Looking for trouble on Labyrinth Gardens

Professor Grayson Wright

July 20, 2018 4:21 PM

Welcome to First Year Orientation! by Professor Grayson Wright

As they disembarked the wagons, returning students might have been slightly surprised by the figure waiting to greeting them, helping any down from the wagons who required such assistance and pointing everyone in the directions they needed to go and reminding everyone to leave their trunks in the wagons for the elves to collect. Normally, after all, Professor Xavier performed this duty. On this particular day, however, Nathan was indisposed, and so Grayson Wright had gamely volunteered to step up to cover the goals, including the ones related to separating the first years from everyone else and giving them the tour.

To those who did not know him, nothing about his appearance was the sort of thing to inspire surprise, or even much notice. He was of average height, with dark hair and eyes, and a face so devoid of distinctive features that it was quite possible the new students might primarily identify him as That Professor With The Glasses for a while, as he required the glasses just to get around the school without bumping into things and thus was not seen without them on occasions when he was conscious. In the outside world, he might have further distinguished himself by wardrobe, to a point, but at school, in his role as a teacher, he had the blandest of bland navy blue robes on, having given up attempts to wear ties about halfway through his first year on the job.

He also talked with his hands a lot, though this was less apparent than usual because he was using them to point the first years in the right direction as he separated them out of the students he recognized. Said direction was into one of the clearings in the Labyrinth Gardens, where a running fountain stood in the center and there were three tables off to one side, away from the roped-off entrances to other paths. On the first table was a number of folders, each the same forest green color as the students’ robes. These contained class schedules, school maps, and lists of the major school rules students would be expected to follow. On the next table was a variety of snacks – sandwiches, fruits and vegetables, cupcakes, cookies, and various other finger foods – and small plates to eat these on. On the third were small glasses and a selection of water, fruit juices, and fruit punch.

Once everyone seemed to be in or heading in the right direction, Professor Wright left the wagons in the elves’ capable hands and went to face down possibly the most daunting task he’d had since his first lesson: addressing the first years.

“Hello everyone – gather round, please, I don’t want to shout.” Or amplify his voice magically, as that would have been a bit much in such a small space with so few people to address. “Hello, good afternoon. I’m Professor Wright, and starting tomorrow, I’ll be your Charms teacher. Right now, though, I’m your Orientation leader, so – welcome to Sonora Academy.”

To some, it no doubt sounded like he was speaking slowly. This was because he was making an effort to speak reasonably slowly. Sonora had had quite the influx of students who did not consider English as their first language in recent years – in just the past two years, they had had Quebecois French, Russian, and German, with the Quebecois student also speaking Chinese. On the new rosters, Professor Wright had noticed one name that strongly suggested to him that its owner was related to the school’s resident Russophone, so it was fair enough to assume that at least one person in this year would also struggle with English.

“Sonora is a seven-year school where you will, if you stay with us all those years, gain a thorough education in magical theory and practice. You’ll start out, for your first year, with seven classes – Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and flying lessons. You can drop flying lessons in your second year, and begin electives in your third year, if you want. In your fifth year, you’ll take your first set of major exams, the Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills, or CATS. After that, you may select classes to focus on, though you’ll need at least two to graduate and three if you want to pursue your education further after you leave Sonora.”

He thought that was enough terrifying exam talk for the limited attention spans of eleven-year-olds for now. “We know that you all come from different educational backgrounds now,” he said, because this was true. Some might have gone to Muggle elementary schools while others might have had specialized tutors for each subject while others might have had…more unorthodox training. Most fell somewhere on a continuum between the extremes of unschooling and specialized tutors for each subject. “Your professors all have office hours when we can give you extra help in our subjects if you need it, and Professor Skies, our Deputy Headmistress and your Transfiguration teacher, runs special sessions for anyone who needs help with reading and writing English more fluently, or with basic maths. You can see times for those in the schedules in your green folders – everyone get one of those if you don’t have one yet.

“Outside of classes, you’ll have some choice in how you spend your time. We have a variety of clubs and sports here, and you’ll see notices about meetings posted around the schools when the students who organize them are ready to start up for the year. Breakfast is from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m, lunch is from 11:00 to one, and supper is five till seven, but you can find snacks and drinks there between those times as well. Curfew is at ten p.m., and at that time, you’ll need to be inside your Houses – which are part of the main building, don’t worry. They’re four groups of rooms, and tonight, at the Welcoming Feast, you’ll be Sorted into one of them by dipping the blank badges you have now into a cauldron. If your badge turns blue, you’re an Aladren – the House that values learning and problem-solving.” He might have sounded a little proud there; he was a former Aladren. “If it turns red, you belong in Crotalus, the House for people who like to be well-prepared for everything. Yellow means you’re in Teppenpaw, the House for our diplomats – and a House which has done very well in the House Cup recently,” he added, lest Teppenpaw sound lame to them. “Finally, if your badge turns brown, that means you’re a Pecari, the House for people who always land on their feet and are always willing to take a chance. All the Houses have other traits, though, so don’t worry if you don’t think any of those things sounds exactly like you – there’s a place for everyone here at Sonora.

“Your House will have prefects, who are older students, and a Head, who is a staff member – they’ll all look after you while you’re here. Your House can earn points based on things you do – excelling in class or in sports, or showing responsibility, or somehow helping the school community and showing leadership. The House with the most points at the end of the year earns the House Cup, and sometimes other privileges – last year, Teppenpaw got to choose the music for the second half of our Midsummer Ball, and they’ll host the Cup this year.

“If no-one has any questions about all of that, you can mingle and get to know your classmates for a while and have some snacks until we begin our tour of the mansion. If you do, feel free to come see me – and welcome again to Sonora.”

OOC (Out of Character) Note:
Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming.

Please remember that anything that happened in the Sandbox was just practice and did not actually occur. (You are welcome, of course, to use any background information you generated about your character during these exercises such as pets, accidental magic, etc, but they have not yet spent any time at Sonora or interacted with any classmates.)

If you enter your email address when you reply, you will be notified when someone responds to your post. This is optional but can be useful for helping you keep track of posts. Please do NOT check the box that says 'show email address,' as this will make it public and may result in spam.

Now, go forth, new first years of Sonora! Post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC board or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can. Have fun and we’re glad you could join us!

Subthreads:

Is it too soon to throw up? by Evelyn Stones with Ness McLeod, Anonymous

Expecting the unexpected... by Lyssa Fitzgerald with Malikhi Hill

Hello, everyone. It is so nice to be here. by Katerina Vorontsov with Julius Astley

16 Professor Grayson Wright Welcome to First Year Orientation! 113 Professor Grayson Wright 1 5

Evelyn Stones

July 20, 2018 8:17 PM

Is it too soon to throw up? by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn peered at the bespectacled wizard as he finished his introductory speeches, and then at her peers. She wasn't sure what to make of any of it. Her eyes fell, as they tended to, on the food and drinks that practically called her name, but she was afraid nerves wouldn't let her keep it down.

She was older than most of her peers and suddenly grateful she was so small. Her parents' decision to keep her home an extra year didn't seem like such a kindness when it put her behind others her age, but she tried not to dwell on that. Tonight was for her.

The different houses sounded okay, but she had no idea where she ought to be. She hadn't ever asked her father what house he'd been in and he rarely spoke of such things when her mother was around. On this occasion, along with the uniform robes, she was wearing stunning blue socks and orange lipstick. She couldn't help hoping that she'd be put in a house where such colors would be acceptable-- she'd don them either way.

Evelyn sighed, steeling herself against the realization that it was time to do what she'd worried about for so long: socialize. Classes would be a battle for another today, tonight it was time to pull up her big girl stockings and set about making this place a home.

She decided a student who went to the food first was a good student for her to meet, so she reached for a sandwich and some juice and took several mouthfuls of each before turning to the nearest green-clad student.

"Hi," she said directly. "My name is Evelyn."

She wondered whether her white hair was neat enough or her green eyes bright enough to make her look put together, and hoped this student wouldn't mind if she wasn't perfect. Of course, she also hoped they wouldn't mind if she was hardly a witch at all, but didn't say so.

22 Evelyn Stones Is it too soon to throw up? 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Ness McLeod

July 21, 2018 6:22 AM

It's not my preferred friend-making technique by Ness McLeod

Ness stepped off the wagon and into the gardens. Finally! It felt like it had taken forever to get here – both in terms of the wagon journey that day, which had been pretty long, but more in the sense of waiting to be old enough, of waving Kir off on September the first for the last four years…. Now, finally, they both got to board the wagon, both got to attend Sonora.

“Good luck,” Kir smiled, “Try not to get anyone pissed at you on you first day,” he advised. Ness replied to this with a glare, and with a shrug, the older McLeod sibling sloped off in search of his girlfriend. Ness felt the advice was unfair. The bigger issue was other people. If other people were bigots, then they needed and deserved having that pointed out, whether or not it annoyed them. Kir was so Teppenpaw about everything – we all need to be nice and get along. Ness didn’t see the value in being nice to people who were fundamentally horrible human beings.

