Ann and Ann Apparel on Cascade Hall

DH Skies

May 21, 2018 9:54 AM

Formal ware sale by DH Skies

Spring was in the air, and it really did feel like a fresh beginning. With the news that those who had already suffered the illness would be immune, the quarantine had been partially relaxed. This brought with it some exciting opportunities, beyond the ability to let the live-out staff back off campus and the new Defence Professor in. Selina had also been able to locate a few retailers who had already had their turn at the virus. She knew that a lot of dress shopping plans had been dashed over midterm, and - as the students couldn’t still, as a whole go out - she was bringing the shopping to them.

The sale had been advertised both with posters in all Common Rooms, plus a reminder at breakfast that morning. Once the meal was over, the students had been ushered out, and the tables moved back to allow different vendors to set out their wares, and now dresses, dress robes and suits in every colour lined the room. She had tried to suit a range of style and budgets, although she was limited by who had already had the virus and was willing to give a day over to being in the school. Still, hopefully they would have a few satisfied customers by the end of the day. For those who didn’t find anything to their liking, there was always owl order.

OOC - you are free to write for vendors. This is just a fun space for some ball related prep!

Subthreads:

Here, because of my mom by Parker Fitzgerald with Dorian Montoir

Ann and Ann Apparel by Ann and Ann Pierce with Tatiana Vorontsova

"Just looking" isn't working out too well by Isaac Song with Kir McLeod

My mom is going to be so confused by Jasmine Delachene with Sylvia Mordue, Michael DiCaprio

I’m looking for something affordable but nice (tag Georgia) by Zevalyn Ives with Georgia Kirkly

13 DH Skies Formal ware sale 26 DH Skies 1 5

Parker Fitzgerald

May 22, 2018 4:12 PM

Here, because of my mom by Parker Fitzgerald

Somehow she had found out. Parker didn't know how, but his mother had found out there was going to be a ball. From her letters she was more than a bit excited by this. She also seemed sad that she wouldn't be there to take photos of Parker dressed up.

Parker could just imagine it now. His mom standing there taking a hundred photos of him standing there, while Parker grew hungrier or more annoyed that he couldn't just leave already.

His mom though had realized he didn't have any formal clothes. In her last letter she had said she'd sent along some money to buy some dress clothes for the ball, and begged him to have some pictures taken with his friends so she could have them. Parker honestly didn't know if there would be pictures, and if those pictures would be still or moving. And if they were moving would his mom be able to have them?

Parker also wasn't sure if he was going to the ball yet, since Cleo probably didn't want to go, and he didn't know who else he'd go with. Still, his mom hadn't been this excited in a while. Parker also wanted to please her and show her that it wasn't all scary at the school if Lyssa was coming there next year. So that's how Parker found himself in Cascade Hall walking past stalls with dresses and shoes, trying not to be seen. Parker was nervous at the costs of the clothes since he knew a lot of the students "came from money" and were " hoity-toity" to use his mom's terms.

He found a stall with men's clothes hung up and looked in. The man sitting in it had his nice brown shoes up on another chair drinking from a cup that left a bit of white foam on a large mustache.

Stepping into the stall to look at clothes, Parker could see that many of the suits had different colors running through them and he ran his hand across the cloth feeling their softness under his finger tips.

"Can I help you kid?" said the man standing up.

"Umm..." Parker was startled to attention, "I don't know what to get and I don't have much money..." Parker knew exactly how much money he had, but he didn't want to spend all of it, which he thought might be a distinct possibility here.

The man looked Parker up and down. Parker was used to people looking at him when he was on a playing field, or whenever he was walking near Cleo now (though those were mostly elves), and he'd never felt someone look at him like this. The man was appraising him. He tilted his head to the left.

"Are you a muggle-born?" Asked the man

"I... umm, does it matter?" Asked Parker getting defensive and feeling judged, those feelings leaking into his voice.

"Sorry, just trying to figure out what style you'd like. I've found that muggle-born's like certain styles and pure bloods like others. I personally like my own style," the man made a grand gesture down in front of himself.

He had a white shirt tucked into dark green and blue checkered pants, with a grey three button vest that shined or shimmered as if it had been made out star dust. The vest was long enough to cover his belt in the front but rode a few inches above in the back. All of this was accented with a bow tie that was a lighter green and blue checkered pattern that seemed to change every few minutes.

"Oh... umm, sorry. Yes, I'm muggle born," Parker said his voice getting a bit quieter.

The man pointed a wand toward a dresser to his right and it opened up with some clothes coming out of it and landing in his outstretched arm.

"No need to be sorry about being muggle-born kid," said the man handing the clothes to Parker, "Ever. Now go try these on."

Parker looked down and found blue dress pants a white shirt and grey vest in his hands. Looking up he saw the man pointing to a spot that had a curtain around it. Parker walked in and the curtain closed as Parker dressed in the clothes.

They were a bit loose as he put them on, but once he buttoned the vest and clipped the belt in they seemed to move into his body and became less baggy. Parker walked out, looking for a mirror. The man was back to his sitting position sipping his cup with one hand and a solid dark green tie in the other.

"I don't know how to..." Parker began.

The man nodded. Took out his wand and with some movements and some words the tie tied itself. Parker made a mental note to try to remember that spell later.

Parker turned around and looked at the mirror. Parker stood looking back at the reflection. If he had not seen the clothes in his hands earlier he would have assumed the boy standing in front of him was someone different. The image Parker had of himself had himself in jeans with messy hair. He looked almost mature wearing this outfit. Parker stood up a bit straighter.

The man spoke up behind him, "You clean up well kid."

Parker merely nodded. He was a bit afraid to ask how much this would all cost though.

41 Parker Fitzgerald Here, because of my mom 1402 Parker Fitzgerald 0 5

Ann and Ann Pierce

May 24, 2018 11:27 AM

Ann and Ann Apparel by Ann and Ann Pierce

Annabelle and Annette Pierce stood together at the booth for Ann and Ann Apparel. Annabelle had caught the disease afflicting Sonora (and a fair amount of the rest of the wizarding world) when she had been out at a client’s house for a consultation. She had then promptly shared it with her identical twin because they shared everything else: an apartment, a business, nearly every meal, some of their clothes and most of their accessories . . . so it was basically inevitable that they’d share the illness as well. Both Pecari alumni were now recovered and 85% caught up with the client backlog that had built up while they were sick (the fever had really been almost negligible- unpleasant, yes, but fairly short-lived with proper medication; the backlog was from the unfortunate side effect of one of Annette’s spats of accidental magic which had ruined a large order for a girl’s Quadpot team that was entirely too pink for her taste, offending her sensibilities every time she looked at the uniforms, and had consequently abruptly ceased to exist one day just as Annabelle was getting close to finishing the whole set and the critical pink mass had overwhelmed her as she walked into their shared office one morning.)

