An odd surprise. on Quidditch Pitch

Mortimer Brockert

October 11, 2013 11:27 PM

Flying Lessons by Mortimer Brockert

Mortimer couldn't believe that of all the things he had to do in his transition to Headmaster, that he had to teach Flying Lessons. The man hadn't been flying in years. Not on a broom anyway. If Mortimer wanted to fly, he just turned himself into a raven, his animagus form, and did so. He was a Brockert and that meant Transfiguration talent, among other things, things a bit vulgar and classless to mention but yet everyone but Muggleborns knew they had them. And if they attended Sonora, they would know too. His appointment as Headmaster as Sonora would only increase the family's image.

Right now though, he had to teach them how to fly. Not with wings, but with a broom. Not that Mortimer expected the lot of them to become animagi, maybe not even the ones related to him. He'd noticed two Brockerts on the student list, but for the life of him, he couldn't place Duncan or Serena Brockert and had no idea which of his cousins they belonged to. He didn't think they were twins though. There was a set in the family, he knew but he was pretty sure they were both girls. It wasn't his job to know but that of the family patriarch and he was far from that job. Though he'd bet his niece Alessa would know too, the girl made genealogy a hobby. Mortimer was rather fond of the girl, she was intelligent and not fond of socializing and rather awkward and stiff when she attempted it. In short, she was a lot like him.

He'd noticed two Bennetts on the list as well, though the second "t" had somehow been left off the girl's name. Mortimer took this to be a typo. He noticed a lot of respectable names on the list as well as some unfamiliar ones. Like most classes at Sonora, it looked to be a good group comprised of mostly purebloods.

The sun shown down on them. He had always personally found this to be a good time to take a nap if you were going to take one, though usually Mortimer preferred to spend his down time, reading something educational, learning new things, like the Aladren that he was. Truly, Aladrens and Crotali were far more respectable than their counterparts in Teppenpaw and Pecari. Pecaris were wild and lacked general deportment for the most part and Teppenpaws were weak.

He stood in front of the group of first years. "Hello, and welcome to Flying Lessons" It was a comforting thought that this was the only time that he'd ever had to do this. "I am Mortimer Brockert, for this year, you will all refer to me as Mr. Brockert." The emphasis on all was aimed at his own kin, who were not about to get any special favors. He did have to at least make a show of impartiality, no matter how he felt inside. That included no special treatment for relatives, purebloods, Crotali, Aladrens, or those who he somehow felt were especially gifted whom he'd otherwise be tempted to favor. Not that being gifted in flying mattered one bit to him. All this was to him was something the current Headmistres had instructed him to do for some reason and Mortimer had to do what he had to do. Next year, his time would come.

The future and apparently sometimes current Headmaster called role, starting with Lilliana Bannister and ending with Theodore Wolseithcrafte. He felt for that boy, not for the unpopular political views of his family but for what a mouthful of a last name he had-and unfortunately for Mortimer, if he had to directly deal with him, he'd have to use Mr. Wolseithcrafte's name all over again as he simply couldn't call a student by their first name at this point. He'd feel too odd doing so, like it broke some sort of boundary of familiarity that he did not have with his students, he believed in professionalism. Of course, he wasn't sure how well that would work out when his eldest granddaughter Emerald came to school but he'd deal with that when it happened in seven year's time.

"Those of you who do not have your own broom, please go to the storage shed and pick one out from the schools. When you have selected your broom, line up, put your hand over the broom and firmly say 'up' in a commanding voice, like you would order around a servant, for that's what your broom is, your servant. It does what you want it to do." He figured with a good portion of them being from the right sort of family, they would understand the comparison.

For the most part, due to his general lack of interest in the subject, beyond a small part of him that appreciated the brutality of Quidditch, he was going to stick with-well he couldn't call that woman his predecessor, mostly on the grounds of her honestly having a different job than he really had so he'd call her the previous instructor-the previous instructor's way of doing things, despite his general distaste for the woman. She should have been fired way back when she'd hexed that student, whether the student was acting up or not. There were other, more civilized ways of punishment.

"Now, I know quite well that some of you do not want to fly whether it be for family reason or due to a general lack of athleticism. Unfortunately for you all, it is part of the school curriculum for first years. All you have to do is make it through the year and you'll never have to sit on a broom again being that there are far more practical ways to travel." Okay, so Mortimer flew in his animagus form at times rather than floo or portkey or apparition. Because he could . "For those of you who are experienced flyers, you are allowed to play as you wish as in previous years, however, if I see safety protocols not being followed you will be back on the ground, sitting in the stands and have to write me a five foot essay on safety in Quidditch, due the next class period. You may be released to do as you wish, within reason."

He turned back to less experienced flyers who he expected were muggleborns and pureblood girls. "For those of you not comfortable with the idea of flying due to reasons of it being thought unladylike," Really, Mortimer couldn't see any reason why a girl shouldn't play Quidditch if she wished, there was little to no academic evidence of it making them lesbians, and if they wished to risk life and limb for a trivial matter, that was their business just as it was for a boy, "You are welcome to ride side saddle if you feel more comfortable with that. If you to not ride at all, or attempt to get your broom up, you will write a five foot essay on flying and its history due by the next class period. If you attempt to leave class, it will be a ten foot essay and detention for a month." With that, Mortimer dismissed them to do whatever it was they planned on doing while he kept an eye on them from the stands.

Subthreads:

Already done. by Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus with Atlas Primred, Pecari, Sasha Sinclair

Making the required show. by Isaac Douglas, Crotalus with Theodore Wolseithcrafte

Great...now I'm a flying freak as well by Ariel Thornton, Crotalus with Brandon Carey, Pecari, Ariel Thornton, Brandon Carey

Finally: something I'm good at! by Morgana Bennet with Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

An odd surprise. by Liliana Bannister with Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

Flying away by Leonidas Bennett, Aladren with Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw, Duncan

I don't like this, by Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw

11 Mortimer Brockert Flying Lessons 6 Mortimer Brockert 1 5

Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus

October 13, 2013 10:03 PM

Already done. by Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus

Sasha thought having to go to flying lessons was a complete waste of time. He had been on a broom since he was old enough to walk. Anyone with half a brain should already know how to fly and those who didn’t were a waste of time. Those tended to be Mudbloods and females. Females shouldn’t need to know how to fly, what was the point? They would just ruin their pretty little dresses or break a nail. He found it utter useless to teach the girls how to fly. Mudbloods shouldn’t even be in his vicinity. They were disgusting things that should not be allowed to step foot in magical communities. They just tainted everything they touched.

Feeling disgruntled for having to take time out of his day to do these lessons, Sasha stood amongst the other first years with his brand new top of the line broom waiting to get on with it. It was to his great luck that the soon to be Headmaster was taking on the lesson for the day in lieu of a Coach as he seemed less than eager to have to do much other than watch them. After roll call he had immediately dismissed those with experience to go off and do as they pleased. Sasha didn’t need to be told twice. He took off with his broom and left the weak ones behind.

Sasha loved flying in the air. He loved it. Flying was something his father had taught him to do and he told him that being able to fly or play quidditch would give him glory should he make the team. Sasha planned on signing up for the team, he also planned to someday be the Captain of the team because he obviously had the leadership skills to take them to the top. He also deserved those glorious titles more so than anyone else. He was Sasha Sinclair after all. Besides, his cousin’s fiancé was no longer at this school, so there was no way the Aladrens could continue on with their winning streak. They had a freak handful of years due to him but now it would be Crotalus’s term and he would help bring that victory to them. He also expected to be handed the Prefect Badge and voted Head Boy, but those were a few years to come, so he wasn’t going to worry too much about that now.

At the moment, Sasha was just going to try to figure out who was the ‘right’ sort to be around. He flew around for a moment before turning his broom around and hovered a little away from where the others were learning the basics. Any male down there he would take as being dirtied. The females… he’d have to pay close attention to.

6 Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus Already done. 0 Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus 0 5

Isaac Douglas, Crotalus

October 14, 2013 3:37 PM

Making the required show. by Isaac Douglas, Crotalus

As long as he lived, Isaac would remember his first time on a broom. It had been four years ago, about, just after Alicia came home from her second year. They had all gone to Grandmother’s, where several of his cousins on the Douglas side had been visiting as well for Grandmother’s birthday, and the other boys – all older than him – had wanted to practice stunt flying, and started picking on him when he didn’t want to, which he had taken pretty stoically until his sister had offered to take his place if he was too afraid to do it. Furious at Alicia for showing him up in front of everyone, he had snatched the broom out of her hand, gotten on it, kicked off far too hard, gone far too high, fallen off, and broken both his ankle and his nose. This was why he still blamed Alicia for his nose being a little crooked; he was pretty sure Mom had not fixed it right, though they all just insisted it had always been like that because, like most of the family except Alicia, he had gotten the Layne looks.

