I am glad you agree! on Cascade Hall

Headmaster Brockert

March 09, 2014 3:07 AM

Opening Feast by Headmaster Brockert

Mortimer could not help but be internally thrilled that he was now completely the Headmaster, not that he'd let on his feelings about it show in any way. The position was all his now, which he was exceedingly proud of, and while he wouldn't be able to abuse that power to a great degree as he'd be far more likely to hang onto it that way, and more than anything he wanted to retain it. The Aladren alum was pretty far from being the family patriarch with not only Uncle Clifford's direct descendents, but his father's older brother, and his own two elder brothers and their sons standing in his way. Being Headmaster was almost as good as being patriarch, in some ways, and honestly made him consider himself a lot more important.

Admittedly, he even mostly respected his staff. Despite their lack of social status, they were at least more than competent at their chosen profession. Of course. beyond being polite and even what for him was considered pleasant, he still remained distant and was reluctant to allow any sort of softer side to his employees or students, something he hoped he could keep up when his grandchildren came to school. The only staff member he didn't completely respect was Lydia Chambers, but that had more to do with her age and choice of subject matter. Maybe if she offered to teach one of the real subjects that was in need of a professor instead of the most useless subject there was. As far as Mortimer was concerned, Muggle Studies ranked even below Divinations in that way. The halfbloods and Muggleborns already knew Muggle things and therefore didn't need the class. In fact, they had an unfair advantage in it, while purebloods really didn't in other subjects and it was a class no self-respecting pureblood would ever take. It was an accepted subject anyway to have as an elective, it was just a little unnecessary when Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts were more important subject. At least Miss Chambers was friendly and enthusiastic which though could be a bit of an irksome trait for people in general in his opinion, most people disagreed.

He stood to address the assembled mass. "Welcome all to the new term, whether you be a returning student or an incoming first year." Mortimer was not a man of many words, which made the next part of his job a tad annoying. Fortunately, it was all stuff that needed to be said, otherwise it would be totally pointless and he didn't like to waste his time with pointless blather. "The first order of business is to sort the new first years. Each of you will step up to our Deputy Headmistress, Professor Skies, who is also the Transfiguration Professor and the Crotalus Head of House. accept a goblet for her, and take a sip from it, which will temporarily change your skin color.. Then you are to join your house table." Really this was a bit silly, given that it was not expected at any other time of the year and even Mortimer wasn't so much of a stickler that he would say, give detention, for someone not sitting at their house's designated table or even truly cared enough to pay attention. "The colors you turn signify blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari."

Once the Sorting was finished, Mortimer went on. "Next, I would like to call Thaddeus Pierce and Alicia Bauer up to accept their Head Student badges. Congratulations." The new Headmaster said as he handed the students their badges. "Now I would like the following students to come up, Anthony Carey VIII, Carter Browning, Effie Arbon and Wendy Canterbury." Once they had all joined him, he awarded each of them with their badges. Mortimer had to admit that while he highly approved of Mr. Carey and Miss Arbon, he wasn't too thrilled about the other two. Miss Canterbury was a Muggleborn and while Mr. Browning was from a decent family, he surely didn't behave as such. Despite it all, he had to put on a good polite face and keep his disdain to himself. "Congratualations to you all as well." He said, even forcing a smile. The Bauer girl might not have been pure, but at least she was intelligent.

"We also have a new Medic on staff this semester, Medic Edda Eir. Please to your best to make her feel as welcome as possible." Honestly, with all the departures recently, Mortimer was admittedly quite glad to have Edda. Even he had to admit that being qualified for the position was more important in this situation than being an important member of society.

"Finally, before we sing the school song" Somthing Mortimer found to be quite a silly and utterly ridiculous tradition. "I have one last announcement. This year's Midsummer Event is to be the Bonfire. Instructions to follow at a later date."

As sheets of music appeared in front of the students, he spoke up one last time. "Let us begin." Honestly, in his book, this was a little much. Students were really probably getting hungry by now. He personally didn't want to participate in the singing. Singing was not something that Mortimer did , considering it to be beneath his dignity. Still, as Headmaster, it seemed to be a necessary evil.

Every day we strive
Learning to survive
Life’s hardships and to solve its mystery.
Learning to defend
Our honour and our friends,
Flying high to meet our destiny
We will stand and face those who want to harm us.
We won’t let the world transfigure, jinx or charm us
I won’t fight alone, as long as you are with me.
Sonora be my home, my tutor and my spirit
Vasita quoque floeat; Even the desert blooms.

With that, a diverse array of food appeared in front of the students. "Please wait until your Head of House calls for you before leaving the Feast so they can escort you to your respective houses. With that, please enjoy the rest of your meal." Though to be honest, he wasn't sure he cared how enjoyable they found it. So long as there wasn't any bloodshed-which was sure to cause mountains of paper work and possible law suits, as well the chance of expulsions when Mortimer really wanted people's tuition, as did the Board. He sat back in his own chair and turned to his meal.
\r\n\r\n\r\nOOC-Welcome First years! Please do not post on any other board until your Head of House posts his/her welcoming speech, which should be up in a week's time. Have fun at the feast and remember the site rules. Happy posting everyone! I also apologize to the authors of Lydia Chambers, Carter Browning and Wendy Canterbury. These are solely the opinion of Mortimer and not myself.

Subthreads:

Perspective one by Ji-Won "Jamie" Park with Lionel Layne

Perspective two by Ji-Eun Park with Chloe Jareau, Chloe

Feeling a little yellow by Casper Brackenridge with Serena Brockert

It's like the brightest blush ever. by Katherine Procter with Olivier Westley

Aladren, all right! by Clark Dill with Lena Westley

A Blue Day by Raven Corbeau with Ava Fletcher

Another Year by Annabelle Pierce

Let's try this again. [Tag: Atlas Primred] by Liliana Bannister with Atlas Primred, Pecari

My year between CATS and RATS begins by Aria Yale

Here and none too happy about it. by Isaac Douglas

Roses are Red... by Daphne Macaulay with Chaslyn Brockert

Can I go to my room now? by Emery Kijewski-Jareau with Emrys Lucan, Emery

Saying farewell... finally. by Jorge Garcia with Theresa Carey, Jorge

Back for my 6th year by Lucrezia Renaldi with Cepheus Princeton, Lucrezia

I like the 'out with a bang' analogy... by Jade Owen with Waverly Canterbury, Jade

Deciding on the future...sort of. by Keme RunningBear

Enjoying being on the ground. by Virginia Bellrose

11 Headmaster Brockert Opening Feast 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

Ji-Won "Jamie" Park

March 09, 2014 4:40 AM

Perspective one by Ji-Won "Jamie" Park

Ji-Won was excited to start at Sonora. It was freedom unlike anything he'd had before. He had never had a problem with extending his own liberty at home through little white lies (telling his parents that he was going to a friend's to study when in reality he was planning to hang out at the mall, for example) and figuring that what his parents didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Or him. But here.... So long as he sent home clean report cards – all top marks, no detentions – he was free. Ji-Eun was bound to give him That Look (scarily close to their mother's but not close enough to actually strike fear into his heart) but she was unlikely to rat him out; after all, as the responsible big sister, she was supposed to be setting an example, so any failing by him would reflect poorly on her too. It was perfect. He could do exactly as he wanted!

He grinned broadly as he was sorted into Pecari, unsurprised but pleased all the same. Pecaris were adventurous, and didn't mind stepping out of the bounds. Merlin alone knew why Ji-Eun was in there but it suited him to a tee. Hopefully there wouldn't be anyone too like his sister in his year group. Hopefully they would all be cool, like Pecaris should be. It would be handy to have his sister around though, and he swung past her place as he went to find his own seat.

“Hey Janey,” he grinned, ruffling her hair, “Looks like we're housemates!” He knew she didn't go by her American name much but that was what made it so much fun to use. After all, it was the prerogative of little brothers to tease their big sisters, and it wasn't like it was hurtful in anyway – it was all just a bit of fun.

He twiddled his thumbs, trying not to fidget too much as announcements were made. He needed to look serious and studious in front of the teachers, as his parents would probably get their pants in a twist over things like prefect. Still, he was relieved when it was over and he was free to dive into the food.

“Cool, pizza!” he excalimed, grabbing a few slices of pepperoni. Pizza was amongst his top favourite foods even though, like the majority of Asians, he was lactose intolerant. That wasn't such a problem when your parents ran an apothecary though, and the remedy was just a few carefully timed swipes away. He had a vile or two in his pockets, having predicted delicious, cheese-laden treats being present at the feast.

He grinned at the person next to him, small, straight, white teeth appearing out of his currently rather dark face, which still bore the effects of the sorting potion. The face was topped off with a shock of black hair gelled stylishly to within an inch of its life.

“I'm Jamie,” he informed them. Unlike his sister, he'd always much preferred going by his American name. “This place is neat, right?”

13 Ji-Won "Jamie" Park Perspective one 284 Ji-Won "Jamie" Park 0 5

Ji-Eun Park

March 09, 2014 5:04 AM

Perspective two by Ji-Eun Park

Ji-Eun was dreading her brother starting Sonora. He was so irritating. He was also such a cheeky thing already that she had no idea what such liberty as was offered here would do to his head. She sometimes couldn't believe how blind her parents were, as it was always perfectly obvious to her when he was sneaking off places he shouldn't at home. But then they seemed to have a wilful blind spot as far as he was concerned – he would be perfect in their eyes unless he very dramatically let them down. Even then, they'd probably find someone else to blame. Like her, for not setting a better example. She was not looking forward to the thankless task of trying to reign him in at school and for it landing on her plate when he inevitably went too far. It was so unfair.

She watched his sorting with dread, knowing that he was bound to end up in her house. He was the archetypical Pecari. She sighed as her prediction was confirmed. She twisted her fingers in her lap, her hair being unavailable to play with. Shallow as it might have seemed to other people, Ji-Eun loved doing her hair and playing with different styles. She had spent a great deal of time on it that morning, both to look nice for the feast and because she found it calming. And, with Ji-Won about to crashland into her world, she needed all the calm he could get. She had plaited green and silver ribbons into it, working the plaits so that they looped around her head.

Hey Janey.

She stiffened at the use of her American name. He knew she never used it and was sure he did it on purpose to annoy her. Sometimes, she felt like she had no identity of her own. Anything she did didn't count as much as when Ji-Won did it. And their names only reinforced that feeling. Korean naming convention meant their generation of the family shared a syllable – in their case Ji - so the only thing she had that was just hers was the Eun part. Their American names were even worse – Jane and James. Or, the way he twisted them, Janey and Jamie. Only one single sound different. And no one except him had ever called her Janey in her life. It had to be on purpose.

Her delicate features morphed into a scowl that wouldn't have seemed possible on the sweet, slightly worried face she'd worn moments before, as he ruffled her hair. How could he? He knew how much she took pride in it. He knew how long that particular style had taken her that morning and that she'd put a special effort in. And now he'd gone and ruined it! He was always doing things like that. Her eyes bore angrily into his back as he strutted off to take a seat, seemingly not noticing her reaction, even though he'd obviously done that with the deliberate intention of upsetting her.

It didn't seem polite to fix it whilst the headmaster was talking, and Ji-Eun tried very hard to direct her attention appropriately, instead of fuming over her brother. She clapped enthusiastically for Wendy. Even though she really knew her older sister better, the other girl seemed just as nice.

When the food appeared, she tried very hard not to notice that her brother was making inappropriate meal choices, focussing instead on her own priorities and drawing her wand. Instead of helping herself to some of the lovely food before them, she began trying to fix Ji-Won's damage to her hair. He'd barely been here five minutes, and already she was cleaning up after him.

13 Ji-Eun Park Perspective two 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

Casper Brackenridge

March 09, 2014 6:26 AM

Feeling a little yellow by Casper Brackenridge

It had been a hectic morning in the Brackenridge household. Knowing that he'd be starting the school soon, one would have assumed that Casper had gotten himself prepared, and while he was potentially more prepared than others – though he couldn't be sure – he didn't feel like he was ready at all. There had been some last minute packing the night before, which was frequently interrupted by unhelpful tantrums from his younger brother Dorian who, and he had made it really quite clear, did not want Casper to leave.

They had always been close – the best of friends, you could say – and it wasn't easy for Casper saying goodbye either, although he had promised he would be back for all the holidays, it would be substantial time away from his family. He couldn't even take the family cat with him for company, because Dorian was afraid that he would 'lose her', and had essentially forbidden it. Casper suspected Dorian may change his tune if the day came that he too would be joining Sonora Academy.

"You better not be in Crotalus," Dorian had joked as Casper tugged his bags toward the front lobby of their home, ready to leave. Casper grinned back – it had become a popular jibe between them since their successful, but divorced, father had been pursuing a potential love interest who had attended Sonora Academy, and had been in the red house. The boys were yet to meet her, but they weren't keen on the idea of her from what they had heard – although, Casper wasn't convinced that they would feel warmth toward any new 'mother figure' right now. They were happy as they were, he thought, why introduce someone new?

With all his luggage in tow, and saying his final goodbyes, Casper had boarded the wagon to take him to school for his first day of his new life. He was excited, yes, but nervous: what if he didn't make any friends? What if people didn't like him at all? What if he went home for the holidays, and Dorian had made new friends, and he didn't even fit in at home anymore? What if they lost the cat? With all his thoughts racing through his mind, Casper was aware he spent most of the journey with his head in his hands, ignoring everything around him. He hoped nobody would judge him for that.

When they arrived at the school, it was a bit of a blur for Casper. He was feeling overwhelmed, but the thought of food was helping him greatly. He was hoping they didn't call it a 'feast' for nothing. He, along with everybody else, listened to the headmaster's speech (though he wasn't sure how much of it he really absorbed), and it wasn't long before he was stood in front of a woman, who Casper assumed to be Professor Skies, with a goblet thrust into his hand. He took a sip and handed it back, closing his eyes for a second before squinting to see what colour he had turned. Yellow. Teppenpaw – he could deal with that.

With a sigh of relief, Casper wandered over to his new designated house table, tripping slightly on the way, remaining hopeful that nobody noticed. He sat down, looking up and down the table at the other students around him.

"Well," he thought, "this is it."

0 Casper Brackenridge Feeling a little yellow 0 Casper Brackenridge 0 5

Katherine Procter

March 09, 2014 8:35 AM

It's like the brightest blush ever. by Katherine Procter

Kitty was equal parts nervous and excited, and all for exceedingly obvious reasons (and, perhaps, some not-so-obvious). She had never been this far from her New Hampshire home, although she was used to never seeing her parents (they saw themselves above their daughter, especially when she started showing signs of magical ability), and the Southwest was as different as a foreign country to her. She was also painfully shy. Whenever she met someone new, her honey-gold eyes would either stare at their shoes or her own hands, and she spoke in short, quiet sentences. It often took her some time to warm up to someone, but when she did, she was still a quiet, observational sort with a quick wit. She was generally a good student, but, as a Muggleborn, she knew absolutely nothing about magic, except for that it explained why her tantrums as a child got rather.....explosive? Destructive? At any rate, her shy demeanor frequently made it difficult for her to ask questions, so she hoped beyond hope that she would be able to keep up.

She was also nervous for her cat, a beautiful calico she called Rhiannon. She was assured that the pets were taken to the dormitories safely, but she had a fear that Rhiannon would get loose and vanish in the Labrynth Gardens she saw as they flew over in their covered wagon. Mentally, Kitty shook herself. Rhiannon was going to be fine. However, she had a feeling that she, herself, was going to get lost in there.

Focussing more on the excited part of her (this was a school of magic!), Kitty listened to Headmaster Brockert's speech,who reminded her of her father, in a way. Headmaster Brockert had this air about him, as though he was incredibly sure of himself, and possibly thought himself better than others (aside from his position at Sonora). She immediately found herself growing somewhat wary of him. Wait...what did he just say? They were going to change colors? She wasn't sure if she should feel horrified or fascinated.

The woman introduced as Professor Skies called her name.

"Katherine Proctor."

Horrified. Definitely horrified. Kitty blushed to the roots of her chocolatey brown hair, which was plaited and coiled into an intricate mass at the nape of her neck (as she usually kept it; when loose, it flowed perfectly straight to her waist). Stepping up to the Professor, Kitty accepted the offered goblet and took a tentative sip. Hmm...peppermint? Was it supposed to taste like that? Glancing at her hands, she thought that her blush had spread, but it soon dawned on her that she had just turned red.

How appropriate. Now everyone could get used to what she usually looked like. A blushing fool.

Keeping her head ducked, Kitty joined the Crotalus table as her classmates were sent about. Some joined her, and tried to offer them shy (yet still friendly, she hoped) smiles, but she had no idea if they noticed. Professor Brockert, who was beginning to sound almost bored, did some final introductions before sheets of music appeared before them. Kitty did like to sing, and she was pretty good (if her nanny was to be believed), so she shrugged and quietly followed along.

The food appeared as the music vanished, and Kitty could not help her "Oh!" of surprise. She hadn't seen this much food since her father held a Christmas party for his business associates (he was vying for a promotion; Kitty wasn't invited to the party, but she saw how much food the hired cooking team prepared). Helping herself to some roasted chicken and vegetables, Kitty ate as she prepared herself for what was sure to be the biggest adventure of her life.

0 Katherine Procter It's like the brightest blush ever. 0 Katherine Procter 0 5

Clark Dill

March 09, 2014 10:06 AM

Aladren, all right! by Clark Dill

Clark Dill was very excited about coming to Sonora. He'd heard a lot of stories about the place from his dad's childhood, and he'd even come to an alumni event a few years ago for Dad's ten year reunion, but none of those was the same as actually being here.

The flying wagon was almost as impressive as Dad had described it as it flew into the Maryland station where Clark got on. Dad had described the magical and physical forces that allowed it to fly, so he wasn't to worried about it falling out of the sky even as it bumped and jostled in air turbulence on its way over to Arizona.

His first sight of the school was everything he'd hoped for, with the sprawling labyrinth of gardens surrounding it, and the full size Quidditch Pitch, and the mansion that housed the school itself. He tried to memorize the garden lay-out as they came in for a landing, because a top-down view of a maze was a lot easier to navigate than from inside it, but he didn't think he managed it very well.

Once on the ground, he left his belongings and his puffskien (appropriately named Tribble) in the care of the groundskeeper and elves for transport to his new room, and headed in to see the school's interior. Dad had described the Cascade Hall of course - and it's name was indicative of its most salient feature - but neither the name nor the description did it justice. Clark stared in open-mouthed amazement at the waterfalls cascading down the each of the walls.

His focus moved from the walls to the people and from the people to the headmaster and the deputy headmistress as they brought out the Sorting potion. He'd heard about this part, too. Dad was pretty sure - 99% he'd said - that it would work the same on Clark as it would anybody else. So far, most of the potions he'd tried had. But still, there was the chance - 1%, though Clark wasn't quite sure how Dad had come up with that number - that his alien physiology might react differently.

So was with just a little bit of trepidation that Clark approached the deputy headmistress for his turn. He took a sip, wincing at the consistency and the guesses as to what kind of foul things might have gone into making it, closed his eyes, and then, tentatively checked his skin.

Blue! He whooped with delight and relief. Not only hadn't he changed to a non-standard color like orange or hot pink - or had some other unexpected reaction - but he'd made it into Aladren! Dad would be so proud! He'd tried really hard to let Clark know he'd be happy for his son no matter what House he got put into, but Clark knew Dad was secretly (well, not really secretly, because Dad wasn't that subtle) hoping Clark would get into his old House.

And here he was, bright blue, the newest member of Aladren!

He didn't quite skip over to the Aladren table, but there was a definite bounce to his step and a huge grin on his face as he made his way over there. He sat at an empty spot, smiling and greeting each of his new classmates that followed his chromatic example, and waiting patiently for the speech to end and the feast proper to begin.

He applauded politely for the new prefects and Heads, and wondered if he'd follow his dad's footsteps and get both of those badges someday in turn. Time would tell. Until then, there was food!

Clark dug in, filling his plate with everything that looked appetizing. Dad was a pretty good cook, but he never made extra, and the sheer volume of food being served tonight was astounding.

Turning to one of the people sitting nearby, he enthused, "This is awesome! I'm Clark, by the way. Clark Dill." He had little expectation of his name being recognized - Dad was a muggleborn, and only peripherally still involved in magical society since he worked for NASA now - but Zack Dill had been Head Boy once and Aladren's seeker, so it wasn't impossible.

1 Clark Dill Aladren, all right! 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Chloe Jareau

March 09, 2014 11:04 AM

My perspective! by Chloe Jareau

Chloe’s summer had been much needed for her and her family. She had spent much of it following Ayita around and playing with Harper. On Angel’s good days, they all had sleepovers in his room to spend quality time with him. It has hard for Chloe to have him isolated from the rest of them for so long. She could understand the logistics of it, or tried to anyway. His immune system basically didn’t exist, so he could get sick very quickly and then, well, die. So, in order to prevent that from happening, Angel was kept away from them when he was weak. His good days were rare, but when they did happen, they wore protective gear and bubble head charms around their heads so that he didn’t get any germs on him. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing for them, but Chloe thought it made Angel happy.

But summer was over and they all had to go back to their school life. Chloe thought it was going to be the strangest year without her mother around. Chloe loved being able to go to her mother’s office to sit there and chat together. It felt safe with her around. Her mother would keep her preoccupied and work on Chloe’s hair while they discussed classes, friends, and boys. At the time, Chloe didn’t really understand why her mother was always asking about boys, but she did now. It was normal for girls her age to develop crushes on boys, although Chloe didn’t have any last year while at school finding it hard to concentrate on anything besides her sickly brother, she had developed one while home for the summer. His name was Robert and he was one of Emery’s friends. She had known him since they were six. Chloe had honestly no idea what it was that changed her opinion on him, but one day she realized that whenever he was around she would feel hot and her heart pace quickened for no reason. It was really quite annoying, but he never seemed to notice, so she pretended that it never happened. Chloe really hoped it didn’t happen while at school too, that would just be obnoxious.

Emery and Chloe had sat talking at his table while everyone else was mingling about. Her brother was having a harder time with their mom not being there than she was. Chloe would miss her mother just as she missed her Daddy, Ayita, and Angel, but Emery didn’t seem to know what to do without her there. He was worried that the school would collapse without her. Their mother had laughed when he had mentioned this to her just before boarding the wagon. She said the school had functioned just fine without her before and it would do so again. He needed to trust the new Headmaster and his teachers. Chloe trusted them, but she didn’t think her brother ever would. They just weren’t his mom.

When it looked as though the Headmaster was preparing to begin, Chloe had left her brother and found a seat at the Pecari table. She had tried to find Ji-Eun, but hadn’t in time and so was stuff between people she was not familiar with. Chloe half listened to the speech, knowing that it was all the same as before, and clapped when it was time too. Wendy was one of those girls that liked everyone, so Chloe was really glad that she had made Prefect. It was too bad that Waverly hadn’t made Head Girl. Chloe didn’t really know Waverly too well aside from being in a couple clubs together, but she was friendly and involved in everything. Chloe had never heard of Alicia Bauer before the announcement last year and couldn’t understand how she managed the votes over two girls who ran their own clubs.

When the food appeared, Chloe left her seat and found Ji-Eun fussing with her hair. “Ji-Eun!” Chloe called out with a large smile. Chloe squeezed herself into a seat beside her roommate. “Hi! How was your summer? I saw your brother get sorted, or at least, I think it was your brother; he’s in Pecari, right? That could be fun. What happened to your hair? Did the wagon ride mess it up? Do you want me to help you fix it? It looks really pretty. My mom was helping me learn more styles for my hair over the summer, so I have so many more ideas! I can help you with yours and maybe you can help me with mine? I’m still not as good with doing my own as I am with someone else’s.” Chloe finally took a breath. Her hair was normally in some style of braid or pony-tail, but today it was left long and her mother had curled it. To go with the curls, Chloe wore a solid blue tee-shirt with a cream colored skirt. Of course, it wasn’t fancy by any means, but it wasn’t boy clothes either. Not that anyone could see the outfit beneath her school robes. Now that she wasn’t talking, Chloe realized she was famished and took a moment to grab some food. She had eaten a lot of vegetarian meals over the summer since her mother did a lot of the cooking, not that Chloe minded so much, but since she was in school now, she decided to add some roast beef to her plate. Her mother didn’t have to know.

6 Chloe Jareau My perspective! 267 Chloe Jareau 0 5

Raven Corbeau

March 09, 2014 2:57 PM

A Blue Day by Raven Corbeau

Raven burrowed further into her book, hunching over it in an attempt to discourage any attempts at contact by the other people on this gods-forsaken wagon.

It had not been a rough day, in all reality, except perhaps emotionally. Charon had left a week earlier, so it was only Raven, her mother, and her father who portkeyed to the pick up point. There were no long goodbyes, just some fond hugs and some watery eyes from her mother. Raven wished that she could have gone to England with her brother, or that he could have gone to Sonora with her, but she knew that his accelerated track to a prestigious wizarding university meant that he had to study abroad. Of course, no one had asked her if she would be more comfortable going with him, but that was fine. It was probably for the greater good, anyway, that she was closer to home should any of her medical problems resurface.

It just meant that she would be alone in a new place, without any previous experience of how a school worked or how to interact with people her age outside of her family. That was exceedingly not alright with her, and you could hear her internal screaming from across the dusty covered wagon. She was sure the cicadas could sense the malice in her thoughts from miles away.

Raven tried to refocus her thoughts on her book, but just as she brought her eyes back to the copy of Myths and Menageries: Creatures of Habit, the carriage came to a halt with a jolt. She unhappily clutched the book to her chest like a shield with one arm, clutching tightly to her luggage with the other and following the others down the path to the school’s arches.

She peered at the grounds through her sheets of straight black hair as she walked by. There appeared to be a labyrinth, that would certainly provide a decent number of hiding places, as would the obscure crenellations and balconies all over the building. Perfect for her inclinations to nighttime wandering.

Raven set down her luggage in the hallway, treating the small cat carrier with extra care. It was a small, black kitten named Yin. He was a gift from her parents, and Charon had the kitten’s pale brother, Yang, with him in London.

With a sigh, Raven shrank her book to fit it into her pocket with one of the simple spells which she had learned on her own before coming. Hopefully, if no one saw the book, no one could take it away from her during the feast. Adults tended to do that when they wanted to talk to Raven, which she thought was a horrible injustice. The last person who did that had to get eleven stitches where she had bitten him on the arm.

Raven waited with the rest of the first years, then entered the hall to listen to the headmaster speak. She tuned out for most of the speech. It wasn’t important, and she could figure any of it out later, anyway, if she needed to. Instead, she focused her eyes on the waterfall behind the headmaster and wondered why they would waste such a resource on aesthetics when they were in the middle of the desert.

Raven startled when her name was called. Cautiously, she picked her way up to take hold of a vial- some sort of color change potion if the descriptions of the school were correct. Holding her breath, she tipped back the liquid and drank it in one gulp, then looked sceptically at her skin as it deepened to an eerie saphire blue tinge. Aladren, how nice.

Raven stepped down to the table with blue banners overhead and, scanning the table, picked an empty seat. She promptly curled in on herself, pulled out her book, unshrunk it, and set down to read about the nesting habits of basilisks, determined to ignore any and all external stimulus until she forgot all about Charon being more than 5,200 miles away.

0 Raven Corbeau A Blue Day 0 Raven Corbeau 0 5

Annabelle Pierce

March 09, 2014 5:33 PM

Another Year by Annabelle Pierce

Annabelle was worried about this year. Several things were going to happen, none of which was she looking forward to. The first of those things was due to happen tonight at the Feast: Prefect announcements. Nothing good could come from them as far as she was concerned. The headmaster would either name Annette, which would make Annabelle feel left out, or they'd name Annabelle, which would make Annette feel left out, or they name someone else who wasn't either of them, and then they'd both feel bad.

As it turned out, it went to Wendy. Of the three options, Annabelle thought it might be the best. Wendy was a nice person; both twins liked her. She was slightly overshadowed by her sister, so this was probably a good thing for her. Annabelle wasn't badge-crazy like Thaddeus was, but she did think it would have been nice to have that proof that the professors respected her and thought she could handle the responsibility of prefecture.

None of the Pierces of her half-generation had earned the title either, so she wasn't sure if that had increased or lessened the pressure to get it. On the one hand, they were no worse off than Derry or Thad, both of whom had gone on to become Head Boy, but on the other, they were the last chance for a Pierce to become prefect until Winston came through and he hadn't been speaking in complete sentences for very long.

Plus, well, it would be nice to outdo Thaddeus just once on something.

But Wendy got it. Annabelle made a conscious decision not to hold a grudge about that. She smiled at her roommate as she went up to collect her prize and clapped, though not as enthusiastically as she might have if Wendy's win hadn't been her loss.

The second thing she was dreading would come a little later in term, when Substitute Coach Olivers and Jade realized they needed an Assistant Captain for Pecari's team. Annabelle suspected Annette would get it. While she wouldn't begrudge her sister's success, it would have been much easier to take if she'd had the Prefect one to balance it. The school had had co-captains before, though. Maybe the administration would take pity on her and let her share the title with Annette. That was her only hope of getting a badge this year, now.

And the final and worst thing she was dreading was the CATS. Every year, everyone in fifth year dreaded the CATS so this was nothing special or new, but it remained no less true for all of that. The CATS were coming, and the CATS were terrifying. Not quite as terrifying as the RATS, but the CATS meant the RATS were not far off either, which just made them more scary.

"Uh," she said after the speech and the song and the food appeared. "I hate fifth year already." With no appetite, she dutifully took a bit of salad onto her plate, just so Annette didn't fill it up with something harder to force down.

She had done up her dark hair so nicely, too, in the chance that she'd get to stand up in front of everybody as the new fifth year Pecari Prefect. Wasted effort.

1 Annabelle Pierce Another Year 246 Annabelle Pierce 0 5

Liliana Bannister

March 09, 2014 9:21 PM

Let's try this again. [Tag: Atlas Primred] by Liliana Bannister

Liliana's summer had been interesting. Not only had the rift between Tanya and Noey grown to the point where they had made her choose between them to invite to her grandmother's Midsummer's Ball, but her favorite cousin, Levi, had gotten a girlfriend. Both events were frustrating for her- Tanya'd had plans to visit her relatives in Spain anyway, so what did it matter if she invited both of them. Tanya wouldn't have even been able to go. Liliana just didn't understand. In the end, Liliana and Noey had a fun time together and Liliana was allowed to try a sip of her mother's "grown-up" drink for the first time as a reward for being diplomatic between her two sparring friends.

However, the Levi getting a girlfriend had really bothered her. Her three oldest cousins, Benjamin, Jude, and Reuben all had had girlfriends before so it wasn't a total oddity, and Sarah was nice enough (Liliana did think she was really pretty) but she didn't like that Levi had another girl to give his attention to. All of Liliana's life she had been Levi's pet- even though he was the fourth oldest and therefore not as important as Benjamin, he had always stood up for her and made sure her opinion was heard by their large family. Levi wasn't the only one in the dating game, Benjamin had gotten betrothed over the summer, and Jude and Reuben had been looking at prospects. Besides that, Simon and David were in the sixth year, the same age as Levi, and also had girlfriends but Liliana was still upset. Why were all her cousins growing up without her? She didn't get it and in her unhappiness momentarily forgot the age gap between her and them.

