Mortimer Brockert
February 14, 2020 3:25 PM
Returning Feast by Mortimer Brockert
Midterm had passed much as it always had. Honestly, Mortimer had always wondered why he had to go to social events. Socializing was not for everyone. Some people were perfectly happy to stay home with a book. He was one of those people. And midterm technically was his vacation too so it should be relaxing.It turned out his grandson Olaf was apparently of similar temperment. When Eustace had tried to drag him and Christopher-Jasper put his foot down awhile ago and Uriah and Miles were still too little-out to play Quidditch, the young boy had scowled at him and said "Go away, I'm reading!" At this, Mortimer had done something rare. He'd laughed Which in turn led to stares because most present were convinced he was incapable of doing so. It had also led to an argument between Ben and Eustace. Stuff about Ben raising children who were disrespectful and wimpy and a few fat shaming comments about his younger son and Ben coming back about them being his children and he'd raise them as he saw fit and it wasn't any of Eustace's business and there was nothing wrong with a boy who preferred books to sports-Ben having been one such boy himself-and that Uriah wasn't even two years old yet so commenting on his weight was beyond absurd. However, Mortimer hadn't been so proud of one of his grandchildren since Emerald was awarded prefect. Meanwhile, Christopher escaped while his uncle was distracted and didn't surface again until it was time to leave. The Headmaster had to admit, he was proud of Chris too for being smart enough to stay hidden.
Still, all the fuss had set off the two little boys, though Uriah was quickly quieted down with cookies and Miles had been cranky to begin with since he was getting over an ear infection. Madeleine had ended up taking him home to bed and the gathering broke up soon after. Mortimer hadn't been sure whether to be happy about the fact that Eustace was often able to put a damper on things and cause them to end so Mortimer could have peace and quiet or to be completely disgusted by him. Or both. Yes, both. He did like to spend some time with his grandchildren but at the end of the day he wanted them to, well, go away so he could read.
And now it was time to start the second half of the year. There was never as much to say at the Returning Feast as at the Opening Feast. At the latter, Mortimer had to announce prefects and Head Student and there was the sorting and the school song and whatnot. The Returning Feast had none of that beyond an occasional announcement. Not having any this year, Mortimer stood up and said. "Welcome back. I hope you had a nice midterm." Nine words was all he needed. He sat back down and began his meal.
Subthreads:Crotalus
A positive approach for once by Martin Crosby V with Jeremy Mordue
Back to Reality by Sadie-Lake Chalmers with Felipe De Matteo
Pecari
I always wanted to be a princess. by Leonor De Matteo with Theo Spurn
Pass the potatoes? by Mab with Evelyn Stones
I'm cheering you! (Tag Parker) by Cleo James with Parker Fitzgerald
Aladren
Teppenpaw
Staff
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Mortimer Brockert
Returning Feast
6
1
5
Martin Crosby V
February 15, 2020 4:21 PM
A positive approach for once by Martin Crosby V
For the first and probably last time in his rather young life, Martin Crosby V was actually quite glad to return to Sonora. While he did like at least his very immediate family and missed them while he was away (particularly his little sister), and while being at school often flooded him only with frustrations, his midterm had just been a little too much. Martin didn’t mind most of the inanities of pureblood society life, really, but the big affair of his time had been his father’s cousin’s wedding. Sally Manger had married Gideon Atwood in a huge event, wearing an incredibly tacky and auspicious gown meant for someone much more important and also much younger. Sally was in her thirties. She should have been married ten years ago. Why they were celebrating this inevitability, he had no idea.Martin found himself completely exhausted after the whole ordeal, so returning to Sonora seemed much less unpleasant than the alternative. At least here, people left him alone. Great Grandmother Crosby did not talk at him in her endless way, gently probing into his personal matters. No, Great Grandmother, he told her, there were no girls at school that he liked. He didn’t like anyone at school, let alone any girls.
Although it did remind him about the upcoming ball at the end of the year. He probably needed to figure out a date, as one of Sonora’s minority male populous. It would be unfair to deprive a semi-deserving female of his presence. A lot of the girls here from good families were affiliated with his own (obviously), so he had to select carefully from the few options he did get. There were not many, but he had to be picky nonetheless.