At least, he had had a lot of fun pointing out to his sister one time when she had made fun of him for being vain about it after he had complained of his nose, I don’t look like the mudblood father I haven’t got. He was pretty sure she had been directly responsible for a number of unpleasant things which happened to him over the next few days after that, but the look on her face when he said it had been worth it. His sister was beautiful, but at a price he couldn’t imagine anyone sane would be willing to pay.

The whole experience, though it had led to him learning to use a broom properly to avoid repetitions, had done nothing to endear flying to Isaac, and so he approached flying lessons without any great enthusiasm, either for the subject or for the instructor. Alicia was clearly worked up about it, but he didn’t see how it affected them, who the headmaster was or wasn’t. They had enough problems with their family without trying to attract attention from more demanding adults who they couldn't really reason with or coerce, either.

Lack of authority issues aside, though, he had to deliberately try not to laugh at the mental image of Alicia muttering something like No, I think I’ll call you Bob, at the pointed comment about calling the future headmaster ‘Mr. Brockert,’ but otherwise remained impassive until all the grandiose threats about making them write huge essays if they disobeyed in any respect, when he again had to exert some effort not to roll his eyes. It wasn’t that the threat was empty, he was sure Brockert could enforce it and probably would, but the minute someone started using threats was the minute he knew that person didn’t really feel as sure of him- or herself as he or she looked. If one had to use an open appeal to force (since really, wasn’t all authority, even if there was a widespread agreement not to talk about it, about who had the ability to use that at need?) to get one’s way, one wasn’t that good at the game. Plus, it was all after actually telling them his subject was useless, which was…really not smart at all. Enough of them were going to draw that conclusion on their own; he didn’t need to help them along, and was really just encouraging the kind of mutiny he was threatening punishment for. Perhaps he was a sadist?

Isaac decided he didn’t want to find out. When those who knew how to fly were dismissed, he took off, flying far enough away from the rest of the group that the beginners became little dots before turning back toward those who were evidently his peers. Crossing near someone, he raised one hand in a wave, just to show that he could, and said, “Good afternoon!”

Flying with one hand on the broom was good, being able to talk at the same time was even better. He hoped he could display his prowess and then be done with it, though he wasn’t sure where that would leave him – surely not having to repeat the maneuver with everyone here? He had to put on a good show, he knew that, but the joy of not being a halfway-covert half-blood was supposed to be that he didn't have to spend his every waking moment overachieving his brains out. Just...hanging out in the air for an hour was going to be excruciatingly boring, but he thought it beat breaking his nose again, even if the medic was more competent with a bone-mending spell than his mother.

16 Isaac Douglas, Crotalus Making the required show. 273 Isaac Douglas, Crotalus 0 5

Ariel Thornton, Crotalus

October 14, 2013 5:48 PM

Great...now I'm a flying freak as well by Ariel Thornton, Crotalus

Ariel spent her first night in freaksville prison loathing her surroundings. The only thing that made it semi bearable had been the brief interaction she had had with the rude girl she had "met". She used the word met loosely since she never actually said her name. Ariel shook her head at the whole thing and hunkered down for bed. She made it a point to spend her first week in prison mostly in isolation. She left her "cell" for meals and that was it. Other than that she wanted no other interaction with the other inmates.

Ariel got up the morning of her first official torture session seriously wanting to run away screaming. Instead of following that impulse, the dutiful Crotalus girl got dressed and grabbed her broom before venturing out of her "cell". The torture device in her hands had been a gift for being a new member of the freaks-R-us club. She shook her head in disgust as she made her way down to Cascade Hall for a quick breakfast. She figured she deserved a treat for enduring her hellish prison this long and the cooks here were fantastic. It was the only good thing about the place if she ignored the fact that all the meals were made by elves. She grabbed a couple of pancakes and sausage and sat down to eat. She was pretty sure she would finish with enough time to get to class. She finished up her meal, grabbed her torture device and headed outside to the field.

Ariel arrived just as a few other newbies did and leaned lazily on her broomstick. She sighed in irritation. This forced prison camp was the last place she wanted to be. Especially now. She waited semi patiently for Mr. Brockert to begin his instructions for the "class" and rolled her eyes as he told them the consequences for ducking class or not participating. Neither options sounded like ones she really wanted to deal with. She sighed heavily as she realized her only real option was to do the lesson itself. "I HATE flying!" She grumbled aloud near her neighbor as she mounted her broom and took off into the air with the other experienced flyers. She may hate doing it, but she wasn't ignorant on how to do it. Plenty of forced home games with her sisters taught her that much. She flew off to do laps around one of the goal hoops with the others were doing whatever it was they were. Ariel was happy to just fly around alone hating her existence. Sitting up in the air alone on her broom, Ariel began to cry silent angry tears. She was snapped back to attention when she heard a voice speak near her. She reluctantly turned towards the sound.

0 Ariel Thornton, Crotalus Great...now I'm a flying freak as well 0 Ariel Thornton, Crotalus 0 5

Morgana Bennet

October 14, 2013 11:08 PM

Finally: something I'm good at! by Morgana Bennet

Morgana leapt out of bed that morning with a feeling of glee that in no way reflected her gloom of the night before. None of her attempts at making friends seemed to be working, and even her own roommate wouldn't speak to her. She had simply curled up and pulled the curtains around her bed before Morgana even had a chance to ask her name. Morgana had fallen asleep fighting tears; her greatest fear was coming true before her very eyes.

Still, the sun came up the next day and brought with it the promise of flying lessons. Morgana held high hopes for making a friend today or at the very least getting someone to talk to her. She knew that most girls would probably bulk at the idea of flying, but she loved being in the air! She reached into her trunk and pulled out the broom that her dad had bought her as a going-to-school present, and she had been dying for a chance to try it out. She checked her reflection in the mirror one last time and hurried out of her room for a quick muffin before class.

Once she reached the pitch, she clutched her broom handle desperately and kept shooting glances up to the sky in eagerness. Her attention was soon diverted to the Professor as he introduced himself as Mr. Brockert and began reading through the list of names. She smiled and raised her hand when he called her name then glanced around in surprise when she heard her surname again. She hurriedly racked her brain for any cousin on her dad's side she may have forgotten, but she was sure that none of them were the same age as her. Morgana made a quick mental note to talk to this other "Bennet" at some point in the future to clarify the mystery.

Finally, Mr. Brockert finished role. Morgana had noticed the two Teppenpaws she had thought were twins the night before; on closer inspection, she was forced to reconsider her original deduction. They may be cousins, but she no longer thought they were twins; they didn't look enough alike. Mr. Brockert then asked them all to get their brooms and call them up from the ground. Morgana frowned at the simile of calling a servant. Her family did indeed have one: the housemaid. Her mother had wanted a gardener, but her dad insisted on doing it himself, but he had allowed her to hire someone to keep the house clean. Morgana also remembered the nursemaid she had had as a child. She had loved the woman dearly, but once Morgana was six years old, her mother had dismissed the woman as no longer necessary. Morgana had never quite forgiven her mother for the way she had treated the woman. The idea of one person being better than another had never really sat well with Morgana; she imagined it was because of the way her mother's family sometimes treated her father because of his muggle mother.

Once everyone had a broom in their hand, Mr. Brockert announced that anyone with flying experience was free to do as they pleased while he worked with those who had never flown before. Morgana grinned wildly at the thought of getting into the air and mounted her broom. She glanced around and noted that her roommate and two other boys had already kicked off and hurriedly followed them into the air.

Morgana sighed in relief as she felt the wind whipping her hair around her face and even laughed as the freedom of being in the air surrounded her. She climbed higher and higher until the benches looked like lines on a page before diving back down to a reasonable level. Once back at a comparable height to her classmates, she glanced down and saw several girls mounting their brooms side-saddle. She scoffed and rolled her eyes; those girls reminded her too much of her mother. "What's the point of flying if you're going to be afraid to get a bit messy?" she muttered aloud. "This is much more fun," she added to herself as she began a series of barrel rolls. When she was level again, she glanced down to make sure Mr. Brockert hadn't seen; he hadn't. She grinned and laughed to herself before continuing to zoom around the pitch.