Those things alone though wouldn't have been that hard to handle, even together it was not a big deal. But she'd also had to figure out were she stood in her friendship with Atlas Primred. She had returned his quill to him by post that summer and he had replied- as was only polite, but he had also asked her to call him Atlas which was very familiar, and he had asked her questions. Which furthered their awkward conversation even more. Were they friends now? She felt as though they were but wasn't entirely sure where he stood on the whole matter. They'd certainly sent enough letters back and forth to be friends.

When Liliana entered Cascade Hall, she looked around smiling. It was nice to be back even if she'd hated it her first night here, besides, the water that came down the walls was very pleasing to look at. It was too bad Waverly wasn't head girl as Liliana thought she would've made a very nice one but she was still prefect so that was good. Liliana made her way to the Pecari table, looking for somewhere to sit amongst the chattering students all talking with their friends about their summers. An open spot caught her eye and she slid into it grateful for a place.

"Hi," she said as she smoothed out her robes and flicked her braid over her shoulder. She'd move it back once the food arrived but she wanted something to play with during the ceremony. "Looking forward to the ceremony? I hope it's over quickly, I'm starved!" She smiled pleasantly at the wizard in question, Atlas Primred. If he wanted to pretend they were friends over letters that summer then he'd have to live up to the role during the school year as well. "How's Katie?" She asked. "And your parents?"

After he answered, she opened her mouth to ask him another question but was cut off by the Headmaster's Welcoming Speech. She didn't particularly miss the Headmistress as she'd only had her for a year (and the Headmaster had been there for that as co-Heads of the school the entire while) but she still wondered how she was doing. Liliana hoped okay. She clapped at the appropriate parts, especially when there were new Pecaris, and sand along with the school song- she was a much different person than she was last year. This year she knew about flying lessons and the Pecari Quidditch Team. She was going to sign up for both and utilize the MARS room as well to a greater extent.

Once the food arrived, Liliana dug in, pulling the salad and the olive oil-vinagrette combo towards her first, wanting to start off with something refreshing before delving into the heavier foods like mashed potatoes and steaks. "Would you like any salad?" she offered as opposed to the previous year when she'd just dumped food onto his plate. "I promise to let you serve yourself."

OOC: Mention of the content of Atlas' letters over the summer are taken from the letters Atlas wrote in reply to Liliana's letter to him on Wedded to Sonora and used with permission of Atlas' author.

10 Liliana Bannister Let's try this again. [Tag: Atlas Primred] 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Olivier Westley

March 09, 2014 10:28 PM

It is better to blush than to bleed. by Olivier Westley

The wagon ride over was tedious. Olivier was not particularly excited about starting at Sonora. He knew it was important to attend if he wanted to hone his skills and get his magic under control but he was not looking forward to communicating with the others. Lena was an exception- she came with the whole life deal and besides, he actually liked her. She was different from the others. In part that could have been because they were twins but they were also so different in dispositions so it wasn’t just because they were twins. They weren’t like normal twins who had that whole mind-reading bond thing going on- and for that Olivier was grateful. He didn’t care to know what Lena was thinking 100 percent of the time and he certainly did not want her to be able to read his mind. This aside, even Lena wasn’t enough to make him happy about attending. This situation was just too close for comfort. Sharing a room with other boys? It would be exhausting to have to keep up with his happy exterior at all times. When he would get a break from it all he didn’t know. He’d seen a brochure that said Sonora had some labyrinth gardens and at the time he had thought it could be a perfect place to sulk away from the prying eyes of others who just didn’t get it. Didn’t understand why he was the way he was and why he did the things that he did. Olivier didn’t think he was going to be looking forward to no privacy.

The entrance into Cascade Hall was okay, it was a beautiful space to be sure and he was certain Lena would be enjoying it. He turned towards his sister to watch her taking in the sights. It was sweet the way she saw things, parts of him wished he was still like that- innocent to the evils of the world, but at the same time he was glad he knew things. That way when he graduated he’d be prepared, he wouldn’t have to find himself thrust into a world where people discriminated on each other, hurt each other, betrayed each other. He would already know how to handle himself and then he could find a good place for Lena to live, somewhere she’d be protected from all that harm, somewhere she couldn’t get hurt. Until then though, he’d have to go to Sonora and put up with infuriatingly new and eager classmates all of which probably wanted to become friends.

When the sorting goblet reached Olivier, he took it apprehensively. How was he to know that it wasn’t poisoned and this wasn’t just some elaborate scheme to kill off all of wizarding kind’s offspring so that the race would die out? Chances were that was just a conspiracy theory and nothing bad was really going to happen. Lena had drank the potion, hadn’t she? Along with most of the other students too. That was the good thing about having a last name at the end of the alphabet. But if Lena had drank the potion and was alright then he probably would be too- Lena had gone into Aladren. If his skin didn’t turn blue, he didn’t know what he was going to do. If he wasn’t placed in Aladren alongside her then who would there be to buffer the world from her? The answer was no one.

To Olivier’s horror, when he took a sip from the potion and felt a warming sensation over his body his skin just turned red, bright red, not blue, and the warming sensation faded. He gave a side-long glance towards Lena hoping that she okay with the separation. He himself was not pleased with it at all. The role he had held his entire life, the role he had prided himself on always being able to fill would be empty. How could he protect her from the other students in her house or her dorm? He had known it would be difficult in living in gender separate rooms as he could never know for certain what was going on behind the doors of the girl's dormitory, and therefore Lena might have overheard a dorm mate say something insensitive to another- the very reason their parents had sent them away from Wales, to get away from the pureblood stigma that surrounded them, a stigma they, fortunately, were not a part of though they were pureblooded. He frowned in consternation (he would not be around to protect her and then she would be spoilt, he could only hope that he would see her enough during the day to dilute any evil ideas said around them and do damage control for the ones already said without him present) and headed to the Crotalus table, only slightly assured that his skin hadn’t turned yellow or brown and that he wasn’t headed towards the tables where everyone looked like their sole purpose in life was to befriend the first years. If her had to be separated from Lena then at least it was in Crotalus, resolved not to talk to anyone until he saw her again.

When the food arrived, the girl he was sitting next to let out a gasp of surprise and out of habit, his head swiveled towards her. He watched silently as she put food on her plate before opening his mouth. It would make Lena happy if he made a friend, so he forgot his resolve to not talk to anyone and struck up a conversation. "Is that good?" He asked, his voice that happy, peppy tone he used when he was talking to others. "It looks rather good but I'm scared to try it in case it isn't as good as my mother's. I'm Olivier, by the way. Olivier Westley of Wales and this..." He stopped himself and smiled, making sure to flash his dimples so those around him would think him happy. "I'm sorry, I'm used to introducing my twin sister as well but she's not here- she's in Aladren, over there." He gestured to Lena's mousey brown head at the Aladren table.

10 Olivier Westley It is better to blush than to bleed. 282 Olivier Westley 0 5

Aria Yale

March 09, 2014 10:53 PM

My year between CATS and RATS begins by Aria Yale

Aria’s summer had gone exceptionally well. She and Luna had begun a relationship together. Nothing remotely serious. Aria was well aware that Luna and Eades were destined to be together. Aria and Luna’s relationship was merely fun for the two of them. It was Aria’s first and Eades was not at all bothered by the time that Luna and her spent together. Aria figured that he had an understanding that Luna desired several things and he was only capable of providing some of those needs. Their relationship was open and Aria, still trying to understand how that all worked with her, was only a small portion of that. Aria loved both Luna and Eades for who they are and for the friendships that they had given to her, Aria and Luna were simply experimenting, mostly because Aria was afraid that if she let it become more, her friendships with them would not make it. Keeping it simple and fun was the best for all of them.

With the happy memories of summer still dancing in her head, Aria hopped off the wagon with a smile to anyone who looked in her direction. Last year, her hair had been short, massively curly in its natural state and bleach blonde. This year, Aria’s hair was a shocking red and well past her shoulders when straightened, which she was doing more and more of these days. She still wore the black around her eyes and her clothes as she saw fit, she was still a nature lover and a Spiritualist but she had a confidence now that might not have been seen before.

This year would be an easier year for her than the last now that her CATS were done. Of course, she had no idea what the RAT level courses would throw at her and she knew that Transfiguration was going to be extremely difficult for her to be able to do. She had spent some of her summer reading on Transfiguration and the differences of them. She had even gone so far as to take a college summer course on mechanical transfiguration. Since she had gone to the professors there the year prior, they had given the okay to let her take some of their courses. In the end, she had only decided to take on one due to her responsibilities to her mother. She rather enjoyed Mechanical Transfiguration and thought she might like to continue studying that as a minor once she was in school for healing. But she had also discussed animal transfigurations with them to better understand the process. She still wasn’t quite sure how it didn’t harm the animal, but the professors all seemed to be in agreement that it was a necessity that she learn it or else she would stump her magical growth and as long as there was a professional around, the animals would be safe.

It would be a struggle for her, it went completely against everything that she was, but she would attempt the animate transfigurations if they presented themselves to her.

Aria took her seat at the Teppenpaw table and waited for the evening to begin. There were many staff changes at the end of last term. Sometimes Aria wondered how Angel was doing. He had been such a strange boy, but he had a kind, quiet way about him that Aria had found peaceful. She wished him well and would pray for his health in her next meditation session. Her blue eyes scanned the table, but only found one new face among them, who she found to be the new Medic. Since the Head positions were announced last term, Aria took no surprise by their names, but clapped respectfully for them. She did, however, clap with more enthusiasm for both the newest Teppenpaw Prefect as well as for the new Pecari prefect. Carter had been polite to her when they had worked together, but Aria had worked enough with Wendy to consider her a friend, she was glad for her achievement.

After finishing the school song, Aria sorted through the feast presented to her before she spotted some cauliflower leek soup, steamed vegetables, and Palak Daal. This was going to be a delicious feast, even if others found her choices to be a little strange and lacking. “Excuse me, could you, perhaps, pass me the pepper?” She asked the person nearest the pepper.

6 Aria Yale My year between CATS and RATS begins 228 Aria Yale 0 5

Lionel Layne

March 10, 2014 2:06 PM

All relatives avoided here - thank goodness. by Lionel Layne

Lionel knew he was supposed to be nervous about going to school for the first time, but as the wagon lifted off the ground and his family dwindled to specks on the platform below, all he really felt was relief. His family had, between his Squib mother and Muggle father, been very worried that Lionel would have magic and that this day would never happen, so they had been more excited than even he was ever since he got his letter, and mostly shown it through trying to cram everything any of them knew about school into his head at every waking moment. Lionel appreciated the feeling behind it, but it made him uncomfortable, both because he couldn’t help but think of how all the anticipation might have turned if there had been no letter and because he just wasn’t used to being the focus of so much attention. It would be a relief to be able, for the first time in weeks, to eat his breakfast without someone reminding him what floor the library was on, or that smaller snacks were in the Cascade Hall between meals, or discussing the merits and flaws of Aladren versus Crotalus.

It was, after all, pretty much inevitable that he would be Sorted into one of those Houses and obtain some kind of post within it before he was done. Everyone in the family who’d come to Sonora except his cousin Kate had, after all, and even she'd been a Quidditch captain and prefect for Teppenpaw. At length, the family had concluded he'd probably make Aladren and his school days be as predictable as clockwork once they got past the minor tension of not being sure which of the family Houses he'd go to.

He sort of didn’t like that. Even aside from knowing he was no Uncle Geoff, or even his cousin Alicia, he just didn’t like most of the excitement being taken out of the process of coming to school and being Sorted. It was supposed to be almost like starting a new life, something new, but everyone just assumed they already knew exactly what would happen.

The wagon bumped and rocked across the hours and miles between Charleston and the Painted Desert, at first over cities which began the day as clusters of glittering metal and later became patches of bright lights and whose names he couldn’t, not having much of a knack for geography, begin to guess at. Gradually, though, the more open spaces between them got larger and dimmer, until finally almost everything was dark beneath them. A school full of magical children would be far away from anything else, for their safety and everyone else’s. Then, after a while longer, Lionel could tell they were moving downward, and then all at once they were there.

He scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could when the wagon landed, then swayed on them after sitting for so long before getting his bearings and following others out into the lush greenery of the Labyrinth Gardens. Inside the foyer, he saw both Alicia and her half-brother Isaac, but neither noticed him and he was quickly caught up with the other first years and put into a line while the older students took seats at House tables, identifiable because of the colors of the badges on their deep green robes. Isaac was among the red-wearing Crotali, and while he couldn’t see her from where he was, Lionel knew that Alicia was now smiling among the blue-badged Aladrens; Alicia almost always smiled, even when it didn't make that much sense, and tonight was her first as Head Girl. Which way would it be, when it came down to it? Scylla or Charybdis?

No, that wasn’t fair. His cousins weren’t that bad, and neither were their Houses. He still, though, held his breath for a second before drinking the Sorting Potion and then blinking in confusion when his hands took a third option and turned almost the same shade of brown as his eyes, no doubt making his hair, already so light a brown it could almost be called blond after the summer sun, look even paler by comparison.

Granddad, he reflected, was probably not going to be pleased. He, though, was far away, and wouldn't even know for another two days at least. Right now, Lionel had Pecaris to meet and figure out. He’d heard a lot about how no one really knew a House until they were part of it, but Pecari was the one he’d never even heard an insider talk about. Or, really, anyone talk about at all. He was going to have to make his own way here completely, without really any guideposts.

Getting something to eat seemed like as good a place to start as any, so Lionel was piling lasagna onto his plate when another boy, one he thought he’d seen in the line and whose face was the same shade of brown as Lionel’s hands, introduced himself as Jamie. “I haven’t been bored yet,” he said. “I’m Lionel. Did you get the House you expected?” he asked.

16 Lionel Layne All relatives avoided here - thank goodness. 283 Lionel Layne 0 5

Isaac Douglas

March 10, 2014 2:59 PM

Here and none too happy about it. by Isaac Douglas

Isaac was surprised, as he struggled off the wagons and toward the school, to find that he wasn’t in quite as much danger of being squished into the marble floors as he had been last year, but the improvement was not enough to make the trip at all comfortable, and he gratefully fell into the first empty seat he saw at the Crotalus table. He had eaten lunch, but his stomach still growled with renewed hunger, and he tapped his fingers impatiently on the table without noticing, ruining the pleasant expression he had smoothed his face into automatically after he sat down. Last year, the Sorting had been at least a little interesting, since he had been in it, but this year, he couldn’t really bring himself to consider his cousin Lionel more important than getting to his dinner. He really didn’t want to consider his cousin Lionel at all, actually. It was one thing at home, he guessed, but here….

He looked at the gangly first year for a moment as Brockert started talking, then looked away as quickly. Here, and in the real world in general, being related to Lionel was even worse than being related to Alicia. Even worse than being related to Kate. It didn’t matter that they’d played together when they were little, that was just…how things were. He hoped Lionel wasn’t in Crotalus. Alicia had wanted power, now she could deal with the downside of it, controlling her weird, basically-mudblood relatives so they didn’t misbehave in public and shame the family worse than they did just by existing. Let him go to Aladren….

…Or Pecari, whatever. As long as he wasn’t under Isaac’s feet. ‘Elsewhere’ was the best place for all his family, sisters and cousins alike. Where they wouldn’t bother him.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the rest of the speech – the announcements of the prefects, his sister being called to the front, whatever else was going on – and just moved his mouth vaguely during the school song instead of subjecting the rest of the table to his singing voice. Then, finally, the food appeared, and he grabbed a chicken leg with less-than-gentlemanly haste and presumption of his rights and bit into it before even looking around at the rest of the food, then flushed when he realized he’d done that.

Second year, he concluded, was not going to be a good thing.

16 Isaac Douglas Here and none too happy about it. 273 Isaac Douglas 0 5

Ava Fletcher

March 10, 2014 9:29 PM

Hope it won't be a blue year too! by Ava Fletcher

Her whole summer had been frustrating. Ava's mother hadn't been around much- it seemed as though Papa's comments on Ava's new interests had scared her off and it had just been Ava and her grandfather the entire summer save for when Charlotte had made an appearance for Ava's 13th birthday in August, bringing with her fun treats from Southwest Asia where she had been working for the majority of the summer. It hadn't really made up for the disappointment felt by Ava for being let down once again at last year's school concert.

Other than her mother's visit, Ava had rarely left her room, climbing onto the roof with her aint sets through her bedroom window to paint the beach. By the end of the summer she had improved her landscape skills and had a sketchbook that was full of beach paintings and sketches- almost enough for each day of the summer. She couldn't wait to show Dimitri after the feast in the library as seemed to be their usual custom after the Opening and Returning Feasts. She had looked for him earlier but hadn't spotted him so opted head towards the Aladren table, thinking that she could look for him afterwards.

The prospect of a new medic was exciting- perhaps Medic Eir could offer her advice and get her involved with something like her mother did. The rebuff over the summer had hurt- it had hurt badly, but it had only made Ava incredibly determined to achieve a Healing position somewhere. It was no longer a want to be like her mother that drove Ava now but rather a desire to become better than. Besides that, she had become rather interested in the subject.

Ava's brown eyes scanned the tables around her. The Headmistress' kids were still here so perhaps their brother was getting better. Ava's renewed interest in Healing had made it so that she wanted to know more about Angel's case, well, really all cases in general, but she didn't know how to approach Chloe or Emery seeing as she hadn't talked to either of them much before. She didn't want to be rude or assuming and she also didn't want to pry into family business. Instead of taking a seat near them, she decided to sit alone and read one of her many books on diseas- this one specialized in the more fatal and gruesome ones like Spattergroit and Scrofungulus.

When the food came, Ava piled some easily navigateable bread and butter and also some roast chicken on her plate, taking care to only snag the white meat, not wanting any juices to spill on the precious pages of her book. TO her right, she saw a new first year also reading. Ava smiled and carefully marked her page with a bookmark- dogearring was a pet peeve of hers, and gave the girl a friendly smile. "Hey," she whispered. "What are you reading? It must be good for you to be that engrossed in it!" She gave a small laugh. "Probably more entertaining than what I've got, I'm sure," she gestured to the old leather book in her hands. "I don't think many young witches are that interested in Healing, I'm probably the odd exception."

10 Ava Fletcher Hope it won't be a blue year too! 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Lena Westley

March 10, 2014 10:32 PM

Re: Aladren, all right! by Lena Westley

The aerial views were breathtaking and watching it rush away from her while she was jostled by the turbulence the wagon rode on left her giddy in her own quiet, demure way as well as little bruised. The way she was bopping up and down in her seat reminded her of amusement park rides, where she would be thrown about as the mechanical arms spun one way then another, and not bracing herself by letting her arms fly in the air. Her hair was twirling in much the same, erratic, fashion. It was supposed to be tied, but her low ponytail sank farther through her hair and as more strands loosened and started to whip her face and ears she felt a keen sense of exhilaration. Amusement parks were one of her favorite things.

As she continued to sit facing the open end of the wagon, looking out at what they had passed, she looked over to her brother and as her smile grew and some of her teeth were exposed, she tugged his arm and pointed to the bushes they were now flying over. Lena would not have called them bushes, they seemed more than shrubbery- they looked more alive and sparkling than any plants she’d seen before. She thought they had a sort of ephemeral feeling to them, like rippling water. You wouldn’t mistake the two by sight, but the impression these gardens left were uncannily similar. Olivier liked being outdoors as much as she did, or at least he was there as often. Lena didn’t particularly consider herself a nature lover, either, and she had less reason to be there than Olivier as she was never outside to socialize with friends. These gardens might change that, though, she thought.

In addition to the charm of Labyrinth Gardens, she was glad of the possibility of being able to see Olivier take pleasure in the same things she did. The chance of seeing him during recreational time was higher if they both would go to the same area. The labyrinth aspect made it trickier than just being in the same area, but again, that was a new door to happiness, and though it wouldn’t replace the happy feeling of kinship it would even her emotions out. Olivier didn’t look out, despite her tug, so she let go and resumed staring out at the great expanse that was quickly becoming a favorite.

Lena, not because of her seating choice but that certainly could have been a helpful factor, was the last one off the wagon. Olivier had brushed her arm, signaling that it really was time to stand up, and proceeded to disembark with her. The architecture was the second thing she noticed (second to the crunching sound of gravel-like pebbles under foot) but kept her attention for the rest of the walk. When the buttresses were out of sight it was the pillars, when those were past her, it was the chandelier. When that faded out of view in favor of the ceiling itself, Olivier had to shorten his pace to make sure Lena kept standing up straight. She ran into him a few times, but he paced himself so well that she didn’t often feel off keel.

Being near the end of the line, Lena was able to look at most of the scenery- and now, behold! There WAS a waterfall!- without disturbing anyone. Most o f those behind her, and a good deal of those in front, were also not paying strict attention to the sorting ceremony, having seen the first half of the new student body called and sorted and now only waiting to see where they’d be placed themselves. Lena wouldn’t have blamed them if she’d noticed their lack of attention. Her attention was elsewhere, too, who wouldn’t want to soak in all the magnificence of the sight when first seeing it? She was lucky to have her name be called so late. Olivier roused her from her current state, and she timidly reacquainted herself with the proper decorum for being so close to being sorted.

When the girl in front of her stepped from the podium, she exhaled, stopped breathing and stepped up to take the vacated spot. With both hands she brought the cup up to drink from, drinking much like a small animal from a water bowl. Despite having had very little Lena’s skin lightened to several shades of blue before it finally deepened to the shade of Aladren house. Stepping down in the manner of the girl before her, she walked to the table set for Aladren and tried for the seat closest to the middle, so she could face a central waterfall, and look at the more elaborate of the basins.

When all were seated, her brother at the Crotalus table, the staff settled as well, Lena looked around the hall again. It was absolutely beautiful; she could sit here even if she weren’t hungry. The boy next to her, after enthusing how "this" was "awesome" introduced himself as Clark Dill.

"Hello. I'm Lena." She didn't know if she was supposed to continue. Olvier was the one who made friends and talked to people, she was a wall flower. The evening light made it hard for her to see and her doe eyes were wider than usual, which inaccurately conveyed to Clark that she must be either devastatingly shy or scared. After looking back to her plate, she slowly reared her head back towards him and asked "which part?" She was confused as to which particular thing it was that he thought awesome. After some clarification as to the question, he was able to reply.

7 Lena Westley Re: Aladren, all right! 279 Lena Westley 0 5

Anonymous

March 10, 2014 11:04 PM

Re: Aladren, all right! by Anonymous

OOC Permission for writing about Olivier is given by Olivier's author

0 Anonymous Re: Aladren, all right! 0 Anonymous 0 5

Raven Corbeau

March 10, 2014 11:41 PM

Perhaps, perhaps not. by Raven Corbeau

The food appeared with a pop on the table, and Raven quickly gathered her book to herself. Ugh, food. Really, she was supposed to be following the new weight gain diet from her mediwizard, but she wasn’t hungry. Resolving that this would be her rebellion for the day, Raven turned back to her book.

Where was she? Ah, yes. “Basilisks commonly roost in dark caves and tunnels, usually taking up residence in abandoned caves and catacombs close to their parents in adolescence, then moving to another tunnel system should they survive into adulthood. Unlike some semi-aquatic snakes, Basilisks do not…”

She was just starting to get into the passage when she heard an older student to her left whisper to her. Raven sighed, marking her page with the attached ribbon and closing it to set it down on the table. It appeared that she was not to be allowed any time with her books today, at least not until everyone else was asleep, it seemed. She contemplated hissing or sneering at the stranger to get them to leave her alone, but decided against it. Charon would want her to interact with people.

If Charon were here, he would initiate conversation, somehow being able to initiate himself into circles simply by snarking at people. As it was, she was on her own. Raven decided to try and do her brother proud. Maybe she would write him about it, and he could send her something from England with his next owl.

Raven decided that the silence might have passed “awkward pause” several seconds ago, so she spoke, if a bit reluctantly.

“It is about the habits of magical creatures, most of which are considered mythical by muggles. It is… informative.”

She peeked at the title of the book which the girl gestured to. Hmm. She had seen that in her family’s library at home, but had never read it. She had enough medical problems, and she didn’t want to tempt fate by reading in-depth texts on gruesome wizarding illnesses which she might easily catch with her decidedly lacking immune system. Besides, she would only probably understand half the jargon in the book. She turned her face back to the table, shielding her pale face and black eyes with the dark hair so common to her family.

“Besides, you might be surprised by how interested some of us are in medicine. Especially if we grew up around it.”

0 Raven Corbeau Perhaps, perhaps not. 0 Raven Corbeau 0 5

Clark Dill

March 11, 2014 10:47 AM

I am glad you agree! by Clark Dill

By the wide look to her eyes, Clark got the impression he scared her a little, possibly by surprising her as she took in everything around them, which, Clark was ready to agree, was entirely engrossing. Despite the scare, she still returned his introduction. As she had sat down after him, with blue skin that matched his own, he had no difficulty identifying her as a fellow first year, so he tried to commit the name 'Lena' and her face (though trying to imagine it without its current blue hue for his memory banks) to his long-term memory as they'd be classmates and housemates for the next seven years. Names weren't his strong suit though, so it was even money whether it would take. "Hi, Lena," he said, repeating the name to try to help cement it in his brain. He'd read somewhere if he said it three times, it should keep. Now he just needed to say it twice more before he forgot.

It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about when she asked 'which part' but then he realized she was referring to his opening statement. "Everything!" he answered, enthusiastically. "The school, the Hall, the food! - Look at all of it! - Being in Alder-" he caught himself before making the same mispronunciation his Dad was prone to make, "er, Aladren!" It was funny to call the House Alderaan after Princess Leia's home planet in Star Wars, but he thought maybe he should say it correctly tonight at least.

He began to butter up a roll, and asked with a cheerful curiosity, "So are you the first in your family to come to Sonora, or do you have brothers or sisters here? I'm an only child, but my Dad was an Aladren back in the dark ages." This was not really fair, since his dad was actually only thirty-one, quite young to have an eleven year old son (and, in fact, Clark was adopted, so Dad hadn't become his dad until Clark was three) but compared to any siblings Lena might have, Dad was ancient.

1 Clark Dill I am glad you agree! 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Katherine Procter

March 11, 2014 2:07 PM

I'm sure bleeding is not necessary! (Rewrite) by Katherine Procter

[OOC: Please disregard previous reply. This is my Take 2, as it were. Thank you for your patience with this little newbie! Now, back to your regularly scheduled RPing! I put in the suggested changes...at least, I hope I did. BIC]

Kitty positively melted when she took a bite of chicken. It was so perfect! She was so absorbed that she almost did not hear the boy beside her, another first year, inquire to the quality. She gripped her fork tighter to keep from dropping it, and spun her head to the side to look at him with wide eyes. Oh my goodness, someone is talking to me! Breathe, Kitty! His voice seemed friendly enough, so that calmed her a little.

"It's...erm...very good. The best I've ever had!" she replied.

After praising his mother's cooking, the boy introduced himself as Oliver Westley from Wales (which Kitty found terribly formal, but familiar from her home life). Then, he flashed her a dimpled smile and shared that the mousey-haired girl that Professor Skies called Lena was his twin sister. He gestured toward her, sitting at the Aladren table. Kitty tilted her head curiously. Interesting that they were not sorted into the same House. Usually, if the books she had read were to be believed, siblings and family members were frequently sorted into the same House (statistically speaking, of course, even Kitty understood that there were exceptions to every rule. Her whole family were Muggles, after all).

Bringing her gold eyes back to Oliver, she introduced herself. "I'm Kitty Proctor." She took another bite of her dinner and mentally prepared herself for conversation. That was supposed to be the main appeal of going to school over private tutors: socialization. Kitty was tired of being afraid of everyone, and she was determined to open up by the end of the term.

Or, if anything, the end of her time at Sonora.

"You don't seem too happy that she is in Aladren. Have you never been separated from her before?" Kitty asked shyly as she focused on buttering a yeast roll, silently praying to every deity she could think of that he would not think she was prying. She thought about how far she was from her home, and how she missed the familiarity of it all. Oliver and Lena were from Wales, and even farther than their family, and now they were separated by a mere potion (Mere? Lena thought wryly, My skin is still pinkish!). Tucking a lock of brown hair that escaped her coiffure behind her ear, she added, "It must be hard enough being so far from home, let alone separated from the only family you have here."

That a girl, Kitty! You just said several complete sentences to a perfect stranger. Well done! Her smile widened slightly at the thought. Perhaps school was not going to be as traumatic as she initially feared.

Allowing the effects of the potion did eventually fade away, of course...

0 Katherine Procter I'm sure bleeding is not necessary! (Rewrite) 0 Katherine Procter 0 5

Daphne Macaulay

March 11, 2014 3:47 PM

Roses are Red... by Daphne Macaulay

Having endured the bumpy wagon ride squashed, voluntarily, into a quiet corner, Daphne was pleased to unfold herself from its confines and stretch her denim-clad legs as they carried her, for the first time, into Sonora Academy. After eleven solid years of living in the same house, moving to an entirely new environment was as invigorating as it was terrifying. Brown eyes darted in every direction, torn between drinking in as many of these new sights as possible, and remaining resolutely focused on her sneakers in an effort to avoid conversation. She didn’t know whether her intimidation would render her speechless, or her excitement cause her to make giddy proclamations, but as neither scenario presented an ideal first impression, Daphne was eager to circumnavigate the conundrum entirely, and to simply keep her mouth shut.

Her first few minutes as a new student passed as a blur. She bumped shoulders as she shuffled along with the other first year students, and her brain failed to retain much of the stupendously vast amount of new information it was receiving. She only really registered that she was being asked to take a drink as a goblet was thrust into her hands. Daphne watched with inquisitive bemusement as her skin took on a deep red tinge, which placed her in the House of Crotalus.

Funny, she thought, as she allowed her feet to guide her to the table of that affiliation, it was the only House she knew anything at all about, and it’s where she had ended up. In some ways, she was pleased to have been sorted here; in others, she was disappointed. She had been so determined to make a fresh start at Sonora, to live a life where nobody judged her by the efforts and achievements of her father and three older brothers, and yet she had been sorted into Linus’ old House. Still, nobody had to know. The other first years wouldn’t know anything about him, so all Daphne had to do was not mention it. Simple.

She sat in a sort of stupor, examining the table top in detached detail while other announcements were made, until finally the food appeared. Daphne raised her eyes from underneath heavy blonde bangs to examine to array of dishes before her, only to discover that her mouth was dry, her stomach knotted, and she was sure everything would taste of cardboard. She reached instead for a jug of water, and sat quietly sipping it, moistening her mouth like a rainfall in the desert, until one of the other bodies nearby caught her attention.

