Ready to take the world by storm on Cascade Hall

Headmaster Brockert

August 03, 2014 2:09 AM

Opening Feast by Headmaster Brockert

Last year, his first term as Headmaster, had been extremely difficult to say the least and it wasn't anything to do with day to day running of the school or even students making trouble. No, it was totally due to external circumstances and though Mortimer was ticked off at those imbeciles from the charms facility-story of his life, he found himself ticked off at imbeciles quite often-he had to admit that he was glad that the fault lied with them and people couldn't blame the school. Like he actually wanted to be trapped in a room with his colleagues for four months! Nobody wanted to be trapped with anyone that long! Especially someone like Mortimer who wasn't generally a fan of people.

He also was no optimist but there were few ways that this year could be worse than the last. Oh, he was sure he could imagine some if he tried, he had that sort of imagination. However, at the moment, Mortimer really didn't feel like it. He had to focus on the Opening Feast instead, even if he would prefer imagining the heads of those from the Charms facility on iron spikes. Honestly, giving the speeches was the least favorite part of his job. He wasn't at all shy or afraid, but he had to be reasonably pleasant and that was not something that came naturally to the man.

The Headmaster stood up to deliver the repetitive words. Honestly, it was basically the same speech every year. "Welcome to Sonora for the new first years and welcome back for all older students. In just a minute, you first years will be receiving a goblet distributed by Deputy Headmistress Skies, in order to sort you into your houses. You will turn the color representing your house which are blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari. Afterwards, you may join your house table." He seriously didn't care if they did or not really, he wasn't about to keep track of something so petty as sitting in the wrong place.

"Now I would like to call James Carey and Melanie Lennox up in order to receive their Head Student badges." He couldn't say this didn't please him, a Carey and his aunt Caroline's granddaughter. Two families who were not only pure, but that rarely got badges going by school history. "In addition, I'd like to call up Francesca Wolseithcrafte, Julian Umland, Virginia Bellrose, and Adam Spencer up to receive their prefect badges at this time." This lot pleased him immensely, all purebloods with the exception of Miss Umland.

Once they'd sat back down, Mortimer had just a few more announcements. "I'd like to welcome our new COMC professor, Richard Tallec. Please make him feel welcome and show him the proper respect." He couldn't be more thrilled. Aside from Quidditch Coach-which hopefully Florence would continue with and if not her, Jera-they now had a full staff.

"This year's Midsummer Event will be the ball." Honestly why did he have to announce this when only the first years needed to know? Shouldn't most students have figured out the rotation by now?

Now was time for his least favorite part, the pointless and potentially degrading singing of the school song. As sheets of music appeared in front of the students and the potential public humiliation began,

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.

"One more thing," Mortimer added once the singing (finally) ended. He was tired of all these announcements and he was sure the students were as well. "First years please don't leave the Hall unti your Head of House calls for you." Finally he was done speaking and now the students could finally eat-as well as him.

Subthreads:

(Why must) First Impressions Count by Araceli and Effie Arbon with Uzume Shinohara, Effie Arbon

So hungry she could eat a wild boar. by Joella Curtis with Anita Tippet

Can't wait, a Muggleborn's first year. by Eva Winters with Aiden O'Neil

I very much enjoy feasts. by Wendy Canterbury with Rupert Princeton, Wendy

Finally, a fifth year! by Virginia Bellrose

Planning has its benefits by Malcolm Carey with Chloe Jareau, Chloe, Mal

Winner by proxy [Melanie] by Marcus Crosby with Melanie Lennox

A ball? Faaaaaabulous. by Neeka Campbell with Annabelle Pierce, Neeka

I could use some food and some company by Arnold Manger with Clark Dill

A brand-new baby firstie friend? by Jake Manger with Savannah Brockert (and a bit of Scarlett)

Ready to take the world by storm by Makenzie Newell with Olivier Westley

Just Match the Colors by Taylor Petterson with John Umland

Wearing a shiny new badge. by Adam Spencer with Annette Pierce, Adam

Some things don't change. by Charlotte Spencer with Emrys Lucan

I suppose, I should feel sad. by Aria Yale

And into a new year... by Emery Kijewski-Jareau with Ava Fletcher, Emery

A little flustered, but feasting. by Julian Umland

Apology and Surprise [Tag: Liliana Bannister] by Atlas Primred, Pecari with Liliana Bannister

A New Experience by Seraphina Willow with Theodore Wolseithcrafte

Alone by Amity Brockert

The Start of Something New. by Keme RunningBear with Francesca Wolseithcrafte, Keme

11 Headmaster Brockert Opening Feast 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

Araceli and Effie Arbon

August 03, 2014 6:45 AM

(Why must) First Impressions Count by Araceli and Effie Arbon

Araceli was quite convinced that she was shaking so much that it must be visible to even those seated at the far end of the Cascade Hall. Today marked only the second time ever in her life that she had left the shelter of her family's home, which stood on a private island off the coast of Maine. The first had been the disastrous visit to the Raines' home, when her sister Effie had tried to introduce her to Ella Raines, who was supposed to be the year above her. Araceli was rather glad that Ella Raines had never registered for Sonora in the end, as she had utterly humiliated herself in front of the girl, getting flustered and utterly tongue-tied in the presence of Ella's graceful social ease. However, she couldn't help but wonder whether Ella's reason for choosing a different school had been the thought of six years with her.

She wished she could just sit down. She had never been in a room with this many people before and she was being forced to parade in front of them like some sort of entertainment. They were all staring and it was simply horrible. She wanted to hide behind her hair. The long pale blonde strands were a good curtain against intrusive eyes but mother had forced them back into tight French braids that morning. She said it looked sweet but Araceli wondered whether it was a deliberate ploy to try to get her to hold her head up and be ladylike. Mother didn't like it when she muttered from behind her hair, or played with the ends of it. Of course she could have taken them out during the wagon ride, but she didn't dare interfere with her parent's ministrations. She felt somehow that Mother would simply know.

Effie had advised her to get to the front for sorting, which was done by the order of the line, rather than alphabetically, as everyone had to drink from the same cup, even if there were Muggleborns in the year. The thought of touching something that so many other unsavoury people had touched made her skin crawl, but she wasn't the sort to push herself forward, and allowed her place in the line to be dictated by how everyone else around her pushed and jostled. When she stepped up to the cup, she felt physically sick, not only at the thought of everyone else having drunk from it already but also because everyone was now staring specifically at her now. She wasn't sure she'd be able to swallow – she was having a hard enough time breathing in the stiff-collared dress that had been chosen for her that morning. If only one of the house colours was being white as a sheet, then she could have pretended to have drunk already... She took a minute sip, hoping it would be enough to work, and forcing it down. She was relieved to see that her hands had turned red. At least she was with her sister. She scurried over to the Crotalus table, making a beeline for Effie.

*

Effie had been apprehensive about her sister starting Sonora. She was sure it would be good for her, in the long run. She could make friends, she could have a life outside the oppression of their house. Effie loved her home and her family dearly but she knew it wasn't right to spend one's whole life locked away from other people, and especially not for Araceli, who always felt in the wrong at home simply by existing. The Arbons felt that the best way to keep their line pure was to limit the number of offspring who needed marrying off, and to stop once an heir was produced. Araceli was the third daughter of her parents, which was something their father had never taken any pains to hide his displeasure over.

Her sister had been silent for the wagon ride, responding with a shake or nod of the head if she could, and spending large portions of the journey feigning sleep. Effie could tell she wasn't really sleeping, as no one slept looking that tense.

She was pleased to see Araceli get through the sorting with out fainting or otherwise embarrassing herself, and was very relieved to see her sorted into Crotalus, where Effie could at least protect and guide her a little. As her sister came over, she moved up, making space for her to slide in next to her. There was no doubt that the two were related – they shared the same light hair and protuberant grey eyes. When the sorting potion faded, Araceli's face would be revealed to be the same pale shade as her sister's (perhaps slightly paler, given the circumstances). The only thing that stopped Araceli being a perfect miniature of Effie was the shape of their faces. Whilst Effie's was long and thin, Araceli's was much rounder. Araceli had long since given up the hope that this was just baby fat, and had resigned herself to the fact that this was just yet another factor on which she failed to live up to her sister; whilst Effie looked elegant and ladylike, she seemed doomed to always look childish.

When the food appeared, Effie dished portions of mixed salad and smoked salmon onto their plates. Araceli stared down at hers, whilst her sister glanced over her head and smiled at their neighbour. Araceli hoped it was another older student who could talk back over her head to Effie, making a protective wall between her and all these new people. She sat stock still with her hands in her lap, trying her best to be invisible. She felt Effie's glance linger on her for a moment before her sister decided to leave her be for the time being and let her find her bearings.

“Good evening,” Effie said, above her head, “How was your summer?”

13 Araceli and Effie Arbon (Why must) First Impressions Count 290 Araceli and Effie Arbon 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 03, 2014 6:49 AM

So hungry she could eat a wild boar. by Joella Curtis

Nothing her elder siblings, parents and other relatives had described could prepare Joella Curtis for the day that she first set foot in Cascade Hall at Sonora Academy. It was all she could do to keep her mouth from hanging open as she stared at the sparkling water soundlessly rushing down the walls, an image that had seemed as if from another world until now. Joella's family were decidedly wealthy and therefore lived comfortably, to say the least. However, the grand décor of Cascade Hall with its marble floor and crystal chandeliers was a splendour that Joella had little familiarity with.
It was with great excitement and anticipation that Joella took the goblet from Deputy Headmistress Skies. During the journey to Sonora Academy, and a considerable amount of time leading up to it, Joella had contemplated which house she was destined to be sorted into. Thoughts of all houses had entered her mind and she had ruled out none of them. Her elder siblings had also informed her about the nature of students from the four different houses. In fact, there was little about Sonora Academy that her siblings had failed to tell her for they had always been keen to give her stories of their own adventures, as well as pep talks, advice and warnings. Her half-brother (Bolivar) and half-sister (Frances) had both landed themselves in Crotalus when they arrived at Sonora for the first time several years ago. Then some time later her two full siblings, Rolene and then Lachlan, both were sorted into Pecari. At last it was Joella's turn and it was with delight but no huge surprise that she was announced to be in Pecari house.
For some unknown reason, Rolene Curtis had taken it upon herself (during her time at Sonora) to learn the Headmaster's speech and recite it to her younger sister for it was said that his Opening Feast speech changed very little each year. In addition to this, Rolene had used her beautiful voice to teach Joella the school song. Joella was therefore all prepared and did not require the aid of the music sheets as she sang along merrily.
As Headmaster Brockert gave his final announcement, Joella felt her stomach rumble. She was suddenly aware that she was so hungry she could eat a whole wild boar. Although, considering her new status as a Pecari student, she thought it best to keep this thought to herself. Her stomach let out another growl, much louder this time, and she glanced sideways in the hope that no one could hear - what a great introduction that would be. However, Joella's hunger was soon diminished as the headmaster finished speaking and the students were allowed to eat. Forgetting all courtesy and the importance of first impressions she tucked right into the delicious meal.

8 Joella Curtis So hungry she could eat a wild boar. 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 03, 2014 10:06 AM

Unfamiliar Territory by Anita Tippet

For reasons beyond her understanding, Anita was accepted into Sonora Academy. None of her family had been to Sonora and her parents, George and Fauna Tippet, helped Anita buy her school supplies, the robe she would be wearing for Opening Feast, and her barn owl that she cherished as a new friend. Yup, this would be a new territory for Anita to face. Sure, her twin brother and sister, Angora and Samson, were older than her but Samson was the third family member with magical abilities (her mother and her falling in second and third). Angora wasn't so lucky and was Muggleborn, but how Samson ended up going to a secondary school was hard to understand. Maybe Samson wasn't so magical after all; more of a Squib, as Anita put it.

Now, after a bumpy ride, Anita was finally at Cascade Hall with the other first years. Like her mother, Anita was magically adept yet she at times could not control her magic. Anita had been a nuisance in the Muggle school, with time and time again, without realizing it, her troublemaker side always got the better of her. Hopefully, being at Sonora Academy, her troublemaker side would go away, revealing the innocence she knew she had. She listened to Headmaster Brockert give his speech; Anita could only guess if others found the speech interesting.

Then Anita watched as the goblet was passed around. This was it: her chance to see what house she would be sorted into. Anita did not mind the crowd of first years drinking from the same goblet; she had grown used to that due to her family. However, she wasn't at home anymore. She was at Sonora Academy and she knew she had to be on her best behavior, or else end up in a heap of trouble.

Now it was her turn. After drinking from the goblet, Anita found she had been sorted into Pecari. She could hear cheers coming from the four houses, but now it was a matter of finding which house belonged to her. With some guidance, Anita made her way to the table where the Pecari House blazed brown and gold. As she sat down, the speech dragged on until it came to the school song. Anita became excited to learn a new song and sang to her delight, while following what was written on the music sheet.

Anita's mind wrapped around the Midsummer ball. Given that she was already into the arts and dance, Anita anticipation for a ball was already making her giddy. This would be her first ball, and already nervousness played its part. Her mind returned to the present, right as the song ended and the feast began. Anita tried as hard as she could to stay ladylike; however, her appetite soon got the better of her.

Anita, getting her neighbor's attention, introduced herself. "I'm Anita Tippet."

0 Anita Tippet Unfamiliar Territory 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Eva Winters

August 03, 2014 3:06 PM

Can't wait, a Muggleborn's first year. by Eva Winters

After many antagonizing hours stuffed into a cramped flying wagon, they finally reached land. Eva Winters stumbled outside beside the others, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. She'd always hated heights, and she was pretty sure they didn’t have flying wagons back in Tennessee. But then again, she hadn’t known there were flying wagons period before this trip… But her discomfort was quickly forgotten as she took in her new surroundings. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of where they were heading, the terra cotta mansion seeming to tower high over the assembly as they walked under three arches and into the building.

Before she knew it they had found themselves standing in front of the whole school. Eva couldn't help but stare in awe at the rippling waterfalls streaming down the sides of the giant room and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, gray-blue eyes wide in wonder. It was like a picture from one of the story books her mom always read to her and Ria when they were younger. No, it was even better than that. This was magic, real magic.

As the headmaster started his speech she let her eyes roam and mind wonder. What kind of magic would they learn? Would being a Muggleborn matter? Would her sister be here one day too? She pictured Ria, her dirty blond hair just like Eva’s own, sitting beside her.

Before she knew it the goblet was in her hands. She looked around and noticed she was one of the last ones left, everyone else already having been sorted into their houses. Excitement rose as she pressed the goblet to her lips, and when she looked down, her hands were a bright yellow. Her face broke out in a grin as she bounded over to the Teppenpaw table amidst the cheering of her new housemates. Grabbing a seat at the table’s edge, she plopped down and listened as the Headmaster finished his speech and then clapped along with the rest of the school.

As food appeared she looked around the house table, noticing a few other first years. She wondered what they would be like. Smiling, Eva filled her plate and started eating. She couldn't wait to get started!

0 Eva Winters Can't wait, a Muggleborn's first year. 0 Eva Winters 0 5

Aiden O'Neil

August 03, 2014 7:54 PM

I am not a Muggleborn, but I'm also excited! by Aiden O'Neil

Aiden had a long journey on the wagon. His mother had warned him that it would be a long trip and that he ought to get to sleep early, but Aiden had been too excited to listen to her. Now that he was standing in the hall, he wished he had. The ride had been a long one and the bumps made his back hurt. He had spent most of the night double and triple checking all of his packed items. He didn’t want to leave anything behind or forget something important. He wasn’t obsessive about it; he just needed to keep his mind on something until he could sleep.

On only four hours of sleep, Aiden had given his good-byes to his parents and was whisked off into his new life. He had nearly fallen asleep on the wagon ride had it not been for the turbulence to keep him awake. His mother said that he would eventually become used to it, but that it would take a while, especially when he wouldn’t take it very often. It was a great experience nonetheless. Aiden had never traveled by flying wagons before!

His mother and God mother were Alumni of Sonora. Aiden had grown up hearing stories about their time at Sonora. They weren’t even the same stories because the two had different Sonora friends. Neither had kept in touch with their Sonora friends, but Aiden hoped he would be full of memories like the two of them were. His father went to a school up North, closer to home, and had made many friends who he continued to share connections with. His school had closed down many years ago, otherwise, Aiden would have likely gone there instead.

Standing in Cascade Hall reminded him so much of the stories his mother used to tell him. Tally, his God Mother, told him that the Hall was the greatest room he will ever be in and he understood why now. He knew about the water falls, but looking at them made everything so real now. His mother told him about the wonderful food that he school provided (food that she admitted she shouldn’t have been eating but did not want to deny him such pleasures) and it wasn’t until that memory did Aiden remember that they would be having a feast soon and that he was hungry.

Aiden waited in line for his turn at the sorting. It was sort of strange to be drinking from the same goblet as everyone else, but he didn’t hesitate to drink from it. He thought he would turn red and become a Crotalus as his mother had been, but to his surprise, he turned yellow. Tally had been a Teppenpaw. She had said that it was the friendly house. Aiden’s father used to joke about this fact as he said Tally was too serious to be friendly. Aiden was happy to be this color though. Honestly, he was sure any house would have been just fine.

He took a seat at the table and clapped along with everyone else until the sorting ended. The Headmaster didn’t talk for very long and before he knew it, he was singing the school song and looking at a table filled with food. Aiden piled on as much food as he could. He was a pudgy little boy with dark brown hair and hazel eyes that sometimes looked more blue or green during certain times of day, and a mouth full of unfortunate teeth. Aiden smiled at a girl who was sitting across from him. “The food looks good, doesn’t it?” He asked her happily. “I am Aiden O’Neil of the Northeast O’Neils. How are you doing this evening? Did you have a nice wagon ride?” His mother always taught him to be polite and to always make the other person feel comfortable. He assumed asking questions meant that.

6 Aiden O'Neil I am not a Muggleborn, but I'm also excited! 287 Aiden O'Neil 0 5

Wendy Canterbury

August 03, 2014 9:15 PM

I very much enjoy feasts. by Wendy Canterbury

Today was a brand new school year and Wendy couldn’t believe she was coming without her sister. She and Waverly weren’t the kind of sisters that did everything together, but for as long as she could remember Waverly had almost always physically been there for her. Now that her older sister was going to college in North Carolina, she couldn’t be there in the same capacity and Wendy found herself oddly missing it at times. Just like right now as she walked back onto Sonora grounds for her fifth year.

Cascade Hall looked as beautiful as always especially after a long, hot summer back home in Phoenix. Working at her mom’s bakery could be fun at times. The other employees were nice and playful and she loved being able to work with her mom. But it was just so hot in the kitchen and waking up at four in the morning to bake everything every single day was just too much. Waverly might have been great at that kind of thing, but her sister was way more ambitious and enthusiastic about baking than she. Wendy was happiest doing her own thing.

Her ensemble today matched her cheery mood: a giant sunflower on her otherwise white tank top, colored harem pants, and gold sandals all underneath her uniform robe. Her golden hair had been trimmed during the summer and the sun had bleached it lighter than usual. Summer was Wendy’s second favorite season, coming right after spring and right above fall. Back in elementary school, Wendy had dreaded going to junior high, but discovering she was magical just like Waverly had saved her. Now she was able to study things she was actually interested in and meet people from all over the world.

Mortimer was back and with him came all the announcements. Wendy smiled at all the new Pecaris that were joining her table and clapped for the Prefects; it was a big job, but she imagined it would be a lot less work now that the adults would be managing their own jobs. She wondered if any of the students accepting their badges now had felt as surprised as she had at being appointed the position.

Wendy’s ears perked up at the sound of a ball. She had caught on the cycle of Midsummer events, but she had forgotten about the ball. Images of outlandish dresses passed through her mind: one with big, yellow flowers and lots of frills, a bohemian-style outfit, a mermaid suit. This would be a lot of fun. The only thing she needed to find was a date who would be able to stand next to her without getting too embarrassed. Carter came to mind, but he had been MIA for awhile. She’d have to check up on that boy soon. The other candidate was Rupert, but she wasn’t sure how willing he’d be to go to the ball with a girl wearing a bumblebee-inspired dress. Maybe it would be best to ask someone like Aria to go with her as friends; Aria certainly seemed to embrace freedom of expression which Wendy really liked about her.

She sang the school song with enthusiasm and as soon as it was done she looked at the choices for her meal. Ever since she had decided to become a vegetarian, her food choices had been limited. But Wendy had stuck with it and now almost two years had gone by. She was a lot better now at whipping up meals for herself that was both healthy, didn’t have meat, and tasted good. With that thought in mind, she put some quinoa on her plate with asparagus. As she reached for the bread basket, her hand bumped into someone else’s and she pulled back and smiled. “Go ahead,” she said, gesturing to her neighbor. “The meals at Sonora are always so good. Bread is one food I could never live without. Maybe it’s because I’m a baker’s daughter.”

19 Wendy Canterbury I very much enjoy feasts. 245 Wendy Canterbury 0 5

Virginia Bellrose

August 03, 2014 10:28 PM

Finally, a fifth year! by Virginia Bellrose

As a fifth year, Ginny had grown bored of the opening feast. She didn’t have friends in her own house, so she always ended up sitting alone while everyone else conversed. She felt like an outsider in her house. She understood, to some extent, why the potion had decided to put her into Crotalus, but most of the other members of her house seemed rather uppity and stuffy while she felt like she was more open to things. Aside from a couple of polite conversations with people, she just felt awkward there. She supposed if she had a roommate, things might have been different for her. Sadly, that was not the case and she had grown accustomed to spending time alone in her room. She was not smart enough to have been Francesca’s roommate, but she did wonder how her friend faired not having a roommate too. Her two friends seemed to have an easier time with making friends and Ginny knew that Quidditch was probably a large part of that.

Her summer had been a busy one. She had formal gatherings to go to with the rest of the Bellrose family, both Ballet and Tap dance, regular etiquette lessons, voice lessons, and, of course, correspondence with her friends. But she also had an ongoing argument with her parents about allowing her to continue her education at Sonora. Her mother did not want her to go and her father was hesitant about it. The legal issues were settling down and her father seemed content with whatever he was getting from it, so she didn’t understand why they wouldn’t just let her go back. In the end though, both of her parents felt that she was better staying at Sonora where she had her friends and an established life rather than moving her to a brand new school in her fifth year.

Virginia was sitting in her seat, not really paying attention to much. She had clapped with the sorting, but wasn’t taking notice of it and then blanked out the speech, concentrating instead on her finger that was drawing invisible circles on the table. She only looked up when she heard her name. Confusing mustered an appearance rather briefly until she realized that they had just named the Prefects. She had completely forgotten about that during her busy time at home. For a moment, she was surprised that it had been her name called, until she remembered they didn’t have any other options.

She took her badge with a polite smile to the Headmaster (he frightened her a little) and gave her friends a thumbs up. At least she was a part of this with the Adam and Francesca. She knew those two were perfect for Prefect. She was also happy to find fellow Canadian, Julian, as the fourth Prefect. She was excited, even if she did get the badge by default, she was happy to be able to wear it alongside her friends.

Back in her seat, she clapped for the Head students announced (not having any sort of relationship with either) and did her best to pay attention to the rest of the speech. The ball was this term. Ginny doubted anyone would ask her, but at least now she could buy a pretty knew dress for it! Having sung the school song, she was currently looking around at the choice of food when someone sat near her. “Good evening.” She greeted as she reviewed her choices. “Have a good summer?” She asked as this was the standard line to give after having the summer holiday. Boring yes, but it was always the easiest way to start a conversation.

6 Virginia Bellrose Finally, a fifth year! 0 Virginia Bellrose 0 5

Malcolm Carey

August 04, 2014 12:59 AM

Planning has its benefits by Malcolm Carey

Fifth year was, they said, very important. One of the most important years of his life, in fact. If Malcolm did not do a good job on his CATS, the skies would open and rain down plagues of social stigmas while all things remotely like opportunities evaporated, never to be seen in his part of the world again. If he did not do well on his CATS, he would die in an even worse condition than his father had, alone and insane, perverse, better off in his grave than in society, completely without honor.

In light of this, Mal thought it was almost a pity his future brother-in-law was no longer at Sonora. With Brockert around, he had been highly motivated to study at least some of the material in almost every class, seeing endless opportunities to enrich his mental images of making Brockert suffer and look pathetic in front of Mal’s mother and sister. He still couldn’t excuse the guy for living, but thought it was going to be a lot harder to use him as a reason to do dull work when he wasn’t right there in front of him, day in and day out, every time he turned around, it sometimes seemed….

Ah, well. He thought he could pass the CATS on what he knew already anyway, and he was not nearly as worried about things beyond that as Mother wanted him to be. He was a Carey. The point of being a Carey was that he didn’t have to be competent at anything to make it in this world – they hadn’t disowned Anthony’s moron cousin yet, had they? If there was ever anyone they wouldn’t want representing the family name, it was Henry, but there he still was, walking slowly and stiffly toward the Crotalus table and looking toward the Aladren one, his brown eyes no doubt holding the blank, dull expression behind his little wire-rimmed glasses that made Mal more uneasy about him when the two of them had to interact than any of Henry’s other oddities did. He could never decide what it meant, whether it was that Henry didn’t think at all or that Henry thought too much.

Compared to either of those things, though, Mal thought he was in good standing with the family and would remain in it however he did on his CATS. His mother no longer seemed as impressive as she once had; he knew now that there was nothing Mother could really do to him. There were those that could, but most of them seemed not to know he existed. Of the people who did, only Anthony really posed anything like a threat to him.

He tapped his fingers on the edge of the table with barely concealed impatience as the first years were Sorted – he had heard one of the South Carolina girls was in there, the generation above his in South Carolina had bred like rabbits, but he hadn’t bothered to learn which one she was yet – and the Headmaster made announcements. He listened a little more closely when the prefects were called up but shrugged, unconcerned, when it was Adam for Pecari this year instead of him. The three girls interested him very little; their names were, he thought, the most interesting things about them, and since only Julian’s first name allowed for much speculation about how she had gotten it and Julian herself seemed too boring to bother speculating about….

He was back to being impatient for his supper when Brockert the Eldest said ”This year's Midsummer Event will be the ball" and Mal froze in a way he didn’t think he had in…a while, anyway; he associated the feeling with Mother catching him doing something she had specifically forbidden when he was little.

Oh, great, he thought, and didn’t think he could have said it in a way which sounded sincere.

For some of his classmates, maybe the ball would be great. The girls would get to show off their fancy robes, look pretty and all, the guys would get to…look at them doing that, for those who were into that. Couples would be confirmed, possibly leading to marriages if the families were agreeable. People would act like idiots and remember the event fondly all their lives. For him, though, this was not good, because his mother was going to expect him to be one of the ones who got a wife out of the event, this was an area where his mother might be listened to, making her suddenly a little more intimidating again, and the problem with all that was that while Mal didn’t like people in general, he found pureblood girls, for the most part, especially boring. The only female person besides his sister whose presence didn’t annoy him more often than not was Chloe Jareau, and he was certain the Careys didn’t want her mother for a closer acquaintance….

He didn’t sing the school song but tried to focus on mentally making fun of other people doing so badly until it was over, hoping to distract himself from the thought of the impending doom. It worked well enough that he was no longer staring as though caught in a strong light with his hand in someone else’s money when the singing ended, but, still disturbed, if less so than he had been, he picked foods for his plate carelessly, with no attention to portions or whether or not the foods would go well together.

"Evening," he said when he made eye contact with someone while spooning out some butter peas.

0 Malcolm Carey Planning has its benefits 256 Malcolm Carey 0 5

Marcus Crosby

August 04, 2014 1:26 AM

Winner by proxy [Melanie] by Marcus Crosby

It'll be okay, Marcus thought to himself as the first years scurried to their new House tables. He remembered when that was him, his skin yellow and his expectations high. But that seemed like forever ago; so much had changed since then. In height he had skyrocketed over the years, growing a full foot in his time at Sonora. His voice had deepened, his dreams had changed, but one thing remained the same. Above all else, Marcus was a being of hope.

And that was what he was doing now: hoping. Every syllable uttered by the Headmaster resonated in his ears as he awaited the announcement of the coveted Head Boy and Head Girl winners. He and Melanie had both made it to the ballot, and as he glanced at her, he recalled the young girl for whom he had fallen so deeply. His fingers intertwined with hers both for her support and for his own. Never before had the blond stopped to think about what his classmates actually thought of him, but now, with this election so near to its conclusion, he wondered just who--and what---they thought Marcus Crosby was.

But the Headmaster was speaking, providing the words Marcus seemed to have long listened for, and he had no time to ponder. "Now I would like to call James Carey and Melanie Lennox up in order..."

The Teppenpaw's initial reaction was the retraction of his hand to enable Melanie to go get her badge. She had won! He was so happy for her that it was not until she was gone that he realized his name had not been called. She had won, but he had not. He was a bit disappointed, but... well, it was okay. James was a great guy, and if their classmates thought he would do a better job, then who was Marcus to argue?

Upon Melanie's return, he rose to greet her with a congratulatory hug. It had to be quick since there was more to announce and he didn't want to distract the Headmaster and hold up the Feast, but hopefully it showed her how happy he was for her. Melanie really deserved her new badge. She was clever and hard-working, and she was finally being rewarded for it.

The rest of the speech hardly concerned him, although the promise of a ball excited him. The seventeen year old enjoyed dancing, especially with his betrothed, and he vaguely recalled something about the Head Students and their dates opening such events. Marcus was not exactly the best dancer, but he certainly had time to improve. His efforts, however, he planned to keep secret as a surprise for her.

Once it was appropriate to speak, Marcus turned to speak to this year's Head Girl. "You know, you ought to congratulate me," he stated, a grin breaking his coy exterior. "I happen to be engaged to the smartest, most beautiful Head Girl that this school has ever been lucky enough to behold." And he meant it, too; as far as Marcus was concerned, he had won.

OOC: Minor godmodding of Melanie approved by her author.

12 Marcus Crosby Winner by proxy [Melanie] 225 Marcus Crosby 0 5

Neeka Campbell

August 04, 2014 1:43 AM

A ball? Faaaaaabulous. by Neeka Campbell

Neeka did not care about the first years' Sorting as she did not know them. She did not care about the Head Boy and Head Girl election as she barely knew any of the candidates. (Her interest in this had been so little, in fact, that she had not even made her voice heard and voted last year.) She did not care about the new Prefects once again thanks to the aloofness with which she had carried herself over the years.

However, the Pecari did catch one line about which she cared: "This year's Midsummer Event will be the ball."

Damn, Neeka thought miserably. A couple other profanities flavored her thoughts as well, though they were a bit more colorful. She could not dance, definitely could not afford the sort of dresses most people at Sonora could, and would not have a date. Thus far she had not even managed to really make friends, so how was she supposed to expect a guy to ask her to the ball? For her, it was just a new opportunity to be alone.

She honestly did not want to even tell Uncle Lukas about its existence. Like many guardians, her uncle would not understand how Neeka did not have tons of friends and all the boys after her. Plus he would want to buy her an expensive dress, probably spending more than he could really afford. That would just make her feel worse. Uncle Lukas had never had too much money, and what he had, she hated to squander on something as stupid as a ball.

The song passed quickly and almost painlessly, and then they could eat. The sixteen year old was greatful for that, at least. The food at Sonora was always wonderful. (Or maybe it just seemed like it; Uncle Lukas was not exactly the best cook in the world.) Though she was still trying to make an effort to find friends, Neeka chose to mind her own business as she munched, dismayed by the announcement of the ball and therefore entirely deterred from human interaction. However, a moment later someone addressed her, and that thought was down the drain. Apparently, she could only be noticed when she did not care to be. "I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked in earnest, having missed the exact words the voice had offered.

12 Neeka Campbell A ball? Faaaaaabulous. 244 Neeka Campbell 0 5

Arnold Manger

August 04, 2014 2:18 AM

I could use some food and some company by Arnold Manger

Arnold had enjoyed his summer, but admittedly, he felt a bit of relief to be back at Sonora, which in and of itself seemed odd and inspired curiosity. He liked his school, but he loved being with his family, so the desire to return to Sonora had never struck him before. But this time, something was different. Something pulled him back.

He shook off the feeling and simply accepted his return, seating himself happily among his Housemates. The fourteen year old had never really befriended anyone in particular in his House, but he liked his roommates well enough, along with the others in his House with whom he had interacted over the years. He had befriended Ji-Eun last year as she effectively became his artist muse, but unfortunately she was not in Aladren with him. And with Jake over in Teppenpaw, Arnold was alone in a crowd.

The Head Student election was minorly disappointing, given the loss for his cousin. Marcus didn't seem to care too much, but then again, Arnold wasn't entirely convinced Marcus could even feel anything less than happy. It seemed a bit like a defect, albeit a nice defect to have, certainly much better and less life-threatening than problems other people might have had. Arnold loved his cousin, but that guy seriously never seemed to even frown. Either he withheld a ton of stuff or he wasn't all that bright.