Morgana hoped that maybe her skills in the air would prompt at least one of her classmates to say something to her.

0 Morgana Bennet Finally: something I'm good at! 0 Morgana Bennet 0 5

Liliana Bannister

October 18, 2013 4:30 PM

An odd surprise. by Liliana Bannister

That morning Liliana had woken up with a bounce in her step. Knowing that flying lessons were that afternoon was the first feeling of happiness she'd had since first setting foot in Sonora. Nothing it seemed pleased her as of yet and it was getting tired disapproving of everything. So far she had not found anything dreadfully wrong with the school and so that morning she had awoken determined to make the best out of things. After all, pouting would only get her so far and seeing as how a whole year of pouting previous to her entrance to Sonora had got her no where she decided that she might as well suck it up and enjoy it. Only a few more years after all, she told herself. After you finish seventh-year you can move back to England and there will be nothing anyone can do about it. So, she dressed practically in a pretty marigold colored romper that her favorite of her grandparent's house-elves, Shye, had made her, and carefully brushed out her long light brownish-blonde hair and tied it back neatly in a braid. She never wore her hair like that usually but seeing as how she would be having flying lessons that afternoon she figured it would be a good idea. Before putting on her school robes over her romper, Liliana pulled a matching ribbon out of her romper pocket and tied it to the end of her braid. There, she was all set dressed in a cheery color all ready for her new outlook on life.

It was just her luck that on the first day she decided to actually be happy for once, it would also be the first flying lesson of the year. All her cousins knew how to fly and they would oftentimes have mock Quidditch games at her grandparents house back in England, so she was especially excited to learn at school considering it would be a subject she thought she would do decently well in as well as feel more at home. It was hot in Arizona, hotter than at her grandparent's home, hotter than her old home, and hotter than in Connecticut, her new home. Being raised as the only girl in a family full of boys, Liliana knew how to play Quidditch decently well for someone her age. She had been flying since a young age as there were many famous female Quidditch players in England, and it came to her as a surprise that Professor- Mr., she corrected herself, Brockert would think that the witches would have a problem with riding brooms. She wondered what purebloods were like in America and wasn't sure if she enjoy her time here.

Not having brought her own broom to school because she had thought they weren't allowed due to her cousins not being able to bring their brooms to Hogwarts first year, Liliana trooped to the broom shed to pick out one of the school's. She made a mental note to herself that she would have to write home and ask her father to send her broom to her as well as write to her cousins bragging about Sonora's liberal broom policy. She decided that she wouldn't mention the weird stigma that apparently girls weren't supposed to play Quidditch in favor of the one aspect of Sonora that she deemed to be superior to Hogwarts in. As she held her hand out over her broom and said "Up," she felt a small pang in her chest. She really did miss her cousins. She knew whining about it wouldn't help her at all so she tried to suppress it but her homesickness was getting to her too much. It took all she could to hold back the few tears that were threatening to come forth. After her first shakey "up," Liliana managed to control her voice enough to the point that the broom shot off the ground and into her waiting hand where she gripped it tightly.

"There we go," she beamed. "That's more like it." She mounted the broom and did a quick lap around the pitch, goodness it felt good to be in the air again!, before coming back to her starting place and concentrated on hovering. Staying in one place with out moving took a bit of control for the over active girl and so it was something she wanted to work on. She wasn't one for showing off or other nonsense like that and due to being the youngest and the only girl, knew her place quite well. She misbehaved at home but that was mainly due to the bad influence of her many male cousins and not so much because she had a blatant disregard for authority.

She turned to the person next to her and offered a smile. She was going to try really hard and make a friend, she was determined! "Hi there," she said. "Isn't this neat? I didn't think we were allowed to bring our own brooms otherwise I'd be using my own." She gestured to the school broom between her legs. She didn't care that it was a school broom as that's what she would have been using at Hogwarts, she just much preferred her own as it fit her better and she felt more comfortable while riding it.

10 Liliana Bannister An odd surprise. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

October 18, 2013 10:28 PM

You fly like me! by Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

Morgana had just been enjoying the fresh air, and hadn’t paid any mind to where her broom took her. When she opened her eyes next, she found herself much nearer to the ground than she had started, but she didn’t mind. All she could think about was being in the air again…it reminded her of all the fun afternoons with her dad while her mom was out visiting pureblood friends. She missed her dad…a lot, but she was trying to suppress it in favor of having fun like he wanted her to.

She zoomed around the edge of the pitch, just brushing the ground with her toes. Her broom was already responding to her every touch with little to no resistance which was wonderful for a new broom! Morgana loved it, and she couldn’t wait to write and tell her dad exactly how it had handled on the field. She glanced up and saw the two boys still flying around and her roommate on the opposite side of the pitch. Turning her eyes to her nearer surroundings, Morgana noted several of the girls nervously sitting on their brooms afraid to fly but not wanting to write the paper if they didn’t. Morgana could not understand the objections to girls flying, but she knew it was definitely a pureblood thing. Her mother would have a heart attack if she knew her only daughter was currently riding a broom as though it were the most natural thing in the world; she allowed herself a small giggle at the conjured image of her mother’s face.

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside her, and Morgana turned to see a girl with blondish-brown hair smiling at her from her own broom…she was riding normally too! Morgana beamed back upon noticing this. She felt this might be a girl she could really get along with.

“Hi I’m Morgana!” Morgana replied. “I think this is the best part about Sonora so far,” she agreed. “I love flying so much! My dad taught me; he’s the one that bought me my broom,” she added gesturing to her own broom. “It’s too bad you didn’t know to bring your own. I would hate having to use one of the school’s! They just don’t respond like a broom that knows you, you know what I mean? What’s your name, by the way?”

0 Morgana Bennet, Crotalus You fly like me! 0 Morgana Bennet, Crotalus 0 5

Liliana Bannister, Pecari

October 20, 2013 2:17 AM

Well... I fly like an English witch if that's what you mean? by Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Liliana sized up the girl smiling beside her. She looked friendly enough, but she hadn't particularly introduced herself in the proper way. Perhaps she was just excited or nervou? Perhaps it was the adrenaline from flying that was making her forget her manners. "I'm Liliana Bannister of the London Bannisters," she replied, steadying herself enough to reach out a hand to shake. It was the polite thing to do, after all. She hated having to introduce herself that way. She spent more time with her mother's family than her father's family especially because her father only had one sibling who only had one son, Allan. Allan was quite a bit older than Liliana, he'd graduated Hogwarts five years ago and had married a sweet girl from Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw was the house she would have been expected to be in if she'd gone to Hogwarts- everyone from both sides of her family had ended up there, so that was one good thing about going to Sonora, she wouldn't have had to let her family down. "Where are you from?" Liliana asked, giving the girl a chance to redeem her introduction in case the earlier one was botched.

"I'm not sure which part of Sonora I like best," Liliana shrugged, not really wanting to talk about Sonora. Just because she wanted to have a new outlook on life did not mean she had to talk about Sonora- she could try and have a good time while avoiding the sore topics (she was still a bit upset that she hadn't got her way). "My cousins taught me how to fly," Liliana went with the second part of the girl's conversation, deciding she didn't want to talk about her fav class. "And how to play Quidditch, but that's why I didn't bring my own first years aren't allowed brooms at Hogwarts. That's where I was supposed to go." But that's when the move occurred and she ended up at Sonora. "So I just supposed that all magical schools would have similarly enforced policies." She shrugged again. "This broom's not half bad. I think that because Sonora is smaller than Hogwarts, after all we have what, fifteen students in first year? (she had counted at the feast), there's more money to go around. I'll probably ask if I can have mine sent to me but that's just because I feel more comfortable on it." Part of that reason was that it was a present from Levi for her seventh birthday. Seven is a magic number, her cousin had said to her when he'd presented her with the broom. So this is a special present. Liliana was on the smaller side for her age so the broom still fit her though she knew that in a few years she'd probably have to start breaking in a new one. She'd keep this present from Levi forever though, perhaps mount it on her wall next to her first pair of ballet slippers that her grandmother had bought her.

