It's nearly the end (Arnold) on Quidditch Pitch

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

September 20, 2013 9:09 PM

MIDSUMMER'S FAIR by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

Kiva waited for the students to gather just outside of the school in the early morning hours of one of their last Saturdays at school. An announcement had been made that breakfast would be served outside during the fair and students were advised to be up and ready to start the day by eight in the morning. She was sure that there would be people upset by this news, but it was what it was. They had a lot of things happening that day and they couldn’t waste a moment of the day.

“Good Morning, Everyone.” Kiva greeted the student body, charming her voice to be heard. “As you can see from here, the rides have all been set up overnight on the pitch. They will begin running shortly after breakfast has finished. For those of you who did not join a booth, you have from eight am to ten am to have breakfast and look around. Everyone who is running a booth, set up will be at nine. You will have an hour to prepare. I hope everyone has their schedules that were given to you at dinner last night. These will help you to know what booths are being run at any given time. It also tells you when lunch will be served and as well as dinner. These specified times are the only times when these particular meals will be served. There are vendors who have Fair food that you can eat during the festivities, but if you want a full meal, you need to be sure to come to the tent.

“Please be kind to one another throughout the day and support your schoolmates with their booths. Our Vendors have made this fair possible and our providing us with their time and equipment. Treat them with respect.” Kiva was aware that there were students who felt they were more superior than others due to blood, money, or looks. She did not want anyone to mistreat their vendors because of this prejudice that many old blood families tended to still maintain.

“Before we head off, I do have some announcements to make. “ This was nothing unusual and most people were probably very eager to learn about a few results. “I’d like to first mention some very sad news. Our wonderful Deputy Headmistress and Quidditch Coach has decided that this year would be her final year at Sonora.” Kiva clapped politely and gave her colleague a smile. “I have had the honor of working with her since my return to Sonora and she has helped me a great deal these last few years. She will be missed and I hope you all make sure to tell her that today.” Kiva announced to the students. She felt Amelia deserved a proper farewell. “I’m sure all of you are excited to find out the results of the Head Girl and Head Boy ballots. Without making you wait any further, I’d like you all to give a warm cheer to Nora Dobson and Linus Macaulay. If the two of you could make it to the front, please.” Kiva waited for them to come to the front to acknowledge their win before continuing on with the day.

“At the end of the Fair, there will be a celebration with dinner and a local Tumbleweed band will be performing. Make sure you are in the Tent promptly at seven o’clock. You will also receive your yearbooks at that time. Follow me to the tent, after which you can enjoy your breakfast and the rest of the day.” Kiva stated.

OOC: The yearbook is located here. The House Cup winners will be announced on the OOC board as well once all points have been added. The schedule for the booths is here

Subthreads:

Tagging Lucille by Evan Brockert with Lucille Carey, Lucille

Ending with a quiet bang. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan with Henny B-F-R, Josh McLachlan

Aimless wandering. by Jorge Garcia

I'm not sure where to go. by Charlotte Spencer with Emrys Lucan, Charlotte

A group date? (Linus, Valerie, and whoever) by Brianna Japos with Linus Macaulay, Brianna

It's nearly the end (Arnold) by Fae Sinclair with Arnold Carey, Fae

Archery Booth by Keme RunningBear with Ji-Eun Park

Making Friends. (Alicia, Theresa, and/or others) by Cepheus Princeton with Alicia Bauer, Theresa Carey, Cepheus

Petting Zoo!! Come love some animals! by Chloe and Emery Jareau

Giving a gift (Derry) by Regina Parker

The last meal before summer. by Aria Yale

Baking Club Booth! by Waverly Canterbury

Losses, bacon, and friends. by Michael Grosvenor with Mellie Goodwin

Crushed by Hope Brockert

0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau MIDSUMMER'S FAIR 0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau 1 5

Evan Brockert

September 21, 2013 3:34 PM

Tagging Lucille by Evan Brockert

Evan's booth, it turned out ran from two to four in the afternoon, and again from five to dinner time. That gave him plenty of time to enjoy the fair-and he planned to see if Lucille would like to walk around with him. He'd probably also be glad for the afternoon time slots because by that time, his feet might hurt and he could sit down in the chair he'd asked for.

At the moment, however, his eyes and his focus were not on his betrothed. They were fixed on Nora. The Head Students were going to be announced soon, and whether she won or lost-he hoped it was the former-he might get to see her show actual emotion which he was pretty sure she hadn't done since she was in diapers and cried to be changed.

First there was some announcement about how Coach Pierce would be leaving and how they should all thank her for her service to Sonora. Evan...honestly couldn't imagine his relatives-his proper pureblood female relatives who didn't want to fly and no interest whatsoever in playing Quidditch-doing so. Nora believed Coach Pierce didn't like the sort. Why would they thank someone who didn't even like them? He might though, as she was Thad's relation.

Evan held his breath as Head Students were announced and kept his eyes fixed on his cousin, waiting for her reaction.

“I’m sure all of you are excited to find out the results of the Head Girl and Head Boy ballots. Without making you wait any further, I’d like you all to give a warm cheer to Nora Dobson and Linus Macaulay. If the two of you could make it to the front, please.”

He let out a great sigh of relief. Nora wasn't quite jumping up and down squealing, but he could tell she was happy and proud-and looked like she wanted to jump up and down squealing but knew it was improper. And he was genuinely happy for her even though she'd made him miserable most of the year. Evan knew that this was something that the elder Aladren had always wanted and he applauded her especially loudly when she made her way up to the stage.

The announcements over, he began to look for Lucille. As they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, it was best to get to know each other and spend as much time together now as possible. Besides, she was a sweet girl and he did like her well enough already. And there was something about her that made him want to protect her, though he wasn't sure from what exactly. Carrie O'Malley maybe? It was probably Lucille's generally demeanor that made him feel so.

Spotting the Teppenpaw, Evan made his way over. "Hello, Lucille. I was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with me until I have to go to my booth?"

11 Evan Brockert Tagging Lucille 212 Evan Brockert 0 5

Lucille Carey

September 21, 2013 10:13 PM

I'm it? by Lucille Carey

By the time she was married and she no longer had to worry about looking the part of a girl good enough to be a Mrs. Brockert, Lucille thought she might have gotten used to the increased number of undergarments Mother insisted she wear now that she was a young lady who needed to impress. Just in the past few months, the moderately-laced corset (two taps of her wand for that; one was just for support and not dissimilar to what she’d had to wear for nearly a year, three was for parties, four or more for the truly insane) had grown less annoying than it had been, though she was sure she would never love it, any more than she would ever approximate Theresa’s very dainty figure, or even a fine one. Nature simply had not built her that way; she had, and always would have, a square, sturdy sort of frame, very good she was told for bearing sons, but not so much for capturing the interest of the necessary assistants to the process.

Because she had not complained about it at all, Mother had agreed she might have some which would allow her to ride still as well, and she was looking forward to that. For now, she was a little uncomfortable still, but had to admit, her clothes did look better on her, shaped and smoothed out as she was now, even the relatively simple ones, just a blue floral-print dress, she was wearing to the Fair. She had also curled her hair and let Alex put her makeup on her, since Alex had a surprisingly deft hand for that, and thought she looked pretty, if not at all grand, as she sat and listened politely to announcements about people she had never really met and noted when she was supposed to be in the tent later.

Afterward, she got up with the vague idea of going to find one of the girls to look at exhibits with, but stopped when she saw Mr. Brockert approaching. On the whole, between the tighter corset and feeling of triumph she got from seeing her future husband, she thought she had gotten more accustomed to the former over the course of the spring. It was still incredible for her to think that – somehow, without even trying – she had managed to make herself unobjectionable enough to someone of status for him to be all right with having to marry her. It would have been even nicer if she had done it on purpose, she supposed, but that wasn’t what mattered; the important part was that she had done it. In spite of her father, in spite of everything, she had caught the second son of an heir; if Adam Brockert didn’t have sons, then Lucille’s children could end up as heads of families themselves, the equals of their cousins, Mal’s sons, if not a little bit better. Even if they were not, they would be no worse off than Mal and Baby’s children.

And she would have a place in the world after school – she would belong somewhere. That was the most important thing, and the reason why she wouldn’t have cared much if he were far more objectionable than he actually was. She had to smile, really, when she thought of Alex and Theresa, trying so gingerly to break it to her that men cheated on their wives as a matter of course and that Theresa suspected Evan Brockert of carrying on, as she seemed to suspect every boy in fifth year of carrying on, with Miss Bauer as well – both of them hoping to keep her from getting romantic ideas and expecting him to love her, of course, and it had been sweet of them, but it had been completely unnecessary. Evan could carry on with every witch, wizard, house-elf, and goblin on both sides of the Mississippi for all she cared, though, so long as he did not try to divorce her over them or put the resulting children in the will. That belonged to her sons, and that was all that really mattered.

She smiled sweetly and bobbed a small curtsy when he approached her. “Good morning,” she said, and nodded, her eyes still modestly downcast, as he proposed spending the day together. “If you like,” she said. “Is there anything you would like to do first?”

This part, really, was not so difficult at all. Being deferential and not complaining about it were the two things Mother had made sure she knew better than anything.

0 Lucille Carey I'm it? 224 Lucille Carey 0 5

Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

September 22, 2013 12:40 AM

Ending with a quiet bang. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

Josh was admittedly feeling a little melancholy about all this. His RATS were done and over with, his final exams had been passed, and he had no classwork left to do. The fair was the last and final sendoff into the real world for him and the future didn't seem so real until now. He walked onto the pitch wearing his old black robes and his black shoes. He had a bit of scruff on his cheeks, but he hadn't let it grow out completely yet. He still had a summer to get through and, he hoped, by the end of it Maximilian McLachlan would be gone.

There was still the entire day to enjoy, however, and Josh tried not to be too melancholy. He had grown a lot here at Sonora and he had found a real comrade he could trust completely. He had decided this term he didn't want to completely cut her out from his life; it would be, as he realized, too hard on both of them. As long as she kept his secret, he couldn't bring himself to simply up and run away from her who had supported him. They might have shared too much, but that's what made their bond even stronger.

Even though he wanted to see Brianna, he didn't want to see her at the same time. He was leaving and she would be taken care of; there was nothing left to worry about. It made Josh feel peculiarly empty. He walked through the fair once in the morning alone, his gray eyes examining each both and memorizing faces. He was glad Linus was Head Boy. He would do a good job with it as long as he made time for Brianna as well.

The walk in the late morning through the Quidditch pitch made him feel even lonelier and so he escaped the throngs of people to be on his own again. He climbed up to the Aladren stands and sat there, looking down upon the fair itself. He had never seen a Quidditch match, but he didn't regret that. He wasn't much of a sports buff. He had read and absorbed all he could of all the academic material he could get his hands on and he was satisfied. He would leave with no regrets except that he had made a friend, breaking the decision he had initially come to Sonora with. But he couldn't completely regret befriending Brianna. She had really helped him come out of his shell at least when they were alone.

There was a slight breeze this high up and he closed his eyes to soak in the distant sound of the fair. He wouldn't be here ever again and he was surprised to find that he would miss it. He would miss Sonora. Josh opened his eyes and stood up. He took a deep breath of the air and made his way back down to the pitch. He couldn't leave without experiencing his last Midsummer function. He was just getting back into the crowd feeling refreshed when he almost bumped into someone. "Sorry," he said immediately, taking a step back to give the person some space and to look at them clearly.

19 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan Ending with a quiet bang. 184 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan 0 5

Jorge Garcia

September 22, 2013 5:48 PM

Aimless wandering. by Jorge Garcia

Jorge didn’t know whether or not he would enjoy the Fair. He didn’t really have a set group of friends that he could just join in on and walk the fair together with them, so he didn’t think it would be very fun. He would see the booths that some of the people he was on friendly terms with were hosting and pig out on the free food, but other than that, he had no real idea of how he was going to keep himself entertained for the entire day. He thought about skipping out on most of it and going off to the music room or water room and keep himself busy that way. As long as he kept his eye on the time, he wouldn’t miss any of the important stuff. But he wasn’t sure if skipping the Fair was allowed and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to get himself in trouble so close to the end of term. It was something he would spend the morning thinking about while everyone else went off to set up their booths.

Jorge stood in the crowd by the school as the headmistress made her announcements. Jorge didn’t play Quidditch while at school and wasn’t a Crotalus, so Coach Pierce leaving didn’t make much difference to him in his everyday life, but he was a bit surprised to find that she was leaving. He would have thought she would have at least stayed until all of her relation had graduated. But, what did he know? The stuffy Purebloods had so many relations that maybe she just didn’t have any feelings towards the younger ones. Or, she got a better gig. Either way, it didn’t make any difference unless her replacement was terrible.

Jorge clapped for the new Head Boy and Head Girl. He didn’t really know them and their election hardly affected him any more than the Coach’s absence would, but he clapped for them just the same. Next year would be his year’s ballot. Jorge doubted that he would be on it. He certainly had the grading for it. But people saw him as a jokester for whatever reason. Jorge had never pulled at prank at school, but he felt like he was guilty due to association. Because of that, Jorge had absolute certainty that he would not even make it onto the voting slip.

He would have to think about how he would feel about this. He wasn’t sure if he cared but he wasn’t sure if he didn’t care either. He didn’t even know what he wanted to do after Sonora, but getting Head Boy might help with that. Then again, he might just go off and join a band like his aunt did and not have to worry about it at all.

Why was he even thinking about this?

Jorge ate his breakfast in the tent along with everyone else and then wandered. Just wandered. He had nothing to do or anywhere to go, so he just watched everyone else as he walked. Maybe something would catch his eye long enough for him to become interested.

6 Jorge Garcia Aimless wandering. 220 Jorge Garcia 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

September 24, 2013 12:49 PM

I'm not sure where to go. by Charlotte Spencer

Charlotte had never been to a fair before in her life, and for the introverted witch, a fair was not high on her list of places to visit. There were so many people and so many things going on Charlotte was momentarily lost when she arrived at the transformed pitch that morning. It was overwhelming and she had to allow herself some time to adjust as the Headmistress gave her speech. There were yearbooks to be handed out at the end of the day and Charlotte wondered briefly if she had been voted in any of the categories. She remembered going through Adam's yearbook last year when he brought it home. Though school itself was scary, the yearbook was a delight to look through.

This year, overall, could be considered a success. She hadn't cried herself to sleep more than fifteen nights the entire year, her kitty Missy hadn't thrown up any hairballs in the presence of her room-mate and Charlotte had learnt how to use her wand. Not to mention Emrys Lucan who was now considered a friend. Their time in the MARS music room had been loads of fun, but that creeping feeling of insecurity was following. They were still friends, weren't they? A summer couldn't separate a friendship too badly, or so she hoped.

It was unfortunate that Charlotte's brother was working a booth for the fair. He was free at this time, but it was clear he had better things to do and friends to meet and Charlotte didn't want to get in the way of that. She had already lost him; it was inconvenient they were in different houses, but it forced her to be social on her own. However, she didn't like being alone like this in a mass of people, but she would have to survive.

The booths were open and Charlotte went to go explore, half-hoping to bump into Emrys or another friendly face on the way. She saw a Caricature Booth and found it entertaining, though she would never consider that art. She wished the Art Booth was running now or Adam's booth so she could find something to do and someone to accompany her.

She wandered around a bit, simply looking around and taking in the environment, and then went to the Hidden Reflections booth. That seemed harmless enough. She should have made plans with Emrys Lucan to attend the fair with him, but she worried that he had other friends to be with that were better than her. It was all right; she was too quiet and Charlotte was sure someone like Emrys would have better friends. She stood in front of the Hidden Reflections booth, debating on whether or not she wanted to actually go in.

40 Charlotte Spencer I'm not sure where to go. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Brianna Japos

September 24, 2013 7:21 PM

A group date? (Linus, Valerie, and whoever) by Brianna Japos

Brianna waited outside the school with the rest of the students and staff. She wasn’t really sure what was going to happen today. She figured she would find Linus in this mess of students and Valerie. She was hoping that Josh would hang out with them too, but she didn’t know where he was and hadn’t spoken to him about it. Maybe she’d run into him at the Fair and make him be social. He probably wouldn’t though. He seemed to be able to disappear easily into the crowds. Maybe they could get Sully to join them today or Paul. Valerie would be likely more comfortable with other people than just the three of them.

The Headmistress began her speech and Brianna turned her attention onto her instead of looking at the faces of everyone else. She gave a polite clap when it was announced that Coach Pierce would be leaving at the end of the term. Brianna never had any issues with the Coach as her Head of House and Brianna was a little sad to see her go, but everyone moved on eventually. Her speech moved on to that of the Head Boy and Girl results. She heard Nora’s name and was surprised by the feeling of disappointment that jolted through her. Nora was a nice enough person and, really, Brianna was okay with not getting the title, but it would have been nice to have been able to put that onto her college applications. Nora wouldn’t need the title for anything. She was one of those girls who did nothing more with themselves other than birth babies. She didn’t need an education or a career. Brianna did and part of her felt that the Head Girl title was wasted on the other Sixth Year.

Brianna put on a happy face though because Linus had won for Head Boy. She was not at all surprised by his win, but she still wanted to be supportive about it. She clapped happily as Linus took in his victory and then waved to get his attention once they were officially free to do as they pleased. “Congratulations!” Brianna exclaimed to him when she finally made it to him. It was hard enough walking on the ground, but a crowd of people made it nearly impossible to not get her crutch caught on something. She gave him a hug and a kiss to congratulate him on his win. She was still getting comfortable with public displays of affection, but this she thought deserved it.

Standing in a floral print spring dress that belted at the waist and landed mid-thigh (like most of her outfits did due to her long legs) and a cardigan, Brianna pulled away from him and gave a look around. Because they were likely to go on rides, Brianna had opted to pull her long brown hair back into a ponytail and now felt naked not having the ability to hide her face whenever she wanted. “I told Valerie we would do a group thing, if that’s okay?” Brianna asked him, hoping he didn’t mind. “Did you need to do anything for your booth?”

6 Brianna Japos A group date? (Linus, Valerie, and whoever) 203 Brianna Japos 0 5

Fae Sinclair

September 24, 2013 8:16 PM

It's nearly the end (Arnold) by Fae Sinclair

This was Fae’s last hurrah while at Sonora. It was really strange of her to believe that she would be graduating in just a few short days. Summer would be her time with Sara and helping her prepare for her wedding in any way that she could. It would also be helping Eleanor prepare for the baby. Fae still couldn’t believe that she was going to be an aunt. Both of her siblings had been married for a couple of years now, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that they would be starting families, but it was not something that Fae had actually thought about until the news came that Elle was with-child. Fae was happy for her brother and for her sister-in-law as she was sure they would make wonderful parents, but it just made her realize that she was an adult now and would soon be married and starting a family of her own. Well, presumably, she had no idea what Arnold wanted and she was too afraid to ask him. Arnold seemed to get very anxious at the idea of a future.

She didn’t know what it was exactly about the future that Arnold seemed nervous about. Perhaps it was the idea of marrying her that had him on edge, but she would think that spending time together over the last couple of years and getting used to the idea of being betrothed would have given him time to get used to it. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after he graduated or he feared he would not be able to provide for her? Fae didn’t worry about those things. She knew they would be okay. Arnold would find his stride again as he had with Quidditch and Fae would support him like she was supposed to.