All of the first years were ushered along a clearly labelled pathway, congregating in a clearing. Kir had said it would be Professor Xavier, his Head of House greeting them, but it was actually Professor Wright. Ness knew this before the teacher even began talking, having studied Kir’s yearbooks in order to know who taught what before arriving. Kir had also been asked to give a description of each of the teachers, along with any particularly interesting or undesirable classmates, and to answer about a billion other questions. Being prepared was important.

Kir had assured Ness that Professor Wright was both pleasant and interesting. So far, he was scoring one out of two of those for Ness, and it wasn’t the one that the first year valued the most… He seemed to be speaking to them like they were idiots or infants, even though they were now boarding school students, which really made them quite grown up. Also, having an older sibling to pester for details, meant that Ness already knew basically everything he was saying. As a rule, Ness always listened with good attention to everything a teacher was saying, and so Professor Wright got nothing less than full attention. Internally though, was the feeling that the speech could not be over soon enough and would have been better if it had been delivered at twice the speed.

Once it was done, the snack table seemed like a good bet. There were quite a few tasty treats, although Ness was possibly a bit weird in that the sandwiches appealed more than the cookies. Savoury was better than sweet, and cheese was life. People often thought it should be paired with ham though, which was wrong. And ham was so sneaky, because it was flat and it could be snuck in there without being readily apparent from the outside. However, carefully peeling open the sandwich revealed it to be entirely safe for consumption. This operation had just been completed, when someone spoke. A fellow first year who had also decided that snacking was a major priority.

Ness evaluated this yearmate. If, prior to starting Sonora, a survey had been handed out about desirable vs undesirable qualities in people, make-up wearing would easily have made Ness’ list, firmly in the ‘undesirable’ column. But the person, Evelyn, was wearing bright orange lipstick. Although Ness was pretty unfamiliar with what was supposed to be on trend, bright orange lipstick seemed like it was always going to be a pretty revolutionary choice. So, Evelyn might perhaps be someone who thought for herself, which was firmly in the ‘desirable’ column.

"I'm Ness," came the reply, followed by the observation "Your lipstick is interesting." This was said with a smile and a positive tone of voice but Ness was aware enough of the stupid social convention of using the word - one that should have been automatically an indication of praise if the world was at all logical - as a put down, so this was immediately followed with the clarification, “Which is a compliment, in my book.”
Ness’ own appearance might have earnt the same adjective although for very different reasons, treading as it did that ambiguous line between being a slightly feminine boy or a rather masculine girl. The long eyelashes framing green-blue eyes were the most feminine feature, but the short hair - sticking up from having a hand run through it - suggested boy. Seeing as they were all being forced to don the shapeless green school robes, clothes were not currently much of an indicator either way, although Ness’ probably differed from most people’s in that, where there currently was space for a house badge, there was a pin with a rainbow on it and the words ‘The McLeod Foundation.’

“It’s cool to be here at last, right?”

(OOC - this post includes the actions of Ness' sibling, Kir, as well as I write both of them, so it's not "writing for someone else's character").

13 Ness McLeod It's not my preferred friend-making technique 1419 Ness McLeod 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 21, 2018 1:15 PM

"Interesting" indeed by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn smirked and then smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess so." Evelyn hadn't said it before, but she supposed it was actually pretty cool that they were finally at Sonora. It was certainly better than spending the rest of her education disappointing her parents.

"I like that word. 'Interesting.' It's a good word because it always means you think something else about it, too," she went on. "Not many people like my makeup but they never say it's interesting, they just say it's odd. I think it can be both."

She realized she was rambling halfway through that comment and turned her attention back to the sandwich in her hand. It was just cheese, which she thought was also odd, but in a good way. Her eyes fell on the student's badge and on the easy way they presented themselves.

"You know a lot about Sonora, don't you?" Evelyn asked. She tried to keep the desperate jealousy out of her voice and took another swig of juice. "What house do you want to be in?"

22 Evelyn Stones "Interesting" indeed 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Ness McLeod

July 21, 2018 1:36 PM

Curioser and curiouser by Ness McLeod

“Odd is probably a compliment too, if I say it,” Ness nodded, finding that so far, Evelyn seemed to be a likeable person. Someone who valued words like ‘odd’ and ‘interesting’ over and above ‘nice’ or ‘pretty’ was definitely good company to keep.

“Yeah, I have an older sibling. It helps,” Ness nodded, when Evelyn pointed out the advanced Sonora knowledge skills on display. The remark was uttered casually but Ness was pretty pleased at being described as ‘knowing a lot.’ ‘Knowing a lot’ was up there with ‘interesting’ and ‘odd.’ “I basically spent the whole of summer asking about school. I mean, not that I didn’t before, but I asked a lot of extra questions given that I’d actually be coming here this year. Finally. Kir is fifth year now, so it feels like forever that he’s been able to come here and I’ve been waiting.

“Definitely Aladren,” Ness replied, regarding house aspirations. “Like… I’m sure the other houses are nice and all,” this wasn’t strictly true because the other houses actually all sounded kinda lame in one way or another, or at least like being put there would be a very bad match, personality-wise. Still, even without Kir’s level of Teppish diplomacy, Ness knew that calling out the rest of the houses as ‘meh’ was not a great move. “But Aladren definitely feels like it would suit me best. How about you?”

OOC [out of character note] - Good work so far, keep it up. It’s nice to have you and to be getting to know Evelyn. I’m also one of the staff here, so just a reminder that posts should be 200 words. If Evelyn doesn’t feel like chatting that much, try sharing more of her thoughts - e.g. what she thinks of Ness - or fill in more about her background. Looking forward to your reply :)

13 Ness McLeod Curioser and curiouser 1419 Ness McLeod 0 5

Anonymous

July 21, 2018 2:23 PM

Re: Curioser and curiouser by Anonymous

(OOC-- Thank you, I definitely forgot to count and panicked and ahhh!!)

Evelyn was intimidated to meet someone whose family was obviously entrenched in the school's culture, but also wondered if it might not be a good connection to make. She was already so behind that making friends in the right places seemed like a good idea.

She'd often wondered what it would be like to have older siblings, or younger siblings for that matter. She wondered if they'd be magic. Ness seemed like so many of the things Evelyn wanted to be, and Ness was younger! Evelyn shot another angry thought at her parents, wherever they were right now, and focused on the discussion of Houses. This was a conversation she knew she needed to keep her ears out for, as she had a lot to learn.

"Honestly, I don't know much about the Houses," she admitted. She hated admitting things. "But from what that guy said up there," she pointed at where the professor had been standing, "I think Aladren sounds good. I'd love to be prepared for everything, so Crotalus sounds good but I don't think I'm ever prepared for anything, so I don't think that would work out."

Evelyn was quiet, and tried to turn her attention away from the sinking feeling in her stomach. She looked around the room instead, at the mass of people, the heavy aroma of finger foods assaulting her nose, and tried to think of anything but her doubts.

"Ness," she murmured, deciding suddenly to trust this person. "What if my badge doesn't change color? Will I have to go home if none of the Houses want me?"

She felt tears stinging at her eyes and slumped miserably into the last bite of her sandwich. "I friggin' love cheese... at least I got to eat some cheese before they send me away."

0 Anonymous Re: Curioser and curiouser 0 Anonymous 0 5

Ness

July 21, 2018 11:25 PM

Cheesy jokes by Ness

(OOC - no worries. Posts also have this sneaky habit of looking longer than they are until you click ‘submit!’)

IC
“Professor Wright,” Ness reminded Evelyn, when she referred to the teacher as ‘that guy.’ Evelyn’s assessment that Ness knew quite a lot was accurate, and she would probably quickly discover that another trait was the inability to not share said information, even without being asked. Ness regarded this as being helpful (ok, and there was also an element of enjoying knowing things and showing off said knowledge - Aladren was calling for a reason), although having been to elementary school, Ness understood that other children did not always regard this as a good thing. Other children were stupid and annoying a lot of the time.

“Hm. I’ve never heard of Crotalus being about ‘preparedness.’ Maybe he’s just trying to be polite or make it sound less stuffy than it really is. I thought it was about following rules and regarding yourself as respectable. I am the least respectable person I know, and darn proud of it, so I definitely won’t be going there. Aladren’s way better,” Ness explained, unable to maintain an unbiased analysis. Ness’ father had come from a proper Pureblood family but he had run away from home, following in the footsteps of his sister, who had run away to live a life of love and sin with her school roommate. Proper Scottish Purebloods did not approve of this sort of thing, and so it had been a choice between true love and remaining part of the family. Ness thought it was pretty much the best story ever. Aunt Catriona had definitely made the smart choice in running off to marry Aunt Lola, who was the flat out most awesome person in the universe, and Dad was… well, he had given up a life of wealth and comfort for a different kind of love, for the love of his sister. Some people (snotty Purebloods) probably thought that having a disowned parent was just about the worst thing imaginable but Ness was really proud to be part of the (new and disreputable branch of the once proper) McLeod family. They kicked all kinds of butt.

