Headmistress Marnett
June 09, 2006 11:00 PM
The Opening Feast – Year 4 by Headmistress Marnett
Headmistress Marnett knew she should be calm and collected on the first day of the term. The staff and especially the students would expect it, after all, and she never was one to fret or appear particularly worried. But it had been two years since she last stood in this place, as the head of Sonora about to welcome a new set of first years. And, much against her logical mind and generally down-to-earth disposition, the headmistress was feeling quite paranoid as to how her school would fare over the course of this term.This past year, or at least the half in which Lucinda was present to witness, had been pleasantly peaceful. Everything went on without a hitch and Sonora once again seemed to gain well-deserved respect from the community. It was nice, as well as a much needed rest. The year before, however. That was an entirely different story. Utter disaster didn't even begin to describe it. The school, staff, and possibly a few traumatized students were left in to suffer the consequences as the weather system, keeping Sonora in livable conditions throughout the year, seemed intent on destroying everything. The entire, horrible debacle finally ended anti-climatically when a prairie elf vigorously cleaning the school was discovered as the source of all the problems. And then there was the year before...pleasantly peaceful once again. The headmistress couldn't remember if the year before that was at all unbearable, but the chance of this term being “pleasantly peaceful” was beginning to seem rather unlikely.
As it was, nothing yet had gone awry. The students had arrived by way of the usual stuffy, uncomfortable covered wagons. They were escorted into the Cascade Hall as Tavarius Mims the painting of Sonora’s points keeper looked on, commanding them, like any old, stodgy professor would, to stand straight and quiet down. Most important to this evening, the first years were once again each given a chalice of clear, bubbly potion at their table and then, as one large group, told to drink. Upon drinking the potion, each student would turn the prominent color of their house: a bright blue for Aladren, deep red for Crotalus, a sunshine shade of yellow for Teppenpaw, and of course a mud variety of brown for Pecari. It was as the traditional sorting ceremony decreed, and as the founders, amused as they were with rattling the new additions, would have wanted.
And now, with this important part of the night out of the way and the first years fading back to their original skin tone, it was time to enjoy the best part of any feast…the food. Of course, a speech was required of her first. She never did like to prolong a student’s hunger more than necessary, so of course, it would be short.
Headmistress Marnett stood, appearing even more fragile and worn than the previous year, and cleared her throat in an attempt to gather everyone’s attention. When it quieted down, she began her speech.
“Welcome to Sonora Academy. First years: seeing all these new, pleasant, colorful faces has always been one of my favorite parts of our opening feast. I am very glad to see that you have arrived in one piece and I am sure you will find that the rest of the year is much more enjoyable than a ride on one of our covered wagons.” She paused for a moment and drew her eyes over the student population. “I suppose all our returning students would like to hear is that it is time to eat, correct? Well, I will not delay any longer.” Lucinda smiled and the large feast appeared across the hall in an instant. The school year had officially begun.
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Subthreads: A school to look forward to, by Meredith Lail with Elly Eriksson, Meredith
A "Blue" first year by August Todvin with Grail (Gray) Markner, Gary Steffin
Returning once more to chaos by Tally Adams with Kaylie Brockert, Tally
We've come to overrun the school... by Jake, Bella, Josh, and Matt Santoro
Leonardo and Gil Idoya by Make way for the twins! with Tony aka Plant Dude, Leo Idoya
Everybody needs somebody... Right? by Pepper Jones with Amber Carey, Pepper
Four feasts and it's still not boring... by Mia Kerova with Stephen Baxter, Mia, The Craven Twins, Ash AND SORREL, Sorrel and Ash, Ash and Sorrel
It's Good to be Back by Jenna Howard with Chrissy Mathers, Jenna
A feast fit for a cat by Oscar with Professor Kiva Kijewski, Professor Kijewski
another year of early mornings, homework and frustration! by Guenther Heindrich with Zack Dill
Here reluctantly, but here just the same. by Morgaine Carey with Saul Pierce
New year, new life, new start. by Melanie Rose with Dillon Welsh
A Slew of Surprises by Helena Layne with Lila Gringe
We're ba - ack... by Anne Wright and Geoffrey Layne with Gwenhwyfar Carey, Connor Pierce
Back in...yellow? by Earl and Eavan Valentine
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Headmistress Marnett
The Opening Feast – Year 4
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Headmistress Marnett
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Meredith
June 11, 2006 12:24 PM
Looks like we've got an eavesdropper. by Meredith
Meredith took some more food while Elly spoke. It was funny to hear a muggleborn's point of view on magic. She didn't think that with mean intent. She was honestly curious about the muggle world. She thought Elly was lucky to see the best of both. Meredith saw some muggle children playing with those muggle handheld games that used electricity. Apparently muggles based a good deal of their lives around electricity. She knew it didn’t work in magic places. Maybe it was a good thing that most muggles couldn’t get to where Meredith lived.Then Elly leaned in close to tell Meredith something. Meredith stood a little and turned her head to the side to hear. While Elly spoke, her eyes landed no where in particular. She ended up looking at the boy Elly spilled her juice on. He looked just a little freaked out by the pair. Elly was asking her about the secret passages she had read about and if Meredith believed they were really there. Meredith couldn’t help but pop her own mischievous look towards the boy as if the girls were plotting. She was only funning with him. Meredith turned back to Elly.
“Of course.” Meredith agreed right away and sat back down, but propped her elbows on the table around her plate so she was still leaning forward. “My brothers told me that every magic school has them. We should definitely go look for them. Do you think there are a lot?”
Meredith saw the boy was still just quietly listening to them. He was one of few, Meredith noticed. That was a rarity if she ever saw one though she really didn’t think much of it. Most of her friends were boys and she was surrounded with three older brothers. Meredith held up a hand, not meaning to be rude to cut Elly off.