10 Liliana Bannister, Pecari Well... I fly like an English witch if that's what you mean? 274 Liliana Bannister, Pecari 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

October 20, 2013 4:18 AM

Just getting started. by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Atlas saw the other students gathering and picked up his pace to join his fellow first years for the lesson. Atlas was somewhat surprised to see Mr. Brockert standing at the front of the group. “I didn’t think that someone in his position would be teaching a class, especially to the youngest students,” Atlas thought to himself as Mr. Brockert took roll.

Most of the students appeared to already have brooms, with the exception of a few. One girl with blondish-brown hair didn’t have a broom either. “She looks familiar,” Atlas thought to himself trying to remember if he had seen her anywhere. He walked over to the broom shed several paces behind her, the last thing he wanted was to offend a person he had previously met by forgetting their name, it would be too much of a hassle. He searched around the shed and chose a slightly older broom that was placed in the back corner. “You should get to have some air too,” he said quietly to the broom as he dusted some of the cobwebs off of its bristles.

Hurrying out, he caught up with the rest of the class just in time for Mr. Brockert’s servant-broom analogy. Atlas’ eyebrows furrowed faintly and his almond eyes sharpened slightly under his auburn locks of hair at the statement. It was a good thing his hair was so long or Mr. Brockert would have seen Atlas giving him quite the stink eye. Atlas stared down at the aged broom on the ground. The idea of seeing a broom as a servant made his stomach knot with anger; he could never consider something lower than himself. Whenever he played sports at home he took great care of his equipment, after all, they where supposed to be an extension of himself. It was by being so connected to every aspect of the sport that made him such an excellent athlete.

Atlas spoke to the broom as if he was addressing his little sister, stern but with respect. “Up.” The broom came to his hand with such force that it left a slight pounding feeling in his hand for several seconds after. Atlas grinned slightly, his secret way of saying “thank you”. After Mr. Brockert released the experienced flyers, Atlas could have sworn he heard the girl next to him mumble that she “hates flying” before she, in contrary to her statement, flew off and began to dash around the large posts at the end of the field. A good number of the group went up, leaving Atlas with mostly girls. Atlas loathed this, not because he was being labeled as inexperienced in something athletic, but because he was worried people might mistake him for a girl again. Even if his hair weren’t to the nape of his neck, his feminine facial features wouldn’t stop people from thinking he looked like an Asian girl.

Mr. Brockert didn’t leave them with many instructions when he finally dismissed them, and for that Atlas was quite grateful. “Maybe he isn’t such a bad guy after all”, he thought to himself, for Atlas was in no mood to continue to delay his first flight. Ever since he was little Atlas had spent time looking up at the sky, feeling as though it were calling to him. For Atlas the only feeling that came close to the sensation of the sky was swimming, which was why he tried to spend as much time as possible in the pool, or doing other sports that could give him any kind of the same feeling.

Atlas took a quick look for where his other classmates had gone; one girl who had been doing barrel rolls was talking to the blondish-brown haired girl from earlier, one boy who sped off fast was now putting on quite a show, and the rest were all racing around the Quidditch Pitch. Most of his peers were already far off on the other side of the field, which made perfect conditions for Atlas to test out his broom skills without worrying about anyone wandering into his path. Atlas figured flying was like any other sport, and since they came so easily to him, flying would too.

Atlas clenched his broom in his hands. For the first time since he had been in Sonora he let out a huge smile. “Lets go!” he said to the broom. With that he mounted his broom and crouched to the ground. He pushed off hard, accelerating very fast off the ground. He looked and saw the field many feet below him. Then, turning his head to the sky, he raced off with great speed, keeping his body close to the broomstick like he was doing a breaststroke, which only made him go faster. It felt like déjà vu to him. Atlas felt in that moment, as if all the sports he had done in the past had simply been filling the void flying left in his heart. It was pure ecstasy, raw emotion slipping from his very soul to the body of the broom. He was almost too caught up in the moment to notice the blonde haired boy hovering in front of him.

Atlas quickly pulled back on his broomstick all the way, until it was nearly vertical. At the same time, he moved his legs down to counterbalance the weight, and pushed hard against the bottom of the broomstick. When he finally came to a halt, he was in a nearly standing position against his broom, mere inches from the boy who had blocked his flight path. Atlas was slightly peeved, in any other sport; standing around carelessly would leave a huge opening for the opponent, and leave you in danger of getting injured. “Are you ok?” Atlas asked with concern, wanting to make sure he hadn’t hit the boy in his hasty stop. “You know…” Atlas started, “you really shouldn’t sit out in the open like that, you could get hurt,” Atlas continued sympathetically, wanting to make sure the boy wouldn’t get hurt in the future. He seemed like an ok kid, even if he was in the way of his flight.

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari Just getting started. 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

October 21, 2013 1:05 AM

I hope you don't think I'm rude... by Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

As soon as the girl introduced herself as Liliana Banister, Morgana could have kicked herself, but instead chose to keep her face locked in a smile as she accepted the hand Liliana offered. In the heat of the moment, she had forgotten the proper manners her mother had beat into her head as a child. She had just been so excited to see another girl riding her broom normally that she hadn’t had her head on straight when she opened her mouth. She wondered if Liliana would hold that against her…

“I’m sorry; I completely forgot my manners: I’m Morgana Bennet from California,” she smiled sheepishly. “If you’d like me to be more specific, I’m from San Diego. My family owns some property right on the beach.”

Morgana bit her lip then. She could tell that Liliana didn’t really want to talk about Sonora; there was something in her tone that gave it away. Morgana decided instead to hit upon another area of conversation. “You said you were supposed to go to Hogwarts and you lived in London; that must’ve been hard to leave. What’s it like there? I’ve always wanted to visit, but my mother doesn’t want to spend that kind of money for a vacation. She’d rather spend it taking me to the other side of the country to meet pureblood families where she’s from. Personally,” she added leaning in closer and lowering her voice, “I think she’s trying to hook me up with some pureblood boy.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

0 Morgana Bennet, Crotalus I hope you don't think I'm rude... 0 Morgana Bennet, Crotalus 0 5

Liliana Bannister, Pecari

October 21, 2013 5:23 AM

Not particularly- didn't mean to appear that way myself. by Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Liliana pursed her lips slightly and nodded. "Beach front property is quite sought after I believe, is it nice there?" Honestly, she didn't care whether Morgana was from California or Ohio. It was all the same to her and none of it in England. But there were beaches everywhere and so she supposed that would be a topic that they could both contribute to. "I haven't been to any of those white sandy tropical beaches that you see in pictures but England and France do have their fair share of absolutely gorgeous beaches." She recalled to mind the memories of when her family would retreat to their summer beach house in France for a few weeks in the summer or when they would take a few days to go to the English seaside. Lots of swimming and splashing around and goofing off, cousinly sleepovers whispering late into the night and lots of teasing when the older cousins had girlfriends. "I have fond memories of spending time there with my family. We never really vacationed in America- my mother's family has a family house in France so we would usually go there if we had enough time."

When Morgana asked after Hogwarts, Liliana wasn't sure how to respond. She knew what she wanted to say and she knew what was proper to say so instead she settled for shrugging, again. "It was a little bit difficult, I suppose," she replied. "All my family is there and at Hogwarts so I miss them a lot, family is really important to us Bannisters. England's nice, I didn't spend much time in London though my parent's house was there. Our family estate was in the country and so in the day time I would go there with my cousins as London townhouses are rather small." She didn't really feel like going into the family details of how Bannister was her father's name and it was her mother's family the Brouards' that they were all more acquainted with as that side was larger and her father's parents had both died before she was born so her father had merged the Bannister's company with the Brouards' company.

As for that information about Morgana's mother well, Liliana didn't really know what she was supposed to say to that. It was really personal, family information, information you didn't really give out until you became close with someone and could share it without fear of having it used against you. Besides, pureblood girls had to be bred in a certain way- they would only grow up to be married to a pureblood boy anyway if your family was the sort to do betrothals. Liliana's family certainly was and so, it seemed, was Morgana's. So instead of the shock that she felt was expected she wrinkled her brow. "Would that be such a bad thing?" Liliana asked, she had learned from early on that it would be expected that she cooperate throughout the betrothal process and then at the end while she would not get the final say her opinion would be taken into consideration. "It's better to start young, if you pay attention to the candidates then you'll have an idea of what your future husband could be like and you'll be able to adequately prepare." She realized that she kind of had a condescending tone, one that her grandmother would have approved of though Liliana knew that the matriarch of the family would have approved even more of it if there were undertones of kindness so as not to make enemies. "It's just a little advice," Liliana added so the girl would know she wasn't trying to be mean. "From one pureblood witch to another. We know we won't be able to escape our destiny so instead we should make it our own and at least learn how to deal with it. Coping, I believe it's called."

