he was going to hang out with his roommate who was absolutely his closest friend here at Sonora. They would be meeting up and sharing a tent later with the Aladren boys in their year, who, to be honest would not have been Jasper’s first choice since he’d always kind of felt like they looked down on him, and he kind of would have rather had Graham or the O’Malley twins. However, Bertie was in the Gaming Club with Phillipe and hadn’t been terrible to Chris during the Challenges so Jasper was going to give him a chance. He was still nervous though.
At least Bertie and Quincy were not aggressive alpha males, so there was that..
But still, he wanted to hang out with just Phillipe for a bit. Because he was going to miss him and he just wanted to…say goodbye and spend one last time with his closest friend here. Maybe Uncle Eustace would have a problem with him getting all sappy with his roommate, especially since said roommate was gay, but he was not here and the Teppenpaw did not care.
He turned to Phillipe. “Want to get something to eat?” Jasper asked. “I kind of need to think of what sort of positive intentions I want to send to people in the fire, and eating will give me time to do so. Also, I’m hungry.” The seventh year was, after all, a teenage boy with a big appetite.
11
Jasper Brockert
Here at the end of all things (Phillipe)
1496
0
5
Desmond Brockert
May 10, 2023 9:38 AM
Of course! by Desmond Brockert
OOC: CW-some ambiguous victim blaming BIC:
Desmond was not entirely sure about this sleeping outside in a tent thing. His family did not camp. The idea of Mother with her designer clothes and manicured nails sleeping on the ground was quite ludicrous and Father preferred to do something a bit more intellectual. Something that used brains rather than-ugh-brawn.Desmond.had always associated camping with more…sporty types. Like one had to be physically tough to face the elements and survive in the wilderness. That was so not his thing at all. While he did not consider himself weak , he very much felt intellectual pursuits were more important, more worthwhile.
Besides, the Quidditch pitch was hardly the “wilderness”. True, it was not Desmond’s favorite place but nor was this something where they had to be out in the middle of the woods worrying about wild animals attacking, just the Pecaris (and Leo) playing stupid pranks. Which was actually something that he found far more appalling. Actual literal wild animals could not help themselves. Humans who acted like that had chosen to behave in such a manner.
To be honest, though, the idea of actually sleeping out in the woods kind of scared him. Like even though the more obnoxious poorly behaved students might irritate him and he felt that they needed to take responsibility for their behavior and make better choices, at least they would not eat him or give him rabies.
At least Desmond had friends to share his tent with. He was sure that he would be with his roommates and Alexander. As much as he sort of…worried that they would become closer to each other than to him because they all-for some unfathomable reason-all played Quidditch and he didn’t. At the same time though, he had to wonder if Alexander felt similar because the rest of them were Aladrens and he was a Crotalus. Although Nicholas was his twin brother so they would always have a stronger bond with each other than they would with him or Quillan.
It must have been nice though to have a sibling like that. One that you could have a true connection with. Part of him wished that he had someone like that, someone in his family that he could discuss intellectual topics with and that he could be proud of. Okay, he had his father, but someone closer to his age. Instead, Desmond got Liesl who was interested in all the wrong things-and he didn’t mean that in a way she just wasn’t an intellectual, he meant she was odd and embarrassing- and Olaf, who was super intelligent but seemed to want to be a hermit.
But maybe he could have that with his friends. He knew how lucky he was, some people got into year groups where they were the odd one out like Angelique, who still moaned about her Sonora years in a melodramatic manner even though she was super popular in pureblood circles and happily married. Still, Desmond knew it must have been rough to spend seven years stuck with people you had nothing in common with, even though he sort of thought his cousin should let it go. He would personally have not fared well with that group either.
Although, one who was on the outside looking in would think his classmates were the same as Angelique’s, a bunch of jocks, but honestly, they were people he really did feel like he had a lot in common with even if they did play Quidditch and he did genuinely like them. They were intellectuals like him, not people like Leo.
Desmond arrived on the Quidditch pitch with his two roommates where the three of them were quickly found by Alexander who suggested that they stake out a tent. Quillan then suggested they register with Professor Skies. “That sounds like an excellent idea” He was less certain about this whole thing than Quillan seemed to be, and seeing the tents might help him feel a little better.
Then Quillan brought up the Bonfire ritual and wishing for something good for his sister. Which was really nice of him although Professor Skies had said classmates and Quillan’s sister wasn’t even a student yet. And classmates indicated who you were in classes with, so making wishes for the other Beginners.
However, then Desmond spotted Liesl, dressed in what he thought might be one of the Challenge outfits that Uncle Cory had bought for her, a t-shirt with an eye on it and some leggings that had a pattern of bats. Which was her comfortable clothing look and still cringey from his perspective. Possibly more so than her usual gothic style since it was so…relaxed. Which admittedly made sense given the environment because certainly nobody would want to get their good clothes dirty . Even he was dressed somewhat casually just not to the level of his older sister.
If only Liesl would just be…normal. Her life would be easier. And so would his. He genuinely believed that would be the right thing and for her own good. Mother would stop being mad if the fourth year just behaved herself instead of constantly making things worse and bringing these problems on herself “I might do it for my sister too. My older one.” He had decided to admit to being Liesl’s brother earlier in the year because it felt wrong to lie about it and there were a lot of people who could easily blow his cover on that. Jasper would probably do it on purpose too since he’d become so protective of Liesl and would be pretty mad at Desmond if he pretended that.
He continued ““My younger sister won’t be here for a few more years. However, my cousin Alma will be here next year so she’ll be in the same year as your sister, Quillan.” Technically Alma was a second cousin once removed but they still actually knew each other, as opposed to say, Charlotte or Misty. Still, he thought Quillan might think Alma was a first cousin,because non-Brockert people immediately assumed that you meant a first cousin, whereas Brockerts said “first cousin” when talking about first cousins and just ‘cousin’ for the distant ones or they added “distant cousin”. So from Desmond’s point of view, Uncle Cory’s children and Uncle Judah’s children were first cousins, Alma was a cousin and Charlotte and Misty were distant cousins.
However, he was pretty sure that other people didn’t think that way. Desmond wondered if he should be specific about his relation to Alma. Not that it was a big deal really but it bothered him a good deal when something was inaccurate. It bothered him to his very core.
11
Desmond Brockert
Of course!
1572
0
5
Christopher Brockert
May 11, 2023 5:54 AM
It might actually not be by Christopher Brockert
So another year at Sonora was over and now Christopher had to go home . As usual, he didn’t really want to. School was a safe place, home wasn’t really. While his parents and sister were nice and not going to hurt him and he probably wouldn’t have conflict with them, there was a chance that he would have to be around Uncle Eustace-and even if it was just a small chance it was still a bigger chance than at school and a much bigger one than Christopher found acceptable. Because the only chance of being around his uncle that he found to be so was no chance at all.Honestly, the idea of having to be around him made the Crotalus feel literally sick to his stomach with anxiety. All he wanted to do was enjoy the Bonfire, as this was the only chance that he’d ever get to attend this event and while camping and being outdoors and “roughing it” was something that Chris associated with rugged masculinity, he still had to sleep out here and wanted to have fun anyway, especially as this wasn’t an event involving getting up in front of others like the Concert last year-though performing in it was usually optional and he hadn’t even had to since his group hadn’t finished in the top three in Challenge Two, it still wasn’t the most fun event for him-or having people couple up and potentially having nobody to talk to when he didn’t do so at the ball next year.
Even though last time they’d had it was his first year and back then people his age hadn’t done that, next year Christopher would be a fifth year, and they probably would.Which most definitely would be boring. Especially since he really didn’t think balls sounded like much fun to begin with. All of that…socializing with people he didn’t know and wasn’t sure would be safe conflict-free people for him to talk to. That did not sound enjoyable and also, Isla and Liesl made them sound like dreadful experiences. A Sonora ball was not exactly the same because it was with people he saw all the time but still, if it was like last time where in all the older years everyone was paired up with each other except his own relatives, that would suck.
The Fair had been fun though, and depending on what it was next time,Christopher certainly did not mind having that event again. Although if it was student led, he was not doing his own booth or participating in it that way-he wasn’t much of a joiner, for obvious reasons though he did occasionally go to Visual Arts club-unless it was something like the charity Fair from the time before last and someone he
Still, this would be his only Bonfire and he wanted to enjoy the experience but all he could do was worry about going home and having to potentially-and most likely- be around his uncle again.
Professor Skies began to speak, first talking about the fire and its symbolism and the ritual of writing something down as a positive wish for one of his classmates. That sounded really nice-although he was sure Olaf was somewhere on the pitch rolling his eyes-and he hoped to do that for people but right now he was too busy worrying about his summer break to think of anything nice he wanted for others, because there was something he was desperate for himself.
Unless Chris found someone who could make that wish for him. Maybe he could wish for it for Jasper and Jasper could wish for it for him. He probably wouldn’t even have to ask-because he was pretty sure that violated the spirit of the ritual somehow, that it was selfish, even though he wanted something that was essentially self-preservation, he wasn’t asking for someone specific to fall madly in love with him or anything like that-because his cousin had gone through the same things and would just know .
Before Christopher could decide what he was going to do-he was too anxious to eat right now, though he knew hunger would catch up with him eventually especially if someone distracted him from what was on his mind-Lenny Pierce came up to him. “That’s me.” Chris confirmed, a little confused as to why the third year felt he needed to make sure of that as Sonora was a small school and he was just a year ahead of Lenny. Everyone should mostly know who everyone else was. Although Grandfather sometimes didn’t,but he wasn’t in class with them either. Unless Lenny was trying to confirm he was friends with Cole. Which made more sense
“Of course I want to stay with you and Cole.” Christopher replied. “I was hoping he would want to and assumed you two were a package deal.” It wasn’t as if he could share with Verdillia who was the only friend he had that he was probably closer to than the Teppenpaw . “And I assure you that I absolutely don’t have a problem sharing with you” He had come to realize that it was important to reassure people who were different that you accepted them regardless of what that difference was. Also, Lenny was pretty much the exact opposite of the sort of people that Christopher was afraid of.
11
Christopher Brockert
It might actually not be
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5
Nicholas Pierce
May 12, 2023 7:52 PMNicholas Pierce
StudentHouse: Aladren
Year: 4
Written by: Grayson Wright
Age in Post: 11
Birthday: August
All my roommates in agreement, excellent! by Nicholas Pierce
Nicholas was excited about the Bonfire for two reasons.
I. One, of course, was that it was simply a new experience. The whole school, outside, at the same time, after hours, and something was going to be set on fire? He had a vague feeling this wasn’t as interesting as it seemed to him, but it still seemed pretty interesting to him, and that was all that mattered.
II. Leaving the dorms meant not being limited to association with their Housemates, and that meant more time with his brother. Obviously, this was a good thing. His only slight reservation was that it seemed likely his school roommates would join him and his home roommate, and it wasn’t guaranteed, after all, that this would go well. There was no reason for it to not go well, since they were all friends anyway, but he felt vaguely like he needed to micro-manage something right now and he didn’t know what that thing was, which was...a little uncomfortable, when he thought about it for a minute.
Thinking about the same unsolvable problem for too long, though, wasn’t really his style, so for the most part, he was just excited about the Bonfire. It was going to be novel, it was going to be fun, and then tomorrow, he got to go home. He knew he might well miss Quillan and Desmond at this point, just from sheer accustomed-ness, and that he wasn’t going to be anything like exempt from homework, but...he liked being at home. He liked his parents and his grandparents. He liked not worrying too much about Reputations and Family Honor and such things when he was just eating his dinner. He didn’t even necessarily mind going to the Main House, higher on the mountain, when they had to do that – he knew that the adults could all be...tense, sometimes, when they had to do that, but that didn’t often affect him directly and it was interesting, sometimes, seeing the museum-like demonstrations of the really old things that had belonged to Great-Great-Grandfather or Aunt Berta, or to talk to Berta or Hamlet. So today was good, and tomorrow was sure to be good, so what was there to not be excited about?
Alexander found them quickly, which got things off to a good start. Quillan and Desmond and Professor Skies all proved agreeable, which continued the trend of things going well. He listened with interest as Quillan and Desmond talked about their sisters, both older and younger, as the subject of the actual purpose of the Bonfire came up. This was always an interesting topic to him, since he was a twin and therefore in an at least slightly less-than-normal middle ground – he had a sibling, but had no idea (despite Alexander’s occasional insistence that a difference of six minutes was even worth noting in any context other than “a meteor hit Mt. Pierce and nobody’s left but us four, so now Dad’s head of the family and Alexander...well, he can’t have the heir’s house right now, because it and Wesley and the Other Alicia all just got flattened because of the meteor and also because Alexander is still eleven, but when he grows up and we rebuild it, then being six minutes older means he gets the heir’s house”) what it was like to be a younger sibling or an older sibling.
“I think it’s going to be a long time before anyone else from our family shows up here,” he commented after Desmond talked about his cousin being close in age to Ursula Arcadius. “And we don’t have any sisters, so….” He raised his eyebrows as he looked at his brother. “Is there anything you really, really want to happen next year?” he asked, leaving the determination of whether he was half-joking or fully joking to be determined in light of Alexander’s response.
16
Nicholas Pierce
All my roommates in agreement, excellent!
1565
0
5
Alexander Pierce
May 12, 2023 11:51 PM
Oh good. by Alexander Pierce
His ploy seemed to have worked. Nobody questioned the assumption that all four of them would tent together at all. When Quillan reminded them they needed to register their tent group, Alexander started looking around for the headmistress, and started subtly moving them all in that direction as the conversation carried on.He nodded in agreement with Nicholas that they had no other family likely to join them any time soon. The less said about the other Pierces currently in the school, the better, and the New Hampshire Pierces had gotten their generations a but stretched out and nobody was close in age to anybody anymore outside of sibling groups. Well, Isabelle and Winston’s new baby on the way weren’t too far apart, he supposed, but he and Nicholas were sort of stuck mid generation on their own.
“Someone realizing there was a mistake and I should be in Aladren probably would have happened already if it was going to.” He wasn’t sure how valid these ‘good intentions’ were for actual change, but he didn’t want to waste Nicholas’ on something that was impossible. “I suppose, I’d like to take over as first string Seeker now that Valentine is graduating.”
By then they had reached Professor Skies, and as he was the one in her House, he took the lead in registering their group with her. They were given permission to pick the tent they wanted, so as they started walking to the outer ring where the tents were, he resumed the conversational topic from before, “Is there an intention you’d like me to burn for you, Nicholas?” Realizing belatedly that this might make the others feel excluded, he added quickly, “And is there anything either of you would want us to wish for you?” With Nicholas walking right next to him, using a singular pronoun was all but impossible, and he doubted Nicholas would object to making wishes for his roommates anyway.
