Introductions on Sandbox

Jane Doe

January 01, 2018 4:43 PM

Introductions by Jane Doe

Jane Doe stepped off the wagon, tucking her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ears. So, this was it. Sonora. Her brown eyes scanned her surroundings, taking it all in. Having grown up with a Muggle father and magical mother, she had known for her whole life about magic, and that one day she would be attending school here. Her dad had known it too, as her mother had explained it all to him when they got married, but she still thought he found it hard to understand or accept sometimes, particularly with the fact that she had to go away to attend school. She’d overheard him and her mother arguing about it. It had to be really hard on him… He could only ever participate in the wizarding world from the sidelines, as an observer, but the older Jane grew, the harder it was for him to keep up with his Muggle friends - to explain the strange things that sometimes happened around her, or why she was off to boarding school, or where and what exactly that school was…

Deciding not to dwell on missing her dad, or her parents’ arguments, she tried instead to focus on her new school, and perhaps making some friends. Spotting someone else, she made her way over.

“Hi,” she smiled. “I’m Jane. It’s exciting to finally be here, isn’t it?” she asked. In spite of her worries about her parents, she couldn’t deny that fact. She had spent her whole life hearing about magic and seeing her mother do it, and now she had her own wand and would get to try it all for herself.

[Out of Character note from the author: welcome to Sonora! You can trial run your character by replying to this post. Remember that as an author, you know more than your character - your character only knows what he can see of Jane and what she has said out loud, so he won't know her background or thoughts about her family. Please write at least 200 words in your reply]

13 Jane Doe Introductions 0 Jane Doe 1 5

Anonymous

January 01, 2018 8:32 PM

Re: Introductions by Anonymous

Chrystopher took a deep breath as he stepped off the wagon. He was nervous for his first day, first encounter with the people he would be spending his time with for the next couple months. He needed to make a long lasting impression on his fellow classmates. 'Make powerful friends, they will be your connections later on in life.' His father's words ran through his head. His father wasn't there to see him leave for school, yet again on another mission, but he sent his regards. His siblings were all at home, not allowed to come and make a scene, knowing his siblings they would have separation anxiety for a week since they always spent time with their big brother. Chrystopher worried about his mother and if they she could handle the triplets. His mother was developing a drinking problem from all the fights she had with his father whenever he was home. He shook the thoughts out of his head as he focused on coming out of his shell and making friends, long-lasting friends.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair and then smoothed it over into a clean fashion. He needed to keep up his pureblood etiquette. He took another deep breath and shoved all of his fears into the back of his mind, being anxious wouldn't help him.

He managed not to jump as he heard a voice to his left, greeting him. He looked over to the voice and smiled brightly. He hoped she wouldn't point out the scar that ran down his left eye, he was always insecure about it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Jane, my name is Chrystopher Mathilde heir to the noble Mathilde line." Chrystopher replied exactly the way his mother taught him. He lowered his head as a respectful greeting and extended his hand for the girl to take.

He didn't recognize the girl from any of the pureblood parties that his mother had forced him to attend, so she must be a half-blood or a muggle-born. That or she was a pureblood from another country. Chrystopher was forced to study all of the pureblooded families in America, one of the first things his father made him do when he was younger. His father taught Chrystopher that he needed connections in the world and learning all the families that can get you connections is well advised.

0 Anonymous Re: Introductions 0 Anonymous 0 5

Jane Doe

January 02, 2018 7:49 AM

Excitement by Jane Doe

Jane’s eyes travelled over the boy’s face, lingering slightly on the scar. It was obvious that she had noticed it, but she decided it probably wasn’t polite to ask, even though she was kind of curious about it. Magic could heal almost anything, in her experience, and even the few times she’d been forced to slow down and use Muggle ways of healing, like if her mother was away or she was staying with her dad’s family, it wasn’t that bad. Just really boringly slow.