He still had another year to think about it since they weren’t getting married until next summer. Her mother told her that she was going to have the year to acquaint herself with Arnold’s family. That made her more nervous than the wedding did. Fae loved Arnold, so marrying him didn’t upset her like it once did. But she was not sure how to conduct herself around his family to where they would possibly like her. She thought she did alright around Arthur, but he was terribly difficult for her to read. Fae was not perfect in the way that Sara was, so she knew she would have to work harder to be the proper young daughter-in-law that Arnold’s parents would want for their son.

She didn’t want to worry about that now. She smoothed out the front of her dress as she stood amongst the crowd and listened to the Headmistress speak. Fae was small, just barely five foot one, so standing in a crowd of people made it impossible to see anything. Most of the boys were taller than her and there were plenty of girls who were too. Since she could do nothing more than listen, Fae clapped when appropriate to do so, but otherwise did not take in much of what was being said. Whatever was happening wasn’t going to affect her any since she was graduating, but she still had to be polite and pretend that she cared.

Fae didn’t realize the speech was over until the people around her surged forward to head towards the pitch. Fae was jostled along with the crowd, rubbing her arm that had been knocked into rather painfully. As they moved, Fae nearly lost her footing. She had worn flats but, being stepped on or knocked into was not helping her balance and all she wanted to do was find Arnold and get away from everyone. She thought she spotted him ahead of her and called out to him, trying to squeeze her way through the other students to reach him. “Arnold!” She said, finally reaching him. “I guess people are hungry.” She muttered, trying to catch herself from falling. “Did you have any plans today?” She asked him.

6 Fae Sinclair It's nearly the end (Arnold) 194 Fae Sinclair 0 5

Keme RunningBear

September 24, 2013 10:03 PM

Archery Booth by Keme RunningBear

Keme’s second year at Sonora had gone pretty well, if he could say so. He had joined a couple of clubs to be social and he thought he was doing much better about it. He was even able to carry on a couple of conversations with his classmates. He had done much better about things this year than he had the year previous and he only hoped that the Fair would continue on with it. He had even decided to run a booth himself just to get more into the habit of dealing with people outside of his culture. He wasn’t sure if there was anyone who would show (and if no one did, what that would say about him), but he hoped that they would. Archery was one of Keme’s favorite things to do.

He had been doing Archery since he was a young boy. It was one of the many competitions that his people enjoyed doing. Keme was the top Archer of his age group. His sister was one of the top female Archers of the entire tribe. Keme wasn’t sure if he would ever get as good as she was, but she helped him out whenever he was home and taught him tricks. It was something that they could do together and got on well doing so. Their four year age difference made it difficult for them to find common ground, but this was what they could do.

After the breakfast, Keme went off to find his booth. It wasn’t hard to spot and he really enjoyed how it turned out. The bows and arrows weren’t top notch, but they would do for a quick game between friends. The booth was wooden and simple, the targets 10 feet from the front of the booth and pinned to a block of hay. There were five targets total. The closer to the bullseye, the bigger the prize they would receive. The school had provided with quite a selection too, so he thought people might be intrigued to join him.

Being by himself, he had four hours to work in his booth. This did not bother him very much because he didn’t really have a set group of friends to walk the fair ground with. Really, wasn’t sure if anyone called him a friend. But he would take the time to review all the booths available because he was curious and wanted to show support.

For now though, time for his booth was slowly coming up on him and he wanted to be prepared. He strung the bows and secured the rubber arrows heads. He made sure the targets were level and straight. When all the prizes were hanging in his booth, Keme sat in a stool that was provided to him and waited for the first guests to his booth to arrive.

6 Keme RunningBear Archery Booth 249 Keme RunningBear 0 5

Emrys Lucan

September 25, 2013 1:02 AM

Perhaps I can be of assistance? by Emrys Lucan

Emrys was nervous about attending the school fair alone. He should have asked Charlotte to come with him, he realized, but it was too late now. He considered finding Emery to see if his roommate would like to come with him but he soon realized the flaw in that plan- he and his roommate barely spoke. He didn't know him well at all and would never even know where to begin looking for him. So, the night before the fair, Emrys found that he was committed to going alone. Besides, he could always find someone to hang out with once he was there.

Once he got there, he found himself searching for either Charlotte or Emery, at this point he didn't really care which as he desperately wanted someone to walk around with, he felt so awkward and out of place all by himself when everyone else he saw was hanging out with someone (or someones, depending on how many friends they had made!). As he walked, he caught sight of Charlotte outside the Hidden Reflections Booth as if she were waiting for something, what he didn't know. To go in, perhaps? Or maybe she was meeting someone. He started to go over and retreated at least five times. What if she was meeting someone? He would feel presumptuous and quite awkward and then she would think that he had no friends other than her. That was something he didn't want her to think even if it was true.

Finally, he made the executive decision. Even if she was waiting for someone, talking to her while she waited was better than not talking to anyone that day at all. He pulled himself together and straightened his shirt to make sure it wasn't wrinkled. Then, as he did in Transfiguration the other day, he ran his hands through his hair to see if it was too messy (again, he wasn't sure why he felt compelled to do this, only that it was probably the proper thing to do before going up to talk to a girl). He took a deep breath, and walked over.

"Hi, Charlotte," he said. "Are you waiting for someone or may I have the pleasure of your company this fine afternoon?" He hoped that by talking like he had written to her she would be inclined to let him stay around even if he was unexpected company.

10 Emrys Lucan Perhaps I can be of assistance? 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Charlotte

September 25, 2013 9:48 AM

It would be much appreciated. by Charlotte

Someone was approaching and she moved a little to allow them space to walk past, but to her surprise it was Emrys. Her face brightened at seeing a familiar face, though she tried to suppress her pleasure. “Good morning Emrys,” she replied. “No, I-I wasn’t. I’d be delighted if you could join me. You’re not waiting for anyone, are you?” She tacked on the last bit with some hesitation, hoping he wasn’t in fact waiting for anyone. Otherwise this would make the situation a bit awkward. Her tongue had faltered slightly and she felt slightly embarrassed about it. As a child, she had been required to go through speech therapy in order to get rid of a stutter. She eventually grew out of it, but there were times she slipped and wanted to kick herself for it. It didn’t happen often at least, which Charlotte was very glad of.

“I was just thinking of going in,” she told him, having recovered from her slip. If she ignored it perhaps Emrys would simply not notice. Talking about the booth she was currently in front of seemed like a reasonable conversation topic. After all, she didn’t want him to think she was standing outside of this booth for no reason like a fool. “I’ve never been to a fair before. Have you seen the other booths?” she asked, wondering if he had indeed had the time to look at any others. Charlotte could mention she had been wandering around, but she didn’t want to make herself look aimless and confused.

She was grateful in this company that she had dressed up particularly nice today. Charlotte had curled her hair as a momentum for the last day of the school year and to congratulate herself on a successful term. Making herself look presentable was required, but dressing up especially nice and curling her blonde hair was a reward. She was wearing designer dress robes today, a light pink that brought out any colour in her pale cheeks. She had a white carnation pin keeping her curls from falling into her face, but she wished now that she didn’t have it. Pinning one’s hair in the front made it much more difficult to hide in plain sight.

“Um, would you like to go in?” she asked hesitantly. She brushed her hair back and didn’t meet his eyes, afraid of seeing pity for her as a result of his rejection. If Emrys was, in fact, meeting with other friends perhaps he would reject her and she didn’t want that. Hidden Reflections did sound interesting enough, didn’t it? She hoped Emrys would agree to spend the day with her. He was her friend, after all. Perhaps she could introduce him to her brother if they found the time.

0 Charlotte It would be much appreciated. 0 Charlotte 0 5

Cepheus Princeton

September 25, 2013 9:54 AM

Making Friends. (Alicia, Theresa, and/or others) by Cepheus Princeton

The whole fair ordeal was mediocre in Cepheus’s mind. The Midsummer Events were just something he had to struggle through. The events were improved greatly, however, by the yearbooks and Cepheus looked forward to reading them every year particularly to browse through the awards. This year’s was absolutely brilliant. He had won six awards this year and even if they were nothing but superlatives, Cepheus still felt a bit of pride in knowing that his reputation had garnered enough interest in his character. Receiving awards meant people paid attention to him. But this year the yearbook was also very entertaining to read through.

Just a couple years ago Cepheus and Theresa were the best couple. Now that this was true, this year he and Alicia had been voted the best couple. Apparently no one knew what to think of him, really, as he was also voted the biggest flirt of his class and the best looking for the third and second year in a row respectively. Cepheus laughed at it. He would have to comment on their award when he saw Alicia in private. They looked good together as a couple and as the biggest flirts of their class, though dating her was something he would never consider at this point in time. Ceph hoped Theresa wasn’t put out by it, however, since he had convinced them both to eat dinner with him at the end of the fair. He found her and went to sit with Theresa after receiving the yearbook.

“Hello there,” he said with a grin, hoping he wasn’t making idiotic faces as happy people were apt to do. “Had the chance to look at that yearbook again? You and I look quite lovely as Class Gentleman and Princess.” It felt completely normal conversing with her in public. He had felt awkward spending any time with her outside of their secret meetings, but now that they were open to being open about their relationship, he felt less restricted to keeping a solely private relationship. To the world they could simply be friends and there was nothing wrong or scandalous about that.

Cepheus had asked Alicia to join them. He had already hinted heavily at something happening between him and the female Carey, but he had confirmed it earlier to her in private. Cepheus wanted, more than anything, for his fantasy to play out: he wanted his mates to be good friends with Theresa, or at the very least tolerate her. Alicia was the one he was the most worried about. Now that Gareth was going to leave, Cepheus would only have Alicia and a bit of Henny and Thad in their little clique. He was good friends with Alex as well and wanted her to join too, but she seemed more inclined to be on her own than in a group like theirs. It was more than unfortunate that his best mate was no longer attending Sonora, but at least they were from the same continent. Ceph would be able to see him even if it was only during the holidays. But the mess that Gareth’s family was currently in had also come with an even greater blessing: he was no longer betrothed. The Princetons had not wanted to get into any political mishaps and so, to be safe, they had broken the betrothal on good terms with the Brownbriars.

There was really no rush, at least in Cepheus’s opinion, for him to be betrothed again so quickly thereafter. Even if he liked Theresa, he didn’t want to marry her just yet. The idea of marriage, after the Brownbriar scare, had convinced him that marriage was a monstrous act that should only be saved for old wizards and witches in their thirties and forties. But, if Scorpius was still looking to force his grandson into a premature contract, Cepheus could potentially play his cards right and convince his grandfather to betroth him to a certain Carey. That all depended on Scorpius’s desire for a strong Princeton presence in America. If he still felt the same way after deciding to send all his grandchildren to an American institution, then aligning themselves with the Careys would be essential.

The whole affair had made Cepheus rather giddy, but he hadn’t told Theresa anything yet. It was common knowledge that the Whitebriars and the Brownbriars were leaving the school permanently, but there hadn’t been any news made about Cepheus’s betrothal. That was still private until it was completely severed over the summer, but it wouldn’t be kept a secret for long. Cepheus had been bursting all day to let Theresa know and he almost didn’t think he could stand it much longer.

When Cepheus saw Alicia approaching, he raised an arm and smiled. “Over here,” he said as he waved with his arm, then sat back in his seat. When Alicia was at their table, he offered her a seat and said, “Alicia, you know Theresa Carey. Theresa, Alicia Bauer.” It was always safe to make formal introductions though they all practically knew everyone in their year now no matter what house they were in. All they needed now was a Teppenpaw and they’d be the complete representation of house unity. “How did you two enjoy the fair?” he asked though he was dying to peruse through the yearbook more fully. “I’m starving after such a long day.”

OOC: This is assuming the three of them and whoever else spent most of the day together, if that’s all right with you two.

40 Cepheus Princeton Making Friends. (Alicia, Theresa, and/or others) 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Alicia Bauer

September 25, 2013 12:53 PM

We'll see. by Alicia Bauer

Lose six, Alicia thought as she sat down for dinner, putting her unopened yearbook aside for the moment, and get two dozen of the other. She had no more than decided that Gareth’s departure, balanced by his cousin’s, was a completely neutral occurrence for her, if not a good one because that removed an object it was possible Cepheus could like better than he did her, than Cepheus had approached her to say, if not in so many words, that he wanted to legitimatize his dalliance with Theresa Carey by bringing her in to take Gareth’s place, effectively leaving Alicia with a whole new game to consider.

Gareth had been one thing; Alicia had never approved of her friends’ roommates being so close to them and would have happily sent both Gareth and Evan packing the day after Heads votes next year if she could have, but there had never been any real conflicts between them. A girl was another thing entirely. The specific girl in question did offer some interesting opportunities, especially as far as further dividing Waverly’s potential support base among the Pecaris in their year went, but the fact remained that Theresa was a girl, a girl who had had no problem carrying on with another girl’s promised husband, and a girl who had a powerful family and bloodline, and who might therefore be prepared to do things with Cepheus which Alicia was not to undermine Alicia’s relationships with her boys. She would have to shore up Evan next year, if possible, and keep a close eye on Thad, though she did that anyway, and as for Cepheus….

Well, she would not lose him. There was more than one way to kill a chizpurfle, and she was prepared to explore a number of options. For now, though, she was prepared to give Theresa a chance. So she had enjoyed the Fair as much as she could, dressing extra-nicely in the hopes that this would prompt Thad to engage in the desirable behavior of calling her pretty for the third end of the year event in a row, and at suppertime nodded slightly as Cepheus made unnecessary introductions, taking it as a good sign that Cepheus presented Theresa to her first.

“Of course,” she said with a smile, proffering her hand. “How do you do?”

“There was certainly enough to do,” she said vaguely of her day. She really should have gotten ahead of this situation, been cultivating Theresa ever since her conversation with Cepheus at the pool party back in September, but this whole year had just been out of control. If next year went as poorly…But it wouldn’t. “I hope you were both amazed by my needlepoint display, I know there’s nothing more exciting in the world than table runners and pillows.”

Truthfully, she was proud of the display. There were only two newer items in it, not sent from boxes at home, but she still felt she had worked as hard as anyone else who had demonstrated something today, just over a longer period of time. She had shed blood to produce her form of visual art, if admittedly not so much as when she had first been given a needle on the projects she had deemed good enough for public display. She had no love for the art, but considered it one anyway, and felt that the less pleasurable a successful effort was, the more it really mattered anyway as well. There was no honor in doing what one liked to do, only in making oneself do what one did not like to for a higher purpose, be that looking appropriately feminine and harmless for the Headmistress while still participating in a major event or pleasing Gramma Alma.

16 Alicia Bauer We'll see. 210 Alicia Bauer 0 5

Linus Macaulay

September 25, 2013 4:08 PM

Sounds... great? by Linus Macaulay

The weeks leading up to the Fair had been frantic for the sixth year. While he hadn't had any external examinations this year, there were still the end of year exams to consider, and he had been working overtime to perfect the charms for his booth. He was trying to ignore the extra pressure of Quidditch Captaincy until the end of the summer, but the looming Head Boy announcement was distracting him more than Linus was prepared to admit. He had tried to tell himself that it didn't matter, and that he had been just fine once he'd adjusted to the idea of not being prefect, but honestly he would be incredibly disappointed if he wasn't the one called forward; it would be sufficient to mar an otherwise perfect (if he pretended to forget about the Quidditch debacle) year.

That morning, Linus fidgeted as he had nothing further to execute. He had packed the majority of his belongings already, and he'd already ensured the booth equipment was present and correct, ready for the organisers to set up. He couldn't even have an early breakfast as this meal was to be served at the Fair, so by the time Linus arrived at the Quidditch pitch his shoulders felt tense. The sixth year barely paid attention to any of the other students gathered, trying to maintain a calm, collected exterior as Professor Kijewski-Jareau began speaking to them. He ensured he listened to the whole speech, yet still had to pinch himself (discreetly, beneath the cover of the sleeve of his robe) when he heard his own name being called. Triumphant, Linus joined Nora to receive his congratulations. He was sorry that Brianna had not been elected as Head Girl - it would have been phenomenal to run the school together - but a quiet, unbidden voice in his head declared that it wasn't surprised; Linus resolutely ignored it.

The wave of euphoria the sixth year experienced carried him through the end of the Headmistress' address and into his girlfriend's arms before he felt his feet touch the ground. "Thank you," he gracefully accepted her congratulations, and followed it with an admiration of her appearance, "You look amazing." He usually found Brianna attractive, but he particularly liked it when she tied her hair back; it stopped it from obscuring her features, and gave her an air of confidence that she didn't achieve when she was hiding behind her hair. Besides, the compliment was probably more readily received than any condolences he had to offer.

"I told Valerie we would do a group thing, if that’s okay?" Brianna said, and Linus only narrowly avoided wrinkling his nose in distaste at the suggestion, turning it into a shrug with a sideways twitch of his lips to mask the motion. It wasn't that he especially disliked Valerie - though in six years he had yet to have a stimulating conversation with her - but he simply didn't like hanging out with the two girls together as he wasn't always sure who the third wheel was, but there was definitely some truth in the proverb about three being a crowd.

"Sure," he replied, considering that at least he would be able to spend time with Brianna, even if he had to share it. Being with Valerie was, at any rate, preferable to forced interacting with Joshua. Then, when Brianna asked about his booth, Linus nodded. "I just need to check up on the charms, and make sure everything is set up properly," he said. "Why don't you find Valerie, and I'll catch up with you when I'm done." Waiting only for some acknowledgment, Linus briefly kissed Brianna, then set up to find his booth.

The Hidden Reflections booth was one of the smaller, more basic set ups. There were two large mirrors set a little distance back from the main thoroughfare. The one on the left bore a sign that read This mirror shows you as you see yourself, while the one on the right proclaimed, This mirror shows you the future. The spells had taken Linus several weeks - months, even - to master, the first using reflections of a person's psyche to build a physical image, and the second acted in a similar way to an ageing potion, but only on the reflection, presenting a image of the viewer fifty years older. Linus checked the charms were working as they should, and would return periodically throughout the day to maintain the charms and to witness a few reactions to his booth.

0 Linus Macaulay Sounds... great? 205 Linus Macaulay 0 5

Henny B-F-R

September 25, 2013 4:53 PM

At least it's with some bang by Henny B-F-R

Henny was relieved that the CATS were over. She vacillated wildly between feeling quietly confident and being sure to cross her fingers and pray, terrified that any sign of self-confidence was bound to jinx her. Luckily, today was bringing with it the end of term fair, which was sure to distract her. She was helping out with the baking booth but it wasn't running until the end of the day, which left her free to explore to start with, once she'd helped Waverly set up. She hoped to catch up with her friends at some point but she didn't feel the need to stick to them all day, especially as she planned to visit her brother's booth, which wasn't necessarily one that she needed other people present in order to enjoy.

She had been pleased to find Charlie himself in, as she had no qualms about putting her foot down with him, and knew how to do it in a way that made him listen. She wasn't quite sure what any of the other booth attendants might have done to her. Charlie always needed reigning in but he did have good ideas, and she trusted him. He had given her a neat little do, where her hair was rolled up, running in a semi-circle around the base of her skull. It looked vaguely 1950s-esque in style, which he had complimented with a thin line of eyeliner with the smallest wing at the edge. These were the most visible elements of the make-over, though of course her complexion had been complimented with primer, foundation and Merlin knew whatever else that Charlie deemed 'just simple and necessary.' Henny felt rather pretty, but a little self-conscience about being so dolled up, as it wasn't really how she usually was.

