I like Jozua's idea (tag Juniper) on Teppenpaw Commons

Nathan Xavier

April 22, 2016 5:04 PM

HOH Speech by Nathan Xavier

'A few more stairs' was exactly as far as they went before Nathan called a stop to his little party, about halfway up the staircase. "We're here," Nathan told them, a dry note creeping into his voice. "Look for the stair with the diamond shaped chip on it." He nudged the landmark, such as it was, with the toe of his shoe. "We don't have a password," he admitted, almost apologetically. He paused, then made the awful admission, "we have a jig."

"Now," he hurried to reassure, "it's not a hard jig to remember and you don't need to perform it gracefully or anything. It's the order of steps that are important and it repeats three times, so you'll get it pretty quick. Here's what you do to get in: start by standing on the step with the chip, then, step, step, step, click your heels, tap, tap, shuffle, and then repeat twice more. Three steps, heels, two taps, a shuffle, and one more time," as the rotund groundskeeper repeated the jig for the third time, the phrase 'seizing elephant' might be forgiven for crossing any of the spectators' minds, but when he was done, the wall beside him opened up to reveal the Teppenpaw Commonroom.

Nathan waited until they had all entered then followed them inside into a room decorated in muted yellow and maroon shades. Nathan found it a nice relaxing space and he often spent a couple hours each day sitting on one of the comfortable couches or chairs scattered about the room, in the hopes that familiarity bred trust and the students would voluntarily come to him if they had any issues with anything.

"As I said earlier, I'm Mr. Xavier," he reminded them in case they were bad with names, "and I will be your Head of House during your time at Sonora. I hope you'll think of me as a favored uncle whose house you're staying at. I am friend and family, but if anything gets out of hand, I'm responsible for getting it back in hand. I haven't had to dole out too many detentions so far, and I hope to keep it that way. So just be respectful to each other and school property, and be in the commons by ten, which is when curfew and quiet time starts.

"Your dorms are up those stairs, girls to the right, boys to the left, your room is the one with your year number on it. Going up the wrong set of stairs will just dump you right back here on your bottom so I don't recommend trying it."

He paused a moment, trying to remember if there was anything else he hadn't mentioned now or on the tour or during the orientation speech that they'd need to know. "Oh, bulletin board is there, keep an eye on it for school and club announcements. Our prefects are Duncan, Jake, and Aiden. Liac is our Quidditch Captain. Duncan and Serena are our Head Students this year, both Teppenpaws, so any of those people, or myself, are good folks to go to if you have a question or problem or just want to talk to somebody. They all wear badges so you can identify them as House and School authorities easily."

He was probably forgetting something, but he couldn't think of what it might be. "I think that's everything. Any questions, please ask, otherwise, converse amongst yourselves or head up to bed. Breakfast is at seven, and I have more maps in my office right over there if you misplaced yours and can't remember how to get there."

OOC: Welcome to Sonora and Teppenpaw House! You may reply here with questions or just chat with and get to know your Housemates. You are now welcome to post your new Teppenpaw on any board except the common rooms of other Houses, because Teppenpaw students aren't allowed there. Have fun!

Subthreads:

Let's not hate each other, okay? (tag Finbar Scott) by Jozua Sparks with Finn Scott

I like Jozua's idea (tag Juniper) by Georgia with Juniper

1 Nathan Xavier HOH Speech 28 Nathan Xavier 1 5

Jozua Sparks

April 29, 2016 2:25 PM

Let's not hate each other, okay? (tag Finbar Scott) by Jozua Sparks

As Jozua followed the groundskeeper up to his new home, he felt that Sonora was proving to be much better than he'd feared and possibly better than he'd hoped. He had already found a best friend in Lily Spencer, and Georgia seemed like a decent person though he hadn't clicked with her the same way he had with Lily. Despite his mom's dire warnings about Teppenpaws and Pecaris, he really didn't find either of the examples he'd met of those Houses to be particularly overwhelming. (Though Lily had been close, before they discovered their common interest in dueling.) He was tentatively optimistic that maybe Teppenpaw wasn't such a scary sorting after all and maybe Mom's class just had some bad apples.

Really the only remaining tripwire that could make or break his next seven years was walking along the halls only a few feet away. Jozua sent the other first year boy another uncertain look, wondering (a) what it would be like to have to share a room for the first time in his life, and (b) whether the guy he got out of the roommate lottery was going to be a decent one. Did he snore? Was he a slob who was going to leave dirty underwear on the windowsills?

