Ooh, a competition on Charms

Josiah

March 01, 2007 9:10 PM

Charms Club by Josiah

Josaih placed the lists of names on the table in front of him. The amount of names were depressingly slim. Seven, not counting himself, to be exact. He had talked to Professor McKindy beforehand and his list of spells shrank as well. Oh well, at least the Professor would be on hand if something really bad happened.

On the table were various objects such as a quill, an orange, a rock, his full book bag, a broom, and other such objects. They were arranged from lightest to heaviest. Next to the table were three gift bags with various goodies, candies and treats. He picked up his wand off the table and twirled it between his fingers.

"Lumos," he said firmly. His wand-tip obligingly flickered into life. He grinned and said "Nox," but his wand didn't listen. It flickered, but stubbornly stayed lit. "Oh come on! First my broom, now you? Seriously, are my things out to be mean to me? Nox!" The wand, as if afraid of its owner, went out as fast as it could.

He jumped at the sound of approaching feet. He saw his group begin to trickle in. His group. That sounded nice! He hoped that some people who didn't sign up showed up anyways. He waited a few minutes for any stragglers.

"Okay... um... thanks for showing up," he began lamely, "Umm, well, today we have four spells to try. The first is a review from the first year's class, Wingardium Leviosa," He smiled sympathetically at the groans and eye rolls from a few of the people present, "It Isn't going to be as easy as it sounds guys. It's also a competition. Whoever lifts everything on this table, first try, wins. But it's going to be kind of tough, cause the heavier it is, the tougher to lift. The first time you fail to lift it, you're out. Make a line, one at a time. Your prize is one of these gift bags. Mother's treat." He pointed first at the table, the the gift bags.

He then held up a pillow stuffed with feathers. "Okay, just pull a feather out of this pillow to practice while you're waiting in line," he ripped one of the seams and pulled a feather out, waving it in the air. He tossed the pillow on the ground by the table, a few feathers fell out. "Okay guys! C'Mon, It'll be so much fun!" he said spreading one inviting arm, "Have at it!"

OOC: Thanks so much you all for participating and making my idea work. Any ideas for next meeting? Post it to me in the OOC will y'all? Thanks! Happy posting! \n\n

Subthreads:

A competition? I dunno... by Hyana Kamiya with Josiah, Hyana

Ooh, a competition by Nathalie Grant with Gwyneth Aquillon, Jae Dimitri

trying to fit in by Talitha Cumni with Hyana Kamiya

Late, and wondering if I should really be here. by Elly Eriksson with Josiah, Elly

I have returned from the dead! by Hikaru Kasuragi with Professor McKindy, Irene

Okay, time for part deux by Josiah with

AAAAND...the winner is: by Josiah

0 Josiah Charms Club 0 Josiah 1 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 01, 2007 10:16 PM

A competition? I dunno... by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana held her puffskein, Chiyo, close to her, hoping that Josiah would be allowed to bring Teppers to the meeting. She was nervous. She had never been in a club before. She had played on the quidditch team...that was it. You couldn't really call it a club. No one on her team liked her anyway...

She shyly walked in the charms room and stood in her little corner she had claimed in their first charms lesson. It's where she could melt away...disappear. Josiah seemed to be nervous as well when he started out his introduction. Hyana let her hair fall over her face. She knew how to do Wingardium Leviosa, so this would be fun. She wouldn't have to worry about looking like a moron in front of everyone else.

"It Isn't going to be as easy as it sounds guys. It's also a competition." She heard Josiah say. Hyana shrank back. "Whoever lifts everything on this table, first try, wins. But it's going to be kind of tough, cause the heavier it is, the tougher to lift. The first time you fail to lift it, you're out. Make a line, one at a time. Your prize is one of these gift bags. Mother's treat." Josiah finished. When everyone else was in the line, she walked up to Josiah.

"J-j-josiah-kun?" She stuttered in a whisper. "Do we have to participate in the competition?" She turned red. "I don't mean that I don't want to...I just...I just..." She couldn't continue. She was ruining the whole mood of the club.\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya A competition? I dunno... 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Josiah

March 02, 2007 1:30 PM

It'll be fun! by Josiah

Josiah was pleased to see the people walk up to the table. Wow, maybe his idea would work out fine! He twirled his wand in his hand while he watched, occasionally rubbing his family crest that was burned on the hilt. He glanced up and smiled as his friend came up to him. The smile faded slightly when he saw how nervous she looked.

"J-j-josiah-kun? Do we have to participate in the competition?" She turned red. "I don't mean that I don't want to...I just...I just..."

He threw an arm over her shoulders, "Don't you fret none, pretty lady," He said in a pretty good imitation of a southerner, "Big brother Josiah will keep them all from being jealous of your amazing talents and storming you for your treats." He winked flirtatiously at her.

"Don't worry, I saw you in class," He said more seriously, "You did the spell fine, here," he handed her a feather, "Just practice if you're nervous,okay? It's never as bad as it seems. And if you mess up, who the heck cares? I won't let anyone tease anyone else, even if they are three feet taler than me!" He hugged her and took his arm from her shoulders, "But I can't make you do it if you don't wanna. After all, remember what happened last time I tried to teach you," he laughed.\n\n

0 Josiah It'll be fun! 0 Josiah 0 5

Nathalie Grant

March 02, 2007 2:37 PM

Ooh, a competition by Nathalie Grant

Nathalie had been expecting a few more people to turn up to the Charms Club, but she was somewhat relieved to find only a small group. She loved Charms, and she liked people, in theory, but she had no desire to be watched by too many people just in case something went wrong.

She looked around the group as the guy at the front - Josiah, she thought his name was - introduced the club and today's challenge.Wingardium Leviosa? Oh, well, she could do that. She'd done well in the lesson, she thought, and there were prizes to be won - sure to make her work harder. The objects did look fairly heavy nearer to the end, though, so she decided to practice first, and let someone else be the first person. She picked up a feather, dumped her bag on the floor, and laid the feather carefully on the desk.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she muttered under her breath and then, more loudly, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather drifted upwards slowly as if caught on a breeze and she smiled broadly. "How're you doing? I'm Nathalie." She said, directing her smile towards someone standing nearby.\n\n

0 Nathalie Grant Ooh, a competition 0 Nathalie Grant 0 5

Hyana

March 02, 2007 3:51 PM

If you say so by Hyana

Hyana felt Josiah throw and arm around her shoulder and she stiffined. She should've been used to Josiah by now...but that was really hard. "Don't you fret none, pretty lady," He said in a pretty good imitation of a southerner, "Big brother Josiah will keep them all from being jealous of your amazing talents and storming you for your treats." Josiah winked at her. She felt herself turn even redder than before. Josiah was just a little too much.

Then he said that he saw her perform the charm in class and that she did it just fine. He continued by saying that he wouldn't let anyone tease her and then he brought up the last time he tried to teach her with a laugh. She laughed too.

"Yeah...that didn't turn out too well." She said, taking the feather from him. "I guess I could do it. It does sound like a lot of fun." She smiled at him. Josiah was terrifying...but he wasn't that bad. He definatly knew how to make a girl feel better.\n\n

0 Hyana If you say so 0 Hyana 0 5

Gwyneth Aquillon

March 03, 2007 9:08 AM

Boooo, a competition by Gwyneth Aquillon

Gwyneth had joined the Charms Club with some trepidation. She did want to become better at Charms, and all other aspects of magic really, now that she had learned some of her family's history. But she was worried that she would be the only first year there and would be out of place. When she entered Professor McKindy's classroom, she was relieved to recognize the faces of a few other "firsties" from classes.

She listened carefully to the boy in the front of the classroom. 'He must be Josiah, the kid who put up the flyers,' she thought. She was a bit surprised that she didn't see Professor McKindy as faculty advisors were always present at club meetings at her old school, but perhaps he would make an appearance later to check how everything was going. Gwyneth was glad that the first activity was to review the Levitation spell they had learned in class. She had practiced it since then and was pretty confident that she would be able to "lift" the lighter objects on the table. She just wondered how well she would do on the heavier ones.

The girl standing next to her had already started with a feather. That seemed like the best thing to do. Practice on the lighter objects and work your way up to the heavier ones, as Josiah had told them to do for the competition. Gwyneth didn't really care about a competition with the other students. Not that she was being snooty or anything. But Gwyneth was always more interested in competing with herself than with others.

She took out her wand and lightly ran her fingers down the vines engraved on the teak wood. She hoped she would do her Grandmother proud. After all, this had been her wand once, before she gave it to Gwyneth. When the girl beside her asked how she was doing, Gwyneth pointed her wand at a particularly bright pink feather on the front desk and said, "Wingardium Leviosa" firmly. The feather in question rose up into the air as Gwyneth raised her wand higher. Smiling slightly to herself, she levitated the feather over to the desk she was sitting at. 'Not bad, kiddo. Practice has helped,' she thought.

"Gosh, I wasn't trying to show off," she said to the girl who had introduced herself as Nathalie. "It's just that this is one charm I have been practicing since our first class and I wanted to see if I could lift the feather from a distance." Blushing slightly and hoping the girl wouldn't think she was some kind of a big, geeky show-off, she smiled shyly and said, "My name is Gwyneth. Gwyneth Aquillon, first year Tepp. It's nice to meet you, Nathalie."

