Hello, room-mates! on Pecari Commons

Prof. Isis Carter

April 27, 2016 6:02 PM

Welcome home! (HoH Speech) by Prof. Isis Carter

Isis led her little bunch out of the Cascade Hall and directly into the Labyrinth Gardens. “Follow closely,” she said as they went. “The Gardens can seem a little dangerous at night, but don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe.” There were creatures out there, but none that would cause any harm to students, so for now, it was best not to mention them. She didn’t want to potentially scare anyone, Muggleborns in particular. “And anyway,” she added, “We don’t have all that far to go.”

She stopped before a suit of armor and gestured toward it. “This marks the entrance to Pecari Common Room,” Isis informed. “Please remember that its location is a secret, so don’t tell anyone who isn’t in your House. If you forget where it is, you can ask one of the older Pecari students and they’ll help you find it again. Or you can ask me; I’m always around.” She gave a warm (was that motherly?) smile.

“This week, the password is Pastel Pixie.” Immediately, the suit of armor seemed to come to life, springing out of their way and revealing the entrance. “After you,” Isis beamed at the closest student. She let all of them go in front of her, counting heads as they passed to guarantee nobody had gotten lost along the way. So far, so good. Then she followed suit (pun intended).

Pecari Common Room was tailored to its students, she was glad to find. (She had only entered the room for the first time herself a few hours earlier, to make sure she knew where everything was and didn’t look unprepared in front of the first years.) It was a warm place in both temperature and aesthetics, with plenty of comfortable seating, oak tables, and brown and gold decor strewn about. Physical heat was provided by the burning fire, set earlier by a prairie elf. “Welcome home,” Isis said with soft enthusiasm.

“That way,” she continued a moment later, her voice returning to more of a tour guide style, “is the bulletin board. Be sure to check it often, because it will have the new password each week, as well as any announcements, like Quidditch. If you’re interested in that, Liliana Bannister is the Captain of the team, so she’s the one who will be putting up a signup sheet soon.” Isis had never been fond of the sport (there were two players whose literal jobs were to hurt people, how was that safe for kids?), but for whatever reason, it was popular among witches and wizards.

“Liliana is also one of your Prefects, as well as Lionel Layne and Joella Curtis. If you need anything at all, you can go to them or the Head Boy and Girl. And my office is right over there,” she added with a gesture in that direction, “if you need me. I’ll have a schedule of office hours posted on the door, but if you’re in trouble, I can always be found.”

Isis led the first years across the Common Room to the two identical stairways. “This way leads to the girls’ dormitories, and this way leads to the boys’. If you go down the wrong way, you’ll be re-deposited back out here in the Common Room. Curfew is ten o’clock PM; it’s up to you to go to sleep on time, but you have to be back to Pecari Commons before then. Otherwise, you will be locked out and will have to come to me to get back in.” She had no intention on being too terribly strict with that, just as she wasn’t with timeliness for class, but it was good to at least try to set the boundary. “Does anyone have any questions? If not, you’re free to go explore your new home.”

OOC: It is not required for you to respond to this thread. You may begin posting on other boards. Please remember that your character does not have access to other common rooms. Be sure to follow the posting rules and have fun!

Subthreads:

Just another duckling by Killian Everett

Hello, room-mates! by Lily Spencer

12 Prof. Isis Carter Welcome home! (HoH Speech) 31 Prof. Isis Carter 1 5

Killian Everett

May 09, 2016 9:43 AM

Just another duckling by Killian Everett

After eating his fill, Killian still wasn’t sure he believed the older Pecari when it came to the potion, but tried not to let it bother him too much. The drink couldn’t be undrunk after all, and if it did end up doing more than turn his skin a darker brown than it normally was, he’d try to figure out how to undo it when he learned more about magic. Barring that, he could always try to make peace with the alien consciousness and hope they could form a working relationship instead of a master/slave one.