“One second Elly,” Meredith turned to the boy. “Hey, you gonna say something or are you sore about the drink spilling?” She said lightheartedly. “I’m Meredith and this is Elly. We might as well share our names seeing how we’re all gonna be in the same house. You don’t need to worry. We don’t bite…hard.” Meredith finished with a laugh, grinning towards Elly. She meant it all in good fun. It couldn’t hurt to know more people from her own house.\n\n
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Meredith
Looks like we've got an eavesdropper.
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Meredith
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Elly
June 11, 2006 3:13 PM
The more the merrier by Elly
Elly couldn’t be more thrilled by Meredith’s response about the secret passages lurking undiscovered within the walls of Sonora. “We should definitely go look for them,” she had said. Elly was about to respond when Meredith held up a hand to cut her off. Elly was taken aback only for a moment, until she realized that Meredith had turned to address the boy sitting next to her, his shirt stained quite orange with Elly’s spilled juice. Elly shrugged and grabbed a cream pastry from the array of puddings that had materialized in front of her. No matter how much she ate, she just got taller and more lanky so she was starting to resemble a bean pole with long curly orange hair.Meredith introduced them to the boy, who, by his size, Elly would also judge to be a first year. Elly turned to grin at Meredith, who was grinning back. She felt a bit sorry for the boy if he was the easily intimidated type; neither herself nor Meredith, it transpired, were particularly shy.
Just as Meredith finished talking, and before the boy had time to speak, Elly added “And if we do bite hard, don’t take it personally, it’s just for fun.”
Elly could feel her jaw aching from all the smiling she had been doing. Absently picking at her desert, she looked at the boy next to her curiously, awaiting his response.
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Elly
The more the merrier
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Elly
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Echo Elms
June 11, 2006 10:03 PM
Eek! by Echo Elms
The girls leaned in together and whispered, stealing glances at him. He pushed his vegetables around on his plate and tried not to notice. He looked around Cascade Hall. The portraits were moving. He couldn't get over that. The food had just popped onto the table. Popped. Out of nowhere. He should be impressed.He was impressed. Astonished was a better word, really. In awe. Amazed by something new every fifteen seconds. If only there weren't these two girls whispering and nudging each other, and giggling at him he might have mistook this for a whole new world, a whole new beginning.
But then there were the girls, and the familiar heat rising up his collar and tingling at his nape.
Then it got worse because they suddenly decided to talk to him. Meredith and Elly introduced themselves all formal like, and said something smart about meeting people in their House. That much he agreed with. But then they said something about biting that was supposed to be funny. It wasn't funny. Not really. Literally it might be funny. Sort of. But not.
If a boy had said it, it might have been funny.
"Um, right. I'm Echo," he said, almost changing his name to Evan at the last minute. It might have been nice to have a normal name that no one could make fun of, but the real one would have come out at role call anyway. He thought he should probably say something else too; people in books usually did. "Are you, like, vampires or something?"
Vampires. Girls. Same difference. Unless, of course, vampires were real too.\n\n
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Echo Elms
Eek!
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Echo Elms
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Elly
June 12, 2006 4:02 AM
Vampires? by Elly
Elly stared at the boy. Echo. She liked his name, it was unusual. She was about to apologise properly for spilling juice on him, but what he said next really surprised her. He had asked if Meredith and she were vampires! Elly had never met a vampire, and wasn’t totally convinced that they existed, but she was pretty sure that Meredith was not one of them. She guessed that Echo was joking, but he seemed so uncomfortable that the questions had sounded serious.Elly glanced at Meredith, which she knew was a bad idea, but she did it anyway. As soon as their eyes met, Elly had to turn away, clamping her hand over her mouth to suppress the wild laughter that was desperately trying to escape. She didn’t want to offend Echo, but she was a terrible giggler; once she got started she just couldn’t stop. Elly didn’t like this trait about herself. Generally, she disliked giggly girls, and often couldn’t stand the fact that she was one of them. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t prevent it. Elly giggled.
With her back to Echo, Elly took deep breaths, trying to compose herself. She hoped that Meredith had been able to continue the conversation.
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Elly
Vampires?
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Elly
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Echo Elms
June 12, 2006 7:17 AM
Possum by Echo Elms
Elly was giggling again. Echo reconsidered his last words -- most recent, but maybe last would be appropriate. Maybe he should try not to talk at all in front of girls? He wasn't sure. By the looks of it, Sonora had a terribly high female population so he doubted that plan would be feasible.Girls were unpredictable. That was the problem. He never knew what they were laughing at, and they were always laughing at something. Except when they weren't. Take right now for instance. Elly was giggling like crazy weird, and what had set her off? Unknown. Maybe she thought his name was funny, or maybe his comment about Vampires was completely stupid. Or, maybe it was clever and funny and Elly appreciated deadpan. It was also in the realm of possibility that Elly was just really nervous.
Maybe, Echo considered, if I sit really still, they'll forget I'm here.\n\n
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Echo Elms
Possum
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Echo Elms
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Meredith
June 12, 2006 3:02 PM
Possum? You are a strange one. by Meredith
Well Echo was interesting to say the least. Meredith couldn't be sure if he was seriously asking her and Elly if they were vampires. She looked Elly's way and when they caught each other's gaze, Elly turned away holding in a giggling fit. Meredith smiled a little and looked back at Echo."Uh," Meredith started unsurly for the first time "I'm not a vampire, no. I enjoy the sun way too much to be stuck inside all day. That's the first time I've ever been asked that. My brothers have called me a little demon sometimes, but never a vampire. Not that I am a demon in case you were gonna ask that next." Meredith shrugged with a smile. She saw Elly still holding in her fit.