Arnold spaced out a bit during the Prefect thing, but he came back to around the time the Headmaster announced the Midsummer Event. A ball? Like, with dancing? And girls? His eyes darted briefly toward the Pecari table but instantly shot back, falling upon the sheet music that appeared before him. He sang with the rest, but quietly, possessing a meager voice and aware of the fact. He was not about to push it and have someone else hear him.

Food time! The fourth year grabbed a dish he did not entirely recognize but thought looked good, digging into what happily turned out well. He ate quietly for a little while, but he felt compelled instead to speak to the Housemate nearest him. "Hey," Arnold smiled once he had chewed and swallowed his latest bite. "How was your summer?"

12 Arnold Manger I could use some food and some company 261 Arnold Manger 0 5

Jake Manger

August 04, 2014 2:32 AM

A brand-new baby firstie friend? by Jake Manger

With the horizon of year two finally close enough to not only touch but live, Jake bounded to his House table. His first year had been crazy to say the least, but with everything hopefully sorted out, he knew this year would be better. His mother and step-father were within a letter's distance, Arnold was here, and Jake was ready to really get to know people.

With eager blue eyes he watched the new kids get Sorted, the none-too-distant memory of yellow-turning skin still fresh in his mind. He was happy to see the biggest group of kids seemed to head to his table, once of them even ending up close to him. Jake was excited by this new posibility and resolved to befriend this firstie as soon as possible.

The results of the Head Student election were a big disappointing since his cousin Marcus had been in the running but had not won, but at least Melanie Lennox won. She was Marcus's wife-to-be, a sweet girl that Jake did not know terribly well but really liked. Marcus was reknown for his gentle nature, and Melanie seemed like the perfect wife for him. Their marriage was going to be really happy one day.

Prefects interested him a bit less, though he applauded with the others. Those kids must have really done something special to stand out enough to be awarded that honor. It was the fifth years who got it, too, so that meant next year Arnold could possibly receive the Aladren badge. It was way off, it seemed, but the dark-haired boy already had his fingers metaphorically crossed.

The new Care of Magical Creatures professor seemed all right. Mostly, Jake was just excited for the class. He loved animals, especially magical ones. Squirrels and things were cool, but they simply paled in comparison to things like unicorns and dragons, their magical abilities far superceding the fluffy tails of nut-hoarding mammals. It was going to be a great year for sure!

And then Headmaster Brockert mentioned a ball. Unsureness struck him, and as he always did when in doubt, he glanced over to his brother. Surprisingly, however, Arnold's eyes seemed to jet toward the Pecari table. Jake wondered who over there could have inspired this wandering look at the mention of a boy-girl event like a ball, and he made a mental note to inquire about this. Arnold definitely had some explaining to do.

But not now, because now was time for the school song. The twelve year old liked it, finding the arrangement pleasant and the lyrics appropriate. His voice was not nearly as nice as he knew others possessed, but it was not altogether unlikeable, which was good for his Housemates' sake because he tended to sing a bit loudly.

"Hi, I'm Ja-" he began immediately at the song's conclusion, thinking the speech and everything was done, stopping instantly when he realized the Headmaster was still speaking. A moment later, though, Headmaster Brockert was done for real, so Jake returned his attention to the first year beside him. "Hi, I'm Jake Manger," he restarted. "I'm a second year. Welcome to Sonora!" His smile was friendly, hopefully welcoming to this brand-new classmate. His goal was to make his new Housemate as comfortable as possible.

12 Jake Manger A brand-new baby firstie friend? 280 Jake Manger 0 5

Makenzie Newell

August 04, 2014 2:46 AM

Ready to take the world by storm by Makenzie Newell

Heels clicked. Toes forward. Shoulders back. Head high.

Makenzie's posture suggested none of the nerves raging within her small body. She was not entirely sure why she was so nervous, considering no House was particularly better than any other so it hardly mattered, and she had already been accepted and sent to Sonora, so this ceremony, in the grand scheme of things, did not really matter. But she was nervous anyway. She did not like this feeling that everyone would be staring at her. Really, they would be looking at all of the first years, but there were way more second-through-seventh years than there were first years. That meant statistically there would be far too many eyes on her. Makenzie was not shy, but this was not attention she wanted.

Luckily, it did not take Headmaster Brockert too long to get things going. Makenzie sipped from the goblet provided by the woman identified as Deputy Headmistress Skies, and she was both amused and startled to see her skin change to a redder shade than her hair. Crotalus, then, she thought, her feet guiding her to the House of the people with whom she would evidently spend the next seven years of her life.

The whos and whats of the student government system did not seem particularly important, but as the Head Boy, Head Girl, and new Prefects were named, Makenzie committed their faces to memory, just in case she would ever need assistance or something. Then the evidently new professor was introduced, but given that she knew none of the old professors, this made little difference to her.

The Headmaster then mentioned something about a Midsummer Event, a title which Makenzie did not understand, being a ball, which was something she knew very well. The redhead had been to many in her time, although as a child her experiences were more limited than an adult's, dulled and diluted to be more compatible for a younger crowd. Still, she looked forward to the celebration if for no other reason that it would get her a new dress.

She tried to follow along during the song, but her attention could not help but wander, and with it went her eyes. There did not seem to be many boys at Sonora, or at least not in her grade. It almost seemed like it had once been an all-girls' school that was just now integrating, but nothing in the history of Sonora that she had read seemed to suggest this to be truth. Instead, her next guess was that for whatever reason her generation had randomly been saturated with females. This would complicate her aspirations of meeting a boy she could one day marry, but she would just have to try harder to win one of them. She hoped they were of good standings.

As food became available, Makenzie heard a voice that seemed to belong to a neighboring Crotalus and also seemed to be directed at her. She was fairly confident it was an inquiry about her first impression of the school and chose to answer that question. "I like Sonora very well so far," she smiled. "It seems like a nice place."

"My name is Makenzie Newell," she added a bit later. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Curtsying was obviously impossible from a seated position, but Makenzie bowed her head a little to fill that void.

12 Makenzie Newell Ready to take the world by storm 291 Makenzie Newell 0 5

Annabelle Pierce

August 04, 2014 10:45 AM

Oh! I agree! by Annabelle Pierce

Professor Skies had reinforced the idea that the Pierce twins' trouble with magic was because they were too much the same and that spending time apart would be beneficial for their spellcasting ability. Unfortunately, over the summer, there was nobody else to do anything with. Thad had spent the summer at Sonora doing RATS prep because he was a prideful genius who didn't want to take the test with notes, and the rest of the New Hampshire Pierces were either too old or too young to be of any interest to a pair of sixteen year old girls.

Well, they'd been happy to babysit Wesley and Alicia's kids whenever they'd wanted to go out, of course, but while a baby and a toddler could be cute and adorable, they did not really provide much stimulating thought or potential for individual activities.

They had made an effort, at least once a week, to spend an hour in different rooms doing different things (which they would then spend at least as long going over afterwards, to catch each other up on what they'd done in the other's absence), but that wasn't really the same thing either. Annabelle had usually spent that time going through fashion magazines, trying to decide what they would wear for the ball coming for the school's midsummer event.

She had a pretty good idea what they each would wear by now, but there was one thing she hadn't been able to plan for over the summer and that was who they would be going with. Annette was completely useless in providing her with clues about who was or was not taken in their year or the years immediately above or below them. She, personally, thought Adam Spencer might have a thing for Annette, but Annette was completely oblivious to it and had seemed shocked by the very suggestion.

So, on the wagon ride to school, Annabelle had told her to see if she could find Adam and sit next to him so when the Headmaster reminded everybody about the ball (which he surely would because the midsummer event always came up during the Opening Feast) she would be right there and Adam would have plenty of opportunity to ask her to be his date to it. As for Annabelle herself, she didn't know who to position herself next to. The other two boys in their house anywhere near their age were Rupert (who surely had a girlfriend by now) and Malcolm (who she had no excuse to sit next to and he might be betrothed to somebody already anyway, too).

Instead, she looked around the Pecari table and spotted her roommate Neeka. Annabelle had not really ever given Neeka much thought as she didn't run in their circles and for friendship and idle chatter she'd always had Annette. Now, however, Annette was out finding a date and Annabelle needed to know who else was available and while Wendy was probably a better option for gossip, Neeka was their roommate, too, and maybe had some ideas.

So she sat down across from the other sixth year and once the firsties were sorted and the badges declared and Adam was reminded he needed to ask someone out this year - she was mildly irritated that she couldn't see Adam and Annette from where she was seated to make sure things were going well there - and the song was sung and the food appeared, Annabelle addressed her roommate. "Welcome back, Neeka."

Neeka seemed surprised by this. Fair enough. Annabelle hadn't really said much more than 'Do you need the bathroom?' to her in five years, so it wasn't entirely unwarranted. "No, it's fine," she assured, dismissing the apology, "I just said 'welcome back'."

She decided opening with 'do you have a crush on any of the boys in the school?' was a bit to personal for people who barely knew each other so she opted instead to break the ice with something they did both have in common. "Hopefully this year is less crazy than last year, right?"

1 Annabelle Pierce Oh! I agree! 246 Annabelle Pierce 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 04, 2014 2:07 PM

Just Match the Colors by Taylor Petterson

Taylor waited in the line rather apprehensively. There was such a large crowd; why did there have to be so many people for such a private moment? Or did it only seem private to her? Everyone else seemed to view it as just another part part of Sonora, but to Taylor, it was much more. This goblet would decide who she spent the rest of her school career around, and it would tell her which aspects of her personality influenced her the most. How could they not see that as a big deal? She sighed through her nose. She reckoned by her third or fourth year she'd be the same. After the first time it probably did become just another part of the school, unless you had relatives coming through.

Oh god, she was next. Oh no. What if the color didn't change? How embarrassing would that be! She had a moment of blind panic as she stepped forward and took the goblet in her shaking hands. Willing herself to relax, she brought the goblet to her lips and watched down her round nose as the color turned blue.

Aladren. She scrambled to remember what Aladren was known for. She could remember that their colors were blue and black, and they were represented by a hawk. What were they known for though? Problem solving! Of course! They were supposed to be strong-willed and smart enough to find a way out of any scrap. That did sound like her.

She looked at the tables, hoping to be able to find hers by the faces of the other students, but she found she couldn't. Her heart jumped into her throat. She didn't want to get into trouble for not sitting where she was supposed to, and she didn't want to look stupid in front of everyone first thing. How was she supposed to tell? She glanced down at her goblet and felt heat creep to her cheeks. The colors, duh. God, she felt ridiculous. She slunk over to her table and slumped down a bit, hoping no one had seen how hopeless she was.

0 Taylor Petterson Just Match the Colors 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 04, 2014 4:18 PM

Through a mouthful of potato... by Joella Curtis

In her hunger, Joella had completely forgotten about the benefits of socialising in a new school, especially on one's first day. "Oh, hi," she replied to her fellow first year through a mouthful of potato. After taking a few seconds to swallow her food, Joella went on to introduce herself, "I'm Joella Curtis."

Joella had initially been nervous at the idea of meeting new people but on arrival at Sonora Academy her thoughts had been occupied by awe at sighting the interior of Cascade Hall, excitement at being sorted into a house, and then satisfying her hunger with the delicious food in front of her.

"So, do you have family here?" Joella never had a problem with thinking of things to say to people she didn't know. Socialising and small talk were the least of her worries and she could no longer empathise with the concerns of friend making her earlier self had felt at the prospect of becoming a student at Sonora Academy. True, Joella had so far had little interaction with other students but Anita seemed friendly and Joella couldn't help but look forward to making plenty of acquaintances. Who knows, maybe she could even find herself a date for the midsummer ball... Joella wasn't eager to rule out anything just yet.

8 Joella Curtis Through a mouthful of potato... 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Adam Spencer

August 04, 2014 4:32 PM

Wearing a shiny new badge. by Adam Spencer

There were no words to describe how glad Adam was to be out of his house and back in his own space. He loved his family, he really did, but there was just so much going on there all the time. Between the havoc his younger brother caused now that his magic had surfaced, the two of three dogs that enjoyed nosing their way into everything Adam was doing and his mum’s constant badgering, Adam was about ready to go mad. He’d spent much of his time making his way around London, walking his father’s dogs, taking his siblings to Kensington Gardens and exploring where he hadn’t gone before on his own. It had been an active and adventurous summer and he would miss London and his family whilst at school. What he wouldn’t miss, however, was his mum’s tendency to worry and smother him with responsibilities and expectations. He had always been naturally independent, but going to school on his own in another country had made him seek that freedom even more so.

He was a fifth year, old and experienced now, and looking forward to seeing Jackie join the Sonoran ranks next year. Jackie and Lily were the two he missed the most when he was away, and as the Headmaster spoke Adam allowed himself to imagine what his siblings were doing right at this moment. Charlotte was on her own at the Crotalus table, but he didn’t have to worry so much about her anymore. She was doing rather well for herself here. As for Jack, he’d most likely be fending off the ever-nosy Lily.

He could see it now. She’d be running down the marble corridor tracking mud into the house, poor old Pinky trying to clean up after the little monster, whilst Jackie tried to tell her to keep out of his games. Tod would be following his favourite Spencer as well—that Lily was his favourite was common knowledge in his household—his muddy paws giving Pinky even more grief. Lily’s boyish tendencies worried their mother more than anything else she did. Tap dancing hadn’t worked out in the end for the seven-year-old after Adam had suggested it for her. Lily was adamant to do everything the boys did no matter how silly she looked doing it.

What roused him out of his stupor was his name being bellowed from the front of the hall. Adam started as though he’d been caught daydreaming by a professor, and he saw his mates standing to accept their badges at the front. Had he really been called? Adam combed down his brown hair quickly before joining his fellow year-mates at the front to receive his prefect badge. He had a big smile for each one of the girls, but particularly for Francesca and Ginny. They’d been a nearly inseparable trio since their second or third year, and it seemed as though even the professors were pulling for them by making them all Prefects together. “Congratulations,” he said kindly to Julian. He winked at Francesca and Ginny before making his way back to his table. It was a shame the three of them weren’t in the same house, but he would certainly meet with them later on.

The badge looked nice on his robes. He was slightly more alert now that he would be expected to know what was on at the school. This year would be the ball and Adam had to decide whom to take as his date. The last ball had taken place during his first year when he’d danced with Gemma Bennett. He hadn’t talked to her much since, but things were different now anyhow. If he could have it his way, he’d want to go with both Francesca and Ginny, but he could only imagine the gossip. They were of the age now where close relationships between wizards and witches were suspect and Adam could only imagine what his mum would say if she found out he’d gone to the ball with two lovely witches instead of just one. The ball was something that would be sorted soon enough. He had an entire year to think about dates and Adam didn't worry himself any more about it.

The song had begun and ended quicker than Adam had expected and he happily tucked into his meal. It was customary to make conversation even with unfamiliar house-mates at the feast. “Food at Sonora comes the closest to home-cooked meals for me," said Adam to the person sitting across from him. "It’s one of the things I look forward to coming back to school for. Is that shallow of me?” Adam grinned. “Would you mind passing the pitcher of pumpkin juice?” His appetite was not easily sated these days and Adam was hoping for some sort of growth spurt to come about soon.

40 Adam Spencer Wearing a shiny new badge. 257 Adam Spencer 0 5

John Umland

August 04, 2014 4:40 PM

That's one solution to the problem. by John Umland

The line of first years was long. It was also almost entirely composed of girls. John had no problem with girls – his mom had made very sure that John and his three brothers understood that girls were just as good and usually good at things as boys, and if Mom hadn’t succeeded in making the point, he thought the girls in his book club would have happily made up the difference – but in the moment it took him to spot another guy at all, he was a little unnerved by the thought of being the only person in the year who wasn’t one. Stupid, of course, there was no good reason for it to matter, but seeing just one other person he was pretty sure was male as he lined up with the other eleven-year-olds made him feel a little better.

As the Headmaster explained the Sorting ceremony, almost in the same words John’s sister had used to explain it to him the previous night, John tried not to fidget – he really wanted something to drink – and wondered, absently, why he was nervous enough to latch onto details like that. There was nothing to be nervous about, after all – he drank the potion, whatever happened, happened, and then he went and sat at a table. Easy. Not hard. Not a performance. The only person in the room who would bother to notice his Sorting was his sister, and he was neither aiming to impress Julian nor under the assumption he had any chance of ending up in her House. Teppenpaw sounded like a great House, but one he would fit in with like – well, no, maybe not a crow in a flock of canaries, he didn’t think it would end quite as badly as that might….

He had concluded that he’d come up with the analogy because of House colors (Julian had told him she was very sure he would be an Aladren, and from the brochures, he thought she was probably right; Pecari seemed a lot more reasonable than either Teppenpaw or Crotalus, but all things considered, he thought Aladren sounded like a far better match than any of the others) and was moving back and forth between trying to find a better analogy and trying to remember if canaries were native to America when, suddenly, an adult witch, presumably Deputy Headmistress Skies, was offering him a goblet. He blinked at it for a second, then took a sip, made a face at a taste not unlike cabbage, and looked at his hands.

Blue. He nodded, not really surprised, and made another face when he looked up and saw his sister smiling and shaking her head at the Teppenpaw table. He went to the Aladren table and sat down, nodding awkwardly at nearby people and watching the rest of the Sorting, his fingers drumming on the edge of his seat.

He wanted to get on with the feast – his mom had sent him and Julian some sandwiches to eat on the wagon, her fancy chicken salad, flavored with cranberries and honey and tiny pieces of almond, on wheat bread, but they had finished those a long time ago – but applauded when the new Head Boy and Girl were announced, both because he thought it was polite and because he thought the Boy was an Aladren, and almost forgot about food entirely when he heard his sister announced as a prefect. He jerked upright in his seat, nearly bouncing in it, and applauded much harder than he thought most of the other first years did until Julian made a face at him, if one which was clearly trying to hide another smile, on her way back to her seat, the shiny new badge glittering between her fingers.

Julian was a prefect. Maybe this place wasn’t quite as full of idiots as he had worried it might be. He was half-smiling, nervous energy turned in a minute into pride in his sister, as the school song sheets appeared and he sang along as well as he could, liking the verses, what they said. Having some Latin in there didn’t hurt, either. Afterward, the music disappeared, he reached for his pocket notebook to make a note about seeing if he could get a copy of the lyrics later, remembered that Julian had taken his notebook and his pens away from him somewhere in the air over what he thought might have been Utah, and then, finally, turned his attention to the food.

The amount was nearly overwhelming, but he dove in and came out with a pair of skewers holding medallions of steak and chicken cooked with mushrooms and bright slices of red bell pepper, a bowl of aromatic soup he thought was mostly composed of spiced lentils, a piece of a kind of round bread he didn’t think he had ever seen before and decided to try on a whim, a helping of a salad he dumped a generous amount of dressing and grated Parmesan cheese on, and a handful of apple slices and raisins. He looked around the table, seeking something to drink, and his eyes latched onto a teapot.

The liquor was pale, betraying it as a green tea, and there were large things he was pretty sure were chrysanthemums floating in it, which made it the kind of thing he avoided on principle, but it was the most appealing option in his vicinity and it was his first meal in a new place. Not the first meal he’d ever eaten in the United States, admittedly, since his dad had grown up in a border town and had relatives in the States and Canada, but the first in a while, and definitely the first this far south. He might as well make everything as novel as possible.

“Hey,” he said to a girl whose blue skin currently marked her out as both one of his Housemates and as one of the many girls in his year. “Pass me that teapot?” he asked, then remembered to add, “please?” to the end to be polite to new people. He tried, sometimes, even with people he knew because his mom liked it when he was nice, but it was easier to remember with new people he wasn't comfortable with.

16 John Umland That's one solution to the problem. 285 John Umland 0 5

Clark Dill

August 04, 2014 4:58 PM

Food, check! Company, check! by Clark Dill

Clark didn't really have many close friends at Sonora yet. There were people he liked well enough like Lena and Daphne, but nobody he'd yet call a close friend. During the first half of last term, he'd been too worried about endangering anybody to really try to make friends (after all, the aliens had come to Sonora to reclaim him) and after that the teachers had been tried to make up for lost time in their curriculums and, being a good Aladren, he'd spent most of the second half doing school work and trying to keep up with and even slightly ahead of the rest of the class.

This year, he hoped, that would change.

Quidditch, for one thing, should be back on. That would be one source of team-spirited companionship. And he'd make more of an effort to socialize in and out of classes since the pace of schoolwork should return to normal now that they'd have a whole year to cover a year's worth of material again. His roommate, however, he was afraid, was going to be a lost cause. Clark was pretty sure Oliver had figured out somehow that Clark was the alien last year's madness was all about and did not seem friendly at all.

Not liking confrontation, Clark chose a seat at the Aladren table well away from his roommate. He'd have to face the other boy again sooner or later, but he would definitely prefer later.

He clapped for the new first years and when one of the blue-skinned girls seemed a bit confused about where to go, he tried to wave her over to their table, but see didn't seem to see him and figured it out on her own. She was an Aladren, after all. He clapped for the prefects and Heads and the new CoMC teacher, but had no real idea who any of them were, so promptly forgot most of their names (though he knew the two Aladrens, at least, from Quidditch practice last year). He'd learn the professors name tomorrow, most likely, and the others as they became relevant.

He sang the school song with gusto, and started filling his plate as soon as the food arrived. As he finished that activity, he was pleasantly surprised when an older student sitting nearby spoke to him. Clark grinned brightly. "Hey, back," he returned the informal greeting. "My summer was great! I got to go to space camp!" As his father worked for NASA, this was practically a given, but he'd loved it as he had every time before. However, he knew it made him sound nerdy, which had sometimes been a hindrance to making friends at his old muggle school, so he wouldn't go into details unless his companion showed actual interest in them. "How was yours?"

1 Clark Dill Food, check! Company, check! 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

August 04, 2014 5:43 PM

Some things don't change. by Charlotte Spencer

Charlotte had never been very good at first impressions or talking to people. Large groups made her nervous and those were the times she cursed her terrible shyness. But it couldn’t be helped. Even after four years, the large feasts in the hall made Charlotte feel self-conscious and feel incredibly alone at the table. She didn’t know very many of her house-mates and had stuck close to Emrys over the past several years. This time around, Charlotte was feeling poorly. She had just gotten over a nasty cold and the trip from England never sat well with her. Charlotte wasn’t a particularly sensitive witch who fainted often or bruised easily, but with her cold she’d been prone to headaches which she thought were just as debilitating.

With her temples pounding at the sound of so many voices, Charlotte sat at the Crotalus table hoping the feast would end soon. The past summer had gone by quickly in her opinion, but she was still glad to be out from under her mother’s thumb and she knew her brother felt the same way. The curls in Charlotte’s golden hair had straightened out now, leaving it looking slightly frizzed. It was embarrassing to be caught in such an unsightly state, but forcing the students to go straight to the hall from the wagon left her with no time to refresh herself.

Headmaster Brockert was a frightening wizard, much like her maternal grandfather. She was glad she didn’t live at the Princeton estate like her cousins did. She could only imagine what her mum had been forced to endure growing up with such a no-nonsense wizard.

The new first years were cute and looked wide-eyed, a look Charlotte was certain she had sported four years ago herself. The Head students were named, two students Charlotte had no particular interest in, and then the Prefects. She clapped as loud as she dared when her brother’s name was called, her lips widening in a smile. He deserved the title and she knew their parents would be proud of him. Adam had always been the star child of the family ever since he was young, but only Charlotte knew of his deep desire to break away and live his own life away from his family. Poor Adam; it wasn’t easy being the eldest, that much she could tell. Still, being a Prefect was an accomplishment he ought to be proud of and she hoped he was.

The next announcement was about the ball and Charlotte’s eyes widened. A ball? What an exciting affair! Charlotte loved dressing up and making herself look pretty. She loved to dance and listen to music, particularly classical music, and look at all the dresses of the other witches. She was only slightly worried about finding a date; the only candidate she had as of now was Emrys, her best friend, and whilst she hoped he would ask her, she had a tiny bit of doubt that he would find someone else, someone more engaging and entertaining. She really hoped that wouldn’t be the case; otherwise she would forgo the ball altogether. Going by herself would be incredibly embarrassing.

She didn’t sing the song just like she hadn’t the years before. Singing was well and all when she was alone, but she was much more confident playing the piano than anything else. The food appeared and Charlotte tucked in, putting green beans, salmon and mash on her plate. Mum wouldn’t approve of so much potato, but she wasn’t here to monitor Charlotte’s diet as she did at home.

The worst part of the feasts was making conversation. It was fine when she could sit with her friends, but at the beginning of each term Charlotte was expected to socialise on her own. Her siblings were very good at it, even little Lily, a trait which Charlotte had wished she’d been born with. Alas, her bashfulness was noticed even by the yearbook committee, an award Charlotte hated receiving. But it didn’t change that particular idiosyncrasy. She looked at the people around her and ate quietly, hoping she wasn’t going to be a disturbance by knocking a glass over or putting her elbow into someone’s food. She thought of dresses again. Since she had an entire year to plan her outfit, Charlotte didn’t want to lose any time.

40 Charlotte Spencer Some things don't change. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 04, 2014 6:07 PM

Aquaintance or Friendship? by Anita Tippet

Ever since she left the Muggle school, Anita's reputation for friends had dropped slightly. Anita usually let her mouth do the talking, even to the point where she found herself losing friends rather than gaining. Was it really her spunky personality that caused this, or rather her sense of longing to be a good friend that tripped her up? Her troublemaker side was no help, often leading one friend into an adventure that usually led to trouble with the teachers, or worse her parents. She found it hard controlling her spunky, troublesome attitude, but could she finally gain control of it at Sonora?

Anita managed to supress her past incidents with answering Joella's question. "No, I don't. My brother Samson's a Squib, but he's at a secondary school. My sister Angora's Muggleborn. My mother used to go to a wizardry school in California. I'm the first witch to come to Sonora and study here."

So far, so good. Anita was relieved the conversation was kicking off well, for starters. For now, at least on the first night at Sonora, things could not go wrong. But how long would this conversation last? Would Anita find a new friendship with Joella and the other first years, or end up alone and probably hated? There was a lot to think about.

Anita felt it was her turn to ask the next question. "What about you? Have any family nearby, that have gone to Sonora in the past?"

Anita's questions were straight forward, but the small talk was getting to her. When would she see some action? Oh no, not again. She told herself not to let her troublemaker side get in the way. Think Anita. Think. She wanted to be good, not another version of her siblings. Oh, this was going to be tough.

All the while, her mind crept into thoughts of the Midsummer Ball. She was excited to go, but knew she would have to ask someone to go with her. Who would come with her? What boy would ask her to the ball, or vice versa? She did not know, and yet at times she found herself not caring. At least her spunky attitude did her credit: it kept her from seeing the bad, and that in turn was good... or maybe her innocence had some role to play. Either way, she had a sense of relief and that was okay.

0 Anita Tippet Aquaintance or Friendship? 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Uzume Shinohara

August 04, 2014 6:13 PM

Because Grandfather knows best? by Uzume Shinohara

“Iki ga dekimasen*,” Uzume said to herself as she stepped off the wagon. Not only did it feel like 100 degrees, her silver obi and all the ties underneath had been constricting her for the past several hours. She tried to walk as strait and perfect as she could. However, the cold charm her father had cast on her had just about worn off, causing the small Japanese girl to feel the full extent of the Arizona heat. Her grandfather was the one whom had insisted she continue to dress appropriately in America, which only tempted Uzu to rip off the kimono that much more. What did he care anyways, he was the one that was sending her away. Thankfully, Uzume found salvation from both the heat and her anger in the chilly air of the main hall.

Once the first years reached the front of the room she tried to listen carefully to the instructions. They spoke fast but she understood most of what they were saying, although she thought it was a joke at first. The idea of drinking the backwash of students she had only just met was not one that pleased her. She would have liked to be sorted first, but a Shinohara doesn’t push to the front, especially not a girl. Although tackling her way to the front would be a great way to show her grandfather she didn’t care about his authority, she didn’t want to embarrass her parents either. She actually like them.

Uzume instead chose to use the spare moments to adjust her obi. She tried retying the silver cord in the front in the the slight hope that it would give her a little more breathing room, but alas it was in vein. She would just have to take short breaths until she could get out of it and into something breezier. Once she finished fidgeting, she made sure that the obi scarf peaked out elegantly from the top. Her mother always fussed her about how it looked, even more so than her bow in the back. Not that the bow really mattered when her back was covered with the school robe.

When her turn finally arrived, she walked confidently to the front. She was never a shy person, and figured she wouldn’t start now just because she was no longer disguising as a boy. After all, Uzu thought she looked fairly good in her pink kimono, even if it was killing her. As she approached the Deputy Headmistress she tried to hide her look of disgust with a small smile, not wanting to insult her host as she obtained the cup. She took the smallest sip she could manage, hoping she had drank enough for it to work. Suddenly her skin turned a brilliant shade of red. Relieved she wouldn’t have to take another sip, she walked over to her table. She swiftly sat down in the closest available seat beside a little blond haired girl.

After what seemed like ages, they were finally released to eat their meal. Uzu quickly looked for something, anything to drink. She grabbed a pitcher of mystery juice and poured herself a glass. A dark pink substance flowed into the cup, and was quickly consumed by the dehydrated first year. Uzume puckered at the taste, she hadn’t ever tried this juice before and didn’t think she ever would again. She placed the pitcher back in the middle of the table and began looking for a new drink that was more to her taste. However, in her search for a beverage she managed to catch the eye of an older blonde student sitting close by.

”Good evening, how was your summer?” the student asked over the head of the small blonde girl between them. She thought it was somewhat rude of the girl even if she did have seniority to be speaking over someone like that. Uzume glanced at the shorter girl for a moment to see what her reaction to the situation was. If Uzu hadn’t seen her move earlier she would have assumed the girl had been frozen in her place. Uzu quickly returned her attention to the older student, greeting her with a slight bow of her head. Even if the senior student was being rude to the little statue girl, Uzu couldn’t forget her manners when talking to an older student.

“Konban-” Uzume started before she stopped herself, remembering she needed to use English. “Good evening,” Uzume corrected herself. “It was fine, thank you. Did you enjoy your summer as well?” she asked with a slight accent.

OOC:

*Iki ga dekimasen: I cant breathe

0 Uzume Shinohara Because Grandfather knows best? 292 Uzume Shinohara 0 5

Rupert Princeton

August 04, 2014 6:22 PM

I very much enjoy spending time with you. by Rupert Princeton

This year Rupert was the Quidditch captain of the Pecari team, an honour Professor Olivers had thought he’d be capable of. He’d learnt as much as he could from both Andri and Jade, the captains before him, and Rup’s enthusiasm for Quidditch would prove to be an asset. During the summer, he had been given the opportunity to play with the under-17’s Quidditch team. It was an informal match, nothing too special, but an opportunity nevertheless to play with other competent Quidditch players around his age. These players spent their time playing professionally, something Rupert looked forward to once he was a seventh year. He wanted more than anything to play for a professional American league; though he was English, he wanted to stay and live in America. He fit in better here, he thought, rather than in the stuffy pure-blood society back home.

Stepping into Cascade Hall was like breathing fresh air, and Rup couldn’t help but smile as he made his way to the Pecari table. His mum hadn't let him go without picking out his clothes herself. Instead of his usual brightly-coloured trousers and equally colourful shirts, he was wearing a more conservative blue chequered button-up with a navy blue blazer over it and grey trousers. His mum didn't trust him to dress himself when he was at home after looking into his wardrobe. Rup spotted Wendy almost immediately; from what she was wearing, it was difficult not to spot her. He wanted to sit next to her, but he was late and had to grab a seat at the end of the table instead. He had fancied Wendy for almost a year and a half now, but he had been hesitant to do anything about it. She was a muggle-born; in his opinion there was nothing wrong with that, but in his family’s opinion, Muggles were the bane of their existence. Dating a muggle was as bad as marrying one; it was sullying his bloodline, bringing shame to his family. Rupert held his family in high regard, though he differed so much from them, and because of them he had kept his feelings a secret.

Last year, Rupert’s CATS scores had been less than ideal; his average had been an E with one A in Transfiguration and an O in COMC. His scores didn’t matter much, really, if he was to pursue a career as an athlete, but his parents had nevertheless come down hard on him. His marks were important no matter his career path and Rupert had to really work on raising his marks this year. The excuse of the professors disappearing and the school shutting down because of stray magical properties for a term could only work once, after all.

Headmaster Brockert was giving the usual announcements after the sorting. Rup cheered loudly when Adam was called up as the new Pecari Prefect. After last year, Rup was glad he hadn’t been given that responsibility. He enjoyed taking care of others by his own means, but doing so with no adult supervision was something completely different. His cousin would do an excellent job next to Wendy and Clara.

