Special Delivery. (Laila) on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Laila Kennedy

November 05, 2016 2:20 PM

Halloween Party! by Laila Kennedy

For three weeks, the following sign made in orange and black had hung in Cascade Hall and the bulliten boards of each common room (each room had a different element to it. Flying bats decorated the sign in Cascade Hall while dancing pumpkins adorned the signs in the common rooms) so as to ensure every student in the school would have a chance to see it:

Spirit Club presents...

A HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY!

Please dress up in the costume of your choice and join us for a night of fun and merry-making.

Where: MARS room 1

When: Friday, October 31 at 7:30 pm

Events include: music, food, dancing, paper ‘jack-o-lantern’ making, a bake sale, and a costume contest.

Halloween had been one of Laila’s favorite holidays for as long as she could remember. There was just something about the spookiness and chill in the air that sent her spine shivering and that was a feeling that she found she craved more than anything. Her mother, superstitious as ever, had never fully embraced the less-religious aspects of the holiday but Joey Kennedy who had grown-up trick-or-treating around Turner’s Point had put his foot down and insisted his children get the full benefit of the holiday. Not one to be outdone by her husband, Leonora had painstakingly handmade Halloween costumes for both Laila and her brother because if her “angeli piccoli” were going to dress up (after all, if it was just a game, it couldn’t hurt anyone) then they were going to do it well. So long as they went to church with her beforehand and lit candles to pay their respects to the dead.

That year, with Spirit Club, Laila was excited to host a school-wide Halloween party. Since Halloween fell on a Friday that year, she had wanted to ask Headmaster Brockert if they might be allowed to dress-up for school as well, but she was a little frightened of the man and opted not to in case she get shot down. Besides, dress-up in costumes was a Muggle thing, it seemed, and Headmaster Brockert was a pureblood. Laila had been at Sonora long enough to know that while the purebloods tolerated her presence and participation in class (sometimes even her friendship) they were less tolerant of other things (like romantically mixing or forcing” her Muggle beliefs on them).

At the end of the day on Friday, Laila arrived to the MARS rooms as soon as class got out to start setting up for the party. She had decided that the water room would be the perfect place for the party, a night scene by a lake was such a nice setting and with the help of her Spirit Club and the prairie elves she was certain the whole thing would come together quite nicely. The finished product was, perhaps, not quite as polished as she would have liked since they were only schoolchildren and elves, but she was still happy to see that the general idea of her decorations were around.

The dark, quiet lakeside had been brightened with strings of fairy lights that now hung in the illusioned trees and tall stakes that poked out of the ground around uncovered picnic tables that held Halloween-themed treats whipped up by the prairie elves. Since the party was to take place just after dinner, Laila had thought snacks and desserts would be more appropriate, but had also asked for a few substantial items since some members of the Spirit Club had worked through dinner. In the ground were paper bags with faces cut into them put over candles (charmed with the aid of an older student not to catch the bags on fire) that she had taught the Spirit Club to make in lieu of jack-o-lanterns, and at another picnic table were more bags in case other students wanted to join in the fun. She had put out a couple of sharpies from her personal collection in case someone wanted to write their name on the back and take their creation home later.

Professor Ammon had graciously agreed to help Laila bring creepy Muggle monster tunes to the Halloween party, and so earlier that month, Laila had written home and asked Gabe-y to send her a mix CD which was now playing through an enchanted CD player hidden inside an old, broken cauldron she had found in one of the unused classrooms and decorated with fake spider web. She was really grateful for Gia and the rest of the Spirit Club’s help setting up the party and had made a mental note to talk to Gia about doing something nice for the members who had volunteered their afternoon to set-up for the event. She was also thinking about doing something for Gia who had agreed to be her right-hand woman in the crazy rollercoaster she was throwing together, but of course Gia didn’t need to know that.

Once the room started to look like it was coming together, she let the various Spirit Club members leave to their rooms to get ready for the party, staying herself until everything was set-up. She had worn her costume under her robes in case there wasn’t anytime to change later and was grateful that she had since she was putting the last candle to rights when the first guests started to show up. Her schoolbag she kicked under the table-clothed booth the Fundraising Committee had set up so that it would be out of the way, and put on a big smile for everyone. She was kind of sad that she hadn’t been able to grab her red cloak like she’d originally wanted to, but Laila was quite certain that the red dirndl dress her Mother had made was obvious enough as part of a costume that it didn’t quite matter if she didn’t have her cloak as well. And if the party seemed to be doing well, she supposed she could always leave it to grab the rest of her costume. It was just lying on her bed, after all.

