Not unless you count me as one of them. on Cascade Hall

Grandmother Tuppy and Scurry

March 21, 2014 12:39 AM

Have you seen our Masters? by Grandmother Tuppy and Scurry

The ranks of prairie elves at Sonora were agitated. Any student who spotted one could see this. While they were not an uncommon sight at the school and on the grounds, they usually appeared in groups that were industriously engaged in some kind of maintenance activity such as tending to the Garden's hedges or dusting all the portrait frames in the hallways. Others kept out of sight entire, either in the kitchens or cleaning up the common rooms and dorms when their occupants were elsewhere. When students did spy them, either alone or in their regiments, they were generally eager to be helpful and, while excitable, it was a mostly cheery excitability unless they happened to have upset somebody or perceived that they might have upset somebody.

Today, on this first day of after the Opening Feast, this was not the case.

Today, they were out in force and seemed to be looking for something with great agitation. Many could be seen looking under tables in the Cascade Hall, more were out in the hallways, checking behind tapestries and inside suits of armor. Others scoured the Gardens and they were not waiting for the dorms to empty before they descended upon the rooms and searched closets, trunks, and under beds.

In the Cascade Hall, an older looking female elf stood on the empty staff table while several of her brethren lifted up the staff chairs to look underneath them. Another elf, this one male, wearing what looked like some kind of homemade badge similar to the ones worn by prefects, Head students, and Quidditch captains but with far more dings and much less shiny, approached the older elf carrying a cat. In a voice that carried to the nearest students, he announced, "Major Scurry is sorry to report to Grandmother Tuppy that the First Order of Janitors is still missing Master Nathan Xavier. Lieutenant Bonny, however, has found his cat." The badge wearing elf held out the white long-haired cat toward her as if it were some kind of prize. The cat did not looked pleased by this. Or perhaps that was just the normal expression on its scrunched up face.

She did not seem to know quite what to do with the cat, opting eventually to ignore it entirely. "Grandmother Tuppy is sorry to report to Major Scurry of the First Order of Janitors that the Kitchen Staff is also still missing Master Brockert. We have searched the Headmaster's office, his quarters, the Cascade Hall and the school corridors."

"The Janitors have searched the Common rooms, - especially Teppenpaw - the Gardens, teacher offices and quarters, and the classrooms," Scurry replied. "The Janitors have found no human staff at all."

"The Kitchen staff have also found no human staff at all," Grandmother Tuppy confirmed sadly. "We have lost our masters."

A general wail came up from the other nearby elves and some of them began banging their heads on the floor or furniture nearest them.

"We will keep searching until we find them!" Major Scurry declared with great fervor.

"Yes, you do that," Grandmother Tuppy told him, "with your First Order of Janitors. The rest need to return to work. When our masters are found, they must not return to a shambles."

"Yes, yes, of course, Grandmother Tuppy," Major Scurry agreed quickly. Then, loudly, so that even distant elves and students could hear, "Everybody back to work right now! First Order of Janitors to me in Master Xavier's Office to coordinate the next search!" And, with a resounding crack, every elf in the Hall vanished.

Only one confused looking cat remained, standing next to the staff table, a small collar around her neck with a tag that read 'Alice'. She mewed pitifully. She hadn't been fed in hours.

Subthreads:

Not unless you count me as one of them. by Alicia Bauer, Head Girl with Aria Yale, Alexandra Devereux

The gossip vine must flourish by Lucille Carey

Showing off my priorities by Theresa Carey with Cepheus Princeton, Theresa

0 Grandmother Tuppy and Scurry Have you seen our Masters? 0 Grandmother Tuppy and Scurry 1 5

Alicia Bauer, Head Girl

March 22, 2014 3:00 PM

Not unless you count me as one of them. by Alicia Bauer, Head Girl

Alicia Bauer woke up on her first morning as the school's official Head Girl with a smile on her face. It lasted as long as it took her to realize there was a prairie elf emerging from under her bed, but faded only a little into puzzlement before she recovered it and wished the elf, one she thought she recognized vaguely and which seemed very set on looking for something, a good morning. It was not a time she thought the elves were usually in the dorms, but she was a little off-schedule herself this morning and the elf was hardly anything to get upset about. She hummed to herself as she got dressed, carefully putting on her face and arranging her hair and picking out her jewelry, determined that everything today should look - should be! - perfect.