That order was now complete and delivered, and there were just a couple of consignments left on their plate, most of which should be done by the end of the week. So here they were trying to drum up a bit of extra business from quarantined students of their alma mater, which was really something of a blessing for them since their client base was still relatively small and they could use the exposure for their still new business.

Annabelle preferred designing and making ballgowns to wizard’s robes, so the former outnumbered the later in their displays, but they did make both. Though, really, they mostly specialized in custom and unique formalwear, so they were actually expecting to take far more orders for later delivery than they were expecting to sell any of their floor displays.

And since their gowns and robes were all handmade and custom, their prices were probably much higher than many of the other vendors present today, so even if they only got a few orders, they would count this whole venture back to Sonora a success. Annette was certain Annabelle’s designs would outshine anything made by almost anyone else here (she wasn’t sure if the Valois’ had sent a representative, but they were really the only competition she expected they might have for the students looking for something of the highest quality and latest fashion).

They waved to Winston as he passed by, greeting him pleasantly, but didn’t make a sales pitch toward their young cousin. They were already assured of his business and Annabelle would corner him to get final details about what he wanted for his robes before they left, but for now, they were here to fond new clients.

“Hello,” Annette called out the cheerfully to a student who had approached to get a closer look at one of their displays, “everything you see here was designed by my sister and is completely original; no two Ann and Ann Apparel gowns or robes are alike! If there’s anything specific that you’re hoping to find, she’d be happy to design something exactly tailored to your needs and tastes. Guaranteed delivery two weeks or more before the ball!”

Annabelle was the creative talent; she would get measurements and requirements and sketch out mockups until any client they found was completely satisfied with what they would be getting. Annette was the business manager. Today, it was her job to reel in those potential clients so Annabelle would have to opportunity to wow them.

1 Ann and Ann Pierce Ann and Ann Apparel 246 Ann and Ann Pierce 0 5

Tatiana Vorontsova

May 24, 2018 8:17 PM

There are so many ways this can go wrong. by Tatiana Vorontsova

It was, Tatiana thought, the strangest things which reminded her of how awkward and inadequate her English really still was. Her grasp on school words and vocabulary had improved immensely, along with words needed to converse with her friends, but when a sign appeared about the clothing sale, she had been forced to retreat into her Anglo-Russian dictionary to decipher most of it. She did not have many opportunities to use many of the words that were pertinent to understanding the message of the sign, leaving her in a wilderness of comprehensible fragments broken up by stretches of unfamiliarity.

Once she figured it out, however, she was pleased. When she had gotten to speak to her family, one of the things Mama had fretted about was how on earth they were to ensure Tatiana had something proper to wear for the Ball at the end of the year, as she grew so unpredictably that fittings were necessary. Perhaps in this manner, Tatiana could remove one concern from Mama’s mind altogether, all on her own. Wouldn’t that be a welcome surprise for everyone at home!

As she made her way to the event, the one thing that concerned her was that Mama might not like something Tatiana selected, if she did in fact select something. An issue which never occurred to her was money. In almost thirteen years, Tatiana had carried and used money only twice, at charity bazaars. She was old enough now, of course, to know that new dresses and jewels and hats and toys and books did not just appear in the girls’ rooms, but her mind had never made the link between the fact money existed and the fact that merchants might expect her to personally give them some, rather than sending a bill that Mama and Papa would handle (or sometimes even authorize a third party to handle) for her. Nor had it ever occurred to her that English-speaking companies might balk at dealing with her mama and papa even if they were familiar with the impropriety of a young lady using money, as Olga Vorontsova did not speak or read English at all and even her husband usually conducted household business such as paying for dresses in Russian or French.

She dressed simply for the event, but still pointedly to her own taste, enjoying the brief opportunity to appear in something besides plain green – in this case, a yellow linen blouse and navy blue skirt which fell to her knees and her ordinary flat dark shoes. She had pulled half her hair back in a filigreed barrette of silvery metal to show her ears, where she was wearing earrings composed of dark blue topazes set in a design of silver ropework, while the rest of her hair fell down her back in its natural light brown waves. Three golden bracelets were divided between her two wrists and she also wore three rings as she entered the Cascade Hall, staring around wide-eyed at the setup and trying to figure out if this was more like a charity bazaar or the occasions when people came in with lots of things for her or one of her siblings or some combination of them to pick between.

Spotting a large number of gowns which looked well-made, she wandered over just to admire them, though their styles were much too old for Tatiana to wear - Mama would throw a fit if she wore such long skirts at her age. As she did this, a grown-up lady said Hello. Tatiana, knowing this word, smiled and nodded as she would to an upper-level servant in someone else’s house, assuming this to be the kind of treatment one should afford to merchants of quality goods. There were more words: she knew there was definitely something about someone’s sister and…ananas? No – the English word was strange, started with a p-sound and was made up of the words for some tree and yabloki – pineapple, that was what they called them, not anananananan, or whatever the lady had just said.

“Thank you,” she said, forcing down as much of her Russian accent as she could but coming nowhere near sounding like a native, when the lady stopped talking, assuming this was generally a safe response, as she sorted through words and made sense of them. “I need dress. A dress for me.” Oh this language barrier! “I am not big. You have this?”

OOC: With many thanks to Kir for kindly reminding me of this: https://i.imgur.com/yYLho0J.jpg

16 Tatiana Vorontsova There are so many ways this can go wrong. 1396 Tatiana Vorontsova 0 5

Isaac Song

May 25, 2018 4:02 AM

"Just looking" isn't working out too well by Isaac Song

Staying over break during midterm hadn't been as horrible as he'd imagined it would be. Throwing that big Christmas Eve party and having an awesome Christmas dinner made things a lot less depressing and lonely. His mom and sisters had been really worried about him, but he assured them he was fine now. A little sickness hadn't killed him, although the accidental magic going around definitely did pose a possible threat.

The next thing he needed to worry about was maintaining his grades and possibly prepping for the ball coming up. Isaac wasn't opposed to them, but he just felt awkward when he thought about asking a girl to go with him. He wasn't super close to any of the girls here, and it would've been way easier if a girl asked him to go. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be working out too well for him.

Isaac went to the formal ware sale just to peek around. He wasn't necessarily planning on going if he couldn't find a date, but it wouldn't hurt to look. Besides, maybe he'd bump into a classmate without a date and he'd kill two birds with one stone.

The stands were all pretty colorful and he liked looking at the different styles. Isaac didn't own any suits, and even if he did, he wouldn't have bothered to bring it to school with him. He did like to look good though for his own sake. Growing up in a household full of girls had cultivated his eye for fashion, and he actually didn't mind shopping too much. He liked it a lot when he found something he liked.

