Let's have ourselves a slightly awkward little Christmas. on Cascade Hall

DH Skies

April 21, 2018 11:20 AM

Merry Christmas Everyone by DH Skies

Selina took a deep breath, readying herself to enter the hall, and hoping that nothing was on fire. ‘Things not being on fire’ had apparently, at some point in the year, become her baseline for a good day. They had done their best to make things festive. The grounds had been covered with a thick blanket of snow - something that was a yearly occurrence but which few Sonorans got to enjoy much more than a few hours of, seeing as they headed home for the holidays. The school had been very thoroughly decorated, with a Christmas tree in each common room, plus more in the hall, and tinsel liberally wound around anything that stayed still.

Now it was Christmas Day itself. There had been a schedule for all the students to make Floo calls home using the staff offices (the parents of Muggleborns had had someone visit to connect them for the day). During the day, the Cascade Hall had had several small fireplaces, dotted at intervals, so that small groups could make themselves comfortable with friends or family members. Now evening was drawing in, and it was time for Christmas dinner. The fireplaces faded away, but the hall still looked a little different than usual; the waterfalls that usually cascaded down the walls, giving the room its name, had been frozen, glittering as they reflected the candle light from the many festive displays around the hall. The house tables had been removed, and instead there was one large circular table, plus the staff table. Selina had considered some kind of egalitarian “it’s Christmas and we’re all in this together” gesture, but she couldn’t imagine that any of the students actually wanted to sit with their teachers (well, a couple of the older girls might have had their eye on a couple of the younger professors but the less that was encouraged the better) any more than the teachers wanted to sit with them. There was a choice of meats, and a nutroast for any vegetarians, plus all the trimmings. Once everyone had had their fill of the main course, desserts such as pumpkin pie would appear.

There wasn’t a speech. It was Christmas. It was a time for each other, for the people they were close to. Selina simply wished them all a Merry Christmas and let the meal begin.

OOC - the ‘end of Midterm’ will be posted over the weekend, but you are free to carry on your Midterm threads as long as you like. There won’t be a returning feast this year, seeing as no one went anywhere, and because we have Christmas dinner. You are also welcome to play off any of the items mentioned in this post (e.g. making a call home - use your house board). Merry Christmas!

Subthreads:

Let's have ourselves a slightly awkward little Christmas. by Simon Mordue with Sylvia Mordue

Merry Christmas, Caitlin by Winston Pierce with Caitlin Pierce

13 DH Skies Merry Christmas Everyone 26 DH Skies 1 5

Simon Mordue

April 21, 2018 10:49 PM

Let's have ourselves a slightly awkward little Christmas. by Simon Mordue

When Nathaniel had fallen ill, Simon had of course gone to visit his cousin and see that he was comfortably settled into the hospital wing, but he had thought relatively little of it. Perhaps Nathaniel had looked sicker than Simon had ever been in his first year, but Nathaniel was as apt as not to go for walks in the rain if he felt like it, or wanted to photograph something in rain, or whatever, and Nathaniel privately struck him as too much like Aunt Cynthia anyway – slight, frail-looking for all his activity, not someone of substance. He had dismissed it as a dramatized head cold.

Since the announcement to the school that an illness was going around, however, Simon had repented of his low opinion of his cousin’s fortitude. Everyone was as likely as not to get ill, Nathaniel had just had poor luck in being an early case – or just in being a Teppenpaw, as that seemed to be the point of origin for the whole condition, with the largest number of cases going on there. Nathaniel could not help where he had been Sorted any more than he could help being a first year and therefore someone who was going to get ill more often due to how little time he’d spent away from home before now.

It seemed unlikely that Nathaniel would ever know what Simon had thought at the time – he had not told anyone, not even fully explaining his theory that Nathaniel was either dramatic or feeble to Winston though he had taken a lighter tone than he would have if he’d known Nathaniel was really ill, and Nathaniel and Simon themselves had never enjoyed that rapport which existed between Nathaniel and Sylvia, where they could most likely divine something of each other’s thoughts. Nevertheless, Simon felt guilty. This made the prospect of Christmas dinner a bit complicated. Even if he had been able to justify the idea of leaving their cousin out when they were all here together, Sylvia would not have done it, so sitting together seemed inevitable.