1
Alexander Pierce
Oh good.
1566
0
5
Bertie Jackson
May 13, 2023 12:17 AM
Back where it all began (tag Quincy) by Bertie Jackson
Of the midsummer events, the bonfire was the second least objectionable, but it was a low bar when compared to dancing and theatre. The fair was often educational or at least a worthy endeavour, even if being strong armed by his sister into talking to strangers about their parents' work was not his favourite school memory.The bonfire was easy, and the only real difference between sleeping out here and in his dorm was the need to share with more people. Which was a pretty big difference, given that Bertie didn't really do other people, but this situation had forced him to realise that he did actually have a reasonable number of other people who were tolerable. So much so that he actually had choices. Or... Well, he had one obvious group, but that had been fragmented, and as he also had a fragment in tow, that had turned into two separate options. He would have said 'gaming guys' but Philippe was a package deal with Jasper. Bertie didn't want to ditch Quincy either, though he would have fit in fine with the gaming boys. That left Bertie with the choice of asking if the two of them could join the younger boys, or being a pair of pairs with Philippe and Jasper.
Or going to Professor Skies and arguing that a) him and Quincy sharing as a pair was no different and therefore no more dangerous than their regular dorm arrangement, perhaps even more safe given her recent comments about staff ratios at the event and b) he was actually pretty sure that, statistically speaking, the more people you put in a tent, the more likely the odds were that you had two people who wanted to get inappropriate (though that was just taking into account mathematical factors not any social behaviours such as who chose to tent with who and the peer pressure of a third party).
Anyway, he had doubted she would listen, and concluded that an unknown Teppenpaw, vouched for by someone he trusted, was very unlikely to prank him in the night, so had taken Jasper as the lesser evil, as compared to losing an argument even when his reasoning was solid.
Besides, it wasn't as if he and Quincy didn't have myriad other ways of communicating, even in plain sight of others. Speaking of which, after he'd collected a plate, he went to find his roommate. They had enough well-established codes that he didn't even always need to give the key, which made it even more secure. Though he did give a hint as he dropped the note into Quincy's lap.
"This takes me back to the beginning,."
He gave Quincy a moment to peruse the note, which read:
'Happy times! Everyone loves to share and make new connections. Luckily, I have secured us the additional roommates necessary for this evening. Little odd to be spending our final night with other folks, but needs must. I remember our first night when we bonded over puzzles. Since then, we've had a smooth ride. Obviously we were well matched. There's hope for this evening too. Here's to existing friends and new connections. Even on the last night, never too late. Regrettable that we didn't all hang out more. Perhaps this will lead to new friendships that last beyond tonight. Everyone deserves a chance, right? Our tent mates will be welcoming, I'm sure, given their house. Probably going to be great. Let's have fun. Enjoy!
"Mostly joking," he added. "At least about the company for tonight. And present company definitely excepted," he said with a smile.
13
Bertie Jackson
Back where it all began (tag Quincy)
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Piper Wilson
May 13, 2023 1:06 AM
This is so much fun! (Yarielis) by Piper Wilson
Piper was so excited for the Bonfire tonight! It was going to be so much fun! Lenny and his cousin Rosalynn were planning a sing along. Well, okay, even she had to admit that her friend’s singing wasn’t exactly a treat but in general it sounded like fun. And she was going to roast marshmallows and make s’more as well as getting to cook hot dogs and baked potatoes over a fire! This all sounded delightful and like a really good time.Of course, she was going to share a tent with Levi who was her usual roommate but also, one of her best friends. Unfortunately, she couldn’t share with the other two, because they were boys. So, instead, Piper planned to ask Yarielis to join them. The Crotalus was Cole’s friend and also someone who seemed kind of….shy and awkward and she knew it was important to reach out to people like that and make them feel wanted and included. Some of her cousins were like that and Piper knew how much it meant to them to feel like someone wanted them around.
She also expected that she and Levi would hang out with the boys too and Yarielis was more than welcome to join them along with whomever was sharing with Cole and Lenny, probably Christopher. It sounded like an overall total blast!
Professor Skies welcomed them all to the Bonfire and began to talk about all that fire could represent and making positive wishes on behalf of a classmate. What a wonderful idea! There were so many people that Piper wanted to make wishes for. Off the top of her head, she could think of at least nine people she wanted to do this for, even if she did not know exactly what to wish for all of them. She knew that she wanted to wish for Lavender to find friends and love when she graduated and went off to college and she knew that she wanted Lenny to be accepted for the wonderful person that he was and how he dressed didn’t matter.
And she wanted Yarielis to become more confident with herself. And right now she just plain wanted to find Yarielis so she could ask the Crotalus about sharing a tent with her and Levi. Piper figured that she would do that first and then move on to the business of setting positive intentions for people that she cared about and just plain having fun.
Spotting the girl in question, Piper made her way over. “Hey, Yarielis. I was wondering if you would like to share a tent with Levi and me?” She asked.
11
Piper Wilson
This is so much fun! (Yarielis)
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Yaniel Ayala Velez
May 13, 2023 4:58 AM
...the most by Yaniel Ayala Velez
The bonfire was yet another thing that revolved around friends. More specifically than that, a particular gender of friends. Of which Yarielis had precisely zero. It was yet another example of the world being out to get the Crotalus. If Yarielis could just share with Cole and Fortune, that would be fine. Even if it came with a side of Lenny, Yarielis would have taken it. Which was natural. Because those people were the Crotalus' only friends and it sucked to be left out and have nowhere to go.Except, even though it was normal to want to be with your friends, why were boys the only people Yarielis felt comfortable with and had even semi-successful friendships with?
Yarielis did not, apparently, have a healthy or ‘normal’ relationship with either body or gender, according to the mental health professional school had involved. However, it was up to Yarielis to work out what that meant, or what it was ‘supposed’ to be like instead. There were options—conversation topics, literature, rating scales they could do, but Yarielis had to be the one to choose. Questions whose answers had seemed obvious now seemed like they could mean multiple different things…
Food seemed like a good way to avoid tent problems for now, and was something Yarielis would need in order to get through the evening. There was even sour cream to go on the baked potatoes, along with bacon bits and scallions. This, and marshmallows, would probably be the high points, especially as Yarielis could theoretically do that with the guys.
Before Yarielis could find them, however, Piper approached. And, given that she had addressed Yarielis by name, there was little doubt who she was talking to. Yarielis therefore swallowed down the 'who, me?'
"That would be great." For Yarielis, anyway, because there was no way of avoiding this, and it was better than being discarded, even if the Crotalus was sort of… scared of Piper and Levi. Not like, actually. ‘Scared’ was the wrong word. But the two of them were already friends, and were… normal. Yarielis wasn’t any of those things. There wasn't obviously much in it for Piper besides needing a third but she could have picked anyone. "Did Cole ask you to do this?"
13
Yaniel Ayala Velez
...the most
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0
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Quillan Arcadius
May 13, 2023 5:16 AM
Who is done, now where? by Quillan Arcadius
“I’ll tell Ursula to look out for her,” he said with a polite smile when Desmond mentioned an incoming cousin. There wasn’t much point finding out more than that. Desmond would be unlikely to say anything terrible about his own cousin, and Ursula would be unlikely to listen to what Quillan thought she should think of anyone else.
It seemed he and Desmond were both going to make wishes for their sisters, and then Alexander extended it to wishes for all siblings, and very quickly it became a whole group thing that they were all involved in.
“To be absolutely undefeated in chess,” Quillan quipped, when asked if he wanted anything wished for by any of them. “But I’ll earn that the hard way.” In truth, he thought that infinite victories—or at least, guaranteed victories—would get very dull, very quickly. He was glad he’d found worthy opponents who made him think. If he could have any magic wish, he knew what it would be, but he was pretty sure these little scraps of paper had no ability to unscramble his brain, when hoards of tutors had failed, and when there was apparently no potion or spell that would do it. So, he wasn’t about to mention that to his friends.
“They’re pretty similar,” he said of the tents, after they’d poked their nose into a couple. “So, I guess the only real question is whether we think there’s an advantageous position on the field.”
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Quillan Arcadius
Who is done, now where?
1570
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Olaf Brockert
May 13, 2023 6:31 AM
I wish everyone would go away by Olaf Brockert
The best thing, which was arguably the only good thing about the Bonfire, was that Olaf had been able to request a single tent. He didn’t have to share with anyone , and could just eat and then go sit alone in his tent and read. Which was perfect.Although, for all that the Bonfire did not appeal to Olaf-very little did, aside from reading, museums and other educational activities-he had to admit that it was a bit better than the Concert, although his opinion was likely tainted by the fact that he’d been forced to perform in it when his group finished in the top three in the second Challenge. Still, he’d been to his sisters’ Concerts prior to his first year of school which he’d scowled through because all the lights went off and he couldn’t see well enough to read his book. At that point, Olaf had been unable to cast spells on his own and his parents had refused to cast lumosfor him. Instead he had to watch the boring concert that aside from Isla’s puppet show, his sisters didn't even participate in.
Of course, even the Concert was better than the Ball . Dear Merlin, was Olaf ever dreading that . All that atmosphere of…romance. Yech. And of course, there was always the possibility of someone being left out because all their friends had dates and they didn’t and there was nobody to talk to. Olaf,of course, didn’t mind if he personally had nobody talk to,since he obviously planned to bring a book and sit in a corner and read, but he knew it had bothered Isla last time and while the second year generally was not the sort of person who did feelings , he did sort of feel bad for his sister. Even though he obviously would never admit that out loud.
Just like he was feeling bad for Amethyst now. Especially since his cousin was completely in the right. The spell on their beds, while not affecting Olaf personally, was ridiculous and down right punitive. Except they were being preemptively punished before they even did anything. Especially since while there were plenty of gay people at Sonora, there weren’t actually any gay couples that also happened to be in the same house since Jasper’s roommate’s boyfriend graduated.
And the alternative suggestions that Professor Skies had presented in the letter were a billion times worse than the current situation. Having his door open at all times or having people randomly inspecting him? No, just no. Olaf probably wouldn’t be doing anything they’d have a problem with since all he did was study and read but much like with the current rule, it was the principle of the thing. Plus, in that case, he would actually feel pretty violated.
Even worse was the idea of reorganizing the dorms, presumably in a manner where there were at least three people in every room. That sounded especially heinous. Olaf currently had a room to himself and he had no desire to give that up. Never mind how impractical it was because they would have to refigure who was rooming where every year. That quite frankly sounded like a pain in the ass.
So, the bed spell sucked and Amethyst’s suggestion was the best solution. Except that Professor Skies said no, because she was apparently in favor of fascist policies that treated them all like babies. Because with the exception of some of the troublemakers, like Leo, they did not need that level of supervision. And those troublemakers didn’t need the supervision because they wanted to, um, be physically intimate, they needed it so they didn’t misbehave and play pranks.
Never mind that Amethyst’s petition had more signatures than the one Topaz’s roommate had put up at one point. Yet, they had gender neutral Head Student elections now but they still had these idiotic spells on their beds. How was that fair?
Professor Skies began to speak about the symbolism of fire and other New Age crap. Olaf couldn’t help but roll his eyes when the professor mentioned making a wish on behalf of a classmate. Really? How sanctimonious and saccharine could you get? The idea was actually slightly nauseating.
Now Olaf had to decide whether or not to try his hand at cooking over a fire. There was also pre-made food. Obviously, the pre-made food was easier, though maybe later he’d roast a marshmallow for those s’more things because the combination of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers actually sort of sounded good.
For now though Olaf got in line for the pre-made food which he was sure would taste better than anything he managed to cook instead
Unfortunately, however,while he was standing in line waiting, the person in front of him greeted him “Hello,” The Aladren returned the greeting politely. Merlin, he could not wait to get to his single occupancy tent and read.
11
Olaf Brockert
I wish everyone would go away
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5
Robyn Lundstrom
May 13, 2023 7:07 AM
Want me to throw that in the fire for you? by Robyn Lundstrom
Robyn was just wondering how to distract herself or whether to bother when Patience came up and talked to her. She wasn’t someone Robyn knew well. Patience was closer to Xavier’s age but in Robyn’s house… She fell into that big void of people who weren’t really anything to do with either of them. Robyn wondered whether she was approaching now because she was a Teppenpaw or because she was a Teppenpaw. I.e. Did Patience see them as having common ground, or was Robyn a charity case to offer house values of kindness and caring to?Still, she suggested a drink, and an offer of company. Robyn nodded mechanically. She was thirsty, so it wasn’t the worst idea.
“Okay,” she said flatly. Then realising that didn’t really convey much enthusiasm for more than the drink, added “That sounds nice,” in much the same tone.
She trailed Patience over to the food area, picking up a cup and pouring herself some apple juice.
“You have a sister as well as a brother?” she added, for lack of anything else to say. She knew who Patience’s brother was. He was roommates with the low down, unspeakable, worst human being on the planet. That was the trouble with a school this small. There were always going to be fewer than six degrees of separation between her and the people she didn’t want to think about. She turned and stood against the table, scanning the field. Luckily Oz Spellman was far away from her, because she had about equal desire to throw her juice in his face as to drink it. He was, however, in her line of sight and her eyes narrowed over the rim of her cup as she watched him.
13
Robyn Lundstrom
Want me to throw that in the fire for you?
1558
0
5
Valentine Duell
May 13, 2023 9:45 AM
I like talking by Valentine Duell
Tests were over and the bonfire was here! Is was now officially time to forget about school and studying and just have fun again! Finally! Valentine stopped on the edge of the pitch to just soak it all in for a moment. It was a glorious occasion, and would also be her last here at Sonora. But that was okay, while she loved this place and all of the people here, she was moving on with her favorite people by her side.She strolled into the people already milling about, smiling and waving, making small bits of conversation as she moved around the field. She eventually found the person she was looking for. It seemed like Bannabelle had been looking for her as well, but there was something a bit off. There was a gulf between them, she didn't like it much.
When her girlfriend talked, it sounded a little ominous. Still, Val smiled, " You can always talk to me. What's up?" Once they were away from the crowds, Val nodded at Bonabelle's request to just let her talk. Val listened intently. Val listened to the anguish that poured out of her girlfriend. Once Bonabelle had said what she wanted to say, there was only one response that Val could give her.