For that matter, did Jozua himself snore? He didn't think he did, but he'd never had anyone around to tell him one way or another. Was he going to seem an overbearing neat freak to his roommate? Jozua didn't think he was that bad, but he did like to have his things on their proper places, if only because that made it easier to find them when he needed them. And he couldn't concentrate if there was too much mess around him. This could go very poorly...

He was just about ready to work himself into full anxiety when the groundskeeper's words penetrated.

A jig? To get inside? Seriously?

Fortunately, he'd had some dance training - he hated it, but he'd had it - so he was able to recognize the steps and pattern the Head of House was showing them (very inexpertly) and he was reassured that if what the groundskeeper had just done would grant passage, Jozua could likewise gain entry. He was just going to feel really silly doing a jig on the stairs.

He entered the room and tried to pay attention to the rest of the speech, but as soon as it was over, he decided to just get it over with and address the person at the center of his remaining concerns.

"I'm Jozua. Let's not hate each other, okay? That will make everything so much easier."

1 Jozua Sparks Let's not hate each other, okay? (tag Finbar Scott) 348 Jozua Sparks 0 5

Georgia

May 01, 2016 1:20 AM

I like Jozua's idea (tag Juniper) by Georgia

The feast had been good. Georgia had stuck to familiar, comforting foods, and after her fill of pepperoni pizza had had a bowl of chocolate ice cream. However, as it ended and Mr. Xavier called them over, she found herself wishing she hadn’t eaten quite so much. He kept saying this was their home now, and when he finished talking she would have to go upstairs and meet her room-mate. This wasn’t home. This place was strange, and the other girl might be mean. She was nervous and homesick and, with the pizza and ice cream, that was starting to feel actually like being sick.

There wasn’t much point putting it off though, so after his speech she made her way upstairs. Her suitcase was in the room already. She supposed unpacking was better than just nervously fiddling with the bedspread or something, so she opened it up. The first items on top were an envelope of family photos and a stuffed dog. They had talked about whether or not to get her a pet. Her dad had said she wasn’t really old enough for the responsibility but her mom had said that everyone at magical school had a pet. But when Georgia had chosen ‘dog’ from the list, her mom had been less sure. Dogs hadn’t been allowed at her school. They weren’t traditional. And whilst she didn’t want Georgia to have to bend to other people’s ways, she didn’t want her bullied for being different, or to fall out with people who had cats if her dog chased them. They had decided it might be best to leave it until Christmas, just to see what everyone else had, but had bought her the stuffed dog as a going away present. She really wanted to take it out and hug it for reassurance but she was afraid her roommate might think she was a baby. Abandoning her original plan, she sat down on the bed. She didn’t have to wait long for the other girl to come in.

“Hi,” she said, wishing she could manage that without sounding super awkward. “I guess we’re roommates,” well duh… “I’m Georgia.”

13 Georgia I like Jozua's idea (tag Juniper) 346 Georgia 0 5

Finn Scott

May 01, 2016 8:37 AM

Fear not, hating wasn't the plan! by Finn Scott

Finn felt quite content as they left the hall. The food had been great (and really, that was rather important), and he reckoned he’d made a friend. He’d enjoyed the conversation with Juniper, and hopefully she thought of him as a friend too!

The route to the Teppenpaw common room didn’t seem too complicated, and Finn was confident he wouldn’t get lost. The jig was a little embarrassing, but the fact that all the other Teppenpaws had to do it too was reassuring. The common room itself seemed nice and comfortable.

Now all that remained was to see what his housemate was like! Finn was quite excited to be sharing a room. As an only child he’d never got to experience it, and he thought it had the potential to be great fun. He’d have someone to play with, to talk to lots, and maybe even to have midnight feasts with! This was of course providing that his new roommate was friendly, but Finn had few concerns about that. Teppenpaw was, after all, meant to be the friendly house, and nobody whose personality led to them being sorted into this house could be too bad!

All in all, Finn was a little taken aback by his roommate's introduction.

“Um…I wasn't planning on hating anyone, really,” he replied, rather nonplussed. “I’m Finn Scott, of the Maryland Scotts.”

No, wait, that was probably far more formal an introduction than necessary. His grandfather had taught him to always introduce himself in that way, and to be proud of his family. Finn had always followed this advice, but then again Jozua hadn't even mentioned his surname. Or maybe he was a muggleborn, and didn’t know about the more traditional way of introducing himself? Either way, his first interaction with his new roommate wasn't going too well. First there was an assumption that he was going to hate Jozua, and now he probably sounded rather pretentious.

Internally panicking slightly, he quickly glanced over to Juniper, and could see her being addressed by the fourth Teppenpaw first year. No doubt the two would become best of friends, and Juniper would forget about Finn.

