Being Chivalrous, just this once on Mirage Chamber

Professor Levy

July 17, 2011 12:00 PM

DADA Intermediate Level (Years 3 and 4): Lesson I by Professor Levy

Halloween was Erika’s absolute favorite time of year. Living in the magical world made it all the better, because it meant that decorations and costumes could be all that more elaborate. This included haunted areas. Once her Intermediate class had arrived, Erika had informed them to leave everything except their wands before she had taken them through the school and to the familiar point counting portrait. “Behind Professor Mims lies our lesson for the day. When you enter, please stay in the clearing and do not wander off!” She only hoped that they would listen. Fourth and fifth years tended to be more rebellious than her other years since boundaries were being tested. However, by now, most students knew not to try her patience.

Though, there was a good chance they wouldn’t want to go off on their own. Beyond the clearing lay the woods, shadowed and menacing. While it was daylight in the clearing, the trees in the forest were enormous and created a veil of darkness. “Welcome to the Mirage Chamber. Some of you may have been here previously in other classes, but in case you don’t know or have forgotten, nothing in here can hurt you. It is simply a mirage. Hence, the name,” Erika explained. The Mirage Chamber was definitely an advantage to the school that she had previously not considered. It allowed one to introduce material in a form that made it a near reality without the actual danger. She remembered the first time that she had seen an actual Red Capp and had completely freaked out. Thankfully, her instincts for survival were top notch and a simple knockback jinx had done the trick.

“Which is a good thing, because if you’ve been paying attention the last few weeks, you’ll know what you’ll be seeing today. Beyond this clearing lies a series of banshees, djinns, revenants, shadow people, and everything else we’ve been covering. Again, they can’t actually hurt you, but this will be good practice for the spells you’ve been learning.” She was nearly bouncing on her heels in excitement. She totally wished she were a kid right now about to do this lesson. “I want everyone to break up into groups of two to four. You may start at any point you wish, as the forest will create a path for you to follow. You may run into other classmates along the way or you may not. It depends on where you go. The first group back here wins a no homework night. If the creature you run into proves too much, just say Banana and the creature will go away.”

She glanced over to the forest. It really was perfect for Halloween. There was even a mild fog swirling around the underbrush to heighten the atmosphere. She had always enjoyed haunted houses and hoped that though they would be learning, her students would have a similar experience. The entire forest had been designed to be a maze of sorts so no group would have quite the same adventure. Turning back to them, she clapped her hands together, “All right. Unless there are any questions, you may begin. Oh, and remember nothing can actually hurt you.”

OOC: Standard posting rules apply. The more creative and detailed the post, the more points earned. I have included a bit of info on the creatures and you may add in any other creatures so long as they would be level appropriate. Same thing for the spells used.

Banshee – associated with Irish mythology; feminine spirit that foretells death; may or may not appear to particular Irish families; said to be able to appear in various forms; morning call to sound; appear white or gray with pale hair

Djinn – Genies; associated with Arab culture; said to be created from fire and can take on any form; most are hostile, though some friendly; possible to gain power over; can grant wishes; unpredictable; an agreement broken is regretted – will punish

Revenant – wicked or vain people that return from the dead; associated with spreading disease among the living

Shadow People – shadow-like humanoid figures seen in peripheral vision; cannot hurt unless invoked – lumos best used

Subthreads:

This might actually be fun... by Dulce Garcia with Rachel Bauer, Dulce

This is already creepy by Samantha Hamilton with Kirstenna Melcher,Teppenpaw, Samantha

Doing my good deed for the day by Jane

Being Chivalrous, just this once by Nic Sawyer, Crotalus with Eliza Bennett, Crotalus, Eliza

Amendment - Year 5 as well! (nm) by Professor Levy

Surprisingly not that scared. by Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus with James Owen

Getting closer to the end by Alessa Hinckley, Aladren with David Wilkes, Aladren

0 Professor Levy DADA Intermediate Level (Years 3 and 4): Lesson I 0 Professor Levy 1 5

Dulce Garcia

July 18, 2011 9:31 PM

This might actually be fun... by Dulce Garcia

Dulce was a fifth year now and would be turning sixteen in December. Another year and nothing had changed. Well, she supposed some things had changed. For one, Dulce wasn’t always eating alone anymore. There were times when Delilah would come and eat with her. They were also still doing their tutoring and had done it almost completely straight through the summer. Dulce wasn’t sure if this made them friends or not however. Friendship was something that Dulce was still a foreign concept. Maybe someday she’ll actually have an understanding of it, but for now, it eluded her.

Fifth year… Dulce wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole thing. She felt older. She knew she looked older although her appearance hadn’t changed much. Her hair was still long and near black. Her eyes still slightly on the large side and a lighter hazel color. Her lips still matching her eyes in the slightly large part. Really, physically, other than the usual changes any female went through, she didn’t really look any different. But Dulce felt older. She wasn’t sure where the change came from, but it was there, ever present in her. And it was something she was trying to ignore. Just as she was trying to ignore certain feelings that would suddenly leap through her when she saw someone or thought of someone. They were foreign and scared her a little so she didn’t want to think of them.

Dulce liked Professor Levy. She was a woman who didn’t care what anyone else thought. She just did her own thing and ignored anyone who thought differently. Dulce wanted to have more of an attitude like that. For a long time, Dulce had felt that she had no feelings whatsoever about what other people thought of her, but she knew deep down this was not the case. Raines looked poorly at her from the beginning, so Dulce had subconsciously began to change her style and look to blend in more with everyone else. And when Lita began to rebel over the summer, Dulce tried to ease the worries of her parents while trying to make her sister feel guilty for having done anything at all. Dulce was becoming more aware of her own actions based off someone else’s actions. It was something she needed to work on.

When Dulce went through the vortex, she nearly fell over at the sight in front of her. Her parents had taken them all to a haunted house when they were little and Dulce had thought it was the most fabulous thing in the world… Lita, not so much. Jorge had been too young to go with them but it was definitely something he would enjoy now. The woods looked scarier than the house, but she knew that it could be quite fun.

The lesson itself was very straightforward and Dulce had read straight through the advance lesson books that her sister owned, so she had enough knowledge to get through this lesson hopefully without having to use the word, ‘Banana’. “Wicked.” Dulce commented under her breath as they were left to find partners. Partners… Dulce had always hoped that they would have a lesson that didn’t require partners. Alas, that would never happen. Dulce looked around to see who would be willing to partner with her. No matter how good Dulce was in her lessons, most people seemed to avoid her.