She smiled again until she was almost at the bottom of the stairs, where she noticed that more prairie elves were turning the common room, and, by the looks of it, Professor Fawcett's office as well, inside out and upside down. She hitched the smile back up almost as quickly as she had the first time, but anyone who'd looked at her dark eyes just then would have realized that this time, she was a little worried, though a quick review of everything she had brought to school convinced her that this had nothing to do with her. She was still tempted to duck back into her room to check the wards and traps she'd cast on her jewelry boxes and parts of her trunk, but at least part of the desire (she told herself very firmly) was just to see if elf magic could break through them - pure intellectual curiosity. That was all. There was nothing to worry about; elves were funny creatures, and probably the whole thing was some big misunderstanding brought on by a new headmaster, which would be resolved before she ever got to breakfast.

A little while later, Alicia walked, after deviating from her usual practice toward underlings she could see and studiously ignoring some elves seeming to look for something behind a tapestry not far from her, into the Cascade Hall to begin her first day as the school's official Head Girl and immediately stopped moving, sure for a second that she was dreaming.

The staff was entirely absent and their table was surrounded by searching prairie elves.

Something was wrong.

She eyed the elves, wondering if they would regard the Head Girl badge gleamng on her robes and her status as a legal adult as reason enough to tell her things if she asked, and was just considering her approach when another one came in with a cat and announced that their groundskeeper and new Head of Teppenpaw was missing. And then, some squeaky discussion later....

"We have lost our masters."

The wailing and head-beating made her jump, on edge as she was already. She instinctively looked for Isaac, to make sure he was far away from the school's elf population as it lost its collective mind, and was just grabbing her wand when an old female gave some orders and they all disappeared, except for the cat, but not before announcing, loud enough for people to hear, that they were going on a search.

"Wait!" she started to call out, but they were already gone.

Thinking as fast as she thought, in the moment, she ever had in her life, she strode to the front of the room, standing with only the width of the table between her and the headmaster's chair, and kept smiling as she tapped her wand against her throat, murmuring "sonorus minora,," as she wanted to be clearly audible around the room, not deafeningly loud.

"Everything's all right!" she announced cheerily. "I'm sure the staff - and the elves - are just playing somebody's idea of a great joke on us." She wasn't amused, and if the staff did not show up in the next ten minutes to explain the lousy punch line, she was tempted to give them a piece of her mind about it when they did reappear however they professored - for that matter, she was tempted already, as it wasn't funny, but the longer it went on, the more irritated she thought she would get - but she was the Head Girl, so if the first years started crying, it would be her job to soothe them down, and if people tried to go wild without supervision, it would be partially her job to restore order. She did not find either prospect very appealing. Better to try everything she could think of to keep everybody calm to begin with.

"Let's just all go about our business as if we don't even notice they're gone," she suggested. "That'll be a better joke on them."

She looked down at the cat, wondering if she should pat it to confirm her nonchalance, then around the Hall again. Now, having started it, she knew she should keep an eye on later arrivals so they also knew it was a lame joke, but she badly wanted to go find Thad and Cepheus and Henny, or better yet, for them to come to her. The other senior prefects would not be unwelcome, either, but that was not as emotional a thought. Alex and Waverly and Aria would be useful for controlling their Houses, if anyone got out of hand or refused to accept Alicia's authority, but she wouldn't expect them to personally support her. To them, she would have to be as smiling and confident and authoritative as she was to first years. Her friends could tell her that everything was all right.

She was still smiling as she waved hello to a new arrival and removed the charm from her voice, but she wanted to snarl one second and cry the next. Surely the professors would be waiting for them in their classes - people didn't just disappear, even at a magical school; since kids came here to learn control over their powers, she was sure some of the charms on the place must be to keep large-scale lash-outs from doing something like that, actually - but there was a chance this was going to ruin her first day as Head Girl.

16 Alicia Bauer, Head Girl Not unless you count me as one of them. 210 Alicia Bauer, Head Girl 0 5

Aria Yale

March 23, 2014 10:23 AM

You're A Master but not THE Masters by Aria Yale

The morning of classes, Aria had awoken at her usual time to go meditate and work on her Tai Chi. She had rewashed her face, brushed her teeth, and threw her hair into a rather messy, but effective pony tail. Wearing a flowy crop top that she felt gave her more movement than any other sort of top and a type of yoga style pants paired with her usual sandals, Aria had headed out to the gardens.

Because of Teppenpaws central location in the school, the windows were magic and showed a scenery that was not the school grounds, so Aria had left the school without any idea of how the weather was. Typically, if the weather was poor, she would use a MARS room. The water room would have been idea as she could have found a tranquil place for her meditation, but it was always in use by another student who also found the dawn hours the best time to do anything, so, instead she used the dance room and played music off the box while she meditated and did Tai Chi. However, she could never determine where she would be that morning until she was out of the school.