She was now wandering between the rest of the booths currently on offer, rather than going on the rides, in an effort to keep her hair neat until at least lunchtime. It was a shame that Evan's art booth wasn't going yet, as that would have provided the perfect low impact activity. She had tried out the games at the horse booth, and won the default, token prize of a lollipop. For those who sucked, she thought to herself, with a little smile. That rather ruled out going to get a toffee apple for now, and so she strolled along, taking in the general ambience. Until someone just caught themselves short of bumping into her.

“That's ok,” she replied, removing the lolly from her mouth. “It's nice to see you,” she smiled at Josh, although she felt a little self-conscious that she was made up like a proper young lady (embarrassingly out of character in itself) yet sucking on a lollipop like a child. She blushed a little under her blusher. “Were you heading somewhere in particular or just taking in the scenery?” she asked. She found it hard to picture Josh at most of the booths – she had to suppress a smile as the image of him at the Froggy Coin Toss came to mind – but it was nice to see that he hadn't sacked off the event completely.

OOC - I consulted Jade's author on the contents of the horse booth and was given permission to use them.

13 Henny B-F-R At least it's with some bang 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Chloe and Emery Jareau

September 25, 2013 8:45 PM

Petting Zoo!! Come love some animals! by Chloe and Emery Jareau

Chloe was super excited for the Fair. She had spoken non-stop about it for days to anyone who would listen. She couldn’t want to see all the animals and give everyone the joy of experiencing them for themselves. She would also be able to spend time with her siblings. Because there were four of them running the booth, their mother allowed for it to run all day. They would each be able to work two hours at the booth. Her mother was also keeping one of the vendors there for the entire day in case anything happened with the animals.

They had decided to do both magical and non-magical animals for the zoo to give everyone a well-rounded experience. For the non-magical animals, they had goats, sheep, pigs, calves, llamas, ducks, peacocks, donkeys, rabbits, and a couple of horses. For the magical creatures, they had kneazles, crups, puffskeins and pygmy puffs, clabberts, nifflers (who Chloe found to be absolutely adorable), a couple of unicorn foals, and because her mother could not obtain the winged horses, she was able to get a Hippogriff. The trainer of the Hippogriff would allow the students to interact, but they had to pay complete attention to what he told them or else get hurt.

Chloe and Emery had given the zoo a walk through during the set up time and felt that everything looked great. The animals were in their own separate pens and people could do walk through and enter into each section. Choe was so hopeful that everyone would love the animals that were chosen. All she wanted to do was run around in the pens and play with them all day long. Especially the goats. They loved people and jumped all over her when she went in to visit them.

Chloe had the first couple of hours to the petting zoo and had done her best to draw people in by calling out to them and enticing them with a bunny rabbit (she couldn’t believe they let her hold a bunny rabbit the entire time!). The owners of the animals were in the pens to answer questions or keep watch on the behaviors, but, otherwise, the students could go to whatever pen they wanted and play to their hearts’ content.

When her time was up, Chloe handed the rabbit to her brother and wandered off to go find Ji-Eun and support her roommate and friend with her own booth. This left Emery holding onto a rabbit at the entrance of the petting zoo. He is not as vocal as his sister, but every so often, he would shout out to those passing by. “We’ve got goats and horses, we’ve got hippogriffs and unicorns! Come to the petting zoo and have some fun!” he called out, feeling silly for doing so. He really did like the concept that they did because it tied together with his mom, but Emery was not a boisterous person by nature. Actually, neither were Angel or Ayita… hopefully, they attempted to get people to visit the booth.

“Come play with the animals! They are getting lonely! Have some fun and ride a Hippogriff!” He shouted, smiling to people as best as he could. People liked animals, didn’t they?

6 Chloe and Emery Jareau Petting Zoo!! Come love some animals! 0 Chloe and Emery Jareau 0 5

Arnold Carey

September 25, 2013 9:35 PM

Hopefully not the end of the world as we know it. by Arnold Carey

He was still here, but already, Arnold thought as he looked around the place where he had spent the best moments of his years at Sonora, everything was changing. For the first time since – he didn’t even know how long, that was how long it had been – he didn’t want to be on the Quidditch Pitch. If that didn’t mean the whole world had changed, he didn’t know what could.

All year, there had been a mission, a purpose, so strong it had crowded out every worry about his future: he had known he had to finish his classes, pass his RATS, and bring home the Quidditch Cup again, and he had to do it all without permanently alienating anybody. That had kept him going, no matter how stressful things had gotten. Knowing that he had to do these things, that there was no option, had let him bludgeon his way through nights when the stack of work to be done seemed as though it would never end, practice dives when his vision was blurring with exhaustion, make time for Fae and take his bad temper out on no one but Arthur, who had taken to acting more like his mother than his brother but had gotten them both through all right in the end. And then, suddenly, all of that had been gone. The game had been over, the RATS had been over, and he had been off-center ever since, his moods swinging constantly up and down without warning, his mind still trying to get him to do what was already done and not accepting that there wasn’t a lot of purpose for him here anymore.

Today had started off well enough, but coming out to the Pitch and not having a broom and an opponent to beat had thrown him into a gloom, a gloom only exacerbated by hearing that Coach Pierce was leaving, too, as stupid as that was, considering that it was of no consequence to him anymore what happened in Quidditch here. He guessed he would have liked to imagine that everything would still be the same even without him, that he could in theory just slip back in, undetected, if he had to, if being out there didn’t work out for him….

Stupid anyway, he thought moodily as the crowd began to break up for the beginning of the Fair. Everyone would have noticed. You’re Arnold Carey, the Aladren Seeker.

Well, you were, anyway.

He kicked at a clump of grass, then looked up when he thought he heard his name and smiled when he saw Fae – at least until he noticed how hard a time she was having, anyway. Then he waded toward her through the crowd, putting an arm out to steady her when they met up.

“They need to watch where they’re going anyway,” he muttered, giving a few of them an attempt at a dirty look, which no doubt went unnoticed. “Are you all right?” He shrugged over his day. "Not really. Is there anything you want to do, or should we just wander around and see what looks interesting?"

0 Arnold Carey Hopefully not the end of the world as we know it. 181 Arnold Carey 0 5

Josh McLachlan

September 25, 2013 9:36 PM

A good kind of bang, I hope. by Josh McLachlan

Josh had not expected to bump into Henny at all during this fair, but he supposed this was a good way to end as well. She had seemed concerned for him during his dark days at Sonora and she had tried to be a friend. Josh supposed he should repay that kindness with kindness of his own. "I was just coming down from the stands," he told her honestly. "The view's nice up there. It's only too bad all of the booths aren't open or I'm sure it would look even more crowded than it does."

There wasn't much to say to Henny, but Josh wanted to try. He would probably never talk to Henny ever again after this. His relationship with her was very different from his and Brianna's. "You look nice. Have you already participated in some of the booths?" he asked, gesturing towards her lolly. Josh had never been one for candy, but he did mean it about her looking nice. It had to be rare for her to be dressed up like she was, at least from what Josh had seen. What intrigued Josh most, however, was a person's mind and her attitude which was why he had allowed an acquaintance with Henny to form. She was smart and talking to her wasn't boring even if she was younger than him by at least two years.

"Would you mind if I walk with you?" he asked, "if you don't mind the company." Josh had never really smiled at Henny, but he did now, albeit a brief, small one. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or anything and if she wanted to be on her own he could understand that. There was something refreshing about solitude, though Josh also knew loneliness too well. "Read any good books lately?" he asked. He remembered her telling him about studying literature through correspondence last year and Josh had been impressed by her initiative. The other Aladrens really were just as studious as they sounded.

Since Henny was walking on her own, Josh had to wonder where her friends were. He had always assumed girls around her age always wanted to hang out with their friends. Fairs like these were supposed to be fun with friends, though it was not personally Josh's scene. He wanted to escape to the library and cozy up with a book. The library had been a haven for him for the past three years and he wanted to spend some time there before he left forever. For now, however, he would spend some time with Henny until she went to reconvene with her friends.

0 Josh McLachlan A good kind of bang, I hope. 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Emrys Lucan

September 25, 2013 10:10 PM

Then I'd be delighted to! by Emrys Lucan

Emrys was ecstatic when Charlotte asked him to join her. He couldn't put his finger on it, he was going crazy for sure. He felt oddly observational at that moment, and...girly. That was weird...He felt as though he were his little sister, noticing things like curled hair and flower hair clips. Emrys shook his head slightly to rid that thought from his head, hoping Charlotte didn't notice. "I'd love to join you," he said. "I'm not really waiting for anyone, just saw you and thought I'd maybe come and say hello." There, now he didn't sound like a loser with no friends but he also was honest about her being his only priority at the moment. "I've seen a few, but not all of them yet," he admitted leaving out the fact that he'd been walking with his head swiveling around as if looking for a friend that he'd lost and therefore hadn't really been able to see any of the booths rather just flashes of color.

"You haven't been to a fair before?" Emrys questioned, a little curiously. He and his cousin Wesley had gone to a few fairs while Wesley had still lived with them. In fact, Lio had come from a Muggle county fair the two had snuck into one time. He smiled fondly thinking of the memory. He couldn't wait for the semester to start and for him to get his grades. His parents had written him a few days before the final exams and told him that if he performed well in class they would allow him to go stay with Wesley and his parents and Lio in Wales for a few weeks. After that letter he'd tried extra hard to get good marks even locking himself up in the library late at night at a secluded table in order to make sure that he had all his classes covered. He knew that he'd passed Potions, Charms, and DADA with top marks, but he wasn't quite sure about Transfiguration or COMC. He knew he'd passed them, but he didn't know with how high of grades. As his parents knew he was extremely bookish he was sure that only if his average was a very high mark would he get the trip. And he really wanted it, not only because he wanted to see Wesley and Lio but also because a small part of him hoped that he might convince his aunt and uncle to allow them a trip to London where he might run into Charlotte.

"I'd love to go in," Emrys said immediately. He held out his arm in the way that he had seen his grandfather do for his grandmother and hoped that Charlotte would take it without questioning why he was doing that, otherwise he'd feel somewhat awkward. "What are your plans for summer?" He asked as they headed into the booth, wondering what exactly Hidden Reflections was.

10 Emrys Lucan Then I'd be delighted to! 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

September 26, 2013 2:41 PM

Now for these mirrors. by Charlotte Spencer

The moment of anxiety after she had asked him to join her flooded to relief when he accepted. Emrys hadn't rejected her yet and he was proving to be the loyal sort of friend Charlotte had always wanted. He was, however, a boy, which posed its own set of complications, and though it wasn't always on the forefront of her mind, she did think about marriage more than once. Part of her job as a single witch from birth was to look for a suitable, proper wizard to take care of her and support her. All attraction was secondary to his etiquette, wealth and family, and so far Emrys seemed to fit every category. Charlotte was pleased, to say the least.

"No I haven't," she replied to his question, feeling a bit naive for having never seen a fair before. "My cousin Leo says fairs are filthy sorts of places and ought to be avoided, but I haven't seen any filth. Maybe he meant Muggle fairs?" Charlotte and her family lived in the heart of London; it was difficult to avoid any Muggles or Muggle events through she had never attended them herself. Adam had ventured to ride the tube once with his mates before he started school and Mum had scolded him severely for that. Emrys didn't seem like that sort of mad adventurer, but Charlotte realised she didn't know much about him outside of school and his musical interest. She would have to make more of an effort to get to know him, though she was too shy to even try most times.

He offered his arm and Charlotte was more than glad to take it. The offer made her pause for just a moment in surprise; it was rare any wizard her age proffered their arm like an adult gentleman. Though she and Adam had practised such etiquette in their lessons, she had never seen him do such a thing in reality. As much as Charlotte admired her older brother, she did think he could work on some points of his etiquette.

Charlotte allowed Emrys to lead her in as she said, "I'm going back home to London," though that bit was obvious. "My mum said we're going to visit my grandparents in the country during a weekend, but I'm not sure how soon. They're the Princetons, you know. My other set of grandparents live in Darlington which is a fit farther north. We usually visit them towards the end of the summer when it begins to get unbearably hot in the city." She knew quite a bit about the history of the Spencers, but her father's family history was not quite as extensive nor as interesting as her mother's, an odd dichotomy that didn't usually exist in their sort of patriarchal society. Not that it mattered that her mother was wealthier than her father; Cassie was the second child with an older brother like Charlotte, meaning she hardly received any inheritance. Charlotte needed to marry as well as her mother had in order to be secure.

The Hidden Reflections showed to be only two mirrors and Charlotte was slightly disappointed. A Hall of Mirrors would have been frightening, but much more entertaining. She let go of Emrys’s arm and stepped in front of the first mirror. She gasped a little when she saw her reflection; she was dolled up and her robes were expensive, but she lacked the natural beauty that she envied in other girls. She was wearing clothes that were too large and her nose was slightly crooked as she always thought it was, her blue eyes and bitten lips too small, her forehead too large; it was a monster. The only lovely bit of her reflection was her golden curls that seemed to shine and reflect any light that hit it. But that did not keep the rest of her looking horrendous.

She stepped away quickly, her hands on her burning cheeks, and turned to Emrys. “What do you see in there?” she asked. As he stepped in front of that one, she read the label for the first time. This mirror shows you as you see yourself. Was that really how she saw herself? As ugly? There were a few idiosyncrasies about herself that Charlotte despised, but she didn’t despise all of herself. She grazed her teeth on her bottom lip, stopping herself from biting it as she did often. Her hands began to fiddle instead as she waited for Emrys to finish. “Go ahead of me to the next mirror,” she said, wanting him to go on first and tell her what he saw. She didn’t want to step in front this time no matter what was said about witches going first.

40 Charlotte Spencer Now for these mirrors. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Evan

September 26, 2013 3:01 PM

Referring to you that way would be rude by Evan

Evan bowed instinctively in return but told her "You don't have to keep up these formalities of curtseying to me, okay? We're going to get married someday and you can relax a little about the whole thing." It seemed like all around the Aladren there were people who just couldn't and in some cases, such as Autumn's, it didn't do them any favors. Thad was rather intense too and so was Alicia and he just wanted them to all calm down for their own sake's and appreciate life and learn to have a good time.

He looked at the schedule. The La Salon booth that Portia and Henny's brother were doing along with a few others was going but the idea of being made over wasn't something that would make him feel all that comfortable and he certainly wasn't about to suggest to Lucille that she needed one. In fact, the mention of the booth on the schedule made him remember to tell her something else. "You look quite nice today, by the way."

"The Horse Lover's booth-which I should probably go and support at some point given I'm a member of the club-is going on as well as the caricature booth. Hidden Reflections and the Petting Zoo seem to be going on all day and Froggie Coin Toss and Archery start in about an hour. Any of these things especially appeal to you or not appeal to you?" Evan did want to give her some say, for her to have a good time with him too.

There was one thing Evan did want to ask of Lucille. "Hey, later, when I have to go to my booth, will you come to see that?" Not that all the pieces were his. Charlotte Spencer had submitted one and surprisingly somewhat, so had Alicia. Thad had also offered to help and even Valerie Lennox had somehow agreed to submit a quilt she had made. However, he wanted to share his interests with his future wife and strange as people thought his creations were, they were a part of him and he wanted her to see that part, just as he wanted to get to know her interests and learn to appreciate them. Besides, it was not as if he displayed the bugs he had mounted, the way any entymologist would. Girls, it seemed, didn't like bugs very much for some reason.

"Honestly, I kind of want to check out just about everything." Evan admitted. Though he questioned the wisdom of food booths being open quite so close to meals. And he honestly couldn't see why they would look down on the vendors either unless a student was a hard core elitists. They had a function to serve in the world that people of Evan's social class did not do. "I could try and win you a prize at the game booths." The fifth year offered. He knew betrothals could be a scary thing for some people,especially girls, Nina had been anxious about hers, because she hadn't known the guy, whom Evan had taken to referring to as the Other Adam by means of differentiation, but at least seemed to like the whole traveling the world thing a lot and putting off kids. Hope also seemed less than thrilled by the idea of being betrothed, though she wasn't yet, but that was for much different reasons. He wanted to put Lucille as ease about the whole things as possible. He was just glad that as far as he knew, she wasn't in love with anyone else and that getting to know each other while they were in school would hopefully make things easier for her than they were for Nina. "Or we could check out one of the rides?"

11 Evan Referring to you that way would be rude 212 Evan 0 5

Henny B-F-R

September 26, 2013 3:03 PM

I think so by Henny B-F-R

“Oh. Thank you,” Henny said, a little embarrassed when Josh complimented her. “Yeah, I went to the make-over booth. My brother's running it, so I felt I should show my support,” she added, feeling a slight need to defend her frivolity. “Then I went to the Horse Club one. They've got some games – the lolly is the 'prize every time' token prize,” she explained. She'd been blessed with brains, not hand-eye co-ordination, and such efforts were usually lessons in humility more than anything else.

“No, I'd like that,” she replied, when Josh asked if she minded him walking around with her, returning his smile (his was a brief one but she caught it, and it instinctively made her return it). It was a long day, and there was plenty of time to share out between different people. And Josh definitely deserved some. She wouldn't exactly have called them friends, probably just because the age difference made it seem odd. But in every other respect, they might have been. They were friendly. Her life at Sonora seemed to riddled with such people – those whom school brought her into close enough contact with to have a friendly relationship but with whom, for reasons of blood or age, she could not see the relationship persisting beyond the school walls. It was depressing if one dwelt on it for too long but she was really far too used to it to let it bother her. And Alicia, she felt, genuinely cared for her. She could see them continuing to communicate, and she might have the chance to keep up with others through her. And Waverly wasn't bound by any of those things, so that had promise. Two good friends, really true friends, was a definite blessing to count. She couldn't imagine Josh writing to her but that was all the more reason to enjoy his company now, whilst she still could.

“Mostly book club things. My correspondence course tends to lighten up around this time as they know we all have exams – we do more of the work in the first term and in the summer. The book club read '80 Days Around the World.' It's a Muggle book about a guy who's doing this challenge, to.. well, get round the world in 80 days. It's set quite a long time ago – it really wouldn't be challenging, even for a Muggle these days,” she explained. “Epic journeys are usually pretty stimulating, and I like books that take you outside your own culture. Where either you have to read around it to fully understand it, or where the book itself teaches you about another time or another people.” She couldn't exactly define why she liked this. Just like any personal preference – food tastes, favourite colours – it just was. “Read any good journal articles or brewed any interesting potions lately?” she asked with a little smile. Their conversations tended to follow this format, and there was something pleasant and almost reassuring about it, even if she was slightly surprised that they had a formula, given the lack of depth of their acquaintance. Or maybe that was what made them stick to one... Still, it felt more on the side of comfortingly familiar than formulaic and awkward, and it was good to have one more chance to have it.

13 Henny B-F-R I think so 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Lucille

September 26, 2013 7:33 PM

I suppose so. I'm her, then? by Lucille

With an effort, Lucille restrained the impulse to curtsy again after Mr. Brockert said he’d prefer that she did not. “If you wish,” she said.

She wondered what this meant in terms of how he expected to relate to her. Was it a test? If so, she had most likely failed, so she chose to hope that was not it. Was he proposing a courtship, or just that they should work together amicably? The tone made her think of the latter, and was something she thought she could live with. Certainly, it could not be harder than enduring a staged courtship even if she was wrong about it being easier, as she was sure it was.

“Thank you,” she said when he complimented her appearance, taking this as a routine comment males delivered to females they were talking to in a reasonably courteous way, as she had seen it directed to some ladies about whom it was certainly not true.