"Oi, you there!" An older gentleman caught his attention and Isaac looked at him quizzically. "Yeah, you. C'mere. I've got just the suit for you."

"I, uh, I'm just looking," Isaac stammered, caught off guard.

"Come on, just try it on for fun then. What's your name?"

"Isaac."

"Isaac, it won't hurt to see how you look in it at least. Try it and then you can decide." The older wizard held up a three-piece burgundy floral suit with a blue polka-dotted bowtie. Isaac frowned. It wasn't what he'd go for ever. The man, sensing his hesitance, quickly waved his wand. "What about navy, then?" he asked. He tapped his wand against the bowtie, and it became red. Isaac hesitated again, but the suit looked a lot better in navy than burgundy.

"Okay, sure," Isaac replied, and took the suit to the tiny changing stall. He quickly changed into the suit, enjoying the feeling of it, and went outside to look at himself in a full-length mirror. As soon as he stepped out, the wizard clapped his hands together and almost squealed. Isaac was slightly alarmed, but he assumed he looked good by the old man's reaction.

"Take a look," the wizard said, guiding him to the mirror. Isaac took one look at himself and couldn't help but grin. Damn. "It's a modern look, so much better than those stuffy black and white looks, and it goes so well with your body type. It would need to be tailored, of course, but that'll be done in a jiffy. And I have the perfect shoes to match. All men need at least one nice suit in their closet. What do you think?"

Isaac hesitated again. "I really like it. It's just, I, um, don't exactly have anyone to go with."

The old man guffawed. "You won't need to worry about that with a suit like this. You can show up solo to the dance and girls will be attracted to you looking so spiffy. Then you don't have to worry about a date, you can dance with whomever you want. Ask your friends, I'm sure they'll agree you look great in it."

Even if the old wizard was just buttering him up, he was doing a great job. Isaac felt confident and he liked what he saw. It wasn't going to be a hard purchase to make, even if he only wore it once.

19 Isaac Song "Just looking" isn't working out too well 375 Isaac Song 0 5

Ann and Ann Pierce

May 25, 2018 9:03 PM

Let's try to reduce them by Ann and Ann Pierce

Annette's smile slipped for just a moment, but then she brought it back. She was going to assume most of what she had just said went over the foreign girl's head. Sonora seemed to be expanding its influence. There had certainly been some English kids around when she'd attended the school, but that was definitely not the kind of accent this girl had. She couldn't exactly identify what it was but she was guessing based on the overly simple sentence structure the girl used, that it didn't come from a country that spoke primarily English.

"Yes," she said, trying to talk slower and more clearly, "We make dresses for younger girls, too." The most prominent displays were aimed older students, partly because they cost more, partly because they looked more eye-catching, and partly because they were, well, bigger, and could be seen from farther away. "Come here," she invited, leading the girl to where they had some of the dresses aimed at younger pupils. Some were just less busty cousins of the older dresses, but some were simply designed with a younger sort of girl in mind.

"Annabelle, my sister," she pointed out her twin, who looked up, waved, and smiled when she heard her name, "She makes everything here. She can make whatever you want," Annette paused for a moment, knowing this was a longer sentence but not quite sure how to break it down into smaller ones, "even if we don't have it here today. We can owl it before the ball."

1 Ann and Ann Pierce Let's try to reduce them 246 Ann and Ann Pierce 0 5

Tatiana

May 28, 2018 10:21 PM

I'm giving it my best. by Tatiana

Younger. That was the word. Tatiana thought she would have recognized it on paper, but reading was so much easier than speaking, and she didn’t often have occasions to compare her age to other people’s in conversation.

She looked at the other grown-up when she was indicated, and was momentarily startled to see that she had the exact same face as the woman speaking to her. And a name which sounded at first like ‘Anna’ and then a bit like ‘white’. White Anna. What did that make the other one, then?

That, however, was not something she could dwell on – she had to first silently acknowledge White Anna’s silent, American-informal greeting and then figure out what White Anna’s sister was saying to her. Anna made things – that was simple enough. She would make what-ever Tatiana wanted – well, that was good.

“I understand,” said Tatiana. She tried to think how to communicate efficiently, pausing and looking over Annette’s shoulder as she sorted through words in her head. “I like this colors,” said Tatiana, pointing to her yellow blouse and blue skirt. “But – not so – black-blue for dress, if all the dress. Not the same blue for all a dress – like this.” She pointed to a lighter blue dress. “Here – “ she held out her arm and pointed to just below her elbow. “Sleeves. Wide. Here – “ she bent to point to her calf – “here the – long. This good?” She looked around for a neckline she liked, hoping she could just find that and point to it rather than trying to explain that.

16 Tatiana I'm giving it my best. 1396 Tatiana 0 5

Kir McLeod

May 29, 2018 9:41 AM

Nor is aimless meandering by Kir McLeod

Kir had been meaning to talk outfits with Zev but, as a broadly uninteresting topic, it had largely slipped his mind. He figured his best chance was to head down to the formal wear sale and try to catch her there. Not that he necessarily wanted to go shopping with her as such because… because it would be nice for her dress to be surprise? That was kind of true. But one of the few ways in which he conformed to stereotype on the whole gender thing was that he found the prospect of clothes shopping really, really dull. Unless he and Zev were going to sport the skulls of their enemies. Which he felt would be appropriate, given how they had met, but was probably quite unlikely.

He was wandering through when he was grasped firmly around the shoulders by a vibrantly dressed wizard who pointed him in the general direction of his stall, where Isaac was currently sporting a navy floral suit.

“Hey, tell your friend here that he looks fantastic, and come and get yourself something while you’re at it,” the wizard suggested.

“Hi Isaac,” he said, a little awkwardly, because in spite of the wizard’s suggestion, he and Isaac weren’t what he’d call ‘friends.’ He was more in the group of ‘person whose name I know because this is a really small school and it’s impossible not to.’ Not that he had anything against him, but they’d never exactly talked or got to know each other. Based on his experiences with Jozua, most guys weren’t super down with getting or giving compliments from or to other guys. Apparently it was ‘gay’ and apparently that was terrible, and whilst Kir didn’t want to perpetuate those ridiculous views, he also wasn’t sure how comfortable Isaac was going to feel about a strange wizard forcing one of his yearmates to compliment him, because it was frankly a bit weird even if you didn’t have weird teenage boy hang ups about what was acceptably ‘straight bro code’ behaviour. “Yeah, it’s a nice suit,” he agreed with the wizard trying his best to sound polite and neutral. He wasn’t even sure whether Isaac wanted encouraging or whether he needed rescuing. It was a fun suit, and it did look good on him, but this guy was definitely rather full on.

