Still a little nervous. on Cascade Hall

Mortimer Brockert

December 13, 2013 8:57 PM

Returning Feast by Mortimer Brockert

As far as Mortimer was concerned, the holidays could be kind of a bunch of...nonsense really. A lot of fuss for no real reason. In fact, what really got to him other than the unnecessary social obligations with stupid people talking about trivial things, was the way the Muggles acted. Like they'd invented everything about the winter holidays, when they'd just stolen things from the old festival of Saturnalia, a feast that honored the Roman God of Agriculture, Saturn. Who had, naturally, been a wizard as were all the Roman Gods and Goddesses. They were simply thought to have all been Gods and Goddesses by idiot Muggles who did not have the power they did.

Those were the good old days. Before Muggles got arrogant and jealous of those powers they'd worshipped before and a major case of sour grapes set in. Muggles claimed that the powers wizards had were not a good thing and instead that wizards were evil horrible people, that their powers were given to them by an evil fat man named Santa that now came out once a year to celebrate with the wizards and their evil powers and eat Muggle children who did not feed the fat man's appetite and bribe him with milk and cookies.

Then, Muggles started trying to burn wizards and witches as if they were bad people instead of worshipping them like before, leading to the Statute of Secrecy after that mess in Salem where it was mostly Muggle outcasts being killed in the first place. The idea of being magical being a bad thing was still a very offensive idea though.

However, none of this really mattered at the moment. This idiocy was over for another year, and now it was time to get back to learning, something as a good Aladren alum, Mortimer relished. Today Kiva was unable to make the Returning Feast and in the interest of giving him more responsibility as the future Headmaster, he was to make a speech. It would be short and to the point, because he knew that when he'd been young, the last thing he'd wanted to do was listen to the school Head blather on when he was hungry after the wagon ride. Besides, Mortimer was a believer in saying only what was needed to be said.

"Welcome back, students. I hope you had a good holiday." Okay, that was a lie, he really didn't care either way, for the most part but people...liked when you wished them well, even when you didn't really give a flying hippogriff. "Before we begin our feast, I have two announcements. One, we have a new staff member, welcome Miss Jera Valson, who will be subbing for classes when your regular professors cannot make it for one reason or another." He didn't really know much about Miss Valson, her mother had been one of his predecessors but the girl herself had come in much later than his nephew Cory and a bit earlier than his niece Alessa, the latter being quite a bit younger than the former. "Secondly, our Midsummer Event this year will be, as you know, the Concert. You should have gotten your groups already and should begin working on your acts if you haven't already." If they couldn't figure out that for props and costumes they should make stuff in the Art room or get it sent from home and that the Music room had instruments, then they lacked the common sense a worm was born with and probably deserved to fail in front of their peers.

OOC-I, as an author, disagree with Mortimer's blasphemous take on the holidays, and apologize for it wholeheartedly, though do back him up on the part about hating being forced into small talk with idiots. However, I realize that it's not like that for everyone and wish everyone a happy holiday season anyway. And genuinely do "give a flying hippogriff". :)

Subthreads:

Same story; new chapter by Professor Jera Valson

Hoping to make one friend (Tag Morgana) by Ariel Thornton

Hoping the Holiday had been just a strange dream by Carter Browning

Yum food. by Wendy Canterbury with Rupert Princeton, Wendy

Am I the only one who has weird holidays? (Tag Ava) by Dimitri Porter with Dimitri, Ava Fletcher

Feeling very un-Pecari-ish...bummer by Clara Abernathy

Still a little nervous. by Charlotte Spencer with Emrys Lucan, Charlotte

Let me go back. by Liliana Bannister with Atlas Primred, Pecari

Shocked Silence by Aubrielle Thornton

Holiday Surprises by Darina Porter

11 Mortimer Brockert Returning Feast 6 Mortimer Brockert 1 5

Professor Jera Valson

December 14, 2013 8:23 AM

Same story; new chapter by Professor Jera Valson

Being back at Sonora was undeniably peculiar. Jera had been fully aware of the potential for emotional upheaval when she’d made her application, but she had found the interview scenario to be surprisingly tolerable. In some ways, she supposed the familiarity was comforting; what could offer more security than a teaching position at the school she had attended as a student herself? Admittedly, while the location might provide stability, the job title itself promised a contrasting unpredictability: Jera Valson was the most recent substitute professor to join the faculty ranks.

It was almost as usual for a new staff member to begin after midterm as it was to start at the beginning of the academic year, so she didn’t feel as though she would be the subject of unwarranted discussion on that topic. Neither did she believe her appearance would cause any offense: she was a little under average height for a young woman, and she had teeth that seemed a little too big for her face most of the time. Her dark hair was shoulder-length, and cut straight and neat. Her dark eyes and deep skin tone matched that of all the rest of her Romanian relatives (and most of her American relatives, come to that), and she was often quiet with strangers. Her clothes for the occasion were neat, smart, and presentable: a black pant suit with white blouse beneath a basic black robe (although in her normal attire of ripped jeans, a jersey with charcoal stains, and with her hair tied back to keep it out of the way she might present an entirely different image).

No; it was nothing about her physical appearance that would make Jera stand out in any way to the crowd of students seated in the Hall – it was only her personal connections with the school that would contribute in any way to her being recognised by anyone but the longer serving members of staff… even the seventh years had not been at the school when Jera had graduated. It seemed like an age away, even though she supposed, in relative terms, her attendance at Sonora had occurred in recent history. She had graduated a year early, having taken her CATS over the summer of her fourth year and joined the sixth years for advanced classes, had been Assistant Captain and Seeker on Aladren’s Quidditch team, and had been Head Girl in her graduating year. Of course, considerably more people might just remember her a being Headmistress Powell’s daughter.

Jera had returned, several years later, with a Masters’ degree in biodiversity, a full dragon handler’s license, and some teaching experience. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was hoping to achieve from her new employment (a career in teaching, perhaps, or maybe an insight into potential future research projects, or maybe just some way to pass the time until she thought of something else to do, instead), but it felt like the right move for her. Being somewhere familiar was good for her, and while it was odd to be viewing the Cascade Hall from the perspective of the staff table, Jera felt more at ease than she had in a long while.

When Headmaster Brockert (she didn’t know much about the new Headmaster, and so had been relieved to hear Kiva would be around in some capacity until the end of the year) resumed his seat, Jera exhaled gently and contemplated the spread before her. “Come for the first-class education, stay for the world-class food,” she commented.

0 Professor Jera Valson Same story; new chapter 0 Professor Jera Valson 0 5

Ariel Thornton

December 16, 2013 11:25 PM

Hoping to make one friend (Tag Morgana) by Ariel Thornton

Ariel sighed heavily as the wagon bounced its way from the spot where it had picked up her and her sisters and headed back towards “Freaksville”. She had tried to spend the slight reprieve they had received convincing herself that the last few months of her life had been a horrible dream. Granted, her nightmare had had a tolerable moment in the meeting of her fellow cellmate Morgana, but even that was to be short lived when she attended her first few “classes” and had been required to participate in the whole mess. She resisted at first, but was reminded by her super freak of a cousin that she needed to do the work presented to her if she wished to escape from her confinement. Ariel despised Clara for pointing that factor out to her, but the eleven year old realized that her freak of a cousin might be right. Perhaps if she behaved herself she might be allowed to escape her current predicament. Ariel nicely told Clara to mind her own beeswax, but kept her cousin's advice in mind. Ariel tried her best to tune out her sisters chatter as they all seemed to talk at once. Brielle seemed to be the most excited out of the bunch due to her being part of their uncle Bryan's wedding over the break to his new fiance. Great, another freak to add to the fold Ariel groaned to herself as she thought back to the whole spectacle. Ariel liked her uncle Bryan (mostly). If it wasn't for the fact that he was one of “THEM” she would have liked him whole lot more, but he was so that put a damper on their relationship as far as she saw it. His marriage to whats her name didn't help matters any either.

Ariel detested the fact that she had been forced to attend this whole sordid affair. All that it meant to her was that her whole freak show of a family was going to be gathered in one spot which meant that, thanks to her mother and step-father, that she would be forced to interact with them. Ariel had rolled her eyes when the invitation had arrived and her mother had practically squealed with excitement. Her sisters had all started oohing and ahhhing over the whole thing and it all just made Ariel sick. When she was “kindly” informed by her mother that not only was she expected to attend with everyone else, but she was going to be a flower girl, Ariel let out a cry of protest and stormed off to her room slamming her door shut behind her. She dropped onto her bed positively seething with rage. How could they expect her to participate in such nonsense? It was completely unfair! she grumbled to herself as she moped in her room. Her mother had come in at some point and tried talking to her about her behavior. Ariel had tried to argue with her mother, but was told in no uncertain terms that she would be attending and she would be participating and that was that. The Crotalus glared at her mother, but nodded obediently. So Ariel did as she was told, hating every minute of it. She grimaced the whole time that her mother and Aunt Charlotte helped her dress, she stared deadpan at the small group of people who were in attendance for the ceremony as she dropped her flower petals down the walkway towards the altar and she leaned her chin on her palm and elbow after the ceremony during the reception. Her elbow was resting on the table as she boredly stared around the room. Her uncle had decided to have the wedding at his place in Napa, California. Ariel seriously didn't care where the unholy union had taken place, she had just wanted to be left out of it. No such luck there.

Ariel glared at her sisters as the wagon continued on its way towards their prison. The only moment out of the whole event that amused Ariel slightly was when Clara stepped on the hem of dress, tripping herself and the boy she had been partnered up with. Ariel hadn't even bothered trying to hide her amusement over her cousin's misstep. Finally...something worth seeing during this whole snorefest! she mused to herself as she had smirked. She didn't know if her mother had heard her snicker at her cousin and frankly she didn't care. It had been funny and Ariel had been determined to enjoy it even if it had been at her cousin's expense. Ariel grinned slightly as she replayed the event in her mind. So far it was the only thing making this trip in any way bearable. The wagon finally came to a stop in front of Freaksville and Ariel sighed rolling her eyes. “Oh yay...I'm back,” she grumbled to herself as she trudged her way off the wagon after her sisters had all filed off. She glanced forlornly at the desolate building and the other inmates meandering around outside (or whatever it was they were doing at the time) and groaned to herself. “Gah...why me? What did I ever do to deserve being dragged off to this place and locked up with all the freaks?” she grumbled under her breath as she watched people heading into the building from the cold. Ariel rolled her eyes as she followed her sisters into the prison. She headed over towards the Crotalus table and dropped into an empty seat as far from any member of her family as she possibly could, paying very little attention to whomever might be seated around her. In a very small, teeny tiny sorta way she was sorta hoping that one of the people seated around her was her roommate Morgana. Not that Ariel would admit it openly to anyone other than Morgana, but she found that Morgana seemed kind-of nice for being a fellow freak.

Ariel stared blankly off in the distance as the Headmaster delivered the Return Feast Speech which refreshingly enough wasn't much of a speech. She nodded approvingly as he finished quickly and glanced towards the food plates as they began to appear on the table before them. As she glanced over the evening's fare she fingered the trinket that sat buried in her robe pocket. It wasn't anything big or expensive or important or nothing, just one of the small snow globes that had been used to decorate the tables at her uncle's wedding reception. It had a white unicorn inside with purple hooves and a purple horn standing in a field of sparkly snow. Ariel didn't like it much herself, but she thought Morgana might so she swiped it as a gift for her. It didn't mean that she was going soft or anything, but she figured the gesture couldn't hurt. Besides, there was no rule that said she couldn't be nice-ish to at least one person and surly to everyone else, was there? Ariel finally glanced up from her inspection of the prison food and grinned slightly when she caught sight of her roommate. She offered Morgana a half wave and offered her the seat beside herself. “Hi Morgana...I saved a seat for you...if you want,” she said awkwardly. She hoped that Morgana didn't notice too much of the awkward part.

0 Ariel Thornton Hoping to make one friend (Tag Morgana) 0 Ariel Thornton 0 5

Carter Browning

December 17, 2013 1:19 AM

Hoping the Holiday had been just a strange dream by Carter Browning

Carter sat in the wagon with his head resting against the back the seat with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. He barely paid any attention to the bouncing of the wagon as it cruised along its path from his pick-up spot near Flagstaff towards Sonora. He didn't mind the bouncing soo much since his trip to school was a fairly short one compared to some of the other students. As he drifted in and out of sleep he thought about the partially strange turn his holiday had taken. He had been bummed out about not being to play Quidditch this term since Tepp house didn't get enough players signed up. He had wanted to kick, scream, rant or rave, but ultimately knew that that wasn't going to change what was. He had been unhappy about the whole mess, but was kind-of glad to discover that he had been placed with Laurie for the concert. That had lessened the sting of not being able to play marginally, but it hadn't made it go away completely. He was just glad he was still working with someone from his team even if it wasn't for what he'd rather be doing. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the wooden bench and tried to let his mind wander away from Quidditch and back to his holiday. At least that part was less depressing...not by much though.