“Of course it will,” Ness assured Evelyn, when she seemed worried about her badge not changing colour. Ness was rather taken aback by the worry, and by the strength of it, because it seemed to come out of nowhere and be a really strange thing to worry about. But Evelyn knew a lot less about the school, and combined with this insecurity, the knut dropped. Maybe she was Muggleborn. Muggleborn, and had heard that some people didn’t like that… Ness was not, on the whole, a very feelingsy person. But championing an underdog was a different matter, and that was definitely in the new first year’s skillset. “You belong here. And one of the houses will want you. Like… it’s personality based. You can’t fail at that - everyone has a personality. Especially people who show up to their first day of school wearing orange lipstick.

“Cheese is life,” Ness concurred, when Evelyn turned her attention and conversation to the sandwich instead, “Though I’m not sure what house cheese-loving relates to. Maybe that’s just the universal trait that’s supposed to bring us all together in spite of our differences.”

13 Ness Cheesy jokes 1419 Ness 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 22, 2018 4:31 AM

The best sorts of people by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn smiled. And then she kept smiling. "I think you're a pretty good person, Ness," she decided, grateful that growing up in the company of adults made it easy enough to be forthcoming about such things as feelings and assessments. "I appreciate the help. It's always easier to ask for some room to figure things out than be stuck waiting for help, and if I have to wait for help every time I forget someone's name, nobody's ever going to be anything other than 'hey you'." She said it like a joke, her tone light and her eyes sparkling, but she was completely serious. Names were not her strong suit.

Ness' description of Crotalus made her reevaluate things and she pondered this for a moment before replying. Obviously Ness was bias, but Evelyn thought the younger McLeod sibling was likable enough and a judgment call on Ness' part seemed like one Evelyn would likely share. "Yeah, I don't think that sounds like a good fit for me, then," she laughed.

A dozen thoughts ran through her mind, not least of all wondering how she could possibly be considered a respectable young witch when she was hardly a witch at all. No, Evelyn would need strength to get through the next seven years, and Aladren seemed to offer it. Not to mention the fact that it seemed likely to offer Ness and the possibility of a blooming friendship was too good to risk. She imagined trying to start over with a new conversation with a new student and barely stifled a shudder at the thought. She must've moved a bit though, because suddenly a strand of snow-colored hair was in her face and she brushed it away, irritated; whatever independence Evelyn claimed for herself, her hair claimed as much on its own.

"That really means a lot that you'd say that," Evelyn said, appreciating the pep talk. "My mom would love for me to come home and live the muggle life with her, but my father... well a wizard wants to see his child become a strong witch or wizard too, I suppose."

The comment about having a personality made her laugh, more freely than she'd done in a long time. She thought of elderly neighbors and wizened old townsfolk who would have loved to see a little less personality in her.

"I think that if I can have an odd, interesting personality, then that's pretty okay with me," she decided. "All the best sorts of people are one or both of those things, and most of the best sorts don't have to try."

She breathed a soft sigh of relief as she realized she was relaxing and Sonora didn't seem like such an insurmountable obstacle to her life anymore. With her stomach settled, Evelyn's eye drew again to the table of snacks. She had little interest in any of the other students milling about. She had one friend now-- hopefully-- and that was good enough. But another cheese sandwich was irresistible, and she'd noticed a few other goods worth her time.

"I'm getting more," she announced, nodding her head at the table. "I'm bloody starving. Do you want to sit with me?"

22 Evelyn Stones The best sorts of people 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Ness McLeod

July 22, 2018 5:36 AM

We are indeed by Ness McLeod

“Thanks,” Ness beamed, really genuinely touched by Evelyn’s compliment. Ness felt like a good person - a believer in all things good and fair, like equality and human rights and stuff. It wasn’t something everyone appreciated though. It had been easy to get into arguments at elementary school, given most people’s level of (im)maturity regarding the issues Ness cared most about. You could not, it turned out, have many sensible discussions with under ten year olds about gay rights because the word ‘gay’ was enough to send many of them into fits of giggles or, worse still, trigger accusations of ‘using a bad word.’ Attempting to explain that it was not a bad word, and that they were homophobic to think so did little to help because both the logic and the vocabulary was above their heads. It was pretty irritating, and kind of isolating. Not that Ness had ever felt lonely - the McLeods ran a charitable foundation, championing LGBTQIA causes, and so there was always a community of like minded people to engage with. Just more often than not they were adults, or at the very least teenagers rather than age-matched peers. “I think you’re good too. And I will probably respond to ‘hey, you.’”

It turned out Evelyn was a halfblood, based on what she said about her family. Ness was a bit surprised that she was so insecure about belonging at school, but maybe what she said about her mom accounted for that. Or maybe Evelyn just.. Lacked confidence. At least, in some ways. Clearly not in lisptick shades.
“Yeah, my Aunt Lola called Kir, my sibling, a delightful weirdo during the holidays. Like, in the sense of I’m proud of how you’re turning out.,” Ness agreed, when Evelyn talked about how it was good to be odd. “And I don’t think it’s the first time that’s been used as a compliment in our house.”

The suggestion of further food received a thumbs up, and Ness took a couple more cheese sandwiches and some potato chips, plus a couple of of salad tomatoes.

“Sure. Let’s sit, eat and swap life stories,” Ness suggested, “Wanna go first or shall I?”

13 Ness McLeod We are indeed 1419 Ness McLeod 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 22, 2018 12:30 PM

With sandwiches like these by Evelyn Stones

Things were looking up and Evelyn was pretty satisfied she wouldn't be kicked out anytime soon. She was still dreading the idea of sitting in class and just hoping she could produce some acceptable amount of magic, but at least she wouldn't be alone.

"I love it," Evelyn laughed, enjoying Ness' sense of humor. "And thanks," she smiled.

The more she spoke with Ness, the more curious she was about the student's background. Obviously there was magic in Ness' family, but whether that meant Evelyn would be looked down on for showing such poor abilities herself, or whether it meant she'd just found a friend who could be understanding and helpful, she wasn't sure. So far, it seemed like Ness was more of the latter type of person, but Evelyn knew that not every wizarding family was understanding of their weaker-powered peers.

Grabbing another cheese sandwich, some celery sticks (she was disappointed not to find any peanut butter, but what can you do?), and some more juice, she quelled at the thought of talking about her life, but decided it was for the best. She wasn't as interesting as she wanted Ness to think, but supposed honesty was important for such things as friendships. And sandwiches for that matter, she decided, as she eyed one that threatened to have lettuce between the layers of cheddar and swiss.

"That sounds good," Evelyn threw over her shoulder, confirming her interest in swapping life stories, despite her nerves. "How about you go first?"

She took a seat and hoped her smile was warm and encouraging. She thought of her mom and the way they would sit on the side of Evelyn's bed at home together, telling each other about school or work or whatever else they'd done that day. Evelyn's mom would braid her hair and hold her hand and everything would be okay, even when things weren't really okay at all.

Figuring this might be a good place to start, she added a comment before Ness could begin her story. "My mom always sits with me and asks about my day over juice and chips or whatever else," she said. "This reminds me of that." Laughing was easy now and she chuckled at the memory. "Alright," she said. "Your turn. Tell me about Ness!"

22 Evelyn Stones With sandwiches like these 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Lyssa Fitzgerald

July 22, 2018 9:07 PM

Expecting the unexpected... by Lyssa Fitzgerald

Parker had told her a lot during the summer about Sonora. Her mother had seen to that. Parker though wouldn't talk a lot in front their parents, and especially in front of JJ, about the wider world Lyssa was about to enter. Luckily JJ had gotten a job working on construction projects in the valley, so he had been gone most of the day times. With their parents also gone, Lyssa had pushed Parker on a number of fronts.

She'd learned about the clubs, the classes (or as much as Parker could describe them, meaning some were more coherent and understandable than others, the grounds themselves, and the people.

She knew what a few of the professors might look like and some of the surprising things Parker had found, for example the lack of telephones and internet was real, he wasn't making it up to make their mom feel better.

Still, when Lyssa had gone shopping for school she had been shocked and surprised by everything. The little elves running around everywhere. The moving pictures on newspapers and the paper signs that seemed to change colors and shapes, not to mention the animals.

Lyssa had stared in wonder at one elf in a coffee shop for so long that she had felt the need to talk to it and apologize. She had started to talk to it, when Parker had pulled her back mentioning that wizards don't normally have conversations with the elves. Lyssa thought that was a bit rude, and had gone back and apologized to the elf for staring and for being pulled away before leaving with her brother.

She was equally amazed by the flying wagons. The looked like ones people used to ride out west. She had been in one of those when she was younger, before Parker left, and this one was quite similar. Except it flew and was much more comfortable of a ride. Though Lyssa assumed it was because the air was easier for the wheels than the ground. She had loved the wind blowing through her hair, but after awhile it had become a bit too much and she had tied it back in a simple pony tail like when she had played soccer before.