His question, after the quick “of course” when he asked if she would come see the art booth later, was harder to answer, not least because he had said one thing which had caught her interest in amongst all the other descriptions of things they might do first, or at some point, or whatever. “Wherever you like,” she said, determined to behave properly. If she did not, there would be all manner of hell to pay when she got home. Mother would take everything away from her; Mother would, instead of being merciful enough to kill her, just make her wish she was dead if she messed this up in any way. “I would especially like to see the horses, though – do you ride often?”

That, surely, wasn’t too much to ask. That wasn’t forcing her interests and desires on him, that was being interested. Men, Mother said, liked nothing better than to talk about themselves, and she was giving him a chance to do that. She was doing a good and proper thing, surely, she was doing the right thing. Even though she had expressed a preference – weren’t the women supposed to steer the family social calendar? That was proper, wasn’t it, since men would never make any decisions on their own? Admittedly, she had been too blunt, but, well, it was the first time she had done this, so surely she wasn’t expected to be perfect at it just yet?

Mother, of course, would disagree, but, well...unless she had offended him so much that he broke things off, which did not seem likely, Mother wasn't here and would never know. So there was really no point, she thought, just now of worrying too much about her.

0 Lucille I suppose so. I'm her, then? 0 Lucille 0 5

Fae

September 26, 2013 7:43 PM

Well, that's gloomy. by Fae

Fae was relieved to find that it was Arnold to whom she was looking at and smiled when he saw her. There was a moment of a girlish glee when he changed course and made his way through the crowd to her and offered her his arm to help instead of making her suffer and excuse herself through a throng of people too distracted by everything around them to notice the fact that they were stepping all over her. That was one of the many things she liked about him. He was chivalrous in a way that seemed to be accidental. She was pretty sure that was how they had come to be together in the first place. Arnold was being polite and gentlemanly and helping her out with the Moon Calf, which had turned him into her protector. She wasn’t sure if she had labeled him that or if he had just felt compelled to do it, but she was always so glad that he was looking out for her.

Fae shuffled in so close to him that she could feel the heat of his body. Amused by his distaste in their classmates, Fae simply shrugged. “I’m alright. You get used to being trampled when you are in a crowd of people who are taller than you.” Fae advised him. She found it all quite annoying, but she didn’t want to have Arnold put off because of something that would never really stop.

She slid her hand down his arm and grasped his hand. She knew it was more proper for them to remain linked by their arms, but she enjoyed holding his hand. She felt like they were more of a couple this way rather than just another betrothed couple. It was something as simple as holding his hand that made her feel happy and okay about their future.

Fae didn’t really have anything in particular in mind. The only other Fair she had been to was the last one at the school, but that had been in Tumbleweed and not quite the same. “I’d like to see if I can win one of the games and maybe ride one of the rides?” She did not want to go on the scary rides that she was sure Arnold would want to try out. He had a death wish. She did not. “Oh and the picture booth? It would be nice to have a souvenir.” Fae commented feeling good about the day.

“Is Arthur going to come too or did you two have a fight?” The two of them arguing was not much of a surprise for Fae. Their seventh year had been a struggle and stressful and she wasn’t even in half of their classes. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if they finally had an out. Not that she could ever complain of being on a date with Arnold "Not that I want him to come along. I like having you to myself." Arthur always made Fae a little uncomfortable. It was like he always knew what everyone was thinking. “Unless he decided to keep Alice company for the day. She doesn’t do to well with crowds.”

6 Fae Well, that's gloomy. 0 Fae 0 5

Brianna

September 26, 2013 8:40 PM

It's okay to be excited... by Brianna

Linus did not mention her loss to the Head Girl votes and she was grateful for that. It would sting for awhile, she knew this. Quite possibly until she graduated. She could hold a grudge against Nora, who Brianna was sure only wanted the title just to claim something of importance, and didn’t understand just what it meant for a girl like Brianna who needed it to have any sort of future. Girls like Nora got everything and girls like Brianna had to suffer because of it. She did not want it to ruin her day and wished that the announcements had been made after the Fair had ended.

His compliment had her blushing and some of the edge that begun to fray at her good mood, slipped away. “Thank you.” She said in return, a little shyly. Brianna had a difficult time taking in compliments. She didn’t tend to get them very often, so when she did, she had no idea how to handle them. She pulled nervously at her ponytail, unsure as to what to say or do.

Brianna probably should have asked Linus about the group outing before the Fair to have been fair about it all. But, she wanted to spend time with her friend as much as she did Linus. She wanted Josh to be with them too, but he was probably off somewhere in the school, purposely avoiding the fair and her. She planned on pinning him in a corner for her farewell anyway because she knew he’d hope to sneak away without the trouble.

“Oh, alright.” She said when Linus told her he needed to check on his booth. She figured she’d hunt down Valerie and possibly Paul in his absence. If Paul were around, Linus might not mind Valerie being there so much. Plus, four made it less awkward. Besides, they were all Crotalus together and out of everyone, Brianna thought Paul was the person Linus felt most comfortable with being roommates and all. She returned the brief kiss before watching him wander off. She felt more like a couple with him these last couple of minutes than she had all year. This was the first time she felt that they were public with any sort of display regarding their relationship. She knew people were aware that they were dating since she had taken a habit of holding his hand between classes and at meal times and they had ‘dates’ together in MARS, but at this moment, she wasn’t sure what it was that made things different, but she felt like Linus’s girlfriend.

Leaning on her crutch, Brianna had to think about where Valerie or Paul or even Sully would be. Valerie wouldn’t have gone far though, so Brianna opted to look in the food tent. Hopefully, she had decided to wait there.

6 Brianna It's okay to be excited... 0 Brianna 0 5

Theresa Carey

September 26, 2013 8:41 PM

I'm trying to be optimistic again by Theresa Carey

The early part of the Fair had been, from Theresa’s point of view, very good – her CATS were over, she didn’t have any more homework this term, and they even had weapons around, so really, the only way things could have been much better would have been if a new dress, a tree to climb, and a bit of kissing, not necessarily in that order, had been involved – but as the day had gone on, she had begun to feel more and more nervous. It was, after all, one thing to be friendly with Cepheus in public, especially now that she was said to be leaving school, but it was quite another to have dinner with him and his friends. She had thought it was a good idea when it was just theoretical, at least in terms of him demonstrating that he didn’t think poorly of her, but having a good idea and going through with it were two different things, too.

Opening the book to buy herself a moment, she flipped past the regular shots, not caring much about those, and to the awards. Seeing herself and Cepheus as Class Gentleman and Princess again made her smile, an expression which froze in place when she got a little farther down and spotted Cepheus again, only this time with one of the people they were supposed to eat with and under Best Couple.

Well, that might be the least successful self-distraction ever invented, she thought to herself, trying not to think too much about going back to that second year and asking if she could borrow one of those bows. She wanted it more as a security thing than anything, but weapons and the girl her illicit boyfriend the school evidently thought was cheating on her with did not seem like a good combination.

Cepheus approached, acting normal, and she tried to, too. Rumor was not fact, after all, and the opinion of the masses was the sort of thing a Carey was supposed to be above caring about. She closed the book and smiled, sure he wouldn’t mention it at all if he really did have something going on with that other her. “We do,” she said, and then he was summoning Alicia over, just as though the yearbook hadn’t mentioned the two of them together at all. Maybe he didn’t see that part?

She hesitated only a second before taking the other girl’s offered hand. “Well, thank you,” she said.

Theresa had always been aware of Alicia, of course. For one thing, the girl made it kind of hard to miss her, and for another, she naturally caught the attention of anyone carefully monitoring the status of the year’s supply of gentlemen, close to most of them as she was. In spite all these years of noticing, though, Theresa had never been quite sure what to think of the Aladren. On one hand, she behaved properly enough herself, if a bit assertively, which was hardly something Theresa could judge, but her sister had been a Quidditch captain. On one hand, she was clearly comfortable with money and power, but on the other, her name was not one Theresa had had to memorize when she was little – she had checked with Arthur, just to be sure. Her male friends were all purebloods from good families, but her female ones – well, one; Theresa was pretty sure she and Waverly were really more of an acquaintanceship of convenience – were…very much not. What was she?

Cepheus asked about their Fairs, and Alicia’s reply was the kind of conversation Theresa had always imagined among their clique. “They were very nice,” she said of Alicia’s art display, suspecting the polite, more or less sincerity was exactly the kind of thing which would get her made fun of behind her back later. “Did either of you go to the archery booth at all?” she tried, since that had been the part of the day which had stuck out most to her. “It helped me work up an appetite.” Truthfully, she was nervous enough to not really want to eat, but she knew she had to act as though that wasn't the case.

0 Theresa Carey I'm trying to be optimistic again 219 Theresa Carey 0 5

Arnold

September 26, 2013 9:48 PM

Hey, I said I hoped it <i>wasn't</i>.... by Arnold

Arnold glanced around at the crowd, most of the male older members of which were taller than him, too. And some of the girls, though not as many of those. “I haven’t, yet, but I guess I am a little taller than you,” he said.

Not that he was overjoyed about it. His cousins sometimes made comments about his being short, but he didn’t mind, because size wasn’t really one of the things which a Seeker wanted to obtain too much of. Arthur could, if they ever got into a physical brawl – something Arnold couldn’t imagine them really doing, but say they did – probably pick him up off the floor and then thrash him within an inch of his life, but Arnold could outfly him any day of the week. Being small and agile had its advantages in the air.

“That sounds good,” he said to Fae’s list of suggestions, though he was a little surprised to hear her mention rides. Given how Fae felt about Quidditch, he hadn’t expected her to have any interest in rides. Maybe it was because they would, he was assuming, be fastened into rides, so there wouldn’t be any falls to worry about, and no Bludgers flying around, so they wouldn’t have to pay attention to everything at once the way it was in the Game? Or maybe she was just indulging him. He thought he had better follow her lead until he figured out which one she meant. “What do you want to do first? Pictures might make sense before rides, in case, you know, it messes your hair up or anything.” One thing Arnold had learned was that vigorous activity did not lend itself to looking your best. Mother had gotten on to him more than once for coming to family events at their house having visibly just gotten off his broom.

He laughed when Fae pointed out the possible advantage to herself which could come from him fighting with Arthur. “I’m glad he didn’t hear that,” he said. “He might think he was being a good influence on you.” He glanced around, then, just to make sure Arthur hadn’t heard that. “We’re not fighting, but I lost track of him on the way down. I’m guessing he went to find a place to read.” Arthur did not care for this kind of social event in the slightest; he wasn’t Henry, of course, but just saw the whole thing as distasteful and preferred to avoid it. "So I guess you're stuck with me on your own for now."

0 Arnold Hey, I said I hoped it <i>wasn't</i>.... 181 Arnold 0 5

Cepheus

September 27, 2013 6:04 PM

Good practise. by Cepheus

"I'd say," agreed Cepheus with Alicia's comment. There had been an awful lot of booths to see and Cepheus was glad he hadn't decided to help out with one. There was enough fun in seeing what his friends were doing and participating in the booths set up without having to work for them. The Midsummer Fair was all about having fun, after all, especially after the particularly gruelling RATS exams.

Alicia's needlepoint had been quite good to Cepheus's untrained eye, and Theresa agreed. It just wasn't an art that Ceph would have ever pictured Alicia doing and he could imagine the sarcasm dripping off her words. It was enough to make him smirk, but he held back when Theresa offered polite words. "Very nice," he echoed, smirking slightly. "I spent an entire minute looking at it. That's a compliment from me, you know, in case you didn't realise. I think I spent half that time looking at my own cousin's painting." Cepheus was feeling very cheerful, a complete contrast to his attitude at the beginning of the term. What was there to be off about anyway? He was conversing openly with two of his favourite people and though they were talking about needlework, neither of them had started any arguments and Cepheus was happy with that.

The archery booth had been much more entertaining than the Art Booth, he had to admit to himself, but he didn't say it out loud. Evan was Alicia's friend and he didn't want to make any bad remarks about him. Besides, his cousin's art had been displayed as well and he had been suitably impressed. Perhaps it would have interested him more if he had any artistic sense in his brain. He could draw well enough, but it wasn't a hobby and as he grew older he enjoyed it less and less. Cepheus had to wonder whether Alicia's needlepoint skill was recent or if she had simply always known how to do it. Having no sisters, Cepheus was sometimes lost on some of the lessons pure-blood witches were required to endure.

"I tried my hand at archery," he said. "I haven't shot an arrow for quite awhile so I can't say I did very well and I think my arm's going to be sore tomorrow." One would think that being active in Quidditch would help his arm strength, but apparently flying around on a broom and looking for gold wasn't as strenuous an activity as, say, beating. "I think that was my favourite out of them all," he added. "What were your favourites?"

0 Cepheus Good practise. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Alicia

September 28, 2013 3:17 PM

There's always room for improvement. by Alicia

Alicia smiled again as she and Theresa shook hands, though she did make a mental note to consider how to deal with the issue of Henny. She wondered if she could possibly pump Waverly for information about Theresa without a total lack of subtlety at some point, since she didn’t know how well they lived together aside from not causing a lot of problems in public. Henny wasn’t quite the same thing as Waverly, of course, but she wasn’t exactly what the Most High Careys were particularly likely to wish to associate with, either, and unlike Alicia, she didn’t bother to lie about it.

Sometimes, Alicia wondered how it might have gone if she had been like Henny – open about what she was, gaining respect from sheer force of intellect and magical skill, keeping certain boundaries between herself and everyone except maybe Henny which weren’t there now. She wondered if, though less happy in the short term, it might have been better for her in the long term. It was too late to do anything about that, though, so she only let it flit through her mind as she sat down. She had made up her mind that if Thad ever did make an openly romantic gesture or proposal, she would make herself tell him the truth then, but until then, she would enjoy what she had as long as it could last and absolutely not allow Theresa Carey, whatever her private thoughts might be, to be unkind to Henny or try to push her out of the group.

Theresa’s weak, polite praise nearly raised an eyebrow, but she allowed herself to be distracted with a laugh by Cepheus’ much better retort. “I’m overwhelmed by the honor,” she said, putting a hand to her heart as though she might faint for overwhelmedness, a look totally spoiled by the accompanying grin and lazy half-lidding of her eyes.

“Poor darling,” she teased when Cepheus said he thought his arm was going to hurt tomorrow thanks to the archery booth. “I’m going to have to drag you to the wall next year, Princeton. Cant have you getting soft.” Company was pleasant, too, gave her someone to race from time to time, and commiserate over bruises with, too. She had missed being able to drag everyone along into whatever she had thought of now this year, while the boys had been back to Quidditch and she and Henny back to watching Quidditch and Evan to...doing whatever it was Evan did when he was unsupervised. Company again, every now and then, would be good.

“Everyone did a good job with the booths, I thought,” she said. “I took some of the rides, too. That was fun.” Nothing, except perhaps becoming a Seeker, a career path forbidden to her both now and later, was as good for a thrill in her opinion as riding the bank carts, but the rides today would do. At least, in some of the more sedate cases, as a way to kill some time or make eyes at a boy or both, depending on the details of a specific one. “Did either of you try any of the snack foods?”

16 Alicia There's always room for improvement. 210 Alicia 0 5

Fae

September 28, 2013 6:02 PM

You were still thinking about it. by Fae

Fae smiled up at him while he assessed the situation. She was aware that Arnold was not the tallest male in their class and that people probably found Arthur to be more attractive than him in a couple of different ways, but what Arnold lacked physically, he overflowed with in personality and charms. Of course, Fae found him pleasing to the eye in a boyish way when he gave awkward or uncertain smiles in complicated situations, but she may just know him on a deeper level than others. Fae was okay knowing this. Arnold was popular at the school whether he knew it or not. He was the famous Seeker who only lost one game the entire time he was at school. He was a Carey. More so than just being athletic, Arnold was personable. He could put someone at ease by smiling. Fae didn’t think anyone would hate him. No, Arnold was not tall, but she was certain that if she let him loose in the world as a professional Quidditch player, he’d have groupies tagging along everywhere. “Well, you’re tall enough for me and no one would dare step on Arnold Carey.” She commented teasingly.

Of the twins, Arthur was obviously the more intellectual one and good looking, but Fae felt she ended up with the better catch. Arthur, at least in Fae’s opinion, seemed like the sort of person who always needed to be in control and disliked someone heavily if they were not on par with him intellectually (which Fae was well aware that she was not). She didn’t think he even liked people in general, except for Arnold and half the time Fae suspected that if they weren’t twins, Arthur may not look twice at him. She could be wrong, of course. It wasn’t like she spent long hours of her day alone with him. Only on small occasion did she happen to be and he was always polite to her. Most of her opinion came from how much time he demanded of his family for studying and such. Or watching him and Arnold together. Fae never proclaimed any of her opinions were accurate (except for those of Preston), so she would never voice them outloud.

Fae’s eyes grew wide when she realized that Arnold was correct about her hair. “Oh no! I didn’t even think of that when I was preparing this morning.” She stated, clearly horrified at the prospect of looking a mess after the rides. She should have worn her hair up. Fae hated wearing her hair up, she felt like it made her cheeks look fat, so it never occurred to her to do that. Fae chewed on her lip for a moment while she thought on what to do about it. “Pictures first, that’ll be best.” She finally said.

She had thought after saying it that it probably wasn’t proper to have said that, but Arnold laughed, so she didn’t feel completely foolish about it. Fae also looked around to be sure that Arthur hadn’t heard. She didn’t want to offend him in any way. She laughed at his comment, “Oh what a terribly dull afternoon it’ll be for me then.” She teased. “So, I guess this means we will have a proper date then. It’ll prepare us for the many our mothers will set us on for the next year.”

6 Fae You were still thinking about it. 0 Fae 0 5

Theresa

September 28, 2013 6:58 PM

I guess that's true, too by Theresa

Yes, she had definitely done it wrong – she thought. This, really, was why Theresa did not much care for meeting new people, or at least new people who could somehow impact her life. For all she knew, sarcasm was only okay with Alicia when Cepheus used it, and anything from her would have been taken as a mortal insult. Coming into their circle so late, she really had no idea what the norms were, how everyone got along.

Instead of trying to imitate their way of interacting with each other, then, she just laughed, she hoped politely, at the theatrics. Then, though, Cepheus complained of arm pain and Alicia said something which made no sense, making Theresa frown in confusion. “Drag you to the wall?” she asked, looking first at Cepheus and then between the two of them. Was this an in-joke between them, and if so, what business did they have with in-jokes? Yes, they were friends, but….

She purposefully did not look anywhere near her yearbook. Certainly, if they were…doing something and she was the only person blind enough not to know it, Cepheus and the other other woman wouldn’t use code words from their illicit relationship right in front of her, would they? At least if they were as obvious as that apparently nonsense remark. Really, anything could mean something else between people, she thought, and then wondered if she had been spending too much time around Arthur and was starting to go crazy. He had, arguing that it would do them all good, kept her and Arnold both in the library even more than he did Henry lately, in the weeks leading up to the CATS and RATS. It was possible all the reviewing of five years of material had finally pushed her over the edge.

“That was my favorite, too,” she contributed to favorites. “Though I haven’t done it since Christmas, either. I didn’t know you did, too.”

She noticed that Alicia didn’t actually directly answer the question – she thought. “I didn’t,” she said about the fair food. “Some of it really smelled good, though, I just thought I had better wait for supper.” She didn’t think it was proper to refer any more explicitly to a lady’s worries about her waistline to that in mixed company. Theresa guessed she had pretty good genes, especially considering how Mother still, in the right sort of clothes, managed to look too young and frail to have borne as many children as she had, but still, she was careful. Indulging herself too far would ruin this and not, though looks were hardly the biggest factor in traditional marriages, not encourage too many other options, either.