0 Daphne Macaulay Roses are Red... 0 Daphne Macaulay 0 5

Ava Fletcher

March 11, 2014 4:58 PM

Is there anyway we can change that? by Ava Fletcher

When Ava was not responded to right away, she was worried. Perhaps the other girl didn't hear her or perhaps she didn't want to be bothered. If that was the case then she would feel rather awkward, and would probably commence to spending the rest of the feast in silence. However, after putting down her book and waiting a few seconds, the first-year responded.

"It is about the habits of magical creatures, most of which are considered mythical by Muggles. It is... informative." Ava watched as the girl looked at her book and hunched back towards the table letting her hair fall in her eyes, effectively preventing Ava from looking at her face and gauging interest in the conversation. "Besides, you might be surprised by how interested some of us are in medicine. Especially if we grew up around it.”

That, Ava could respect. "I know," she agreed, deciding to just go for the conversation and see where it led her. It could be interesting and besides, when she was a first year she would have wanted someone guiding her. "My mother is a Healer, well a traveling one so I don't see her much. She's always around the globe usually in places where people can't afford to see Healers. She takes patients in for free but oftentimes they bring her things in payment since many of them are too proud to take charity."

Ava decided to leave out the part where she never go to see her mother and felt as though her mom cared more about the children around the world than herself because she didn't want to dump family matters or a pit party on a new first-year who was probably already dealing with problems like homesickness like Ava herself had when she'd first walked in the doors a few years ago. "I'm really proud of her," she said instead. It was still the truth because she was proud of how giving her mother was. "I hope to be like her one day, that's why I'm reading up on all this stuff. My bookshelf at home is full of art and medicine." She laughed, thinking how similar this conversation was to her first conversation at Sonora with Alicia Bauer who was now Head Girl. In that conversation she had mentioned wanting to be like her mother too.

"Magical creatures sounds interesting," she offered, wanting to talk about something the girl was interested in too so that she wasn't dominating the conversation. "I've always been strangely fond of mermaids myself. And not just the pretty ones found in Muggle picture books, but I've also come to have an appreciation for the weird, shrieking ones." (That, she owed to Dimitri and her housemate, Emery, as they had brought them up in a discussion in Charms class the previous year. She had always enjoyed the shivers reading aout them gave her and the goosebumps that came when she looked at pictures of them, but other than that she had never delved deep into the Selkie lore. "They're terrifying but that, I suppose, is what makes them so interesting to read about. What creature are you on now?"

10 Ava Fletcher Is there anyway we can change that? 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Lena Westley

March 11, 2014 6:36 PM

Yes, very much by Lena Westley

As her eyes wandered to the various things he mentioned, she was comforted by Clark's cheerfulness. Not that Lena needed comforting, but his enthusing over the school added something to her own reflections on it. He was excited about the food more than she, Lena thought as she looked at her plate the second time that evening. She hadn't looked at it so much out of hunger the first time as to gauge how far away the items on her plate were so she could stab blindly from then on. But the hall was awe inspiring and the school was magnificent so she agreed with his overall statement.
"My brother and I are the first of our family to go here, yes. He's in Crotalus," Lena half-pointed towards her brother, but he was blocked from view by other Crotalus house members. "Our parents sent us here in hopes there would be less hype around bloodlines." She didn't supply anything further such as her own blood "purity" or that her parents, by enrolling them in Sonora, had sent them to another country. If she spoke louder or if Clark had an ear for language, he might be able to hear the Northern Welsh of her accent. Some of Lena's hair feel into her face as she for the third time looked at her plate. After having spoken she didn't know where to look, and subconsciously fell back on looking down.
"His name's Olivier." Lena said, thinking it relevant. She thought it was likely her brother would make friends, and be interested in having many, and she could picture her brother and Clark getting along. The thought of making friends of her own didn't come to mind.

7 Lena Westley Yes, very much 279 Lena Westley 0 5

Emery Kijewski-Jareau

March 11, 2014 6:57 PM

Can I go to my room now? by Emery Kijewski-Jareau

Emery’s summer had gone pretty well all things considered. He spent most of his days outdoors with his friends, this could be seen rather splendidly with the splatter of new freckles across his face and arms, wandering around the neighborhood or playing sports at the nearby park. He liked to be outside and with people, his friends. There was no weird wall between them. They just had fun. In the evenings, they did the family meals together and sometimes were allowed time with Angel. He was neither better or worse than he had been at the start of term, but knowing that Emery was allowed time with him, helped him with the acceptance of his brother’s fate. Not that he was at all prepared for something so devastating to happen; he was only grasping the surface of it all.

It was a happier summer than the last one. Even his mother seemed lighter than she had been all school year. Emery knew that she was sad to let go of Sonora (even though she hinted that she could always come in as a sub from time to time), but she was so grateful to be able to spend all day with Angel and Harper, while allowing Ayita to have more of a life for herself. Emery and Chloe had both seen the change in their mother. She looked healthier and happier, which seeped into her middle children like cold air through a drafty window. When parents were happy, it really made a world of difference for everyone else.

School would be immensely different for Emery now that his mother had left Sonora. It wasn’t like he saw her all that often over the last couple of years while attending Sonora, but knowing that she had been there made it feel more like home. This new Headmaster, who Emery didn’t pay much attention to last year due to his attention being on family matters, seemed sour and grouchy. He was what Emery imagined grumpy neighbors to be like. Or mean grandfathers. Emery’s grandfather was Walter, his grandmother’s second husband. Emery liked Walter, he was carefree and always smiled. Emery wasn’t sure if he would like the new Headmaster, but he was aware that part of that might have been because he was biased towards his mother. Either way, he was going to keep an eye out to see how often Brockerts got special treatment.

With Chloe back over at the Pecari table, Emery grabbed some non-meat dishes. His mother was a vegetarian and so, this was mostly what Emery was raised on. Not that his mother ever restricted his diet, if he wanted meat, he was allowed it. Besides, Jeff ate meat and they had several cookouts where Emery ate plenty of cheeseburgers and steaks. But tonight, he didn’t want his stomach to be bogged down by heavy foods. He didn’t plan on staying long in the hall anyway. It wasn’t like he had people to talk to.

6 Emery Kijewski-Jareau Can I go to my room now? 259 Emery Kijewski-Jareau 0 5

Raven Corbeau

March 11, 2014 8:30 PM

That depends on what you had in mind. by Raven Corbeau

Raven was almost surprised when the older girl spoke again. Raven did not have a lot of experience with people her age, but usually when she spoke like this the adults around her broke off. She supposed it must be a young person thing. Raven didn’t do young person things.

"I know. My mother is a Healer, well a traveling one so I don't see her much. She's always around the globe usually in places where people can't afford to see Healers. She takes patients in for free but oftentimes they bring her things in payment since many of them are too proud to take charity.”

Raven could respect that. She, of course, had always had the best healers and mediwizards in the business. Her family did not have to worry about money, with the family law firm, but she could only imagine what they would have done if they had not had enough money for medical care.

“I'm really proud of her. I hope to be like her one day, that's why I'm reading up on all this stuff. My bookshelf at home is full of art and medicine."

Raven, also, had many books on medicine, though not so many on art. The books were mostly a necessity, though. Tomes and novels were meant to be her escape from reality, not her abrupt reintroduction to it. She did read medical texts, just to diversify her knowledge, and sometimes she would find herself in a particularly curious mood and read them for fun, but most of the time she only read them for research. They took her to a place where it was hard for even her brother to haul her out, if she read them apart from that.

"Magical creatures sounds interesting. I've always been strangely fond of mermaids myself. And not just the pretty ones found in Muggle picture books, but I've also come to have an appreciation for the weird, shrieking ones. They're terrifying but that, I suppose, is what makes them so interesting to read about. What creature are you on now?"

Raven scanned the cover of her book again. Magical creatures. Not a major passion of hers, but then again she had just needed something to take her mind off things for the bus ride. She had not actually anticipated having much time to read, and had wanted a topic that she didn’t know much about so that hopefully she would get into the book more quickly on the trip. Instead, Raven had probably only read two paragraphs of the thing. Her mind had spent the rest of the time on her brother.

“The current passage details the nesting habits of basilisks. I had thought that an unfamiliar topic might distract me for the trip.” She tapped nervous fingers on the book in her lap, then finally turned to face the other girl. Raven’s black eyes flickered quickly over her conversational companion. Looking down, she nervously tangled her fingers in the hem of her uniform- which she was wearing strictly per code, as she was prone to do. She quite liked the green, yet at the same time it saddened her. Green was Charon’s favorite color.

“Magical creatures and mermaids are not my most favored topic. But my brother- twin- Charon likes art.” Raven thought back to all the sketches of his that she had squirreled away in a portfolio in her luggage. Raven just enjoyed flipping through the geometric designs and life sketches, even if a fair few were of her.

“He particularly likes to work with diagrams, and he sketches a lot as a hobby. He is in England now, but he sent a lot of his work with me. What mediums do you favor?”

Art was probably the only thing she had experience discussing with other people. Her father’s work associates with which she had conversed and the occasional chatty nurse always seemed to ask about school, and never knew what to say when she told them she had home tutors. The art that she always had tacked up on her walls and carried with her in portfolios had always attracted decent conversation, though.

Raven cast around for any other questions she could ask, anything to keep the attention off her.

“Hm. Do you prefer any specific genre of art?”

0 Raven Corbeau That depends on what you had in mind. 0 Raven Corbeau 0 5

Jorge Garcia

March 11, 2014 9:33 PM

Saying farewell... finally. by Jorge Garcia

Jorge’s summer had been interesting. His mother and him had gotten into an explosive fight shortly after returning home from Sonora. As much as he loved his mother, there were some things that he just didn’t agree with. The argument had been so bad that Jorge’s father decided they needed time apart, even though they had spent the last ten months apart. Adam felt that Hannah’s expectations of their son was too much pressure for the seventeen year old to handle and that she was being unfair to him with her demands. Demands that she had never made on their daughters. So, Jorge spent the majority of his summer in Mexico with his cousins, Pedro and Ria.

His parents came down for their annual trip, but stayed at his great grandparents’ beach front manor and maintained the space that Jorge desired. Lita had only been able to come down for a day or two, work for both her and Juri was taking all of her time. Jorge didn’t really understand it. They both worked so much, but they lived in a tiny apartment and were just barely making ends meet. That did not look so good to Jorge. Dulce had it a little better. She was in a full orchestra and performed shows with the company, but she also taught various instruments to students and was part of a tutor program for the magically gifted. She made enough money to live in her own apartment comfortably. Jorge didn’t want to teach though, so he was out of that option. Not that he spent much of his summer thinking about any of that.

No, his summer was spent in the ocean, his skin darkly tanned from it. He was leaner and toned. His curls styled and his face a little scruffy. Along with the ocean came Elena. She was a friend of Ria’s who was constantly over at the house during Jorge’s stay. It didn’t take long for the two of them to start spending time alone together and begin a romantic relationship. He wasn’t really sure what it was about her that he enjoyed so much, but he thought above all else that it was how laid back she was. He never had to worry about making conversation or becoming bored with her. They enjoyed the same things and always seemed to be laughing. He felt free around her in a way that he hadn’t in a long while.

But all good things must come to an end. All too soon, Jorge was saying good bye to his cousins, extended family, and to Elena. He stayed a couple of days back at home in San Francisco, making amends with his mother (who promised not to be forceful with his future demands) and packing his things for his final year at Sonora. And now that he was here, he really didn’t know what to think of it all. He wasn’t really sad. He would either continue to talk with the people he was friendly with here or he wouldn’t. He didn’t think anyone would care one way or another. He would graduate with top marks that no one would notice and go on to continue his education either by his own merits or sheer will.

The positive things though, was that he never had to suffer and deal with the snobs of his class ever again. Sure there would likely be some at college, but Dulce and Lita both said everything was different once you were out of Sonora. Everything. All he had to do was keep his marks up, make sure he made the deadlines for the financial business for college, and graduate. Then it was farewell Sonora and hello future.

These were the happy thoughts that danced through his head while the speech went on and the reason he was smiling as he piled food onto his plate. He planned to swim it all off in the morning anyway.

6 Jorge Garcia Saying farewell... finally. 220 Jorge Garcia 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

March 12, 2014 4:10 AM

2nd time is the charm? by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Atlas summer was a hectic cluster of activities and relaxation. Although Katie had made her own friends in her first year of kindergarten, she had decided it was her destiny to be Atlas’ shadow for the summer. He loved her but she could be a little dead weight when he was adventuring in the Santa Cruz Mountains with Steven. Steven had become quite the social butterfly that year as well. He had started middle school that last year and it was obvious he was part of the “in circle”. Atlas felt a little jealous, he would have gone to school with Steven, if it weren’t for Sonora. Steven reassured him by explaining that even if they where expanding their friends and their interests that in the end would always be best of friends, making sure to give him a dead arm for even thinking that he could replace Atlas with anyone. In addition, Steven was more than happy to help Atlas train that summer for Quidditch as well, which Atlas explained was a weird mix between baseball, cross country and soccer. He felt bad for lying to his best friend, but he knew that he had no other choice. Besides there was no rule he couldn’t tell him about Quidditch as long as he made it sound as muggle as possible. Atlas figured any practice was good practice, he wanted so desperately to be truly part of the team this year, he only hoped he wouldn’t mess up like last time.

Not far into the start of summer Atlas was surprised to find he had received a letter, and from Liliana to boot. She wrote him to return his quill, although Atlas didn’t really care that much about it, having completely forgot that he lent it to her in the first place. Atlas being a social idiot, told Steven about her letter in hopes he could advise him on how to reply. Although Atlas couldn’t tell his muggle friend about all aspects of Sonora, he could tell him about the possible friends he had made. Steven only laughed at the situation, when Atlas told him what had really happened between them during the school year (minus anything involving magic). He slyly got the idea into Atlas’ head that he should send her a ‘thank you’ item back, and even helped to pick it out. Steven had a way of getting into the thick head of his best friend. With that, they had begun writing all summer. Liliana had said so herself at the Concert that they where friends, so Atlas figured that they where just getting to know each other better, as friends do.

Despite the new penpal, it was a normal summer for Atlas. Days at the beach, hiking in the woods, working at the animal shelter, drawing, adventuring, and so much swimming. Atlas was happy to be back into the water, although he did love the sky, the water was his first love. However it went by just as quickly as it had started, and before Atlas had a chance to think, it was already time to go back to Sonora. This time was a little different though. He was calmer about it and a less sad than he had been that previous year. In truth he was excited to go back. Unlike in muggle School, Atlas excelled in almost all of his classes, although he was nowhere near Leonidas’ or Theodore’s level of smarts. He didn’t realize that he could be interested in learning anything besides plants and drawing before he had come to Sonora. Although he would never admit it, he was starting to miss the lessons.

Atlas walked into Cascade hall, feeling a lot more confident than he had when he first arrived only a year ago. He found a seat at the Pecari table that would give him a clear view of the first years being sorted; after all it was the most interesting part of the ceremony. He closed his eyes, listening to the cascading waters; thankful it was much cooler in the hall than it was outside in the desert, when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hi. Looking forward to the ceremony? I hope it's over quickly, I'm starved!"

He opened his eyes calmly and looked over at his friend Liliana, a smile growing on his face in response to the friendly one she was giving him. “Yep. It’s the best part, seeing the faces of new students as they turn different colors, its priceless,” he said with a chuckle. Although the year before, when Atlas had been sorted, there weren’t that many muggleborn* students like himself. He wondered if he would meet any other students this year that shared his situation of being new to the magical world, though he didn’t feel it would be necessary to make friends with them based solely on that fact.

“I don’t see how you can be hungry, not enough food at all your fancy tea parties?” he teased lightly, knowing she would get him later for the comment. “Katie is good, she hung around me all summer. My parents are doing fine as well, the University gave my dad a brand new lab to work in, and my mom started having an open-mic night at the coffee shop. So it’s been busier than usual for both of them,” he replied with a light sigh. He was happy to have someone he could talk to about home so freely. He saw her move her mouth to speak again when the Headmaster cut her off. Atlas gave her an apologetic look and a quick smile, and then turned his attention to the Headmaster. The show was about to begin.

Atlas watched attentively as the first years where sorted, he saw some more interesting expressions and enjoyed the spectacle thoroughly. He didn’t know how he felt about a bonfire, but anything was better than performing on stage like last year. After the revelry of the first years getting sorted and the school song, Atlas’ stomach finally couldn’t take it anymore and began to rumble. Luckily the food arrived just in time, and in the same breath-taking manner as always. Atlas grabbed a bread roll to eat while he scanned the rest of the food wondering what to start with first.

“Would you like any salad?" He heard Liliana offer. "I promise to let you serve yourself."

Atlas took a moment to swallow the large bite of bread, then smiled allowing himself to laugh quietly to himself. “Sure thanks. I promise not to steal any of your food this time either,” he said, referring to the returning feast where he had stolen a bite of her fish from her plate. He dished himself up, although a lot less than the mountain of salad she had put on his plate last time, and began to eat. He really did prefer to eat things like yams, potatoes, and meat, but he wasn’t going to turn down the salad after she had just offered so nicely. Looking around the table he thought he should probably return the favor. Eyeing the pitcher of water, he picked it up and began to fill his glass. Turning to her he asked, “Do you want some water Liliana?”

OOC:

*Although Atlas refers to himself as muggleborn, being adopted he doesn’t know what he is. He says "muggleborn* students like himself" because feels he identifies with being muggleborn more.

Mention of the content of Liliana' letters over the summer are taken from the letters Atlas wrote in reply to Liliana's letter to him on Wedded to Sonora and used with permission of Liliana's author.

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari 2nd time is the charm? 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Olivier Westley

March 12, 2014 5:17 AM

It depends if you are from the middle ages or not ;) by Olivier Westley

It seemed that his friendly outburst had startled his housemate. Her head turned to him, eyes wide much like Lena's were. However, unlike Lena he found that the doe-eyed look rather irritated him and it gave her the effect (in his opinion) or looking rather washed out. "It's...erm...very good," the girl stuttered. "The best I've ever had!"

The stuttering, in his opinion, was rather unnecessary, but he hoped it wasn't a regular habit. He didn't want to deal with it on a daily basis- who had time to listen to those around them stumble over their words? Instead of grumbling though, he smiled in return. "I'll have to take your word for it then," he chirped. Olivier wasn't sure if he believed her or not but he still took a pice of the chicken, wanting to keep up appearances. He took a bite of the chicken to please his year mate before introducing himself.

"I'm Kitty Proctor," she said in reply.

Olivier noticed that she used a nickname instead of her given first name and, if his memory served him correctly (which is always did), the Deputy Headmistress had called Katherine. Why she would want to desecrate a name as...pure...as that with a nickname one would call a pet, Olivier didn't know. Either way, it wasn't a big deal, he would simply call her Kitty to avoid any frustrating arguments even if the moniker made him feel ridiculous. "Nice to meet you," he replied as she took a bite, in a manner that made it seem as though he really was happy to make her acquaintance. "Probably a good thing too as we'll be stuck together for the next seven years." Seven years too long, in his opinion.

However, her next statement perked up his ears, but not in a friendly way. She had taken the hint he had so carefully dropped. However, he didn't like the conclusion she had drawn from it. He had a long ways to go before he was able to fully manipulate people's thoughts.

"You don't seem too happy that she is in Aladren," said Kitty. "Have you never been separated from her before? It must be hard enough being so far from home, let alone separated from the only family you have here."

It was true, he was upset he hadn't been placed in the same house as Lena, but she was off when she assumed he missed all his family. Olivier shrugged in a manner that might suggest she was spot on. "I'm sure it will be hard at first, but I hope to see her at least in classes. And we can always see each other in house neutral rooms like the MARS rooms and the Labyrinth Gardens." There, no one could say that he hadn't done his research. In fact, Olivier had spent his last nights in his family home pouring over the brochures and trying to learn each and every last detail about the school he was about to attend lest his find something that let him remain as he was- free from making any sort of bond with deceitful, over privileged witches and wizards who let their situations in life get to their heads.

"How about you?" He asked, wanting to keep the conversation cheery, letting his kind, outer character take over. "Do you miss your family?"

If he could keep her talking about herself then he wouldn't have to put in as much effort and that was how he liked it.

OOC: No problem, glad to see you got the hang of it! P.s. We're sorry about his behavior. Olivier is a little punk. It takes him a while to warm up to people.

10 Olivier Westley It depends if you are from the middle ages or not ;) 282 Olivier Westley 0 5

Lucrezia Renaldi

March 12, 2014 6:31 AM

Back for my 6th year by Lucrezia Renaldi

Her sixth year at Sonora was about to start, and Lucrezia was kind of excited about it. The Italian had just realized this was her second to last year to attend the American school. It had to be said that Lucrezia would sorely miss her time at school since it was the time of the year where she didn’t live under the shadow of her perfect older siblings. Aimee, Alana and Carlo were what someone could describe at utterly perfect in every sense. The twins were already married with families of their own and Carlo was about to get married by the end of this year. Her older brother was studying in England while his bride remained in Calabria. Lucrezia was happy her older siblings were happy, but their perfectness was very hard to follow. The Italian was the fourth child of a prominent family which meant she wasn’t that important to her family’s future. Aimee and Alana had cemented their relationship with two important Pureblood families: one in South Africa and the other in Germany. But Lucrezia´s future wouldn’t really make a difference to the Renaldi’s standing so she was basically free to do a lot of things her siblings hadn’t or couldn’t. It was rather liberating.

The Italian sat down on the Crotalus table after a rather bumpy ride from her Great-grandparents house. It was a tradition for her to spend the last two weeks of summer vacations with them. Lucrezia adored her Grammy Bianca because she spoiled her rotten though it was kind of difficult to entertain an old man like her great-grandfather Ignatious. He was a very difficult man, but he kind of had a soft spot for her probably because she spent a lot of time with them. It was nice listening to their history lessons about everything, especially about their family. The Crotalus found it sad that their surname would be long gone after her great-grandfather died. He was the last male with the Randolph surname, but nothing could be done at this point. Unless he miraculously produced a male heir.

After she got comfortable on her seat, Lucrezia smiled at her housemates and waited for the Opening Feast to start. The Italian was a very friendly person, but today her happiness was taken to a whole new level. At sixteen, her curves were starting to show the body of a woman instead of a girl. She was rather pleased with the way she looked. Her olive skin paired with her hazel eyes and long brown hair made her a very pretty sight. She had seen how the boys looked at her back home, and she had loved the attention. She thought she was even prettier than the common blonde Carrie. How she hated her roommate. The Italian looked quickly where Carrie was sitting and smiled at her. Her nemesis would surely scowl back at her, but Lucrezia loved making her mad. It had become a game for her, and Carrie deserved it. She was a foul human being, and she needed to have a taste of her own medicine. However, now that a relative of hers was managing the school Lucrezia was sure the other girl would be less than tolerable. Power would go to her head like the little brat she was, but she knew better. Lucrezia had heard all about her family from her great-grandfather Ignatious and it wasn’t pleasant. It was rather grim and scandalous, and Lucrezia couldn’t believe Carrie felt she deserved the world when her family was basically in ruins. The Randolph´s and their branches didn’t really associate with the Brockets. It was better for her, really. Lucrezia would hate to have to spend more time than she already did with the brat.

During all her musing she missed the new Headmaster’s – gross – speech, so she just smiled at the incoming new members of the Crotalus house. She really was a friendly girl, and since it was time to eat her smile got bigger at the prospect of it. The Italian got a hamburger and some fries to start her 6th year at Sonora, and after the first bite she looked at the person beside her, “Hi!” she said in her still accented English. “I hope you summer was as lovely as mine,” she finished before taking another bite of her very American dinner.

0 Lucrezia Renaldi Back for my 6th year 231 Lucrezia Renaldi 0 5

Jade Owen

March 12, 2014 10:48 AM

I like the 'out with a bang' analogy... by Jade Owen

As so many students before her, Jade was about to endure her last ever Opening Feast as a student at Sonora Academy. It was sort of exciting, sort of humbling, and sort of hugely insignificant because what real effect would it have on her life, anyway? She wasn't the sort of person who made plans or had great ambitions, and so the looming RATS and her graduation made little difference to her, with the exception that she did intend to ace her Care of Magical Creatures exams. The owner of the stables at the end of her parents' back yard had agreed that Jade could work there over the summer as stable hand, and she could go back at the end of the term (although they had been vague about whether this arrangement would be permanent, or just for another summer). It wasn't as cool as working with flying horses, or other more exotic breeds, but Jade had been riding some of the older ponies since she was little, so it had its benefits in more familiar ways. She didn't need good grades or shiny badges of recognition to work with her beloved horses, just the determination and understanding that she already possessed in spades.

Though actually, she did have one shiny badge of recognition. Amira had finally, thank Merlin, left her life for good, and in her wake had (presumably... Jade was expecting an owl from the Coach to confirm this any day now) promoted Jade to Captain of the Pecari team. It had not been something she had originally desired, but, in keeping with her capricious nature, Jade had wanted that which others wanted to keep from her. She had originally only wanted to play Seeker because other people wanted the job and she was determined to get the better of them. Then she had only really wanted to be Captain when the title had fallen to, in Jade's opinion, the least worthy of them all. Still, all that meant now was that she had her work cut out in making sure that trophy remained in Pecari possession this year... smugly, she didn't believe they were in any real danger of letting it go.

Her only other plan this year was to keep up the horse lovers' club, and maybe name a president who might keep it on once she'd graduated. Not that Jade would ever think for two seconds about the club once she had left school, but she'd gained so much enjoyment out of it over the past few years that it seemed sad to deprive future students of those same pleasures. See, she could be considerate of others.

Strutting into the Hall like the confident, self-assured seventh year that she was, Jade tossed back her freshly-cut (by Jospehine) curls and enjoyed the thud thud of her low-heeled boots as she crossed Cascade Hall in long strides to the Pecari House table. Avoiding Jorge (because although he looked in a good mood today, she hadn't forgiven him for being a tremendous loser at the end of last term, and had whiled away bored hours over the summer by adding amusing alterations to his yearbook pictures), she stretched out her long, drainpipe-clad legs under the table and rolled up the sleeves of her over-sized green checked shirt to her elbows. She then proceeded to rest her elbows on the table, and chin in her hands, as she listlessly listened to the Headmaster's speech.

Having applauded for new Pecari students, Jade respectfully did not loudly boo the new Head Boy and Girl (but did blow a subtle raspberry into her hand, instead), and she cheered Little W's appointment to prefect (it was a lousy job, but someone had to do it). She didn't care about the medic or the bonfire, and when the food finally appeared, Jade tucked into garlic mushrooms and what seemed to be a leek and asparagus pie with the gusto of a girl who had spent a long summer living largely on eggs, cabbage and potatoes.

0 Jade Owen I like the 'out with a bang' analogy... 221 Jade Owen 0 5

Cepheus Princeton

March 12, 2014 11:57 AM

And all the experiences that await us. by Cepheus Princeton

Cepheus had spent the summer exercising to pass the bland summer. He had taken to lifting weights, swimming and going on runs with Rupert, and the two lads had bonded through their strenuous workouts. Rupert was much more serious about his exercise than Ceph was, and it had been nice to have that motivation to continue persevering through all the soreness and hard work that the English lad was unused to even though he walked everywhere in the country.

The muscles that had come about as a result were not nearly as visible on Cepheus's thin body as it did on his more brawny brother, but his arms were firmer and slightly thicker. He had been able to lie out in the sun as well during a holiday in Cannes and had come back to Sonora with a slight tan and brighter blond hair. He was one of the lucky ones in his family who tanned before he burned and not the other way around. His father, for example, was not so lucky and Mum had to administer burn creams on his back for days.

It was Cepheus's last year at Sonora and he was unsure how to feel about it. He had come to terms with his duty as the Princeton heir, but now that he was preparing to graduate it seemed all the more real. He was expected to find a witch to marry in the next six years before he would be allowed to take on the major patriarchal training. The proper wife, according to his parents, were essential in the decision-making process. Working alone would never do for a Princeton patriarch with the belief that two heads were better than one, though Cepheus was inclined to disagree. At least he wouldn't be forced into a marriage, though the pressure would continue to rise. Eventually he supposed he'd have to propose to Theresa who seemed to be the only one interested in him as of yet.

There were more disappointments in store for the Princetons when the Prefects were announced. A muggle-born had received the position instead of his brother, a decision which Ceph found difficult to understand. Cepheus would have expected more from his seemingly pure-blood Headmaster, but apparently the staff had even more power than Ceph had realised. He didn't care much for any of the other news, though he was expecting his notice that he was now Quidditch coach some time soon, unless Professor Olivers had decided to revoke that privilege from him too. If that happened, Cepheus would quit Quidditch altogether.

The formalities were over and Cepheus was looking forward to filling his stomach. He was knackered as usual after the long trip and couldn't wait to rest. His attention was snatched by Lucrezia, a pure-blood he hadn't really noticed before except in passing her in the common room with a polite greeting. Cepheus had always loved the Italian witches, though he had never actually pursued a relationship with any of them as he had an American girlfriend, but the familiar feeling when he was in the presence of a pretty girl came over him and his charming smile was reactionary. Lucrezia was incredibly pretty and Cepheus was surprised he hadn't noticed before.

"Yes it was lovely, thank you," he replied, though it seemed like a much lovelier summer right now than it actually had been. "Spent most of my time at home in Surrey, but I took a holiday in Cannes with my family for a week. Did you have a lovely summer, then? You're from Italy, aren't you?" Cepheus would have given quite a lot to have a summer home in Tuscany instead of the French Riviera. Perhaps he ought to suggest that to his grandfather in the next month as his birthday came around.

40 Cepheus Princeton And all the experiences that await us. 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Keme RunningBear

March 12, 2014 1:58 PM

Deciding on the future...sort of. by Keme RunningBear

There were subtle physical changes in Keme, like the fact that he grew a couple of inches and had a new hair style, but nothing so dramatic or overtly noticeable. His summer hadn’t been anything extraordinary as he was sure some others were, but it had been a nice change of pace than life at Sonora provided to him. His two worlds were so innately different from one another that he sometimes found it hard to transition. Now that he was a fourth year, he knew what his expectations were for coming to Sonora and felt he was doing a better job of getting acquainted with it all.

Last year, he had continued on with the clubs and this year he thought about going a step further with his own. He wasn’t entirely too sure, of course, being in a club was different than leading one of his own, but it was with something he was an up-and-coming expert with and he honestly enjoyed doing it. Other than leading something of his own, Keme wasn’t too sure how many people would actually agree to join in it. He had gotten a few people to come to his booth during the fair two years ago, but that was just for a game. Would they want to be a part of it as a club? His uncertainty was what was keeping him from feeling completely confident with beginning a club of his own. He’d wait it out until he found the other clubs putting up their sign ups and decide then.