After they had landed and before they had gotten off Parker had pulled her aside, "I can't go with you to orientation, but good luck and expect the unexpected ok?"

Without waiting for a response he had jumped off the wagon and gone off somewhere. As Lyssa looked at the back of him as he walked down the pathway, and could feel the excitement. She was here, finally. After hearing about it, and dreaming about it since she'd heard about it, she was actually here on the campus. She felt both so grownup being on her own and also so nervous that it might all come crashing down.

As she walked down the pathway the nice man with glasses had motioned to she began to worry a bit.

What if everything went wrong and it turned out she didn't have magic after all?

"No. They wouldn't make that mistake. They have to have some kind of indicators to know."

"But what if you go to class and nothing happens? Do they send you home? Do you have to sit there not being able to do anything?"

Thoughts like this continued as she went and picked up her folders and began to read everything carefully. She was just about done examining the map when the nice man with glasses spoke. He seemed to be speaking slowly, and from the experience of having done it herself, Lyssa wondered if there was someone here who didn't speak English. Mark one thing she had not expected.

The nice man was a Professor. That wasn't surprising, and if Lyssa thought about it hard enough, that was expected. His name was Professor Right. Taught Charms. He taught the Right Charms.

Got it. thought Lyssa. Trying to memorize his name the way her mom had taught all three of her children.

As he continued she realized that she knew most of the things he was telling her, flying lessons, the testing (which sounded like the SATs when Parker had mentioned them), and office hours.

When Professor Right mentioned English classes Lyssa looked around to see who might be nodding, but snapped her head forward at the mention of not knowing basic math. Lyssa tried to think of a situation where someone wouldn't have learned basic math and couldn't. She had loved math, and part of her had worried about going to Sonora and not studying it any more. She hadn't thought that there might be students who didn't know math.

This was such an unexpected fact that she stopped listening to what Professor Right had been saying for a bit only to came back at the mention of sorting. Though Lyssa had heard Parker's breakdown of the houses, he hadn't used the same descriptions. Lyssa found herself liking Professor Right's descriptions better.

As Professor Right ended his talk Lyssa looked around at the other first year students. There was one whose lipstick was bright orange and Lyssa found herself walking towards her. She didn't wear make up usually, but she found the color striking, and it reminded her of something Teagan would wear. When she saw that orange lipstick had started a conversation with someone else she turned towards the drinks not wanting to jump in.

Taking a swig of the drink Lyssa's eyes opened wide. It tasted so good, but was a taste she couldn't name. Bringing her cup down from her non-orange lips Lyssa turned towards another student who'd come to get a drink.
"This is delicious, do you know what that taste is?"

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald Expecting the unexpected... 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 0 5

Lyssa Fitzgerald

July 22, 2018 9:13 PM

OOC for above by Lyssa Fitzgerald

I was so intent on editing the above post that I forgot to write the OOC which is:
The post above has words and actions for Parker. As I write Lyssa's brother Parker as well, so I am not writing for someone else's character.

Sorry for the two poster.

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald OOC for above 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 0 5

Ness

July 23, 2018 9:31 AM

..who needs enemies? by Ness

“Ok, hope you’re sitting comfortably,” Ness grinned, when invited to go first in the telling of life stories.

“I grew up in Vermont. It’s pretty nice. There’s trees and mountains and the world’s best ice-cream. We also spend a lot of time in Boston when we want to like… Do anything involving culture and civilisation. Also, cos my family works there a lot. Family is me, Kir, our parents and our aunts - as in, my dad’s sister and her wife. They met when they were in school,” the story of Ness was, in so many ways, the story of the McLeod family as a whole. Besides the fact that families always are a big part of the person, especially at age eleven when there wasn’t so much of a grand personal narrative to tell, this family story was a particularly cool one. At least, Ness thought so anyway. And even though it was one that had brought a fair amount of arguing, trouble or teasing in its time, that had only ever made the desire to tell it stronger. It proved that people still needed to be taught to treat each other better. On the plus side, Evelyn seemed like that rare thing - a nice person, who might actually enjoy it, and not be a prize douchebag or a bigot about things. At least, here was hoping anyway... “My dad and his sister came from this proper old-fashioned Pureblood family. Like… You have to learn to use the right salad fork and curtsey and do what we say - marry who we say. You can imagine, the fact she fell in love with her female, Muggleborn roommate was not exactly something they were going to be ok with. So she ran away.

“That kind of brought Dad’s attention to the fact that the whole Pureblood thing was basically dragon dung. He smuggled out some of the family fortune and followed her. And now they have a foundation,” a tap on the badge, “that… well, it does a lot of stuff, but there’s a big focus on that. On helping people who have to run away, or can’t work things out with their family because of their sexuality. All with stolen family gold. Well, actually, I guess that ran out a long time ago, given the amount of fundraisers we do. But I like the stealing from the rich to help the gays bit of the story. It’s like Robin Hood, only queer.

“Told you I’m the most disreputable person you’ll ever meet, and proud of it,” Ness finished with a grin. Having a disowned parent was probably about the lowest a person could sink in the eyes of the Society Purebloods but who gave a fig what they thought? Everything the McLeod family had done had been downright awesome, and anyone who expected anything less than one hundred percent pride about that background was going to have to choke on their damn expectations.

“Your turn,” this said in a tone that somewhat implied ‘top that if you can.’

13 Ness ..who needs enemies? 1419 Ness 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 23, 2018 9:55 AM

Do I count as my own enemy? by Evelyn Stones

It was a good story, and one Evelyn almost regretted learning. She had already known that she was a boring sort of person with a boring sort of family, but now there was proof even in the person she was drawn to. She supposed it was good to know that Ness probably wouldn't judge her for being half-blood though. It seemed like some families weren't so open-minded, even now.

"I don't know what my sexuality is," she blurted, not sure if she was supposed to. "But I think it would.be rather lovely to marry a woman. Or never get married at all. Being a hermit sounds rather lovely, too."

At her age and with her experience, she didn't know how to say things like "I respect your identity," or "I'm queer, too," or "that's completely valid and I'm glad to know your family is working so hard on the Socio-Political level to promote justice and diversity amongst wizarding families." So she said none of that.

"That's all so lovely, Ness," she said instead, sincerely. She hoped Ness would understand.

"My story isn't anything like that," she admitted, adjusting uncomfortably in her seat.

She paused to eat the entirety of one of her sandwiches, washing it down with some juice. She knew her face was hot. She knew her story was short.

"My mom is a muggle," she began, starting with the first bit of information that came to mind. "She is so smart and so creative. She likes to paint and we live in a tiny wizarding village where she can paint the Pacific Ocean. She tells me that everything looks different to her than my father because he's a wizard and the village is enchanted. Her paintings always have broken down buildings and ruined gardens where manors are, but our house always looks the same, so I think she sees it for what I do. I suppose I see it as home."

Evelyn realized that seeing things so differently than her mother certainly meant she was a witch, but it didn't feel like solid enough evidence. "I was a late bloomer and my parents had bets on whether I'd be a muggle or a witch. It turns out I'm so witch!" She forced a laugh and didn't say "but only barely."

"My dad is great with charms. He likes to make little trinkets and things. He'd love your badge. I never liked to learn about it, but I loved potions and plants and things. I love to climb."

She rolled up one emerald sleeve to reveal her ruined left forearm. "I fell out of a tree and twisted up all the skin on my arm," she laughed. "I think my dad could have fixed it but they weren't sure still if I was a witch so my mom just used muggle medicine on it."

She sighed and slumped backwards. "I don't have much of a story. I've known the same people my whole life and they're all nice enough but they're all the same, at least on the outside. Needless to say, I didn't fit in very well."

She didn't say, "and I don't know if I will here."

Evelyn searched Ness' face, looking for clues as to hernew friend's reaction. When she couldn't discern it right away, she settled on asking. "What do you think? My story isn't an odd or interesting as I am," she laughed lightly and brushed a now sandwich-free hand through her hair. "I'm hoping I can start a new story at Sonora."

22 Evelyn Stones Do I count as my own enemy? 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Malikhi Hill

July 23, 2018 11:03 AM

Looking for trouble by Malikhi Hill

Malikhi hardly listened to 'Professor Wright', being more interested in looking around. Anyway, he was talking rather slowly and sounded rather dull as well as looked it. He hoped it wouldn't all be dreary and boring. This was the first wizard school he'd ever seen and what's more, he was in America, which was an experience all its own.

With a toothy smile, he casually wandered over to a table, hands in his pockets and looked over all of the green folders, finding his own and nosily looking over the others, taking in names. There were some funny ones that Malikhi wouldn't even know how to pronounce and there seemed to be quite a few girls. His smile only seemed to grow - how much fun could he have pranking some of the girls? His guess was a lot.