Valentine wrapped her arms around Banabelle and in a voice on the edge of tears itself, " You are wrong, and I am so sorry. You are special to me and I love you so much. I know I haven't been… There was so much studying…" It all sounded like poor excuses when she said it out loud. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you like I should have been. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you."
The Teppenpaw pulled back a little bit So that she could gaze into Bonabelle's eyes. "You were my first real friend, and you've stuck with me through everything. I don't know what I would do without you." Then her eyes glinted playfully the way they did on occasion, "Now tell me, was Stanley a better kisser than me? Do I need to work on my skills?"
2
Valentine Duell
I like talking
1490
0
5
Lenny Pierce
May 13, 2023 9:55 AMLenny Pierce
StudentHouse: Teppenpaw
Year: 6
Written by: Nathan
Age in Post: 13
Birthday: September
That’s a relief by Lenny Pierce
Christopher did not respond to his non-a-flirt, which was simultaneously both reassuring and surprisingly disappointing. It was doubtless a good thing in a person he would be sharing a tent with, particularly for Cole’s sake, and Lenny was sure neither or their families would approve of an affair between them, but still. Christopher seemed like a gentleman and was not bad on the eyes either and a little light flirting might have been fun. But he’d follow the other boy’s lead and behave himself.Besides which, it was relieving to know Cole’s friend wasn’t giving Cole any grief about Lenny (not that he thought Cole would stay friends with someone who did, but it was still nice to have that confirmed) and even better had been expecting Cole and Lenny would come as a package deal for the Bonfire and not only had no problems with that, but had been hoping to tent with the both of them. Lenny smiled brightly at him, with less flirt in it this time, just showing how glad he was that Cole’s friends and Lenny could get along without someone breaking into tears.
Lenny did not take that for granted anymore.
“Awesome! We’re going to have a great time tonight! I’m not really into scary stories, but I know some really great unicorn stories that some of my cousins like to tell over the campfire that we can stay up late sharing, if you want to!” Cole had heard most of them already, but it was always fun to share with a new audience, and his pseudo-twin wouldn’t mind hearing his favorite ones again, Lenny was sure.
“But first!” He clapped his hands together, then gestured toward the food tables and where they were handing out the slips of paper for burning. “Which do you want to start with? Cole should find us soon.“ Lenny had already given the signal that all was good by clapping, so his brother knew the vetting process was complete and they had a tent mate for tonight.
1
Lenny Pierce
That’s a relief
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0
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Desmond Brockert
May 14, 2023 6:00 AM
Good question by Desmond Brockert
Desmond nodded. Nicholas and Alexander were New Hampshire Pierces, and their cousin Winston was married to his cousin Emerald and he knew that Emerald and Winston were expecting a baby but that was a pretty big age gap. He thought there was another kid too, but not one close in age to the twins.However, at least they had each other and Quillan was close in age to his sister too. Although, in Liesl’s case at least, Desmond doubted that would have helped him much. She was just too weird. He really did have a hard time relating to those that were different in some way. Not just different from him but to those who were different in general. Like, why couldn’t they just conform because that was obviously the way to be successful in life and who didn’t want to be successful in life? That was absolutely the key to happiness.
And if you were too different, obviously, people wouldn’t accept you and how could you be successful if you were rejected by society? Really, Mother was doing Liesl a huge favor by making her dress and overall present herself in a way that was more acceptable to the right people when she went to balls. And it was good for the Teppenpaw to go to these balls in the first place, since that was where you met more people to begin with. Liesl had not quite had Desmond’s luck with being surrounded by respectable people at Sonora and between that and her general…behavior and personality, she needed all the help that she could get.
He was glad that he had more going for him, such as having a class full of mostly respectable people. True, there was Leo, and his Pecari friend Donovan wasn’t Desmond’s kind of person either but everyone else was acceptable, even Misty. While she was a Pecari, she was Adam Brockert’s daughter, and since he was the future patriarch, she at least had that going for her. Also, admittedly Ida’s family wasn’t…part of the upper echelon but at least she behaved decently. Plus, Desmond was brilliant and also acted in a respectable manner so he was certain everything would go his way in the future.
The first year couldn’t blame Alexander a bit for wanting to be in Aladren either. Granted, Crotalus wasn’t terrible, at least people there were mostly well behaved and acted like civilized human beings but Aladren was where the smart people were. Not that people in other houses couldn’t be, but Aladrens were intellectuals who were interested in such pursuits. Plus, Alexander’s twin was there and so were Desmond and Quillan, it was perfectly reasonable that Alexander would want to be with the rest of them. Desmond knew how he felt about the other boys playing Quidditch and being the odd one out-though he didn’t care quite enough to actually join the sport, of course- and could imagine that it was possible that Alexander felt like the odd one out because he was in a different house.
Quillan mentioned that he’d tell Ursula to keep an eye out for Alma and Desmond replied. “Excellent’ He wasn’t that close to her, but she seemed like a proper enough young lady. Hopefully Ursula was as well. That she was more like Quillan than Liesl was like Desmond. True, there were arguably worse ways to be than the fourth year, even from his perspective, but still.
Then his roommate mentioned a wish for being undefeated in chess but that he’d get that the hard way. Not that Desmond was going to let him anyway. “I might have a few things to say about that.” He chuckled, in order to let Quillan know that he wasn’t trying to be hostile. Besides, Alexander probably felt the same way. Winning was a nice feeling, but while Desmond would like to be undefeated, it was more the fun and camaraderie he liked. “I would like to have perfect grades in all my regular classwork and CATS and RATS.” He stated. Which was something he could ask for without contradicting things his friends wanted. They could all have perfect grades.
“Hm.”Desmond replied with regards to the tents. “Well advantageous depends on what we want. Do we want to be near food? Do we want to be near others? Or away from them? Do we want to be near some people and away from others?” He was not exactly aching to be near Liesl but maybe Alexander wanted to be near Ida or something. And away from Leo or most of the Pecaris would be a positive. Though, if the three first year girls were sharing and Alexander wanted to be near Ida, Desmond could handle being around Misty.
11
Desmond Brockert
Good question
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Yaniel Ayala Velez
May 14, 2023 9:08 AM
A quiet realisation by Yaniel Ayala Velez
OOC: Set later once the group has grouped up. Mentions of other characters approved by their authors. BIC:
People were being nice. Even people who had no reason to be. Well, Piper and Levi were Teppenpaws, and Yarielis was their friend’s friend, so that was probably enough for them. It probably also meant that Lenny hadn’t said anything about their conversation… He was there too, and hadn’t said anything more controversial than ‘I have my own vegan marshmallows’ and Yarielis was just smiling and nodding at him pretending that meant something. Everyone seemed content to stick to talking about food on a stick and tents and stuff that didn’t want to make Yarielis run away from them in tears.
So why was it still so suffocating?
That wasn’t how normal people felt about being around a group of people who were just being kind, but the air was thick with words and expectations, and however nice everyone was, it was just so much.
“I’m gonna get some juice,” Yarielis muttered to the nearest person, sliding away from the group and trying to find some breathable air.
The Crotalus loitered on the edge of the crowded buffet table, wondering how far it was possible to stray from the stated mission without arousing suspicion. The last thing Yarielis wanted to do was make Piper and Levi feel rejected when the three of them had to share a tent tonight, even if right now going and sitting alone in the stands, or taking a long, contemplative walk around the edge of the pitch sounded good.
For a deluded second, Yarielis had thought that the peopling thing was getting easier. The mental health person had, amongst other things, talked about finding ways to still do the important things, like Quidditch. Yarielis and Cole did fairly regular two person training sessions, so that Yarielis still got to practise beating skills, and have a friend. Sometimes, that poked at sore places, the things Yarielis had walked away from this year, but most of the time it made it feel like they were still in reach—the Crotalus was just going on a detour, but could go back to being with everyone else sometime.
With Cole, it was easy. Because it was just Cole.
When it was one person, they talked to you. When there was a group, they inevitably talked about you. Not anything nasty, but whose cup was whose, what someone said, who wanted to do what later, and it snagged at the skin like a sting. Yarielis wondered whether, subconsciously, this same problem had fed into the need to run away from the Quidditch team. Not just the obvious body stuff that felt wrong, but words rubbing like poison oak. If you just caught a light brush of it on your knee, it was irritating. That was being in class—in the pool of enough people that the odds of being talked about were low. But in a group, it was like having it dragged against your skin again and again until you itched all over.
Most people didn’t have that problem. Because for other people, everyone got it right.
But with the Crotalus, they didn’t, and it bothered him.
13
Yaniel Ayala Velez
A quiet realisation
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Misty Brockert
May 14, 2023 11:30 AM
And friends!(?) by Misty Brockert
Misty was super excited to go to the Bonfire. She had never gone camping before, and while she wasn’t sure if it was really something she would like or not, she did like to try new things, so there was eagerness to find even just in the experience itself. And while she had been a little bit nervous about finding someone to share a tent with, she did feel better now about her friendly position with her distant cousin Charlotte, so that was nice at least.She didn’t see Charlotte right away now though, so when she got her food, she scanned the crowds near the fire for at least someone close to her age who seemed like they could use a new friend. She noticed Samara Crosby all by herself, and something somewhere in the back of her mind seemed to say that Samara was also a very distant relative, so the first year saw no reason not to at least go say hello and chat for a bit.
Upon her arrival, Samara offered a greeting, and so Misty returned with a chipper, “Hi!” The warmth of the fire touched Misty’s face, and the pleasantness of its embrace only deepened her smile. “The fire’s so nice and warm,” she commented. “You found a really good spot to hang out. Do you mind if I join you?”
12
Misty Brockert
And friends!(?)
1567
0
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Piper Wilson
May 14, 2023 2:49 PM
Glad we agree! by Piper Wilson
“Great!” Piper replied. She was glad that the Crotalus accepted her invitation. Admittedly, evenshe might have felt a bit rejected if Yarielis hadn’t. She wasn’t at all used to that and hadn’t expected it, but it still might have bothered her a bit. Like, she would have wondered why the other third year had a problem with her and maybe wondered if she had done something to offend her.
Like if maybe she and her friends came across as cliquey and stuck-up. Piper didn’t mean for them to, and didn’t want them to and clearly Cole obviously had other friends. It was just that…well, she knew from Lavender’s experience with Val what happened when someone had so much to do and so many friends that they didn’t have enough time to give them the attention they deserved. And sometimes people had trouble making friends so if they only had one-like Lavender had at one point though that was no longer the case-they ended up being lonely. Yes, there were people like Olaf, who seemed to like to being alone at all times, but even some of the shyest people wanted to still have friends and feel wanted. Piper knew this was the case with some of her cousins like Ryan and Kira, for whom having someone like them meant everything.
She also knew that having only one friend could cause problems at the ball, if your friends had dates and you didn’t. Not only might you not have a date yourself, which could make you feel bad enough, but if your friends did, you might not have anyone to talk to. Which would make things awfully boring, not to mention it would likely make you feel left out or something. Amity had had that problem, but fortunately made friends with someone else who did not have a date or anyone else to talk to.
Piper hoped that wouldn’t happen next year. Like, she didn’t want to deny her friends dates and romance but she also knew that last time, all the older students basically paired off aside from some of her distant cousins-Gabriel, Lavender, Wally and Stanley all had dates-and it pretty much sucked. She hoped it would go better for her and she would not have to stand around on her own all night. Hopefully, she could just hang out with her friends and have fun although she worried less about being disliked by the general population of the school than some of her cousins did and was much more comfortable talking to people she really didn’t know well than they were.
People like Yarielis “Oh no, he didn’t.” Piper replied. “I just thought that, since we needed a third person and you’re friends with him, you could just join us, and hang out. You just seemed like the obvious choice. Also, I think Cole and Lenny are planning to ask Christopher, and I think you’ve built Legos with him.” As far as Piper was concerned, they were welcome additions. After all, she was lucky that her friends all got along which meant that adding others to the group was not an issue. The problem with having lots of friends and not having time for them all did not apply when this was the situation.
She looked at the other third year. "So do you want to get in line for food or go burn wishes for people in the fire? I'm happy to make one for you."
11
Piper Wilson
Glad we agree!
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Philippe Delachene
May 14, 2023 8:52 PM
I'd rather call it a new stage of life than an ending by Philippe Delachene
Philippe was not going to get sentimental about Sonora. He'd had good times here. He felt he'd made good friends and learned a lot about magic, himself, and life. Sonora had generally been very positive for him. He'd had a great roommate, he'd met his boyfriend, and he'd been elected Head Student.But as good as it had been, he was ready to move on, and experience something even better.
He'd miss the people here. Jasper. Val. The Cafe. The Gaming club. Even Durra, his orc cleric that he'd been playing in one form or another for three years and who would likely disappear into a folder and get forgotten about without a group to play with. Heck, he might even miss Oz who had a propensity to ambush him in the library to ask difficult personal questions. But only because those encounters made him feel like he was making a difference in people's lives, helping people understand one another better, and that was exactly the feeling he was hoping to replicate by going into a career as a professional diplomat.
Of course, next year, Jasper and Val wouldn't be here anyway, and he'd lost enough people to graduation already without trying to imagine Sonora without either of them. So he wasn't going to get sentimental, and he wasn't going to look back with any regrets.
He was going to make one more evening of good memories, and close this chapter of his life, feeling like it had been a good one and he had achieved everything he'd set out to achieve.
To that end: "Absolutely!" he said, in emphatic agreement to Jasper's suggestion that food was the first order of business of the night. "I'm starving!" This was hyperbole, but only barely. He hadn't eaten since lunch. Normally, he would have had a few snacks in between, but he'd been packing his stuff and saving room for all the camp food tonight. "Looking forward to a fire roasted hot dog!" To start with anyway. He may follow that up with a hamburger, or maybe a potato cooked in foil.
They collected their food stuffs and as Philippe put his hotdog on his stake, then stuck it out over the smaller fire they'd chosen to do their cooking on, he asked, "Who do you need to think of intentions for? I'm thinking definitely you and Val for mine. Maybe Oz and Xavier," one of which had gone home sick and the other wasn't looking a whole lot better lately. He grinned a little to lighten the mood, "Maybe for Bertie and Quincy to not wake up from my snoring tonight." Jasper had never complained of Philippe having a problem with that, but it was said more in jest than seriousness. He did want them all to have a good last night together though. Maybe he would put something in the fire for them to that effect.