Smiling at Jozua, he decided to work on the assumption that the other boy was just being pessimistic about being roommates. "So what sort of things do you like doing?” he asked. Maybe they could find some common ground and things would progress slightly better.

9 Finn Scott Fear not, hating wasn't the plan! 347 Finn Scott 0 5

Jozua

May 02, 2016 11:17 AM

Okay, good, I was just starting to panic a little by Jozua

Jozua felt a little bad about the way Finn reacted to his initial question. He supposed, this being Teppenpaw and all, hating was generally off the agenda and so it was entirely excusable to be surprised by the topic. Still, it was reassuring that Finn harbored so few hating inclinations that the very idea startled him.

"Uh, Jozua Sparks, Aladren Sparks," he hurried to complete his full name and family of origin when that sort of introduction was given to him. Dangit, he'd gotten a society guy as a roommate. He was going to have to be well behaved all the time. But at least it was unlikely that he'd be a slob. Slovenliness was not proper, after all.

Fortunately, Finn quickly moved them on past that bit of awkwardness and into a discussion of hobbies.

That had worked really well with Lily, but Lily had already been working on getting him to talk for a while before she'd asked that all important question. On the other hand, Finn would be his roommate for seven years. It would probably come out sooner or later; might as well find out now if the guy was going to think he was crazy.

He'd gotten something close to a promise not to be hated, too, so that was something. Though 'I'm not planning to hate you' and 'I promise not to hate you even if you are a weirdo who snores' was not at all the same thing.

Maybe work up to it. "Well, I like reading," he began slowly, testing the waters, "Adventure stories mostly. I like stories about knights most of all, with their duels and heroic quests! And I like listening to wizard duels on the wireless; and my birthday present every summer is getting to go to a match in person. And I play Wizards Chess, because that has knights in it, too, but I'm not as good as my parents so I always lose. What do you like to do?" he asked, figuring turn about was fair play, and then he could decide if Finn was eligible to find out about the Secret Order of Sonora Knights.

1 Jozua Okay, good, I was just starting to panic a little 348 Jozua 0 5

Finn Scott

May 04, 2016 2:26 PM

So was I! by Finn Scott

Luckily for Finn, Jozua's replies seemed friendly enough. Perhaps his new roommate had just been paranoid, although Finn liked to think he seemed friendly. At least, he liked to think he didn’t come across as the sort of person that would hate someone for no reason.

Finn was intrigued to hear about Jozua's hobbies, hoping that they would find some common interests. Reading was a good start, especially the adventure books – Finn had always enjoyed those himself, although he was now hoping that being at Sonora would mean some of the books were replaced by real adventures. Duelling was not that much of an interest of his, but wizard's chess was a game he often played. He wasn't exceptionally talented, but could usually hold his own against the average player. His grandfather (who Finn thought was probably one of the best chess players in America) had taught him, and they often played together on cold winter evenings.

“I like reading adventure books too,” Finn replied with a shy smile. “Also I quite like games of wizard's chess – maybe we could play each other at some point?”

“I like being outside,” he said, not quite sure what to say and hoping his interests wouldn’t seem to boring. “I’m quite interested in nature, and in animals – my aunt has horses, so I often go out riding with my cousins.”

Relations with his new roommate seemed off to a good start, and Finn thought the next seven years would hopefully be quite fun.

“Have you ever shared a room before?” he asked, suddenly anxious that there were standards to live up to. He didn’t want to be considered a bad roommate!

9 Finn Scott So was I! 347 Finn Scott 0 5

Jozua

May 12, 2016 3:19 PM

So let's just agree to be decent people, ok? by Jozua

Jozua smile tentatively back at Finn as he floated the idea of playing wizards chess together. "Next rainy day, you're on," he agreed. Sunny days, he figured, would be reserved for climbing trees and knighting with Lily. Though Finn's mutual interest in adventure books did open the possibility that he might qualify for the Order. Further information and an okay from Lily was necessary before the subject could be broached, however. A Secret Order would not be very secret for very long if you started inviting everyone you met to it right away. Finn did have some advantages going for him though. Jozua figured he might be in by the weekend, assuming nothing terrible happened on the roommating side of things.

"Horses are neat," Jozua conceded, though he was wary around most other animals. "I've never seen one close up, but I like the idea of learning to ride one."Olden day knights rode them, after all, and he liked to imagine himself riding a white steed of his own sometimes.