From the way he introduced himself, it was pretty obvious he was Pureblood. And probably the kind of Pureblood that really cared about it. She knew that there were such people in the world, and that some of them might look down on her for her mixed heritage. She had been brought up to think of this as their loss - there were lots of wonderful things and wonderful people in both worlds, and if people chose to shut themselves off from that, they were missing out. Even though she knew this in theory, it was still a bit daunting to come face to face with someone who might actually start treating her badly for who she was. Still, he extended his hand to her, even though she hadn’t claimed to be part of any great family. Perhaps his parents had the common sense to teach him that getting uppity with people he’d have to live with for the next seven years wasn’t a great opening move. She reached out and shook his hand.

“This is exciting, isn’t it?” she asked. “I can’t wait to start using my wand.”

OOC - thanks for the long, detailed reply. It gave a good insight into your character and his thoughts and feelings. I’m also the author of DH Skies, so I’m going to let this exchange run for a few posts, and then we can pick up again by email to talk about anything that’s come up. Just one quick note - make sure you’ve responded to everything the other character has said. In her first post, Jane said “It’s exciting to finally be here, isn’t it?” and you didn’t give any reaction to this. Don’t worry about going back and correcting that (I’ve put more or less the same question again for you to have another go this time) but just keep an eye on it in future. Also, fill your character's name in the author box, and if you would like to receive an email alert when you get a reply, enter your email address (but don't click 'show email' as that will make it public).

13 Jane Doe Excitement 0 Jane Doe 0 5

Chrystopher Mathilde

January 03, 2018 2:04 AM

The Amazement of Sonora by Chrystopher Mathilde

Chrystopher gave her a dashing smile as excitement filled him, the nervousness still there but the excitement and adrenalin was superior.

"You haven't used your wand?" He asked surprised. He thought that every magical child had used a wand before they got to school, just to see how it was or if you were a pureblood, you would actually be casting spells before everyone else.

"The first spell you cast from your wand is so powerful. You feel the magic coursing through you as you channel it into the spell. It gives you a magic high afterwards, well it did for me anyways." He said with a small laugh, remembering back when he was seven years old and first starting learning magic. Is mother was the one who taught him his first spell. She wanted to have that first with him before he learned from his private tutors. It was a basic spell that every child learns first, but it special because his mother had taught him.

He also remembered how short he was and that his feet couldn't even reach the ground when he sat on a stool. Thank god he had a growth spurt.

Chrystopher looked up to Sonora School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. It was really something to marvel at. Chrystopher thought his manor was huge, but compared to this place Mathilde Manor was a bug.

"I can't wait to explore the grounds." Chrystopher said as he studied everything about the building in front of him. He felt the magic vibrate in the air, the building was so thick with power. He couldn't wait to see every aspect of it.

0 Chrystopher Mathilde The Amazement of Sonora 1485 Chrystopher Mathilde 0 5

Leilani-Alana Akau

January 03, 2018 7:48 PM

A New Home by Leilani-Alana Akau

Alana looked around nervously as she stepped off the wagon. She was one of the last to disembark, and she mostly kept to the sidelines. Despite her cheerful nature, she was very quiet and shy, and kept to herself. People had to befriend her to draw her out of her shell.

Alana suddenly noticed a girl and boy somewhere around her age conversing near her and she perked her ears. She of course knew that eavesdropping was rude, but the temptation was too great to resist.

"I can't wait to explore the grounds," said the boy. Alana finally drew on her hidden reserves of courage, and approached them.

"Hello," she greeted nervously. She hoped that they were friendly and not stuck-up like the other magical children she'd met when she had gone to buy her school supplies. "My name is Leilani-Alana Akau, but you can call me Alana. Are you excited to go to Sonora? I am! I've been waiting on tenterhooks ever since I was accepted. What House do you want to be in? Oh, dear, am I talking too much?" She trailed off. She didn't want to scare the poor things away already! She internally. Keep this up and you'll never make any friends, she told herself.