The other announcement was news of the Midsummer ball. Rupert had forgotten all about the Midsummer Event, and this year it was a ball of all things. There was really only one witch he wanted to ask, but doing so meant more than simply going as friends. For him, at least. If he asked a muggle-born to be his date, his family would very well pick up on the implications. They weren’t stupid, Leo especially, and there was no doubt in Rupert’s mind that his brother would tattle on him the moment he had the opportunity to do so. He was suddenly nervous. Did he really want to ask Wendy? The answer was yes. Did he really want to cause unnecessary drama in his household by asking her? Not if he could help it.

There was a lot to think about, but Rupert put that all aside and rose once the Headmaster dismissed them to their meal. He went and took a seat next to her with a friendly smile. “I hope you weren’t saving this seat for anyone,” he said. He had been stealing much of her time and Rupert didn’t even feel bad about it. He reached out to take a roll when his hand bumped into hers. He pulled back right away, trying not to feel embarrassed. “No, no, go ahead. That was my fault,” he said quickly, reaching instead to pour himself a glass of fruit juice. “I love bread too. Do your parents only bake bread or all sorts of pastries? I’d like to visit your family’s bakery one day. Do you know how to bake as well?”

40 Rupert Princeton I very much enjoy spending time with you. 248 Rupert Princeton 0 5

Emrys Lucan

August 04, 2014 6:56 PM

I know one thing that will never change... by Emrys Lucan

Emrys was feeling guilty. He had neglected his letters to Charlotte over the summer, not writing to her nearly as frequently as he had before. In all honesty, it was probably due to the teasing his cousin and parents gave him whenever they found out that he was writing to his best friend from Sonora. Charlotte was quiet and probably not nearly as captivating as some of the other girls in their year but Emrys didn't mind. She had still been the first one to really welcome conversation with him and he enjoyed her company. In fact, he found her quietness rather endearing and even preferred her ways to, for example, Ava Fletcher's absentminded babblings.

As Emrys entered the hall for the first time as a fourth year, he retook in the cascading walls. It really was a beautiful space and he realized that he was now about half way done with his time there. He was turning 14 in a short couple of weeks and couldn't believe how quickly the past three years had gone and while he couldn't wait for this year to go by and see what it brought him he was also anxious as he also knew he was growing up. That idea alone was enough to make him wish he was a wide-eyed first year again, trying to impress his future roommate with fun facts about King Arthur and Camelot. He took a seat at the Aladren table absentmindedly, wanting to have a seat as he let his eyes wander around the room, looking for his best friend's curly blonde hair and briefly wondered if she had already arrived or not.

He clapped loudly for the first years, knowing that his little sister, Caelia would be joining them soon. Caelia was a bit like Charlotte in that she had a quiet side to her and Emrys hoped that she would be placed in a house with nice girls. He knew she most likely wouldn't be in Aladren which would make it harder for him to look out for her but then again she needed to learn how to be independent. He wondered how Adam dealt with being in separate houses from Charlotte. Was his best friend's older brother happy to be separate? Or did he worry about his younger sister? Emrys wasn't really looking forward to having to answer those questions for himself the next year. He hated worrying about Caelia as it made him feel overprotective, something he never wanted to be. He closed his eyes through the rest of the sorting, trying not to think about Caelia joining him at Sonora.

It was only the announcement of Charlotte's brother being called up to the front that made Emrys open his eyes. So Adam Spencer got prefect then. Charlotte would be pleased, he knew. And now he had an opening for conversation other than just the lame apology that he knew he owed her. He scanned the Crotalus table as the Headmaster finished his speech, finally spotting her just as the Headmaster announced the Midsummer's Ball that they would be having that year. Emrys blanched. A ball? Did this mean he was expected to ask a date? Probably. There wasn't really any one that he was particularly interested in at Sonora. He blinked slowly as Charlotte's facial expression changed. He figured she was probably nervous about being asked- she was a shy, proper witch and he knew she would only go if asked as that was the way proper witches did things. Suddenly, the idea of someone else asking her to the ball made him feel quite funny indeed. He shook his head and concentrated on the school song, singing louder and more off-tune than he had in years past in order to get the crazed thoughts out of his head.

As the students were dismissed to eat, Emrys took his chance and quickly darted over to the Crotalus table, sliding into a seat next to Charlotte. "Hey," he said, offering her a wide grin. "Congratulations about Adam. You must be quite proud." He served himself a little bit of everything, making sure to create a balanced dinner though he was a little bit more liberal with the macaroni and cheese than he probably should have been. He couldn't help it. The noodles and the cheese made him feel so weirdly nostalgic and for a minute there, while he ate it, he was a first year again, trying to make new friends with seven whole, blank years ahead of him.

"So, listen," he said after he swallowed his first bite. "I know you're probably annoyed with me because I didn't write as often this summer as I should have and I'm really, really sorry." He let his face melt into a puppy look to express how guilty he felt. "But I promise to make it up to you anyway you like, okay? Endless music practices. Homework buddies for the rest of our time here. Potions partners for life. Anything you want, name it and it's yours."

He knew he was probably getting a little dramatic and carried away but this was his goofy side, the kind that came out when he was with Wesley or other people he felt comfortable with like Charlotte. And besides, he really did care about her and wanted to make sure she realized he wouldn't ever forget about her.

10 Emrys Lucan I know one thing that will never change... 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Annette Pierce

August 04, 2014 8:21 PM

Wishing you the best with it by Annette Pierce

Annette's summer had been wretched. Well, it really hadn't been much different than normal summers with two remarkable differences. First, Thad was off studying for his RATS so she and Annabelle were the only teenagers on the mountain. Second, her CATS scores came.

It wouldn't have been so bad if not for Transfiguration.

She'd gotten Es in almost everything else, and an O in Charms. But her Transfiguration score was every bit as bad as she'd feared. Okay, no, she had feared she'd get a Troll after the disaster that had been her practical, but even so, a Poor had been devastating and ruined the entire summer. Worse, Annabelle had gotten an E so Mother was angry that she 'hadn't tried as hard as her sister' and didn't even seem upset that Annabelle had only gotten one E and one O and everything else was an A.

So while Annabelle read through fashion magazines and tried her hand at designing ball gowns for next midsummer, Annette had been in their room, studying Transfiguration. It wasn't fair.

And if all of that wasn't bad enough, Annabelle seemed to think they needed dates for the ball and had decided the one Annette should have was Adam Spencer. Now, Annette liked Adam just fine and really, honestly, wouldn't mind going to the dance with him, but Annabelle was under the impression that Adam had a secret crush on her, which was utterly ridiculous. She had seen absolutely no indication of this in their interactions on the Pitch or when they happened upon each other in the Common Room, classes, or the hallway. Annabelle was clearly delusional.

Still, when her sister instructed her to go sit with Adam during the Opening Feast so that she'd be the person he was looking at when the Headmaster reminded everyone that the ball was occurring at the end of the year, she had been flustered and embarrassed. And now here she was, across from Adam at the Pecari table, and he was talking to her like a normal person, and she could do nothing to stop herself from blushing like an idiot. This was all Annabelle's fault. If Annabelle hadn't said anything, she could have continued to the conversation perfectly adeptly and without any of these crazy thoughts like Does he like me? or Does he like my dress? She momentarily had a mini-panic attack about her dress. It was simple and brown, but was it too simple? And brown was such a boring color, but it was Pecari's color and if she wasn't going to wear her school robes, she'd felt she should at least wear House colors. Annabelle had frowned at the dress, which surely had meant it was substandard...

Flushed red - and with her pale skin, it was rivaling some of the first years over at the Crotalus table - she ducked her head and nervously finished spooning some peas onto her plate before reaching for the requested pitcher of pumpkin juice. She had to use both hands to ensure her sweaty hands did not drop it as she passed it over to Adam. With some effort, and still blushing too much, she made herself look at him, smile, and agree, "They do make good food here. I wonder if elves have a culinary school they all go to?"

Annabelle was totally wrong. It was obvious Annette had been right that Adam had no interest in her at all except as a fellow Chaser. And she was being stupid for letting Annabelle's delusions get to her.

"Oh, and congratulations on making Prefect," she added, her eyes drawn to the shiny new badge on his robes.

1 Annette Pierce Wishing you the best with it 247 Annette Pierce 0 5

Aria Yale

August 04, 2014 8:44 PM

I suppose, I should feel sad. by Aria Yale

Aria’s summer had been an adventure. When she had first arrived home following her Sixth year at Sonora, she wasn’t really sure what to do with herself. Luna and Eades had gone away for a bit. They were meeting up with a friend of Eades whom he met during his childhood before coming to the community. They were gone before Aria had arrived home, so she was unsure as to how long they would be away for. This information hurt Aria a little bit and she had first wondered if Luna was avoiding her considering she had ended their relationship last winter. Aria had no hard feelings about it and thus, could not understand any avoidance.

In lieu of her friends being absent, Aria spent time in the art studio with her father working on clay pottery and designs for some of next year’s gifts. Jade had graduated, so Aria didn’t need a gift for her, but James and Wendy were still there and since next term would be her last term, she wanted to give them each something special. James had been someone she could rely on during her time at Sonora. She enjoyed his company although she was sure he only put up with her to be nice. She would have liked to have seen him outside of school, but she knew the rules that families like his went by. After they graduated, that would be the end of it. Aria had gotten to know Wendy over the last couple of years and really liked her. She was a beautiful girl, somewhat trusting, but Aria hoped for the best for her. She didn’t think she would see her after she left Sonora either.

When she wasn’t with her dad, Aria was in the medical hut with her mother, helping her with patients and learning the ways in how to heal people. Last term hadn’t really tested her much on how she did on her own, but her confidence in her abilities had never wavered, even when it was clear others did not trust her. Her mother was proud just the same and each day she shadowed her proved that Aria had a knack for this career choice. With her CATS scores as high as they were, she knew her RATS would be just as high and she wasn’t likely to have trouble getting into a Healer’s program at the University nearby. She couldn’t wait for that chapter in her life.

Two weeks after she had returned home, Luna and Eades were back and they had brought his friend home with him. His name was Deacon. He had mousey brown hair the fell to his chin and beautiful green eyes. Aria and him hit it off almost immediately. She enjoyed listening to him tell stories of his adventures around the world. He had taken off on a two year excursion to ‘find himself’. She didn’t understand what that meant, but he seemed to have figured it out just fine. He had lived in tents, played his guitar for money to buy food, seem just about every place in Europe and every state in the United States. Aria wished she could have seen it all with him because the world seemed beautiful through his eyes.

She had spent the majority of her summer, during her time away from her work with her mother and her time with her father, with Deacon. Her romance with him was far different than what hers had been with Luna. Luna was gentle, emotional, nurturing… soft. For a first love, she had been the perfect first love. Deacon was fun, but intense and aggressive at times. It had taken some getting used to, but Aria enjoyed the attention. She didn’t know what to call them. They certainly weren’t courting or anything, but they weren’t seeking out anyone else either. She would consider it a summer fling for the time being. There was no way of knowing whether or not he planned to stay behind the wall or not.

Her summer had refreshed her and she entered Sonora for her final year before beginning University. She would miss a part of this school. It taught her so much after leaving the confines of the walls that protected her community. She didn’t understand all of it, but she had met some good people, even if she was not friends with them.

Aria sat away from everyone so that she could watch everything that was going on. She rarely had anyone sit with her, so she didn’t want to get in anyone’s way. Although she was on the ballot for Head Girl, she knew she would never get it. She was not popular and if it was their peers voting, well, that was that. She did vote for James and Clara. She felt they both deserved it. Her surprise came when it was her roommate who was called. Melanie was nice and all, but Aria didn’t think she was popular to score the lead in votes. Nothing against Melanie, it just seemed strange was all. She still clapped for the both of them; it would be a good memory for them.

The rest of the announcements meant little to her as she knew she would be going to the ball alone, if at all. She didn’t have the best memories of the school events and she wanted to leave on a pleasant note. The speech ended and the food appeared. As always, Aria picked the vegan friendly options and ate quietly by herself for her last Opening Feast at Sonora, making sure to appear friendly and open to anyone who happened to look in her direction. She was still a Prefect, after all.

6 Aria Yale I suppose, I should feel sad. 228 Aria Yale 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 04, 2014 8:58 PM

One Solution for the Many Problems to Come by Taylor Petterson

She knew her eyebrows must have shot up into her wavy blonde bangs, but she hadn't expected anyone to speak to her. Her mind was off on one of the many trails in the woods behind her home. This one was her favoite by far. itwent several miles back to where the trees were so thick that daylight couldn't penetrate their canopy. She remembered walking and walking and walking, and all the while everything was growing darker until she could barely see at all. And then, like the light at the end of the tunnel, the trees thinned and entered into what she thought was a clearing. But once she broke through the more thickly wooded area, she found a creek. She decided to call the place "Leaky Point". There was one main creek that ran through those woods, and at the spot where she was, it branched off into a shallow stream. After about a hundred feet, the creek and stream ran back together, creating an island in the middle. That island was the most beautiful thing that summer. The stream was slow enough and shallow enough to watch the silver fish flit over the smooth rocks at the bottom, and the whole island reflected in that clear water. In its reflection, she could see the rainbow of wildflowers with their cloud of bees and butterflies and felt some unknown emotion stirring in her chest. That was the summer she fell in love with nature.

Shaking her head, she looked back at the boy slightly confused. "The teapot?" she asked with a slight shake in her voice. She got lost in her head all too often; one of these days it was going to get her in trouble. She reached over and grabbed the teapot before handing it to the blue boy beside her.

"I'm sorry. You must think me mad. I get lost in my own head sometimes," she admitted with a slight blush. "I'm probably not entirely sane, but I'm more together than some." She gave him a smile and held out her hand. "M'name's Taylor. Taylor Petterson." She was going to need a friend here.

0 Taylor Petterson One Solution for the Many Problems to Come 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

Chloe Jareau

August 04, 2014 9:27 PM

What are you planning? by Chloe Jareau

The summer at the Jareaus had been the most normal summer that they had had for a really long time. They had managed to do a family vacation with her grandmother and grandfather (just Mom, and the kids, minus Angel – Dad stayed home to be with Angel). They had a nice trip to the Grand Canyon. It felt normal, but Chloe felt guilty that Angel could not enjoy it with them. Harper was four now and she would be starting her first year of school this year. She already knew how to spell her name, her alphabet, and how to count to ten. Apparently, that’s all required now. Chloe felt that was a bit much, but Harper didn’t seem to mind the learning. Emery spent a lot of his free time helping her pick it all up easier than she had been able to do before. She seemed excited for school. Chloe envied that in her.

It wasn’t that Chloe hated school. She didn’t. She liked having Ji-Eun as a roommate, she enjoyed most of her housemates, and she even enjoyed learning magic. She just hated the essay part and the tests. She was not very good with those things the way her brother was. Her dad said that test scores were not the end of her world. Some people just scored differently. She didn’t fail them, but she wasn’t top student either. Not by a long shot. Her thoughts about it probably didn’t help considering her brother and her roommate were both good students. Chloe felt like she wasn’t trying hard enough whenever she was around them.

She didn’t talk very much when she was on the wagon ride back to school. It was strange coming back as though last year didn’t really happen and this was completely normal. She wondered who the Head students would be and the Prefects. Would it matter to her? Not really, but it was something to think about.

In the hall, she watched the first years with amusement. Now that she was a fourth year, she could barely remember what she was like back then. Had she changed at all? She must have. Physically, she had only gone through normal adolescent changes that every girl went through, but she was not vastly different. Her blonde hair was still long. She still had some length on her legs (Emery declared victory as he finally managed an inch on her), her blue eyes were still abnormally large, her smile too big for her face, etc. In comparison to the other girls in her year, Chloe was not very pretty and that was starting to make her feel a little bad about herself. Not that she ever mentioned feeling this way to anyone. It was far too embarrassing for her to deal with.

She clapped politely for the Head students and Prefects, but frowned when the ball was mentioned. She wasn’t here for the last ball, so she didn’t know what to expect from them. However, by the look on everyone’s faces, she knew that everyone was anticipating finding a date and looking pretty for the evening. Chloe highly doubted any boy here looked at her over the other girls. If she went, it would be alone, unless Emery decided not to ask anyone and kept her company. But that would be weird.

Chloe looked up from her seat, the song had ended and the food had appeared. Apparently, she had blocked out the last of the speech while lost in her thoughts. Hopefully, she didn’t miss anything. Her eyes made contact with the person across from her and she realized it was Malcolm. “HI Malcolm.” Chloe greeted, giving him a bright smile. “Sorry for your loss with the badge.” She stated, realizing that he had been Adam’s competition. “But congrats to your…” She paused for a moment when she thought about the relationship Malcolm had with the other person, “Cousin? For getting Head Boy.” Chloe commented pleasantly. Malcolm didn’t seem the sort to care about such things, but Chloe was sure that next year, once she loses to Ji-Eun, she would feel a little hurt by it. Not enough for it to ruin her feelings towards her roommate, but still a little to know the staff didn’t like her enough. It would probably bother Emery more if he didn’t get it though.

Her stomach growled and without hesitation, Chloe began to pile food onto her plate. So far, her metabolism remained at top speed, she was going to enjoy it for as long as possible. “Did you spend loads of time with your massive family? Or did you have a quiet summer?” Chloe asked. She always enjoyed him talking of his family, their sheer size was amazing to her.

6 Chloe Jareau What are you planning? 267 Chloe Jareau 0 5

Emery Kijewski-Jareau

August 04, 2014 9:54 PM

And into a new year... by Emery Kijewski-Jareau

Emery had a very pleasant summer all things considered. He helped assist his little sister in learning her alphabet, learning to count, and spelling her name (not the easiest of names either). She wasn’t perfect at it, but it was a start. She started school this fall and she needed to be prepared. Aside from helping her, Emery had gone on a nice mini vacation with most of his siblings, his mother, and his grandparents to the Grand Canyon. It was an amazing thing to see and he had been really excited to see it. It was a bitter sweet moment though because his father wasn’t with them and neither was Angel. His parents said that they couldn’t keep their lives on pause forever and Angel would never be well enough to go. This would be how things were for a little while.

Next year would be his turn for the Prefects. Emery wanted it. He wanted that title. He felt that his mother being who she used to be made him a target for the Professors. He needed to do well. He wanted to prove himself. But he had a difficult group of housemates. That badge could go to any one of them. It was exhausting just thinking about it all.

Emery sighed at the announcement of the ball. He knew that Emrys would go with Charlotte. That was guaranteed. But Emery didn’t know who he should ask, if anyone. He had no idea who was dating who in their class or any class and the yearbook wasn’t the most trustworthy source. His green eyes looked around the hall for a moment at some of the girls his age. Even if they were available, why would any of them want to go to a dance with him? He wasn’t all that impressive. Maybe he could see if Ava would go with him? Unless she went with Dimitri. That was entirely possible. They were very close. Emery shook his curly brown hair to clear his head. He would worry about it later. He was pretty sure the ball wasn’t mandatory, so if he didn’t get a date, he just wouldn’t go. No big deal.

The food appeared in front of him after the school song had finished and Emery began to put some vegetarian portions onto his plate. His mom was a vegetarian. She had been for most of her life. She did not deny Emery his rights to meat, but Emery just never felt the desire to eat it as often as everyone else. Realizing that some roasted soybeans were just out of his reach, Emery cleared his throat to get the person closest to the plate. “Excuse me, could you pass those beans to me?” Soybeans were one of his favorite dishes. He always enjoyed it when the school elves made them. “Have you ever had these?” Emery asked, to make conversation. “Roasted ones are really tasty.” Well… that sounded like a true dork. Emery hoped he didn’t look as stupid as he sounded.

6 Emery Kijewski-Jareau And into a new year... 259 Emery Kijewski-Jareau 0 5

Julian Umland

August 04, 2014 11:17 PM

A little flustered, but feasting. by Julian Umland

Julian had been dreading the wagon ride to Sonora for a while, but to her surprise, it hadn’t been bad at all. John had sat still, had not attempted to speak to anyone else on their wagon, had been in a good mood all the way south, and when they had gotten out of the wagon at the end, he had somehow still looked almost as neat as he had when Mom, anxious and trying to hide it, had put them on the wagon in Montana. A few wrinkles, inevitable after sitting for so long, and a crumb or two, easily brushed away, from the sandwiches they’d had for lunch had been the extent of the damage to his new clothes. It was little short of a miracle.

She was already sure where her brother would be Sorted, but she watched the ceremony with more interest than usual anyway, shaking her head when he turned Aladren blue. Socially, he wouldn’t fit in at all with the Aladrens who made up her impression of the House – last year’s seventh years and that super-successful Quidditch team a few years before them, that sort; mostly rich, mostly social, all beautiful elite sorts – but the descriptions in the official school literature, the traits Tribble and Clurican had assigned to Aladren House, fit him as though tailored to the job. The Sorting was not a surprise to her at all.

She applauded, though, for all the Teppenpaws who joined their table, and for Melanie Lennox getting Head Girl even though she didn’t know the new seventh years in her House well at all. It was enough for her that she got along tolerably well with Willow and Gemma despite the issues of blood and financial statuses and had a good friend in Charlie.

”In addition…” Headmaster Brockert began, and Julian tried not to sit up a little straighter in her seat. She didn’t think of herself as a leader, didn’t think she even wanted the title in particular, but still thought she had as much of a chance as any of the other Teppenpaws in her year and therefore found the announcement interesting. It was still a bit of a surprise, though, to hear her own name; she blushed as she smiled at Adam and the other girls and then, deeming John’s reaction to her election a little too enthusiastic even though she appreciated the feeling behind it, gestured for him to cut it out on her way back to the Teppenpaw table where she sat down and quickly pinned the badge onto her robe, trying not to call much attention to the gesture.

That wasn’t too hard, but keeping her hand off it after that was. She didn’t wear much jewelry as a general rule (not least because she didn’t own much jewelry) and she felt very aware of it hanging there on her robe through the announcements and school song. She smiled at everyone and no one in particular as the food appeared and she spooned out vegetable soup and looked for shredded cheese to add to one of the baked potatoes she saw on a dish nearby.

16 Julian Umland A little flustered, but feasting. 254 Julian Umland 0 5

Atlas Primred, Pecari

August 05, 2014 2:28 AM

Apology and Surprise [Tag: Liliana Bannister] by Atlas Primred, Pecari

Atlas’ summer months went by quickly. He had spent the days hanging out with his childhood friend Steven, and his nights with his Mom, Dad, and little sister Katie. Although in Atlas’ opinion, she wasn’t so little anymore now that she was going into the 2nd grade. He noticed she had developed quite a personality in his absence. Despite this, she was still the endearing little sister that he knew and loved, even if she was growing up too fast for his liking. Unfortunately, his summer had been so jam packed that he had forgotten a certain girl whom, according to the Sonora Yearbook, was his best friend.

Now September, Atlas found himself once again in the familiar room of Cascade Hall. Although it had been 2 years since he had walked through those doors as a first year, the hall never seized to amaze him. However, on this particular day he didn’t have time to take in the scenery. He was on a mission of both apology and surprise, for tucked away in the pocket of his school robe was a special gift for Liliana, as both an apology and a late birthday present. He hoped that it might show her that he didn’t completely forget about one of his best friends over summer. Atlas scanned the tables for a while, until he eventually found where she was seated. He walked over to her, tapping her shoulder as he seated himself to her left.

“Hey Liliana,” Atlas began meekly, he wasn’t quite sure how to proceed in this situation. “I hope you had a good summ-“ Atlas began, but was interrupted by the Headmaster as he called the attention of the students for the Welcoming Speech. “Drat,” he thought to himself. He couldn’t very well talk to her during the speech, but there was nothing he could do but wait. He had no choice but to let it be for the moment and watch the sorting.

The Pecari student was happy that his roommate’s brother received the award of Head Boy. He didn’t know James personally but from what he had seen of him he was very deserving of the position. He clapped for the other students who were called to get their prefect badges and for the new teacher. Atlas thought it was kind of funny how much the teachers have changed in just his past 2 years, but maybe now things would remain a little more constant.

"This year's Midsummer Event will be the ball," the Headmaster then stated. At this Atlas nudged Liliana lightly with his elbow, referencing what Liliana wrote to him in their letters the pervious summer. He wondered if this one would be on par with the Bannister’s style of parties. Once the singing of the school song was over, Atlas finally turned to Liliana, now able to get in a good chat.

"I hope you had a good summer," Atlas began. He thought he might test the waters a little first before he started groveling. "Anything interesting happen?" he asked. "And your family? Anything new with Levi or your other cousins?"

After she answered, he finally got down to business. “I am so sorry about not writing all summer,” Atlas said shyly. “For various reasons I kinda got tangled up in some stuff. Plus… I kinda forgot,” he said honestly with a guilty look written across his face. He felt he didn’t deserve the title of her best friend. “I hope you aren’t too mad?” he asked, his almond eyes looking away in shame.

OOC:
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 Apology and Surprise [Tag: Liliana Bannister] 276 Atlas Primred, Pecari 0 5

Seraphina Willow

August 05, 2014 4:45 AM

A New Experience by Seraphina Willow

Seraphina was standing in line, waiting to be sorted. The butterflies in her stomach had long since disappeared, leaving her with little more than a hollow dread. The trip had been wonderful. After such a long time with no one her age, it was a well-awaited change to be surrendered by them. Admittedly, she had not spoken a word since leaving her parents, rather kept to herself and observed the interactions around her.

Now, she was regretting that decision. It would be nice to have at least one person to have smile at her with encouragement, or even share in her nervousness. The sorting may be overlooked once passed, but for a first year, it might as well decide your whole life for you.

The line was both creeping and speeding forward. One moment it would take forever, and the next, five people had been sorted. Sense everyone took more or less the same tome to be sorted and to sit down, Seraphina deduced that this stuttering and jumping was all in her head.

It was pure luck that ensured Sera reached the front of the line without fainting. She had never been shy before, but looking back, she’d never had cause to. This was probably one of the biggest moments of her life, one she probably wasn’t ready for. When her name was called, she took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Time slowed down, the pounding in her head grew louder and her breathing must have been audible to the whole school. The feeling of so many eyes on her was a new one, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. Deciding to get this over with quickly, she blocked out every one else and took the cup. Her skin turned blue.

Relief flooded through her. She was sure she would fit in. Aladren had been her house of choice, but she hadn’t been sure she’d make it. Her joy was so overwhelming; she was halfway to a table before she realized it was the wrong one. Blushing, she quickly changed direction and sat down. Seraphina didn’t notice the rest of the sorting, she was to busy trying to work out how many others had embarrassed themselves like that, and how long it took the school to forget who did it.

As the sorting finished and the food arrived, she debated whether or not to say anything. Deciding on the positive, she turned and introduced herself nervously.

“Hello, I’m Sera.”

0 Seraphina Willow A New Experience 0 Seraphina Willow 0 5

DH Skies

August 05, 2014 5:18 AM

OOC - terminology by DH Skies

Hey,

Welcome to Sonora. It's really great to see you guys posting and you seem to be getting the hang of things really well. Just a quick note for each of you....

Anita, a reminder on terminology.... 'Muggleborn' refers to a witch or wizard born of two Muggle parents. A Squib is a non-magical child of at least one magical parent. Therefore, if both Anita's siblings are non-magical people born to a magical parent, they are both Squibs. Squibs are quite rare, though as they are twins, that might help to explain why there are two in the same family.

Joella, regarding relatives that have been at Sonora in the past, the best advice I can give is 'keep it vague' as this prevents too many continuity errors. Hopefully I will have a more concrete way of explaining this to you in a day or two.

Keep up the good work.

0 DH Skies OOC - terminology 26 DH Skies 0 5

Effie Arbon

August 05, 2014 5:45 AM

What about mother? by Effie Arbon

Effie smiled graciously at the girl sitting along from her, although she would much rather it had not been a first year. Anyone else would probably be more or less content to let Effie do the talking but this girl would expect to be introduced to Araceli, as they were roommates after all. Effie supposed that at least it gave her a chance to facilitate that, rather than expecting Araceli to manage it later on her own. That was a boon. However, the fact that the girl was clearly foreign placed her on uncertain territory. Effie could recite the American Pureblood families by heart, and was making progress with the British. Anything outside of that was beyond her knowledge though, and manners weren't likely to be much of a clue, as this girl's concept of etiquette was bound to be strikingly different to hers; she could scarcely judge someone based on whether they used the correct fork or not when they came from a country that didn't have them. The last thing she wanted to do was foster the idea in a non-Pureblood's head that they should attach themselves to her sister, though she was equally keen not to blow a chance to help Araceli make a suitable alliance.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied as the girl returned her question. Answering that and making introductions seemed a reasonable way to give herself some thinking time on how best to scope this girl out, as well as being logical and polite.

“I am Effie Arbon, and this my sister Araceli. We are of Maine.” As there was not more than one branch of the Arbon family, father had always insisted it was silly to style themselves 'of the Maine Arbons' as Pureblood families with branches did. However, giving their location as part of their introduction made it sound suitably formal, enough so to act as a signifier to other people of suitable breeding. Whether that would register with this girl, she didn't know.

13 Effie Arbon What about mother? 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Amity Brockert

August 05, 2014 5:48 AM

Alone by Amity Brockert

Amity sat listlessly at the Aladren table as she watched as the Sorting commenced, spotting the twins take their turn. Scarlett was in Pecari and Savannah was in Teppenpaw. Of course Amity knew which was which, Scarlett would be the one to go first and it was apparent in their general demeanor. Besides, it wouldn't make much sense for it to go the other way around.

As for her there really was, nobody she wanted to sit with was here. She liked the two Carey boys and Bianca well enough and Francesca Wolseithcrafte had been pleasant enough the time they'd ended up sitting together. Still, she wasn't close to them and she couldn't even be sure they liked her . When it came down to it, she only trusted Effie, her sister and her (first) cousins to want her around. She supposed Evan might have too, but now he was gone just like Arabella. She truly missed the Pecari alumna and-despite Scarlett- looking over at the Pecari table just felt empty. She missed Evan too because if worse came to worse she could have sat with him, especially if Thad wanted to be alone with Alicia.

Looking at the Crotalus table hurt more. Her sister looked as lost and lonely as she felt, something the sixth year hated seeing, and there was Effie sitting with her own, who looked a great deal more like Effie than Chaslyn did her. Amity wanted them to be friends, she wanted to go take her sister and introduce them. From what she understood about Araceli, they both needed someone-and Amity did too. However, she didn't want to shock her very rule driven friend and risk losing her too. Besides, some Asian girl had joined them instead. Hopefully one of Chaslyn's roommates would join her and she wouldn't have to sit alone.

As for Amity, well she was just plain screwed. She didn't trust her yearmates to want her around at the very least aside from Effie. She supposed she had no reason to assume Jay Carey disliked her or either of the fifth years, though she had a feeling Keme might prefer Willow Collins' company to hers. Though Willow was in a different house. Still none of them had given her any indication that they thought highly of her either.

The Head Students and prefects were announced and Amity clapped half-heartedly. It wasn't that she thought they were undeserving, as far as she could tell they were fine choices. She just didn't care at the moment. The Aladren knew full well it wouldn't be her getting HG next year. Not only did she not want the work, people just didn't like her. Who'd even vote for her ?Effie would likely be on the ballot herself and vote for herself.

The new COMC professor was announced next but that mattered less to Amity than anything else given she was no longer taking the class. The next words made her lose her appetite though. This was the ball year. Where nobody would ask her and she'd sit around feeling lonely all night, nobody would probably even dance with her. Maybe she'd just skip it.

Once they were done singing-which she hadn't participated in-the sixth year looked over the selection on the table but none of it looked good right now. She selected a quiche and picked at it, until she heard someone speak to her.

11 Amity Brockert Alone 233 Amity Brockert 0 5

John Umland

August 05, 2014 10:30 AM

I do better looking at one problem at a time. by John Umland

The girl looked alarmed and sounded confused. John was pretty sure he wasn't that intimidating - he was told that he looked like he was glaring at people more often than he really was, though he was sure he wasn’t doing that now, and had observed that dark hair and oversized noses and ears like his were assigned to villains in his friend Rafe's video games more often than they showed up on heroes, but at the end of the day, he was still a scrawny eleven-year-old in secondhand clothes - and so concluded that he'd either surprised her or that he looked really weird while his face was blue. Either way, though, he couldn't do much about it now, so he was glad she didn't yell about either chance.

“Yeah,” said John when she asked for confirmation about what he wanted. “Big, uh, glass thing there, if it’s not much trouble….”

She handed it over and he poured himself a cup, then blinked when she said she might not be entirely sane. “We’re – “ he started, then decided that quoting Alice’s Adventures might not go over as well with a random person as it did at home, where it was expected. His mom was a Muggleborn named Alison who had started to really like Alice after she found out she was a witch and found the Wizarding World so unlike what she knew that she’d felt like she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. He thought Through the Looking-Glass might have been the first thing he had ever heard Mom read aloud, though the timing hadn’t been good; Julian, the one she’d been reading to, had been so unnerved by the thought of the Red King that she had been afraid to sleep for a while. People from magical families, though, didn't usually know Alice, and even most Muggles got it wrong, and he knew nothing about this girl.