"Any particular reason you asked? Cool name by the way." Meredith still had a friendly smile. This kid, though his name was pretty cool, was pretty strange. Hopefully he'd lighten up a little. He sure seemed awfully tense, like he was scared of them or something. Weird.\n\n
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Meredith
Possum? You are a strange one.
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Meredith
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Echo Elms
June 12, 2006 10:59 PM
For Real-Real. by Echo Elms
Meredith had almost had him for second there when she proclaimed her undying love of the outdoors. She needed fresh air. The rocks, the dirt, the trees, the spiders... Okay, so it wasn't that dramatic or anything, but whatever it had been was so contrary to how he thought about girls -- moms and aunts were different -- that he almost let down his guard a little. But then she'd kept on talking.Had Echo been watching a movie, he would have leaned back when Meredith claimed not to be a demon, snickering, "Ha, yeah right," and settled in for the show. No one said things like that unless there was a good reason someone might think otherwise. It being in real life was unsettling. He spotted where Elly had gotten the desert she was so unenthusiastically poking at and helped himself to a portion. This move had the added benefit of distracting him a little from the demon girl who was still talking to him.
"Any particular reason you asked? Cool name by the way," Meredith finished.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," he said, surprised by the compliment. He made room for his new desert and settled it in front of him. Now, about those vampires, "Nah. No reason. Jus'checking. I mean, you never know, right?" He picked up his fork and, glancing at Elly, he added, "Two days ago, magic didn't exist, right, and your talking about biting? You just don't know."\n\n
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Echo Elms
For Real-Real.
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Echo Elms
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Elly
June 13, 2006 3:03 AM
Why possums? Why not llamas? by Elly
Elly surfaced, finally able to control her laughter by taking several slow, deep breaths. Being careful to avoid Meredith’s gaze in case it set her off again, Elly turned back to Echo it time to hear him say that two days ago, magic didn’t exist.“So you’re a muggle-born too?” she asked excitedly. Phew, at least she wasn’t the only one. Elly had stopped being nervous about it by now – her inhibitions never lasted very long – but it seemed that Echo was still rather on edge. Either that or he was just shy. “Sorry about the giggling, by the way,” she added. “It’s horrible, I know. I just can’t help it!” She smiled at him.
“Anyway,” Elly said, breezing over Echo’s reply, “we were just saying about how there are supposed to be secret passages all over this place, and how we’re going to try to look for them. What do you think?”
Elly wasn’t really sure if she wanted this odd boy to come on adventures with her. Meredith seemed almost certain to be good company, but with Echo she wasn’t sure, he might not be very much fun. Perhaps she should have waited to see what he was like when he was relaxed before telling him about her secret passage mission, but Elly had always been friendly. Mischievous, certainly, but friendly, too.
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Elly
Why possums? Why not llamas?
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Elly
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Echo Elms
June 13, 2006 7:09 AM
I'm all about llamas. by Echo Elms
"Yeah, muggle-born," Echo started to say. The word was still pretty foriegn to him, so he was too slow about it and Elly wasn't really interested anyway.And then she solved the mystery of what they'd been whispering about. Secret passageways. That didn't explain why they'd been looking at him. Maybe he had been looking at them? Or maybe secret passages weren't the whole story.
Exploring this place would be awesome. They probably weren't allowed to yet because they hadn't even gotten a basic tour, but it seemed like the sort of place where every cooridor would be shrouded in mystery. And even if it wasn't, they could look at all the animated portraits -- which were still the best thing since his grandparents' cable tv -- and find their way around.
They. Where did that plural they come in? Two girls were better company than none at all -- but were they asking him just to be polite, or were they actually inviting him? Was this the sort of invitation you were allowed to take or the sort you were supposed to realize was never really there to begin with?
"I bet this place has a ton," he agreed, not quite as neutrally as he'd have liked, "I'd also wanna see outside. I don't know anything about this place."\n\n
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Echo Elms
I'm all about llamas.
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Echo Elms
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Elly
June 13, 2006 8:38 AM
How about pygmy hippos? by Elly
Elly was enjoying herself immensely. She loved making new friends, almost as much as she loved making a practical joke. She hoped that Meredith hadn’t minded her asking Echo to join in their search round the school, but his answer had been suitably non-committal anyway. He didn’t say whether or not he would like to join them, but did say he didn’t know anything much about Sonora.“Me neither!” Elly replied enthusiastically. “Well, I read a bit about the school over the summer, after I got my acceptance letter. I’m looking forward to getting outside, too. I love being outdoors.” That much was certainly true. With the weather barriers around the school that she had read about, it seemed more likely that Elly would be able to enjoy time outside here than she could at home, where it rained practically every other day.
“I love exploring. I’m forever getting lost or stuck, then I’m left wondering how I got myself their in the first place. I’m also really clumsy… though you might have noticed that.” Elly grinned sheepishly at Echo, sincerely hoping that her juice wouldn’t leave a permanent stain on his shirt.
“Hey, I hear the gardens here are mazes. I’m going to get lost so often people will start to think I do it on purpose!” Elly laughed, and turned her attention once again to her pudding. She took an extra large bite and chomped happily on the delicious pastry.
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Elly
How about pygmy hippos?
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Elly
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Echo Elms
June 13, 2006 3:20 PM
Sweet. Mini hippos! by Echo Elms
Elly found information on Sonora over the summer? Echo wondered. He thought of all the hours he had spent combing the internet -- the realms of it he could reach through the child security filter -- for mentions of Sonora. All he'd turned up were a few pages on the Sonora Desert and its nearby public school district, a private school in Texas, and a couple girls who went by that name. The sheer derth led him to believe the school didn't even exist. Elly must have had crazy reference skills if she found something. He had an impulse to geek with her on her superior technique, but then she said something even more appealing."Garden mazes," Echo repeated reverently. He went to a corn maze in Montana once. Coolest. Thing. Ever. "Okay, I wasn't sure about this place, but that's just cool. I mean, it could be cool just because of the magic and stuff, but, man, that is crazy. What else did you find out?"