And, oh, how she wanted friends! She had always known that she was a witch - her mother was one, her brothers, as well - but she could tell none of her friends. And slowly but surely, they began to turn on her, to call her a freak, to tell their mothers that Alana was a witch (of course, they had no idea exactly how true that statement was; they thought it an insult). Even though they meant it to be cutting and rude, Alana never thought of her magic as a curse, even if it drove away her only friends and prevented her from gaining new ones.

But now...now maybe she could make friends. Friends who knew what powers she has. Friends that can relate.

18 Leilani-Alana Akau A New Home 1408 Leilani-Alana Akau 0 5

Chrystopher Mathilde

January 04, 2018 5:28 AM

Sonora's Houses by Chrystopher Mathilde

Chrystopher was drawn out of his thoughts of his new home by a new voice entering the conversation. He saw that the girl was around his age and by the way she talked, she was a first year.

She did talk a lot, but he didn't blame her. It was probably her nerves and excitement combining. She probably wouldn't be excited about Sonora when her homework would start piling on top of each assignment. That's how school always turned out. Excited about the change and then dreading having to actually work. He was lucky enough that his tutors made it fun for him to learn, so he excelled. Hopefully the Professors here would be the same.

He then heard Alana mention the houses here. His parents, who both attended the school, would not reveal their houses to him until he got sorted himself.

"I think everyone is excited to attend this wonderful school. I also haven't looked into the Houses. I wanted to be placed in a house based off whoever the person, or thing, sorting us decided, not based off my prejudgment of other houses. I want the sorting to be a reflection of who I am, not what other people have told me or of where my parents were sorted." Chrystopher replied. He then mentally smacked himself for not starting off with a greeting like he was taught.

"Ah, sorry, let me introduce myself, Alana Akau. My name is Chrystopher Mathilde, heir to the noble Mathilde line." Chrystopher replied and lowered his head and extended his hand, the same greeting and respect he showed Jane.

0 Chrystopher Mathilde Sonora's Houses 1485 Chrystopher Mathilde 0 5

Jane

January 04, 2018 7:19 AM

I know what I'm not by Jane

You haven’t used your wand?

Jane was pretty taken aback by the surprise in Chrys’ voice. No, of course she hadn’t, because that was illegal at their age. She wasn’t exactly surprised that he had - she had long suspected that Purebloods took scant regard of the rules, after all they didn’t interact much with the Muggles who were the reason rules like that existed. But she hadn’t expected him to flaunt that fact in her face. Much less had she expected to feel embarrassed - and his surprise did embarrass her, like she was somehow lagging behind, just because her family couldn’t afford to flout the law. She was about to point some of this out when they were interrupted by a third person joining the chat. She bit back her response to Chrys, deciding that walking in on an argument wouldn’t be very welcoming for Alana.

“Hi, I’m Jane,” she greeted, “And I’m really excited to be here too, don’t worry,” she added, giving the other girl a smile, as she seemed kind of nervous about her own enthusiasm.

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” she admitted, when Alana asked about the houses, in spite of Chrys seeming to be against that. “I think it’s only natural to wonder about it… But I really can’t make up my mind which one sounds like me. I don’t think I sound like an Aladren though. I mean, I do okay at school and I like it, but it’s not… like, my main thing. But I don’t know what actually is. How about you?” she asked.

Out Of Character - Chrys, just wanted to explain Jane’s comments about it being illegal to use magic outside of school, as that’s something that’s established in canon in the HP books. However, that doesn’t mean what you wrote it wrong - I’ve often expected Purebloods do things differently and can get away with more.

Alana and Chrys - As there are now three people in the thread, we take turns and post in the same order each time, so it will now go Alana, Chrys, Jane each time. This is because authors are in different timezones/have different amounts of free time, and otherwise one person can get left behind.