When she stepped out of the doors, Aria’s blue eyes looked up and found the strangest looking purple clouds. Sonora, she knew, had charms around it that kept the weather seasonable, but she had never seen it produce clouds such as those. She tentatively stuck her hand out but found that it was not rainy. The clouds seemed quite dense and gave the grounds a hazy look to them. She wondered if it meant that a huge storm was coming? Since it was of no harm to her currently, Aria had continued on into the maze to complete her morning ritual. Her only disturbance throughout this was the packs of prairie elves that came and went, seeming upset and looking for a lost item. They did not speak to her despite her greeting, but she let them be since they seemed so upset.

Upon returning to her dorm room, Aria never mentioned the strange clouds to any of her roommates. Instead, she continued with her morning routine by showering, attempting to straighten her wild curls, rolling on the dark eye makeup, dressing in a bohemian styled dress, and headed off to breakfast. As she wandered the school towards the hall, she saw more of the elves still looking for whatever they had lost. Aria had never seen them so open in her years of being at the school. She always popped down to visit them in the kitchens or stop to say hello if she saw them about, but today they seemed quite different. She would see them after breakfast in the kitchen to make sure they were alright.

Aria had entered the hall just as the wailing and bodily damage had begun. “No no, you must not do that.” She tried, attempting to calm down some of the elves nearest her. She had no idea why they were so upset. She hated seeing when they did self-harm. Rather suddenly, Aria heard Miss Tuppy call out to the elves and all of them vanished. Before Aria had any time to digest what happened, the new Head Girl was talking. Aria frowned, why would the staff and the elves play such a trick on the first day of classes? That did not make any sense at all.

“Elves do not know how to play jokes.” Aria commented to Alicia when she made her way to the staff table. When she was there, she saw the abandoned cat. “Hello Alice.” Aria greeted, bending down to pick her up. “This is Mr. Xavier’s cat.” Aria had become acquainted with her the previous year during her time out in the gardens. “I thought you might want to know that sky outside is a strange purple color of clouds. I’m not sure if it means anything, but perhaps the school is playing tricks again?” two years ago the Mirage Chamber had played tricks on them. Was the school upset again? “Are you hungry, Alice? We let’s go find you some food.” Aria smiled politely to Alicia, seemingly not at all perplexed by the current situation.

6 Aria Yale You're A Master but not THE Masters 228 Aria Yale 0 5

Alicia Bauer

March 23, 2014 1:35 PM

Yes, that's why I included the 'one of' part. by Alicia Bauer

Alicia started to scowl when Aria Yale casually contradicted her cover story for the strangeness, but she forced the expression off her face. Keep smiling, she thought grimly. A woman is only worth as much as her ability to smile under pressure. Dealing with all of this nonsense on her first day as Head Girl - what should have been a wonderful time - certainly counted as pressure, and Aria was not being helpful, which just made it more important to seem serene and confident and unaffected. It meant more, the worse things were.

"I had to say something," she said levelly, and very quietly so her voice wouldn't carry to the other students, hating having to explain herself to someone who was not a friend and who was too close to an equal. She was uncomfortably aware that she had not been raised from the prefects herself just now, something she had dedicated a lot of the summer to trying to forget. "I didn't want anyone to panic, and I'm willing to bet that most of the others - especially most of the first years - haven't made a study of elf behavior." A better response occurred to her, and she added, "besides, they'd probably obey the professors if they gave them direct orders, even if they didn't understand them. It's as good a story for the younger ones as any right this second."

She bit her tongue before she could add something about not noticing Aria putting her neck out to maintain order and keeping her mouth shut unless she planned to offer an actual suggestion for controlling the situation. Hostility was not the way. Not ladylike. Not effective management for anyone. She had gotten through six years without falling to the point of bullying and snapping at people who were irritating her at any given second. With luck, she'd barely remember this conversation in a few hours. She just had to stay calm until then, because if she ever once cracked, the whole show would slip away from her, and she refused to allow that to happen.

Alicia felt her knees go weak under her when Aria said, as though just identifying another cat, that the clouds outside were purple, but tried to make leaning back to perch on the edge of the staff table a casual gesture. She wanted to shout at the other girl and ask why she hadn't mentioned this bit first, as it seemed a lot more important than the groundskeeper's cat, but didn't. Calm. I did want more intelligence on the situation. Take what you can get in a crisis.

"That may be the case," she said, as calmly as she could. "If - the professors aren't in our lessons, then we should look in the library and see what we can find out about the history of - unusual events. The weather charms melted down when my Latin teacher was a student." She stopped talking, annoyed that she was explaining so much before she had her thoughts organized, before she even knew if it would be necessary. The professors might be in their classes yet. They might be. "If the professors aren't in our classes, we'll decide on a couple of prefects, or other Advanced students, to supervise the younger students and the rest of us meet to decide what to do," she said, as firmly as she could while remaining pleasant. She returned the Teppenpaw's smile. "For now, yes, please do go find something to feed Alice, Aria."