0 Theresa I guess that's true, too 0 Theresa 0 5

Regina Parker

September 29, 2013 1:18 PM

Giving a gift (Derry) by Regina Parker

Reggie sat at a table under the tent reviewing the yearbook with amusement. The Fair had gone wonderfully today. They had a good number of people who came to their booth for photos and Reggie had made sure that she and Derry had one too. What was the point of hosting the booth if they couldn’t enjoy it too? Plus, it was just something more to add to her gift to Derry. Speaking of…

Pulling a large book from her bag, Reggie held it out for him to take. “Here is my gift to you, Der.” Reggie explained with a large smile. It was a scrapbook of their friendship since their first year until their last. The last page was missing a picture, but that was because it was for their graduation day. Her father would take a photo of them in their Cap and Gown and it could then be added in there. Reggie thought about waiting to give it to him after that, but she wasn’t sure how busy they would be that day or if she would see him after.

“I worked on it every holiday and summer with my grandmother. I have one for myself too and I sent one to Maddie.” Reggie was really proud of all the things she had compiled for the three of them over the years. It had candid pictures, projects, friends, class assignments, parties, holidays, everything that she could do that represented them in the scrapbooks. It was a gift to keep forever, just in case they weren’t friends years in the future. Stories to tell their children when asked about their school days. Reggie had stuck the picture of her and Derry at the Olde Tyme Picture booth on the pages regarding their final Fair. It was a fun way to end their school careers here at Sonora.

Reggie would be leaving Sonora to go off to a university in Nebraska that focused on potion work and development. She was not sure what Derry planned on doing after Sonora. She was always too worried about finding out the answer and was concerned about what would happen to them if they no longer had Sonora to keep them together.

“Hey Derry, I was planning on doing a trip over the summer. Sort of a sightseeing across American deal. My dad said it was something he did after he graduated and I thought it would be sort of fun to do it too before going away to University.” Reggie looked hopeful at her best friend and boyfriend. “Do you think you’d be interested in joining me for it? I mean, I don’t know how often we’ll see one another once I’m at college, so I was hoping to spend the summer with you.” She wasn't sure how interested he would be with spending a long amount of time with only her, but she was hoping it was something he would find fun.

6 Regina Parker Giving a gift (Derry) 187 Regina Parker 0 5

Aria Yale

September 29, 2013 3:07 PM

The last meal before summer. by Aria Yale

Aria sat in the back corner table in the tent during the dinner party that was being thrown after the Fair. She was quietly flipping through the yearbook and ignored everything else around her. The day had been alright. She had assisted Jade with the Horse Lover’s Club booth and found that it hadn’t been a terrible experience. Although Aria was not a fan of the crowd that the Fair produced, she had still taken it upon herself to visit the other booths and go on some of the rides that were intriguing to her. She even tried some of the food booths to test new foods. She was, of course, careful to ask if anything was of animal product.

The year was coming to an end and Aria couldn’t be more happier for that. It was a strange year for her and she wasn’t sure how to digest it all. On the one hand, people seemed to take her more seriously instead of as a joke, which she appreciated. Even the yearbook seemed to suggest this transition between her classmates. Aria had not made any new friends this term, but there were several people who seemed interested in knowing about her life. She was still uneasy with the questions from her class mates because they seemed to come out of nowhere, but she had done her best to answer them. She did not feel that these questions or answer sessions actually meant anything deeper than what they were. She was different and people were curious. They would continue to have their opinion of her despite the knowledge she gave to them. Aria was beginning to understand this.

Pleased with the yearbook and the day as a whole, Aria closed the book and began to munch on her salad. Her hair had gone again since the start of term; it was now passed her shoulders. She wondered if she ought to give it a cut over the summer or let it grow out. She had liked it short because it was less to handle, but the longer the hair, the more she could do to it. She would have to ask her mother. For the fair, Aria had tried to manage the curls as best as she could. They were more defined, but still a mess on her head. The braids amongst the curls were easier to see though and mixed with her dark eye liner, rock band tee and flowy skirt, Aria portrayed a mix of punk and hippie quite well. This was not something she had done on purpose, but items and looks that she had found pleasing.

Someone sat down beside her and Aria turned her blue eyes onto the person. She gave them a polite smile in greeting, “Having a nice evening?” She asked them.

6 Aria Yale The last meal before summer. 228 Aria Yale 0 5

Waverly Canterbury

September 29, 2013 4:45 PM

Baking Club Booth! by Waverly Canterbury

The fair was finally here and Waverly couldn't wait to share her baked goodies with the school. This was a way to raise funds for her club by having people buy the treats she would usually like to give out for free. Whenever Waverly was sad or angry or stressed, she liked to bake. The times she was allowed to bake were scarce outside of the club meetings so she hadn't been able to do as much as she'd wished. But in preparing for this fair, she had been able to bake to her heart's content and let all the stress post-CATS exams out.

Everything was ready, but the booth needed to be set up. However, Waverly had to wait until after lunch to do anything with it. That was okay; she could explore the rest of the fair with friends. She loved the Froggy Coin Toss and the Petting Zoo, but her love for magical creatures had diminished greatly since her last year of COMC. She had a caricature from that booth, had visited Jade at the Horse Lover's Booth, and had gotten her makeup done by a younger boy who was apparently Henny's brother.

All in all, the fair was going really well and she was happy she got to experience it. But she just couldn't wait to set up her own booth.

She was patient enough to sit through lunch, but ten minutes before that hour ended she went to set up her booth. Waverly was grateful that Henny had volunteered to help her out. The booth wasn't that much work. There were cakes and cupcakes and cookies and brownies and banana bread and even slices of pie for people to buy for a reasonable price. Changing dollar prices to magical currency had been a little difficult, but Waverly was sure she had translated the prices right.

The booth was just as she had wanted: cupcake-shaped and decorated with pink 'frosting.' Waverly set the booth up with a little trouble, but it was worth it once it was all up and the treats had been set out. She had a box for money as she had seen girls with lemonade stands carry and put that behind all the cakes so she could easily give change and put their money away out of sight. The booth was open and she hoped lots of people stopped by. It wouldn't be as fun otherwise.

19 Waverly Canterbury Baking Club Booth! 218 Waverly Canterbury 0 5

Arnold

September 29, 2013 7:25 PM

True. Okay, I'll try to do better now. by Arnold

Arnold laughed, a little awkwardly, at the use of his first and last name together. He wasn’t sure it was that good of a thing in general – what if it was setting up expectations for him outside of school which he would never be able to fulfill? – but he had to admit, at least to himself, that he did kind of like that Fae, at least, still thought of him that way – as someone who still stuck out, in a good way. At least, he hoped it was a good way, one she didn’t mind too much being with. “They’d better not,” he joked.

His brothers, Arnold had always known, were going to be the great men of the family – well, if Grandfather didn’t kill Arthur sometime, anyway. Arthur was brilliant and very serious, Anthony was the heir – it was inevitable that they would do well in life, or very nearly so. It would be hard, he thought, to produce the set of circumstances within their lives to break them down so that they didn’t live up to all which was expected of them. No one except Grandfather, however, had ever seemed to expect as much from Arnold, and Grandfather, he had come to suspect, had only done it out of a distaste for Arthur, born partially of Arthur being the sort who snooped and asked questions, both activities of which Grandfather deeply disapproved, and of Arthur being the minutes-younger of the inconveniently-timed set of twins who had disrupted the neat row of eldest-son Anthonies. After all that, he didn’t really know what to do with the fact he had ended up good at something by accident and now sort of liked the measure of respect it afforded him. Nor was he sure about the problem of even accepting it. The only way to keep it, after all, would be to stay in the game, and that came with other issues.

A moment after mentioning how their hair might get messed up on rides, it occurred to Arnold that she could possibly take offense to that remark, but Fae seemed more concerned with the actual fact. He noted this attitude toward her appearance for future reference. “You’d look great anyway,” he assured her. “But we wouldn’t want our, uh, stricter relatives complaining if they ever saw it.”

He raised his eyebrows when she mentioned one of his stricter relatives. “Your mother’s in on it, too?” he asked. “It’s like they don’t trust us. Are they working together, d’you think? Mine mostly made it sound like she wants us to attend all her at-homes so you can meet more of the family.”

That kindness from Mother had surprised him, but Arnold saw it as an encouraging sign. Throwing Fae into the family as abruptly as a lot of new girls came into it, without any chance to acquaint herself with everyone before they all became really interested in her, would, he was sure, have been…bad. Arnold could protect her from rampaging livestock and inconsiderate fellow classmates, but he was helpless in the face of the mass of aunts, cousins, and other various in-laws, specifically female in-laws, she might have been put against.

He decided, though, that he should most likely not mention that, just in case she decided to run away with the circus instead. You could never be too careful. Besides, she might then tell him that her family was just as eager to get to know him very well, and as for that kind of thing, he thought ignorance until knowledge became necessary really was bliss and that he handled things better if he didn't have to worry about them too much beforehand.

0 Arnold True. Okay, I'll try to do better now. 181 Arnold 0 5

Fae

September 29, 2013 10:41 PM

I believe in you! by Fae

Fae tried not to let his compliment get the better of her, but she couldn’t help the feeling of pleasure that warmed her at his words. Fae always felt she left people wanting whenever she compared herself to others, most especially to her sister and to Sara. She knew that she was physically pleasing to some people, but not a complete beauty. She was not intelligent and often fumbled over things that should come naturally with a proper young lady. Compliments weren’t a common thing for her and she couldn’t help but be pleased when she did receive them. “Our stricter relatives might think you were doing something improper with me to make me look such a mess since they aren’t likely to believe I rode any sort of attraction ride.” Fae said without really thinking it through.

Or course, as soon as the comment was out of her mouth she regretted it. She meant to say it to be funny but realized Arnold might take it to mean people thought him ungentlemanly with her. She blushed, not because of what she had said but rather because it wasn’t far out of the realm of possibilities to happen. She didn’t think Arnold would ever think about doing such a thing or that they would ever be alone long enough before they were married, but Fae knew herself and her feelings so if that day did ever come around, she would not deny him anymore than she would herself. But it was not something a proper girl spoke up about. Not ever. “I’m sorry; I don’t know why I said that.” She said, looking adamantly at the ground.

She smiled when he seemed so surprised by their parents and then nearly had a heart-attack when he stated the purpose of his mother’s was to have her interact with his family. Fae’s family was not close to her extended relatives. She had cousins and aunts and uncles all over Europe and a few of them had traveled into the United States like her father, but they only saw each other during holidays or family gathers like weddings. Her father and Mother stayed in touch with them, but Fae and her siblings never really had to. Jaiden might now being the Heir, but Shelby and her were free of those burdens. Apparently, the Careys were closer than the Sinclairs.

“My mother is worried for me.” Fae said with a shrug. “My parents, well, my family really, think I’m fragile and need looking after. I suppose that’s the downside to being the youngest.” Fae said this all without any malice. It was just how it was and for a long time she had never minded it. “She’s worried that I won’t fit in well with your family or that your family won’t treat me very well. I’m sure she’s in contact with your mother. She did the same with Shelby, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” This wasn’t anything Fae felt the need to dwell on. Her parents did whatever they wanted whether she liked it or not. That was, after all, the whole reason the betrothal happened to begin with.

“Does your family host a lot of gatherings?” Fae asked, looking a little worried. “I believe my parents would only want you over for dinner. Victor and Eleanor came for visits every so often just so that we can all get to know them. Victor more than Elle, but that was because Shelby and him were attached to one another. It was really rather obnoxious.” Fae frowned at the memory of it briefly. “They wouldn’t feel it necessary to force you to entertain the extended family, except for possible the family holiday party. But your parents and siblings will likely be invited too, so it might not be as terrible for you.” She said all of this quickly and without any worry. Fae’s parents were pretty laid back so she didn’t think they’d make Arnold suffer too much. His family… she had her reserves about.

6 Fae I believe in you! 0 Fae 0 5

Ji-Eun Park

September 30, 2013 6:26 PM

Archery booth attendee by Ji-Eun Park

Ji-Eun had started the day by setting up her own booth, although she wouldn't be running it until later in the afternoon. She hoped everyone wasn't tired by then, and that they would still want to come and check it out. Chloe had seemed enthusiastic when she'd talked to her about it, which gave a bit of confidence. Her room-mate's petting zoo had been her first stop. It had been utterly unbelievable, and Ji-Eun could probably have spent the whole morning there. She'd spent a good long time looking at all the different animals and petting the pettable ones (some, like peacock, were definitely for looking but not touching). She hadn't quite lived up to her threat of pocketing a pygmy puff but it had confirmed her desire to have one. They were just so adorable! The real stars of the show, though, had to be the unicorn foals. Chloe was so lucky to have had her mother's help, and to have been able to get amazing creatures like that. They had been utterly transfixing, and Ji-Eun had only just been able to tear herself away. She was already half planning to go back again later, but had convinced herself to look over the rest of the fair first. She had arranged to meet Chloe once she finished her shift, so perhaps she'd just show up a little early...

The archery booth had stood out to her on the schedule, so she made her way there now. Archery was the national sport of Korea for both wizards and Muggles and they always did very well at it in any international sporting event. Hearing about these achievements, whenever such an event rolled around, was about the extent of her contact with it though. There weren't a huge number of tots archery clubs in her area. Or at least, not ones that her mother had found – there was bound to be something in New York. Sports loomed larger in high school, and – if Sonora had an archery team or club – she was sure she would have been pushed towards it. She would probably have been pushed quite willingly. It did seem quite interesting. The chance to try it out just for fun, and without any pressure, made it very appealing.

“Hi,” she smiled at the boy running the booth. He was in her classes and she knew of him but she didn't really know him. She could tell he, like her, came from a different background to most of the other students. The fact that that could count as kinship still seemed very strange to her, coming as she did from a background where there were distinct and different minority groups. Where the minorities, when added together, were the majority. The fact of simply being of minority status, however diverse and different their backgrounds, being enough to count as common ground was odd. There was no reason to suppose they really had anything in common, although she wondered whether he felt out of place like she did. Whether he missed having automatic things in common with the people around him – shared stories, shared food, shared... understanding of the way the world was. Having that in common would definitely give a certain amount of understanding... But maybe he didn't feel that way. Just cos you were different didn't mean you felt that so keenly. Maybe it had more to do with personality. Certainly, she was sure, some of the people were 'the same' to her probably felt left out by others who were 'in their group.' It wasn't really a subject to be discussed over archery, or perhaps at all, and so she merely enquired

“May I have a go?”

13 Ji-Eun Park Archery booth attendee 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

Emrys Lucan

September 30, 2013 9:26 PM

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the oldest of them all? by Emrys Lucan

"That's okay," Emrys smiled at her encouragingly. "I don't suspect most witches or wizards of our class have gone to many fairs. But as my mother and her parents do enjoy Camelot they have taken me to a few Renaissance Fairs to study their passion in the flesh." He hesitated before disclosing the next bit of information as he wasn't sure if Charlotte would accept it well, but despite his grandfather's beliefs, his mother had taught him that though purebloods were indeed superior, that didn't mean he was allowed to treat others unequal. "You never know," she had told him, "who you will one day be indebted to or who might later become your boss. Look out for yourself, yes, but also realize that you should only treat others how you yourself would like to be treated." "I've been to a Muggle fair before," said Emrys. "I went with my cousin Wesley. That's actually where we got our dog, Lio. How funny that your cousin's name is Leo too..." he trailed off momentarily before continuing. "But the fairs we went to were mostly fun," his eyes sparkled with a tint of troublemaker that hadn't appeared before in Charlotte's presence. "Whenever I'm with Wesley we always get up to the best sorts of activities, the kinds that our grandfather would definitely not approve of. But that's what it means to be a boy, I think. Besides, as Wesley's father said when he found out, it's best for us to get our trouble making out of the way now before we grow up that way we can at least become respectable adults."

Wesley's father didn't care much for getting in trouble with his father. He was the younger of the brothers with Emry's father being the eldest. He had married a pureblood only child witch of a family with no other heirs so he knew that Wesley would inherit that fortune and so he didn't mind that he had been slighted for his elder brother. He quickly stopped talking, worried that Charlotte might find him unrespectable and wish to stop associating with him, but he was unable to keep that glint out of his eye- he couldn't wait to see Wesley! He was almost certain that he'd be reunited with him soon enough.

"I'm going back home to London," Charlotte said. "My mum said we're going to visit my grandparents in the country during a weekend, but I'm not sure how soon. They're the Princetons, you know. My other set of grandparents live in Darlington which is a fit farther north. We usually visit them towards the end of the summer when it begins to get unbearably hot in the city."

Emrys' eyes lit up, "I might be going to Wales to visit my cousin and his family. Perhaps while I'm there we might meet up?" He hoped that wasn't too presumptuous. "Or, if you are unable to, we can just write letters," he hoped that she'd at least agree to that. He nodded. "I understand the unbearable heat, though Vermont doesn't really get hot often when it does it's quite humid!" He wasn't sure how to respond to the Princeton reference other than that he knew it was a prestigious family, one that his grandfather would approve of his being friends with one had they stayed in Wales and Emrys gone to Hogwarts. He figured that most of the English families nor the American families would know the Lucans though they were just as reputable. That, Emrys supposed, was due to their move from England to America. They still hadn't been in America long enough to be established here but had moved away from England long enough ago that most of the witches and wizards his age wouldn't remember them at all. All this went through his head as he and Charlotte walked into the booth. He waited patiently as she took her turn in the first mirror. He thought it odd that a name like "Hidden Reflections" be used for a booth with only two mirrors. He thought that the name gave the booth much more credit than it was worth that is, until he read the words above the mirrors. He smiled and understood. It was rather a cool idea, really, and was excited to see what would appear to him though he was worried that perhaps there might be nothing but a gravestone in the future one.

"What do you see in there?" Charlotte asked Emrys. He was shaken out of his thoughts as he realized that Charlotte had finished with the mirror. He obediently stepped in front of the mirror that would show him as he saw himself and he had to grin a little. There was only half a boy there. One arm, one leg, split symmetrically right done the middle. That probably had to do with his missing Wesley so much at the moment. Other than that oddity, he looked pretty much the same as he did in every other mirror, a round face with slight dimples in cheeks that were a bit pudgy. A not fat but not fit body still surrounded in childish fat. He'd seen pictures of his father and uncle when they were his age and from what it looked like they had both outgrown their baby fat around age 15, so Emrys wasn't too worried about that. He knew he was healthy and athletic though he didn't play Quidditch because he was his grandfather's favorite horse-riding partner as he was the only one who liked to take the horses out on adventurous walks that generally ended with the two having to cox the horses down a steep mountain or across a waist-deep stream. "I see myself like I see myself in every mirror," Emrys said, smiling. "But only half of myself like there was a line drawn straight through me from the top of my head and then someone cut away my right side." He shrugged. "It's kind of funny though because I can feel my right side, it's just not there!" He gave a small laugh as he pointed at himself with his right hand and no hand pointed back at him. He wanted to ask Charlotte what she saw too but before he could open his mouth she told him to go in the next mirror first. He figured that whatever she saw she probably didn't feel like sharing.

In the mirror looking down at him was a taller man, tall enough that Emrys had to look up to see his face though his back was slightly hunched. His skin was wrinkly like old leather and quite worn and tanned. Emrys supposed that fifty years into the future he spent a lot of time outdoors. In addition, all that baby fat had melted away and Emrys smiled to see that underneath all the hunched, weathered skin was someone who had probably been a very handsome young man at one point. He looked a bit like his grandfather, though a kinder version- for that, Emrys was glad. "It shows me in like fifty years or something!" Emrys exclaimed, not sure if Charlotte wanted to know what he saw or not but figured since she'd asked him about the last mirror she might want to know about this one too. "I'm taller and thinner and tanner and I look quite good, I think, quite a bit like my grandfather actually. Plus, I'm all in one piece." He turned to Charlotte. "Would you like a turn now?"