\n\n

0 Gwyneth Aquillon Boooo, a competition 0 Gwyneth Aquillon 0 5

Jae Dimitri

March 05, 2007 1:43 PM

What's a competition? by Jae Dimitri

Jae dropped his bag at the door and practically flew through the air as he saw Gwyneth. Hugging her tightly from behind, he grinned happily. It was amazingly madcool that she was here. He wondered if Mika would come. But if he didn't, Gwyneth was okay too.

"Hi Gwyn!" Jae chirped happily. "How's your Sloyka? And your books? I haven't seen you for ages and ages and ages! What are you doing over midterm? Did you see Mika? What House are you in? Did you go to the Quidditch game? I didn't. I played in the gardens instead." Jae let Gwyneth go and bounced around in front of her, noticing the other girl. "Hi! I'm Jae! Who're you? What're we doing?"

Jae bounced in place, perilously close to knocking his wand, perched behind his ear, to the ground. He was wearing his usual cargo pants and a large sweatshirt with "I brake for butterflies" emblazoned on it. He had arrived late, and had absolutely no idea what was going on. He noticed that there was a door open in one of the classroom walls, and there was someone sitting at a desk on the other side of the door. He guessed it to be Professor McKindy, since there was a pink bubblehat on the desk, obscuring his view.

For once, Jaeven was not accompanied by a veritable zoo. His cat and sloyka were snoozing in the boy's dorm, although there was fur all over one sleeve of his sweatshirt.\n\n

0 Jae Dimitri What's a competition? 0 Jae Dimitri 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 06, 2007 12:37 AM

trying to fit in by Talitha Cumni

Talitha quietly entered the room hoping nobody would really notice her and wishing somebody would be glad to see her at the same time. The problem with being painfully shy was that while she desperately wanted to fit in and have friends, the thought of actually approaching others was terrifying to say the least. She hadn't signed up for Charms Club, but Mother wanted her to try to get involved in something other than classes, so she thought she might try it.

"Don't be so stupid." she chided herself. "Nobody's going to bite you."

Josaih was just beginning his introduction as she blended into the group. As he explained the competition, she brightened. If she did well, the others might be impressed enough to really like her. On the other hand, they might think she was a show off. Still, she was determined to do her best and not look like a squib.

Still working up the courage to overcome her shyness, she watched the others try their hand at performing the Wingardium Leviosa charm. At least the feathers were all flying well. Everybody was smiling and having a great time. She may as well try, what could it hurt?

Talitha drew out her wand and stepped up to the table. She wanted to do well so badly. She wanted to fit in somewhere. Her hand shook. Now this was really dumb! She could perform the charm just fine in class, there was no reason to be nervous now. She glanced around. Nobody seemed to be looking at her, good. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath and "It" happened.

The tingling warning in the back of her neck let her know that something was going to go wrong, it never failed. Suddenly, every object on the table lifted about two inches from its suface!

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Talitha silently commanded her magical handicap. All the objects dropped back down, the rock with a clump and the bookbag with a heavy thump.

She looked around at the faces of the members of the rest of the club. They were all staring at the stuff on the table. Good. Nobody was looking at her, blaming her. With any luck no one would know "It" happened to her again. Pretending to be just as shocked as the others, she stared at the table too and crossed her fingers.
\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni trying to fit in 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Elly Eriksson

March 06, 2007 11:08 AM

Late, and wondering if I should really be here. by Elly Eriksson

Having spoken to Josiah and seen the listed pinned in the Pecari commons, Elly knew it was likely that the only students who would attend the charms club were first years. This on its own was enough to put Elly off attending the meetings, but coupled with the difficulty she always had in picking up new spells was almost enough to encourage Elly to resolutely position herself in the furthest possible place from the charms classroom. Yet this was the exact opposite of where she was now standing. Elly peered round the door into the classroom and her suspicions were confirmed: every single student in there was in first year, and shorter than her by a considerable degree. Plus, she was late – they had already started doing spells, which meant that Elly had missed Josiah’s introductory speech and mention of the charms they were supposed to be performing. Elly was poor at charms, and a phenomenal friend, and these were the two factors that compelled her to commit herself and actually step into the room.

It was her liking for Josiah more than anything that had made Elly’s decision to attend the club. She knew he was fond of Teppers and running the club would allow him to keep his puffskein. She also knew that he’d had difficulties finding charms for the club, and Elly had every intention of helping him locate some suitable spells. Finally, provided she had already mastered the charm, Elly thought she might be able to demonstrate it to the younger students. It was true that she was awful, probably the worst in her year, at picking up new spells. Once she had cast a spell successfully, though, it continued to be successful every subsequent try.

As soon as she had made that initial step, Elly felt immeasurably better. She immediately spotted Josiah, his orange mop standing out as obviously as she knew her own did, and she headed over to him. “You got your collection of groupies, then?” Elly said, slinging her arm around Josiah’s shoulders and nodding towards the other students. “What're we doing this week, then, teacher?”
\n\n

0 Elly Eriksson Late, and wondering if I should really be here. 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 06, 2007 6:01 PM

At least I'm not the only one by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana held her feather close to her, and opened her mouth to talk to Josiah when some girl walked up to him and started talking. It was like she wasn't even there. She believed that girl to be Elly...so why not let them talk. She was a much better conversationalist than Hyana could ever hope to be.

"I'll...talk to you later Josiah." she managed to get out before running away, listening to the two of them talk. Like she hadn't even been there. She stood away from anyone else and let the feather drop to the ground. "Wingardium leviosa..." She whispered, without any confidence. The feather twitched, and stayed on the ground. She couldn't do the spell anymore...why would she even think of joining the competition? Hyana turned to look at the other students and saw the most amazing thing. Everything on the table lifted high into the air! That was so amazing. Only a really powerful witch or wizard could do something like that. She looked around at everyone else to see that they were just as amazed. Everything landed again, and Hyana let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. She walked up to another girl she hadn't seen around, her raven hair falling over her face.

"H-hi..." she whispered. She secretly wondered if she could be heard by this new girl. She wasn't able to be heard by Josiah or Elly. "Did you see that? It was really cool. My name's Hyana...what's yours?" She clutched her wand so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. She half hoped that the girl didn't hear her. She wanted to leave the club. She didn't fit in with anyone there.\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya At least I'm not the only one 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Josiah

March 06, 2007 7:10 PM

Aww, you'll have fun in part two, promise! by Josiah

"Bye Hyana!" Josiah said oblivious as to his friend's upset state as she left. He turned to Elly. What a sight for sore eyes! Her red hair was... shorter? Yes, he hadn't noticed that in the library. It looked good on her. A nice contrast to Hyana's oriental locks. Both were nice in their own ways.

Josiah laughed lightly at her joke, but then blushed slightly at the name of 'teacher'. He wasn't a teacher more of a...okay so technically he was a teacher. But still, it was odd being called such, even in teasing.

"Glad you made it Miss Elly! We're doing Wingardium Leviosa, but that should be really easy for you. We're trying to see who can lift every object on the table, in order, left to right, lightest to heaviest. They seem so... well they don't seem to have confidence, do they? They're all practicing. You can too, if you'd like, just take a feather. Later I got a really neat trick I've been practacing all week! Hikaru, my roomie, told me about it. Just you wait!" He gave her a small wink.

"Sorry you're the only one here in second year. I tried to get Caedence, but she wouldn't come. Said something about hitting me repeatedly if I ever talked to her again. All I said is someone as pretty as her couldn't stay away from my club cause she's so talented she'd excell. Said she'd hit me! Can you believe that?" He smiled in a mock-sad sort of way and shook his head.\n\n

0 Josiah Aww, you'll have fun in part two, promise! 0 Josiah 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 06, 2007 7:55 PM

Safe So Far-what are others thinking? by Talitha Cumni

Talitha glanced over at the girl who spoke so quietly to her. She looked about as shy as Talitha felt. So far nobody else seemed to realize it was her fault everything went for a ride. Whew, maybe she dodged the bullet after all.

"Hi. I'm Talitha." she responded, pushing the hair the stubbornly refused to stay in her braid away from her face. She looked up at Hyana, eyes innocently wide. "Maybe it was a ghost." She said a little louder hoping it would start a rumor that would explain her slip.

Wait a minute! She said it was cool! Nobody said her accedents were cool before! At home, they were always looked upon as something to be embarassed about... Kind of like the equivalent of a Muggle child her age who wet the bed. What others thought...\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni Safe So Far-what are others thinking? 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 06, 2007 8:07 PM

How about: that was really cool! by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana felt the girl's gaze upon her. Darn, she had been noticed. Of course. That's what she got. The girl seemed shy too...maybe she was meeting someone like her.

"Hi. I'm Talitha." The girl replied. "Talitha..." Hyana whispered, testing the name through her slight Japanese accent. "That's a pretty name." Talitha messed with her hair and then said, "Maybe it was a ghost." Hyana had to think for a second what she was talking about. What was a ghost? Oh, the stuff rising from the table. Hyana felt rather stupid, forgetting her own question.