13 Kir McLeod Nor is aimless meandering 366 Kir McLeod 0 5

Isaac

May 31, 2018 12:13 AM

Non-aimless meandering doesn't sound too bad by Isaac

This wizard was pretty aggressive when it came to attracting customers, but it seemed to work. Isaac was still trying to figure out if he really liked the suit and would wear it outside of Sonora when the wizard left him. Isaac looked over and saw his classmate herded towards the shop a bit forcefully.

"Hey Kir," Isaac replied. It was kind of weird when situations like these happened with classmate/acquaintances. He felt bad that Kir was practically forced to compliment him. While he felt a little awkward receiving it, he nodded. "Thanks, but I don't know if I'm even planning to go. I mean, maybe I'll check it out for a little bit but it's weird to go without a date, I guess."

If his bros had been here, Isaac would've gladly gone with them in a group, but since that wasn't the case, he was less motivated to attend. "Anyway, it is a pretty cool suit. Super different than anything I'd normally get, but I like it. Are you looking to get a new one too?"

"We've got plenty of options here," the shopkeeper stated, gesturing towards his stock. "Pick anything you like. What about this?" He pulled out a sharp purple suit. "It comes in purple or red." The wizard waved his wand to change its color. "This cut is practically made for you."

Maybe Kir needed saving now, cause it was clear the shopkeeper had moved on to him. "I'll buy it," Isaac declared, snatching the wizard's attention again.

The old man beamed. "Incredible choice." He rang him up and persuaded him to add the shoes to it. Isaac really liked shoes, so it was an easy add-on. Afterwards, Isaac tried to gauge whether Kir was actually into getting one of the suits or not before attempting to save both of them from buying anything they didn't want to. "I've got to admit, he was pretty persuasive," Isaac sighed. "Sorry you had to, er, get involved. Where were you headed before he stopped you?"

19 Isaac Non-aimless meandering doesn't sound too bad 375 Isaac 0 5

Kir

May 31, 2018 9:32 AM

How about we aim for food? by Kir

Isaac seemed lukewarm on the idea of the ball, but relatively keen on the suit itself. Kir was about to encourage him further in his purchase, now that he knew he was interested and not just trapped in florals against his will, but the shopkeeper jumped in quickly, trying to get him to pay attention to the stock.

“I need to check with my date first. Or find something a plainer,” he answered. Isaac’s declaration that he would make a purchase had the wizard’s attention firmly back on him. Between having made a sale and Kir’s lack of obvious interest, the wizard seemed happy to let them move on.

“S’ok, I don’t scare easy,” Kir grinned, when Isaac apologised about the guy dragging him. “And it really is a cool suit. I just wasn’t sure whose side I was ending up on if I said that,” he explained. He thought he might have gone for something similar if left to his own devices, but he decided not to bring that up because it was impossible to do so without reiterating the point that he had a date and, as Isaac had seemed a bit self conscious about not having one (yet) that didn’t seem very nice. He shrugged in response to Isaac’s other question. “I wasn’t really. Just… kinda having a look around.” Ok, so he needed to find Zev at some point, but it wasn’t urgent - the sale was here for most of the day - and it might be fun to hang with Isaac for a bit and get to know him a little better. “Hmm, do you reckon the house tables are somewhere behind this lot, and do you reckon they’re still able to give us snacks?” he queried. The tables were usually obliging at any time of the day, but he wasn’t sure what effect being booted out of their usual positions would have had. On the one hand, breakfast had only been a bit over an hour ago. On the other hand, breakfast had been over an hour ago. And eating was definitely more interesting than shopping.

13 Kir How about we aim for food? 366 Kir 0 5

Jasmine Delachene

May 31, 2018 1:55 PM

My mom is going to be so confused by Jasmine Delachene

Jasmine had already been given a very lovely princess gown in the huge pile of presents Uncle Daniel had presented to her on Christmas day from her mother. She loved it - it was her favorite shade of pink, and sparkly, with a gauzy over-layer on the skirt part, and had basically everything she ever wanted in a dress. So the only problem she really had was that there were people selling lovely dresses at the school today, and Jasmine had no excuse to buy one.

Still, walking around and trying some on surely wouldn’t hurt, would it?

So here she was, admiring a wide range of dresses, all of them splendid, and wishing desperately that she could get one. To her surprise, an owl arrived for her only a minute or so after she thought that, in fact, it arrived in exactly the amount of time it would take for an owl in Sonora’s owlrey to realize a letter had been attached to its leg (despite no witch or wizard being around to do so) and then fly from there to the Hall where the intended recipient was.

Jasmine failed to notice that it was a school owl making the delivery rather than one belonging to her mother, but she did recognize her mother’s handwriting, even if this was one letter Holly Delachene had never penned. It read, “Sweetheart, your uncle told me about the dress sale today. Go ahead and buy yourself something nice. I love you so much and miss you dearly. Mom”

Jasmine saw nothing unusual in this missive, and let out a little squeal of delight.

This was the best day ever!

1 Jasmine Delachene My mom is going to be so confused 1397 Jasmine Delachene 0 5

Zevalyn Ives

June 05, 2018 1:32 PM

I’m looking for something affordable but nice (tag Georgia) by Zevalyn Ives

The worst part about the Quarantine was that this was the first time since coming to Sonora that Zev had actually caught up to her peers and she didn’t have to stay to study and practice magic. She could have finally had a real Christmas with her family for the first time in three years. The second worst thing was that she had plans to meet up with Georgia, go dress shopping, and maybe even introduce her best friend at home to her best friend at school and hope they got along.

The Quarantine made all of that impossible. Admittedly, it was nicer being at school over the holiday this year than the previous years. She still had her friends, and she wasn’t stressing over her academic progress. (She was starting to stress over her CATS, of course, but so were most of the fifth years, and this meant there were study groups meeting regularly over midterm and she’d gotten in more study time than she probably would have at home, but that hardly made up for the losses.)

The announcement of the formalwear wares sale, also mitigated the losses marginally, though Zev still wouldn’t have Amber to drag along for fashion advice. She would have dress shopping with Georgia though, and she was going to be happy about that much.

Of course, looking around at the array of stalls set up in the Cascade Hall, Zevalyn began to realize they were going to have to be careful about which ones they got too close to. “Some of those dresses look like they’d cost both my parents’ annual salaries,” she remarked in a slightly horrified undertone to Georgia. “And they’re scientists and engineers so they make good money,” she added, just in case Georgia didn’t already know that. She was exaggerating, she knew, but not by as much as she thought she should be. “How do we know which stalls are for sane people with good money management skills?” She had what she thought was a very generous budget for today, but she wasn’t sure it would go very far at all at some of these places.