However, even this thought did not bring him down today. He was just glad to be back, and in fact somewhat eager for classes to resume. Education was the closest he could currently have to a profession since he was only a student, and he liked gaining knowledge. This was partially because he liked gaining most anything, and partially because knowledge was power. School was his current means of advancing himself, and he would take that opportunity in a heartbeat.
Martin was not a particularly people-y person, but he realized that his usual habit of sitting quietly and minding his own manners did him no favors, so he decided to utilize his current pleasant outlook and engage a neighbor. “Greetings. How was your break?” he asked, even though he definitely didn’t care about the answer.
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Martin Crosby V
A positive approach for once
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Jeremy Mordue
February 22, 2020 6:22 PM
Yeah, everything's great by Jeremy Mordue
Christmas had been pretty weird. On the surface of it, a lot of stuff had been the same. Tree. Big dinner. Lots of presents. It wasn’t even like it was unusual for them to spend much of it at Uncle Alexander and Aunt Avery’s. Normally- or, rather, ‘before’ – they had got up in their own home, and done breakfast in pyjamas because it was Christmas and opened one present each before going up to get washed and dressed. Then they’d do the rest of the presents from each other, play a while, and then go off to their Aunt and Uncle’s.He had quietly asked Simon what the routine was for Christmas morning, and Simon had looked at him with that calm, bland face of his, which read nothing into the question and offered little sense of surprise in the answer that it wasn’t different to any other morning until it got to presents, which they did once Mother was sure that the dinner was being prepared properly. Jeremy had not even dared suggest breakfast in pyjamas at Uncle Alexander’s house.
He had debated whether to go and tell Nathaniel, or whether Nathaniel would just think it was so obvious that they wouldn’t do that here. Or he’d have already been told by Sylvia. Or have told her and compared traditions in the past. He tried to remember whether any of them had explicitly mentioned it in front of the others before. He had a vague memory of almost saying it once, when everyone had been talking about their morning but no one else had mentioned it - but dad had winked at him, and he’d thought that maybe it was a secret. And then it always had been so in his head – a silly thing they did, but that they wouldn’t tell the Heir’s House with their fancy china and their rules about dressing for dinner. Not that they didn’t have those rules normally too. Just… it was Christmas.
So, he supposed, maybe that answered it. Maybe it was obvious that they didn’t do that here. But he had never been sure how much keeping it a secret was a game he’d made up for himself, and whether there was a chance – slim as it seemed – that Uncle Alexander and Aunt Avery could be casual and silly on Christmas. Thinking that, it didn’t sound particularly plausible… So. It was probably just day clothes, and that was obvious and everyone knew.
But what if Nathaniel didn’t know, and he came downstairs on Christmas morning in his pyjamas and everyone laughed at him? Previously, Jeremy thought he might have found that funny. He might have thought Nathaniel coming down a peg or two was exactly what he needed. But now it didn’t seem like it. And he wasn’t sure whether it was because breakfast in pyjamas was their family secret, or because Nathaniel was really more his family than the rest of them were, and the last bit of it he had left, but he really didn’t want Nathaniel, or breakfast in pyjamas, and especially not both of them together, to be made fun of.
Of course, if Nathaniel knew, he hadn’t come to tell Jeremy either. And it wasn’t like he ever thought Jeremy was capable of working out anything on his own. He felt like he hadn’t seen Nathaniel much in the holidays. He seemed to be avoiding speaking to him, which Jeremy felt vaguely betrayed by. And that pushed him back from Nathaniel’s door, feeling resentful, but it didn’t lessen the knot of worry in his stomach that Nathaniel didn’t know. He compromised by getting dressed early, and waiting a few paces down from Nathaniel’s door, so he could take a step or two forward as the door opened, looking like he was just passing down the corridor at the right time, but really so he could see when he opened it what he was wearing. Nathaniel had been fine, so Jeremy had just wished him ‘Merry Christmas’ as if nothing was different to usual, even though it all was, and they’d gone down to breakfast. In day clothes.