He was not sure if the new arrangement of the Cascade Hall for the Feast was something which was going to help or not. On one hand, they wouldn’t have to awkwardly work out who should sit across from the other two – the round table was far too large for that to be practical. On the other hand, they were all going to end up sitting in a line one way or another, which he imagined would make conversation difficult between three people. Someone would get left out, and it would probably be him.

Despite the inexplicable and bizarre choice to eliminate the smaller nooks in favor of a round table, the room did look beautiful. He admired it for a moment before going to try to find his family, which happened perhaps slightly sooner than he might have lived. He smiled broadly at them. “Merry Christmas,” he said, sitting next to Sylvia.

Nathaniel, on her other side, smiled back. His cousin looked cheerful, but did he also still look slightly pale? Simon felt another twinge of guilt.

“Merry Christmas, Simon,” he said.

16 Simon Mordue Let's have ourselves a slightly awkward little Christmas. 369 Simon Mordue 0 5

Sylvia Mordue

April 23, 2018 10:40 AM

How about we make it more like home? by Sylvia Mordue

Sylvia had felt that the end of term couldn’t come fast enough. She had been very keen to go home and see her parents anyway, and then Nate had got sick, which had been dreadful. She had initially been mortified when the strange and improper Teppenpaw came over and spoke to her, but when his reason why became apparent, she had relaxed in terms of the social implications - he was merely a messenger, not someone seeking an interaction with her - although of course she had been quite upset over Nate being ill. She had visited him in the hospital wing, and spent time talking with him and reading to him. It wasn’t deadly serious, but it did seem like it was trickier to shift than the average fever. She had been very relieved when he was allowed to be up and about again. And then they had been told what the illness was (on the plus side, anyone who might have been thinking negatively of him after his displays in class could damn well revise their opinion pretty fast) and that they could not go home (that was definitely a downside).

The whole quarantine business was really quite upsetting. Christmas at home was always wonderful. There were so many parties. And, whilst she and Nathaniel weren’t old enough to go, she always got to help mother pick out her dresses and jewellery. And she and Simon did get to go sometimes when they went calling on people, or sit in on coffee and petit-fours when people came to call on them. She missed petit-fours, especially the little mint chocolate cakes enrobed in dark chocolate and decorated to look like Christmas presents. Those were her favourites. And then there was all the time they spent together as a family, when no one else was there… Something she had previously regarded as somewhat blank time, waiting for the next event or set of visitors, but which she now missed more than any of the rest. The chance to just relax. To be them. To not be on show… She had been looking forward to all the private times spent with just her family. Not to mention the presents. Of course her parents could owl them to her, but it wasn’t the same as being together to get them. She had never much understood all the moralising about ‘the best joy of Christmas is in giving’ but she found that the idea of presents without the people responsible did feel like something was missing. Not being able to give hugs and kisses and be called Daddy’s little princess made the gifts lack a certain something. Perhaps this wasn’t yet quite a full embracing of the spirit of giving, so much as the joy she supposed she brought her parents in that regard, but she realised that, if Christmas was just about the presents, it would have felt the same by now, and it definitely didn’t.

On Christmas Day itself, they had spent a large part of their time in front of one of the fireplaces in the hall. Simon had brought down all their presents from home (which he, as de facto head of the family for the season, had been entrusted with), and Sylvia had unwrapped many lovely things, ranging from simple things like pretty little ink bottles and a warm but fashionable hat, up to a new necklace and earring set for her growing collection of nice jewellery. She wasn’t sure whether it was the festive season or her placement in Crotalus (or both) that had inspired the choice, but she was very pleased with the pieces, which consisted of a pear shaped garnet with a round clear topaz set between it and the bale, on a short rose gold chain. The earrings consisted of a similar arrangement, with a small rose stud from which the topazes and garnets hung. They had also exchanged presents with each other. Nate and Simon were both actually relatively easy to buy for, having distinct hobbies. She had bought Simon a new Quidditch scarf. It was Crotalus red with red and silver tassels. At one end, picked out in silver, was a rattlesnake, at the other a ‘C’ in a shield, each with three stripes above it.

“C for Crotalus, or C for Captain,” she had explained. “Not so overt that it’s a snub to your co-captain, but it still shows how proud I am of you.” She also thought it showed how much attention she’d paid in etiquette classes and very much hoped that Simon noticed this fact too.

For Nate, she had got a new photo album. She had written ‘Sonora Memories’ on the front page in her best calligraphy and decorated the border of the page with a lovely watercolour showing the desert landscape below and the flourishing flora of Sonora’s more temperate climate across the top.