10 Emrys Lucan Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the oldest of them all? 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Cepheus

October 01, 2013 11:05 AM

Practise makes perfect. by Cepheus

It was true that Cepheus hadn't worked himself in a little while. His motivation to stay fit had diminished somewhat after Crotalus lost to Teppenpaw. If a beginning Seeker could beat him despite his five years of experience, there was no reason to continue his strict training. He had allowed himself to break from those healthy habits; he was naturally thin anyway so he really didn't have anything to worry about.

Alicia's mention of the wall made Cepheus think immediately of the challenges the year before. "Something that'll make me break a sweat, I'm sure," he groaned in response to Theresa's confusion. He wasn't sure himself if Alicia did mean the wall from the challenges and he didn't want to look like a fool if he was wrong.

Archery seemed to be one of those lady-like activities and Cepheus smiled, pleased that Theresa enjoyed it too. He liked how she seemed to have the qualities of a proper witch with her interest in clothing and beautifying herself, but she had another side to her that was a bit tougher thanks to her brothers. That was the side that played archery, apparently. "Next year we should see if we can shoot some arrows together." He was sure they could transfigure something into bows and arrows and shooting transfigured targets would be simple enough too in the MARS water room.

Alicia seemed to have enjoyed the rides and Cepheus didn't admit that he hadn't ridden any. He did not like being out of his comfort zone and he was at the mercy of a machine when he was on it. He didn't even like the bank carts. The sort of thrill he enjoyed was on a broom high up in the air. There really was nothing that could send his adrenaline going like a race around the pitch on his broom.

"Rupert found me after lunch and convinced me to buy a brownie. He made a batch, so he claimed, and it wasn't terrible. I'm surprised he finds so much joy in baking." It was such a feminine activity and a muggle-born was in charge of the club so Cepheus couldn't see what drew Rupert to it.

Rup had such a strong interest in such strange activities and people. He could have sworn he'd seen his brother approach Waverly Canterbury's younger sister more than once and that was concerning in itself. It was embarrassing to admit in the first place that his brother enjoyed baking of all things, but at least Rup had his obsession for Quidditch to make up for it. He was a complete terror on the pitch in a good way. While Cepheus invested all of his emotions into each match, Rupert was able to be professional and competitive on the pitch and friendly off. "Did you get to try any of the food?" he asked Alicia in return.

There was still the joyous news he hadn't shared, but he was trying to wait for a perfect time. Perhaps next year once Megan was completely gone from the grounds he would tell them. If he could keep it a secret for that long, anyway. One of Cepheus's favourite parts of the Midsummer Event was the yearbooks and he wanted to flip through his with them, but he didn't want to give Theresa any wrong ideas by bringing up the Best Couple that he and Alicia had won, though perhaps it would be good to be honest with her anyway. It wasn't like there was anything romantic in his relationship with Alicia at all. But there was still dinner to sit through.

0 Cepheus Practise makes perfect. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

October 01, 2013 11:27 AM

We're quite a pair, aren't we? by Charlotte Spencer

Charlotte wasn't quite sure how to respond to Emrys's first admission to having gone to a Muggle fair. She hoped his parents hadn't approved him going. She sighed inwardly when he talked about his excitement in getting into mischief. His remark about it being a thing lads did as children was very true; Charlotte had two brothers and Adam had gotten into loads of mischief before coming to Sonora. Being alone in a different country and independent had sobered him up enough, for which she knew their mother was grateful. Jack still had some ways to go, but Adam had made sure to moderate his exploration while he was at home. Charlotte just hoped her youngest sister wouldn't fall into the habit of playing with the boys as she was apt to do.

Still, Emrys's joy in causing mischief with his cousin was slightly endearing, though Charlotte much preferred the mature sort, much as her brother was now. But there was nothing urgent to cause her to search the world for her future husband; she still had plenty of time to wait for the young lads to grow up and become respectable wizards.

Emrys went to look in the mirror after her and she was surprised to hear that he looked exactly the same, though half of him was gone. He seemed delighted in that, but she wondered why half of him was gone. Did he have another half in an unmentioned twin? Or perhaps he only liked half of himself? That was a bit confusing, but she didn't say anything as they moved on to the next mirror. This one was less frightening, or so Charlotte hoped, and Emrys seemed to have a good reaction. This one was supposed to make them look older and Charlotte wasn't as afraid of it as the other one. Her mum still looked very young and her grandmothers on both sides had aged gracefully.

"I'm glad you're in one piece in the future," she said, smiling a little at him, and then moved to take his place. In the mirror she saw herself taller as well. Her skin was pale as it always was, her hair just as blonde and in an updo she had seen her mum wear often. Her skin had wrinkled, though not as terribly wrinkled as her grandmother. There had to be some witch products that future-Charlotte had used on her skin to keep it smooth. It was satisfying seeing this after the terrible scare in the other mirror. She wouldn't be half as ugly in the future, thank Merlin.

Charlotte thought she should tell Emrys what she saw in this mirror since he had shared with her. "I'm also taller, pale, but I don't have as many wrinkles as most witches would at fifty. My hair's just as bright blonde, though there are a few silver streaks. It looks rather lovely, though. I'm also wearing makeup. Maybe that's why I look so young." Makeup was something her mum didn't want her to wear until she was at least fifteen. Charlotte had practised applying it on dolls made just for that sort of practise and knew how to put it on. She just wasn't allowed to yet, though she was tempted to see how the makeup booth was doing.

They were finished here and Charlotte was slightly disappointed. There wasn't anything else to do, however, so she exited the booth and waited for Emrys to join her. "That was enjoyable," she commented. "Did you like it? Which booth would you like to go to now?"

40 Charlotte Spencer We're quite a pair, aren't we? 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Alicia

October 01, 2013 1:31 PM

Do you really believe that? by Alicia

Alicia chuckled at Cepheus’ distress and Theresa’s confusion. “I climb rocks for fun,” she said matter-of-factly to the latter. “Or as near as the sport room will give me, anyway. I really ought to see if the water room can’t produce something a little more interesting than a standard wall sometime, but for now I’m just always trying to beat my own best time.”

Everyone had their depths, she supposed, as evidenced by Theresa apparently enjoying shooting at things enough to do it over her holidays. Not really what one expected of a frilly, place-assured little pureblood bit of nothing, but if one was going to do it, Alicia guessed it made sense that it was a Carey. Her mother was from South Carolina, and while that crew of them was apparently a little more civilized than some, the family as a whole had a bit of a reputation. All sorts of strange things happened to them; Anne, Alicia’s Latin tutor, was related to one who’d come back from the dead, which was a trick to be sure. She decided, however, that Theresa had never shown any signs of being unstable enough to try to shoot Cepheus if she were left alone with him without supervision, so she would not have to interfere in the prospective date except perhaps, if she knew of the time of it, to stand sentry so no one caught them playing with weapons on school time.

“That’s one thing I’ve never done,” she remarked. “I’ll have to stick to dueling.”

Insofar as class exercises allowed, anyway, though Alicia was confident that if she ever did actually have to fight someone for some reason, she wouldn’t be found lacking. There were many things she enjoyed in life, some of which she would go to some pains to have, but the only two she couldn’t imagine giving up were her friends and her powers. Every time she mastered a new spell, she counted it as a little rude hand gesture in the general direction of every Isaac in the world, every person who would assume she was nothing just because of a single indiscreet ancestor: Maybe I’m not as good as you, but I am as good as you at some things, if not a little better. Really care to open your mouth about it after September just to see if I’m willing to demonstrate, little brother?

It was what made the Patronus so frustrating. She wanted to know every spell in the western lexicon and as many outside it as she had a chance to learn in her life, and so not being able to master one taught at school was infuriating. The wizards who had founded American society had set the rules they pleased because they were powerful enough, in themselves, that their rivals knew they could reduce them to bloody scraps on the floor if they tangled with them too much, and while that sort of thing was harder to do and not go to jail for these days, Alicia was pretty sure the capability alone was still enough to garner a certain amount of respect. If so, she wanted it. If not, she wanted the capability anyway. Power was power, whether she could or would use it or not.

“I tend to think everyone ought to have an interest everyone they know would be shocked to find out about,” she said about Rupert baking. “It keeps things interesting, and there are worse ones than that.” She glanced at Theresa. “What do you think?” she asked, deciding to behave as a gracious hostess and ensure that everyone was included in the conversation, rather than just trusting them to jump in.

"Hm, yes," she said when asked about her own culinary experiences, reaching for her drink. "I tasted a few things. I thought I might as well indulge while I've still got time, because breathing's going to be a luxury this summer again, I'm going to be so busy." She glanced between her companions. "What wonderful plans do you two have?"

16 Alicia Do you really believe that? 210 Alicia 0 5

Arnold

October 02, 2013 8:42 PM

I appreciate that by Arnold

Arnold’s instinct was to freeze when what Fae had said made its way through his head, but he quickly forced a laugh, hoping she didn’t look too closely at his expression as he did so and that she was actually joking and that her brother and father and, for all he knew, brother-in-law and cousins and uncles and grandfather and great-grandfather and other people he would really rather not interact with in any context which involved more depth of conversation than “yes, sir,” and “thank you very much, sir” did not really think they would do that. Maybe Fae’s family wasn’t the kind which would use him for target practice over it, especially given the circumstances, but…well, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought less than gentlemanly things before, and this turn of the conversation was reminding him that he should not have done so, even though considerable nagging on the topic had finally revealed that Arthur had also had less than gentlemanly thoughts on occasion and so confirmed, in Arnold’s mind, that such things were entirely involuntary and had nothing to do with what kind of person you were or anything that kind of person would ever actually do.

“’Sokay,” he said when she apologized, giving her hand a squeeze. He tried not to wonder if this meant Fae had also thought about such things before, or to try to guess from it what she thought of the prospect of them. He could never really read her, which could be a problem once they were married and she might feel like she had to go along whether she was really okay with the idea or not. That would...be bad, but the thought of discussing it was mortifying. He wasn't sure the angry relatives were much scarier. So he wasn't sure what to do about the situation.

It really would, he thought, be for the best if Arthur would get himself a girl, a normal girl, not the too-brainy sort he seemed to prefer. Then they could compare notes and provide mutual support. Instead, though….

“It’s not like we haven’t got a whole school as chaperones, right?” he added, smiling awkwardly. “They can vouch for our, uh, good behavior.”

He frowned slightly when Fae said her mother was worried about the family not treating her well. Why would Mrs. Sinclair think that? Henry immediately lept to mind, but that, well...that had been different. Not right, but different. Fae wouldn't have that problem, though, anyway, and what did her mother expect? Usually, Arnold had always been taught, there was nothing to worry about as long as you followed the rules. “I really don't think you have anything to worry about," he said mildly. "If that helps."

He shrugged over whether or not his family had a lot of events and she described what her family would expect of him. “Well, I don't expect anyone to make anything terrible for you," he said. "Though we do have more events than we used to, now that Great-Great-Grandfather’s the top man. But it's more like..." he trailed off, trying to think how to explain something which to him had always just been a part of life. "Everyone visits, you know? You know when everyone's going to be home and not have any company, I mean from outside the family, so if you need to talk to someone about something, or you want to keep up with someone you made friends with at a Reunion, or you know Cousin so-and-so has this really good chocolate torte every other second Wednesday of the month or whatever, you just go drop in for a while, they'll give you something to eat and drink, you play some cards, whatever, and sometimes your kids all play together, and that keeps the family closer, you know? And Mother, she's with the Anthonies, you know, so a lot of people come to see her, so I think she's hoping you can sort of get to know them a little at a time instead of trying to learn the whole family at once."

0 Arnold I appreciate that 181 Arnold 0 5

Theresa

October 02, 2013 11:28 PM

I'd like to by Theresa

“Oh,” Theresa said when Alicia explained what the nonsense statement meant. Rock climbing. She would not have anticipated that. Of course, she wouldn’t have foreseen Alicia doing something like needlepoint, either. Or Cepheus not seeming to mind a girl who was most likely not even what most people would consider a pureblood saying she was going to make him do something, even in jest. “That’s a good goal to have, I guess.”

Typical Aladren. Not that she was jealous, of course. Not at all. It was just so…typically Aladren. Overachiever. Arthur and Alicia would make a lovely couple, except one of her own cousins joining the group of males who hung around the other girl would probably be just a little more than Theresa could handle after the yearbook, at least today. Plus the thought of Arthur with a girl at all was just…wrong. The kind he would go for…Theresa could only imagine that their idea of a good time would be reading complicated Transfiguration textbooks to each other. Though of course, the one of her clique Alicia seemed to like best was Thad Pierce, who seemed like he might like that kind of thing, too, so who knew what Alicia might like….

That drew the line of thought to the conclusion Theresa had been trying to avoid: What if she doesn’t like me?

Cepheus wanted them all to be friends, and Theresa was okay with that. Most of the people in it other than Cepheus were not really Theresa’s type, but being part of his and Alicia’s clique would grant Theresa access to the kind of status she had never enjoyed at this school, not to mention move more in the direction of her not being a dirty secret of Cepheus’. There was always the possibility, though, that even though she liked Cepheus and they also liked Cepheus, she and the friends might not like each other, and what if Alicia wouldn’t play along anyway? Which one of them would Cepheus pick – the beautiful, good-at-everything one who he’d associated with since first year, or her, the one he wasn’t supposed to know?

With that in mind, she said, “That would be great,” with a genuine smile at Cepheus when he proposed a few rounds of practice together next year and then, with a little more effort, added to Alicia, when she confessed to not knowing the sport, “I could teach you sometime. If you wanted to know.”

The comment about baking, though, threw her. She wasn’t sure what the proper response was. This had the sound of the kind of double-edged conversation which was supposed to go on among ladies of a certain class, but Theresa wasn’t sure what the other edge, or the implications, or whatever were supposed to be. Everyone did have secrets, but it wasn’t the sort of thing you were supposed to mention. “There’s definitely worse things to be surprised with than brownies,” she said, spotting a rope out and grasping it.

“None, really,” she said, a little regretfully, about her summer. "Probably a lot of listening to my next brother talk about how he's going to be Head Boy and Quidditch captain and blow up the Potions room all in the first day he's here - he should be coming in September. I'm not really looking forward to it at all," she added, probably unnecessarily, though honestly she wasn't that unhappy about Brandon being here. It would make things a lot easier for Mother without Theresa or Jay having to supervise him all the time themselves, which was really a good situation for everyone, and she thought he would do better with other people, without parents to compete for attention with. Still, though, it wouldn't do to admit that she sort of liked her little brother, pain though he could be when it was up to Theresa to keep him out of trouble so Mother wouldn't completely lose it.

0 Theresa I'd like to 0 Theresa 0 5

Emrys Lucan

October 03, 2013 2:27 AM

Indeed, I would have to agree. by Emrys Lucan

Emrys grinned and waited patiently for Charlotte to take her turn looking into the mirror. He hoped that this meant that whatever it was that he was missing now- he could only assume that’s what his appearing as only half could mean, and on top of that he could only assume that the missing part was indeed Wesley, he would no longer have missing in the future. Which, Emrys came to conclude, must mean that he and Wesley must end up living near each other or, at the very least, have more contact with each other. Unbeknownst to Emrys, the limited contact between himself and his cousin was his father’s doing. Julian had decided that his brother’s allowance of Emrys and Wesley to go unpunished for having snuck off to a Muggle fair to be too much- this decision most likely due to the heavy influence of his father. While his brother and his family still lived near them, he could not forbid Emrys from seeing his cousin without alerting his own father to the misdeed- Julian was not so cruel that he would expose his son to further punishment from Myrddin, he knew too well Myrddin’s wrath towards Muggles. However, once his brother and family moved to Wales, he could make up many excuses as to why Emrys could not visit with Wesley.)

As Charlotte described how she appeared to herself in the second mirror, Emrys found himself wondering how she really saw herself. She had not looked too happy after the first mirror, and now at least seemed satisfied with the way that she looked in the second mirror. “I’m glad you’re pleased,” he said smiling at her. “It is a good thing to be satisfied with yourself. If you see yourself in a good light then chances are others will too.” He knew he sounded a bit old for his years, but it was something that he’d heard his paternal grandmother tell his mother.

He followed Charlotte out of the booth and answered her question. “I thought it was an interesting experience. I wonder if it is a true experience though- is that truly what we’ll look like in the future? I’m certain that is how we look like to ourselves, I mean, I didn’t realize it before I looked in, but afterwards it all makes sense. Although I do wonder how the mirrors work, that is an interesting question…” He trailed off lost in thought as that part of his mind took over for a moment. Then he realized that he was not by himself and should not be asking these sorts of questions that could fuddle your mind to a girl who probably did not want to have to think about these things. “As for the next booth?” Emrys knew exactly which booth he wanted to go to. Since Charlotte had a cat, he hoped that she would like his suggestion unless she only liked cats because they were clean in which case it might not be enjoyable for her. “The petting zoo?” He asked. “Is that agreeable to you?”

10 Emrys Lucan Indeed, I would have to agree. 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Fae

October 03, 2013 7:11 PM

You are welcome by Fae

By the force of his laugh, Fae knew that what she had said was completely wrong and unacceptable. She really hadn’t meant anything by it, she just said it because she had thought it was funny. No one would have expected her to ride the rides, so it seemed logical for them to conclude that they had been improper with one another. It wasn’t completely unheard of, was it? It just wasn’t spoken about. Or maybe Fae was just strange and no one really ever thought about that sort of thing and there was something completely wrong with her. Normally, she would just talk to Sara or Shelby about this sort of thing, but neither one of them were available to her and so, she just remained in a state of confusion.

The squeeze of her hand and the acceptance of her apology had Fae feel better. She smiled to herself and rested her head against his shoulder. She was just tall enough to reach it and heels helped the process. Arnold always seemed to understanding. Even if he did find it an inappropriate comment to have made, especially from a female, he didn’t point it out or make her feel worse for having said it at all. He was uncomfortable about it as she had gathered from his laugh, but not to the point of making her feel ashamed.

“That’s true.” Fae agreed. The whole school was out and about. Plus, she was certain that someone would notice if they weren’t around. Maybe. Everyone might just be too busy with the fair to really notice anything at all. “I don’t actually think you would do anything that would put me in an unflattering light and I don’t believe my parents would just assume something like that of us, but even if they did, we’re betrothed. Unless you had no intention of marrying me, there wouldn’t be much of an issue.” Fae commented as they walked, feeling like that was a logical assessment to make.

Fae listened as Arnold spoke about his family’s social calendar and thought that her heart had plummeted. His family was so much different than her own. Her father was the Heir and often had to go off to Europe with her mother to attend some function or another, but they rarely had people over to their house. She supposed it might have been the fact that her parents’ families were both across the pond whereas Arnold’s all lived here that made the difference, but Fae felt that it was more likely that her parents just didn’t want the hassle. “Your family seems relatively close.” She stated, feeling a little ill at the prospect of having to be paraded around to meet his vast family. “My extended family lives in Europe, so I don’t see them often. Certainly, no one ever just drops by.” Fae sighed.

“Can we just elope and find some hideaway to hold up in until the angry masses find another set of children to force attention on?” She asked him hopefully despite knowing the answer.