1
Philippe Delachene
I'd rather call it a new stage of life than an ending
1489
0
5
Ida Stanford
May 14, 2023 9:09 PM
This is nice. by Ida Stanford
Ida strolled about the pitch casually. It was a little bit strange to think the school year was over and she'd be going back to Aunt Lucy's tomorrow. Mom and Dad had sent word that they were wrapping some things up and would be there as well in another day or two. This had been the longest that she had ever been away from them, and also the longest she had ever spent in one place. It was really an odd feeling. She hadn't locked in on a good vs. bad feeling, still just odd.After the Deputy-Headmistress gave her opening speech, Ida decided to do the bonfire wish first. It was a little trickier than she had initially thought. Her first thought was to wish for the well-being of her parents, because she knew they had somewhat dangerous jobs. However, it was supposed to be for a classmate, and they didn't qualify. Professor Skies did say they could offer wishes for multiple people, so perhaps she was allowed to do one for them as well as a classmate. She had best do the classmate first though, as that was the primary instruction.
Her first thought of classmate went naturally to her housemate Alexander. So she wished that he and his brother would have a wonderful summer together. She burned that one and sent another one burning off to her parents.
Then she checked in with the group of seventh year girls who were hosting a 'whoever doesn't have anywhere else to go' tent. She thought that was awful nice of them. More than likely Ida could have figured something out, but this seemed like a good option.
Food and company were now on her list. She wandered her way towards the food areas to see what the options were all the while keeping her eye open for Alexander. They were going to meet here and hang out a bit. She thought he was a very nice gentleman type, and enjoyed his company. He had said he was going to make his tenting arrangements and then would be available. She thought the food table seemed like a logical place to find one another, everyone was going to have to visit it at some point during the evening. She would find him, there was no doubt in her mind.
2
Ida Stanford
This is nice.
1571
0
5
Bonabelle Row
May 14, 2023 10:47 PM
I like you by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle became a newtonian fluid when Valentine put her arms around her: she was altogether solid under pressure, stiff and uncertain, and melted into a puddle of liquid in the grass. Val always had had that effect on Bonabelle but it was new now to feel like it was both inexplicably dangerous and completely safe. She was crying into her girlfriend's hair and it felt right to be there with her. She was starting to understand what polyamory meant, she thought, if she could feel this way about two people so strongly. She gave a soft chuckle at Val's question about who was the better kisser."Not better," she promised. "Just different." She cocked her head, scrutinizing the Teppenpaw's expression. "I really like him, Val. I don't know why or what happened or when that happened but I really really like him. I think we're going to date. Is that okay?"
And like a balloon popping on a sharp objct, suddenly letting out all its air at once, Bonabelle's anger drained from her stomach. She knew as she asked that she already knew exactly what she wanted and that she was going to get it because she was cared about. She was going to date Stanley and she was going to date Val and Val would date Wally probably. It would be weird and unorthodox and it would require more explanations than Bonabelle had the energy or interest in giving but it would be perfect and loving.
"I just... I need you to think of me when I'm involved," Bonabelle said softly, looking down. She felt selfish for even asking. "When you're living up your own social life or when you're with a different partner, you do you. But you didn't just invite people to share a tent with you, Val, you invited them into my space too. I just need you to think of me and... I think I need you to prioritize that? Merlin, that sounds awful. But if I'm not just going to be a friend, I need you to think of me ahead of what your friends need. Or at least let me know ahead of time so I'm in on the shenanigans."
22
Bonabelle Row
I like you
1488
0
5
Jasper Brockert
May 15, 2023 4:59 PM
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end by Jasper Brockert
“Yes!” Jasper replied with regards to the fire-roasted hot dog. “I am pretty sure that I will never have the opportunity to cook out over a fire and sleep in a tent again. I’m actually glad that the event that we only got once was the Ball, since I’ll have to attend plenty of those.” Honestly,while he felt bad for Isla and Liesl, and didn’t necessarily think they were a lot of fun, Jasper did enjoy them slightly more than the Sonora one. People there actually wanted to talk to him.Though, to be fair, aside from last year with Xavier during the Challenges, he did not exactly feel like most people didn’t want to be around him either. Well, he supposed the Aladrens in his year weren’t exactly enthused about it-and he was going to be sharing with two of them tonight, so yay-and then there were people like Mab and Olaf who just did not like being around people in general, where it was not especially personal.
However, at the Ball here, most people had dates except the Beginners and like a bunch of his relatives. Jasper had not. And because he had not, and most people around his age did, it had not been much fun since he really hadn’t had anyone to talk to. At pureblood balls, that wasn’t the case. Everyone wanted to talk to and/or dance with Jasper. Although the conversations weren’t exactly the most scintillating there.
“I’m glad you got to have it with Freddie though.” He had wanted his roommate to be happy and enjoy things too. Still, the Teppenpaw found the other events to inherently be more fun, as well as things he was highly unlikely to get to do outside of school. Also, he didn’t feel left out like he kind of had at the Ball. Jasper totally understood why Isla was not thrilled that it would be her last event. Though he did hope that Hans would ask Liesl to it next year and that she, at least, would have a better time than she did at the society balls. He was sure Cory would buy her a dress that she would like when her own parents refused.
Maybe he would wish that for her. “Well, the thing about having a lot of relatives is that it gives me a lot of people to make wishes for.” Jasper replied. “I mean, I’m not going to do it for all the ones I don’t know as well, but I should for Amethyst, Isla, Chris and Liesl. And Olaf. Despite the fact that I am pretty sure Olaf thinks this whole thing is ridiculous. I mean, I haven’t talked to him and I can’t read his mind, but I know him well enough to know that making positive wishes for others will make him roll his eyes” Jasper paused, checking on his hot dog. “I was thinking of doing one for Xavier though.” He was still less than inclined to do anything for Oz who had been aggressive with him last year for no reason, a major trigger for the Teppenpaw. He was sure the sixth year was going through some things, and he was not without empathy completely, but he had his limits. Besides, his wish for Xavier probably covered it “I’ll do something for Val though . Do you have any suggestions? Maybe we can brainstorm ideas. I suppose I should include something for Desmond too.”
Jasper laughed at Phillipe’s comment about snoring. “I just hope we can all get along. I’ll be honest.” He had never had an issue with being so with his roommate as he was pretty sure the other Teppenpaw would not react badly to things the way that some might. “I am a little worried about sharing with Bertie and Quincy. Not that I’m backing out.” He quickly added. “I’ve just always thought they didn’t like me very much. That I’m not smart enough for their tastes or something.”
11
Jasper Brockert
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end
1496
0
5
Valentine Duell
May 15, 2023 8:40 PM
I like you too. by Valentine Duell
Bonabelle was so wonderful, and even her light bit of laughter at Val's attempt at levity was music to her ears. It was wonderful, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else coming. Something else that brought her girlfriend to her in such a state. The Teppenpaw couldn't help but smile as the Aladren talked about Stanley and then asked her for permission. That was good and proper, except for one thing. "I'm super happy for you." She responded, "And of course it is okay, I've been telling you that you were allowed to date other people if you wanted to. I love you and I also love Wally. It would be horrible of me to say you couldn't experience that same sort of love. My love for Wally doesn't detract from my love of you, and I hope you will be able to say the same with Stanley. But, if it does... that's alright. I want you to be happy more than anything else."As Bonabelle talked more, Val dropped her head in shame. Bonabelle was absolutely right, and she had been a terrible girlfriend. Thoughts were swirling about her mind, justifying her actions, but they didn't hold any weight against what she had done. "I'm sorry," she whispered quietly, "You're right. I should have checked in with you. I promise I'll do better." She knew Bonabelle wasn't a big people person, and knew she wouldn't have liked it. "I can't send them all out now, but if you would prefer, I could arrange a single for you and another for me." Bonabelle might prefer that over all the people, she'd probably prefer it over sharing with Lavender at all. Val would need her own because there was no way she could stay in the tent with all those people while Bonabelle was off and alone.
2
Valentine Duell
I like you too.
1490
0
5
Philippe Delachene
May 15, 2023 9:49 PM
Oh! Are we singing now? by Philippe Delachene
OOC: cw: internal monologue has an innuendo in the first paragraph BIC:
Philippe nodded, also glad he'd gotten to do his one ball with Freddie. Much earlier and they wouldn't have been dating yet; much later, and Freddie would have been gone. He'd gotten lucky with the rotation for that one. The bonfire was a good one to end on. He could hang out with Jasper, and it was maybe even for the best that Freddie wasn't here for it, because it would have been hard to be that close but need to behave. Plus there were hot dogs. He turned his over so the one side didn't burn before the other even got warm. Actually . . . it was probably good he didn't have to watch Freddie eating hot dogs, too. He blushed just a little and hoped Jasper read it as heat from the fire.
Fortunately, the conversation turned to the wishes, and Philippe pulled his brain out of the gutter and onto more appropriate rails. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully, trying to think of a good intention to burn for Valentine. There were her rather complex relationships, but Philippe wasn't sure he knew exactly who she was dating right now, so maybe steer clear of that whole web. "She's going into wand making, I think. Maybe a good and successful apprenticeship?"
Philippe was vaguely aware of who Desmond was. First year Aladren, one of Jasper's relatives. Beyond that, he knew very little. "You might be on your own for Desmond, though."
"I don't think it's anything personal," he assured his roommate when Jasper admitted to some reservations about their tentmates. "Bertie's always slow to warm to new gamers, and the only reason he likes me is because I've inserted myself into his space for long enough that he's gotten used to me. And I think Quincy is just introverted and reserved. For someone we've shared classes and a small school with for seven years, I don't think I've interacted with him very much, either. I suspect they'll mostly keep to themselves and we'll keep to ourselves."
1
Philippe Delachene
Oh! Are we singing now?
1489
0
5
Nicholas Pierce
May 15, 2023 11:19 PMNicholas Pierce
StudentHouse: Aladren
Year: 4
Written by: Grayson Wright
Age in Post: 11
Birthday: August
Somewhere strategically chosen, of course. by Nicholas Pierce
Nicholas couldn’t help but do so a little ruefully even now, but he did nod when Alexander acknowledged the unlikelihood of his Sorting situation being straightened out at this late date. Even if there was some kind of magic which could allow them to wish the situation away, it wouldn’t be the kind of magic anyone would use for what was a sort of party entertainment for children. It would be like conjuring up fairies and then giving them access to a wand shop - just a bad idea all around, really. Even if they only used such power for something sensible like re-Sorting his brother, others would be sure to do something foolish with it...plus, well, only one of them would have to use such power on Alexander’s case, which would leave them with the potential to do something at least half-foolish with the other's wish, too.“First-string Seeker,” he repeated when Alexander named a somewhat more achievable ambition. He’d wish for that as intently as he could; Dad would be happy if that happened, he bet, and therefore Alexander would be happy, and therefore Nicholas and their mom would both be happy, and then, of course, them being happy would also please Dad and Alexander. Therefore, everything would be the way it was supposed to be. “Got it.”
He thought about what in the world he could possibly want someone to wish for him to have as Alexander asked the other two the same question. They both had answers, and Nicholas – who assumed that both of the answers were at least semi-joking – chuckled after Desmond. “I guess with the chess thing, you could each take two days a week, so one person wins every game on those two days,” he said. “And I’d take the ones on Sundays.” This was, on the surface of it, not a very fair division of things, but Nicholas was fairly sure this would still result in him winning far more games than he ever would if the odds weren’t interfered with magically. “Though we’d have to figure out how to forget what day of the week it was, for it to be any fun, and that could...have downsides.”
It would, he thought, be really inconvenient to need to play multiple games of chess to figure out if it was a weekday. They had classes, after all – and that was to say nothing about the possibility that it would result in one of them forgetting to write home when expected to do so. Nicholas had a feeling his parents would not regard ‘keeping chess interesting’ as a good enough reason for him or Alexander to do that, and he therefore assumed the Arcadius and Brockert parents would feel the same way. Mother and Father were, of course, much better at mother-and-fathering than his roommates’ parents were, but the fact Quillan and Desmond were his and Alexander’s friends meant that their parents were presumably at least competent enough to notice if their sons fell out of regular communication with them, and concerned enough with said sons to want to do something about such a problem once it was observed. Sure, the school probably had insurance policies for events like that, but….
“I like food more than I dislike anyone in particular,” he volunteered as the topic moved to the subject of advantageous tent placement. “But – do you think we should think about problems like ashwinders coming from the fire? I mean, I’m sure the tents are charmed not to catch on fire too easily, but we all know how much the student handbook talks about how important Care of Magical Creatures is for us out here, just because of what we can run into by ourselves in the Gardens, and I've read those things can burn down whole houses that were also probably charmed not to catch on fire too easily….”
He was not paranoid enough to assume the staff would deliberately test their emergency-readiness that way, of course. It was just wisest to think through reactions to things that could go wrong, or involve traps, ahead of time. He’d known that when he’d still been getting into trouble for being found in parts of the house he wasn’t supposed to be in at five in the morning; his contingency plans hadn’t been very good, which was why he’d kept getting caught, but he’d tried, anyway. An inadequate plan for something going wrong was probably still better than not having one at all, and between the four of them, given their various strengths and skills, he expected they could probably throw together a reasonably watertight one here.
16
Nicholas Pierce
Somewhere strategically chosen, of course.
1565
0
5
Samara Crosby
May 16, 2023 12:29 AM
Definitely friends! by Samara Crosby
Samara was more than happy to have Misty join her. Misty was Adam Brockert’s daughter and therefore the great- great-granddaughter of Uncle Clifford-which was not an honorary term because he was the Brockert family patriarch, he was actually the second year’s uncle, the older brother of her great-great grandfather Hugo-and someone she was supposed to be nice to. Mother seemed to want her to suck up to Misty and her older sister Gwendolyn.Which was not something that Samara understood, Like there was this weird dichotomy where Mother both resented pureblood society and its rules and judgment of those who didn’t conform and wanted to be successful within it. Like Mother would follow the rules and go to parties and tell Samara to be nice to people who were considered “higher ranking” than her but really disliked doing so and would constantly complain about it. Well, about having to deal with society’s rules, not about Misty or Gwendolyn in particular.
It was a dynamic that tended to make Samara confused. Like a lot of things did. She was supposed to follow the rules but not like it? So far that was her takeaway on that. However, she would be nice to Gwendolyn and Misty because they were nice girls and what she knew of them, she liked. The Crotalus would be happy to get to know them regardless of their lineage.
However, when it came to Mother’s expectations and feelings, Samara was unsure of whether or not she was actually supposed to like them. She did but that was not the same thing.
Honestly, she wished that she could be like normal people and decide for herself if she liked someone. True, Samara sometimes did, because they were people like Lyla that Mother did not know and thus could not tell the Crotalus whether to like or not. And technically, Mother didn’t actually know Gwendolyn and Misty as people either, just who their dad was, and who they were descended from.