He had been bummed about saying goodbye to Wendy, but he was glad when he realized he could always write her while they were away. He wasn't surprised when he arrived at his pick-up spot and his parents were waiting for him with his little sister Payton. His eyes almost bugged out of his head when he noticed just how big she had gotten while he had been away. She would be turning three soon and she was almost as tall as his thighs. She had launched herself into his arms when she saw him come off the wagon. “Cahter!” she had squealed as she squeezed him as tightly as any two and half year old could. He had chuckled at her butchering his name, but hugged her back and carried her towards the family's car as his parents put his trunk in the trunk of the car. His father informed him that they were spending their holiday with the rest of the family in Europe. Since that had been the discussion before he had left for school he wasn't surprised by his father's announcement. As soon as he and his family arrived to their home in Arizona they had immediately begun packing for their trip. Once everything was ready, his parents activated the portkey that would take them straight to his mother's parents house in Ireland as planned. They had originally planned to go to his father's parents place in England, but his other grandparents had decided to go away for the holiday. His dad had been disappointed that his parents had not told him about their trip sooner, but understood that they wanted to do something different for a change.

Carter's dad received an interesting surprise after their arrival when he realized his own parents were in Ireland at his wife's parents house. They had apparently arrived a couple of days ahead of them. Carter was glad that they were there, but couldn't help wondering why. It wasn't that his sets of grandparents didn't get along with one another, it was just that they didn't go out of their way to spend time together unless it was necessary. Carter couldn't help wondering what had brought them together this time around. He had a slight idea, but until someone said anything he would just have to wonder. He greeted all of his grandparents before taking his clothing trunk up to his room as instructed. He took his time putting his stuff away and began writing a letter to Wendy. He had promised to write her as soon as he had arrived so that she knew he had arrived safely. He finished the letter since it was mostly a short one and addressed it. He walked over towards his owls cage and opened the door for her. He knew that his grandparents had an owl of their own for mail, but Carter had insisted upon bringing his own since Feathers knew where to go to get the letter to Wendy since she had already delivered letters to Wendy before. He gave the letter to Feathers and told her who it was for. The owl nipped at his fingers as he attached the letter to her leg and took off out the window. He watched Feathers until she disappeared into the horizon and then headed downstairs to rejoin everyone.

The first couple of days they were there his father was locked in conversation with both of his grandfathers and another man that Carter recognized, but whose name he couldn't recall. He knew that the man was a friend of the family, but that was about it. Carter tried staying out of the way, but found that his curiosity was peaked. He tried eavesdropping, but found to his dismay that he couldn't hear a word being said on the other side of the door. His father emerged from the study to find Carter pressing his ear to the door. Carter was pretty certain his goose was cooked when his dad told him to come inside. Carter took a seat with the other men in the room and was surprised to learn that the man with them was Mr. O'Donnell and that they were in the process of discussing his betrothal to Mr. O'Donnell's daughter Channon. Carter was speechless as he glanced around at the four men around him. Carter vaguely remembered Channon, but couldn't quite place her face. The last time they had seen each other she had thrown a rock at his head, told him he smelled funny and called him a jerk. He couldn't quite recall what he had done to deserve that, but it had been long before he had gone to Sonora. Carter had thought to protest given that he agreed with Rupert and his assessment on the idea of betrothals, but knew that even if he did protest no one would be listening. Carter sighed inwardly as he tried not to think about Channon's arrival the next day. Apparently she would be staying with him and his family for the rest of the holiday.

Carter's eyes popped open when the wagon came to a full stop in front of the school. He glanced out the window to the building and actually sighed with relief. “Home sweet home,” he mused to himself as he climbed down out of the wagon. He glanced around at his fellow classmates and followed them into the building. He glanced around for Wendy and waved when he thought he spotted her in the crowd. He headed towards the Teppenpaw table and took a seat. He decided he would look for her after the Returning Feast Speech and sit with her then if she wasn't already occupied with something else. He glanced towards the staff table after everyone had settled in and nodded absently to the new teacher. He spent most of the rest of speech with his attention elsewhere. He couldn't help wandering back to the holiday and his sister's reaction to Channon when she arrived. Payton had apparently decided that she had found herself a new best friend. Carter didn't mind really. It kept his sister out of his hair for the time being and gave Carter the chance to watch Channon. He was curious about her, but didn't approach her for slight fear that she still didn't like him and might be tempted to throw something else at his head. He was still meandering around that stray thought when he thought he heard someone sit down beside him. Carter turned to the seat next to his and greeted his companion with a friendly wave and a small smile. “Good to see you,” he greeted them. “How was your holiday?” he asked, filling his plate up with random food items. He was hoping that hearing about their holiday would make him momentarily forget about his own.

0 Carter Browning Hoping the Holiday had been just a strange dream 236 Carter Browning 0 5

Wendy Canterbury

December 17, 2013 5:49 PM

Yum food. by Wendy Canterbury

Christmas was definitely Wendy's favorite holiday hands down. The lights, the music, the pine tree, all the wonderful food and decorations...it was just so magical and Wendy loved every second of it. Even if she was getting older, she didn't think the magic of Christmas would ever really stop amazing her. This year Wendy had experienced a cold Christmas for the first time ever. She and her family had decided, with her dad's work schedule also working out for the first time ever, to spend the holidays out of state with their grandparents. So Christmas was spent with her paternal grandparents in Kansas City, and New Year's in Charleston where her mom's brother lived. Apparently he had a New Year's party every year that all of her maternal relatives attended. Wendy had loved seeing cousins she had never met before and walking around Charleston. The south was such a beautiful place and not nearly as cold as Kansas in the winter.

Wendy and her sister had only been able to spend time at home for one day after they came back which consisted mostly of packing to go back to school. Then the next day they were off. The wagon ride was never very long, but it was enough to remind Wendy of Carter's letters. He had spent the holidays abroad and traveling too and she wanted to hear more about it. Letters were nice and she loved sending them, but she preferred talking face-to-face. She had started a correspondence with Rupert and Abi too. They were both her friends too and though she still considered Carter to be her best friend, she hoped they could all get to know each other better and hang out more. Waverly had her set of friends and Wendy wanted a group to hang out with like that too. As much as she liked her alone time, it was nice to have friends.

The new headmaster would still take some getting used to. He seemed rough and uncaring which Wendy didn't like very much. But she took it in stride, not truly knowing what he was like except from his outward appearance, and sat at the Pecari table. She caught Carter's wave and returned it with a smile. Because of the hasty packing last night, she hadn't put much thought into her ensemble today. She was wearing her favorite red and green Christmas sweater with a jean skirt and tights. It was cold on campus, much colder than back in Phoenix, but she wasn't going to freeze to death or anything. At least she had another jacket in case she got too cold.

The concert was going to be exciting and Wendy was looking forward to working with her group. She had been torn between signing up with her sister or with someone else, and she had finally decided after a bit of a struggle to sign under Aria. She liked Aria a lot not only because she came from n interesting background, but also because she was nice. The grass doll she had given her was currently sitting on her nightstand in the Pecari dorm room.

She had lasted five months as a vegetarian now under all the temptations of steak and good red meat in South Carolina. She put some quinoa salad on her plate and green beans. There were lots of different kinds of foods for vegetarians that Wendy enjoyed very much. As a result, she also had to learn how to cook for herself over the winter break as her mom and grandparents really had no idea what to feed her besides all the steamed vegetables they could think of. She turned when someone greeted her and smiled. "Hi. Did you have a good Christmas?"

19 Wendy Canterbury Yum food. 245 Wendy Canterbury 0 5

Dimitri Porter

December 17, 2013 6:04 PM

Am I the only one who has weird holidays? (Tag Ava) by Dimitri Porter

Dimitri sat in the wagon on the short trip back to school glancing periodically out the window. He tried to focus on his sisters chatter about their holiday, but found his mind wandering. He had been looking forward to his family's usual trip to Fall Crown in Northern California for the SCA, but received word from his parents before leaving school that they were skipping that trip this year to attend his uncle Bryan's wedding in Napa. Dimitri wasn't entirely fond of weddings, but as he understood things his uncle Bryan had apparently never remarried after Clara's mother had died. If what he had heard his mother talking with his father about was true, his uncle apparently never even dated after his wife died either. Dimitri had a hard time believing that, but he was 12...what did he really know? So off to California his family went to show his uncle their support. His sister and mother seemed far more excited by the whole thing than Dimitri and his father. Weddings must be a girl thing he reasoned to himself while watching his female relatives, sister and mother go gaga over the whole affair. Dimitri stayed as close to his father and the few other boys that were in attendance as humanly possible. It made him feel less awkward about being forced to wear a suit. Seeing that there were other guys like himself that had to wear what his dad referred to as a “monkey suit” made him feel less silly.

As the wagon bounced around something his sister said about Clara made him remember her stellar walk down the aisle causing him to chuckle to himself. Poor Clara. Sometimes his cousin was a complete walking disaster. He often wondered how she had managed to survive this long without killing herself. He couldn't help thinking about her latest little hiccup at the wedding. Everything had been going fine and dandy until she and her escort, some guy named Remy, started down the walkway towards the aisle. He still wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but one minute they're walking fine side-by-side and the next minute she was falling forwards and he was trying to steady her. Somewhere in trying to help her Remy lost his hold on Clara and she crashed to the floor. He had to give his cousin credit though she managed to laugh it off and get back up about as gracefully as humanly possible (at least for her anyway). Remy had given her a hand up and they continued walking. The rest of the ceremony seemed to go fine from there. Dimitri wasn't exactly sure what Remy was doing in the wedding and it really wasn't his place to say. When he asked about it afterward his mother told him that Remy was the nephew of the maid of honor. Dimitri had merely shrugged and went about enjoying the rest of the reception. He did find it a tad strange that Remy seemed to be following Clara around everywhere. His eyes widened when he heard his father talking to Clara's dad later about that very same thing and heard his dad ask if Remy was a candidate for Clara. He clapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing when his uncle nodded at his fathers question. Dimitri had immediately gone looking for his twin to tell her.

The rest of their holiday was pretty uneventful . They set up the Christmas tree and all the kids decorated it. The girls spent the day in the kitchen baking cookies with his Aunts (well he was pretty sure that's where most of them probably were). Dimitri spent his free time until they opened presents working on the song he had been trying to write for his lyre. He had hoped to have it finished by Fall Crown so he could play it at the bardic competition, but he had gotten stuck on it and couldn't quite figure out how to finish it. Written poetry was one thing. Apparently trying to write music for a medieval instrument was a bit more challenging than he had anticipated. Eventually he just quit trying to write music and just started playing it. That part seemed to be easier and less stressful. In between everything else that had been going on Dimitri had stole a couple of hours away from his family to make a Christmas card for Ava. He drew a rough sketch of his uncle's vineyard and then added snow even though its never snowed in that part of California at least as far as Dimitri knew. He stuffed his homemade card into an envelope and addressed it to Ava. He borrowed his uncle's owl and instructed it on the letter's destination. He watched the snowy owl fly away with it precious cargo and hoped that it made it to where he had instructed.

Remy and his aunt spent Christmas day with them which Dimitri cared very little about...he was Clara's problem not Dimitri's. Dimitri and his family left for home just after the holidays wishing his uncle and his new wife all the best luck. Clara had said goodbye to them all before disappearing on everyone entirely. She didn't seem to be like herself which made Dimitri shrug. His cousin had always been weird to begin with, but she seemed even weirder than usual. “Maybe its a girl thing,” he told himself as they prepared to leave.

Dimitri and his family returned home and spent a few days together before he and his sister had to repack for school. During those few days home, he helped out at his mother's store. Dimitri had talked his mother into letting him give one of the mermaid snow globes they had to Ava as a gift. It had a blue base that was made to look like crashing waves. The glass around the mermaid was standard round and tinted a light blue. The mermaid had long, blonde curly hair that was laced with pearls, pink-ish purple shells covered her chest and her tail was a mixture of colors mostly pink and purple. The ends of the tail was painted with an iridescent paint that made it look like it was shining in the light. The mermaid was seated upon a large open clam shell. The liquid inside the globe was filled with glitter. Dimitri figured that since Ava seemed to like mermaids that she might enjoy the gift. When Dimitri confessed as much to his mother she grinned at him and even offered to wrap it for him. He made sure that the gift was safely packed away within his trunk. When the wagon came to a halt in front of the school Dimitri climbed out of it happy to be able to stretch his aching legs. He followed the rest of his classmates inside the school with Darina somewhere behind him (he hoped she was anyway). Dimitri made his was towards the Teppenpaw table when he didn't readily spot Ava in the crowd. He told himself he would find her after the headmasters/mistress' speech.

Dimitri was a little surprised to see that the Headmistress was not amongst the staff seated at the professors' table. He listened quietly when Headmaster Brockert explained that she was unable to be with them at that time. Dimitri absently nodded. He settled himself in for what he figured would be a long welcome back speech, but was pleasantly surprised when the Headmaster spoke very little. He was just about to pile food on his plate when he was pretty sure someone sat down beside him. He knew who he hoped it was and turned towards his neighbor. He smiled when he saw who it was and greeted them. “Fancy meeting you here,” he greeted. “How was your holiday?” he asked before eyeing the food laid out before them. As much as he loved his mother's cooking, the prairie elves were some fantastic cooks themselves.

0 Dimitri Porter Am I the only one who has weird holidays? (Tag Ava) 0 Dimitri Porter 0 5

Dimitri

December 17, 2013 6:08 PM

OOC note by Dimitri

I forgot to add that I had permission from Darina's author to write her as I did. Sorry for the goofy.