Keme sat at his house table and listened out of respect to the new Headmaster. Although, he wasn’t really new since he had been governing last semester, but this was his first official role as the only Headmaster. Keme didn’t really mind one way or the other about the name. He didn’t seem as friendly as the last one, but since Keme wasn’t likely to need a one on one conversation with the Head, he wasn’t too put off by this. He knew there were some people who may not enjoy a Brockert for a Headmaster, claiming favoritism or some such thing, but that was neither here nor there for Keme. His place was with his tribe back in Montana. Outside of that, didn’t affect him. If, by some chance, he married someone outside of his tribe, his bride would have to be okay with living on the lands of his people. Living by their own societal rules. But, Keme didn’t see any of the girls he went to school with wanting that. His life in Montana was nice, his grandfather was chief, they had a lovely home, his parents were respected, but he was sure the students at this school probably thought they were simple people who lived in huts and killed their meals every night. He was being cynical about things again. KoKo told him he needed to think positively.

His sister was engaged to be married. She was four years older than him and had been with the same guy for the last two years. Her soon to be husband worked outside their tribe in a bakery at a nearby magical town. This was not uncommon for his people and his sister was going to a local university, her major undecided. His sister was happy and that had been evident during time he had spent with her over the summer. Despite their age difference, Keme and his sister were close and he was worried that once she was graduated and married, he wouldn’t see much of her anymore.

His thoughts returned to the speech as the Prefects were announced. Next year would be their turn. Keme wasn’t sure who it would go to and part of him hoped it would be him so that his grandfather would be proud of him, but didn’t want to put himself in that mindset in case he didn’t get it.

Now the speeches and the song were over and Keme focused on the meal in front of him. He had time later to worry about everything, for now, he was starving. It was a long trip from Montana to Sonora and lunch had been forever ago.

6 Keme RunningBear Deciding on the future...sort of. 249 Keme RunningBear 0 5

Emrys Lucan

March 12, 2014 5:12 PM

You realize I'll be there too? by Emrys Lucan

After the meeting with Charlotte's parents at the end of last term had gone the way it did (Emrys hadn't been blind to the way they showered attention on his older cousin rather than him), he was nervous about seeing Charlotte again. She had apologized at the end of the night but a small part of him was refusing to believe it was sincere. After all, compared to Wesley, he was nothing. That said, he managed to keep his jealousy down to a minimum wishing so much that he didn't look exactly like Wesley. Much to his surprise, his hair had begun to lighten that summer and his freckles fade. It was weird to see such a difference when he looked in the mirror but he didn't do that often as it was still mostly Wesley's face that peered back at him.

He had written a little to Charlotte over the summer, a feeling of restraint reeling him in more than it had last year. He was worried her parents would think him bothersome if he kept up the continuous correspondence and though it was frustrating to not hear from who he thought of as his best friend, he knew it was for the better. He planned to actually branch out that fall and try and make some more friends so that if it came down to it, he wouldn't be left behind should Charlotte's family have a considerable amount of influence. It wasn't that he thought they were bad people but being compared to Wesley always made him feel a little less than- more now than when they had been little.

When he entered the hall, he decided to sit at his house table and looked around. He saw a familiar boy who he identified as Emery and he grinned as he thought of a lovely plan to make up. He sat down near Emery and waited for the food to arrive. Once it did, he put some macaroni and mashed potatoes on his plate until his dinner looked much like what he had eaten his first night there. Now though, he had learned to look outside while flying so the wagon didn't make him as nauseous.

"I nearly threw up on the wagon ride here," he said cheekily to Emery, imitating his opening conversation with the other boy a few years ago. "It's my fault for choosing to read a book at the beginning, but then again I never really travel much by any means except foot. I'm Emrys Lucan." He thought about it for a split second before deciding to just go all the way, and stuck out his hand rather awkwardly really hoping that Emery would get the hint and shake it.

He really hoped that the other boy would recognize this as an attempt to start over and move on to becoming friends. It wasn't that he didn't like the relationship he and his roommate had- they were very polite to each other, but he wanted something more. He wanted a friend, preferably another boy, who didn't look exactly like him and who wasn't a bad influence. Besides, he and Charlotte could always catch up later in the MARS room or something. He had learned some new pieces over the summer he was certain she'd be interested in. He would just have to learn to not be so dependent on her.

"Isn't it nice that both the Head Girl and the Head Boy are from Aladren this year?" Emrys asked as he looked around for a protein to eat. He desperately wanted to keep a conversation going but didn't really know what Emery liked nor what he was comfortable talking about. He didn't want to ask about the summer in case something with his brother had gone bad nor did he want to ask about the upcoming school year since Emery's mother was no longer there.

OOC: Read Emery's post and decided it was too good a chance to give up, maybe I'll do the common room later like I had planned

10 Emrys Lucan You realize I'll be there too? 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Lucrezia

March 12, 2014 7:26 PM

Hopefully good experiences! by Lucrezia

Lucrezia had never seen anyone at Sonora as a prospect for marriage. The Italian had seen everyone as a potential friend, with the exception of Carrie of course, but seeing her housemate looking so manly made her spine tingle. The Crotalus smile widened at his presence. If she had learned something over the years was that she was extremely attracted to boys and that had been shown every summer when she stalked his brother and his friends all around their Manor. Carlo had never found it very amusing since she usually got in the way of their fun. The little sister became a burden for the group of older males. She never understood everything they did while they moved around, but she liked watching them play Quidditch. It was fun to be a cheerleader. However, Lucrezia had never had a boyfriend or anything of the kind. It had always been only male friends. Boys she had grown-up with and had become her partners in crime while she was back home in Calabria.

“I’m glad you did,” she responded genuinely happy about his news. “Yes I am from Italy,” she responded to that question first. “I spent most of my time back at Calabria because one of my sisters gave birth to her baby, but then spent a few weeks at our beach house in the French Riviera.” After finishing with her explanation of her summer she ate a French fry since she was still starving and kind of embarrassed about her choice of food in front of such a cute guy.

“It was fun. I got to spend time with my family and friends.” Lucrezia added after swallowing the small treat. Her family had purchased a beach house in a magical community built in a small island in the French Riviera near St. Tropez. According to her father the families that summered there were only the best of the best of the European pureblood families. It was very exclusive. Lucrezia didn’t really care about those things. She just wanted to have fun.

Her hazel eyes subtly checked Cepheus out from the rim of her pumpkin juice glass as it touched her lips. Her friends had told her she was a flirt, but she honestly didn’t do it on purpose. It came naturally to her, but she preferred to see it as natural friendliness and openness. The Crotalus honestly liked most of the people she spoke with and liked making friends. It was more because she rarely got that attention back at home and relished on it when people gave it to her, but mostly she believed in the innate goodness of everyone around her.

0 Lucrezia Hopefully good experiences! 0 Lucrezia 0 5

Liliana Bannister

March 12, 2014 8:57 PM

I believe the saying is "third time's the charm." by Liliana Bannister

Why Atlas was just sitting there with his eyes closed, Liliana didn't know. She thought he looked kind of silly but refrained from saying anything malicious. She didn't want to stir up too much trouble on their first night back. Atlas opened his eyes and looked at her when she did speak. He smiled in response.

"Yep. It’s the best part, seeing the faces of new students as they turn different colors, its priceless." He laughed and Liliana felt herself get vaguely annoyed. They were only second years, it wasn't as if they had experience watching first years turn colors. She just nodded her head and let him finish. "I don’t see how you can be hungry, not enough food at all your fancy tea parties?" His tone showed that he was teasing, so Liliana offered a grin in response, letting it stay on her face as he talked about his family.

"That's nice about the new lab, she wanted to say, but the Headmaster started talking first so she held it in for later.

"Sure, thanks," Atlas replied after swallowing his large bite of bread. (A little too large for Liliana's taste.) "I promise not to steal any of your food this time either.”

She rolled her eyes in response, remembering the incident from the previous year. "Thanks," she said dryly. "I didn't expect as much, it's nice to know you have some manners." No one said she had to be nice.

He offered her water and she politely declined, instead deciding she wanted lemonade. She was in a tart mood and wanted something to cleanse her palette. "So," she said as she munched on the salad, deliberating if she wanted steak with her mashed potatoes or felt like being different. "Your dad must be pretty happy about the new lab. And the university must be pretty happy with him." "You're lucky, she thought. "that your dad's promotion just meant a new lab, not a new corporation, a new country to live in, and a new future for his family."

"How are your friends?" Liliana asked slyly, teasingly instead. "Let any magic slip to the Muggles?" If this got a rise out of him then she would just sit back and enjoy the scene. So what if she felt like being a little bit sadistic? She was allowed to. Tanya and Noey were busy feuding, Levi had a new girlfriend, and she was all alone with only Atlas to play with. She wanted a friends. Perhaps Atlas could fulfill that role. But first he would have to be able to endure her scathing remarks. So far he had not failed to jibe back.

"Excited about Quidditch this year?" She asked, falling back on a topic she knew they both enjoyed. "Do you think Jade will be Quidditch Captain? She's the oldest player on the team now, right?" Liliana hoped Atlas had practised over the summer, she wanted a year mate on the playing team with her. Having Brandon and Atlas as alternates was nice during practice, but she would have liked one of them on the field during the games too instead of watching form the sidelines. She didn't like being the youngest on their team out there.

"By the way," Liliana asked, wondering if she was older than him or not. "When's your birthday?"

10 Liliana Bannister I believe the saying is "third time's the charm." 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Katherine Procter

March 12, 2014 9:25 PM

Thoughts of Home by Katherine Procter

Oh, drat, she thought. He wants to know about your family, Kitty. To give herself some time to think about how to answer, she took a bite of snap peas. She could think of about five things that she did not want either known or misconstrued about her family (and her feelings toward them). One, her parents were kind and loving people, but they were not meant to be parents, which led to two, Kitty held more affection for her nanny and tutors than she had for her parents. This could easily cause one to misunderstand three, where it would seem as though she was flaunting her family's money. Four involved the stream of tears Kitty spilled as the family's driver drove her to the pick up point alone because her parents had to be ready for More Important Things. Five, she did not entirely miss her parents more than she missed the familiar routine she had at home, and this caused her to reach a reason number six, being that she would rather not have a perfect stranger think she was cold or heartless.

Oh, Kitty suddenly thought of a number seven. She was a Muggleborn, and she already knew that blood status mattered to some. She thought it was all rather archaic, but she was going to do her best not to judge her new community as a whole by a single prejudice shared by (at least, what she hoped was) a minority.

She thought about Olivier's feelings about being separated from Lena. He seemed somewhat nonchalant about it, shrugging and declaring that they will still be able to spend time together despite the different Houses. Perhaps she should take a similar route? Kitty mentally shook herself. No. Honesty was the best policy, and she should be honest with this potential new friend. Feigning any nonchalance in the face of his sincere nonchalance seemed mocking. Besides, she had never been much capable of nonchalance.

Kitty made a mental note to not think of the word "nonchalance" for at least a week.

Before she was silent for too long, she said, "Do I miss them? I guess that I miss what is familiar from home. Familiar surroundings, scenery, weather, that sort of thing." Kitty stared towards the ceiling while twirling the (again) escaped lock of hair around her finger, as she usually did when she was thinking about something. It was such an ingrained habit that the aforementioned lock was rather curly by evening. "At home, I never saw much of my parents; their jobs were...ah..." more important "...time-consuming."

Suddenly feeling morose, Kitty pushed her food around on her plate. Taking a steadying breath through her nose, she thought of good things to summon the genuine (albeit shy) smile that she sent to Olivier. "I miss the nanny though, and my tutors." Her tone was wistful, and her sigh was barely discernible, "I know that I am a bit old for a nanny, but Mother and Father knew how attached I was to her, so they kept her around, especially after my grandmother passed away. She lived with us, too. She, Grandmama, was the first to call me 'Kit.' Caroline, the nanny, changed it to 'Kitty' because she said I was always silently observing everything with eyes that reminded her of a cat." She felt her cheeks warm with a blush. Perhaps the effects of the potion were still present enough that it wasn't too noticeable. "That was when I was six, and it has been that way ever since. Only my parents call me 'Katherine.' To the rest of the household staff and my tutors, I was 'Kitty.'"

Kitty knew she was rambling. That frequently happened when she was nervous. She had two extremes: one side, short sentences; the other, rambling nonsense. She had herself nearly convinced she had just turned Olivier-Westley-from-Wales off from being her friend. His life was probably far more interesting than her odd and lonely upbringing. He seemed to have grown up around magic. After all, the magically appearing food and color-changing potions did not seem to startle him.

Kitty had never felt more like a spoiled little rich girl in her life.

Mostly to keep her hands busy (and partly because she was still hungry and the food was fantastic), she served herself a helping of sweet potatoes. Then, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from her home life (that she was feeling more and more embarrassed about), as well as keep the topics mundane, she turned to Olivier and flashed a smile that she hoped showed her curiosity. "New Hampshire is so different from Arizona that I feel like I'm in a different world. What is Wales like?" Kitty had never been far from New England in her life, her family rarely had time for vacations outside of the occasional trip to Hampton Beach or the singular week-long trip to The Cape, since her father had had business there, and her mother worked over the phone the whole time. Kitty had fun, regardless, so she counted that as a vacation. For months following the Cape Cod trip, she begged her parents to buy a home there, or move altogether. It was never to be, and they stayed at their estate near Concord.

In a brochure, she read about the MARS rooms, and hoped it could create a Cape Cod beach for her to swim in. Wouldn't that be just wonderful?

Bringing her mind out of the clouds, Kitty affixed her attention onto Olivier, and awaited his thoughts of home.

[OOC: Kitty's mental counting was an homage to my favorite author, Julia Quinn. I just finished one of her novels where the protagonists count in a similar manner, and I couldn't get it out of my head. It just worked too well!]

0 Katherine Procter Thoughts of Home 0 Katherine Procter 0 5

Atlas Primred

March 12, 2014 11:21 PM

I was hoping not to mess up 3 times by Atlas Primred

Liliana rolled her eyes in response. "Thanks," she said dryly. "I didn't expect as much, it's nice to know you have some manners," she retorted in response to him taking a bite of her fish last semester.

Atlas' smile grew when he saw her roll her eyes. He was glad that he could talk in a more adult manner than he could with Katie. Every time that he teased her a little too much, she would storm off in a huff. Luckily for Atlas, she always came around once he apologized or started making her meal. "Of course I have manners. Aren't I such a gentleman?" He asked in a sarcastic manner. He actually thought that his manners where pretty good. It took him a while to warm up to people, so usually he stayed pretty quiet to begin with. His family, and strangely enough Liliana, were the exceptions.

Atlas shrugged when she declined his offer for water. No one could say he didn't try to be polite. He placed the pitcher down on the other side of him and quickly finished off his salad. It was time to get to the real food. He put a pile of mashed potatoes on his plate and a large piece of steak, dousing everything in a delicious smelling gravy sauce.

"So, your dad must be pretty happy about the new lab. And the university must be pretty happy with him," Liliana stated.

"Yeah I suppose," Atlas said, adding a few parsnips and sweet potatoes to his plate as well. They where Atlas and his mothers favorites. "He has been working really hard. We've always had to be smart with funds because of Katie's medical stuff," Atlas responded. He wasn't sure if Liliana had seen Katie's hearing aids at the concert or not, but he figured she would know sooner or later. Besides she was his friend, wasn't she? "I'm happy he is finally getting a break. How are your parents?" He asked taking a bite of his food while he listened to her response.

"How are your friends?" she then asked him.

"Ehh, I met up with some of the guys from the swim club, but I wouldn't exactly call them close friends," he stated bluntly. If it wasn't for Sonora, they may have been good friends some day, but being miles away at a different school didn't leave him much in common between them. "Steven is alright. He is a real social butterfly, so he always has stuff going on. But we where able to hang out for a lot of the summer. I told him about Quidditch, but I made it sound like a made up muggle game," he said with a small smile, he still felt bad about having to lie to his best friend about all the magic. "Did you see much of your two friends outside etiquette lessons?" he asked, curious as to what young witches did for fun.

"Excited about Quidditch this year?" She asked. "Do you think Jade will be Quidditch Captain? She's the oldest player on the team now, right?"

"I can't wait for Quidditch to start," Atlas lied. It was half true. Yes, he was excited to play real Quidditch in the air with brooms, but he was also terrified of becoming an alternate again this year. He hoped Liliana would be able to tell just how nervous he was. "I think Jade would be a good captain. I mean she seems to like the sport enough, but I wonder what her practices will be like. I'm a little worried my skills aren't up to par with her expectations," he said for once talking honestly about Quidditch. "Hey," he paused for moment, "do you want to get in a quick practice on the pitch before tryouts?" He asked. Although he had trained the best he could at home, it was always good to get some pointers from someone who actually could play Quidditch.

Atlas was starting to really dig into his plate when Liliana asked when his birthday was. "Mmm," holding up a hand to give him time to chew, "June 9th. When is yours?"

0 Atlas Primred I was hoping not to mess up 3 times 276 Atlas Primred 0 5

Ji-Eun Park

March 13, 2014 8:23 AM

Usually a sunny one by Ji-Eun Park

Ji-Eun turned as her name was called, pleased to find Chloe making her way over to sit with her. Sure, she would see her later but Chloe was someone she felt happy around, and it made her feel nice that the other girl seemed to be seeking her out. She had had two years to get used to Chloe's talking, though it could take her off balance when she hadn't seen her for a while. As she was busy concentrating on her hair, it was quite nice not to have to break off and reply for a bit, though she had to make sure she was focussing sufficiently on Chloe to take in her questions and sufficiently on her spells to not set her own head on fire. She smoothed, tucked and tidied as her room-mate talked.

“That was him and he's also what happened to my hair,” she commented tersely, with a roll of her eyes. She decided Chloe could infer what she wanted from that about the possibility of Ji-Won's presence being in any way 'fun.' “Is it better now?” she queried, hoping that if not Chloe would follow through on her offer of help. She was very good at hair styles, which Ji-Eun liked about her. It also gave them some common ground.

“I'd definitely like that,” she smiled, glad that Chloe was inviting her to play with her lovely, blonde locks. Chloe's hair was so pretty and she would relish a chance to play with it. “Yours looks very nice today,” she added. Even though she knew the curls weren't natural she still thought they were very beautiful. “Maybe we can curl mine too some time? How did you do it?” she asked. She knew there were a few different ways, some using magic, some not (though they looked like they involved looking very silly and uncomfortable for an extended period of time).

“My summer was very nice,” she commented as she turned her attention to the food. Now she felt like she was chattering on but one result of Chloe's crazy streams of talking was that they usually left her with a lot of questions to reply to. She helped herself as she talked to some rice and some of the roast beef Chloe had taken (even if they didn't cook it in spicy enough sauces, the quality of the meat at Sonora was always good and that was something she could appreciate) as well as a variety of vegetables. She then began the familiar routine of opening her satchel and taking out a little pot, from which she added kimchi, and some spicy sauce which she liberally applied to the meal. She blushed a little as she did this, as Chloe's brother had pointed out to her last year that she should make more requests of the elves to cook things she liked. However, as she had explained, she had already asked them to make some changes for her, such as providing rice at breakfast (which, initially, they had done in embarrassingly large quantities, though she hadn't mentioned that part to the Jareaus) and that she didn't want to be a bother. She was fairly sure they thought her silly for this. Though there was also the unresolvable issue of what her mother would say if she told her that she didn't need to be packed off to school with boxes of kimchi because now elves were making it for her. Every family made kimchi, by the metric tonne, and every family had its own way of doing it. It was part of family life and she did not think her mother would accept being replaced in it until Ji-Eun was grown up and making it for her own family. Certainly no elf would be stepping in to provide in the meantime.

“I helped out in the shop. My mother explained the Korean way of doing everything I learnt over the school year,” she said, with a slightly wry smile. “But I like to do those things,” she added, in case Chloe pitied her for her summer of hard work.

“She said next year we might go to see our Grandparents, which will be exciting,” she added. “How was yours?” she asked, trying to tone down her voice appropriately, as she knew Chloe's summer might have been difficult.

OOC - I know I didn't get around to replying again to the thread last year but that is what she would have said in reply, including the bit about her mother.

13 Ji-Eun Park Usually a sunny one 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

Jamie Park

March 13, 2014 8:46 AM

Lucky you by Jamie Park

Lionel? That was an interesting name. Jamie had never come across it before and wasn't really sure what to think. His gut reaction was that it was kind of dorky sounding. Still, they were going to be room mates by the looks of things, so he wasn't going to say that. Besides which, you couldn't help what your parents called you. He should know. If Lionel found out – which he probably would pretty soon – that he was also called Ji-Won, he'd probably find it hilarious.

“Yeah!” he beamed enthusiastically when Lionel asked if he got the house he wanted, “Pecari rules!” he added, taking a large bite of pizza. Whilst he chewed, it occurred to him to wonder why Lionel had asked that.

“Did you?” he asked. His tone wasn't accusatory, that would have been an exaggeration, but there was the merest hint of suspicion in it. People did seem to land in Pecari by accident, even when they were kind of uptight about things – his sister was a perfect example. He didn't want to be stuck with a room mate just like his sister, nagging him to brush his teeth and telling him that all the fun stuff was 'against the rules.'

OOC – sorry it's a bit short. I am apparently not channelling the Jamie vibe so much but figured I should get back to you.

13 Jamie Park Lucky you 284 Jamie Park 0 5

Lionel Layne

March 13, 2014 3:11 PM

In some things I am very fortunate. by Lionel Layne

“I didn’t expect it,” said Lionel with a shrug, beginning to eat his food. “Since no one in the family’s been. But I’m glad to be here.” He grinned, if not as enthusiastically as Jamie. “Granddad might not be so happy – he was a Crotalus, you know – but he’ll get over it.”

He assumed, from Jamie endorsing Pecari so enthusiastically, that he knew enough about the Houses for that to make any sense. Granddad did not handle any of the traits attributed to Pecaris very well. He liked scheduling, patterns, order. He liked his job, except for its lack of money and prestige, because it was all about those things, unlike…pretty much everything else, Lionel thought. He’d heard Muggles talk about how everything that could go wrong, would, and a lot of the time, that was true. Most of the time, his grandfather wasn’t happy about it, but he got over it, if there was nothing he could do to push it back into its proper track, or box, or whatever else he thought it ought to be in.

He ran through the usual topics of conversation in his head: Where are you from, do you have any family here, what do you think about classes, food’s better than I expected. Pretty dull. He decided to stick with Pecari. “What’s awesome about Pecari, then? I’ve never heard anyone talk about them before – family’s all Aladrens and Crotali.” Except Kate, but that was getting a little specific. Besides, he’d rather not mention all his cousins, period, just now. He and Alicia had barely said half a dozen words to each other in the past year, and he'd stopped liking her years before that, but he was pretty sure being linked to the Head Girl at all was one of those things which would make people suspicious and not friendly, because they'd figure he would go tattle to Alicia over any little thing. “I’m glad to be here just because it was boring, being sure it was going to be one or the other just like everyone else since the Stone Ages or something, but I don’t really know what I’m getting into,” he admitted.

16 Lionel Layne In some things I am very fortunate. 283 Lionel Layne 0 5

Emery

March 13, 2014 9:32 PM

Yes, and that's okay. by Emery

Emery, who had not been paying much attention to the goings around him, looking up when he heard his roommate speak. At the greeting, Emery set his fork down so that he could dig out the vial of nausea reliever potion that his mother provided to him, but paused when Emrys continued to talk and then went so far as to introduce himself again to him. Emery was rather confused for a moment and unsure as to what Emrys’s game was with all of it, but there was something vaguely familiar about his string of words.

Hesitantly, Emery took ahold of Emrys’s hand and shook it. “My mom gave me a vial of nausea reliever potion, my stomach is feeling better, but you can have it if you want.” Emery stated, feeling that was roughly what he had said the first night they had met. “It would be terrible if you couldn’t eat the food here. I’ve always heard that it’s quite good.” It was a strange sort of out of body experience this conversation had gone for him and he wasn’t quite sure why it went this way at all. “Emery Kijewski-Jareau.” He returned the introduction. When he was a first year, having his last name spoken so openly had worried him that people would judge him based on his mother having been the Headmistress of the school. As it turned out, no one really cared. It was possible it was because his mother never showed favor to them (as far as Emery could tell) and neither Emery or Chloe made much noise about it either. Now that she was gone, he suppose it wouldn’t really matter anymore anyway.

Emery glanced in the direction of the general direction of where the Seventh Year head boy and girl were seated. He knew them by face from the yearbook, but nothing more than that. He guessed that since they were Aladren, they were overachievers. “I suppose. I don’t really know any of them anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference to me.” Emery commented. In a couple of years, Emrys and him would be competing for the Prefect badge, along with their other housemates. It was too soon to tell who would get it at this point and Emery wasn’t entirely sure if he even wanted it, but he knew badges were important. “Isn’t the Head Boy also the Quidditch Captain?” Emery asked. He didn’t know what the other girl did, but she probably had some club or another. That was how they were chosen right? Based on merits? He knew that was how Prefects were chosen, but he never gave the Head positions much thought before. He could always just write his mother and ask.

“We’re in Intermediate lessons now. Are you curious about the lessons we’ll be having?” Emery asked. “We’ll be able to see what the fifth years are learning for CATS, which is kind of like giving us a leg up on it when it’s our turn.” Maybe the topic of lessons was too nerdish to follow through with but it was something that Emery was looking forward to and saw no harm in discussing it with a fellow Aladren.

6 Emery Yes, and that's okay. 0 Emery 0 5

Cepheus

March 14, 2014 12:20 PM

I think there's potential. by Cepheus

Cepheus had never thought there was any harm in looking at other witches. He wasn't blooming married to anyone yet and he had always gotten along better with witches than other lads. As a result, he'd always been a bit of a flirt and enjoyed being so. It kept things interesting and the particularly pretty witches were always fun to banter with if they had any brains in their head. It didn't mean something romantic had to happen between them, obviously, as Theresa was his first girlfriend and he was in no way looking to seduce Alicia, but pretty girls were lovely company to keep.

Lucrezia's response was encouraging and engaging. "You've got a house in the French Riviera as well?" asked Cepheus, genuinely interested. "Where about?" The area around St. Tropez was a well-known holiday spot among the elite pure-blood community, but the Princetons hadn't summered there in years. They much preferred the more comfortable summer home in Cannes, and even then they never stayed for very long. It was much busier in Cannes, but a nice break from the calm countryside where the Princetons regularly resided.

Summer homes were common for the pure-bloods in England that the Princetons knew, particularly for those farther north. The most popular places to summer seemed to be Italy or the French Riviera for most of his relatives; the coast was always a treat, though Cepheus didn't particularly prefer the seaside to any other part of the world. It was a nice place to spend hot summer days, but not for the rest of his life. It was, however, better than India. Anything was better than India where it was dirty and crowded and always, always so busy. Cepheus had been there several times with his father to oversee their tenants and landlords who ran the flats for them, and he had never had an agreeable experience to date.

"That does sound like fun, and my congratulations to your sister," he added. "My brother's learnt Italian over the past two years and enjoys practising with the other local Italian-speakers in Cannes." In his peripheral he noticed she was eating a hamburger and chips, and Cepheus thought it odd she would enjoy that sort of food. He'd always had the notion girls like her were very particular in what they ate, witches like his mum and Theresa and his female friends from back home. It was almost refreshing to see, though Cepheus didn't bother commenting on her food choice or directly looking at it in case she was embarrassed about it. Witches were temperamental and sensitive creatures for the most part; the pure ones, anyway. Even his brilliantly sarcastic mother had a sensitive spot when it came to her figure.

Ceph put together a plate of chicken breast on salad and green beans, opting for the healthier choice. After playing Quidditch for six years, he had grown accustomed to eating a strict diet during the season. As captain, he would implement that change so Crotalus could hopefully make him proud this year—if he indeed was Quidditch captain this year. "I always find the trip from England a long one," he said conversationally as he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice, "and I'm always knackered when I arrive. The travel time from Italy must be even longer. But you seem well and coherent." He smiled at her. "I'm fortunate enough to have two other brothers to suffer with on the trip, though, so it's never lonely." Most times Cepheus wished he were in a separate wagon than his brothers, particularly the invariably moody Leo, but that was a minor detail.

He paused to let Lucrezia talk some and took a sip from his glass, his blue eyes involuntarily moving down to look into his drink out of politeness. It wouldn't be proper to be caught looking, though Ceph was more than pleased with the company he was keeping. He momentarily forgot to look around the hall for his girlfriend. "You've got a very pretty name," said Cepheus, "and unique. What's it mean?"

0 Cepheus I think there's potential. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Lucrezia

March 15, 2014 7:53 AM

I think so too by Lucrezia

“Thank you, the baby was adorable,” she said with a small smile before feeling worse about her choice of food as he saw Cepheus serving himself what she should have been having. Her mother had always tried to make her eat better, but Lucrezia had been blessed with a rather fast metabolism – which her sisters totally hated!—and she exercised regularly. So, the Italian could enjoy the more filled carbohydrates food the world had to offer. It made her happy to have something her sisters coveted. The Crotalus wasn’t really jealous of her older siblings, but it was kind of hard not resenting them from time to time. For the most part she loved the freedom her status gave her. She didn’t have as much Pureblood duties as the twins and Carlo. It was awesome.

The Crotalus blushed a bit as her hazel eyes looked down at her meal once again, she was suddenly not feeling that hungry anymore, but she dismissed that feeling a few seconds later when her stomach demanded more food. She internally shrugged. It wasn’t like she was fat, anyways. It wasn’t okay to be embarrassed by something as simple as eating a hamburger because really, it didn’t hurt anyone. Not even her. She sixteen year old placed her left elbow on the table and rested her face on the palm of her hand while she listened to Cepheus talk while picking random French fries from her plate. The older boy sure had a nice accent, and he had a gazillion questions for her. She hoped she remembered them all to answer back when he finally gave her the time to do so since it was very impolite to interrupt someone, specially a male.

“Lets see,” she started to talk trying to decide what to answer first. It was terribly difficult, so she decided to start with the last question. “My name means benefit and profit,” she said with a small laugh. Her name wasn’t something very meaningful… or maybe it was. “But thank you, I rather like it too.” Her lips tugged further widened her smile.

Now on to the next question, “My family recently bought a house in a small island not very far from St. Tropez. The magical community there is small. I think no more than 10 houses. Papa says the other 9 houses are very important families from Europe. I don’t really know them that well since its new and all. We also have a Villa in Tuscany,” she said it without a hitch. The Crotalus had never liked flaunting her family’s wealth to strangers, but she was certain Cepheus could relate to it. Her Granpapa Ignatious had mentioned something about his life, but she didn’t really remember what.

The sun-kissed Italian took another bite of her hamburger quickly before continuing with the conversation. Her hazel eyes were full of happiness and excitement at the prospect of making a new friend. The older boy had always been kind of someone she knew from her house, but she had never talked to him before. It was nice chatting with someone that could relate to her life outside of the school. The 6th year swallowed and smiled, “Oh you make the trip in a day?” she asked in awe. No wonder he looked kind of frazzled. “I always come two weeks before school starts and spend that time with my Great grandparents. Maybe you have heard of them, Ignatious and Bianca Randolph,” she mentioned casually. She knew they were very important in America, but didn’t know if a foreigner like her would know them. “Actually, their granddaughter, Catherine, married into an English family, the Edwards,” she added to her family history. Lucrezia knew the Edwards were a notable family in the European Pureblood circle. Very important and all, and were kind of related to her by political ties.