Either way, the dark skin pigment had faded down to his normal summer tan, and Killian knew that would fade back into his normal cream once winter arrived. His eyelids began to grow in weight, making them harder and harder to keep open as conversations washed around him, blending into the sound of the cascading water until it all became a background babble in his quest to stay awake and not just lay his head down on the table and doze for a while.

“Hey! Pecari first years, this way!”

The loud voice cut a sharp path through the noise, rousing him out of his half stupor. Killian said a hasty goodbye to Chuck as he scrambled out of his seat and joined the other Pecari first years towards the woman calling them to come along.

Killian almost opened his mouth when she asked if anyone had any questions to start with, but chose to hold his tongue. He didn’t want to worry anyone else about the strange potion, and if she was fully infected . . . well, then he might not want to draw her attention to the fact that it hadn’t taken him over the way it was supposed to. If, in fact, that’s what it was meant to do.

Instead of moving deeper into the building, to Killian’s amazement, they headed back out into the Labyrinth Gardens. Fear tickled along the back of his neck on hairy spider legs when she pointed out that the gardens might seem a little dangerous at night. There could be monsters in there, lurking in the dark, waiting for a stray child to get lost so they could gobble them up without anyone being the wiser.

Once they were ushered into the room, given all the vital info, and told about which stairways led to where, she opened it up for questions.

“Um, so,” he hesitated, not wanting to bring up monsters and look silly. “Er, so what if we get lost at night, or we can’t find the door? Who should we go find to let us in if no one is around?” Since her office was in here, he figured she must sleep here too. If she was already in here, then he wouldn’t be able to go to her to be let in.

0 Killian Everett Just another duckling 354 Killian Everett 0 5

Lily Spencer

May 12, 2016 3:54 PM

Hello, room-mates! by Lily Spencer

Lily felt like she was in a dream; nothing could wake her from her slumber right now. She was in an unofficially official Order with her new best friend and had been sorted into Pecari, her dream house. She was full of tasty food, had confirmed with an older Pecari that this house was the best and now was trailing after a friendly-looking professor.

She wondered where their common room was going to be located. Jack wouldn't tell her where the Aladren commons was and both Adam and Charlotte couldn't tell her anything either. She felt like she was about to be get in on a secret that everyone knew and nobody talked about. Though Lily had initially expected to be led deeper into the castle, she found herself unsurprised as Professor Carter led them into the Labyrinth Gardens. She knew this was going to be her favourite place in all of Sonora.

As they passed through the gardens, Lily surveyed the area, imagining magical creatures with large eyes and monsters that needed to be defeated. Though she didn't know how to use a wand yet, it didn't look that difficult. The thought of her and Jozua's secret order excited her again and she smiled despite herself.

Professor Carter stopped in front of a suit of armour, something Lily had missed during their first year orientation. After the professor said the password, she gasped with delight as the suit or armour leapt to the side. This could easily be one of the knights in their order, their Secret Keeper, but Lily was distraught that she wouldn't be able to tell Jozua its significance.

The Pecari common room was gorgeous and Lily couldn't wait to curl up in one of the giant armchairs in front of the fire. It reminded her of home, this scene, but she didn't dwell on the thought as she examined the noticeboard and imagined coming down one morning to find the Quidditch sign-up sheet waiting for her. The warmth of the room was beginning to affect her and Lily realised how exhausted she really was. It had been a very long day for the eleven-year-old.

Once Professor Carter had finished and all the questions had been answered, Lily trounced up to her new room and found her things all ready to be unpacked. She would change into her pyjamas first and unpack tomorrow; she could hardly keep her eyes open. But first things were first: introductions.

Lily smiled at her new room-mates, excited to have others to live with. "I'm Lily Spencer," said the English witch. "I've never shared a room with someone before, but I'm looking forward to it. Have you ever shared a room before? We could decorate this place together if you'd like."

40 Lily Spencer Hello, room-mates! 357 Lily Spencer 0 5