0 Dimitri OOC note 0 Dimitri 0 5

Clara Abernathy

December 18, 2013 2:05 AM

Feeling very un-Pecari-ish...bummer by Clara Abernathy

Clara stared out the window of the wagon as it bounced its way from where it had picked her up for the return trip back to school. The fifteen year old sat as far in the corner of the bench seat as she could with her knees tucked into her chest. She lightly hugged them to her chest as she rested her chin on one of her knees. The last year or so had to be quite frankly the most confusing time period of her young life. Since the bomb her grandfather had dropped on her regarding the betrothal nonsense, Clara found herself becoming emotionally withdrawn which wasn't like her. Just when she thought she was getting a handle on everything again her father had to drop the girlfriend bomb on her. Clara had always known that her father would eventually find someone to replace her mother, but she didn't think it would be this quickly. He had only met Danielle at her cousin's wedding last Christmas and since then the two of them seemed to be inseparable. Clara knew that she should be happy for her dad for finally finding someone, but she couldn't help feeling like she was being replaced somehow. Granted, she did spend most of her time away at school so her father needed someone to talk to besides Clara's former nanny Lucy. She just didn't expect that once he did find someone that she would barely hear from him if she heard from him at all. Her dad used to be her confidante and best friend. She used to tell him everything. Now every time she tried to talk to him he dumped her onto Danielle. Truth be told it was making her feel a little bitter.

Clara liked Danielle, she really did, she just resented the fact that instead of talking to her like her father used to he seemed to want nothing to do with her. Clara continued to stare out of the wagon window as her thoughts wandered into more depressing and confusing territory. She hadn't been incredibly shocked to discover her dad and Danielle had been planning their wedding while she was away at school. It did surprise her to discover that they planned to marry during the winter break though. What a Christmas present that was going to be she had thought drearily as she remembered when the letter from her father came telling her about the wedding before she had left school for the break. As if her life couldn't get much more complicated. Boy had she been wrong. When she had exited the wagon upon its arrival at her drop off spot Danielle had been there to collect her instead of her father. That really wasn't soo bad, it gave her and Danielle the chance to talk a little bit. Danielle had told her that she had wanted Clara to be in the wedding which Clara had been happy about. At least that meant that she would finally feel like she's a part of something. What hadn't made her very happy was that her father was nowhere to be found when the two of them arrived. Clara politely refused any help from Danielle with her luggage and slunk off to her room to sulk. She emerged from her room only when she heard other voices within the house.

Clara had emerged from her room and spotted her cousins all gathered around in the dining room area. She took a head count and when she spotted her usual partner in crime she waved Brielle over and led them back to her room. Once they were inside she had unloaded all of her current baggage. She knew that Bri of all people would understand. Once she was done and she and Bri had the chance to hash out most of her issues she actually felt a little better about things. Not happy, but better. She had hung out with everyone afterward for a while and was delighted when her grandparents from both sides arrived. Judging by her father's reaction they had apparently arrived a bit earlier than had been expected. Before she had the chance to ask her dad what was bothering him he had disappeared with both of her grandfathers into the den. Clara went in search of answers and instead found more questions. Even when the three of them left the den to rejoin the family she couldn't get her dad to tell her anything. God! Its like I don't even exist to you anymore! she had yelled at him before running off to one of her private spots on the property to be alone. She had come back later, but neglected to apologize for yelling at him. She spent the rest of the time in her room or wandering the property until the day of the wedding got closer. She begrudgingly spent time with Danielle and any of the other females who would be part of the wedding. She smirked slightly when she spotted her cousin Ariel being fitted for her dress. She felt kind-of sorry for her little cousin as she prodded at and told to move this way and that. She and Brielle weren't far behind her in the prodding department since they and Danielle's niece were also part of the wedding party.

Clara spent as little time around her father as possible since she was still angry with him for a few things she understood and for a few other things she didn't. She had NEVER been known to be anything but a cheery child. However, since her forced steps into womanhood she had been feeling anything, but cheerful anymore. It was like she was sullen all the time now and she didn't quite understand why. She didn't want to talk to her aunts about it because she was afraid they would tell her dad, so she kept her feelings mostly to herself. The day before the wedding she and Brielle were introduced to their escorts who would be walking them down the aisle. Her escort was apparently the nephew of the woman who would be Danielle's maid-of-honor, Remy...Brielle's escort was Danielle's own nephew Philippe. The rest of the day went fine and Clara went to bed again without having spoken to her father. The day of the wedding started out alright. Everyone was up and ready before the ceremony, photos were done and everybody smiled or pretended to and then everyone got seated for the ceremony. The music started and the two flower girls started the line of walkers. Clara and Remy started walking down the aisle behind Bri and Philippe and it had begun well too until her usual graceful self struck. She had been walking fine until her heel had gotten caught on the hem of her dress, causing her to slip. She had started falling forward and Remy had tried to steady her, but lost his grip on her arm causing her to crash to the ground. She shook her head patiently and smirked at her own stupidity. She accepted Remy's hand when he held it out to help her up. Once back on her feet they finished their walk and took their places. The ceremony finished and as soon as it was over with Clara made a hasty retreat trying to hold back the tears of embarrassment she was trying not to cry. Remy had apparently followed her as she fled from the area and found her sitting alone on her old tire swing under her favorite oak tree.

Clara hadn't expected him to follow her let alone spend the rest of the day with her. She almost joked that he reminded her of a lost puppy dog the way he followed her around, but the truth was she liked the attention he gave her, the way he doted on her, how he made her laugh when she didn't want to and how he made her forget that she was angry with the world for the time being. Plus he wasn't bad to look at either. She was surprised and surprisingly delighted when she found out later that he and his aunt would be spending Christmas with her and her family. She hadn't expected to like him as much as she did and that made her feel guilty since she had a boyfriend she really liked back at school. Clara had thought about Lucian often during the break and had written to him several times during that time period. She even sent him a picture of her in her bridesmaid dress with her hair done up in a letter. She also sent a card to him and his mom and sister for the holiday. While she opened her presents with her family for Christmas she couldn't help wondering what exactly she was going to tell Lucian if he asked about her holiday. Part of that question had been answered shortly before Remy and his aunt went back to France. She had mistakenly congratulated them on their supposed betrothal not knowing that no one had bothered to tell Clara about it yet. When Clara had asked her grandfathers about it, they had confirmed that a choice had been made. They had assumed that by her reaction to him that she had chosen him as well so they didn't feel anything needed to be said yet about it. But it was official. She was now betrothed.

Clara spent the last couple of days during the break either completely alone trying to deal with her new barrage of feelings or with Brielle trying hard to forget about her new barrage of feelings. Just to make things easier as far as traveling went her cousins stayed at her place so they all went back to school together. Everyone else had all gone home including Remy who asked her if he could write to her while they were away at school. She had agreed before he and his aunt had gone back to France along with a set of her grandparents. The other ones had gone back home to England. When it came time to go back to school she filed into the wagon with her cousins. She pulled herself into one of the corners and made herself as small as possible. She pretty much stayed that way until they reached the school. She silently filed off the wagon behind her cousins and made her way into the building. She quietly made her way towards the Pecari table, taking a glance around to see if she could spot Lucian in the crowd of students. As much as she wanted to see him she was still worried about what he was going to say when she told him about Remy. When she didn't readily see him in the crowd she took one of the empty seats at the Pecari table. She regarded the new teacher briefly when the Headmaster mentioned her and sighed a bit when he brought up the concert. She had a pretty awesome idea (well she thought it was pretty awesome anyway) and needed to set up a meeting time for her and her team to get together to discuss it. She made a mental note to worry about that soon. For the most part she ignored his fairly short speech. She hadn't really meant to, her mind was just on other things at the time.

Clara glanced over the food plates as they appeared in front of everyone and grabbed a couple of items putting them on her own plate. The more she stared at her plate the less hungry she became. She found herself just pushing the food around on her plate with her fork. At this point she was just hoping that dinner would be over soon so she could disappear into the Pecari dorms, take a shower, don her pjs and slip into bed where she could meet blissful unconsciousness. She glanced around the table at her fellow Pecari and for the first time since arriving at Sonora she didn't feel very Pecari-ish. She caught sight of the person sitting next to her and tried to feign cheerful. “Hey,” she greeted, even drumming up a small smile. “Hope your holiday was way better than mine,” she commented as she pushed around her food some more with her fork.

OOC: Spoke to the Thorntons author and was given permission to refer to her characters as is seen in the post.

0 Clara Abernathy Feeling very un-Pecari-ish...bummer 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Rupert Princeton

December 18, 2013 2:08 PM

Swooping in. by Rupert Princeton

Several months at school was not enough to combat the few weeks spent at home during the holidays. Rupert had come to find himself feel more at home on Sonora grounds than at the frigid estate he lived in back in England. Its frigid state had nothing to do with the cold weather. Everyone had seemed a bit testier this holiday, more than usual. With his brother's broken engagement and announced relationship, Grandfather hadn't known what to make of it except to avoid the subject entirely. Rupert had done his best to stay out of the way to avoid getting scolded for taking the Muggle Studies course again. The only good part of his holiday had been spending a weekend down at his family's property in Cannes.

The worst part of his holiday, however, had not been attempting to survive without getting scolded in his tempestuous household. He had received his first real injury just a couple days before he was supposed to come back to Sonora. While he was playing a quick match with his brothers, Rup had gotten reckless on his broom with his ratty old bat. He hadn't looked before flying in his attempt to smack a bludger with his bat and at the last minute had taken his eyes off the iron ball to narrowly avoid running into the branches of a tree, though as a result the bludger had smashed into his wrist instead. It would have been prudent to stay in the family hospital overnight to let the bones heal, but he'd had to pack and travel the next day. His left arm was currently in a sling and bandaged up to his elbow. The only comfort Rupert could find in this situation was that he would be healed in time for the Quidditch match. There was no way he was ever going to let a petty injury force him to abandon his team.

There were still quite a few years to go for Rupert, but he had decided he'd like to move to the United States permanently once he graduated. He had never really liked England all that much anyway, though he'd hardly been able to travel much alone. America just had so many other opportunities and none of his family members. Europe was filled with Princetons and it kept Rup from doing what he wanted. If he was lucky enough to get recruited by an American Quidditch team, that would be his ticket.

As for now, Rup was simply going to have to wait until he was older. Cascade Hall had never looked prettier or more welcoming and he sat at the Pecari table next to Wendy. Rup had first been intrigued by her because of her blood status, but she was also fun to chat with. Perhaps when they became better friends she could teach him how to use some of the Muggle appliances.

The new Headmaster reminded Rupert very much of his stiff old grandfather. If Sonora was home, this new Headmaster was a reminder that Rup still had familial expectations even at school. He had proved himself trustworthy to be in public years ago, though for most of his childhood he had been locked up in the manor like a distressed fairy tale character. One day Rup would write a memoir once he was old enough and famous and happened to survive all his Quidditch injuries.

Once the Headmaster finished his surprisingly short welcome, Rup turned to Wendy. "Hi Wendy," he greeted her. "Well, it was all right. Nothing special, really, and I broke my wrist over the holiday so it wasn't particularly fantastic. Sorry, could you pass the spaghetti platter? I'm a bit clumsy with my right hand. What did you do during your holiday?"

40 Rupert Princeton Swooping in. 248 Rupert Princeton 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

December 18, 2013 4:40 PM

Still a little nervous. by Charlotte Spencer

Charlotte didn't think there would ever be a day when she would feel comfortable immersing herself into large crowds of people. The chaos, the voices, the confusion; she loathed it all and the feeling of germs everywhere made her feel a little sick. She had never been incredibly ill as a child, but she still liked being clean and having her own space. It was odd, being from such a large metropolitan city, to still dislike crowds so much.

Cascade Hall was still too large for Charlotte and even among her peers she felt a little nervous and self-conscious navigating her way through to the Crotalus table. She had wanted to look presentable as always, but her curls had come out sometime between in her travels from England to Arizona. She was a surprisingly resilient witch for her sensitive personality, but the trip was always very long and she hated taking Portkeys. Adam was never very helpful either, leaving her to fend for herself at the doors of Cascade. He could at the very least walk her to the Crotalus table like a good older brother.

After what seemed like an eternity, she made her way through the throngs of students to her seat. She half-wished Emrys would sit with her, but she didn't think he would want to abandon his house-mates in favour of sitting with a shy, needy witch like her. He had his mates in Aladren that he wanted to say hello to, she was sure. If she was any more clingy he was sure to get sick of her as Adam sometimes did as patient as her older brother was.

The concert was another reason for Charlotte's trepidation. She loathed any sort of attention. Though she was pretty and was learning to see that in herself, she didn't want to be in the limelight where everyone would be staring at her. Being on stage was one of her greatest fears besides mummies or the undead.

Charlotte looked down at her empty plate once the feast began and picked at a bread roll she took from the basket. She didn't feel hungry anymore. Her stomach was in knots just thinking about the concert and she wanted desperately to get out of it somehow. If only she was deathly ill or prone to fainting spells like other witches. Even crying on command would have been a favourable skill, though she was sure seeing the stage itself with the knowledge that she would be forced on it was enough to make her want to cry. She hoped the Crotalus Prefect wouldn't force her to do anything unreasonable. The beginning of each academic term was always nerve-racking and Charlotte decided then that she hated all welcoming and returning feasts. They were always filled with so much anxiety and unspoken expectations about the upcoming term.