Laila let the party guests mingle for a few moments, wondering if she wouldn’t be able to get her cloak before she had to get up and greet everyone and point out the Fundraising Club’s booth, and wrung her hands in the skirt of her dress. When it was time, however, Laila climbed up onto one of the picnic table benches and projected her voice in the way she’d been practising for the Quidditch games.

“Thank you for coming to the party that the Spirit Club worked so hard to put on! Let’s give them a round of applause for coming here after class and staying until it was done!” Laila announced, showing her hands as she began to clap as a model for what she wanted everyone to do. “And now, if you could turn your attention to the booth over there, the Fundraising Committee is holding a Halloween-themed bake sale. All proceeds are going to a charity of their choice which Emmy will come up and talk about later on!” She clapped again, wanting the other students to join her. “There are paper bags there in case anyone wants to make a ‘jack-o-lantern’ to add to our ‘jack-o-lantern’ garden over there,” she raised her fingers to make quotations so the other Muggleborns would know she knew what a real jack-o-lantern was. “And for those of you who want to participate, there is a Halloween costume competition. Winner gets the joy and prestige of being applauded. Now please, enjoy the music and the company and sample the other treats we’ve laid out--you’ll notice there are no cakes, you’ll have to go to Emmy for those, and most of all, Happy Halloween!”

OOC: Feel free to respond here or at FnF if you’d like to bang out a quick Halloween party thread! If you’re part of Spirit Club (ie: posted there or meant to) feel free to mention whichever part of setting up your character did or, if you’d rather, Laila will need people to help tear down so your character could just mention that they planned to stay later to help with that.

Subthreads:

What a brilliant illusion I bear [Tobi] by Makenzie Newell with Tobi Reinhardt

Two cakes and one companion for the evening, please by Araceli Arbon with Caelia Lucan

Cont'd from F&F (Jemima if you want) by Gia Donovan

Special Delivery. (Laila) by Kira Spaulding with Laila

All that jazz. [tag: Louis] by Arne Reinhardt with Louis Valois

10 Laila Kennedy Halloween Party! 318 Laila Kennedy 1 5

Makenzie Newell

November 07, 2016 1:16 AM

What a brilliant illusion I bear [Tobi] by Makenzie Newell

If she closed her eyes tight enough and ignored the clearly Muggle-based lyrics of the Halloween music playing, Makenzie could almost pretend she was at a society event. And she had to pretend, because who knew if she would ever get to attend another? As someone who had grown up and grown used to spotlights and attention, being the belle of the ball, it was a harsh reality to face. There was a solid part of her that was spoiled by her lifestyle, by not only the wealth and the events but by being an only child and the light of her parents’ lives. She liked the spotlight. She liked to feel as if she mattered.

She had teetered back and forth so many times since her mother left and her father was taken from her. Sometimes she was relieved to be free of the pressures of society, and sometimes she was desperate to return to it. Sometimes she resolved to accept her new life and not worry, and sometimes she took precautions to best relaunch their societal life. Makenzie’s whole life, everything she knew, had been ripped out from underneath her feet over the course of a few short months, and how was a teenage girl meant to cope with that?

It wasn’t fair to waiver, she knew. It wasn’t fair to Dustin or his household who certainly would be doing their hardest to work on damage control, to rebuild what had been lost as best they could. It wasn’t fair to Araceli, who clearly supported her but would probably need to know just what to support. And it wasn’t fair to Tobi.

Tobi, who had been so kind to her the very first day back despite everything she was and everything she wasn’t, whose hand she’d held in front of anyone who cared to look over. Makenzie didn’t mean to be a tease, and she hoped she hadn’t led him on too terribly. She did want to be his friend. Possibly more, if she would ever slow down enough to let herself think about that sort of thing. But she had to decide what she wanted.

Every decision took her a century, and her costume to the Halloween party was no exception. She had to look pretty without being too exposed, which was, she discovered, a rare balance to strike. Eventually she settled on a fairly conservative angel costume, something classy and elegant. She had convinced Araceli to attend as well, although they were currently separated as Makenzie volunteered to go get them something to drink. As she got nearer to the drink table line, however, she knew immediately that it would be a bit longer than expected, just based on the person she spied by the end: Tobi.

Makenzie smiled. “Hey, stranger,” she greeted playfully, falling in line behind him.

12 Makenzie Newell What a brilliant illusion I bear [Tobi] 291 Makenzie Newell 0 5

Tobi Reinhardt

November 08, 2016 2:26 AM

Temptress, your costume fools no one. by Tobi Reinhardt

Parties like the one Laila was throwing for Halloween that year were not Tobi’s favorite thing, and Halloween was not his favorite holiday either. He knew that most people celebrated the holiday with good intentions and cheerful yet spooky spirit, but he had never been comfortable with some of the costumes certain town members had chosen to wear. Seeing them with their feathers and face paint always made him feel sick to his stomach and beg to go home early. He hated it. But other than that, it was a nice holiday. He did like a lot of the fall treats that started to come out around this time and carving jack-o-lanterns was also always fun.