And then they did presents, which was odd to do all together, and dinner and everything should have felt like normal by the time they sat down in front of the best china because it was what they always did. Mother was absent, of course, but that was supposed to be normal now. It was just… it was like a Quidditch match where you’d got a bad kick off. Even once you steadied out and were sure you flying right, it just… stayed with you. It was hard to shake off that feeling that things hadn’t started out right.
He took a seat next to Martin at the feast, who normally didn’t say much – unlike Felipe, who didn’t know how to shut the heck the up. Though Martin, it seemed, was at least willing to make small talk today.
“It was good thanks,” Jeremy replied, when asked how his break was. After all, who didn’t enjoy Christmas? “Yours?
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Jeremy Mordue
Yeah, everything's great
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Martin Crosby V
March 01, 2020 10:12 AM
Now let's not exaggerate. by Martin Crosby V
It had been a mistake.Unfortunately for Martin, the thing about beginning a conversation was that it required him to actually engage in a conversation, and How was your break? was simply not the conclusion of the interaction. The person - Jeremy Mordue, in this particular case - had to actually respond. Now he was expected to speak again. And then Jeremy would go. Then he would go. Then Jeremy would go, and so on like that, probably until one of them died.
Martin wasn’t entirely up to date on the Mordue family, although he recalled knowing of some upheaval. He sometimes did his best to keep tabs on other families on par with his socially, but it was difficult and tiresome to balance his noisy Pureblood instincts with his general distaste for humanity. It was a struggle he found quite tedious, and as a result, this family’s status had slipped through the cracks in his mental records. That combined with his rooming situation wherein he shared a dormitory with his fellow third year, he chose to err on the side of caution and remain polite.
“Mine was fine, thank you for asking,” Martin returned courteously. “But it will be good to return to our studies. I was expecting more homework over break now that we’re Intermediates.”
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Martin Crosby V
Now let's not exaggerate.
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Jeremy Mordue
March 15, 2020 3:53 AM
Fine by Jeremy Mordue
Martin’s break had been ‘fine.’ Of course. Which was an answer which could encompass any range of scenarios from having been genuinely quite enjoyable to the house having burnt down around him, because what was anyone going to say except ‘fine?’ Jeremy gave a polite nod, more or less expecting that to be the end of it.Then Martin mentioned studies and homework. Jeremy managed not to drop the serving spoon he was holding, or stare incredulously, but he did offer a silent rebuke to the gods of roommate allocation, wondering what he’d ever done to be stuck between a violent hothead and someone with all the personality of a dry bit of toast.
He wished he could tell Martin he was a nerd or at least answer honestly that he really hadn’t minded all the free time. But then he’d look lazy, and there was family reputation, and you had to over analyze every damn thing you said… And so, even though he was sorely tempted to try one of those options, just to see the look on Martin’s face, he didn’t.
“The teachers probably can’t be bothered with coming back to a big pile of marking,” he suggested with a roll of his eyes that suggested he found their laziness intolerable. Even if, on this occasion, it had more than suited him.
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Jeremy Mordue
Fine
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Martin Crosby V
March 26, 2020 2:43 PM
Good choice. by Martin Crosby V
Martin laughed. Not a big laugh, mind you, but a decent little chuckle. It sounded odd, coming from him. The resulting noise of tickling a horse might have been more agreeable to the ear. Not that there was anything especially wrong about his laugh - like most details of Martin Crosby V, it was quite unremarkable - but it did not match the reputation he had carefully crafted over the last two and a half years. So, indeed, it probably sounded odd.But Jeremy had a good point. The teachers in this place were quite lazy. Most adults were, Martin found. There was this great big emphasis and authority placed with adulthood, but most of them were large children. Not like Martin, who was just a small adult. It was ironic how that worked out.
Maybe he had misjudged Jeremy, if only slightly. Martin was not that easily taken in, but he did mentally attribute his roommate a positive point. In less exact terms, Martin kept relative tallies on all of his acquaintances. Say something stupid, that was minus points. Leave him alone for a while, strongly in your favor. And sharing his cynicism as Jeremy had done was a definite boon to one’s total.
“I believe you’re right,” he said with a smile. “Excellent observation.” The Crotalus rarely handed out compliments; this was a momentous occasion. “What did you do with all that additional free time?”
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Martin Crosby V
Good choice.
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