1 Zevalyn Ives I’m looking for something affordable but nice (tag Georgia) 380 Zevalyn Ives 0 5

Isaac

June 06, 2018 2:30 PM

Food is always good by Isaac

The suit had ended up being pretty pricey, but money wasn't really a problem for Isaac. However, he could see why the old wizard was a little more desperate to get students into his shop especially before they saw the price tag. Isaac was glad Kir wasn't fazed by the shopkeeper. That guy was seriously trying to get business. At least he'd let them go without forcing Kir to buy something too.

He was glad Kir approved of his suit choice. Most guys would probably think it looked more feminine cause of the floral design, but Isaac didn't really care too much about that. He cared more about who he took to the dance--or didn't take. At the same time, he was too much of a coward to straight up ask a girl he wasn't close to, so going solo was a lot more realistic.

"Yeah, there are a lot of shops here. Nice of the school to do that, I guess." Isaac wasn't sure if he should split now and let Kir find his date, if they were meeting up to shop together, and head back to MARS and try to practice flying, which he still sucked at. Kir, apparently, had food on his mind instead, and Isaac was happy to oblige.

"There have to be house tables behind these. I mean, lunch is just in an hour or so," Isaac replied, more enthusiastic. "Snacks sound really great right now." Eating breakfast always made Isaac hungrier just an hour or two later. Despite his fast metabolism, he always gained a little weight while at Sonora since he didn't play any sports here.

It looked like there were still house tables pushed back with minimal snacks. Isaac frowned. "Do you think we can ask for more substantial food?" He didn't notice it before, but now that food was on his mind, he could probably eat a second breakfast.

19 Isaac Food is always good 375 Isaac 0 5

Sylvia Mordue

June 07, 2018 6:29 AM

Have a nice trip by Sylvia Mordue

Sylvia was a little unsure about the dress sale. It appeared that it was for everybody which meant she was skeptical about whether the wares on offer would be of a sufficient quality to suit her. However, given that the school was run by a Brockert, she wasn’t sure whether snubbing any school event therefore counted as snubbing a Brockert event. That was not something she was going to risk doing, even though it mostly seemed to be Deputy Headmistress Skies who informed them about things and she couldn’t imagine Headmaster Brockert having much to do with organising a dress sale, even if he had been one to be involved generally - which he wasn’t, he mostly just seemed to sit and glare, and give the impression that they should not misbehave, which Sylvia definitely had no intention of doing anyway. But still, there was no point taking that risk, especially as looking at dresses (if there happened to be nice enough ones) was definitely no hardship, and even if there weren’t, she could pity the poor people who had to shop there and enjoy thinking about how superior her own gown would be. She made her way to the sale, trying to be optimistic that the school knew its target audience and that anything even tangentially associated with the Brockert name would have some degree of respectability and class.

That hope was somewhat dampened by the site of Jasmine Delachene wandering around. Not that she had expected the lower classes to stay away but it was just unpleasant to be reminded again of their existence, especially Jasmine’s. Crotalus, for the most part, lived up to Sylvia’s expectations. There were just one of two people who spoilt it. Jasmine was one such person. She wasn’t anyone. Sylvia had never had the misfortune (for both of them) of speaking to Jasmine and finding out that she introduced herself as if she were, which would have really wound Sylvia up. She just objected to Jasmine on principle, and the fact that she was currently swanning around in a very princessy dress and cheap looking tiara did not help matters. Her taste was so tacky and costumey. If Jasmine had had the good grace to look cowed by her obvious inferiority, then she might have just about been bearable. That Cleo girl in third year seemed quite happy to keep her head down and try to pretend that she didn’t exist, which was how it should be. Jasmine, however, had the gall to strut around as if she belonged. Such a girl really needed bringing down a peg or two. And as this thought crossed Sylvia’s mind, Jasmine, who had been walking along quite happily, was about to collide with something, as if an invisible leg had been stuck out to trip her up.

OOC – Jasmine’s general outfit description provided by her author. Adjectives are Sylvia’s own.

13 Sylvia Mordue Have a nice trip 1413 Sylvia Mordue 0 5

Georgia Kirkly

June 07, 2018 10:01 AM

I'm looking for something that makes me look less fat by Georgia Kirkly

Georgia had been nervous enough about the thought of going dress shopping just with Zev. She had been looking forward to it, sure, because it was the kind of thing girls did in movies and teen dramas, and the fact that Zev had wanted to meet up with her over the holidays and shop together really really meant they were best friends. But she always thought everything looked awful on her, and Zev was so much skinnier and prettier than her, and she saw the way shop assistants looked at her when they thought she wasn’t looking. Or maybe even when they knew she was, because her feelings were a fat person’s feelings and that meant they counted for less. That prospect had been stomach-churning enough, but now they had to shop with the whole school watching. She knew that her classmates were going to end up with the chance to judge her choices eventually - when she was on display during the stupid prefect dance, especially - but having them witness the whole process too, all of the dresses that would suit her even less than what she ended up with, seeing her in everything that showed her bulgy stomach or made her butt look big…

She had waited for Juniper to go out. She had put on her makeup, even though she still wasn’t convinced she had the skills down at angling her blush in such a way as to make her face look thinner. At least she was sparklier.

“You are cute,” she told her reflection. “You have been kissed a boy, which is actually probably more than some girls here. He thought you were cute. No one is going to laugh at you. And, if they do, they’re not worth your time anyway.”

This little pep talk might have been a lot more effective had it not been for the recent Defence Against the Dark Arts class with the Boggart, which had transformed into exactly that - her peers making fun of her. It hadn’t included Zev, who she trusted, Or Juniper. But a handful of the other girls around their age… She hadn’t done a whole lot of making eye contact with them since that point. And she really didn’t want to see them now, or for them to see her. However, it really seemed like she didn’t have much of a choice.

She squeaked out a slightly-too-high ‘hello’ to Zevalyn, letting her friend do the chatting as they made their way into the hall, her stomach sinking even further as Zevalyn pointed out the other flaw. She had been so busy obsessing about her weight in relation to shopping that she hadn’t even considered the other downside of the whole school being there - some of her classmates came from serious money.

“Yikes,” she muttered, in response to Zev’s assessment of the situation. “Well, we avoid anywhere she’s going,” she nodded at the second year girl who seemed to be perpetually bejewelled, “And I guess just look for anyone who’s not looking down their noses at us... Fun.”

13 Georgia Kirkly I'm looking for something that makes me look less fat 346 Georgia Kirkly 0 5

Kir

June 09, 2018 12:35 AM

Refuelling by Kir

And, after fighting through the crowded bazaar, full of strange wares and stranger salespeople, you find yourself at a small but comfortable inn, offering light refreshments, Kir thought as, having navigated around the outskirts of the sale, they found themselves at one of the house tables.