"A ghost? Maybe. I thought someone else might have done it. That person would have to be a really powerful witch or wizard though..." She trailed off. She cast a glance at Josiah to see that he didn't care that she was gone. But who would? "So..." She said, wanting to continue the conversation with Talitha. She didn't want to be alone again. "What house are you in? I haven't seen you in Aladren. I'm a first year..." She added. Well of course she was a first year! What fifth year would look as small and weak as her? Here's the answer: none!\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya How about: that was really cool! 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 06, 2007 10:24 PM

whew... (nm) by Talitha Cumni

0 Talitha Cumni whew... (nm) 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 06, 2007 10:54 PM

whew... by Talitha Cumni

OOC: accendently hit enter

BIC: So... she switched the subject. Good. Somehow Talitha felt that she felt she'd met a sort of kindred spirit. Well, that made Hyana safer to start with than the popular girls. Maybe before the night was out, she could truthfully write to her mother that she'd actually made a friend.

Strange... at home, everybody knew her and liked her. She could talk to everyone, no problem. Being the Medicine Woman's daughter made it hard to remain anonymous. If she had actually wanted to come here, things might have been different. If she wasn't so worried about "It" happening, things would have definitely been different.

"I'm a first year too. I'm in Crotalus." Wow. Two sentences and no stuttering. That has to be a record. She ventured to add a bit more. "I'm from the Pacific Northwest...the Seattle area." She saw the pretty oriental girl staring at her medicine bag.

"I'm Native American, the Suquamish Nation." She fingered her medicine bag. On cue her spirit guides showed up. Good thing no one could see them but her or things would really get crazy. Owl perched on Hyana's shoulder. Talitha could trust her.

Squirrel was too busy playing with a kindred spirit. He ran up and down Jae's body. Sometimes playing with his sparkling diamond stud, sometimes digging though his blond dreadlocks. Squirrel liked him, that's for sure! Inwardly, Talitha laughed to herself. Good thing nobody could feel them either!

Fox wasn't happy a all. He focused on Josiah, his teeth bared and hackles up. Rude boy. Like most boys just... just... full of themselves. He totally forgotten about his club to flirt with the red headed Second Year. Glancing over at her new friend (?) she could see the hurt in her eyes. She liked him. Thank Mother Earth and Father Sky she still was convinced that boys were the scurge of the planet, especially the good looking privleged ones.

"A bit full of himself, isn't he?" she commented to the air. Then she turned to Hynana, suddenly finding some of the courage she'd lost the day she was sent South. "Where are you from? What's your favorite class? What teachers do you like? Think we can win this contest without Mr. Stuckup watching?..." Blushing, she realized how much fun it was just to chat, "...Sorry, I'm talking too much, aren't I?" \n\n

0 Talitha Cumni whew... 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Gwyneth

March 07, 2007 6:46 AM

It's a game, sort of by Gwyneth

Attacked from behind, Gwyneth stiffen immediately when grabbed. Then she heard YAY's voice and relaxed the slightest bit as she listened to his non-stop, run-on commentary and questions. As he continued to talk, and eventually let go so he could bounce around her talk to her, face to face, she actually smiled. She had forgotten how "annoyingly" perky he was and was surprised that she had actually missed it!

She surprised herself even more when she impulsively leaned over and hugged YAY back! "YAY! I didn't know you were in this club! Did Mika'el sign up, too? You are as bouncy as a Tigger!! I didn't keep my puffskein, did you?" Trying to answer all his queries was impossible, so she just focused on the important ones, friends and animals. If he wanted to know more, YAY would ask.

Gwyneth turned, still smiling at his energy, to introduce YAY to Nathalie. "Nathalie, this is Jae. I met him in COMC class. He is a bundle of energy and a . . . I believe the word is, madcool, friend." She caught Nathalie's eyes and tried to convey the message, "Yeah, he is a bit weird, but a nice, harmless weird!"\n\n

0 Gwyneth It's a game, sort of 0 Gwyneth 0 5

Elly

March 07, 2007 4:16 PM

There's a part two? Sounds ominous. by Elly

Elly noticed the other girl leave and head over to the other students. She recognised her as Hyana, the girl Caedence had been working with and the Aladren Keeper. Elly looked back to Josiah to see him blushing at being called a teacher. That made Elly laugh – she thought it was ironic that as flirtatious as Josiah was, he blushed so easily.

Josiah told her that they were doing Wingardium Leviosa. That was one spell that Elly knew she could do without a problem. “We're trying to see who can lift every object on the table, in order, left to right, lightest to heaviest,” said Josiah. Elly glanced at the table, but noticed the other students were practicing with feathers first. It was kind of cute, really, she thought. Surely they had already learned this in their charms lessons? Elly knew she could lift all the objects on the table without much effort, and thought that taking part in the competition would be unfair on the firsties. Though as it stood, the first years weren’t taking part, either. “They don’t seem to have confidence, do they?” Elly chewed her lip.

Then Josiah told her that they’d be doing a spell he’d heard from Hikaru. Elly couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy at this news. Hikaru had developed a bit of a reputation for getting into trouble, and although Elly had never met him herself, she wasn’t keen to try any spell he’d recommended. She didn’t say anything, though, because Josiah said he’d been practicing the spell all week, so it was probably safe enough. Besides, she didn’t want to be a spoilsport.

Elly didn’t really mind being the only second year, and she could have told Josiah that asking Caedence was a no-go. “She said she’d hit me! Can you believe it?” Josiah said smiling.

Elly smiled back. “Yeah, it sounds like something she’d say,” she said, laughing. Elly glanced round the room again. “Erm, I don’t want to seem like I’m taking over or anything, but maybe I should, erm, maybe go around and try encouraging the others or something?” She really didn’t want to make Josiah feel belittled, but perhaps she could motivate the others to take part in his competition. Also, that Hyana girl was looking a bit upset that Elly had disregarded her while she spoke to Josiah. She didn’t mean to, and if Hyana hadn’t walked off then Elly would have introduced herself. Still, there was time to fix that. "What do you think?"
\n\n

0 Elly There's a part two? Sounds ominous. 0 Elly 0 5

Josiah

March 07, 2007 10:20 PM

Especially since it came from hikaru? by Josiah

Josiah nodded. He jumped slightly when the objects on the table all made a thump. "See that? Odd..." he mumbled looking around for who had done it. No one else seemed to notice besides Hyana and some girl who was very pretty, but he didn't know. He noticed that Hyana looked kind of upset. What happened? Did that pretty girl say something mean?

"Yeah, I'd apreciate it, Miss Elly. You're so nice to me," He flashed her a smile, "Just remember that I need to see you again sometime before midterm, okay? So I can get Custard and take him home with me?" He looked at Hyana again, feeling angry at the nameless person that made her upset. Little did he know that person was himself.

"Would you...umm...talk with Hyana please? She doesn't look very happy.." He said looking at her with pleading eyes, "Before you help the others? I want to get set up for the second part. Need to find out how to get it dark in this stinkin' place." he laughed, "Trust me on the spell, it's neat! I just hope I don't mess it up and look dumb..." he added looking at his wand and silently praying that it would work for him.\n\n

0 Josiah Especially since it came from hikaru? 0 Josiah 0 5

Hikaru Kasuragi

March 08, 2007 5:25 PM

I have returned from the dead! by Hikaru Kasuragi

Hikaru smiled as he stepped back into the charms room. It just felt awesome being in here! He noticed the small group of people who had come to the meeting. It looked like Josiah had worked really hard to get everything set up and there were only seven people here!

Hikaru listened to what Josiah was saying and looked at the feather and pillow he had been handed. So the object is to lift everything on the table? Big deal! He thought to himself as he flicked his wand out of his holster.

Hikaru just thought of the spell Wingardium Leviosa and the feather hovered a few fett off of the pillow. He then properly set the feather down and got in the line of people who were attempting this feat.\n\n

0 Hikaru Kasuragi I have returned from the dead! 0 Hikaru Kasuragi 0 5

Professor McKindy

March 08, 2007 6:10 PM

OOC by Professor McKindy

Welcome back from the dead, then!

Let me just remind you that we don't learn nonverbals until sixth year. And...you're just a tad bit short of that goal, I'm afraid. So if you could remember to use words for spells, just for a few more years? That'd be lovely. Thanks!

*grins* Enjoy charms club!\n\n

0 Professor McKindy OOC 0 Professor McKindy 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 08, 2007 6:22 PM

I can't think of a subject so I think I'll whistle by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana listened to Talitha, absorbing everything she said. She was a first year as well, and she was in Crotalus. Now she had a friend from every house! Well...she couldn't really call Caedence a friend to her face. She might punch her. Her eyes fell upon Talitha's bag, it looked like a medicine bag?

"I'm Native American, the Suquamish Nation." Talitha said suddenly, like she was trying to find a way to explain her bag. "Really? W-wow! I think that's really cool." Hyana finished lamely, a blush creeping across her face. Cool...wow...what other lame things could she come up with? She calmed down, however, and looked up at Talitha to see her staring around the room. Before she could ask, though, Talitha commented:

"A bit full of himself, isn't he?" Hyana blinked a couple of times out of confusion. "Who...J-josiah?" she asked. Sure, Josiah was...Josiah, but he wasn't that full of himself. She glanced over at him, and watched Josiah flirt with Elly. She sighed. Okay, he was extremely full of himself. But he was still her friend! She focused back on Talitha to get attacked by a stream of questions.