0 Lucrezia I think so too 0 Lucrezia 0 5

Cepheus

March 15, 2014 10:56 AM

Glad we're on the same page. by Cepheus

Benefit and profit. That sounded about right for a pure-blood witch's name. Cepheus smiled as she continued on about her summer home around St. Tropez. Cepheus knew of that area quite well, but he had only been there once or twice. His family had owned a summer home there and kept it up more to fit in than actually enjoying the area. His mother was particularly fond of the French Riviera whilst the men in his family preferred the country much more. A compromise had been made, and that was why they took holidays to Cannes. "That is exclusive," replied Cepheus with interest. "My family owned one of those, but sold it two years ago to put it back into the market. We hardly used it and thought it better to add to the economic stability of the place than drain our money on an unused house." Though his family was wealthy, incredibly wealthy, they were also good with money and didn't like to spend unnecessary Galleons.

"We much prefer Cannes, anyway, but even then we don't go summer there often. My grandmother was sick most of this summer so our trips were limited." She didn't ever travel anyway, being so afraid of Portkeys and loathing any other mode of transportation. But she'd needed more than a house-elf to take care of her and so his mum, usually the instigator of their holidays, had to stay home and act as her nurse.

Coming in early sounded much more practical and Ceph almost wished he had relatives in America that he could stay with. "Yes, sounds mental, doesn't it? It must be nice coming in that much earlier and seeing your great-grandparents and adjusting back to the States. Time changes and all that." Then he remembered why he was attending school here at Sonora instead of England.

He and his brothers were supposed to help branch out and align with some of the American families. His relatives hadn't built a home outside of the U.K. or Europe and Scorpius, his grandfather, was hoping to conquer America with his grandsons. Staying here was out of the question for Cepheus, which he was glad for, but there was some hope Rup would find a nice, pure American witch to settle down with and start a Princeton branch here that was muddled with mudbloods.

The Randolphs sounded familiar, but Cepheus himself wasn't familiar with any of the American pure-blood families except those he'd encountered here at Sonora. But he knew exactly who the Edwards were and raised his head in acknowledgement. "Yes, I know of the Edwards. I'm quite certain I heard of that wedding taking place too, though of course I didn't attend." Listening to her talk with her Italian accent was fascinating and Cepheus wanted to hear her talk more. He wasn't fond of the American accent all that much, except sometimes when Theresa spoke, and he enjoyed the diversity of accents and languages he heard in London when he took trips there and the other few international students here at Sonora. Others like Lucrezia.

"Are you looking forward to anything in particular this year?" he asked before spearing his salad. "You're a sixth year, aren't you? That means so difficult exams for you at the end of this term, luckily. I know a few Aladrens who always seem to be preparing for some sort of exam whether they've got one to look forward to or not." His best friend was one and there were often times Cepheus thought her mad. But she was Head Girl now along with the other assiduous Head Boy so there really wasn't anything he could say about their overachieving tendencies. At least she helped him study hard and keep up his marks. He ate a forkful of his salad and watched Lucrezia as she spoke, surreptitiously admiring her looks and the way she spoke.

0 Cepheus Glad we're on the same page. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Waverly Canterbury

March 15, 2014 2:20 PM

It's part of your charm by Waverly Canterbury

Over the summer, Waverly had been doing what all kids her age were doing: researching colleges. When she wasn’t working at the bakery making some extra money now that she was old enough to get paid, she was on her laptop searching through universities and writing her application essays. She had written so many essays at Sonora she thought she had a better chance of writing a spectacular paper than her non-magical peers. There were some perks of going to a magical boarding school. It had been a productive summer even outside of all that. She had seen Brandon several times thanks to their mutual friends, and they had been cordial, even a little friendly. Brandon had a new girlfriend, a nice girl that Waverly liked to talk with. She wasn’t sad or bitter anymore; she had learned her lesson about non-magical boys and wasn’t looking to pursue a relationship with them any time soon.

But it still left her options very limited. There weren’t many hot, rich, magical guys that would look at her twice when they knew of her blood status and she never met any magical folk except at Sonora. Waverly was hoping to make it to some kind of magical university, but she was torn between attending a college her parents knew of an approved of, and going to a college that would increase her magical ability. It all pointed towards the ultimate question she was half-afraid of: what was she going to do with the rest of her life?

The role of Head Girl paled in comparison to the immense blank slate of the future and Waverly had soon forgotten about her sorrow at getting passed up for the spot. There was so much more to think about and she was almost glad to have not received Head Girl. Being a Prefect was good enough for her at this point.

Being back at Sonora did make her a little nostalgic and Waverly smiled when she entered Cascade Hall again. She sat with her roommate, reminiscent of the first time she had entered Cascade and had sat with her and Jorge nervously uncertain of what magic could do. Headmaster Brockert started his little spiel and she was pleasantly surprised to hear Wendy had received the position of Prefect. She had not expected the professors to vote her free-spirited sister into a position of responsibility. Waverly clapped enthusiastically all the same, hooting once as Wendy went to accept her badge. The only two muggle-borns in her family were now Prefects and that was an honor that regular high schools didn’t have.

Waverly sang the school song with umph and allowed herself to be delighted with the prospect of food. It was nice to have a night to relax before throwing herself into schoolwork again. “So I’ve decided to join the Horse Club again,” Waverly said without jumping into the formalities of conversation. As friends, she didn’t think she and Jade needed to begin every conversation that way anymore. “Sorry I dropped out, but you know how crazy I was. This term should be less hair-pulling crazy, except for our R.A.T.S. But that’s later.” She looked up and smiled at her roommate and a quarter of rice missed her plate from the spoonful she had been scooping. “Oops. How are you? How was your summer?”

OOC: I wasn’t sure if Waverly and Jade had met up during the concert or if Waverly would’ve known about the little tiff between Jade and Jorge.

19 Waverly Canterbury It's part of your charm 218 Waverly Canterbury 0 5

Theresa Carey

March 15, 2014 2:58 PM

That seems a little premature by Theresa Carey

As Theresa tried her best to glide into the Cascade Hall for her last Opening Feast, she also looked around for her boyfriend and wondered why, exactly, she wasn’t overwhelmingly happy.

The last one, admittedly, only lasted for a minute. Such introspection was not normal for her, she knew she had nothing at school to be unhappy about - she was consistently voted one of the prettiest girls at Sonora, she was dating one of her male counterparts openly, finally, without much of a risk of scandal, she at least, between her pretty new dress and sparkly bracelet, looked wealthy, she was at least a little connected to a lot of the right people now, and her only real problem was doing well enough on a few RATS to not disgrace the family completely – and it was easy enough to pin it on fatigue from the summer.

Summer hadn’t been as bad as it might have been, she had to admit, even with all the fuss over Arnold’s wedding, but it had still been tiring. Weddings, it seemed, always were, even if no one was paying any attention to you because of them, and she had still had five of her six younger siblings to worry about, though only Diana had been a real problem. Brandon had been tired and frustrated, sometimes, after sessions with a reading tutor which he described sort of like one of her textbooks described the Cruciatus Curse, and Peter was, well, a baby, but Henry, of all people, had been surprisingly helpful in both of their cases; he had taken up with the baby, or had accepted the baby taking up with him, and he and Brandon were in sympathy for once, though she didn’t really understand it. Cecilia had been under Theresa’s own feet a lot, but playing with her hair – it was finally growing well, getting thick and long and the prettiest shade of brown – and dressing her up had been surprisingly fun, at least in small doses.

Still, she wasn’t sorry to give it up for worrying more about how to dress herself up again. She’d forget all about the summer in a few days, she was sure, if only because she would be too busy worrying about RATS; no one expected her to do even as well as Arnold had, but they did expect a reasonable display of intellectual accomplishment and magical skill, especially now that there was a new girl. Theresa expected she would be married three years herself before, since Arnold didn't have sisters, the family stopped pretending not to compare her and Fae, just enough to be irritating. For now, though, she clapped for Alicia and Thaddeus and for Waverly’s sister and sang the school song well enough and tried to restrain her enthusiasm at the sight of the food.

Her plate ended up with a helping of grilled chicken on a bed of rice, bright green peas, a helping of asparagus, and a soft white roll, and she would have a bit of pie for dessert later – she wanted fried apple, like the ones her mother made every now and then on rainy days when they were all unusually well-behaved, but would take what she could get.

As she began to eat, she took a look at her surroundings at her own table, having been too busy scanning the Crotalus one when she sat down to really do so, and found Jade and Waverly together further down and herself close to Jorge. They had never talked much – he seemed quiet, and she thought he belonged to Jade anyway, which made it rude in her book for another girl who wasn’t one of Jade’s very close friends to get too close, though she had ultimately decided to compromise her standards enough not to mention that opinion to Cepheus and Alicia – but they were Housemates and he was smiling now, so she thought it would be okay.

“Good evening,” she said, with a smile of her own. “Glad to be back?”

0 Theresa Carey That seems a little premature 219 Theresa Carey 0 5

Virginia Bellrose

March 15, 2014 3:48 PM

Enjoying being on the ground. by Virginia Bellrose

Virigina Bellrose stepped off the wagon with a relieved smile on her face. She had been taking the Wagon from New Mexico for so long that she was not accustomed to the longer ride that she must now endure having moved to Canada. After the concert last year, Ginny’s parents had informed her that they would be moving back to their home country to be closer to family. As it turns out, the Bellrose found that America just wasn’t offering them the social incline as they had hoped with having Ginny’s family living there. So, they decided to keep Ginny in Sonora, but move the family back to Alberta, Canada.

For Ginny, she wasn’t sure how she would handle being in Canada. She had only visited there every so often and had always considered her home to be in Ohio (despite not having lived there since she was eight). The only thing that really made the move exciting to her was that the entire staff at their Ohio home would be moving to the manor in Alberta with them. Ginny had been so excited to see them again! She hadn’t seen them in six full years and it was clear how much they had changed and how much she had grown. Ginny was fourteen now and it was clear that she was becoming a lady. They were all so excited to have her back and were telling her how beautiful she had become, but Ginny didn’t need to hear that from them, she was just happy to be there, even if it meant having to be in Canada.

She had written to both Francesca and Adam telling them of her move to Canada to be with the rest of the Bellrose clan and her thoughts of it. Mostly good, of course, but she was a stranger to the family having been raised apart of them. The Bellrose name was well known in Canada, but that was the extent of it. One of the many reasons why they had attempted to grow in America. The Heads of the family felt that there was still a possibility for Ginny to meet a lad in America and allow the family to be bonded to a proper American family, but they would maintain their influence in Canada for the time being.

Being fourteen, Ginny had several coming out parties within her family unit. Most of her extended family did not know her and so the parties were a formal and informal way for them to greet her. It was all so exhausting. Ginny liked parties, but there had been so many and most of the time, she had been the focal point of it. She was happy to be back at Sonora just so that she didn’t have to do any more parties until the next summer.

She walked into the hall with her fellow students and made her way over to one of her friend’s table instead of the Crotalus table. Ginny smiled pleasantly to them, trying not to show signs of fatigue from the wagon ride. “It’s so good to be on the ground again. That was terrible. I hope your travels were better?”

6 Virginia Bellrose Enjoying being on the ground. 0 Virginia Bellrose 0 5

Jorge

March 16, 2014 3:08 PM

Say it now or later, it's still the same. by Jorge

Jorge was concentrating on the food in front of him and not the people around him, so it came as quite a shock to him when Theresa Carey, of all people, started talking to him. Jorge didn’t really have anything negative to say about Theresa other than her poor taste of boyfriends, but he didn’t really have anything to say about her that was positive either. Theresa was one of those girls who felt that her name made her the more superior person than the rest of them. Jorge found this rather amusing because he heard the rumor of how Theresa was really the mistress (or whatever the term was when the person wasn’t actually married yet) when Cepheus had still been betrothed. Whether the rumor was true or not didn’t matter to Jorge, it only made both Cepheus and Theresa look like terrible people. He half wondered if that was the reason why Meghan left.

“Not even in the slightest.” Jorge answered her with honesty. He twisted in his seat to see where her boyfriend was seated. Jorge really just wanted to be left alone this term so that he could focus on his studies and get into a decent college. If Theresa was trying to do something to get Cepheus riled up, Jorge wanted no part of it. She could go do that with Thad. He spotted Cepheus further down the Crotalus table talking to Lucrezia and seemingly not paying much attention to anyone else. Feeling safe for the moment, Jorge returned to his food. “I am glad to be graduating at the end of the year and getting out of here.” He advised. She probably didn’t really care but she had asked a question and he answered it.

If his summer hadn’t had to end at all, that would have been ideal. He was sure pretty much everyone felt that same way, unless their summers were stuck inside doing miserable things. Since his dealt with the ocean, sandy beaches, surfing, music, a girl, and his family, he was pretty much miserable leaving that all behind. The only saving grace being at school was that he would be leaving it forever at the end of it. What he would really do after he was done with Sonora… that was still in the air, but he had plenty of options to choose from, so he wasn’t worried. His only issue was if he would get a scholarship or have to find another approach. His grandparents had told him that they would pay, the Santoros were loaded and he did have an inheritance. But Jorge wasn’t going to use any of that or accept their money. If his sisters didn’t do that, he didn’t want to either. His cousins, who held the Santoro name, found nothing wrong with taking the family money, but Jorge planned his Tio and Tia for that rather than his cousins.

“Are you happy to be back? Or do you wish summer hadn’t ended?” Jorge asked Theresa. He really didn’t know what to talk about with her. She was one of the pretty girls who probably had things handed to her, but he wouldn’t say she was necessarily one of the popular people. That went to the obnoxious over-achievers. Theresa was certainly connected to them because of her relationship with Cepheus, but Jorge thought her status could have gone any which way if she desired it. Date the player, or hang out with the quieter yet no less Pure group of students. She obviously just chose wrong.

6 Jorge Say it now or later, it's still the same. 0 Jorge 0 5

Chaslyn Brockert

March 16, 2014 6:36 PM

And so are we by Chaslyn Brockert

Chaslyn could not have been more anxious about arriving at Sonora, as opposed to Amity, who hadn't been able to wait for the freedom she longed for desperately. As for the new first year, she was absolutely terrified. Serena had mentioned how completely terrifying the Headmaster was despite being a distant cousin and Chaslyn was terrified that she wouldn't get on with her roommates. And what if they weren't the right sort? Making proper friends was the one thing Amity had gotten right. She didn't really compete with older sister, but the last thing she wanted to hear was her mother criticizing her and mentioning that she'd failed where the Aladren hadn't. That had honestly never happened before, though Chaslyn had indeed gotten her fair share of criticism. It was just that Amity had gotten more of it.

And what if her year lacked the right people, her sister's class had been full of them but what if hers wasn't? Either she'd be alone and friendless with only relatives and quasi-relatives like Serena or she'd have to make improper friends and risk Mother's wrath. Amity wouldn't tell if that was the case, she'd probably even get a kick out of it, but Carrie was sure to rat her out and Mother scared Chaslyn more than Carrie and ~~Mortimer~~ Headmaster Brockert combined. She couldn't bare the thought of having Mother angry with her.

She approached the Headmistress with some trepidation. Her house might make or break her. Chaslyn couldn't imagine what would happen if she went into Pecari. Mother would not be pleased given the sort that was usually there-less purebloods-and Mother didn't exactly consider Arabella a good role model. Even though the seventh year got Most Logical ever since they'd started doing yearbooks. If it was done again, Chaslyn had to sweep the academic awards, regardless of her house. Amity had certainly heard about it when she hadn't-epecially given that she was in Aladren.

The first year threw an anxious look at her sister who sent an encouraging one back. Chaslyn took the goblet from the person ahead of her, and took a sip, flushing a brilliant red. Not blue, which was what Mother would have wanted, the other thing Amity had done correctly but certainly better in her mother's opinion than the other two houses. Besides Crotalus tended to have the most purebloods.

Chaslyn joined her table and found another red first year to sit across from. However, before the food was served-and she was a bit too nervous to eat, not only she was she terrified of her mother, but also what Serena said about the Headmaster and what if her roommates just plain disliked her. Amity wasn't exactly the best of friends with Bianca Stratford either, but at least she seemed to not have any issues with her and she had Effie and Isabel, girls from good families. What if Chaslyn's roommates weren't and there weren't any other acceptable people?

She listened to the Headmaster's announcements, especially the part about prefects, holding her breath. It wasn't her class of course, but it was Amity's and she tried to remain her composure when Anthony Carey was announced instead of her sister. He was a perfectly respectable person, and Chaslyn doubted Amity even wanted the honor-it might entail work and the fifth year really disliked that-but Mother would be furious and she wouldn't blame the school, but Amity instead. And Chaslyn hated conflict. It made her feel sick to her stomach. At least she could take a little comfort in the fact that Effie Arbon had gotten it for her house. Plus, Arabella's best friend was the seventh year prefect so that helped a bit as well. Hopefully, Effie and Alex would look out for her.

Once the food appeared, Chaslyn took a small portion of macaroni and cheese. Normally, she ate a decent sized meal, because she burned off lots of calories with dancing and gymnastics, and didn't want to faint during a performance. Mother would absolutely lose it and the Crotalus could get badly hurt. She didn't want to take a chance of never being able to dance again. However, tonight, she was much too anxious.

So, timidly, she spoke to the girl across from her. "Hello, I am Chaslyn Brockert of the Col-Western Brockerts" It was the way she'd been taught to introduce herself but over the summer, Uncle Clifford had finally given in and agreed to have them say Western Brockerts given the different places in the Western states that they lived in. Chaslyn herself lived in Seattle.

11 Chaslyn Brockert And so are we 281 Chaslyn Brockert 0 5

Serena Brockert

March 16, 2014 7:12 PM

I often feel like that. by Serena Brockert

This year, Serena was determined to make friends that were neither relatives nor quasi-relatives, though she did still want to spend time with Duncan and Gemma, the latter of whom she looked up to almost as much as she did Arabella. Next year, she would need them as her sister was a seventh year and going to graduate. Serena would need Tristan too.

The only person she'd met otherwise that she hoped would be a friend was Charlotte Spencer, who seemed like a really sweet person and Serena didn't mind a bit of she was incredibly shy. The problem was that Charlotte was a year older so would no longer be in the Teppenpaw's classes and a different house. How would they ever be able to develop a friendship?

She sat down at her house table and watched the Sorting, not finding the Headmaster any less frightening than she had last year. Chaslyn had gone into Crotalus, which was not at all surprising really. Headmaster Brockert-she didn't dare use his first name and probably wouldn't even in a personal family setting-next announced the prefects, Amity not among them. The Teppenpaw doubted her cousin would care. The Head Boy and Girl were old news to Serena having been announced at last year's midsummer event. The final announcement was about a new medic, which was good news. Some of the staff positions had been vacated lately and any one filled was a good thing.

Serena looked around for Duncan or Gemma, despite her earlier decision to meet new people, when she noticed a new first year had sat down across from her. She gave him a warm welcoming Teppenpawish smile. "Hello, I'm Serena Brockert of the Western Brockerts. It's a pleasure to meet you." She hoped so anyway but as he was a Teppenpaw, it was likely. Teppenpaws were nice by definition. "Welcome to Sonora and Teppenpaw house. We're a pretty friendly bunch so you shouldn't have to worry about anyone in our house being mean to you."

The rather shy second year had hoped that her spiel made the first year feel more at ease. It hadn't been a real easy thing to do for her, but she really did need more friends and he'd probably like to make some too. Serena had spent a good portion of the year feeling awfully lonely. Not to mention the humiliation in flying where she'd been the only girl riding side-saddle-the way currently deemed proper-and her not Brockert worthy performance in Transfiguration. Serena didn't have to be Ryan, but she could have at least measured up to everyone else in her family.

11 Serena Brockert I often feel like that. 272 Serena Brockert 0 5

Theresa

March 16, 2014 7:21 PM

Yes, but you're still going to be here for months more... by Theresa

Theresa blinked and tried not to look as surprised as she was by Jorge’s blunt answer. She didn’t fool herself that she was any good at dissembling, but it was always worth another try, she guessed.

Her whole generation had really not done much for the South Carolina Carey vision of itself. Jay and Anthony might be okay, and Peter and Cecilia were little enough that there was some hope for them, too, but the rest of them were great disappointments. Arnold might well be successful, and they were happy enough with the match he’d made that Mother would probably end up having to fetch and carry for Fae just as she did for Theresa’s aunts, but he was not successful in the ways they would have liked, and the rest of them just weren’t very good at all. She wasn’t subtle, Arthur and Henry were visibly odd, and Brandon had shamed them all with his performance in school last year. Everyone now agreed that he and Hen shouldn’t have been allowed to leave home at all, but they’d hoped they would both improve away from Mother. Theresa tried not to think about either of them too much.

“Happy enough,” she said when Jorge returned her question. “I don’t have as many lessons here, and everything else is more boring there, too.” Lessons at home had been particularly boring this summer, since Arthur had taught them all. He really could make Brockert look like a compelling, energetic, talented speaker sometimes, especially when he was going on about history or economics or particularly number-heavy bits of magical theory. “And when I get out of here, I’ll just be expected to take over the littles – my youngest brother and sisters – as soon as Jay and Henry are back on the wagon next year, so I really don’t have anything to look forward to there, either,” she added, deciding that one too-blunt comment deserved another.

Next year, almost certainly, if Cepheus didn't suddenly take it into his head to get his family to make her family make their relationship official, would be counted as a test instead of just as Mother taking shameless advantage. Could Theresa manage a household well enough for the family to trust her to represent them out in the world? The one lecture topic Arthur had even gotten enthusiastic about was what a fool she was, so she was glad he was going to be on other continents most of the time and not a factor in deciding whether or not she passed. Grandmother, though, would be more than harsh enough to make up for it. If Theresa wasn't careful, she might find herself stuck at home as a glorified maid, ranking even beneath Mother among the grown women, until Peter was in school and stuck, as old as she'd be by then, becoming a second wife after that, if she couldn't convince an eligible young man to risk the bad opinion of both their families by eloping with her before that, and she really did not think she'd have much luck there. None of it, of course, was very likely - if someone would have her and there was a good enough advantage to it, they'd let keeping any inadequacies she had out of the public light become the other family's problem - but she worried about it just the same. The family really was not going to be happy if they had to tolerate very many more mistakes and embarrassments from her immediate family.

0 Theresa Yes, but you're still going to be here for months more... 0 Theresa 0 5

Jorge

March 16, 2014 8:09 PM

I doubt those months will matter much. by Jorge

Jorge’s dark eyes glanced up at her from his plate when she answered him. Here he thought that life for a princess would be all pretty dresses and parties at home. Why would anyone like her want such things to end for the dreary life at school? Her answer had not been one he had been expecting. Perhaps Theresa wasn’t as dull and bland as he had always thought her to be. He chuckled. The life of a ‘proper’ Pureblood didn’t sound remotely fun. He was quite happy that his family did not follow those traditions. The only lessons he had to ever worry about when he was home during the summers was his music lessons with Dulce. This past summer, he didn’t even have those to worry about. He practiced on his own when he had the time, not that he had much of that with everything that was going on, but he did attempt to practice every so often.

He stopped chuckling though; when she continued on to explain her life after Sonora. That did not sound pleasant at all. Even if Jorge didn’t get into college or didn’t want to go, he could still do whatever it was that he pleased. His Tia Bella was an underground musician in Los Angeles. She had connections and would help him out if he wanted to go that route. Or his Tia Sophia who was a super model turned photographer who could definitely get him in somewhere if he wanted that sort of life style. Even is Tio Paco, who he had stayed with in Mexico, would allow him work in the law firm should Jorge find nothing else out there.

Jorge understood that there were some people who didn’t necessarily have connections. He got that with Jade’s ridiculous argument during the last Midsummer event. But, there were other ways of getting where a person needed or wanted to go. Being closed off to it or refusing to work at getting it was that person’s problem. If Theresa felt that was her life, than that was what she was going to end up doing. Jorge did not understand this mindset at all. Maybe his parents did a better job of encouraging their children to follow their dreams and make them realities, even if it was by their own hard work and not by easy connections that their Santoro name could easily provide for them.

“You take care of your siblings?” Jorge asked, clearly surprised by this. “I thought you all ran with nannies for that stuff.” Well, he learned something with that. Apparently they don’t all rely on the help for everything. “Anyway, why is that your job anyway? Shouldn’t you be going off after Sonora and making a life for yourself? Being stuck in your house taking care of your siblings probably won’t look good for you.” Jorge commented. “Besides, I thought all the pretty girls were meant to marry immediately after they graduated? Shouldn’t you be hopeful for your, whatever he is, to ask you?” Jorge asked, motioning in the general direction of Cepheus.

6 Jorge I doubt those months will matter much. 0 Jorge 0 5

Chloe

March 16, 2014 9:33 PM

Sunny = warm and happy! Yay me! by Chloe

Chloe’s blue eyes widened in surprise when Ji-Eun informed her that her brother was the cause for the hair troubles. The only issues Chloe ever had with any siblings and her hair was when Harper was a baby and liked to grab hers and pull. But she was only a baby and didn’t understand what hair was or really that pulling it hurt Chloe. Now that Harper was three and completely comprehensible, she no longer tugged and pulled at Chloe’s hair. She did like to attempt to make it ‘pretty’ though whenever Chloe allowed her too. Of course, that wasn’t always a pleasant experience, but it wasn’t intentional either. “Well, that’s rude of him.” Chloe stated matter-of-factly. Chloe couldn’t even imagine Emery or Angel attempting to mess with her hair after she had done it so nicely. They just weren’t the sort.

“Oh, thank you!” Chloe stated, clearly pleased at the compliment with her hair. “Mom wanted me to look nice for my first day, so she curled it for me.” Chloe said to her roommate. “She taught me the spell too, it’s really quite easy. She uses this like hair wand thing, it’s not actually a wand, but it helps with the size of the curls that you want. You just wrap your hair around it and use the charm. It’s quick and easy. Although, you don’t need the wand, the spell will curl your hair without it, but the curls won’t be as defined.” As excited as she was, all of this came out in one long breath to which she inhaled deeply at the end. “We can totally curl your hair; I have the wand in my trunk. Mom’s hair is naturally curly, so she doesn’t need it.”

Chloe quieted down as she listened to Ji-Eun talk about her own summer and both girls worked on their dinner. At this point in their friendship, Chloe had grown used to Ji-Eun and her special additions to her dinner. Despite knowing that the elves would accommodate her as best to their abilities, Chloe figured that Ji-Eun would never be the sort to put anyone (person or creature) out by making personal requests. Chloe wouldn’t have minded more varieties for dinner. The school already did with all the various students who came from different countries or who had special dietary needs, but Chloe always liked to try new things.

She made a face when Ji-Eun mentioned work and extra studies during her summer, but allowed her roommate to continue before making any such comments. Chloe believed that Ji-Eun was placed in the wrong house, but she was not disappointed in having her for a roommate. “Where are your grandparents?” Chloe asked out of curiosity. She didn’t think her roommate had ever told her, but Chloe wasn’t the best at retaining information.

“My summer was pretty great.” Chloe stated. “Mom’s doing much better now that she doesn’t have to worry about the school, so she only has to focus on Angel. He’s the same.” She added, frowning. “But, on his good days, Mom and Daddy let us spend time with him, which I think he really enjoyed. Harper had her third birthday, which was fun. And Ayita was home, so I got to hang out with her!” Chloe was grinning as she explained all of this, happy that life had gotten somewhat back to normal. "Oh, AND, Daddy took us to a Korean restaurant while we were home. It was really delicious. I don't remember what I had, it was a bowl full of stuff and it tasted good." Chloe commented. She kind of wished they had the one where they cook the meat on the table, but Daddy had been concerned that they would have burned themselves.

“We’re in Intermediate classes now! I’m nervous, but I’m sure it’ll be fun too. Did you read ahead? My mom had Emery and me read ahead. Boring.”

6 Chloe Sunny = warm and happy! Yay me! 0 Chloe 0 5

Emrys Lucan

March 16, 2014 10:31 PM

Cool. by Emrys Lucan

Emrys figured that Emery probably was feeling a little bit weird- after all he was sure he'd feel odd too if his roommate re-introduced himself after two years if living together. Emrys was astounded it had been two whole years, he felt as if he had only just started Sonora a few days ago. "Nice to meet you, Emery," he said as he shook his roommate's hand. "I think I'll be fine without it though- I'm starting to feel better now, but thank you for offering!" He turned back to his plate and smiled. "The food does look delicious!" He stuck a fork into the macaroni and took a nice bite. "They had a dish like this in Merlin's day you know, called Makerouns, to aid in digestion."

As he chewed, Emrys looked in the direction of the Head Girl and Boy. "I suppose. I don’t really know any of them anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference to me," said Emery and Emrys nodded absentmindedly.

"It is a little weird," he replied. "That we don't really know them, I mean. It's such a small school that I feel as though I should know everyone or at least be on some sort of speaking terms with them. Weird to think that'll be us in a few years and one of our year mates will be Head Boy and Head Girl." He shrugged. "I don't want to think about growing up."

Emery asked him if the Head Boy was Quidditch Captain as well and Emrys just shrugged. He didn't really follow Quidditch but was sure he'd seen him wandering around the school with his uniform on. "I'm not positive," he replied. "I know he's on the team though so it would make sense, seeing as he's probably one of the oldest players... If he's both that certainly is something, wouldn't you say?"

Emrys briefly wondered who would be Head their year, or even prefect once they hit fifth year. That was coming up soon but he shook his head. He knew his grandfather would be wanting him to get a badge, and part of him wanted one simply because he knew Wesley would never be picked (nor would he want one). But he didn't want to think about his competition with Wesley tonight and was glad Emrys switched the conversation when he did. "I'm excited to be in the Intermediate level already! But I'm not looking forward to CATS at all..." The only encouragement he had was that he would probably perform better on his exams than Wesley which would give him a 'leg up,' as Emrey called it, when he entered the workforce.

"I think the DADA class will be especially fun to learn. But I'm most excited for Transfiguration, what about you?"

10 Emrys Lucan Cool. 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Theresa

March 16, 2014 11:46 PM

But you'll still be around people until they're over by Theresa

Theresa chuckled at the idea of nannies. “My family believes misery builds character,” she said. True. If not the whole truth, which involved money.

Her brown eyes moved from Jorge to Cepheus when the former gestured in the latter’s general direction, and she frowned a little when she saw him seemingly deep in conversation with a pretty girl whose name she couldn’t remember. Maybe it was just because of how things had started, with her in competition with the family-sanctioned girl and never quite sure of what it was between him and Alicia, either, but she was always a little suspicious when she saw him too close to other girls, though she was sure this one was really nothing, just Cepheus making polite conversation with a girl in his House at the Feast. Just like Alicia was nothing but a good friend, and so confirmed as only a friend that Theresa was not going to try to befriend Alicia’s primary investment just to even things up. A decision which, of course, had nothing to do with worrying about what the consequences of that might be. No, she just trusted Cepheus and Alicia, her boyfriend and his best friend who she was pretending was her friend, too, because it made her feel less left out.