40 Charlotte Spencer Still a little nervous. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Emrys Lucan

December 20, 2013 4:41 AM

Need an old friendly face? by Emrys Lucan

OOC: I'm am so sorry for not replying, I always meant to but got caught up in finals... Ugh! Anyway, I hope you don't mind me replying to your feast post in case you're trying to have her meet others- Emrys felt as though he had to make something up to Charlotte for not replying >.<

BIC:
Emrys had had a wonderful Christmas. Wesley and his family had come to visit along with bringing Lio and he had taken lots of photos during the holidays to bring to school to show Charlotte. She was a girl and girls tended to like small children and animals (at least, that's what he had been led to believe by Wes...) so there were an extra lot of ones of Caelia and Lio. They had been the first things he'd packed when getting ready to leave for Sonora so that he didn't forget them. There would be nothing worse than telling Charlotte he had something to show her and then be unable to follow through. Emrys did not know if he could live through that sort of shame. Charlotte was the one person at Sonora that he felt truly comfortable with and also the only one he considered to be his friend. As exciting as his break had been, he was also a little impatient to get back to Sonora and see Charlotte again and also Ji-Eun. He had thought their meeting in the library had gone pretty well and was hopefully that perhaps they might be able to start a friendship.

His little sister had been an incredible pain, asking Emrys if he was going to get his girlfriend a present. He had blushed and shook his head- he didn't want to think of Charlotte like that yet. They were just friends, that was it. Only friends. Wesley teased him too, but somehow Emrys didn't mind that as much because there were some witches Emrys had teased Wesley about whilst in England. Secretly, Emrys had approached his grandfather, asking what an appropriate Christmas present would be for Charlotte, and his grandfather had suggested writing parchment or a new quill and ink. Somehow though, Emrys didn't feel that was personal enough and so modified his grandfather's idea. He chose a pretty color for the ink that reminded him of Charlotte's eyes and on the first sheet of parchment, painstakingly copied the music he had brought to their last music session. He hoped she would like it and wouldn't think it too much.

When he walked into Cascade Hall, he started to head to the Aladren table like he usually did but happened to glance over to the Crotalus table. He noticed Charlotte sitting by herself looking rather lonely. In a rather bold move- he wasn't sure if people were allowed to sit at other houses' tables (though he had seen Ava Fletcher and Dimitri Porter sitting with each other and as they hadn't gotten in trouble yet he figured it was alright), and moved to sit down next to her once the speech was over.

"Hey," he said, smiling and grabbing a roll similar to the one on her plate and reaching for the butter simultaneously. "Would you care to have some butter with that roll?"

10 Emrys Lucan Need an old friendly face? 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Liliana Bannister

December 20, 2013 2:14 PM

Let me go back. by Liliana Bannister

Though Liliana had settled in by the end of her term, going back for the winter holidays had only brought her back a few steps. It wasn't that she didn't like Sonora- she was on the Quidditch Team, how could she dislike it? But going home had reminded her of all the fun things there were to do there and all the fun people to see. She had visited with her cousins and they had taken her with them to visit their friends. She had met up with her old friends too but they had all gone to Hogwarts, been placed in different houses, and grown apart. In the past two years that Liliana was away from home a lot had changed. Her two best friends were now mortal enemies having been sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin and forgotten their friendship from before. Liliana privately thought the whole thing was ridiculous as they were both pretty similar to what they had been before, but Tanya had been adamant that Noey had changed while Noey was determined that Tanya was simply being misguided into thinking that Gryffindors were above all others. It was silly as her cousins had friends that were in different houses and Liliana herself had been friendly with a few people not from her own house.

Though that part of the trip had been a bit traumatizing, she had still enjoyed seeing Tanya and Noey on separate occasions- hanging out with Noey's brothers had always been a delight and Tanya's older sister always took them out for tea. The Christmas and Hanukkah balls at her grandmother's house had gone very well though she had needed to split her time evenly between her cousins, Noey, and Tanya in order to keep the peace and the latter two from starting a fight. And her grandmother had greatly enjoyed the dance Liliana had been practicing for her so that part was joyous. But the winter holidays ended too quickly for Liliana and she felt as though she were being ripped away from freezing England to return to warm Arizona none too kindly. Indeed, she didn't like traveling by Portkey, and the return was not an all too smooth one.

Upon her entrance into the hall, Liliana looked around, half-expecting someone to grab her arm and pull her to a seat as she was sure would have happened should she have been at Hogwarts what with her cousins and already-made friends. However, she was crest-fallen to remember that she hadn't really made any friends during the first half of the term and so quietly (which had become her new persona at Sonora, not at all close to the loud, bouncy Liliana of England) found a seat at the Pecari table amid the eager chattering. After the speech, which was rather short (though Liliana did not like long speeches, she had wished this one was longer as when the Headmaster had been talking she felt reassured that no one was looking at her funny for not talking to anyone), Liliana looked around the table to find something to eat that might please her. Her eyes located some soft looking rolls and jam and decided to munch on that whilst picking out a more balanced and full meal.

"Pardon me," Liliana tapped on her neighbor's shoulder. "But would you mind passing me the pot of jam? Thank you." She spread the delicious substance on the roll. "How were your holidays?" she asked conversationally, eyes still locked on the beautiful food in front of her. The question came so naturally to her that she a little surprised at how easily she had opened up at this feast when at the last one she had been so disagreeable, but Waverly had forgiven her so that was okay.

10 Liliana Bannister Let me go back. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Aubrielle Thornton

December 21, 2013 10:23 PM

Shocked Silence by Aubrielle Thornton

Aubrielle sat across from Clara in the wagon on the way back to school and couldn't help being concerned for her. Clara was seriously not acting like herself which worried Bri. Since their “talk” at her uncle Bryan's wedding over the holiday (she uses the word TALK loosely) Brielle couldn't help wondering how she could possibly help her cousin figure out what was going on and how best to deal with it. From the moment Clara had dragged Brielle into her bedroom and began dumping her problems on her, Brielle found herself stuck in state of shock. She had never known Clara to dump her issues on anyone except uncle Bryan. She had suggested to Clara that she might want to talk to her dad about how she was feeling, but flinched unconsciously when Clara nearly verbally ripped her head off. Brielle found herself staring blankly at her raging cousin as she raged on and on about her father's lack of concern for her feelings. Brielle found herself nodding absently, her own thoughts wandering in the direction of her own absentee prize of a father. She had no idea what uncle Bryan's issue was, but she was sure it couldn't be as bad as Clara had been suggesting. Brielle wanted to tell her that she should be lucky she still had a father, but kept the comment to herself since she wasn't trying to make her cousin feel worse than she already seemed to. Brielle was doing her best to be the shoulder Clara seemed to desperately need to cry upon. When Clara seemed to be all cried out Brielle finally got the chance to say a few things that she had been holding onto for that time period.

”I don't want to sound mean or anything, but at least you still have your dad,”she had told Clara gently. ”Besides, maybe its not as all bad as you seem to think it is. Maybe your dad is just stressed out. I realize that's not a great excuse for his behavior, but its a start. I really think you should try talking to him again,” she had suggested a second time. She had begun to flinch again worried that Clara was about to bite her head off again, but found herself unflinching when Clara reluctantly agreed with her. Aubrielle excitedly hugged her cousin when it seemed that they had finally made some progress. When she and Clara had finally left Clara's room, Brielle felt herself in need of a heavily caffeinated beverage of some kind. When her mother had asked what in the world they could have been talking about for so long, Brielle grinned and simply replied “Girl talk”. She had promised Clara she wouldn't repeat any of what they talked about. Bri felt strange about promising such a thing since she usually told her mother everything, but she didn't want to let Clara down. Her mother had merely grinned and accepted her reply. Brielle was glad she didn't have to lie to her mother about anything. Aubrielle spent the rest of her time that day either hanging around Clara or helping her mother with the younger kids.

As the day of Uncle Bryan's wedding got closer Brielle got more excited and more worried. Excited because she, Clara and her little sister Ariel were all going to be a part of the wedding so they would be looking forward to dress fittings soon and worried because everyday Clara seemed to be getting more morose by the day. Aubrielle was running out of ideas on how to help Clara. At this point she was debating on whether or not to just let her be miserable. Brielle sighed heavily. She would never be able to live with herself if she let Clara be miserable. She couldn't win. A couple of days before the wedding Brielle walked into the large family room in uncle Bryan's place to see her sister Ariel being fitted for her flower girl dress. Brielle offered her younger sister an apologetic smile as Ariel appeared to be surlier than normal about being poked and prodded at. She almost felt sorry for her sister. She caught the same look of amusement on Clara's face that she carried on her own. Her face dropped just the slightest bit when she was kindly informed it was her own turn to be poked at. Aubrielle had always liked doing theater work, but her least favorite part was being poked at with straight pins for fittings. She held her breath slightly as she held perfectly still for her fitting. She always liked the end result of fittings, she just never liked the pinning part. Brielle glanced down at her hunter green satin dress with gold trimming and sighed in delight. Her experience with the pins was almost complete. Luckily for her her dress required very little alterations. Brielle admired herself in the floor length mirror on the wall in her freshly pinned dress.

She gave the dress a slight twirl before having to reluctantly remove it so that Lucy could finish her sewing of the garment. Bri watched as Clara took her turn and then suggested maybe they watch a movie or something to pass the time. Since all the adults seemed busy with decorating and other things for the wedding, they would have to find their own way of passing the time. The day before the wedding, Brielle and Clara were coming in from the grounds when they almost ran head first into a couple of boys who appeared to be their own age standing in Clara's kitchen talking to the woman they had been told was the maid of honor. Brielle nudged Clara and nodded towards the tallest of the two boys giving her cousin a teasing grin. ”What?” Clara had grinned back at her. ”He's cute,” she had whispered to her cousin. ”Granted hes no Marius, but we're not talking about me here,” she teased Clara relentlessly. Clara had at least laughed for the first time in days which made Brielle glad. Aubrielle gave both of the boys a cheerful smile and shook their hands as she was introduced to them. The taller brunette that she had nudged Clara about was named Remy while the other one had been introduced as Philippe. Both of them seemed to be really nice. Brielle had spent a few minutes chatting with both of them when Clara had briefly left the room. Bri couldn't help being curious as to why Remy seemed to be soo interested in Clara. He asked a lot of questions in the short time it took Clara to go to the restroom. Bri figured he must have a small crush on her cousin or something. She figured she'd leave it be for the time being and see how well he faired on his own with her cousin.

The day of the wedding had come and Brielle could barely sleep the night before she had been soo excited. Getting dressed had gone without a hitch, Bri had smiled big for the wedding photos along with most of the rest of the wedding party (her cousin and little sister notwithstanding) and followed them into the area that had been decorated for the ceremony. Everything for the ceremony had started off pretty well. Despite her sister Ariel's bored expression as she meandered down the aisle dropping the flower petals, everyone seemed to be happy to be there. She and Philippe were set to walk down the aisle before Clara and Remy and the two of them had begun their walk. Everything had been going fine until she heard a small commotion behind them. “Please don't be Clara...Please don't be Clara,” she had whispered to herself as she turned around to see what was going on. Brielle felt her shoulders slump slightly when she noticed her cousin laying on the floor. She gave Remy a questioning glance as he leaned down to help Clara up. He had shrugged and offered Clara his arm. Brielle shook her head sadly as she chuckled to herself and turned her attention back to the front and retook Philippe's arm. She and Clara finished their walk towards the front to take their places. The wedding ceremony went perfect after that and Brielle was confused when she glanced around to ask Clara what had happened and Clara was nowhere to be found. She spotted Clara later near an oak tree in the yard sitting on what appeared to be a tire swing and started walking towards her. Brielle stopped mid-stride when she spotted Remy approaching Clara as well. Bri hid behind the nearest tree fighting the urge to sneak closer and eavesdrop on the two of them. Curiosity won out and she stopped just close enough to hear Clara laughing about something Remy had said to her. Since her cousin appeared to be in good hands for the time being she went back towards the reception area.

She had meant to ask Clara what had happened during the ceremony, but found the question had escaped her somewhere in the excitement of the reception. She teased Clara endlessly for having an extra shadow that day which Clara seemed to take better than she thought she would have. A few days after the wedding everyone was gathered around in the family room where they had put up the Christmas tree and was getting ready to open presents. Brielle was a little surprised when she noticed that Remy and his aunt had remained after the wedding to spend Christmas with them. She couldn't help wondering what the deal was with that. She was about to ask about that when she heard her cousin Dimitri talking to his sister Darina. Brielle was about to ask what they were talking about when certain key words had hit her ears. Bri's mouth dropped to the floor when Dimitri had finished talking. Betrothed?! Clara?! Brielle ran immediately towards her cousin and almost ran her over as she emerged from the den in her house. She had asked Clara if what she had just heard from Dimitri was true and she mutely nodded. Bri's eyes widened again in shock. Brielle shook her head mutely and allowed Clara to walk off alone for the time being. She was determined to get Clara to spill her guts later about it. Eventually Clara told her about it which stunned Brielle into silence again. She was still suffering in silent shock when her mother, step-father and her younger siblings said goodbye to her and her sisters before leaving to deal with a medical issue one of her younger sisters was having. She and her other sisters who were heading back to school stayed at Clara's house to catch the wagon back from there. She made her mother promise to write to her as soon as they had any word on her sister Aislynn.