"Ummmm..." she tried her best to answer. "I'm from New York City....my favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures...I like Professor K...and McKindy...and I don't think I could win the contest...you have a much better chance than I do. And no, you're not talking too much." All of a sudden she felt something move around on her shoulder. She forgot that her puffskein was with her! "Oh, Talitha, this is Chiyo, she's my puffskein." She was happy! She was making a friend!

OOC: Thank the lord for research papers giving me a chance to sneak on the computer!\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya I can't think of a subject so I think I'll whistle 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 08, 2007 7:23 PM

whistle away by Talitha Cumni

Talitha smiled her first real smile since she got here and it felt great. More and more she felt like her old self. Hyana was so nice and so unsure of her abilities. Being the daughter of a Healer and spiritual leader gave her a natual tendency to forget her problems and try to help. Besides, Talitha owed Hyana for not screaming and running when 'It' happened. "I still can't believe she thought it was cool!" she thought.

"Your little friend's cute." Talitha scratched the puffskien and giggled at its purr. She had to admit, they were adorable even if their eating habits creeped her out.

The floor under Talitha's feet tilted alarmingly and, for a moment, the room swam in and out of focus. How long had it been since she forced herself to face that huge crowd in Cascade Hall to get something to eat? Two days? Three?

Suddenly the thought of winning a bunch of candy sounded really good but she still didn't want to draw too much attention to herself just in case...

She chewed her lower lip and looked around. Josiah and the girl were still talking. He glance their way and indicated Hyana. He gave Talitha a cold glare which she returned. Talitha knew that she'd have to work fast. All Hyana needed was a boost of confidence. If Hyana won the candy, Talitha was sure she'd share.

"Trust me, okay?" Hyana didn't say no, so Talitha took that for a yes. Talitha knew exactly what to do. She'd seen her mother use the tecnique a hundred times before with the Muggles in her commune. She laid her hand lightly on her new friend's shoulder. Leaning near Hyana's ear she chanted something very softly so only Hyana could hear it.

Talitha turned her friend to face the table.

"I learned that from Mother." She whispered to Hyana as she gave her a little push. "It works every time. Now just try. You can win now."

OOC: Please allow this to play out, oh most wonderful Professor McKindy. I promise I'm being good...Really I am...honest! At least for now...\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni whistle away 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 08, 2007 9:58 PM

I don't that one, but if you hum a few bars I could try by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana lauged as Chiyo purred at Talitha's touch. She really liked her. Hyana felt like she met an equal. Her smile faded when Talitha seemed like she was going to faint. Hyana put her hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to steady her. "You okay?" She asked, worry clear in her voice. She could have sworn she heard Talitha's stomach growl...was she hungry?

Talitha seemed fine though, and gave Josiah a cold glare...and Josiah was glaring back. Hyana was very confused. Had she missed something? "Trust me, okay?" Talitha said to her, completly serious. Getting instructions after that terrifing glare, what was she supposed to say? No? Yeah, that would go so well.

"Okay..." She whispered as a reply. Talitha leaned over and whispered a chant into her ear. It had to be some Native American chant, for Hyana couldn't understand a word. Before Hyana could ask what that was about, Talitha had turned her towards the table and gave her a little push saying, "Now just try. You can win now." Hyana gave her a look that obviously said, are you nuts?! But Talitha gave her another push. Hyana stood at the table, and held up her wand. Talitha was crazy, thinking Hyana could do this.

Hyana pushed her hair out of her face, and she could have sworn she heard someone say, "Hurry it up!" She took a deep breath, held her wand to the objects, and recited, "Wingardium Leviosa!" One by one, the objects subjected to her will and flew up into the air. Hyana's mouth dropped open? How did she do that?

"T-talitha? What did you do?" She squeaked...she couldn't have done that on her own. Her own mother said she was incompetent...she couldn't have done that.

OOC: And your turn to play around with "It". I'm gonna be a good girl...for now.\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya I don't that one, but if you hum a few bars I could try 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 08, 2007 10:52 PM

try this...bum,bum,bum,hallelujah! by Talitha Cumni

"YES! YES! You did it!" Talitha cried, totally forgetting herself. "How cool is that? I knew you had it in you!"

Talitha's exuberance was lost on Hyana. Dummy, she thinks you used a spell on her. If you truely want a friend in this place, you'd better come clean now.

"Please don't be mad at me, Hyana. I only wanted to help." Talitha's heart pleaded with her new friend not to be hurt or angry. "The truth is that I just had confidence in you. I knew you could go right down the line if you only believed you could.

"I didn't do anything more than that." Talitha saw a shadow of doubt cross Hyana's face. "Honest! I've seen Mother use it to help ease pain and calm nerves in her practice."

Talitha swallowed hard. If Hyana was hurt by the truth, she'd never forgive herself, but the truth had to be told.

"I didn't cast a spell. I just sang a little nursey rhyme. You did the rest yourself because you already had the ability in you. Once you believed you could, you did, simple as that."

As she waited to see if she still had a friend, Nana's sweet voice echoed in her mind. Maybe you should listen to your own good advice, Little One.

OOC: Thank you, Professor, for your patience. (smile, puts tip of index finger to my chin and curtsies) I told you I can be good... when I want to...\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni try this...bum,bum,bum,hallelujah! 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Elly

March 09, 2007 4:44 AM

Yup. by Elly

Luckily, Josiah took the offer of Elly’s help for what it was. “I’d appreciate it, Miss Elly,” he said. “You’re so nice to me.”

Elly rolled her eyes. “Maybe one day you could drop the ‘Miss’ and start calling me Elly,” she said teasingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll get Custard to you before the holiday.”

Josiah suggested that Elly talk to Hyana first, which suited Elly fine, as that was what she had been intending to do, anyway. Besides, Josiah looked at her with those Irish setter eyes again and Elly knew it would be very hard to say no when he did that.

“Okay, I’ll go over to Hyana,” Elly said. “I haven’t spoken to her yet, anyway, and it’ll be good to introduce myself. And don’t worry about the next spell, I’m sure you’ll do great,” Elly said, punching him lightly on the shoulder and grinning. She waved as she moved away over to where Hyana was talking to another first year.

OOC: Jumping down to the next thread now.
\n\n

0 Elly Yup. 0 Elly 0 5

Elly Eriksson

March 09, 2007 4:47 AM

Jumping in here. Howdy! by Elly Eriksson

OOC: Jumping down from the thread above! I was gonna get here earlier but you two post fast! :D

BIC:

Elly waved to Josiah as she headed over to Hyana and the other first year – Elly didn’t know her name. She had originally intended on persuading the two first years to take part in Josiah’s Wingardium Leviosa competition, but as she headed over to them she saw the girls approach the table without her prompting. Elly stood aside and watched as Hyana successfully lifted all the items Josiah had laid out. She was impressed, to say the least. Charms was obviously one of Hyana’s strong subjects.

Elly waited until Hyana had turned away from the table before heading over to the two girls. She heard the unknown girl say, “Once you believed you could, you did, simple as that.”

“Hey Hyana,” Elly said, smiling her best ever friendliest-person-in-the-world smile. “That was really good, well done!” Elly beamed at her. “I’m Elly,” she introduced herself to the two firsties. “Second year Pecari,” she added, smiling at the girl she didn’t know.

Elly observed that it was unusual talking to first years. Not only was she at least a head taller than all of them, but also she felt like she had some sort of authority, which was bizarre. Being from an entirely Muggle background Elly had felt utterly out of place when she first came to Sonora. Now, however, it seemed that even one year’s experience was enough to make her confident to offer to help others with their spells, not that Hyana needed it, obviously. Still, it was weird.
\n\n

0 Elly Eriksson Jumping in here. Howdy! 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Irene

March 09, 2007 4:38 PM

Hooray! Now what? by Irene

OOC: Sorry I'm so late! I was on vacation and Softball season just started...

IC:

Irene walked in to the Charms room, fully aware of how late she was. People were in full swing of the club. Glancing around, Irene guessed that she would be doing a levitation charm.

Irene headed to the line of people. She looked around the person in front of her and saw a table of gift bags. Irene gave a short nod of approval.

Sucking up to the members... Nicely done!

Irene turned her attention to the pillow in her hand. She had read the incantation in a book and was pretty confident about it. She took a deep breath and said strongly,

"Wingardium Leviosa!" She gave her wand a swish and flick, hoping to get it right. But, of course, on Irene's flick of her wand she hit the person in front of her smartly on the back of the head. She gasped and covered her mother with the hand not holding the pillow.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"\n\n

0 Irene Hooray! Now what? 0 Irene 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 09, 2007 5:48 PM

Ummmm...hi? by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana barely had time to react when Talitha started going completly crazy. She continued to congratulate her, but Hyana gave her a confused look. Then Talitha apologized, saying that she hadn't done a thing. She had only whispered a nursery rhyme, she had tricked Hyana. And strangely, she was okay with that. That was something only a real friend would do.

“Once you believed you could, you did, simple as that.” Talitha finished. Hyana smiled at her. "Thanks...I needed that. You're a great friend Talitha!" Before she could say anymore, the girl she knew to be Elly Eriksson walked up to them.