Catching someone’s eye, Dulce stepped forward, “Would you like to partner?”

6 Dulce Garcia This might actually be fun... 153 Dulce Garcia 0 5

Samantha Hamilton

July 20, 2011 6:35 AM

This is already creepy by Samantha Hamilton

Going to the Mirage Chamber for a class was a rare experience and Samantha was keen to make the most of it, and to enjoy herself. However, going to the Chamber for a Defense Against the Dark Arts class simply indicated they were going to have to do something there that wasn't possible in a classroom space. They were probably going to have to deal with some horrbily evil creature, or fend off some super dangerous attacker with a complicated spell, the nature of which made it unsafe to do in a classroom. Therefore, Samantha couldn't help feeling somewhat apprehensive.

Arriving at the class, the fourth year discovered she had been right to be concerned. It was positively petrifying in the Chamber. There was a dark, eerie mist just about everywhere, and the Aladren could hear occasional moaning from within the trees that sent shivers running down her spine. She just kept telling herself over and over again that it wasn't real, the way she did when she found herself watching a particularly spooky horror film with her brothers. As with the movies, this technique began to work in class, and soon she was calm enough to really concentrate on what Professor Levy was telling them. It was comforting that they wouldn't be in any danger of getting lost, as the forest created a path for them, and that there was a safety word for just in case (which Samantha wrote on her hand so it would be immediately available should she need it).

After the short introduction, the professor said they could begin work, which to Samantha translated as an instruction to find a partner or two. She didn't really mind who she worked with. At her first entrance to the Chamber, Samantha would have preferred workin with a boy, but now she'd talked herself out of panicking she wouldn't mind working with anyone. Autumn was her friend, and possibly Sam Bauer was her friend, too, so Samantha looked a little for them and was turning her head before someone to her other side caught her attention and asked to be partners.

0 Samantha Hamilton This is already creepy 159 Samantha Hamilton 0 5

Kirstenna Melcher,Teppenpaw

July 23, 2011 6:10 AM

This is the least of our problems. by Kirstenna Melcher,Teppenpaw

Although it was not by any means her favorite class, Kirstenna was becoming increasingly aware of the importance of Defense Against the Dark Arts. What with the Beetle Lady and her possible henchman-it disturbed Kirstenna to no end that the Beetle Lady was dating her distant cousin, it had to be a plot of some kind-and the Imposter and Headmaster Regal who was possibly in league with the Imposter and the Aladren Quidditch team being imperiused by the Impostor, knowing Defense might be considered a very good thing.

There were threats all around them. The Impostor was capable of so much. She (or he) had already killed at least three people for sure, poisoned another, and kidnapped and maybe killed a fourth. Oh, and he or she had killed Derry's cousin as well. Or the person pretending to be Derry's cousin. Sometimes these things were a bit confusing.

Confusing or not though, Kirstenna had to be on guard. She very much doubted anyone else was, aside from Derry. That woman (or man) had everyone fooled. Except the pureblood elitists who didn't like that the real Amelia Pierce had been a lesbian Quidditch player who had lead a coven of other lesbian Quidditch players or something. (No wonder a Carey had wanted to kill her!) But they didn't know the real danger. That she was not who she said she was.

And of course, after Kirstenna had figured out that the person pretending to be Jannette Wolfe was really the Impostor, the Impostor had to kill someone else and who better than someone that the Bad Type of Pureblood considered an Undesirable and who the Bad Type of Pureblood would never pretend to be because it was below their dignity. It was the perfect cover.

Oh, she had it! Someone-possibly and probably the Imposter-had been using the real Amelia Pierce to get to the Pierce family. This person-who if it were the Imposter was probably polyjuiced into someone else- had killed Derry's great-grandpa and brother and cousin and his other relatives but Amelia escaped, faking her own death. She got a job at Sonora, but then the Imposter, disguised as Jannette Wolfe, had realized people were on to her (or him) when confronted by Brian and Headmistress Powell. The Imposter then kidnapped the former, poisoned the latter, and then, realizing the need for a new identity, disposed of the real Coach Pierce because she was an Undesirable who no Respectable Pureblood would want to even pretend to be, and assumed her identity. The Imposter then imperiused the Aladren Quidditch team and boiled Tobar alive.

Or , the real Amelia Pierce was evil too-not because she was a lesbian and a Quidditch player but because she just was because being a lesbian and playing Quidditch did not automatically make someone a good a person anymore than it made them a bad one-and had actually been the one to kill her relatives, faking her own death, escaping and doing all the aformentioned things.

Yes, that was all perfectly logical. Even Quentin, the most logical person Kirstenna had ever met, would not be able to find any holes in that story.

Defense was very necessary indeed. And despite Kirstenna's misgivings about the way it was taught and the liklihood that she would not be going into it as a career-her life was either singing or in the circus-the Teppenpaw would likely take it after her CATS if her scores were high enough.

So, the fourth year paid close attention as Professor Levy took them to the Mirage Chamber and explained the lesson to them. Kirstenna had to admit, the professor did really know her stuff and she did respect the woman that way. She just didn't like how everything becamse a competition. Kirstenna had no idea why the woman was so obsessed with them but she would certainly come up with some perfectly rational and reasonable theory.

But for right now, she turned to Samantha Hamilton who happened to be standing next to her and asked "Will you please work with me?" Thanks to her cousin, Kirstenna never asked people if they wanted to work with her.

11 Kirstenna Melcher,Teppenpaw This is the least of our problems. 161 Kirstenna Melcher,Teppenpaw 0 5

Jane

July 26, 2011 8:44 PM

Doing my good deed for the day by Jane

By the time she reached the Mirage Chamber side of the space behind the portrait, Jane’s usual pleasant expression was gone and she was holding her wand in a way that suggested she was more than willing to use it, but she forced herself to at least keep her face a calm blank and to straighten her skirts as though she weren’t on edge. She even forced the smile back after a few seconds, with a light comment to the person she was standing next to about thinking the trip through the vortex might have made her a little dizzy. Mother had always said a lady always kept her composure no matter what horrors or humiliations she might be experiencing, and Father considered it merely a matter of practicality, so she had the necessity of trying to do so coming and going on that one.