Also, please remember this is a practise thread, so the things that happen here won’t have really happened for your characters when they arrive at Sonora. Feel free to stop by chatzy to get to know some of our other authors and hang out. There will also be new challenges and other threads popping up on the sandbox in the run up to the term, so keep an eye out.

13 Jane I know what I'm not 0 Jane 0 5

Alana

January 04, 2018 3:17 PM

Response by Alana

Alana was looking around the grand building, taking everything in — the shrubbery, the amazing academy... she felt so lucky to be here! Despite her brothers having been magical, her mother hadn’t been sure that she would be, too. They had both been amazed when Alana showed her first signs of accidental magic, even though it had come at weird times. It didn’t come when she was mad or upset; instead, she blew things when she saw something she liked. Thank goodness she had grown out of that power!

Alana breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the boy was a Pureblood, he seemed friendly enough. She beamed at them. “Well,” she began slowly, “I don’t know much about the houses, really. Mum’s a witch, and she went here, but she didn’t want to tell me about any rivalry between them so I’d be nice to everyone no matter where they were sorted. I like to think that I might be an Aladren like her, but I’m not really sure, though. Anyway, where are you both from? I just moved here from Hawaii. I’m definitely going to miss the ocean in the desert!” She paused for breath, and crossed her fingers that she hadn’t been babbling.

(Out of character: Sorry for the short post. I’m running out of possible things to say. Can one of your characters ask a question so we have a new topic to talk about, please?)

18 Alana Response 1408 Alana 0 5

Anonymous

January 05, 2018 1:34 AM

Re: Response by Anonymous

Chrys was caught off guard by Jane's surprised look about using magic. Every pureblood child was taught magic and it was a big part about growing up. He went through his mind and tried to think of a situation where using magic as a child wasnt allowed. And then he mentally smacked himself, yet again. He remembered reading in a book that it was techically illegal for underage wizards to use magic out of school. The only reason why pureblood children did it was because they were able to deal with the repercussions of the broken law, while the other wizarding families couldn't afford that luxury.

He wanted to say something to Jane, apologize, but he didn't want more people to find out since it was illegal and he didn't want to get his family in trouble.

Chrys listened to the replies of the girls about the Houses here. He hoped that he would be in a house with either of them so he would at least know somebody in his house, but then again it would be good to have connections in other houses.

He then heard her talk about Hawaii. He went on vacation there once with his mother when he was little. His father was supposed to join them, but a work thing came up and he was unable to go. Not wanting to waste the trip, Chrys and his mother went together. It was really a beautiful place. They stayed on the main island and were able to rent a cottage that had a private beach. It really was beautiful there.

"I've been to Hawaii before, it really is brilliant. Such a beautiful place to live. I live in Southern California, about an hour South of the beach so I'm used to hot, which is exactly what Arizona is going to be." Chrystopher replied. The weather in California sure was sporadic. It was 30 degrees at 6am and then 90 degrees at 12pm.

"I can't wait to start attending my classes. I want to see the Professor's takes on the subject. Hopefully they're all passionate about their subjects. What class are you guys looking forward to the most? For me, I'm looking forward to Potions. I love the way the ingredients flow together and the swift and precise motions of mixing the ingredients together." They were also a lifesaver when his mother was very ill during her pregnancy with his younger siblings, the triplets. After his mother was saved because of the potions, he wanted to make sure he could make them so he could always help his mother and his younger siblings.

0 Anonymous Re: Response 0 Anonymous 0 5

Jane

January 05, 2018 7:17 AM

Favourite subjects by Jane

“Great, can I count on your help for tough assignments then?” Jane joked, giving Alana a wink when the other girl said she thought she might wind up in Aladren.

“I’m from here in Arizona,” she answered. “Maybe it sounds silly, but I didn’t want to be too far from home. Even though we have to stay here, and even though we can just whizz home in a second if we have to… My dad’s a Muggle though, and he was bothered enough about me going to boarding school. I think he’d have really lost it if my mom tried to send me to the other side of the country,” she explained. “You’re lucky to live right by the sea though, that’s really cool.