“Well – that’s good,” he said instead. "I'm John. John Umland."

He tasted the tea. It tasted like grass and celery, which he didn't like and didn't think went well with his food, but his head began feeling better and his whole body steadier and less fidgety as soon as the caffeine hit his bloodstream and he resolved to ignore the taste, at least to the bottom of the cup, and hope there was something better for breakfast. This was all right for the night, but it wouldn’t get him through a normal day. His first day of being taught by people who weren’t his mother, or at least didn’t know her, was probably not going to seem very normal.

"And I'm pretty sure I'm sane," he added. "So, do you know much about this place?" he asked, figuring that since conversation had started, he might as well take advantage of it, especially with one of his Housemates. Not only did he need to at least be on speaking terms with them all, but since in theory all Aladrens had at least some traits in common, it was possible it wouldn't be that bad.

16 John Umland I do better looking at one problem at a time. 285 John Umland 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 05, 2014 11:12 AM

Before chugging half a goblet of pumpkin juice. by Joella Curtis

Joella had never been one to take a liking to someone quickly. It wasn't that she was prone to disliking people either. She was in fact very friendly but could make judgements within an instant - judgements which, more often than not, turned out to be decidedly wrong. It seemed that her biggest flaw was to find flaws in others. However, Anita seemed friendly and so far Joella could do nothing but like her fellow Pecari.

She was slightly confused by the way Anita labelled her siblings for, if Joella had heard right, the information she had given was not actually possible. Joella didn't hesitate to question Anita further on the subject, however, making the assumption that she had misheard. Whatever her fellow classmate's family setup entailed, Joella could understand one thing. Unless she was again mistaken, Anita was not a pureblood snob. Being from a pureblood family herself, Joella was used to blood status snobbery as her own kinsmen frequently mingled with wizards and witches with the aforementioned views.

"I have two brothers and two sisters who all went here," Joella answered Anita's return question. "But they've all left now - I'm the youngest in the Curtis family by quite a few years." She gave a rueful smile; being the youngest by such a large age gap had its pros but also its cons. Throughout much of her childhood she had been "too young" to join in with her siblings adventures and was left behind every 1st of September.

"We live in Tennessee but we have another house in California," continued the confident first year. "So most of my siblings are in California at the moment which is somewhat closer to Sonora."

Joella gave a shrug as she realised she may have gone off on a slight tangent, at which point she actually answered Anita's questions was something she did not know. "So you don't know anyone here either?" Joella asked before chugging half a goblet of pumpkin juice.

8 Joella Curtis Before chugging half a goblet of pumpkin juice. 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 05, 2014 11:19 AM

OOC - thank you by Joella Curtis

Thank you for your advice. I realised my mistake regarding the reference to Rolene in my first post as I was told on Chatzy that Headmaster Brockert would not have been in that position when Joella's elder siblings were at Sonora.

I will try my best to avoid continuity errors and will make sure to avoid in depth family references in the future. I'm assuming it would still be alright to mention family occasionally, however, as no doubt Joella must have a background story.

Thank you again for the tip. I am very open to any advice as I am eager to improve!

8 Joella Curtis OOC - thank you 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 05, 2014 11:37 AM

That's a way to do it. by Taylor Petterson

Taylor looked around at Cascade Hall. How much did she know about this place? As she watched the water wash down the glass, she gave a slight smile. "Enough to know I belong, but not nearly as much as I'd like," she admitted, more to herself than him.

This was the next great adventure-- or was that what people said about dying? Either way, this was her next adventure and would be for the next seven years of her life. It was so much better here than at home. Barely a night in and she couldn't imagine how she had ever spent the rest of her life a Muggle. Things were so dull, so predictable back home. Already she had flown across the U.S. in a FLYING COVERED WAGON. Seriously, it flew. She had never seen a real covered wagon, let alone a flying one. She was sitting in a giant marble hall with a waterfall running down it. She was BLUE for crying out loud! When had things ever been so exciting at home? Sure there had been things that had made her, well, not really excited. More like jumpy and rushed. But never just thrilled. Unless it was out in the woods-- now that was a magic all it's own. And a thought for another time.

She turned back to the boy with a smile after what she was sure was a considerable pause. "I'm a Muggleborn, so all I know is what they tell me. I didn't mean to sound cryptic or anything." She sighed and finally began to eat, pulling multiple kinds of vegetables onto her plate. She was hungry, but she was trying to cut back on meat. It made her feel guilty when she was actually out among the animals. Although, she knew how little sense that made. Animals eat each other: she knew that was a fact of life, and it didn't bother her. So why should her own meat intake bother her? She gave a slught huff and shoved a forkful of something green into her mouth, refusing to analyze herself any longer.

0 Taylor Petterson That's a way to do it. 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 05, 2014 11:46 AM

OOC - reply by Anita Tippet

Thank you for correcting me on the terminology. I had forgotten what Muggleborn meant and confused Joella in the process. Next time, I'll do my best to look up something before I post.

0 Anita Tippet OOC - reply 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 05, 2014 12:02 PM

Realizing a Family Mistake by Anita Tippet

Had she said something wrong, when explaining her family tree? She knew she did not say it right, when it came to her sister Angora. Anita may have been spunky, but mistaking blood relatives was not something she was used to. She remembered the difference between Muggleborn and wizard folk. Okay, it was time to make the correction.

She said in answer to Joella's explanation, "Fascinating." Then made her correction to the error: "I was wrong. My sister Angora's a Squib, too, only she doesn't possess any magical abilities." Relieved to make that correction known, Anita answered the question. "No, I don't know anyone here."

All right. Time to ask Joella something else, "The Midsummer ball sounds fantastic. I wonder which boy will ask us to go."

As Anita returned to her food, while waiting for Joella's answer, thoughts came in mind on what dress she would wear. It had to be something good, something that suited her style. The choices, at the moment, seemed endless, but the Midsummer Ball was a long way away. Oh well. It was better to think ahead of time, so that way she would be prepared for what came.

0 Anita Tippet Realizing a Family Mistake 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

John Umland

August 05, 2014 1:59 PM

Know a better one? by John Umland

John did not find Taylor Petterson’s answer helpful. Instead, it made him regard her suspiciously, the edge of his unusually good mood dimmed, for a minute she didn’t seem to notice before he shrugged and started eating his lentil soup, the earthiness and heaviness of which was cut, to his surprise, with what he was pretty sure was lemon.

He was reflecting on the flavors, trying to sort out which was which, when Taylor turned back to him. Another surprise came from hearing she was Muggleborn, which he guessed would teach him to jump to conclusions; what she’d said about knowing she belonged here had made him think of so-called purebloods, who he did not expect to get along well with at all. Julian said most of the American purebloods were actually pleasant enough people, the sort of prejudiced where they were so comfortable in their delusions of superiority that they didn’t feel the need to yell at people about them most of the time, but that didn’t really improve John’s opinion of that part of the school’s population. In fact, he thought they were almost worse than the other kind, because their willingness to get along meant they shouldn’t have been able to help making independent observations and realizing that their entire program was based on bad data. Since he was pretty sure it was impossible that all of them were too dim to use inductive reasoning, that meant they were deliberately ignoring or maybe even supporting the use of bad data instead of collecting good data and changing their opinions to match the conclusions it supported, and that was far worse than just lacking the functioning intelligence of a flobberworm. It made no sense.

Taylor Petterson, though, was not a so-called pureblood. Didn’t mean she wouldn’t do or say things that made him rant, but did make it less likely it would be about that issue. “I’m not,” he offered. “But I just know what my sister tells me.” His expression lightened. “She says the library here is awesome,” he added, figuring this would be of interest to someone enough like him to share a House, or at least this House. “And the Gardens – Julian doesn’t go out there enough to know for sure, but she’s heard there’s all kinds of magical creatures and plants, and just stuff that’s not native to where we’re from, out there….”

He looked up to the staff table, wondering which of the adults there was the one he needed to talk to. The new teacher was important, but since he was new to the campus, John thought he might do better to stick with his original plan of seeking out Julian’s head of House to find out what he could expect on the grounds in general. The possibilities, between the school’s location and history, seemed endless, and while that was exciting, he thought he would really get more accomplished if he knew what he could rule out to begin with instead of figuring it all out as he went along. The body of Things Already Known was, after all, there to be used as well as expanded.

16 John Umland Know a better one? 285 John Umland 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 05, 2014 3:34 PM

Maybe. Want to find out? by Taylor Petterson

It was good, this green stuff. Better than anything Taylor had had at home, but then again, she wasn't much of a cook, was she? She could make it edible but not tasty. Briefly she wondered if there was a spell she could learn to make her food taste better. Would that be Charms or Transfiguration? She shrugged to herself; now was not the time to worry about it. She doubted she'd be cooking for herself for quite sometime.

Hearing the boy's tone change, she glanced back over at him, missing the first part of whatever he had said. But the next part made her sit up a bit straighter. Her green eyes grew wide as she listened to what he had to say about the Gardens. The Labyrinth Gardens, she had already heard rumors about them. Excitement flooded through her, causing her eyes to light up. There was the main part of the grounds she couldn't wait to get into. Magical creatures and plants she had never seen before? Heaven.

She wiped her mouth a bit self-consciously and looked the boy over. "Uhmm... When do you think we'll get the chance to explore in the Gardens?" She felt heat creep up her cheeks and the back of her collar as she realized her mistake. "Sorry," she tried to cover it up with a small cough. "I meant when will I get the chance?" She felt slightly mortified. What a slip of the tongue. Here she was in the cheapest robes with blue skin. She shook her head and dived back into her food with intense concentration.

He probably thought she was crazy and absolutely weird.

0 Taylor Petterson Maybe. Want to find out? 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

John Umland

August 05, 2014 6:25 PM

I'm listening. by John Umland

John finished the cup of green tea as he looked over the staff table and absent-mindedly poured another, dripping some onto the table from the spout without noticing as he recognized some faces he had seen in Julian’s yearbooks. From what his sister said, he thought the teachers were usually nice enough, but distant – not at all what he was used to. Mom made sure they got through everything in the end, but things were adjusted or added all the time to accommodate what he was interested in. There was no reason why he shouldn’t still follow what he found interesting, but it was going to be different, working through it all basically on his own, whether he wanted to or not. He had known it was going to be that way, but….

He blinked, startled, when Taylor started talking again, and he realized he had wandered from the conversation for a moment. Then, for some reason, she turned red and seemed to focus on her plate.

“Er…whenever, I guess. After classes,” he added conscientiously, since not really having breaks during the day was one of the other big differences between being at school and learning at home. He thought he might miss being allowed to go think or make tea when he needed to as much as, if not more than, having his lessons tailored to him. “Unless the Care of Magical Creatures class is in the Gardens, but that’s not exploring, that’s being in a particular spot…unless Professor Whatsisface sends us exploring.” He might do that if he was a teacher, but he wasn’t a teacher. “I don’t know if he will or not. But between classes and curfew, I think people can go pretty much wherever they want. There’s a lot of stuff to do here. I'm going to go look around sometime, too.”

He wanted to, but he also had to. He had made plans to learn as much about the school as he could in the next three weeks and then report, hopefully after getting at least one experiment up off the ground once he saw what he had to work with, though he didn't know about that part. Forming questions and even hypotheses was easy, but designing and carrying out tests was going to be hard when he had only a limited number of spells at his disposal and even less equipment. He was looking at it as an adventure, but there was no doubt in his mind that it wasn't an adventure without a lot of challenge.

16 John Umland I'm listening. 285 John Umland 0 5

Keme RunningBear

August 05, 2014 9:39 PM

The Start of Something New. by Keme RunningBear

This was the year that it would be decided whether or not the staff believed he was good enough to wear the Prefect Badge. Keme RunningBear had already believed that the badge would not go to him. He was not very sociable. He wasn’t shy, per se, but he didn’t go out of his way to talk with people either. He had planned on putting a stop to that last year, but then that whole debacle happened last year and his original plan was turned to dust. He knew that the badge would go to Francesca and had prepared himself for that loss. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted the badge. It would have been nice to have the badge to show his family, but he didn’t necessarily want the honor of it. Francesca deserved it. She was a part of a few clubs and the Quidditch team. She seemed to have a lot of friends too, so that probably helped her.

His summer had been pretty predictable. They did their annual run and spiritual ceremonies with the tribe and he participated in the archery tournament as usual. Because he was fifteen, he was placed into an older age category. These participants had more experience than him and so, he did not end up winning, but he did rank fifth place. He considered that a pretty good feat. He loved the sport of it. He had discovered that more people seemed to fence in his school or play Quidditch, but not much of anything else.

When he had first arrived back to Sonora, Keme hesitated as to where to sit. If he sat with his friend, he would be at a different table, but that would look wrong in the eyes of the staff and may confuse the first years. In the end, he decided to sit at his own table. If he was announced as the Prefect, as slim as it was, he would look strange if he stood up at a different table other than Aladren. It was better that he didn’t draw attention to himself.

The sorting was completed and the announcement came up. As he had predicted, Francesca won. He clapped for her just the same as hearing her name made him realize that he didn’t really mind not winning it after all. He was also pleased to find that the Head Boy was once again Aladren. It seemed as though this house tended to house those sorts of recognition. He did not think he would be bestowed such honors, there were too many others in his year who were capable of such a thing, but it was something to be somewhat hopeful for. Amongst the announcements was also the one regarding a new Professor for Care of Magical Creatures. And, the biggest one of all… the Midsummer Ball.

Keme remembered the first ball he had attended in his first year. His grandfather and parents had wanted him to go with someone and so he had asked the first girl he had come by, Willow. The night hadn’t been bad, really, and since then Keme didn’t mind spending time with her. She was probably the only one Keme could say that he considered her a friend. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to get another date this term, but his parents probably would like that. He dreaded having to ask someone to go with him. Would he have to ask someone else to go? Someone that fit the proper category? He didn’t even know if anyone was dating each other. He could probably ask Willow again, but he didn’t want to assume that such a thing was something she would want. She could very well want to go with someone else.

He would worry about that later though. For now, the food had arrived and Keme was pretty hungry. He pulled some roast beef onto his plate along with roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and topped them off with gravy. The elves really outdid themselves with the food. He was reaching for a pitcher of water but only met air as his neighbor had taken it before him. “Could you pass that when you are done?” He asked respectfully.

6 Keme RunningBear The Start of Something New. 249 Keme RunningBear 0 5

Wendy

August 06, 2014 12:27 AM

I very much appreciate the sentiment by Wendy

Wendy probably should have expected Rupert to sit with her, but it was a nice surprise anyway. "Go ahead and sit," she said with a smile. She liked the bright clothes Rupert usually wore so tastefully, but what he was wearing right now really matched him too. She would have to invest in a blazer eventually, though Wendy thought she would rather have a white one than blue. She was thinking about blazers and bread when their hands bumped, and she smiled her thanks at him before taking a dinner roll.

"All kinds of breads and pastries you can imagine. Bread, muffins, cakes, cookies, tarts, brownies; but not pies or donuts. I don't really like donuts that much anyway. Yeah, I know how to bake. I've worked at my mom's bakery every vacation since I was fourteen, so I've had a ton of practice. Only the girls bake in my family. My mom's a musician too, so that's why my sister knows how to play piano so well. My dad's a mechanical engineer for a car company." She wasn't sure if Rupert knew what that was since the term didn't seem to be used at all in the wizarding world. "A mechanical engineer pretty much just builds things. My dad's a part of the process of manufacturing cars." She hoped that made sense; she didn't really know what her dad did specifically besides create models of cars for a living. "He goes to a lot of conferences.

"It would be cool if you could visit," Wendy continued brightly. "I'll probably be working at the bakery during winter break so if you visit you could come stay with me and I can show you around Phoenix if your parents would let you. Phoenix is the city I live in and it's really great." Wendy had been to London once for her friend's sister's wedding. She had liked it there enough, but for her there was no place like home. Traveling was one thing, but living in a totally different country, even a different state, was not very appealing. She wouldn't want to move out of Arizona if she could help it.

"Do you like the color blue?" she asked with a little smile. "The color matches you, like this blazer. I like it." A thought suddenly came to Wendy and her hazel eyes brightened. "Hey, you're the Quidditch captain this year aren't you? Congrats!" The only Quidditch team she paid attention to at this school was Pecari and that was only because her sister had been so into the games. It was a scary sport, but she knew Rupert really liked it. Being captain of a team was a big deal, one that Wendy was confident Rup would excel in. He probably would have done a better job as Prefect than she too. "Are you excited that Quidditch is going to be running again? It was unfortunate how it got cancelled last year."

0 Wendy I very much appreciate the sentiment 0 Wendy 0 5

Uzume Shinohara

August 06, 2014 3:32 AM

Listen to your mother, on your own you won't survive... by Uzume Shinohara

OOC: So sorry. In my last post I wrote Uzu’s response to Effie’s smile and greeting out of order, and by doing so power played Araceli’s reaction slightly. Once again, I’m terribly sorry for my mistake.

BIC:
Uzume returned the smile, pleased that the older student was at least well mannered. “I am Effie Arbon, and this my sister Araceli. We are of Maine.” the elder sister replied.

Uzume had only met a few foreigners during her life. Back when she was still disguised as Jun, her family had thrown a party for one reason or another. As the secondary male heir, it was necessary for her to greet all the guests at the function, some of whom had been foreign businessmen. She found it peculiar that all of them introduced themselves along with their place of residence. She wondered if it was a custom unique to western culture or just part of their overseas etiquette. Although she thought stating their place of residence was excessive information, after hearing Effie introduce herself in the same manner she realized she would have no choice but to follow suit, lest she seem rude.

“Nice to meet you both. I'm Shinohara Uzume of Nikko, Japan,” she said bowing her upper torso slightly. Now taking a good look at the sisters, she felt slightly silly for not noticing their family resemblance before. Although she still found it strange that the younger sister, Araceli, had not given her own introduction. Uzume’s curiosity was beginning to take over, her mind coming up with a plethora of reasons that would cause the first year to hold her tongue. However, she had to tread carefully, as to not embarrass the poor girl. She quickly thought of a way to politely test her new roommate. Uzume was curious to see just what type of personality was hiding under those blond locks.

Uzume smiled and tried to make eye contact with Araceli, a gesture she had read that Americans found pleasing. “How do you do? Please call me Shinohara, or Shino if you like,” she said politely. This secondary introduction was as much for Effie as it was Araceli. Uzu may be in America, but she was not going to let people call her by her first name that have not earned her trust.

0 Uzume Shinohara Listen to your mother, on your own you won't survive... 292 Uzume Shinohara 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 06, 2014 9:39 AM

Now you're talking! by Joella Curtis

At the mention of the midsummer ball Joella couldn't help but grin. Now Anita was talking! She loved the way her fellow Pecari didn't even consider the idea of a boy not asking them, which, looking at the ratio of boys to girls, bearing in mind that the two of them knew no one as of yet, and noting that no first year boys had been sorted into their house, was likely to be the case. Joella didn't dwell on this of course. She knew that most first years went with friends but the direction this conversation was heading could lead to some fun. Well, fun in Joella's wicked sense of the word.

"Yes, it does!" Joella agreed, enthusiasm and excitement in her voice. It wasn't that she hasn't been to a ball before as she had, in fact, been to many, but she knew that this would be different. This ball would be an event for the students whereas she had only ever been surrounded by 'grown ups' or dumped with a few other bored kids she found little entertainment with. In the past it had only been the prospect of a brand new dress that she looked forward to but this time there was more, there was the prospect of some serious fun.

"So," Joella glanced around then lowered her voice in a jokey, dramatic way. "Seen any boys worth our time?" It wasn't that she was shallow and only looked for the good looking guys. No way - she wasn't serious enough to care that much. It was just a little 'fun' and if a eleven year old girl couldn't check out the rare Sonora male when talking about the midsummer ball then what could she do?

8 Joella Curtis Now you're talking! 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 06, 2014 11:10 AM

Let the search begin... by Anita Tippet

Anita looked around Cascade Hall for first year boys. Although a little offended by Joella's question, Anita figured maybe some boys would be interesting. Not that she had a clue what interesting here meant for Joella. The boys Anita met in her Muggle school were great friends for a time, but even they pattered off to talk to some more sociable girls.

Maybe the two Teppenpaw boys would be favorable. They certainly looked kind, but even Anita could not be sure. So, she decided to ask Joella her input. "What about the two Teppenpaw first year boys? Do you think they would ask us to the Midsummer ball?" It wasn't that she was being casual... her innocence was getting the better of her. But I guess that was the way of it.

Picking out boys was not something she was used to, and even Joella's question still rang in her ears "See any boys worth our time?" Joella was just as bad as she was when it came to people. Whether this conversation would lead to friendship was uncertain, but at least Anita made her first contact with a fellow first year so early in the year. Now all that needed to be laid out was the cards, however they would fold.

0 Anita Tippet Let the search begin... 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Emrys Lucan

August 06, 2014 11:39 AM

*OOC by Emrys Lucan

Oops. Because I set Emry's birthday in September I always mess up his age. Since they're in fourth year he's already 14 and will be turning 15 in a couple of weeks. My bad!

10 Emrys Lucan *OOC 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 06, 2014 11:53 AM

Apparently you're not. by Taylor Petterson

Taylor sighed with relief. He hadn't noticed her slip. That was good. She needed to slow down, to think before she spoke. She was always doing that, talking and thinking and getting ahead of herself. From there she would begin stammering and messing up her words. Speaking just always seemed to go downhill for her. Maybe that's why people called her the silent type. She tried to speak as little as possible, unless she was nervous. And then she couldn't quit talking. Thank goodness John was filling the silence. Otherwise Taylor would be trying to, and she knew how that would go. She grimaced and set her fork down with a bit more force than was necessary. She had to get over her speech issues, as well as her nerves.

She listened closely to the other first year, relishing his words. She could go to the Gardens whenever she wanted? After class of course, but that was still wonderful. It was probably like regular school. She would go to a class for a period or two, then get a short break in between each class. Once the school day was over, she could go do whatever she wished. That was kind of like home. She could do some of what she wished, as long as her mother permitted it. And her mother would usually allow her nature walks, as long as she stayed near the house. Which she didn't, but her mother didn't need to know that. But those walks were all her mother would allow that was beyond her line of sight. Taylor couldn't remember the last time she had gone to a friend’s house or a friend had come over. There had been no shortage of kids her age on her street, but her mother had forbidden her from speaking to them. The only friends she had were the ones that talked to her at school and went to Boy Scouts with her.

Things would be different here. She looked the blue boy beside her over and promised things would be. She would try to make some sort of friends, friends that she would actually hear from during the summers... through owls, she supposed. She broke out in a smile at the thought. What would her poor mother do with her fear of birds? A small giggle escaped her and she hid behind her goblet. Thinggs could get interesting.

Once she had gotten hersel fback under control, she turned to the boy once again. "What do you think your favorite class here will be?"

Her mind shot through all of the first year classes she had heard of: Charms, Transfiguartion, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. She didn't like the sound of that last one, Dark Arts, but it made sense.. In a world with more power, it only made sense that someone would want to use to for bad things. She had also heard Care of Magical Creatures mentioned by Headmaster Brockert, but she wasn't sure if it was a class first years were able to take.

0 Taylor Petterson Apparently you're not. 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

Ava Fletcher

August 06, 2014 12:17 PM

...and into the fryer? by Ava Fletcher

Ava's summer had gone exceedingly well. For once. Demetri hadn't come to Port Townsend to visit his grandfather and so she had been saved from three months of torture and cruel mind games. Her mother had come home early for her birthday- and she had stayed. The most incredible part of it was, though, the promise her mother had made her as her birthday gift. It was a promise that Ava was almost certain her mother would keep this time, as not only had the special gift been wrapped in an envelope, but the envelope had been stored in a practical backpack that was nearly half the height of the now 14 year old Aladren.

The giddiness of her mother's birthday gift had stayed with Ava through the rest of the summer leading up to the start of school. She had been so anxious that she had spent the wagon ride over to Sonora pouring over travel guides to South Asia. She had been tempted to skip the Welcoming Feast and go straight to her room to finish the stack of books she had brought with her in her trunk. However, her stomach growled as she put foot on Sonora grounds and left her collection of books to head to Cascade Hall and socialize with her housemates.

Headmaster Brockert's speech, the sorting of the first years, and the announcement of the ball (all things that might have caught her interest before her birthday) went by nearly unnoticed as Ava sat daydreaming of the next summer when she would be backpacking through South Asia with her mother (the Muggle way). She almost didn't hear Emery asking her to pass the soybeans.

"Hmm?" she asked, her eyes refocusing as she realized that he had asked her a question and the food had appeared already. "Yeah, sure." She blinked and shook her head, looking down the table for whatever food it was that Emery wanted passed to him. "Sorry, what was that again?"

After passing him the soybeans, Ava took a piece of cornbread from a basket in front of her and reached for the butter. "You know," she said conversationally as she spread the butter and searched for something to accompany the cornbread. "I was super nervous to turn fourteen, what with thirteen being a lucky number and all, but I think this year is going to turn out pretty spectacularly!" She smiled again, imagining what Dimitri would say when she told him of her good fortune that summer. She was certain that her first friend at Sonora would be incredibly happy for her. This time next year, she would be a worldly girl, and she’d be sure to have all kinds of fun stories to tell her friends (because now she had Emrys and Emery in addition to Dimitri, and even Chloe a little bit too!)

"How was your summer, Emery?"

10 Ava Fletcher ...and into the fryer? 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Adam

August 06, 2014 3:07 PM

I will use my powers for good, not evil. by Adam

It was a bit strange to see Annette without Annabelle close by. Over the years, Adam had naturally assumed that the two witches were attached in a way he wouldn’t be able to understand without a twin. He had always wondered what it would be like, seeing another wizard with his same countenance but a separate consciousness. The Anns were not, however, physically attached at the hip, and seeing her sitting away from her sister shouldn’t have been so surprising.

Annette was acting a little odd; her face was flushed and he wondered briefly if she was feeling embarrassed for some reason. He hadn’t said anything ridiculous, had he? He received the pitcher from her with a smile and a, “Thank you,” before pouring himself a glass. “Would you like any?” he asked after he had finished. He would pour it for her if she asked for it, but otherwise he set the pitcher aside.

Her face was still coloured and made Adam a little confused. No matter the reason for her flushed cheeks, Annette could be feeling self-conscious and Adam knew better than to ask why she was blushing so. His sister certainly didn’t like it when others pointed out how red she looked when she blushed. “I wonder too,” he said in response to her query. “It seems to be an innate skill among house-elves; or prairie elves, rather.”

The concept of house-elves had been one Adam had always taken for granted; there were wizards and witches, house-elves, Muggles and muggle-borns. That was just the way things were in the world and Adam had never thought twice about it until now. How did house-elves know how to do so many household chores? Perhaps it had something to do with the powerful magic house-elves were capable of as well. Household chores were included in the house-elf skill set simply at birth. The thought seemed a bit silly, but Adam had no other answer and he wasn’t invested enough to go to the library and read about house-elves all evening.

“Oh, thank you,” said Adam with a smile. “Looks shiny, doesn’t it?” he teased, noticing her eyes drop down to look at it. “I right forgot that Prefects were being chosen from my year, really, but don’t tell Headmaster Brockert that. He might take it away from me.” Adam leant in slightly. “He scares me a little, to be honest.” He smiled to show he was teasing, but it was a half-truth. Brockert was not a wizard to be trifled with, that much Adam could surmise, and working as a Prefect meant he would inevitably be noticed more by the Headmaster in the years to come. “Are you looking forward to the ball?” he asked as he scooped up a spoonful of Indian curry and rice.

0 Adam I will use my powers for good, not evil. 0 Adam 0 5

Charlotte

August 06, 2014 3:10 PM

What might that be? by Charlotte

Every time Emrys came to her rescue, Charlotte always felt so much relief that she couldn’t help but smile. Maybe she depended too much on him to always take the initiative in their friendship, but that was the duty of the wizard. They were supposed to be the strong ones according to her mother; it was a role Adam grew tired of sometimes, but one he had accepted nonetheless. Charlotte assumed it was like that for all pure-blood wizards and she tried not to feel too guilty about it.

It was true she had been disconcerted by the lack of letters from him during the summer, but her mum had told her lads couldn’t be trusted to be diligent in their writing, using Adam as an example. His letters home were infrequent during the school year, and knowing that made Charlotte feel oddly at ease. Seeing Emrys now, it didn’t matter if he had sent two or two hundred letters; as long as he hadn’t forsaken her as a friend. His congratulations was slightly unexpected, but it pleased her. “Thank you,” she said graciously. She didn’t know if “thank you” was an acceptable response in accepting praise for her brother’s accomplishment, but the words had already been said. Hopefully he didn’t laugh at her, but Emrys had never laughed at her before for saying something stupid and she didn’t expect him to laugh now.

The only boys who had ever made puppy eyes at her were her brothers. Seeing Emrys making such an expression tugged at her heartstring; how could she be mad at anyone when they made that sort of face? Not that she had been angry at him to begin with. His promise to ‘make it up’ was endearing and she smiled. “It’s all right,” she said, pleased and amused at the same time. Years before, Charlotte would not have been able to imagine herself feeling even remotely comfortable with any other human being outside of her family, and yet here she was with a true friend offering to be Potions partners for life.

“I forgive you,” she said, “since you’re sitting with me now. Endless music practises sound a bit much anyway, don’t you think?” she teased lightly. “I don’t know if my fingers would be able to play so incessantly.” It was incredible how being with Emrys could change her mood so drastically from tired and self-conscious to playful and light-hearted. Only her siblings had held that sort of influence over her disposition until now. “I do look forward to being homework buddies and playing music together, though. I brought some music sheets from home for us to play." Only after she had spoken did Charlotte think that she sounded too desperate. It was time to reign in her enthusiasm. She focused her attention once more on her food. "Did you have a good summer?” she asked. “Is Caelia well?”

0 Charlotte What might that be? 0 Charlotte 0 5

Rupert

August 06, 2014 3:40 PM

I very much hope we keep this going. by Rupert

Rupert was very glad Wendy didn't seem to mind his constant presence. He tried not to think anything of it, instead taking a bread roll after her and putting his meal together. He was careful not to put any meat on his plate just in case it offended Wendy. He felt terrible after last year's picnic where he'd only brought bread and meats to make sandwiches, not knowing Wendy had decided to be a vegetarian. Since then, Rup had become a little more conscious of what she liked. If they had another picnic this year, he would be more prepared.

Even though Rupert was at a feast, the goods at the Canterbury bakery sounded delicious. Tarts sounded lovely right now and Rupert wanted to have one for dessert once he was finished with his meal. Wendy explained to him what her parents did. They sounded so different from each other, and yet similar; one was a musician and the other built things. The term 'mechanical engineer' was unfamiliar to Rupert, but he put it to memory. "It sounds like a fun job," he said, having learnt about automobiles in Muggle Studies. "He must be very talented. Your mum too, to be able to make bread and music. I wish I were more musically-inclined. Do you play an instrument as well?"

Visiting her at her Muggle home in Phoenix had never really crossed Rupert's mind until this very instant. Wendy seemed so excited about it as well that Rup began convincing himself that it wouldn't be a bad idea if he took a holiday in Arizona for the winter. "It sounds magical, Phoenix," he said with a smile. "Though I hope it doesn't burn up and rise from the ashes every hundred years or so."

Before Rup could respond to Wendy's question--yes, he did like the colour blue, in fact it was his favourite--and as his lips curled at her compliment--he aimed to wear the blazer more often--she was congratulating him on his captaincy for this year. That she remembered pleased Rup even more and his smile widened. "Thank you; yes, I'm looking forward to it. I really missed it last year, but I kept up with my exercise in my spare time. I know my brother, Cepheus, was upset about it at first since he was captain of the Crotalus team last year and they didn't get to play once." Sometimes Rupert felt bad for his brother, but the way Ceph had treated both Megan and Theresa made him less inclined to feel sorry for him. Rup only hoped Lucrezia would work some sort of magic to contain his brother's wandering eye.

"My cousin Adam's been made Prefect this year, so take care of him for me. He learns fast from what I know of him." It had been a delight playing with his cousin on the same Quidditch team. Back home, the two wizards hardly saw each other and hadn't gotten a very good opportunity to get to know one another before school. It was beginning to get a little warm so Rupert removed his blazer and put it to the side. As he rolled up his sleeves, he asked, "What are you looking forward to this year?" with a lack of anything more interesting to say.

0 Rupert I very much hope we keep this going. 0 Rupert 0 5

John Umland

August 06, 2014 4:04 PM

...What did I miss? by John Umland

John noticed Taylor grimacing as he spoke and wondered what was wrong with her. Normally, he’d just assume she really wanted him to shut up, but he hadn’t been talking that long. That left her being sick, not liking the food, not liking what he’d said specifically even if he had yet to annoy her in general….