The wagon arrived shortly after the new year to take them back to school and Brielle climbed into the wagon after her cousin Clara. She watched Clara curl herself into a ball in the far corner of the wagon. Brielle wanted to comfort her cousin, but she wasn't sure what to say to her to make her feel better. Brielle left her be for the time being. Once they arrived at school Brielle nudged Clara and got off the wagon. She went into the school building with the rest of her classmates and found an empty seat inside at the Teppenpaw table. She eyed her cousin closely from across the room wondering if her cousin was feeling okay. Aubrielle turned her attention towards the new Headmaster and sighed when he mentioned the concert. In the midst of everything she had completely forgotten about the concert. She was surprised though when his speech was incredibly short. Brielle hadn't expected that part. She grinned at the idea of that. She glanced towards the food appearing on the table and heard her stomach growl. She hadn't realized she was soo hungry. She piled her favorite foods onto her plate and had begun to stuff her face when she heard someone sit down beside her. Brielle turned towards them to say hello. When that was done she jumped immediately into the most obvious question. “Hey,” she greeted cheerfully. “How was your holiday?”she had asked.

OOC: I spoke to Clara and Dimitri's author and got permission to mention them as such within the post.

0 Aubrielle Thornton Shocked Silence 0 Aubrielle Thornton 0 5

Darina Porter

December 21, 2013 10:34 PM

Holiday Surprises by Darina Porter

Darina gazed out the window of the wagon as she and Dimitri made their way back to school. As far as holidays went hers hadn't been bad. Not great, but not bad. She had been looking forward to their annual trip to Fall Crown and was marginally disappointed when her mother's letter had arrived just before school released them for the holiday canceling their original trip. She had become excited when she saw what trip would be replacing it. A wedding?! How exciting! she had thought as she hugged her mother's letter to her chest. Darina had spent the last few days of school fretting over what she was going to wear for her uncle's wedding. Since this was an extremely special occasion she wanted to look better than her usually stellar best. She frowned as she packed her clothing into her trunk. Nothing she had brought with her to school seemed appropriate or awesome enough to wear for her uncle's wedding. Its a good thing Clara doesn't live far from places to shop Darina had thought to herself as she packed. Hopefully I can talk my mother into taking me shopping.

Darina had been delighted when their parents picked them up from their drop point. They had all gone home to pack briefly for their trip to uncle Bryan's. Even packing for that made Darina frown. Why did all of her clothes suddenly just seem all wrong for what they were going to do? Darina shook her head and quickly finished packing. As soon as she was finished she and her family were whisked away via portkey to her uncle's place. Sometimes it was awesome being a witch even if traveling by portkey made her slightly dizzy. Darina followed Lucy to Clara's room where she and Aubrielle would be bunking with Clara for the holiday. Darina had always liked Clara's room. Her cousin seemed to have a more eclectic taste than Darina herself. On one wall of Clara's room sat a massive built in bookcase filled from top to bottom with old leather bound books. It was a quirk of Clara's. She and her dad both loved collecting old leather bound books. There were other books there as well, but the leather ones had their own spot which took up most of the bookshelf. Clara's room also sported all kinds of colorful posters and pictures depicting things from famous actors to fuzzy puppies. There were also a few that had funny sayings on them. Darina glanced to one of the posters on Clara's ceiling above her bed and smiled faintly. The one above Clara's bed depicted a ballet dancer in a white dancing tutu wearing a jeweled tiara. Her eyes were aimed towards the sky and her stance was beautiful. The picture was of Clara's mother from one of the ballets she had danced in before Clara was born. Uncle Bryan had turned the picture into a poster for Clara as a gift. It appeared to be the oldest one in the room. The coloring around the edges was faded and the edges were ripped a bit. Darina sighed as she pulled her gaze away from the poster and back around the room. Clara's usual stack of miscellaneous stuffed animals were arranged on her bed this time instead of the armchair that usually sat in Clara's room. The chair had obviously been removed to make room for her and Brielle. Brielle’s bag was already stuffed inside Clara's closet so that's where Darina stashed hers as well. Darina shut the door to the closet and grinned when her gaze hit the top of Clara's dresser near the closet.

Clara's collection of music boxes and snow globes sat on top. In front of the pack of snow globes sat the one that Darina had given to Clara the previous year for Christmas. Inside the frosted white glass sat a pixie fairy with purple tinted wings covered in glitter. The fairy's hair was a fiery red like her cousin's and almost as curly. She wore a funny little dress over purple and black stripped tights, her little fairy toes curled at the ends. The fairy was perched on a clear glass orb that looked like a crystal ball, her green eyes staring at an apparition only she could see. The fairy's mouth held a little grin that screamed of mischief. The snow globe had a switch on the bottom underneath that if you flip it to “On” the globe lights and changes colors. It looked awesome under the frosted glass. It had reminded Darina immediately of Clara when she spotted it at her mother's shop back in Arizona. She was glad to see that Clara had it out for display. Darina left Clara's room and wandered through the house in search of her cousins. She spotted everyone later piled into her uncle's dining room. Darina spotted her brother wading through the crowd of people getting hugged left and right and chuckled to herself. She smiled when she spotted Brielle and Clara, but then frowned when they seemed to disappear. Darina went in search of the two girls and spotted them heading into Clara's room just before the door shut. She was about to go knock on the door when she heard her mother calling out. She left the door un-knocked on and went to see what her mother had wanted. Apparently she and Darina's aunt Alora were heading into town to go shopping for dresses. Darina immediately forgot all about Clara and Bri as she excitedly told her mother she would love to go. She left the house with them and Lucy who drove them into town. Sometimes she forgot that her cousin lived near Muggles so they had to travel like them sometimes. Darina didn't mind riding in her uncle's car. It felt slightly bouncy due to bumps in the road and made her way less dizzy than traveling by portkey. They arrived in town a little while later and immersed themselves in shopping. They found a cute little dress boutique in town and found the best dresses for the wedding. Darina had almost been afraid that she'd never find what she liked until she found her dress buried in the middle of a bunch of fashion don'ts. It was the cutest crushed green velvet with silver piping around the edges. It stopped just above her knees and belled out a little at the bottom. The neckline sat in a gentle curve that rested just under her collarbone. The sleeves were short and stopped just off her shoulders. A thin satin silver ribbon wrapped itself around the dress from behind and tied into a dainty bow in the front. It zipped up the back. Darina found a cute pair of silver ballet flats with bows on the top by the toes to go with her new dress.

Once they got back to her uncle's place Darina tucked her precious new dress inside Clara's closet to keep it safe and clean. She wanted nothing touching it until she got to wear it for the wedding, even then she wanted nothing to touch it. Darina wandered around her uncle Bryan's place while everyone visited. Her older cousins were outside playing a mock Quidditch game and Darina almost joined, but thought better of it since she hadn't thought to pack anything to play Quidditch in. She instead wandered back into the house in search of other entertainment. The day of the dress fittings Darina wandered into the den when she heard people talking and was amazed to see her cousins in the room. She was even more amazed when she spotted Ariel of all people being fitted for a dress. Darina almost giggled aloud, but managed to clamp her hand over her mouth before it slipped out. Her little cousin was already shooting daggers at everyone she didn't want to be included if she could help it. She sat back and watched as Brielle and Clara both took their turn and nodded approvingly at the efficient work Lucy was doing on each dress. She even liked the color. The dark hunter green looked good on each girl. Once her cousins were done getting poked at Darina joined them happily for a movie. It didn't escape her notice that Clara didn't seem to be acting like her normally cheerful self. Darina glanced towards her with concern, but said nothing. The rest of the days after that up to the wedding all seemed to run together. The day of the wedding Darina dressed with care, had her mother help her do her hair and even talked her into letting Darina wear a little make-up. The photo session was fantastic and the whole ceremony started off brilliantly. Darina chuckled silently as Ariel surlily made her way down the aisle dropping her flower petals. She had to cover her mouth again when Ariel plopped down into her seat near the front.

Everything again seemed to go well after that up until Clara and her escort came down the aisle. Darina wasn't certain how it happened, but one moment she saw Clara walking tall and straight down the aisle not a problem to be had and when Darina turned to speak to her mother briefly she heard Clara yelp. She turned from her mother just in time to see Clara hit the ground. Darina dropped her face into her palm and shook her head. Oh dear she thought to herself. She was relieved when Clara was back on her feet and appeared to be unharmed. The ceremony continued and when it was over Darina frowned when she spotted Clara leaving the room. She debated going after her, but decided against it when she spotted Brielle going in Clara's direction. If anything she could always ask Bri later what happened. She enjoyed the rest of the reception as best she could. Darina still worried about Clara and was about to go in search of her and Brielle when she ran into her brother Dimitri. He looked like he was about to burst. “What is the matter with you?” she had asked him when they were finally semi-alone. Dimitri told her about what their uncle had said about Clara and her escort at the wedding and Darina felt her jaw drop open. “Is that why he's been following her around all day?” she had asked in a hushed tone so that no one else would hear her. Dimitri had shrugged leaving her to wonder if it was true or not. She left her brother to see if she could find Clara or Bri. She found Bri first. Bri told her the same thing that Dimitri had. Darina was stunned. She didn't know whether to be excited for Clara or worried.

The rest of the holiday went by pretty quietly (well as quietly as it can with a house full of small children running around it). They opened their presents Christmas morning and Darina was delighted with the new outfit she had gotten. She, her parents and her brother said goodbye to everyone the day after Christmas. Her parents had other business to attend to back home so they needed to leave earlier than intended. Darina hugged her family goodbye and went back home. Once home Dimitri had gone with their mother to help her with the shop leaving Darina to her own devices at home. She tidied up her room and put away all her new stuff. She even laid everything out on her bed that would go back into her school trunk. She repacked her trunk for school the next day, making sure to include her new outfit. Once she and her brother were packed their parents took them to their pick up spot to wait for the wagon. Darina hugged her parents when the wagon arrived and climbed inside before Dimitri. She spent most of the ride back to school chattering away about the holiday. She had no idea if Dimitri had been listening to her, but she didn't really care. She kept right on talking. The wagon pulled up in front of the school building and Darina sighed. It felt good to be back after the craziness of her family. Especially Clara. Darina shook her head whenever she thought of her cousin. She adored Clara, but she couldn't help worrying about her. The girl couldn't walk right to save her life. Darina spotted her other cousins and waved to them as she followed them inside. Even though she had gotten into the wagon before her brother somehow she had gotten out after him and was now walking behind him. She took a seat at the Teppenpaw table inside and waited quietly for the return speech. Headmaster Brockert gave the speech which oddly enough was rather short. When he mentioned the concert, Darina couldn't help wondering what her cousin Clara had in mind for her group that Darina had signed up for. She would just have to wait and see.

Darina eyed the food hungrily as it appeared on the table and gave herself a small helping of all her favorites. She smiled at the other Tepps at the table around her and asked the one sitting closest to her to pass her the rolls basket. “Would you be kind enough to hand me the rolls basket?” she asked politely. “And the butter?” She flashed them her friendliest smile.

OOC: I've already gotten permission from Dimitri and Clara's author to refer to them as they have been within the post.

0 Darina Porter Holiday Surprises 0 Darina Porter 0 5

Wendy

December 22, 2013 1:45 AM

Why hello there by Wendy

The sight of Rup's bandaged wrist made Wendy's hazel eyes grow round. "How did you break it? I've never broken a bone or sprained anything before so I can't even imagine how much it would hurt. Yeah, here's the spaghetti." She scooped some on his plate for him and put the platter back once he indicated it was enough. "Are you left-handed? Man, that's even worse! If you ever need any help with stuff I can help. I'm sure taking notes and stuff will be a little difficult, though magic seems to heal bones and colds faster than back home for me."

Wendy was thinking a little about how awesome it would be if all colds could be healed quickly and how children got out of school here if they didn't feel like going to class, but she realized she hadn't answered Rupert's question. "Oh! Sorry, my mind was somewhere else. My break was really fun. I went and visited both sets of my grandparents and they live in two different states. My parents never get days off like this so it was perfect to travel as much as possible. We visited my dad's parents in Kansas first and then my mom's family in South Carolina. My uncle lives there and her family from all over went to his house for New Year's. My mom's family is originally from North Carolina though, so I'm not really sure how he ended up there." Wendy shrugged and dug into her quinoa salad.

There was a lot of history in Wendy's family, but she had never really been interested in finding it out. Her mom's side were proud Southerners who could trace their money and their family line all the way back to the Civil War. They were pretty wealthy people with a serious dairy business that Wendy's mom had lucked out of inheriting. Her dad's family was from England and she didn't know any more than that. All she knew was that she still had living distant relatives in England who were magical, though her dad considered himself a full-blooded American.

Different cultures did interest Wendy to an extent, but not too much. People were also interesting, but not nearly as interesting as nature itself. There was something intoxicating about nature and something so pure and spiritual. Cultures changed, but grass still grew green and trees still had leaves. She liked to believe it had always been that way and people simply took it for granted too much.

In her thoughts, Wendy had forgotten the conversation as she was sometimes apt to do. When she came out of her reverie, she noticed Rupert was still there and decided to ask the first thing that popped into her head. "Are you going to be able to play Quidditch?" There were some real Quidditch nuts here and from what Wendy knew Rupert was one of them.