Moving over to the food, he tucked his folder under his arm, deciding to look at all the boring school stuff later. He piled his plate high with various nibbles before moving to help himself to a drink. He just caught the tail end of a question from the girl who was also standing there and he blinked, picking up a cup of purple fruit juice. He grinned at her.

"I dunno, but it looks very orange!" he peered into her cup, his voice coming out strongly, confidently and very, very English. "What's your name, then?"

20 Malikhi Hill Looking for trouble 1423 Malikhi Hill 0 5

Lyssa Fitzgerald

July 23, 2018 1:51 PM

The trouble with trouble, is it starts out as fun by Lyssa Fitzgerald

Lyssa looked over at the boy standing next to her. He sounded so proper, though that was really just his accent. She enjoyed hearing him talk. Something about him though made her think about her eldest brother John Jr. It was momentary, but made her slightly cautious from the get go.

Lyssa looked down at her drink, "It is very orange indeed."

She stuck out her hand trying to assess what it was about this boy that made her think of JJ. He looked different from John Jr. in many ways, but there was something. "My name's Lyssa. What’s yours?"

She was trying hard not to let the feeling that he was reminding her of JJ to dissuade her from talking with him. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, it was his smile. It felt like the smile was more of a smirk, and he was hiding something behind it. She was trying not to let the feelings inside of her rise towards anger and defensiveness. She needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. She took a deep breath and put the smile on her face she’d learned to put on when talking with people who thought she wasn’t fill in the blank enough to do something. She hated using the smile, but she also didn’t want to start off assuming everyone she met was like JJ. That would be bad.

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald The trouble with trouble, is it starts out as fun 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 0 5

Malikhi Hill

July 23, 2018 5:36 PM

Well, fun is never bad... by Malikhi Hill

Malikhi took her hand and shook it firmly. His father had taught him to be mindful of his handshake. A limp and clammy handshake indicated weakness and if there was one thing Malikhi certainly wasn't, it was weak. Satisfied that he'd delivered the confident handshake his father would be happy with, he answered Lyssa.

"I'm Malikhi. Malikhi Hill. It's nice to meet you, Lyssa." Her name felt kind of funny on his tongue, kind of like he was trying to imitate a snake. Also, he wasn't sure, but he thought that she looked kind of nervous and tense. Maybe it was because it was their first day. He leaned against the drinks table, shaking his head, trying to get his blond hair out of his eyes before carrying on the conversation.

"Do you know anything about this place?" he asked, wondering if, just by chance, he could get any inside information beforehand. It would be very helpful for any future, mischievous endeavours.

As he listened to her reply, he looked around the rest of the gardens and, also, the other students. There were two other girls nearby who seemed deep in conversation about something-or-other that Malikhi couldn't hear. There a few others wandering about but, for the moment, he was interested in Lyssa.

20 Malikhi Hill Well, fun is never bad... 1423 Malikhi Hill 0 5

Ness

July 24, 2018 9:10 AM

I don't think so by Ness

“Well, based on what you just said, you sound either lesbian or asexual,” Ness informed Evelyn, in a very matter of fact tone of voice, enjoying once again the feeling of being the expert on something, and finding what was apparently a willing audience. Evelyn’s reaction was much more impressive than either of the usual options - most people assumed they were straight until proven otherwise, just because it was the ‘default.’ Others seemed to assume this position inherently but not voice it because they were too busy voicing idiotic things instead like ‘So, does having a gay family make you gay?’ Ness didn’t particularly like that as a label, but was willing to put semantics aside in favour of the shocked silence that tended to follow looking them dead in the eye and saying ‘yes’ without any hint of the embarrassment or furious denial they had been expected. Really though, Evelyn’s words rang true. The thought of kissing boys was ok, if they weren’t going to be immature about it. The thought of kissing girls was also interesting. The thought of kissing in general was just… interesting. Did lipstick come off when you kissed someone? Make-up was a subject where Ness had very limited knowledge. If Evelyn kissed someone, would they end up all covered in little orange lip-shaped marks? “But it’s ok not to know,” Ness assured her, also confiding, “I don’t really either. Isn’t that what school’s for? Exploring and finding out who we are. Queer is a fun label for y’know, fitting somewhere on the rainbow without having made your mind up exactly where. Or you don’t have to have a label. Plenty of actual adults with fully sorted out grown up lives don’t go for in labels. The main thing is to just be yourself. And not a douchebag. In your case, those seem pretty mutually exclusive though, so you probably don’t need to worry too much.

“I’m sure your story’s good too,” Ness assured her, as Evelyn seemed kind of shy about telling her own tale. Why there had been any reservations on that front though was a mystery.

“That’s so cool! I want to meet your Mum. I want her to like… run guided tours of your hometown. That sounds amazing. It reminds me of this argument my dad and his sister always have. Like… so my aunt calls this particular cup ‘turquoise’ and I think, at this point, she’s just doing it to annoy him - but he annoys her right back by pretending not to know what she’s talking about, but they’re both just kidding - anyway, he says it’s too blue to be turquoise, and it’s a blue cup. And I’m like… Do they physically see a different colour when they each look at it, or are they seeing the same but mentally their dividing line for what is and isn’t turquoise is in a different place? And I will never know, because I cannot see what they are seeing, and I really wish I could. Which isn’t the exact same as your mom, cos I get that there’s a bunch of enchantments going on and we probably can factually say that she is seeing different things but like… It must be really cool seeing her paintings, cos it’s like going inside someone else’s head and you hardly get to do that, unless you get really advanced at legilimency.

“Ouch,” Ness grimmaced, genuinely a bit shocked when Evelyn showed the scar on her arm. “That looks like it would have hurt a bunch. But it didn’t put you off? You said climb, present-tense, right? Climbing is fun.

“A lot of people look ordinary on the outside and probably aren’t. Both our stories are cool so far, but definitely here’s to making new ones at Sonora,” this was accompanied by Ness’ juice glass being held out for ‘cheers,’ “And finding out everyone’s secrets.”

13 Ness I don't think so 1419 Ness 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 24, 2018 5:10 PM

I'll toast to that by Evelyn Stones

So apparently Ness was amazing. As it turned out, randomly picking a stranger to chat with could have some pretty great results! Evelyn might have breathed a sigh of relief-- and probably did-- but really, it was everything about her, every cell, that collectively relaxed with relief.

"I could be okay with that," Evelyn said, contemplating being either lesbian or asexual. "Can I like girls and boys and people that aren't either one? Not like centaurs and stuff but what if you don't know whether you're a boy or a girl? It seems weird to try to force yourself to be one way or the other." Evelyn shrugged, not wanting to think too hard about something she knew she wouldn't understand.

Perhaps it was a bit like Ness' family's cup. She could understand that some people saw blue and that some people saw turquoise, but if she saw green, she wouldn't understand what it was really like to see another color.

"Honestly though, I'm more worried about Quidditch than kissing right now. If you were going to date somebody, what would you want to be? Their girlfriend, their boyfriend, or something else?" It felt like a forward question but Ness didn't seem to mind such things and Evelyn was curious; better to ask than assume.

Ness thinking Evelyn was a pretty a-ok person was good. Evelyn was excited to find that she was doing an okay job at being a person and socializing, and thought that perhaps friendship would be a good thing. She'd never really had friends growing up, everyone was so much older that it was hard to find someone who understood life as a kid, but that didn't mean she didn't want to try.

"I think my mom would like you," Evelyn said. "I think both my parents would. They always tried to encourage me to be true to myself and think for myself. They wanted who I was to be what they wanted sometimes, but that's not that unusual I think. They always said the best thing a kid can do is remember that they're a person, too. You're so full of ideas! They'd love you for sure. My hometown probably wouldn't love you, they're a bit close-minded, but they aren't all bad. I do love climbing still, you're right. It hurt a bunch but it was sort of worth it. Nobody else that I've met has scars like that, so I think it's kind of a sign that I was trying new things. Like an adventure! Bilbo Baggins probably got some scars when he traveled, although you probably don't know who that is and..." Evelyn took a breath, realizing she was rambling again. "Sorry," she laughed.

In fact, it seemed like lots of people must have been rambling. The room was much louder than it had been when she and Ness first began their conversation and the thought finally hit her that all this was really happening.

"We made it," she murmured, responding to Ness' toast as she reached for her own cup of juice. "We really did it and we're here, and it's going to be amazing. And terrible. But mostly amazing."

She laughed at the idea of finding out everybody's secrets. Clacking her cup into Ness', she looked around the room with a careful eye, examining the faces of the other first years. Leaning towards Ness, she whispered conspiratorially: "Who do you think has the most secrets?"

She giggled, not quite able to keep a straight face. "Okay, maybe we can't tell yet." Then a thought struck her. "Do you know anybody else here, yet?"

