Crimson and clover. on Cascade Hall

Headmaster Brockert

December 26, 2014 4:07 PM

Opening Feast by Headmaster Brockert

Another year, another feast. Mortimer still couldn't say he'd mastered looking anything close to pleasant and cheery, but he could at least claim that he was getting used to the Sonora routine. Plus, last year had gone so much more smoothly than the previous one. No mishaps, not to his knowledge. Whatever personal issues the students had going on their daily lives was none of his business. It wasn't his fault or his problem.

That said, there was one student Mortimer had a slight interest in this year, his great-nephew Owen-and even with him the Headmaster was not that interested in interfering or anything. Mortimer simply did not have time and fortunately, his nephew was bright enough to realize that Mortimer was not the warm and friendly type. Thankfully, Owen's mother knew that as well. He'd just gotten rid of his cousin's daughter and couldn't have been more glad to see the back of that one, in part so he didn't have to deal with her mother anymore. Having to deal with Annabeth's over-protectiveness had the potential to be even worse, given he had to deal with her more often than Pearl though. At least she had the capability to be rational, however and her husband, his nephew, was an excellent go between as he was even more so.

He rose from his place at the table "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." Really, Mortimer was pretty sure he'd said the exact same words last year. With mildest curiosity, he watched for Owen's turn before continuing on the endless repetitive rituals.

"Would Anthony Carey and Wendy Canterbury please come to the front of the room to recieve your Head Student badges? In addition, I would like to call Emrys Lucan, Portia Dobson, Eleanor Vandenburg, and Ji-Eun Park up to recieve their prefect badges."

As they returned to their places, Mortimer announced. "This year's Midsummer event will be the Fair, details will be announced later in this year. First years, do not leave the Hall until your Head of House calls for you. We will now sing the school song."

Sheets of music appeared in front of the students. This was pretty much the only time the school song was ever sung, and he would be shocked if even a graduating seventh year knew it by heart. He certainly didn't.

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

With that, the students were released to their meals and conversations and Mortimer didn't have to deal with this nonsense again until the Returning Feast after midterm.

Subthreads:

Brand new me by Araceli Arbon with Viktor Markov

Yellow sheep of the family by Jemima Wolseithcrafte with Ginger Pierce, Lauren Song, Lauren

Somebody pinch me! by Sammy Meeks with Chuck Fintoc

An overwhelming night. by Owen Brockert with Tobias Reinhardt, II

Well, I'll Be a Blue-Eyed Hog! by Izrael Tizze with Joella Curtis

Crimson and clover. by Caelia Lucan with Alistair Johnson

Out with the old, in with the new by Effie Arbon

Yesterday was simpler. by Aislinn Nicolls with John Spencer, Barnaby Pye

Where's the food? by Sutton Nicolls with Gia Donovan

Third year awaits! by Clark Dill with Emrys Lucan

Back and loads more adventurous. by Ava Fletcher

Well.... this is not the best start. by Emery Kijewski-Jareau

So excited, I just can't hide it. by Wendy Canterbury

Suspicious character by Charlie B-F-R

Matters of perspective. by Julian Umland

11 Headmaster Brockert Opening Feast 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

Araceli Arbon

December 27, 2014 5:38 AM

Brand new me by Araceli Arbon

A sip of potion, a deep breath and she was ready. She could do this. She stepped into the Cascade Hall and for all she looked the same as the timid little girl who had done so last year, the difference was palpable. She radiated excitement, eyes turned up, drinking in the water streaming down the walls with a look of wonder. Perhaps that wasn’t such a surprising thing to see on Araceli’s face, as it had spent all of its first year directed at the floor or getting a good look at her own hair. Still, she tried not to look too keen, even though the whole world seemed so sparkling and bright in a way she hadn’t imagined possible before this summer. It was like her senses had been sleeping and now she was feeling everything for the first time. She buzzed.

She moved steadily through the hall, making her way to the Crotalus table, her heart pounding as the room filled up with people who she had thought she would never have a chance to get to know but whom she could now regard as potential friends. She was going to make friends. She was. And they would like her and they would forget about last year and it would all be perfect…. Her hands were shaking at the very thought but in a good way. Nervous but excited. Nervous but happy.

The slight mar on the evening was was when the Muggleborn’s name was called instead of her sister’s to receive the head girl badge. She hadn’t had much chance to see Effie over the summer, between her extra…. lessons, she believed was what they were calling them in public, but she knew she had dreamt of ruling the school side by side with Anthony Carey VIII.

She received the song sheet and sung along softly. For all her confidence, her own voice was still a little strange to her. She had practised with it, she could talk confidently, but singing still felt strange, which made her a little sad, as it was supposed to be such a pleasurable and joyful activity.

The song sheets faded away to be replaced by food. She found that her appetite had dwindled lately but after a day of travelling even she was hungry. She surveyed the food, considering her choice carefully… What should she eat? Fish, perhaps? Or was that an odd choice, bound to make her stand out? Chicken was safe. Everyone liked chicken. She helped herself to a grilled piece, along with some salad leaves, trying to look relaxed. Now she just had to wait for someone to speak to her. She was bursting to talk to them all but the change had to be slow. They had to all think she was just naturally adjusting and getting over her shyness. Much better to let someone else make the first move. She hoped dearly that they would - that after a year of silence, she wasn’t going to be regarded as a lost cause. She began to cut up her chicken, not yet taking a bite, wanting to be ready to speak with the person next to her.

13 Araceli Arbon Brand new me 290 Araceli Arbon 0 5

Jemima Wolseithcrafte

December 27, 2014 6:09 AM

Yellow sheep of the family by Jemima Wolseithcrafte

Jemima knew before the sorting potion touched her lips what colour she wouldn’t be. She was not going to turn blue like her brother and sister because she simply wasn’t like them. She didn’t even really look like them, beyond the fact that she and Francesca shared blonde hair and blue eyes - features common enough not to constitute a family resemblance. From an outsider’s perspective, she probably looked considerably nicer than her sister, who was all angles. Jemima was softer and warmer looking - she was not plump but her body didn’t have the same beanpole athletic look that ran in the family, her hair fell in waves whilst most everyone else’s was poker straight (it was a feature she might have shared with Theodore but his was too short for it to notice much), and she lacked the same long, thin face and matching nose characteristic of all of her siblings. Her own rounder face and smaller nose were probably more typically attractive, and it was a distinctly odd wish for a young witch to want a bigger nose - and it wasn’t even that she did, exactly. She just knew they all looked one way and she didn’t.

As she stepped up to sip from the goblet, she knew that her skin wouldn’t turn blue because this outer difference reflected what ran deeper - the fact that she was nothing like the rest of her family in temperament and skills as well as looks. Her family was full of very clever people who felt very deeply about big and important issues. Witches’ rights, immigration, Wizard-Muggle marriage…. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about the same things too, she had been brought up with her parents’ views and thus they naturally made sense to her. What she couldn’t find in herself was the deep, driving passion they had, and the ability to plunge the depths, or make fine distinctions in terms of their views on the subjects. She would rather walk or paint than read political pamphlets or join a debating society and she was aware this made her the odd one out. She felt bad about it sometimes, like she must be rather shallow or possibly ignorant.

The potion touched her lips and her skin turned yellow. She found it in herself to be pleased about this, as Ginger Pierce - whom she had met at a party the previous Christmas - had predicted that would be her own house, and she took a seat at the Teppenpaw table with a smile on her face. In spite of her worries over being the odd one out, she was naturally a cheery person, and was excited at the sense of belonging that being put into a house gave her. She gave Ginger a wave and a thumbs up as she saw her sorted there too.

After the announcements, which meant little to her, and the song, which she enjoyed, she turned her attention to the amazing food. The scent of something unfamiliar but spicy met her nostrils… She loved spicy food, her favourite being Thai, though it was rarely served at home, and she was determined not to miss this opportunity to try something new. She glanced around trying to locate it.

“Excuse me,” she said to the person next to her, “Is that dish by you the one that smells so good? Sort of spicy and….” she shurgged, finding herself at a loss to describe what else might be in the food. The whole reason that she wanted to try it was because she didn’t quite know what it would be like.

OOC - for new first years, it is not normal to claim already knowing another character (indeed, it is considered writing for them) but there is a sister site to Sonora where holidays are written about. As Ginger’s author and I already have characters, and were writing about holidays on that site, that is how the two of them happen to have already met.

13 Jemima Wolseithcrafte Yellow sheep of the family 304 Jemima Wolseithcrafte 0 5

Viktor Markov

December 27, 2014 12:10 PM

Brand new student! by Viktor Markov

Viktor Markov stepped out of the Covered Wagons frowning, it was such an undignified way to travel. The young dark brown haired boy dusted off his robes and his grey eyes searched the group wondering if Father had sent him to some backwater school and for what reason. Viktor should be starting at Durmstrang but Father had moved the whole family from Russia to America last year and now here he was, Sonora not Durmstrang.

The tall eleven year old followed the group inside and waited to take a sip of the potion. What a Merlin-awful way to sort. The Russian boy took a sip and suddenly turned red. Red? Crotalus. He turned and followed a fellow person who had also turned red. He wondered what Crotalus was all about.

The sheet of lyrics appeared in front of Viktor and he pretended to sing along. When the song ended he glanced at the girl next to him, obviously she wasn’t a first year like him since her skin was not red. This irritated Viktor a bit as he took some potatoes on his plate and glanced around for something besides chicken. “Hello.” he said, his English accented with Russian sound. “I am Viktor Markov. How are you this evening?” He didn’t know if the girl next to him was Pure Blooded and until he found out he would treat her as an equal.

0 Viktor Markov Brand new student! 0 Viktor Markov 0 5

Araceli Arbon

December 27, 2014 11:42 PM

How convenient by Araceli Arbon

A first year. Perfect. Someone who had no preconceptions of what she was supposed to be like. Better still, a foreign first year. She knew that Father had tried to do damage limitation but she was not sure how much gossip had spread amongst the American families about last year… About the strange little girl who wouldn’t speak.

“Good evening, Mr. Markov,” she smiled, inclining her head slightly in what passed for a curtsey when sitting down, “I am Araceli Arbon, of Maine. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” however many times she had practised, and however smoothly and flawlessly the introduction rolled off her tongue - she was sure, sounding perfectly natural to everyone else - it still felt strange to her to be giving it.

She wondered what to say next, and for a moment felt the startling sensation of becoming tongue tied. With all the discourse in the world, how did one possibly choose? Still, she felt freed by the fact that he didn’t know anything about her. Anything would do, though he still might talk with others so it would not do for her to be too vivacious.

“Might I pass you something?” she enquired, noting his empty plate.

13 Araceli Arbon How convenient 290 Araceli Arbon 0 5

Sammy Meeks

December 28, 2014 3:42 PM

Somebody pinch me! by Sammy Meeks

Admittedly, the wagon ride was a lot less glorious than Sammy had imagined, but her discontent over the transportation was immediately forgotten when she saw the school itself. The Cascade Hall was aptly named, she quickly found, and it was entirely surreal. Idly she wondered what the response would have been if a year ago someone had told her there was a place like this; certainly, it would have been nothing short of incredulous. She was having problems believing it now, and she was actually here!

There was a buzzing in the air, conversations blending together to create a sort of stationary static, and the brunette loved every minute of it. She noted four distinct tables of students and vaguely recalled something about some kind of sorting process, so she figured that was what those meant. As a precaution (for what she wasn’t really sure) Sammy hung back near the Vice Principal lady, although she was definitely in no rush to drink from the goblet the Principal man mentioned. Note to self: “Deputy Headmistress” and “Headmaster”.

Her turn came eventually, and with a slightly less adventurous attitude than characteristic, Sammy took a couple nervous gulps from the goblet. She didn’t immediately feel any different, but upon inspection of her hand, she found a transformation had in fact occurred: her skin had abandoned its usual paleish hue in favor of a rich brown. That meant, uh… What did that mean again? Oh, right. Her Sorting. Brown was for… um… the “P” one. Whatever that was called. She didn’t know which table was which, either, but she managed to tag along behind the small flock of other brown-turned eleven year olds.

Then the ~~principal~~ Headmaster started calling people by name for some kind of badges, something about Head Students and prefects, whatever that meant. It seemed like a time for applause, so she clapped along. The ~~principal~~ Headmaster also mentioned something about a Midsummer event being a Fair? Most of this stuff was going way over Sammy’s head, and while not understanding was kind of frustrating and she wished he’d explain it more, she figured things would make more sense later.

“There’s a school song?” thought Sammy with mild surprise. Her elementary school hadn’t had one, or at least, they’d never had to sing it. Her brother Ethan’s high school had an alma mater, but only the choir and band kids seemed to even know it, and that was only because they had to perform it every so often. At least Sonora kids got sheet music (which appeared magically in front of them) (seriously how cool was that), which didn’t really help Sammy figure things out, but it did provide the lyrics, so instead of embarrassing herself by being off-key, she just mouthed the words silently.

After that, they were pretty much free to eat and talk and stuff, it seemed. There was more food on the table than Sammy had seen laid out at once in practically her whole life. The Meeks-Jones family always had enough and sometimes even some extra stuff, but even their Thanksgiving paled in comparison to this; this was extravagance. Coupled with the decor that continuously drew her in, Sammy could hardly contain her excitement. And this was the place she got to spend the better part of the next seven years of her life? As she compiled different varieties of food onto her plate, some of which she didn’t even recognize, she thought aloud (and loudly), “This place is amazing!”

12 Sammy Meeks Somebody pinch me! 310 Sammy Meeks 0 5

Ginger Pierce

December 28, 2014 7:13 PM

I'd argue you're not a sheep at all. by Ginger Pierce

Ginger was super excited about finally coming to Sonora. Mom had (barely) tolerated her bouncing around the RV and talking so fast even Ginger couldn't understand what she was saying and managed to refrain from banishing her from the camper that served as both home and office for the pair of them. She had been packed for weeks already and she had thoroughly interrogated Saul, Elly, Jose, and even Sully for every bit of information she could find out about the school she would soon be calling home for three seasons out of the year.

They were, unfortunately, to a person, all biased toward Pecari so she knew precious little about Crotalus, Teppenpaw, or Aladren, but it was the best she could do with the family she had. As every California Pierce to date - even the ones that married into the family - had been a Pecari, most of the family assumed she would be as well, and she was half-convinced they might be right. She had nothing against Pecari, after all. She enjoyed adventure, spontaneity, and adaptation as much as the next California Pierce.

But in her exhaustive research (well, as much as could be achieved by talking with people and reading a couple of short brochures but without venturing to crack any hard-cover book spines), she had discovered Teppenpaw sounded quite like her as well, and she gave it even odds that she'd be put there instead of where the rest of her family had been Sorted. Quite frankly, she just liked people in general.

So - after a bumpy but thrilling ride in a flying covered wagon and chatting cheerfully and energetically with the other students who got on the same wagon that had picked her up at Los Angeles pick-up station - it was with no small amount of anticipation that she took her sips of the Sorting potion and eagerly watched her hands turn . . . yellow.

"Teppenpaw!" she squealed in delight, jumping up and down a little bit because containing that much excitement was just entirely impossible. She was going to see something new that nobody she knew had ever seen before at the school! She half-ran, half-skipped over to the correct table for her new House and sat down. She cheered loudly when her friend from the fundraiser she'd attended over last Christmas turned yellow, too, and gave her a thumbs-up and a return wave when Jemima joined the table, too, and noticed Ginger sitting there.

Ginger was diverted from starting a conversation by the Headmaster announcing prefects and Head Students - none of which she knew anything about, though some of the surnames did sound familiar. Sullivan had told her about a Waverly Canterbury a little bit, the Dobsons were related to the Western Brockerts somehow, and of course everyone knew who the Careys were.

And then there was the Fair to think about. Once upon a time, her family used to work the Midsummer Events as entertainers but they'd mostly lost that contract once Simon stopped working at the school around the time Ginger had been born. She wondered what this Fair would be like this year. According to Saul, Sully, and Jose, it seemed to be different every time.

She enthusiastically sang the school song when the sheet music appeared in front of her. She wasn't an amazing singer - not compared to some of her musically gifted family members - but she could hold a tune in a bucket without too much trouble and her ability to sight read music was good enough enough that she felt confident that she could belt out the lyrics without striking too many wrong notes.

Once that ended, there was food, and Ginger began filling her plate with all kinds of things. She wasn't strictly vegan like many of her family, but her selections did tend toward the vegetarian options. She took tiny portions of some interesting smelling dishes that looked like they might have meat in it, but largely avoided the big platters of roast beast or whatever those were. She was about ready to dig in when Jemima asked her to pass one of the dishes on her other side. She did so, and guessed, "I think it might be Mexican, maybe?" She thought it looked a little like something the Hernandezes made sometimes when they visited during the winter, but she didn't know what it was called, and it didn't look exactly the same so it might be something entirely different anyway.

She grinned then, "So we are going to be roommates! I'm still totally up for decorating our room with your awesome crafty genius!"