0 Wendy Why hello there 0 Wendy 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

December 24, 2013 5:11 AM

Sorry but you aren't getting off that easy. by Atlas Primred, Pecari

To say Atlas was happy to be able to go home for the holidays was a huge understatement. Although he didn’t mind Sonora too much, he felt rather lonely not having a close friend there to talk to. He was able to have a decent conversation with Leonidas in potions earlier that year, but he didn’t feel as though he knew him well enough to be considered a friend. Like every Christmas, Atlas spent the holiday and the 9 days of Simbang Gabi at the Davidsons’. Due to Steven Davidson being a muggle he had to change a few of the details of his new school, mostly the things involving magic. Even with the edited version of his stories, Steven was completely infatuated with Atlas' classmates, saying that they were very "interesting" people. The remainder of the party was just like any other gathering, the boys played video games, read comics, and of course teased Katie a little. Luckily for Atlas, Steven hadn’t changed at all in their months apart. He was just that type of person, someone whom Atlas could be away from for a long time and once reunited, he could feel as though nothing had ever changed.

His little sister Katie on the other hand had changed quite a bit since he had been gone. After her first few months in Kindergarten she had gone from a shy little princess, to a nonstop talker, although still a total princess. In addition to learning how to read and write, she had developed quite a social life. Atlas’ Mom described how almost every weekend she had a play date or something with friends. In addition, she had a best friend of her own now, a girl named Ann. The two even signed up and began ballet lessons at the same studio. However despite her changes, she was still the adorable little sister who idolized her brother. When Atlas finally arrived home, she hugged him like a koala bear, and wouldn’t release him. Unfortunately, despite her pleas he was unable to perform any of his magic for her due to the underage magic law. Instead he entertained her with some tales of the school and depicting the latest Aladran vs. Crotalus Quidditch game. He decided to leave out the part where Liliana Bannister gave him the cold shoulder after he tried, very courageously, to be friendly and sit next to her. Atlas knew when someone disliked him, but it was usually because he had done something to them first. He couldn’t think of anything that would cause her to have given him such a haughty look that day. Although he didn’t usually hold grudges against girls, she made the entire event awkward for him and completely ruined the first Quidditch game he ever got to see.

Despite his hurt feelings the winter holiday went by quickly. The entire house filled with smells of sweets and delicious home cooked food. In addition, 9 days of yummy Filipino food cooked by Mrs. Davidson trumped any dish Sonora had to offer. There was a sense of family and friends that you just couldn't get from the food the prairie elves made, no matter how tasty it was. However, Atlas once again found himself at Sonora, entering the familiar hall. He was surprised to see Rupert with a sling on his arm. He wondered what had happened to his teammate to put him in such a state. Atlas was about to sit next to him and ask him about it, when he spotted none other than the Snow Princess herself, Liliana, sitting quietly among the other Pecaris.

He calmly sat down next to her just as the headmaster was beginning his speech. Atlas didn’t even bother to pay attention, he was too busy staring at her and thinking about how to extract his revenge. It was almost like déjà-vu the way he was interacting with her. She reminded him of his sister for some reason, which only made it easier for him to want to prank her. He pondered which hoax would get the reaction from her he was seeking. He considered turning her hair a different color with the “multicolfors” spell he had learned in charms class, and began reaching for his wand while he thought of which color would make her the most upset. However his mischievous thoughts where interrupted when she tapped his shoulder asking for the jam. Skeptically he passed her the container. Atlas continued to stare at her, this time a puzzled look spread across his face, when suddenly she asked how his holiday was, her eyes still affixed on her plate. He was a little taken aback by how civilized she was being, completely different than at the Quidditch match. However, he was still upset and couldn’t hold back from a chance to make her feel as uncomfortable as he did the month before.

“It was great,” he said kindly with a smile. “Did you get a lump of coal this year?” he asked semi-jokingly with a smirk. “I mean after all, nice kids don’t completely ignore someone at a Quidditch game who is just trying to be friendly,” he continued, his nonchalant tone trying hard to cover the hurt feelings that filled his voice.

OOC: I got permission to reference Liliana as seen in the post by her author.

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari Sorry but you aren't getting off that easy. 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Ava Fletcher

December 25, 2013 12:58 AM

I don't think so, that's just part of having a family... by Ava Fletcher

Ava had had a very pleasant holiday. Her mother had surprised them by taking the whole break off plus a few days to spend with Ava and her grandfather, something Charlotte had never done before. Ava suspected it was because Papa had convinced his daughter-in-law to do something extra nice for Ava this year as she was getting older and he wanted her to have a female influence. Ava didn't really mind so much, she liked spending time with her Papa but she was happy that her mom would be staying on a few days after Ava went back to school. The anniversary of her father's death was a few days into her return to school and she didn't like leaving Papa alone on that day. Last year she'd had to but now that Charlotte had taken the time off, her grandfather wouldn't have to be alone.

Weirdly though, Charlotte had been extra nice to Ava, nicer than usual (not that she was a horrid mother, just an absent one). She took her shopping for new clothes and let Ava pick out whichever ones she wanted and also bought her some new books (on Healing, of course!) and art supplies. Ava wondered if something was up but knew better than to question it as she didn't want things to change it the niceness made it seem like something was about to become very different. Papa had given her a new sketchbook and a brand new set of brushes and water colors in a handmade wooden carrying case that doubeled as an easel. The handle for it was made out of nice leather and there was even a leather case to put it all in to keep the wood safe from the elements. Her mother cast a spell to keep the leather waterproof so that it wouldn't be ruined and Ava hadn't even heard the two argue which had made her very happy. To top it all off, Dimitri had sent his owl to her with a Christmas card in it. She had thanked the bird with a cookie and told it to wait so she could grab something for Dimitri. She had a card too but hadn't mailed it since her mother's owl had been out picking up mail from work.

Other than the family business, Demetri hadn't come to see his grandfather, so George had come over solo and Ava had been grateful. Apparently, Demetri's father had gotten a promotion at work and had taken the whole family to France for the break. Ava was happy the no-good mongrel was going to be out of her hair for the holidays and she, George, and Papa taught her mother how to play Kaazam, a complicated card game they had made up together over the summer that involved a hot lava floor, a black hole, and type of musical chairs that enabled to winner to take 2,000 points from the loser. The game was great fun and she couldn't wait to graduate Sonora so that she could play it with magic, that could make the game a whole lot more interesting and she knew that even more elements could possibly be added. When it was time to leave, she collected her things and new presents and packed them safely in her trunk. She'd had a hard time finding a Christmas present for Dimitri. After the fudge disaster last year, she was unsure. She had already given him a watercolor in the form of the card she'd sent off with his owl but she wanted a real present to give him. She eventually decided upon a tie with a design from the Klallam tribe on it. She thought the design pretty and the place where it was from was only a 45 minute drive from her house in Port Townsend.

She rushed off the wagon as soon as it got to school, eager to find Dimitri and ask him how his break was but first sat down at the Aladren table to listen to the Headmaster's welcome back speech. It was rather short, which was odd, but she enjoyed that as it meant she could get up all the sooner and find Dimitri. "Hi," she said as she sat down beside him. "My holiday was great, how about yours?" She looked around the table, decided upon a baked potato and grabbed one before they were gone.

10 Ava Fletcher I don't think so, that's just part of having a family... 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Liliana Bannister

December 26, 2013 6:15 PM

You're one to talk. by Liliana Bannister

Liliana was slightly shocked at Atlas' tone but it only reaffirmed her belief that he wasn't a nice kid. She hadn't talked to him much at Quidditch practise as she had mainly focused on the sport but her three talks with him (during class where he basically called her a princess, during the Aladren/Crotalus match when he acted like he'd forgotten what he'd done, and now here at the feast where he acted like she was the rude one) made her realize that he was not the kind of person she wanted to make friends with at all. She inwardly sighed at her bad luck in finding the wrong sort of person to talk to but put on a brave face to deal with the monster before her. She put a cold face on and derisively smiled back. "I wouldn't know," she replied. "We don't celebrate Christmas." Though a Jewish witch, she knew enough about Christmas and muggles from her friends and tutors. Privately she thought the whole Santa Claus/being good ad bad thing was ridiculous. Children were supposed to behave themselves because that was what was expected of them by their parents and other elders. Not because some fat man would or wouldn't give you presents. "Did you? Rude little boys always do get their comeuppance, don't they."

She really hated Atlas Primred. She had only disliked him before, thinking he was a mean boy who didn't care about other's feelings. But now that he was trying to make her out to be the bad guy it just showed that he was also cruel, vindictive, and manipulative. She didn't care, she could be like that too. How many times had she turned a situation around so that one of her cousins took the blame for something she had done? How many times had that cousin then forgiven her when she said it was all "just a big misunderstanding". How many times had she nicked a peppermint cookie and gotten away with it by leaving trails that pointed to others? How many times...but the answer to whatever question would always be too many to count.

Liliana kept back the irritation that she knew was going to creep into her voice. She kept her voice clipped like her grandmother did when frustrated with one of the house elves or another witch or wizard. She made sure to sound as indifferent as possible- Atlas was no one to tell her how she should behave, especially not after he had started everything in class last semester. Besides, she had never heard of his family name which meant he was a nobody to her and anything she said to him would not affect her family in the slightest. She was planning on moving back to England after she graduated Sonora anyway, having figured out over the holiday that she would never be transferring. She took a careful bite of the roll, making sure not to drop any crumbs and posed her next question. "What are you anyway?" She knew that could be taken a number of ways and none of them flattering given the tone of voice she had used, so she was quite pleased with herself.

10 Liliana Bannister You're one to talk. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

December 27, 2013 8:44 PM

Hey, at least I'm making an effort. by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Atlas scooped up some mashed potatoes and picked out a piece of grilled chicken while he listened to Liliana. "You know you don't need to celebrate Christmas for that," he replied about Santa as he began cutting into his chicken. He thought about some of his friends that still believed in Santa despite having different religious beliefs. He himself also enjoyed learning about their religious holidays and what they meant. In addition, having a dad that worked in a University made it easy to participate in a wide arrange of cultural events that students from around the world put on. "Perhaps things are different in England," he thought to himself as he continued to eat and listen to Liliana. He chucked at her remark about him receiving his own lump of coal. He thought it was quite funny how polite she was for someone who, at the same time, was obviously mad at him for something. Although he still was clueless as to what her problem with him was.

Atlas had been humoring her up to that point; however the question she asked was obviously supposed to be hurtful. It was enough to push him past what even he was able to tolerate. He dropped his utensils loudly on his plate and turned in his seat so he could face her clearly. He hated everything about this question. All it's possible meanings, and how every one of them hit home. It could have been referring to if she thought he was a boy or not. This was the type of question that usually got him into fights with other boys who mocked him for his close relationship with his sister. It could mean what ethnicity he was, which although he was fairly sure he was Japanese, as an adopted child he had no definite answer to give. Worst of all, it could mean how much magic blood he had in him. He had stumbled upon, and quickly got absorbed into, a history book about the magical world that talked about a few of the topics he had been curious about since he came to Sonora. One of them was on the common prejudice many people in the magical community had about "muggle born" witches and wizards. Unfortunately, this only reminded him of his birth mom, a person he tried constantly to forget ever existed. He looked at her sternly with fire in his eyes and answered confidently to what he knew in his heart he was. "What I am,” he said mimicking Liliana, from her tone right down to her accent, “is a big brother."

Instinctually he shot back a retort, hoping it would end this silly situation she had wrapped him up in. "What you are is a complete contradiction," he continued, not trying in the slightest to hide the annoyance in his voice. "I tried to make friends with you at the game but all you did was ignore me. It doesn't take a genius to know that conflicts are never resolved like that! If I did something to you then I’m really sorry. But until you use your words to tell me what’s bugging you, I’m not going to understand,” he said trying to sound as sincere as possible without yelling. He really didn't want to further the conflict any further, however he was really bothered by her attitude. Even Katie knew how to communicate her feelings, so why was this girl being so weird. Atlas gazed at her once more. He was hoping that he would be able to look her strait in the eyes. If eyes where the window to the soul, he wanted a close look at Liliana's. Maybe he would be able to see something unexpected in the eyes of the Snow Princess. Then again maybe not.

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari Hey, at least I'm making an effort. 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Dimitri

December 27, 2013 10:30 PM

I wish someone would have told me that...lol by Dimitri

Dimitri glanced over and smiled when Ava sat down beside him after the Headmaster's speech. “Hey,” he greeted back after she said hi to him. He smiled again when she replied to his question about her winter break. He had been halfway afraid that she might be harassed again by the other Demetri, but from the cheeriness in her voice it sounded as though she hadn't had that problem. At least Dimitri hoped she hadn't. “I'm glad your holiday went soo well,” he told her sincerely. “I got the watercolor you sent me shortly before coming back to school. It's really nice. I asked my mom to frame it for me,” he told her still smiling about it. His mother had teased him relentlessly about it, but Dimitri had merely rolled his eyes and assured her it was just from a friend. His mother had given him a knowing smile and had let the subject drop. At least for the time being. He knew it was only a matter of time before she started in on him again.

Dimitri took a bite from the food on his plate before answering Ava's question. “My holiday was weirdly interesting to say the least,” he began. “My family and I went to a wedding for my cousin Clara's dad. The days leading up to the wedding were pretty standard. We hung out and did family junk. The day of the wedding was a bit...umm...interesting. My cousins Brielle, Ariel and Clara were all in the wedding which was nice until my cousin Clara fell walking down the aisle. Apparently she tripped on the hem of her dress or something,” he said. “At least that's what my mom said she did. I didn't actually see her fall. I just saw her laying on the ground next to the guy she was partnered with.” He grinned slightly as he thought about the whole mess. He took another bite from his plate and finished it before he spoke again. “After that everything else for the wedding went fairly well. Well, it went about as well as anything from my family can,” he shrugged slightly. “The weird part of the whole thing (well the weird part to me anyway) was the conversation I heard between my uncle and my dad about my cousin Clara.” He grimaced slightly on Clara's behalf. He knew that the discussion of his own would come up soon enough and he was hoping to avoid it as long as possible. His cousin apparently was not so lucky since hers had been decided at the wedding.