Then Finn brought up the big topic that was the center of Jozua's anxiety regarding the future of his next seven years. "No, I'm an only child, so I've always had my own room. I hope I don't snore too badly," he was genuinely worried about this and it came through clearly. "And I hope I'm not too annoying because I'm kind of a neat freak. I mean, not like obsessive or anything, but, man, I'm sure you're a decent human being, but I have nooo need to see your unmentionables on the floor, okay?"

1 Jozua So let's just agree to be decent people, ok? 348 Jozua 0 5

Finn

May 25, 2016 8:45 AM

Or maybe even friends? by Finn

Finn grinned back at Jozua, excited at the idea of playing wizarding chess together. Maybe he’d even win a few games, something he wasn't really used to. Games of chess on rainy days sounded like fun. Maybe they could get some others involved too, and have a sort of tournament!

He felt a bit sorry for Jozua when he heard that he hadn't ridden before. He was really glad that he’d learnt to ride when younger, and thought it was a shame that not everyone had experienced that. Finn was quite interested in animals, and was definitely looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures lessons.

“I’m an only child too,” replied Finn. “I think sharing a room will be fun though, don’t you?” Hopefully Jozua was also excited at the idea of a roommate, otherwise having asked that question would be quite awkward. Still, the conversation was going well so far, so presumably Jozua didn’t think that badly of him.
He considered the snoring factor, as Jozua clearly seemed to be concerned about this. “I don’t think I snore,” he said. “But I’m sure there’s a spell we can find to help if either of us snore a lot.”

Finn was somewhat taken aback when Jozua brought up his ‘unmentionables’. He didn’t think he was that tidy a person, but would never dream of leaving underwear lying around where somebody else could see it, especially somebody he barely knew. “I’ll make sure to keep things tidy,” he offered. It wouldn’t take much effort to remember to put things away, and he’d prefer to keep on good terms with his roommate and (he hoped) new friend.

9 Finn Or maybe even friends? 347 Finn 0 5

Juniper

May 26, 2016 5:38 PM

Me too, I think. by Juniper

Juniper had done it, she'd successfully made it through her first conversation at Sonora. She supposed it hadn't gone too badly, Finn even liked horses. And he was from the kind of family that hers would approve of. Not that she wouldn't be nice to others who weren't. The last thing she wanted was-well, okay, the last thing she wanted was to be here in the first place. The second to last thing she wanted was to offend anyone or make enemies.

A tiny part of her hoped that she'd maybe made a friend. Of course, Finn might have just been being polite. For all she knew, he'd forget all about her when he met others. Others who were more social and outgoing. That was what her mother wanted her to be so it followed that was what people wanted. That those were the sorts others wanted to be friends with and that wasn't her. And it was never something she was going to be.

It might be nice to have a friend, if she was going to be stuck here. Unfortunately Juniper wasn't at all sure she was up to the task.

And it was just going to get more difficult. Now she had to meet her roommate. A lump rose in her throat and she felt queasy. Juniper was glad that she hadn't eaten much at the feast. The whole idea of following the other girl up to their room was petrifying. However, she didn't see her brother anywhere-he was probably doing Head Boy stuff, spending time with Araceli or looking for ghosts-and Finn was already going up to his own room. Juniper couldn't go visit either of them in their rooms and she couldn't even go to Tasha's common room. She didn't even know where it was.

Still, the alternative to going up to her room and meeting her roommate was to sit in the common room which would likely contain more than one person besides herself. It was better than the Hall but it was still more people than Juniper really wanted to be around. So, with great trepidation, she entered her room to see her roommate already there sitting on her bed.

“Hi. I guess we’re roommates.I’m Georgia.”

Juniper forced herself to make eye contact as she'd been taught was polite. "H-hi. I'm Juniper Brockert. Um, of the Western Brockerts." She added hastily. Georgia hadn't introduced herself that way which meant she probably wasn't part of society. On the one hand that took some of the pressure off her, less chance of mistakes being noticed. On the other, would Georgia think she was strange for the way she introduced herself?

She sat down on her own bed, the awkward silence seemingly lasting forever. Usually Juniper preferred quiet but when there were two people there instead of one, it was incredibly uncomfortable and naturally, she didn't know what to say.

11 Juniper Me too, I think. 345 Juniper 0 5

Georgia

May 27, 2016 10:20 AM

But you're not totally sure? by Georgia

As her room-mate entered, Georgia’s first impression of her was that she was small. Not just (enviably) skinny but also short. And that the two in combination made her seem tiny. She also looked kind of nervous.

H-hi. I'm Juniper Brockert. Um, of the Western Brockerts.