But Halloween was just the sort of thing that Liac would really enjoy and so when his cousin had come to him with the idea of going to the party as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson he had smiled and obediently found himself a nice costume with the help of his mother. And in the end, when everything came together, he was actually kind of satisfied with the put together ensemble. Liac was obviously dressed up when one just looked at him, and together you could kind of tell they were a pairing, but if a person were to just consider Tobi then he supposed he only looked like someone in an old fashioned suit who, for whatever reason, had decided to carry around a cane. And this was something that Tobi was totally okay with.

As they walked to the party, they ran into Shino who tagged along and Tobi was feeling better about going to such a large event with a smaller group. Upon their arrival, however, he lost track of them for a moment amid all the other party guests and decided to make his way to the drink table since he knew Liac would wind up there sooner or later. A miniature Headmaster Brockert hobbled past Tobi and he followed the man, briefly wondering if the headmaster had shrunk himself and come to the party. Luckily, “Headmaster Brockert” wound up talking to Liac and Shino and, without leaving the line for drinks, he tried to communicate to them that he would bring them all some juice.

It was as he was walking away, three cups of pumpkin juice balanced between his hands that he ran into Makenzie. Or, rather, she ran into him, popping up behind him with a rather flirty “hey stranger.” It was behavior like this coupled with the hand-holding from the beginning of term that had put Tobi in such a confused state he had almost completely messed up his Quidditch try-outs. Had he been one to care very much about the sport he might have been irritated, but Quidditch had never been a priority of Tobi’s. He preferred land sports to flying around on a broom and had only joined the team at Liac’s insistence.

“Hey,” he said back, offering her a little smile. She looked good. He had always liked her red hair, and somehow the all white ensemble made it stand out even more. She had to be the prettiest girl at the party. Slightly at a loss as to what to say, especially since Liac was probably expecting him to return soon and Tobi wasn’t so sure Liac wouldn’t come rushing over to talk to them both if he saw Tobi talking with a girl of his own violation, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Did you come with anyone?”

10 Tobi Reinhardt Temptress, your costume fools no one. 289 Tobi Reinhardt 0 5

Makenzie

November 08, 2016 3:56 AM

A girl can try. by Makenzie

“Hi,” she said, although another greeting was completely unnecessary since she’d been the one to initiate the conversation. Makenzie speedily wracked her brain to decide what she was to think of his question. By “Did you come with anyone?”, did he mean literally anyone, or… a boy? Her body language outing her nervousness, her right hand found her left arm and held on cautiously.

“Araceli,” she answered after what felt like a century to her but was in fact just a matter of seconds, left arm bending to gesture in the direction she imagined her friend still was. “I said I’d come get us drinks. But, uh,” she added, noticing the three cups precariously positioned in his hands. “Do you want some help carrying those over for you, Liac, and…?” she assumed that was whom at least one was for, and she glanced through the room to see if someone else was with Liac, an indication of the third cup.

She spied him across the room standing by a rather familiar face. “Oh, did you guys come with Shino?” Makenzie asked with genuine interest. It was good to see her other roommate had people to hang out with, too. She was never really able to tell just how much Shino and Araceli actually liked each other, but personally, Makenzie was pretty fond of both, although circumstance had made her closer friends with the latter. Her tone shifted as a thought occurred to her. They were teenagers, which meant any girl with a boy was suspect. So was Shino with one of the Reinhardt boys? And if so, which? “That’s… cool,” she said, her tone shifted obviously, although she managed to force some more enthusiasm back into it. “I thought about asking her if she wanted to come with us, but I hadn’t gotten a chance. Glad you’re keeping her company.”

There, she thought. That ought to do it. Hopefully, Tobi would pick up some sort of implication from her phrasing and refute that it was his “company” in which Shino was kept. There was a distinct possibility that he wouldn’t, but still, she hadn’t said “you guys” for a reason.

12 Makenzie A girl can try. 291 Makenzie 0 5

Araceli Arbon

November 08, 2016 6:41 AM

Two cakes and one companion for the evening, please by Araceli Arbon

Araceli had been on the fence about the Hallowe’en party. On the one hand, she sort of wanted to go. She was curious about the whole thing, certainly, and almost everyone was talking about it. She sometimes felt cut off from people here, and missing out on big events certainly didn’t help with that. On the other hand, it was all a bit Muggle, a bit garish and likely to be a very full evening of socialising, which sounded quite tiring. As usual, it was Makenzie who’d made the decision, and Araceli had sort of got swept along with it. She didn’t really mind that. It helped sometimes to have someone more decisive in her life, otherwise she probably would have spent all her time dithering and probably missing out.