Then, though, she started smiling and giggling, leaving him utterly confused. He guessed he shouldn’t be surprised, since he had a hard time figuring out what people he knew well were thinking and feeling if they didn’t just tell him and it was stupid to assume he would do any better with a total stranger, but he disliked the social convention which said he couldn’t just ask what in the world her deal was so she could tell him and then they could communicate better once he wasn’t confused and at least a little suspicious, as he was used to assuming that people who laughed at him thought he was the crazy one.

Which he was not. One of the adults who’d volunteered with his Beaver Scout troop had suggested that Mom have him ‘tested’ for something when he was six or seven, and Mom had not been amused. At all. Tone of voice was not a thing John picked up on well (he could usually tell someone was implying or suggesting something, but almost always guessed wrong when he tried to figure out what the something was, though he had gotten much better at noticing when it was a warning that one of the Glorious Representatives of the Values of the Canadian Everyman was about to try to hit him or steal his things) but even then, he had known Mom was Not Amused At All by another adult presuming to talk to her that way about him. Other people had wondered it since then – Charini, a girl in his book club back home, had just asked him if he had ADHD about a month after they met – but he thought Mom was smarter than all of them, and if she said there was nothing wrong with him, then there was nothing wrong with him until she said otherwise.

“Uh…” he said when Taylor did look at him again, but not because of her behavior. It was because she had just asked him a really hard question.

“All of them,” he said finally, with a brief smile. “Well – if they’re, you know, if I like how they teach them. Care of Magical Creatures sounds cool, but wizards kind of missed the scientific revolution, so I don’t know if we’ll get to do anything really interesting or not…. Transfiguration should be good anyway, though, and our Charms book looks fun, and…yeah, I just want to learn everything,” he said, more cheerily than he’d said anything before. “In and out of class, even if classes are good. What about you?” he asked.

16 John Umland ...What did I miss? 285 John Umland 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 06, 2014 6:02 PM

OOC - Characterization by Anita Tippet

Since I'm still learning who Anita is and such, it's been difficult to keep her in-character, without falling into how I would see the situation and relate to it. I'm still new to this, the roleplaying, but this is not the first time I've done an original character.

0 Anita Tippet OOC - Characterization 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Eva Winters

August 06, 2014 9:07 PM

Great to meet you! by Eva Winters

After the sorting was done dinner appeared on the table. At first it shocked her. She'd never had good just appear before! But before long Eva had piled her plate high with food, grabbing pretty much everything her mom would NOT want her eating. But, then again, what was the fun of leaving home if she couldn't try some things? Besides, she wasn't planning on eating it all, just...sampling. The sweets especially. Maybe she could find a way to send some home to her sister.

“The food looks good, doesn’t it?I am Aiden O’Neil of the Northeast O’Neils. How are you doing this evening? Did you have a nice wagon ride?”

Eva stopped grabbing things and looked across the table to see a fellow first year smiling at her.

"Eva Winters, I'm a Muggleborn." She smiled back, hoping nothing was stuck in her teeth. "The ride was a bit high what I'd like it to be honest. I prefer my feet on the ground. I feel a bit sick otherwise." She laughed and stuck out her hand.

Thinking about it, Eva realized the Academy was already starting to feel like home. Everyone seemed so nice, like a giant family almost. Of course, there was still a lot left to see about the people here, but so far so good. She couldn't wait to write home!

0 Eva Winters Great to meet you! 0 Eva Winters 0 5

Annette

August 06, 2014 9:21 PM

Glad to hear it. by Annette

"Yes, thank you," Annette confirmed when he offered to pour her a glass of the pumpkin juice. She put her glass near enough for him to reach then brought it to her lips for a brief sip as he put the pitcher down in a clear spot on the table. That bit of normality helped and the cool juice helped more in finally reducing her blush. She took another sip and felt she might almost be back to her normal shade as he discussed house elves and their supposed ability to be born knowing how to do stuff. In truth, she wasn't sure she had ever seen a child elf, so wasn't entirely sure if maybe they did just pop into existence fully developed and skilled. If she was bored sometime, she might look into it in the library but doubted she would. More likely, she might ask the ones at home about their early lives over break, since boredom at home was much more common than boredom at Sonora.

"It is shiny," she agreed, smiling. She had never expected to earn the prefect badge herself - she had hoped, of course, as surely everyone did, that the teachers might find her worthy of it, but as things had turned out last year, she was secretly glad it had been Wendy saddled with that responsibility during the storm's isolation and the professors' absence. "I hope you don't ever have to deal with everything last year's prefects did."

She nodded in silent agreement to his assessment of the headmaster's scariness. She wouldn't have said it herself - it seemed verging on disrespectful - but she did not feel too hesitant about agreeing with it when somebody else said it. Headmaster Brockert kind of reminded her of Grandmother and Grandmother could be downright terrifying sometimes. Annette occasionally wondered if Grandmother was scary because she was the matriarch or if she was matriarch because she was scary. Annette thought it might be the later.

Between the discussion of house elves and scary authoritarian figures, she had nearly forgotten entirely about her earlier embarrassment. Then Adam brought up the ball.

She flushed again immediately and hated herself for it. He wasn't asking her to it, for Merlin's sake. He was just idly chatting about it. If he'd fancied her he wouldn't just ask her if she was looking forward to it, he'd test the waters by asking if there was anybody she was hoping might ask her to it.

Annette tried the pumpkin juice sipping thing again, with less success than before, but there was some success so she took another one. Feeling a little more in control of herself, she force her voice to remain calm as she answered, "Annabelle is, certainly. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike balls, but they are not my most favorite-est things in the whole wide world like some people," specifically her mother and sister, "would like them to be." She shrugged and winced slightly, knowing it was the wrong answer for a lady of breeding even within the Heritage Society's norms, but offered truthfully, "Personally, I'm more looking forward to Quidditch coming back again."

*That* was the shiny badge she was still a little upset she did not have.

1 Annette Glad to hear it. 247 Annette 0 5

Neeka

August 07, 2014 3:18 AM

Actually, I meant that sarcastically. by Neeka

Over their years as roommates, Neeka had never spoken much to the Pierce twins for the same reason she assumed they did not speak much to her: they had each other. So honestly, she was a bit surprised to have one talking to her now, with the other twin farther down the table. She was not entirely sure which was which most of the time, and this occasion was no exception. There had to be some physical indication of identity, but Neeka simply did not know them well enough to know what it was. For now, she made a mental note to just find ways to not refer to Pierce Girl 1 by name.

Neeka felt slightly better as Annettabelle seemed not too bothered by her lack of attentiveness, repeating her simple greeting easily. "Oh, thank you," she smiled in return. "Welcome back to you, too." The friendliness, she decided, was either a very good sign or a very bad sign. Either Annabette genuinely wanted to get closer, or she was just messing with Neeka. It was something that had not--as far as she knew--happened at Sonora yet, but it was something she honestly worried about happening. It seemed like a lot of the students here were wealthy purebloods, but Neeka was a lower-middle class halfblood. Her classmates could afford anything they wanted, whereas Neeka usually had just enough to survive, not going hungry but also not buying things just for fun. She consistently worried about being made fun for it, depending on how much people knew about her.

And maybe that was why she had spent so long alone here, but being alone also made her miserable. She wanted to be open and to make friends, and maybe Annebettelle was her best shot right now. Or maybe she ought to start talking to Wendy, who she was pretty sure was not a pureblood but somehow just seemed to fit in better. Neeka hated to wonder therefore if her exclusion was a race thing, but she was not treated badly. She simply was left out, but she left out the other students so far, so it was evidently not a malicious thing. It couldn't be, right?

"Hopefully this year is less crazy than last year, right?"

Neeka offered a small chuckle preceding her response. "Yeah, I certainly hope so. No teachers and no communication home? It almost felt like a prison." It had only furthered her feelings of isolation when even Uncle Lukas's letters could not be there for her. "I can't imagine any way this year could even get like that. Whatever the problem was, they definitely fixed it."

"I can't believe we're already sixth years," she added. "It seems like it's all gone by so quickly, doesn't it?"

0 Neeka Actually, I meant that sarcastically. 0 Neeka 0 5

Arnold

August 07, 2014 3:47 AM

Wow, two for two! by Arnold

Arnold was pretty sure the boy to whom he spoke was younger than him, probably in Jake's year, but that did not really matter to him. He did not have many friends, so if this younger boy would talk to him a while, he was not about to start getting picky. And anyway, if first impressions were anything to go on, he seemed like an all right kid, so there was no harm in at least having a conversation.

"My summer was great! I got to go to space camp!" Arnold's blue eyes widened in awe. Space camp? He had never been altogether that knowledgeable about space, but sometimes Arnold would climb out his bedroom window and lay on the roof to watch the stars at night, to feel the pull of the universe and truly believe that he was a part of it. Scientifically speaking, he was curious about its beginnings and its ends, and one simply could not forget to study the middle! A proper nerd, Arnold wanted to hear about it all. "How was yours?"

"Pretty uneventful," the redhead mused dismissively. "Nothing compared to space camp! What was that like?" He wanted all the details, all the secrets to the world and the universe that this boy apparently held and Arnold went without, or at least until now. He wanted to share in his knowledge, to see the stars through informed eyes. Sitting on the edge of his seat, Arnold thought this could be the beginning of a very good thing.

OOC: Sorry this one's on the short side. Since Arnold showed interest in Clark's space camp, I figured it would hopefully give you enough to work with since he could go on about it for a while. Once again sorry!

12 Arnold Wow, two for two! 261 Arnold 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 07, 2014 5:31 AM

Quodpot or Quidditch? by Joella Curtis

Joella's blue eyes flicked swiftly over to the Teppenpaw table. "Who knows? Teppenpaw's are known to be friendly but..." She shrugged. She didn't know if it was Anita's rather non-committal response or her own lack of real interest in the topic but Joella was keen to move the conversation on.

Anita Tippet seemed like good friend material so far but one thing Joella was keen to find out about her fellow housemate was where her interests lay. Interests which, Joella hoped, were not chasing boys. It was during this brief thought that Joella suddenly realised that Anita may now be lead to believe that it was Joella's sole hobby to check out the surrounding guys. This was not, of course, her intention but still, there were worse first impressions possible.

"Anyway, Quodpot or Quidditch?" This was always a question Joella loved to ask people but was frequently disappointed when the answer was "neither". She could never understand how so many witches and wizards did not possess the same passion for flying games as she did herself. Since a young age Joella had played Quodpot on the farm with her family. Her elder sister Franki had also spent a lot of time teaching her to play Quidditch and Joella had soon taken to the game. She had therefore found no disappointment that Quodpot was not played competitively at Sonora as Quidditch had long since become her first hobby.

8 Joella Curtis Quodpot or Quidditch? 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 07, 2014 5:38 AM

OOC - re: characterization by Joella Curtis

That's perfectly understandable. I have taken part in some more basic roleplaying in the past and written for many original characters but even now I am still discovering things about Joella. I am having to constantly look at my application form before I post to check for continuity issues with her personality. We have both only just begun this roleplay so it may take time before we begin thinking differently in character and out of character.

8 Joella Curtis OOC - re: characterization 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Francesca Wolseithcrafte

August 07, 2014 8:57 AM

Something good, I hope by Francesca Wolseithcrafte

Francesca tried not to slouch as she entered the Cascade Hall. It was only years of posture lessons that really stopped her giving in. She had always been tall for age but had definitely shot up over the summer and was still growing used to the fact. The endless rounds of shopping had rather hammered home the point, as she had needed new robes and a new broomstick. She had then spent the majority of the summer getting used to how her new broom handled, and how to handle her new body in space as well. It was a tricky adjustment. She had always favoured lightweight brooms, which had the advantage when it came to overall speed and quick changes of direction (but had distinct disadvantages against high winds and Bludgers). Whilst there were definitely lightweight models available, it was a relative term the bigger the rider and broom got and, whilst she had a trim, athletic figure, it still took a good deal of practise to feel natural again.

The Quidditch try outs were... if not quite to the back of her mind then definitely in the middle as the entered the hall. As well as accursed tallness, fifth year brought with the announcement of prefect. When she had started school, she hadn't been at all confident of her chances. Her family's politics could alienate people, and she'd been prepared for life on the fringes. However, she'd been readily accepted by her year mates, and had good friends. The Pierces switching their allegiance to the pro-Quidditch movement definitely reduced a lot of the possible pariah status. And the only other candidate was even less sociable than she was. She had been trying to remind herself of the former points as much as possible, and that she had actual positive characteristics to offer, rather than just being the less bad choice. If it hadn't been for her friends, she might still have felt that way about herself and so, when their three names were all called together, the smile that split across her face was just as much for them all getting it, as it was for her getting it herself.

As they left the stage with their shiny new badges, she took advantage of the brief moment to whisper to them.

“How great is it that we all get to do this together?” she smiled. And, when Adam had broken off to the Pecari table, she added to Ginny, “You'd still be the best choice, even if there were a hundred Crotali,” with a quick squeeze of her friend's shoulders, she split away and returned to the Aladren table.

She grinned at the reminder that it would be the ball this year. That had been the event in her first year, and the year her team had won at the challenges that had occupied the remainder of the term. Clearly the year of the ball meant good things for her in terms of school achievements. She doubted they'd be repeating the challenges, as she was sure Headmaster Brockert would have mentioned it (and, as she'd understood from older students at the time, they didn't traditionally go hand in hand with the ball but had been a one off). She wondered whether anything else special would be occurring instead.

Once the song was over, she cast her eyes over the feast. It all looked sumptuous and it was hard to decide. She knew she definitely needed a drink though, as she was parched – her mouth had gone a little dry when she'd been called up to the stage. She took the water jug and was just done pouring, when Keme asked for it.

“Sure,” she smiled passing it over, “Hmm, could you pass me the dish of that pork you've got please?” she asked, having appraised his plate, “It looks really good.”

Once the important business of food trading was done, she settled into the routine of the 'first night back' conversation.

“How was your summer?” she asked. She knew Keme only in as much as it was impossible to be in the same house and year as someone and to have never exchanged a few smiles, made a few observations and had the odd conversation, but he wasn't someone she knew well. As they were housemates, she guessed that reflected a little poorly on her, though people who kept to themselves often wanted to be left to do just that. Teddy was very much like that and, if she hadn't grown up with him, she suspected she would have found that he was something of a mystery to her. Hopefully her distance from Keme was something that suited his nature and that he sought to maintain, rather a callous case of having ignored him on her part.

13 Francesca Wolseithcrafte Something good, I hope 250 Francesca Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 07, 2014 10:59 AM

Quodpot for sure... by Anita Tippet

Anita perked up at that. This was a question she could answer. "Quodpot. I play the game with my mom and siblings at home in Maine." Now she wondered if Joella felt the same way.

While the sport was popular in North America than in Europe, Anita took to Quodpot very quickly. She loved the outdoors and Quodpot was definitely something she had a thrill over. Never mind Quidditch, where you throw the Quaffle into the hoops. Anita thought Quodpot, where the ball exploded, was more of an adrenaline rush. At least, that's how she ranked Quodpot. No, Anita would never try out for Quidditch, no matter how much it was pressed.

Anita decided to ask next. "Do you play Quodpot?" It was a simple question, but she needed to know if Joella loved the sport, too. She wasn't sure if she would lose a witch friend in this, but it was worth a shot.

0 Anita Tippet Quodpot for sure... 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Aiden O'Neil

August 07, 2014 9:21 PM

It's great to meet you too! by Aiden O'Neil

Aiden’s smile faulted slightly when the girl introduced herself. His parents told him to be aware of Muggleborns. They weren’t the sort that he should be really getting involved with. His parents didn’t think lowly of Muggleborns or even Muggles (although, they did not really have experiences with Muggles), but they were not someone that his family was meant to associate with on a more than acquaintance level. His mother said that this was the way things had to be. Aiden didn’t really understand it. He knew that it had been this way for centuries. He had learned all about it in his tutoring sessions, but it still never made much sense to him. His parents said it was okay to be sociable and polite but that he must never become close or else everyone will just become hurt.

He might have been able to avoid these things had she not blurted out her heritage, which he felt a little strange about knowing and wasn’t sure if he was supposed to respond to that comment or not. Did people respond to it? His introduction was mandatory. Every place he went where he had to greet people and introduce himself, he was required to say such things, but he knew they were all Purebloods, like him, and so… he wouldn’t need to specify that. Was he supposed to here so that everyone could distinguish from their social classes? He thought that would be easier, but his parents never told him to do that, so now he was conflicted.

Deciding to ignore this for now and wait until he met with some other people before concluding what he should be doing regarding his greeting. He took her offered hand for a brief shake and let it go. “Oh, if you didn’t agree with the wagon ride, you’ll hate flying lessons.” Aiden commented with a grin. “It’s nice to meet you, Eva.” Aiden stated easily enough. He may have been confused by etiquette because of her, but she had not offended him in any such way. “My mother knew how to fly already, so it wasn’t terrible for her, but she said there were ladies in her class that were petrified of getting off the ground.” Aiden told Eva. “I like to fly though. It’s fun. I can help you.” It never occurred to him that Eva might not need or want his help. He offered it because that was the sort of kid he was. He liked to be involved and be reliable.

6 Aiden O'Neil It's great to meet you too! 287 Aiden O'Neil 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 07, 2014 10:17 PM

I don't know. What were we talking about again? by Taylor Petterson

Taylor grinned. What classes wouldn't she like? The excited glint returned to her eyes as she shrugged. "I think Defense Against the Dark Arts sounds great. Everyone should know how to defend themselves. I just hope we have a good teacher. There's more than Dark Arts that we need protection from."

She tried not to let her expression darken as she thought of the scars decorating her body. Of course, most of those had been unhappy accidents, but a few had been from scraps with other children. She recalled a particularly nasty fight with a particularly nasty boy who had lived a couple streets over. It hadn't been a long fight, but she remembered how the blood had flowed from both of them. She'd been lucky; her face hadn't scarred. The other child... hadn't been so lucky. His chin still had a thick, ropey line across it. Her victory reminders were deep flecks across her shins where he had pushed her hard against the gravel. It had taken her mom two hours with the tweezers to get all of the little rocks out.

She liked John's cheery voice and the way he seemed open in his answer. It made her feel a bit more relaxed. He seemed like a good guy; she was glad her short Walk of Shame ended beside him. She gave him a real smile, one full of teeth as she added, "But I'm really looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures. I really like animals and nature." She was a bit hesitant to mention the next part, but when was the last time she had really talked to someone who would listen? "I--I didn't have a lot of friends back home, so I spent a lot of time in the woods, and while I'm a fast learner at most anything, I prefer more natural courses."

0 Taylor Petterson I don't know. What were we talking about again? 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

Theodore Wolseithcrafte

August 07, 2014 11:10 PM

One worth having? by Theodore Wolseithcrafte

Theodore's summer had been pleasant. It was always good to get away from school and have time to renew one's vigour. Of course, there were a number of social events that his mother requested his presence at but he was usually happy to oblige. He knew he was invited for his benefit, as her coffee mornings and debate clubs were a chance to mingle with intellectual and interesting people, to have his ability to argue a point stretched and expanded. It was fairly exhausting by the end of it but it was worthwhile exhaustion, unlike the tiresome small talk that seemed inevitable in school. They had also spent some weeks out of the city in their summer home, which meant uninterrupted reading by the lake, and walks in the woods, either alone or with Francesca or Barnabus. His two other sisters were too giddy and irritating to warrant much of his time, but his brother and his closest sister (both in age and relationship) both had steady, amiable natures. Francesca had been a little obsessive over Quidditch practise, due to some paranoia that she wouldn't be any good after having gained a barely noticeable few inches of height. He had humoured her at times, as he wanted to keep his eye in, but he was content to keep it to that.

He applauded enthusiastically as his sister was awarded the prefect badge for their house, and for her friends that accepted theirs alongside her. Whilst he supposed he was a little biased, he liked to think he was an analytical sort of person who could put his personal feelings aside, and he thought Francesca made the best choice for their house. He listened dutifully to the rest of the announcements. He wasn't really sure what to make of a school ball. He wondered whether people in his year would be expected to pair off on 'dates.' They were in that awkward middle ground of no longer being the youngest but not quite yet really old enough for that sort of thing – though he could imagine some of the girls might feel differently on that subject. He sang the school song quietly but well, and then turned his attention to the food when it appeared.

He was still choosing when a little voice piped up next to him, introducing herself as – to his ears, duped by the din of the hall and the fact that one didn't expect 'Sera' to be anyone's name – as Sarah. Just Sarah. No last name. It was unlikely then that this girl was of a Pureblood background but people didn't pour scorn on you here for merely conversing with the other set. So long as you didn't do anything radical like date one, it was considered to be no harm, no foul. And, in spite of her boring name, there was always the possibility that Sarah was an interesting person.

“Good evening,” he smiled. It was a social smile, nothing particularly warm or genuine, but that wasn't personal. Theodore was a reserved person, and getting a true smile out of him was something of an impressive feat – most usually achieved by books or by nearly cornering him in a chess match.

“I am Theodore Wolseithcrafte,” he said, not feeling the need to give an elaborate Pureblood introduction. If she was someone noteworthy, or even from any kind of wizarding background, there was the possibility she'd know of his family. They weren't exactly a shy and retiring bunch, with both his parents involved in politics, and usually finding a campaign or two to get vocal about. His mother had spent most of last year giving quotes to the newspapers about what her group was doing to re-establish contact with Sonora Academy, after it had got cut off from the rest of the wizarding world. Although he supposed not every ten year old, as this girl would have been at the time, diligently read the news, strange as that thought was to him.

OOC – as noted above, if Sera reads the newspapers, Theodore's family name might ring a bell. Last year the school got cut off and his mother led a group to find out what was going on. I'm just letting you know what it's possible for her to know – it's up to you how much she does.

13 Theodore Wolseithcrafte One worth having? 270 Theodore Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Malcolm Carey

August 07, 2014 11:31 PM

To try to plan more in the future by Malcolm Carey

Mal smiled when Chloe offered sympathy about the prefect’s badge going to Adam. “Why?” he asked. “Who wants a thankless job that might turn into being responsible for running this lunatic asylum?”

Answer: not him, anyway. If he had been Head Boy last year, he was pretty sure he would have either just hexed everybody or else let the place slip into as much chaos as it wanted as long as that chaos stayed away from him. He definitely would not have attempted a bad Brockert-and-Skies routine with the Head Girl, unless she made him do so at wandpoint, anyway. Pierce and Bauer had stayed afloat, he thought, through a combination of force of personality, the ability some Aladrens had to make people wonder if all that time in the library might translate into an extensive knowledge of offensive magic, and sheer dumb luck, none of which were things he thought he had a lot of.

“I avoided most people, but my sister made sure I stayed well-informed about the family gossip,” he said. Apparently, Theresa’s attempt at being a romance novel heroine had not gone very well for her and she had been acting irrationally ever since. Mal wasn’t sure if Lucille thought she was offering a moral lesson, reminding him that making decisions for himself was stupid, or if she was just gossiping, but he had gotten thoroughly sick of hearing about which South Carolinian she was fighting with this week and the failed attempts Lucille and Alexandra had made to cheer her up. “My brother spent the whole summer talking about how he only has one more year to go before he can come to school. What about you? Did you do anything interesting with your very small family?” he asked. He thought her close family, her immediate family, was bigger than his even if his dead father and oldest half-sister were counted as part of it, but the idea of not having any family beyond it was strange. He thought it sounded restful, but strange.

0 Malcolm Carey To try to plan more in the future 256 Malcolm Carey 0 5

Seraphina Willow

August 08, 2014 7:35 AM

Can I get back to you? by Seraphina Willow

When Sera had worked up the courage to introduce herself, she’d hardly expected a response. Who would want to talk to her, she wasn’t all that interesting to look at. The lack of emotion in the smile was overlooked as she busied herself with trying to remember where she’s heard that name. Nothing came immediately to mind.

Theodore Wolseithcrafte had introduced himself rather formally. Maybe a bit more than she had expected or hoped. He was probably pureblood she decided. Looking up at him, she found herself wondering about the, she guessed, older boy. What year was he in? Where was he from? What was he like? So many questions sprung to mind and she didn’t know what to say. It was times like this when she wished she hadn’t grown up in isolation. Talking to her mother was no replacement for learning simple communication with those her own age.

Sera stumbled over her words a little and blushed, realising she’d been staring at him for a while. She ducked her head for a moment before she looked back up, smiled sheepishly and spoke.

“I’m sorry, I should have said, I’m Seraphina Willow. It’s nice to meet you.” Unsure of how formal she should be, she had hesitated before asking, “Do you mind if I ask what year you’re in?” She felt the blush come back to her cheeks as she wished she hadn’t spoken, but it was too late now.

Trying to not seem to eager, she turned back to serve herself dinner. The food looked absolutely delicious, and the sound of knives and forks scraping on plates made her realise how hungry she was, famished might have been a better word. She managed to serve herself politely and not completely ruin her attempted good impression. She wanted a friend, but she also wanted to start eating soon, her stomach was growling in agreement. 'Hopefully' she thought, 'I can have both.'

0 Seraphina Willow Can I get back to you? 0 Seraphina Willow 0 5

Theodore Wolseithcrafte

August 08, 2014 10:17 AM

I'll leave you my card by Theodore Wolseithcrafte

“That is how I choose to introduce myself, or rather how I was taught to. That does not make it the one and only correct way for all people and situations,” he stated when she apologised and stated that she should have introduced herself a different way. He wasn't trying to be confrontational and his tone certainly suggested nothing more than mild curiosity – it was simply his habit to analyse things. Some people found that picky or irritating but he tended not to remain friends with them for very long.

“That's a rather interesting name,” he added, managing to piece together that she must have said 'Sera,' as a nickname just in time to avoid looking confused or questioning it. He thought her full name was rather nicer but as someone who had let the dignified bearing of his own name be replaced with the rather more cute and fluffy sounding 'Teddy' (though strictly within the confines of his own family, and anyone that Francesca accidentally spread it to) he supposed he didn't really have a leg to stand on. “Where does it come from – something to do with Seraphim and Cherubim, I take it?

“I don't,” he stated in response to her question of whether she minded if she asked what year he was in. However, having had his little grammatical joke, he proceeding to answer her, not really wishing to make it at her expense. She seemed rather jumpy and he had no desire to make her feel silly or self-conscious. That was, of course, going to be easier said than done. Theodore was not a people person, and it meant he wasn't really a natural at putting others at ease. Small talk bored him and thus he often found his supply of it running rather dry.

“I'm a third year,” he explained, the words sounding a little odd to him. He was now an intermediate student, which meant a whole new level of classes, which was an exciting prospect.

“What class are you looking forward to most?” he asked, his mind having shifted over to that topic. It was also a reasonably safe conversational area at the Aladren table, and tended not to be accompanied by the kind of eye rolling and unfavourable comments someone like his sister Ingrid would give it. That girl was a born Pecari if ever he saw one.

As he and Seraphina talked, he helped himself to a tempting looking meat stew. In spite of the Arizona heat, he felt one always wanted something hearty after the long day travelling, and it was cool enough within the confines of the school to enjoy such food. The dish turned out to consist of pumpkin and chorizo, amongst other less flavourful ingredients to bulk it out. The crowning glory was the little sage dumplings on top. With this on top of a long journey, he would be drowsy – but content – by the time he finished his helping. But the speeches were always done before the feast for that reason. He would have nothing to do but nod and smile his way through the dessert course (always much less interesting to him overall, and especially once he was already full of warming stew) and then he could crawl away and find his bed.

13 Theodore Wolseithcrafte I'll leave you my card 270 Theodore Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Araceli and Effie Arbon

August 08, 2014 11:03 AM

I'll believe that.... by Araceli and Effie Arbon

OOC – even having reread it, I don't see it, so don't worry!

IC
She sat silently listening to the words around her. When you didn't say much, people tended to assume that you were stupid. Whilst she suspected that she wasn't nearly as bright as her brilliant sisters, she was certainly capable of understanding what people around her were saying. When you were silent they spoke about you like you weren't there, which was very hurtful. So far, the other girl wasn't doing that, which she appreciated. She was her room-mate though, she concluded, after wracking her brains (twice to be sure) and counting off the list of foreign Pureblood families Effie had taught her attended the school, even though she was sure they were all British even without mentally checking. This was someone she was going to have to live with, converse with without making an idiot of herself, for seven years. Even if she wasn't a Pureblood (Effie probably knew, even though the girl was foreign but she hadn't learnt outside of America, and the few non-American families that were known to attend the school) then she would still have to gracefully deflect her. It mattered, and she wanted so badly to just be able to join in now, whilst her sister was here to help her. There were words in her head, some of which didn't even sound entirely ridiculous, but it was like her entire throat was closing up. Wherever inside your voice came from, there was no way for hers to get out.

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Effie smiled in response to the girl's greeting. She tried not to appear flustered as the girl took an interest in Araceli, turning her gaze to speak more directly to her instead. She rested her fork gently on the side of her plate, not daring to take a bite yet, lest she had to answer for her sister. Seconds always felt longer when no one was speaking. She was torn between wanting to give Araceli a fair chance and not wanting the silence to become too apparent.

Was it paranoia, or was the other girl watching her? If she looked up to see, and found that she was, then she would be forced into coming up with something to say. The fear of that was the only thing powerful enough to override the natural desire to check, and potentially avert her worry if the girl's attention was still directed elsewhere. There was a beat in the conversation which made her suspect she was supposed to be the one to reply to Shinohara Uzume. How could she talk to her when she couldn't even look at her? How could she live with her when she couldn't even speak to her? This whole thing was a nightmare.

“Thank you,” Effie replied on their behalf. She was not familiar with the Asian custom of giving the family name first and so assumed that Shinohara was the girl's given name. “In general, American custom dictates that one addresses ones peers as 'Mr' or 'Miss' So-and-So. However, as so many large families have many members attending this school, you may find that people are willing to accelerate to a first name basis more quickly to avoid confusion.” Technically, if they were doing things properly, she – as the oldest daughter – could claim to be Miss Arbon, whilst her sisters were Miss Delphine Arbon and Miss Araceli Arbon, but there were many situations where that did not practically pan out. For example, if one of Araceli's yearmates wished to treat her deferentially, whilst Effie herself was nowhere in sight, 'Miss Arbon,' seemed the most appropriate greeting. It was only really when they were being announced as a family that the strictest format applied. That was probably a bit too much information to share with Miss Uzume (which she could not help but habitually call the girl in her head). She still didn't even know whether....

“I do apologise. Here I am, chattering away about etiquette, and I don't even know what circles you plan to move in here! I might be wasting your time horribly,” she added contritely, rather pleased she had found a way to probe the girl's blood status a little. It wasn't terribly subtle, she knew. But the point of such exercises wasn't really subtlety, it was delicacy. Contrary to what people thought, the two could exist separately; in such situations, the enquiring party wanted there to be no doubt as to the information they wanted, no possibility for misunderstanding, but it had to be phrased in such a way that was not direct or offensive. It was like when healers spoke to you euphemistically to cover delicate health issues – their meaning had to be clear but there were simply some problems and anatomical features that one did not label. Outright asking someone's blood status was uncommonly vulgar a thing to do. But Shinohara could not honestly say that Effie had done any such thing.

13 Araceli and Effie Arbon I'll believe that.... 290 Araceli and Effie Arbon 0 5

John Umland

August 08, 2014 12:03 PM

Multitasking, I think. by John Umland

John looked sideways at Taylor when she said there were things other than the Dark Arts that needed defending against, not sure how to respond to that or whether or not he should be a total, if possibly useful, hypocrite and remind her of the Statute of Secrecy and Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the demands in those documents that the two of them not use magic outside of school to defend themselves from basically anything short of attempted murder, but he brightened again at the mention of Care of Magical Creatures.

“I’m looking forward to that one too,” he said. “My sister used to write me letters about it – it’s how I got into birding.” He looked around the table, remembering that Julian’s partner in crime from that significant day in his life was somewhere at this very table if he was still at Sonora at all, but remembered he was having a conversation with someone before he got too distracted by the search. “They have dodos here! Intact living specimens! There’s not a mock turtle unless you count fire-crabs, but Julian’s class covered the dodo – er, diricawl, that’s it’s real name – and there are gryphons, even if, uh, we won’t get to cover those….”

Which was too bad, but he did see the point. Paul said the school had good PR people and good luck, but there was really no way to spin a student being eaten by what the student was studying into something that looked even remotely okay, at least not at this level. Nobody cared that much if specialists got eaten, that was just the job, but they thought differently about kids in school. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to that one. I’m from a city – I was in the Scouts there to get out some, but that’s non-magical, so I really haven’t gotten to see many magical creatures up close but some owls and a few boggarts that got in the house.” He remembered she was Muggleborn. “Those are…creatures we’ll probably learn about in DADA instead of CoMC,” he explained. “I’ve always wanted to figure out how one works….”