10 Liliana Bannister, Pecari Not particularly- didn't mean to appear that way myself. 274 Liliana Bannister, Pecari 0 5

Sasha Sinclair

October 21, 2013 8:45 PM

You need to learn self control. by Sasha Sinclair

Sasha was paying attention to the people around him. He noticed the girls who were off on brooms, they were magical but not proper. No girl should readily ride a broom and certainly without ease or grace. If they rode a broom like a man, they might has well have been men. Everyone else seemed to be able to ride a broom to some extent, at least the actual males, so he took that to mean the majority of the class were from magical backgrounds. That meant that he would have to said a letter to his family asking for details on each of the last names of those in his class. Until he understood who he was dealing with, he was not safe from making the wrong sort of friends. He had to be very careful about those things.

While looking around, Sasha saw the boy on the broom racing towards him. Panic did not fill him as it might have someone else. Sasha knew how to use a broom and was in a position to easily maneuver out of the way if he had to. Fortunately for the other male, he seemed to actually notice that there were other people on the pitch and decided to brake instead of attempting to knock him off his broom. When he finally did come to a stop, not far from Sasha’s face, he asked if Sasha was okay. Sasha ignored him and let him go on. But the boy’s chatter just angered Sasha. Stupid fool. He had no idea who he was addressing right now.

“First of all, do not make this out to be my fault for your foolishness while riding your broom.” Sasha sneered at him. It was this inane boy who had decided to ride his broom at a high speed and not pay attention to those around him. He was on a pitch full of classmates, not paying the least bit of attention, what exactly did he expect would happen? “I am not sitting out in the open, you wanker. I am hovering off to the side, a bit above the ground. This spot is the appropriate spot for someone who does not wish to be in the way of those flying fast and, who are apparently blind and oblivious to those around them as you seem to be.” Sasha said with contempt oozing from his Scottish accented voice. It was clear that this kid had no idea about anything.

“Those who want to fly at fast speeds probably shouldn’t be doing it this low to the ground or near the beginners who don’t yet have control over their brooms. Unless, of course, you are looking to cause an accident.” He said condescendingly. Any schmuck would have found this to be an obvious and basic fact to know. “Now, if you don’t mind, you’re in my way.” Sasha said dismissively. He was trying to study his year-mates and he couldn’t bloody well do that with this inept fool hovering around him. He was clearly not someone Sasha cared to know.

OOC: I, as the author, apologize for Sasha’s abrasiveness. He’s not very nice.

6 Sasha Sinclair You need to learn self control. 0 Sasha Sinclair 0 5

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

October 21, 2013 8:46 PM

Thread Closed, posted above (nm) by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau **Thread Closed, posted above** (nm) 0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau 0 5

Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

October 23, 2013 12:30 AM

The truth comes out. by Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

Morgana smiled fondly as Liliana asked about the beaches in California. How many evenings had she spent simply sitting on a sandy hill watching the sun stain the water various shades of red, orange, or purple? How many nights had she spent counting the stars while listening to the sigh of the waves echo her own as her parents continued to argue about her future? How could she explain to Liliana how much she loved and missed the beach while still remembering that Liliana had lost a good deal more? Instead of trying, she settled for a simple smile.

“The beaches in San Diego are beautiful,” she replied. “I’ve spent a good amount of time on the one outside my house.” She then turned the conversation to family. “I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to leave all your family! Family is very important to me, too…I guess that’s one thing I don’t like about this place: I miss my dad.” She decided to leave that particular subject there, as she didn’t want too many questions surrounding her family life.

Morgana had gathered from this brief conversation that Liliana was most likely a pureblood to the fullest extent of the category. That meant that the debate between her own mother and father was probably as foreign to Liliana as America was. Morgana bit her lip as she realized how much of a hole she had dug herself into when she mentioned her mother’s attempts to betroth her to some rich boy. Apparently (judging from Liliana’s response) that was something that went uncontested in her home while Morgana was quite the opposite.

Morgana knew that her mother’s attempts at an arranged marriage had to be underhanded and devious to keep her father from outright refusing them. Their vacations to the New England area were always under the pretext of visiting her mother’s enormous family while it really was about introducing Morgana to some first son of a close friend of her mother’s cousin. Morgana had learned very quickly not to mention this to her father as it led to hour long debates that drove her to the forest rather than the beach to escape the noise. Being half-blood, her father simply could not understand the point of marrying Morgana off to some boy just because he had an old name coupled with an old house and old money. He believed that Morgana should marry for love.

Her mother agreed with him…to an extent. She had married him because of love and the promise of a decent amount of money. Her parents were satisfied with the match mainly because she was the third of three children and was therefore given slightly more leeway than her older siblings. However, that did not stop her from believing that the only men worth loving were those with powerful last names (meaning, she didn’t care if they were half-blood as long as the wizard side was the father’s side) and loads of money.

So, instead of going anywhere near that delicate and intricate subject, Morgana simply shrugged at Liliana’s response. “I suppose you have a point,” she conceded. “Coping is, I guess, the way to deal with it.”

The only thing that bothered her was the assumption that she, too, was pureblood. She wondered what kind of response she would receive if she corrected the assumption…what would Liliana think then of her plight? She knew that she could easily avoid the subject and allow the assumption to go unchallenged, but what would her dad say if he knew she was hiding who she really was? She inwardly sighed as she knew what she was about to do. “Oh and by the way…I have to tell you I’m not pureblood. My dad’s mom is a muggle. Does that change anything in the way you see me?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

0 Morgana Bennet, Crotalus The truth comes out. 0 Morgana Bennet, Crotalus 0 5

Liliana Bannister, Pecari

October 24, 2013 1:30 AM

Or maybe not... by Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Liliana nodded, she’d probably really miss a beach if she’d lived on one her whole life. As it was she already was pretty much in love with the ocean and she’d spent most of her life in the city and the countryside. And she did know what it was like to miss family members so at least she had that in common with Morgana. “I suppose I miss my parents too, a little bit,” Liliana conceded. She wasn’t quite sure how to explain to Morgana that in her family she really only saw her parents on weekends as her father was always working and her mother socializing. It was just the way things were at home and they all still loved each other and would put each other over anyone else in the world but somehow she got the impression that if she tried to explain this to Morgana the other girl wouldn’t believe her. She figured that Morgana probably came from a pretty different background given that she hadn’t introduced herself completely like a pureblood had though similarly enough that she probably had some magical influence from home.

Liliana was going to continue the debate about coping and dealing with being betrothed as it was a large subject that she knew she would have in common with other pureblooded witches. Morgana’s mentioning of being introduced into society by her mother and betrothed to a pureblood boy made Liliana think that her earlier thoughts about Morgana perhaps being not completely pureblood were wrong. However, then, Morgana continued the conversation herself, in a different direction than Liliana wanted to go. Suddenly, Liliana felt sorry for the girl’s mother and would have for Morgana but as she didn’t want to be betrothed then she thought the revelation would make her happy.

“I suppose not…” Liliana trailed off, thinking. She didn’t want to make any judgments after having first met Morgana but… Muggles were pretty evil beings. Smart albeit, but evil. They had done horrible things to the world, used up a lot of fuel, dissected or ripped apart anything that wasn’t like them… Not to mention the witch trials. Liliana shuddered at that thought- it was horrible to think that Muggles were so crazy that they would burn someone that they suspected of being a witch when being a witch was actually such a wonderful thing!

“But you know what that means right?” She waited barely a half second before just coming out with the news. She didn’t really care if it offended Morgana or not but it had to be said in case later or Morgana got her hopes up just for it all to be dashed. “Your mother is going to be hard pressed to find a rich pureblood wizard whose parents would be willing to let a half-blood into their mix.” She cocked her head a little to the side. “I mean, that should probably come as a relief to you seeing as you didn’t want to get married. I don’t really know what it’s like in America but in England marrying outside of old pureblood families is rare and if there is Muggle blood mixed in then it’s usually a much more distant relative than a grandmother.” She paused thoughtfully. “Then again, America is drastically different than England. Much more conservative in elitist pureblood views, it seems that it is much more common here than in England as we have an all-women’s Quidditch team…” She frowned in thought again. “I’ll have to go look that up in the library after class,” this last part more to herself than to Morgana.