“Even if he did, not everyone gets married right away,” Theresa said, shrugging. If she had been Alicia, she was sure she could have made some comment about Jorge calling her pretty, combined with just the right kind of smile, but Theresa had never been good at flirting. Actually, she was even worse at flirting than she was at dissembling. By the time everyone noticed she didn’t know how, she had been so used to running with her brothers that teaching her to be a lady had been hard enough. No one had even tried to teach her flirting, though from the stories she’d heard, Mother had been very good at it when she was young and had apparently thought Theresa would just instinctively know how it was done. Instead, the thought was just unbearable awkward, and she knew the execution would be even worse if she tried, so she didn’t. “If both families agreed, and I don't think it's that unusual, we’d wait until mine was sure he could keep an income and that I was good enough at taking care of things to be married – at least a year.” After that, Jay would be at home, so they wouldn’t need her anymore, her brother being better with kids than she was anyway. “Which is why it’s my job. It’s good practice for bringing up the next generation to be good Careys.”

She said that almost like a joke, but it was another important thing. If something went wrong with your children, it was your fault. Henry was most of the reason Mother was held in such contempt by the other women that she would be expected to jump when a girl young enough to be her daughter said ‘toad,’ and Brandon was the reason why her situation could never, ever improve, short of a miracle. She had done very well in having four boys for the family, but two of them were inadequate, she had nearly let one of them die, and Jay was not an outstanding success to make up for even Brandon. Arthur’s quirks were also held against Aunt Lorraine, since Theresa’s other aunts felt she had petted him too much when he was a baby because he’d been sick all the time then, though that was nothing on the level of Mother, and so on. Theresa wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Dad was even held against Grandmother and she was just too low in the family herself right now to know about it.

“But then in the end you get married, and then there’s more babies,” she sighed. “Though I will have a nanny.” And not seven babies. Mother looked good, to have that many, but she would have looked a lot better if she’d stopped after Henry. “What about you?” she asked, looking at him directly, refusing to glance again toward the Crotalus table. “What kind of life are you planning to go make for yourself?”

She thought that was the wording he’d used. It sounded so…adventurous. The life she wished existed was one which was just a constant whirl of parties far less restrained than most of the ones her social class held and lying around covered in jewelry doing nothing, like in the stories, but adventures sounded, in the moment, a little more appealing than the life of hard work and tedium she foresaw for herself, even though realistically, Jorge’s life wasn’t likely to be that much better. Men could cheat with fewer consequences, but their lives were usually pretty dull, too, unless they were like Dad and almost too miserable to function.

0 Theresa But you'll still be around people until they're over 0 Theresa 0 5

Jorge

March 17, 2014 7:16 PM

They ignore me, so I'm usually safe. by Jorge

He didn’t get it. “That sounds like an awful time.” He wanted to point out that they wouldn’t be Careys. They would be whoever she married. Wasn’t that how it worked? That those children would not belong to her but to her husband and if something were to happen, she would not have rights to them? He was pretty sure that was how one of the cases went over the summer that his Tio was prosecuting. The husband had an affair and got his mistress pregnant. Scandal. The wife filed for a divorce, but they were one of those ‘traditional’ families and based on the agreement, she was not allowed to take their children with her. She did not have rights to them. His Tia was in an uproar about it as was half of Mexico that was paying any attention, but that was the rules at which they played. His Tio convinced the judge for joint custody and the cheating husband agreed, but his Tio thought it was only because the Mistress didn’t want his children from his wife around that often.

Jorge spread his arms as wide as he could without bothering his neighbors and gave Theresa a smile, “The world is mine for the taking.” He told her with a playfulness that most people at Sonora never saw before turning curiously to her. “I just don’t understand you lot with your traditions. Do you like having to follow your family’s demands? Even if you know it’ll make you miserable for rest of your life, do you like having your life planned out for you by your head of family? Doing with you as they see fit.” Jorge was probably not making her happy, but he just didn’t get why anyone would want to stay in that. “Aren’t you tired of it? Aren’t you worried about what it’ll turn out to be if you just let them?” Even this day and age how barbaric traditions that were pointless these days still reign over them was astounding to him.

“Don’t you want to get an education? Or travel the world? Isn’t there something you want to do beyond being someone’s wife and mother? I can’t imagine you somehow shaming the family for bettering yourself in a different way before settling down.” Jorge knew of the Pureblood ways because of his extended family. They had once done betrothals. His grandparents were betrothals. And if it hadn’t been for his Tio Juan – someone Jorge wasn’t likely to ever meet – who left the family after being nearly forced into marrying a woman he despised, the family ended that tradition. Some of his extended family, great grandparents and such still wanted to make connections through marriage in some way, but it was up to the person to decide. It was how his mother married his father, and Lita was able to marry Juri. They ‘decreased’ their social status in the Pureblood society’s eyes, but they have gained much more for it.

“Do you really want to get stuck with a guy you’ll probably end up hating and having no way out of it because your parents say it’s how it has to be? Why? Why do it? Marrying someone who doesn’t fall in the same circle as you doesn’t change the wealth that you have or the name that you carry. Eventually, your only option will be incest because no one will meet your standards and there won’t be any more families left that you aren’t already connected to.” Purebloods were a dying breed, whether people wanted to admit it or not. Several families were already making the same connections to the same families over and over again. He didn’t care if they were second cousins once removed, it’ll come back to them and that tree will soon only sprout a single branch.

“What I find to be really funny though is that you guys look down on me but I’m going to be living my life however I see fit. And my family will support it. My family has money; I’m not living in a shack or begging on the street. My aunt’s a famous model, my uncle a professional Quidditch player. My family’s restaurant has several locations throughout Europe. My great-grandfather’s law firm is one of the top firms of both America and Mexico. My sister will be a famous Ballerina, like my mother once was, and my other sister a famous composer. And even with the success of my relatives, you all see me as some dirt stuck to your shoe.” Jorge grinned, not angry or upset at this knowledge. “And that’s okay because I am free.” There had been a time when Jorge had been fed up with how his peers saw him because they judged him on his name alone and not by the worth of his family, both financially and successfully.

“I spent my summer in Mexico, surfing the waves and spending time with Elena. Next year, maybe I’ll be in college studying law, or maybe I’ll be in Italy learning the restaurant and helping my family or perhaps in Los Angeles playing in an underground band. I can do whatever I want because my family figured out a long time ago that Blood status does not matter.” Old money didn’t matter anymore. No one cared but those who had it. No one. The Brockerts, the Careys, The Arbons, the Princetons, they were (and those like them) the only ones who thought themselves as superior to everyone because of their ‘blood’ but who were they really superior to? Because the ones they felt they were better than didn’t give a rat’s ass what they thought. If he asked Waverly if she felt she was inferior to Theresa or Arabella, he doubted she would have said yes. The Pureblood traditionalists were nothing more than bigots and bullies.

“Is watching your siblings until you are married really what you want to do? Do you really want to marry him?” Jorge pointed back to her boyfriend. “Look at him, he is openly admiring Lucrezia with you right here. Has he even bothered to say hello to you yet? Jorge asked, looking skeptically at her. He couldn’t imagine anyone except for maybe Alicia (someone who Jorge thought was a giant bug in disguise) would want to marry a prat like him. “Seriously, if you were my girlfriend, you’d be the first person I’d seek out after a summer away.” Maybe he riled her up to either defend herself or realize how stupid their traditions were or maybe he riled her up enough to now have her boyfriend’s pack of friends bother him for the rest of the year, but he didn’t really care. He was counting down the days until he was gone anyway. Might as well have some fun before he left. “Uh, that came out rude. I am used to having discussions with people on my level and don’t really think about the audience. Since you opened up about your future, I thought figuring out why people keep it up was a good topic. I probably over-stepped. Sorry.”

What he really wanted to tell her and knew it would really cause the drama was to get some self-respect. She had a stain in her history here, if the rumors were true, of being a trouble-maker and dating men who were already in relationships (betrothed or not, it was an agreement between two people that they belonged to one another with the intent of marriage). A home-wrecker as they say. Dulce called them by a not so pleasant term. Cepheus had a stain too, but as he was the ‘male’, it didn’t matter for him. Double standards for the win. For Jorge, he thought Theresa ruined any chance of a decent life (of her own traditional values) by running around with Cepheus, most especially if Cepheus did not intend to marry her or stay faithful to her.

6 Jorge They ignore me, so I'm usually safe. 0 Jorge 0 5

Clark Dill

March 17, 2014 8:00 PM

And the food is great, too! by Clark Dill

Clark chowed down on his bread while listening to Lena's response. She had a slight accent, but he had no idea where it was from. It could have been from anywhere between Australia and Boston for all he was able to recognize it. He'd grown up in California before moving to Maryland, so he was pretty sure it wasn't from either of those states, but anything else was possible.

He eyed the items on his plate, trying to decide which to go for first and which would look least bad if he forgot himself and started talking with his mouth full. It had been known to happen. Several times. Each meal. Dad had never cared, but some of his female friends at his last school thought it was gross so he was trying to stop doing that.

As he was thinking about it, he made sure he swallowed his bread before he spoke again. "Olivier," he repeated, but felt far less sure that he'd remember that name than Lena's, particularly without a face to link it to, since he wasn't quite sure which Crotalus she was pointing to. "Cool. Are you twins?" he guessed, since she had said they, plural, were the first of their family to attend Sonora.

"I just live with my dad," he offered as a fact about his own upbringing. "So he had to be my playmate when I was little. I don't even have any cousins." Or, if he did, he didn't know them at all. Dad said he had a brother in Detroit, but Clark had never met the guy. He gathered Dad and Uncle Nick had not gotten along well at all when they were kids.

1 Clark Dill And the food is great, too! 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Ji-Won "Jamie" Park

March 18, 2014 2:23 AM

You can say that again! by Ji-Won "Jamie" Park

Lionel was surprised but happy. Jamie figured that was good enough. Especially given the way his room-mate grinned as he talked about how his grandpa might need to get over it. Clearly Lionel wasn't that concerned about being the black sheep in his family.

“That's the spirit,” Jamie grinned.

“Pecari's cool,” he enthused, in response to the other boy's question, his dark eyes shining, “It's where all the people who like adventure and fun go. We're the school rebels, dude. Well, we're supposed to be. You get an occasional stick in the mud like my sister.” It wasn't exactly going to be hard for Lionel to make the connection between the only two Korean people in the school, so he figured he may as well admit it up front. “But we just won't invite her along on any of adventures. She'll probably be too busy sticking her nose into a book to care anyway.” That was only half true. Whilst Ji-Eun's nose might be in the book, he was fairly sure at least one eye was going to be on him. But all good adventures involved a little sneaking....

"You got any nosy relatives around, keeping tabs on you?" he queried.

13 Ji-Won "Jamie" Park You can say that again! 284 Ji-Won "Jamie" Park 0 5

Ji-Eun Park

March 18, 2014 2:36 AM

Yay indeed by Ji-Eun Park

“I know!” Ji-Eun declared emphatically, when Chloe stated how rude Ji-Won's behaviour was. Her tone reflected the fact that Chloe had agreed with her, and that she was glad of this. She would have been upset if Chloe had seen it as 'harmless fun,' thus taking her brother's side, even inadvertently.

“Great!” she said, a proper smile coming back to her face when Chloe said she could curl her hair for her. The pop stars in her magazines were always sporting gorgeous ringlets and she'd been dying to try it out on her own hair for ages.

“They're in Korea,” she replied, when Chloe asked about her grandparents, “So it would be a bit of an adventure. We've been over before but the last time was about five years ago, so I remember it but it's sort of hazy.

“I'm glad you got to enjoy some quality family time,” she smiled sympathetically, happy that Chloe's summer hadn't been a total washout. “What did you do for your sister's birthday?” she asked. She smiled as her room-mate mentioned eating out a Korean place.

“Can you describe it at all? Noodle or rice based?” she asked. If Chloe didn't want to play that game, she could just brush it off, but Ji-Eun was fairly sure she'd be able to get to the bottom of the mystery.

“A little. I spend a lot of my summer reading back, with the aforementioned Korean ways. I mean, I keep up with that a bit at school but it's easier to look over it at home where there's someone to explain,” no doubt Chloe had seen the old Korean books piled up with the school set texts by Ji-Eun's bed. They were her mother's old school books. “But yes, I hopefully know what we're getting into this year. It's a bit scary, thinking how much older some of the students in the class are. They must know so much more than us.”

13 Ji-Eun Park Yay indeed 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

Ava Fletcher

March 18, 2014 5:28 PM

That depends on what you like. by Ava Fletcher

It was awkward for Ava to sit there and hold up most of the conversation. She was about to give up and let the girl be by herself like she so obviously wanted to be when she replied. Basilisks were an interesting sort of creature. They, like the Selkies, caused shivers to run down her spine only she knew that she was actually afraid of encountering a Basilisk. Selkie, she could deal with (or so she believed), but the idea of a fearsome snake with killer eyes was terrifying. After she'd first read about them, she had refused to open her eyes for a few days, opting to wrap a sleeping mask around her head instead in order to block out the gaze of any lingering Basilisk. She had got a few rather split knees from that and she had never again decided to do something so ridiculously stupid.

Ava opted not to tell the younger girl about her youthful stupity lest she think her not worthy enough to be an Aladren and instead focused on the art that she had changed the topic to. "I like all kinds of art," she smiled widely, thinking happily of her sketchbook and paint pad. "Mostly I paint but I have been working on my sketching as well because it really helps me to get a feel for what things are supposed to really look like. When I paint sometimes it can get a little..." she trailed off here not really sure if she wanted to call it abstract or not because her paintings were so clearly something that she felt they couldn't be classified as so although oftentimes she enjoyed the splatter and smear technique she had picked up in her kindergarten finger-painting class. "Interesting," she settled on and decided the conversation had gone on long enough without introducing herself. "I'm Ava Fletcher, by the way. Third year. How about you?"

She desperately hoped that her introduction was casual enough to not to scare of the first year as she didn't want to be intimidating as some of the older students had been to her on her first night. She wanted to be like the Head Girl, the one who, as a fifth year, had put up with Ava's incessant blabbering so patiently.

"I enjoy most types of art. I really like the Impressionist era the best, they are my favorites to look at." She'd always wanted to be like those painters who were able to turn thousands of tiny dots of paint into gorgeous pictures but the end result was the weird half-abstract look. She could paint normally, she knew, her grandfather's friends always teased her, calling her Michelangelo whenever she showed them her work, but that wasn't what she wanted to produce, what she wanted was an end result much like Monet's. Perhaps then they would start to call her Cassat, her favorite painter of all time.

OOC: Sorry for not responding sooner :)

10 Ava Fletcher That depends on what you like. 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Liliana Bannister

March 18, 2014 6:40 PM

Ah, you should have clarified. by Liliana Bannister

Atlas' smile after her eyeroll drove her nuts but she maintained her composure. He wasn't a gentleman per say, but perhaps with a little work she could turn him into one. He had fight to him, which was good. You couldn't get anywhere in life without some fight. At least, that was her opinion. "I wouldn't say so," replied caustically. "You have a long way to go before you're considered a true gentleman though the haircut is a step in the right direction."

Liliana kept searching the table to a jug of lemonade and frowned slightly when she didn't see one. "You don't suppose they wouldn't have lemonade here, do you?" she asked and she stood up slightly and leaned over a pitcher to see what was inside. "Only, I've been really craving lemonade since I got on that wagon. It's such a bumpy ride at times and lemonade is so refreshing, don't you think?"

She finished off her salad and copied his food choices as the smell as too tempting not to and dug in with great gusto. Despite her love of her house elves at home (both at her parents and at her grandparents homes), she had to admit that the prairie elves at Sonora didn't do too shabby a job at the cooking.

"Yeah I suppose," Atlas said as he put more vegetables on his plate though Liliana was sure that sweet potatoes didn't count as a vegetable. "He has been working really hard. We've always had to be smart with funds because of Katie's medical stuff. I'm happy he is finally getting a break. How are your parents?"

"My parents are good," she replied. 'My dad had a lot of work this summer and my mom had a lot of parties so I mainly hung out with my cousins but that's how it usually is. Levi got a girlfriend though so that was interesting." Liliana wasn't sure how in detail she had gone into about her relationship with Levi to Atlas, but she didn't feel like elaborating now unless he asked her a question. It was still a little bit of a sore spot for her.

"Ehh, I met up with some of the guys from the swim club, but I wouldn't exactly call them close friends," he said in reply to her question about his friends. "Steven is alright. He is a real social butterfly, so he always has stuff going on. But we were able to hang out for a lot of the summer. I told him about Quidditch, but I made it sound like a made up Muggle game. Did you see much of your two friends outside etiquette lessons?"

Liliana nodded. "Yes, Noey came to my grandmother's Ball but Tanya was in Spain visiting family for most of the summer so I didn't get to see as much of her as I would have liked." Liliana left the fight out, the ins and outs of her friendships weren't particularly Atlas' business. "We went out for ice cream a few times though, that was nice. I never really do many active things like Quidditch with them. That I play with my cousins."

"I can't wait for Quidditch to start," Atlas said. "I think Jade would be a good captain. I mean she seems to like the sport enough, but I wonder what her practices will be like. I'm a little worried my skills aren't up to par with her expectations."

Liliana nodded, even she was unsure what this years' Quidditch games would bring. She couldn't tell if Jade liked her or not as she'd never really had a personal conversation with anyone on the team other than Adam, Waverly, and Atlas. She was kind of worried. Jade was older and fierce. Perhaps she wasn't tough enough for her? Liliana could be tough in her own respect, she had kept playing after the rough save at the winning match, after all, she was resilient enough to be in Pecari, but perhaps she wasn't enough for Jade. Liliana was worried, really worried. But tryouts would come and she would sign-up and perform her best and if that wasn't enough she could always be an alternate or else play in her free time.

"Hey, do you want to get in a quick practice on the pitch before tryouts?"

Liliana spread some butter on a piece of bread and took a bite, taking care to chew and swallow before answering. "I think that would be nice, I got a lot of practice over the summer but you can never practice enough, right?"

She smiled when Atlas also took the time to finish his mouthful of food before responding to her birthday question. It seemed as though he was exercising at least some manners. "June 9th," he said once he had finished. "When is yours?"

Liliana smiled widely. So he was younger than her. Finally. "May 31st," she said rather proudly. "I'm nine days older than you."

10 Liliana Bannister Ah, you should have clarified. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Lucrezia

March 18, 2014 7:42 PM

Seems like it by Lucrezia

“I hope your grandmother is doing better,” she commented on his statement and friendly patted his hand to try and seem comforting. Lucrezia really didn’t know how to react to that since Cepheus had sprung that sad bit of information on her. The Italian didn’t really know much about his family since her focus had always stayed in Italy. She hadn’t seen the need to get to know people’s backgrounds, unless her great-grandparents told her to. Plus, her parents had always told her that None-Pures weren’t supposed to be ostracized since there weren’t many Pures to begin with and everyone deserved a chance for friendship. The Crotalus was allowed to be friends with None-Pures, but that was as far as it went. In other senses her family followed strict Pureblood traditions. The only family she knew extensively was Carrie’s, but that was because she loathed the girl and needed ammunition when needed. The Brockets were full of juicy gossip and her great-Grandfather Ignatious was all too happy to share with his little great-granddaughter.

Since the Cortalus didn’t know what to say about his sick grandmother she decided to change the topic into a happier one, like her great-grandparents. “Oh yes,” she exclaimed in excitement at the mention of her American relatives. “My great grandparents are amazing. They are so old that most of their stories are about people I didn’t even know. It’s a wonder they are still alive. Both are pushing the 100s now,” she finished with a little bit of a sad note. Yeah, maybe her great-grandparents weren’t a good topic. In reality they were more like her great-great-great grandparents. “And they love having me around,” she finished smugly.

Lucrezia took a small bite of her hamburger and wasn’t really surprised Cepheus knew about the Edwards. They were pretty well known in Europe, probably because they were ridiculously wealthy and had expanded their power to the USA. They were one of those families, but they weren’t a good topic of conversation right now. She just knew the basics. Her parents liked their children being versed in the topic of important families. They didn’t know everything, but knowing the basics would helped them sail in the Pureblood society. She smiled and continued with the conversation, “Yes, thankfully, I have a pretty relaxed year before RATS craziness. It’s amazing how quickly time passed. I’m already a sixth year. Next year is my last year here,” She said a bit sadly. She would be very sad to leave this place, but that was still a few months into the future. “You are graduating, aren’t you?” she asked before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

0 Lucrezia Seems like it 0 Lucrezia 0 5

Raven Corbeau

March 19, 2014 12:47 AM

Allies? by Raven Corbeau

Raven leveled a gaze at the other girl. She was two years older than Raven, and evidently of comparable intelligence. She wasn’t squealing or flirting or babbling like some of the other students. This girl, Ava Fletcher, might do as an acquaintance at this school. After all, Raven would need someone to show her around if she didn’t plan on getting lost. Of course she enjoyed hiding, but that was not any fun if she couldn’t find her way back to her dormitory afterward.

Being two years apart they would not be able to study together, but that was fine with Raven. She studied best alone, in some silent corner beneath a hedge or in some tiny crevice that only someone with her small stature would be able to fit in. She had no need of a study partner, but a guide might be useful.

Raven recalled her father’s lessons on how to introduce one’s self to a potential ally. She had never gone to school, rather remaining in the house or hospital for most of her life. As a consequence, she had met many of her parents’ political and legal allies and had been required to act properly as the heir of the family business, even from a young age. Her father had been giving her lessons since she could first understand and follow his instructions.

Raven outstretched an arm, face impassive. “Raven Corbeau, heir of the House of Corbeau and Corbeau Solicitors, and first year student of Aladren house. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

After the other girl had responded, Raven dropped her hand. Glancing quickly around the hall, she turned her face back to Ava.