Also, she thought liking who Mother liked would technically be limited to Martin, Father, Great-Grandpa Fletcher and Alessa, a distant cousin of theirs who had been a year behind Mother in school because Mother hated everyone else.
And Samara didn’t hate people. Okay, she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t like everyone , after all she didn’t like Great-Grandmother Royce or Whitney, but nor did she hate everyone either. The problem though was that she was terrified of disagreeing with Mother.
Right now though, she was going to have a fun time no matter what. Although she was going to be supportive of Robyn if she wasn’t in the mood for that. However, right this second, the other second year was over talking to someone else and Samara was free to enjoy herself. As bad as she felt for Robyn and her brother, her life did not revolve around him and what happened shouldn’t have to affect everyone. They should be allowed to enjoy themselves. And Robyn should too.
But maybe it was selfish of her to think like that. Maybe she had more of her mother in her than she thought. Maybe she was a terrible person for wanting to have fun tonight when something sad had happened.
Still, most people seemed to be enjoying themselves. Samara smiled up at Misty. “Sure you can join me! I think I’m sharing a tent with your sister tonight, since she and Lyla are friends so Gwendolyn might come along and hang out with us eventually too.” She had the impression that they were sisters who actually liked each other.
11
Samara Crosby
Definitely friends!
1563
0
5
Misty Brockert
May 16, 2023 3:53 PM
Yay! by Misty Brockert
Misty’s smile grew even brighter when Samara was so happy to have her hang out. And, ooh! Gwendolyn was coming! Misty loved hanging out with her big sister, so she hoped she came soon. She had tried to give Gwendolyn a little bit of space this year, because being a big bad intermediate-level student like she was, it might be a little embarrassing to have your first year sister toddling behind you all the time. But it was impossible not to hang out at least some of the time - Gwendolyn was so cool and smart! She really looked up to her big sister, and anytime Misty nailed down a new trick on her ice skates, that was who she wanted to show it to first.“Cool!” she replied. “I’m sharing a tent with Charlotte.” Misty didn’t bother with a last name - they were all related someway or another, so she figured Samara would know who she meant. “We’re gonna ask Ida Stanford to join us, too, but I haven’t seen her around yet.” She was glad Charlotte had been on-board with that idea; it was fun hanging out the two of them at the museum, and inviting the other first year girl to join them only seemed right. Misty’s magical plan was all coming together.
She felt an urge to suggest they get a huge tent for all of them to be together, but again, she didn’t want to be too annoying for Gwendolyn. They shared enough stuff at home, so Gwendolyn probably liked the fact that they weren’t in the same House here. They had their own rooms and everything, but Misty had a habit of sneaking into Gwendolyn’s room after bedtime and suggesting sleepovers. When Gwendolyn went to school before Misty got to join, it was so lonely not having that option, so sometimes she asked their mom to come have a sleepover instead. That was fun too, but not the same.
“This whole bonfire thing is a really cool idea,” Misty commented. “What was the event last year? I know Gwendolyn must have told me, but I forgot.”
OOC: Mentions of Charlotte approved by her author.
12
Misty Brockert
Yay!
1567
0
5
Happiness for some, I guess by Iris Cobb
Iris still wasn't happy. How could she be? Tomorrow she'd be going home. It just wasn't fair. Some people were born to get whatever they wanted, and some people got whatever might be left over, or worse. She was still upset at the whole museum trip. Should she have gotten over it by now? Maybe, but she hadn't. The day hadn't started off great, and it went downhill fast from there.But that was fine, sure, whatever. Amethyst was right, why shouldn't Liesl just get Hans, the only boy she had felt anything for? There are plenty others out there, Liesl should have him, Iris can go find someone else. Yeah, sure. Thanks. Why can't Liesl go find someone else? She'll have a much wider social circle than Iris ever will. Even if she manages to escape the confines of the mountain and Aunt Emily's plans, she'll be out on her own without anyone. If she doesn't… she doesn't want to think about that. But no, Liesl should get the best person ever to take into her world of luxury and society. She'll be fine in the world she knows nothing about with no one.
The big bonfire blazed in front of her, and her blank wish paper was crumpled in her fist. She still didn't have anything to write for a classmate. Ray was the only one that probably liked her at all, and Ray was probably getting plenty of attention from Billy. She sighed, there was only one thing she wanted for one of her classmates, and it hurt to write it. 'I wish for Hans to find true happiness. ' She hoped that might mean he would find her, but she doubted it heavily at this point, with all of the Brockets blocking her out. She threw it in the fire before she changed her mind and turned away.
2
Iris Cobb
Happiness for some, I guess
1526
0
5
Phil Carson
May 16, 2023 9:32 PM
Including me? by Phil Carson
Phil planned to tent with Eben. He'd also considered tenting with the gamer guys, but Eben for some reason didn't seem particularly keen on that. It sounded like Philippe and Bertie were pairing off with their roommates anyway, and Phil wasn't sure he wanted to share with just the younger Pecaris.Not sure what to do about the tentmate situation, Phil initially just ignored it. He had hot dogs and marshmallows with his roommate, and then they did the designated activity. He'd sent goodwill wishes for the futures of the graduating gamers - Valentine, Bertie, and Philippe were all going to be gone next year, dropping the average gaming club age significantly. As the guys going into fifth, Phil and Eben would be the new oldest members come September. Phil just hoped he'd do an okay job running it. Fortune said he'd help at least.
Phil added another slip of paper to the fire that was maybe a little bit self interested which wished for Fortune to grow into a good DM. Phil felt he'd do a good job with the administrative bits of running a club - arranging meetings, slipping the librarian snacks and tea, putting up signs, making sure they followed all the rules to stay in Mr. Fox-Reynold's good graces, and helping new people make characters - as well as doing the more advanced magics for terrain and maps and stuff, but he wasn't too sure of his own ability to come up with a cohesive and interesting campaign storyline and he hoped to offload some of that onto Fortune.
He also burned a scrap of paper with hopes for Eben to have a good summer, and for Xarryn to find reading a little easier.
After that a Teppenpaw with a terrible voice started singing nearby, and Phil quickly made an excuse to be someplace else.
As he wandered about on the far side of the Pitch, he happened across Olaf Brockert, who he kind of knew from the Challenges last year. Olaf hadn't seemed especially enthused about the challenges, but he'd been competent, and really? How bad could a kid who just wanted to sit around and read all day be? He and Eben would probably not even notice he was there, and that would bring them up to three. It certainly sounded like a more restful night than sharing with Xarryn Bavol.
Olaf was on line for food, so Phil lined up behind him and said hi. Olaf returned it politely so this was off to a good start. "Hey, do you have plans for a tent yet?" he asked. "Me and Eben need someone else in ours." He'd probably still need to check that Eben was okay with it, too, but he doubted his roommate would object to a quiet reader from their own House. First though, was to see if Olaf was even interested.
OOC: Basic overview of the earlier evening with Eben can be amended if his author objects, but it seemed generic enough to be safe to assume.
Fortune's offer to help run gaming club approved by his author.
Lenny is mine and already established his plan to sing poorly.
1
Phil Carson
Including me?
1536
0
5
Alexander Pierce
May 16, 2023 10:01 PM
Strategy is my Crotalus trait by Alexander Pierce
Snorting was ungentlemanly, and Mother wouldn't approve, so Alexander didn't when Quillan refrained from wishing for an undefeated chess record. He did roll his eyes and huff a little though. Quillan and Desmond were definitely harder to beat than Nicholas was, but Quillan going undefeated for the whole year was definitely not happening if Alexander had anything to say about it.Quillan did not provide a serious response to his question, and Nicholas likewise sidestepped it, but at least Alexander had something solid to go with for Desmond. It was a good Aladren wish, and lacking other requests, Alexander could probably use it for the other two as well, as good grades were always well received by everyone.
"I do not think the teachers would let ashwinders into the fire," Alexander decided after thinking about it for a moment, and observing the nearby staff members. "This is the pitch, not the gardens, so ashwinders don't just live here naturally, and they'd need to be specifically brought in to be in that fire. The staff wouldn't do that without warning us and they are not behaving like they expect trouble from the fire. So I think a tent relatively near the fire will be both safe, and advantageous for us, both for its warmth overnight, and for ease of access to the food. As for people, we can visit with those we like before settling in for the night, and put up charms to protect our space from those who might disturb us." They were only first years, so their range of protective magics were limited, but they should at least be able to handle a muffling charm to keep the sounds from outside of the tent from being too disruptive.
1
Alexander Pierce
Strategy is my Crotalus trait
1566
0
5
Christopher Brockert
May 16, 2023 11:13 PM
Good, glad to hear it. by Christopher Brockert
Lenny seemed really happy about Chris agreeing to stay with him and Cole. Which felt nice. It felt good to be wanted and make friends. Especially since his closest friend was a girl and he couldn’t share a tent with her. Although he probably should spend some time with Verdillia at some point tonight. At least she wouldn’t be on her own though as she could hang out with Lydia while he was with the Teppenpaws-he assumed Piper and Levi would be hanging out with Cole and Lenny too.Christopher did not object to that at all, Piper was one of his distant cousins and he’d talked to Levi at the Concert year. He remembered that she really seemed to want his approval for some reason. Also, they were Teppenpaws which made them less overall terrifying, less likely to judge him for his lack of masculinity. Especially given they were friends with Lenny.Besides, Lydia probably would really need Verdillia anyway. The fifth year was the shy and anxious type and he totally understood what that was like. When you worried about rejection from others, you wanted to do nothing more than cling to the people that you knew for sure liked you. Especially in a social situation. Chris was the same way.
Though he was slightly worried that Verdillia might get jealous that he was hanging out with her sister instead of her. So he probably should make time for her.Besides, she was his friend and an important person to him, so he wanted to spend time with her anyway. Maybe he’d use spending time with her to escape Lenny’s singing. Amethyst had been on a Challenge team with him last year and she’d told him that it wasn’t pleasant. He could totally accept that Lenny liked to look like a girl, but that did not mean he wanted to listen to something that his cousin had compared to the sound of a dying cat.
“All right.” Christopher agreed. “I am not a big scary story person either.” He wasn’t like, actually afraid of them, they were just stories, but nor was he like Liesl who lived for them. He was more indifferent to them than anything, so if Lenny didn’t want to hear any or tell any, that was fine with him. “Honestly, I don’t know any sort of campfire tales, I’ve literally never camped out before. This is probably the only time I’ll ever do so.” He admitted. Roughing it and showing how tough and macho you were might be a thing that he was supposed to do according to Uncle Eustace, but camping wasn’t really a thing people in his family did much. Including his uncle. “But I am happy to listen to any stories you or anyone else wants to tell. I’m not sure I can come up with anything myself though. My creative abilities are more inclined towards building things out of blocks and designing buildings than coming up with stories. That’s my cousin Owen’s department.”
He considered Lenny’s suggestions. “I think I want to do food first. I have lots of people I want to set intentions for, because that is what happens when you have a lot of cousins that are attending school with you, but I have to think of the specific wishes first which is more of a challenge. Eating on the other hand, well, I guess cooking over a fire is also a challenge, since, to be honest, I’ve never actually cooked anything at all, but it also somehow seems less daunting than figuring out what sort of things I want for people.” Only what he wanted for Jasper was easy, because it was what he wanted for himself. “ Plus, I want to come up with things for Cole and Verdillia and you and Piper and Levi now too.”
11
Christopher Brockert
Good, glad to hear it.
1539
0
5
Jasper Brockert
May 17, 2023 2:05 AM
I've heard that is something that will be happening later.. by Jasper Brockert
“There we go.” Honestly, that was probably a good thing to wish for for his year and housemate. Especially as Jasper really did not want to touch on her romantic life at all, which just seemed like a situation where someone was going to eventually get hurt. He did not know how anyone could be okay with sharing their significant other with someone else in that way. How did you not end up getting jealous? How did you not feel like you weren’t enough?He knew it was something that he would never ever want for himself. Nor would it be something that he would do to someone else. Jasper expected that when he did find a girlfriend, she would be someone that he loved so much that he wouldn’t be able to imagine wanting to be with anyone else.
The Teppenpaw nodded. “Fair enough.” Philippe obviously didn’t know Desmond at all so wouldn’t be any help. Honestly, Jasper might not even wish for anything for him if he didn’t feel like it would be unfair to exclude him when he planned to make positive wishes for all of his other close relatives. Same with Olaf who probably thought that the whole ritual was idiotic.
The thing was though that with Desmond, the main idea that Jasper could come up with was for him to be a nicer person and become more accepting and empathetic. He wasn’t always very nice to Liesl. True, the seventh year understood that siblings weren’t always nice to each other and of course, he was sure that Desmond had nothing on Topaz in this respect but while he wasn’t a sadistic psychopath, he still made Liesl feel like there was something wrong with her.
Of course, Jasper understood that it wasn’t the first year’s fault, that he took his cues from his parents, his mother in particular. And that he was only twelve so his critical thinking skills and ability to think for himself were probably lacking. Hopefully as he matured, he would become a better, kinder, more empathetic human being. Although Jasper knew full well that that didn’t always happen. Look at Topaz. Look at Uncle Eustace. Still, for Liesl’s sake, the seventh year sincerely hoped that it did.
However, he wasn’t sure it was okay to wish for something like that because it seemed mean to Desmond. Like Jasper was saying the first year was a jerk. Which the Aladren honestly kind of was. It would be nicer for him to say that he wished that Liesl would experience understanding,acceptance and unconditional love than to say, basically, that he wished Desmond would stop being a jerk.
“I suppose that makes sense.” Jasper replied. He knew that just because someone wasn’t super outgoing that didn’t mean that they were stuck-up. Some people were just shy and were likely just worried about rejection or conflict like Christopher was. He knew his cousin didn’t necessarily look down on most people, but was afraid they looked down on him. “I think that sounds reasonable.We can do our thing and they can do theirs.And if they want to do stuff with us, that’s fine too.”
11
Jasper Brockert
I've heard that is something that will be happening later..
1496
0
5
Yaniel Ayala Velez
May 17, 2023 8:04 AM
Agreeing is my speciality by Yaniel Ayala Velez
"Thanks," Yarielis said, blushing slightly when called 'the obvious choice.' It was a pleased blush though, accompanied by a slight smile. Yarielis didn't usually like standing out, but in the case of fitting into the tight knit group of Teppenpaws, it felt good. Even if the Crotalus wasn't totally sure that honour had been earnt and wouldn't be emperilled by trying to interact with Lenny. Yarielis would pretend everything was totally normal and they'd never had a cross word if he would...For now Piper seemed actually interested in hanging as just the two of them before they joined up with everyone else. In some ways, that was easier. Piper was one person, and someone Yarielis had never had a really awkward, uncomfortable fight with. On the other hand, it meant Yarielis was fifty percent responsible for keeping the conversation going. Luckily, Piper suggested some things they could do. Including casting a wish for Yarielis in the fire.