She was still on edge, though, because of the shadows outside the little area they were gathering in. It was Defense class. Therefore, logic dictated that something unpleasant was out there, and while she didn’t think anything too horrible would be sprung suddenly on third years – again, the surprise at realizing her station; why did that keep happening? – she wasn’t prepared to bet on it. Edmond and Morgaine had agreed that nothing in the Sonora version of this thing could hurt them, which she thought left it all as large a loophole as it wanted to exploit to be as terrible as it wanted in every other way. She hadn’t gotten hurt in the other one, but she still had nightmares about it sometimes, if not as often as she had at one point.

It seemed likely that today was going to inspire a few restless nights, too, since even the pictures of revenants had bothered her, and she’d been afraid of banshees since she was little and, the one time she could ever remember going to her uncle’s on Halloween because Uncle Jasper was in the country and a sentimental mood at the same time, her cousin Daphne had told her all about how the family had originally come to America to escape one, only to have Daphne’s sister Calliope jump out caterwauling in an old nightdress with her face and hair powdered white. Silly, of course – the family had emigrated for economic reasons, not to mention some socio-political ones associated with some trouble in Scotland and the north which had only been just kept in check by the marriage of Anthony II, and the family didn’t even insist on learning genealogy far enough back for Jane, who had no great love for the subject or inclination to go further on her own with it, to know which of three possible sources, only one of which was Ireland, the family name had come from – but since she thought she must have been no older than six at the time, it had made an impression on her. She decided not to think about it too much, though, since there was really nothing she could do about it.

Besides, it couldn’t hurt her, and if she couldn’t figure out how to banish it, all she had to do was say banana. She almost laughed just thinking of that. Banana was a funny word anyway, but in this context…banishing banshees with bananas. The mental image was hilarious. She would have to remember it if she ever had to confront a boggart.

Right now, though, she had to find a group. That was a help, too – at best, she would have people there who could assist with holding off whatever they had to face, and at worst, she would feel responsible for someone else, which she thought would do a good job of keeping her from losing her head if it did turn out to be frightening in the moment even though, as she thought about it in the aftermath of ‘banana,’ that seemed less likely than it had a few minutes ago. She might have nightmares, the kind that lasted a few nights and only recurred occasionally, later, but right now, she almost expected to enjoy this. This time, not only was she not in real danger, but she wouldn’t have been helpless even if she had been. No one else had her wand now.

She decided, finally, to approaching one of the third years. Many of them might need help, or just be frightened. “Shall we work together?” she asked one. “I don’t object to having a third and fourth if you like.”

0 Jane Doing my good deed for the day 0 Jane 0 5

Nic Sawyer, Crotalus

July 27, 2011 3:17 PM

Being Chivalrous, just this once by Nic Sawyer, Crotalus

Nic was tall. Nic was really freaking tall. A growth spurt had begun at the beginning of the year and he'd already gained a full inch he hadn't had at the Opening Feast a mere few weeks ago. He'd been eating almost constantly, just so he wouldn't turn transparent or disappearing entirely if viewed from the side (he was only barely accomplishing this task, in Nic's opinion, but he hadn't vanished yet so that was something). So despite Professor Levy's instruction to leave everything but his wand in the classroom, he'd also brought along two granola bars and an apple to eat during the class.

Despite his utter lack of bulk, his height alone was more than sufficient to pull off an impressive loom, and his largely silent and mysterious nature (he was reasonably sure he the most personal information he had ever provided to anyone in the school was that he came from Miami and he liked to skateboard), combined with the fact that the only class Nic allowed himself to excel in was Defense, all combined together (Nic hoped) to make him one of the most imposing Intermediates at Sonora.

He had no desire whatsoever to change that impression. He had worked far too hard to instill it in the first place.

Still, when he walked through the portal in the Cascade Hall into a dark spooky forest right out of a horror film, Nic couldn't help but grip his wand tightly, and look around the rest of his classmates to make sure Eliza and Sophie, both third years, were okay. He also moved to put himself between them and the nearest edge of the surrounding forest.

As Professor Levy went over what they were going to be facing today, Nic decided it was his duty, as an older and more menacing figure, to help out one or more of the tiny third years. Preferably, one of the two he actually already had some protective feelings toward.

He remained where he was as the other students began to disperse and split into groups. He tried to catch the eye of either Eliza or Sophie. He was something like twenty feet tall (five nine and swiftly approaching five ten in a clearing full of thirteen and fourteen year olds, technically) so he was sure he couldn't be that hard to miss.

1 Nic Sawyer, Crotalus Being Chivalrous, just this once 165 Nic Sawyer, Crotalus 0 5

Professor Levy

July 27, 2011 7:58 PM

Amendment - Year 5 as well! (nm) by Professor Levy

0 Professor Levy Amendment - Year 5 as well! (nm) 0 Professor Levy 0 5

Rachel Bauer

July 28, 2011 1:33 PM

We won't know until we start. by Rachel Bauer

Fifth year, so far, still hadn’t really struck Rachel as very different from fourth. Sure, she now had a badge on her robes and some duties that went with it, but she still felt like herself, not like someone who was going through a year which was supposed to be a turning point in life. As far as she was concerned, the amount of work required of prefects didn’t count as a major life change. It was barely even a change, with two other, if Quidditch-playing, prefects around for help.

She had, however, decided not to worry about it. If she wasn’t going to be reduced to a gibbering mass of hormonal angst, then that was, as far as she was concerned, a good thing, not a bad one, and it was entirely possible the media had been lying to her about how horrible her current stage of life was supposed to be anyway. The media did that, sometimes. If it hadn’t, though, and she was just strange, well…She could live with that, too. Her goal was just to get through school as well as she could, somehow keeping all the balls she was trying to juggle in the air. She could worry about other things after school.

There was, she thought as she looked around the spooky Halloween setting of the chamber they’d been brought to, enough to keep her mind occupied here without worrying too much about the future, especially when her mother was likely going to tell her what that entailed anyway.

She listened to what Professor Levy was telling them about what to expect in there, nodding along acceptance of the challenges. This wasn’t the kind of thing she did recreationally, but she wasn’t afraid. There was nothing on the list that she didn’t think she could beat without too much trouble, and it would be good to be able to do that. She always preferred active days in Defense to quieter ones. An outlet for the frustrations she did have to deal with, and being able to know that she was good at something and display that, was often very helpful.