“Hey Hyana,” Elly said, smiling her best ever friendliest-person-in-the-world smile. “That was really good, well done!” Elly beamed at her. “I’m Elly,” she introduced herself to the two firsties. Hyana blushed and looked at her feet at Elly's praise. Why was Elly over here though? Hyana thought that Elly was too busy flirting with Josiah. They'd make a nice couple. “Second year Pecari,” she added. She gave Talitha a nice smile.

"Oh, h-h-hi!" Hyana stuttered. She mentally slapped herself. Elly was Caedence's best friend. Anything she did could be reported back to Caedence. She couldn't mess up. "It's nice to finally meet you." She looked at Talitha, wishing that there was someway to get out of this. It's not that she didn't want to talk to Elly, she just had wanted to gain more confidence before doing it...Elly was Caedence's best friend. She had to be violent in some way...\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya Ummmm...hi? 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 09, 2007 8:09 PM

Jump on in the water's fine! by Talitha Cumni

Talitha held her breath until Hyana spoke. "Thanks...I needed that. You're a great friend Talitha!" Relief washed over her and tears of gratitude welled in her eyes. Why, oh why, was she so afraid to reach out?

Her shame no doubt. Her "hiccoughs" in magic, as Daddy put it, landed her in this place with the hope that she could learn to control it. The one great fear she had was that it would explode like it did at home. That's what kept her from participating in class, with her roomies, her classmates, her life.

Now this wonderful, kind girl reached out to her and accepted the gift she offered. It was more than she could hope for. She had to get involved with life and this was her sign. Still the idea of taking the same risk in a full class-room or meals at Cascade Hall....

Talitha almost threw her arms around her new friend to give her a bear hug when the red haired girl Josiah had been flirting with approached them.

“Hey Hyana, that was really good, well done! I’m Elly. Second year Pecari,”

Elly had a kind face. The fact that a Second year would be so nice to First years also won points in her favor. Talitha couldn't blame Elly for Josiah's conceitedness. Well, two friends then.

Before she could say anything, the floor tilted again. Breathing deeply and promising her body that calories were on the way, she was able to clear her head but her legs began to betray her. They wouldn't support her wait. Instead of falling, Talitha covered her weakness by sitting cross-legged on a bean bag.

"Wasn't Hyana terrific?" She said as she sat. "My name's Talitha. It's good to meet you, Ellie." \n\n

0 Talitha Cumni Jump on in the water's fine! 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Elly

March 10, 2007 7:28 AM

Great! splash by Elly

Hyana blushed at Elly’s praise of her, which Elly thought was quite cute, really. “Oh, h-h-hi,” Hyana stuttered. Elly smiled again, trying to make her relax. What with blushing and stuttering it didn’t seem like Hyana had much confidence in herself. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Hyana said, this time without stuttering.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Elly replied, grinning. It was kind of fun to have her reputation precede her, if only because Josiah and Caedence knew Hyana, too.

The other girl had found herself a seat on one of the beanbags Professor McKindy liked to keep in his classroom. He was an unusual teacher, that’s for sure. The girl introduced herself as Talitha. Elly smiled again. “Nice to meet you, Talitha,” she said. “Aren’t you going to have a go at lifting the items?” After all, Talitha had apparently persuaded Hyana to have a go at the competition; she ought to have a go herself. “Hyana’s done it, you should give it a go, too. There are prizes or the people who manage to lift everything,” Elly said, her eyes sparkling with the enthusiasm she was trying to inspire in Talitha. She was well aware that as a member of the charms club she should be lifting the objects herself, but it was just as well to make sure the younger students could do it first. Besides, Josiah had asked if she could help out, hadn’t he? That’s what Elly was doing.
\n\n

0 Elly Great! *splash* 0 Elly 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 11, 2007 2:18 PM

Hyana can doggie paddle! by Hyana Kamiya

Elly seemed happy to meet her...that was good. She just might befriend one of Caedence's buddies. Or was that bad? Oh, well. She just needed to focus on the present. Hyana saw Talitha move out of the corner of her eye, and she seemed ready to collapse. No...she was just sitting in the beanbag chair. McKindy had a very creative sense of decoration.

Elly suggested that Talitha should have a go at lifting the items. "Yeah!" Hyana chirped in. "You should Talitha...I mean, I could do it. You can do it for sure." Elly was excited, she really wanted Talitha to try. Elly certainly wasn't the person Hyana believed her to be. To tell the truth, Hyana thought Elly was going to be a lot more like Caedence, seeing as she was Caede's friend.

Hyana focused her hazel eyes on Talitha. "Please?" She asked again. She wasn't going to be the only person trying it out. Then everyone would single her out and call her a show off...like at muggle school. Hyana sat in another bean thing next to Talitha and motioned to a third. "Wanna sit down Elly?" She asked. They didn't have to stand for the spell if they were just using the feather.\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya Hyana can doggie paddle! 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 11, 2007 7:44 PM

I like to butterfly-Hey Rest of the Club... Marco! by Talitha Cumni

Elly really needed a hand. So far Hyana was the only one to try the contest. Being a Second year, Elly must really want to get on to the second half of the meeting Wingardium Leviosa had to be old hat to her. Talitha grinned up at her and nodded. She momentarily fought the urge to tell Elly she'd already lifted everything at once. It was thanks to her that Hyana broke the ice, she might as well start the line-up.

Commanding her legs to obey, she swallowed her nerves and stood. Concentrating, she pointed her wand at the feather, at her command, it rose. Second, the orange. Why was she panting like she ran a mile? The rock was much harder. Her arm felt weak and began to shake. Biting her lower lip and focusing, she managed to get it off the table a couple of inches. Whew, it felt like it weighed a hundred pounds! As Talitha tried the backpack, her arm shook even more violently and perspiration broke out on her forehead. All the stupid bag did was wiggle pathetically.

Talitha thought, lowering her wand. She mangaged to walk normally in spike of her weak knees and plopped back next to her new friends. New friends, what a totally wonderful thought...

"Well, I tried," Talitha shrugged. "You're still ahead, Hyana, unless somebody else forces a tie-breaker."\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni I like to butterfly-Hey Rest of the Club... Marco! 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 11, 2007 7:44 PM

I like to butterfly-Hey Rest of the Club... Marco! by Talitha Cumni

0 Talitha Cumni I like to butterfly-Hey Rest of the Club... Marco! 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Josiah

March 12, 2007 4:34 PM

Okay, time for part deux by Josiah

OOC: You people...*shakes head* it's lucky Hyana decided to do the spell, otherwise we'd have no winner in a week, more I think!

IC: Josiah turned abruptly when he heard feet aproaching his table. Finally! Someone brave enough to try it! Hyana lifted all the items on the table. Another girl, the one he had thought made Hyana upset, tried it, but didn't succede all the way. The backpack is what stopped her. A look of concern passed Josiah's face; she looked a little pale. He shook his head, probably nerves.

"Okay! Thanks, Hyana and... umm her friend, who I don't know the name of but will make sure I do. Listen, we only have about twenty, thrity minutes and I want to get things moving. Sorry to those who didn't get a chance for a prize; snooze you loose, but there's going to be a chance for some creative fun and for two more people to get a prize. So, if the lovely Hyana could come up here?" He waited until she took her gift bag from him before going on.

He hadn't discovered how to turn off the lights, but he walked into a shadowy area of the room. "Now, you should have at least heard of the next spell I have for you; lumos. Lumos is easy enough, and its counterspell, Nox is simillarly easy. Everyone, try it," He prayed his wand would work as he demonstrated both spells for the Chrams Club people. Most of them got it right away, a few wandtips took longer than others to light and go out.

"Now, as Hikaru already knows the spell, I think I need to reassure you on the fourth spell of the night. It's harmless, and fun. All you need to do is say Corescio" He did so, pointing the wand at his open palm. An orb of yellowish white light appeared. He waited until orbs were summoned in everyone's hand.

"Now, just think of a nice color combination, the more you have, the tougher. Concentrate on that and say the spell again- wiat!" he held out a hand to the couple of people who were about to try it, "I want to give you all a moment to think and judge what you want to try. Picture it clearly. Then, we will all try and get it up at the same time. After everyone has a good look around at the other's orbs, we'll vote. One vote per person. The one who is voted most creative or just the Club likes it the most gets a gift bag. The one with the second most gets the final gift bag. Okay....Corescio!" He made his own turn blue, but he wasn't in the competition, so he gave up his concentration and canceled out the spell.

He looked around, pleased at some of the creativity that 'his' group showed. He hoped Elly tried this part. Maybe Hyana would be the winner again? He hoped. "Oh, Hyana," he called softly, to not disturb the others, "can we talk after?"

OOC: Feel free to keep up in your own threads, or post up here, I'm starting a post on the OOC, cast your vote there. Just make sure you see everyone's so that it's fair. HAve fun, be creative and happy postings!\n\n

0 Josiah Okay, time for part deux 0 Josiah 0 5

Elly

March 12, 2007 5:35 PM

Reply to part deux. by Elly

Hyana encouraged Talitha to have a go at the competition, too. Elly sent Hyana a glowing smile – she had put herself right in Elly’s good books already, and they’d barely got past introductions.