"Oh, really? Um. That's nice of you. You too. Uh, but don't feel like you have to," Yarielis said. "The fire thing sounds good. Unless you're really hungry? I don't mind either way."
They made their way towards the fire. Yarielis grabbed a few slips of paper, wanting good things for a few people. Well, really Cole was the main one. Yarielis also wanted to be able to get on with Lenny, though had to work out a way to make that a wish for him. If Piper was wishing something for Yarielis, it seemed rude not to do it in return, and then - besides the last five minutes - Yarielis knew Piper and Levi equally well, and Fortune better than both of them and... Was this what it was like to actually have friends?
No, Yarielis thought, looking at the handful of papers. Because the Crotalus had no real idea what to write for anyone. This was what it was like to be on the edge of a big social circle - there were a lot of people you didn't know but felt okay about, because they were friends of friends, rather than your own.
Still, Yarielis had the papers, and had to write something...
’I want for Cole to be happy’ There didn't seem to be many barriers to that currently, but Yarielis hoped it continued. ’and for all his friends to get along.’ Was that self-serving? It felt it. But it would also make Cole's life easier and better, and the only problems Yarielis knew of him having were the ones Yarielis had caused...
’I want for Lenny to be happy’ Again, no major problems there... The words 'and not get into fights' sprung to mind but after already kind of wishing that for Cole, it felt like even thinner ice on the selfishness front to wish it again. It was hard to think of things to wish about Lenny that didn't seem against his general nature... Yarielis may not have liked Lenny's general nature but trying to wish it out of existence was wrong. ’and safe.’ That felt like a broader, less selfish version of the wish for him not to get into conflicts. Lenny and Yarielis’ definition of ‘safe’ behaviour probably varied wildly, but Yarielis was pretty sure no one thought being punched in the face was a good time. Mean as it felt to think so, it was somewhat surprising that hadn’t happened to Lenny yet…
Those two had been hard enough, and one was for someone Yarielis knew well, and one was for someone who made his personality aggressively loud public knowledge… The rest… Yarielis tried to subtly eye Piper’s writing speed and work out whether this whole wish writing thing was harder than it seemed for everyone, or whether it was just a problem when you didn’t let yourself know people…
OOC: I assumed Piper would go with fire, and that it was safe to assume that they moved that way.
13
Yaniel Ayala Velez
Agreeing is my speciality
1554
0
5
Piper Wilson
May 17, 2023 8:30 PM
Awesome! I love agreeing! by Piper Wilson
“You’re welcome.” Piper replied to Yarielis, smiling. It seemed that the Crotalus had not only accepted, but was happy to share with them. Which was great. She felt like she had made someone’s day a little brighter and that, in turn, made her feel good. Plus, it was pretty nice to feel wanted herself. Not that she actually knew what it was like to be unwanted, but she imagined it was pretty terrible. Still, it was not really something that Piper worried about that much, if at all.Although she felt really bad for those who did. They needed to know that it probably was not the case at all. And if it was, it was likely the person who didn’t want them around who had the problem. Unless someone did not want to be around someone who was mean. Then obviously the person who was being mean was the problem. Like how Amity did not want to be around Aunt Jillian because Aunt Jillian was not nice to her at all and treated Amity like she was a major disappointment. Which was awful because you should love your children no matter what unless maybe they committed terrible atrocities or something. It was just that Amity simply wasn’t as much of a high achiever as her mother wanted her to be.
“It’s no problem, I don’t mind at all.” Piper reassured the other third year. She was happy to send out positive wishes for as many people as she could. Although, she supposed in theory that she could send them out for everyone in the entire school. Which she wouldn’t but more because there were a lot of people she didn’t really know as well then because she actually didn’t want something good for someone. Of course Piper wanted good things for everyone, she just didn’t know what to wish for for someone that she barely knew;
Although, to be fair, she didn't actually know Yarielis that well either. Except that now she had said she would make one for her. However, Crotalus had said that Piper didn’t have to. She still would anyway though. “It’s okay if you don’t want to do one for me though. It’s hard enough to come up with ideas for people you know well.” The last thing she wanted was for Yarielis to feel pressured.
“We can go over to the fire then.” Once they had made their way over, Piper grabbed a handful of papers. She took the first one and wrote, I wish for Lavender to make friends in college who can give her the time she needs. She knew this had been an issue for her cousin with Val because the older Teppenpaw had so many friends and needed to study all the time and, according to Lavender, had a very demanding girlfriend.
On the next slip of paper, Piper wrote. I wish for Lenny to find acceptance from people . The other Teppenpaw seemed to feel pretty comfortable with who he was, but she knew that there were people out there who would find problems with more than just Lenny’s singing voice and that was not okay.
Next she wrote. I wish for Levi’s mother and sister to appreciate her for the wonderful person that she is and not force her into a little box of what they think is normal and proper Which was a bit similar to what Piper wanted for Lenny but not exactly. She got the impression that Lenny’s parents accepted him completely, but there were people out there who had a problem with boys who didn’t conform to masculine gender norms. Meanwhile, Levi didn’t present herself in a way that was outside of feminine ones, but she did things like the sword fighting last year in the Concert and that wasn’t the sort of thing that Proper Young Ladies did and, from what Piper gleaned, her mom seemed to want Proper Young Ladies. Even though they weren’t even purebloods and didn’t have to be that way. Piper wasn’t even a perfect Proper Young Lady that way, and she was a pureblood.
Once again, it would just be so much better if everyone would love their children and accept them for who they were no matter what.
Next, she wrote, I wish for Yarielis to gain confidence and like herself for who she is In this case, Piper didn’t know if the other third year’s parents were the source of her issues-and parents and other family often were-but the Crotalus seemed to definitely not be the most confident and while it wasn’t okay to be full of yourself, you didn’t have to hate yourself either.
On the next slip of paper, Piper put down, I wish for Xavier to get better . She didn’t actually know the fifth year really at all, but if someone was ill, then obviously, she was going to wish for them to be healthy again.
Then the Teppenpaw wrote I wish for Wally to find success and happiness in college and to gain confidence in himself Her cousin seemed to struggle with that as well. Piper wasn’t sure why exactly. Weirdly enough, she understood that even less than she did with Yarielis. She knew nothing about the younger Crotalus’s life, but she did know that Wally had parents and an entire family who did exactly what they should in terms of love and acceptance.
Next she put down I wish for Stanley to find success and happiness in his future as well. That was sort of generic, and similar to his brother but he was graduating and that was pretty much a basic wish for someone leaving Sonora although he didn’t need for her to wish for him to gain confidence as well.
She paused and looked over at Yarielis. “Sorry this is taking me awhile, I have a bunch of cousins to write wishes for as well as my friends. Plus, I don’t exactly know what to say for some people, like Cole and my cousin Charlotte, they both seem so happy already but I still want to wish for something nice for them.”
OOC: Piper has no idea that Yarielis identifies as male
11
Piper Wilson
Awesome! I love agreeing!
1556
0
5
Olaf Brockert
May 17, 2023 10:23 PM
No...of course not... *gives author dirty look* by Olaf Brockert
As it turned out, the person happened to be Phil Carson, whom Olaf had done the Challenges with last year. He supposed that while the older Aladren had some irritating traits-which was to be expected, as aside from maybe Grandfather, Olaf found them in pretty much everyone-such as being too enthusiastic at times, he was also more tolerable than some people. At least it wasn’t some Pecari or Leo trying to make conversation with him. Phil was an Aladren and therefore, not a complete moron, so he had that going for him at least.As for what he was asking…well, Olaf had had every intention of having a single tent, a nice quiet space where he could just sit alone and read. After all, if he was going to have to this whole Bonfire thing-which was still admittedly probably the least obnoxious of school events despite the utterly sanctimonious ritual that Professor Skies was inflicting on them,especially that if she was now wanting them to bond after not letting people sit on their beds together, a thing that promoted socializing and bonding, was also arguably a bit hypocritical, as well as him hearing something about a sing along, which so much no, that was most likely featuring the especially heinous musical stylings of Lenny Pierce so hard pass-Olaf wanted to at least be able to do his own thing as much as possible.
Which meant no singing, no making positive wishes for people and no socializing. It meant sitting alone in a tent with a book and reading. And the second year read alone, with nobody else. When he read alone, he preferred to be by himself.
And he was about to point this out to Phil, when he…quickly realized that the older Aladren probably didn’t have the greatest options for alternatives. Especially since Olaf was pretty sure that Christopher was hoping to share with Cole and Lenny. Otherwise he would have sent the fourth year his cousin’s way.
The second year sighed deeply. This was a major sacrifice for him.“All right. I was going to have a solo tent but I’ll share with you and Eben on the condition that I am just there so you guys can have a third person. I will be spending the entire time quietly reading my book. And I suppose I can eat with you.” There were likely a limited number of small fires to cook at and not enough for each person to have their own. Especially given that this whole thing seemed to be about…camaraderie with one’s peers. The same peers that people could not sit on the beds in their dorms with.
Not that Olaf wanted to do that anyway but still, it was the principle of the thing. That one parent had more say over how the school was run than the students who actually went here was idiotic and it was a dangerous precedent to set. Besides, he was actually feeling pretty bad for Amethyst right now-just because Olaf wanted to be left alone for the most part did not mean that he did not care about his siblings and cousins-and the failure of her petition was part of the reason, she had also had a fight with Iris, which he was not inclined to ask for details about. “Okay?”
11
Olaf Brockert
No...of course not... *gives author dirty look*
1564
0
5
Samara Crosby
May 17, 2023 11:42 PM
Hooray! by Samara Crosby
“Awesome. Charlotte seems really nice.” Samara replied. Well, Charlotte was a Teppenpaw so of course she was nice. However,she had always seemed so, which meant it made sense for her to be Sorted where she was. “Gwendolyn and I are sharing with Lyla and Robyn, since your sister is friends with Lyla too and she’s my roommate.” Granted, people did not necessarily have to share with their roommates. People did not necessarily always like their roommates, after all. Samara didn’t think that Martin had thought very well of his.Then again, that was sort of just how her brother was. He seemed not to especially like anyone other than her. Which, admittedly, made her feel really special. Like, to be liked by someone who hated or who was at best indifferent to everyone else made it seem like you had something special about you, that you were somehow extra likable.
Although Samara supposed it could be because she was his sister. Then again, people did not have to like their siblings. After all, Mother absolutely loathed Aunt Pippa, possibly more than she loathed anyone else-which given how much Mother loathed most people in general, was really quite impressive,Samara would think her aunt was especially heinous if she didn’t know any better- and if her mother didn’t like her aunt then that meant that Martin didn’t have to like her but he did anyway, so that gave her a bit of a confidence boost. Heck, maybe even Olaf would like her!
Anyway, she was really glad to have a roommate like Lyla whom she considered her best friend. It would be terrible to have to share a room for seven years with someone who was awful and mean. Unless they too somehow liked her the way that her older brother did. However, then Samara would feel like she was tiptoeing around them and trying not to make them angry and potentially turn them against her. And, quite frankly, she got enough of that at home.
“Asking Ida makes a lot of sense.” Samara told Misty. “I mean,I don’t know her well, but I can’t think of anything bad about her. She seems nice enough.Plus, there are three girls in your year, so I mean, that’s like the logical thing to do.” Well, unless someone hated someone else. However, obviously Misty didn’t hate Ida and the second year doubted that Charlotte did. Granted, Ida might secretly hate one of them though she couldn’t see why. But then sometimes people just hated everyone like Mother and Father did.
Samara chuckled appreciatively. “The Bonfire is a cool idea.That’s funny!” She grinned at the younger girl. “But yeah seriously, it’s pretty neat. Last year was the Concert. Didn’t you come and see Gwendolyn’s group performing with the junk instruments? They pretty much dominated the entire Challenges, and if you were in the top three in that one, you had to perform in the Concert. Which I’m not sure was much of a reward. My group wasn’t in the top three for that Challenge, but we got third overall. And I was in a puppet show with Performing Arts club so that was really cool. You’ll get to do them your last year, the Challenges I mean, not a puppet show, so you’ll be a team leader.”
The Crotalus continued. “You’ll only have the Concert once though. Next year is the Ball, which, I don’t know if that’ll be fun or not, I mean, I guess it depends on if you have people to hang out with. And then the Fair is after that. Which I don’t know much about.” Neither Mother nor Martin was a very good person to ask given their distaste for almost everything. “But it sounds fun. I think the last one was a thing where alumni came back. “ Mother had been invited to attend but didn’t go.
11
Samara Crosby
Hooray!
1563
0
5
Leviosa Scurlock
May 18, 2023 7:07 AM
Same? by Leviosa Scurlock
Levi was hyped for the bonfire! She had gone on a camping trip with her grandparents one summer and it had been so much fun. Partly, it was because it was outdoors, and involved tying knots, and doing different things to usual like having to cook over a fire, and she’d got to do it with people she loved. She was also starting to think it might have been a little bit to do with the fact that it wasn’t the kind of thing her mother liked… She wasn’t sure whether that meant she liked it because she and her mother were just very naturally different people, and most things on her mother’s dislike list were on Levi’s good list, or whether there was now a slight cause and effect relationship going on… Not that Levi wanted to rebel against her mother, but she did feel like the more her mother protested about something, the more interested she would be in it…Anyway, camping on the field wasn’t exciting just because mother wouldn’t like it, but because she got to do things with her friends, and because of the threes rule, that meant making a new one! Yarielis had been a logical pick, and Piper had gone off to find the Crotalus. Levi had hung back because Yarielis didn’t seem the type to deal with being bombarded, which was ironic given the Crotalus’ position in Quidditch. Or former position… Or maybe Beaters dealt out bombardments but that proved they weren’t able to take them? Not that that really seemed to go with the Crotalus’ personality either… It was hard to think of Yarielis being an overwhelming force.
As Levi wandered around getting a feel for things, she saw Lazarus by the fire. He was another member of their year group who tended to keep to himself. They couldn’t quite reach out to him in the same way they could Yarielis, seeing as he couldn’t join their tent, but Levi could at least be friendly in the meantime.