Liliana turned her attention back to the other witch. She knew she hadn’t answered the question on whether or not that changed how she saw Morgana but to be frank she didn’t really want to answer it. No matter what the answer was she’d be letting either herself or Morgana down. She thought the whole blood-purity thing was a little bit ridiculous as it lowered wizards and witches to the low standards of the Muggles who had so ignorantly and aggressively pursed them so many years before. She could appreciate all the things Muggles had come up with in order to live without magic. That alone was quite the accomplishment but…she couldn’t help but feel deep rooted anger when thinking about the atrocities the Muggles had down in an attempt to wipe out her people. Besides, she barely knew the girl and as such had no opinion on her. It was blunt and rather cruel but to be honest, as Morgana wasn’t her friend not enemy, she didn’t really matter enough for Liliana to have formed an opinion on her.

OOC: I hope you as the author don’t misinterpret Liliana’s inner-thoughts. She’s an only child raised in a large family and has a lot of male cousins and therefore, also as the youngest, is a little bit spoiled. Because she is accustomed to getting her way, she forced her tutors to teach her about Muggles which is why she knows about their technological advances- in her mind you’re supposed to keep your friends close, your enemies closer. She views Muggles as the enemy simply because of the witch trials which were a part of her history lessons from early on.
For Morgana to ask Liliana whether or not her being a half-blood influences any opinion on her is a difficult thing for Liliana to answer. She’s never had to deal with non-pure-bloods before and also is a bit snobby when thinking of people she considers to be outside of her circle. She barely knows Morgana, therefore she doesn’t really care enough about her to have much of an opinion.
I just wanted to clarify because I realized that my writing can sometimes be confusing so that you could know how to respond to that sort of information.

10 Liliana Bannister, Pecari Or maybe not... 274 Liliana Bannister, Pecari 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

October 24, 2013 5:16 AM

You need to learn some manners by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Atlas listened in and out to the boy going on. “Well that’s good, he’s ok,” he thought. Seeing that the boy wasn’t finished with whatever he was saying, Atlas decided to fix himself on the broom, mounting it so he wouldn’t have to be in such an awkward position. Despite the boys rant, all Atlas could think about was the flight and how amazing it felt. In any other situation, Atlas would have gone off and practiced flying once he discovered the boy wasn’t hurt. However, Atlas felt perhaps he should try to be a bit nicer to his classmates and new friend, after all he did promise his little sister he would try to make friends, a promise he intended to do his best at.

Atlas tried paying a bit more attention to the conversation for once. However the boy’s unusual accent caused Atlas wonder where he was from instead of actually listening to his words. However Atlas’ train of thought was broken once he picked up on the word “accident”, wondering if the boy had said something important. He tuned back into the conversation just as the boy was asking him to move. He looked at the boy for a quick moment wondering why he hadn’t introduced himself after having such a long conversation. Perhaps things where different where the boy was from, Atlas thought before finally saying, “If you want someone to do something, its proper manners to introduce yourself first”.

OCC: Thats ok, it must be fun to write characters like that. By the way, Atlas in isn't trying to be mean in this post, he is just kind of ditzy.

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari You need to learn some manners 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Brandon Carey, Pecari

October 24, 2013 10:49 PM

Looks like it, yeah by Brandon Carey, Pecari

His magical classes had been…interesting enough so far, but by the time flying lessons rolled around, Brandon was more than ready for them. His oldest brother and sister had spent days impressing on him the absolute necessity of behaving himself, including a few graphic descriptions from Theresa of what she would help Arthur and, for some reason, Grandfather (where did she get this stuff, he wondered?) do to him if he made the family look stupid in front of Future Headmaster Brockert, but most of their dire warnings went out of his head as soon as he stepped onto the Pitch and looked up up up at the stands and imagined, someday, flying above the very top ones, with the whole school watching, just like Arnold….

He grinned as he joined the other first years, though the expression faded quickly as the Future Headmaster Brockert started talking. He seemed…boring, and stuffy, and generally everything Grandfather and Grandmother might have approved of in a tutor, but nothing Brandon wanted associated with the one purely fun thing school had to offer. It was a relief to hear that those of them who had already used brooms before could go away from him, because he was pretty sure Theresa would have eviscerated him over Christmas if he’d had to actually put up with the guy all the time. He was worse than Henry and Arthur combined, it seemed.

For one second, Brandon was troubled by the thought of such a killjoy being the head of the school, which was why he heard the girl standing next to him announce that she hated flying. That surprised him so much that he just looked at her until she took off, and then, distracted from his thoughts about Future Headmaster Brockert and still wondering what on earth was wrong with her, he flew off himself, not hating it at all.

He flew mostly in simple loops for a few minutes, then started to try a complicated-looking maneuver he had saw Arnold doing last week before both the blood rushing to his head and the memory of Terry threatening to kill him if he did anything stupid came back to him. Brandon was pretty sure that falling off his broom – something even Arnold had looked like he’d almost done – would count as stupid in front of a member of Lucy’s family, so he retreated into moves he was surer of again, if regretfully.

In passing, he saw the same girl again, but this time, she bore all the unmistakable hallmarks of a girl crying. Brandon stopped, still amazed. She was up here and had flown pretty well, from what he’d seen, so she couldn’t be all that afraid of heights like Henry or anything, and no one was anywhere near her to say anything mean to her. So what was she on about?

“What’s the matter with you?” he called out, more curious than anything. Was everyone at this school in some way going to be worse about something than Henry and Arthur rolled together, in this case weirder? He had known school was going to be interesting, but he hadn't expected it to happen like this.

0 Brandon Carey, Pecari Looks like it, yeah 0 Brandon Carey, Pecari 0 5

Leonidas Bennett, Aladren

October 24, 2013 11:28 PM

Flying away by Leonidas Bennett, Aladren

To fidget was, Leo knew, the height of indignity. It was not befitting of his stature, either the one he had now or the one he assumed he would take up someday, both at this school and in the wider world, as a matter of natural right. Not fidgeting should have been so much a part of his nature that he should not have even had to think about it, much less think very hard to restrain himself from doing it.

He flattened his hair again, then straightened his glasses. Again. He did, though, successfully avoid looking sideways at the future headmaster again. It was…not a victory, because it was no victory to not do something he was too good to do anyway, but at least a step in the right direction?

Why, oh why, did it have to be the future headmaster in charge of their flying lessons? Why couldn’t he have taken Charms, or Potions, or Transfiguration, or…anything but this? Here was one of the most important people in the school, one of the people Leo would seriously consider selling at least a fragment of his soul to impress, and he was presiding over…flying lessons. On one hand, it made him a lot less intimidating, since the subject was so very pedestrian, but on the other hand, this was not a class where Leo was going to get to do anything which would mark him out as a boy to keep an eye on, someone who was going to do great things. Here, he didn’t think he could really hope to be anything more than…average.

Leo was a middle child and a second son. His family had never caused him to have as much of a complex about it as some people in similar positions he had met, since there was every chance he could be as or more important than his older brother someday, but average was still a word which just didn’t sit well with him. He did not want to be average at all, but especially not in front of an important person. He couldn’t see any way out of it, though, so he fidgeted in his discomfort, tried to stop, became more uncomfortable, stopped again, became more uncomfortable still, started again….

He jumped a little when Brockert finally said, ” Hello, and welcome to Flying Lessons," and straightened his glasses again, but this time his main feeling was one of relief. At least the waiting was over.

He managed not to flinch at all as Brockert proceeded to demonstrate, in no uncertain terms, that he was not a pushover in any way, then debated, silently and furiously, with himself for a moment when it turned out that those who already knew how to fly need not stay for the basic lesson. On one hand, it would not be a good thing to look incompetent in front of everyone, but on the other, staying might make him look like he was striving to make sure he did everything according to school standard, as well as keeping him in the headmasterly presence. But that, in its turn, might be too obvious a form of sucking up. But if he didn’t….

Feeling like his head was going to explode and thinking that this was not at all a good omen for the year, Leo kicked off and flew away.