“Well, their conversation and the fact that my cousin's escort followed her around all day like a lost puppy dog. I was a bit lost on that one,” he admitted openly. He shook his head slightly. He was still trying to understand what that was all about. “Other than that, my Christmas was pretty quiet. We opened presents at my uncle's place in Napa and then my parents, sister and I went home. I helped my mom in her shop for a day before we had to come back to school. Which is where I found your Christmas present,” he told her, turning his attention partially to his dinner so she wouldn't notice the slight blush that entered his cheeks. He didn't know why that made him blush. It was just one friend giving a gift to another. Sure, one of those friends happened to be a girl, but that part shouldn't have mattered. For some strange reason it did matter somewhat. The whole thing was just a little confusing. He decided it was best to just ignore it and pretend it didn't happen. Shifting the attention away from himself he asked abut her winter break. “Enough about me. I want to hear all about how your break went,” he told her excited for her. “What did you and your grandfather do for it this year?” he asked curiously. He really was interested in hearing all about it. She looked really happy when she talked about her grandfather and Dimitri liked to see his friend happy. He took a few bites from his plate as he waited for her to tell him about it.

0 Dimitri I wish someone would have told me that...lol 0 Dimitri 0 5

Ava Fletcher

December 30, 2013 8:19 PM

At least you know now :) by Ava Fletcher

Ava had been hopeful that Dimitri would like the watercolor she had done for him and was quite glad to find out that he did. "Thanks," she said, blushing a little. A compliment was always nice to hear and for him to frame it- that was something only her grandfather had done so far! "That was really sweet of you. I didn't frame your card exactly, but I did tape it to my desk at home so every time I lift up the lid I can see it!" She didn't disclose that she had done so because she liked to be reminded of him as she felt that was a bit to cheesy to share at the table and besides Dimitri was lactose intolerant.

She listened to him tell her about his break and his cousins wedding and nearly forgot to eat. She had always loved to hear about weddings. She liked them because everyone was generally always really happy and the colors were always so gorgeous. It didn't sound like this wedding was a happy accord for everyone exactly so that saddened Ava a little bit. She had always thought that no one could be unhappy at a wedding and now the illusion was a little bit shattered. It was too bad that Dimitri's cousin would be unable to pick out a husband for herself and briefly wondered if Dimitri and his sister would have arranged marriages as well. She had learned in school that arranged marriages were more common in Hindu and Muslim religions and hadn't known that people still practiced that in Western culture. Then again, wizarding culture was pretty different from average American culture and, it seemed, a lot more traditional.

"That's too bad that she's unhappy," Ava said, lightly, not wanting to upset Dimitri or step out of place. "What's Napa like?" She asked curiously, switching the topic. "I've never been. Is it snowy like the card you sent me?" Ava loved snow but most times snow tended to melt away with rain where she was from.

"My break was lovely," she said when Dimitri asked her. "My mother took all of the days off to spend with me and Papa. We even got to go over to Seattle for a few days and stay in one of the nice hotels downtown there. She took me out shopping for new clothes and books and my Papa gave me a nice paint set. I'll show you after dinner if you like, the carrying case is really lovely, it has an easel that collapses into it so I can prop my work up 'on-the-go'," she laughed. "Then my Papa's friend, George came over and we taught my mother this really fun game! Other Demetri didn't come this year so that was really great! Probably the best part of the break," she laughed. "Oh, and I've got a present for you as well, I found it when we took a small day trip to a few of the nearby towns."

OOC: I'm really sorry if Ava read too much into the Clara situation than you would have liked her too! I didn't realize she might have until I had already finished the post!

10 Ava Fletcher At least you know now :) 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Liliana Bannister

December 30, 2013 9:12 PM

I'd hardly call that an effort. by Liliana Bannister

Liliana tried not to express her irritation when Atlas shared the information about coal and Christmas. It was ridiculous for his to even say that. Why would a Jewish witch hang up a stocking on Christmas Eve? It didn't make any sense. She restrained herself from snapping at him when he chuckled and instead maintained her icy look. She didn't like when he mimicked her British accent as he made her voice sound loads more clipped than she believed it to be but she let it go because she knew a good argument wasn't won if a person gave into personal digs. She let him say his piece before raising her eyebrows calmly at how Atlas was trying to deal with the situation. He sounded like her grandfather trying to reason with her cousins during one of their spats and she nearly laughed at him for sounding so ridiculously old.

"I don't really know if I want to. Someone with as bad a memory as yours might not be able to recall this conversation at all in an hour or so. Perhaps you ought to seek some help with your condition," she stressed the last word in a concerned tone of voice as if she was really worried he was afflicted by that muggle disease she'd heard of that caused memory impairments. To be honest she could care less though it did hurt he had forgotten her so easily. Luckily for her, she had inherited her grandmother's talent of voice acting and was able to sound convincingly like she was seriously distraught about his state of mind. He was obviously trying to play the good angel card and if she snapped back angrily now it would only make her look bad.

"Do you eat fish?" she asked trying to sound as pleasant as she could. "I've heard that fish can help restore one's memory." She searched the table for some salmon as she was hungry for it as well. "Leafy greens such as spinach or foods high in vitamin E like Avacado can help as well, though I don't seem to see any of that on the table at all." She reached for some salad that she noticed a few pieces of spinach in and didn't ask Atlas before dumping some on his plate followed shortly by some salad dressing that looked a tad oily. "There, that should help you." She smiled at him prettily before adding the salmon, salad, and dressing to her own plate. "Eat up."

She took a large bite of the salad followed by a piece of salmon and nearly let her facade fall- the taste was exactly what she had been missing and she felt her insides cheer in happiness at the delectable foods she was eating.

10 Liliana Bannister I'd hardly call that an effort. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Dimitri

December 31, 2013 12:51 AM

And knowing is half the battle...lol by Dimitri

Dimitri was glad that she was pleased with his framing the card she sent him. He hadn't wanted it to get ruined so it only made sense to frame it so that it didn't get dirty or messed up. He had hung it up on the wall of his room next to the first drawing he ever made. It looked good there. He hadn't expected her to frame the card he had sent her, but he was happy to hear that she had taped it to her desk to look at. He had figured she would have just stuck it inside a book or something to save it. He hadn't expected her to do what she had done with it. He was flattered that she had enjoyed it that much. He stared at his plate for a second to try and urge the slight blush in his cheeks to recede. Once they weren't burning as badly as they had been he turned his attention back to her. He had answered her question about his holiday telling her about his uncle's wedding. She seemed a little saddened by what he had had to say and he felt bad about that slightly. He hadn't meant to upset her with the retelling. When he got to the part about his cousin's reaction to her dad's nuptials she seemed to be unhappy about it slightly. Maybe he was just reading too much into her reaction. He wasn't quite sure. He got something of a confirmation on his suspicions with the comment she made when he finished telling her about it. ”that's too bad that she's unhappy,” she had said to him after he told her about it.

Dimitri shrugged slightly at her comment. “Yeah...I suppose it is,” he agreed. “Although, she had been pretty unhappy about quite a few things before the wedding took place so I don't think it was really the wedding she was unhappy about,” he said matter-of-factually. He grinned when she changed the subject. He couldn't blame her for that one. The whole thing made him slightly uncomfortable as well. He was glad for the subject change. “Its actually really nice,” he began. “Lots of oak trees, open fields, back roads and lots of different vineyards. Clara's dad owns one of them and sells his own wine,” he told her. He frowned slightly when she admitted that she had never been there. “I'm sorry you haven't had the chance to go there yet,” he apologized. “It looks awesome in the fall when all the leaves change color.” When she asked if it snowed there like in the picture he sent her he shook his head. “No, unfortunately it doesn't,” he replied. “It's in a part of California that rains. It only snows up in the really Northern parts near the mountains,” he told her. “I added the snowy part myself,” he admitted sheepishly. He offered her a small smile in apology.

Dimitri listened intently when Ava told him about her holiday as he had asked. He was glad to hear that she had gotten to spend time with her mother for this one. The way she spoke about her grandfather and her together he had gotten the impression that she didn't get to see her mother and father much. He had been curious why that was, but he had never wanted to pry so he didn't ask. He figured she would tell him when and if she was ready to. “Sounds like you and your mom had a good time together,” he commented nicely. He really wasn't into shopping and all, but it sounded like she had had a good time anyway. He grinned slightly when she mentioned the present her grandpa had given her for Christmas. “That sounds awesome...I would love to see it,” he told her, his voice slightly excited. He raised a brow slightly when she told him about her grandfather, her and his friend George teaching her mother a fun new game. He smiled involuntarily at her comment. “What kind of game were you teaching your mom?” he asked interested. He wouldn't mind having her teach him the same game. He nodded approvingly when she told him that the other Demetri had been nowhere near her this holiday. He laughed softly at the relief he sensed in her voice when she said it. “I'll bet it was,” he agreed when she commented that it had had to be the best part of her break. “I'm glad to hear that he left you alone this time around,” he told her.

He smiled slightly when she told him that she had a present for him as well. He briefly thought about the fudge she had tried to give him last Christmas and felt bad that he had ruined that gift for her. It wasn't her fault that he was allergic to chocolate and hadn't known as much. How was she supposed to have known that? “I can't wait to see what you found,” he told her encouragingly. “I hope you like your present as well,” he told her sincerely. “Would you like for us to do the gift exchange in the same place we did it last time?” he asked curiously. He hoped she did and that she would bring Seal with her again like she had the first time they met. Seal was the first cat he had ever encountered that seemed to like him and he liked that feeling. He took a few more bites off of his plate as he waited for her replies.

OOC: It's perfectly alright. I'm a little surprised she had, but its nothing to be sorry about. From the way the post came out its not all that surprising that she had. No worries! :)

0 Dimitri And knowing is half the battle...lol 0 Dimitri 0 5

Ava Fletcher

December 31, 2013 3:01 PM

Would wisdom be the other half? by Ava Fletcher

Ava nodded, when Dimitri mentioned his cousin's previous unhappiness. Perhaps he was right, though, if she were an example to go by, most girls dreamed of a prince to sweep them away- one that they liked. Maybe Dimitri was just used to the whole having your marriage picked out for you. She had remembered something like that playing into the schism between her mother and her mother's family, but had thought it was only because they didn't approve of their daughter marrying Ava's father. She had never really considered the family dynamics that went on to explain her living situation. She was happy with Papa and though she missed her father, she didn't really want to think about what would have happened had she gone to live with her mother's family after the Tragedy. The date was coming up soon, and now that she had a close friend for the first time since it happened, she didn't know how she was supposed to handle the situation. Was she supposed to tell Dimitri when she was sulking by herself all day, or could she just cut class and hide in the Labryinth Gardens like she had last year. She shook her head to clear her mind of those thoughts. It wasn't for a couple days anyway, she didn't need to be thinking of those things now.

"It sounds lovely, it's okay that you made up the snow. Isn't that what artists are supposed to do anyway?" Ava asked after Dimitri's explanation of his uncle's vineyard. "I'd love to be able to go one day. I've only ever been on smaller trips to places inside Washington but my mother travels all over the world for her job- she's a Healer, the kind who goes places where there aren't a lot of Healers to tend to those who need it. That's kind of what I want to do when I grow-up. I like art but..." Ava shrugged, not wanting to share her pathetic reasoning for wanting to become a Healer like her mother with Dimitri lest he think she silly. "I don't know, I think it would be nice to do that, do what she does."

She nodded at Dimitri's comment about her mother. "We really did, I've never really seen her this happy since- in a long time," she mentally chastised herself for almost letting slip. "You'd like the game, I think, it's called Kazaam. We made it up, it's kind of like a really complicated card game. We'd need more than one player though, and a large area to play in." She frowned as she tried to think who else might want to play with them. She didn't really talk to her dormmate, Irina and Emrys, one of her housemates was always with the girl from Cortalus, Charlotte she thought her name was. And Emery, the other one, was always with his sister. She supposed Dimitri could invite his sister, Darina, but then that posed a problem as to where they were supposed to play. Dimitri and Darina were in Teppenpaw together but she wasn't and she was almost certain she was not allowed in the common room. Ava shared her concerns with Dimitri. "Can you think of anywhere else to play?"

"Of course, that sounds great. Right after dinner like last time, I'll even bring Seal, it can be our winter tradition!" She smiled widely for two reasons, the first that she had a friend, a real friend now to send letters and Christmas presents to; the second that she now had a new wintertime tradition, one that wasn't sad.

OOC: Okay, just checking, didn't want to be metagaming is all! :)

10 Ava Fletcher Would wisdom be the other half? 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Charlotte

December 31, 2013 5:49 PM

That would be lovely. by Charlotte

OOC: Apologies also for not replying quicker; hopefully we can keep this thread going! And I don't mind at all.

Emrys's face was a welcome sight though Charlotte had not expected him to sit with her at the Crotalus table. To her, this sort of act was the sign of a true friendship; he was willing to cross house lines for her. House prejudices weren't nearly as prevalent at Sonora as they were back in the UK, but house unity seemed to be emphasised much more here than back home.