“Hey,” she smiled, going up to him. “The fire’s pretty, isn’t it?” she said, watching the flames dance for a second before she turned to him.
13
Leviosa Scurlock
Same?
1545
0
5
Lyla Holland
May 18, 2023 12:54 PMLyla Holland
StudentHouse: Crotalus
Year: 5
Written by: GlidewellDear
Age in Post: 12
Birthday: August 27
Just lingering by the fire by Lyla Holland
Lyla was happy to finally be at the Bonfire, although it was tinged with a bittersweet sinking in her chest. It would soon be time to go back home, to Mom and Lena and sometimes Dad. As much as she liked being home, Sonora was exciting and fun and all of her friends were here.Speaking of friends, Robyn had been having a rough time lately. Her brother had gotten sick, apparently, and was finishing out the school year...not here. Lyla's curiosity burned, but she also desperately wanted to respect her friend's privacy, so she avoided the rumors swirling around like the plague. Luckily, living with Lena had given her an overdeveloped sense of how to tune things out. Whenever she caught Xavier's name being whispered in her vicinity, she either buried her nose in her book (currently A Wrinkle in Time) or turned up the music in her head. Lyla figured if Robyn wanted her to know what was going on, she'd tell her.
Lyla didn't see her tent-mates right away, but she wasn't terribly worried about it. They would find each other eventually, and besides, Lyla wanted a chance to write her good intentions.
For Robyn, the message was obvious; I wish for Robyn to feel better. Even if Robyn wasn't the Lundstrom sibling that was ill, Lyla could only imagine how she felt about her brother. If anything ever happened to Lena...as much as her little sister annoyed her, Lyla still cared about her.
As for Samara, Lyla wasn't aware of anything specific that she needed, so she just put: I wish for Samara to have a great summer! She figured that would cover most things. She wrote a similar one for Gwendolyn.
Lyla folded up her trio of papers into tight squares and tossed them into the bonfire. She stood there, watching them burn, the ash fluttering up into the air. It did feel like a nice thing.
OOC: Open for someone to approach, or she's happy to hang out here until she meets up with her tent-mates.
64
Lyla Holland
Just lingering by the fire
1559
0
5
Quillan Arcadius
May 18, 2023 7:41 PM
It's a good one by Quillan Arcadius
“And how many games would we play on Sundays?” Quillan asked, arching his eyebrows. He suspected that Nicholas was making a slightly self-deprecating joke, in that just having Sundays would still allow him to win more than he did at present, but just specifying the day left a lot of wiggle room... He nodded along with the idea of it being inconvenient to lose track of time entirely, and having to determine it by chess, but that seemed unlikely outside of a seriously powerful piece of magic. He doubted the fire would be unleashing that. Or ashwinders. He presumed they were only theorising to the Nth degree because it was fun to do so, though he did wonder whether it said something about the relative power and drama levels of their families that they had all felt the need to consider the possibility of attack.He suspected the biggest threat to a quiet night was Leo, but no one else seemed to be saying this, so he didn't either. Leo was a fellow Quidditch player, which meant that he and the Pierce twins were in some kind of circle with him by default. They had to get along, and preferably not tarnish their own reputations by being associated. The less anyone mentioned the frog incident, the better. Plus, it was hard to strategise from that anyway - was Leo likely to be the centre of chaos or the eye of the storm?
"This tent meet those requirements," he said, stepping in to look at one. "And hey, it already has my stuff in," he grinned. Given that his stuff was in a bag on his back, that had been equally true of every other tent, but whilst he didn't want to rush the selection process, he was keen to get a space claimed and get on with enjoying it.
13
Quillan Arcadius
It's a good one
1570
0
5
Gwendolyn Brockert
May 18, 2023 9:20 PM
Making wishes by Gwendolyn Brockert
So, tonight was the Bonfire and Gwendolyn was really looking forward to it. She assumed that she would be sharing a tent with Lyla who was pretty much her closest friend here and the only friend that she could actually share a tent with since the other people aside from her relatives that she hung out with were the members of Gaming Club and, aside from Val, they were all boys. Next year she would be the only girl in the club unless another one decided to join.She was weirdly unbothered by this honestly. It was a shared activity that the people in the club all enjoyed. It wasn’t as if it was a thing where Gwendolyn grew up with a bunch of boys as her main playmates and they all dragged her into playing Quidditch-and right now, Fortune and Xarryn were the only boys from Gaming Club who even played it anyway, though Val did- or excluded her based on her gender. About the only issue was that she couldn’t share a tent with them at the Bonfire-although Gwendolyn had heard something about Val opening up her tent to anyone who needed a place to stay, which seemed like a very Val thing to do- but that was fine too because she had Lyla to share with.
As well as Samara and Robyn. The former was one of the Aladren’s many many distant cousins and she knew her somewhat. She had spent time with her during the summer on St Berylla’s and they’d both went to visit Lyla last summer. Robyn, on the other hand, was someone Gwendolyn hardly knew at all. They’d had classes together but that was it. However, it was fine. After all, Robyn was a Teppenpaw so how bad could she be? True, they might not necessarily find any common ground to bond over but at least the second year probably wouldn’t be mean or anything.
She did feel bad for Robyn though given what had happened with her brother. Gwendolyn didn’t know the exact details, because they were none of her business. The second year was a friend of a friend who had been a classmate last year and would be next year. And they were most likely going to share a tent tonight. None of that entitled the Aladren to know anything though it was of course fine if Robyn wanted to discuss it.
Also, in the Teppenpaw’s place, if something happened to Misty, Gwendolyn would be pretty upset, though she didn’t know if Robyn was as close to her brother as the third year was to her sister. Siblings could have all sorts of dynamics, like Dad was closer to Aunt Kaylie than Aunt Chelsea, for example. Meanwhile, Aunt Chelsea’s children, Arianna and Beau didn’t especially like each other much, though Gwendolyn would like to believe that one of them would care if the other was sick. Beau might, anyway. Underneath his shallow and lazy exterior, he was at least a good person.
As for Aunt Kaylie’s children, she knew that while Connor was close to both his sisters, Sophia seemed to often be impatient with Lydia, but had still cared when the fifth year had gotten pneumonia at the end of last year.
Anyway, Gwendolyn was sure it would be cool to sit around the fire with her friends-metaphorically of course, it was a fire so it would not be cool literally , it would be pretty much the opposite of cool in that respect, because it was a fire and obviously fire was hot, duh-hanging out, talking and cooking food over the fire. And sharing a tent would be like having a slumber party, like she did with Misty before she went to Sonora. Gwendolyn would not have minded having them with her sister now either sometimes and they absolutely could over the summer but they were in different houses and tonight they were going to be with their friends.
Or she supposed it would be more accurate to say that Gwendolyn was going to be with her friend and two people who were friends of that friend, one of which also happened to be the Aladren’s distant cousin, and Misty was going to share with one of the other two first year girls-who happened to be yet another of their distant cousins-and probably ask the other to join them as their third person.
Which sounded like the logical arrangement for a tent when you didn’t have a set group of friends. You needed three people and there were three people of your gender in your year. It made perfect sense for you to share a tent. Although Gwendolyn supposed that she didn’t see why Misty wouldn’t be able to share with just Charlotte. Even if either was attracted to girls, they were related. Though the Aladren did not think Professor Skies necessarily knew that since Charlotte didn’t have the Brockert last name, but Headmaster Brockert might. Still, then that would be unfair to Ida anyway.
Professor Skies began to talk about tonight’s ritual for the fire and setting positive wishes for people. Well, that wasn’t hard. Gwendolyn knew what she would wish for whom.
She spotted Lyla over the fire and headed on over. “Hey.” She greeted her friend. “How’s it going? I can join you and Samara and Robyn for tenting tonight right?” The Aladren figured that her cousin, at least, would not mind.
Gwendolyn took a few pieces of paper. On the first one she wrote. I wish for Lydia to find inner peace. The Teppenpaw was always anxious, and her anxiety never seemed to listen when Gwendolyn tried to use logic as a weapon against it.
Misty was also easy, I wish for Misty to have success with her ice skating competitions.
Next she wrote, I wish for Lyla to get to spend time with her father over the summer. Mr. Holland had been unable to attend the Concert last year as he was in the Muggle military and was often away from his family.
She supposed that she also should make wishes for Samara and Robyn if they were going to be sharing a tent. The latter was easy. I wish for Robyn and her brother to both be okay
Gwendolyn thought for a second. I wish for Samara to not somehow incur her mother’s wrath. Tawny Crosby’s rage was legendary.
She turned back to her friend. “Want to get something to eat? Or if you want to hang out here, that’s fine too.”
11
Gwendolyn Brockert
Making wishes
1555
0
5
Philippe Delachene
May 18, 2023 10:09 PM
I think I heard something to that effect as well by Philippe Delachene
"Great," Philippe said, nodding in agreement to the loose vague plan that they would do their own thing and Bertie and Quincy would do theirs, and if they all wanted to do something together, they could do that as well. It was about as well defined as any plan Philippe had come up with for the night. He'd definitely wanted to do some things just him and Jasper, and he'd figured they'd just see how things went with Bertie and Quincy, if they met up earlier in the evening, or not until everyone was encourage to make their way to the tents.He supposed they should probably check in with Professor Skies and register the group, but there was plenty of time for that. Also, they should probably check in with Bertie first, to see if the Aladrens had already handled that bit of organization.
Philippe gave his hot dog a look of scrutiny, and then pulled it out of the fire, carefully depositing it into the bun with a bit of ketchup that he had waiting for it. "I think my hot dog's ready," he declared. He put the roasting stick aside and took a careful bite of the hot dog. He neither burned his mouth nor had to spit it out because it was still cold in the middle. He nodded again slowly, but made a face to show that it wasn't quite right. "Could have maybe used another minute or two to really get hot, but it's a warm dog anyway." He was pretty sure hot dogs were pre-cooked and not made of raw meat so it was probably okay to eat it like this. He took another bite, made a much worse face, and then put the dog back on the stick and back over the fire. "Nope, still chilly in the middle. Definitely needs more cooking."
1
Philippe Delachene
I think I heard something to that effect as well
1489
0
5
Desmond Brockert
May 18, 2023 11:11 PM
Agreed by Desmond Brockert
Desmond chuckled at Nicholas’s suggestion. “I think it’s more interesting how it is.” As much as he believed in regimentation and wanted to be the overall best at most things, he had to admit it might not be fun if he just knew he was going to win. Which was why his friends were better opponents than his sisters or any of his family members might be other than Father and maybe Olaf. He was pretty sure he and the second year were fairly well matched, though Desmond might be better because he was more willing to practice it and be around other people than his cousin was. The older Aladren preferred to sit alone with his books while Desmond did not mind spending time with like minded people sometimes, and chess was obviously an activity that was not best enjoyed alone. And Olaf thought most activities were best enjoyed alone“But I can definitely make a wish for you to be the first-string seeker.” Desmond told Alexander. He did not understand why anyone would want to play Quidditch or care about it at all, when there were other more valuable achievements out there. Not to mention some of the people they had to associate with. However, Alexander was his friend and this was a wish that would neither contradict something that someone else wanted, at least not anyone within this group,nor be an impossible thing like Alexander being resorted into Aladren. Plus, Desmond supported ambition in most forms. Even around trivial things like Quidditch. He might draw the line at someone deciding they wanted to take over the world or something. Although the four of them would definitely be better candidates someday for it than most.
Then Nicholas brought up ashwinders in regards to the fire and what the best tents would be. Desmond gave an involuntary shudder at the mention of them that he hoped his friends did not see. Dangerous creatures were one of his two biggest…reservations about sleeping out in tents. While Liesl would probably coo over an ashwinder, as it was a snake and she loved them-that girl wasn’t right- the idea of his tent catching on fire was terrifying.
Fortunately, Alexander used logic to point out why ashwinders were unlikely to be an issue and Desmond felt relieved. “Let’s stay away from anyone who is likely to play pranks or be too loud and obnoxious.” He didn’t name names, but he was pretty sure his friends knew who he meant but even if he didn’t mean anyone specific, it was good common sense to stay far away from such…ruffians. “I mean, we can do protective spells, but we’re first years, so we’re sort of limited. Unless I ask one of my cousins for help.” That was an advantage to being related to half the school and while Jasper probably wouldn’t be willing to do him any favors, Isla might. “Although I’m not entirely sure the staff will be okay with us tampering with the tents.” Desmond might not have been a Crotalus, but he was definitely a rule follower.
Quillan then stepped into a tent and declared that it met their requirements and that his stuff was already in it. Desmond had to smile at that a bit since his bag was on his back. “I suppose this one will do. And hey, we can actually sit on each other’s beds and play chess!” Even he had to admit the bed rule in their dorms was a bit much.
11
Desmond Brockert
Agreed
1572
0
5
Jasper Brockert
May 19, 2023 2:05 AM
Is that something you're interested in? by Jasper Brockert
Jasper was glad that Philippe agreed with his plans for the two sets of roommates to do their own thing and just meet up in the tent later. To be honest, even with his friend’s explanation for Bertie’s behavior-which was a perfectly okay thing, to be an introvert, though it wasn’t okay to be a snob, ahem Desmond , though Jasper supposed the first year was at least sociable with those who met his approval, which actually made him worse than someone who was shy or introverted as there was nothing wrong with that, and even possibly worse than Olaf who at least seemed to hate everyone equally-Jasper felt like it would be sort of awkward to spend his last night at Sonora hanging around with people that he had barely interacted with for the last seven years.Still, he admittedly felt a bit guilty for worrying that Bertie and Quincy would be…more like Desmond than possibly just shy and/or introverted. He felt like…he should have known better given he had plenty of relatives who fit into those categories. And Bertie had been Christopher’s Challenge teammate and not at all hostile towards him, so why would he be so towards Jasper? It wasn’t as if the Teppenpaw was super hyperactive-a sort that could be overwhelming for quieter people to be around-or a jock type like his uncle who would pick on the two Aladrens for being nerds. More importantly, for his own well being…they were also not like his uncle.
Something else occurred to him and maybe it was because of the fact that he was feeling bad about assuming they were snobs who didn’t like him instead of just being quiet and introverted which was usually the most logical conclusion. “Should we make wishes for them?” Jasper asked “They are our tent mates after all, but then as we don’t especially know them that well, I really am not sure I can do much more than a generic wish for them to have success in their future or have a nice summer or something.” The wish most people would probably make for the seventh years that they wanted to make wishes for.