22 Evelyn Stones I'll toast to that 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Katerina Vorontsov

July 24, 2018 6:52 PM

Hello, everyone. It is so nice to be here. by Katerina Vorontsov

The first year class was not, from Katya’s perspective, a very large crowd. When all her family was home, her own household – her parents, their six children, the governess, the tutor, the gardener and his assistant, the housekeeper and the maid, and Anton Petrovich’s two children – would easily outnumber it. Nor was she even entirely accustomed to standing out a bit from the rest of a crowd she happened to be in – she was Katerina Andreyevna, Gospodin Vorontsov’s youngest daughter; even her playmates, Sofya and Vera Antonovna, knew she was different from themselves for this reason. However, here, she stood out for a reason she was not accustomed to: her hat.

Her brand-new hat, done up in Sonora green, but in the soft, modestly-brimmed style she wore her hats and with a bow to make it pretty. There were other girls, but their faces were bare to the Arizona sun, without any hats shading them. As she looked around to confirm this, she also noticed that they weren’t wearing gloves – her hands were neatly covered with sensible white gloves only ornamented with some lace over the buttons at the wrists, but their hands were as bare as their faces. Well – their faces minus one, which seemed to have bright orange paint on its owner’s lips. Still, though. She was the only one with a hat and gloves here, and the only one, aside from her sister Tatiana, she had seen with these things at all.

Deeply uncomfortable, she crossed her hands at her waist and listened to the man – Professor Wright – talk. And talk. And talk. She understood most of it, and he seemed to talk slowly, which was easier for her to understand, but still – she couldn’t help but think of Tatiana’s description of Sonora, which consisted of flapping her hands wildly and saying tak mnogo slov’! - ‘so many words!’ She did not think she was going to remember half of it, though thankfully, she gathered that most of the information being spoken about was in the folder, which was helpful. She could read English much better than she could follow it aurally.

As the speech wound up, her attention went back to her attire. Should she take off her hat, or would having to hold it awkwardly by her side be even worse? Plus she would get the sun if she took her hat off, and Mama would not like that. Of course, Mama was not here, but….

She looked up at the food and seized onto something else. There was food. One did not wear gloves while eating. Eating outdoors was a perfect excuse to remove her gloves. She removed them and put them in her shoulder bag and made her way over to the food.

“Hello,” she said to another student. She spoke English with a Russian accent, but one less pronounced and with fewer sharp edges than her sister’s; unlike Tatiana, Katerina had begged Papa to get her a magical recorder and record player for her birthday two years ago so she could practice her pronunciation and hear herself. “My name is Katerina Vorontsov.” It felt strange to introduce herself without her patronymic or even the proper ending to her last name, but Tatiana and Anton Petrovich both said this was how Americans did things. “It is nice to be here in Sonora, yes?”

16 Katerina Vorontsov Hello, everyone. It is so nice to be here. 1418 Katerina Vorontsov 0 5

Ness

July 25, 2018 9:44 AM

Mmm, toasted sandwich by Ness

“Yes, that’s being pan sexual,” Ness explained, when Evelyn talked about liking everything, “Or… y’know. It can be. It doesn’t have to be. When you like everything, that is. Being in between is a good place to be regarding gender because gender is a lie. There’s biological sex, sure, but all that blue is for boys and boys are rough and tough, and girls are gentle and like dolls - there’s no biological or scientific evidence for it. It’s just made up. And like… a hundred years ago or something like that, pink was for boys and they made them wear dresses. So even anyone who tries to argue that it’s just “tradition,” is also lying or delusional.”

The topic then moved from sexuality and gender to another absolute favourite subject; Quidditch.

“Worried in the… like, spending more time thinking about that way, or in the actually anxious way?” This was important to clarify. Quidditch was something to be enjoyed and excited for, not terrified about.

“Something else,” Ness answered without hesitation, deeply appreciative of the fact that it had been offered as an option. It was an interesting question to be asked, and one that the first year never had been asked before, at least, not exactly in that way. The question ‘So, are you a boy or girl?’ was pretty frequent, although the more bluntly it was asked, the more enjoyment there was to be had by evading the answer. Ness wasn’t sure if that was what Evelyn was really trying to get at with the question - she seemed overall cool enough not to mind, and to just be talking about stuff. “I’m not sure what though… Like, people say ‘partner’ a lot but that sounds really serious and like… foreverish. But there’s a bunch of fun words. My Aunt Catriona says ‘squeeze’ though I think that’s more like crush, so it could definitely have its uses but like… what are you after you’re someone’s squeeze but before you’re their partner? I mean, people use all kinds. I’ve heard ‘steady’ too. That one’s nice.

“Your parents sound cool. My hometown is kinda small too… It’s ok. Like… Vermont on the whole is pretty liberal. I can’t imagine my family lasting somewhere that wasn’t. But… I dunno. I imagine there’s better out there. Like utopian rainbow worlds where everyone’s just cool about everything. I believe this mythical place is called San Francisco. You said Pacific, right? Which means West Coast. How near are you to San Francisco? How old do you reckon we need to be before our parents let us take a trip there?

“I do too,” Ness protested (though clearly without any real offence taken) when Evelyn suggested a lack of Hobbit knowledge, “My Aunt Lola is Muggleborn, so I guess I probably have her to thank for knowing about that. We’re pretty good friends with the people at the Muggle Cultural Center, so I’ve even seen some movies and stuff.

“Her, for sure,” Ness nodded to the elaborately dressed first year, when Evelyn joked about who was concealing the most skeletons in the closet, “That’s why her hat’s so big; it’s full of secrets. I’m guessing snake monster or an eye in the back of her head.

“Uh… Only Kir,” Ness admitted, when Evelyn asked about knowing people, “And there’s a… An older kid called Hippo, or that’s his nickname anyway, who I might have met at some family thing sometime but I’m not actually sure. I know of quite a few people. Like, Kir’s mentioned them. But I haven’t met them. Ooh, if we get sorted into Aladren though we can find his girlfriend at the opening feast - he’s definitely a he and she’s definitely a girlfriend cos those are the words he uses - cos I’ve seen her picture. I really want to meet her. She looks kinda girly but apparently in this game they play, she’s some badass warrior chick. Like… an actual game with their friends. Not a sexy game,” Ness clarified in case Evelyn thought Kir was creepy or gross or weird. He was only really one of those, and in a good way.

13 Ness Mmm, toasted sandwich 1419 Ness 0 5

Julius Astley

July 25, 2018 11:57 AM

I'm afraid I don't agree. by Julius Astley

Julius Astley was already intensely annoyed upon his arrival to Sonora Academy. The ride in the wagons had been uncomfortable and bumpy and the fact that he'd had to share seemed only to enhance his discomfort. Upon disembarking, he was mollified only by the fact that his feet were firmly back on the ground and that he could part company with the others who had been seated with him.

He followed the direction that the bespectacled professor had pointed in for the first years and, as he walked, he made sure to straighten his robes as well as correct other aspects of his appearance. A rickety ride in an awful wagon was no excuse to appear dishevelled.

Upon arrival to the gardens, Julius listened to the professor who had been at the wagons, now known to him as 'Professor Wright'. Julius didn't much like the look of him, though. Aside from sounding dull, the man wasn't even wearing a tie and looked like he'd hardly put any effort into his appearance at all, something that was completely inconceivable to Julius who didn't even leave his bedroom without making sure his appearance was impeccable.

At the end of the speech, Julius waited until everybody else had gone to retrieve their folders. He had no intention of bumping into anyone and therefore being forced to make conversation. Mercifully, the first year group didn't seem particularly big so there was plenty of space. Which also gave Julius hope for the rest of the school year. Maybe he could just avoid conversing with everyone.

At last, he felt that he could fetch his own folder without the necessity of conversation and went to pick it up. He checked through it, making doubly sure that all the information he needed was in it and then decided to take the opportunity to have a look at the food that was on offer.

There was only one other person at the food table, which relieved Julius. Maybe he could get away with not talking to them. However, his aspirations were dashed when the person, a girl, said hello to him and told him her name was 'Katerina Vorontsov'. Well, that certainly wasn't an English name.

He took the chance to look at her properly, noting that she seemed very well dressed, her entire attire completed with a hat, as was proper. Maybe, if he was very, very lucky, this girl was a Pureblood. He could bear interacting with another Pureblood. He could certainly tolerate small-talk in that instance.

"I am Julius Astley." he responded, his enunciation very clear, a mark of having be taught how to speak properly. Under normal circumstances, he would have offered his hand to shake if it had been a boy but his father had taught him that in these instances, it was the girl who offered her hand first. "I don't agree that it is nice, exactly."

20 Julius Astley I'm afraid I don't agree. 1425 Julius Astley 0 5

Katerina

July 25, 2018 1:53 PM

I'm sorry to hear that. by Katerina

Julius. That was an interesting name. Julius had been the name of the first Caesar – a Roman, but the western Romans had built the great Eastern empire, and Russia was the heir of the Eastern empire. Astley, however, reminded Katya of stories she read which happened in England – it sounded like the name of one of the races rich people went to watch in England in some of her books – so it seemed safer to wait for now and not assume much about his culture except that it thankfully seemed to have involved learning to speak English clearly, or at least to do so as an accommodation to her.