16 Alicia Bauer Yes, that's why I included the 'one of' part. 210 Alicia Bauer 0 5

Alexandra Devereux

March 23, 2014 5:24 PM

Still doesn't make you who they're looking for by Alexandra Devereux

Alex had realized something was wrong as soon as she got up, but it had taken her a few minutes to really put her finger on it. At first, she had thought it might just be the strange, noticeable – strange in that it was very noticeable – behavior of the prairie elves, but the niggling feeling of something off, something just profoundly wrong, did not go away until she was out of the common room and making her way down a corridor, where she happened, for the first time that day, to look directly out of a window.

The sky was purple.

As far as sky colors went, that was not one she routinely expected to see. Maybe parts of the sky would look funny if a thunderstorm was about to blow up, but not all of it, not like that. Frowning, she picked up her pace, not even really sure why, and soon entered the Cascade Hall, where she found the staff table completely empty except for Alicia Bauer and Aria Yale, who seemed to be having a nice chat about a cat as though nothing were strange at all.

Clearly, this meant they knew more than she did about what was going on. Her best guess was that the weather was going a little funny – which, she guessed, had to happen every now and then, since the weather was entirely controlled by charms here; there was no way those wouldn’t take maintenance every now and then, though she did think it should have been done over the summer instead of now and problems noticed before the sky turned purple – and that the staff was busy fixing it, and had decided to leave Alicia in charge, or at least until the other prefects arrived and they could all pay attention to what was going on. The other girl was an early riser, she thought, and Head Girl besides, now; whether she deserved it was a matter of personal taste, but now that she had the badge, Alex would respect the position regardless of her thoughts on the witch who held it, and it wasn’t as if Alicia had ever displayed any astonishing lack of competence. Just not as much as Waverly or Henny.

With that in mind, and wanting to know the details whether she was supposed to help out or not, Alex approached the staff table as well. “I’d say good morning, but I’m beginning to think that might be a misnomer,” she said. “What’s going on? Are the teachers out fixing the sky?”

0 Alexandra Devereux Still doesn't make you who they're looking for 0 Alexandra Devereux 0 5

Aria

March 23, 2014 7:05 PM

Exactly because they are looking for 'the' masters. by Aria

Aria was thoughtful for a moment as she took in what Alicia was saying. Aria did not lie and she did not like to be a part of lies. She felt that they soiled the soul. Lying betrayed a person’s relationship with oneself and with others. She could understand why Alicia might felt it necessary to lie about the staff and elves to the younger students (although Aria had been here long enough to know the majority of the student body had elves at home and would already know the statement she had proclaimed about them), but she also didn’t see why Alicia couldn’t just say something closer to the truth. “I suppose if that’s how you feel is the proper way of handling it.” Aria commented lightly. Of course, if it’s found out that there really is a situation and the school was without staff, Aria wasn’t sure how likely the younger students were going to trust Alicia since she had brushed them off with a lie. Then again, Aria doubted eleven year olds away from home for the first time would likely follow along with a seventeen year old and her peers as it was. Aria didn’t mention any of this. She didn’t want the Head Girl’s wrath.

Aria let her ramble on about things. She had seen this happen quite often with other people and found it best to remain quiet during their thought process. She did frown though, at the ending order. “I’ve already said I’ll look after her.” She didn’t think that was a very nice thing for Alicia to do. Aria was neither hysterical or in need of order. There was no reason for Alicia to feel like putting a decision that Aria made for herself into an order that Alicia dictates. Alice mewed in her arms and Aria brought her up close to give her a small hug. “It’s alright kitty, we’ll head to the kitchens soon enough.”

Alexandra, another Prefect, joined them at the staff table. “Oh, that’s an idea, maybe the staff has gone to fix the problem with the purple clouds and the elves just weren’t informed?” Although, Aria couldn’t imagine why all of the staff needed to work on this and not leave at least one here for order, but it was still something to go on. “All the elves had quite the fit just a few moments ago in front of the students.” Aria informed Alexandra. “Alicia took charge though. Hopefully, the staff is back in time for lessons. I have to go take care of Alice now, there’s no telling how long Mr. Xavier has been gone. I’ll see you both in class.” Aria smiled politely to the both of them and put Alice down onto the floor. “Come along, Alice, let’s see how Ms. Tuppy is coping in the kitchens.” Aria walked away, calling to the cat’s attention to make sure she was following.