“Toast, please,” he said to the nearest plate, and within a minute two slices had appeared. He began putting peanut butter on it from a nearby selection of spreads. “I discovered a while back that you can always get toast,” he informed Isaac, “If that helps at all.” Which it might, either if toast met Isaac’s definition of substantial, or if it gave him the confidence to try for something else. Kir knew that they were limited to ‘snacks’ outside of mealtimes, but that was something that had a pretty broad definition, depending on who you asked. He assumed that toast wasn’t kept out on the table because it would go to waste if it wasn’t eaten.

“So, have you had the bug that’s going round?” he asked Isaac as, besides the ball (which, he felt they had covered, in that it… existed. And required shopping) the illness plaguing Sonora seemed the most obvious topic of conversation. He couldn’t recall seeing any spectacular displays from him during class, but not everyone’s accidental magic was so in your face.

13 Kir Refuelling 366 Kir 0 5

Jasmine

June 12, 2018 3:45 PM

Grace under fire by Jasmine

The dress Jasmine was wearing was quite the opposite of the light and airy pink ball gown she had gotten for Christmas with hearts and sparkles on it. This one was black and kind of evil looking, unlike the rest of her dress collection, which tended toward bright or pastel colors, and were obviously aimed toward people wanting to dress like heroines, or damsels in distress.

This one looked like a fun dress; she loved it. She felt kind of powerful and dangerous just wearing it. So she bought it. She already had a more traditional one for the ball. This one was for her own enjoyment. Maybe she’d be an evil queen next Halloween. That could be fun.

Jasmine, who had been walking along quite happily with these thoughts, collided with something, as if an invisible leg had been stuck out to trip her up.

She toppled, but she was a cowgirl in real life, and knew how to fall safely and even gracefully. She executed a maneuver that looked a bit like the second cousin of a forward roll and was back on her feet a body length away from where she went down. Her first concern was for her dress, but it was well made and seemed to have survived the tumble without much worse than a bit of dirt and some wrinkles. Two waves of her wand fixed that. Then she adjusted her tiara, which had gotten knocked askew, but she’d need a mirror to check her hair. As that wasn’t immediately available, she turned instead to see what tripped her.

She saw nothing suspect in the vicinity of where she had fallen. Confused, she looked around for another explanation, because she was certain she had tripped on something other than her own two feet or her dress. Her deportment and balance were much too good for that, and she had distinctly felt some kind of unexpected object in her way.

1 Jasmine Grace under fire 1397 Jasmine 0 5

Michael DiCaprio

June 21, 2018 7:56 PM

Consider me impressed by Michael DiCaprio

There was absolutely no reason that Mikey should've been shopping at the sale. He hated going to the mall with his parents and liked to stick with the clothes he felt comfortable with until they literally couldn't be worn anymore. But he was independent for once, and it seemed like everyone else was going so he decided to check it out. Just cause.

Mikey didn't have dress robes for the ball--because who wore that sort of thing on a regular basis?--but he wanted to go because he'd never been to a ball before. His parents were pretty low-key and not a part of pureblood society, so outdoor family activities were more of his speed. He had all sorts of hiking gear, but no fancy-shmancy stuff.

As he looked through the sale in a plain shirt and jeans, he tried to keep his surprise in. These dress robes were expensive. There was no way his parents would let him buy any of this stuff on a whim. Not that he wanted to, anyway. It just would've been nice to come from money like some of his peers. His pocket suddenly felt heavy, and Mikey stopped to check. Inside was a purple bag filled with solid gold Galleons. Mikey was shocked; how had this appeared in his pocket out of nowhere? He picked one out, but realized it was too soft to be real. It was just chocolate, but maybe that was better than trying to explain how money had appeared out of thin air. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth; yup, definitely better than money.

Mikey decided to keep walking through to see if there was anything cheaper, and he noticed Jasmine among the other students wearing a tiara. Tiaras were such girly things to wear, but Mikey was surprised that he actually didn't mind seeing her wear one even if he thought it was silly. He was walking over to say hi when she tripped, and he quickened his pace. He had never watched a princess movie, but he had read fairy tale books where princes came to the rescue for princesses. Unfortunately, he seemed to arrive too late to be of any real help. Not that she needed it; she fell in such a graceful way that Mikey stopped in his steps for a moment to stare in awe.

The next moment, he hurried over. "Are you okay?" he asked when he reached her. It looked like she was trying to figure out what had made her fall, but Mikey himself couldn't see anything. "Where'd you learn to fall and roll like that?"

19 Michael DiCaprio Consider me impressed 1406 Michael DiCaprio 0 5

Dorian Montoir

June 22, 2018 10:33 PM

Ah. Hello there, my... friend. by Dorian Montoir

It wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t mean anything by it, Dorian tried telling himself as he walked away from the vendor. But people’s comments could still be irritating or unthinking whether they had meant anything by them. Could still get under his skin.

You’d suit a nice light blue. Set off your tan.

The main flow of students was still coming in, and he didn’t want to push against that or look like he was storming out because that would lead people to talking and - he just wanted some space for five minutes to calm down. He ducked into a stall where the vendor was already busy with another student, taking care to be as unnoticeable as possible. Unfortunately, the guy seemed to have some kind of sixth sense for people entering his store because he turned and asked.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?”

“No. I- I was looking for my friend,” he nodded towards Parker. The words were out of his mouth before he’d really thought about them. He just wanted to give himself some space to not be bothered by the shopkeepers for a few minutes.

“I see. Well, I’ll return him to you presently,” he smiled. Dorian hoped he’d just return his attention to Parker but the salesman seemed to be evaluating him, and Dorian wondered whether he’d blushed when he’d lied. He was a pretty terrible liar most of the time.

“Where abouts are you from?” the shopkeeper asked. And his tone was pleasant. Conversational. Dorian knew it wasn’t a judgement.

“Canada. Very exotic, right?” he replied. He had intended it to sound like a joke but he was aware as he said it that he hadn’t been able to keep the irritation and hostility out of his voice. But the English-speaking Canadians never got this. They could be picked up by their accents, sure. Sometimes they probably got teased a little. But they were barely treated as foreign. His accent was one of the few things that hadn’t been foreign about him back home. And now it was another reason for people to evaluate him, to call him out, to ask him questions. He wasn’t ashamed of any part of his identity but it would have been nice, just for once, to not be an outsider. But he was. Wherever he went, he was too much of something else. And yet, at the same time, not Asian-looking enough to avoid the careless blunders of people like the first guy. “Sorry,” he mumbled, his eyes dropping to the floor.