She arrived at the party with her friend, and Makenzie went off to get them some refreshments from the main table, whilst Araceli headed for the cake stall. Giving to charity was a generally good thing to do, and having some comfort food to get her through the evening wasn’t a bad plan either. As she paid for her cakes, she glanced over her shoulder to see how Makenzie was getting on, only to find her friend had been intercepted by Tobi… She guessed her drink might be a little while in coming then… She tried not to mind. She didn’t like to be clingy, and it was silly to be jealous of Makenzie for Tobi liking her… But it was all very easy to say and hard to do, especially as she wasn’t terribly sure about the party. She’d tried to keep those doubts to herself though, not wanting to be too much of a party pooper, so Makenzie couldn’t exactly be blamed for leaving her to fend for herself… Anyway, she would have plenty of society parties to attend where she’d have to do just that. Why not start practising now?

She adjusted her crown a little nervously - she hadn’t had many ideas for a costume, and had just gone with something that let her reuse an old ball gown and was thus firmly in her comfort zone, although she hoped no one thought she was up herself for choosing to be a princess. Given that there were unicorns wandering around, she didn’t think that reality or true aspirations had a strong bearing on people’s costume choices.

She wasn’t alone for long - perhaps more because the cake stall was bound to be a popular place than because of her particular lure as an individual - but even if they weren’t joining her specifically, she still tried to give the person a friendly smile as they came her way.

“Good evening. How-how do you like the party so far?” She was a society girl. Now that she’d got past the actual hurdle of speaking, she knew how to make small talk.

13 Araceli Arbon Two cakes and one companion for the evening, please 290 Araceli Arbon 0 5

Gia Donovan

November 08, 2016 6:52 PM

Cont'd from F&F (Jemima if you want) by Gia Donovan

OOC: As it has been determined that the Misfits dinner thread happened prior to the party, I’ve had to shift some of Gia’s initial thoughts to make it all fit. Please also note that Gia’s thoughts on the aftermath were based on the posts written by Laila and Sammy in the gardens. BIC:

Gia was relieved when Jemima reassured her that her outfit was not the incorrect choice to make. Gia had always believed based on literature and how she had seen Muggles dressing back home that Halloween was meant for scares but it was hard to tell that now standing in a room full of people dressed up as such lovely things. At least Jemima didn’t think she was too out of place, so that was better than nothing at all.

The last few days had been rather strange because of everything that had happened after it was revealed that Joella and Jax were an item of some sort. Gia wanted to be happy for her brother and for Joella because she knew how hard it had been for the two of them to get where they were. She also knew how difficult it was for Jax to let anyone in and allow them to become close with him. It was a big moment for him even though he told her not to make a big deal out of it. He was her brother and she couldn’t help her excitement for it.

But at the same time, her best friend had been heartbroken over Joella. Gia had tried to get her to talk to her. Tried and failed. Sammy had simply brushed her off and it stung. Did she not think that Gia could help her? Did she not think that Gia understood what it was like to ache? Did Sammy not trust her with her feelings? Was Gia no longer her best friend? The confusion and distraught feeling that Gia had over the whole event sat in a hollow pit deep in her stomach, just sitting there because what else could she do?

The party was meant to be a welcome distraction from all of that. She wanted to not think about the fact that her friendships were unraveling and her friends were pushing her further and further away. Jemima, however, was proving to be at least distracting enough to keep her from constantly wondering what she had done wrong with everything. “Oh yes, I spent the week practicing before bed so that it could look just right.” Gia explained, happy to divulge this with someone. Gia was finding herself really enjoying learning the different techniques with the makeup as well as sewing all the outfits for the club. She thought she’d be tired of it, but she was merely just growing with excitement to see everyone wearing them. “How do you feel about this party? Is it what you thought a Halloween party would be like?” Gia asked out of curiosity.

6 Gia Donovan Cont'd from F&F (Jemima if you want) 308 Gia Donovan 0 5

Kira Spaulding

November 14, 2016 1:12 PM

Special Delivery. (Laila) by Kira Spaulding

There was a party tonight but Kira had no intention of going. She'd never liked parties or balls or anything. She knew that nobody would want to talk to her and she'd be sitting there bored and awkward all night, probably standing by the refreshment table until she got full. It wasn't real likely that anyone would actually want to talk to her. Kira wasn't even sure Caelia would go because Kelsey certainly wouldn't and Chuck...would probably prefer to talk to Gia anyway. She didn't know about Daniel and while Sammy had made friendly chit-chat with her on the wagon, the Crotalus knew she too had friend that she probably found more interesting than Kira.