She smiled widely when Dulce asked her to partner up. Rachel didn’t suppose they’d call themselves friends, but she liked the other girl just because of their mutual feelings on Raines, and because she seemed so unaffected by everything. There were times when she would have really liked to be totally unaffected by the presence or absence of others and what they thought of her and what was expected of her and all that. She thought she’d done an okay job of keeping from envying people who did have that, though, and just admiring them for having the guts she lacked.

“Sure,” she said, taking out her wand. It felt almost strange to not have a bag nearby with her emergency hairbrush and make-up and spare blouse and robe, but she ignored it. “Let’s do it. Which way do you want to go first?”

16 Rachel Bauer We won't know until we start. 154 Rachel Bauer 0 5

Eliza Bennett, Crotalus

July 29, 2011 3:20 PM

Really just this once? by Eliza Bennett, Crotalus

Though she was cautious, sometimes so much so that she overdid it and ended up not accomplishing something because she left it just a little too long, Eliza didn’t see herself as a coward. Nor did she see it as cowardly or overly cautious to be a little wary when Professor Levy, of all the possible people, decided to tell them to leave all their things in the classroom and follow her. Professor Levy’s previous career was evidence enough in Eliza’s mind to convict the Defense professor of not having any great amount of caution.

The contrast between the tranquil place they ended up in and the paths leading away from it didn’t do anything to make her change her mind about the need to be on her guard. She thought that she had a sense of humor, though some people had accused her of not having one, but she knew she didn’t have the kind of sense of humor that enjoyed having a prank pulled on her. There was nothing funny about it, and people who did that kind of thing deserved to have every bad spell she could think of used on them in rapid succession and see how they liked it. She didn’t think the professor would really stoop to practical jokes, and knew she wouldn’t attack a teacher even if she did, but she could just see That Female deciding it would be fun to take advantage of how everyone was a little on edge here anyway.

She kept repeating the part about how none of this could hurt her to herself as the things they had been studying recently were listed off as being out there, but still smiled, a little relieved, when she caught Nic Sawyer’s eye as the class started to break up. She hadn’t seen enough of him since they returned from school – one thing Father had not mentioned was how much effort it was to go on about your life while gathering and maintaining allies – and he was a big, or at least tall, male, which would be good for this lesson. Maybe she could handle herself, but it wasn’t very ladylike to do so without at least the appearance of a protector.

“Hello,” she said, looking up as usual and resisting the temptation to raise her voice a little, as though she might need to call up to him. “Would you mind working with me?”

She knew she didn’t look like much of a partner to have in a lesson like this, so she supposed she was counting on his goodwill. Mother told her she was tall for a girl – she was taller than Mother, anyway – but she was also thin enough to seem dainty anyway, and wearing a fine dress and a decent, neither too large for a girl her age nor so small that they seemed cheap, set of sapphires with her school robes. The only things she had going for her were flat shoes and the fact that she had a very good memory and actually wasn’t bad at Defensive magic. With That running around plotting Merlin alone knew what, she couldn’t afford not to be good at it. She might need it at any time in her dorm room.

0 Eliza Bennett, Crotalus Really just this once? 174 Eliza Bennett, Crotalus 0 5

Nic

July 30, 2011 6:57 PM

I don't want it getting out that I'm nice by Nic

Eliza spotted him first and made her way over to him. He nodded in response to her request that they work together. Secretly, he was kind of glad it was her. He wouldn't ever dare say as much to either of them, but Sophie sort of struck him as the one more likely to be able to handle herself without help.

It was probably unfair and based mostly on the fact that Sophie was on a Quidditch team in a school that let Edmond Carey be a Beater. Plus, she was Pecari and Pecaris sort of had a reputation for jumping into trouble and liking it. On the other hand, if Eliza's undeclared war with Renee Errant ever gone further than a political gathering of allies, Eliza may have had the edge since Pecari wouldn't actually face Aladren until next week, but to Nic's knowledge no blows or hexes had yet been exchanged, so he was still naming Sophie the more experienced at dealing with danger.

Eliza, he would grant, was probably better at watching for it, though, which was great, because Nic thought he could probably handle any of the nasties out here today as long as he knew they were there. This wasn't like Keeping, after all; he had a wand and he was encouraged to use it. He liked fighting back a lot better than dodging out of the way or -worse- just taking a hit.

Sometimes Nic could help but think those WAIL folks were onto something - Quidditch was stupidly dangerous and nobody in their right mind should want to play. They just brought out the wrong L word. It induced Lunacy, not Lesbianism. The mistake must have been a typo somewhere in their early publications and nobody quite dared to correct it because that would mean the guys were at risk too and then the wizarding world would have to give up its favorite pastime. That anyone could believe there was any correlation between Quidditch and Lesbianism just proved the mere mention of Quidditch was a threat to sanity.

But that was neither here nor there. They were about to go into a creepy forest full of spooky things like revenants and banshees and shadow people and djinn (of whom the majority were the crafty Jafars and Monkey's Paw wish granters, rather than the poofy blue Genies and cheerful blond Jeannies of popular culture). He needed to be focused on the here and now.

"I guess we head in then," he said, with a nod toward one of the paths leading into the forest, and doubted his own sanity for a moment (he was, after all, a Quidditch player, if a reluctant one, so it was only right to question his good judgement when he caught himself suggesting things like 'let's head into the dark and spooky forest filled with dark creatures all by ourselves'). But that was the assignment and he was too much a Crotalus to consider completely ignoring the Professor's instructions. So into the dark and spooky forest they would go. "Keep a sharp eye out. We don't want them catching us by surprise."

He drew his wand now. He probably wouldn't be able to afford the seconds pulling it out of its arm strap would cost in an emergency.

1 Nic I don't want it getting out that I'm nice 165 Nic 0 5

Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus

July 31, 2011 8:50 AM

Surprisingly not that scared. by Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus

If there was any subject that made Ryan feel even more inadequate than he naturally did, it was Defense Against the Dark Arts. And the third year rather needed the subject. Merlin only knew what his sister would do to him after she came to Sonora and learned how to do magic. Ryan needed to be able to protect himself. Carrie was getting more and more like their mother, and as far as Ryan could see, that woman was capable of anything.

Had he not had this to worry about, Ryan probably would have planned to drop DADA after his CATS because he really did not feel he was good at it. Okay, the Crotalus felt that way about most things, but more so with DADA. The only thing that had made Ryan feel worse about himself-coursewise, without someone there ridiculing him to his face-had been flying when he couldn't get his broom up at all.