Not quite feeling like making a spectacle of themselves in the hall, they had opted for some pen and paper games rather than charades before heading upstairs to put away their presents and then call their parents, Sylvia proudly wearing her new jewellery. There had been time for a brisk walk once they had finished their calls, and then they had gone back upstairs to change for dinner. Her parents had sent her several sets of clothes (which counted as essentials, not gifts and thus had arrived directly to her) including two outfits for Christmas Day. Her daytime outfit had consisted of a white twinset, the cardigan made from angora, and a red a-line skirt. She was slightly more formal for dinner, in a light blue dress which made the red of her new garnet stand out beautifully.

The three of them congregated in the hall for dinner. This was perhaps the strangest part of the day. When they had been themselves around the fire, they had been able to do all sorts to try to make it feel like home, but now they were surrounded by everyone else, and it was harder to pretend that there was even the slightest semblance of normality. She was seated between her brother and her cousin, and that made it feel a little better, but it still wasn’t very like home at all. However respectable some of the company here was, she didn’t want to share Christmas dinner with them. She missed everything about their Christmas that made it theirs.

“Oh,” she blinked in surprise, as she glanced down and found a familiar plate in front of her. Glances to the left and right told her that she, Simon and Nathaniel (but no one else) now had their places set with the Mordue family best china - the white set, with gold filigree borders which they used for Christmas. How marvellous! How had that happened? “Oh,” she said again, in realisation.

OOC - details of how they spent their day confirmed with the other Mordue author

13 Sylvia Mordue How about we make it more like home? 1413 Sylvia Mordue 0 5

Nathaniel (with a bit of Simon)

May 05, 2018 10:50 PM

I'd approve, except for it making you ill. by Nathaniel (with a bit of Simon)

Nathaniel had not known at first how the interviews with their families were going to be conducted, but all in all, he thought it had worked out as well as it could. He missed seeing Uncle Alexander and Aunt Avery, but was glad he had been able to see his own mama and brother semi-privately, not trying to talk to everyone and also do so at the same time that Simon and Sylvia did.

Of course, there were drawbacks even when one eliminated Uncle Alexander and Aunt Avery from consideration. Nathaniel thought it would have been much easier to keep a straight face with his cousins right there, and everyone about – as it was, he had been just forcefully reminded of how much he wanted to be home, and how tied his hands felt, and how much he hated having them tied. He had lied to his mother about the sickness, saying that the fever had not been very bad and that he had gotten better faster than he in fact had, and possibly slightly exaggerated his own well-being generally a bit before trying to focus the conversation on home.

Aside from being miserable with homesickness while looking into his living room without being able to go into it properly, Christmas had so far been going well. He had enjoyed his time with his cousins, and the gift exchanges (though he had yet to give Sylvia her real gift, which he had persuaded his mother to send him instead of Simon), and games, and the rearrangement of the Hall – something he liked much better than the final version, which took away the intimacy of being able to sit together near a fire and put him more in mind of a very large party of the sort he did not really look forward to attending in future. Which, he supposed, it was – a Christmas party. Intimacy would be rude.

He sat with Sylvia anyway, to preserve some illusion of a family meal, and Simon joined them soon. After greetings, he turned his eyes to his plate and was startled to see it look familiar, and not because it was the one which had been before him just a few glances earlier. The color was different now, the pattern was different – they just didn’t happen to be patterns and colors that were unfamiliar to him. They were home plates.

He looked up at Sylvia just as she seemed to realize first that this had happened, then the significance of it. “Yes,” he said, his tone full of sympathy. “I’m sorry, Sylvia – but it’s not that bad.” Maybe for her it wouldn’t be. Maybe. If they knew she was getting ill before she got really ill, maybe Healer Kapoor could dose her enough to avert the worst symptoms before they happened. “I’ll read to you, too, if you want,” he added, unable to think of anything more comforting to say.

“And I’ll get Mother and Father to send anything you especially like from home,” said Simon, and Nathaniel felt rather outclassed. It was good Simon had thought of it, though – the objective was to make being ill as minimally bad as possible for Sylvia, and probably at this point also Simon even if he didn’t know it yet, and it didn’t really matter which of them had the better ideas. Even if he still wished he had.