Although Jasper was pretty sure he knew what Christopher was going to wish for him-and it wasn’t the generic one he’d just mentioned- because he was planning to wish the same thing for him, which was a safe summer with minimal exposure to Uncle Eustace. “And they probably won’t make them for us. Understandably” Jasper added. He certainly didn’t expect them to make wishes for someone they didn’t know well. True, it occurred to him but then he was a Teppenpaw and maybe more inclined to think of such things.
Philippe withdrew his hot dog from the fire. Jasper watched him taste it. He made a face when his roommate decided it was still too cold in the middle. “Ugh. I’ll keep going with mine then.” They had started cooking them at about the same time, so he figured that if Phillipe’s was unsuitable yet, his probably was too. “I’m not sure how to tell if it’s done, I’ve only ever done this once before. And I probably won’t ever again, but I want to know for right now. I don’t really want to bite into a not fully cooked hot dog.”
11
Jasper Brockert
Is that something you're interested in?
1496
0
5
Ian Malone
May 19, 2023 3:53 PM
An important wish by Ian Malone
Tonight was the last night of his penultimate year at Sonora. Ian could not believe that he had only one year left at school, then he would be going off to his pre-Healer program, hopefully at Pumine. Other schools might be more overall elite but they weren’t as good for Healing.First, however, Ian was going to have to do well in his classes next year and…on his RATS. Even though test examiners were just, as Val put it, people doing their jobs and not ogres-well, not all ogres, he firmly believed that there had to be some that were sadists who selected their profession so they could inflict torture and misery on the students who were taking exams, because there were both good and bad people in most professions, maybe not Healing because that seemed like an inherent contradiction, people like Uncle Ryan’s biological mother and sister did not go into careers that helped people but in most professions had both good and bad people-that did not mean that he wasn’t still worried about how well he’d do on them.
And these tests were super important, like, life or death, for Ian anyway. Maybe that wasn’t the case for Tommy or Isla , for example, but for him it was quite literally that. Or more accurately, it was potentially literally that or people that he could help. And maybe he wouldn’t worry so much-well, okay, he probably would, that was pretty much what the Teppenpaw did , he worried all the time about something-if it wasn’t for DADA.
It wasn’t as if Ian had ever actually failed the class, he did well enough in theory work-remembering all the dark magic and dark creatures and how a person could be harmed by them was unsurprisingly something that stuck in Ian’s brain quite well-and he’d never had an issue performing a spell, so long as he did not have to be quick on his feet.
Honestly, he wished he could just claim a moral objection to dueling. After all, he had heard of people raising such objections to using animal bits in potions, so if they could say that they didn’t want to use something that harmed animals, why shouldn’t Ian be able to say the same about people since as a future Healer, it went against everything that the sixth year stood for.
He guessed he’d never done so because he was never one to make a fuss, to do something that would draw attention to himself, and potentially make people think he was whiny or political. He admired those like Amethyst who could do things like put out petitions to change things they didn’t like, but he wasn’t sure that he could do the same. Even if it was just for himself. Besides, it wasn’t as if Amethyst had been successful, so that also gave Ian pause about asking to get out of dueling due to moral objections.
Not to mention others might perceive him doing such a thing not out of moral objection but because he wasn’t good at it. Which was true, but only a secondary reason.
So basically, Ian didn’t have the nerve to complain. He wasn’t like Amethyst or the people who refused to make potions using animal components. He was a coward.
As for RATS, in addition to worrying about DADA, he was afraid that he would not get a nice examiner next time. At least he wouldn’t have the Challenges this time though, so that would give him more time to study. Maybe he should start doing so now.
Well, when he got home. Tonight was the Bonfire and he should allow himself one night of fun. Besides, Ian had left his study materials inside.
The ritual that Professor Skies had come up with was a nice one too and before Ian went to find Tommy, Wally or Stanley to ask if he could join them in their tent-that was the natural choice for him, given that Tommy was his roommate and the twins were Uncle Ryan’s sons-or get some food and try his hand at cooking over a fire-he had done it at the last Bonfire, but that had been four years ago-Ian had a wish to make.
He approached the large fire and wrote on a slip of paper. I wish for everyone at Sonora to be safe and healthy . He could make separate wishes for people such as Tommy, Wally, Stanley and Lavender but he wanted this for everyone, it was that important.
11
Ian Malone
An important wish
1522
0
5
Bertie Jackson
May 19, 2023 9:04 PM
Gaming was good by Bertie Jackson
Philippe was already in the tent by the time Bertie made his way over. Jasper was not. He was most likely in the bathroom or getting a snack, both of which were more probable than him being invisible, having spontaneously evaporated, or having ditched them for someone else. Especially as there were still four beds in their tent and Philippe didn’t look like he had Grief-Stricken or Betrayed Teppenpaw Feelings about anything.Bertie gave his fellow gamer a nod of acknowledgement, lingering on the edge of the tent. He offered similar nods to any other gamers he saw, and even extended this to a friendly wave to Valentine, as she was slightly further away (though given that she moved between people with all the energy of a charmed bouncy ball, that could change very rapidly).
He would never have signed up to go on a random camping trip with Philippe (especially not with Jasper in tow) but now that it was happening, it felt sort of right.
“Life imitates gaming,” he smiled, falling over several of the words but not minding. It was nothing Philippe hadn’t heard before, and it… it really didn’t matter. Bertie was absolutely going to become the world’s most powerful nonverbal wizard and write scathing academic papers that destroyed the reliance on prescriptive linguistic restrictions in spellcasting but… But none of that had made things better. He’d fought the system and won, he’d had work-arounds for his stammer, and he was going to tear down the system that had meant they needed to be regarded as ‘work arounds’ but… Gaming hadn’t allowed that side-stepping. He’d had to sit and talk to a table full of people every week. It had made him not hate the sound of his own voice.
He thought the current sensation of words sticking a little in his throat might be less to do with his stammer and more to do with how he was actually going to miss these people… Still, he was a pro at taking a deep breath and working around the knots, so that even though he still got stuck on some of the sounds, he didn’t look like he was struggling. Because he wasn’t.
“Gaming was good. I think I’ll try to keep doing it.”
OOC: Open to any gamer who fancies a quick goodbye.
13
Bertie Jackson
Gaming was good
1497
0
5
Philippe Delachene
May 19, 2023 9:24 PM
Yeah, it was by Philippe Delachene
Philippe had split off from Jasper to say his good-byes to some of the people they didn't have in common - gamers, cafe folks, other people he'd just clicked with in class more. Jasper had relatives and his own other people, too. They'd meet back at the tent later, but Philippe swung by there first, just to drop some things off so he didn't need to carry them all over the Pitch while saying his goodbyes.Bertie found him just as he was leaving again.
Philippe smiled. "It was good," he agreed. He wasn't sure how much he'd get to keep gaming in the future. Freddie had played some, briefly, before he graduated, so maybe they could find a group together somewhere. He wasn't quite sure how to find a group like this again, but he supposed they could try anyway. "Durra's going to miss all of you." He ducked back out of the tent, standing in front of it instead of inside it, and spotted Valentine not too far away and waved at her.
He chuckled a little as the little Durra-voice in his head objected to the oversimplification he'd just uttered. She had a softer heart than she liked to show on the outside, but it hadn't been soft enough for everyone in their most recent party. "Well, maybe not Doombringer."
1
Philippe Delachene
Yeah, it was
1489
0
5
Lenny Pierce
May 19, 2023 10:01 PMLenny Pierce
StudentHouse: Teppenpaw
Year: 6
Written by: Nathan
Age in Post: 13
Birthday: September
Here's to a great camp out! by Lenny Pierce
Lenny goggled at Chris a little bit. Sure, on an intellectual level, he understood that nearly everyone else went home and slept on beds not too much different to what they had in their dorms, that his home life was the exception, not the rule, but to have never camped before completely boggled Lenny's mind."Never?" he repeated in disbelief. "Well, I've got a lot of thing to teach you then! My family lives in tents year 'round!" The California Pierces had started as drifters, had run a stint as outlaws, then settled down into a more legal way of life but still nomadic. They'd gotten into hippie lifestyle in the sixties and never really left it, though they were more performers at Renaissance faires than folk festivals these days - though some of them still did the folk music. Rosalynn's grandfather still did that, and her dad had as well before he landed the stage magician gig in Vegas.
Others, like Mom and Jose, brewed over the campfires and made money in mail order vegetarian and vegan potions.
They probably could have settled somewhere into a nice commune or something by now, but they'd been tenting since Woodstock and they could often negotiate a place to camp on the grounds as part of their employment package at the Faires and Festivals, so . . . it was just how they'd always lived, and Lenny didn't think it was likely to change anytime soon. The California Pierce Business Model had been run out of Maria's RV for longer than Lenny had been alive.
"It's a ton of fun! You'll love it!" Lenny promised. "Tents don't need to be spartan and rough. We can make the cots nice and comfy, and string up fairy lights, and tell fun stories and hang out and have fun until we get so tired we want to go to sleep! And don't worry! I'll help you cook. It's tricky at first, not burning your food, but you'll get the hang of it. I can show you how to make some really good vegetarian camp food! If you want a hot dog, though, you may need Cole's help. He was a boy scout, so he's probably done it before."
1
Lenny Pierce
Here's to a great camp out!
1547
0
5
Valentine Duell
May 19, 2023 10:03 PM
And it still will be! by Valentine Duell
Ooo! Val spotted Bertie and Philippe! She waved back at them and finished up the conversations she was making and then made a straight line over towards her two gamers that were graduating along with her. She caught the end of Philippe's statements and couldn't help but smile. It was nice to know that she had helped to make something that they had enjoyed."Are we saying some gaming farewells?" She asked coyly. "I know I'm going to miss you all, including Doombringer." She emphasized the last bit, just for fun. "I think Phil will do good leading the group and keep things going here. Don't you?" She shouldn't be, but she was just a teeny-tiny bit worried on that front. Not because of Phil, but... this group was the last group that had the chance to play with the club's founder Gary. Everyone younger was brought in from Ness or her. Would that change anything? She didn't know. It wasn't really her problem anymore, but there was something of a legacy at stake and she didn't want to be the one to cause it to fall.
Val thought for a moment, "You know, I've heard tales that Gary kept playing games with some of the older students that had graduated after he did." She looked at the pair of them, "No one says we can't do the same if we get the chance."
2
Valentine Duell
And it still will be!
1490
0
5
Bertie Jackson
May 19, 2023 10:14 PM
In some form or other by Bertie Jackson
“Nirro’s not,” Bertie responded quickly, a smile playing about his lips. The answer was easy and obvious. “At least, not in character,” he added, never quite sure how much in—in these types of conversations—they were referring to their characters versus themselves. He was not going to get super squishy and do a lot of emotional goodbyes, but he also didn’t want to leave on a note that was essentially ‘screw you.’ Especially not to a soft-hearted Teppenpaw who probably thought with his feelings all the time.Make that two of them…
“The clue is rather in the name. Who wants to be brought doom?” he added, deciding they were firmly back to meaning character only, because he doubted Philippe randomly disliked Phil in particular, or would say so if he did. Again, squishy little Teppenpaw full of feelings and tact and whatever. “Though you can’t argue that he didn’t give Durra things to do. I’m sure things would have been entirely too quiet without him. Barely any injuries at all,” he smirked. “But yes, I’m sure he’ll do a good job,” he added to Val. Phil was an Aladren. Organisation, nerdy excellence, and a passion for the library were core house traits, and they neatly overlapped substantially in the Venn diagram with gaming traits.
And then he was probably supposed to say something about how Phillipe was a good chap, and he wished him a great life with Freddie, and they should keep in touch, and all the same to Val with some different names in there. Except he and Philippe had a whole night of tent sharing ahead of them, so he didn’t need to do battle with how much of that he wanted to put into actual words versus assuming Philippe could gather from a stoic nod, and the fact that Bertie was voluntarily in his presence. Val was both helping and hindering in that regard, in that she seemed to want to make the fact they were leaving and should have feelings about it much more verbal, but she also didn’t seem to be closing the door for good.
“Could happen,” he agreed.
13
Bertie Jackson
In some form or other
1497
0
5
Nicholas Pierce
May 20, 2023 9:07 PMNicholas Pierce
StudentHouse: Aladren
Year: 4
Written by: Grayson Wright
Age in Post: 11
Birthday: August
All of Alexander's traits are good traits. by Nicholas Pierce
Nicholas grinned when Quillan pressed him for details on his Clever Hypothetical Plan. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “Might change from Sunday to Sunday, depending, you know, how much homework we have…aaaand how long I could pay keep paying attention when I already knew the outcome,” he admitted. “At least the way things are, I don’t know for sure if I’ll win or lose.” He wouldn’t be surprised if there was a way to calculate the odds using arithmancy or something, but he wasn’t entirely sure sometimes if even Mother really liked that kind of thing. There was, after all, a difference between being good at something and actually enjoying it. He’d completed enough Greek and Latin grammar exercises to Mother’s satisfaction in his life to feel sure of this. It was only the little stories used to contextualize new vocabulary and structures that had made said exercises tolerable – he had to admit, he remembered Quintus and Horatia and Decimus all with a certain affection, as he’d amused himself by drawing extra cartoons about them and had sometimes managed to amuse his parents and his fellow-sufferer with some of the better ones.They ought, he thought, to teach magical theory with stories somehow. It would be more interesting that way. Maybe he should consult his brother about helping him make some up; they would, no doubt, be heroes, as this was more entertaining than simply learning the rules word for word, in the more usual way….
“How convenient,” he joked when Quillan entered a tent and announced that his things were already inside it. This was, however, as good a reason to choose one tent which met his brother’s parameters as another, and so he followed his friend into the tent in question.
“It’ll be easier to keep the chessmen from running everywhere if we sit on the floor, though,” he pointed out when Desmond mentioned playing chess on the beds, even as he put his own things down on the end of one to claim it for himself. “Or ‘accidentally’ sliding onto squares we don’t want them to slide on, just to keep themselves from getting captured.” The irksome qualities of chessmen were, Nicholas suspected, no small part of why his parents approved of the game; he and Alexander were, after all, supposed to become renowned amongst men, which meant they’d have to have some skill for maintaining control over groups of their fellows who had not been raised to always exhibit proper behavior. Improper behavior represented a loss of self-control, and one who could not master himself could hardly expect to master others, or to refrain from being mastered by others.
OOC: I'm operating under the assumption 'our' wizard chess sets work more like the ones in the book (which argue with their owners, and get to know them over time) than the ones in the movies (which get shattered all the time). I also borrowed the characters for the grammar lessons from the Oxford Latin Course.
16
Nicholas Pierce
All of Alexander's traits are good traits.
1565
0
5