But that was different. Awful as it made Ryan feel to be so horrid at something, to have it proven that he was horrid at something, that there was an aspect where his mother was one hundred percent right and Ryan was absolutely worthless, he still never really had to fly. He could just use portkeys and floo powder and eventually learn to apparate.

Defense, on the other hand, he needed. He had this sinking feeling he would. Ryan wasn't in anyway a Seer or even very bright, but to him, it was painfully obvious that he needed to be on his guard. That despite a restraining order, she would somehow find a way to hurt him. And there was no restraining order against his nine year old sister.

Ryan followed the rest of the class to the Mirage Chamber. He had read about the room but never expected to come here. He wasn't a very adventurous sort and exploring different places wasn't even something that occurred to Ryan.

Still, he looked around in wonder but snapped to attention as Professor Levy began to instruct them in what they were going to do that day. Ryan felt it was necessary to focus on whatever a professor said, as if he didn't, he could get hurt or get someone else hurt and he didn't want anyone else to be hurting, both because he didn't want people to suffer and because Ryan did not want them to be mad at him. Plus, he did not want to get in trouble. It would be very bad and very humiliating and Ryan was already unsure that Professor Levy liked him much because Defense was not one of his better subjects.

This didn't sound too bad. Oh, Ryan didn't think there was any chance of being part of the first group back. He didn't consider himself an asset-well, in general really, but particularly in DADA. Still, it was comforting to know that nothing here could really hurt him.

Ryan was about to go and look for Sophie, who was probably good at this sort of thing and probably would not get mad at him for not being so, when someone approached him.

11 Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus Surprisingly not that scared. 176 Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus 0 5

Eliza

July 31, 2011 8:21 PM

It would have its downsides by Eliza

One thing Eliza was never sure what to think of was how taciturn Nic was. On one hand, it just invited her to speculate a lot, when she thought of it, about what was going on in his head, but on the other hand, it wasn’t as though she really knew that much more about what many more talkative people were really thinking. If she knew any more about any of those more talkative people, that was. She and, as far as she could tell, almost everyone else said lots of things, but that didn’t necessarily mean any of them were actually true.

She smiled at him giving her directions, though. He did have the protective speech down very well, she thought. She tried to sound serious, though. “I’ll do my best,” she promised, taking out her wand when he did. It might look a little ridiculous, and she supposed he was making fun in his head, but she might find some place to be useful while they were out there. She knew the spells and what they worked against, anyway. Making them work was another thing, but she could at least hold things off until Nic noticed them if she noticed them first and he could swoop in and save her…

It occurred to her that she was getting less brave as she thought about really going in there. If she didn’t just go ahead and go very soon, she wasn’t sure how things were going to work out. She couldn’t just not do the lesson, or act very terrified – that might be worse than the other. Father had emphasized that it was important to be respected at least a little even by people you had to be sweet to, because loss of respect happened where too much weakness for any self-respecting person to put up with was detected.

“Lumos,” she said as soon as they were out of the good light from the clearing and into the woods. For one thing, more light made her feel better – if there were extraneous sound effects added in, moans and creaks that weren’t related to creatures, she was going to curse something – and for another, it was a deterrent against…did thinking of Shadow People count as invoking them? How was she supposed to communicate to Nic if they came up without invoking them and giving them the ability to become harmful? Drat.

“Do you,” she whispered, then started over. “Do you expect things to jump out at us, or for them to be hiding and waiting for…” She trailed off, not really wanting to follow that line of thought much further. She had her fear under control on the surface, which was the important part, but she could feel it stirring just beneath her skin, and thinking things that made it stronger didn’t, under the circumstances, seem like the thing to do. Not remotely like the thing to do. It just seemed like a good way to embarrass herself without helping.

0 Eliza It would have its downsides 0 Eliza 0 5

Alessa Hinckley, Aladren

August 01, 2011 2:25 AM

Getting closer to the end by Alessa Hinckley, Aladren

This was it. The last year Alessa had to take Defense and she was happy about that. It was just not her thing. Too much movement and atheleticism, and she moved awkwardly. Plus, it was improper for young ladies and the fifth year doubted she would ever put herself in a dangerous situation. If Alessa ever did need protection she would just hire a body guard.

Now she just had to get acceptable grades, both in the class and in CATS and then Alessa would never have to worry about doing anything remotely athletic again. It made CATS seem like a total relief to her rather than a major stressor that it was for most people. For Alessa, it meant the end of taking classes she disliked and hopefully more free time. She would continue with Charms, Transfiguration and Divination and drop the others. She wasn't worried about those classes, as the fifth year was not bad with a wand.

Now they were in the Mirage Chamber and Alessa couldn't help being a little curious. It wasn't as if Defense was boring to her, the way COMC was. It was just that they often had to do very athletic things. There were lessons that weren't and Alessa liked those fine. It was just that there were enough of the other type to make her want to quit DADA.

Today's lesson, Alessa wasn't so sure about. It was good to know that nothing could really hurt them. Fighting magical creatures was not really her thing any more than caring for them was and quite frankly, she didn't wish to get up close and personal with any such creatures. She knew the spells, had perfected them in a classroom setting but as far as a practical one...well, Alessa's instinct when cornered by something was to flee, not fight.

She had to admit, they were going up against some pretty interesting creatures. Revenants sounded particularly disturbing for some reason. The idea of wicked, vain people-especially as there were a lot of vain women in pureblood society- not dying and coming back to spread disease was an intriguing subject for the Aladren. Still, Alessa would rather read about such creatures than dealt with them face to face.

The fifth year looked around. Apparently, she would need to work with people on this. That was for the best. Alessa didn't mind doing her own thing a lot of the time, but in this case it might be beneficial to work with someone else. Spotting someone without a partner yet-Alessa could have joined a group with more than one, but it wouldn't be fair to leave someone else all alone, nobody should have to face such creatures all by themselves even if they were illusions-the fifth year approached. "Would you like to work with me?" Alessa asked.

11 Alessa Hinckley, Aladren Getting closer to the end 150 Alessa Hinckley, Aladren 0 5

Samantha

August 01, 2011 1:13 PM

Maybe we should tackle it first, to get it out of the way by Samantha

"Yes, I'll work with you," Samantha replied to Kirstenna as soon as she'd registered the other girl. She only really knew her in a 'we're both Quidditch Keepers' kind of way (although since Samantha hadn't signed up to the team this year, they didn't really have that in common any more, either), but Kirstenna seemed to be as good a partner as anyone else. "Shall we start over here?" Samantha made her suggestion as a question, pointing towards a clearing in the trees even as she began to walk around it.