Mom didn’t think that hitting a boggart with a dictionary and trying to dissect it was the appropriate response to one of the shapeshifters getting into the house, and he had always been too scared and surprised when they jumped out at him to think not to yell and attract her attention before he had time to give either step of his prospective experiment a whirl. There had been grindylows, certainly put there but no one had ever found who did it, in a pond once, too, but Mom hadn’t let him anywhere near there because another kid, a Muggle, had almost been drowned before experts came in to remove the water demons. Other than that, though, his corner of Calgary was decidedly lacking in magical creatures, Dark or otherwise – at least as far as he knew. His parents were involved with Muggleborn and Squib support organizations on the provincial level, as were his older brothers, as much as they could around university, anyway, and his dad was a Quodpot announcer and so worked in the magical world, but it occurred to John that he really had not had much contact with wizards outside his family since he was a little kid. His mom worked part-time at a Muggle library, all the friends he had, all met through that library, were Muggles, and if any of the other people at church or in other charities and causes his mom got involved with were magical, they hadn’t told him about it.

Maybe he’d investigate over the holidays, if he had time. It was worth a note. “It’s all kind of connected,” he explained. “My mom says everything is, but it’s easier to see with magic than some things.” He realized his soup was going cold and scraped up a big spoonful so he could finish it faster, then slid a mushroom off one of the skewers and ate that. “But it’s all how they teach it. Julian doesn’t talk about the teachers much, and nobody’s ever taught me but Mom, so I don’t know what’s normal. Did you go to school before you knew you were a witch?” She'd said she didn't have many friends, but that didn't mean she hadn't been to school. He knew a lot more people than he would call his friends and he had been homeschooled from age five until yesterday.

16 John Umland Multitasking, I think. 285 John Umland 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 08, 2014 1:01 PM

Quodpot and Quidditch! by Joella Curtis

"Oh yes!" Joella nodded happily. She was thoroughly pleased with Anita's response. The merciless side of her was actually relieved by the fact that her fellow Pecari preferred Quodpot as it meant there was one less person to compete against at the Quidditch team tryouts. The friend making side of her was also much relieved, having had no idea what she would have done if Anita hadn't liked either game - could she be friends with someone who detested her hobbies so much? That was something she had yet to find out.

"I've been playing Quodpot for years," continued Joella easily, her love for the game clear. "My family play it a lot too." Joella wasn't sure whether or not to mention Quidditch again for Anita evidently had little cares for it, considering she had only replied Quodpot.

"I started playing Quidditch a little more recently," Joella went on to say anyway. "My older sister, Franki, really got into it during her time here and she's currently training to referee so has taught me to play. I'm not going to lie, I actually slightly prefer Quidditch now but I still love Quodpot. Well, I only like Quidditch if I'm playing as Chaser - I find the other positions slightly boring to be honest. Still, I spend more time playing Quodpot because that's what the Curtis family are really into." Joella wasn't even concerned by the idea that she may be rambling. When talking about Quodpot or Quidditch she could go on forever and there could sometimes be no stopping her. It was just something she was really passionate about. Right now she was holding back but, if Anita loved Quodpot as much as she sounding like she did, then there shouldn't be a problem.

8 Joella Curtis Quodpot and Quidditch! 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 08, 2014 4:33 PM

Quodpot is my thing. by Anita Tippet

Anita nodded at Joella's response, making sure she let Joella know she was paying attention. So Joella had a passion for Quidditch. Anita knew what that meant, but she wasn't sure if this meant what she thought. There was only one way of finding out. But was Anita really up for hearing what Joella's response would be?

"My sister Angora is into Quidditch. She won't stop going on about it at home. You and her would make the greatest friends. Me, I'm more into Quodpot. That's why I won't tryout for Quidditch," said Anita. Yup, she said what she needed to say.

Sure, Joella was all right as a person, but her heart was for Quidditch and Anita could only handle Quodpot, as that was what exhilarated her. Oh well. At least she did her best to make a friend. That's what counts, right? Still, Anita could not help but wonder if that meant she would lose her acquaintanceship with Joella, or rather had gained an acquaintance. There was only way of finding out, and that was Joella's next response.

0 Anita Tippet Quodpot is my thing. 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 08, 2014 5:17 PM

Written off already? by Joella Curtis

Joella was a little taken aback by Anita's response. Her fellow first year still sounded friendly but the way she talked about her sister and Joella making "the greatest friends" seemed as though she was already writing Joella off as a friend. Where had she gone wrong?

Joella could only assume that it was her talk of Quidditch. She should have seen Anita's lack of mentioning as a sign not to ramble about it. But had Joella not expressed her love for Quodpot too? Surely Anita couldn't have missed that?

It wasn't that Joella was afraid of not becoming Anita's best friend or anything. She saw no reason to assume that she would become close with the first person she spoke to at Sonora. The problem for Joella was that Anita had grabbed her attention as an especially good friend to make from the moment she proclaimed her passion for Quodpot. So what if she didn't feel the same way about Quidditch? As long as her housemate liked at least one of her two favourite hobbies, Joella had no complaints.

"Well I'm not complaining, that's one less person for me to try out against," Joella grinned, sounding jokey but genuinely serious. She was keen to get onto the Quidditch team and worried due to her lack of knowledge at the levels of other students. "So, do you think they'd allow us to play Quodpot here anyway? Just for fun?" The idea of getting a group of friends together for a spot of Quodpot during their free time sounded like much more fun than working in the library or whatever else students did outside of class.

8 Joella Curtis Written off already? 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Emery

August 08, 2014 6:13 PM

I sure hope not. That sounds painful. by Emery

Somehow, it did not surprise him that Ava was completely oblivious to his request. She was always off in her own world. Half the time he had no idea what she was saying to him. Emrys and him always just went along with it because it was easier to pretend to understand than it was to ask for an explanation. Emery had no idea how DiMitri put up with all the time and could only conclude that DiMitri was equally as crazy as Ava was. But, for some reason or another, Ava’s quirkiness was endearing to Emery. It was a little funny to him to think that considering his sister was similar but her inattentiveness just annoyed him. He supposed that was just a family reaction though rather than his overall reaction to the trait.

“The soybeans.” Emery stated, pointing to them in case she wasn’t sure which group of beans that was. Soybeans could look an awful lot like green beans depending on how they were prepared. Of course, if she had given him the green beans, he would have just eaten those instead. He liked his vegetables. Most likely a product of having a vegetarian for a mother. Emery was the sort of kid who could eat tofu without missing a beat having had it for as long as he could remember. He was never deprived of meat, so every once in a while he would have some, Jeff and Chloe were big meat eaters. But, he found himself preferring meals without that. Now that the school was serving more vegan meals, he didn’t think he’s odd eating habits were noticed. It also helped that people, like Ji-Eun, who brought around different sorts of food too. It was evident that Ava had not heard his ramble about the delicious beans and for that, he was grateful. He didn’t want to seem like an idiot around her.
While filling a small portion of his plate with the roasted and seasoned beans, Emery listened to Ava and became confused with her once again. Thirteen was a lucky number? He hoped she was being sarcastic. Being thirteen brought on not only their immediate lessons, but the whole debacle with the missing teachers. Emery was quite happy to be fourteen (he felt, in general, fourteen made him less childish to older students and thus, no longer one of the ‘young’ ones). “Why is that?” He asked her curiously. “Because of the ball this year? Are you the sort who gets excited for that thing?” That was an easy answer. Ava seemed to get excited over everything. The idea that she would be happy over it filled him with dread.

“Summer was pretty good.” Emery commented with a genuine smile. “We took a little family vacation to the Grand Canyon. Angel and Dad couldn’t go for obvious reasons, but we still had a good time.” That was the only noteworthy thing of his summer. Other than the vacation, it had been pretty typical. When he wasn’t with his family, he was out with his friends, some of whom already had girlfriends which made Emery feel like an outsider. Since when did they suddenly notice girls anyway? They even acted weird around Chloe and that was irritating. “How was your summer? Did you do anything fun?”

6 Emery I sure hope not. That sounds painful. 0 Emery 0 5

Anita Tippet

August 08, 2014 7:30 PM

Something Amiss by Anita Tippet

Wait, was Joella hurt by her response? Anita knew she herself had been hurt by what Joella said, but she didn't show it. I guess words do hurt, thought Anita. Maybe if she tried a more subtle response, knowing she was only speaking to an acquaintance, she would be all right.

Of course, Anita lit up at the sound of 'Quodpot'. She wondered if Joella liked both sports. Would Anita be willing to pry the question? Then again, she already understood after the first couple of seconds. If there was one thing Anita liked better than Quidditch, it was Quodpot.

Anita answered, "I don't know. We should ask someone and see." It was worth a shot. Anita knew she had only just met Joella, so maybe she shouldn't push the idea of friendship just yet. Only time would tell what happened next. Hey, maybe a few Quodpot matches wouldn't be so bad, if the school allowed them the chance to play the game for fun.

0 Anita Tippet Something Amiss 0 Anita Tippet 0 5

Keme

August 08, 2014 8:41 PM

Yes, I hope that as well. by Keme

Keme paused briefly when Francesca asked for the plate of pork that he had just treated himself too. The pause was not because he didn’t want to pass the plate of roast beef, but rather, because she had stated ‘pork’ and that threw him. He didn’t know if he should correct her by stating roast beef was a cut of meat from a cow, not a pig, but he thought that might make him look like a jerk and that wasn’t someone he cared to be. On the other hand, he didn’t want to give her a plate of meat that she was anticipating to be pork. “Sure, here’s the roast.” He stated, deciding that she might eat either way if she thought it looked delicious enough to ask for it.

Once he had poured himself some water, Keme began eating, believing that had been the last of his conversation with anyone for the evening. No one really spoke much to him for whatever reason. He assumed that they just found him unlikeable and not worth their time for talking when they could have a better time with their friends. As lonely as that left him during meal times, he respected their choices. He sometimes thought about the time when he had first started at Sonora and believed that others would think lesser of him for being Native American, or as he often heard growing up, seeing him as a Savage. Those thoughts had him self-consciously distancing himself from his classmates. Now there was a giant gap that he could not close. Had he been more open-minded to things or made an effort to understand everyone else, he might have a circle of friends to spend his time with. As it was, this was never going to be the case.

When Francesca continued on, asking him of his summer, he was quite surprised by her doing so. Being housemates and classmates, he was not foreign to a casual conversation with her, but it was rare to go beyond a few passing words. He realized that he had paused for too long after her question that now it might feel awkward. Clearing his throat, Keme answered her and tried to use the pause as though he were just thinking of what to say. “My summer was rather nice.” He started. “But still predictable. Spent time with my family and friends, did the usual ceremonies and traditional contests, etcetera.” Keme gave Francesca an small smile with a shrug as though this was to show he knew his life outside of school was quite boring. “Congratulations on your new badge. I hope you won’t have to put it to the test so soon this year like last years’ Prefects did.” He joked. “Did your summer go well for you?” He added as that was customary.

6 Keme Yes, I hope that as well. 0 Keme 0 5

Wendy

August 08, 2014 8:59 PM

I very much think we can by Wendy

"I can play a little piano," Wendy told him. "But I like singing better. I love listening to music; not so much playing it myself."

If Rupert came to visit, Wendy knew they would have a great time together. He seemed pretty easy going and fun to hang out with. "I don't know about rising from ashes, but Phoenix surely does burn up during the summers." Arizona was hot in the summer, but no matter what Wendy still loved it. There was just something so charming about the desert.

"That's unfortunate for him." Wendy couldn't imagine how disappointing it would be to finally get a coveted position only to find it meant nothing that year. Poor Cepheus. "Cepheus is such an interesting name," she commented off-handedly. "Anyway, I hope the Quidditch season goes well this year!"

Wendy drizzled some gravy on her bread roll before turning to look at Rupert with wide hazel eyes. "Adam's your cousin? I didn't know that." She didn't think the two boys looked anything alike, but she didn't think she and her cousins looked too similar either. "You sure have a lot of family members who go here. But that's really cool that you guys go to the same school. I'll be sure to watch out for him. Are you guys pretty close?" She had only seen Adam a little in their common room and in classes, but she would definitely be getting to know him better this year since they were now both Prefects.

It was really cool how magical families could have siblings and cousins and other family members all attend the same school for years. Wendy's mom had something like that back in North Carolina. Her mom's family was pretty wealthy and most of her family members had gone to the same university. Her mom was the one who had broken tradition and transferred to a culinary school halfway into her undergraduate studies. None of Wendy's cousins were magical, though, and that part sucked. She wouldn't be able to share this kind of experience with even her parents; only she and Waverly and some really old relative of her dad's were magical Canterburys. But even if she wished her family could come to school with her and she could talk about her magic freely back home, she wouldn't change it for the world. She liked being a muggle-born and she liked her lifestyle.

Rupert was pretty muscular, Wendy thought. Probably from all that Quidditch training that he did. He was a beater, right? They had to have strong arms to bat away iron balls of death. It was funny how she'd never really thought of how nice muscles were before. "What am I looking forward to..." She tapped a finger against her lips in thought. "Well, I'm looking forward to dressing up for the ball. I think I'd want to emanate a flower, but not a rose 'cause that's overdone. I have a year to think about it, though. I'm kind of looking forward to classes since we're sixth-years now. That means advanced classes and I can finally drop DADA and Potions. Those are my two worst classes. I'll go to all the Pecari Quidditch games too, so you better make sure we win!" She poked his arm and found it to be just as muscular as it looked. "Do you work out a lot?"

OOC: Made some assumptions from past posts about Rupert's exercise habits. Hope that's okay!

0 Wendy I very much think we can 0 Wendy 0 5

Chloe

August 08, 2014 10:07 PM

Well how boring and normal of you. by Chloe

Chloe looked at Malcolm owlishly when he responded to her sympathy to his loss. She had not expected such an honest and rather blunt outlook on his loss or his opinion of his thoughts on what the badge really stood for in this school. After a second of digesting his words, Chloe began to laugh. She missed how open Malcolm was with his feelings about life. Since the first conversation she had with him, she always found him so refreshing. Chloe was generally an open and honest person, but that often put people off to her. They seemed to not enjoy her thoughts or couldn’t handle her constant stream of conversations. She had gotten better about taking breaks when she spoke, but there were times when she was too excited to stop the flow of them and so, she let it all out. Emery always told her that her filter was broken and that was what people disliked. Even so, Malcolm never seemed to mind it and he didn’t hold back either.

“Okay, fair enough.” She said after she caught her breath. “You just made me feel better about my unequivocal loss to Ji-Eun next year. “ Chloe advised him. Even if it was nice to be noticed for positive traits by the staff (a.k.a. being responsible and a decent mentor to younger students), Chloe knew she did not want the hassle of the badge itself. She was never good with responsibility. Somehow, she managed to get on with life well enough, but she knew it was because of Ji-Eun and Emery who made sure she did her homework on time and study when it was needed. There was no authority figure on the planet that would find her suitable to wear that badge and knowing it would mean the stress that those who wore it endured last year (probably not to such an extent, but still present), she didn’t want it anyway.

“Your family is so large it has its own gossip?” Chloe asked, her blue eyes wide with wonder as she stared at him. The only type of gossip her family had was what a person had for breakfast. She supposed Ayita might be keeping a boyfriend from college hidden from the rest of them, but she doubted it. Ayita didn’t have lying in her blood and would have told her sister if she was seeing someone. They were close and Chloe idolized her. “Baby is old enough for school?” She used the nickname out of amusement more than anything, but she also wasn’t sure how comfortable Malcolm was with hearing his dead father’s name being said by her. Some people were bothered by that.

“We went to the Grand Canyon on a family trip.” Chloe said with a shrug. It had been really fun and they had camped there for an extended weekend, but she didn’t think Malcolm would find that all that entertaining. Did Purebloods like him even know what camping was? They probably went to the Bahamas for vacation. Who cared about the Grand Canyon when you had money to rent an island? Of course, Chloe just presumed the Careys were lit considering how ‘in demand’ they were by other girls. Or so she expected. “Except my Dad and Angel, they stayed home. It was a good time and I’m glad we were able to do something normal this year. Emery thinks the trip was to make up for the months of no communication and how stressed our parents have been over… life.”

Out of curiosity, Chloe looked at Malcolm from across the table, “Do you guys do that sort of thing? Camp, and such? Or is that too dirty?”

6 Chloe Well how boring and normal of you. 0 Chloe 0 5

Francesca Wolseithcrafte

August 09, 2014 12:37 AM

It seems to be alright so far by Francesca Wolseithcrafte

OOC – sorry, it was my inattention, not Francesca's so I'm just going to assume she said the right thing and isn't surprised.

IC
Francesca enthusiastically helped herself to the roast beef, opting for boiled potatoes to go with it, along with vegetables, and topping the meat off with horseradish. She didn't understand how so many Pureblood girls stuck to their ridiculous diets. Food was such a pleasure in life. It was another excellent argument for allowing them to play Quidditch, as it burnt so many calories and was a much healthier way of achieving a trim figure than starving yourself. The Quidditch Diet, she thought to herself, with a wry smile, Eat what you want, stay thin anyway.

“That sounds very enjoyable,” she nodded, as Keme very briefly summarised his summer. She kept the little amused smirk off her face lest he take it the wrong way but she did find it amusing that he could dismiss his summer as all the usual when it contained hints of things so wildly different to what was normal for her.

“Thank you,” she smiled, as he complimented her on the badge, a slightly nervous laugh escaping as he joked about what her responsibilities might entail. The thought had already crossed her mind. Not that anything similar might happen again, the odds would be astronomically low, but of how she would have coped. She was lucky to have missed being in that position, she knew that really... And she was sure it would have been horrible and stressful. But she couldn't help but want to know how she would have coped and what sort of respect she would have got from her peers... Would she have been drenched in ink or had an exploding pumpkin head like Effie Arbon and Anthony Carey? “Let's hope my responsibilities are limited to lost first years,” she suggested.

“It did,” she replied to his question about her summer, “I joined in with my mother's coffee mornings,” she had to bite back a tangent about all the interesting people she'd met – Keme had been brief and she didn't want to take an unfair turn, or bore him with more details than he was interested in, “And went to the museums in Chicago. We got out of the city too, and I spent time swimming in the lake by our summer home, taking walks, practising Quidditch... My version of the usual,” she added, careful to phrase it in such a way that accounted for there being more than one. She didn't want to make it sound like she felt her life was the normal and Keme's was abnormal, especially given the question she was about to ask...

“Would it be overly personal of me to ask you more about the ceremonies and contests you mentioned? I just don't really know a lot about what 'the usual' would entail in those circumstances and.... well, you can chalk it up to Aladren curiosity, I suppose, but I also find it a little embarrassing to have been in a house with you for four years and to never have learnt more about your culture. It seems rude.”

13 Francesca Wolseithcrafte It seems to be alright so far 250 Francesca Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Olivier Westley

August 09, 2014 4:16 AM

You wouldn't happen to be named Iselle or Julio, would you? by Olivier Westley

OOC: Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed herein by Olivier Westly are not those of his authors who would like to take this opportunity to apologize ahead of time for his behavior.

The school year had arrived much too soon for Olivier’s taste. He would have liked to stay in Wales, and tried hard to slip the thought into the forefront of his parents’ brains, but was unfortunately forced to return to this hellhole of unreliable teachers, self-assured egotistical students, and eager to please, subservial praire elves. Olivier’s face had been on the verge of souring into a scowl the entire ride over save for (of course) when he was talking to Lena. The only thing keeping him from scowling was that someone might notice and ask him if something was bothering him. For this, and this alone, he kept his face neutral. He wasn’t sure if Lena knew his feelings about the situation, and he wasn’t going to tell her- he didn’t need nor want her to worry. It would be better to let her stay in her ignorant bliss than for him to point out to her all the reasons they shouldn’t be returning.

Stepping through the doors of Cascade Hall and seeing the new first years lined up was enough to send a brief, caustic smile to Olivier’s lips. Although having to sit through it again as a bystander was almost as painful, the only thing that made this year a slight bit better than the last was the fact that Olivier didn’t have to participate in the annual degradation of students more commonly known as, ‘The Sorting’. The first years being sorted now meant absolutely nothing to him, less than nothing even- if such a notion was possible. They were just maggots like the rest of the student body, and definitely people he did not want to associate with. Unlike others of pureblood status, he hated Mudbloods, Halfbloods and Purebloods equally- with the exception of Lena of course.

Fortunately, with the torturous ceremony finally over, Olivier would only have to last a little longer before he could retire to his room for the evening. Unfortunately, with the torturous ceremony finally over, he might have to actually talk to these lowlives.

“How was your summer, Jane?” he mocked quietly, to himself. "Oh, Dick, my summer was lovely, thank you ever so much for asking. How was yours, if I may be so bold as to inquire?” Olivier rolled his eyes. “These people are nuts,” he mumbled lowly to himself, not loud enough to be heard. “How do you find Sonora?” He added, directing his attention to the salt-shaker, envious of the inanimate object that had the fortune to not have to talk to anyone at all. Then he realized that it had to be manhandled by grubby fingers who didn’t know how to control their caloric intake and instantly felt bad for the salt-shaker. Regrettably, however, one of the new first years seemed to think he was addressing her.

“I like Sonora very well so far. It seems like a nice place."

Olivier closed his eyes briefly, wishing he were anywhere else so that he wouldn’t have to interact with some bright eyed and bushy tailed first year. He took in a breath before bestowing a brilliant smile at the younger student. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!” he responded, enthusiastically, thinking it was ridiculous for this child to have already formed an opinion of a place she’d only been in for less than an hour. “A lot of people do seem to share your opinion,” myself not among them, he added snarkily in his head.

“Olivier Westley,” he said, declining to offer his hand as he didn’t want to catch whatever disease was most likely festering on the fingertips of the his unsought out companion. Not that it was anything personal- none of it was. It was just that she was a snot nosed child and it was a well-known fact that all children, save Lena and himself, were filthy and cared not for personal hygiene. “Of Wales,” he added, remembering that he was in America and that the Purebloods here did things differently than back home.

"My name is Makenzie Newell," the ginger responded, obviously thinking he cared. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

“And yours,” he lied through his teeth. “I do hope you enjoy your next seven years in this-” torture chamber “-fine institution.” He gave the first year what could be construed as an encouraging smile, and nodded towards the professors’ table. “All the teachers here really care about us.” His smile widened, though this time it was genuine. Not because he really believed that, but because he was quite pleased with the joke he had just made.

Olivier brushed an imaginary strand of hair out of his eyes, knowing full well that his sandy brown hair was neatly in place. However, the action gave him something to do while contemplating his next move as well as serving as a tactic to soften himself to his conversation partner- something to show that he, too, was human. He gave Newell a brief, calculating look that probably came off as a sign that he was interested in her (in a grown-up way), but he didn’t care. He took in her attire while grabbing a roll and decided. “So, you’re a witch. You’re probably excited about this ball that the school is having for Midsummer.” His tone sounded light and teasing. Bordering on playful. Olivier wanted to throw up.

There, the damage had been done. Newell could ramble on about the ball all she liked- if she was so inclined (which most females were) and he could sit there and eat his unbuttered roll and corned beef, nodding as though he actually cared what it was she had to say.

10 Olivier Westley You wouldn't happen to be named Iselle or Julio, would you? 282 Olivier Westley 0 5

Liliana Bannister

August 09, 2014 4:43 AM

Re: Apology and Surprise [Tag: Liliana Bannister] by Liliana Bannister

Liliana's summer had been pretty miserable. Not only had Levi been off traversing the entire known wizarding world* but Atlas also hadn't bothered to write. After her first letter was met with no response, Liliana had stopped attempting to contact him. She was a proper young witch (or at least on her way to become one), and proper young witches did not send multiple letters to young wizards without receiving a response first. By the time the fourth week of vacation had rolled around, Liliana had decided that the yearbook was wrong, she and Atlas most definitely were not best friends and she would be better off trying to find friends in other students at Sonora. Perhaps another witch as wizards seemed to be notoriously unreliable.

Upon her arrival to Sonora, Liliana felt oddly as contrary as she once had two years ago when she had come for her very first day. She found herself a seat at the Pecari table, her clothes pressed neatly, hair tidy. Her mother often put charms on Liliana's clothing and hair before important dinners to keep her look presentable, and the Opening Feast was no different, especially because before it Liliana had to ride in a covered wagon from Connecticut to Arizona. She was sitting there contemplating who she should befriend that year when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking to her left, she saw an unmistakable head of black hair take a seat beside her. Atlas Primred.

“Hey Liliana,” began the little weasel. “I hope you had a good summ-”

The Headmaster beginning his welcoming speech cut him off and Liliana felt a rather catty smile sneak across her lips as she pulled an "oh, that's too bad" face and turned towards Headmaster Brockert to listen to the speech as attentively as she allowed herself. He introduced the new Heads and prefects (for whom Liliana clapped dutifully) before announcing the Midsummer Ball. A ball. For this first time that evening a real smile lit up Liliana's face. Balls meant good food and dancing- two things she dearly loved. The smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared though, as she realized that it meant she would have to find a date. This ball wouldn't be like one of her Grandmother's were it was okay to come without a date as they were events in which witches and wizards were invited by family. It was a school ball which meant wizards had to ask out witches. She felt Atlas nudge her left side and she wrinkled her nose distastefully. Did this mean he was trying to ask her? She hoped not. He had a lot of explaining to do before she reconsidered allowing him to be her friend again. Besides, didn't he still owe her for that misunderstanding first year?

"I hope you had a good summer," Primred said once the food began to arrive. "Anything interesting happen? And your family? Anything new with Levi or your other cousins?"

"My summer was fine, thank you," Liliana replied tartly. "No thanks to you, of course. But it's not as though I actually needed your letters to have a fun summer if that's what you were implying." She didn't answer his questions regarding her family as he had no business knowing, not being her friend any longer.

“I am so sorry about not writing all summer,” the guilty party said, not even having the guts to look her in the eye. “For various reasons I kinda got tangled up in some stuff. Plus… I kinda forgot. I hope you aren’t too mad?”

Mad? She had been mad at first but had then made the decision to move on with her life, deciding that she didn't need to waste any more time on Atlas when he obviously wasn't thinking of her. Since she had made her decision, she had let go of some of the anger, though she hadn't wanted to miss the opportunity to give Atlas the treatment he deserved after neglecting her all summer. However, to hear that he had forgotten her just refueled her hate fire. "Ah, I see," she responded contritely, her clipped accent enunciating what she said next clearly so he could make no mistake in understanding. "I'm not mad. To say that I'm mad would imply that I cared enough to feel slighted by your lack of communication."

*OOC: Liliana is only being dramatic here. Her cousin, Levi, actually just spent the summer in Kiev.

10 Liliana Bannister Re: Apology and Surprise [Tag: Liliana Bannister] 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Lena Wesley

August 09, 2014 6:56 PM

Surreptitiously Sits Next to You by Lena Wesley

The ride was the same as last year- exhilarating and both metaphorically and literally breathtaking. The heady rush of wind and the view were more than enough to put a smile on Lena’s face, and the inability to breathe well when facing the high pressured stream of air would have been matched by Lena’ ability to hold her breath for a long time had the scenes unfurling beneath her not halted her breathing already.

The wagon was packed only with one other familiar face- Olivier’s. Well, there may have been some recognizable faces had she paid much attention to her classmates last year but none struck her. She could only recall three people entirely: their face, name, and house being the determining factors between Lena’s idea of “knowing” someone and having “almost certainly never met” before.

Unfortunately Olivier was not an Aladren, and the walk through the halls was the last time she could hold his hand (for a burst of encouragement) or speak easy (or have peaceful silence). With one last squeeze of his hand she headed for the Aladren table. Or made as if she was. Instead she remained outside the hall a while longer and took deep breaths, not because she was nervous, or for fear of running out, but just because she thought she wouldn’t be in any calmer environment than the one right now, under beautiful enchanted ceilings with no one else around.

After finally cracking the door open again and heading inside, she hoped to find a far end seat, away from the parade of first years but that hope soon turned into a different one. A quite unexpected one. She saw Clark, another Aladren already seated and quietly came up behind him and took the seat next to his, putting him between her and the marching first years. She made no move to say hello but being next to someone who was in her mind a very amiable person was a very fortunate thing and she sat patiently and waited for the food to come.

When it did, another boy, seated in the opposite direction started talking to Clark, and she simply continued slowly moving her food across her plate and let her thoughts wander.

7 Lena Wesley Surreptitiously Sits Next to You 279 Lena Wesley 0 5

Melanie Lennox

August 09, 2014 8:02 PM

Words fail me. by Melanie Lennox

It was here, her final year at Sonora. By this time next year, she might even be married-and to someone she really loved. Melanie felt like one of the luckiest pureblood girls in the world. Off the top of her head, the only other truly happy pureblood couple she could think of were Ryan and Sophie, who weren't properly betrothed. Most pureblood couples in betrothals didn't get to feel this way. Melanie was very happy that when the year was over and they had graduated, her closest friend from school would still be with her, always. Not only would they never lose touch, but they'd be together for a hundred years.

They had their hands clutched, an action that always made Melanie's face feel warm, in a pleasant way, not a feverish one. She watched politely as the new first years were sorted, including Ryan's twin cousins, one of whom was a new Teppenpaw, not that she knew which.

Now was the biggest announcement of all and Melanie squeezed Marcus' hand even tighter. She heard Headmaster Brockert's voice call up her name....and Jay Carey's. She felt simultananeously excited and disappointed. She was Head Girl but....Marcus wasn't Head Boy and it would have been amazing to be Head Students as a couple. Still, as he extracted his hand from her own so she could make her way to the stage, she was sure he'd bounce back. Marcus always did and she loved that about him.

When she came back, there was a quick hug waiting for her, that she wished could have been longer. She was glad that he seemed happy about her win when he hadn't. As for herself, Melanie was surprised a bit, she wanted it, most did, but had someone else done so, she'd have been okay. Still, she felt happy and proud, though she hoped Lucille and Aria had as good of attitudes about not recieving the badge as Marcus did-though most likely not given her betrothed was good attitude personified. Of course, in Aria's case, she did have a badge of her own.

She listened to the rest of the speech, something about a new COMC teacher which was nice given it meant all the core subjects were now covered, followed by the announcement of this term's Midsummer event, the ball, which was always led by the Prefects and Head Students. Of course, even if she hadn't been Head Girl, she would have still have someone to dance with.Melanie could only imagine how stressful it was for those who had to lead and couldn't find dates and just thinking about it made her feel terribly sorry for them.

Once the Headmaster was finished speaking, Marcus spoke up "You know, you ought to congratulate me," he stated, a grin breaking his coy exterior. "I happen to be engaged to the smartest, most beautiful Head Girl that this school has ever been lucky enough to behold."

Melanie could feel herself blush from the roots of her hair and to the tips of her toes. She looked down at the ground shyly. "Thank you. I mean congratulations too, I guess. It just feels so weird saying that to you, hearing all these sweet things you say to me, that you deserve congratulations for being with me and the stuff about what a wonderful Head Girl you think I'll be." She gave Marcus a hug that spoke volumes of words that she just couldn't seem to get out appropriately right now.

11 Melanie Lennox Words fail me. 226 Melanie Lennox 0 5

Ava Fletcher

August 09, 2014 8:15 PM

Here's to a pain free year then! by Ava Fletcher

“The soybeans,” Emery said as he pointed to the dish that was just inside her reach.

“Oops, sorry!” Ava grinned and passed the plate to Emery. “I was just off in my head is all. You like soybeans then?” She wasn’t much of a vegetable person, having enjoyed the all-starch diet for most of her life, but she had started to eat more balanced meals as she got older and was now open to at least trying to swallow the dreaded vegetable. As Emery served himself some soybeans, she looked for an uncooked-vegetable perhaps a summer salad (which was about the only sort of vegetable that she genuinely enjoyed eating).

Ava took a bite of the roast chicken on her plate, pausing to chew and swallow before answering Emery’s next question. “Thirteen is my family’s lucky number,” she explained. “Good things always happen to us on the 13th. Save for last fall, of course.” Ava shrugged. “But perhaps even that was a blessing in disguise. For one it brought the graduating class closer together and the school tightened its’ security for future students.” She took another bite, chewing slowly and puckering her forehead. “What ball?” She asked. “I didn’t hear anything about a ball?” Ava grinned. “Judging from your reaction I’d guess that balls aren’t really your thing?”

A ball. Huh. Ava wasn’t sure how she felt about that, it probably meant dancing and dates and dressing up- things she wasn’t necessarily opposed to, but also things that she wasn’t necessarily super excited for. She knew girls were supposed to like this sort of thing and while she knew that it would be fun (the school organized events usually were), and was excited to see everyone have a good time and wondered what all her classmates would look like in dress robes, she still was a little reluctant to go. She didn’t think there was anyone who would be interested in her enough to ask her. She had Emery, Dimitri, and Emrys- but their grade was all reaching the age at which they took interest in the opposite (and same, she wasn’t one to discriminate) sex, which meant they’d probably find someone else they actually liked to ask. At the very least Emrys was out because interested or not he and Charlotte would be going together, it was just a matter of time.