Elly, and Meredith by association, were no longer just girls. They had a purpose now, and Echo slipped easily into project mode -- a mode he had rarely came out of during his past three years of homeschooling. He was on solid ground now. Once he knew more, he could tie in some other object into their adventure. The history and varying techniques of map making might be appropriate, or maybe another plant study. He'd already learned all the ones at home, but there was probably something new here and if he could find a computer or a field guide that would be a great topic. Or, even better, he could do a unit on the history and making of the moving portraits.
Suddenly, he was reminded of something, and it was a troubling sort of something: he wasn't doing self-directed study anymore. There would be classrooms, books, and sitting for long periods of time while someone decides for you what they want you to know.
"What about the classes?" he asked his new project-mates -- who were like girls, but temporarily not quite as scarey -- with a glance at the professors' table. "I mean, um. What do we know about them?"\n\n
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Echo Elms
Sweet. Mini hippos!
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Echo Elms
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Meredith
June 13, 2006 6:40 PM
*laughs* How did we get to these crazy titles? by Meredith
Meredith watched Elly and Echo go back and forth with the conversation as she paused to eat. She had no problems with Echo coming with them to explore the school if going with a couple of 'vampires' was okay with him. But his whole attitude seemed to change when they brought up exploring. Meredith grinned with her mouth shut and put up her thumb in agreement when they said they loved the outdoors too. She spent most of her time outdoors. Whether or not the two saw didn't matter much. She swallowed her food quickly to rejoin. She agreed wholeheartedly that this place was cool and she wanted to know more about what Elly read about. Then Echo brought up something. She followed his glance to the staff table."Classes?" Meredith thought a moment. "Well I think there are those basic classes everyone takes. Learning potions and spells and stuff like that. My brothers learned that at their school. I can't wait to learn some good spells. Hey maybe some of the classes are outside. Or better yet," she jumped a little in her seat with excitement. "Outside in the maze gardens." She was half joking at the end and laughed. She wouldn't be complaining but what teacher would teach in a maze. She knew she'd probably sneak away to look around and from the looks of things, Elly would come with her.
"But what else did you read about Elly? Maybe it'll help when we go looking around this place."\n\n
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Meredith
*laughs* How did we get to these crazy titles?
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Meredith
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Elly
June 14, 2006 3:52 AM
*points* his fault by Elly
Elly finished her pudding, wiping an escaped glob of cream from her chin with the back of her hand.She shared Echo’s worry about classes at Sonora - Elly had never been a model student. More often than not, her homework was late or missing; she caused a ruckus in class and had spent more time avoiding detention than she cared to remember. It wasn’t that she was naughty on purpose; she was just high spirited with a short attention span. Who could really expect an eleven-year old to sit still and concentrate for six long hours every day? Yet from what Meredith was saying, and from what Elly had suspected about a magic school, they really were going to be taught magic in their lessons!
Following Echo and Meredith, Elly also glanced up at the staff table. She noticed that very few of the professors were smiling. Definitely not a good sign.
Suddenly Meredith was asking questions again. Not concentrating as usual, Elly jumped at being addressed. She laughed at herself before answering. “Not that much, really. I found out that since the school is in a desert, the grounds have been bewitched so that plants grow and stuff.” She shrugged. “Oh, and if muggles come near this part of the desert, they see weird stuff, like nasty mirages, so they don’t come any closer.”
Being from a muggle family, Elly wasn’t sure of her opinion on all this anti-muggle stuff. What if her parents ever wanted to visit the school? Or needed to, was more likely. Elly’s parents were used to getting called into her school to talk to her teachers about her ‘wild behavior’. Elly wasn’t wild, she just enjoyed making people laugh, that’s all.
“I also heard about this ghost town,” she said in a mysterious voice. “It’s called Tumbleweed, and it moves around so muggles can’t find it.” Elly didn’t know if any of this was true, she’d only read about it. A couple of days after receiving her acceptance letter, Elly stropped and moaned all over the place, claiming she wouldn’t fit in and everyone would tease her for knowing nothing about magic. When she returned to her bedroom to sulk, she found a large pile of books in the centre of her floor. No-one knew how they got there, or why some of the pictures seemed to be moving. Elly had spent most of her summer reading them, and they were the sole source of all her knowledge about magic.
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Elly
*points* his fault
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Elly
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Echo Elms
June 14, 2006 7:32 AM
Who me? Innocent, what? by Echo Elms
Echo had forgotten about his half-eaten pudding and was searching for his pen and paper. He had thought he'd probably need to take notes because of all the new magic stuff, so he'd come prepared. He pulled the pen from his sock and a couple of mini assignment book sized sheets from his shirt's breast pocket and pushed the pudding out of his way."Okay," he said, gripping the pen in his left hand and scribbling a topic at the top each side of paper. "Garden maze; Secret passageways; Classes; Ghost Town (Tumbleweed)," and filling in some details for each.
When he got to secret passageways he looked up again, "What do we really know about the passageways. Just that there's lots, or what? Do we have any clues, or maybe ideas what we might look for?"
It seemed to him that there must be different types of secret passages. "You know," he added before the others could respond, "like maybe with some where you have to touch something or turn a lever or punch in a code or something -- you know, like in Zorro or Batman." He jotted down, "physicle mannipulasion" for that one and frowned at it for looking wrong. He moved on, "That might be one type. Another type might just be hidden behind a curtain or a trap door or something." He wrote "Hidden" for that one. "I can't think of how, but maybe there're magic ones too?"
Magic seemed like a weird cop-out answer, not something that should be seriously considered. On the other hand, magic was real now so that rather changed things.\n\n
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Echo Elms
Who me? Innocent, what?