He expected anxiety and the certainty that he had done the wrong thing to settle in at once, but instead, he felt freer once he was away from the headmaster, who was clearly none too fond of reciting the expected lines, and far more comfortable. He had no idea, though, if that meant he had done the right thing or the wrong thing, or even if the feeling had anything to do with the thing at all. Flying around had, after all, always been one of the ways Leo depressurized, or at least it had for as long as he could remember. It was possible he should have been feeling stress and normally would have, but that the action causing it was also curing it, which he thought was pretty strange-sounding and probably a reason to stop thinking about it and just fly.

0 Leonidas Bennett, Aladren Flying away 269 Leonidas Bennett, Aladren 0 5

Theodore Wolseithcrafte

October 25, 2013 5:32 PM

Enjoying it for what it is by Theodore Wolseithcrafte

Theodore was looking forward to flying, assuming that Professor Brockert ran it the same way as his predecessor. Theodore wanted to get out and get a chance to use the full sized pitch, giving him a much needed opportunity to get a feel for it before try outs. If he was made to hover about like a novice he was going to be bored and frustrated. Luckily, Professor Brockert did not disappoint, both on the fact of letting the experienced flyers leave the group and on seeming like he would broker no objections to participation. If Theodore had heard the professor's full explanation to the beginner group he would have been even more pleased, but he was already up and away by that point.

The wind whistled pleasantly in his ears, drowning out all but the most cacophonous elements of the class noise, and reminding him of why he liked flying so much. It was a sociably acceptable way of being by oneself. People sometimes reacted oddly to his desire to keep his own company much of the time, as if the only possible reason could be because he was up to something nefarious during those hours or because he had some glaring fault that he was at pains to hide by keeping himself as removed from the attention of others as possible. The fact was that he was simply more contented when alone. When he was flying, people questioned it less. There was the possibility here that some of the other students might try to persuade him into a game, and think him peculiar or rude if he declined. But, ordinarily, one could go for a fly and be seen as perfectly reasonable for pursuing such an activity and for doing so without company. It was freeing. He completed a couple of laps of the pitch in order to get a feel for it, enjoying the sensation that he was disconnected from the world, which always allowed him to relax and to think more clearly.

'Good afternoon.

The words cut across his quiet contemplation and he glanced up, to see a chap from one of the other houses waving at him. He returned the gesture, it being the natural and polite thing to do, without a single thought about what it showed of his flying proficiency. He had taken the offer of an open field because he was capable and because he enjoyed it, not because he was aiming to prove anything to anyone else.

“Good afternoon,” he called back. The other boy did not seem poised to spring a game on him and thus Theodore assumed it to be a mere exchange of friendly greetings, and thus carried on his way. He proceeded to the goal hoops, beginning a simple pattern of looping them in order to get a feel for how one was supposed to cover the airspace efficiently.

13 Theodore Wolseithcrafte Enjoying it for what it is 270 Theodore Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Ariel Thornton

October 28, 2013 2:00 AM

Gee thanks... by Ariel Thornton

Ariel had been vaguely aware of one of the other first years looking at her just before she took off into the air. If she remembered it correctly he appeared to be surprised by her declaration about her hating flying. It was almost as if he couldn't understand why someone could hate flying. Ariel had rolled her eyes slightly at his surprised expression as she flew off past him. She was fairly certain that he hadn't seen her do it, but she couldn't be sure. All she had been sure of was the fact that she had wanted to get as far away from her fellow inmates as possible before she cried in front of them. That was all she needed...to be confused for her overly dramatic sister Aubrielle. It was bad enough being related to the hyper fruitcake, the last thing Ariel wanted was to be confused for her sister. Ariel tried not to think about her freakish family as she circled around the goal hoops. Why couldn't I have born to normal parents? she wondered angrily as tears fought their way down her cheeks. By that point she had started openly crying where she hoped no one could see her.

Ariel couldn't help crying over the unfairness of it all. She knew eventually that despite all her hopes and prayers that she would eventually be carted off just like the rest of the freaks. She had been almost enjoying her misery when she heard a voice close by penetrating her self pity session. Ariel rolled her tear filled eyes as she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her school robe. She glanced miserably over towards the voice's owner and was a bit surprised to find that it belonged to the boy she had flown past on the ground. Ariel frowned as she sighed. "What's the matter with you?" the boy had called out to her. Ariel was trying to figure out why he would care. He didn't know her and if she wasn't mistaken they weren't related. It didn't make sense to her. She seriously contemplated just ignoring him, but like her roommate, Ariel found herself responding anyway. "Right now I'd much rather be home," she admitted sadly. She was rather surprised at her own admission and she was almost certain it showed.

0 Ariel Thornton Gee thanks... 0 Ariel Thornton 0 5

Brandon Carey

October 30, 2013 7:59 PM

Hey, you said it, not me... by Brandon Carey

“Oh,” Brandon said blankly when the crying weird girl announced she wanted to be at home instead of here. What was he supposed to say to that? It wasn’t really something he understood. Brandon missed Diana, his favorite sister, who was still at home, but he still would rather have her here with him than to go home and be there with her. Maybe he had missed home a little, the first morning or so, but…well, he was here, and it wasn’t very manly to act like he missed his mother or anything, so he had gotten over it pretty quickly.

“Want to race?” he offered. That, he thought, should distract her from her problems which nothing could be done about. If he ever felt bad about something, he always went out and did something, and then he usually forgot what was bothering him while he was doing it and it didn’t seem so bad afterward. The same thing worked for Diana, too, so it wasn’t just boys, he thought.

He wondered what Di was doing right now. It was a different time at home, so he couldn’t go by what the clock told him he would normally be doing at this time; he didn’t even remember how many hours difference there were between Sonora and South Carolina, or in fact which way the hours went away from where he was. Was it early in the morning or later in the afternoon there? What were Peter and Cecilia doing? Peter could walk now, sort of, and Cecilia had started following Di around, so maybe Peter was following Cecilia around while Cecilia followed Diana around and Diana went crazy. It was funny to imagine, but he felt sorry for Diana if it was true and no one was there to point out to her how funny it was.

0 Brandon Carey Hey, you said it, not me... 275 Brandon Carey 0 5

Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw

November 10, 2013 4:35 PM

Joining you. by Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw

Duncan had, of course, been on a broom before. In fact, he rather liked flying because then he could float along with the myriad of ghosts that inhabited his house. Though, his mother really didn't like him to fly inside. She was always saying he'd break something and truthfully, he really didn't understand. Whether she meant his bones-which was unlikely, given she seemed okay with Duncan flying outside and his sister got into more scrapes with the horses and her general love of the outdoors-or antiques, which was far more likely, either could be easily mended.

He was not that keen on Quidditch though. His uncle Frederick, who had been the brother of Duncan's great-great-great-great-great grandfather Adam Sawyer, had died during a game when a bludger got him in the head. His whole face was smashed in, which was how his ghost appeared now. It was quite a disconcerting sight when one was eating breakfast. Though now, he was a bit used to it.

In fact, most of his childhood had been spent around more dead people than living ones. All the cousins Duncan had close to his age were distant and they didn't really live near anyone. As far as his parents, especially his mother, were concerned he hadn't come to Sonora a moment too soon. They feared him being socially maladjusted, even though the first year personally thought his social skills were just fine. His manners were just as good as anyone else of his social status. According to Mother though, it wasn't healthy for a young boy to spend so much time among the dead. She thought he needed living companions his own age. Duncan wasn't opposed to that, but he wanted his ghostly companions too. He was going to have to investigate the school in order to find some.

Really, that would be a better use of his time than flying lessons as he knew how to fly already and it wasn't all that important of a subject anyway. He could learn much more from a ghost than he could in this class. Not that Duncan thought of his distant relative as incompetent, it was just that it would be new knowledge. This wasn't and thus he wasn't learning anything-which was why one went to school in the first place. Mother had stressed the social aspects of Sonora though. Perhaps she just wasn't that worried about his grades. Duncan had always done well in lessons prior to Sonora.

Still, he had to stay here. Leaving class would be out of the question even if Mr. Brockert-so weird to refer to anyone that way but the man had made it quite clear-had not spelled out the punishments for them. He really didn't have any desire to write a ten foot essay. Best to leave the ghost hunting until later. It wasn't as if the Teppenpaw had any issues flying for a little while anyway.