1 Ginger Pierce I'd argue you're not a sheep at all. 302 Ginger Pierce 0 5

Jemima

December 29, 2014 9:20 AM

But I'm a WOOLseithcrafte by Jemima

“Thanks,” Jemima grinned at the idea of decorating their room. She glanced around the rest of the table, looking out for other yellow first years, “Guess we need someone else’s approval before we break out the glitter glue,” she nodded at the Asian-looking girl, “But I’m sure she’ll be nice. She got in here after all…”

She couldn’t help but be glad that she and Ginger got to be room-mates, even though the other girl has turned out to be Not That Kind of Pierce. She had felt awful when she’d found out, her triumph at making a suitable friend before even starting school being rather brutally squashed when her mother was astonished that Ginger and her mother had had the temerity to attend their party, rather than being proud of her for making links with them. Mother hadn’t been mad at her though, and had gone on a long speech about diplomacy and that being an important skill across all areas of life, whether it was sharing a room at school or working in an office with someone whom you were not naturally inclined to like. The world, she had said, was perfectly ready to make enemies for you so it was silly to make them for yourself where you could avoid it. There had been a bit about cutting off your nose to spite your face, which she hoped wasn’t literal. All in all, she had taken it to mean that she was allowed to be friends with Ginger, especially if they were room-mates. And, as Ginger hadn’t lied or really done anything wrong (unless you counted being at their party uninvited, but Jemima had had a fun time because of her being there) then she was inclined to still want to be friends.

“Cool. I haven’t tried a lot of Mexican.” Her mother was quite traditional in her food preferences, and of the opinion that anything more exotic than a chilli con carne was a bit daring, so Jemima’s restaurant choices were often vetoed except for birthdays and special treats. Whilst there were plenty of good Mexican restaurants near where she lived, she had always been tempted in by the smells from other places. She inspected the dish, which appeared to consist of pumpkin and chicken with some kind of marinade, helping herself to a small spoonful, as she was sure there were lots of other things to try. It was spicy but not in a hot, fiery way. It was warm and kind of smoky. They had smoked things at home, like ham, but this was different. It was good.

“Mmm,” she nodded, “I approve. I might even come back to it. What else do you think is good?” she asked, “The spicier or stranger the better,” she clarified, in case Ginger thought along the same lines as her family. Though, from the brief summary she had had of that branch of the Pierces, ‘unadventurous’ was not a label they were often ascribed…

13 Jemima But I'm a WOOLseithcrafte 304 Jemima 0 5

Ginger

December 29, 2014 10:47 AM

A yellow alpaca then? by Ginger

Ginger followed Jemima's glance down to another yellow-hued girl at their table and nodded agreement. "Yes, that would be the courteous thing to do." She couldn't imagine anybody wouldn't want their wallspace covered in the beautiful crafts that Jemima could make, but it would definitely be polite to ask first. "She might want to help, too! It could be a fun roommate bonding activity!"

When Jemima asked for advice on what other interesting foods she should try, Ginger immediately passed over a dish with some fruits and nuts in it. She had taken a spoonful because it was very colorful, and it tasted almost as vibrant as it looked. "Not sure what it's called but I just tried some of this. It's tangy but also sweet - but fruit-sweet, not sugar-sweet - at the same time. I like it. I think its one of those dishes people aren't sure if they should be sides because they're healthy or desserts because they taste so good."

She tried a few more tastes of what she'd put on her plate and passed over the ones that she liked best if she didn't see it on Jemima's plate yet. She wrinkled her nose and scrunched up her face and went for a deep drink of her pumpkin juice after one of the unfamiliar dishes proved to be a bit too much for her tastebuds. "Oh, wow," she gasped and took another sip of her juice and a bite of some mashed potatoes to neutralize the taste still in her mouth. "Wow, that was different. Very . . . spicy. Very potent." She blinked a few times because her eyes were tearing up involuntarily. She took another long sip of her pumpkin juice. "Did you want to try that one?" She turned her plate so the appropriate pile of spiced rice was closest to Jemima and pointed at it.

1 Ginger A yellow alpaca then? 302 Ginger 0 5

Lauren Song

December 29, 2014 5:09 PM

Or a llama? by Lauren Song

The hardest part of going to school was saying goodbye. Lauren maybe had a bit of an ego, but she had tortured herself wondering what her mom would do with her gone. For as long as Lauren could remember, Mom had always depended on her to take care of the younger two when she went to work at the hospital. Lauren did the chores with her siblings as they got older. She had changed diapers. She knew how to make macaroni and cheese all by herself. But now she was leaving and that made her sad and a little worried for how things were going to be back at home. She didn't want her mom to cry and stress out without being there for her. She didn't want Isaac to miss her or "accidentally" drop their baby sister. She didn't want to miss out on everything that went on at home.

Lauren had never been a very adventurous person, but she knew that eventually she was going to leave for school. Magical schools were kind of strange that way. They liked to keep all the magic in one area instead of letting muggles in on the secret. Though Lauren didn't really get why, she followed the rules so it didn't really matter either way to her. Lauren's mom had been a little reluctant to send her to an all-magical school. It was necessary as a half-blood, of course, but Mom had warned her to never let the purebloods push her around or think that they were better than her. Mom had a lot of bad experiences with purebloods, she being a half-blood herself, and Lauren hoped that people at Sonora were nicer. A nasty pureblood could easily make her entire school career a nightmare.

The wagon ride was a little bumpy, but it was a short journey from Southern California to Arizona. It was a lot drier and desert-like here, something Lauren would have to get used to. Only a few hours had passed and already she missed her family. The school was beautiful, she couldn't deny that, and she let herself be awed for a moment, wondering how in the world she was going to explain all of this in a letter back home. She would have to ask for a camera on her Christmas list this year.

The sorting began pretty early in the opening feast and the Headmaster didn't look very enthusiastic about it, but with her last name she was towards the end of the line. When she was finally called up, she took a sip and watched her pale skin turn a bright yellow. If she didn't stick out before, she definitely stuck out now. She was eager to get away from the front of the room and went quickly to the table to wait out the rest of the ceremony. When the food appeared, she looked around for housemates with skin just as yellow as hers. There were two girls chatting together and Lauren stood up and made her way a little timidly towards them.

It looked like they were trying different foods, something Lauren didn't do very often, and she sat down next to them, telling herself to be outgoing. These girls were probably going to be her roommates for the rest of her stay at Sonora. "Hi," she said with a smile. "I'm Lauren Song." Her brows furrowed a little at the spices on Ginger's plate. "What are you guys eating?" Lauren ate a lot of Korean food back home whenever her mom or uncle cooked, but otherwise it was just mac and cheese or hamburgers. A whole table full of new foods was kind of intimidating.

19 Lauren Song Or a llama? 303 Lauren Song 0 5

Owen Brockert

December 29, 2014 11:32 PM

An overwhelming night. by Owen Brockert

Stepping into the Hall, Owen had to take a breath. He'd never been around so many people before and was starting to feel a little nervous. The ride down had been overwhelming enough and most of those were his distant relatives. Whom all happened to be more closely related to each other, save for Duncan, who'd gotten on before them in Montana.

Truthfully, he had wanted to go sit by the older boy, as he was feeling like a bit of an outsider among the others anyway but he'd felt it necessary to sit towards the middle of the wagon, away from the edges. Owen didn't want to take a chance of the dust outside aggravating his asthma and allowing everyone aboard to know it existed. As it was, he was wheezing a little.

As he calmed down a little, Uncle Mortimer began to speak and Owen was glad to see he was as unenthusiastic as ever. It was...oddly comforting. Something familiar in this unfamiliar situation. He took a flask from the Deputy Headmistress and poured it down, his skin turning a bright...yellow? He was in Teppenpaw, Owen had to admit to being slightly relieved. Part of him wanted to be in Aladren because his father had been and so his uncle wouldn't start hating him, but Teppenpaws were at least nice.

He joined the other new Teppenpaws at their table which was already full of familiar faces. Owen recognized at least three of the cousins he'd met, including Duncan. He supposed that was a good thing. As for the prefects and Head Students, he'd heard of the Dobsons-more distant relatives- and Careys but wasn't sure about the others. Owen wasn't really up on foreign families.

The new first year looked up and down the table. Three of the others sorted into his house were girls and had congregated in a group. He dared not interrupt that. Besides, he didn't really feel ready to go up to three complete strangers and join their conversation just like that. Owen thought he had spotted another boy though, and that made him worried. He would have a roommate and was afraid. Not so much of sharing but he didn't always sleep too well, and had a tendency to be up coughing and wheezing. Owen didn't want to put the other boy off too much, especially if he was from the right sort of family.

"Excuse me, could you please pass the spaghetti please?" He asked someone who was in a better position to reach it than he was. What the Teppenpaw really wanted was his favorite, cheddar cheese soup with garlic, but most people did not eat it that way. His cousin Angelique thought he was strange for that. Spaghetti, on the other hand, normally was and he could smell that the sauce (which was somehow closer to him than the person he'd asked) did have garlic. There was indeed cheddar cheese soup as well, also within his reach, and he spooned out a bowl of that too.

11 Owen Brockert An overwhelming night. 300 Owen Brockert 0 5

Chuck Fintoc

December 30, 2014 4:17 AM

And me too! by Chuck Fintoc

The fact that he was the first of his generation to attend Sonora Academy was not something that particularly daunted Chuck. In truth, he was not a boy easily daunted and at the age of eleven he was continuously fluctuating in maturity. He was not the eldest of his generation but Joel had refused to go and Douglas was a squib. He had nothing to live up to except his name which was unlikely to be tainted more by his personality than by his father marrying a half-blood. Granddad Fintoc had been eager at this opportunity to increase his social circle and reinstate the family name so that younger families would not think it had died out. The Colorado Fintocs were very male dominated but other branches were not quite so fortunate and so the fact that the Colorado Fintocs had not been particularly intellectual in the past couple of generations meant that the name could be considered extinct should an modern member of society deign to flick through the Sonora yearbook.

The pressure of Granddad Fintoc was certainly in existence but Chuck ignored it easily. He had always been his grandfather’s favourite and his success at Sonora (or lack of) wouldn’t change that. His father’s generation had received appalling grades so he had been told and Chuck’s intelligence did not lie in academia either. That had never been the speciality of the Colorado Fintocs. His duty to socialise did not affect Chuck either for he enjoyed such a thing should he meet the more open-minded and not the uppity one seemed to find all the time in L.A as opposed to Colorado Springs.

Chuck was impressed on entering the Cascade Hall and all its grandeur. He was not one to marvel at building interiors and much preferred comfortability over splendour but nonetheless he could hardly deny his amazement at the water cascading down the walls. Now he knew where it got its name from. His father and uncles had never spoken much of their time at Sonora so the little he knew came from brief and rare conversations on the subject with friends and other relatives. Chuck was therefore not tied down to being sorted into any particular house and was happy to just relax and allow himself to be sorted into the one he supposedly belonged to. It sounded like a good idea to be integrated with other students of similar personalities to himself. The mystery of which house he would end up in created a sense of excitement and Chuck could no longer pretend to himself that Sonora was “no big deal”.

One particular love of Chuck’s was food and this wasn’t exactly hidden by his figure. He eyed the long tables with gluttony after the carriage ride and longed to be able to sit down and food appear. A friend of his had told him how amazing the Sonora meals were - feasts especially - and it would be a lie to say that this wasn’t one of the most anticipated events on his mind. Sorting was a process that could fast be hurried and forgotten about in his hunger. The Sonora meals and Care of Magical Creatures class, he was sure would be the best parts of his time in education and it wasn’t long before he would be able to discover how accurate his predictions were.

He quite happily took his place at the Pecari table on being sorted, his skin having turned a brown colour. He knew that his friend Joella Curtis was in this house but glimpsed her grin a little too late and was already sitting down at the opposite end of the table. The announcements and singing were of minute interest to Chuck, most namely because he was hungry.

"Mmmm," came Chuck's reply to the fellow first year sitting beside him. On emptying his mouth of its contents, he expanded with a grin. "As is the food. Could I pass you anything?" He offered politely, manners not forgotten even in the company of such heavenly sustenance. "Oh, it's Chuck Fintoc," he added in case the girl happened to be one of those purebloods who only deigned to converse with fellow purebloods and no one beneath themselves in blood status. "Of Colorado." There weren't any other Fintocs remaining by name but he tacked this bit on the end anyway - he wasn't going to spite his grandfather in avoiding all members of society.

8 Chuck Fintoc And me too! 309 Chuck Fintoc 0 5

Izrael Tizze

December 30, 2014 9:23 AM

Well, I'll Be a Blue-Eyed Hog! by Izrael Tizze

The wagon ride over to Sonora had been almost downright pleasant for Izzy. It had, as a matter of fact, put her entirely at her ease. Sure, it had been a little rocky, but you got turbulence on the ground same as you did in the air. Wagon's a wagon, right?

She'd just stretched herself out a little and pulled her cowgirl hat down over her face, letting the the less-than-gentle motion of the wagon sooth her into a sort of half-sleep. She was, as a result, well-rested by the time the wagons at arrived at the school. She yawned and dug through her chest for her school robes, which she threw on over her plaid button-up and Levi's. She also carefully slipped her hat into the trunk, on account of it wasn't exactly dress code.

Following the rest of the rabble into Cascade Hall, Izzy felt the familiar sensation of excitement bubbling up in her stomach just like she had always gotten before a competition.

Well-rested she might have been, but prepared for the sight of Cascade Hall? Not even close.

Izzy thought she might need a crowbar to pry her jaw up from the floor where it had fallen. She turned in a circle, taking it all in, and apologizing whenever she bumped or jostled someone.

"Hot dang," she breathed in awe.

Her mind was so preoccupied, that she was a little startled when the Headmaster addressed them all, but immediately gave over her full attention to him, the butterflies returning to her stomach. She'd never been to school before, and the only people her own age she'd ever met had been snooty pageant competitors who'd looked down their noses at her for being a cowgirl at heart. Hoo-wee! The looks on their faces when she'd hogtied that calf for her talent had been priceless!

She was grinning to herself at the memory when she stepped up to drink from the goblet.

"Well, I'll be a blue-eyed hog!" she exclaimed when her already-tan skin turned a rich shade of chocolate brown. "It's faster'n the Day-Glo tan lotion Aunt Bethany uses!"

Entertained by the effects of the potion, she wandered over to the Pecari house table and scooched herself in with some other students.

"Oh, gosh, I'm awful sorry," she apologized when she stepped on someone's foot in her attempt to seat herself.

0 Izrael Tizze Well, I'll Be a Blue-Eyed Hog! 0 Izrael Tizze 0 5

Viktor

December 31, 2014 10:30 AM

Glad I could help by Viktor

Viktor smiled at the girl, Araceli Arbon. She had the manners of a Pureblood, so maybe Sonora was not some backwater, not worth a bilini, school. The first year’s grey eyes scanned over the girl and he wondered what she meant by of Maine. He knew that was a state here and he wondered if he should’ve said he was of Russia, yet he was sure this was plainly obvious due to his accent.

When she asked if she could pass him something he scanned the table, nothing looked appetizing, he was sure it was because his babushka had filled him so full of hearty Russian foods that he was not in the least bit hungry. Yet, it would look odd if he did not at least sample food so he nodded. “Please pass the chicken, yours does look wonderful.”

“May I ask what year you are?” he asked as he waited for her to pass the chicken to him. He knew he girl was older but by one or two years. She could be a small fourth year but that was unlikely. What the Russian really wanted to know was how the school was, and if the girl was a Pureblood but it was rude to ask these things. Being forward about anything was rude and ill advised.

0 Viktor Glad I could help 0 Viktor 0 5

Caelia Lucan

December 31, 2014 7:46 PM

Crimson and clover. by Caelia Lucan

A month before school was to start Caelia had been so excited to finally join her older brother at the fairytale Sonora that she had packed up her trunk the moment her father brought it home for her. She had missed her brother a great deal the past four years and from the moment Emrys had received his acceptance letter she had been counting down the days until she would receive her own. At first she had spent the long days playing with Matthew from next door but as she got older she began to find him repulsive, disliking neither his frank way of being nor his less-than-magical attitude. By the time she was ten, Caelia had cut of all contact with her childhood playmate (to the displeasure of her mother). It was much easier once they moved in with Grandmother Viviane and today, as she left her room for the last time until winter break, Caelia made sure to drop Matthew’s latest letter to her in the bin, assured that Grandmother’s house elf would toss it before Mother could find it and be angry. A smile drew across her face as she closed the door behind her and bounced down the hallway and stairs to meet her family in the entrance hall of their house.

On the way to being dropped off to take the wagon, Caelia made sure grab hold of Emrys and yapped his ear off asking him questions about the different professors and the classes and which house was the best house to be sorted into. Once on board, however, Caelia slipped her hand into Emrys’, squeezing it tightly and set out on an attempt to distract him from the motion sickness he always seemed to get from any sort of transportation save for walking. “Even though you said I probably won’t be in Aladren with you, we will be able to see each other, won’t we?” She asked imploringly as she stared up to him, her blue eyes growing large.

“Of course,” Emrys replied, teasing one of her blonde curls. “We can always meet up in the library and study together and whenever you want to eat dinner or breakfast together just let me know and I’ll be sure to come find you in Cascade Hall to eat, okay?” Though he face was beginning to get grey as they soared over the country, Caelia took it as a personal victory that it had not yet turned green nor had he worsened it by pulling out a book. Her older brother had the habit of sometimes making things worse by trying to make them better, she thought. And, in her opinion, a lot of boys were like that. But it’s a good thing I’m here to take care of him now, she smiled to herself while chatting his ear off.

The siblings separated upon reach of the school, Emrys likely going inside to find his friends to sit with while Caelia waited with the other first years to be brought into Cascade Hall. Emrys had told her stories about the beautiful dining room with the water cascading down the walls and the light that reflected off the chandeliers. Nevertheless she let out a happy little sigh when she first stepped foot into her new school. “It’s beautiful,” she sighed to herself. Another girl wearing jostled her slightly and Caelia’s frown wrinkled her smooth forehead while straightening out any wrinkles in her new dress that the bump might have caused despite it not being visible on account of the uniform robes. The frown left her face, however, once the Headmaster began his talk and Caelia quickly replaced it with a pretty smile. It wouldn’t do to look too agitated when it came her turn to drink from the goblet and she snuck a look out on the crowd as she accepted it from the Deputy Headmistress. She didn’t see Emrys, wherever he was, and so she took a drink. Her skin began to turn a lovely shade of red which, in contrast to the forest green of the school uniform made Caelia feel as though it were Christmas time. Crimson, crimson, Caelia thought as she stepped towards the Crotalus table. It had a nice ‘sss’ sound to it and beside, Emrys’ friend, Charlotte was in that house so it had to be good. When she reached the table, Caelia carefully tucked her robes underneath her, letting her eyes wander and search for Emrys at the Aladren table to give him a thumbs up.

However, before she could locate him, she heard his name called up for prefect and Caelia’s head snapped to the front of the room. He never told me he was up for prefect, she thought to herself as she watched her older brother make his way to collect his badge. Caelia fidgeted a little bit, playing with the hem of her forest green robe wishing that she wasn’t wearing the dratted thing so that she might show off the pretty blue dress she was wearing but Emrys had insisted on her wearing the school attire her first night there and now she realized why he had probably been asked to be prefect. He winked at her as he headed back to his seat and her eyes followed him until he sat down again and she decided that when she saw him next she would give him a hard time about it.

“When do you suppose this will wear off?” She asked the person sitting next to her, selecting a piece of cornbread and spreading some clover honey on it, finding that she was short of company and still quite red. She wrinkled her nose in distaste a little bit as she examined her hands. Even if she liked the sound of the word crimson and even if she didn’t mind Christmas-y colors, they still reminded her of her favorite raspberry jam which Grandma Quinn made and for obvious reasons was not available at the Opening Feast.

10 Caelia Lucan Crimson and clover. 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Jemima

January 01, 2015 1:42 AM

Yellama by Jemima

“I hope so,” she smiled, as Ginger suggested crafting could become a room-mate bonding activity. She was looking forward to them making their mark on the dorm room. She was sure it was already very beautiful and she couldn’t wait to see it but she also wanted to make it theirs and home.

She helped herself to the fruit dish that Ginger had mentioned. It seemed similar to something her mother might serve with coffee - all nuts, and candied fruits, only with a bit more of a kick to it, and less being all glued together with honey. It was interesting, though more for her dilemma over where to classify it than anything else.

“I see what you mean,” she mused, accepting further dishes from Ginger as well as trying any that caught her eye (or nose) on her other side, and offering these up to the other girl. When Ginger scrunched her face up and went for an immediate drink of her pumpkin juice, Jemima was, perhaps rather counter-intuitively, very keen to know what had prompted that reaction and to try some. Happily, her friend obliged, though before she could take any, a voice piped up next to her and she found that they had been joined by the other yellow girl. She beamed broadly at their new room-mate.

“Hi, I’m Jemima and this is Ginger. Uh, Wolseithcrafte and Pierce,” she added, unsure whether Miss Lauren Song was interested in such details. She didn’t know of a Song family, and Lauren sounded American but looked Asian, so she wasn’t sure whether she’d have been taught about her regardless.

“Um, a little bit of everything,” she replied to the food question, “Everything new and interesting anyway,” she grinned. “Currently, this very spicy rice is kindly on offer from Ginger’s plate,” she explained, taking a small, tentative forkful. The rice was probably the hottest thing she’d ever tasted - a real fiery spice that burnt her tongue and which she could feel as she swallowed it. She gave a slight cough but went for a second forkful, even though it made her eyes water.

“I like it,” she said, in a slightly strangled tone, “But perhaps that’s about enough of it… You want some?” she asked Lauren. She wasn’t sure whether to be sorry or excited that she had found her limit. “By the time I’m a seventh year, I’m going to be able to eat a whole portion though,” she vowed.

13 Jemima Yellama 304 Jemima 0 5

Sammy

January 01, 2015 2:08 AM

Okay, on the count of three! by Sammy

The garbled response from a neighbor informed Sammy had her exclamation had in fact not been a silent thought. She felt kinda bad for disturbing the kid, who, by his magically (and temporarily? when was this supposed to go away?) dyed skin, she could tell was another first year. Man, was that a weird term to get used to. In normal school, she would have been in sixth grade this year; it felt weird to be essentially back as grade one.

He commented on the food, extending her remark to it as well, and offered to pass her something, but Sammy politely refused. “No thanks,” she said with an ongoing smile. “I’m not really hungry. I’m too… It’s all so exciting, I can’t really bring myself to eat right now.” Her stomach was otherwise occupied, doing flips and leaps that indicate its apparent intent to run away and compete in the next Olympics. An odd mental image, to say the least, although she supposed she wished her (former?) digestive organ the best of luck in its endeavours.

“Oh, it’s Chuck Fintoc.” A pretty normal introduction. Sammy went to reply, but he added, “Of Colordo.” That seemed weird, but she expected a lot of things were gonna seem weird here.

“Sammy Meeks,” she returned. Her moms always told her to introduce herself first as Samantha and then offer the nickname option, but since he had referred to himself as Chuck, which was most likely a nickname for Charles, she figured it was cool. “Uh, I’m from Nevada,” she added as an afterthought. “Or, well, I mean, I’m originally from California, but we moved to Nevada a while back. It’s nice to meet you, Chuck!”

“Is everybody gonna introduce themselves like you did?” genuinely asked the female Pecari. “Like, is that a wizard thing or something? This stuff is all so new to me. Nobody in my family ever did magic before, see? Not my mom, not my mama, and not even my dad.” She paused briefly. “What about you? Are all your family members magical?”

12 Sammy Okay, on the count of three! 310 Sammy 0 5

Araceli

January 01, 2015 2:08 AM

Is there anything I can do for you? by Araceli

She smiled, obligingly passing the dish over to him. She wasn’t entirely convinced it looked that good but was sure no one would look at her strangely for choosing it, and that was the most important thing. She took a mouthful of salad. At least the dressing livened it up, and it wasn’t bad just… with a whole table of options, she wasn’t sure it would have been her first choice. Her first choices though, didn’t matter any more. Getting it right mattered. She was privileged enough to be here and that wasn’t a fact she would be forgetting anytime soon as she watched the water sliding smoothly down the walls. What did something like settling for salad and chicken matter in the face of that?

“I’m… a second year.” The pause before she said it was in reality microscopic, perhaps barely even noticeable, especially to a listener who might prefer English spoken to them at a gentle pace. She was angry at herself for the hesitation though. That was simple. A straight-forward fact. How was she supposed to converse fluently and convincingly if she stumbled over such simple things? At least the bar had been set fairly low last year. Hopefully everyone would be so busy noticing the fact that she was talking at all that the rest wouldn’t matter. There was a buffer zone, in which she could settle in and make her own adjustments before they all started to really notice the details of what she was saying.

13 Araceli Is there anything I can do for you? 290 Araceli 0 5

Effie Arbon

January 01, 2015 2:38 AM

Out with the old, in with the new by Effie Arbon

Effie entered Cascade Hall, ready to chaperone Araceli, to shield her from the onslaught that was other people, but her sister was off. She watched as she moved through the hall…. The words ‘strode confidently’ were not quite applicable, but Araceli moved differently. Head up, for one thing. She had been different on the wagon ride too. The energy from her was nervous, sure, but she seemed to be barely holding back excitement. Effie supposed she was pleased… She supposed those were all good things, and she wanted more than anything for her youngest sister to be happy and to settle into their school. It was just strange. The transformation was so marked, at least to her eyes. She had seen very little of her over the summer, and she wondered what had gone on behind the closed doors of the school room. In the wagon, Araceli had been sipping something when she thought Effie was staring at the scenery. Something that she suspected was the source of her sister’s new found confidence. She wanted Araceli to be happy because she had things to be happy about - because life was being kind or because she believed in herself. What Potions could do was miraculous, an impressive pinnacle of wizard kind’s endeavours over the years, but it wasn’t real - there wasn’t such a thing as a bottle of true happiness, or true self-fulfilment.

She took a seat at the Crotalus table, feeling a little lonely. Amity and Anthony were both Aladrens, and now Araceli didn’t need her. She would have been tempted to buck the trend and sit with the Aladrens but she was a prefect, a role model and a head girl nominee.

As the headmaster stood to speak, she sat to attention. She waited impatiently through the sorting, not having any new siblings at the school this year, and nor did anyone to whom she was especially close. She smiled broadly as Anthony’s name was called, and only faltered for a moment when hers didn’t follow. She smiled graciously and politely applauded the new head boy and prefects. She had debated her chances with herself a lot of the summer, having had plenty of time for her own thoughts, but had never come up with a sure answer. She felt she was the obvious candidate for the Pureblood vote but the Anns had been there as well. She felt that they were a limited threat in and of themselves, especially as the camp in favour of them would still be split down the middle, but that they were problematic for both her and Wendy. They could potentially steal the Quidditch player votes, which would affect both her and the Muggleborn’s camps. Clearly it had taken more from her side. Anthony, she couldn’t help but consider, was a Quidditch player…

Still keeping her expression neutral, she helped herself to some smoked salmon, keeping an eye on her sister. Araceli seemed to be going for a grilled chicken salad, which she thought was strange, as she didn’t think she particularly liked that over and above some of the other choices near her. Perhaps father had given her strict instructions about food as well as whatever else he’d done to her. She suppressed a little sigh, determined to be calm, collected and perfect, regardless of whether anyone on this table cared either way.

13 Effie Arbon Out with the old, in with the new 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Chuck Fintoc

January 01, 2015 6:40 AM

Ouch! Okay, it must be real. by Chuck Fintoc

Chuck found himself rather surprised that anybody could not be hungry when faced with such delicious supplements but shrugged nonetheless. "You'll regret that later, when you're lying awake hungry," he warned her, smiling at her excitement. Sure, he was excited himself but evidently not half as much as she was.

Meeks. The name didn't ring a bell and he instantly assumed she was not pureblood. His deduction was confirmed as she continued. Sammy didn't seem accustomed to introducing herself, rambling a little about where she was from. She wasn't talking about what branch of the Meeks family she belonged to but where she lived now and where she had until recently also.

Chuck found himself intrigued by her. No one in her family was magic... It sounded a strange and unfamiliar prospect.

"Probably," Chuck shrugged in answer to her question. "The purebloods anyway. I personally wouldn't normally introduce myself like that but I know I should, it's the proper way. For most purebloods it is automatic but us Fintocs don't have any other surviving branches." It didn't occur to him that Sammy may not have a clue what he was talking about, fully under the impression that he was being helpful.

"Yeah, they're all magic," Chuck nodded, thinking it a unlikely question for a Fintoc to be asked but understanding Sammy was different...muggleborn. "Well, all except Doug. He's a squib." Then he added, "he's my cousin."

Chuck was puzzled as to the difference between a mom and a mama but didn't deign to ask. He wondered if one was a stepmother. He'd never call Heather anything but by her name but he supposed if he'd known her for longer... Couldn't "mama" be a grandmother? It suddenly clicked and he felt foolish for not realising it before. Chuck himself had never had a grandmother and neither had he a mother but that was no reason to concoct complicated families for other people.

"So how did you come to know of Sonora?" Chuck asked, interested to learn more about how muggleborns came to be a part of his world. He took a sip from his goblet.

8 Chuck Fintoc Ouch! Okay, it must be real. 309 Chuck Fintoc 0 5

Aislinn Nicolls

January 02, 2015 12:30 AM

Yesterday was simpler. by Aislinn Nicolls

Having gone to an exclusive private school with grand arches and balconies full of intricate detail, Aislinn didn’t think anything could be as beautiful. However, even she was surprised at just how breathtaking Cascade Hall was. She had never seen anything like it with flowing waterfalls and brilliant colors reflecting around the room. It was definitely different and honestly, a bit intimidating. She pulled the book she was carrying closer to her and adjusted her glasses. Where was she going to fit in at this school? Would their academic program be as high of a quality as Shady Side Academy? Her mother had assured her it would be, but she just didn’t know.

She glanced over at her twin sister, Sutton. They were alike and yet so different. Physically, they were the same. They both had long, light brown hair, blue eyes, and thin frames, but that’s where it ended. Their personalities were completely different. While she was going over a million questions in her mind, anxiety ever building, Sutton’s face was relaxed and even a bit of excitement. She was jealous over her sister’s ease at new situations. She wasn’t like that at all. Aislinn hated the unknown. Where was she to sit? Where was she to sleep? Where were her classes? What was going to be her schedule? She longed for the familiarity of routine. She had gone to her last school for six years. She knew every hallway, every room. She was a brain. She was an outcast. She had only two friends, but they were her friends. What was she doing here?

A nudge interrupted her thoughts. “Take the goblet,” Sutton whispered. Focusing her attention on the cup in front of her, she took a tentative sip. To her, it tasted like nothing, which was better than it tasting like something disgusting like liver. In fascination, she watched her fair skin change to a deep shade of blue. Blue. Blue was for Aladren. She had read about Aladren. It was for those that loved learning. She loved learning. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? Looking over at Sutton, she wished that by some miracle, she would end up in Aladren as well, but it was a pipe dream. She watched as Sutton’s skin changed to brown. So, that was it. She was officially on her own.

Nervously, she joined her fellow Aladrens. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and getting to know one another. Not one to interject, she grimaced a bit before pretending to be interested in the food. It did look good. She took a bit of macaroni and cheese, her favorite, and propped her book open. If nothing else, she could continue her reading. She was reading To Kill a Mockingbird. It was her third time reading it and she still found herself getting lost in it. At least if she found no one to talk to, she would have her books.

0 Aislinn Nicolls Yesterday was simpler. 297 Aislinn Nicolls 0 5

John Spencer

January 02, 2015 6:34 AM

All my troubles seemed so far away. by John Spencer

Jack was quite certain he wasn’t going to be placed in the same house as his brother and sister. If he had to choose, from what he’d heard and read about Sonora, he’d prefer Aladren. Adam said they had a brilliant Quidditch team and, according to Charlotte, that was where the studious ones were. Jack didn’t prefer one type over the other, but if he had to decide where he’d be placed, he’d like to be considered one of the studious. The trip from his home was bumpy and made him a bit nauseous. He decided he didn’t enjoy travelling by wagon; it was difficult to pay attention to anything, especially his books.

Leaving home had been something Jack had been looking forward to for the past year. He would miss London, he knew he would, but there was adventure in America, something new to learn about. Stories were all right, but it would be different, living there. It was sad to leave his youngest sister behind, and she’d thrown a fit as she always did. It was a pity she was so much younger – by the time she came to Sonora, Adam would be gone and Charlotte would be much too old to look after her when Lily came in as a first year. He and Lily didn’t have the ideal relationship, but he’d miss her. Eventually.

The wagon stopped and his older brother jumped out to stretch his longer legs. As Adam helped Charlotte out, he said, “Come on, Jackie. It’s not scary.”

“I never said I was scared,” replied Jack immediately, but he took Charlotte’s hand regardless.

“You’ll like it,” his sister said, smiling at him and brushing back his brown hair. “We’ll walk you to the other first years, don’t you worry.” They did, watching over him as they always had, but Jack quickly shook off Charlotte’s hand when he saw his peers. At the doors of Cascade Hall, his siblings left him with the others, waving at him before disappearing into unfamiliar territory. Jack was beginning to feel only a bit nervous, and he slipped his hands into his pockets, fingering the lucky stone his father had brought him from Peru during his travels. The doors of Cascade Hall opened and he walked into the majestic dining hall, hardly noticing the grandness of the room in his anxiety.

The Headmaster seemed intimidating and Jack took note never to cross paths with the wizard. Head Girl and Boy were called, neither being someone he knew, and finally, after what seemed like long, agonising hours, it was time to be sorted. When his name was called – “Spencer, John” – Jack’s heart leapt and began thumping a quick rhythm in his thin chest. He took a sip of the potion and his skin turned blue, the exact colour he’d hoped for. He looked over at his siblings briefly, grinning as he made his way to his new table, his new house and his new house-mates. Everything was going to be all right.

Until, that is, he spilled pumpkin juice all over the table with a stray elbow. “I’m so sorry,” he gasped, half-poised to sit whilst attempting to mop up the mess with napkins. Though he'd seen his mum use the Cleaning Charm often, he didn't want to look even more foolish by attempting a spell he'd never practised before. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, his averted blue eyes conveying his embarrassment. “I’m not usually so clumsy.” What a way to introduce himself to his house-mates. “It didn’t get on your book, did it?”

40 John Spencer All my troubles seemed so far away. 299 John Spencer 0 5

Sutton Nicolls

January 02, 2015 9:43 PM

Where's the food? by Sutton Nicolls

The wagon ride to the school had been rather uneventful. Her sister had mostly read and once in a while voiced her concerns. Sutton didn’t really have any and if she did, they wouldn’t be anywhere near the ones that Aislinn had. Hers were more geared into the world of academics. She guessed she could understand it. Her sister had always been number one at their old school and now she had to start over. She had it easy. She didn’t really worry about grades. In fact, she didn’t really worry about much of anything. Life was a take it as it comes.

With that attitude, Sutton followed the other first years into Cascade Hall. She pushed her hat up a bit to get a better view. With wide blue eyes, she looked around. It was certainly impressive, but she didn’t really get a chance to study it further before announcements were being made and the goblet was being passed. It was nearly her turn, right after Aislinn. She wondered what her sister would get. She was betting on Aladren since it was for the academically inclined. Of course, this would require her sister actually drinking from the cup. Sutton poked at Aislinn to drink. Blue. Yup, definitely an Aladren.

Then, it was her turn. Her skin turned to what reminded her of chocolate. That worked for her. She loved chocolate. Going over to where the other brown colored students were, she sat down. She adjusted her hat again, making sure her hair was tucked up inside. Without her long hair flowing all around, she looked more like a boy than a girl. It didn’t help that she was wearing ripped jeans and a loose, black Fox t-shirt. She hated anything that was uncomfortable. She didn’t even like wearing jewelry, because she found it constricting.

The aromas began drifting towards her nose and her stomach gave a grumble of complaint. Eyeing up the food, she saw a platter of chicken that was out of reach. “Hey, can someone pass the chicken?” She said this while piling her plate with a hearty helping of mashed potatoes. She was definitely going to need some gravy.

0 Sutton Nicolls Where's the food? 311 Sutton Nicolls 0 5

Aislinn

January 03, 2015 1:20 AM

Now it looks as though they're here to stay. by Aislinn

Fires could have been raging and rockets going off and still Aislinn would have continued to read. It wasn’t that she was so self-absorbed that she was unaware of anyone else, but rather an intensity that came with being completely captivated by a story. It was like she was actually a character in the book, going on every adventure. She could feel Scout’s joy and fear. She was so engrossed that she completely missed everything that had just happened. It was only the last words that broke her concentration.

Did it get on her book? Did what get on her book? Blinking in confusion, she did nothing more than stare at the boy as his words sunk in, then it took her a moment to process what was actually going on. Her eyes drifted downwards to the table. Pumpkin juice and napkins. The boy talking to her had something to do with the mess. Or at least, she figured as much. Aislinn turned her book over and studied the cover. “My book is all right.” With that, she started reading again. It was a couple pages later that two thoughts occurred to her.

One was that she hadn’t introduced herself, which was against any form of good manners that she had been taught. Pausing in her reading once more, her attention turned to the boy. “My name is Aislinn Nicolls.” Perhaps, she should have included some sort of apology, but she didn’t always tend to think of such things. It went right along with the traits of having to always be right and being competitive. That was the other part of her thoughts. He was an Aladran, just like her, which meant he could be a better student than she was.

“What’s your name?” Aislinn asked. She doubted having his name would provide much information, but it was a start. Other questions began forming in her head. “What do you think of being in Aladren? What school did you go to before coming here? Do you like school?”

0 Aislinn Now it looks as though they're here to stay. 297 Aislinn 0 5

Ginger

January 03, 2015 1:41 PM

I can't top that. by Ginger

"Hi," Ginger said, smiling and waving as Jemima introduced her to Lauren. "Welcome." Jemima then went into the foods they were trying and Ginger pushed her plate closer so she could try the exceedingly hot rice if she so chose. Ginger was pretty impressed that Jemima had manged two bites of it. One was quite enough for her, thank you very much.

"Good luck to you with that," Ginger said when Jemima vowed to be able to eat a whole serving of it by the time they were seventh years. Her undertone went more along the lines of 'you are completely nutters, but I like you anyway' but she knew it was impolite to say that out loud to someone she barely knew.

"Or, if you prefer food that does not attempt to murder your tastebuds," Ginger said, pushing the platter of her favorite of the foods so far tonight closer to their new friend, "I recommend the tasty fruit and nuts dish. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it's called. Like Jemima said, we're experimenting with new foods."

She eyed the roast beast doubtfully. "On that note, I'm from a vegetarian family but I'm not strict follower. Is the meat worth trying? What is it, even? Chicken?" she guessed, since that was something a lot of people seemed to eat a lot of. It was just a platter of meat so far as she could discern, so one guess seemed as good as another. "Or turkey maybe?" She did recall a lot of feasts like Thanksgiving and Christmas often involved turkeys. Even her family roasted up a small one for the members who wanted some, but she usually filled up on the other foods and didn't bother with it.

1 Ginger I can't top that. 302 Ginger 0 5

Clark Dill

January 03, 2015 2:16 PM

Third year awaits! by Clark Dill

Overall, Clark was pleased with his second year. Obviously, he had done fantastically on the Quidditch Pitch, catching the snitch not once but twice, and continuing Aladren's predominance in the school's recent Quidditch Cup history. He had successfully been a Library Assistant once he got permission to go home after eight o'clock since staying up late and alien biology did not mix well. He had continued several loose friendships. He had done well in class. He had largely avoided his roommate.

His only real regret on second year was that he still didn't really have anyone he considered a 'best friend'. Dad said that was more common than one might expect and sometimes it didn't happen at all, but Clark hoped he just hadn't connected right to one of his classmates and maybe this year was the one that would change that.

As he sat at the Aladren table during the sorting ceremony, he looked around and contemplated his options. There was Lena, who was a solid choice. They were definitely friends already, and had common interests, so they really just needed to spend a little more time together outside of the Library. Or there was John. He was a good guy, but Clark mostly only saw him at Quidditch Practice. And now that Clark was an Intermediate, they wouldn't have classes together anymore either.

He watched a couple kids turn blue and join his table, but they wouldn't share classes at all until they were in third year and then only for that one year, so he didn't think they'd be his bffs either even if they were fantastic people.

He was briefly distracted by the announcements, and clapped for Anthony, as he already knew the new Head Boy as his new Quidditch Captain. He also clapped for Emrys, though he didn't know him as well since he wasn't on the Quidditch team. He attempted the school song with as much success as he'd had with it last year - not much - and then there was the time-honored and very-important task of filling up his plate with as much food as his stomach could hold and then some.

Only after that task was complete did he turn his attention to those sitting immediately near him. "Have a good summer?" he asked, the question entirely unoriginal, but genuinely curious none-the-less.

1 Clark Dill Third year awaits! 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Emrys Lucan

January 03, 2015 2:33 PM

Let's hope yours is less eventful than mine by Emrys Lucan

Even if it annoyed him in the slightest, Caelia’s constant monitoring of him on the wagon ride to Sonora (did she think he didn’t know what she was doing?) was rather-well received. He hadn’t the opportunity to dig out his books like he normally did and even though the slight rocking movement did make him feel slightly ill on the whole he felt much better than he had any of the previous times coming to Sonora. It was rather nerve-wracking, Emrys was realizing, waiting for a younger sibling to come through the doors and be sorted. A small part of him wished Caelia would be in Aladren simply so he could keep an eye on her but those hopes were dashed when she was sent to Crotalus. He did give her a smile as she made her way to her new house but he wasn’t sure that she saw it. At least Charlotte was there, he thought. So immersed in his thinking hearing his name called in front of the whole school was surprising. It took Emrys a few seconds to realize that they were calling students up for prefect and he hastily got up from his seat, hopeful no one had realized he wasn’t paying too much attention.

It was an honor to be sure, but one Emrys hadn’t expected. He got on well with the classmates he had interacted with but he also didn’t feel as though he was particularly different from the other Aladrens. To be sure he thought Emery was much better suited for the job as his best friend was calmer and at times, Emrys felt, a whole lot more rational, but he accepted the badge anyway with a smile and, when he passed his sister, a wink. He would be hearing it from her later, he was sure. He most likely wouldn’t have to write home about it either because Caelia would do it for him. Though Emrys had originally planned to switch to the Crotalus table to see how Charlotte was doing after the Headmaster’s announcements like he normally did, the new distinction threw a bit of a wrench in his plans. After all, he didn’t think it would be good for an Aladren prefect to sit at the Crotalus table the first meal of the year. So instead he retook his old seat amongst the other Aladrens and reached for some turkey.

As he did so the student next to him, Clark Dill (Aladren's Seeker, Emrys thought) asked him about his summer. "It was long," he said truthfully. "But it was good." He didn't really go into the details of moving houses or what it was like living with Grandmother Viviane instead of the house he'd grown-up in because he didn't know Clark that well. "What about yours? Excited to be starting your Intermediate Lessons?" Emrys took a bite of the turkey. His taste buds hummed happily as they devoured the moist white meat and rich gravy. It was a thanksgiving meal to be sure but, Emrys felt, he had a lot to be thankful for this year.

10 Emrys Lucan Let's hope yours is less eventful than mine 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Jack

January 03, 2015 3:34 PM

Yesterday's looking better and better. by Jack

The witch before him seemed a bit slow, and her inability to catch on was slightly irritating. Nevertheless, Jack was satisfied with her response, but before he could say another word she promptly ignored him. He was taken aback by her unsociability, and part of him grew a bit hot at the thought that she was blatantly ignoring him for no apparent reason. If these were to be his house-mates for the next seven years, Jack thought he’d rather forsake his house and get on with his other classmates as Adam had.

With the bitter taste in his mouth, Jack scooped some rice and Indian curry on his plate. He hoped the spice would liven things up a bit since, as of now, it seemed as though he was going to spend his first night at Sonora bitterly. There didn’t look to be any Aladren wizards in his year from what Jack could see, and he mourned the loss. He’d hoped to make close friends here, but it wasn’t exactly beginning on an ideal note. Whilst his brother preferred to surround himself with witches, the reason being escaping Jack, Jack preferred to be close friends with wizards. Witches were too dramatic. He glanced disdainfully at the witch with her nose stuck in a book, still ignoring him though she sat near him. He turned away, deciding to ignore her if that was the game she wanted to play. He filled his emptied glass with water and pushed the soaked napkins to the side. The pumpkin juice was a lost cause, but water was healthier anyhow.

As if remembering he existed, the witch interrupted his dinner with an abrupt introduction. Jack’s eyes raised to look at her instinctively, his fork poised to enter his mouth. She didn’t even apologise for ignoring him, another strike against her if he was counting. He contemplated outright ignoring her as she had done to him, but he was too polite to do so. “I’m John Spencer, but I go by Jack,” he replied before stubbornly finishing the fork’s journey into his mouth. The curry was spicy, just spicy enough for his liking. Nicolls asked loads of questions, reminding of his little sister back home, and dozens of rude replies raced through his mind.

Instead, when he had chewed and swallowed, he said, “You ask a lot of questions. Could you pass the naan, please?” There would be loads of time for him to answer her torrent of questions. The next seven years, in fact. He put another forkful of curry and rice into his mouth. Only after he had swallowed again did he deign a reply. “I didn’t go to school before coming here, but I do enjoy learning. I had tutors back home in London.” Attending school before Sonora usually meant one of two things: either one was a muggle-born and had been surprised by one’s magical tendencies whilst at school or one was a half-blood with an over-bearing Muggle parent. Either way, it was unlikely that she was pure if she had been schooled beforehand. Her blood, however, still did not explain her standoffish behaviour. “Do you usually eat whilst you read?”

40 Jack Yesterday's looking better and better. 299 Jack 0 5

Ava Fletcher

January 03, 2015 4:01 PM

Back and loads more adventurous. by Ava Fletcher

For the first time since before her dad died, Ava’s mother was there to take her to the wagon stop. As they lived in a semi-remote part of Washington and there were other students who lived in even more remote parts (the quiet Teppenpaw who had taken an Aladren to the ball the previous year coming to mind) it only made sense for them to come to a more easily accessible place. Papa drove in their beat-up VW bug, as usual, but Charlotte had been there sitting right next to Ava the whole way looking more carefree and easy than she had in a long time. For her part, Ava was content to just listen to her mother talk about her trips as usual, but instead, for a change, Charlotte was asking her about things. Who her friends were, did she have a best friend, what was her favorite subject, was there any one class that was too hard than the others, did she have a favorite hang-out at Sonora? They chattered happily, a semi-skeptical expression on Papa’s face as he quietly observed them. He was glad, however, that Charlotte at least seemed to be making more of an effort—he had been surprised that the summer trip actually went through and was starting to think that perhaps, just perhaps Charlotte was coming around and learning how to become a real mother.

Ava spent the wagon ride dreamily staring outside at the world below, thinking of her travels and the wonderful experience she’d had with her mother. The sunburn she’d acquired from spending too much time outside had faded to a nice tan and her hair once a medium shade of brown had lightened slightly from being in the sun. She was slightly uncomfortable with the change as she’d barely looked in a mirror all summer until she came home and saw herself in Papa’s bathroom mirror. It was astonishing. However, she covered herself as best she could in jeans and a lightweight sweater—falls were chilly in Washington and her school robe would cover her arms when she got to school and changed into a t-shirt to accommodate the Arizona weather. Her hair she left down, thinking that this way it would shade her face and perhaps keep others from seeing her darkened skin. She did, however, make sure to clip a tiny bit out so it wouldn’t get too in her face.

She chose a seat closer to the door than usual so that she could try and catch her friends as they came in. She had a lot of stories to tell them about her trip. However, the awkward position she found herself in of looking for people while trying not to be seen meant that Emrys walked right by her. When a Caelia Lucan was called to drink from the potion, Ava remembered Emrys had a sister coming to Sonora and realized that it would make sense if he wanted to sit closer to the front of the room to better see her. After that, she politely waited for the Headmaster to finish his speech—she’d known she wouldn’t make prefect, she was too absent-minded and didn’t appear particularly responsible at times she was sure, so she clapped heartily for Emrys and dug in quickly to the surrounding food once the Headmaster dismissed them for eating.

Her trip had opened Ava’s heart and stomach to the delicacies of Southern-Asian cuisine and her eyes scoured the table quickly, looking for sate, gado-gado, syabhaley or nasi lemak all of which had been some of her favorite tid-bits but either she couldn’t find them or the prairie elves couldn’t make them. She was leaning towards the second option as she figured prairie elves in the middle of the desert in Arizona did not likely have through knowledge of Indonesian or Himalayan cuisine. So instead she opted for the better known Asian dishes which tended to come from the North such as dumplings and rice. Her taste-buds mourned the difference in flavor. Though the dumplings were tasty and rice not too soft yet not too hard they lacked the spice she had been craving—an odd thought for a girl who only a year ago had been loathe to try soy beans. “Do you know if there’s any chili sauce nearby?” she asked to her neighbor as she took a long drink of tea, something that her first year self would have hated, being more of a coffee person normally. However, the delicate taste of dumplings and rice would have clashed with the bitter drink so she had opted for a weak cup of jasmine tea.

10 Ava Fletcher Back and loads more adventurous. 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Joella Curtis

January 03, 2015 6:34 PM

A familiar feeling. by Joella Curtis

The summer hadn't been long enough, Joella felt, but she was nonetheless excited to be back for a new year at Sonora. It was strange to think she should now be a second year and among the elder of the students in her classes. Well, as much as any student born in August could be considered one of the elder at school. She'd spent much of her time based at the Curtises' Tennessee farm whilst her siblings continued to flit to and from L.A. and Franklin. Joella had focussed much of her time on her Quidditch, her elder sister Franki at home enough to join her a fair proportion of the time. The rest of her holidays had been spent helping around the farm, a life she had missed greatly whilst at school, and having fun being back with the family - the whole extended family and friends.

Her summer spent largely outdoors, Joella returned to Sonora with a heavy tan and her hair more obviously highlighted with blonde than before, bleached by hours in the sun, and her faint smattering of freckles around her nose were for once visible without close inspection. Her southern roots were evermore clear as she spoke, having spent so much time once again with her family. Otherwise, she didn't seem overly different from the year before. Perhaps a little taller, she thought, or rather hoped.

The second year was rather looking forward to not being one of the new kids anymore. It was an exciting prospect to have two new first years coming up whom she already knew reasonably well. Alistair Johnson she knew better than Chuck Fintoc but she couldn't really see Ali being sorted into her house. Chuck she was not so sure but she didn't have to wait long to find out.

Had she been staying at the Curtises' L.A. residence in the days leading up to the start of term (as she had last year), Joella would have been likely to travel in the same wagon as Chuck (if he were to be travelling from his stepmother's home in L.A. and not his "real home" in Colorado). However, this was not the case so she did not see him until the sorting when the broad redhead took his turn to sip from the goblet. He turned brown and Joella grinned. She tried to catch his eye as he made his way to the table but he didn't seem to notice her.

"Oh it's fine," hurried Joella as a first year stepped on her toe as she took a seat. "Welcome to Pecari," she smiled. "I'm Joella Curtis," she supplied her name, perhaps too informally but after having avoided many of the summer's social dos by barely showing her face in L.A. she had once again grown slightly unaccustomed to the habit as she had so at the beginning of last year. In truth, Joella had done her best as a young child to prevent the required social etiquette from becoming habit.

8 Joella Curtis A familiar feeling. 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Lauren

January 04, 2015 12:26 AM

Yellama is a winner! by Lauren

Lauren was very glad that her roommates seemed nice. She smiled at the girls as Jemima introduced them before turning to look at the array of foods that Jemima and Ginger were trying. The spicy dish looked pretty good. Even if Lauren wasn't very adventurous when it came to new food, she didn't think it would hurt too much to try it even though Jemima's eyes watered up. She grinned when Jemima vowed to eat it all by the time they were seventh-years. "I'll hold you to that," she teased.

She picked up a fork and scooped a little bit into her mouth. The heat was definitely there, but Lauren found it bearable. "It's good. I like spicy food," she said, smiling. Even so, she still grabbed a cup of water to wash down the spice and ease her tongue a little.

At the offer, Lauren took a bit of the fruit and nuts dish as well. It was sweet and crunchy; a pleasant mixture. She liked it and took a little bit more as Ginger pointed out another dish. This was actually kind of fun with new friends. The slab of meat looked familiar, but she peered a little closer just to get a smell for it. "Maybe it's ham. Ham or beef. I don't think it's turkey." She was very familiar with ham and turkey from her family's traditionally American Thanksgiving dinners. Lauren took the initiative to take a pre-sliced piece from the meat and cut a tiny piece to eat. "Mm, it's good. The meat is tender." Lauren's uncle used lots of words to describe meat, words like 'tender' or 'juicy.' Maybe if she used them, it would look like she knew what she was talking about.

"You should try it if you want," she said, procuring the plate for her new friends to take from. "Have you ever eaten meat before?" she asked curiously. Lauren knew very few vegetarians, and absolutely none that were her age.

0 Lauren Yellama is a winner! 0 Lauren 0 5

Izrael Tizze

January 04, 2015 1:09 AM

All brand new feelings! by Izrael Tizze

Though it hadn't really been offered to her, Izzy took Joella's hand and gave it a hardy shake, grinning from ear to ear. "Why howdy-do, Miss Joella," she greeted warmly, thrilled that the first person she really met was as friendly, especially with her having just stepped on her foot and all.

Izzy stopped shaking the girl's arm, but didn't let go of it until after she had introduced herself with an enthusiastic, "I'm Izrael, but ever'one just calls me Izzy. Izzy Tizze," she said, using her full name. When she used her nickname like that, it rhymed with her last name.

Izzy finally released Joella's hand, and immediately launched into an ultra-friendly line of dialogue.

"I reckon you're not new here, on account'a you don't look like you fell asleep in one'a them tannin' beds," she said, pinching her own cheek between two fingers and lightly giving the dark brown skin there a little wiggle. "I never even knew magic e'zisted until a couple months ago. Are you from a magic family? Hot dog, this is all real neat, ain't it?"

0 Izrael Tizze All brand new feelings! 0 Izrael Tizze 0 5

Sammy

January 04, 2015 1:29 AM

It still feels like a dream to me. by Sammy

Chuck said a lot of words. Whatever “purebloods” were, they sounded stuffy and lame; introducing yourself with your state of origin seemed like a waste of time. And something about surviving branches? Were these people trees? And what happened to the branches that didn’t survive? Were they, like, straight up murdered or, going with the tree metaphor, trimmed out? Sammy was letting her imagination run away with her, but she rather enjoyed it, so she let the possibilities whirl around her like a tornado of color, holding her captive but not against her will.

The prospect of a magical family (barring one cousin, who was a “squib”, which, from context clues, she assumed was meant to signify someone who didn’t have magic) simply floored her. “Wow, that must be really fun!” she gushed. “So you’ve just grown up around magic your whole life? That’s amazing! If my family would’ve had magic, I think my whole life would’ve been different!” the Pecari imagined the scenario, her brother flying around on a broomstick with her eagerly chasing behind on one of her own, her moms telling them they shouldn’t fly in the house but still stifling smiles at how well their kids flew and shooting spells at each other just for laughs while the dishes cleaned themselves. Sammy had a wonderful homelife, but this scenario was nonetheless a lot better.

“So how did you come to know of Sonora?”

“They sent a wizard to my house!” Sammy exclaimed incredulously, still flabbergasted it had happened. “I think he was some kind of board member? I don’t remember his name, to tell you the truth. I was too excited! But he was really nice, and he explained everything to my moms and even took me shopping for school supplies! It was all very helpful.” She remembered asking a lot of questions, most of which were answered with a vague, You’ll see soon enough. That bit was frustrating, of course, and coupled with her current interactions, she was beginning to think that being cryptic was a common trait among wizards.

“What about you?” she asked eagerly. “Do you just get to play magic all your life, and then la dee da, one day somebody shows up and is like, ‘magic is a thing,’ and you’re like, ‘I know, but thanks anyway,’ and they’re like, ‘oh, sweet’?” Sammy angled back and forth as she spoke as different hypothetical people, switching between two positions to signify the two speakers.

12 Sammy It still feels like a dream to me. 310 Sammy 0 5

Barnaby Pye

January 04, 2015 2:41 AM

Yet life was meant to be lived looking forward. by Barnaby Pye

Because Barnaby was only at Sonora to act as a sort of pawn, dare he say, spy for Father, he hadn’t been really looking that forward to arriving at the school. He still, however, dutifully allowed the house elves to help him pack his trunk, making sure to add his boxes of notes when no one was looking. The ride over was not nearly as comfortable than he’d imagined the Hogwarts Express was supposed to be but that thought only stayed briefly in his mind as he reassured himself for probably the third time that day it didn’t really matter where he wanted to go to school as that was Father’s choice and besides, he’d get a decent enough education at either school if he applied himself. Which Barnaby fully planned on doing as he never did anything carelessly. The next step was getting through the door and making friends. Never before had he really enjoyed the company of other children, finding that only Tarquin was intelligent and polite enough for his like despite only being nine years old.

When Barnaby stepped into Cascade Hall he took a look around him, keeping an eye out to see if Alfie was around while carefully taking everything in. Though he wasn’t visibly as astonished as some of the other soon to be first years seemed to be he was still enthralled with the way the light reflected off the walls. The hall was aptly named, he decided as he stepped forward to accept the potion and then went on his way to the house where the other blue first years were going. The idea of sipping a potion instead of wearing a Sorting Hat was not one that Barnaby particularly liked to think about. The Hat made sense to him—Alfie had said he’d had conversation with it to help Sort him properly but Barnaby wasn’t sure how he was expected to converse with a beverage. These musings brought him through the rest of the speech as well as a few minutes into the meal as well at which point Barnaby hurriedly piled some food on his plate while he looked around for a suitable conversation partner. He was a few seats down from the nearest pair so he pushed his plate until he was across from the boy just in time to hear that he was from London where he’d had tutors. Though the familiar voice amongst all the American voices was enough for Barnaby to know this other boy was from a similar area it was nice to hear it confirmed.

He waited for the girl in question to respond before introducing himself to the two. Though making friends was not exactly his forte he had learned from Father the particular necessities of making connections and forming networks so even if this idea wasn’t one he was sure he fully comprehended at age eleven it was still one that he realized was important. That was, Father had said, a huge reason behind going to school and meeting one’s future fellow business partners and competitors. Besides, he would need a Tarquin as it would be two years before his best friend would be old enough to come to school and the chances of him following Barnaby to Sonora were slim to none. “Hello,” he said with a carefree smile and an offer of his hand. “I’m Barnaby Pye, and you are?” Father had told him that American purebloods had a particular way of introducing themselves but it was a ridiculous manner of speech in his opinion and besides, he felt it rather redundant when one could tell from his manner of speech he was obviously from London.

10 Barnaby Pye Yet life was meant to be lived looking forward. 298 Barnaby Pye 0 5

Tobias Reinhardt, II

January 04, 2015 3:11 AM

Let's see if I can help. by Tobias Reinhardt, II

Tobi had enjoyed a very pleasant summer in Germany. His grandparents had been pleased with his cello progress and due to Matti’s better handling of the viola he, Arne and Matti had been able to play a few nice combination pieces. In a few years once Lukas picked up an instrument well his second youngest brother would be able to join them too. Matti had already convinced him to choose the violin so they could have a proper quartet, conveniently “forgetting” that their fifth sibling, Hugo, would not have a role. She’d dismissed this with a hand wave insisting that Hugo could have the piccolo or something equally unimportant to a string quartet. Now that he was heading back to school, however, he wasn’t sure if he was looking forward to it. Arne would be joining him the next year which would mean someone to talk to on the wagon ride over but for now he was mostly alone as he generally preferred anyway when it came to anyone outside of his family.

Once in Cascade Hall, Tobi took a seat with the other students to watch the new first years, making sure to save a seat for Liac as his Massechusetts cousin was coming from a different wagon. The Sorting went quicker this year than it had last year but Tobi figured that was in part due to the absence of stress that he now had—last year he’d been a bit loathe to get up in front of everyone. Today, after the speech was over, Tobi reached for what appeared to be potato dumplings, ladling them onto his plate with enthusiasm. Despite having been in Germany the entire summer he still missed his grandmother’s cooking greatly—though these didn’t quite match up. Her secret ingredient, she had whispered to him when he’d asked, was love. “Excuse me, could you please pass the spaghetti please?”

Tobi looked up and saw a rather startlingly yellow boy and nodded, reaching for the plate which was just in front of him. “There you go,” he said, adding a shy smile at the last moment. He took a couple bites of his dumplings before realizing the the first-year (he was surely a first year as no other year was painted that bright during dinner) was not talking to anyone in particular. Tobi frowned slightly, remembering what it was like for him as a first year. He himself had issues talking to people—with him, however, it was more due to his dislike of careless attitudes (which were, he thought, rather different than carefree attitudes). Besides, Tobi added rationally, as a first year he’d been able to start off with Liac by his side. Either this new student didn’t have anyone or, if he did, they weren’t in Teppenpaw or, if they were, didn’t care enough about him to talk to him. Suddenly Tobi was filled with righteous indignation. What sort of relative let their other relative just sit there by themselves looking lonely? In a rather Liac-like move, Tobi didn’t realize that the loneliness might have been something the younger boy actually wanted, and so he took it upon himself to talk to the boy.

“What’s your name?” He asked politely, this time using the smile he used with his younger siblings. “I’m Tobi Reinhardt.” His sudden feeling of older brother-ness vanquished his instruction of proper introduction as well as the use of his full name. He wanted to be accessible. He wanted to make sure the new first year felt comfortable. “I’m a second year,” he continued. “So we’ll likely have class together.”

10 Tobias Reinhardt, II Let's see if I can help. 289 Tobias Reinhardt, II 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 04, 2015 4:02 AM

Not concerned by colour quite so much. by Alistair Johnson

Alistair Johnson saw no reason to be nervous and therefore decided he wasn't going to be. The only uncertainty in his mind was as to which house he would be sorted into and that was clearly no matter to fret about. He was not picky as to where he ended up for he was sure that there would be suitable acquaintances awaiting him in all houses.

Pecaris were, he felt, a little two impulsive for his liking. Alistair had always been much more thoughtful in his actions and therefore resolved that he should not end up in this house even if he had so desired to. Teppenpaw was another that he could felt he could not relate to. Having a father, three brothers, and plenty of relatives and friends who had attended Sonora enabled Alistair to understand a little about what life was like here and he therefore knew of the qualities each house was known for.

After contemplation on the subject early last year, he had been so sure to be sorted into Aladren. Alistair rather fancied himself as the logical, learned Johnson. However, a suggestion made by his childhood friend Joella had thrown him off guard. Crotalus was the house in which all three of his older brothers (technically half) and his father had been a part of during their time at Sonora Academy but Alistair had believed to be the odd one out, his dear mother perhaps providing him with fresh characteristics that differed from so many other Johnsons. Aladren seemed to be very much the most complimentary house. Surely to be the problem solver was the best quality? Still, Alistair had never been one to kid himself and he had a feeling that whilst he possessed a love of independence, he had yet to find out whether his love of learning extended outside of Quidditch.

And so Alistair resolved not to dwell on the whole house issue for it wasn't really an issue in the first place and therefore required no dwelling upon.

It was the task in hand that proved far more difficult. To remain cool and calm as he entered the legendary Cascade Hall of Sonora Academy was not easy and it took all his power not to stop and stare too blatantly at the rippling waterfalls which lined the walls, the sparkling chandeliers that looked as though they cost a whole lot more than an arm or a leg, and the smooth shine of the marble floor beneath his feet. Years had it taken for Alistair to finally live this life for himself and he felt truly dumbfounded. Never one to marvel moronically at the work of others, however, he moved along quickly and stood straight and proud as he waited with hidden excitement and baited breath for the goblet that would decide his destiny.

Red. That meant Crotalus. And also meant he wasn't very different from all the other Johnsons before him. And that Joella had been right. Alistair didn't like either of these thoughts but he knew that the Crotalus qualities were respectable. He was to spend the next seven years of his life belonging to this house and he was immediately proud of it, determined that his new house should win as much as they could. The only thing bothering the first year was his knowledge that Crotalus hadn't managed to get together a Quidditch team last year and therefore hadn't been able to compete in the inter-house matches. He could only hope that the Crotali had had a change of heart this year.

"I really couldn't say," Alistair said in answer to the fellow first year beside him. "Hopefully soon though," he added, feeling a little ridiculous even though he wasn't the only one. "The name's Alistair Johnson," he continued on to introduce himself, wanting to know who he was talking to. "Of Arizona." Alistair was well aware that the name Johnson had become a common one and was appalled that some Muggles may even share it, but he sincerely hoped that a fellow pureblood should know that the Arizona Johnsons were wholey respectable members of society and therefore not consider him in anyway beneath them.

8 Alistair Johnson Not concerned by colour quite so much. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5

Joella Curtis

January 04, 2015 4:21 AM

And brand new students to befriend. by Joella Curtis

Joella was rather bemused by the first year's response; it being much more forward than she had expected from someone just beginning their first day at Sonora. She found she quite liked Izzy's confidence, far as it was from the unwritten rules of society.

She smiled, "no, I'm second year now." She gave a laugh at the younger Pecari's comment on the sorting method. Izzy sure was a funny girl, but Joella wasn't even certain that she mean to be.

'Are you from a magic family?' Joella would have been offended by the question since she had supplied her family name but supposed Izzy had a valid excuse for not knowing. She felt rather surprised by the first year's openness of her background and a little uncomfortable suddenly to be mixing with such a person.

"Yes, my family is all magic," nodded Joella, wondering how much Izzy knew on the subject of magic. She wanted to warn Izzy Tizze (as amusing as her name sounded to the twelve year old) against talking so openly about her nom-magic background but couldn't think how to say it without being rude and so left it alone; people were bound to know soon enough.

Curious though she was to learn about Izzy's unfamiliar background, Joella didn't pursue such a subject. "Yes it is," she agreed, knowing how amazed by everything she had been this time last year. "Can I pass you anything?" she offered, recalling her manners.

8 Joella Curtis And brand new students to befriend. 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Izrael Tizze

January 04, 2015 11:25 AM

And all kinds'a food t' eat. by Izrael Tizze

Izzy could tell already that Joella wasn't a real big talker. Or maybe Joella was a regular talker, and Izzy just talked too much. It wouldn't have been the first time someone told her as much, but she didn't mind them none, and she didn't mind that Joella's answers were all in short, little sentences. Izzy knew she talked enough for three or four people!

What Izzy didn't notice was the slight surprised expression on Joella's face when Izzy offered her blood status so casually. It didn't even occur to her to pay attention to something like that, so she just smiled and talked--two things Izzy could do all day.

"I bet you know all kinds'a neat tricks," Izzy commented when Joella admitted both to being a second year and to being from a magical family. "I'm real e'cited to get started in my classes and what-not. I can't even imagine what sorts'a classes I'll be takin'," she went on. "Nothin' like a reg'lar--Oh, sorry, I mean Muggle school, I bet," she said, hoping it wasn't too much of a faux pas to call a Muggle school a "regular" one.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I never went to any school. My momma taught me ever'thing I needed to know. But I bet there's nothin' like Algebra or Home Ec. here. That's all I meant."

She paused briefly when Joella asked if she could pass anything, and looked confused for a split second before she noticed, with a gaping expression, that the table in front of them had become magically laden with food.

"Well, I'll be gobsmacked," she said, looking up and down the table at all the good eats. "I'd'a sat here like a fool, just jabberin' away if you hadn't'a said somethin'," she said, smiling at Joella. "I don't even know where t'begin."

Her smile became a grin and she said without any sense of shame, "Don't worry. I talk less when I'm eatin'."

0 Izrael Tizze And all kinds'a food t' eat. 0 Izrael Tizze 0 5

Emery Kijewski-Jareau

January 04, 2015 5:38 PM

Well.... this is not the best start. by Emery Kijewski-Jareau

Emery’s summer had been a strange one. It was neither good nor bad, but it wasn’t boring either. Like last year, they had taken another family vacation. Well, really, it was more like a stay-cation. His parents decided that their vacation would have to be close to home because Angel wasn’t doing so well. His health had declined drastically, but he was still stable. Last year, they had spent several days with his mom in the Grand Canyon and had a great time. This year, their dad was taking a long weekend and they were going to do fun family things around Albuquerque. Emery had lived there his whole life but he had never really done anything that they had before then. It was actually a lot of fun.

They had gone to the Balloon Fiesta park where the hot air balloons take off, the Biological Park – which included an Aquarium and the zoo, the Botanical Garden, and the Sandia Peak Tramway (his father was petrified of the muggle contraption, but Emery talked him into going on it). They had done quite a bit in three days, but he was glad to have done it. Harper seemed to have really enjoyed it too, even though she often grew cranky by the end of the night after walking so much. But, she was only five, soon to be six, so that was only to be expected.

The strange part of the summer came because of Chloe. She had randomly received a letter from her biological mother. Both Emery’s mom and their father were hesitant to allow Chloe to read the letter because of the instability of the woman in question, but Chloe demanded to be able to read a letter addressed to her from the woman who abandoned her. His sister had refused to tell him what the letter said, although he was certain she might have told Ayita. He did know, however, that Chloe began a correspondence with the woman and that had him worried. He would never deny her the right to know her biological mother, there were times when Emery wondered about his own biological father and to do nothing more than thank him for allowing him to exist for his mother, but he also knew Chloe’s mother’s history and he didn’t want his sister to get sucked into something terrible.

Luckily, school was starting and Chloe couldn’t do much while at Sonora. This year was going to be a difficult year for them because of their CATS. Emery wasn’t as worried about it as perhaps Chloe ought to be, but he knew that his social life was going to plummet this year because of it. There was also the Prefect Badge that he had been thinking about ever since he had started at Sonora. Although he knew that it was probably a tough call between him and the other Aladrens, he thought he might have that step above his housemates due to being more attentive and joining more clubs and things, but his thoughts were not the same as the staffs because he heard Emrys’s name instead.

At first, he thought he heard incorrectly since their names were so similar, but he saw his roommate and best friend get up from his seat and move to the front of the room. The air seemed to deflate from Emery. He didn’t understand what he had done wrong to not get the badge or what exactly Emrys had done differently than him that had made him successful. Emery was happy for his friend, of course, but he felt disappointed in himself more. He had really wanted the badge. He wanted proof that he was doing everything right and was on the right path. Now, he didn’t think he had anything.

His green eyes met with his sister’s blue but he looked away. He was glad that he wasn’t sitting with either of his friends because Emery didn’t think he could feign happiness for the moment. He noticed that Emrys was in the midst of a conversation with Clark Dill, Emery took the moment to excuse himself from the table. He’d use the rest of the evening to read in the library before heading to bed. He wasn’t feeling so social at the moment and he no longer had an appetite.

6 Emery Kijewski-Jareau Well.... this is not the best start. 259 Emery Kijewski-Jareau 0 5

Gia Donovan

January 04, 2015 6:45 PM

All around us. by Gia Donovan

Gia (pronounced Guy-a) was petrified of leaving her mother and going across the country to a new region for school. Her mother was her life as much as her older brother was. She was worried about leaving her mother by herself. Her mother was born and raised in Greece and they only left that country recently to move to America about a year before. Their mother spoke broken English and often had Gia or Jax translate things for her whenever they were out together. Without the two of them around, Gia feared her mother would get confused and end up getting herself into trouble.

At the same time though, Gia knew her mother was worried about the two of them being on their own. More so for Gia’s brother who bore a heavy heart and an even heavier secret. Gia didn’t want to let either of them down, so when it was time to say good bye, Gia gave her mother a large smile and hug and told her she’d write to her every week. Not a tear left her eye and her happy disposition meant that her mother had no reason to be upset. At least, not while they were in her presence. Jax didn’t cry either, he would never do such things, but he did show worry about going to the school. This, however, was something their mother was insistent with. They needed the education.

The wagon ride from Seattle was long and bumpy. Gia felt a little queasy by the end of the ride and overwhelmed by the amount of people on the wagon, but she had otherwise thought it was a lovely experience. Judging by the look on her brother’s face, he did not find anything about that ride enjoyable. Jax was almost exactly one year older than her. His twelfth birthday was just a couple of days after the start of school while her eleventh birthday just passed. Looking at them, people would assume they were twins. They had the same black hair, long noses, harsh eye brows, and blue eyes. They were angular in every way. They looked like their mother with all of her nationality and none of their father.

Walking into the hall with her brother next to her, Gia was taken aback by the hall. There were waterfalls. Waterfalls! The room was so beautiful! She didn’t know how to allow what she was seeing to fully register. “Jax, this is amazing!” She whispered in their native tongue of Greek. She didn’t say anything more because she thought she’d throw up from nerves, especially when it was her time to take the potion. Her skin turned a brown color giving her a tan that she could never naturally have. She locked eyes with her brother as she walked away towards her table, knowing that he would not have the same personality to make it into this house. Watching him take the potion as she sat down, she saw his skin turn blue instead. It was a fun thing to see, but she could tell he was not happy to be away from her. She gave him a grin and a thumbs up for encouragement.

The rest of the sorting and the speech was lost on her. She vaguely registered the singing but mostly, she was just hungry and tired. All that excitement had finally gotten to her. The food appeared and Gia went for what looked to be lamb. She loved lamb. She also grabbed some potatoes and steamed vegetables. After setting down the spoon for the vegetables, she heard someone ask for the chicken. “Sure.” She said, grabbing the plate and handing it over. Noticing the girl’s skin was also a similar color to hers, Gia hoped that meant she was also a first year (not just the natural color of her skin) and therefore, her roommate. Assuming the voice was that of a female despite the girl looking more like a boy in the hat and lack of hair. “I’m Gia Donovan.” She introduced, her English tainted by a slight Greek accent. “Are you also new to Sonora?”

6 Gia Donovan All around us. 308 Gia Donovan 0 5

Caelia Lucan

January 04, 2015 8:05 PM

Oh? by Caelia Lucan

Caelia bit into the cornbread, her eyes closing as the delicious morsel touched her tongue. Though not nearly as delicious as the cornbread Grandma Quinn made it was still pretty up there. The taste almost made her miss home—almost. Occasionally she did miss her room and occasionally she did miss running around the hallways with Emrys and running off to the Quinns. A minuscule part of her missed Matthew but the rest of her shut that feeling down before it had much time to get bigger. She was at school now surrounded with proper people of which she could make proper friends out of. And, it seemed, she had picked the right sort of person to ask her question of without even meaning to. She smiled, Grandmother Viviane would be proud. “I, myself, certainly hope this fades away quite quickly,” she replied before returning the greeting. “Caelia Lucan, of Massachusetts. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” Back in Wales where Caelia’s grandfather originated, the Lucan family was significantly more prominent than her mother’s family, the Quinns who had been in the United States for sometime now but who mostly kept to themselves, so Grandmother Viviane had impressed upon Caelia the importance of making the right sort of friends so as to bring back the Lucan name. Emrys, she had explained, had done well in certain friend choices but poorly in others and Caelia was not to make that sort of mistake.

“Have all your family gone to Sonora?” Caelia asked, curiously. Grandfather had gone to Hogwarts and sent Father there as well since he didn’t quite trust the American schooling system but Mother had been sent to home-schooled by her parents who, being in Massachusetts, had gone to Salem. She wondered what it was like going to a school where one’s family had a legacy at. “My brother was the first to come here as my Father’s family is from the U.K.” She reached for another piece of cornbread to spread butter and honey on while deciding what else she wanted to eat. “Would you mind passing me that teapot?” There was a heavenly smell coming from that direction and she was certain it was the smell of Darjeeling, a favorite tea of her grandmother’s and thereby a tea Caelia was determined she, too, liked.

Though Emrys had explained to her the magical feast where almost any sort of food was available, the spread was still a sight for the first year to behold as she’d never seen so much food in one place save for Grandmother Viviane’s dinner parties. Even then, she thought, there was a certain theme to the night though it did make sense to have more than one option available for an Opening Feast given the number of people present. There were chicken, lamb and pork dishes from what she could see in the area surrounding her, as well as various types of breads and vegetables. Unable to make up her mind she finally settled on steamed asparagus and a seafood pasta which had been hiding behind a basket of rolls. “This is really delicious,” she said after taking her first bite.

10 Caelia Lucan Oh? 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 06, 2015 1:05 PM

No, more concerned by numbers. by Alistair Johnson

Alistair wasn't familiar with the name Lucan but he knew that this fellow first year must be respectable else she wouldn't introduce herself so properly. At the age of eleven, he wasn't particularly clued up on all the pureblood families he may come into contact with at Sonora and this irritated him for Alistair suddenly thought this should be neccesary knowledge for someone of his background.

"The pleasure is all mine," said Alistair smoothly, perhaps too smoothly for someone of his age but that was the way he was wired. Age was never an excuse for anything in Alistair's books, and he prided himself in being mature and well mannered. Although many would not describe the youngest of the Johnson brothers as warm, he could seem so should he have a reason. He was manipulative, almost. It was obvious that he saw Caelia Lucan to be an appropriate acquaintance, hence the reason he deigned to reply. Should her response to his initial greeting have been less than satisfactory, one couldn't be sure how Alistair would react but one could garauntee the exceptional manners of which he so prided myself in would have been scarce.

It wasn't so much Alistair's nature but his upbringing that caused him to be of such narrow mind. His father was ever the businessman and therefore had a necessity to make the right acquaintances. Whilst the new Crotalus had three older brothers who did not share quite so strict views on the aptness of certain persons, Alistair had managed to obtain this trait. It could perhaps be a retaliation to the occasional sceptism regarding his mother (his brother's being so only by father not facing this issue) and therefore creating a desire to be welcome amongst all members of decorous society.

"Yes," nodded Alistair. He omitted the fact that his mother had not - although he loved her dearly he would never voluntarily bring her into conversation. In actual fact, the first year only actually knew that all the male Johnsons had attended Sonora, but again he refrained from mentioning the minor detail. Alistair only really knew a small proportion of his family and had no idea whether he maybe closely connected to other Johnsons he had not met. But nor did he care. "At least, all of the Arizona Johnsons did."

When his company mentioned her brother being the first of her family to come here and that they were originally from the U.K, Alistair relaxed a little and he allowed himself some reason for not knowing Caelia's family name. Perhaps they weren't yet so well known in the U.S. "Of course," he passed her the requested teapot.

"It is," he agreed quite amiably to her comment on the food, selecting some meats off the dish in front of him. "You say you're from Massachusetts," Alistair mused,interested to gather information on her background and also keen to show good etiquette. "Do you happen to have any ties with Salem?" Caelia had said that her father was from the U.K. but she hadn't mentioned her mother being so too.

8 Alistair Johnson No, more concerned by numbers. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5

Joella Curtis

January 06, 2015 6:04 PM

It's not called the Opening Feast for nothing. by Joella Curtis

Joella had never really understood muggleborns, having had very minute interaction with them so far in her twelve years. However, now faced with a blissfully clueless, muggleborn first year, she couldn't help feeling slightly sorry for them. It didn't seem fair that someone as confident and friendly as Izzy could be set further back in friend-making than others for no reason other than her birth rights and background. Joella still had half a mind to mention to the new Pecari that she should perhaps refrain from divulging her non-magic upbringing, her initial concern toying with her mind, but again she couldn't think of a way to phrase such a thing without being impertenent; subtlety, Joella thought, would slip through the net with a girl like Izzy. And so she left it, consoling herself with her earlier reasoning that it would make little difference anyway. Izzy's general nature did not suggest she was from a reputable pureblood background and nor should she want to pretend such a thing. There were a lot of good people at Sonora who did not care much for blood status. Joella guessed it was only her own uncomfortableness talking as she wasn't used to such open words on such a subject.

Izzy certainly talked a lot. Joella found herself wondering whether she had been quite so bad (not that she actually thought it bad) on her first day. She thought she had been chatty then but Izzy seemed to her to be on a whole nother level. Joella wondered if the first year's excitement would ebb away after the first week or so but she already couldn't imagine a calm version of the girl in front of her and in truth, she didn't think that she wanted to.

Neat tricks? Joella wasn't so sure about that. She could definitely do some pretty cool things on a broomstick but her guess was that Izzy meant with a wand. The new Pecari reminded the second year of returning to the regular routine of classes - Joella tried her best to see them in a positive light (her father had told her she couldn't expect to improve if she didn't).

Izzy seemed just as excited about classes which was always a good thing. "I doubt they are similar," Joella smiled at Izzy's comparing Sonora classes to Muggle classes. She knew little about Muggles (and most of this came from her L.A. neighbour who her mother said should be taken with a pinch of salt) but they didn't have the use of magic and so she didn't see how they could possibly be much the same. 'Algebra' and 'Home Ec' were not things that Joella familiarised herself with but as Izzy glazed over them so quickly, she guessed she didn't need to. It was interesting that Izzy had been homeschooled, as had Joella, and she wondered mildly what the Muggle schooling system was like.

Joella was highly amused by Izzy's response to her polite question. The older Pecari herself was always delighted by the delicious array of foods at Sonora feasts and she remembered her pleasant surprise at the Opening Feast last year. But not noticing such an appetising scene, that she could not grasp.

"Well there's plenty to choose from," she told her first year neighbour. "We have quite a mix of cultures at Sonora so I guess they have a lot of tastes to cater for. It can be quite filling though - I don't doubt I'll be staggering up the stairs to my dorm tonight." She grinned, popping some chicken into her mouth.

8 Joella Curtis It's not called the Opening Feast for nothing. 295 Joella Curtis 0 5

Wendy Canterbury

January 06, 2015 8:10 PM

So excited, I just can't hide it. by Wendy Canterbury

The dreaminess of the past summer had simmered down a little with the greatness of Cascade Hall. No matter how many times Wendy walked through here, she was still awestruck just like a little kid. Every September she walked in with fresh new eyes, but this time it felt like home. It was her very last year at Sonora, and the thought made her sad. She had practically grown up here. Though she missed her non-magical friends back in Phoenix, she knew she would miss the friends she had made here even more. Aria had already graduated and already Wendy was feeling the loss.

During the past summer, however, she hadn't thought much about Sonora. She wasn't planning to go to college right away and had instead spent most of her time learning how to bake properly at her mother's bakery. There was a sweet summer romance thrown in there as well with a nice boy from her neighborhood, but neither of them had planned to take it long-term. She had cut her blonde hair short again, but the length was just barely passed her chin. She felt pretty these days; maybe having a boyfriend for two months had changed something about her, but she felt prettier.

Her sister had a boyfriend of her own as well, someone she'd met at her magical university. It was nice to know that Waverly was doing well for herself. This year Wendy didn't have plans, just one rule: she had to live her life here to the fullest. She wanted to attend every Quidditch game, talk with her professors and her classmates, welcome the first-years, and do everything she could to get involved. Maybe she'd even join a club.

She sat down at the Pecari table refusing to feel sentimental for even a little bit. She still felt everything acutely, like the smells of the feast, the sounds of chatter, and the glow of Cascade Hall in the evening. She could hardly wait for the Headmaster to begin his annual speech.

The first-years looked even cuter and younger this year, and she didn't think any of them could see her as she smiled at them. The sorting was first and she cheered for all of the new Pecaris. As a Prefect, she was sure she'd get to know them soon enough. With that finished, she remembered the vote for Head student and suddenly was very focused on what the headmaster had to say next.

"Would Anthony Carey and Wendy Canterbury please come to the front of the room..."

Wendy's mouth fell open and her hazel eyes widened as it sunk in that she, Wendy Canterbury, had just been called up. Head Girl. She'd made it. She had fulfilled the dream her older sister had. She was representing her house and her muggle-born background. After all, she had been the only muggle-born on the ballot for this year. She stood up, legs shaking slightly, and made her way up to the front to receive her badge. She looked over at Anthony and smiled at him. Though she didn't know him well, she could respect him as her comrade. "I look forward to working with you," she said with a smile after thanking the headmaster. She almost danced back to her seat, the shiny gold badge now pinned onto the front of her robes. Her cheers for the new Prefects was even louder in her enthusiasm.

The fair was the absolute perfect way to end her last year at Sonora and Wendy couldn't wait. Her cheeks were flushed from all the excitement from tonight as well as her joy at being given such an honor. She would make her classmates proud, but for the time being it was really hard to keep all of her excitement in. When Headmaster Brockert dismissed them, Wendy turned to a friend and squealed. "I made Head Girl!"

19 Wendy Canterbury So excited, I just can't hide it. 245 Wendy Canterbury 0 5

Caelia Lucan

January 06, 2015 9:02 PM

How so? by Caelia Lucan

Alistair was nice, Caelia decided, and just the sort of boy that Grandmother Viviane would approve of as a friend. She felt very pleased with herself for having randomly selected a good dinner conversation partner on her first night there. Already doing better than Emrys, she thought to herself. Perhaps polite society would be the only place in which she would beat out her older brother. He would always be smarter than her no matter how hard she tried to keep up, he had made prefect, something Caelia was fairly certain she never would get, and no matter how disappointed he made Grandmother and Grandfather, he was still (kind of) the eldest grandson. In Emrys’ opinion, however, Caelia had gotten the better end of the stick as she got to play the part of the innocent granddaughter and, most likely, the favorite since she was easily manipulated into doing what Grandmother Viviane wanted. This wasn’t an opinion he was likely to share with his little sister as he never wanted to intentionally hurt her, so it was one she would never know but it was a valid point of view nonetheless.

"Wow,” she said, puckering her forehead slightly as she thought about the implications of his statement. There had to be a lot of branches of Johnsons if there were Arizona Johnsons and then other Johnsons who hadn’t gone to Sonora. Her brain kind of hurt just thinking about it. The Lucan family was relatively small, all that was left was Grandmother Viviana, Emrys, herself, their parents, and Wesley. “Is your family rather large then?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. Caelia was a very pretty girl but not too bright and often times needed reassurance from others to see if her idea was at all valid.

The tea was exactly what she was looking for and Caelia poured it into her cup, pleased that there was at least something she was good at.“Yes, my mother’s family went there,” she said, leaving out the bit where her mother was home-schooled. She thought the idea was weird and since Grandmother Viviane didn’t approve of that she figured it wasn’t something most people in polite society liked either. “My father should have but my grandfather wanted him to go to his alma mater, Hogwarts.” Though she wasn’t sure she knew exactly what an alma mater was, Emrys had used the word enough in reference to Hogwarts that she knew it was a thing. Hopefully Alistair would not need an explanation. Caelia blushed. She really had to stop using words she didn’t know.

“The hall is so pretty,” she commented after their discussion on family and schooling was drawing to a close. Pretty things were amongst the sorts of things that rated very high on Caelia’s list of Things I Like. “I will be happy to eat here for every meal I think, I hope the common room will be as nice as this. This hall might be my favorite thing about going to school here.” She smiled happily as she looked at the way the light was bouncing.“What about you?” she asked. The sorts of things that Caelia liked and that her brother liked were very different and she wondered if all boys were the same. Probably not, she reasoned, as Matthew was very different from Emrys and Wesley was an entirely different sort of person all together. However, Matthew didn’t count anymore and Wesley barely did, so all she really had to go off of was Emrys.

10 Caelia Lucan How so? 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 07, 2015 1:14 PM

The Crotalus Quidditch team seems to be lacking in them. by Alistair Johnson

It may seem strange that Alistair knew little detail about his family history when he seemed so interested in that of others. But this was mostly (although he would deny such a thing even to himself) because he feared what he may find. Whilst Alistair was confident that the Arizona Johnsons were nothing but pure and reputed, he had doubts about the lesser known branches that his father never seem to care for.

"The Arizona Johnsons, no," Alistair shook his head. "But there is a large number of other branches, some in the states and others abroad, that I couldn't account for." He wouldn't usually mention this but he'd already insinuated such a thing so it was a little late to change his mind.

The young Crotalus nodded as Caelia spoke about her family and Salem and Hogwarts. He guessed it made sense that her grandfather had wanted to continue their Hogwarts tradition. Alistair lived in the same state as Sonora so it was convenient whether it be tradition for the Johnsons or not, although the fact that their bloodline had always attended may have had more evident influence had they lived in close proximity to another school. "That makes sense," he said more out of politeness than anything.

"Yes, it is rather," agreed Alistair but he refrained from sounding too interested or too excited. He liked to take everything in his stride and whilst he couldn't help but be amazed inside, it wasn't his nature to show such thing on the outside. The eleven year old could not pretend, however, that he wasn't at least mildly impressed by his surroundings, byt it wasn't really his intention to do so either. "My favourite thing?" Alistair mused, although he in reality needed little thought on the subject. "I'd say I'm most looking forward to getting out on the Quidditch pitch," he told Caelia. "It will be very handy having such close facilities." He smiled somewhat with excitement, something he couldn't claim to be completely devoid of. "And of course the common room, as you say," it wasn't polite to be unduly indifferent and Alistair could imagine some good chess games taking place in the Crotalus common room in the evenings.

8 Alistair Johnson The Crotalus Quidditch team seems to be lacking in them. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5

Chuck Fintoc

January 07, 2015 2:05 PM

The food tastes real, a very good real. by Chuck Fintoc

Chuck laughed as Sammy responded to his question. He didn't mean it condescendingly but merely found her unbridled excitement and general cluelessness amusing. He didn't doubt that she would soon grow accustomed to the world she'd only recently properly become a part of but for the moment it was new and most likely quite strange, Chuck guessed.

"We receive acceptance letters," the redhead explained. "It's just for the muggleborns that they send someone round because the rest of us know all we need to know already." Chuck didn't actually know a great deal about Sonora's methods but could only assume this was the case. Seeing as he hadn't been visited by a board member and Sammy had, it didn't take a genius to figure things out.

Sammy's imagination was really quite something, Chuck thought, and he found himself still smiling at the little scenario she had played out as he continued. "My dad never let me play with magic," Chuck told her. "There's little one can do without being taught. Before you learn, you might use it accidentally as a self defence method or whatever but you can't really control it and decide when to use it." He refrained from mentioning his own experience with out-of-control magic and wondered if Sammy herself may have encountered her own accidental use of it without realizing. Chuck's father hadn't even allowed him to touch a wand until he received his Sonora acceptance letter and the new Pecari had no great knowledge of what determined the use of accidental magic without one, but he thought he'd been right in what he had told Sammy anyway.

At home on the ranch, Chuck didn't see the varied uses of wandmanship and therefore was quite looking forward to discovering new things in his classed. He could expect that Care of Magical Creatures, being what he knew and what he loved, would be his favourite but that didn't mean he was about to rule out the other subjects as being of any interest to him.

The eleven year old returned eagerly to filling his stomach as he took another pause from talking.

8 Chuck Fintoc The food tastes real, a very good real. 309 Chuck Fintoc 0 5

Izrael Tizze

January 09, 2015 2:40 PM

I'm gonna need t'be rolled outta here in a wheelbarrow. by Izrael Tizze

Izzy nodded when Joella commented on the classes probably not being very similar. "Yeah," she said, "I figured. I s'pose it's not a bad thing, then, that I'm not too familiar with, uh, Muggle subjects then, anyway, since I won't be learnin' 'em now."

She smiled brightly at this thought. As she'd been growing up, she'd thought about asking her parents to send her to a regular school so she could learn things that other kids her age were learning, but when she considered her life on the ranch, she couldn't bear to leave it. She loved taking care of the cattle with her pa, and chatting with her maw-maw about the old days when pappaw was still alive and running the ranch.

In the end, she'd never have to study things like Home Ec. and whatever class it was where you had to dissect a frog, and she liked that just fine. It didn't hurt that magic was the curriculum now. That was just darn cool!

When the food in front of her captured Izzy's attention, however, all thoughts of school and even magic was thrust out of her head. There were so many choices in front of her, and some of them she didn't even recognize.

Izzy started with those. She filled a plate full of all kinds of things she'd never tried or seen before and settled back in next to Joella, listening to the other girl talk about the feas.

"I don't doubt it," Izzy said with a grin. "They might have'ta roll me outta here when I'm done," she joked.

She grabbed what she was pretty sure was a crab leg and broke it in half with her rugged, rangers' hands.

"You know, you talk real nice," Izzy told Joella, relieving the crab leg of the reddish meat inside. "Real pretty, like someone in a movie or a book. Proper-like

0 Izrael Tizze I'm gonna need t'be rolled outta here in a wheelbarrow. 0 Izrael Tizze 0 5

Charlie B-F-R

January 11, 2015 12:17 AM

Suspicious character by Charlie B-F-R

Charlie slunk into the Cascade Hall. He felt dirty and, even though he was polished to his usual fabulous standards, he felt like it was written so clearly all over him that everyone else knew it too. The worse a thing one was thinking, the more convinced one became that everyone had spouted mind-reading powers. The truly terrifying thing about being in a magical school was that it wasn’t entirely impossible. What if the teachers did spot checks to check they weren’t thinking about that in class? And then they’d not only find out what he was thinking, but the kinds of people he was thinking it about….

He had spent a long time over the summer trying to convince himself of what he thought he’d known for as long as he could remember. He had always been one of the girls, ever since he started school and had been more interested in Barbie’s fashion choices than playing soccer or getting his knees dirty like little boys were supposed to do. And it had progressed that way ever since. Music. Fashion. Make up and magazines… He liked all the things that girls, or gay men liked, and that meant he liked guys. He was supposed to like guys. Only that part seemed to be more reluctant to develop… Summer meant fashion magazines with sun-kissed male models, sand in their professionally tousled hair, muscles glistening with drops of water as they strode through the sea. He snuck the magazines away and stared, trying to prove it to himself. If he could just have one thought about them, some inkling of feeling towards them…. But there was nothing. Not unless his eyes or his mind wandered…. And the worst part was, he let them. He gave up, gave in to looking at the girls instead. And even though he felt dirty for it afterwards, it didn’t stop it happening again.

He took a seat, deliberately avoiding Julian, unsure he could look very many of the girls near his age in the eye. There existed two versions of them. There were the real versions, whom he had to face sooner or later, and there were the little nymphs that lived in his head and came to plague him as he slept. And, he was ashamed to admit, sometimes during waking hours too. They looked more or less like his classmates, though perhaps with a few exaggerations and a greater propensity to show up wearing swimwear. And they did things his classmates didn’t do. Things he wasn’t supposed to want girls to do him. He could feel himself blushing as he thought about the fact he’d even thought about it.

It wasn’t just… those thoughts that made him reluctant to face them. But he had lied to them. He hadn’t meant to, but he’d done it. They all thought he was one thing - they liked him and trusted him because of it - and now…. He wasn’t ready to say he wasn’t but he felt bad for the way he had been with them, as well as the ways in which he wanted to be. How he draped his arms around them, touched and flirted with such ease because it was him - because it wasn’t like it counted. He was sure he had used that phrase to wave away embarrassment on more than one occasion. And what was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to behave when Julian, or anyone else with breasts, spoke to him? He couldn’t tell them what he really felt because it was disgusting and they would hate him but he couldn’t carry on doing those things. He didn’t know how to be around them, or who he was supposed to be any more…

OOC - references are only fun when other people can get, them and - as I think this is a bit of an obscure one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDHL-qX61CQ”> this is where the post title came from. I especially love the fact that the video includes washing girls’ hair...

13 Charlie B-F-R Suspicious character 252 Charlie B-F-R 0 5

Jemima

January 11, 2015 3:12 AM

bows Thank you by Jemima

Jemima grinned as Lauren happily dived into their culinary adventure with them. She was able to handle the rice as well, and reported to like it, though she followed it with some water and some different dishes.

“Do you eat a lot of spicy food at home?” she asked. A lot of the Asian dishes she’d tried in the past were quite spicy, though Chinese food was less so, and Japanese food to her mostly meant sushi (which Francesca thought was ‘sophisticated’ and which she thought was boring unless you used all the pickled ginger and wasabi available) so she supposed Lauren’s home food might be anything.

“Really?” she blinked at Ginger, a little surprised that she had never eaten meat but also sort of impressed that she wanted to go against her family and do it now. Her own mother didn’t like spicy food but it wasn’t like it was forbidden.

“It’s ham,” she backed up Lauren, “Beef tends to be less cooked, so it still has a raw bit in the middle,” she had been brought up eating it this way so had never really stopped to consider that his might seem gross or unusual to someone who wasn’t used to it. “but the cooked bits are darker,” she explained. “Ham’s tasty, I guess,” she shrugged, “Most meat is.” For all her eagerness to try new things, she did enjoy the food at home, especially roast dinners. She just hadn’t really considered the possibility of it being something exciting. She took a little of the ham, both because her mind had wandered onto those kind of foods, and also because she didn’t want to be left out.

13 Jemima *bows* Thank you 304 Jemima 0 5

Clark Dill

January 12, 2015 3:50 PM

I'm just hoping events don't cancel Quidditch again by Clark Dill

Clark nodded in understanding about summers that were both good and long. His had been similar. It kind of seemed like forever ago that he'd left, though it had really been less than three months. They had been a full three months, though, so that made them seem longer than they might have otherwise. "Mine was good, and long, too. Saw three different states, not counting what we flew over." He did not specify how he flied, in part because he wasn't sure if Emrys knew what a plane was and in part because it didn't matter. Seeing states from above the clouds didn't count regardless of whether you were riding an airplane, a magical wagon, a broom, or whatever other conveyance one might use for long distance air travel. "Had to miss Space Camp for it, but it was worth it, I think." Dad was not poor now, but he'd grown up that way and was quite stingy. Clark was allowed to pick what entertainments he got to enjoy over the summer, but he was given a very strict budget on them. Generous, yes, but strict. There had not been enough for both Space Camp and the trip out to tour the Mauna Kea Observatories. "We went to Hawaii instead, and we stopped in California on the way out there. NASA observatories, volcanoes, lava fields, fault lines; I really don't know which is more awesome - astronomy or geology!"

He supposed he still had some time to figure it out before he had to settle on a college course of study, but as Emrys reminded him, he was an intermediate now, and that time was growing shorter. "Yeah, it'll be good getting to study stuff more in depth than before. Pity there's no electives to pick from right now. We can still do independent studies though, right? Do you have one? I'm thinking definitely Astronomy, and maybe something else. Do wizards study geology at all, do you know?"

Clark took a few quick bites of his food now that he'd stopped talking long enough to do so, and washed them down with a long gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Oh!" he added, in after thought, suddenly realizing he'd missed an important part of talking to a person who had just gone up to receive a badge. "Congratulations on Prefect!"

1 Clark Dill I'm just hoping events don't cancel Quidditch again 277 Clark Dill 0 5

Ginger Pierce

January 13, 2015 9:16 AM

Throws congratulatory confetti by Ginger Pierce

Ginger took a very small piece of the roast ham, just to try it. "I've eaten meat before," she answered Lauren's question. "But usually as part of a casserole or something, not just straight up. My mom isn't strict about her vegetarianism either, and sometimes she has me try stuff just to be well-rounded, and some of my other cousins are sworn carnivores, so there's usually options available for them. Some of my other aunts and uncles and cousins, though, are fully vegan and won't touch anything that came within five feet of meat or dairy during preparation. I've never even tried to be vegan. I like cheese and milk way too much."

She shrugged, hesitated and regarded the ham doubtfully for a moment before taking a tiny minuscule bite of it. 'Tender' it might be but it had an odd taste and texture she didn't care for. She made a face and put the rest of the forkful back on her plate. "Eh," she offered her verdict on the meat stuff. "Not for me, I think." Surrounded by pasta and cheese, she might tolerate it, but she didn't really care to eat it by itself.

Ginger looked around but didn't see anything that looked appetizing that she hadn't already tried so she instead took second helpings of some of the foods she had enjoyed and began to settle into the getting-full stage of her dinner. "So, Lauren," she said, her tone indicating a change of subject was imminent, "How do you feel about crafty decorations for our room?"

1 Ginger Pierce *Throws congratulatory confetti* 302 Ginger Pierce 0 5

Owen

January 15, 2015 11:27 AM

You most likely can. by Owen

"Thank you." Owen replied, taking the spaghetti and putting some of it onto his plate, followed by adding some sauce with big meatballs and parmesan cheese. He could most definitely smell the garlic in it as well and he needed that right now. Some semblance of something comforting. He also managed to locate the garlic bread. Owen never ate spaghetti without garlic bread. It was his favorite part of the meal. He looked at his cheddar cheese soup, wishing more than anything garlic powder just happened to be on the table, if for no other reason than most people using it on spaghetti, though he supposed there were those who didn't like garlic at all. Or were allergic to it. Owen had heard of that and he couldn't imagine a more awful medical problem to have. And he had a good imagination too!

Which meant that if he thought about it he probably could imagine something worse. Like one's vital organs falling out and limbs falling off. That would be worse than not being able to eat garlic, he supposed. Maybe. Still, as far as the Teppenpaw knew, no such illness existed and being allergic to one's favorite food would be the worst thing that he could think of that was an actual real life medical issue.

Of course, there could be a spell like that, but Owen really really hoped not. That sounded like something that should be classified as an Unforgivable. He knew there were only three of those and that wasn't one of them. So hopefully, it didn't exist. Of course, it would be a good thing to use in a story. Well, not good but a thing that a hero could overcome or save someone else from. Owen generally didn't like thinking of such awful things, but all stories needed a good obstacle, an antagonist to be defeated in the end.

He was brought out of his thoughts-and he was happy that his imagination was strong enough to withstand the distraction of many people being around-by the boy who'd passed him the spaghetti speaking to him. Owen couldn't say that he truly minded, he felt school would be easier with a friend or two. He didn't like being alone in a crowd much, he decided. It somehow felt...lonlier than than being alone when there actually wasn't anyone around. "I'm Owen Brockert, of the Western Brockerts. It's nice to meet you Tobi." He smiled at the other boy. "That would be nice. What are classes here like?" Okay, Owen should have known that himself, his great uncle was the Headmaster, but then, Uncle Mortimer wasn't an actual student and while he was sure his uncle knew what lessons all the staff had planned, he didn't know what it was like to have them as teachers. "Are the professors nice?"

11 Owen You most likely can. 300 Owen 0 5

Lauren Song

January 20, 2015 10:04 PM

applauds by Lauren Song

Lauren didn't know what it meant to be vegan, but she nodded her head anyway. According to Ginger it meant not eating milk and cheese. No milk and cheese meant no grilled cheese sandwiches, no macaroni and cheese, no ice cream or butter or anything good. She couldn't imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to do that to themselves, but she kept her opinion a secret. "Your family sounds interesting," she said sincerely. "My uncle doesn't care what he eats as long as it's good. My mom just tries to eat healthy."

Ham didn't seem to sit well with Ginger, so Lauren took another piece. It was pretty good, and it was something familiar. At the word crafty, Lauren lit up. "I love crafts," she said with a smile. "My room back home has a bunch of artwork and crafts that I made. I was sad that I couldn't bring it with me, but it'll be fun making new things, especially with you guys." Having roommates who liked crafts was like winning the jackpot. "I brought some supplies from home that we could all use too. What kind of crafts were you guys thinking of?"

There were already visions of homemade products in Lauren's mind as she reached for something a little unfamiliar. She scooped a deep-fried ball onto her plate, wondering if this was some kind of weird un-glazed donut. It looked like something she'd seen in the grocery store before in the Middle Eastern section or frozen foods. "What is this?" she asked, momentarily distracted as she cut it in half. It looked green inside, and she scooped up a little on her fork to look at it more carefully. "Have some if you guys want," she said, pushing her plate towards them slightly.

19 Lauren Song *applauds* 303 Lauren Song 0 5

Emrys Lucan

January 21, 2015 12:53 AM

I don't play but that would be a pity. by Emrys Lucan

Emrys smiled politely when Clark talked about his summer. The younger boy seemed really excited about what they had done and the states he had mentioned surely did sound like it had great things in it but despite having halfblood friends and a semi-interest in the world outside the wizarding one, he still didn’t know what “space camp” or “NASA.” The other things—observatories, volcanoes, those were terms that anyone might have come across in any manner of book Muggle or magical and so he derived from this conversation that Clark was into what he’d learned was a Muggle school subject—science. Sometimes he felt weird, knowing that even though he was sixteen there were elven year olds who knew all about certain things that he probably didn’t even know existed and it made him feel kind of weird to hold a prefect badge so in that moment he was glad that Clark hadn’t mentioned it. He had heard that some students chose to do independent studies but he didn’t know of anyone who had so he shrugged in response to Clark’s question. “I don’t have an official one myself but I spend enough time in the MARS rooms playing violin and getting feedback from portraits I might as well have an independent study in music.” He wanted to ask if Clark thought that was something he could discuss with one of the professors but decided not to as he felt it might be odd for a prefect to ask one of the younger students for help. It would show that perhaps he didn’t deserve the badge. Emrys looked down at his plate to take another bite before answering the rest of Clark’s questions.

After he chewed and swallowed he thought hard about the different professions he had heard of from listening to his Grandfather talk about the family business but he didn’t think he had ever heard of anyone studying geology. He wasn’t even sure if he knew what that meant and decided he might go to the library and look it up. From the sounds of it, it was a Muggle subject but if it was indeed a wizard subject he knew he’d felt quite awkward asking about it to a younger student. “Not that I know of, no,” he replied. “But there’s always a first so that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t.” That he felt comfortable in saying because it was completely true. If he didn’t do something with music once he graduated, Emrys had decided he would become a scholar of Camelot—which would make him the first Lucan to do so as his mother had kept her maiden name.

What Clark said next made Emrys happy he hadn’t shown his lack of knowledge. “Thanks,” he said, cheeks turning slightly red. He paused before deciding to confide in someone he barely even knew. So far Clark had turned out to be a rather relaxed conversation partner and something about him just made Emrys feel comfortable. “I’m still getting used to it. I mean, I know it’s only been a little while and all but I’m terrified of messing up and freaking out the younger students.” He nodded his head. “Personally I think Emery might have been a better choice since he always seems to have it together so I also don’t want to let the teachers down and make them think they ought to have chosen someone else.” Though he hadn’t particularly wanted the badge nor not wanted the badge, he did think it would be extremely awkward and embarrassing if it were to be taken away from him.

At an earlier Opening Feast, Emery and he had talked about when their year got the badges and if they would be good prefects, helping out the younger students or aloof, reserved prefects like some of the other years had been. Emrys sincerely hoped he would be the former but his nerves were starting to get the best of him and he felt bad for judging the students who had come before him. Perhaps they had just been afraid to mess up.

10 Emrys Lucan I don't play but that would be a pity. 260 Emrys Lucan 0 5

Caelia Lucan

January 21, 2015 1:11 AM

That's really too bad. by Caelia Lucan

Caelia knew all about not talking about lesser-branches or covering up little discrepancies on an otherwise unsoiled family tree and had been well educated by her Grandmother on how it was tacky to embarrass someone into admitting these things so she didn't press any further after Alistair said he didn’t know much about his other branches. Though that probably meant there was some in his family that couldn’t be considered respectable Caelia was sure that was the case with any family and the reluctance to admit relation to them only proved to her that Alistair was exactly the Right Sort. She smiled and nodded in acquiesce to show him that she understood what he meant. Society and propriety were two areas in which Caelia prided herself in being able to navigate without misstep. For some reason when remembering genealogies or tea party do’s and don’ts her brain didn’t get fussy like it did when she attempted to learn something out of a book.

So, she thought when he mentioned the Pitch, Alistair was a Quidditch playing kind of boy. That meant he was mostly likely more like Wesley than Emrys and Caelia wondered if that meant he would come without the niceties Emrys had that Wesley lacked. “The Quidditch Pitch sounds interesting,” she said politely. “I don’t like to fly myself, Grandmother says it isn’t ladylike, but sometimes I like to watch my cousin.” That wasn’t often though as Welsey was to rambunctious to be allowed on a House team and she only ever saw him play pick-up game with his equally rowdy friends when their family visited him. “Will you be trying to join the Quidditch team then?”

Emrys didn’t really play much Quidditch as he was much more into reading and playing music as well as being unluckily afflicted with horrible motion sickness so Caelia herself didn’t pay much attention to the few times he had mentioned Quidditch at Sonora. She wasn’t interested in it herself and since her beloved older brother wasn’t either she didn’t feel a need to like it to support him. However, she did remember that only two of the houses had played Quidditch the year before and she did know that Aladren, her brother’s house, was a frequent winner of the Quidditch Cup. She was proud that her brother’s house did so well even though it was an area neither sibling was interested in. It still reflected well on him to be in a House that was nicely decorated.

While Alistair answered, she toyed with the sleeve of her robes, fingers still red as raspberries, and wished the color to leave. She was wearing such a pretty dress underneath and it would not look nice when she finally did get up to the common room to present herself to her future roommates in such a horrible, clashing way. At the very least, she consoled herself, her curled hair would look nice and the quality of the fabric of her dress and hair ribbon would show that she had some sense of fashion and didn’t normally clash so terribly.

10 Caelia Lucan That's really too bad. 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Tobi

January 21, 2015 1:31 AM

Great, I'm glad to be of assistance. by Tobi

The first year was both polite and society. While Tobi’s family was pureblood they were tradesmen first and so oftentimes were left out of the normal pureblood circles. In addition they had done relatively well for themselves and were never wanting for anything, which Tobi was grateful for, and also didn’t have to deal with the upper class and their constrictions unless in the shop. But the last name of the boy frustrated Tobi. There were many Brockerts at the school and he was fairly certain that there were a couple in Teppenpaw. Why wasn’t this boy’s family talking to him? He made sure to be extra friendly, even though his readiness was starting to wear off and he was beginning to regret opening himself up so quickly. The moment this boy found out he wasn’t proper society he was sure all his friendliness would have been for naught as that was how many pureblood families worked and that in and of itself was why Tobi did not particularly enjoy humans. Animals, on the other hand, didn’t care about wealth or status. They ate and copulated to survive and that was that. They were so much simpler.

“Classes are alright,” he said. “Care of Magical Creatures is my favorite. The professor for that class sets us some really wonderful lessons. There’s never a dull day there, really. I think all the professors are quite nice, actually, but a lot of them don’t like it when you’re late so other than that…” he trailed off a little, realizing that this was probably the most verbose conversation he’d had with someone at Sonora other than Liac. Well, there had been that one time with John Umland but that had seemed to be more in the name of research and classwork than friendship so he disregarded that. He pushed some dark brown hair that had fallen from his braid out of his eyes and put another bite of dumpling in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed politely, taking the time to rinse his mouth with some tea before opening it to talk again so Owen wouldn’t have to see anything gross if he was the sort of person to notice food stuck on someone’s tooth.

“But maybe I’m biased because I really like to explore the forests and be around creatures outside of class. What sorts of things are you interested in?” he asked, hoping this wasn’t too forward as he'd heard taking interest in other people was always a nice thing to do. His younger brother had once told him that there was nothing people liked to do more than talk about themselves. For only ten years old, Arne* was quite clever. Tobi just wished he would apply that to something useful than to use it to get things out of people they didn’t want to give like the last maple sugar candy. He scowled internally thinking about how he had been conned out of his last Christmas sweet two years ago.

OOC: Sorry this is so short—it’s just so weird to write Tobi as being talkative with anyone that isn’t Liac!

*Pronounced: ar-nuh, for further reference, either Google translate in German or Norwegian has a good way of hearing the name :)

10 Tobi Great, I'm glad to be of assistance. 289 Tobi 0 5

Alistair Johnson

January 22, 2015 7:24 AM

I'd almost go so far as to call it tragic. by Alistair Johnson

Alistair found himself smiling a little as Caelia responded to his Quidditch reference. It was good to have company of his own age in the form of someone so polite and evidentally well brought up. He didn't have a great amount of experience talking to others around the same age as himself. Joella Curtis was a couple of months older and from a good pureblood family yet she had become so keen to disagree with him and he would even go so far as to say she took pleasure in contradicting him. The idea of her saying "told you so" when he next saw her after having been sorted into Crotalus was not one that appealed to Alistair.

"Your grandmother sounds like a very wise person," said Alistair, ignoring the fact that he had actually been introduced to the sport by a girl and, similarly, been taught the game by a girl. Being from the background that he was, the Crotalus was well accustomed to hearing the same views as Caelia's grandmother being expressed but it was only now that he no longer needed his female coach, Alistair felt free to share such an opinion. His recent decision to agree with Caelia's grandmother (and many other respectable members of society) was not to spite Joella Curtis (although this may have been a bonus), who had predicted his house more successfully than he had himself, but down to Alistair's attempts at leaving the realms of his childhood and making decisions for himself about who he wanted to be and what he believed in. Or so he liked to think, anyway. He didn't much like the prospect of his future wife being as interested in Quidditch as himself, which would no doubt mean competition in the home. He didn't think it fit the image of a reputed pureblood girl; it was, as Caelia's grandmother put it, unladylike. Was it right that girls should be playing against men when they were so gifted with different assets? He had heard of WAIL but didn't think he cared enough about the argument to read their theories. For the time being, he would just be glad to get on a team, irrelevant of whether or not it was mixed.

Caelia mentioned that she sometimes liked to watch her cousin. The thought of this appealed to Alistair's proud nature. He liked to show off his talents and the idea of an audience giving him glory was more than satisfactory. Especially should the audience include girls as pretty as Caelia Lucan.

"Yes, I'll be joining the Quidditch team," the first year nodded, not deigning to use the term 'trying' as Caelia did for he felt so sure in his own abilities as much as he felt sure Crotalus would be desperate for anyone merely willing to play. "Although," he added ruefully. "By the sound of it there may not even be a team to join this year." It wasn't an idea that appealed to him but he knew it was a possibility he had to account for, it wouldn't do to raise one's hopes so unrealistically high.

"Have you any clubs you plan on joining?" Alistair asked, keen that she should have her fair share of expressing her interests. He knew there had been a dance club last year and wondered if this was more up her street than Quidditch.

8 Alistair Johnson I'd almost go so far as to call it tragic. 306 Alistair Johnson 0 5

Julian Umland

January 25, 2015 2:35 PM

Matters of perspective. by Julian Umland

After she had bought her schoolbooks, term’s supply (she hoped) of make-up, and birthday presents for every member of her immediate family, Julian had used the very last of the money she had made at her summer job to buy herself a nice, at least by her standards, new dress and a pair of shoes to go with it. Both were fall looks - for the Feast, since it was just going to be covered up by her robes anyway, she had on a much cheaper short-sleeved, mottled-rose-color dress she’d gotten earlier in the summer for next to nothing at a yard sale because its original owner had apparently had a small mishap with a printer cartridge while wearing it, something Julian found a lot easier to rectify than said owner evidently had; it wasn't much, but Mom had, seeming surprised to see her dress-clad and with make-up on and her hair curled, said that she looked nice - but she was very pleased with them anyway. She had spent time in a few of the past few nights looking at them in her room after she thought everyone else was asleep, giddy over having spent actual money on something as stupid as heeled shoes with polka dots on them and hardly able to wait to see Charlie again and show off.

When she saw him enter the Cascade Hall, she smiled - her lips still felt funny when she smiled while wearing lipstick, like the lipstick was one of those clay facial masks which cracked off if the wearer moved at all, so she didn’t wear it often, but it was a special occasion - and lifted her hand, but to her surprise, he didn’t seem to be looking for her. Sometimes he sat with Wendy or someone, but it was traditional to sit with Houses at the Feast, which usually meant her. Maybe he was planning to chat with the first years; how easy being social seemed to be for him was one of the reasons she’d always thought he’d be a better prefect than she was, why she’d always thought she’d only gotten the badge because they had thought people wouldn’t accept someone as blatantly...individual as Charlie in a position of authority. He could have been as straight as she thought she was and still had issues just because people sometimes had a problem with guys doing stuff like wearing pink and nail polish.

People were so often just stupid. She wore at least the flesh-tone face make-up...stuff more days than not, now, even when also wearing t-shirts and jeans, because she felt better, more confident in dealing with people, when she had it on, so she saw no reason why Charlie shouldn’t do the same if he pleased, or a girl not wear it if she didn’t want to. It was no different than those beastly little brats back home making fun of John because of his bird obsession; she didn’t get it any more than the brats seemed to, either why John specifically had suddenly started finding that subject so interesting or why anyone would find it that interesting, but if make-up could start to make sense to her, then birds could make sense to people, too, and it was entirely each person’s own business what he or she did to forget just how long every day was and feeling guilty for not having the energy or resources to….

She bit her lip for a second, trying to suppress the useless indignation on her boys’ behalf, before remembering her lipstick and quickly stopping and reaching into the purse lodged awkwardly at her feet for a compact mirror to see if she had ruined it. Once she determined she hadn’t - goodness, she hated lipstick, it was such a bother - she glanced around her, wondering if it was too late to seek out Willow and Gemma. They, like the girls at home this summer, were not really her friends, but they were kind enough to tolerate her hovering at the periphery….

She looked around the Hall more generally as the Sorting started, and as she took in first the familiar sights and then the new people, she was momentarily overwhelmed by the sensation of being extraordinarily out of place.

All summer, she had felt separate from the others even while laughing with them or kissing them because she was a witch and that meant there was a massive part of her life that they could never understand. When she listened to her summer friend Lydia moan about her parents not letting her learn to drive, she had found herself thinking about all the different ways she had to travel anywhere in the country in seconds. When she went to youth events or complimented the clique leader on her dress, she remembered how the Cascade Hall had looked the night of the Midsummer Ball. At every turn, Calgary - seven-dollar dresses and plastic shoes instead of tailored gowns, cinderblocks and paper streamers instead of marble floors, everything in her neighborhood small and tinged a little grey - had reminded her of the way her little brothers used to play at being knights in the living room with foam swords and old towels for capes. She had enjoyed herself, just as she used to enjoy playing with John and Joe sometimes even after she outgrew playing pretend just for herself, but she’d always known there were other things out there. Now, she was back with those other things, and they were all just as bright and beautiful as she remembered - except for the part where she was now the one who was a little shabby by comparison. She’d had her one fairytale evening, but now her carriage had turned back into a pumpkin and the clothing purchases she’d taken such anxious pride in were things that she knew her roommates would probably deem suitable only for cutting up so the prairie elves could use them to clean mirrors or something. She could look, even talk a little, but the sheet of glass between her and a lot of the people around her was just as thick as it had been at home, making sure she could never really touch.

Her heart thumped uncomfortably hard in her chest, her lungs burned the slightest bit, and her face felt like it was radiating heat through the suddenly too-thin layer of foundation. She twisted a curl around her finger and pulled, unable to figure out what she was feeling or why.

Applause interrupted her thoughts and she hastily joined in the congratulations for the new prefects without a clue who her new companion in shepherding was. She bit her lip again, briefly interrupting her smile before she remembered herself. She was being silly - just as she had been far too often lately. Buying that stupid dress when the parties were over, for instance. She wasn’t even going to tell Charlie about that, she’d look like an idiot - or like a child, a little girl convinced her finger painting was a work of art and wanting to hear about it from her parent, too. She wasn’t even sure she’d ever wear the thing later in the month and into next, now. She picked up the sheet music which had just appeared in front of her and sang along with more enthusiasm than skill, smiling all the way through. Mom always said that the more one smiled, the more one felt like smiling.

16 Julian Umland Matters of perspective. 254 Julian Umland 0 5

Caelia Lucan

February 03, 2015 4:05 AM

Oh dear, that doesn't sound fun at all! by Caelia Lucan

Caelia blushed and smiled at the praise Alistair gave her grandmother. Even though she knew she wasn’t smart, she did think that certain members of her family were and anyone who praised her family members proceeded to get a step-up in her book. “I do hope there is one then, for your sake,” she said when Alistair expressed his doubts of a team. “It wouldn’t be very fun to have to watch other people play something that you’re good at, I should think.” Even though she didn’t know Alistair’s skill on the Quidditch field, his assertiveness in the conversation so far and his being of the Right Sort lead Caelia to believe that he probably was however good as she imagined him to be and more than likely more civilized on the field than Wesley and his mates.

He further impressed her with his interest in the things she liked and was glad it would not be a conversation dominated by a subject she knew very little about and did not care to learn a great deal about. “I suppose I might join the Dance Club,” she said though she had never really thought about it much before. “I think that dancing is much more appropriate a hobby for a lady to take up, though I don’t know what other clubs there are that interest me.” Certainly she would never join the Book Club—the thought of having to struggle through reading a difficult book and then discussing it with peers who were obviously superior to her in intellect was a daunting thought, and both Fencing and Archery Clubs sat alongside the status of Quidditch in the eyes of her grandmother as being Not for Ladies.

“I suppose if even after joining Dance Club I am still at a want for group activities I might consider Baking Club but…” Caelia trailed off, letting the implied statement hang in the air. While having knowledge of baked goods was important for Caelia to have, especially considering the tea parties she was expected to attend and eventually host, she wasn’t sure if baking itself was something someone of elevated rank ought to do. Certainly it was more appropriate for her than Quidditch, but she also felt it might be a little bit too much of a servile hobby and wondered if Alistair thought the same.

What was truly Caelia’s passion was painting, but she hadn’t heard mention of an Art Club as far as Emrys had mentioned. She did remember vaguely there being one when he was a first or second year, but she had only been five or six then so wasn’t sure if her memory was correct at all. It liked to play tricks on her, sometimes, making her think things had happened when they really didn’t or confusing real life for a dream. “What do you think about art?” she asked Alistair, eager to know this gentlewizard’s opinion on her most dear hobby.

10 Caelia Lucan Oh dear, that doesn't sound fun at all! 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5