Butter was a delicious additive to a plain bread roll, but it was a fat that was on the list of foods Charlotte was not allowed to eat. "No thank you," she said politely and looked away from the butter. She wouldn't want to go home and realise how much weight she had gained by slacking off on the diet her mother had put her on. Her mother was critical about these sorts of things for a good reason; Cassie did want the best for her daughter though sometimes it resulted in sacrificing the little pleasures of life.

The gift Charlotte had brought for Emrys was a new quill with his favourite coloured ink and a navy blue sweater she thought would look good on him. It was a simple gift, but she had some experience buying gifts for lads and had some help from Adam as well, having never purchased a gift for a friend before. The gift, however, was back in her bedroom in her suitcase and she wished now that she had it to give him. But at least she would be able to talk with him and give it to him tomorrow perhaps before class.

"How was your holiday, Emrys?" she asked, feeling much more comfortable now that Emrys was here. Charlotte tried very hard not to cling onto him whenever she felt afraid because she didn't want to push him away, but he seemed to appear whenever she needed a friend and Adam wasn't around. At least Adam had to tolerate Charlotte because she was his sister and they were very close, but really there was nothing tying Emrys to her except for however long she could entertain him and keep him interested. She didn't want to lose Emrys's friendship and so tried not to rely on him too much and push him away.

0 Charlotte That would be lovely. 0 Charlotte 0 5

Rupert

December 31, 2013 6:07 PM

Salutations. by Rupert

Wendy's concern for his wrist made Rupert feel a little special, though he didn't want her or anyone else to worry about him. If he could, he'd rather have the bandage charmed invisible so he wouldn't get so many stares. Wendy was willing to give loads of her time in offering to help him and there was something charming in that. Rupert smiled at her to ease a bit of her worry. "I'm fine. You didn't have to put the spaghetti on my plate for me, but thank you. I broke my wrist playing Quidditch. I took my eye off the bludger for a few seconds and, well, you can imagine what happened next. It wasn't pretty, I can tell you that. How do you heal bones and colds back home?" He hadn't learnt of Muggle medicine and healing in Muggle Studies yet.

"Sounds like a lovely holiday," commented Rup once Wendy had finished telling him. He didn't know where Kanses was or the Carolinas, but he assumed they were nice places. America itself seemed like a nice place to be and the people were much nicer than his relatives were back home. "Which state are you from?" asked Rup, but Wendy seemed to be caught up in her thoughts. He had noticed her do that quite often, enter into another world, and it made her a bit more interesting in Rupert's point of view. Their correspondence had only made Rup like her more and he was glad to see her again as nice as exchanging letters was.

Rupert knew what the consequences would be if he ever even showed interest in a muggle-born. The first act would be in finding someone to betroth him to though he was technically not supposed to be married off according to family tradition. The second act if the first didn't work would be disownment and Rupert didn't want that. But it was difficult to not look at a muggle-born just like any other witch especially when she was pretty and charming in her own way. She stood out from the others not only in her blood-status but in her personality as well.

Wendy raised her head to look at him and Rupert realised he had been looking at her for far too long than what was socially accepted. However, she didn't seem to notice and went straight into a question. The embarrassment of being caught staring splashed a little colour into Rupert's cheeks, but he ignored it and hoped Wendy would too. He picked up his fork and concentrated on twirling his spaghetti with his right hand. "I hope so," he replied. "It should heal before the next match, but I'm not sure how strong it will be. Are you planning on attending that match?" It wasn't that Rupert fancied her or anything. She was just a friend and she ought to be at the match to cheer on their house.

OOC: Apologies for the late reply!

0 Rupert Salutations. 0 Rupert 0 5

Dimitri

January 02, 2014 3:50 PM

I suppose it could be by Dimitri

Dimitri grinned when Ava commented on his adding snow to the card he sent her. He nodded in agreement. “I suppose it is,” he agreed when she asked if adding stuff was what artists were supposed to do. He listened interested as she spoke of her mother and what her mother did. He hadn't known her mother was a healer, especially a traveling healer. That had to be really fascinating work! It kind-of explained why she didn't talk about her mother much or hwy she didn't get to see her often. Dimitri was lucky that his parents owned their own business and stayed primarily close to home. He even got to help out with his parents shop from time to time. He really wasn't all that surprised to hear that she wanted to be like her mother. He had kind-of assumed that she had wanted to be an artist since she liked to draw and paint, but hearing the way she spoke of her mom he felt kind of silly for assuming. “Your mom's job sounds pretty cool,” he told her. “It must be hard though being away from home all the time, don't you think? I'll bet she really misses you a lot of the time.” He had meant that last part as more of an observation, not anything negative. He hoped he didn't make her feel bad with that comment. “I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything...I was just thinking aloud, ya know?” he explained lightly. “But I'm sure she does.”

“It's not really that surprising that you would want to do the same thing as your mother when you grew up,” he told her. “Some kids actually want to grow up and be like their parents especially if their parents do something really cool for work, ya know? My parents own and run a Medieval Magic Gift Shop here in Arizona,” he told her. “It's a cool place to hang out and help with a lot of the time, but to be honest I really have no idea what I want to be when I get older,” he confessed. He was glad at least one of them knew what they wanted to be when they left school. He was still trying to figure that part out. He grinned when she told him about the game that she and her grandpa had taught her mother to play. It sounded interesting. “I'm glad your mother enjoyed herself playing. The game sounds interesting. I'm not sure if my sister would be interested in playing, but we could always ask her. I'm sure my cousin Clara would love to learn how to play. She always did like doing stuff like that,” he told her. He frowned slightly when she asked if he had any idea where they might be able to play. “Hmm...let's see,” he began thoughtfully, rubbing his chin a bit while he thought about it.

“Maybe we could play the game in the gardens or the Library or maybe in one of the MARS rooms,” he suggested. “There might be plenty of space in one of those spaces.” He wasn't entirely sure which MARS room they could use, but he was sure at least one of them had to be big enough. He was glad when she agreed to doing the gift swap in the same place they had done it the year before. He was even gladder when she said she would bring Seal again. Dimitri had found a neat little stuffed mouse for Seal while he was looking for Ava's present. It supposedly smelled of catnip which cats were supposed to like (or so the sales clerk claimed). He returned her wide smile with one of his own. “Sounds like a good plan to me. I like the idea of it being our winter tradition,” he told her sincerely. As much as he enjoyed his family's winter tradition out of school, it was nice to have one that was just his inside of school. Now he couldn't wait for dinner to be done with so they could do their gift exchange.

OOC: It's nothing to worry about. If you want when you reply you could just move the thread to the Library so we can continue it there :)

0 Dimitri I suppose it could be 0 Dimitri 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

January 04, 2014 11:44 PM

Look who is talking. by Atlas Primred, Pecari

“Condition?...” he said with a slight grin of irritation. Atlas was dumbfounded. She didn’t seem to want to mend bridges at all. She really was a Snow Princess. “Ugh, why does she have to be so confusing,” he thought to himself. Before he was able to say anything, suddenly her tone changed as she asked if he wanted fish and went on to lecture him on spinach of all things before finally piling some on his plate, complete Italian dressing.

Atlas just stared blankly as the event transpired. Although he couldn’t keep a strait face for long before he started to giggle. “You are lecturing me about plants,” he managed to say through his laughter. He had had similar conversations so many times at the dinner table growing up that he couldn’t help but laugh. His laughter turned to chuckles as he began to control himself. “Sorry,” he said, “its just funny, you sounded like my dad, he is a botany professor. And thank you for dishing me up,” Atlas replied with a grin. “You are so thoughtful, and yes I do like fish, thank you for offering,” he continued while he reached over and stole a bite of fish from her plate. “Yum! Something about this fish is extra tasty,” he said looking over at her.

Talking with her, even if it was more of bickering, felt so natural. Atlas took a bite of the salad she had so painstakingly made up for him. This was the longest conversation he had felt at Sonora since starting there last fall. He knew he would really have to suck up all his pride if he wanted a chance of salvaging any type of friendship. Perhaps she was upset for not only his actions, but for him having had forgot her entirely. Atlas was never really one to stand out so it never mattered to him if anyone remembered him. However, he never thought about how she might have felt about the entire situation. Atlas began slowly, “As much as I enjoy this little war we have going on…. I really do feel bad about forgetting you, and um whatever I did.” His cheeks began to redden slightly from nervousness, “So.. how about a compromise? You apologize for being a wet blanket at the game, and I will apologize again. I’ll even do something extra as proof of how sorry I am,” he added, trying to sweeten the deal. “As long as its within reason,” he inserted quickly, just in case she was getting any ideas that would permanently destroy his image. He wondered if she would even accept his offer. From how things had been progressing he wouldn’t be surprised if she just continued to burry him in food, or shoot him more icy cold looks.

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari Look who is talking. 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Emrys Lucan

January 05, 2014 7:28 PM

Well then, here's to a new year! by Emrys Lucan

OOC: Awesome!

Emrys frowned a little at Charlotte's refusal of the butter, he couldn't understand how someone could eat plain bread. But he shrugged and minded his manners, perhaps Charlotte like plain bread. "Your loss then," he said cheerfully and slathered on a great deal before layering mashed potatoes, roast beef, and gravy on top of his rolls. His little sister had always wrinkled his nose when he did this- she was the kind who didn't like foods to touch on her plate, and he smiled a little, missing the way she would scold him. He had always thought it funny when Caelia tried to teach him manners, mainly because she was much younger than he was (or so he felt) and also because Grandfather had already taught him his fair share of manners. Whether he cared to follow through with them or not was his prerogative.

"My holidays were really great," he replied as he looked down at the mound on his plate before deciding to listen to Caelia and his grandfather and reach for his knife and fork. "We went to Wales and visited my cousin, Wesley. I got to hang out with him and a few of his friends as well as our dog, Lio." He smiled happily, thinking of the snowball fights and delicious outings that always ended up with consuming either butterbeer, loads of candy, or ice cream. "How were yours? Did you do anything special?"

He hoped that she'd had a good break, she sometimes looked very tense at school. He hadn't seen her talk to too many people and was a little worried for his friend. Emrys realized that he himself hadn't really made friends in anyone else and so it wasn't fair of him to wonder why she hadn't. He thought that perhaps he was the cause of it- he was always going up to her anyway, and he barely knew his own housemates as it were. Nevertheless, those thoughts didn't keep him from asking his next question.

"Would you care to meet in the Gardens later? Or perhaps one of the MARS rooms if the Gardens are too cold? I have something I want to give to you." Caelia had insisted that he give the gifts to Mother to wrap as if Emrys were to do it himself they would end up to be rather lumpy.

10 Emrys Lucan Well then, here's to a new year! 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Ava Fletcher

January 15, 2014 3:25 AM

Posted in the library! (nm) by Ava Fletcher

10 Ava Fletcher Posted in the library! (nm) 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Liliana Bannister

January 21, 2014 3:54 AM

I like destruction, what can I say? by Liliana Bannister

Liliana gave Atlas a smart nod of her head as he repeated the last word of her thinly veiled insult before continuing on asking if he ate fish. He kind of gave her a vacant look which made Liliana wonder if he was all there in the head. Perhaps he really did have a condition that made him miss parts of conversations or tune out for awhile without noticing. Perhaps that was why he had forgotten her. However, her nice thoughts of him quickly turned sour when he began to laugh at her.

She took another bite of her fish to calm herself and give herself some time to think. She decided not to respond to the laughter and instead focus on the positive light on the situation. If she could get him to like her she could gain his trust and get him back. Eventually. She didn't like his rude behavior and though she knew hers was less than sweet, she also knew that she wasn't normally like this. Atlas just had a way of getting under her skin. "Fish is always tasty," Liliana replied, hoping they could continue the conversation in that vein. However, Atlas had different ideas. Apparently he was of the talking variety and thought they ought to talk out their little disagreement.

"Sure thing," she responded deciding she might take advantage of his offering to do her a favor. "Perhaps we can start by apologizing for calling me a wet blanket or whatever other nasty name I'm sure you've come up with? Now that you know the some of the reasoning behind the attitude, you might be able to understand a little better?" She smiled sweetly at him. "And perhaps I can apologize for actually wanting to watch my opponents to see what they would be like when we played them and also for calling you an old man and a rude little boy- in my head of course. I would never go around gossiping."

At least that part was 100% true, Liliana detested gossiping and though she loved her mother always found one reason or another for leaving the room when she and the aunts felt the need to express their displeasure over what so-and-so wore to the last ball. "Now, as for that favor. I'll hold on to it, never know when I might need something." She winked at him conspiratorially, thinking of all the ways she could use the favor to her advantage including, but not limited to, a few things that were border line insane but sounded like they'd be great fun for the two of them such as adventuring around the world with him as her own personal sherpa.

"Now, what sorts of things do you like to do for fun other than going around and policing others on the politics of polite behavior?" Liliana made sure that this last part sounded like she was genuinely teasing him, a sort of endearing way of expressing that she liked someone. It was a tone of voice she often used with her cousins whilst teasing them, so if she and Atlas had really just made up, she didn't see why she couldn't talk to him like that either. Just to be safe though, she gave him a light nudge- she didn't need him getting up in arms over a little comment she had just made, especially not if she had just succeeded in getting him to owe her a favor.

10 Liliana Bannister I like destruction, what can I say? 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5