“Summer was pretty good. We took a little family vacation to the Grand Canyon. Angel and Dad couldn’t go for obvious reasons, but we still had a good time.”

“I’m glad,” Ava nodded and smiled for her friend. “It’s good to have breaks. What was the Grand Canyon like? I’ve always wanted to go but Papa and I don’t really get out much- he doesn’t like to travel and my mom does enough traveling for the lot of us.” Ever since her dad died, her grandfather had lost most of his lust to travel, instead preferring to stay in their small Washington coastal town and play word games with his friends and show off his granddaughter’s paintings to anyone who cared to look.

“My summer was pretty good as well, actually!” Ava imitated Emery’s opening line teasingly. “Mom came home for my birthday and gave me a hiking backpack.” Her eyes twinkled. You know what that means, right?” Ava didn’t wait for him to answer before finishing her thought. She was too excited to play guessing games. “She’s taking me with her to South Asia next summer! It’s going to be mostly a Southeast tour, but we’re also stopping in Nepal so it would be totally inaccurate to call it Southeast Asia even though that’s where we’re mostly going and it sounds better!”

Ava had been asking to tag along with her mother’s Healing trips for as long as she could remember and apparently, Charlotte had decided that turning fourteen was old enough to join. It was only three years short of being Of Age, and Ava had showed enough persistence in wanting to learn Healing that Charlotte had decided it would be good to show her what the job was actually like in case she wasn’t cut out for it. Papa knew this. George knew this. Even Ava, usually oblivious to the inner-workings of her mother’s brain knew this. And that was why she was so determined to do well in school that year and study up so that by the time she got to that tour she would be prepared- mentally and intellectually.

10 Ava Fletcher Here's to a pain free year then! 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Mal

August 09, 2014 8:24 PM

We all have our off days by Mal

For a moment, Mal wondered if he might have said something so unequivocally inappropriate that it wouldn’t go over well even with Chloe, but then she started to laugh. He bowed slightly when she thanked him for putting what she expected would be her position this time next year into perspective. “I live to serve,” he said.

He was used to thinking of her as the headmistress’ kid, which would make her and her brother both highly likely to benefit from nepotism since they were in different Houses, but Brockert was in charge now and might not like the reminder of his predecessor. People didn’t, sometimes; Mal hated it when people talked about his father and he didn’t even really have personal feelings about the guy, not like Lucille did. He just didn’t like the implication that he was expected to make as much of a mess of his life as his father's had been even before Father angered...someone so much that the someone Imperiused him into participating in a truly bizarre sequence of events Mal had never heard the story of in full.

“We manage,” he said about the gossip. “The younger generations are mostly very large and incredibly bored.” The family tended toward longevity – last year, two of the really old ones, his great-grandfather Edwin and the last of Old Anthony’s sisters, had both died, Edwin happily while the clouds were a problem that prevented Mal from going to his funeral, as he might have otherwise been expected to, but their generation was still not quite gone – and toward rigid hierarchies, leaving four or five generations with little to do but take orders. It was no wonder that they all got kind of crazy and started killing each other every now and then, though he thought it would have been more to the point to turn on that one generation, which had mostly outlived their own children.

“Nearly.” He chuckled. “He hates that name so much now that he apparently tried to name himself ‘Spencer’ while I was gone – that’s his mother’s maiden name. My mother, though, didn’t like it, so that didn’t last long.” Just long enough to give Mother something new to complain about.

The Grand Canyon. He wasn’t sure what the appeal was – it was just a big hole in the ground – but nodded politely when Chloe said it she and her family had had a good time. “It’s not so much that as that we don’t really do anything we’d have to leave home overnight to do, except go to family reunions,” he said. He wouldn’t have approved of camping himself if they had – he liked to wear light-colored clothes in the summer, and was sure woods and holes in the ground could ruin even blacks and blues – but it didn’t really matter. “At least Lucille and I don’t – Mother likes to stay home. I think Stepmother has taken Andrew a few places, though, and Lu says one of the South Carolina boys – Arthur, if you remember him – is on a world tour. You know, going around pretending to learn about other magical traditions. Anthony’s his brother and says his letters make it sound like he’s living sort of rough. And my…I think he’s still technically my head of family is living somewhere in Africa right now...he's been there for a few years, though, so I don't think that exactly counts as a trip anymore....”

He thought about that for a second, then shrugged. "What does one do at the Grand Canyon?" he asked. "Or while camping in general?"

0 Mal We all have our off days 0 Mal 0 5

Keme

August 09, 2014 10:57 PM

Yes, this is an agreeable start by Keme

He had no idea why being invited into a coffee group was fun. It didn’t sound fun. Actually, it sounded rather terrible. For one, Keme did not drink coffee. It tasted horrid and KoKo once told him that it would stunt his growth. Keme did not want to small. Not that he was small now. At fifteen, Keme was 5’8 roughly, which was slightly above average, and still growing. But he did not want to affect his growth in any way. Of course, her coffee mornings with her mother could be the equivalent to his fishing trips with his father, in which case, he could respect that.

He did not know she was from Chicago, so he filed that information away. He had never been to Chicago, but then, other than Sonora, he has never been off his tribes’ lands. He hoped to someday be able to visit places, probably the months between graduation and starting his life. There was only so much of Montana that he could handle and after leaving to go to Arizona, Keme wouldn’t mind seeing a little bit more.

“I don’t mind talking about it and I don’t really think it’s rude that you’ve never asked. We run in different circles and all.” Keme shrugged. He didn’t find it intrusive for another person to be curious about his heritage. He would rather they ask than just assume.

Keme wasn’t sure how to explain some of the traditions that his tribe did. These were just parts of his heritage that he took for granted. For people outside his home, he had no idea what their traditions were and he honestly had never really had an inclination to ask. That was probably rude of him, but most of society’s traditions were immersed into his as well. Like Christmas. Keme had learned in his schooling back home that there were some in his tribe who didn’t want to continue with the traditions, but wanted to become more immersed with the cultures outside of their lands. However, they were a very small portion of their people and most of them had jobs elsewhere, which seems to be why they wanted to stop with their heritage.

“There are some Tribal members who, when they come Of Age, decide to go on a Vision Quest.” Keme started. “This is done in the summers since Montana winters can be dangerous, so there is a ceremony. Those that participate take all year preparing for it.” Keme explained. “The Quest is about finding what your purpose is in life. You take a journey, alone, usually you fast, and you sit and mediate for several days. In that state, you are supposed to meet your animal spirit who will guide you on your life’s path.” Keme shrugged. He had a couple of years to figure out if this journal would be his to take or not. The Chief’s replacement, his first born son, had gone on the quest, and his first born son had gone on his quest, etc. It was expected of them. It was not expected of Keme and for that, he was grateful. “It’s one of the better ceremonies to witness.” There were some summers when no one chose to do this, so it was an honor to witness them when there was a candidate.

“Some other ceremonies are like the Sun Dance which is done each month on the day of the full moon. It’s a way to reconnect Earth and to heal in the process. There’s more involved in it, but it’s difficult to explain. You sort of have to experience it to really understand it.” He wasn’t trying to tell her that she wouldn’t understand the ceremony if he described it, it was just not something he felt he could explain in the detail that it required. “We also have the Ghost Dance, which is sort of like how the Pagans celebrate Halloween and the Mexicans have the Day of the Dead. It’s our way of reconnecting with lost loved ones, but, like the Sun Dance, it’s a way to heal Earth and ourselves.” Most of their ceremonies had to do with reconnecting with Earth and with healing. They gave thanks daily and celebrated life. Although he never publically did so at school, Keme did give thanks each night before bed.

“We also have ceremonies for when we plant and harvest foods and for the New Year, things like that. I think there are many cultures that do that though.” That was probably not interesting to hear. At least the contests were easier to explain. “Native American games haven’t really changed much, but to keep kids interested in them, they made traditional contests out of them centuries ago.” Keme explained. “My favorite one is the Archery contest. They bumped me up an age group this summer, so I only won fifth. It was still a good time though.”

“We also have a spear fishing contest, but I don’t participate in that, and there is the yearly hunt that we go on. It’s not really a hunt, we don’t kill anything, but we do track animals through the wilderness.” Keme told her. He had just done a lot of talking. Probably the most in a long time with anyone here. “But, yeah, those are just some of the things that I do when I’m home.”

Keme took a moment to let everything he said settle around them for a moment. Having spoken so openly, he was a little tired of hearing himself. “What sort of museums do you visit In Chicago?” He asked her. Where there different sorts of museums? She also mentioned having a summer house, which he presumed most families with money had, but he wasn’t sure if that was near Chicago or somewhere else. “Is taking coffee with your mother a sort of rite of passage?” He asked.

6 Keme Yes, this is an agreeable start 0 Keme 0 5

Emery

August 10, 2014 12:37 AM

CHEERS by Emery

“I do.” He commented as he plucked one up from his pile and popped them into his mouth. “I was raised on a lot of vegetables and tofu stuff.” Emery advised her. “My mom doesn’t eat meat, so by default, I basically don’t either.” His grandmother typically served meat with her meals to him while his mother was away at work, but dinners were always meat free. It wasn’t until Jeff and Chloe became permanent residents that meat was included in with his evening meal. They usually ended up making a meal with the meat on the side. That way, they didn’t have to make multiple meals and everyone could enjoy dinner together. It also made Thanksgiving more fun for them because a Turkey was involved. “It was hard on Jeff and Chloe though since they are big meat eaters, but I think things eventually balanced out.” Best of both worlds, he thought. He didn’t understand how people couldn’t like vegetables or meat. His mother even admits to missing the taste of certain meats, but her politics regarding the treatment of animals kept her from eating it.

Emery didn’t agree that numbers could be lucky. They were just numbers. He also didn’t believe that a number could be good for an entire family. That just seemed like a reach. He just assumed this was another weird thing about Ava and left it at that while he listened to her. “I doubt that.” He said when she mentioned last year might have been a blessing in disguise. If anything, it made parents and teachers more paranoid and could take away some of their freedoms.

He cracked a smile when Ava became confused over the mention of a ball. She really hadn’t listened to anything the Headmaster had said. “Nah, that’s not it.” He replied when she gaged his reaction to it. “I’ve never been to one. The only time I have ever needed to dress up was for my mom and Jeff’s wedding.” Both Chloe and him had been in the wedding as the ‘Best Man, Maid of Honor’ and it had been a fun experience. But they were eight then and not expected to have dates. “I don’t mind dressing up or dancing or anything like that.” He admitted. “It’s the asking someone part that makes me nervous. I mean, who would go with me? Emrys will definitely go with Charlotte, you will probably go with DiMitri, and it’ll be too weird to just be me and Chloe. So, I’d go alone and that’s just pathetic.” One would have thought being the minority gender at the school would help him score a date, but considering he was Halfblood and the majority of the school was Pureblood, the girls wouldn’t even look in his direction.

“It was amazing.” Emery exclaimed, his smile growing larger. It had been the first family vacation in a really long time. “We stayed at a campsite at the top of the canyon and took donkey rides down into the mouth of it – Chloe got scared halfway down and started to freak out about falling over – and we were able to explore some natural forming caves and see the wild life. We did rafting and lots of hiking too. I have a ton of pictures I can show you some time.” He hoped that they could do another trip somewhere next year.

Emery gave Ava his full attention because if he didn’t, he doubted he would be able to keep up with whatever it was she was going to tell him about. Of course, he wasn’t exactly expecting her to say that she was going to be hiking on a different continent. “Oh wow, that really puts my vacation to the Grand Canyon into perspective.” Emery stated, feeling a little deflated now about his whole experience. The Grand Canyon was one thing, but South Asia? At Fourteen? His family didn’t have that sort of money. They were comfortable enough, but Angel’s medicine, Ayita’s college, their own schooling… they didn’t have a lot left over, especially now that his mother wasn’t working. There was no way they would be able to travel overseas for family trips. “That’s pretty impressive.”

6 Emery **CHEERS** 0 Emery 0 5

Uzume Shinohara

August 10, 2014 1:33 AM

Except if she is named Gothel by Uzume Shinohara

Uzume didn’t hear much of Effie’s greeting, she was much more interested in Araceli. If she read the school brochure correctly, this girl would be her roommate for the next few years of her life. She wasn’t sure just how she felt about that yet, but hopefully the girl’s response would give her some insight into what she could expect. Now that she got a better look, Uzume thought the girl was quite adorable, almost like a little doll with her hair made up in the way it was. Uzume smiled a little more to herself, she had always wanted a little doll like her. After a few moments of silence went by, Uzume pondered about her last comment, worried that she had used the improper grammar. What other reason would force the girl to avoid eye contact? She was about to apologize for her improper English when Effie spoke.

“Thank you,” Effie replied on their behalf.

Uzume’s smile fell for only a moment, surprised that the older sister was really doing all the talking. Although her smile returned as quickly as it had fallen, not wanting the girl to know just how annoyed she was that she ruined her chance to hear the doll speak. She then turned her attention to the food before her, picking out a dinner roll and some green beans to snack on as Effie talked about American etiquette. She made sure to nod every now and then to show that, even if she wasn’t listening completely, that the girl’s words were not going unheard.

Although the information would be helpful when dealing with the rest of the school, Effie was still dominating the conversation. The longer she talked, the more curious Uzume became about her sister. While eating her food, she made sure to sneak a few glances at her quiet neighbor. Perhaps the little doll felt that she was a boring person, or decided to stay silent because she had nothing interesting to add to the discussion. Uzume wished greatly that the older girl would follow this ideology. Effie was completely dominating the conversation, and as a result beginning to annoy Uzume.

“I do apologise. Here I am, chattering away about etiquette, and I don't even know what circles you plan to move in here! I might be wasting your time horribly,” she added.

Uzume wasn’t sure exactly where the girl was trying to steer her to, but Effie guessed correctly about how horribly bored she felt. However, Uzu didn’t feel the need to blatantly tell her, as she still had to show her a little respect.

“I do apologize,” Uzume said repeating the girl’s words but not in a way that could be seen as patronizing, “but is that some American custom that I’m not familiar with? I don’t plan on moving in circles at all, one would look quite ridiculous,” Uzume replied calmly, making her accent a little thicker than usual. She understood the phrase Effie had used, however simply answering the question would be much too boring. She gave the girl an apologetic smile, finding it difficult to keep her face calm on account of how much she wanted to laugh.

0 Uzume Shinohara Except if she is named Gothel 292 Uzume Shinohara 0 5

Joella Curtis

August 10, 2014 4:51 PM

Something I said? by Joella Curtis

Joella couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by Anita's response. Surely a Quodpot fanatic should be a little more enthuastic than that? Given the opportunity, Joella could ramble forever about her passions, whether it be Quodpot or Quidditch, and she always had plenty to talk about where flying games were concerned. But perhaps that was just her... Still, Joella couldn't quite put her finger on it but she was sure something about the vibe Anita had been giving off had changed. The girl had gone from friendly to...uncertain? Reserved? Joella couldn't quite be sure.

Joella returned to her food for a moment before speaking again. "We'll have to get ourselves up a team," she grinned, referring more to a group of friends than a group of Quodpot players. She had no trouble thinking what to say. In fact, the trouble with Joella was that she frequently forgot to think before she spoke. This regularly landed her in unfriendly situations and she hence seemed to find it easier to make enemies than friends, despite her continuous attempts to be friendly. Perhaps that was happening now. Had Joella said something wrong? Is that why Anita had become so prickly? Or had she not become prickly? Was Joella just so nervous about meeting new people and making new friends that she was imagining things? Joella certainly didn't feel nervous. Nervous was quite a rare feeling when it came to Joella. Excited yes. But nervous, well she had never really been in a position before that she should have a reason to feel nervous.

Joella resolved that Anita must be so into Quodpot that when a girl tells her how she likes both Quodpot and Quidditch and then admits to perhaps liking Quidditch a little more (for reasons not explained) it is such a huge crime that any prospect of being friends with this girl is written off completely. Or perhaps that was too dramatic? Joella had no idea. This Pecari girl was new territory. As would be the many other students to come. Joella would have assumed that girls were just harder to befriend than boys had she not reminded herself of her two closest friends, both of whom were girls. Perhaps girls were just looking for a more serious, longterm friendship where as boys didn't care so long as they had someone kind of decent to hang out with. Perhaps.

Everything was 'perhaps' with Joella at the moment but she was out of her depth. At Sonora she couldn't be sure of anything.

"So, you excited to see the Pecari commons?" Joella reluctantly moved on from her beloved topic of flying games, having found it too confusing. She was really looking forward to her first viewing of the common rooms. She doubted anything could be as impressively breathtaking as Cascade Hall but didn't doubt that the Pecari commons was a place she would love.

8 Joella Curtis Something I said? 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Chloe

August 10, 2014 9:43 PM

Your off day is terrible. by Chloe

As much as Malcolm’s family fascinated her, it also worried her. There were so many members that they became bored and gossiped about one another? That seemed unnecessary. Chloe was never bored. Well, she was sometimes bored, but her siblings usually kept her entertained and if not them, then her friends did. There was no need to talk about one another behind their backs. “Don’t you all have like infinite of anything you want at your disposal? How could any of you be so bored?” She wondered if her mother had been a stable woman and her dad’s parents accepting of her, if Chloe would be living life the way that Malcolm did? She hoped not, it didn’t seem all that fun the more she thought about it.

“Poor kid.” Chloe stated, sympathetic to Malcolm’s brother. It must have been hard to not feel like he had an identity or, at least, not wanting to be associated with the identity he was given. It was strange though, how much Malcolm’s mother over-ruled his brother’s mother. Why would she have a say in anything that Andrew did? She was not his mother and therefore, not authority over him, wasn’t that how it worked? The whole dynamic made no sense to Chloe and she doubted it would for many others too. “I’m pretty sure when I was little, I wanted to be called Sunshine because I thought the sun made everyone happy. My dad let me do that for a while but then I had forgotten about it and went back to Chloe.” She grinned. Anyone who knew her probably would not have been surprised by this news. Chloe’s personality was bubbly and overdramatic. Being named Sunshine or anything dealing with happiness or hippy type names would not have caused anyone to do a double take on her. “Spencer seems like an okay name though.”

Malcolm’s admission regarding not camping wasn’t unexpected but the fact that he also admitted to the fact that they just didn’t do anything at all was. They didn’t go on family vacations? Or take mini trips to places that didn’t involve their extended family? The way that Chloe had figured was that the Careys, the multitude that they were, were secluded from everyone else. She didn’t think they had neighborhood children to spend time with; they only had one another. Whether that was true or not, she wasn’t sure. But to never go on family vacations? Was that because their father was gone? “You don’t ever go on vacation? Not even to an exotic beach? Don’t you have your own island or something?” She asked, looking rather put out that her thoughts on his family were being discouraged by his admittance. He talked about other family members traveling, but that wasn’t the same as just a regular vacation.

His question threw her. How did someone explain camping in a way that it sounded fun. “Well, I mean, if you camp, you have to like nature and stuff…” She started, lamely. If he didn’t like outdoor stuff anything she told him would not prove in favor of Malcolm going camping. “My dad will take us fishing, we catch and release – although my mom doesn’t agree with even doing that because she thinks its torture for the fish – and we’ll go boating or rafting depending on the water source. We do campfires and eat smores. We’ll go hiking or do a scavenger hunt around the wilderness. Um… just wander around some, take pictures, play games… ” Chloe listed, thinking over the things they had done. “Usually, we only camp over a long weekend because it can get tedious, but if we’re somewhere close to something, like an amusement park or whatever, then we’ll stay longer. Camping is the typical family on a budget vacation. That’s probably why we enjoy it so much.” Chloe gave an embarrassed smile. Money was never something she really thought about, but over the year it was more of an issue being that they only had one working parent now. “As for the Grand Canyon… we did all those things, but we did it in a giant hole in the ground. And it was amazing.”

6 Chloe Your off day is terrible. 0 Chloe 0 5

Mal

August 11, 2014 12:29 AM

I'll try to be really original tomorrow to make up for it by Mal

Mal shrugged at the questions about boredom. “I get bored because I’m allowed to do very few things,” he said. “Heir, y’know.” He actually didn’t know if Chloe knew that, since he wasn’t sure he’d ever mentioned it. “Though I find the gossip boring, too. I assume my sister finds it interesting, so she listens to it and then tells me about it because….” He trailed off for a second, then shrugged again. “Just to have something to say, I guess. I don’t know, really. I just let her go on.”

Chloe’s admission of the name she had tried to go by got a smile out of him. “Since I like you, I won’t start calling you that now,” he said. He thought about it for a second. “Often,” he added. He ate a bite of his supper. “When I was little, I used to make a pun – my sister calls me Mal, so since that means ‘bad’ in French,’ I’d call her ‘Cilly.’ I didn’t think of it then, but it sort of made sense, since I got in trouble with Mother more often and she’d go to ridiculous lengths not to.” He made an apologetic face. “It seemed really clever at the time.”

Lucille had relaxed a little since she was betrothed to Brockert. His sister saw her way out from under Mother’s thumb in the relationship, and he couldn’t blame her for liking it for that reason. He would have at least given two seconds of thought to the idea of marrying a troll for that, especially since Mother had always been harder on Lucille than on him when they were little, both because Lucille looked more like Father and because he was the only reason the rest of the family tolerated Mother. Recently, with Lucille respectably engaged, she had begun to turn more on him, which he did not like at all.

“An island?” Mal asked, bewildered. “Er…well, technically, yes, but a dark wizard went insane on it once, a long time ago, so no one really wants to go there,” he said blandly, not caring if she believed him or not. “My family doesn’t approve of dark magic.”

Or at least of going publicly insane and letting everyone know you practiced it. He knew for a fact that Arthur and Mrs. Smythe had played around with some things they thought would at least raise eyebrows, if not legal concerns – he had overheard them whispering together at the last Reunion, and the only other thing that made sense was the two of them having a very strange affair, which would just be weird even for Arthur and would probably, given who Jane’s brother was, have not ended well for him – but Mal thought everyone did that. Probably even Muggleborns dabbled in school. It was like when Mother would tell him not to touch a candy dish when he was little – even if he really disliked the candies, he’d want the whole dish just because Mother said he was forbidden to have one candy from it.

Her mother’s position on fishing sounded sensible to him – what was the point, if you didn’t intend to eat the fish? – and he guessed that doing things in a gigantic hole in the ground would at least have some novelty value. “I have been on a boat before,” he said, as this was the part he related to most. “It was fun. I’ll have to take your word for it about the others, though.” He frowned. “Unless the bonfire counts even though I didn't do that while I was on vacation?”

0 Mal I'll try to be really original tomorrow to make up for it 0 Mal 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 11, 2014 7:54 AM

Apologies for my tardiness. by Taylor Petterson

Taylor smiled at how animated John seemed to get over the Care of Magical Creatures class. It was nice seeing someone else interested in something she liked. The students she had rode in with had simply overlooked her beyond what they wanted to say. It seemed no one wanted to listen to her unless they had common interests, and she didn't blame them. She was boring otherwise.

When he mentioned the boggart, she realized she had heard the name before. It was a creature, she knew that much. But it did something. She racked her brains for a moment before remembering. A shapeshifter. But not just any shapeshifter- one that conformed to its opponet's worst fear. She wasn't even sure what her worst fear was. Probably her father, but she didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to see a boggart turn into him.

So she was greatful for the turn of conversation when John mentioned the way his parents taught. She had to smile as she nodded. That was how she saw the world too. Everything was all part of one big web. Well, not web, but something sort of like it. John's mother was smart, and Taylor bet she could like her. Anyone who could see how all of life is interconnected was good in her book.

She gave him a subtle once-over before taking a sip from her goblet. Of course he had been homeschooled. It suited him. Some people it just did. Taykor, however, needed public school and time away from her mother. And she wouldn't care to tell him that, since he was asking.

"Yeah, I went to school before finding out. I even got to go to middle school for a little while. My mom would have homeschooled me if she could have, but she had to have a job and I don't think I could have survived her 24/7. But it was nice. I wasn't really close to anyone, but very few people really singled me out, ya know?" She remembered the only people who had given her a hard time: the posh sort of girls who thought she was too much of a boy and the boys who had been raised to believe girls should strictly like dolls. But she had been a good student, nice, polite, and the teachers had liked her- along with a few students. It was just that she kept people at an arm's length most of the time. But not now. She was away from home. She could have friends here, and it would be okay.

"Hey John?" she started, trying to organize her thoughts a bit, "When we get a chance..." Why was this so awkward? She swallowed. "Would you want to explore the Gardens with me?" Typically exploring was better done alone, but the other first year seemed to know more about the grounds and would probably teach her some things while they were in there. but that was if he said yes. She didn't normally ask people to do things with her, so she wasn't really sure what answer to expect. But she knew which one she hoped for.

0 Taylor Petterson Apologies for my tardiness. 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

Adam

August 11, 2014 3:00 PM

It's always nice to talk about pleasant things. by Adam

The season of uncertainty last year had certainly put everyone on edge, but Adam could only imagine the sort of responsibilities the Prefects and Head students had been faced with. They’d done a decent job in keeping the school from burning down. Once he was more acquainted with the older Pecari Prefects, he would have to ask them how they had dealt with the madness. If he was lucky, nothing that serious would happen this year. Two terrible incidents couldn’t take place in a row, could they?

Apparently it was the mention of the ball that made Annette blush. Adam wondered briefly what it was about balls that made Annette’s cheeks colour so quickly. Maybe an embarrassing incident had taken place at a previous ball. Or maybe she was hoping to be asked and felt embarrassed about it. The idea of dates could be troubling to some people especially if there was someone they fancied. Balls were the perfect opportunity to take action regarding one’s feelings. Adam wondered how many new couples would come about by the end of the year. There were times he wished he fancied someone just to have the experience; he wasn’t a shy wizard and wasn’t particularly inclined to hide his feelings, but there could very well be a part of himself he wasn’t yet aware of.

“Well, I don’t blame you. Balls can be a tedious affair. But they can also be fun, I think. I enjoyed dancing and meeting new classmates at the last Midsummer ball. Hopefully this year’s ball will be more fun and less tedious.” He was going to ask if she had anyone in mind to go with, curious to know if she spent extended amounts of time with people other than her sister, but the subject was changed to Quidditch.

His cousin was going to be the captain this year. Adam remembered wondering who would be named the assistant to Jade once Andri had graduated since there were three Pecaris up for the coveted position. It was Rupert whom Professor Olivers had decided upon, but Adam didn’t think it made it any better for the Anns. Who had wanted it more Adam didn’t know, but he did know that Rupert was looking forward to being the captain. His cousin was an absolute fanatic when it came to the sport, so much so even Adam couldn’t keep up with him at times. “I’m sorry you’re not the captain this year,” he said, thinking it best to begin that way. Even if Adam thought his cousin was going to do a fantastic job, it wouldn’t be very considerate to say so in front of Annette. “Could Pecaris of the same year be the assistant to the captain?” If that were the case, then both the Anns ought to be the assistants. How could one possibly choose just one of them, after all?

“I’m looking forward to Quidditch as well,” said Adam. “I missed playing with you and the rest of the team last year.” He liked his team-mates and thought they got on rather well with each other. He and Francesca had formed a friendly, competitive relationship as well over the sport, having been competitors before becoming good friends. “Do you think we’ll win this year?”

0 Adam It's always nice to talk about pleasant things. 0 Adam 0 5

Rupert

August 11, 2014 3:31 PM

Re: I very much think we can by Rupert

Rupert wasn't sure how many people knew he, Adam, Charlotte and Leo were all related. The only one he really spoke often to was Adam since they were in the same house and on the same team. "We didn't see much of each other before going to school together. But since we're in the same house and on the same team we've gotten closer. He's a fun lad." It was a shame Rup couldn't go to London as often as he wished. They weren't separated by much of a distance, but it seemed so far when Rupert was hardly allowed off the grounds of the estate for long periods of time without his family.

Sometimes Rup found Wendy a little strange in her own flighty way, but it was charming to him. Others might find it annoying, but Rupert liked how free and self-confident she seemed to be. He wondered if all Muggles were as open as she was. The only time he'd ever had the opportunity to chat with Muggles was when he got lost in London as a child and started talking to Muggles with purple hair and piercings and tattoos in places Rupert found fascinating and slightly terrifying. He had found them more interesting than the other Muggles who looked similar to the wizarding folk. That incident had put him under house arrest for the rest of his childhood.

Her dress choice didn't sound too outlandish. A flower was better than trying to emanate some sort of animal or insect. He would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in what she would decide to dress up as. If he mustered up the courage to ask her to the ball even as a friend, he wouldn't mind matching her. They would certainly stand out and trigger all the gossip.

Wendy's thought process was slightly difficult to follow as she jumped from subject to subject. "Yes, I work out," said Rupert. "Can you tell?" His upper body had gotten bigger with all the exercise he'd done over the years. Since he had decided to pursue a career as a professional Quidditch player, Rupert had dedicated himself to exercising and eating as one. "It's all for Quidditch training. I'm the captain now so I'm going to have to get my team back into shape before the season starts. I'm also really looking forward to Quidditch this year, and I'll be glad for your support. We'll try our best to win." Rupert smiled. "I'm also dropping Potions along with Transfiguration. My CATS mark for Transfig was horrendous."

0 Rupert Re: I very much think we can 0 Rupert 0 5

John Umland

August 11, 2014 7:11 PM

Pardon granted. by John Umland

“That’s good,” said John when Taylor said she hadn’t been singled out much in her old school. In his experience, being singled out by pretty much anyone except Mom was bad. Kids functioned in packs and even other adults could be unfriendly. One of the CBE facilitators, teachers in charge of evaluating whether or not he had made enough educational progress at the end of each term for the system to let Mom keep teaching him, had once insisted that Mom had faked all his work until Mom had finally had to Confund her just to make her go away.

Mom had been more flustered when she realized he’d seen that, explaining repeatedly that magic was not the right way to handle conflicts with the ‘non-magical population’ until all other options had been exhausted, than she had been when the woman was questioning her academic integrity. He hadn’t known what to think for a long time. It was just strange to think of Mom taking a shortcut, of doing anything there was a chance was the really wrong thing to do; Mom insisted all the time that she was only human, that she made mistakes just like everybody else, but John didn’t like to believe her.

“But my mom has a job, too. Part-time, anyway. She puts us in clubs, and the older ones stay with us sometimes – there’s five in my family,” he added by way of explanation. “That’s how we saw other people, but, you know, it’s hard when you’re all witches and wizards and you have to keep it secret from everybody….”

So much so that he hadn’t succeeded. His friend Joanie had figured it out, and if anyone ever figured out that she had figured it out and she couldn’t produce a magical relative real fast, they were both going to be in serious trouble. Luckily, though, he didn’t think anyone would ever suspect her of figuring it out. Muggles weren’t supposed to be capable of it (he sometimes wondered if Joanie wasn’t really some kind of Squib and just didn’t know it) and he thought most wizards who didn’t live in cities, close to them, were complacent about that. He just hoped they stayed that way.

John blinked when Taylor asked if he would like to explore together. “Sure,” he said. “Yeah. Want to go this weekend?” That would give them time to get settled, do some basic starter research. "Classes run kind of late into the evening, so I'm guessing we'll have a lot of homework until then," he added, since that was also a factor.

16 John Umland Pardon granted. 285 John Umland 0 5

Annabelle Pierce

August 12, 2014 1:37 PM

How disappointing. by Annabelle Pierce

(OOC: I loved the way you mangled their names together a thousand different ways in a single post. BIC:)

Annabelle smiled back as her greeting was returned politely. That was a good start, and indicated there were no hard feelings on Neeka's part for the twins' previous lack of real conversation with her.

She laughed as her yearmate compared last year's isolation to prison and shook her head. "No, it was definitely better than that," she disagreed with more authority that one might expect from a sixteen year old pureblood girl. "Well," she amended immediately, realizing how that might sound, "it's better than being grounded anyway, and I expect prison is worse than grounding." It wasn't like the Anns would have left the school grounds anyway during those months, and she, at least, already had the most important part of her family present, so the lack of owl post was more of an inconvenience than a real burden. The only thing she had really missed being cut off last year had been Quidditch, and it was hardly the first time Quidditch had been cancelled at the school.

Oh, and the food at the end had been getting pretty bland, so that part might have been comparable to prison.

She nodded in emphatic agreement, though, to the conclusion that the problem had been fixed and was very unlikely to be repeated. "Thank Merlin," she praised.

"I know, right?" she laughed when Neeka seemed as disbelieving of their current status of sixth years as she was when she thought too much about it. "It wasn't quite yesterday that we were brown like that," she waved toward a couple of brown-skinned first years further down the table, "but surely it wasn't already half a decade, was it? That's, like, almost a third of our whole lives."