These had always been her experiences. People weren't particularly impressed by her. Kira wasn't the perfect lady or funny or smart or interesting or even that pretty or any of the other things that made Kelsey so appealing to other members of society. And even though this wasn't a society part by any means, she felt excessively inferior to her classmates in anything but magical ability. Kira felt she didn't have anything going for her at all besides that. Yes, she was wealthy and from a good family, but that didn't seem to matter when Kelsey-and others-were too and others didn't even care about that. Plus, the one thing that she had going for her, that made her feel good about herself could possibly even cause resentment in others, even if they were better than her in every other way.

So why go to this party when it wouldn't be truly different in anything more than surface ways? She didn't belong. She never would. Not anywhere. Besides, it included dancing and Kira wanted nothing to do with that.

Instead she decided to just settle in for the night and read a book. Reading had always been an escape for Kira, something to take her mind off the way she felt and now that it was no longer socially acceptable for her to play with her dollhouse or her American Witch dolls-she was even afraid to ask her parents for new ones that came out- she had delved in further into the world of books. The main reason she hadn't joined Book Club was because of the club part. Kira didn't want to share her opinions on the books she read-or even what books she read-or her interpretations of what she read for fear of being judged and mocked. It was better to do this on her own instead of risking rejection. Besides, it wasn't as if anyone save for Amity or Sophie had ever really valued her opinion anyway.

She put her nightgown on and picked up her book off the nightstand. Kira was just about to get into bed when she noticed that Laila's covers looked a bit different than the normal Crotalus red. The shape of the fabric didn't look quite right.

Kira went over to investigate, on the grounds that it might have been something that she had done by accident even though she overall had better control of her magic now. Instead it turned out to just be a cape. Something that most likely belonged to Laila's costume. Something her roommate would likely want. It looked like Kira was going to have to go down there after all.

She changed back into her clothing, as it wouldn't do to be seen in her pajamas by anyone other than her roommate which she didn't have a choice about and grabbed the cloak. Kira walked down to MARS and entered the party, despite the sick feeling growing in her stomach. It's not like I'm staying. She reminded herself.

Spotting Laila, she approached, cloak in hand. "Hey, I think you forgot this."

11 Kira Spaulding Special Delivery. (Laila) 320 Kira Spaulding 0 5

Laila

November 14, 2016 8:37 PM

Much appreciated! by Laila

After giving her announcement, Laila was planning to go back upstairs to fetch her cape, but her attention kept being pulled away for one thought or another until she had decided to just give up entirely on the idea of being Little Red Riding Hood and just enjoy her party. So far she had only spotted Gia there, but there were so many bodies there, she was hopeful that the others had showed up as well. The Reinhardts were separated from all the drama and so Laila had reclused herself into hanging out with them a fair amount, however she always felt bit left out when with them since they were all family and she wasn’t. That was why she had liked to hang out with the Donovans and Sammy. It was a little bit the same with them—they had all been friends together for two years before she had really began to befriend them and Jax & Gia were siblings while Sammy & Gia were roommates, but they hadn’t all known each other their entire lives and so she felt like they had more room for her, somehow.

However, after everything that had happened a few weeks earlier, Laila was feeling rather uneasy around her friends. It seemed as though there was no one around for her to safely interact with. Wu got along with her but not the others, Sammy was worried about setting her best friend against her brother, Jax didn’t like her like she’d thought he did, and Laila felt utterly guilty when she was around Gia when both Wu and Sammy had confided in her but were avoiding the others. As such she did try her hardest to hang out with the older girl perhaps more than she normally would have, however as it was a party Laila didn’t really want to be filled with all-consuming guilt.

She was pouring herself a glass of the Halloween punch, however, when her roommate showed up, carrying the red fabric. With a wide grin, she set the cup down on the table and whirled the cape about herself, fastening it around her neck.

“Thank you so much!” she gushed. “Would you like some punch?” Without really waiting for a response, Laila pushed the glass towards her roommate and turned to pour herself one. It was as she turned around that she realized Kira was not in costume. “Are you not planning on staying?” she enquired in a friendly manner. “You absolutely must stay!”