6 Aria Exactly because they are looking for 'the' masters. 0 Aria 0 5

Lucille Carey

March 24, 2014 12:46 AM

The gossip vine must flourish by Lucille Carey

Since she had spent the first part of her morning behind the enchanted windows of Teppenpaw and had not looked out on her way to the Cascade Hall, Lucille didn’t know the sky was purple, but she did see two teams of searching prairie elves, one heading for her room before she was even out of it, which was enough to make her curious but not concerned. The worst thing she could imagine happening at Sonora which might make them need to look for something would be a Pecari stealing something from Headmaster Brockert and him proving the sort who’d have fits trying to get it back instead of handling the situation discreetly, and even that didn’t seem very likely. It was more an amusing image to occupy herself with for just a moment, before the elves’ behavior drifted out of her mind. She had never taken much more notice of elves around her than she had of the furniture; they were there, they did what they were asked to do, and then they didn’t intrude upon her attention, if they were doing their jobs right. Though some people did have truly terrible taste in furniture.

Finding the Cascade Hall empty of adults, unless one counted the seventh years, was a little harder to not raise an eyebrow at. Alicia Bauer was saying something about everyone going about their business as usual, as that would be a good joke on “them.” Who were they, and how was behaving normally going to produce the punch line to a joke? And where were the teachers, and other people, less familiar to her, who did things?

Lucille bit her lower lip as she sat down, but then smiled, small and brief, when she saw Aria and Alex joining Alicia at the front. One way or another, she thought she would know soon, because she would ask one of them and saw no reason why they wouldn’t tell her. She wasn’t as close to either as she had once thought she might be, but they all got along well, and really, why would they not tell her?

In the meantime, though, she was still curious about what in the world could have happened on the first day back to make the teachers all miss breakfast and the prefects start huddling at their table, and since she couldn’t really do anything about being curious until the meeting with far too many ‘A’ names in it broke up, she decided she might as well gossip. The whole school would be talking about this, she was sure, all day if the professors walked in right now, it was far more interesting than her summer, at least, had been, and there was no time like the present for starting anything other than Potions homework. She smiled at the first person to sit close enough to comfortably talk to.

“Good morning,” she said. “Do you have any idea what all this – “ she waved her hand vaguely toward the prefects at the front – “might be about?”

0 Lucille Carey The gossip vine must flourish 224 Lucille Carey 0 5

Alicia

March 24, 2014 2:00 PM

Well, I appear to be what they've got. by Alicia

A minor irritant, Alicia reminded herself when Aria very carefully, she imagined, worded her response to undercut Alicia. She supposed? What would she have done, acknowledged that the only authority figures still in evidence didn’t have a clue what was going on? Let everyone just sit and come up with their own ideas? If it blew up in her face, Alicia would think of something else, but it was all she’d been able to think of in that moment, scared herself but knowing that she would be a lot more scared if anyone broke from one of the tables and set it off. She had thought of several better things she could have said, better ways to have handled it, just since she’d spoken, but in that moment, she had done the best she could.

Her teeth ground together just a little behind her smile when Aria pointed out that her order had been unnecessary, at least from Aria’s perspective, but not loudly enough to be heard. Her jaw did tighten visibly for a second, though. She was not going to give the good explanation, which was that her previous comments had not been an attempt to stop Aria from feeding the cat right now, or the actual one, which was that she’d hoped it would seem her permission was necessary. Because she would have order. When the staff came back, the only way someone would be held up to public shame because the place had degenerated into a madhouse would be over her literally-dead body.

Before she could reply in any fashion, though, Alex Devereux joined them, and Alicia considered the possibility that Aria was actually, in a most un-Teppenpaw-like fashion, trying to manipulate her into paranoia, so she either broke down or at the very least said more than she meant to. All that, and then she just acknowledged that Alicia was in charge? Not in glowing terms, true, but she had said it. She had acknowledged it. Alicia Bauer was in charge.

Sometimes, Alicia reflected, it was really inconvenient, not believing in anything which could be prayed to. If she had, she would have asked it to help her in the moment she realized what that acknowledgment meant, but she didn’t, so she couldn’t, not in good conscience. She’d lie to anyone’s face, if the need arose, except Thad’s in one very specific context, but she didn’t like lying to herself.

“I’m just trying to maintain order, Alex,” she said, a little coolly, as Aria wandered off with the cat. She was not going to let Aria Yale get to her. “The elves said they’ve lost their masters, which makes me think they’re not here at all, not after the way the elves have been looking - though admittedly, I did see some who seemed to think the teachers were behind a tapestry. I’m hoping they’ll be back before breakfast is over, too, but I was just – trying to make plans with Aria about what we should do, how the prefects should meet, if they aren’t.”