“Probably Charms,” she answered, when Alana asked about subjects. She couldn’t quite share Chrys’ enthusiasm for Potions - it took way too much precision and concentration. “They’re the spells I see my mom use most - quick little flicks that just make life easier. Though I’m really excited for Care of Magical Creatures too - getting to be all up close and personal with animals I’ve only read about! Well, and seen a few times at the Magizoo, but this will be even better,” she enthused. Her mom had always read her picture books with moving pictures of magical animals when she was little. Special books, secret books that they kept out of sight of other people. As she’d grown older, she’d read more about the animals in her mother’s books. She was absolutely tingling with excitement at the thought of those pictures being real, living creatures in front of her, and not on the other side of a fence, but actually there to touch and play with. “How about you, Alana?”

OOC - don’t worry Alana, you’re doing fine!

13 Jane Favourite subjects 0 Jane 0 5

Alana

January 06, 2018 7:36 AM

Looking forward to... by Alana

Tilting her head, Alana thought for a minute. What did she really want to learn? She had heard all about the Wizarding world from her mother when she was growing up, and had been excited to see it for herself and learn about it...but she had no idea what to expect, now that she was here in person.

"Well," she said thoughtfully, "I'm actually looking forward to all the classes. I think Potions may become my favorite subject — at least with what I've heard about it from Mum. I look forward to Charms, as well, Jane. Maybe we could study together? Truthfully, I think I'm hyped for every class. Well, maybe not flying," she added, grinning sheepishly. "I'm not so good with heights. Give me a book or a sketchpad any day of the week!"

Alana had never liked heights, even from someplace sturdy. Flying on a broomstick? Fifty feet in the air? No, thank you! She would much rather read or craft...

The reason why she loved Potions was because, as a child, she had been awed by what the small vials of liquid — albeit usually foul-tasting — could do. Alana had often helped her mum brew them in the kitchen at home, and loved watching the fumes rise up in colored clouds.

OOC - it's hard trying to keep up with the minimum for posts....Also, I wasn't sure if it was my turn or not xD

18 Alana Looking forward to... 1408 Alana 0 5

Leslie Poe

January 09, 2018 4:49 PM

Greetings by Leslie Poe

Leslie stood off to the side, took a loose curl of dark red hair behind his glasses, as he look around him wonder. Despite the obvious small group of new students near him, he didn't join them for the sudden flash of fear that ran through his bones. It wasn't that he was afraid exactly but there was only so much a person could take before they snapped. Heck, a few weeks ago he didn't even know magic existed! He was only ten after all, and after the event that shall not spoken of, which involved a hoodoo priestess during a trip to New Orleans two years ago he and his parents decided it was best not to think of it.

Looking back to the children as they discussed what seemed to be either magic or classes, he quickly cooled his expressions, forcing faux happiness into his mood. If wanted to make friends, which would be hard considering he only had one friend in his life and an girl at that, he would just have to suck it up and hope that his 'newness' wasn't too obvious.

Straightening his back he walked over to the trio, proper etiquette that was instilled into him by his parents sense they adopted him, drilled into his brain for a formal greeting.

"Hello, how do you do? My name is Leslie," he told the nearest person who happened to brown hair.

-(OOC- Hey everybody, I don't know much this is but I hope this is good enough =D)

17 Leslie Poe Greetings 1407 Leslie Poe 0 5

DH Skies

January 11, 2018 1:41 PM

OOC by DH Skies

OOC - Hi Leslie.

Welcome, and yes, your post is definitely good enough!

However, I don't think this thread is very active any more and, if it is, it might get a bit crazy with four people. So, I'm going to move your post and respond with another character. I will edit your post a little bit, so that it makes sense in that scenario - this isn't because anything was wrong with what you wrote, but just so you have a fresh thread to work with, and thus plenty of chance to post with someone.

13 DH Skies OOC 26 DH Skies 0 5