Laila had always thought Kira was nice—if not a bit odd and quiet, and she did wish the other girl didn’t keep to herself so much. Laila could understand feeling shy—she was trying her best to be patient with Wu, after all, but she and Kira had been roommates for four years now. She envied the easy friendship between Sammy and Gia which had been (for the most part) drama free. Laila had invited Kira to eat with her and whoever it was she was dining with that day a couple times, but it seemed that Kira preferred the company of her cousin, Kelsey (it was just too perfect that her roommate along with everyone else have family at Sonora when Laila could only see her brother twice a year) and Kelsey’s roommate, Caelia. But this, this was her chance to finally have a firm friendship with her roommate.

“And if you’re worried about a costume, here, you can take my cape!” Laila reached back up to unfasten the cloth from around her neck and moved to hand it to Kira in case the other girl would like it.

10 Laila Much appreciated! 318 Laila 0 5

Tobi

November 14, 2016 9:15 PM

Fortunately for me, I'm not easily agitated. by Tobi

Tobi watched as Makenzie started to look rather uncomfortable, wondering if it was him who made her feel this way or rather how he had asked after her company for the party. She babbled a little bit—Tobi had never been one to extrapolate when what he thought could be kept to himself or, in the more dire circumstances, to be said in few words. There were times in which he didn’t mind talking for the sake of talking—his walk in the gardens with Makenzie being one of those times, but those were few and far between.

Instead of answering forthright about Shino’s company, he simply nodded. Shino was a friend from their Teppalus days and Tobi found her unconventional behavior rather amusing. The days in which he’d had a crush on her were long gone, and now he just enjoyed her presence though the Japanese witch was too rambunctious for his feelings towards her to elevate much past those of friends. “She’s funny,” he explained matter-of-factly and turned his attention to Makenzie’s company. “Araceli’s a nice girl,” he stated the way one might recommend a palatable dish to a friend. “You two and Shino are roommates, aren’t you?”

He briefly wondered as to why it was the three Crotali witches in his year didn’t interact much. Now that he thought about it, it was rather odd. Each witch had good qualities about them and Tobi got along well with each of them individually. However, it wasn’t much of Tobi’s business and so he didn’t dwell on the thought too long. “If you both would like to join us, you’d be welcome to.”

Tobi sent a brief, fleeting look over to make sure Liac hadn’t started on his way over. The last thing Tobi wanted was for Liac to show up and start stirring up something that didn’t need to be stirred—not when he didn’t know Makenzie’s intentions for himself.

10 Tobi Fortunately for me, I'm not easily agitated. 289 Tobi 0 5

Caelia Lucan

November 15, 2016 12:31 AM

One cake and I’ll happily take the company. by Caelia Lucan

Caelia loved parties. She had grown-up with three boys and as such had held many a doll’s tea party by herself. Once she got old enough to attend her grandmother’s parties, she found that she enjoyed spending time with other people at parties even more than she liked to host and attend her own private ones where she was the only living being in attendance if the various kittens her mother’s parents fostered weren’t counted, that was.

The ball Sonora had hosted the previous year had only served to further fulfil Caelia’s party desires and when the poster for a Halloween Party made its’ circuit around the school she found that her thirst for parties had only deepened. Kelsey didn’t seem as though she wanted to go, and Kira wasn’t the sort to like parties much, but Caelia was tired of living life by other people’s rules. She wanted to be a good witch and live by societies rules, but she was also young and wanted to have fun. They were at a school where muggleborns and halfbloods made up a considerable portion of the population, and some of them were not half-bad looking. Besides, Laila Kennedy seemed like the nice, harmless sort of girl and so Caelia had made up her mind to attend the party regardless of what anyone thought.

It was a bold move for the young Crotalus who had only ever done what she’d been told before, but for a party, she felt like it was an acceptable thing to do. So, Caelia cast a color charm on her winter cloak to darken the pale cornflower shade to a lovely midnight blue and charmed her light pink ball gown from the previous year to the same cornflower her winter cloak had been only moments before. She had written Emrys, asking for help with a charmed mask to cover half her face and complete her look and her darling older brother had more than helped her by sending a beautiful jewelled mask which covered one eye and arched in lovely blue swirls high over the other. Thankfully Kelsey was out when Caelia departed their shared room—she wouldn’t have wanted to have to explain herself to her best friend, but perhaps Kelsey had decided to go too? Wouldn’t that have been funny, Caelia thought to herself. Running into her best friend and roommate at a party where they might have each been afraid to tell the other they were going.

Once she got there, however, she didn’t see any of the people she usually talked to. Perhaps the costumes they were wearing covered their faces—she wasn’t the only one with a mask on and hers was rather on the revealing end when it came to showing off facial features. The mention of a cake stall, however, did get Caelia attention and she wandered over in that direction, hoping there might be a delicate cake for her to eat since she was still full from dinner but did like to indulge in sweets from time to time.