6 Fae You are welcome 0 Fae 0 5

Arnold

October 04, 2013 12:59 AM

Right, so, we're being optimistic now... by Arnold

“Really no need for them to worry about that,” Arnold said when Fae mentioned her parents potentially not caring if the two of them…did some less than proper stuff, trying to figure out why she would say that. Was it just a general comment, an assurance that he and his head wouldn’t part ways if her hair got messed up, or an oblique invitation? That made some sense, since there was no reason to say it after saying she knew he wouldn’t actually do anything to compromise her reputation if she really believed what she said the first time, but Merlin knew he had never been the best at logic even when the topics weren’t awkward….

There were times when Arnold suspected he was just demonstrating his stupidity by wishing that girls hadn’t gotten very complicated minds to go along with better looks than guys had, but at the moment, he strongly suspected that a lot of the other guys would sympathize with his position. At least, the other ones more than a little uneasy with the system, who suspected they were not good enough for their future wives and lived in fear of the day when those girls let them know exactly how inferior they were. The Prestons of the world would probably just laugh at him.

He shrugged over his family. “Well, we try. There’s too many of us for most people to ever really get to know more than ten or so outside their branch, but you keep close to your own people – the closer you’re related, definitely the more you look out for each other.” He had the feeling that explanation was too simple to really get at it, but it was the best he could do.

“Well, sure,” he said, laughing, when Fae proposed eloping, “but we’d be notorious for the rest of our lives after that. They’d tell our great-grandkids about it.” He shut down any line of thought which led back to the logical conclusion that to have great-grandkids, they’d have to have grandkids first, and to have grandkids, they’d have to have kids first. Kids were a scary thought. He did not want to think about them right now. All he knew about babies, after observation of Aunt Gigi periodically appearing with new ones every few years all through his childhood, was that they were tiny and fragile and had breakable places where big people did not so there was no telling what was safe and what was not and that they were often really bad at letting people know what they wanted so the people could give it to them so they would stop crying. Arnold was eighteen, and he didn’t even know how many RATS he had yet, which he thought was an excellent reason not to even think about the subject of babies yet. “So we might be better off just sticking to the plan.” He grinned at her. “Look on the bright side. I think the Pierces all live on one mountain together. At least the only relative whose house we’ll be able to see is maybe the roof of Arthur’s.”

He paused, then decided it had to be made clear. "Is it..You're all right with us visiting each other, right?" he asked. "Me and Arthur, I mean. I know we won't see each other as much then as we do now, but..." he shrugged. "He's my brother, you know?" he said, unable to articulate his feelings on the matter much further than that.

0 Arnold Right, so, we're being optimistic now... 181 Arnold 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

October 04, 2013 8:24 AM

Losses, bacon, and friends. by Michael Grosvenor

The fair sounded pretty good fun. And like not a lot of effort on his part, which was just what he needed after a stressful sixth year. True, next year would probably be even worse, and he didn't really want anything extra heaped on his plate but he definitely needed to wind down now. And felt he deserved it. The year had been hard, and he wasn't entirely sure he'd kept up but he knew he'd tried as hard as he possibly could. Now the end of term was here and, although he had a lot of work for the summer, he could just kick back and relax for a bit. The only non-relaxing thing was the compulsory early start. Michael slouched down to the pitch, yawning and with his hair sticking up slightly at the back. If the headmistress' speech hadn't been so full of dramatic news, he would have glazed over. First off, there were all the announcements of people leaving, including her, which were pretty surprising. Then there was the announcement for Head Boy. He wasn't sure what to expect for that... He knew he wasn't exactly a model student, although he'd definitely shown this year that he was willing to try. Perhaps that was what had earnt him a spot on the ballot. If the staff had been deciding, he was sure it would have gone to Linus. But they'd done their bit and then turned it over to the students. And to them, maybe, being a nice guy counted. Though that meant they had to view him as a nice guy... He hoped they did. But it probably depended whether Brianna had griped behind is back to people other than Valerie. Maybe Sully was the best choice. He'd passed the gauntlet of being chosen by staff members and was, uncomplicatedly, nice... He'd be glad for Sully, if he won. He was a good guy. He tried not to let surprise show on his face as Linus' name was called. The population of Sonora, it seemed, liked stuck up little kiss-ups, who thought they were better than everyone else. He found it hard to credit, although he guessed Aladrens were likely to vote for whoever was top of the class. And then perhaps the nice guy vote had been split between him and Sully... Or the nice guy vote was less than the academic vote, had all gone to Sully, and no-one liked him.

With these melancholy thoughts in mind, he lumbered off to breakfast, ready to seek consolation in coffee and a bacon roll. He sat, trying not to wallow, in case people thought he really cared so much about a badge. But it wasn't really just a badge. It was voted for by the students, which made it a popularity contest. And, if you lost a popularity contest, it meant that you were unpopular. No one liked not being liked by their peers. He'd battled all through Sonora to try to accept that people really liked him, and now it felt a little like he'd been right all along, in assuming that they didn't. He was starting to feel truly sorry for himself until it occurred to him that one person liked him. Definitely, unambiguously and consistently. Laurie had ditched him for a while, and they were only friends in secret. Brianna had turned on him, and nearly taken Valerie with her. Eris had abandoned him. In most of those cases, things were forgiven and back on track. Mellie though, had been consistently loyal. He felt the weight lifting off his shoulders as he thought about her. She'd never turned her back or taken against him. He thought he could be almost confident enough of her friendship to be sure that she would have voted for him. Even if she hadn't, she liked him. He knew that was true without asking, and it brought a smile to his face. He hadn't really made formal plans to hang out with anyone but he'd sort of assumed that he would see her. Now it felt vital that he did. He felt like he had something he needed to thank her for. Like he should explain how much it meant to him that she had always been his friend. He was fairly sure that he couldn't, not without sounding like an idiot, so he would probably keep the thoughts to himself. But it made him want her company, even more than he had before. He resolved to find her as soon as he could after breakfast, and was already starting to scan the tent for her, when someone sat down at his side...

13 Michael Grosvenor Losses, bacon, and friends. 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Mellie Goodwin

October 04, 2013 11:56 AM

I guess I've got one of those things, anyway. by Mellie Goodwin

Mellie had taken the time to brush her hair and twist into what looked more or less like a braid before going down to the Pitch for breakfast, but that was about as far as she had gotten. Not being able to get up and look remotely cheerful about it on Saturdays was a large part of why she had left the Pecari Quidditch team, along with wanting to actually pass her RATS and just not caring for how…intense the whole game was at this school. Sure, it was important, there were a lot of points riding on it or whatever, but was it really something worth giving herself an ulcer over, or getting so worked up over people she didn’t even really know that well? She just didn’t think so.

Sleeping in on the weekends, though, had definitely done almost as much to improve her mood as losing the stress of Quidditch, especially since she suspected half the other girls in the Pecari girls’ dormitories held it against her that she had quit, and she was sorry to lose the opportunity today. She had to bite down on the inside of her mouth to keep from yawning through the Headmistress’ speech, at least until she mentioned that Coach Pierce was leaving, which surprised Mellie enough to get her attention, and she made a mental note to maybe, if the opportunity was blatantly there, to say something, though she wasn’t sure how the coach would take it from her since she had given up the sport. Still, Coach Pierce had always been a good coach as far as Mellie knew, she had kept them all from killing each other anyway, which was really saying a lot when one considered how Aladren and the Coach’s own Crotalus played the game and especially how they did so when they played it against each other, so she was sorry to hear she was leaving and hoped things went well for her wherever she was going.

She applauded for Linus and Nora, though they wouldn’t have been her choices for Head Boy and Head Girl, then looked around for coffee and someone to hang out with while she drank it. Spotting Michael indulging in what looked like the same vice, she headed over to sit with him.

“Hi,” she said, remembering to put the cup down and face him before she started talking so there was some chance he would understand what she was saying. She picked the cup back up, had another drink, then put it down again before continuing. "Sorry about Head Boy – you would have been great.” She didn’t know if he really wanted to hear that right after it happened, but it would have made her feel better even if she had felt obliged to act like it was no big deal and she was sure the other person was better, and she didn’t think she should just not acknowledge it at all.

16 Mellie Goodwin I guess I've got one of those things, anyway. 206 Mellie Goodwin 0 5

Cepheus

October 04, 2013 12:57 PM

It's a nice thing to say. by Cepheus

Cepheus really couldn't understand why anyone would want to climb rocks for fun, but if it was a hobby for anyone it would be for Alicia. Her interests struck him as odd and rather contradictory sometimes, climbing rocks and doing needlepoint, but that was part of the reason they were friends. He enjoyed surrounding himself with witches who could do more than make conversation and talk about dresses or read all the time. Perhaps he'd been spoilt by his mum's rather unconventional approach to raising her sons by partaking in some of their activities with them when she wasn't brewing potions in her spare time.

Ah, duelling. Cepheus had never truly duelled anyone before for the sake of his pride. He was not as adept in spells as Alicia, though he did well enough in his classes, and to duel someone was something else entirely. Spells had to be on the tip of one's tongue in order to successfully knock one's opponent down. Duelling was dangerous business and Cepheus was more afraid of losing than getting scarred by a misfired hex just as Cepheus would rather have his wrist broken again in plucking the Snitch out of the air instead of losing five times or more in front of the entire school in the final match.

Theresa offered to teach Alicia how to shoot and Cepheus was impressed. She was actually trying and he smiled at her. If Alicia accepted, he would count that as progress towards some sort of tolerant friendship. Now it was up to Alicia to receive the olive branch that had been handed out to her, not that there was any war going on between them. At least not that Cepheus knew of.

There were indeed worse things than baking brownies and Cepheus really did think that was only the tip of the iceberg. If Rupert was involved in a club which a muggle-born was the president of, he was involving himself with the wrong sort and, as a result, could potentially befriend them or, even worse, be influenced and sucked into their culture. That was something he would never share with his mates in public, his fear that Rupert would become a traitor to his kind. Rup had his head on straight concerning most things, but he could talk himself into becoming best mates with any old person with no consideration of their blood status. It was a dangerous habit that Cepheus wanted to break in his brother sooner rather than later.

"Which brother is this?" asked Cepheus after Theresa had shared her summer plans, or lack thereof. After their little escapade in the MARS room earlier in the term, Cepheus was aware that Theresa had loads of siblings. One more Carey at this school did not really mean much to him, but he could imagine it being irritating having another sibling at school with her. It was with some luck that both Rupert and Leo were strikingly independent and would rather explore the school on their own than depend on him to show them everything. Ceph had seen Adam leading around his sister nearly all year and each time Cepheus remembered to be thankful he didn't have a one. Younger sisters were simply too much of a burden to care for and it seemed as though they required incessant coddling.

"I've got a family reunion this summer," said Cepheus with a sigh. "It means everyone will be coming to the estate to play nice and gossip about each other." It was less tolerable now that he was older. The adults treated him less like a child, certainly, but he was no longer allowed to slip away from conversations or the reunion altogether with his younger cousins. "But that's in August and my father's planning on taking me to India in late June to check on some land we own there." There were some complications currently with the flats they had built there and Corvus had thought it best to go and check on the property in person. Cepheus was simply going along as part of his 'future patriarch' training that seemed to come up whenever it was most convenient. The last time he'd been there was when he was twelve. "I'm not really a big fan of the place, but there are some lessons to be learnt in property negotiations. Have either of you been there? I'll be sure to bring back something for both of you."

0 Cepheus It's a nice thing to say. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Alicia

October 04, 2013 3:37 PM

Yes, but that's not what I asked. by Alicia

“Thank you,” Alicia said to Theresa’s approving of her goals, though she wasn’t sure if the other girl was being sincere or not. “It’s always good to improve.” Maybe stating the obvious was a thing. Was stating the obvious a thing, or just Theresa’s thing? She had done it back now, though, and would have to see how Theresa reacted.

So far, though, she thought things were going reasonably well. As well as could be expected. Neither of them, she had concluded, felt totally secure – the new and shiny forbidden exciting thing against the long-established and publicly recognized friend. It was a balancing act, at least until they both saw more of what the situation was and what it was going to be. Alicia felt confident that Cepheus would never really abandon her (unless he finds out, said the nasty little voice in her head, to which she replied, and if she tells him, I won’t rest until the whole school thinks she was caught doing something indecent in a bathroom with a prairie elf), but novelty was attractive, and what if he and Theresa really did fall in love, and she never came to love Theresa? That could be a problem.

It wasn’t the problem right now, though. She smiled when Theresa offered to teach her to shoot stuff, recognizing the offer for what it was. “Sounds great,” she said, knowing that even if it never happened, as she doubted it ever would, that the acceptance was the critical thing. It showed she was willing to contemplate moving from their current position toward friendship, or at least the appearance of the same. If Theresa had gained a point with their mutual interest by making the offer first, Alicia had to gain back at least part of one by accepting readily.

She laughed when Theresa said there were worse things than brownies. “I’d say!” she exclaimed, wondering again if the girl was really simple or if that was evidence she was actually secretly clever, or at least potentially so. She winced in sympathy over younger brothers. “Mine as well. ‘Not looking forward to it’ is an understatement,” she sympathized, genuinely for a moment.

She frowned, too, in sympathy over Cepheus’ family reunion. “If you need to flee the country and never look back, my door is open,” she joked. “I’m so glad my family doesn’t subject me to more than three or four dinners a year.” India caught her attention far more. “I haven’t,” she said of having been there. “One day I’m going to make you show me all the countries you have something in, you know. Write me all you learn there, won’t you?” She would love to learn more about property negotiation, since property was a major source of her family income, and besides, there had to be plenty of things at least interesting to them as westerners there. "Though presents are always welcome, too, of course," she added.

16 Alicia Yes, but that's not what I asked. 210 Alicia 0 5

Fae

October 04, 2013 10:22 PM

I think I lost that. by Fae

“Yes, I know.” Fae said, her voice sounding slightly flat. She didn’t want any of her frustration to be heard. Sometimes Arnold made things more complicated than they ought to be. She couldn’t very well be angry with him. She knew he was just Arnold being Arnold. He was a gentleman in every way. And, that was great. She couldn’t fault him for that. He was raised correctly. And Fae loved that about him, she did. But… she couldn’t very well tell him that she was okay with moving things along. That would make her look trampy. Which she wasn’t. Arnold was the only boy she’s ever even held hands with. Conversations like this where he seemed so oblivious or refusing to acknowledge her hints (however out of character they started from), made her feel like it just wasn’t something he was interested in. Was he not attracted to her? Was he just pretending to be interested in her to make things easier? Arnold did only admit to liking her when she forced him into a corner. The thought of him only pretending to like her was devastating. She felt the urge to drop his hand but didn’t, mostly because she was really just hoping he was too oblivious or confused by her suggestion rather than just not into her.

He was, after all, exactly what her parents wanted in a husband for her. At least, in the sense of how he would treat her. They didn’t know what Arnold was going to do to provide for her and neither did Fae, which did not leave a good taste in either of her parents’ mouths but she didn’t want to ask Arnold directly in case it upset him. Arnold didn’t handle talking too well. Or rather, talking about the important things. Not with her anyway. Maybe with Arthur. Fae took a breath and let it drop away. Even if he was only pretending to like her, what was done was done. Their parents had a binding agreement. She would just look at the bright side of it, maybe he didn’t really like her, but it was nice that he was trying. Maybe Fae was the strange one and people didn’t normally think about the things that she did?

The talk of his family just made Fae feel more scared about everything. She was not very good in social situations. She didn’t know how to hold a conversation properly and was so nervous about making the wrong impression that she tended to stumble over her words and look like a fool. She appreciated his mother’s intentions with getting her acquainted with his family on a slower basis than normal, but it didn’t really make her feel any better.

Fae was okay with being notorious if it meant not having to go through all of that. She really was. Let everyone know how much of a coward she was. But she knew that they would never do that. It was a little strange for him to mention even the passing chance of great grandchildren. Fae always assumed that they would have at least one child (and she prayed that she did not have twins), but it wasn’t really something she thought she could just bring up in every day conversation. This was a nice start though. She made a weird sound in the back of her throat at the mention of sharing a mountain like the Pierces. That was like a nightmare.

Arnold’s sudden concern and question had Fae give an abrupt and uncomfortable laugh. She had no idea where it had come from or why she had done it. “I didn’t really think I had a choice in it.” She said after the laugh had gone away. She was really having an off day of emotions. “I always just assumed he’d be there. At the breakfast table and again at dinner. You two carrying on like always and me there being the third wheel in the relationship.” She said all of this in a rather lazy way as though she had thought about this scenario a hundred times and had come to accept it as it was. “Besides, I would be a hypocrite if I said it wasn’t okay since I plan on visiting my sister and brother every once in a while.” Fae informed him, giving him a smile. “Come on, Arnold, did you really think I wouldn’t be alright with that?”

6 Fae I think I lost that. 0 Fae 0 5

Arnold

October 05, 2013 1:37 PM

Everything's going to be all right by Arnold

Something was off, Arnold was pretty sure. What was she thinking? What had he said wrong? She had been the one who’d specifically mentioned the circumstance of him having no intention of marrying her, and since he did have such plans, he had meant to be reassuring. Apparently, though, even mentioning the subject that indirectly put her off. “I just meant….” he began, but didn’t know how to go on without incriminating himself, or else possibly – it was impossible to tell, with the flat tone – further offending her. “You know I wouldn’t really…Can we just forget I said anything?”

It would be so much easier, he thought, if they could just bluntly say what they were interested in, what they weren’t, and that be it. No matter which way it went, the tension, the uncertainty of what anything meant, wouldn’t be a problem anymore, and that would be a relief. But that sort of talk, that sort of thinking, was absolutely forbidden, at least for the next year. If he really wanted, he could talk about romance and such, but not anything more than that.

He wanted to fly away from the situation, as usual, but he knew that wasn’t a solution. The rest of the world would always be here when he got back, and he’d always have to come back. It was better to stick it out, trust that things would swing back to being okay in a minute, that luck would favor him again.

Arnold felt a strange, uncomfortable mix of shame and anger at what Fae said about what she had expected from the future. He had the sudden vision of himself stretched out so thin trying to keep everyone happy, paying enough attention to all of them, that they wouldn’t even notice if they pulled what was left into pieces. Arthur didn't seem too jealous of Fae - yet - but if he decided to be, then there was no doubt in Arnold's mind that his brother would, at the very least, do his best to make her life a living hell, and her life would be Arnold's, too. He had to try to keep them on good terms, but he didn't know how to do that.

“You just said your family doesn’t visit,” he said, trying to suppress it all, or at least not show anything. “So I didn’t know. It’s going to be your house. I don’t want you to feel like a – what did you call it? A third wheel there." He ran his thumb along the curve of her hand unconsciously. "I just – want everyone to be happy,” he said. "I know it's hard for you, you're not used to anything like my family, and it's hard for me and Arthur, I don't think we've ever gone half a day without seeing each other in our whole lives and now we, me and you, we're going to live in one house and he's leaving the country, and...I don't know," he said, running his free hand through his hair. "But I think we'll be able to make it work. D'you think?"

0 Arnold Everything's going to be all right 181 Arnold 0 5

Hope Brockert

October 05, 2013 5:54 PM

Crushed by Hope Brockert

Hope honestly did not feel like being at the fair. It was a celebration and she didn't feel much like celebrating after the letter she'd gotten that morning, informing her of her betrothal. The name of her betrothed, Levon Whitfield, familiar. His family was naturally society and she remembered talking to him at Alessa's wedding. Talking to him quite a bit actually and the Teppenpaw had enjoyed it. Nor was he bad looking and they'd written a few letters here and there. Well he'd written her and she'd felt it was only polite to do so back. They'd also danced a bit at the wedding but he wasn't Russell .