“Do you think that you could give me the full tour of the school at some point in time?”

~~~
OOC: I really don’t have a lot of experience with pureblood traditions or whatever pureblood politics going on at Sonora, so I just sort of made up what I thought would fit. Hope that works for you. If it doesn’t, well, pretend it does.

0 Raven Corbeau Allies? 0 Raven Corbeau 0 5

Olivier Westley

March 19, 2014 3:49 AM

You're not getting homesick on me, are you? by Olivier Westley

Olivier could not bear the way Katherine was speaking of her family. To miss her tutors and nanny and such inanimate things such as the weather of all things but not her parents was a ridiculous thought. Even if she never saw her parents due to their jobs she still owed something to them. They obviously cared a little if they kept on a nanny for her happiness. He tried hard to keep from rolling his eyes. She seemed well-groomed and cared for. Not a single scratch to speak of- metaphorically of course. This girl didn't know how good she had it.

"That's too bad," he replied though, wanting to seem sympathetic. "My parents also had time-consuming jobs, but Lena and I always knew that they loved us." Using her words in his sentence like that gave him a little bit of glee- she wouldn't know he was mocking her, but he was and it was his little secret.

"Wales is lovely," he replied, for the first time in their conversation being 100% honest. "I love the fields and the cliffs. A lot of space to spread out and think." He didn't mention the untrustworthy people nor the incidents that had happened there. He was simply speaking of the scenery as she had termed it earlier.

There was nothing in Katherine's demeanor or conversation that particularly sparked Olivier's interest. Both left for wanting but he trekked through it anyhow despite the quiet he wished he had at the moment. He hoped his roommate wasn't chatty, he didn't want to deal with someone peppy that night as he knew he'd have to match them pep for pep. He let his eyes wander over to Lena hoping she was enjoying her conversation partner more than he was. She was at least participating and it didn't seem as though the other boy had said anything too traumatizing and he made mental note to hunt him down later and find out what he was like- if he was good enough to be Lena's friend.

"I suppose Wales is pretty different from Arizona as well," he said while he was thinking. "What's New Hampshire like?" He didn't actually care, he just thought that if he could get her to start rambling again he could retreat into his thoughts putting up a smiling, nodding front to make it seem as though he were paying attention.

OOC: Hey! Just wanted to let you know that his name is Olivier, not Oliver. It doesn't really matter, but on the OOC board there's another first year named Oliver so just for further posts to avoid any confusion :)
Also, we the authors would like to apologize for Olivier's thoughts. He can be a nasty little bugger.

10 Olivier Westley You're not getting homesick on me, are you? 282 Olivier Westley 0 5

Jade

March 19, 2014 10:05 AM

Check it out: I have charm! by Jade

(OOC: If the girls did meet up at the concert, Jade probably would have mentioned the argument with Jorge but not gone into any detail, so I'll leave it up to you to decide if their paths crossed.)

Jade had become very pleased, over the years, to have Waverly as a roommate. At first she'd found it quite entertaining to have a Muggleborn in their midst, but Waverly had more than proven her worth as a witch, and Jade was pleased to count her as a friend. Furthermore, said friend was currently claiming that she would return to Jade's Horse Club. "Cool," Jade replied with a nod of her head to convey enthusiasm as she swallowed her mouthful. Then, able to express more vocally, she added, "We've been missing your cupcakes." She grinned; she was mostly joking. Waverly's propensity to come bearing baked goods was a part of her charm, but Jade would still relish her company even without the cake... she had baking club for that, anyway.

"Yeah, you've been working way too hard," Jade raised her eyebrows for emphasis. She thought that she had been busy herself, with her club and its field trip to organise, with Quidditch and her assistant captaincy, with attending baking club and struggling to maintain a passing grade in her classes (of which she was probably taking fewer than Waverly), but she knew her roommate was in even deeper, if not quite over her head. "I mean, I'd love having you back in the club, but, like, don't overdo it,"she said, waving her fork at Waverly in an instructive manner. "There are to be no tearful breakdowns this year, I don't care how stressful RATS are." Again she was only mostly joking... crying people made her uncomfortable and prone to acting in ways that would make her grumpy later on (like giving up her time, food, or other valuable commodities to make said distressed person feel better).

As for the query regarding her summer, Jade answered, "It was okay," with an accompanying shrug of her shoulders. "I helped out at the stables, did some riding, read some books, sketched some doodles..." she trailed off then filled her mouth with another forkful of food. She wasn't used to being on her own quite so much, but with both her parents trying their best to make ends meet, James working all hours of the day and night and even Josephine working part-time, and spending several more hours a week studying (her sister had enrolled on an independent study course with a distance learning college, as it was all she could afford and she was desperate to stay in education, for some bizarre reason that Jade couldn't comprehend), for most days of the holidays, Jade had to find ways to occupy herself. She had managed without getting too bored too often, but she was glad to be back where she had friends, clubs, Quidditch, and other things to distract her.

"How about you?" Jade returned the question. She thought she could accurately predict Waverly's summer - baking with her Mom, seeing her Muggle friends, and probably doing some useful planning for her future. Jade suspected she would probably be applying for colleges; she seemed the sort, although Jade wasn't sure she'd ever heard Waverly express a solid career plan - but it didn't hurt to ask, even though the girls would probably have this conversation again later when they joined T and Arabella in the dormitory.

0 Jade Check it out: I have charm! 0 Jade 0 5

Daphne Macaulay

March 19, 2014 3:58 PM

Roses can be many other shades, too. by Daphne Macaulay

The girl sitting opposite, who was also an alarming shade of red, identifying her as a fellow first year (and one of Daphne's roommate), looked at Daphne and introduced herself. The Muggleborn girl blinked, struck momentarily dumb by two successive blows. The first was that the girl before her had the same surname as the Headmaster, which could be a coincidence, or she could be so closely related that she usually called him 'Dad', which was a terrifying prospect for seven years of sharing a room with this girl. secondly, although Linus had warned her that people might introduce themselves to her in this manner, Daphne apparently was not entirely prepared for it. She only faltered for a second, however, before clearing her throat (it was still dry, despite the cool refreshment she now placed down onto the table top), and replying, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Daphne Macaulay."

By not replicating Chaslyn's manner of introduction, Daphne knew she might be alienating herself, but then they would both be in the same metaphorical boat. Except, perhaps, as someone who had probably grown up with magic, rather than only being allowed very brief glimpses into this world for the past seven years, Chaslyn might have some idea of where her boat was headed. Nevertheless, Daphne remained unperturbed. They were both new to the school, and there was no reason they shouldn't be able to get along. Yes, they had already identified one of their differences, but the fact that they were sitting opposite each other in identical shades of red also indicated they probably had many similarities, too.

Daphne toyed with the idea of asking Chaslyn about her connection - if any - to the Headmaster, but as she herself didn't want anyone to make assumptions about her based on her family members, she decided to offer Chaslyn the same courtesy. Instead, she glanced once more up and down the table at the mammoth feast before them and said, "It feels like such a waste. I've completely lost my appetite." She offered a small smile, turning up the corners of her mouth ever so slightly, but ducking her head a little at the same time so some of her blonde hair fell forwards to hide the edges of her face. Daphne didn't brush them away; she'd purposefully left her hair loose so it could be a protective shield should she require one. Then, as if to prove her point, she lifted her goblet to her lips and took a couple more sips of water. She wanted to make more conversation, but didn't really know what else to say.

0 Daphne Macaulay Roses can be many other shades, too. 0 Daphne Macaulay 0 5

Lionel

March 19, 2014 4:02 PM

In some things I am very fortunate. by Lionel

School rebels. Well, he guessed he knew where Mom would have been Sorted after all, if she’d been a witch. He had never thought of himself quite that way, though. True, he wasn’t Rachel, who was held up as an example to all of the younger ones of what they should aspire to, or Alicia, who tried too hard to be that, but it was more because he just didn’t pay attention to the right things than because he really wanted to cause problems.

“Some cousins,” he said of relatives. “Aladren and Crotalus. They’re older than us, though, and we’re not close, so I really don’t think they’ll say much to us.”

Isaac would be in their classes this year, but Lionel really did not expect Isaac to act like it. He understood, of course. In the circles Isaac cared about, or that Aunt Emily and Uncle Jeremy cared about, it was bad enough having his sister around; a cousin of Lionel’s sort really was not something Isaac’s dad would be at all happy that he had acknowledged. Uncle Jeremy was the worst in the family about flinching if Mom came anywhere near him, as though being a Squib might be somehow contagious.

“I’ve got a sister, too, but she’s still at home,” he volunteered, holding up a hand not much higher than the table surface to indicate how tall Amelia was. He was like their mom, tall, but Amelia was not; in the family, she was most like Aunt Helena’s pictures in looks, he thought, but didn’t have the trick of looking quite as much more like Uncle Geoff than she normally did when they were in close proximity. Or their photographic selves were in close proximity; he had never actually seen his aunt and uncle together, and could only remember seeing Aunt Helena in person twice. She had not seemed very happy or comfortable with seeing her family, but had given him and Amelia pieces of candy, and Amelia a doll. “How much older is yours? Will she be in our classes?”

16 Lionel In some things I am very fortunate. 283 Lionel 0 5

Katherine Procter

March 19, 2014 8:48 PM

Probably not in the way you might think… by Katherine Procter

If Kitty was a bolder sort, she could have shaken her first acquaintance at Sonora. His responses were short, and, if she did not know better, she would guess that his goal was to keep her talking (although, she was not sure that she did know better, for she hardly knew him). It was torturous. She did not want to talk about home. It made her think about her "send off," which only made her want to cry again. Luckily, over the years, she had grown rather skilled at hiding any tears, so her eyes (while still prickly feeling) remained dry.

"New Hampshire, well New England in general, is hard to describe. It's modern, but since everything is old, it looks like it's trapped in time, I guess. It's green now, but soon the leaves will change. I didn't travel hardly ever, so I never saw much of it. There is an amusement park in Salem," she thought about the multitude of Salems in New England, and the relevance of one in particular (where she bought her school supplies, as a matter of fact), "That's New Hampshire, not Salem, Mass. I can't count how many times I asked to go after we passed it once, but Mother and Father refused. They told me that it was beneath us…" She trailed off and closed her eyes to hide a wince. Her parents' adamant refusal to take their only child to an amusement park (or Independence Day Carnival, or fireworks display, or First Night, or anything that wasn't a stuffy dinner…that Kitty wasn't invited to, anyway) contradicted her earlier statement that they kept Caroline for her happiness. That was only a fraction of the truth. If she was totally honest with everyone, and herself, she knew it was mostly because they liked having Caroline around as much as she did because they did not have to worry about their strange child as much. Caroline did the parenting, so they didn't have to. It was all the better for Kitty, and she was happy Caroline was always there.

Worried she would eventually reveal too much, she grabbed a slice of Victoria Sponge off the dessert spread and focused on that, embarrassed that she already left slip that her parents were more than just "busy." Olivier mentioned that his parents were busy, but he still knew they loved him. Congratulations, she thought bitterly, then she regretted the thought immediately. How was at Olivier's fault? She was just jealous. That was all. Her parents had their appearances to upkeep, after all (she did not regret the bitterness felt there).

As a family, they had dinner together every night there was not a party, and her mother insisted on etiquette lessons over tea every afternoon since she was four and drinking only hot milk with honey and cinnamon sugar. That was family time in the Procter household. Kitty felt a pang of nostalgia when she thought about tea time. When Grandmama was alive, she would sneak Kitty extra shortbread cookies under the table, wrapped in a napkin for later.

Grandmama did little things like that for Kitty all the time. She would hug her granddaughter whenever she could, especially when her daughter and son-in-law would tell her that she was coddling Kitty and making her weak. She loved Grandmama's storied from her youth and how she would read to her, and sing to her.

Yes, she knew Grandmama loved her. Grandmama would have been thrilled about Kitty's magical abilities, and would have supported her. She was into nature and the "old religion," as she called it. To know that magic was real would have been as thrilling to her as it was to Kitty.

Kitty could hear her grandmother's voice in her head. It's all right, my little Kitty Cat. This is a new adventure! Make a life for yourself, and show my silly daughter how special my granddaughter is!

Holding onto heat thought like a lifeline, she smiled the brightest, most genuine smile of the day over her sponge cake. Yes, Grandmama, she thought, glancing toward the heavens and not caring if Olivier noticed, I will.

[OOC: I noticed my error after my first reply, so I fixed it after that one! Thanks for confirming that I didn't misread it again! And, I apologize in advance for how whiny Kitty is in her head at present. Once she gets settled into her new magical life, she will find herself and lighten up! At least, she'd better! I also apologize to how wordy I get…I actually aimed to make this shorter than before. Oops.]

0 Katherine Procter Probably not in the way you might think… 0 Katherine Procter 0 5

Theresa

March 19, 2014 9:33 PM

I can't imagine how by Theresa

Theresa listened to Jorge’s rant, growing angrier and more incredulous with every word. There was too much, too quick, for her to take it all in, and she didn’t even care about some of it – what was it to her if there was no one left to marry in a hundred years? If she was even still alive, it would be other people’s problem, not hers – but she thought she got the points that mattered, and they were infuriating.

“I – I – I – “ she began, stammering in outrage, her eyes sparkling in her flushed face. “People on your level?” she managed, coldly enough, she thought, to suit one of the Aladrens, picking up on the last, backhanded remark as a decent place to start once she closed her mouth and swallowed, clearing her throat. “What people are those? Because the last time I looked, you spent most of your time walking around too busy feeling morally superior to everyone to bother talking to anyone.”

He talked to Jade, but she was not in the mood for technical correctness right now, and the poor attempt at cold dignity had only lasted the length of the first sentence, too. “You don’t know anything about me, or my family, or anyone,” she continued. She glared at him. “You want to know why I would put up with it? If you really did say hello to me before anything else, that would be better – nicer – whatever – than what I’ve got, but then the second thing you thought of would still be looking at her, even if you didn’t do it, and the third would probably still be getting someone on your level in the yearbook and the broom closet again, just the same. That’s just how men are, almost all of them, and I’m not smart enough to put it off by going to college, so I’m afraid out of my mind, sometimes, but it doesn’t matter and I might as well get a lot of money and a nanny and not risking killing my father out of it all.”

It occurred to her, very suddenly, that she was talking. Out loud. And not very quietly. She turned a deeper red as her teeth clicked shut and she looked desperately around, hoping no one had been paying enough attention to hear her admit…she couldn’t actually decide what the worst part was and tried not to think about any of them.

That did not strike her as a very good long-term strategy.

“Oh, no,” she moaned, covering her face before yanking her hands down and ducking her head a little. Maybe the rumors would twist it all, since no one but Jade ever talked to Jorge… Oh, they were going to skin her alive, if her name got attached to it, and she didn’t even know who ‘they’ were.

0 Theresa I can't imagine how 0 Theresa 0 5

Atlas Primred

March 19, 2014 10:46 PM

Sorry, I guess I'm just bad with words. by Atlas Primred

Atlas continued to smile at Liliana's statement. Her compliment was perfect fodder for him to try to push her buttons (he still had no idea if it was actually working or not). He felt somewhat bad that he was always trying to tease her like he did with Katie. Then again, it was because Liliana reminded him of her that he was able to talk to her in a friendly way. "Oh so you do like my hair cut then?" he asked in a teasing tone, hoping this statement would get a funny reaction out of her that he could chuckle at.

"You don't suppose they wouldn't have lemonade here, do you?" she asked and she stood up slightly and leaned over a pitcher to see what was inside. "Only, I've been really craving lemonade since I got on that wagon. It's such a bumpy ride at times and lemonade is so refreshing, don't you think?" Liliana asked.

"Hmm in not sure," Atlas said as he looked around the table for a moment. "I wouldn't really know about how bumpy it is. I stayed up late the night before I left so I could sleep the entire ride. I don't like looking at the desert," he said honestly while grabbing a pitcher a little ways away from him and smelling it. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the sour aroma escaping from the pitcher. "I think this is what you are looking for," he said pouring some into his own glass to have a taste first. He made a puckered face, not at the sour taste but the sweetness. "Yep, lemonade," he said pouring some into her glass. "Isn't it a really long trip for you? I mean all you get to look out and see are the 'fly-over' states right?" he asked as he set the pitcher down between them so she could get some more if she wanted.

"Who's Levi?" he asked taking another bite of food. He figured it was probably one of her family members or friends, but he was more curious to hear her talk about her family than the answer. She seemed to spend a lot of time with them, or that's at least what he got from the letters she had sent. Even so, she never really talked about them that much, he didn't talk about his family all the time either but he felt like he brought them up (or at least brought up Katie) more so then she did.

Liliana nodded. "Yes, Noey came to my grandmother's Ball but Tanya was in Spain visiting family for most of the summer so I didn't get to see as much of her as I would have liked. We went out for ice cream a few times though, that was nice. I never really do many active things like Quidditch with them. That I play with my cousins." Liliana stated.

Atlas listened attentively as he munched on his food. He wondered if all purebloods did things like go to balls and vacation in Spain. "It must be a bummer not going to school with them," he stated sympathetically realizing that she was also ripped apart from her friends to attend Sonora. He too would have really liked to go to school with Steven.

Liliana spread some butter on a piece of bread, took a bite and swallowed before answering. "I think that would be nice, I got a lot of practice over the summer but you can never practice enough, right?"

"Right." Atlas agreed. He was happy she accepted his offer, he wasn't sure if she would. She always seemed to say nice things about his skills, especially when she had talked to his parents at the concert, so he was feeling a little more reassured that she wouldn't judge or make fun of him for not being as good as she was. "I was actually wondering if maybe you might be be able to give me some pointers here and there?" he asked a little unsure if she would retract her statement about wanting to practice. "Seeing as you are such a pro and all," he added rather shyly.

Atlas stared curiously at Liliana's wide smile after he told her his birthday. He really didn't see her smile much, maybe she just didn't smile around him. Atlas shrugged when she finally stated that she was 9 days older than him. "I wouldn't really count that as being that much older . Nine days really isn't that much difference when it comes to age," he stated rather bluntly. Although he had heard the pride in her voice and decided to let her win this one. "But I guess it would technically make you older than me," he said looking at her. Although he would have never admitted it, he would have liked to see her smile that widely again, but he knew she probably wouldn't.

0 Atlas Primred Sorry, I guess I'm just bad with words. 276 Atlas Primred 0 5

Jorge

March 19, 2014 11:10 PM

I don't exist by Jorge

Oh, he had managed to upset her. How adorable. Maybe Theresa did have some sort of thought and feeling. Of all the things he said though, his phrase of his companions was what upset her? Everything she said only made him amused. People really were stuck in the clouds when it came to others outside of the comfort zones.

But he let her have her words. It was only fair. It was strange how they couldn’t just have a rational discussion. He had not raised his voice or said anything under distress or anger. He was merely trying to understand the process of their thoughts. How they could feel that being ‘Pure’ was somehow more important than financial status or (when it comes down to it), happiness? He asked his friends down in Mexico, but life there was very different so, he wanted to know this version and Theresa just happened to be the person to open the conversation. Clearly, she did not agree with the discussion. He was honestly surprised by the things that she was admitting, though he didn’t really know what to say about it and only wondered if that was how all girls like her thought. All he got from that though was a pitying feeling towards her. He honestly felt sorry for her.

“You know, you have me all wrong, Theresa.” He said casually when she had finished. “I don’t walk around here as though I’m morally superior to anyone. If anyone came up to me to have a chat, I’m more than willing to do so, happily even. But after so long of no one but a handful of people caring enough to ask me how my day is, I stopped trying to be a part of… this” He waved his hand around the hall. What else was he supposed to do? Hope that they saw him finally? After six years, not Theresa or any of her friends ever bothered to talk to him or get to know him. And if he had tried to interrupt them? Would they really have just opened up and let him into their special little circle? “You have the luxury of being a Carey, even if you hate it or whatever. Just being a Carey is enough for people to want to be around you. I’m not the one who walks around here feeling superior – morally or otherwise - , Theresa, I’m just a nobody.” He advised her with a grin.

That was half the reason why he was happy to get out of Sonora. Cut all ties to the people in this school and be around those who saw the world for what it really was. Not like these people here, who kept to their cliques in their tiny little bubbles. They can have that life. “And what I mean by my level of people, I mean non Purists. People back home who take the time to get to know me as someone beyond not being completely Pure.” He told her easily. She jumped on his phrase, so he might as well explain it. “Get real, Theresa, I’m not someone who would turn away another person because of their blood or race or religion or anything else. I would date a girl if I were interested in her no matter what. But you can’t honestly look me in the eye and say the same thing. Because they aren’t not ‘Pure’ enough to be acceptable. I might have the better morals than you, clearly, as you pointed out quite a bit of where that stands with you, but I have never walked around here throwing my beliefs in anyone’s face or acting superior to them. This is honestly the first conversation I have ever had in this school that dealt with Blood Purity, so I know that no one has any idea on my thoughts with them are. I don’t even know how that would show in anything that I do anyway.” Jorge stated. His voice remained level and at ease as he spoke, clear signs that he was enjoying the conversation and not bothered by her words.

“Where in my daily activities to I stick up my moral superior nose at people? When I go to class and do my work quietly in the corner? When I go to my dorm room and do my homework? When I get up at five in the morning to swim for a couple of hours? Or practice for a few hours in the music room? Is it then? Does my moral superiority come out then? Is it the drums? It's probably the drums, Ma always said they would cause me trouble." Jorge joked. "Or, I know, it's the fact that I am ignored by everyone, right? That's what makes me morally superior, being ignored for six years. I really am curious to know so that I can stop that from showing, wouldn’t want anyone thinking of me at all.” He winked at her and smiled, he wasn’t expecting an answer. She had nothing to prove her theory because there wasn’t any. Jorge remained quiet around his peers because there was no connection between them. Nothing more, nothing less. What they did with their lives was on them. He wouldn’t picket them for it or shout hate to them. He would just fade into the background where he doesn’t exist to them as he always had.

“I’m sorry, Theresa, that you feel that way about... everything." He said, slowly, "About me, about your future. You shouldn’t have to.” He commented, genuinely sympathetic towards her situation. “You are right, I don’t know your family or anything about you, but if what you said is your life than it really sucks. If that’s all you have to look forward to? Maybe someday getting hitched to a rich man? Good luck with that, but just so you know, we aren’t all bad guys. Not all of us.” His father and mother had been in love since they were young adults. His father had never strayed and he was there for her whenever she needed him. He was the sort of man that Jorge aspired to be. And his sister’s husband was completely devoted to her and has been in love with her since they were like 13. The females in his life were strong, independent women who could take care of themselves and made sure the men knew it, so their relationships were some of the more solid ones that Jorge had in his life to respect and cherish.

He didn’t want to say anything more if it were going to upset her again, but he didn’t understand why her family would make her feel that way. It was so opposite of his own. “I don’t... want this to come off wrong, but, you know you are better than all of that, right? You don’t have to be an intellect to get into college, you don’t have to hope to find a cheater with money and settle. I mean, if that’s what you want, okay, but if it’s not… I guess, I just don’t understand why you only have that one option. It's not much to look forward to is it?”

6 Jorge I don't exist 0 Jorge 0 5

Cepheus

March 20, 2014 4:31 AM

What'll be next, I wonder. by Cepheus

In relaying news about his grandmother, Cepheus hadn’t realised the effect it would have on his audience. In his head, Grandmother’s sickness was all over and much less serious than everyone had made it out to be. She was a needy, dramatic witch. Cepheus received Lucrezia’s condolences with a little nod of his head and a reassuring smile, more distracted by her pat on his hand than anything. “She’s perfectly well now, thank you. It was a bad case of the chills or something equally insignificant. My grandmother needed the best care, however, and my poor mother filled the role perfectly, though Grandmother had an entire medical team at her will. All working for my family’s hospital, you know. But there is a more personal touch that comes from family, from what I understand, and when I mean my grandmother needed the best, my mother proved to be the best for her, bless her heart.”

In truth, Cepheus had very little regard for his stiff-lipped grandmother who had never shown much affection except to her son. The only phrase Ceph had ever heard from her directed to him was, “Stop that,” followed by whatever action she caught him in. There had been very little love in his upbringing with distant nannies and all and Cepheus was not afraid to blame that on his grandparents and their arranged marriage. At the very least he had his parents to give him a little hope that love existed for some.

The mention of Lucrezia’s great-grandparents made Cepheus smile a little as he cut the chicken on his plate into a smaller piece. There was a pang of jealousy at her admission, but like all other pangs, he disregarded it and buried it under something nicer. “I don’t doubt anyone would love to have the pleasure of your company. You have a certain air about you that most girls don’t possess. Regality, perhaps. Confidence. I mean it, really. I’ve only been talking to you for a few minutes and I’m already entranced.” Cepheus smiled at her, the smile reaching his light eyes, before putting a forkful of salad into his mouth. The more Lucrezia spoke, the more attractive she was, and he adored her accent.

“Yes, I am graduating at the end of this year,” he said with a sigh. “Time does pass rather quickly and I’m almost as shocked as you are to find myself here; seventeen going on a year older next month and seeing my R.A.T.S. in my near future. Not to mention the beginning of my training to fill my father’s shoes as the future patriarch of the Princetons. Perfectly dreadful, if you ask me, but I cannot deny I’m looking forward to moving back to England permanently no matter what responsibilities come with it. I think I’ve had my fair share of American life, though I don’t mean to complain about it. Do you enjoy it here? I find it very different from Britain, and I miss the English culture when I’m at school. You must feel similarly, coming from Italy.”

It could be wrong to be flirting with an attractive witch with a girlfriend on the side, but talking with Lucrezia strengthened Cepheus’s resolve to end things with Theresa. On good terms, he hoped, but it all depended on how his current conversation ended. If Lucrezia proved to be a vain, air-headed witch, she would not do as a potential Princeton wife. Not that Ceph was thinking of that right away. Appalled at his own thoughts, Cepheus took a long drink from his glass, feeling the instinct to gag at the thought of marriage and trying his best to conceal it.

0 Cepheus What'll be next, I wonder. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

March 21, 2014 2:08 AM

Then how are we having this conversation? by Theresa

Somehow, Jorge’s calm just made Theresa angrier, almost enough to distract her from being afraid everyone in the school she knew was going to line up to make Grandmother look like a more attractive candidate for teaching her about holding her tongue. She was supposed to be the one who was just above it all, who mocked the other person, though jokes were most likely supposed to be beneath her, too. She was supposed –

She cut the thought off irritably. There were a lot of things she was supposed to have been, and she’d failed at every one of them. Every one except being attractive; even Jorge had said she was pretty, and talked about if he was her boyfriend. If she had just had an ounce of feminine wiles, she could have probably had him by the end of the night, too. Since it was too late to do anything about it now, though, she just – did what she could. Which was look pretty and dress well and be pragmatic about life and, evidently, kiss pretty well; at least she hadn’t heard any complaints. That, she was sure, was the whole list of things she had any natural talent for, which was why she needed to be pragmatic enough to use the kissing to get a rich husband who could make it unnecessary for her to have a lot of talents other than kissing him, since she didn’t have a fortune of her own to attract a man with in the other, more respectable way.

“Obviously you ignore everyone else, too,” she snapped, “or else you’d notice that no one but Waverly and Jade ever talked to me before – fifth year, either.” She stumbled over the last part a bit, not feeling up to reciting even what she could admit to of her history with Cepheus. He was, she was pretty sure, the only person at Sonora who actually liked spending time with her; Waverly and Jade were nice to her, as far as Jade really did ‘nice,’ in the dorm, and Alex and Arabella would let her tag along sometimes, and Alicia tolerated her for Cepheus’ sake, but she was always the extra tail on the broom no matter who she was with, awkward and in the way. Even her brothers seemed to see her that way, and more and more, too, as the years went by. Times when it was just her and Cepheus were the only times she felt anyone around actually wanted her there. “Then I did something about it, instead of just deciding I was above it all and sitting in the corner for the rest of my life.”

She stared at him blankly as he talked about men not all being bad. Bad? What had she said about bad? She’d just said they were almost all unfaithful. That didn’t make them bad, just not super-good. Most people weren’t super-good; if they were, then everyone would be even more miserable than they had to be, because following the rules, doing what you said you would do, even when there was no one around to see and all that was misery. The thing Theresa had done to get out of the corner was work with that, and she’d stay out by not caring if things happened when she wasn’t around – provided it wasn’t Alicia. If it was ever Alicia and she had a hint of it, Theresa would make her regret the days her great-grandparents were born. But it wouldn't be Alicia. Alicia was their friend. You didn't drag your friends in the broom closet.

"I don't understand you at all," she complained when he tried to make a point and it went over her head without so much as disturbing a hair. "My father says it's all the same really, anyway, you work for people and half the time you don't like them but you don't tell them so and then you die and it doesn't matter what you did." Her father had chosen everything in his life for himself, too, and she thought he was one of the unhappiest people she knew. Maybe the unhappiest; most of the time, unless Grandmother was around or he heard someone call him damaged goods, Henry was very hard for her to read. She'd wondered before if Henry really thought anything at all most of the time, though Arthur had gotten angry enough with her when she admitted that one time that she tried to forget she'd ever thought it. "But if you try your best, then the family will take care of you if things go wrong," she added, glad to grab back onto the comforting certainty.

If she did her best, then she would always, at least, be able to count on Jay and the twins. And she would have pretty things, she was sure. Sparkling crystal, polished wood, ivory marble floors, elves to obey orders so she could enjoy something a little every now and then, chests of jewelry like her bracelet and closets and closets of pretty dresses. Who knew, she might even fall really in love, instead of just having a fun business partnership - Uncle Anthony and Aunt Lorraine said they loved each other, and Arthur was too flatly jealous for her to think Arnold and Fae weren't at least fond of each other, and everyone knew about the Fourth and Great-Great-Grandmother. She would never mention the possibility to Alex or Lucille, who'd make fun of her for being a silly child if she did, but it was not unheard of. But only if she tried her best to do as she was told, and not lose her temper and say impolitic things at the table in the dining hall here...more than she already had.

0 Theresa Then how are we having this conversation? 0 Theresa 0 5

Liliana Bannister

March 21, 2014 4:45 AM

With practice you can get better. by Liliana Bannister

"Oh, so you do like my haircut then?" Atlas asked and Liliana raised an eyebrow. He was fishing for compliments and she didn't quite know if she was ready to offer him one just yet. They had only recently affirmed their status as friends and even that she was somewhat regretting.

"I never said it was a good haircut, I just said it was a step in the right direction to become more of a gentleman." It was ridiculous- while it was true he looked less girlish this semester, she wasn't sure how much she enjoyed the new haircut. She reached over and tousled his hair a bit. "There," she said. "Now it's better."

Atlas helped her search for lemonade and offered up a conversation about the wagon ride. "Hmm, I'm not sure," he said as he looked. "I wouldn't really know about how bumpy it is. I stayed up late the night before I left so I could sleep the entire ride. I don't like looking at the desert."

She sighed and slumped down in her seat. "I don't think there's any lemonade here."

"I think this is what you are looking for," he said as he tasted it. "Yep, lemonade. Isn't it a really long trip for you? I mean all you get to look out and see are the 'fly-over' states right?"

"Thank you," she replied, sipping at her lemonade. "I don't really look at the ground, it's boring. I much prefer the skies and the clouds." Besides, if she looked down for too long she'd feel as though she were flying. Finishing her glass she poured another cup and dug into her potatoes. Now she needed something warm and green. Perhaps asparagus or green beans. Maybe both.

"Who's Levi?" Atlas asked.

"My cousin, he got me my first broom, he's a 6th year at Hogwarts- that's the school of magic in England. I would have gone there instead if my father hadn't been promoted." Personally she didn't view it as a promotion. What was promotional about moving countries, branches, houses? she couldn't say. How her family wanted to twist it was their business.

"It does suck not to go, but it would have been interesting. I'm not too sure what house I would have ended up in. My two friends are in different houses and so are my family." Liliana shrugged. Though she was loyal and brave she was rather manipulative (a trait she owned proudly). She had no desire for Hufflepuff, that's where Joseph had gone. However, the house she most wanted to join, Ravenclaw, mainly because of Levi, she was not smart enough to get in.

It was rather nice of Atlas to call her a pro but she knew she wasn't even close. "Thanks," she replied. "I'm free anytime you are so just name a time." Though it would seem as though she was making time for him, she knew it was because they would have the same class schedule and extra-curriculars. "I love playing around. Just not when it's hot out."

Atlas shrugged and Liliana wanted to hit him. Nine days was a lot- it was more than a week and enough to give her jurisdiction. "Of course you're going to say that," she wrinkled her nose, smile gone. "You're the younger one. You wouldn't want to admit The Significance."

The Significance was something she had overheard her cousins speaking about before. She didn't entirely know what it meant but it was something used to staunch the younger cousins' opinions when they were deemed wrong by the older ones. It had been held over her head for so many years that now she finally had the upper hand she was determined to exercise her right.

10 Liliana Bannister With practice you can get better. 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Lena Westley

March 21, 2014 10:18 AM

Oh.. yes, I suppose so by Lena Westley

Continuing to look at her food, Lena replied "Yes. We weren't really playmates, though." The twins had very different experiences when it came to playing as children. When they were very little Olivier and she would play though never rowdily. She had always been slower than him, and so when they ran they ran at Lena's place, and did things like search for bugs or make flower chains. Eventually, when they met other children in nursery school, only Olivier made friends and Lena had continued to pick grass. Though Olivier and she were close they hadn't exactly been each other's playmate for years.

She was interested to hear him not mention a mother, though. Rather than pry, she thought about how lonely the relationship, whatever it was like or if it was the lack of one, must be. No matter the circumstances one must surely feel the occasional pang from something being missing. She herself had never felt the lack of something she never had, but readily imagined the feeling in others.

"Do you wish you had cousins?" Lena had started pushing things on her plate while she thought about the "friendship" aspect between her and her brother and stopped now to look at Clark. It was strange to hear such a cheerful person had only one playmate. He hadn't explicitly said that was the case, but the fact that he said cousins and not neighbor children or something seemed strange. Cousins didn't necessarily make good playmates, yet that was what he first thought of after his Dad? That would make sense if they were, but he didn't have any. With more background on his family and no mention of his mom- the thought of something tragic having happened to his mother seemed more viable and it distressed her.

OOC: Lena really isn't that interested in food, so the subject is in relation to that.

7 Lena Westley Oh.. yes, I suppose so 279 Lena Westley 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

March 21, 2014 10:02 PM

Care to help me with that? by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Liliana raised her eyebrow. "I never said it was a good haircut, I just said it was a step in the right direction to become more of a gentleman," Liliana said.

Her statement wasn't exactly as dramatic as he had hoped but he still got a little chuckle out of it, "I was joking." he was going to say, but before he could, she reached over and tousled his hair a bit. Atlas' smile vanished, and his eyes widened.

"There. Now it's better," Liliana said.

Atlas only blinked. He didn't know why, but he felt somewhat embarrassed. He could feel his checks getting a little red. It wasn't the same as when his mom, or Katie fixed his hair in public (that was embarrassing for another mess of reasons) but it was a different feeling from what he was feeling now. He wondered if it was because she was a friend doing something that only his family or close friends did. "Ohh", he told himself, "that's what it must be. Its because we still new friends." It had been a while since he had made a close friend other than Steven. In addition, Atlas had never been friends with a girl before, with the exception of his sister. "Thanks," he finally said trying to brush off the odd feeling from before. He was sure the novelty would wear off eventually.