“No problem,” the salesman nodded. Ah, to be thirteen again and self-conscious about literally everything… Turning back to the one in the suit, he added, “Looks like your friend’s having a bad day. Why don’t you get changed, I can sell you your nice suit and then you can go join him?”

‘Sorry,’ Dorian mouthed at Parker when the salesman’s back was to him. He felt like he’d completely invaded Parker’s day. He regretted his hasty choice of words, which meant that Parker was now going to have to pretend to be friends with him, at least until they were out of sight of this guy. He turned around, moved to the part of the booth as far distant from Parker and the salesman as possible, trying to look intensely interested in some shirts and be as unobtrusive as possible.

13 Dorian Montoir Ah. Hello there, my... friend. 1401 Dorian Montoir 0 5

Jasmine

June 26, 2018 11:57 AM

Impressed enough to ask me out? by Jasmine

She saw nothing that could explain what had caused her to trip, but she did notice Michael DiCaprio rush up to ask if she was alright. He also seemed duly impressed by her ability to, if not stay on her feet, then at least get back up onto them with a minimum of fuss.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, smiling to prove the statement’s honesty. In fact, she was quite unharmed, and if anything, the spill she had taken was almost a hidden blessing as she found his chivalrous concern quite pleasing, and his question about how she’d learned to fall like that was almost flattering.

“I grew up on a flying horse ranch,” she explained her skill. “If you don’t learn how to fall properly, you can get really hurt if you get unsaddled. That was an easy fall,” she smiled with light humor, “I wasn’t falling from twenty feet up and no two ton equine was trying to land or step on me.” Granted, most falls happened on landing or take off, so being twenty feet up wasn’t usually a major concern. Even if it was, casting a cushioning charm would be a safer idea than just rolling with it, but a little embellishment never hurt anyone. Getting out of the way of two tons of horseflesh was still a very adequate incentive to learn to get back on your feet quickly. None of her precious horses would squish her on purpose, she was sure, but they usually had a lot of momentum behind them, and stopping short or dodging aside was a lot easier for a little girl than for a giant Abraxon.

“Have you ever ridden any kind of horse?” she asked curiously. “We keep a couple regular muggle ones, too,” she added, because she didn’t think ‘DiCaprio’ was a surname she recognized as being Society. She knew there was a muggle actor with the surname, sure, but she wasn’t going to assume a relation there. But maybe she’d ask her grandma if Leonardo had any related Michaels close to her age when she visited Hollywood this summer. They had been in a movie together, she was pretty sure, so she might know.

1 Jasmine Impressed enough to ask me out? 1397 Jasmine 0 5

Parker

June 30, 2018 2:38 PM

Everyone needs friends from time to time by Parker

Parker was still looking at himself in the mirror when the salesman said, "Looks like your friend’s having a bad day."

Parker turned around looking for Cleo. He was a bit surprised that she might be out in the Hall today, and if she was having a bad day, he might need to help get her out of there. His pulse quickened in anticipation.

His eyes fell on Dorian just as the salesman said, you can go join him .

Parker nodded as he was walked back towards the curtain area in a bit of a shock. He had felt his adrenaline kick in and now it was draining out of him just as quickly. He saw Dorian mouth Sorry and Parker just shook his head no and mouthed Don't be . He got dressed again in his regular jeans and as he walked out he caught sight of himself in the mirror again. His hair slightly messy from putting clothes back on, and again in his jeans, but he still felt odd. Like he had seen something else the first time and it wasn't rubbing off now that the clothes had changed back.

He walked up to the salesman who quoted him a price. Parker raised his eyebrows in surprised. Not because it was so high, but because it was less than he'd expected. Especially with how he felt he looked in the clothes.

"Thank you Sir," Parker said as he gave the man some of the money he had.

"My pleasure. And remember what I said. No need to be sorry, ever, you hear? Now go take care of your friend." He said with a nod towards the other end of the stall where Parker could see Dorian looking through some shirts.

Parker smiled to himself. He didn't know that Dorian had thought of him as a friend. Parker didn't quite think of him as a friend as they'd only really talked in detail that one time, he was more than willing to lean into the relationship if Dorian was interested. After all, if this year had taught Parker anything, it was that he needed to expand his friendship circle since Cleo might not always be available to hang out.

So Parker walked over to Dorian with a slight smile on his face and a bag of fancy clothes in his hand that was cheaper than he had thought.

"Hiya friend," he said walking up while far enough away so he wouldn't scare Dorian by coming up behind him too quick. "I'm all done here if you wanna go get a snack." Parker tilted his head towards the kitchen area. This year he'd learned a lot of new things about the school, but possibly the most important was that there were always snacks available. It had turned out to be a good thing since he'd found he'd simply gotten hungrier and hungrier as the year had gone on.

"Or if you don't want a snack and just want to get out of here, we can walk through the kitchen on the way out."

41 Parker Everyone needs friends from time to time 1402 Parker 0 5

Dorian

July 01, 2018 9:16 PM

And to tell little white lies by Dorian

Parker didn’t seem like he was mad at Dorian, which was good. His first feeling on realising it was Parker at the stall had been a sort of stomach clenching anxiety. In the one real conversation they had ever had, Parker had been nice enough to him – Dorian had even almost relaxed, although Parker’s thirst for adventure had had his guard going back up by the end of the conversation. Dorian no longer thought that Parker actively disliked him for being everything opposite to him, but he doubted very much that Parker actually liked him, and he was still somewhat on the intimidating side because Dorian sort of felt that the only reason Parker didn’t dislike him was because he didn’t know him well enough – he had not, as it turned out, hated Dorian on sight or on principal, but there was nothing to stop him wanting to beat him up once he became better acquainted with what a nerd and a freak Dorian really was. As Parker didn’t seem annoyed over this incident though, Dorian supposed it was good, in some ways, that it was Parker he’d run into. At least Parker was his own age, and it had been reasonable to claim to be looking for him. He tried not to imagine what would have happened if he’d casually called one of the seventh years his friend. Or if it had been Victor, around whom he felt impossibly self-conscious. Paker even played along whilst they were in earshot of the vendor, calling Dorian his friend. Dorian gave him a grateful smile, trying not to feel guilty at the reminder that he had used Parker.

Parker’s options confused him for a moment, because one of them seemed to involve going to get a snack even if he wasn’t hungry. That one also involved leaving, which he knew he shouldn’t do yet - he still needed to go shopping. Anyway, what Parker was saying probably didn’t matter because it was just for show… Once they were out of earshot of the vendor, Parker could just ditch him and go about the rest of his day.