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Echo Elms
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Elly
June 14, 2006 2:26 PM
HEY!! OLDER PECARIS!! by Elly
Elly goggled as Echo pulled a pen and some paper out as if from nowhere (though she was pretty sure he wasn’t using magic at this stage). He started to write down headers for what they had just been talking about. Elly looked up to share an incredulous look with Meredith. 'He’s a geek!' she thought to herself. That didn’t bother Elly too much, she’d just never made friends with a geek before; they never had enough time for her.“I think there are probably some magically concealed secret passages, yes.” Elly replied, peering at Echo’s notes. “You’ve spelled physical manipulation wrong, by the way.” Elly looked back to Meredith. “Do you think we can go to the common room yet? I want to have a look around, I’m bored with this place.” Her sense of adventure had already kicked in.
Not really registering Meredith’s reply, Elly leant forward and yelled up the table:
“HEY, OLDER PECARIS! Can someone show us how to get to the common room?”
Elly grinned at any student who turned to look at her, her eyes glinting mischievously. She turned back to Echo and Meredith and shrugged. “Easiest way to find it, don’t you think?”
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Elly
HEY!! OLDER PECARIS!!
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Elly
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Meredith
June 14, 2006 3:47 PM
Wow, that's some set of lungs... by Meredith
Meredith watched as Echo wrote. She stretched her neck to see the writing. Echo was really into planning at any rate. That could be a good thing to have even if Meredith was more of a ‘just go for it’ kind of girl. He wrote out different possible ways the passages might be hidden. She figured it wasn’t totally important to know what a zoro and a batman were. Elly didn’t seem confused by it. Maybe it was a muggle thing. Meredith agreed with Elly that the passages could be hidden by magic.“I agree. I think most, if not all the passages would be hidden with magic. It is a magic school. I don’t disagree with them being hidden behind curtains either though. Or maybe even those talking pictures. It could be anything for all we know. We sure have our work cut out for us, don’t we?” Meredith said none too discouraged. The thought of a bit of challenge made it more fun to her.
Elly asked if they could leave Cascade Hall yet. Meredith was still enjoying the dull roar of student talking and of the falls. She didn’t mind staying until the feast was over even if she was really curious about everywhere else in the school. Apparently Elly did though.
“Elly, I’m sure they’ll take us to the—”
“HEY, OLDER PECARIS! Can someone show us how to get to the common room? Meredith stared incredulously at Elly, but not in a bad way. The girl was gutsy. Meredith was impressed. “Easiest way to find it, don’t you think?”
Meredith stared for another moment, before having a laughing fit. When she settled down a bit she looked back at her friend, still breaking into small bouts of laughter.
“That’s one way to do it anyway.”\n\n
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Meredith
Wow, that's some set of lungs...
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Meredith
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Echo Elms
June 14, 2006 5:49 PM
*wince* Loud! by Echo Elms
"HEY OLDER PECARIS! ...Echo was halfway out of his seat, dogding away from the NOISE before his brain caught up with him. He managed to stop before he tripped backwards over his seat.
"That's one way to do it anyway," Meredith looked marginally less disturbed about this. In point of fact, she was laughing. Again. It was only a matter of moments, he guessed, before the madness of the giggling spread. And now, thanks to Elly, they had an audience.
Echo darted distrustful glances at both of them, sinking cautiously back down into his seat and trying to think of something redeeming to say.
"Whoa," he said, "That was loud."\n\n
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Echo Elms
*wince* Loud!
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Echo Elms
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Stephen Baxter
June 16, 2006 2:00 AM
Oi - quiet there ickle firsties! by Stephen Baxter
"HEY OLDER PECARIS!Stephen looked up from where he was sitting with Princess, Sorrel and Ash, to see the source of the noise. New Pecari's. He grinned even as he half stood to see them better. They'd be interesting new additions to the group this year. Especially if they were willing to be shouting like that in the middle of their first feast.
"JUST WAIT A BIT," he shouted down the table at them. "CONNELL'LL SHOW YOU THE WAY WHEN THE FEAST IS WINDING UP. AND IF SHE DOESN'T, I WILL. NOW PIPE DOWN AND LET ME TALK TO MY FRIENDS!"
He stuck his tongue out at them, feeling in much better spirits and took his seat again. "Firsties!" he said with a grin at the other three before settling back into their previous conversation.
OOC: Seriously, give it a couple more days and the Heads of Houses should have posts up showing you the way. And as I know that Connell might not be around, I'll take on you lot if she doesn't manage to get back online in time.\n\n
39
Stephen Baxter
Oi - quiet there ickle firsties!
49
Stephen Baxter
0
5
Elly
June 16, 2006 3:14 AM
*laughing* by Elly
Elly turned to Meredith, who was laughing like a hyena. It was infectious, and Elly began giggling again, too. She did notice, however, that Echo still seemed a little tense. In fact, it looked as though he had considered deserting his seat and running away from them. Elly, ceasing giggling for the moment, was about to ask if anything was wrong, when Echo answered anyway. "Whoa," he said, "That was loud."Trying very hard not to laugh, because she thought it might upset Echo if she laughed at him, Elly opened her mouth to say something comforting, but at that moment the reply to her shouted query drifted loudly and clearly down the table: "JUST WAIT A BIT," shouted the boy, a fourth year, Elly would guess by his appearance, “NOW PIPE DOWN AND LET ME TALK TO MY FRIENDS!”.
Elly positively shrieked with laughter, the sort where you have to force yourself to pause laughing just so you can breathe. She could swear she felt Echo jump beside her, but by now a couple of tears had started to creep down her cheeks and she couldn’t be sure. Elly wrapped her arms around herself, clutching her sides, and tried once again to calm down.