A crowned Araceli greeted Caelia and she smiled in return. The older Crotalus was on the quieter side, but she was quite ladylike and her presence there made Caelia feel utterly at ease being there as well. After all, if an Arbon girl was in attendance than surely the presence of a Lucan wouldn’t be shocking either. “Hi,” she replied. “I think it’s rather nice to far. Some of the costumes are a bit odd—” there was a second year girl stomping around as a man, after all “—but other than that everyone looks lovely!” She twirled a corner of her re-purposed ball gown with her right hand to show it off to Araceli. “I re-used my gown from last year too, only I made it blue so that it would look a little different. I’m not really anything though, just…a masked witch?” The last bit of her sentence lilted up into a question as though seeking Araceli’s approval even though it really was a statement.

“How about yourself? You look really pretty, by the way!”

10 Caelia Lucan One cake and I’ll happily take the company. 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Araceli

November 15, 2016 11:30 PM

That sounds good to me by Araceli

“It’s a very nice outfit,” Araceli complemented Caelia. She especially liked the mask. She had always wanted to go to a masked ball. In stories, the heroines were always free to be themselves once their faces were hidden. She had felt a little like that when she’d paraded around as the family’s made up distant cousin Amelia shortly before returning to Sonora, although that had had the pressure of being practise, being a test. She didn’t want to give her face to anyone else again, but the thought of hiding it for a while… Getting to pretend to be someone else who didn’t care, who could laugh, who could confidently dance with anyone they chose… That sounded appealing. “Especially the mask,” she added.

“Thank you. I suppose I’m a princess,” she added, gesturing to the little paper crown, “But really I’m doing the same as you. Just finding a way to use the clothes I’m used to wearing at parties.” The emphasis was slight but noticeable. She was glad Caelia was here, and that she seemed about as familiar as she herself was with the whole idea. She didn’t feel so totally out of place.

She wasn’t sure what to make of the party itself. Some of the decoration was a little odd - why was a cauldron decorative when they used them every day? And then she remembered things she’d been told by her tutors about how the muggles perceived witches. Apparently they were all evil and ugly with warts on their noses. Hallowe’en was a celebration where this negative idea was pushed to the front. She looked away from the cauldron. Was this whole party designed to make fun of people like her and Caelia? That’s what she would have assumed before, but it certainly didn’t seem that way… For starters, no one she’d seen so far had dressed up as a witch, or a muggle version of one.

“My mother always tells me a party’s what you make of it,” she added with a slight shrug. “I suppose it’s more about who you talk to and spend time with than the other things, like decorations,” she explained, giving the cauldron another confused glance but giving Caelia a friendly smile.

13 Araceli That sounds good to me 290 Araceli 0 5

Makenzie

November 17, 2016 1:29 AM

Unfortunately for me, I'm horribly confused. by Makenzie

She couldn’t really tell if his nod was about Shino or about wanting a hand with the cups, so Makenzie reached gingerly forward to take one from him. “Here, let me just…” she trailed off, stabilizing the exchange by holding onto his forearm with her other hand. She held up the cup she had taken and wiggled it gently, just so show that she had been successful. “That’s probably easier,” she commented.

It was Makenzie’s turn to nod as he mentioned finding Shino funny. Certainly, living with the girl for going on six years now had given her some insight into this; there really was never a very dull moment. Her smile widened visibly at his light mention of Araceli. No one had ever been as loyal to her as her best friend. “Yeah, it’s the three of us,” she said of their rooming situation. “To be honest, I’d never shared a room before Sonora, but I have to say, I really like living together. I got good roommates.”

He mentioned the two of them joining his group of three, and the redhead felt her stomach do some sort of acrobatics. “I’ll ask Araceli what she thinks,” she grinned. She glanced over her shoulder to check on Araceli; the other Crotalus seemed to be involved in a conversation with Caelia Lucan. “In a moment,” she added, giving Tobi a knowing smile. While it was fairly well understood that, especially with Duncan Brockert gone, Makenzie had first claim to Araceli’s time, she hated to interrupt and be rude to a girl like Caelia Lucan.

“Uh, hey,” Makenzie said suddenly, marking a decisive shift in mood. “I want to thank you. Again. For that day. And how nice you were to me. It… it meant a lot.” Her eyes fell to the ground, inspecting the distance between their feet. Had they always been standing so close? But why were they so far apart? She couldn’t decide if the distance was right, although in reality it was a fairly normal and polite distance one might stand at to speak to someone else. “And I’m sorry we haven’t talked very much since then. I haven’t been around much. I mean, I’ve been around, but.. You know what I mean?” She sighed, looking back up cautiously. “Things are weird. I’m trying to get it together.”