"It's sort of what I imagine it would be like being on a film set," she commented (despite being at Sonora for several years now, her Muggle upbringing and holiday life was still so firmly ingrained in her that she couldn't simply switch off thoughts like that while she was out of context), gesturing generally at the swirling mist and silhouetted trees. She almost added 'but creepier', but, having decided that she wasn't going to be intimidtaed by her surroundings, she held back that extra remark. Instead she focused on her feet and where they were going. She was pleased she'd deiced to wear flats today, and not the kitten heels or wedge platforms she'd mostly been favoring since her return after the summer. She was, admittedly, still wearing a skirt, and as it was fitted and above knee-length, it wasn't easily going to facilitate running, should that be necessary. At least she was wearing a fairly sensible sweater, and the afore-blessed flat shoes.

"So..." Samantha struggled to find something to say to Kirstenna that was more interesting than the usual mundane conversation starters. She couldn't think of anything remotely intersting, however, so she asked, "Do you usually like this class?" Maybe the classics were classic for a reason. Besides, now they'd entered the forest area, Samantha could swear she kept seeing shapes out the corner of her eyes that seemed to vanish instantly the moment she turned her head towards them. It was distracting to the point of having an adverse effect on her conversation skills.

0 Samantha Maybe we should tackle it first, to get it out of the way 0 Samantha 0 5

Dulce

August 01, 2011 9:29 PM

That's true, but it's different than the norm. by Dulce

Dulce wasn’t sure what her feelings were in regards to Rachel. They had worked together in the past and had no real issues about her. Dulce was still on the fence when it came to her best friend, Veronica. The girl gave off a rather cold persona and although Dulce was not one to judge when it came to seeming cold, Veronica seemed like the sort who would want everyone to like her. Dulce couldn’t explain it, but she felt that Veronica’s persona didn’t mix with the reputation that the girl wanted. But then, Dulce didn’t think many persona’s fit the person.

Rachel though, her personality actually fit her. Well, to Dulce she fit together. Delilah’s personality fit her as well. Of course, neither personalities fit the houses that they were currently in. But then, Dulce’s didn’t either. This school was still quite the mystery to the fifth year. She didn’t think she’d ever solve it. It was probably for the best; there were some things that weren’t meant to be understood, even if it was slightly annoying.

“How about that way?” Dulce suggested, pointing in a direction where the least amount of students were heading. It was better to be some place with as little interruption as possible. Dulce wasn’t necessarily looking forward to running into any of the creatures the Professor had warned them about, but she knew this was all fake so there wasn’t really anything for her to be nervous about. Not that she was nervous. No, that wasn’t what she was feeling. If she had to give a name to her feelings, she would probably say it was excitement. The thrill of the chase. It wasn’t everyday that she was able to travel through spooky woods in chase of not so friendly creatures. This would a one time only situation, so Dulce was going to milk it out for the lesson.

“So, let’s discuss some strategies for when we come across some creatures.” Dulce began, already racking through her brain for spells that would work out the best against certain creatures. “Lumos is probably the best one to use against the Shadow People, but I’m not how well we’ll even see them in the woods. Plus, we’ll be already using the spell to see, so that alone could scare them off.” Dulce said absentmindedly as she let her thoughts roll off her tongue.

Taking her wand out and twirling between her long slender fingers, Dulce entered the dark forest. “Lumos.” She said casually, stopping only long enough to let her eyes adjust. Her wands light was enough to allow for light immediately round them, but the forest itself was so dense that it didn’t do much for them in the long run.

“The creature I’m unsure of is the Dijin. I don’t know much about them to know really how to keep them at bay.” Dulce informed her, not at all embarrassed by admitting any of this to the other girl. “Any ideas?” She asked.

0 Dulce That's true, but it's different than the norm. 0 Dulce 0 5

James Owen

August 03, 2011 7:41 AM

It takes more than this to scare me by James Owen

In many respects, James was a typical boy. He liked to play games that invoved adventurous and desrtuctive aspects, he liked to eat a lot, he enjoyed sports, and he wasn't remotely interested in spending a lot of time with girls. Where he differed, he thought, was that most people tended to want to play those games with others, whereas James would rather play them alone. He also prefered sports that didn't involve any social contact, and he actually liked schoolwork about as much as he liked sports. He also liked reading, waking up early, and problem solving. Still, these differences didn't seem to be causing him much of a problem at Sonora. he didn't actually have many friends, but he thought he got on with Ryan okay the couple of times they'd worked together in class, and his roomate, David, didn't seem to hate him, so it could be a lot worse. Not that James actually needed friends around, but even he liked social interaction from time to time, and besides, it made it easier in class when they had to work in pairs if there were a couple of people who didn't mind working with him.

Today was one of those times - the spooky forest that existed today in the Mirage Chamber was to be tackled in pairs or groups. Keen not to have some whiny, shrieking girl accompany him to meet the fabricated dark creatures, James sought out one of the afore-mentioned acquaintances, and first came upon Ryan. The other boy was quiet and seemed generally to keep himself to himself, and that was a trait that James could understand. "Hullo," James greeted his yearmate as he approached him. "Would it be okay if we work together on this one?"

One of the other benefits of working with Ryan was that he, unlike some of the other member of their year belonging to certain elitist schools of thought, was unlikely to comment on, or even notice, James' hand-me-down robes, shoes, and just about every other belonging. The wand was his own, and was the single item he possessed that had been purchased solely for his use, and that had not belonged to anyone before him. He was also confident that this item would not be passed along to his sisters (and subsequently destroyed once it reached Jade's grasp - she swore it was unintentional but that girl broke everything that had made it through James and Josephine's possession unscathed), making it all the more precious. His wand belonged to him, and nobody else. he sometimes wondered what it would be like to have multiple possessions of this ilk, and he hoped one day to find out. For now, second-hand clothes and third-hand books were the norm, and he'd adjusted to that for the most part; it was simply more difficult to accept his battered belongings when someone either pointed them out, or when he sat next to someone in class who hadn't ever had a second-hand item bestowed upon them.

0 James Owen It takes more than this to scare me 168 James Owen 0 5

Kirstenna

August 08, 2011 7:35 AM

Sounds like a good idea by Kirstenna

"Excellent." It wasn't as if Kirstenna really expected Samantha to say no. Nobody really ever did. She supposed if people didn't like each other-and there was nobody in her class that Kirstenna really disliked-they would just stay away from each other and not ask to work together. The only way she supposed that could go wrong was if they didn't know who their enemies were.