16 Nathaniel (with a bit of Simon) I'd approve, except for it making you ill. 369 Nathaniel (with a bit of Simon) 0 5

Sylvia

May 05, 2018 11:49 PM

Oh it's- horrible. Truly horrible. But I will be brave by Sylvia

Sylvia was a little surprised by Nate’s tone being so full of sympathy and concern. She was actually quite pleased to see the plates. But of course, overall, having the illness wasn’t good. It might lead to embarrassment later on, if she had other bursts of magic that weren’t quite so subtle. She didn’t really want to be embarrassed, that was true, and even though everyone knew what was going on now, it still could be awkward… And then there was the fever. Sylvia didn’t really mind the thought of being sick very much. It inclined people to fuss over her even more than they usually did - and indeed, Nate was already promising to read to her, and Simon to get her whatever she wanted.

Of course, they would need to feel that their sympathy was appreciated - which it was, but because she liked being the centre of attention rather than because she was in need of their reassurance, and it was the latter that they wanted. Girls were not meant to be brave and capable at just getting on with things, and so even if she felt perfectly able to deal with having a small fever, she knew it would be unwise to communicate this to the boys, who needed to feel that they had done well in looking after her and bolstering her spirits.

“Thank you,” she smiled tentatively at both of them, “I’m sure it will be fine,” she added, not with the brash confidence which she actually felt, but in a tremulous and small voice, which sought further reassurances. One that suggested she was trying to be brave but it was hard because she was a girl and girls just weren’t good at that, and needed other people to be it on their behalf. “Especially with you both looking after me.

“There’s the new Mount Ivory story that I got for Christmas. Maybe I could save starting that. And then, in a way, being ill could sort of be something to look forward to...” she continued, in much the same tone, “Would you read that to me?” she asked Nate. The series, about a group of society girls and their lives at boarding school was one of Sylvia’s favourites. She had been working through Simon’s offer in the back of her mind, trying to work out how best to use it. And her mind hit upon exactly what she wanted. She wondered whether it would be going too far - Simon hadn’t been willing to indulge her about Nate’s sorting, and had talked about her needing to be a big girl now. But the combination of it being Christmas and her being sick seemed like her best shot. “Do you think I can have Mr. Sparkles?” she asked him, naming her favourite unicorn. As Sylvia had had him since she was less than a year old, he was not the most presentable member of her collection. Even with the help of magic, he was not quite as white and sparkly as he was in the first photos of her enthusiastically hugging him, and his stuffing had a tendency to bunch towards both ends leaving a soggy portion around his middle, however many times her parents redistributed it. But he was her favourite because he had been a first Christmas present ‘from Nathaniel’ and even though he, at around six months old, had obviously played no part in choosing it (or even been aware of its existence, or the existence of their first Christmas), Mr. Sparkles had always been described thus, and Sylvia thought of him extra fondly for this reason. She looked up at Simon, her green eyes wide and Very Sad about the Horrible Prospect of Being Ill. She let her lip tremble for just a second but then pointedly stopped it because she was Trying So Hard to Be Brave.

13 Sylvia Oh it's- horrible. Truly horrible. But I will be brave 1413 Sylvia 0 5

Winston Pierce

May 07, 2018 2:46 PM

Merry Christmas, Caitlin by Winston Pierce

Winston was not best pleased with the whole Quarantine thing. While it was neat to have Simon and Victor on hand for the holiday, he missed his mother and father, and Mt. Pierce in the winter. Certainly, there was the MARS rooms for ice skating, and the gardens even had sledding, but it just wasn't the same as at home. For one there, there were far too many people, to say nothing of the certain key ones that were missing.

At least that number was one less than it would have been last year. He made sure to sit next to his sister for the Christmas Dinner. He'd already spent a fair amount of the day with her, giving her his present (a nice little silver necklace with a Crotalus charm on it) that morning, but it was Christmas Dinner, and Christmas Dinner was for Family. Fortunately, Caitlin was probably who he would have missed the most anyway, had she not been at Sonora with him, so he supposed he was lucky in that respect.

He smiled at her as they escaped any kind of tedious speech, and just began filling up his plate with turkey. "I never much like the ham Great-Grandmother insists on anyway," he confided to her. "So this is a plus."

He smiled encouragingly, hoping to keep some of the Christmas spirit up and running for his little sister, even if they were trapped at school. "Did you have a good Christmas, Caitlin? Despite . . . everything?"