"And I am not looking forward to Advanced level courses. I mean, I did okay on my CATS, mostly," definitely better on some than others, but all passing marks anyway, and if she'd studied properly, it would have been better, she was sure, and that was a mistake she and her sister wouldn't make again. "But I've heard horror stories about how hard the RATS level classes are." Of course, such stories mostly came from Thaddeus and he did every bit of extra work it was possible to do, but even accounting for that, it still sounded like an awful lot of essay writing.

She felt like this was something she should know about her roommate, but she just realized she didn't, and asked, just a little apologetically for not inquiring earlier about such a basic fact about somebody she had already lived with for the aforementioned half a decade, "Did you have any older family members at Sonora?" Neeka may not know their precise familial relationship but with two Head Boys having the surname Pierce in the last four years, she felt it fairly obvious that she and Annette were hardly school trailblazers for their family. In the interest of sharing, though, she offered, "Annette and I are the babies of our family."

1 Annabelle Pierce How disappointing. 246 Annabelle Pierce 0 5

Araceli and Effie Arbon

August 13, 2014 11:44 AM

Mine does seem fixated on my hair... Should I be worried? by Araceli and Effie Arbon

The other girl kept looking at her, she was sure of it. Eventually, the sensation became unbearable and she darted a quick sideways glance, only to find Shinohara nodding politely to what Effie was saying. But no sooner were eyes back on her plate than she felt the little prickle of being watched again. She darted two more glances up, only to find both times that her room-mate was attentively listening to her sister. Either it was paranoia, or she was just having the good fortune that she and Shinohara kept missing each other. They would be bound to coincide sooner or later though, and she resolved to keep her eyes on her plate however tempting it was to look around. Effie was being so chatty and helpful, the other girl just had to forget about her sooner or later.

She was beginning to feel like she might have succeeded, and that Shinohara must be focussed on what Effie was saying, when the other girl spoke up, mentioning spinning in circles. The picture of all the Purebloods in Sonora taking tea, with her room-mate twirling around the outside sprang into her mind. She pictured the looks on all of their faces. And, before she could help it, a little giggle had escaped her lips. She quickly stifled it, and the hall was loud... Maybe no one had heard. Poor Shinohara. Here she was, speaking her second language much more capably than Araceli was even managing in her first, and now she was going to think that Araceli had done such a cruel thing as to laugh at her for not understanding a turn of phrase. She wanted to apologise and to explain that she hadn't been laughing at Shinohara but rather at the picture that it put into her head. However, she hadn't even managed 'good evening,' - how was she supposed to explain away her laughter (which, even with the reasons she had, was still a socially unacceptable thing to have done)? She'd only say all the wrong words and make it worse, especially if Shinohara hadn't even heard her in the first place. No, she would have to stick to the hope that she hadn't.

However much she talked, however much she tried to distract her, the girl seemed inherently interested in Araceli. It made Effie want to scoop her sister up and keep her away from those prying eyes. Araceli wasn't ready to talk to Shinohara, that much was perfectly obvious, and she wished there was a simple way of sparing her sister the pain of the other girl's curiosity, and the feeling that she had failed in this interaction.

She was about to continue her discussion with Shinohara, when there was an unexpected noise from Araceli. A small scrape of laughter. An expression of shock flickered over Effie's face for the merest second before she regained her outward composure, though her brain was whirring frantically, trying to think of something appropriate to smooth over the situation. Nothing came.

“Moving in circles is not a literal phrase,” she explained to Shinohara, deciding to simply pretend that the laugh hadn't happened. She subconsciously slowed her voice a little, though she was unable to really break out of the convoluted and old-fashioned way she was accustomed to speaking, “It means a person's social circle; those with whom one is friends, or with whom one associates.”

OOC - Uzume, I've got an idea for a post in the commons, and just need to know a few things... If Araceli left it before going up to the dorm room, would Uzume lurk downstairs too (hoping for the answer being 'no'). If Araceli then managed to sneak in whilst Uzume was in the bathroom, and closed the hangings around her bed, would Uzume disturb her? And is there anything obvious amongst her things that would have her name in English orthography (such as a label on her trunk)

13 Araceli and Effie Arbon Mine does seem fixated on my hair... Should I be worried? 290 Araceli and Effie Arbon 0 5

Atlas Primred

August 13, 2014 2:18 PM

Surprise time! by Atlas Primred

Atlas could be oblivious sometimes, but he sensed from some of Liliana’s body language that she was either mad at him, upset about the midsummer’s event being a ball, or both. He was starting to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach, so much so that he didn’t bother putting any food onto his plate when the feast began.

"My summer was fine, thank you," his hopefully still best friend replied. "No thanks to you, of course.” Any remaining hope Atlas had that he wasn’t the cause of her anger suddenly dissipated with that sentence. He felt himself slowly sink in his seat as she continued, “But it's not as though I actually needed your letters to have a fun summer if that's what you were implying."

Atlas felt like a wuss for not looking her in the eye during his apology, but he just felt so bad, and in truth he was a little mad at himself too. However, he wasn’t the only one to blame. Part of his reason for not writing was due to Katie’s constant inquiring about Liliana over the summer. In the past, Katie only asked about Liliana from time to time, which was fine with Atlas as he enjoyed recanting his tales of magic to her. However, the problem came when Katie was flipping through his year book, and saw the awards they had won together. This started her on a roll that could not be stopped, and for the first time in his life, his little sister was really starting to annoy him. Luckily for Atlas, children her age have a short attention span. He found that changing the subject when Liliana came up was a perfect way to keep Katie from asking about her. Unfortunately, this plan backfired and caused him to forget about sending her letters as well, that part was entirely his fault.

"Ah, I see," Liliana responded. "I'm not mad. To say that I'm mad would imply that I cared enough to feel slighted by your lack of communication."

“Well you seem pretty mad to me,” Atlas mumbled, becoming a little more annoyed now. He sat quietly staring at his plate for a moment, not knowing what to say next. Liliana always confused him, and he felt sometimes an apology just wasn’t good enough for her. “You know I did try to write to you like 4 times. A small blond girl just happened to distract me to the point were I was never able to finish,” he said in reference to his sister. “Its not like I’m blaming Katie or anything though. It was my fault, and I’m really sorry,” he said staring into her eyes, he wanted her to see that he meant it.

“Oh!” he said remembering her present. “I know this wont make up for summer, but I want you to have this anyways,” he said as he reached into his robe and pulled out a small blue box with navy blue ribbon. “Think of it as a late-birthday/apology gift,” he said pushing the box toward her on the table. He was actually fairly proud of himself for finding what he thought was the perfect gift for her, two spin hairpins with golden bird charms at the end that looked surprisingly snitch-like. Apparently they had been all the rage in Katie’s ballet class. He wasn’t sure if Liliana would accept it or not, but he wanted to at least try to show her that she hadn’t been completely forgotten.

0 Atlas Primred Surprise time! 276 Atlas Primred 0 5

Chloe

August 13, 2014 8:51 PM

I'll hold you to that! by Chloe

Chloe’s eyes widened at the mention of his title. “Oh, well, pardon me; I did not realize I was in the presence of such royalty.” She teased, giving a curtsy from her seat and feeling quite stupid in the process. How in the world did stuffy Purebloods do this all the time like it was cool or something? “So, because you have that title – by the way, how many Heirs are in your family because isn’t Anthony one too?- you aren’t allowed to do anything at all?” Chloe asked him, returning to their conversation at hand. His title meant very little to her. It was funny for her to think how much different her life had been had her biological mom not been so messed up. She would be neck deep in the world of the Careys and others like them.

Listening to him talk about what little he could do and how he and his sister had to entertain themselves through idle gossip made Chloe appreciate the life that she did have and not the one that she missed out on.

Chloe giggled, imagining Malcolm calling her Sunshine was hilarious. He never seemed very intimate with anyone except for maybe his sister. Pet names did not fall into the realm of him in Chloe’s mind. “I didn’t think you were affectionate enough for such things like clever nicknames.” She joked, although she secretly thought it was adorable that a little boy would do something like that with his sister. She knew she only knew Malcolm at the surface. He was the sort of boy that only revealed what he wanted people to know, so it was a little surprising to hear something that seemed personal between his sister and him. Then again, perhaps it was worthless knowledge that he didn’t care whether others knew or not.

She let out a sigh when Malcolm admitted to actually having a family island. She had been completely joking (well, sort of, she assumed they had that sort of money) about the island. Only the very wealthy owned their own islands. Now she felt that was indeed in the presence of royalty. She was embarrassed now for even mentioning it. “You guys are wasting an entire island because of something in the past that happened a long time ago?” Chloe asked him, disbelief showing on her face. “I could only dream of being able to have an island at my disposal and you have one but don’t use it. Shameful.” She shook her head at him like that was the worst offense in the world to her. But, seriously, what person didn’t dream of island life?

Chloe had forgotten about the bonfire. “Yeah, camping is a lot like the Bonfire. It’s a little different because camping is more intimate and is like a family bonding sort of thing. But the Bonfire is a nice second to it. So, I guess if you don’t care for the Bonfire, you wouldn’t like camping much.” Chloe commented. “I mean, owning your own island trumps camping, but we make our own fun.”

6 Chloe I'll hold you to that! 0 Chloe 0 5

Savannah Brockert (and a bit of Scarlett)

August 14, 2014 2:30 PM

Well, I am the youngest of my family here. by Savannah Brockert (and a bit of Scarlett)

The twins stood together awaiting their Sorting, a rite of passage for any young witch or wizard. Today, they would drink the legendary potion, that would temporarily turn them an odd color-only Pecari brown was a color that was ever a natural skintone for anyone-and set the course of the next seven years. Where they'd be living and sleeping and who they'd be spending the bulk of their time with. It also meant they were no longer children.

Scarlett, of course, went first. She always did, mostly fearless-the fears she did have she'd never admit to-and eager to try new things. She'd been like that since birth, even insisting on coming out of the womb first. Scarlett flushed a brilliant color of brown. "Huh, looks like I'm one of the rare Pecaris in our family." For some reason, Brockerts rarely turned out members of that particular house. "Too bad Arabella's gone now."

Instead of heading directly to her House table, she handed the cup to Savannah. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you wait seven minutes." Scarlett joked. That was the age difference between them. Savannah took the cup and drank, turning a yellow as brilliant as Scarlett's brown. It had been so obvious from the beginning that they wouldn't be in the same house. "Looks like you'll be surrounded by family," They'd had a run of Teppenpaws lately "And I'll be all by myself." The new Pecari didn't sound like she minded too much. Scarlett had always been pretty independent. She gave her twin a hug, and headed off to her own house table while Savannah went off to Teppenpaw, though the only family member she knew there really was Serena. The third year was actually the first of their first cousin group to be sorted into Teppenpaw, unless one counted Aunt Lilac's nephew Marcus, whom Serena had termed a quasi-relative. Quasi-relatives were apparently cousins of cousins through the parent that wasn't biologically related to them, step-siblings of cousins and siblings of in laws or future in-laws. However, there were more than a few distant relatives there in Teppenpaw as well.

The new first year took a seat across from a boy who looked slightly older than her, something Savannah had deduced by the fact that he didn't look very old but hadn't turned yellow. She would put him in second year as she knew that he wasn't Duncan and only Serena and Duncan were third year Teppenpaws. He was too young to be a fourth year or above.

Next the prefects and Head Students were announced and Savannah applauded. Most of the last names were familiar to her, and the Head Girl was not only in her house but a distant relative. Melanie's father was her father's first cousin and Ryan was really close to her older sister Valerie. The younger Teppenpaw couldn't but feel a little pride, both for her new house and her family as a whole.

Then there was an announcement of a new COMC teacher, which was nice because her cousins had told her that previously they'd had a sub for the class. Finally, Headmaster Brockert-he commanded enough respect from her point of view that it made it easier to say, otherwise it might have felt strange-announced there'd be a ball at the end of the year for their Midsummer event. Savannah didn't think she'd have a date, given most eleven and twelve year old boys weren't into those things. Unless she made a good male friend. The first year had a feeling her twin would be on the prowl though-as long as there were pureblood boys about that they weren't somehow related to and Savannah wasn't interested in them. Scarlett wouldn't do that to her .

Finally it was time for the school song. Her voice was okay, nothing special. Fortunately nobody would hear her when the boy across from her was singing very loudly drowning out everyone around him. Also fortunately his voice was not terrible.

Once the song finished, the boy began to introduce himself, only to cut himself off for the Headmaster's last announcement, about them not leaving until their HoH said so. Once Headmaster Brockert finally was finished, the boy finished his introduction. "Oh, you're Ryan's stepbrother!" Savannah exclaimed. "I'm his cousin Savannah as well as Ivy and Vlad's." Normally she would have been more proper, but Jake-and she'd been correct about his year-was, well, a quasi-relative.

11 Savannah Brockert (and a bit of Scarlett) Well, I am the youngest of my family here. 286 Savannah Brockert (and a bit of Scarlett) 0 5

Mal

August 14, 2014 7:48 PM

We'll see by Mal

“I’m not,” Mal confirmed. “But that’s because of my mother. Anthony’s not, either, but for him, it is because he’s too important.” His mouth twisted with distaste. “There’s five parts to my family, but Anthony’s is the most important since we all decided we liked each other again, that was…probably about the time you and I were born. Maybe a little before. My part of the family is the least important. If Anthony told me to polish his shoes like a house-elf, they’d probably expect me to do it. I don’t think he would, but he could.”

Anthony made himself very easy to hate, sometimes. The only reason Mal didn’t was because he was pretty sure Anthony was already dead and just didn’t know it yet. He had two brothers, and since Arthur was openly ambitious, Mal’s money was on Arnold poisoning one brother, framing the other, and then taking power…until someone turned on him, anyway.

Mal shrugged, uncomfortable, at the comment about his relationships. “Emphasis on the, er, clever,” he said. “I liked feeling clever.”

He wasn’t sure why that bothered him. It was normal to love your sister. He was sure it was. Chloe seemed to at least like her brother. But….

“Well, it’s not at my disposal,” Mal felt compelled to defend himself about the island. “It’s a private residence – or it was. It was already defended to the gills, someone got it in about 1800 or something, and then they say the wizard who owned it cursed it so it would kill anything but him and his daughter….” It sounded almost like a story to him even as he said it, a legend, but that was what they said. “It’s more likely that his daughter just doesn’t want much company, but that’s what they say,” he said.

He left out the part where no one would want to go see Morgaine anyway, and how she also owned his house, and how his mother said she was responsible for his father’s death. The official story was that things were they way they were because his father had tried to kill Morgaine, but Mal guessed the two weren’t mutually exclusive.

“Mother’s idea of bonding with me and Lucille is lecturing us on propriety,” he commented. “She means well, but the hole in the ground sounds preferable.” He chewed on his supper for a minute. "Did your parents lecture you a lot about the CATS this summer?” he asked, changing the subject.

0 Mal We'll see 0 Mal 0 5

Ava Fletcher

August 15, 2014 12:23 PM

Hear, hear by Ava Fletcher

“Huh,” Ava watched Emery eat the suspicious vegetable. “I’ve always been a picky eater but that all needs to change, especially with my future career goals in mind.” She’d previously told both Emery and Emrys about her desire to become a traveling healer like her mom. “Perhaps you can instruct me?” She gave him a teasing grin so he’d know she wasn’t serious about needing help choosing her food.

She shrugged off Emrys’ doubts over last year being a blessing in disguise and added a few soy beans to her plate. “Either way,” she said. “I need to expand my taste buds, so here’s to trying new things!” She made a cheersing gesture with her first bean before popping it into her mouth.

“Interesting,” she said once she had chewed and swallowed it. “Not my favorite flavor but not my least favorite either.” She smiled at him for real this time. “I can see why you like them.”

“Nah, that’s not it," he replied. “I’ve never been to one. The only time I have ever needed to dress up was for my mom and Jeff’s wedding. I don’t mind dressing up or dancing or anything like that. It’s the asking someone part that makes me nervous. I mean, who would go with me? Emrys will definitely go with Charlotte, you will probably go with DiMitri, and it’ll be too weird to just be me and Chloe. So, I’d go alone and that’s just pathetic.”

Ava wrinkled her nose at Emery. “You really think? I mean, I know Emrys and Charlotte will probably go together- I think everybody does. But I’m sure Dimitri will find someone he actually likes to go with. And even if he does ask me, I’d turn him down if you didn’t have a date. I can’t just leave you hanging, now can I? What sort of a friend would I be?” She shook her head. “The four of us- you, me, Dimitri, and Chloe, could just go as a group of friends. That’d be fun, right?” A long time ago when she’d been dealing with the bullies in elementary school she’d promised herself that she’d never be the sort of friend to exlude others.

“It sounds amazing!” Ava exclaimed. “I’d love to see your pictures. Maybe after dinner or something!” She was probably supposed to meet Dimitri in the library again as was their tradition, but they hadn’t really made any plans to do so this year so she was certain she could see Emery’s photos at some point whether Dimitri showed up or not.”

After Emery’s comments on her upcoming trip, she wrinkled her nose again. “Not really- going to the Grand Canyon is still really cool. It’s such a gorgeous place and you got to go river rafting and all kinds of other stuff like that. I’m going to be working* which is still really cool and fun to me, but I mean… It’s not like it’s going to be a vacation or anything,” she clarified. “Char- my mom is going for work and I’m tagging along to see what it’s like and to assist and stuff like that.” Ava shrugged. “I’m super excited to go and all especially because it’s my first ever trip but the best part is going to be that it’s all with my mom. I don’t get to see her a lot because she’s always working and now I’m at Sonora.”

*OOC: Obviously as Ava’s only fourteen she won’t be Healing anyone. She’s more going to be handing things to her mom and doing paperwork and serving as a scribe. Mostly she will just be observing and taking notes for herself to use in futre years.

10 Ava Fletcher Hear, hear 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Emrys Lucan

August 15, 2014 12:26 PM

You've got a friend in me. by Emrys Lucan

Charlotte’s smile when Emrys sat down beside her lifted his spirits a little. Perhaps she wasn’t that mad at him? He still felt the need to grovel though, and when his actions brought forth another smile, he couldn’t help but feel encouraged.

“I forgive you,” she said, “since you’re sitting with me now. Endless music practises sound a bit much anyway, don’t you think?” she teased lightly. “I don’t know if my fingers would be able to play so incessantly. I do look forward to being homework buddies and playing music together, though. I brought some music sheets from home for us to play."

Emrys laughed. “Perhaps, but we could always perform a numbing spell on them so at least you wouldn’t feel your fingers falling of.” He liked it when Charlotte let go a little and joked with him. He enjoyed making her laugh and seeing her relax. “I do look forward to the pieces you’ve brought.” His gaze drifted and he looked around the hall a little bit. He saw his two other friends, Ava and Emery chatting at the Aladren table and he wondered how their summers had been- especially Emery as he often worried about his friend's brother. However, he knew that he’d have plenty of time in the common room to talk to them later after dinner was over and directed his attention back towards Charlotte.

Charlotte, however, had directed her attention to her food again, and asked after his summer and sister. Emrys frowned slightly, wondering if he’d said or done anything to upset her. Perhaps he’d been too forward. “My summer was well, thank you,” he said. “Wesley came to visit this time, so we didn’t go to Wales. Perhaps next summer…” He trailed off, wanting to say perhaps they could meet up and visit Diagon Alley together but he held off because he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable or start over-thinking things. “But we had fun. And Caelia’s starting Sonora in the fall, so she was enjoying her last summer of freedom. What about Liliy and Jack? When do they start Sonora?”

He remembered meeting Charlotte’s little sister at the concert their second year. He thought her t o be a couple years younger than Caelia but couldn’t be sure as he’d always had a few difficulties telling age differences. “Oh, and how was your summer?”

OOC: Finally! I'm so sorry for taking so long!

10 Emrys Lucan You've got a friend in me. 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Eva Winters

August 16, 2014 7:44 PM

Sorry it took so long, it's hectic. by Eva Winters

Eva saw his smile falter for a second and wondered if she did something wrong. Did she introduce herself incorrectly? It couldn't have to do anything with the wagon ride, she saw other kids with the exact same problem. Was it because she was Muggleborn? Did that matter? She'd wondered that before, but now she really started to. When she heard him introduce himself and his family, and assumed that she was supposed to share her background to. If that wasn't it, Eva couldn't think of what else it might have been.

But it was back almost instantly so she decided to dismiss it and watch what she said from now on.

When he offered to help with the flying lesson she grinned. She'd always wanted to fly, regardless of her fear of highs. It was strange, but true. Like how she loved climbing but froze whenever she did. Maybe brooms would be better than a wagon.

"I'd love that! Do you know when we'll start?

0 Eva Winters Sorry it took so long, it's hectic. 0 Eva Winters 0 5

Taylor Petterson

August 18, 2014 9:49 AM

OOC by Taylor Petterson

I am so sorry about the length in between my replies. I've been grounded and school's just started back. I promise I will try to find time soon.

0 Taylor Petterson OOC 0 Taylor Petterson 0 5

John Umland

August 18, 2014 10:53 AM

Re: OOC by John Umland

No worries! RL gets us all sometimes.

16 John Umland Re: OOC 285 John Umland 0 5

Uzume Shinohara

August 18, 2014 1:09 PM

Only if she hasn't aged in years. by Uzume Shinohara

On the outside, one might think Uzume looked calm and controlled. On the inside however, she was having quite a laugh while thinking she was ever so clever. Fortunately, Uzu’s self absorbed thoughts were quickly seized with a miniscule giggle from a nearby neighbor. Could it have been the little doll? She couldn’t be sure with the acoustics of Cascade Hall; it could have come from anywhere. Uzume, being the proud person she was, decided to give herself credit for the chuckle of whomever it was that had overheard her little statement. She secretly hoped it had come from the Araceli, thus proving that the girl wasn’t a completely bore.

Effie on the other hand, didn’t seem to share Araceli’s sense of humor. She seemingly ignored the sound and chose instead to continue on with the conversation. “Moving in circles is not a literal phrase, It means a person's social circle; those with whom one is friends, or with whom one associates,” Effie explained.

“Oh!” Uzume said letting out a little giggle of her own. “That makes much more sense, thank you for the clarification. As you can most likely tell, English isn’t my first language, I do apologize,” she said through her teeth. She apologized for nothing. If anything, she would do it again in a heart beat just to make this stuffy dinner more interesting.

“As for whom I plan to associate myself with, well I couldn’t possibly answer that, on account of the fact that I have only just arrived. So I’m afraid I can’t put your etiquette tips to use just yet,” Uzume said, feeling it was becoming increasingly difficult keep up her pleasant attitude. How was she supposed to know who would fill her circle? All she hoped for was some interesting people that didn’t spend their days lecturing others about etiquette.

OOC- Sorry for the late reply. A post in the commons would be great. No, Uzume wouldn’t follow Araceli downstairs. She probably wouldn’t disturb her unless she knew Araceli wasn’t trying to sleep, or had made a lot of noise. And yes, Uzume’s trunk would be labeled in English. Please feel free to contact me on the OOC board if you have any other questions.

0 Uzume Shinohara Only if she hasn't aged in years. 292 Uzume Shinohara 0 5

Emery

August 18, 2014 9:29 PM

*Raises glass** by Emery

Emery was not a picky eater. Like Chloe, he was willing to try just about anything. He supposed that was his father’s doing. With Emery’s mother’s vegetarian diet, Jeff wanted his five children to experience as much as possible before deciding on where their political views of food ended. So, he tried to take them out to various local restaurants that catered to different tastes. Last year, Chloe had volunteered the family to try Korean because of her roommate’s heritage. It actually had been rather good. A couple of summers ago, they had tried Japanese, which was also rather good. This year, they had tried Indian. It was spicier than anything Emery ever remembered tasting, but it had still been quite delicious. So, because of his willingness to try food, he was flabbergasted by Ava’s reluctance to do so.

He let out a chuckle after she had tried her first soy bean. Sometimes, she left him without words. Ava was a really strange character. He was amazed that she was an Aladren. He logically could understand why, but like his roommate, her personality didn’t seem to fit well with the serious nature of the house. It could be quite refreshing being around her from time to time. “Certain seasonings can bring out better flavors.” Emery commented after she announced her verdict of the beans. They were a snack that his siblings and him often ate while at home. It was ‘approved’ by his parents. Another snack was banana chips, but he wasn’t going to bring that up now.

Emery wasn’t about to argue with Ava regarding who exactly Dimitri likes. In his opinion, he thought Dimitri and Ava were parallel to Emrys and Charlotte. Maybe less obvious because Ava is willing to talk to anyone whereas, Emery had only ever seen Charlotte talk to Emrys and her brother. He appreciated her stating that they could go as a group of friends, but he didn’t think that was very fair to Dimitri. “Well, yeah, I’m sure that would be fun, but…” Emery hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say, “if Dimitri does ask you, isn’t it rude to say no? It’s kind of embarrassing to be rejected by someone when you ask them out or to a dance.” Emery commented, he didn’t even think he could show his face around people for a long time if someone rejected him. “If neither of us get dates and Dimitri doesn’t ask you, then I’d be happy to go as a group of friends, but if someone asks you, then you should go with them if you want to.” He didn’t want someone else to get rejected just because he was incapable of getting a date.

Her enthusiasm for his trip was a little overwhelming and it made his smile grow into a somewhat pleasing look. Emery was not a solemn person, but he didn’t necessarily smile often either. This conversation was making his cheeks hurt. “Er, okay. I can pull them out of my trunk after the feast and I can show you in the common room.” Emery suggested. She might forget about the pictures if he didn’t keep her attention on them. But, he didn’t want to take up her whole evening either.

“Yeah, but even working, you’ll still be in South Asia. I’m not sure how many other people can say that.” At least, not anyone he knew. The Purebloods were a different story. They could easily take exotic vacations. “My mom was a traveling Magizoologist before she had me.” Emery commented. She quit researching when she found out her father was dying of cancer and instead, began her career in the education system. “She will tell us stories of all the places and creatures that she had seen. My sister, Ayita, she’s in school for that and Chloe and I talk about maybe going into that too.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do research per se or be a Veterinarian, but he definitely wanted to work around animals.

6 Emery *Raises glass** 0 Emery 0 5

Chloe

August 18, 2014 10:09 PM

watches by Chloe

Chloe had wondered if she had taken it too far with the curtsey and royalty comment. Honestly, she felt that some Purebloods felt that they were royalty over everyone else, but Malcolm had never acted like that to her. Had he not mentioned the fact that he was an actual Heir (however small of a title he held with his family), she would never have known. He just never seemed to care about those things around her. Maybe he did secretly and was rebelling against his family by even having a conversation with her. That actually wouldn’t surprise her. The twist of his mouth at the mention of Anthony fascinated Chloe. She didn’t think she had ever seen such a look on him before. Did he hate his cousin? Or did he just hate the fact that in their family, Anthony’s title weighed more than his own did?

“Five parts?” Chloe reiterated, clearly in awe by this fact. No wonder family reunions were so exhausting to him. Five different groups of family was probably a lot of family. She couldn’t remember if he told her exactly how many relatives he had, but she did recall that it was an overwhelming amount in comparison to her. “Does that mean that there are five different heirs of various importance?” She asked, curious but not realizing that this might be more personal than she had a right to know. “Not that this helps or anything, but I like you better than Anthony. “ She was pretty sure that meant nothing to Malcolm and she had never had a conversation with Anthony to know whether or not she actually did like him better, but sometimes people liked to hear they were liked more.

When Malcolm began to explain the reason why they no longer went to the island, it only made her think his family was crazy all the more. Not just his immediate family, but the Careys as a whole. Were all Purebloods this crazy? The longer she was around them, the more she felt this was an accurate assessment of them. When the story ended, Chloe simply stared at him for a long minute, assessing him with her blue eyes. “You guys are weird.” She finally stated. “I mean, what is this, the Mysterious Island of Dr. Moreau?” She asked him. “Seriously, who booby traps an island to kill people? What a strange story to tell your kids. It’s like the Boogey Man.” She shook her head, amused by his family’s urban legend.

Chloe smiled at him, “I like listening to you explain your family. They seem too strange to be real. No offense.” She added. She meant no harm in her comments about his family and would have said them about anyone who gave similar stories. “My family isn’t fun enough to have stories.” Her family had stories, but they weren’t like killer islands. It was about drugs, disownment, adoptions, etc. Things that perhaps didn’t happen to everyone, but weren’t that strange either.

Of course, then he mentioned his mother and she just sounded boring. “Not really.” Chloe answered him. “Daddy tells us not to stress ourselves over tests because they aren’t the ‘end all’ of our lives. But he mostly said that to Emery since Emery gets flustered so easily.” Chloe shrugged. “Besides, I’m only a fourth year, I’m still free of all that. Why, did your mom start lecturing you last year?” She asked him, looking at him incredulously.

6 Chloe **watches** 0 Chloe 0 5

Charlotte Spencer

August 19, 2014 4:21 PM

That's very reassuring. by Charlotte Spencer

Charlotte hoped the sheets of music would be to his liking. She had taken some time to pick compositions similar to those they had enjoyed playing the year before. Charlotte enjoyed staying close to security, but she had Adam to thank for introducing her to new things. She never would have spent nearly as much time in Kensington Gardens if it hadn’t been for him nearly dragging her out so often.

Wesley was a name she remembered well. Emrys was very close to him and she wondered what it would be like to have a female cousin close to her age. Would they have been as close as Emrys and Wesley? She had met Wesley after the Midsummer Concert their second year, but only his name and personality had stayed in her memory. Her heart squeezed at the thought of the implications in just three words, but he left his sentence hanging. Charlotte tried to keep herself from over-analysing what he was saying, but it was difficult when the possibilities were endless. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions and get her hopes up for nothing.

Any opportunity given for Charlotte to talk about her siblings was one she could never pass on. “Lily’s turning seven in November, so she’s got quite a bit to go. She’s taken to wearing trousers and Adam’s old cap everywhere; Mum is positively scandalised.” Charlotte didn’t know how to help her sister; Lily was stubborn and adamant to have things her own way. Poor Cassie was in tatters over it, but it was clear that their mum’s attempt to control her wouldn’t work as it had with Charlotte. They were two very different daughters with very different interests.

“Jackie’s the same age as Caelia, though. He’ll be attending Sonora next year as well. My mum is still sceptical after what happened last year, though. I just hope my uncle will be able to convince her that Sonora is a worthy investment. I certainly think it is." Uncle Corvus's word, however, always meant more to Cassie than her daughter's. "Which house do you think your sister will be in?”

The past summer had been lovely, but Charlotte needed a moment to think of the words to describe it. “I spent loads of time with my siblings this summer. We went to Kensington Gardens and St James’s Park often together with Dad’s dogs. I’m sure we were a sight to behold: four children and three dogs.” Charlotte smiled at the memories. She already missed them. “I had piano lessons as well as ballet and ballroom. Nothing terribly exciting. How was your summer? It sounds like you spent a good amount of time with Wesley.”

40 Charlotte Spencer That's very reassuring. 265 Charlotte Spencer 0 5

Aiden

August 19, 2014 8:54 PM

No worries! by Aiden

Aiden grinned happily when Eva agreed to allow him to help her at the lessons. He was a fairly decent flier, even with his heft, so he was confident that he could at least help her stay steady on the broom. Aiden was not necessarily an athletic person. He liked watching Quodpot and Quidditch with his dad and he had grown up fencing as that was part of his etiquette lessons, but sports were not kind on someone as passive as Aiden. He preferred to watch rather than participate.

“I think the schedule said we have it tomorrow.” Aiden commented after taking a couple of bites of his food. Normally, he would have shoveled the food into his mouth as quickly as possible, but since he was supposed to be on his best behavior at all times while at Sonora, he made sure he ate his food slowly and with careful chews. His mother always scolded him when he hate too fast and had too few chews. She thought he was going to end up choking. Aiden felt like his mother worried way too much about things.

“So, since you are a Muggleborn, is all of this really exciting for you or really terrifying?” Aiden asked her. He knew enough about Muggles through his Godmother to know that they weren’t as dumb as some of the Magical societies would have you believing, but he didn’t know enough about them to understand anything that they did. He could only assume that if he was suddenly stuck in the Muggle World, he would be very confused and disoriented. “Did you have any idea that you might be magical before?”

6 Aiden No worries! 0 Aiden 0 5

Eva Winters

August 28, 2014 11:26 AM

Back. by Eva Winters

Eva thought about the question. Most people probably would have been a little scared...but strangely, she couldn't remember being afraid at all.

"Well, actually I was really excited when I found out. I've read a whole lot of books, and I guess it made me think of those when I found out. I used to daydream a lot about things like this.There were some weird things that happened when I was younger. My parents thought I was making it up when I told them, said I'd been reading to much fiction." Eva laughed. "I actually thought they were right for a while."

After taking a few bites a question formed.

"What about you? You've always known you were magic, right? What's it like growing up here? Is it that different, being in a Wizarding family?"

She'd wondered about that for a while now. Would the muggleworld be just as strange to wizards as the wizard would would seem to most muggles?

She looked at her new friend expectantly, waiting for his answer.

0 Eva Winters Back. 0 Eva Winters 0 5