“Probably stay,” he answered, “So, uh, snack here,” he answered before they stepped away from the stall and began making their way through the hall towards the snack tables. Whilst he had been looking through the shirts, he’d been trying to find the words in English he would need. Even though Parker had mouthed something back to him, and seemed ok with the situation, he still felt he hadn’t apologised properly. “I am sorry to… to make you be my excuse?” he said hesitantly. “I am not really sure how to say… But for doing that, and interrupt your day,” he tried to explain.

He tried to think whether he owed Parker any further explanation about why he had just done that. He probably did. But he had been unable to imagine how to articulate it. The first time they’d talked, Parker had wanted to keep his own problems to himself, and proper boys didn’t spend a lot of time talking about their feelings. He couldn’t imagine an explanation that didn’t make him sound overly emotional and weak.

“I get annoy by someone,” he explained, because annoyance and anger were allowable feelings, much more than hurt and sadness, and they were true enough in this case. “I figure your guy is busy with you and I can just… have space for a minute.” He wasn’t sure that Parker would get it. He was a Pecari, and so outgoing. Did Pecaris ever want a break from other people? It was hard to picture. But he felt it was the best way he could explain without over-sharing.

13 Dorian And to tell little white lies 1401 Dorian 0 5

Mikey

July 03, 2018 8:03 PM

Well, I am but a mere first year... by Mikey

Mikey had ridden horses a few times in his life, but he was more of a city boy. Still, he knew there were ranches all around Denver, including magical ones, he just didn't know anyone who lived on one. "That makes sense," he said, thinking how scary it would be to fall off of a horse. Even falling off of a miniature-sized one would hurt.

"Yeah, I visited a horse ranch a couple years ago with my family and we got to ride horses there. They were winged horses, mostly gray-ish ones. I've ridden muggle ones too before then, but it's a little bit harder knowing where to sit when they don't have wings. We went to the ranch cause my uncle was visiting and needed to learn how to ride a horse for some play he was in. He's an actor in Los Angeles, mostly in magical plays, but I'm not allowed to watch them yet."

Apparently they were adult plays that Mikey and his brother would be bored by. It was cool to receive playbills and posters with Uncle Oliver's face on them, though.

Even though Mikey's dad was a pureblood, they never really talked about family heritage or anything like that. His paternal grandpa had died a long time ago, way before Mikey was born, and his grandma had struggled with poverty most of her life until recently. Mikey had met quite a few affluent classmates here, but he knew pureblood didn't automatically mean rich and famous. But with a pureblood family on one side and a muggle-born with her muggle family on the other, Mikey thought he got the best of both worlds.

"What's it like growing up on a horse ranch?" he asked curiously. He'd always wanted to grow up with a pet, but it was too much work for his busy parents. "Do you have your own pet horse?"

19 Mikey Well, I am but a mere first year... 1406 Mikey 0 5

Parker

July 23, 2018 10:29 AM

No lies here. by Parker

Parker hadn't thought there might be snacks here in the Hall. It made sense though so Parker nodded to Dorian and began to walk with him.

Parker quickly realized after listening for a bit that Dorian seemed to feel guilty for interrupting his suit purchasing. Which seemed odd as Parker didn't think Dorian had done anything wrong, nor really interrupted anything. Parker had still bought his suit. That was all he needed to do.

"No worries Dorian. You didn't interrupt my day," Parker replied with a smile. He had hoped that Dorian would feel less guilty, and had found smiles had a way of making people feel more comfortable. They walked a bit more in silence. Though Parker wasn't one to be silent for long, he understood the need for it from time to time, so was happy to walk the length of a stall or so in silence.

When Dorian spoke again, things started to become clear. Though momentarily hurt that Dorian didn't think of him as a friend just yet, or at least wasn't seeking him out, Parker was surprised.

"Wow. That's actually a smart move. I understand needing space for a minute. After my brother would get... umm" Parker momentarily got quiet, "I would often need space and go outside to get away from him."

Parker kept walking next to Dorian for a few seconds before realizing that Dorian might not want him around. The thought made Parker a bit sad, but if Dorian needed space, walking with Parker might not give him the space he needed. Parker though now had an urge to befriend Dorian.

"If you still need space, I can go get a snack by myself and let you get on with your day. Or we can go find something good to eat together and I can distract anyone you don't want to talk to."

41 Parker No lies here. 1402 Parker 0 5

Dorian

July 28, 2018 5:47 AM

I'm not really sure any more. It got confusing by Dorian

Parker really seemed ok with it. Which was a relief. Parker seemed, generally, to be quite nice. Perhaps this was not the most dramatic revelation. Most people seemed to feel that ‘nice’ was a banal word, devoid of much personality or even any real complimentary powers. But until the point, Parker had intimidated him quite a lot, so even if ‘nice’ was not a staggering and insightful observation that revealed a real connection with Parker’s true personality, it was definitely an improvement in how Dorian felt about him. He felt better that he hadn’t made Parker mad at him, or somehow done something else stupid, and that sense of relief also let him let go of a bit of the wound up feelings he’d had before.

Parker seemed to start to try to explain something about his brother and needing space, but he stopped abruptly. That piqued Dorian’s curiosity. It sounded… rather familiar. Except he was forever retreating inside, - up to the attic, or finding his mother, to keep clear of Matthieu. He searched for something to say. He wasn’t sure he was reading what Parker said correctly though. Maybe he was just assuming, based off what it was like for him. Didn’t people take space from their siblings all the time? Siblings could be annoying, for example. Or just want to do different things. Just because Parker didn’t want to be around his brother all the time, did not mean that said brother was beating him up. There was also the fact that, even if they did have it in common, he wasn’t exactly sure he was supposed to bring it up. It certainly wasn’t a subject he liked discussing. What were they going to do? Sit and swap stories of places they’d been punched? As common ground went, it was embarrassing and awful. He hadn’t even told his friends that much about Matthieu because it involved bringing to light all those things his brother saw as his defects.

“Space can be good,” he agreed, feeling that Parker was doing his best to drop the subject and deciding it would be kinder to let him. If he’d let something slip about Matthieu, he would have preferred that. It was easier to pretend that Matthieu didn’t exist - or, if forced to admit that he did, just to pretend that nothing was wrong.

“I would like to eat snacks together with you,” Dorian confirmed to Parker. He neither really needed a snack, nor needed space any more - at least he didn’t think so. The confusion of trying to work out whether he had intruded, and on how to talk with Parker had thoroughly distracted him from his annoyance about the tan remark. He was less in a bad mood now, and more just… a bit bewildered, though some of that came from navigating the conversation with Parker himself, because he was unfamiliar and that was tricky. Still, maybe if they got a snack together, Parker would become more familiar, and then it would be easier in future. Which might well happen given that Parker seemed… nice.

13 Dorian I'm not really sure any more. It got confusing 1401 Dorian 0 5