She'd realized that she and her friend were probably not in the same place as far as relationships went-they'd been raised in quite different worlds, in hers people were expected to be married off within a few years, though she did have some distant cousins who waited until they were older and married women quite a few years younger. In his, people just...dated and let it build up to possibly getting married. A custom that seemed odd and uncertain to her but she would have done it just to be with him. But if Hope had gone down that route with him and it hadn't worked out, she'd be nothing but an old maid and she certainly didn't want that. Plus, she'd lose the best friend she'd ever had that way and she didn't want that either.

But then, that never would have happened anyway. Because of Great-Grandfather. In a way it was good, because she'd never have to be a spinster. However, it was mostly bad, because no matter what, she loved someone else and would never be with him. And that hurt, she literally felt her heart breaking in two. She really hated Great-Grandfather at the moment. Hope wasn't ruled by logic, she was ruled by her heart. She didn't care that life would truly be simpler, he wasn't the man she wanted. The man whom she couldn't ever have anyway due to class and social differences even if he was pure enough. Alessa's pedigree of him hadn't helped at all apparently. The seventh year supposed even the poorest of purebloods could have lineage and it all boiled down to money and social position.

All she wanted to do was find a nice corner of the library and cry, she couldn't let people see her do that in public. She should listen to the announcements, come back for meals and see Evan's art gallery. Not that Hope hadn't seen the stuff her brother made before. And she didn't feel like eating anyway. She wasn't like Autumn, she just felt kind of sick to her stomach at the moment. She'd go to her room, but though she'd spotted Reggie, there was no guarantee that Addison wasn't up there, skipping the whole thing due to her "anxiety". She might have had it but she sure did overplay it for sympathy. Hope wasn't doing that, she wanted most people to just leave her alone at the moment.

So she sat in the stands, waiting to hear said announcements, though to be honest, she didn't really hear them, until Nora's name was called for Head Girl. She clapped though more half heartedly than she would have otherwise. She was happy enough for her cousin but the thing was she could tell how overjoyed Nora was. Everyone got to be happy except her and Hope was currently having difficulty feeling good for them.

Announcements over, Hope got up, and prepared to go find that nice private corner of the library that Adam had long ago told her about. The perfect place to hide from people, making it the best place to avoid them so she could cry in private. However, before she got too far, someone approached her...

11 Hope Brockert Crushed 186 Hope Brockert 0 5

Fae

October 05, 2013 7:38 PM

I sure hope so. by Fae

“It’s fine, Arnold. Forgotten.” She said, very much wanting the subject to end and forget the whole thing. She had originally said it because she had thought it were funny before really thinking about the implications of it. She should have known that Arnold was too good to think those things.

Fae closed her eyes as if she were fighting off a headache. Arnold was too sweet for his own good. There wasn’t any foreseeable way where everyone would be happy all the time. Even if Arthur and she were happy, Arnold would be too overwhelmed and anxious to keep them happy, making himself unhappy. Fae had an understanding that relationships last through compromise. It was how his parents managed to stay content in their marriage and how her siblings seemed happy in theirs. And they were all heirs in some way, so their lives were going to be far more complicated than hers and Arnold’s.

“Arnold, my extended family doesn’t visit, but my immediate family is close, just as yours is.” Fae explained to him. Her immediate family wouldn’t drop by unannounced either. They would make plans to meet, but her family respected privacy and would never bother them without good reason. “I have known you since I was eleven years old. I know how you and Arthur are together. He’s the most important person to you and will probably always be.” Fae said to him. “I don’t think you really see how things are or at least, how the relationship is from my end. Your schedule, the things you do, when you have time for me, it’s all based on what Arthur wants from you. I have always been the third wheel in this relationship. Maybe it’s on purpose or just what you are used to, I don’t know, but I have learned to live with it. It makes you happy and I still get time with you. “ Fae shrugged. She thought she would be jealous of how much time Arnold spent with his brother over her, but after so long, she simply accepted it as it was.

“I don’t know what marriage for us will be like. My whole life my family took care of me so that I wouldn’t have to worry. Being on my own, being married, making sure you are happy, being a mother to someone, it all terrifies me.” Fae said quickly, admitting to something she felt was like a dirty secret. “And you never talk to me about any of it, so I just start thinking awful things about how you really don’t want to marry me or that you are repulsed by me or Arthur’s going to keep you away all the time and I’ll be all alone and worried.” Fae was rambling now but the flood gates were open and she needed to get it all out there.

“Or you’ll have a woman on the side that I will have to compete with, which I’m fairly sure is impossible if Arthur’s in the mix too because I really don’t have the energy to fight two people for your affection. Please never have a woman on the side, Arnold, I do not think I’ll handle that very well at all.” Fae pleaded, forcing them to stop walking by stepping directly in front of him to look at him properly. She was feeling frazzled now that she had spilled everything she had kept locked away for a while now and needed his reassurances with everything. “I’ll do my best to keep you happy and I know that keeping you happy means having Arthur around and letting you play Quidditch even though watching you makes me horrified. If you want to live on a mountain with your family, I’ll learn to live with it and if you don’t want to touch me until marriage, that’s fine too. Whatever you want.” Fae dropped his hand to show that she would comply with his wishes.

“I love you, Arnold. I was too scared to say it to you, but it’s the truth. I want us to work, but unless you talk to me, I don’t know what to do. I just end up feeling like a crazy person because I have all these thoughts in my head and I start to panic about everything.” There, she felt better. She just admitted a lot of things to Arnold and quite possibly frightened him in her mini-meltdown, but she was just so exhausted from the worry.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all of that. I’m just… scared and it all came out of me. This is the exact reason why I find it a terrible idea to have me introduced to your family before we’re married.”

6 Fae I sure hope so. 0 Fae 0 5

Arnold

October 06, 2013 3:20 PM

Me, too by Arnold

At first, Arnold was too surprised by Fae’s outburst to do or think anything, but became angry and defensive, both on his own behalf and on Arthur’s, and then stunned again before the whole lot just blended together into a mass of confusion even harder to work through than her speech and he wanted to just yell at the top of his lungs while plummeting toward the ground from eighty feet up just to get out of his own head.

Finally, though, it ended and he ran his hands over his face. “I honestly have no idea what to say to all that,” he said. “You…at least, this is what I heard you saying…you think I’m probably a selfish jerk who’s going to make life everything you don’t want it to be, you think I'm going to go running around the first chance I get when I’ve barely ever even looked at a girl besides you, and you think I haven’t got the brains or guts not to let my brother act like a clingy, vindictive girl on the side, and then you say you love me? It’s going to take me a minute to understand that one, Fae.”

He thought he was justified in needing that minute. He couldn’t see any particular reason for loving the guy she had just described, and in fact thought such a guy would do them all a favor just to put himself out of his misery. So either Fae was the biggest masochist on the face of the planet, or…something. He kicked an uneven place in the grass.

“The crazy things is, all this – it’s all stuff I was trying to do so you’d feel – I don’t know – safer with me, more comfortable, whatever,” he said, shaking his head, fighting off the urge to laugh at just how ridiculous life was. “I don’t want you to have to think about the fact I’m scared out of my mind, too, so I’ve got no idea how to do any of this, so I keep my mouth shut and I let Arthur drill me until I want to kill him and me, too, all the time so I can do better on the RATS. I don’t want you to think you’ve got to do anything you don’t want to do because our fathers set this thing up, or that I’m the – sort of I don’t even know what who can’t be in the room with a girl without wanting that, so I’m afraid to even sit too close to you. I….”

He trailed off, choking on his words again. There was just too much. About how he was supposed to always be strong and confident and Good Old Arnold who had no worries, so he couldn’t very well just complain to her, the person he was most supposed to look out for. About how he couldn’t distance himself from his brother, but it was as much because he was afraid of what would happen to Arthur if he didn’t have Arnold as he was of what would happen to him if he didn’t have Arthur. About how he didn’t know if he would be able to bluff his way through all of life when the only thing he had ever done right on his own was catch the Snitch. How he wasn’t even sure if there was anything of substance except what other people wanted to see in him. How was he supposed to talk about that? What was the point of talking about that? It didn’t matter much, not even to him most of the time.

Tell me who to be for you, tell me who this person you think you’re in love with is, and I’ll try to be him, he wanted to beg, but he had enough pride not to go quite that far. “It’s crazy,” he said again. “I’m trying to make you happy, you’re trying to make me happy…I’m sorry. This is my fault for being an idiot. I've just - not wanted you to worry about anything.”

0 Arnold Me, too 181 Arnold 0 5

Fae

October 06, 2013 8:44 PM

We'll get there. by Fae

What she had said upset him. Immediately she could tell when he ran his hands over his face. She shouldn’t have let it all come out of her. She didn’t know why she had said that. It seemed like every time she and Arnold were at a point in their lives that she just let out everything she was thinking and feeling even when she knew that it would only end badly. She regretted admitting anything to him and wanted to tell him she was sorry especially as he seemed to have misunderstood the things that she had said. Before she could really do that though, he was kicking the ground in either anger at her or frustration at what she had said. Neither was very good in her opinion and she felt herself take a step back in case he did something worse to the grass or surrounding area.

It seemed as though Arnold also had a lot on his mind and Fae listened quietly when he went off on a tangent of his own, unsure as to what to do or think about it. She knew that he was having a difficult time with things. She really had no idea on how he managed or handled any of it, but she knew it wasn’t any easier for him than it was for her. It was an awkward situation and Fae had no idea how people handled it without having some sort of mental break. It was a time like this that she wished Sara was still in school with her. She was always calm and collected about these things.

He ended it by saying he was an idiot and not wanting her to worry. She could have laughed at that if she wasn’t worried of something terrible happening. Forgetting her promise to not touch him, Fae stepped up and wrapped her arms around his torso and held on for a hug whether he wanted it or not. She rested her head against him and tried to think of how to say what she needed to without making this all worse. “You aren’t an idiot, Arnold.” She said into his chest. “We just have issues.” She pulled away far enough to see his face, “I don’t think you are a selfish jerk or a woman chaser or someone who will put me through things that make me unhappy. Those were thoughts that I have when I think too much.”

Fae leaned against him again, hoping he was calming down and not mad at her anymore. “I just get so worried about making you unhappy that my thoughts get all scrambled up and then they fester there. Mother told me I was like this as a child too. I’d have terrors in the night and I’d let them twist me up so much that I started to believe they were real.” She pulled away again and gave him some room. “That’s part of the reason why they kept me from knowing anything.” She gave him an ashamed look. She didn’t really like to admit that she was weak or just how terrible she could let things get.

“I’m sorry for making you feel like this. All this pressure being with me has put on you, I’m really sorry.” Fae pouted as she frowned up at him. “Please don’t be upset with me. I didn’t mean anything by what I was thinking. Arnold, since the moment you saved me from the Moon Calf, you have always taken care of me. I never meant for you to feel so burdened by it.” Fae reached out and tucked some of his hair back into place. “You don’t have to stretch yourself thin to make me happy. I know that I worry about silly things, I’ll try to do better about it, but knowing that I can talk to you will help. Not like these chats where we both blow up, but like really talk. Or you just listen if you don’t want to do any talking.” She added just in case he didn’t like the idea of sharing.

“Do you want to know why I love you so much?” She asked him, smiling a little easier now, “Because of this.” She placed her hand against his chest, over his heart. “You do so much for everyone else to make them happy. Before even really knowing me, you did your best to protect me. I mess everything up and you make me feel better afterward. You’re a gentlemen and polite. You make me laugh. I feel safe with you. When they told me that they had settled a betrothal between you and I, even though I was scared of you hating me, I was happy too because I knew no matter what happened, I would be okay because it would be with you.”

She even knew how corny all of that sounded. He was probably annoyed with her even worse now. “We’ll make it work, Arnold. We’ll find a way to be happy together. If I spew out my thoughts again about all these negative things, just ignore me. I don’t really mean any of it.” She took ahold of both his hands, stood on her tippy toes, and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “We’ll be okay, right?” She asked him.

6 Fae We'll get there. 0 Fae 0 5

Michael Grosvenor

October 07, 2013 5:02 PM

If it's bacon, that will bring you friends by Michael Grosvenor

“Hi!” Michael beamed, as Mellie very efficiently rounded off his search by sitting down next to him. He realised he hadn't controlled his enthusiastic grin in any way, which meant that it was probably at best severely goofy and at worst really weird looking. He took a bite of bacon roll to force his mouth out of beaming idiot mode whilst Mellie chatted. Chatting with Mellie was easy. Or as easy as a conversation in a crowded place was ever going to be. But she knew all the things that helped him and did them so automatically that they just seemed natural now. He liked the idea of conversation with him being able to be natural because it so often wasn't – often it seemed so effortful for both parties. His friends, as a whole, knew the strategies to help him, so it wasn't really unique to Mellie, but it was one of the many things that made him appreciate her.

“Thanks,” he smiled, as she consoled him about head boy. “But I'm ok about it, really,” he assured her. “I mean, I have you,” he explained, then suddenly realised that sounded rather blunt and definitely perculiar. “I mean- I don't mean – I-I didn't. I just... I was thinking about it, and I was thinking about you and.... and about how you're my friend, and that matters more,” he tried, trailing off to a mumble as he finished. He knew he shouldn't have tried to explain anything out loud and he hadn't even really meant to. He'd just accidentally started speaking and then had to try to undo it. And made it worse.

“Or were,” he sighed, resting his head on the table. “Kill me now,” he appealed to aether.

13 Michael Grosvenor If it's bacon, that will bring you friends 199 Michael Grosvenor 0 5

Evan

October 08, 2013 8:41 PM

Actually, I'd go with Lucille. by Evan

"You're welcome." Evan replied. Lucille seemed to be very formal sometimes and while it wasn't an uncommon thing amongst people of their social status, he wanted her to be able to be comfortable around him. Otherwise, being married was going to end up being more of a struggle. They wouldn't be happy that way and he didn't want to make her miserable. He didn't necessarily expect them to love each other-though he had to admit, it would be nice and they had a better chance than his poor sister did-but it seemed like she needed someone she knew she could relax around and it be okay. And less awkward. Also, he really did like her dress. Not that Evan was a big fashion guy-and if he designed something it would look super strange like most things he created-but it looked nice on her and he meant it. Lucille wasn't the most stereotypically pretty girl around but nor did he find her completely unattractive. Plus, he genuinely found her to have a sweet personality even if she was a bit overly nervous. It was different from how his usual crowd needed to relax and Lucille's personality made him want to take care of her. In Thad's case, he just didn't want his friend to give himself a stroke.

Evan smiled whan Lucille said she'd come see his booth. "Thanks. I know my own stuff is notoriously strange but I prefer to think of it as unique." And he would prefer to keep it that way. He didn't want to be copied in any way, he liked being different and his art especially was what stood out about him. It was what, in part, made him Evan and he wouldn't want to be anyone else. He didn't even want his relatives to give their kids his name as a middle name, which was something most of them thought was an honor. To the Aladren, it meant sharing a part of his identity. Oh, he was certain there were other Evans out there, but he didn't know them. It was just that he wanted to be the only Evan in his family. At least until he died, which he didn't plan on doing for some time. He knew Great-Great Grandmother's family had been notorious for early deaths but the only person who'd died young since then was his uncle, Clifford II. That might have been why it was bad luck in his family to use numerals. It was his own middle name though. Of course, it was possible that Great-Great Grandmother had carried some recessive Sawyer early death gene, and that made him worry for Autumn. She had been better for awhile, but everyone still said she was very very sick and that she always would be. And very very sick could lead to death.

"Well, I want you to enjoy the fair too." Evan replied. "I'd feel kind of bad if you didn't have a good time and it was my fault." He went on. "And we can certainly see the horses. Though I think the Horse Club is having a game to raise money for a trip to a horse ranch, where like I said, I could try to win you a prize. At the booth, I mean, not the ranch.However, I think the Petting Zoo has horses and even a few unicorns and a Hippogriff. I think there are a ton of different animals both magical and not. That might be fun, actually." Evan actually liked animals-except porcupines and hedgehogs because of their sharp quills. "I wonder if they'll let us ride them."

"Oh yes, I ride quite often in the summer. My grandfather owns a magical creature ranch of his own." Though never mind the liabilities and stuff, there were other quite good reasons why the Horse Lover's Club could not visit there. Reasons that Evan sincerely never hoped his grandfather never ever mentioned in front of Lucille. "It has all sorts of magical breeds of horses. All the flying ones, a unicorn or two, a couple of hippogriffs. It also has kneazles and crups and is pretty much overrun at times with puffskiens and pygmy puffs. No dragons though. Mostly triple X rating or below. And nothing considered a pest like doxys or chizpurfles. I mean, those things can get in but my grandparents' house elves are good with best control."

"So I take it you like horses?" Evan asked. "We could also see if one of the rides is a carousel. And I'd kind of like to try out the Ferris Wheel. Unless you're afraid of heights." He added. "Oh, and I promise not to try anything improper." That had to wait until they were married or at least adults or got to know each other better. He wouldn't be much of a gentleman otherwise.

11 Evan Actually, I'd go with Lucille. 212 Evan 0 5

Arnold

October 08, 2013 10:04 PM

With time, patience, and communication by Arnold

Arnold hated himself as soon as Fae took a step back in response to his taking his temper out on the grass, assuming she thought he was going to hit her. Self-disgust didn’t even begin to describe it. What did she think he was, anyway? And what, what in the name of all the merciless powers, had he done to make her think whatever it was she thought?

He had hoped she would laugh at his attempt at smoothing things over, but instead she hugged him. It was a definite improvement from the anger and worry, though, so he was more than a little relieved as he put his arms around her, too, one near her waist and the other closer to her shoulders. It was sort of awkward, because he was pretty sure that half the school was right now wondering why they were doing this, or else just thinking they were a pair of crazy fools, but it felt good, so he held on until she began to pull away, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment.

He didn’t really understand how she could have thoughts to the point of becoming this upset if she didn’t really believe in what she was worrying about, but at this point was feeling too stressed and frazzled to argue the point. The important part was that he was maybe not an awful person, or thought of as an awful person, or...whatever he thought, or thought she thought, he was when he thought too much. Or at least things weren't being said which he could interpret as accusations, which was a relief by itself.

“You can talk,” he said. “I’ll…try my best, but you can always talk.”

He didn’t think, given how hard it was even when he was upset enough to be not himself, that talking was going to come too easily too him. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it was because he was used to his mother lecturing him on how dumb whatever he’d just done was while she bandaged him up, but it just felt alien and totally threatening to imagine talking like this very often with anyone, even Arthur. It wasn’t a matter, he thought, of trust, just of some…thing, some block between him and every other person on earth. He had always assumed everyone had at least one, and thought, given Arthur’s interesting and complicated relationship with making wholly honest statements, that most people had more.

The things she said were a relief, and he couldn't help but enjoy being called this great guy even as it embarrassed him, but he also couldn’t help but wonder: what if she’s just saying all that now because she thinks I’m going to smack her upside the head if she doesn’t? He tried to not think it, though. At some point, he just had to take her at her word, because otherwise, he was going to drive himself crazy. He didn’t think, somehow, that doing that would help any of his problems.

“We’ll be all right,” he said, giving her a kiss in return before moving back a bit. “So, are we going to go get pictures or what?” he asked with a smile, since that, he remembered dimly, had been their original plan.

0 Arnold With time, patience, and communication 181 Arnold 0 5