It was too much – the elves, the sky, the ominously empty table behind her – but she wasn’t going to tell Alex that, either. Alex was not, by virtue of being Cepheus' friend, her enemy, but she had never come even as close to their larger group as Theresa had, much less to being Alicia’s personal friend. Alicia could not tell her she was unnerved. She was the Head Girl. Thad was her equal in authority, but as he wasn't here at the moment, she had to keep doing the best she could.

“I'm sure you'll both get to have a good laugh at me later for overreacting," she added. "But prepare for the worst, and all of your surprises will be pleasant ones."

16 Alicia Well, I appear to be what they've got. 210 Alicia 0 5

Alex

March 24, 2014 5:31 PM

Part of it, anyway by Alex

Alex’s eyebrows both climbed much closer to her hairline than she was sure they were usually capable of when Aria explained the situation and had barely came down before Alicia’s elaboration sent them up again. Apart from finding the wording strange – they had lost their masters? That implied more management of the adults than Alex liked to think of, though a second thought made her think it was just an uncomfortable side effect of their efficiency; elves, regardless of type, couldn’t provide the instantaneous service, or serve things before their owners even knew they wanted them, if they didn’t keep track of the humans around them at all times – she had no idea what to make of it. Why would the entire staff leave? Even if it was to fix the weather, there had to be at least a few who would have no facility, or at least not the background, to help with that, who might have been left to watch them instead of leaving them entirely to the management of an untried Head Girl, apparently without telling her ahead of time that they were going to do it, either.

“Not necessarily,” she said to Alicia’s proverb. There were some things, like this, just so unexpected that she didn’t think anyone could or would plan for them, and others which were simply neutral. “But closer to right than not,” she added absently, not wanting to insult the Aladren for the same reason she had warned Theresa, repeatedly, to be careful in her dealings with that whole clique.

Alex would have said she didn’t like Alicia Bauer, but the truth was, she didn’t know anything about her. Nothing she trusted, anyway. The girl smiled too much for Alex to believe in it. Her father always said never to trust anyone who smiled too much, because the world wasn’t that happy of a place, so people who always seemed cheerful were either insane or hiding something. Aria was another one whose serenity could be disconcerting, but Lucille said she was in a lifestyle community (Alex had mentally abbreviated this to ‘cult’) and Jay had confirmed that he’d had to explain social norms to her before, so Alex was willing to give her more of a pass. Alicia was a different story, and while she might be like Theresa, a pretty thing with a head almost as empty as a flowerpot and easy to boot, she might not be, either. At the very least, if she threw a sulk like Theresa sometimes did over an imagined slight, then it would no doubt cause problems with everyone they both happened to know, and while Alex had no objections to watching tantrums and machinations and all the other things that happened when bored rich kids found something to amuse themselves with, she had no interest in getting swept up in it. So she’d keep the peace.

“So, what do you propose we do if our caretakers don’t come back before classes start?” she asked.

0 Alex Part of it, anyway 0 Alex 0 5

Theresa Carey

March 24, 2014 6:22 PM

Showing off my priorities by Theresa Carey

Theresa was always as fussy as she could afford to be about how she looked at school, making the most of what she could manipulate out of her parents and uncle and salvage from Lucille, but on the morning after the Feast, she spent even longer primping than usual, determined to use every tool at her disposal to make a point. Namely, that Jorge Garcia and anyone who agreed with him was dead wrong and that her life was better than theirs would ever be and going to get better yet. There would be bad times in every life, times when she hated everyone around her, but there would be more good than bad, and while being able to look as good as possible in the plain green school robes, once she added jewelry and curled her hair and worked with her make-up, was just a small part of that, it was an essential one. Appearances weren’t everything, but they came close.

Once she was done, she hurried out of Pecari and toward the Cascade Hall, with only, after she realized it was strangely dark for the hour, the slightest glance toward the clouds which rolled over her head from the suit of armor to the doors into the building, willing it not to start raining on her until she got inside and thanking her lucky stars that she didn’t have to take Care of Magical Creatures, which might have chosen today to demand that she go outdoors again before nightfall, anymore. It just occurred to her that stormclouds were usually more of a dark gray than purple, but she didn’t pay the thought any mind, since clouds weren’t interesting or helpful and she couldn’t say for sure she had ever looked at any closely enough to know if purple was that unusual before sunset.

Inside, though, she did notice the prairie elves, who seemed much more serious and focused than usual, though what they were doing, she couldn’t say. It was odd to see this many around, though, she was sure of that – they couldn’t help sticking out. Shaking her head, she hurried on to the Cascade Hall, where she was finally stopped short by the sight of the empty staff table.