Talitha hauled herself back up from the beanbag and had ago at lifting the objects, too. She didn’t quite manage them all, but Elly congratulated her on her efforts. “Well done,” she said, smiling enthusiastically, “you’ve got the spell down, at any rate. It is harder to lift heavier objects. You did really well!” Elly looked at the two girls seated on the beanbags and couldn’t help but smile. This charms club was a great idea – she’d tell Josiah how great it was. Hyana had the confidence to lift all the objects, and Talitha had tried hard, and they’d all made new friends.

“Wanna sit down, Elly?” Hyana asked. Elly shook her head. She was about to say that she was going to try and convince the others to have a go, but then Josiah’s voice interrupted and she looked over to him, instead. Josiah thanked Hyana (and Talitha, indirectly) for having a go before he called Hyana up to the front. Elly grinned at her in encouragement.

The next two spells were Lumos and Nox, two that Elly was confident in performing. She repeated the charms after Josiah and was pleased to see that they worked perfectly for her.

Next came the spell that Elly had been anxious about – the one Josiah had learned from Hikaru. He reassured them that it was safe, and, as he proceeded to demonstrate, Elly could tell it was perfectly harmless. Of course, that didn’t make the next bit any easier. Standing at the back, so nobody could see her making a fool of herself, Elly tried the spell. “Corescio,” she said, pointing her wand at her palm as Josiah had done. Nothing happened. Not that she had expected it to, but it was disappointing nonetheless. She tried again, mimicking Josiah’s exact pronunciation. Still no glowing orb appeared. Elly tried a different tack: Talitha had said Hyana had performed Wingardium Leviosa just because she believed she could. Elly tied believing firmly that a glowing orb would appear in her palm. She tried the spell one more time, more determined than ever to get it right, but her efforts were still in vain. Elly sighed. She looked to Josiah and shrugged, making it clear that this one wasn’t working for her. If she was going to keep coming, she might have to get Josiah to tell her the charms beforehand so she could get them right in the club. Or was that not the point? Elly considered that might give the impression she thought she was above everyone else, which wasn’t true – she just hated to look like a fool.
\n\n

0 Elly Reply to part deux. 0 Elly 0 5

Josiah

March 12, 2007 10:18 PM

OOC: by Josiah

Man, I really messed that up... its done with a 'complicated wand movement' and its spelled coresco not crescio. and to change the color, ou concentrate on what you want the color ot be and flick your wand...pretend that's what I said. Sorry I made you mess up the spell. Oh and a charm side-affect is your ears stinging. Oops, don't hate me! *Ducks from any thrown objects*\n\n

0 Josiah OOC: 0 Josiah 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 13, 2007 1:01 AM

ooo...Arts and Crafts by Talitha Cumni

Talitha breathed a sigh of relief. This charm she could try doing sitting down and it was creative. She liked creative. She mimicked the wand movements Josiah made and whispered " coresco. Ouch!... Her ears stung as if they brushed up against an electrical fence used at home to keep the cows from rolling under the wooden fences that marked the pasture boundries. Well, she couldn't blame Josiah. He did warn them after all.

She replayed the wand movment in her mind and tried again. This attempt was rewarded with an even sharper sting. Surrepticiously, she watched Josiah demonstrate the charm to some of the others. Oh, counter clock-wise, then up.

A small glowing orb formed in her hand. It was so pretty! She could stare at it forever. She'd never created anything with just magic. Even in Transfiguration one needed an object (at least for now). What colors did she want?

Closing her eyes, she sought inspiration of light and color. That was it! A sunset over the Cascades. Talitha pictured the black mountains. Behind them rosey pink blended into violet that darkened into purple and finally black-blue with tiny stars and planets beginning to send out pin pricks of light.

Concentrating on the vision in her head, she pointed her wand at the orb in her hand and said Coresco. The results of her beautiful vision in her mind resulted in a sort of glowing mud color in the orb. Talitha sighed. Probably too much variation for a first try.

Taking one color at a time, she practised. Okay, turn the pink into violet then into deep blue. Now, pink and violet...add the blue. Three colors were about all she felt she could handle.

Still, she wasn't satisfied. The orb looked like it had distinct layers of color, not blending from one into another. Concentrating, she drew her wand across the orb again.

The colors began to swirl and move. It wasn't what she'd envisioned. It looked more like a round lava lamp. Still it was pretty and Talitha was happy with the results. Holding her 70's retro orb in one hand, she looked to see how the others were doing. \n\n

0 Talitha Cumni ooo...Arts and Crafts 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Jae

March 13, 2007 7:51 PM

Lovely by Jae

OOC: Sorry for the delay...you know my reasons

BIC:

Jae grinned widely as Gwyn compared him to Tigger. Tigger was definitely the most amazingly madcool character ever, even though he didn't watch Pooh anymore. The strips, the bouncing, and "The Wonderful Thing About Tigger" song were all positively madcool. Nina agreed with him on that. After all, Rabbit was too grumpy (they'd nicknamed their principal Rabbit because he was so grumpy), and Pooh was too...Poohish. Piglet was way too shy. But Tigger was absolutely amazing.

Being Tigger was a good thing.

"I don't think Mika signed up," Jae said. "He's not here right now. But I got to keep my puffskein. You can play with him if you want sometimes. And I got a kitty! Her name is Jenny. She's best friends with Todd. We play in the Gardens sometimes."

At that point, Jaeven was distracted by Josiah showing them the most madcoolawesome charm. Ever.

Jae couldn't wait to do it.

"Coresco!" he said excitedly, flicking his wand about. Jae yelped as his ears stung. He frowned and tried it again. This time, a flickering yellow-white light appeared in his hand. After a few tries, Jae even managed to change it to a sort of half pinkish colour.

"Gwyn, this is superamazinglymadcool!" he squeaked, bouncing up and down and waving his hand about wildly.\n\n

0 Jae Lovely 0 Jae 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 13, 2007 9:06 PM

You know what? In RL I can't draw to save my life! by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana watched happily as Talitha got up to take a crack at the contest. Her friend first made the feather rise, then the orange...then she got to the rock and looked like she was struggling. Her arm was shaking, but it soon rose into the air as well. Then Talitha tried to get the backpack. She seemed to be struggling, like she could collapse at any moment. "T-talitha!" Hyana squeaked. She didn't want her new friend to push herself too hard. Talitha stopped after that and sat down next to them. Hyana ignored Talitha's comment about a tie thing.

"Are you okay?" She asked shyly. "I know I'm being nosy but...do you want me to get you something to drink?" But before Talitha could get in an answer, Josiah stood up in front of the club and started speaking. He thanked her and Talitha for trying the contest, and then asked her to walk up. She walked up to Josiah, staring at her feet. "Th-thanks..." She whispered before speeding back to her seat. She hated standing up in front of other people.

Then Josiah started talking about lumos and nox, and asked for the group to try it. Hyana whispered both spells, and her wand obeyed. Thank goodness! Josiah's next statement caused her to raise her eyebrows slightly. A spell from Hikaru? Oh no. What was Josiah getting them into? He reassured them that the spell was safe. Josiah pointed at the palm of his hand and said Coresco. Hyana watched in amazment as a glowing orb popped up in his hand. Hyana wanted to try it so bad, but Josiah continued.

So this was a creative challenge. Hyana sighed with relief. She was creative...well, kinda. She did do stuff like calligraphy and other Japanese art. She remembered one time, in a random act of kindness by her mother, she was even allowed to touch her blue dragon kimono. That's it! Hyana knew the colors she wanted to use. Before she tried it, Josiah whispered something to her.

"Oh, Hyana, can we talk after?" He asked her. She nodded numbly. What was up? She watched Elly attempt the spell, but it just wouldn't work for her. "Elly..." Hyana said quietly. "You can do it. You can." She smiled at the older girl, hoping she was helping just slightly. Then Talitha held u her 70's like orb and Hyana clapped. "Wow, that's really cool Talitha!" She exclaimed louder than normal. She focused on her thought.

Hyana pictured that blue and gold dragon kimono. If she could just get the orb to turn into those colors..."Coresco." She whispered. An orb appeared in her hand and it was a beautiful shade of ocean blue. She drew her wand across the orb again, imagining the golden embrodery. The golden color snaked around the orb like string being wrapped around a ball. Then she imagined the yellow obi (belt type thing) and drew her wand across the orb. The yellow wrapped around the middle of the orb like the obi wrapped around a japanese woman's waist. Finally, Hyana imagined the light pink color of cherry blossoms and drew her wand over the orb one last time. The pink spread across the orb in a select few spots.

She opened her eyes and held up the orb. "What do you guys think?" She asked Elly and Talitha.\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya You know what? In RL I can't draw to save my life! 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Gwyneth

March 14, 2007 9:06 PM

Re: Lovely by Gwyneth

Gwyneth was a bit disappointed that she hadn't noticed what was happening with the "competition" with the rest of the club and apparently had missed out on her chance to try to lift anything heavier than a feather! She had felt pretty confident that she would have been able to lift a few of the other items on the table. 'Oh, well,' she thought to herself, 'seeing YAY again was way better. I'll just try this new spell.'