\n\n
0
Elly
*laughing*
0
Elly
0
5
Echo Elms
June 16, 2006 9:13 AM
You ought to get something for that. by Echo Elms
Echo was beginning to think that girls were even crazier than he had originally suspected. Before, he had thought that everytime they laughed there was a specific reason, and that he was probably the root cause. Today, things seemed to be proceeding a little differently.He was actually fairly sure they weren't laughing at him this time. It didn't reason out too well because, logically, he had just jumped about a foot in the air and that probably was pretty funny -- but then again, if they were laughing at him they would probably have been imitating him or looking at him or something. They weren't doing that. At least, not in that way and not right now. Elly sort of had, but she had stopped quickly.
That brought him to his new theory: Unlike most girls, Elly and Meredith weren't evil gossip queens -- they were insane. They constantly laughed for no reason because that's what happened to girls who managed to not be mean. It gave them fits. Elly was even crying from it.
Echo watched them with unease. He couldn't decide which was more worrying: Elly and Meredith having such a bad attack, or the fact that it had spread so easily between his project-mates, proving that insanity was definitely contagious.\n\n
21
Echo Elms
You ought to get something for that.
93
Echo Elms
0
5
Meredith
June 16, 2006 12:46 PM
*pats down pockets* I got nothing. by Meredith
Meredith had calmed her laughing down after she responded to Elly. She thought she had officially laughed herself out by the time she was done. Then an older student answer but it probably wasn't the response Elly had been looking for. She found it hysterical all the same. She had laughed so hard she started crying. Meredith thought she and Elly would lose their voices if they laughed anymore. Meredith bit her lip to hold it in. Elly seemed beyond that. Poor Echo looked nervous again. Meredith didn't want to lose one of her adventure partners so soon. She looked to him."Relax," she started lightly "Give her a minute." Meredith turned back to Elly, still grinning some and taking a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.
"I think that answers your question." \n\n
0
Meredith
*pats down pockets* I got nothing.
0
Meredith
0
5
Elly
June 16, 2006 2:20 PM
Me neither by Elly
Although she could hear Meredith talking, Elly didn’t dare look up just yet. She had managed to stop the manic laughter, but was still giggling quite audibly. She wiped her damp eyes and cheeks on the back of her sleeve and took several more deep breaths to help her regain control of herself.Elly had never imagined laughing so much on her first day, especially considering how nervous she had been. Her cheeks were aching and she was pretty sure she was looking rather red and foolish. Still, she was enjoying herself and she didn’t think she had upset anybody, so it was all okay.
Finally able to function normally, Elly turned back to her potential exploration companions and smiled apologetically. “Sorry guys,” she said. “I sometimes get carried away…” Although this was directed to both of her housemates, Elly looked at Echo when she spoke. She figured that Meredith didn’t mind too much, as she was still smiling, but Echo looked totally bewildered. Elly had never met anyone like Echo before – practically all the boys she knew were loud, rough and arrogant, whereas Echo didn’t seem to be any of these things.
Elly spied the chocolate cake on Meredith’s plate and helped herself to a large slice of the same from a big platter between them.
“Mm, I love chocolate cake,” she said, to nobody in particular.
\n\n
0
Elly
Me neither
0
Elly
0
5
Echo Elms
June 16, 2006 10:28 PM
And now you're both into the chocolate. by Echo Elms
Watching both girls dig into fresh slices of chocolate cake reminded Echo of his pudding. He folded up his notes and put them back into his shirt pocket and slipped his pen back into his sock. He regretted it immediately. The pen and paper kept him focused. The pudding just sat like a lump in his stomach while he pushed the remaining half around its dish.He glanced back up at Elly and Meredith. They seemed to have regained control of themselves. Good.
"Right," he said, "so we were talking about secret passageways. You guys said they could be magical, but what exactly do we know about magic, anyway?"\n\n
21
Echo Elms
And now you're both into the chocolate.
93
Echo Elms
0
5
Elly
June 17, 2006 10:34 AM
Girls live for chocolate by Elly
“Well…” Elly was stumped by Echo’s question. She glanced up at Meredith before saying “I don’t know all that much. Let me see… pictures move, food appears and there are waterfalls lining the walls.” Elly wondered vaguely whether there could be secret rooms hidden behind the waterfalls in Cascade Hall. She smiled at Echo. “That’s about all I know.”Now that Elly thought about it, she hadn’t really got a clue about what spells they would learn to perform, or really what the benefit of magic was. She thought that being invisible would be cool, as would being able to fly. However, seeing as all the students at the feast remained firmly planted to the ground and fully visible, Elly guessed maybe she hadn’t really got the right idea of magic. In fact, aside from the food and the pictures and the waterfalls, this could be any other school anywhere else in the world – the students, the teachers, everything was pretty normal.
The books Elly had read over the summer said a lot about the history of the school, but didn’t really say much about what magic they would learn. They had, however, mentioned some lessons taught at Sonora. Out of all of them, Elly thought that potions sounded the least daunting. How difficult could it be to mix a few ingredients in the right order? Potions sounded a bit like baking, and Elly was no stranger to baking; her love for chocolate cake had led her enthusiasm from an early age. As for the other classes, Elly had no idea what they entailed. Magic was still a bit of an unexplained mystery.
Elly turned to Meredith. “But you’re from a magic family, so you must know stuff.”