That was…more unusual than storms or wandering prairie elves. Much stranger. As was the sight of Alex and Alicia conferring at the staff table. Theresa frowned, wondering if she should just go ask them – they were both her friends, weren’t they? – but then she remembered what her goal for the day was and smiled again, looking around the Hall for Cepheus and trying to remember what his schedule was so she could propose a time for sneaking off later for a little more enthusiastic kissing than they could really engage in at breakfast. She hadn’t missed that as much as she had company over the summer, but it still had not been a pleasant thing to give up, now that she was used to it.

Before she found him, though, she sensed someone walking up behind her and turned around very quickly with a squeak of surprise, her hands going to her heart before she could control them and yank them back down to her sides. “You scared me,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed about that and feeling her cheeks turn pinker as a result. It was silly to be startled like that, but after growing up with so many brothers, she was used to people coming up behind her suddenly being kind of a bad thing for her hair if she didn’t turn around fast enough.

0 Theresa Carey Showing off my priorities 219 Theresa Carey 0 5

Alicia

March 26, 2014 11:06 AM

As you say. by Alicia

Alicia was not in the mood to argue semantics, so she didn’t reply to Alex’s correction of her proverb. The next bit was more important, anyway.

“We’ll need to see to it that the younger ones are properly supervised,” she said. She didn’t know if there was actually a law which said that they were the responsibility of whichever of-age people were around, but she didn’t want to take the chance any more than she wanted to take a chance on them getting clever. This was not a time for cleverness, at least not that kind. “The first years, at the very least, have to be taught – they’ve got to learn control – and it would be better if the others were as well.”

There was no one left to teach her classes, but Alicia wasn’t too worried about that. As long as no one attempted to wreak destruction in her library, she could continue her own studies, perhaps better than she could have while worrying about teachers noticing some of the things which caught her interest and wondering about how those fit in with the image she had spent six years selling them. If she had time to do so around herding geese, anyway. Teaching the younger years herself, if that fell to her, wouldn’t be fun, but it would be good review of the spells which might crop up on the RATS in an attempt to catch her out forgetting the basics. And she had reasons to keep an eye on the beginners’ class, anyway.

“If we can get them into a routine, I’m sure things will be simple enough from there, but we’ll need prefects on watch constantly,” she continued. “Here – we might as well sit.” She considered just ducking under the table to get to the other side, as she might have when she was little, but instead walked around properly before, after only a small hesitation, sitting in Brockert’s chair. If he wanted it, he ought to have come to breakfast. “To keep everyone calm, and we’ll need to set up…some system of punishment for people who break the rules, if this goes on long. I’m not sure how well detentions will work anymore, since some people never cared about them in the first place….”

So much to do. She refused to think like that, though, instead lifting her bag to her lap and drawing a sheet of parchment from a folder. If there was too much to do there was nothing to do for it but start doing something to shorten the list. Once she made it. Just having a list, she knew, would make her feel much better.

"There will be order," she said flatly as she got a quill out. "I refuse to accept anything else. When they get back, I don't want them to even realize they were gone. Excuse me, I need to make some notes."

16 Alicia As you say. 210 Alicia 0 5

Cepheus Princeton

April 01, 2014 4:29 PM

Can't say I don't approve. by Cepheus Princeton

It was still quite early when Cepheus left his common room to get some breakfast. It seemed dim outside, though he couldn’t tell for certain, but he disregarded it as he made his way to Cascade. When he entered the dining hall, there seemed to be a meeting going on among the Prefects with Alicia heading it. It was odd that the staff was not at their usual place; even the Headmaster was absent and prairie elves were scurrying around instead. Ceph wandered over towards the group to catch snippets of their conversation without actually joining them. It sounded like they, too, were concerned about the lack of staff and the anguish of the prairie elves.

The school was finally being destroyed, Cepheus just knew it. It would start internally; first the staff absconded, then the entire building would fall apart and the students left alive would be sent back home to finish their schooling elsewhere, never to set foot in Arizona again. From Alicia’s tonality, Ceph knew she was doing her best to hold onto some semblance of order without going hysterical. He would have to catch up with her and see how she was doing later; it was a big order, taking care of all the students for lack of staff, and for once Cepheus was glad he hadn’t become Head Boy. Otherwise he would have to deal with all of this alongside her, a crisis he was not prepared to handle just yet.

Turning back to see who else was in Cascade Hall that he could sit and eat breakfast with, he noticed Theresa who seemed to be looking for someone. Her back was to him and Cepheus hesitated a moment before approaching her slowly. Breaking up with her at breakfast seemed to him bad form, but doing it through the post would be cowardly. If he was completely honest with himself, he was slightly afraid to end their relationship for fear of what would come. Not exactly fear of her family, but of his. The last time his grandfather had paired him up to be married to a witch he’d never met before. Ceph didn’t doubt his grandfather would do it again, and Cepheus was almost eighteen now.