She knew who hers were. The Imposter and the Beetle Lady. And they knew she knew. Because they were Leglimens of course because what skilled villain didn't know how to use mental magic? Which made things all the more dangerous and Kirstenna would make sure to avoid eye contact with either of them.

Her grandparents could also possibly be considered enemies, but the fourth year didn't like to think about that. They weren't a threat anyway, not like the Beetle Lady and the Imposter. Her grandparents were in Iowa and simply pretended that Kirstenna didn't exist, the Imposter and the Beetle Lady were here and out to get them all.

Which was why DADA was completely necessary.

"Yeah," Kirstenna grinned. Being on a film set might be fun, though the Teppenpaw was more into singing than acting. Of course, she didn't need to pretend much when so much of reality was interesting for her. She was a witch who'd grown up in the circus. Real life was actually pretty interesting from her perspective but she doubted it was that way for everyone. Kirstenna was just lucky that way. Though she supposed she would prefer things to be just slightly less interesting, a life where her friends weren't kidnapped or boiled alive.

"Hmmm..." Kirstenna considered the question. "I'm not really crazy about the competition aspects of this class but I do enjoy the actual activities themselves and the subject matter is really interesting." She smiled at the other fourth year. "What about you?" Kirstenna asked.

11 Kirstenna Sounds like a good idea 161 Kirstenna 0 5

Ryan

August 08, 2011 9:12 AM

That's good by Ryan

Ryan nodded. "Of course." He liked James well enough, might even consider him possibly a friend. Of course, the Crotalus was careful about considering anyone a friend because he might be wrong and that would be embarassing. James seemed to like him though, at least he wanted to work with Ryan often enough. Which made Ryan happy as he was most concerned about being liked, and James didn't seem to like very many people. Which confused the third year as to why James would like him of all people.

Truthfully, even if the Aladren boy liked everyone, Ryan still wouldn't have understood why James liked him . The Crotalus did not consider himself the least bit likeable. He had a subnormal IQ, he couldn't fly, he was bad at DADA and he'd destroyed his entire family. Ryan was just plain defective and he didn't get why anyone liked him at all. Not James or Sophie or Jordan or Professor Crosby.

Well, Professor Crosby might have liked Ryan because he did better than average in her class and she wanted to be on Uncle Seth's good side. But then, the Crotalus had to wonder why his uncle would like him, because people didn't have to like their relatives. His mother and sister didn't like him and Uncle Seth and Aunt Jana and all his other aunts and uncles didn't like his mother very much. And even Grandpa didn't seem to like her.

Ryan hoped that if he had kids someday, he would like them. At least he'd never treat them like his mother treated him. But, then, Ryan doubted he'd have them, because a girl would have to like him enough to want to marry and have kids with him and certainly he didn't expect that to ever happen. Nor would anyone want to be betrothed to him.

But none of that was to be worried about right now. Better to wait until later, when Ryan was alone in his room trying to sleep. He had to go to sleep way too early hear at school and get up too early as well. Ryan was a night owl, and felt more alert when it was dark out.

Plus, it had always felt safer to him to be up at night, when she wasn't, when they weren't. As long as Ryan stayed in his room and didn't make any noise. Because, of course, if he woke someone up it would be much much worse.

"Should we start there?" Ryan asked his classmate, gesturing to the closest path. He didn't like to take charge, as he didn't feel he had that right, so Ryan phrased his suggestion as a question. If James wanted to take a different path, Ryan would gladly oblige.

11 Ryan That's good 176 Ryan 0 5

Rachel

August 08, 2011 3:47 PM

That it is. by Rachel

Rachel wasn’t sure she would have picked the way the fewest people seemed to be going, but then, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have, either, and from the sound of Professor Levy’s speech, it didn’t really matter, anyway. They could walk in right behind someone else and then end up never seeing a soul besides each other all the way through the exercise. So she nodded. “That’s fine.”

She nodded again when Dulce decided they were going to discuss strategies for how to deal with creatures. In a way, she knew she had chosen to step aside a little and let the other prefect be the leader between them as soon as she let Dulce have first say about which way they went, but she was all right with that. Momma always spoke about leadership being one of the most important qualities to cultivate, but Rachel had found, in her relationships with Veronica and Samantha, that she stepped between first and second place fairly easily depending on the circumstances. She didn’t even know what, all other things being equal, made her do one or the other – age, commanding presence in one party or the other, magical strength, what – but it usually came almost instinctively.

“Shadows that move too much, I’d guess,” she said about the things they weren’t going to invoke. “All I can think of is not mentioning them – isn’t that what you’d think invoking them would be? – and pointing the light straight at them if one seems to be getting close.” Really, they caused more fear than anything unless invoked – though maybe being afraid of them was invoking them, giving them the ability to harm? Darn it, this could be difficult.

She lit her wand, too, as they stepped out into the woods, closing her eyes for a second so the move from light into dark and then the sudden bright light of the wands wouldn’t hurt her vision too much. “Djinn? They’re supposed to be made from fire, but I doubt any of the water charms would work,” she said. “It might be worth a try if we can’t think of anything else, but it sounds like one of those things that sounds obvious but never really works to me. “They make bargains, but they’re tricky, and – well, if they were real, they would punish us for breaking our end, and I think it’s up to them to interpret whether we broke it, so bargaining with them to go away might not be the best idea unless you’re a lawyer, and a really good one.”

She noticed she wasn’t helping. “I’m thinking out loud more than anything, sorry,” she apologized. “Have you got any thoughts on what to do with banshees? They might just go after the students with Irish people somewhere in their families, but…” She shrugged. “Yeah, can’t say I’ve really studied genealogy back that far.” Dad was Jewish, through his mom, but that was about as much as she knew. She’d never liked genealogy.

16 Rachel That it is. 154 Rachel 0 5

David Wilkes, Aladren

August 08, 2011 4:37 PM

Every step forward is a step closer to it. by David Wilkes, Aladren

When David had first come to Sonora, he thought he might have been worse off in some ways than the average Muggleborn. Half his life up to that point had been spent reading about magic in fantasy and sci-fi, and he’d had some pretty odd ideas about what could and couldn’t be done. There were still a few things he could do that he had no idea how to do with a wand, or how he did them at all, since he’d gotten the ideas from sources gleaned from misconceptions and just knew they worked. Usually. That was the trouble with not knowing how something happened, after all.