\n\n
0
Elly
Girls live for chocolate
0
Elly
0
5
Meredith
June 17, 2006 12:14 PM
Sadly, it's true. by Meredith
Meredith grinned at Elly at the mention of her love of chocolate cake. Meredith felt the same way and her mother, once again, could make it like no other. She had to remember to invite Elly over for some of her mother's cooking. Meredith thought about Echo's question between bites of cake. Elly looked pretty stumped. Meredith wasn't a little magic prodigy even coming from a magic family. The most she used was flying her broom to play Quidditch with her brothers and friends. Meredith frowned a little when Elly addressed her."I'm from a mostly magic family." Meredith corrected with a smirk "But," she continued slowly, "yeah I know some stuff, but it depends on what you want to know. If you want to know practical magic, like how to actually do spells, I can't help you much there. My brothers have taught me some really simple ones, but I don’t think those’ll help us much. I couldn’t even practice them for real since underage wizards and witches can’t do magic at home. I might be able to tell you a thing or two about magic in general. Like I said, it depends on what you want to know. Neither of you were none too specific." She grinned.
Meredith dug back into her cake. She didn’t mind being their encyclopedia on magic if she could help. She didn’t think she was all that reliable on explaining how magic worked, but she was the only one born to at least one magic parent in the group. She’d help how she could. To be honest, she was pretty novice herself and that was fine with her. She believed most first years were the same that way unless they came from one of those families where they are drilled in magic everyday practically since birth. There were families like that, like her father’s family.
Meredith didn’t think about them because her father didn’t want to and there was no point. They didn’t want to see her and she didn’t want to see them. She had ‘tainted blood’ according to them and her father was ‘disgraceful.’ Meredith frowned again as these thoughts entered her head and took another big bite of cake. She hadn’t had those thoughts in a long time and didn’t want them there now. She shook the thoughts and grinned through her fork as she bit into the cake. Chocolate cake was a much better thing to think about.\n\n
0
Meredith
Sadly, it's true.
0
Meredith
0
5
Elly
June 17, 2006 1:38 PM
it makes us happy by Elly
Elly laughed lightly. “No, we weren’t too specific, you’re right.” She took a gulp a juice to wash down her chocolate cake, being very careful not to spill any. “Well, let’s start with what magic we might be learning in our lessons. What sort of stuff do your brothers learn?” Elly thought that perhaps having an idea, vague though it may be, of what you were expected to do would probably help when the time came to do it. She liked to be prepared whenever she could help it.“Next,” Elly said, “do you know of any sorts of magic that might be used to hide, say, secret passages?” She grinned widely at Meredith, glad to have someone who knew something about magic, however incomplete she claimed her knowledge to be. Elly would have to grill her later about the differences between living with wizards and living with muggles, and especially about Quidditch. Elly was a sports fanatic and although Quidditch was almost totally alien, Elly was keen to learn as much as she could about the main sport played at Sonora.
Elly listened to Meredith’s answer while she picked up the crumbs from her plate, licking her fingers like a four-year-old. That was good chocolate cake.
\n\n
0
Elly
it makes us happy
0
Elly
0
5
Echo Elms
June 18, 2006 11:41 AM
a bit *too* happy by Echo Elms
“Next,” Elly said, “do you know of any sorts of magic that might be used to hide, say, secret passages?”"Or," Echo added, unsure if Meredith would know the answer to that last specific question. "What can and can't magic do? I mean, like, you grew up around it, right? Does it follow any rules?"
He wanted to go further and ask how and why it works, but he thought somehow he'd have to study physics or chemistry first to appreciate the answer. His mom was always saying things like that. When they baked cookies together she'd tell him, "Just wait 'til you learn chemistry, Echo! You'll see why this works." And just last week he'd wanted to try soapmaking, but his mom had convinced him to wait because it would make a great introduction to chemistry and there wasn't time.
Time had never been an issue in his schooling before, and he had resented having almost three days off from it because there wasn't enough of it left before coming out here. What was there to do if not have his mom teach him stuff or be set loose on some related project or other?
Echo pushed his pudding aside again. He was long since done eating it, and pushing it around wasn't as interesting as the answer he was anticipating from Meredith. He leaned forward attentively, elbows on the table.
He was careful, though, that the elbow on Elly's side wasn't too close on account of several forms of cooties, the giggling madness among them.\n\n
21
Echo Elms
a bit *too* happy
93
Echo Elms
0
5
Meredith
June 18, 2006 4:44 PM
Maybe, but don't try taking it away. by Meredith
Meredith’s eyes followed Elly and then Echo while she ate. She had just about finished her cake and was still deciding if she wanted another piece. Meredith didn’t doubt Elly’s interest, but Echo seemed really curious. Elly was really into her cake and Meredith couldn’t blame her. They both threw questions at her so she decided to go in order. Of course, if she became too specific with any of her answers, they’d be there all night. Meredith plowed forward anyway.“My brothers learn all sorts of stuff. They’ve learned different potions, but I can’t remember which ones. I’m not really into potions much like them, but they’re into everything. They also learn a lot of incantations, but there are a million different kinds.” Meredith shrugged. Her brothers knew so many spells and jinxes and hexes it was near impossible to remember them all. “There are spells, charms, jinxes, hexes, spells for transfiguration, defense spells, attack spells, dark spells even. See what I mean?”
She moved on to Elly’s other question.
“Um,” she thought for a quick moment, searching her memory. “There’s a vanishing spell, but I think it makes things disappear completely rather than just hide them. There’s a spell to make things become visible. I’ve only ever seen it used on invisible ink though. It might work on a secret door. That’s the best I can think of for now. Sorry. As for rules about what magic can or can’t do, I don’t think there are many. That’s why I wonder how muggles get by sometimes.” She grinned jokingly to the two of them, both being muggleborn. “Magic can practically do anything except bring the dead back to life.” Meredith shrugged. She would’ve loved if magic could bring the dead back to life, but that was just the way things were.
Meredith happily cut herself another slice of cake. Being able to explain magic to her friends made her remember how much she loved being a witch. Magic was just a part of her life so it was easy to take for granted. These situations made her remember just how great it really is.
“So does that help?” \n\n
0
Meredith
Maybe, but don't try taking it away.