She watched as her friend, Jae tried it. She applauded wildly and admired his efforts but did secretly wonder just how much the "ears sting" really hurt! She hoped it wouldn't feel much worse than when she had her ears pierced. Gathering up her courage, she followed Jae's exuberant example; copying that complicated wand movement, she firmly said, "Coresco." Her involuntary yelp from the stinging in her ears coincided with a glowing ball of pale light appearing in her hand. "Wow! Look, Jae, I did it, too!"

She concentrated on the spell and tried it again, thinking about a different color. The yellow of the sphere resembled the daffodils that grew in her Grams' garden in the spring. Definitely cool! As she thought about the daffodils and her Grams, she remembered the many spring mornings when Grams would go out to cut a few flowers from her garden for the vase on the breakfast table. As she remembered that old green glass vase holding the tall stems of bright yellow daffodils, she smiled at the memory. Then she looked at her orb of light and noticed that its color was shifting between the exact shade of the yellow daffodils and Grams' green glass vase! As Jae would say, definitely amazingly awesome!
\n\n

0 Gwyneth Re: Lovely 0 Gwyneth 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 15, 2007 11:44 AM

After all...Sugar is My Drug of Choice by Talitha Cumni

Talitha looked around as the others decorated their light orbs. She was very satisfied with the way hers had turned out, but she couldn't help but admire the other's creativity. Jae's delighted reaction to his own creation was so joyfully cute. Something told her that Elly would get it soon too. Hyana's orb was beautiful, it looked like delicate china. Gwyneth's was simpler, but reminded her of early spring and was just as pretty in its own way. How in the world could she vote? Unless one of the others came up with something extrodinary, she couldn't pick a favorite.

If there was one thing she needed was a clear head or her concentration on her own orb would break. She looked covetously at Hyana's prize bag. Well, it would hurt to ask... but how to do it without appearing greedy or scaring her new friend? Get me through this, Mother Earth and I promise never to allow my fears to act so stupidly again! Hyana did offer her to get her a drink, obviously Talitha's acting skills weren't good enough to fool her completely.

"Hyana, could I ask a favor? I've been fasting (hope that sounds spiritual instead of idiotic) and I think I've over done it." Talitha crossed her fingers. "Could you spare a bit of candy so I can get through this meeting?"
\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni After all...Sugar is My Drug of Choice 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Josiah

March 15, 2007 6:07 PM

Reply to reply to part deux by Josiah

Josiah was pleased with 'his' group. They were all rather creative. Lavalamp styled, Hyana had made a pretty bule and gold one, he loved Jae's and the girl by him had a very pretty green-and-yellow one. He was so proud of them all! It had taken him weeks of practice to get his orb to be blue. He muttered the spell, making the hand motions. An orb of jade green appeared. He growled in frustration. He wanted to do drak blue and green! They kept mixing!

He looked up, feeling a gaze on him. Elly shrugged, he took that to mean 'sorry, not this one either'. He sighed. Time to play 'teacher' to a girl who was a grade older. He walked over to her.

"Elly, how about I help you out? I was watching you. You just messed up one of the motions. Counter clockwise and then up. Not up and counter clockwise. Don't worry, try again. Coresco" He said slowly, doing the motions slow as well. "See? counter clockwise, then up." A ball of blue light appeared. "Just keep in mind 'determination, diliberation destination'..." he paused, a look of confusion, "Oh wait, that's apparating. Same concept really. Just do it, I know you can!"

He gave her a great big smile. He thought a bit and added, "Pweese?" with his puppy eyes.\n\n

0 Josiah Reply to reply to part deux 0 Josiah 0 5

Elly

March 15, 2007 7:53 PM

sighs you don't give up, do you? by Elly

OOC: Hey Josiah, our thread in the library is still open, if you want to wrap it up.

BIC:

This was exactly the reason Elly had wanted to avoid the charms club like the plague – total, utter and unending embarrassment. Why oh why could every single first year in the room perform the spell when she couldn’t even do it a little bit? Not a sausage.

Hyana noticed Elly’s failure to do the orb spell, and she spoke quiet encouragement. Elly smiled at her grimly – she knew she could do it, but she also knew it could take her hours, even weeks, before she got a spell right. At least with transfigurations she could get the spell to sort of work after a few tries, but conjuring glowing orbs was a whole different story. Yet everyone else managed fine – Hyana and Talitha had the most beautiful colours, and even Jae had managed something pinkish. Elly looked down at her wand – 11 inches cherry wood with a dragon heartstring core – held limply in her hand. Why couldn’t she pick spells up as quickly as everyone else?

To make matters yet worse, Josiah decided to come over and help her out. Elly couldn’t blame him – this was his charms club, after all, and any decent teacher would help out a student who was having trouble. Josiah showed her the spell again, pointing out where he thought Elly had been doing it wrong. “Just do it, I know you can,” he said. Then he did that puppy dog eye thing which half made Elly want to laugh and half want to hug and/or hit him, she couldn't decide which.

“Okay, I’ll give it another go,” she said, rolling her eyes and smiling at him. It was, however much Elly tried to ignore it, humiliating having to repeat the spell several times amidst the firsties, but Josiah was making a huge effort and Elly thought it only fair that she do the same.

Elly raised her wand and copied Josiah as accurately as she could manage, making sure to go counter clockwise then up, as he’d directed. “Coresco,” she said. No luck. She tired again, this time with a more forceful, incantation: “Coresco!” After a third attempt and nothing happening, Elly smiled again at Josiah.

“Look, it’s not your fault,” she said. “You’re a great teacher – see, everyone else has got it. It just takes me a while to pick up new spells, and I know that. I’ll practise hard, though, okay?” She knew she was letting Josiah down and she hated that feeling, but it was true; Elly had never successfully executed a new spell without at least several hours of prior practise, if not days.
\n\n

0 Elly *sighs* you don't give up, do you? 0 Elly 0 5

Josiah

March 15, 2007 8:26 PM

evil grin nope! by Josiah

Josiah cokced his head to one side. The poor girl. He wanted to give her a big hug, but was unsure if she'd scream and try to beat him up. Girls had an odd habit of doing that when he hugged them. Instead he gripped her shoulder firmly, giving her an encouraging nod.

"Don't worry. If you'd like I could you know tell you my plans before the next club meeting. And if you have that snow spell down, I could make you feel better by giving you credit or having you perform it next meeting. How about it?" He smiled at her, "Oh and don't worry, the first time I tried Wingardium Leviosa, I blew up my feather." He said with a wink, "It takes me forever to get spells. Do you know how long this orb thing took me? Don't worry. And you'll love your Christmas present too!" He smiled again; he had the perfect idea for her!

OOC: Hey, sorry about that, I forgot. Speaking of forgot... *destroys whoever invented RL* I still am waiting with Caedence for Connell, so I can't post with her. SO BORED! lol, will wrap that up. Thanks for playing 'who wants to do the correct spell' try again next time! *game show music plays*\n\n

0 Josiah *evil grin* nope! 0 Josiah 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 15, 2007 9:23 PM

I wouldn't call it a drug...but there's no other name by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana looked at the other orbs in the room. Jae's was wonderful, Gwyn's was so simple yet pretty, and Talitha's was still the best one there. She turned to talk to Elly, but there was Josiah. It had been so long since the detention...but she was still kinda nervous to talk to him. She was surprised she spoke to him at the very beginning of the meeting without bursting out into an hour long apology rant.

"Hyana, could I ask a favor? I've been fasting (hope that sounds spiritual instead of idiotic) and I think I've over done it. Could you spare a bit of candy so I can get through this meeting?" Talitha asked her out of nowhere. Hyana snapped out of her thoughts.

"Of course!" She replied. "Why didn't you ask sooner? You've looked like you were about to collapse!" She handed Talitha her gift bag. "And Talitha...it might be a good idea to eat a decent meal tonight. I don't think you should fast here at Sonora...who knows what it could do to your magic." She smiled at her friend. "Take as much as you want." \n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya I wouldn't call it a drug...but there's no other name 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha Cumni

March 15, 2007 11:07 PM

Bridge Mix!!! Yes-s-s-s-s!!! by Talitha Cumni

"And Talitha...it might be a good idea to eat a decent meal tonight. I don't think you should fast here at Sonora...who knows what it could do to your magic." Hyana said.

"Okay, now you you sound like my Mother." Talitha thought. But now wasn't the time to get grouchy, she knew Hyana only said that because she cared. Instead, she grinned at her new friend.

"Thanks, I owe you big time." Talitha reached in the bag and pulled out the first things her fingers touched. A full sized bar of chocolate! Not this minatures you got at Halloween. She opened the wrapper and took a bite. When had anything tasted so good? She thought about going home for the holidays. A couple of hours ago, she had fully intended to beg (yet again) Mother and Daddy to allow her to stay home, but now...

"I can't wait to get home and tell my folks about this club and how I've made friends." Talitha giggled as a new thought crossed her mind. "Of course, I'm gonna get yelled at."

Talitha knew that would sound strange to Hyana so she explained. "To tell the truth, I wasn't fasting for any reason other than ever since I got on that wagon, I've been homesick and scared of being around so many people. I can't explain why just yet, but truth is I've been skipping meals so that I don't have to go to Cascade Hall when its crowded... Stupid huh?"\n\n

0 Talitha Cumni Bridge Mix!!! Yes-s-s-s-s!!! 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Hyana Kamiya

March 17, 2007 4:17 PM

Yessss? Please tell me you aren't Carmen by Hyana Kamiya

Hyana watched Talitha pull a candy bar out of the gift bag as her friend thanked her. Talitha seemed so happy to be eating, Hyana wondered why she was fasting in the first place.