Of course, Katya hoped she would not need such accommodations for long. It was bizarre, the thought of people taking such trouble over her. She had always worked hard to please those around her – it made her uncomfortable to ask much of them. Living among Anglophones all the time, though, surely her English would improve faster than it ever had before – it was true that Tatiana’s was still not good, but her sister had never had the patience to really want to learn to speak properly in English, or to really study languages at all. Even Tatya admitted she had only learned to speak a little English at first because their older brother Grisha had, as was proper for an eldest son in Volshebnaya Derevnya, been learning it, not because she had just wanted to know another language.

“I see,” said Katya, surprised, when Julius Astley said that he did not think it was nice to be here. “I may ask – if I may ask – why is it not?”

16 Katerina I'm sorry to hear that. 1418 Katerina 0 5

Julius Astley

July 25, 2018 2:14 PM

It's my father who should be sorry. by Julius Astley

Julius blinked at Katerina, unsure whether to take her question seriously or not. Maybe he was wrong in his assumption and she wasn't a Pureblood after all. Surely she wasn't attracted to the idea to sharing a dorm with several other people that would undoubtedly be beneath their stations? Or, perhaps even worse in Julius's mind, making friends with these lesser people. When Julius realised that it was a genuine question that would require some form of response, he didn't have any issues with colouring his tone.

"Would you want to be somewhere you were forced to?" he spat, his features reflecting his typical scowl that was never long gone from his face. "Being forced to give up a life that you know and like and be forced to co-exist with these people?"

He gestured towards the rest of their year, the disgust evident in his voice. They were clearly all beneath him, having no understanding of the proper way to do things. They were all rather vulgar, in Julius's eyes, particularly that one girl who had seemed to have plastered her lips in some horrific orange colour. Julius wished already that he was back at home, away from these other lesser beings, and in respectable, decent company like his mother and sisters.

20 Julius Astley It's my father who should be sorry. 1425 Julius Astley 0 5

Katerina

July 25, 2018 2:41 PM

Whatever he did is hardly my fault. by Katerina

The look on Julius’ face let Katya know at once that she had somehow said something wrong, but it was only when he started talking that she became really concerned that she had somehow gotten English badly, badly wrong. She knew she had learned these phrases, that they were appropriate for small conversations with acquaintances who were not her intimate friends, but the amount of venom in his response was enough to almost make her doubt herself – almost. After a moment’s hesitation, it instead succeeded in making her indignant.

Katya had four older siblings, three of them sisters. She had shared a room with Tatya at home since they were old enough to be out of nursery. She had any number of cousins she saw on a somewhat regular basis. She was used to people shouting and pulling hair and tumbling – it was just something that happened when they were all growing up. She was not some shrinking flower to faint just because someone raised their voice. This, though, was not that; when she and Tatya had had fights, there was at least a reason, no matter how stupid they both admitted it had been later. No-one talked to her like this.

“I do nothing to you,” said Katya, much more coolly now. “You will not – angry speak to me.” The grammar was awkward, she could even tell it was awkward, but she knew she had gotten the imperative right, and that was the essential point. “I will not to you speak if you do not have the manners.”

There was a good deal more she could have said in Russian, but her vocabulary was not quite up to it in another language. Instead, she picked up a plate and selected a small tea sandwich, doing her best to not look affected even though she felt as though she were shaking now that she had stated her position. Had she done something wrong? She had studied Americans and English so carefully. She hadn’t even entirely understood him – what if he had not been as rude as she thought he had? Americans were wildly temperamental, after all, and also liars – the American smile. They smiled when they felt nothing, tricking people into thinking they were very kind when they were in fact no better, or even worse, than anyone else. Of course, that could hardly be called false kindness, his tone – she thought some things were nearly universal – but what if she had gotten it wrong? She wished Tatya was here.

16 Katerina Whatever he did is hardly my fault. 1418 Katerina 0 5

Julius Astley

July 25, 2018 8:55 PM

I never said it was. by Julius Astley

The situation that Julius now found himself in wasn't an uncommon one. It wasn't the first time that he'd offended someone enough to cause them to snap back at him. Though, in Julius's mind, he felt that he hadn't done anything wrong. His mother had always taught him that 'honesty is always the best policy'. He'd only answered her question honestly. If Katerina hadn't wanted a negative answer, she shouldn't have asked the question. So, truthfully, this whole mess was her fault... And she had the audacity to criticise his manners?

Also, her English was dreadful. Why bother conversing if you can't string a sentence together properly? It seemed terribly pointless to attend an English-speaking school if you can't speak the language properly. Oh, Julius wished he'd just ignored her and moved on to find a quiet corner. Life would now be much more peaceful and easier if he'd have just done that. Now, his whole day had just been one big disaster and Julius decided to hold Katerina responsible.

"I would suggest, Miss Vorontsov, before you attempt to converse with anyone again, that you learn how to string a sentence together," he snapped at her, voice filled with venom and his eyes glaring intensely at her. "Given that you can barely speak English, why should I display manners towards you?"

With that, Julius turned on his heel and stalked off. Maybe he'd finally get some peace and quiet and would no longer waste time with these ridiculous lesser beings.

20 Julius Astley I never said it was. 1425 Julius Astley 0 5

Katerina Vorontsov

July 25, 2018 9:58 PM

"I won't dignify that with a response," she responded. by Katerina Vorontsov

She was not, Katya decided in the moments after Julius stormed off, going to give up wearing hats just yet, even if she concluded it was definitely not the custom of proper American young ladies. Hats were simply too useful. A proper hat, well-matched to the outfit it was worn with, beautified the whole outfit, and it protected her face from the sun – and it protected her from the eyes of everyone else.

The light out here, she was sure, was so bright that her hat was surely throwing her face into shadow for everyone not standing right next to her, and this meant no-one had noticed the color flood into her cheeks and forehead (her neck was thankfully largely concealed by her thick red-gold hair) when Julius said she could not speak English properly. If they could not see her suddenly turning deep pink, they also could not see that tears – as much anger as hurt, but definitely brought about by both – had sprung into her dark blue eyes, either. This meant she would not be humiliated twice, which was as close as she thought she was going to get to a good thing right now.

She bit her lip hard, focusing on that, and continued adding things to her little plate as though she had not heard anything. She could take a bite of something and then use raising her napkin to her face as a cover to discreetly dab at her eyes – something she had learned from her cousin Anastasia was to never, ever, let someone who had been mean to her see her cry. Nastya was a ruthless tease and the best way to encourage her was to react.

Deciding she had enough, she picked up a small cup of punch and walked in the opposite direction from the one the rude American had taken. Since they had not (unless they were meant to use the green folders to prove their agility and ability to improvise) been provided with small trays to carry all their food and drink and folders on, her choice of picnic spots was relatively limited – the one that made the most sense was the edge of the fountain, so that was where she went, putting her things down so she could safely extract her handkerchief from her bag and spread it on the broad stone brim before settling there as gracefully as possible herself, ankles crossed, back straight, hat in place, the sun sparkling just the smallest bit on the small gold ring set with small pink topazes on her left hand and shining off the band of tiny five-millimeter coral beads and seed-sized gold spacers which she had around her neck, just visible at the top of her robes. She took a small bite of her sandwich with one hand, brought the napkin toward her face with the other, and tried to focus more on how she could make a caricature of that buffoon instead of on the fact that the very first American she had spoken to had told her she shouldn’t speak at all.

16 Katerina Vorontsov "I won't dignify that with a response," she responded. 1418 Katerina Vorontsov 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 25, 2018 9:59 PM

Can you make grilled cheese via magic? by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn smirked. Ness enjoyed knowing things, and Evelyn was in a great place where she needed the knowledge. "Pansexual," she repeated, trying out the word. "Thanks for being so patient. Gender is complex and I think we should sort people by what they like on their toast, or what kind of patterns they like on their curtains. At least then we'd all have something to get excited about together. There's no saying I'll get along with another person just because they have the same things under their robes." She enjoyed the way Ness' eyes lit up when the conversation provided an opportunity to share knoweldge or experience. It was a beautiful way to go through life, and Evelyn was glad to have found someone like that. She thought she might similar, but just didn't have the same sort of knowledge to share. She was happy just to learn, too.

"Both," she admitted, regarding Quidditch. "I think I'd like to try out someday, but I like to climb a tree more than ride one I think."

"I think I'd like to be a girlfriend someday, but I'm not sure that means I want a boyfriend." She shrugged. "Maybe I want a 'something else'." Eh. She wasn't ready to flirt but figured she should be open to whatever the enxt seven years held. Who knew what would be around the next turn? "Steady makes me think of like...what's the opposite? A rocky relationship?" She snorted at the idea. "Going steady.... Going... At all? Can that be the label? Two people are going?" She laughed again, almost embarrassed at the stupidity of the comment.