OOC: Also, no accidental magic yet, but Winston is infected, if you wish to choose to become ill.

1 Winston Pierce Merry Christmas, Caitlin 370 Winston Pierce 0 5

Simon and Nathaniel

May 08, 2018 9:39 PM

That’s the spirit. by Simon and Nathaniel

Nathaniel and Sylvia had, on examination, almost precisely the same eyes, but no matter how long they continued to do so, it never ceased to surprise Simon slightly whenever he noticed it. It was, he thought, something to do with the general expression of Nathaniel’s; his cousin often looked slightly distant, half-dreaming, his gaze a touch unfocused in a way Simon blamed on Aunt Cynthia - on the influence of her character on that of her eldest son, that was, not her influence on other aspects of his appearance, where the resemblance was undeniably most apparent and least disputable.

Usually, Simon was not a great admirer of this quality, but at the moment it occurred to him that never showing a lot of concentrated anything could have certain advantages to it - or else Nathaniel really wasn’t much bothered by the idea of even being seen with a Mount Ivory story in his hands in a semi-public place, much less reading one aloud, but Simon could scarcely imagine that was true even of Nathaniel. Even had the hospital wing (along with the rest of Sonora, really - it was sometimes exhausting) not been a semi-public place, the prospect of reading a Mount Ivory story would not have exactly appealed. Nathaniel, however, seemed unperturbed.

“I’ll give it a try if you feel like listening,” said Nathaniel, either insanely loyally or, it occurred to Simon, very carefully - he had had the illness, and perhaps had not appreciated Sylvia’s nursing efforts so much as he had pretended. If he thought she wouldn’t feel like listening, he was making a less reckless offer than it sounded like he was….

Simon was half-entertaining this thought when it came his turn to repent of doing a kindness. It was with effort that he kept his own face straight at the thought of the writing to their parents with a request which in any way involved the words ‘Mr. Sparkles….’

“I’ll see what I can do, Sylvie,” he managed. He had promised. He could not go back on his word.

He looked at the plates. “For now, I can’t say I’m sorry to see our own plates,” he remarked.

“They’re a very good copy,” agreed Nathaniel, and the glance he gave Sylvia, curiously, looked almost concerned. Why would the plates being a good copy be worrisome? “I don’t suppose the chocolate gateau we have at your house will appear too?” he added hopefully, and Simon allowed himself a chuckle.

16 Simon and Nathaniel That’s the spirit. 369 Simon and Nathaniel 0 5

Caitlin Pierce

June 02, 2018 10:58 PM

Merry Christmas to you too. by Caitlin Pierce

Caitlin wasn't sure how to feel about Quarantine. She missed her parents and grandparents of course and she was eager to hear her parents praise her accomplishments. The first year had done quite well on her schoolwork and she supposed she could consider her roommate a friend.

Besides, Caitlin had learned early on that how she actually felt about something wasn't as important as how she was supposed to feel. So she tried to force herself into the appropriate feelings and opinions of things and sometimes ended up feeling nothing about them. And even if she did, she couldn't very well express them anyway.

So, she supposed she disliked the Quarantine but at least, she still had her brother. Winston had always been the person she felt closest to and comfortable with. That was rather comforting.

In all honesty, however, it was slightly relaxing not to have to deal with Thaddeus, the Other Alicia and their brats. Or worrying about impressing Druscilla. Granted, of course, Caitlin was sure she and her brother could outdo babies .All they did was eat, sleep, cry and poop.

She was slightly concerned about the ball though. Not so much for herself, though it might be nice to go with either Sylvia's cousin or Beau Tate-Beau wasn't actually related to her he was only related to her cousin Bridget- or maybe Vlad Brockert,but more for Winston. Victor had beat him to asking Emerald Brockert to the ball.

Not that she necessarily thought Winston had any intention of asking Emerald but well, it would have been nice. Caitlin felt it was important to have the Brockerts on their side. They had tons of influence in pureblood society. Maybe he could ask Ivy?

The first year nodded in response to her brother's question. It was truly nice to be here with her brother. "Yes. At least we weren't alone like some people are. And I love my gift." Caitlin had gotten her brother the latest book in his favorite series. She took some turkey for herself, just for the novelty of having it for Christmas dinner.

11 Caitlin Pierce Merry Christmas to you too. 1415 Caitlin Pierce 0 5