By the time he reached her, Cepheus had decided to propose an agreement to Theresa concerning their relationship if they both wanted to broaden their horizons. It would be a break-up necessarily, more like a back-up. But the startled look on Theresa’s face before melting into embarrassment softened his heart. The distance, it seemed, had made Theresa almost a stranger to him in his memory because Ceph had most certainly forgotten how pleasant Theresa was. Theresa had her own charms that now came fresh into Cepheus’s mind. Still, it wouldn’t be prudent as Lucrezia had mentioned the evening before to keep Theresa hanging when his best interest wasn’t really there yet.

“Good morning,” he said, leaning in and kissing her cheek. “You look especially lovely today. Were you looking for someone?” If she was looking for Jorge Garcia, Cepheus wasn’t sure how to react except to offer his proposition right then.

40 Cepheus Princeton Can't say I don't approve. 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Theresa

April 02, 2014 5:24 PM

I'm glad I meet with your approval by Theresa

Her cheeks were still flushed with embarrassment over her jumping, but Theresa smiled broadly when Cepheus noticed the efforts she had gone to this morning, and she stood on her toes to kiss him briefly on the lips, feeling daring without any adults around to call her down for it. Technically, she guessed, Alicia and Alex were adults, but no more than she herself was, and she really didn’t think they were going to say anything. They had other things on their minds, and if the yearbook was as reliable a reporter of the public opinion as most people thought it was, then Alicia didn't have the right anyway.

“You, of course,” she said, still smiling and linking her arm with his. She resisted the temptation to look for the pretty little thing from dinner last night. They had looked a lot happier than she and Jorge had been, but that meant nothing. Battles between people who were good at what they did could go on without either party ever frowning. Crotali were especially good at that kind of thing, or so she’d heard. “I missed you this summer. I didn’t want to go to classes without even saying hello first.”

She frowned just a little as she looked around the Hall. “You don’t know what’s going on, do you?” she asked. She hadn’t know anything was strange when she left her room, so she hadn’t thought to ask Waverly, but he was on good terms with a prefect and the Head Boy and Girl, and was….”Besides you being Quidditch captain now!” she said, almost forgetting about how strange things seemed right now in her excitement as she remembered that. “Congratulations,” she added, standing up on her toes to peck his cheek, this time. She was not considered short when compared to the girls in her own family – she was even taller than Fae, who wasn’t a blood relative at all, though wives didn't really count and the other ones she knew except Fae and Mother were all taller than her – but that was a relative term, and she was not one of the taller girls in her year at Sonora. The only really tall Carey girl Theresa even knew of was Jane, and she was an odd one in so many more ways than just her height.

0 Theresa I'm glad I meet with your approval 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

April 13, 2014 3:06 PM

You usually do. by Cepheus

The kiss surprised him, though he wasn’t sure why. It was pleasant, and Ceph remembered how nice it was to be fancied by a pretty witch. Public displays of affection normally made Cepheus feel uncomfortable, but with the staff absent from their regular post and his mates in place of them, he felt a bit less self-conscious letting her kiss him. Though he could do without the clinging on a regular basis, he enjoyed it now after a few months without it.

His resolve to proffer some other relationship crumbled slightly at her admission. Cepheus liked being missed and he smiled, pleased. Alicia and Alex and any of his other mates wouldn’t have admitted to missing him so easily. “Is that so? I missed you too,” he replied, kissing her hair briefly and then looked around the Hall as she did. “I’ve no idea,” he replied, but Theresa nearly leapt at him with another exclamation, already on another subject. Witches moved fast, evidently, but Cepheus was pleased with the subject.

She flattered him and that was partially why Ceph enjoyed having her around. Theresa was excited for him and her excitement made Cepheus feel proud in his newly acquired position. Only a girlfriend would be this excited for him, knowing how invested he had been in the sport in the past. This year they might finally win. A pleasant feeling swelled up in his chest at her peck and Ceph couldn’t remember why he had wanted to break up with Theresa in the first place. “Thank you,” he said with a wide smile, but it dimmed slowly at a thought. “But if they cancel Quidditch because of the apparent lack of staff, that will be very unfortunate,” he added, the knowledge that cancelling Quidditch would most likely happen knotting his stomach with how unfair life was to him.

Ceph’s stomach reminded him of his initial reason for coming down to Cascade Hall and he took Theresa’s hand, smiling again for her sake. “I’m glad they haven’t stopped serving food,” he said, walking to a table nearby and sitting down. “I’m starving. How was your summer? Did you have a pleasant trip back?”

0 Cepheus You usually do. 0 Cepheus 0 5