He’d spent a lot of that first year in the library even by Aladren standards, trying to find out what was real and what wasn’t and how to work with that and where people might just have assumed there was nothing left to find because of their preconceptions and so on and so forth. He’d also spent plenty of time looking up things about Sonora, just because hey, it was an actual wizard school. Even though it wasn’t as ancient as it might have been just due to living in a sadly recent country, it had to have more to it than just going from class to class and eating meals and playing a bit of Quidditch and that was all it was designed for and all that it had. It would be a disgrace to its genre if that was the best it could say for itself.

The Mirage Chamber was something he had run across in his search for interesting things about the school, though it wasn’t something he’d gotten to see before. Now, he looked around eagerly, interested by the contrast in light. So the environment didn’t have to be uniform. That was interesting. He wondered if multiple things could be run at one time in here – say, Professor Fawcett could be running a class in one corner with explosive potions, and Professor Kijewski with animals too dangerous to confront in real life, and all that, all while Professor Levy had them in here, doing…

…The whole haunted house thing, only the idea was to defend themselves, not just be scared half to death by whatever popped out at them from the woods. Okay, that was cool. He could work with that. He hoped.

You are a wizard, not a five year old at a theme park, he told himself firmly. Wizards do epic things. It’s part of the requirements. This is training for being epic as an adult. Now get on with it before you look like a moron.

He was looking for someone to pair up with, but was instead approached, to his great surprise, by someone. Another Aladren, a girl, older than him – Alessa. His House was small enough that he knew the names of a lot of people, and she was Prefect Veronica’s roommate. That was noteworthy because Prefect Veronica was the only girl with a badge in Aladren, in the only year without boys in it. That was the kind of thing that made him remember things. A damsel, but…older than him, so if anyone was doing the protecting in their partnership, it would probably be her. Still, he tried to nod in a reasonably cool way. She was a pretty, older girl who was giving him the time of day, and he was an epic hero wizard.

“Okay,” he said, then could have kicked himself. “I mean, yes, I will.” These types all spoke formally. He had to as well, or else they’d laugh at him even more than other kids in Muggle school did when he didn’t know a slang term or got an answer right in class when it wasn’t cool to like the subject. “Shall we go that way?” he asked, picking one at random, one that didn’t strike him, for reasons he knew were illogical but which still worked in his brain, as being very threatening right this exact second, though he knew they were probably all really the same so it didn’t matter anyhow. Life, though some of his Housemates might have disagreed, wasn’t all just about logic.

16 David Wilkes, Aladren Every step forward is a step closer to it. 169 David Wilkes, Aladren 0 5

Samantha

August 09, 2011 9:33 AM

I have good ideas, sometimes by Samantha

"I'm not really crazy about the competition aspects of this class but I do enjoy the actual activities themselves and the subject matter is really interesting," Kirstenna answered Samantha's question with a smile. "What about you?"

"I prefer the theory and history rather than actually using the spells," Samantha replied. It probably came as no surprise that the Aladren would choose reading over conflict any day. It also wouldn't be a surprise to Samantha's professors, and the students who knew her a little better than Kirstenna did, that she prefered theoretical work because it came more easily to her than practical spells. Should could still cast most spells with practise, and she wasn't falling behind or anything, but her classmates seemed to get the hang of spells quicker, or to exceute them with more control, or... well, Samantha just wasn't so good at that side of classes, anyway. With DADA there was the added deterent of being placed in a stressful situation when you had to cast spells, either for attack or protection. Today was a good example of that, and even though Samantha she was under no real threat, when a banshee crossed the path that she and Kirstenna were taking, the fourth year stopped walking very suddenly.

"Oh," she made a noise, wondering why her mind had chosen this moment to be empty of any useful information. The illusion - yes, it was only an illusion - had halted in from of them, making it impossible to progress. "What's the spell for mking a banshee go away?" Samantha asked Kirstenna in a hushed voice, that, while quiet, at least didn't sound panicked. Good; she hadn't lost complete control.

0 Samantha I have good ideas, sometimes 0 Samantha 0 5

Alessa

August 11, 2011 1:14 PM

Then let's move forward. by Alessa

The person she'd asked to work with her turned out to be a third year boy in her house, David, she thought.The fifth year was good with names and Sonora was a small enough environment that she knew most people's. Alessa didn't know a lot about David beyond that but she was somewhat glad to have ended up working with both a boy and one of her housemates. Aladrens were generally smarter and, more importantly, less loud and irritating. Loud people tended to annoy Alessa.

And nothing about this particular boy had ever stood out enough to her to make her think he should be avoided. The fact that Alessa had no opinion about him and knew nothing about him thus far was really a good sign. People who attracted a lot of attention tended to be the ones who couldn't stop talking and couldn't sit still and that sort got on her nerves.

Sometimes it was completely unbearable. Sometimes Alessa didn't want to be around people at all because everything they did or said bothered her. She just wanted to lose herself in things that interested her and ignore everyone. People tired her out.

"I suppose that way is fine." Alessa replied. Any way was as good as any other, they'd all have the basic same result. The Aladren didn't honestly think Professor Levy would deliberately make one route harder or easier than others. She seemed like a fair enough person if nothing else. It was just that DADA was a class that didn't play to Alessa's strengths. She wasn't athletic and didn't think on her feet very well.

Hopefully David did. Hopefully he was a lot better at this than she was. Alessa didn't think she was quite the helpless female that she was supposed to be but she just wasn't very good at all this. And truthfully, Alessa didn't like doing things she wasn't that good at. Especially if she was forced to compete in them. The Aladren would have loved to have a night off from homework, either relaxing or concentrating on subjects that she did intend to continue with after CATS but she didn't seem possible. Alessa hoped David wouldn't hold it against her.

She considered giving David warning, but decided against it. Purebloods of Alessa's status weren't supposed to publically admit to being bad at anything and making a social mistake-even if he was muggleborn, it was best not to get out of practice-was worse than anything.

Which was another reason Alessa didn't speak that much. Her instincts tended to be to say something that was possibly wrong for the situation. She had been quite terrible about it as a child and it had forced her to start etiquette lessons earlier than most.

The fifth year turned to the path David had chosen and began her journey into the forest.

11 Alessa Then let's move forward. 150 Alessa 0 5