Atlas nodded at her cloud statement. Whenever he was on a long road trip with his parents he liked to look at the sky too. He used to pretend that he was a bird and what he would do. He thought about building nests with glue he would steal from a farmer and soaring in the clouds all while avoiding giant hawks. It was a little different now that he knew he was able to actually fly. Now long road trips where awful because his daydreams weren't enough anymore.

"My cousin, he got me my first broom, he's a 6th year at Hogwarts- that's the school of magic in England. I would have gone there instead if my father hadn't been promoted," Liliana stated.

"Oh," Atlas said at her story. "Well that's good about your dad's promotion. But I know it can be difficult to change places." Although, Atlas really didn't mind his relocation. To Atlas one of the greatest things his adoptive parents ever did besides give him love and support was to take him away from Southern California. He didn’t want to stay there any longer, he wanted to go to a place full of life and although NorCal was still fairly warm, the sea and the forest was more than he could have ever imagined.

"It does suck not to go, but it would have been interesting. I'm not too sure what house I would have ended up in. My two friends are in different houses and so are my family." Liliana shrugged.

"Yea sorry, I don't really know a lot about other schools. I guess you would have probably been placed into the Pecari equivalent huh?" Atlas said. He really didn't know anything about the magical world besides what he had been told or learned about in Sonora. Though that really didn't bother him that much, he knew he would have to get it eventually. Although some of the words wizards used sometimes felt like they where speaking another language, the name 'Hogwarts' sounded more like a disease rather than a school.

"I'm free anytime you are so just name a time. I love playing around. Just not when it's hot out," she said in response to practicing Quidditch.

"Okay how about in the evening after we get settled? I hate playing when its hot too," he stated. He liked the evening sky in Sonora. Although its true he hated the desert, the lack of trees made it so the entire place was bathed in a warm light at dusk. It filled his room every day last year around the same time as he was coming back from dinner. He always thought it would be more fun to practice at dusk. He was excited he was finally getting the opportunity to do so and to practice for try-outs too. Maybe he really would do better this year if he had Liliana's help. After all it was the job of the keeper to keep an eye on the opponents and the game, maybe she had noticed a few things that he could use to improve his playing.

"Of course you're going to say that," she wrinkled her nose, smile gone. "You're the younger one. You wouldn't want to admit The Significance," Liliana stated

"Uh significance?" Atlas repeated quietly. Wizards really did speak a different language. Whatever it meant, he was sure he wouldn't like it. Atlas had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes. Yes he was younger, but it's not like that changed the fact he was only 9 days younger. He hated how girls had to always obsess over the frivolous details. Atlas wasn't sure if he wanted to start another argument between them so he decided to give in to what she wanted and recognize the vast distance between their ages. "Okay, I'm sorry you are right.... Old lady," he said in a sarcastic manner while giving her a playful smile.

OOC: I can start a thread in the Quidditch Pitch for the practice now if you like :)

0 Atlas Primred, Pecari Care to help me with that? 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Liliana Bannister

March 21, 2014 10:51 PM

Of course. (nm) by Liliana Bannister

10 Liliana Bannister Of course. (nm) 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Emery

March 22, 2014 8:26 PM

I guess so by Emery

“Which are not the cookies.” Emery commented as Emrys completed their first meeting together when they had been first years. He had no idea why his roommate was doing this, but Emery always found his roommate to be a little odd. At first, it had been because of his weird obsession with Merlin and how his family had somehow been able to find people with names that matched those of the Arthurian times. Emery hadn’t really understood any of it at the time and honestly, still didn’t, but considering his own family, he just figured everyone had their quirks. But, that was really the last of their discussions on anything and Emrys went off with that quiet girl all the time and Emery’s other roommate, Arnold, didn’t really interact with him at all, so he didn’t really question it anymore. Maybe Charlotte had a thing for Arthurian knowledge? Who knew.

Emery didn’t really find it weird that he didn’t know the group of Seventh years. It wasn’t like they ran in the same circles. Heck, Emery didn’t even really know his own class. Once a person made their friends, it was difficult to really become friends with them later on. It was just how things seemed to work. At least in school, adulthood might be easier to slip into groups or whatever, but in school? It seemed impossible. “Well, I mean, it’s not like we have classes with them or anything. We had the concert last year, but Lucian was my lead and I think their group was all of their friends.” Emery had a pretty good memory, and he was fairly certain that most of the Aladren seventh years with a friend or two outside of the house had been in the same group. He wondered if now that they had badges if they would make an effort to meet the younger students or just prance around with them like last year’s had.

“It says that he’s good at Quidditch and popular enough to win the votes of his peers.” Emery commented. “My mom says the Head position is all about how many friends a person has. She always hated how that system worked because she didn’t always agree with who ultimately won the votes.” Emery shrugged. His mother was a firm believer that rewards, titles, and achievements should be hard earned and not just given to a person. Most especially if they are supposed to represent the school and be role models to the younger students.

Emery laughed at Emrys’s excitement for the more challenging lessons ahead of them. It was such an Aladren thing to have. Not that he could talk since he was sure he was equally as excited. “I’m probably my mother’s son because I’m looking forward to learning about higher classed creatures than I am for anything else, but I suppose Charms would be next on my list. I’m really hoping that the staff replacements or substitutes make the lessons exciting.” Emery commented easily.

6 Emery I guess so 0 Emery 0 5

Jorge

March 22, 2014 8:53 PM

Because apparently you were bored enough to notice. by Jorge

This conversation was going no where. It was clear that Theresa was not listening to a thing he said. Apparently because he decided to stop trying that still meant that he was ‘above it all’, which made absolutely no sense to him. She didn’t even acknowledge or answer his directed question to her about how she wouldn’t bother with someone who wasn’t a ‘Purist’. She couldn’t because she knew that it made her and other Purist look like the bigots that they were.

Seriously, these people were blind to their own behaviors. They made up this whole world in their head about how things should be and because they had old money that they were probably dwindling away and feeling they had all rights to it without ever having done anything to deserve it. “Oh yes, Theresa, we all know what exactly that something was.” He stated evenly even though he really wasn’t sure if the rumors were true or just some more of Sonora gossip that enjoyed traveling around the school. He was sure it stemmed from something, but it exploded a bit when Meghan abruptly left the school and suddenly Cepheus and Theresa were an item. Of course rumors were going to fly about that. They didn’t even bothering to hide during the last ball, so how else was it supposed to look to people?

He laughed at her comment. She didn’t understand him? He was pretty open and apparently telling a girl that she had options if she was willing to put the work into it was a foreign language to the girls at Sonora. Yes, just give in to the rules that someone else put on you. Don’t bother reaching for something more. Don’t even dare give in to a possibility of a better life for yourself. Never ever dream. That’s how these people lived. “Your father has a bleak look on life and so do you.” He said, he was over this conversation and really should have just ignored her when she spoke to him. A conversation after six years of nothing? Pointless. She couldn’t even handle a discussion of the differences of their lives but just threw insults at him for no reason. He asked a question, she got angry. He gave an opinion, she ignored it and got angry. He gave a compliment, she gets defensive. The girls of Sonora were so annoying. And he knew that Theresa was going to whine and complain to anyone who would listen and make Jorge out to be this big mean bully and not tell them the absolute truth to their conversation. So, he will have to deal with the bullsh*t aftermath of all of this and she’ll get to sit pretty pretending to be a victim.

“That’s a selfish life to lead. No one will marry you so you live off the family instead of figuring out how to make it yourself?” Jorge shook his head and stood up. “I guess my family just expects us to find our own feet and walk with them. If we fail, we pick ourselves up. Good luck with your year, Theresa. I’m sure I’ll be hearing about this conversation for the rest of mine. Have a good evening.” He still had a couple of hours of curfew, maybe he’ll go practice music for a while just so he could forget this whole conversation happened.

6 Jorge Because apparently you were bored enough to notice. 0 Jorge 0 5

Lucrezia

March 26, 2014 11:58 AM

the future us uncertain by Lucrezia

A warm feeling soared throug her whole body as Cepheus complimented her. It ended in a bright blush in her cheeks. The Italian smiled embarrassed, but fully enjoying his words. Her older sisters had always told Lucrezia that it wasn’t anything better than a male’s attention. It made them feel important, like they mattered. Being a female in a Pureblood society was very hard. They didn’t have much of a role other than being a wife and mother. They were raised for that specific purpose, but that didn’t mean the females could fall back on the males. It was a very complicated relationship. Girls had to be smart and world savvy, but they still took the backstage. Her father had once told her that a girl’s intelligence was what kept the husband interested. The Crotalus really didn’t understand it that much. She didn’t think much of it preferring to not stress herself out. Lucrezia kept being herself and so far it had worked.

“Thank you,” she commented still blushing, but sincerely thankful for his words. It was nice to know that someone she hadn’t known forever saw her that way. She tucked a strand of her hair that had started tickling her nose behind hear. The Crotalus matched his smile before looking down at her dinner. She picked another fry and enjoyed it while Cepheus started talking about his last year. A sense of dread washed over her as the whole idea of graduation overcame her. The exams were going to be very hard, and maybe it was time she started studying for them. They weren’t that far into the future. Bad grades were a reflection of a bad education and family. No, she couldn’t let her family be ashamed of her.

“I miss Italy,” she responded to his question. “But I like it here. It’s so different from home and that makes it quite interesting for me,” she finished. In her 5 years in the states she still couldn’t understand much of the American culture. She guessed it was because they kind of lacked one. It was probably because Italian culture seemed richer than this one, but it didn’t make the American culture less important.

Lucrezia smiled, “It looks like you already have a very solid plan for graduation.” The sixth-year looked at the blonde that had been chatting with her for the Opening Feast. “Does it bother you that your family just handed you this life without consulting you?” she asked. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Lucrezia didn’t want to come across as pushy or a gossip, but she was interested to know his opinion. Carlo, her brother, rather liked that his life was already set. “Also, if you don’t think I’m being forward, what will happen with Theresa once you leave the USA?” She knew they were dating, hell, the whole school knew it, but it Theresa seemed to be in some sort of family predicament from what she knew about the Careys from her great-grandpa.

0 Lucrezia the future us uncertain 0 Lucrezia 0 5

Cepheus

March 27, 2014 3:56 PM

One could say it's our oyster. by Cepheus

Lucrezia’s reaction to his compliment made him feel pleased, not only because he had said something right, but because she looked so adorable blushing like that. It was different flirting with his friends, like Alicia or his friend Emma back in England. Feisty witches of that sort were fun to banter with, but not so much Cepheus’s type. Granted, he had known both of them for quite a long time, longer than he’d even been interested in witches that way. Maybe that was part of the reason why he couldn't think about them in that way. Lucrezia, however, he’d just met and already he wanted to kiss her. But Cepheus was not the cheating sort. He had more moral values and integrity than that. If Lucrezia gave him a good reason to break up with his first girlfriend, i.e. if she fancied him, he’d go through the break-up first, but he wouldn’t get into any clandestine acts with a witch on the side. Even if his reputation had been sullied somewhat with the whole triangle concerning his previous betrothal, he wasn’t like that with witches he actually fancied.

It was understandable that Lucrezia missed Italy; Cepheus had been there several times, all over, and he was still struck by the beauty of it. The countryside in particular was beautiful in the spring and the summer when all the vineyards were full of ripening fruit. Ceph wasn’t sure what it was about American culture that he didn’t enjoy, but he was also heavily biased against it. “Italy is really a lovely place,” said Cepheus before popping a carrot into his mouth. “I wouldn’t mind living there someday, if I had the chance.”

The very solid plan for his graduation was just as Lucrezia had said, and none of it had been planned for him. She asked a peculiar question and Cepheus hadn’t expected to be confronted with it after years of torturing himself over it. He had come to a liminal space where he didn’t have to think or deal with any of that future nonsense until it came into the present. He had the luxury of having it handed down to him and having the work done for him. As a younger teenager, he had felt trapped and had done all he could to break out of his prison. His relationship with Theresa had flourished on his side partially as an act of rebellion against his betrothal. Now that there was nothing to fight against, dating was becoming dull.

Lucrezia’s next question took Cepheus completely by surprise. They hardly knew each other and already she was asking such serious questions. He coughed in his surprise, glad he hadn’t been drinking anything right at that moment. Cepheus cleared his throat and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. “Excuse me,” he said, rubbing his chest and feeling a little embarrassed. “You get right down to it, don’t you? No, I suppose I don’t mind.” He took a moment, wondering how he ought to answer her question. This was an opportunity to answer her question diplomatically as he would in all the decisions he made as the patriarch one day. However, being honest had always come much easier for Cepheus with witches than with wizards and he enjoyed the conversations he’d had with girls when he’d exposed a bit of himself. That was how he and Alicia had become such great friends. He did have the gift of not turning red or stammering when he was allowing himself to be vulnerable unlike other wizards he knew as well, saving himself from at least some embarrassment.

“To be honest, I was bothered by my life plan when I was younger. But all that I’ve tried to do here on my own has failed, except in making the right sort of friends and in dating Theresa, I suppose.” But even that had been pushed along by his relatives. “I still feel a little trapped, but I’ve come to accept it. It’s my duty; I was born into this role just as other unfortunate wizards and witches were born to Muggles, and I’ve stopped trying to rebel against it. I’m only going to dishonour my family name if I rebel any more.” He smiled slightly. “I just focus on other things, knowing that I don’t have to worry about the future too much.”

Before answering the other question, Cepheus ran his fingers through his blond hair as he drew in a breath. “As for Theresa, I honestly don’t have a clue. I’m quite certain she wants to get married, but can you imagine getting married at this age? Even in the next year? It’s…it’s ludicrous. I don’t even know if I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

Cepheus shook his head. “Sorry, we hardly know each other and I’m telling you all this. It’s part of your charm, I’m telling you. You’re easy to talk to. But let’s keep this between us.” It was then that Ceph looked over at the Crotalus table, wondering if Theresa could hear anything over the cacophony of voices. He could hardly understand the conversations going on around him, so he highly doubted it. Curiously Theresa was sitting with Jorge Garcia, a lad Ceph didn’t know very well, and he wondered if Garcia was chatting her up. He frowned, but turned back to the conversation at hand. “Are you dating anyone here or back in Italy?” It was only fair he ask Lucrezia a personal question after she’d asked two.

0 Cepheus One could say it's our oyster. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Emrys

March 29, 2014 1:57 AM

I know so by Emrys

This time, Emery didn't call makerouns macaroons. "Correct," Emrys replied. "Though those are yummy too. I've never much liked coconut though for some reason I don't mind them in macaroons." He laughed, a real laugh and the first genuine one he'd shared with another young wizard in awhile. Lately Wesley had been driving him nuts and he'd found himself feigning happiness around him.

“Well, I mean, it’s not like we have classes with them or anything," said Emery. "We had the concert last year, but Lucian was my lead and I think their group was all of their friends.”

Emrys nodded. It was true that they didn't have classes but in a small school, with both heads from Aladren, Emrys would have thought that he might have seen them in the common room. It was just weird to him, this school. Wesley was at a much larger school than he yet knew a lot more kids from across the grades. Perhaps Hogwarts was just a friendlier place. "I suppose," Emrys said, deciding to leave it. "Well either way, it's kind of cool."

“It says that he’s good at Quidditch and popular enough to win the votes of his peers.” Emery said in response to Emrys' comment about the Head Boy. “My mom says the Head position is all about how many friends a person has. She always hated how that system worked because she didn’t always agree with who ultimately won the votes.”

He agreed with Emery there. It was nerve wracking to think that a popular student who wasn't necessarily responsible would have that much power. If it came down to it, things could go badly. "Why won't the teachers pick? You know, based on how students do in their classes as well as how they behave towards their classmates? Perhaps have a student vote too since a disliked student won't be able to get anything done. It seems to me that a combination of the two would provide the best choice." If a student was well-liked then Emrys didn't see why that was an entirely bad thing. But he didn't think that having the students pick was necessarily the best idea. Who would be there to check them lest they make a bad decision?

“I’m probably my mother’s son because I’m looking forward to learning about higher classed creatures than I am for anything else, but I suppose Charms would be next on my list. I’m really hoping that the staff replacements or substitutes make the lessons exciting.”

Emrys laughed with Emery. "Please, if you're your mother's son than I don't know what I am," he said in reference to his Camelot obsessions. "I suppose apples really don't fall far from the tree though in this case I think that's a good thing! Higher classed creatures could be interesting though I wish there was a history class to take. That could be quite informing! And exciting," he added in an afterthought finding history to be a very fascinating subject. "There were quite a few new teachers, I wonder where the old ones went."

10 Emrys I know so 260 Emrys 0 5

Lucrezia

March 29, 2014 10:48 PM

I have been told that before by Lucrezia

“Don’t worry, I won,t” she said with a smile. It would be rather rude of her to repeat what he had confided in her. And she was still embarrassed about so straightforward with her questions. “I’m sorry if I crossed a line, it’s just that I am comfortable talking with you and since we come from a similar background I thought you would just understand.” Her explanation of why she had asked those things was kind of lame, but it was the best she could do after being complimented so much from a very cute boy.

She blushed a little bit again. The blush subsided after a few seconds and came back when he asked about a boy back home. “Not really,” she responded. “Papa says I’m too young, but I’m sure it’s almost that time of my lifetime soon,” Lucrezia smiled a bit referring to betrothal time. Every decent Pureblood girl needed a suitable husband to take care of her. It was only right. “But you are right; we are too young to get married, though I’m sure it isn’t that far into the future as we think.” She glanced at the table where Theresa was sitting again and wondered what the other girl thought about her chatting with her boyfriend, “If you don’t see a future with her, why don’t you break up with her? It’s kind of dumb to waste your time and hers, especially hers,” she advised. Theresa was a girl and therefore her options were more limited than Cepheus’ and it wasn’t fair she wasted her time thinking they had a future when they didn’t.

His honesty took her aback even when she had asked him the intruding questions. Lucrezia didn’t think he would actually tell her that much, but she liked it. It was refreshing to see someone just speak his mind. Diplomatic answers were usually boring and very well-rehearsed. However, she shouldn’t have asked such personal questions to begin with. They were practically strangers. Yes, they were polite to one another when they saw each other in the common room, but this was the first time they actually talked. In fact, she couldn’t phantom why they hadn’t talked before. He was a very interesting and nice fellow, and attractive to boot. The Italian smiled at him and relaxed on her chair feeling at ease with Cepheus. His straightforwardness made her feel secure with him, especially since lying was a very big part of the Pureblood world. Well, not lying, but embellishing things to create a very different vision from the truth. The pureblood way.

Lucrezia had come to see that the Italian Purebloods were kind of more lax in comparison to other pureblood societies. She didn’t know why, but they were. However, they took certain things too seriously: like revenge. She listened genuinely interested. His English accent was kind of mesmerizing, and she liked listening to it. She waited until he had finished before giving him her thoughts. It was only fair. He had shared and she had to do it to balance the scale.

“That’s a pretty positive and good way to look at it,” she gave her opinion of what he had said, and she meant it.” She knew a lot of guys who hated the life they had been given because they didn’t have a lot of freedom and their every move was dictated by the higher powers, but Cepheus seemed to have outgrown that phase. “We need to see the positive rather than the negative,” she even nodded to make her statement more solid. She didn’t know why she did it. “We live in a very small and constrictive society. I have been lucky because I’m a fourth child and my parents aren’t as strict with me as they are with my three older siblings,” she stated with a small shrug. She really was lucky. “But my brother, Carlo, never had his rebellious phase. He loves the life he was give,” she finished proudly. She really loved her family. They had their faults, but they were a little tight unit.

0 Lucrezia I have been told that before 0 Lucrezia 0 5

Chaslyn

March 30, 2014 4:04 PM

True, but we didn't turn any of those colors. by Chaslyn

All right, Daphne Macaulay. Macaulay was a Canadian family and perhaps Canadians didn't introduce themselves the way Americans did. Chaslyn herself had tripped over her own introduction even when she was supposed to be smooth at it. Flawless even. It was what Mother expected and she just couldn't mess up. Even though they'd gone and changed it to what Arabella-ever the practical one-said made more sense when the Brockerts didn't just live in Colorado, they lived all over the Western states. The first year and her immediate family were in Seattle. Duncan and his were in Montana. The Patriarch's grandson Jim lived in Portland, Oregon with his wife and youngest son. Headmaster Brockert and his descendents lived in Utah of all places. Possibly to keep the Brockert family's traditional enemies in line. Or to get away with naming their children awful things, which was Amity's theory. Still, the practicality of the change didn't matter, Chaslyn had still flubbed up. Flubbing up was like...well, in Mother's book, it was almost as bad as the stuff Carrie did.

Thankfully, Daphne hadn't noticed. Maybe it was because they didn't do it that way in Canada. Still, Chaslyn should have been able to properly say where she came from . It was Etiquette 101. Of course, it didn't help when the Patriarch changed it on them. They'd been taught one way that they'd been conditioned to, and now that was not what they said anymore. Chaslyn had always felt a bit awkward saying Colorado Brockerts when she was from Seattle but still she wasn't to have said Seattle Brockerts because they were all one family. But the Patriarch was Authority, just like Headmaster Brockert and Mother and the first year had to listen to them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Macaulay." replied Chaslyn. "You may call me Chaslyn." There,that had sounded correct, how it was supposed to. She had greeted Daphne as Miss but given permission to use her own given name and now it was her roommate's turn to do the same. That is, if she wanted to, if the other Crotalus was uncomfortable with Chaslyn using her first name, Chaslyn would wait until she was given permission. She never wanted to make a mistake socially. That and messing up academically were the worst things one could do. And Mother had high standards of what was considered doing so.

The first year nodded in agreement with Daphne about the food. "I know, I feel the same way." Well, she hadn't really thought about the waste. "I'm sure someone will eat it though." She added. "There are teenage boys and they have big appetites." Really, Chaslyn should have had more herself, but at the moment she felt so anxious she could throw up, which would be incredibly embarrassing and unladylike. She'd never hear the end of it. Carrie was at this table and would mock her all year, even if Arabella put the older Crotalus in her place, Chaslyn would still be made fun of when Arabella couldn't see, like in the common room. Plus, Mother would inevitably find out too and it was overall an impression she just did not want to make.

Also, she had another horrifying thought. What if something she had done had made Daphne lose her appetite? Mentally, she checked through all that she'd said or done, which wasn't really anything other than introduce herself. Yes, Chaslyn had messed up her introduction but that wasn't really nausea inducing and it wasn't as if Daphne seemed so super proper, that that would happen. Especially since Canadians apparently didn't use the same introduction. And Chaslyn hadn't really eaten anything and even if she had, she knew that she ate like a true lady, Mother had never bothered her or even Amity that much about their behavior at the table.

Maybe Daphne was just nervous like Chaslyn was. She hoped that was the case. Not that she wished anxiety on anyone because she had it all the time and knew it was an awful feeling. Plus, it was just plain mean to wish anything miserable on people, and she didn't want to be like Carrie either. Chaslyn just didn't want it to be her fault.

11 Chaslyn True, but we didn't turn any of those colors. 281 Chaslyn 0 5

Ava Fletcher

March 31, 2014 10:17 PM

Didn't know we were fighting a war. by Ava Fletcher

As the first year stared at Ava, she unconsciously tucked a bit of her long, light brown hair behind one ear. She wasn't really used to being surveyed like that and it was making her a little bit uncomfortable. Ava found herself wishing that she had put more effort into looking presentable at the Opening Feast than she had, especially after the rather pompous way the first year introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Raven," Ava said politely, taking the younger girl's hand wondering if smiling was the correct behavior in this situation considering Raven's blank face.

"Do you think that you could give me the full tour of the school at some point in time?" She asked.

"Of course," here Ava did smile. She thought that the first year was rather adorable actually now that she'd asked for a tour of the school. It made Ava wonder what it was like to be Raven Corbeau, heir of the House of Corbeau and Corbeau Solicitors, what it was like being inside that head. "I can't tonight as my friend and I have a tradition of meeting in the library to catch up on the first night back at school but perhaps another time? I am sorry as it would seem to be best beneficial to you before your first class." She shrugged apologetically. "However, I would be willing to another time if that works for you. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon?"

Tomorrow afternoon would be preferable actually. It would give Ava a chance to decide what was and wasn't important as well as letting Raven settle in- decide what she wanted to know more about. As she waited for Raven to respond, Ava looked around the room quickly, she couldn't find Dimitri readily but perhaps he'd grown up a bit in terms of looks. Other students in her year had, certainly Emrys Lucan who'd lost some of his baby fat in addition to the freckles that went along with them.

OOC: Sorry for the late response! My mom came for a visit so I got caught up with that- you know how it goes :)
Also, Emrys is mine so no liberties are being taken with another author's characters!

10 Ava Fletcher Didn't know we were fighting a war. 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Cepheus

April 01, 2014 4:02 PM

Re: I have been told that before by Cepheus

Usually two pure-bloods from similar backgrounds beat around the bush more than anyone else. Cepheus had always learnt that keeping face and reputation was the most important in pure-blood societies. In front of muggle-borns and some half-bloods, one’s pure status was made known through their propriety and mannerisms, though the half-bloods and muggle-borns were not expected to understand. Pure-bloods, however, knew the ins and outs of their world and had a more critical eye. With adult witches and wizards, Cepheus had watched them play the game of veiling everything they really wanted to say, and then attempting to decipher what the other person meant through gossip. It wasn’t terrible or pleasant; it just was in the pure-blood realm and that was what Cepheus had always known. With his peers, however, he exercised a bit more freedom, freedom he would not have the leisure of once he graduated.

It seemed a shame to Cepheus that someone like Lucrezia had to look forward to a betrothal. She was lovely enough to snatch a bloke of her own and certainly wasn’t an idiot. The Princetons, though they were very strict about the patriarch’s lifestyle, were very relaxed about the others. Rupert and Leo did not have betrothals to look forward to, and Ceph was certain his cousins Charlotte and Lily had no plans for a betrothal either. They weren’t worth the trouble, was his grandfather’s reasoning; what was important was to bring them up with the right pure-blood values so they could choose their own respectable spouses someday. Cepheus had no doubt he could pull his own weight in that idea – after all, he was dating a respectable pure-blood himself. But it was tradition for the patriarch to be betrothed even if it was a simple formality as it had been for his parents.

Lucrezia’s question was reasonable, but Cepheus had to figure out once again how to answer it without offending anyone or acting as if he didn’t like Theresa. He did, really, she was a lovely girl and had a decent amount of brains. He was just getting bored with their relationship and much preferred her as a friend than a girlfriend. But how could he tell that to Lucrezia? Cepheus supposed he had shared enough of his personal issues for Lucrezia to feel comfortable enough to speak to him that way. She was quite bold and Cepheus had been startled by it initially, but he liked it. He had never liked the deeply prim and proper sort, though there was a solid line between respectful feistiness and a plain lack of manners.

“Do you speak to all your male friends this way?” he asked, smirking slightly. “I can’t imagine how you speak to them talking the way you do to a stranger. But I suppose we were never really strangers, seeing each other in the common room and the like for the past six years.” Cepheus sighed, dropping the flirtatious act momentarily and confronting the difficult question Lucrezia had posed.

“It’s not that easy, you know, breaking up with someone. I’ve never done it before and I don’t know how to do it properly. She’s got loads of brothers who wouldn’t mind shooting a hex at me if the time called, you know. Besides, my prospects aren’t exactly fantastic here either. The potential witches are either good friends of mine, or they’ve been disillusioned by my reputation concerning my former betrothed. That was a blooming mess. Anyway, if I date Theresa, my grandfather is less inclined to marry me off to the next respectable witch. He’s already got my wedding date planned out, you see,” continued Cepheus grimly. The familiar anguish of being unable to enjoy a relationship simply for what it was and not for marriage resurfaced, but Ceph pushed it back down again. Life as a pure-blood, as he continued telling himself, simply was and he had to learn to accept it.

It was odd to Ceph that Lucrezia was looking to be betrothed as the fourth child, but again he accepted the difference between their families. Most pure-bloods had differing ideas about arranged marriages; his family was a bit more liberal, with the patriarchs as the exception. “Looking at things positively is much easier said than done,” said Ceph, wondering how mad Carlo had to be to actually enjoy having his life handed to him on a silver platter. “That’s great for your brother; makes his life much easier.” Cepheus was unsure if his anguish would ever completely disappear; ever since he had come to Sonora and been introduced to different people who didn’t have to endure what he did, he had felt trapped. He didn’t see the cage he was confined in until he was exposed to what was outside of it.

“Tell me more about your family,” said Cepheus, tired of talking about problems he’d much rather forget for the time being. He would have to deal with each situation as it came and hope it didn’t all explode in his face. “How many siblings do you have?”

0 Cepheus Re: I have been told that before 0 Cepheus 0 5

Lucrezia

April 04, 2014 1:31 AM

The world is supposed to be a fun playground by Lucrezia

Lucrezia blushed again for the umpteenth time since Cepheus had struck a conversation with her. He didn’t seem to be annoyed at her, but his comment certainly touched a nerve in the Italian. She had always been open and direct because it made communication easier and since any kind of relationships in the Pureblood world were based on more subtle hints she had learned to hate that approach. The Crotalus had rarely beat around the bush. It was exhausting trying to discern what everyone was talking about or what they needed out of a rather complicated set of sentences. Her sisters were masters in that particular Pureblood art, and she had always looked at them with a confused expression on her face. It was really her forte, but she had to make due, especially since it was the world she lived in, or she hoped to end up with someone that understood it better than her.

She listened to his explanation and nodded clearly stating she kind of understood. She barely did since she had never had a boyfriend before and didn’t know what breaking up with someone really meant. It sounded hard. “I am really sorry if I crossed a line,” she said apologetically. Her hazel eyes clearly reflecting her internal embarrassment for him to see. She didn’t really mean to pry. Her grandmamma would be scandalized if she was her right now. It wasn’t very ladylike to question a boy like she was, but part of her couldn’t help it. She liked conversation, but small talk was sometimes just boring. Besides, Cepheus was a fellow Pureblood, but also she had been pestering him for answers when she barely knew him. It was probably too soon. “I have known my male friends since we were children. I really am sorry, I just feel comfortable with you and automatically added you to my friends list,” she smiled a bit. “I am usually more relaxed with my friends, unless adults are present.” She tried to explain her lack of manners and hoped things would just end there. It was too much embarrassment for one night. Lucrezia

The Crotalus sighed, “I think it has more to do with the fact that Carlo has made peace with it and my parents have given us certain liberties not a lot of other Purebloods had,” She smiled proudly of her older brother. They were really fortunate in a lot of ways. The excitement about her family was obvious as her whole face lightened up at the prospect of talking about them.

“Well, I have three older siblings, the twins, Aimee and Alana, and Carlo. All of them are married, but only Aimee has a child. Carlos is finishing his education at Wesley Magical University,” she finished proudly. “Both Aimee and Alana are studying there too, but Aimee is taking a semester off.” Her parents were very keen on their children having a good education to fall upon if they ever needed for whatever reason. “I’m supposed to go there by the end of my seventh year, though I’m not sure about what to pursue,” she said with an excite smile.

0 Lucrezia The world is supposed to be a fun playground 0 Lucrezia 0 5

Raven Corbeau

April 06, 2014 3:54 AM

A very nice war, but a war nonetheless. by Raven Corbeau

Raven contemplated the other girl as she smiled.

"Of course."

Raven didn't think that it was a matter of course. She had, after all, no sort of ties to this girl other than having sat next to her at the opening feast. Ava had no obligations toward Raven, so Raven was even more glad that she had chosen to help. Not that Raven showed her gratitude at all, but she did open her face a bit. It was a look of open consideration and curiosity that she found worked best with allies and those with whom it was best to keep positive relations. This was a good opportunity, and Raven would not allow it to be spoiled.

When she heard the time constrictions and suggestions, she considered them for a moment. She had planned to unpack tonight as soon as she arrived at the Aladren dorms, then go straight to sleep. She would wake up before dawn to go exploring- perhaps the extensive labyrinth gardens which she had seen coming in. Yes, she could set up hiding holes that morning and meet up with this girl for a tour of the rest of the mansion in the afternoon.

Not that Raven considered a morning to be all the time it would take to fully memorize the gardens, but it would give her enough time to map the outskirts and determine places to hide a few refill stations with books and study materials. Then she could make it back to Cascade Hall for lunch and she could meet her new ally for the official tour afterword.

"Yes," Raven replied, "I suppose that tomorrow after lunch would be an acceptable time. Shall we meet outside the doors to Cascade Hall, then?"

OOC: Sorry for my late reply, life's been pretty busy.

0 Raven Corbeau A very nice war, but a war nonetheless. 0 Raven Corbeau 0 5

Cepheus

April 07, 2014 5:35 PM

So they tell us. by Cepheus

It was refreshing how open Lucrezia was. She held no pretences and spoke her mind. Cepheus had never liked the conversational dance that went on in pure-blood communities. He and Rupert were odd in that way, that they hated the unspoken tradition. Yet Cepheus had the obligation to adhere to that social expectation while Rup had the freedom to speak his mind and wear ridiculously brightly-coloured trousers whenever he fancied so long as it was in the proper company. It was unfair, really, but Ceph was long passed that argument of fairness. Life was unfair and he simply had to deal with it.

Lucrezia apologised after his explanation - after all, what could she possibly say? - and Cepheus smiled. She was naïve, sheltered by her community perhaps, but genuine and Cepheus was won over by that and her looks. She reminded him briefly of the Spanish beauty that had graduated from Sonora years ago, though Lucrezia was much more open and much closer to his age. Whilst the Spanish witch had treated him like a child - which he had been -, he and Lucrezia were peers and, apparently, friends. "I'm flattered that you feel that comfortable with me," said Cepheus, smiling at her. "As I've said before, the feeling is mutual. I've always admired witches who aren't afraid to speak their minds."

Cepheus's distant relatives were made up primarily of hard-headed witches who had been subdued by the pure-blood system. There was Great-Aunt Norma who was always angry. She was incredibly bitter at society because of the role she had been subjected to as a witch. Though she was the eldest of her siblings, it was her youngest brother, Cepheus's grandfather, who became the patriarch of the family. The other two sisters of Scorpius were a bit mad, but the decisions that had been made to keep their line pure would have made anyone just a bit mental. At least their children weren't nearly as bonkers as they had been in their youth. Still, it was lucky that Ceph only had to see those relatives every two years. He had never liked them, though perhaps that was because of their vindictive personalities more than anything else.

The Renaldis sounded stable and sane and close. Lucrezia was the youngest in her family and was nothing like Leo. Ceph was sure any younger sibling was better than Leo. "All of your siblings are married?" During their university years? Merlin, Cepheus could hardly imagine getting married in the next four years let alone the next eight months! "Do you like having a niece or nephew?" he asked, unable to imagine how he would feel being an uncle. Both of his brothers were younger than him and were very unlikely to get married any earlier than Cepheus.

Furthering his education wasn't necessary since Ceph wasn't going into a particular profession other than business. He would be in the medical business certainly, but his grandfather and father had loads to teach him about it, making university seem trivial and a waste of time. "You'll excel in university, I'm sure," he said kindly. "And you've still got enough time to decide what you'd like to study. Any particular subjects you enjoy more than others here?"

After she had answered, Cepheus leant back, finished with his meal. "I can't believe I haven't talked to you till now, and it's my last year at Sonora. What a shame." He ran his fingers through his blond hair to move it off of his forehead and out of his face. Ceph leant forward with his arms crossed on the table afterwards and smiled at her. "We'll have to make up for the lost years and spend loads of time together. After all, it seems as though we were meant to be friends, seeing how comfortable we are around each other."

0 Cepheus So they tell us. 0 Cepheus 0 5