12 Makenzie Unfortunately for me, I'm horribly confused. 291 Makenzie 0 5

Arne Reinhardt

November 24, 2016 5:14 PM

All that jazz. [tag: Louis] by Arne Reinhardt

Both Tobi and Liac were going to Laila’s party and Arne himself was rather excited for it too. He wasn’t normally the sort to have the perfect costume planned out but when the day of the party came, he knew exactly what it was he was going to be. He had voluntarily gone to the library to find a spell to help make his costume more realistic and had been rewarded with the perfect one. Dressed all in black, with a couple charms that changed his school robes into a billowing black cape, Arne went to the mirror to watch the effects of the spell he had practised over and over countless times by himself in the bathroom until he was sure he had it right.

“Densucco vampirus!”

With delight and little bit of pain as facial moderations were never pleasant, he watched as his two canine teeth elongated and sharpened until they were quite pointed and vampiric. He then took some face paint and carefully painted a trickle of blood on his tanned skin just below the left corner of his mouth. “I vant to suck your blood,” he hissed to himself and cackled, more than pleased with his excellent rendition of Dracula. Arne slicked his hair back for the final touch and swished off to the Halloween party. It was the most stylish he had ever dressed at Sonora, making use of various parts of his dress robes from the Ball for the costume—his black, shiny shoes and the black slacks he’d worn underneath, but leaving the carefully beaded set of robes his mother had made him alone. That was too precious to mess with.

Once he arrived, he looked around for Louis. He had not made the best fashion appearance on his best dude friend at Sonora—Arne was still pleased with the dirty, holey jeans and t-shirt that he had arrived in on the first day of Sonora (very Bruce Springsteen, if he did say so himself and that dude was like the original rocker) and he delighted in the ‘shocking’ attire he continued to wear. But he was especially ecstatic to show off to Louis his fabulous costume when Halloween was not a night that required elegant clothing. Oh man, his friend was sure to be impressed!

When he found who he thought was his French friend, he righted himself so that he looked about as big and tall as he could and said in his creepiest voice: “Velcome to my house!”

OOC: ;)

10 Arne Reinhardt All that jazz. [tag: Louis] 319 Arne Reinhardt 0 5

Louis Valois

November 30, 2016 5:47 PM

That's what I'm here for by Louis Valois

When Louis heard about the new Spirit Club, he had initially been impressed by the idea of students attempting to run an alcohol appreciation club. This had then given was to disappointment, suspicion, and confusion, as he’d realised that the club wasn’t quite what he’d thought it would be. When he’d finally realised exactly what it was, he hadn’t felt particularly strongly about the idea (it didn’t quite sound like his cup of tea), but if it increased interest in Quidditch that would be a good thing. And then he’d heard about the Halloween party. No, but get this – a proper Halloween party, complete with fancy dress and no boring parents around to restrain him! Of course, a Louis left to his own devices was still a very fashionable Louis, but a lack of parental control meant an increased range of potential costumes.

Louis had taken the costume decision very carefully. Emmy had been consulted, and had helped him with his costume. After much consideration, he’d gone for a pirate costume (he, JB and Manu had had a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon over the summer, which had definitely inspired him). He'd paired black skinny jeans with long boots, a loose white shirt with wide sleeves (open a little at the top) and a distressed piratical buccaneer coat. His belt buckle was large, featuring a skull and crossbones, and he had a red neck scarf. The look was finished off with a tricorn hat and a large sword.

Louis looked his friend up and down exaggeratingly. Usually Arne’s taste in clothing was slightly lacking, but tonight he had definitely pulled out all the stops and shown that there was still hope for him. Never one to let an opportunity slide, Louis shivered dramatically and winked at Arne. “You’ll be getting all the girls like that,” he commented.

“Now that I know you can dress like this, you’re going to have to up your everyday game,” he informed Arne. “Even if I have to burn half the things in your wardrobe, someday I intend to be happy to be associated with you!” He was joking, of course – Louis wasn’t that much of a fashion snob! However, Arne was definitely a case of wasted potential, a fact Louis took as a personal challenge.

He was glad to have found a close male friend in Arne. Whilst he definitely had no problem spending lots of time with girls, he enjoyed the easy company of other boys too, and Arne was always up for a laugh. Talking of friends, was Ingrid here? He couldn’t help looking around for her, even though he knew that the sensible thing would be to get over her. There were plenty of girls at Sonora; it would make sense to have a crush on a girl who actually thought he was a decent person, instead of being hung up on blood prejudices.

9 Louis Valois That's what I'm here for 314 Louis Valois 0 5