Georgria blinked. This was the style of introduction she had been on the lookout for all day. The kind that signalled the type of person that would be prepared to make her life a living hell. Except… this wasn’t what she’d been picturing. When her mum had described those types of cliquey girls from her own school days she’d pictured something entirely different. In her mind, they had all been at least a foot taller than her, easily capable of grabbing her (or… magicking her, if that was a word) and flushing her head down a toilet. Juniper Brockert, um of the Western Brockerts didn’t seem particularly like she was about to launch an attack, nor like she’d actually be physically capable of doing so. She guessed it had been silly to imagine everyone as bigger than her, because of course there were going to be people her own age here too but Juniper didn’t project that air of arrogance that usually came with people who were going to put you down.

“It’s… uh… nice to meet you,” Georgia smiled. She felt, more than anything, confused. Whilst she was glad that Juniper didn’t seem to be an immediate threat, she wasn’t sure what to make of her either, and whether she could totally rule out the possibility that, whilst she might not be a violent bully, she might be quietly psychopathic and like… put bugs in Georgia’s bed once she was asleep or something. It didn’t seem likely but nothing about Juniper meshed with the information she’d been given so far about the wizarding world. There wasn’t such a thing as a Pureblood who cared about their blood status but not about yours. And Juniper had introduced herself in That Way, even after Georgia had just given her first name, so it obviously did matter to her.

“So…” she cast around for the topic, deciding that the best course of action was just to try being friendly until she was given any reason not to be. “Did you… uh… like the feast?”

13 Georgia But you're not totally sure? 346 Georgia 0 5

Juniper

June 04, 2016 5:55 PM

I'm not sure about anything really. by Juniper

Okay, so Georgia was smiling, so that was probably a good sign, but it could have been just politeness. Her response seemed pretty uncomfortable. Had Juniper messed up? All she'd done was introduce herself but it was different from how Georgia had so maybe she'd been right to worry that her roommate would think she was strange. Maybe the other girl was Muggleborn and so it sounded weird to her.

But it was how the first year had been taught to introduce herself, nobody had told her that she could ever do otherwise and she had to err on the side of caution. Besides, what if she didn't get into the habit and forgot to do it that way when talking to someone who expected it. The Brockert name was well enough known so society people would assume that she was one of them but she didn't want to reflect poorly on them if she made said mistake.

Still, though, Juniper had said less than ten words to her roommate so far, and she was already thought to be odd. What was going to happen when she said more?

Of course, that was supposedly the problem. Why she was strange. She was terrified of interacting with other human beings and so she didn't talk. Social gatherings were torture for her and she barely spoke to anyone. There was nothing ever to make her more comfortable. Tasha had been at a few with her but Juniper didn't even know her that well, so her presence only made things slightly better based on her being more familiar than anyone else around.

Thankfully Georgia was continuing the conversation, both because Juniper wasn't so sure how-yes, she'd learned the basics of small talk but if the other first year thought she was weird for her introduction, maybe she'd think the way Juniper made small talk was too. Which it kind of was because it came out stilted and awkward-and because it meant Juniper hadn't scared her off too much already.

"Pleasure to meet you too." The Teppenpaw responded, continuing to smile anxiously. She considered Georgia's question. "I suppose it was all right, I met a boy in our house named Finn who seems nice. He's a first year too. What about you? How was yours?"

11 Juniper I'm not sure about anything really. 345 Juniper 0 5

Jozua

June 09, 2016 3:18 PM

That is the best case scenario. by Jozua

Somewhat relieved by Finn's answers, Jozua was starting to believe that this arrangement was not completely doomed. Finn had no previous roommates he might compare Jozua unfavorably toward. He seemed taken aback by the idea of leaving his underwear out, which boded well for him not being a complete slob who would drive Jozua batty with poor living conditions. Jozua didn't consider himself a neat freak, but the more he thought about a cluttered room with dirty laundry covering most surfaces, the more anxious he had become that sharing a room would trigger late onset OCD in him.

Even better, Jozua hadn't even considered the possibility for some kind of snore muffling charm but surely it must exist and they could figure it out if that became an issue, which completely poofed away his concerns about experiencing and/or causing sleep deprivation.

"'Fun,'" Jozua admitted truthfully, "wasn't really the word I had in mind, but I'm coming around to it." He'd always had his own space and liked it that way, but if he had to share a room, Finn seemed a decent option. They at least had some things in common anyway, and that was a good start.

"So, are you the early to bed type or did you stay up doing stuff quietly in your room after your parents sent you to bed?" He was the later sort, and was curious if he was going to need to continue his night time reading under his covers to hide the light or if it was something he could do openly now.

1 Jozua That is the best case scenario. 348 Jozua 0 5