"I agree that we should thank your Aunt, though, everyone should know about the Hobbit. And everyone should get to see San Francisco! I think my family is like 10 hours in a car away and we couldn't apparate with my mom so we just didn't ever go. We'd probably have to be like twenty-seven or something to go on our own." She really didn't know, but she figured they'd have to be adults and twenty-seven seemed like a good adult age. They wouldn't even be wrinkly by twenty-seven probably.

Evelyn listened to Ness' assessment of both the other first year and of Kir's girlfriend with interest. She agreed about the big hat, and that they should meet Kir's girlfriend, saying so to her new friend. "But we have to be nice, right? Please don't be someone who plays pranks on people to test them out or something." She frowned, thinking of the rare stories she had heard of her father's time at Sonora. "I want to meet everybody, I think. But I don't want to meet crappy people. I guess it will happen at some point. I've lucked out so far." She smiled at Ness. "Do we introduce ourselves? Or hang out until the feast and see which House we're in first?"

OOC: I double checked and I think we are good but I did write this on my.pgone, so if there are any glaring mistakes I'm so sorry!

22 Evelyn Stones Can you make grilled cheese via magic? 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5

Lyssa Fitzgerald

July 27, 2018 9:42 AM

I'm not so sure about... you see where it becomes trouble? by Lyssa Fitzgerald

The handshake was firm. It almost felt like the boy was trying to prove something to her with it, which Lyssa thought was entertaining. There really was no reason to do so. She returned the handshake with her normal one, which she was told was stronger than normal for a girl her age, but not as strong as her father’s but strong enough to hold her own with her older brothers.

“Nice to meet you Malikey. Is that correct?” she said, hoping she was pronouncing the name correctly. She mentally started to work through how to remember his name. Hill was easy enough, but Malikey would be more difficult. Calling someone by their proper name was the sweetest sound for that person, is what her mother always said.

Lyssa was about to respond to Malikey with some things that Parker had told her, but then saw that he was looking around the garden in a nonchalant way. Almost like a bored predator who was looking for other prey. Part of Lyssa was momentarily upset, but then realized that if he wasn’t interested, then why should she be. Though she was more relaxed, the boy was still causing Lyssa to be on alert. So instead of answering with things she’d learned from Parker, she took a different tact.

“I don’t really know a whole lot. My parents didn’t come here, and I don’t really know much about the magic world, cause my parents aren’t a part of it. All I know is it’s a boarding school and we can’t bring cell phones.” She paused briefly to see how he reacted to her words. She hadn’t lied to the boy, but she felt a bit defensive by the way he was acting, so she had decided to not tell the whole truth.

“What about you? Do you know anything about this place?”

41 Lyssa Fitzgerald I'm not so sure about... you see where it becomes trouble? 1421 Lyssa Fitzgerald 0 5

Malikhi Hill

July 27, 2018 10:15 AM

Yes, I do see... by Malikhi Hill

Malikhi held in a laugh. It was rare that anyone managed to pronounced his name correctly the first time and it amused him each time. It was like his own personal trick and he didn't even need to put any effort into it! Mah-lick-hi. It felt like the perfect name for the boy who enjoyed playing tricks and pranks on other people. His parents should be commended.

"It's close enough," he told Lyssa. After having looked around at the rest of their year group and the gardens, he decided that Lyssa was the most interesting person to talk to at the moment. There was a girl with a posh-looking hat sitting at the fountain but he didn't really want to bother with well-to-do types and there were two other girls who seemed far more interested in each other. There was another boy but he looked thunderous and rather miserable and that was not the kind of person Malikhi generally associated with at all.

There was something about Lyssa, though, that Malikhi couldn't quite pinpoint in her answer. He dismissed it though, interested to learn that she was a muggleborn. Malikhi was a half-blood, his mother the witch in his family while his father was the muggle. At least that was something kind of in common. However, she didn't know anything which wasn't massively helpful. Still, he supposed that he'd learn about the academy soon enough.

"Oh, very little. Coming here was a last minute decision sort of thing," he admitted, and it was true. He was supposed to have attended school in England until his Aunt had interfered and dragged him all the way to America. Still, he supposed he had to make the best of it. "I'm interested in the subjects though, particularly charms and potions. I think they would be very helpful."

Malikhi did not admit that they would be helpful towards his mischief-making. He did not want to give the game away. "What about you? Any subjects you're looking forward to?"

20 Malikhi Hill Yes, I do see... 1423 Malikhi Hill 0 5

Ness

July 28, 2018 12:57 AM

Grilled cheese IS magic by Ness

Ness laughed out loud at Evelyn calling Quidditch ‘riding trees.’ Evelyn was funny, and made smart jokes.

“I really want to play,” Ness informed her. “I mostly have practise with the skills you’d need for Chaser, cos that’s what it’s easiest to do when there’s only a couple of people who want to play - just throw a ball back and forth - but I think Beater could be fun, and I’ve tried like… a toned down version of that. My aunt would throw baseballs for me to bat, that kind of thing.

“Going loco. Going to hell in a handbasket. There’s all kind of ways one can be going,” Ness laughed, enjoying playing around with words with Evelyn.

“Maybe twenty one?” came the hopeful suggestion when Evelyn said they might not get to go to San Francisco until they were almost thirty. “I mean, by all laws, magical and non-magical, we will be considered responsible adults who can do everything - drink, gamble, go die in a war. I mean, I think you can go die in a war as soon as you turn eighteen, so we should definitely be allowed to go to San Francisco.” The fact that Evelyn had used the verb ‘drive’ had also excited her. Maybe they could go by car, and do a road trip. Ness had been in cars a few times, but mostly at fetes at the Muggle Cultural Center, just for rides - not really to actually go somewhere. “Can you drive a car for ten hours? Or does it like… run out batteries or something?” Running out of batteries was definitely a concept of why non-magical things stopped sometimes. But which things..? Ness liked learning about non-magical things, and knew a decent bit of science for a magical person, because Aunt Lola was a Muggleborn nerd. But it was hard to keep everything straight. Especially in my brain, cos it’s so queer Ness smiled at the passing thought.

“Of course we’ll be nice. I just… want to talk to her and stuff. I bet she knows loads. She’s a sixth year Aladren.” If Ness was mean to Zevalyn, then neither Zevalyn or Kir would like her very much, and that seemed like a very bad plan. Kir was a pretty nice brother, all things considered, but given the age gap and the fact that Sonora was a boarding school, it kind of felt like they didn’t know each other very well. That kind of bugged Ness. There were all these stories where siblings were always looking out for each other or going on adventures together, including the personal narrative of Dad and Aunt Catriona and… It didn’t feel like that with Kir. Ness didn’t necessarily want Kir hanging around and trying to be overprotective because that was lame and probably some kind of reflection of the patriarchy influencing him. But it’d be cool if they could hang out more. If Ness could join in with him. If Zevalyn didn’t like Ness, that was going to make everything worse rather than better. But if Zevalyn liked Ness, then that’d be awesome, not only because maybe Kir would soften up a bit, but also because… well, how cool would it be to have a cool sixth year friend? Very. “Also, having both my brother and his girlfriend pissed at me doesn’t sound like a fun way to spend the year.”

13 Ness Grilled cheese IS magic 1419 Ness 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 28, 2018 3:39 AM

All food is magic tbh by Evelyn Stones

Ness' laughter was sweet and Evelyn smiled, particularly knowing that it was directed at something she had said.

"Honestly, I only know a little bit about Quidditch," Evelyn admitted. "I've read Quidditch Through the Ages, and the history of lots of teams and stuff, but I never really got into the sport in any modern sense."

She cocked her head as Ness listed other ways of going. "They'd sound so odd in the wrong context. 'McLeod, the greatest beater ever, going to hell in a handbasket all the way up the field!'" The idea was too ridiculous.

Ness knew so many things, but apparently didn't know much about Muggle things, and Evelyn did her best to stifle a smile. It was nice to feel like she was the knowledgeable one.

"Twenty-one sounds good," she agreed. She took another drink of her long-forgotten juice, pondering how best to respond. "You can drive a car for years if you want, but you have to put more gas in it. I guess cars charge themselves when you drive them, but I don't know how it works. They have batteries but you don't have to replace them much."

Evelyn found the idea of a roadtrip with Ness an exciting one. Her first real friend might just be the best friend ever. More than that, Ness seemed to think she was pretty cool, too, and that was always a perk.

"Niceness is good," she replied. "I hope we're both in Alandren and then we'll get to see all the same stuff and talk about it and it's gonna be great."

She sat back to enjoy the thought and noticed the girl with the big hat full of secrets had gone to sit at the edge of the fountain, and seemed sad. She gestured with her head, drawing Ness' attention.

"Should we say something to her? She looks lonely," Evelyn murmured. "We can find out what's under her hat that way, too."

22 Evelyn Stones All food is magic tbh 1422 Evelyn Stones 0 5