"I can't wait to get home and tell my folks about this club and how I've made friends. Of course, I'm gonna get yelled at. Talitha giggled. Hyana tilted her head to the side. "Yelled at? Why?" She asked. Talitha hadn't done anything wrong, right? She had come to the Charms Club and made friends. What was there to scold?

Then Talitha explained to her how she had been skipping meals ever since she had arrived at Sonora because of all the crowds. "Stupid, huh?" Talitha asked her. "No, not at all...well, skipping meals was kinda stupid, but everyone's afraid of something. I'm scared of..." She went into a whisper. "Coach Fox..." Hyana shuddered at the thought of her detention. How that woman scared her. "I think Josiah's scared of owls. Everyone has a silly fear." Hyana hadn't mentioned her real fear though. Talitha, nor anyone for that matter, needed to know about her home life.

Hyana's stomach gave an involuntary growl. Blushing, took something out of the gift bag. She pulled out a licorice wand, and took a small bite out of it. Feeling Talitha's stare, she decided to explain. "I've kinda been avoiding the Cascade Hall too...I had a fight with Josiah a couple weeks ago. It took all my courage to come here today." Then she added, somewhat defiantly, "But I only came so his puffskein could get a nice home. I didn't come to help him out."\n\n

0 Hyana Kamiya Yessss? Please tell me you aren't Carmen 0 Hyana Kamiya 0 5

Talitha

March 17, 2007 11:13 PM

Keep It Light, Keep It Bright... by Talitha

Talitha looked at Hyana with awe. If ever there was a girl who didn't know how super she really was, here she sat. Talitha didn't throw her arms around her and give her a huge bear hug for two reasons. One, she might wreck her pretty orb and two, she didn't know if it would freak her new friend out. She had to let her know what tonight meant to her, though.

"You are so brave. You're afaid of Coach Fox, but you're still on the Quidditch team. That's totally cool! You faced your fears.

"Me, I've been a complete chicken." Talitha dropped her head, ashamed of herself. "I've let my fear run my life since I've got here. I've been practicaly invisible in classes, skipped out of flying lessons, hardly said two words to my room mates and practically starved myself."

She looked over at Elly who seemed to have given up on making an orb. A lump caught in her throat and tears stung her eyes. It didn't matter she couldn't do the charm. She and Hyana had preformed deeper, more powerful magic than they could have imagined. Mother would have called it "Good Medicine." Somehow, some way she would repay their kindness.

"I wish I were as brave as you, Hyana." Talitha clenched her free hand into a fist, with determination. "I will be from now on, I promise you that."\n\n

0 Talitha Keep It Light, Keep It Bright... 0 Talitha 0 5

Hyana

March 18, 2007 9:34 PM

When you've got it... by Hyana

Hyana blushed at Talitha's praise. Her, brave? Not at all. She only did what she had to. She took another bite of her licorice wand, and listened to Talitha put herself down.

"Now stop that!" Hyana exclaimed, surprising even herself. "You're not a chicken. You're just not used to this place. Neither am I. I'm still scared of everyone here, some more than others. Sure, you've been almost invisible in classes. I've seen you, but I've been to terrified to talk to you, anyone new. And you don't know how badly I wanted to skip flying lessons. I was scared out of my mind to be near Coach Fox. And it's always hard to talk to new people. I'm terrified of crowds too. There are a lot of fears I have, silly and not. That doesn't mean I'm a chicken. I'm just...how do I put it...taking a giant step. You'll take that step too, very soon. I'm sure of it."

Hyana saw Talitha look over at Elly, like she was about to cry. "Oh!" Hyana gasped. She hadn't meant to make Talitha cry. Just try and inspire her. Obviously she wasn't too good at it. "Talitha, gomen. Gomen gomen gomen!" She tried to apologize when Talitha told her something that she had never heard before. "I wish I were as brave as you, Hyana. I will be from now on, I promise you that." Talitha then clenched her free hand into a fist.

"Talitha..." Hyana shook her head. She truly didn't know what to say. "That means a lot. Thanks." What she wanted to say was, don't be like me! I'm not brave. You don't want to be like me! You want a loving mother, you want to be useful, you want to be worth something. Don't be like me! But she didn't. She reached out her free hand, however, and squeezed Talitha's shoulder, seeing as she couldn't hug the girl without destroying her orb. "I wonder when Josiah's going to announce the results." She asked Talitha. "We couldn't have much longer to go." \n\n

0 Hyana When you've got it... 0 Hyana 0 5

Josiah

March 21, 2007 7:58 PM

AAAAND...the winner is: by Josiah

Josiah walked away from Elly. He grinned at Jae as he passed him. Jae was so nice, it was too bad that they weren't in the same house. He'd like to get to know him better. Maybe go run and play in the gardens. He grinned mischeviously at the thought. He'd get oh so muddy! He should take a picture of himself all muddy and send it to his mother. But he'd never really do that.

"Votes, guys, votes!" He called out to them. He waited for them to vote. Gywn and Talitha were tied, and Talitha had voted for Hyana. "Well, a tie works for me. Gwyn, Talitha, your prizes!" He held them up and handed it to the two girls that came up.

"Okay, I hope this was fun for you all. I think this went well, and I hope me an' McKindy could work something out for a second meeting. Hope to see you back here then. Any suggestions just..."He breathed in, suck it up man! "Send me a letter, I live in the Teppenpaw dorm. Thanks you all! I'm so happy you all helped me get Teppers! Well, since there's no more time left, we gotta go. See you next time guys!" He smirked, proud of all of them.

He began packing his things up. The feather pillow was spilling everywhere. He gathered them all up into the pillow and stuffed all the items into a cardboard box. He felt a gaze on himself. Hyana, that's right. "Hey there, can you meet me in the library? I gotta take this to my dorm real quick. Thanks for waiting. I really needed to talk to you, buddy." He hoped adding buddy would make it seem like he didn't hold any grudges against her.

OOC: thanks, guys, but the thread's over. Hyana, would you do me the favor of starting out thread in the library, please? I'm busy right now, but I can try and get on again later tonight or after finals tomorrow, mkay? thanks!\n\n

0 Josiah AAAAND...the winner is: 0 Josiah 0 5

Josiah

Charms Club by Josiah

Hyana Kamiya

A competition? I dunno... by Hyana Kamiya

Josiah

It'll be fun! by Josiah

Nathalie Grant

Ooh, a competition by Nathalie Grant

Hyana

If you say so by Hyana

Gwyneth Aquillon

Boooo, a competition by Gwyneth Aquillon

Jae Dimitri

What's a competition? by Jae Dimitri

Talitha Cumni

trying to fit in by Talitha Cumni

Elly Eriksson

Late, and wondering if I should really be here. by Elly Eriksson

Hyana Kamiya

At least I'm not the only one by Hyana Kamiya

Josiah

Aww, you'll have fun in part two, promise! by Josiah

Talitha Cumni

Safe So Far-what are others thinking? by Talitha Cumni

Hyana Kamiya

How about: that was really cool! by Hyana Kamiya

Talitha Cumni

whew... (nm) by Talitha Cumni

Talitha Cumni

whew... by Talitha Cumni

Gwyneth

It's a game, sort of by Gwyneth

Elly

There's a part two? Sounds ominous. by Elly

Josiah

Especially since it came from hikaru? by Josiah

Hikaru Kasuragi

I have returned from the dead! by Hikaru Kasuragi

Professor McKindy

OOC by Professor McKindy

Hyana Kamiya

I can't think of a subject so I think I'll whistle by Hyana Kamiya

Talitha Cumni

whistle away by Talitha Cumni

Hyana Kamiya

I don't that one, but if you hum a few bars I could try by Hyana Kamiya

Talitha Cumni

try this...bum,bum,bum,hallelujah! by Talitha Cumni

Elly

Yup. by Elly

Elly Eriksson

Jumping in here. Howdy! by Elly Eriksson

Irene

Hooray! Now what? by Irene

Hyana Kamiya

Ummmm...hi? by Hyana Kamiya

Talitha Cumni

Jump on in the water's fine! by Talitha Cumni

Elly

Great! *splash* by Elly

Hyana Kamiya

Hyana can doggie paddle! by Hyana Kamiya

Talitha Cumni

I like to butterfly-Hey Rest of the Club... Marco! by Talitha Cumni

Talitha Cumni

I like to butterfly-Hey Rest of the Club... Marco! by Talitha Cumni

Josiah

Okay, time for part deux by Josiah

Elly

Reply to part deux. by Elly

Josiah

OOC: by Josiah

Talitha Cumni

ooo...Arts and Crafts by Talitha Cumni

Jae

Lovely by Jae

Hyana Kamiya

You know what? In RL I can't draw to save my life! by Hyana Kamiya

Gwyneth

Re: Lovely by Gwyneth

Great! splash by Elly

sighs you don't give up, do you? by Elly

evil grin nope! by Josiah