0
Meredith
0
5
Echo Elms
June 18, 2006 10:53 PM
Wouldn't dream of it. by Echo Elms
"Uh, not really," Echo stopped leaning on his elbows to scratch at the big curly -- er, his hair. He frowned when he found a stray leave bit stuck in it. It wasn't that it was an uncommon find for his hair, just that it was had somehow escaped his rigorous inspection before meeting the wagons. Of course, rigorous might have not been the right word for it. His inspection had consisted of leaning over and shaking his head around and then combing it out with his fingers and saying to his mom, "Is it alright?" His mom had pushed it around a bit and gave him the okay on it.It was discouraging. Not just that even when he honestly tried to look nice, he still managed to have leaf bits in his hair, but this magic thing too.
"If magic can do all that," Echo said, dropping the leaf on the floor as unobtrusively as he could, "it's not gonna be very predictable and we're not gonna find squat. I mean, not that we shouldn't look, but..." he didn't know what he meant. They needed more information. Clues, a rumor, or something. \n\n
21
Echo Elms
Wouldn't dream of it.
93
Echo Elms
0
5
Elly
June 19, 2006 2:12 PM
That's alright then by Elly
Elly looked to Echo and offered him a kind of one-sided smile. She sort of wanted to throw an arm around him and tell him to stop worrying, but she wasn’t totally inept at reading body language. Echo had been sitting tense all evening, jumping when the girls laughed and being very careful not to touch Elly when his elbows were on the table, let alone pushing around his pudding rather than eating it. To Elly, not eating your pudding meant there was something wrong.“Hey,” she told him, “it’s an adventure, right? An exploration. When old explorers discovered new countries, they didn’t have a map or anything, so we’ll start from scratch, too. That sound okay?”
Elly glanced up at Meredith, just to check her reaction. Despite his nervousness and geeky tendencies, Echo seemed to be okay. Elly thought that once he had stopped being so tense (maybe he was shy?) they would be able to get along fine. After all, he was interested in joining her and Meredith in exploring, and he loved the outdoors, and he seemed pretty down-to-earth for a boy. Plus, they would be having all their lessons together, so they could hardly avoid each other anyway.
“How about tomorrow we explore the gardens?” Elly suggested. “After lessons. There might not be any secret passages, but I know I’m looking forward to seeing these mazes. Maybe we could build a swing? If there's not one here already, I mean. We could build a huge rope swing!” Elly became aware that she was starting to ramble again, so shut up quickly, though she continued to smile euphorically.
\n\n
0
Elly
That's alright then
0
Elly
0
5
Meredith
June 19, 2006 4:59 PM
Good plan by Meredith
Meredith could only shrug in response to Echo. She told him what he asked to know and that was all she could do. She couldn’t just go and change the laws of magic. Elly was right though. Not knowing where to start was just fine. They’d just make their own place to start. Meredith grinned when Elly looked her way.“Starting from scratch works for me. And who knows? Maybe we’ll stumble on something anyway.” Echo seemed to need some positive reassurance. “It could be as easy as asking a portrait to help us or just asking it to move over. It is magic, y’know. There could be something behind them for all we know.”
Meredith agreed with Elly about exploring the gardens. She wanted to get a look at the gardens soon too. Somehow she’d have to get through class first. Hopefully they’d be good classes to start with. Meredith smiled at Elly’s excitement over building a swing. The idea reminded her of the park back home. It was a fair walk from her house that she couldn’t go alone, but it had a regular play ground with swings, twisting slides and the whole nine yards and then nearby was the quidditch pitch she had mentioned earlier. It was just another reason to invite Elly over. Meredith noticed that Elly had the right kind of attitude. She always seemed so positive.
“That sounds awesome. We should explore the entire maze and try to memorize it. Maybe we can make our own map.” She remembered what Elly had said about explorers not starting with maps. “One of you would have to draw it though. I’m none too good at drawing.” She shrugged with a grin. “But a map would be especially good if there are secrets in the maze. A good maze ought to hide some good secrets.” She said matter-of-factly, taking another bite of cake.\n\n
0
Meredith
Good plan
0
Meredith
0
5
Echo Elms
June 20, 2006 10:16 PM
We'll wing it, then by Echo Elms
Echo still wished they had something to go on, but they didn't even know where to look for their classes -- or the library for that matter. Elly was right: maybe just walking around would give them some ideas. And Meredith's idea about getting clues from the portraits sounded like a regular Nate the Great or Cam Jansen mystery. The mystery here was to find the mystery, and he, Echo Elms, would find a mystery. With Elly and Meredith, of course."It'll be the Mystery of the Missing Mystery," Echo said out loud, grinning to himself and looking over the table for Nate the Great's detective diet. He wanted it for a joke he doubted anyone would get, so it was probably just as well there were no pancakes about. Maybe in the morning.
His mother would have gotten his humor. She loved Nate the Great. Echo resolved to write a Nate the Great themed letter home in just a couple days. It would be hilarious. His mom would love it.
And tonight would be his first night away from home. Not the first night ever, though. He'd gone to camp once. For two nights. Once.
No way, Echo, he ordered himself, very firmly. Come on, don't be a wimp. Get a grip, it's been what, like, four hours? Four tops. Just, no. No.
He was fine. In fact, he was great. Two girls were talking to him and didn't think he was awful (even if the status of their sanity was still under question), and he just managed to say something with the intent to be funny, and he'd had a brilliant idea for his first letter home. Overall, Echo decided, it was shaping out to be a good day. A grand day. A fabjulous day! Callough! Callay! He chortled in his joy!-- not really.
He refrained from chortling. Just barely. He bit the inside of his mouth to keep it from getting that far and tried to breath regularly. If he could keep from laughing, he wouldn't catch the madness. Nevermind that no one else was laughing now.\n\n
21
Echo Elms
We'll wing it, then
93
Echo Elms
0
5