He mounted his broom and took off into the air once given permission, noticing that most of the others took off into the air aside from Serena and another boy, probably the one whose name Duncan didn't recognize who was likely Muggleborn. There were probably pureblood boys who didn't know how to fly, but it was more likely that a Muggleborn wouldn't at all. He felt sorry for Serena though, especially once that boy took off into the air. His cousin seemed on the sensitive side and he didn't think she'd like feeling different and standing out. She looked a bit lost.

Duncan spotted a boy who was flying around by himself. He figured that was as good a place to start as any if his mother really wanted him to make friends with living people. The Teppenpaw flew up to the other boy. "Hello, I'm Duncan Brockert of the Colorado Brockerts." He introduced himself.

11 Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw Joining you. 271 Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw 0 5

Leonidas Bennett

November 10, 2013 9:52 PM

You're welcome to do so by Leonidas Bennett

Leo slowed his flight when another boy approached him, not interested in causing offense by crashing into him, and made a very shallow bow when the other introduced himself, assuming this would not be taken as a sign of disrespect since they were precariously perched on thin strips of wood far above the very firm ground. Typical American social conventions had not really, Leo thought, in a major oversight on their part, been developed with broom-side interactions in mind.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “I am Leonidas Bennett, of the California Bennetts.”

Using his full name was becoming slightly less strange as the days went on, though he still got a bit of a start when someone called him that. Especially since Gemma, defying all conventional wisdom about how to deal with younger siblings at school, still insisted on walking with him somewhere in the halls at least once a day, babbling away contentedly without the least concern for either of their reputations and still calling him ‘Leo.’ His worst nightmare, at this point, was the idea of her ever taking the general idea so far as to sit by him at lunch. If she did that, he thought he might just duck under the table, and then, having been seen doing that, too, die. Those two things in that order would be the only logical response.

“And now Aladren,” he added helpfully, since House could tell you a lot about a person right up front, he thought. Or at least give you a hint about what they might not be. He wouldn’t suggest going mountain climbing to a Crotalus – not unless he had a reason to think they would like it, anyway, which went outside of the House reasons not to – but a Pecari might be more amenable to that kind of thing. Or so he was informed. The official literature said people in different Houses were certain kinds of people, but…well, Leo had a lot of respect for received learning, but he had three older siblings in two Houses, and had observed them a lot, even if Gem was the only one of the three who really noticed his existence in return. Gemma in particular really did not meet the standards of what he thought was the best her House could be.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Leo soldiered on. “Are you enjoying being at Sonora so far?"

0 Leonidas Bennett You're welcome to do so 269 Leonidas Bennett 0 5

Duncan

November 25, 2013 3:17 AM

Excellent! by Duncan

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Bennett." Duncan replied, as he had yet to get permission to use the boy's first name. "I'd bow, but that's extremely awkward on a broom. Oh, and I'm in Teppenpaw." It really wasn't such a bad house. People there were nice by definition. He personally probably could have handled otherwise, but he thought it was a good thing that Serena had been Sorted there. There was something about his distant cousin that seemed to make her need looking after and he really didn't want any mean people in other houses attacking her, she needed that safe haven. Though his though limited of impression of Arabella was that she'd look out for her sister at all costs.

Of course, he wasn't sure that Tepp had the best reputation, they were possibly seen as pushovers. They rarely won the Quidditch cup or House cup and Duncan felt it was rather sad that people cared more about winning and achieving than being a good person. It was pretty much an example of nice guys finishing last. Not that people in other houses couldn't be good people or nice people, it was just they were more likely to be competitive and cutthroat. Still, he liked his house.

"Actually, I'm rather liking Sonora so far." Duncan replied. The only thing he didn't like was an apparent lack of ghosts. At home they were everywhere and here he had yet to see a single one. To a certain extent, he was suffering from a bit of withdrawal, but missing his lack of ghostly companions was something he'd been specifically forbidden by his mother from mentioning. Which was rather difficult, since it had been such a big part of his life before. "Of course, I haven't been here that long and really haven't met too many people." Even living ones. "I don't have a roommate though. I'm not sure whether or not that's a good thing. I mean, on the one hand, I don't have that instant person to get to know, but on the other hand, I'm not used to sharing a room either. Plus, if I had a roommate I might not get on with them."

Still, he was pretty sure everyone else had one. Part of him worried that that his classmates might become best friends with theirs and he'd be the odd one out. That would be counter productive to his father wanting to make connections and his mother not wanting him to be socially maladjusted. Still, a Bennett was not a terrible connection, as long as he was pleasant to be around, the latter of which was more of a concern to Duncan than the former.

"So how are you liking it here?" The Teppenpaw asked returning the question in kind. "How's Aladren?" He assumed Leonidas was rather intelligent to get sorted there. Or at least it was his main characteristic, whereas kindness was Duncan's. The first year was far from stupid and was much more studious than his younger sister was.

0 Duncan Excellent! 0 Duncan 0 5

Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw

November 25, 2013 4:46 AM

I don't like this, by Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw

Naturally, Serena was not all that enthused about flying. She had grown up in the era of WAIL and been taught that it was improper and not socially acceptable for girls to fly. Her family had discouraged them from doing so as not to look bad to other families and people said it would be easier for her to catch a husband this way. Serena did want to be betrothed after all. Hopefully to someone that she really liked who really liked her back.

The other thing about flying was that she was kind of scared . While the first year wasn't that scared of heights themselves, she didn't like the idea of having nothing but a thin piece of wood underneath her. Plus, she had no idea what she was doing really and was afraid she'd embarass herself and look foolish.

Mr. Brockert-who despite being a relative came off intimidating and scary, but then so was Aunt Pearl from everything Serena had heard-gave them their instructions, including what would happen if they disobeyed him. She was certain the part about people trying to leave class had to do with what happened with Carrie back when she'd had flying lessons. Not that Serena would do the same thing-she'd never have the nerve-but it was nice to know that if she did, the same fate would not befall her that had befallen her cousin.

She didn't have her own broom naturally, but Tristan had let her borrow his as long as she brought it back in good condition. He didn't seem that worried, since he seemed to doubt that she'd do anything remotely wreckless with it. Serena would borrow it for flying lessons but other that it was all Tristan's as she had no use for it beyond this class.

Mr. Brockert gave them their instructions and released the experienced fliers. Unfortunately for Serena, this did not include the other girls as expected. One was even doing barrel roles! There was one boy who stayed behind as well, but quickly picked it up and headed up to join the others. And though Serena had managed to get her broom up without too much difficulty, here she was riding side saddle all by herself. She felt so lonely, wishing her year group could have been more like Amity's or even her sister's. Then maybe she wouldn't be so out of place and right now, all she wanted was for this class to be over.

0 Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw I don't like this, 0 Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw 0 5

Mortimer Brockert

Flying Lessons by Mortimer Brockert

Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus

Already done. by Sasha Sinclair, Crotalus

Isaac Douglas, Crotalus

Making the required show. by Isaac Douglas, Crotalus

Ariel Thornton, Crotalus

Great...now I'm a flying freak as well by Ariel Thornton, Crotalus

Morgana Bennet

Finally: something I'm good at! by Morgana Bennet

Liliana Bannister

An odd surprise. by Liliana Bannister

Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

You fly like me! by Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Well... I fly like an English witch if that's what you mean? by Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Atlas Primred, Pecari

Just getting started. by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

I hope you don't think I'm rude... by Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Not particularly- didn't mean to appear that way myself. by Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Sasha Sinclair

You need to learn self control. by Sasha Sinclair

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

**Thread Closed, posted above** (nm) by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

The truth comes out. by Morgana Bennet, Crotalus

Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Or maybe not... by Liliana Bannister, Pecari

Atlas Primred, Pecari

You need to learn some manners by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Brandon Carey, Pecari

Looks like it, yeah by Brandon Carey, Pecari

Leonidas Bennett, Aladren

Flying away by Leonidas Bennett, Aladren

Theodore Wolseithcrafte

Enjoying it for what it is by Theodore Wolseithcrafte

Ariel Thornton

Gee thanks... by Ariel Thornton

Brandon Carey

Hey, you said it, not me... by Brandon Carey

Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw

Joining you. by Duncan Brockert, Teppenpaw

Leonidas Bennett

You're welcome to do so by Leonidas Bennett

Duncan

Excellent! by Duncan

Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw

I don't like this, by Serena Brockert, Teppenpaw

Thread Closed, posted above (nm) by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau