Valentine Duell
August 09, 2020 10:30 AM
It's my birthday and I'll drag you two together kicking and screaming if I want to [Lavender & Bonabelle] by Valentine Duell
This was just getting ridiculous, but now she was going to fix things. Somehow Lavender and Bonabelle just weren't connecting up and it was beginning to frustrate her no end. How was this supposed to work if her friends weren't friends with each other? Previously she had tried nudging them to work together in class by teaming up with some of the other students. That had the added benefit of hanging out with more people, but so far it didn't seem to be working very well. She had been considering locking the two of them together in a room together until they were friends, but thought that might possibly backfire. Maybe if she locked them into some complicated obstacle filled dungeon where they had to work together to escape and thus learn the true might of the power of friendship. But, she wasn't sure how to set one of those up for real. So, she had been stuck.Until now. Mama had come to the rescue once again! It was her birthday and Mama had sent cupcakes (along with piles of other stuff) that she was to share with her friends. Both Bonabelle and Lavender were aware that it was her birthday thanks again to Mama. So she had made arrangements with them to meet up in the MARS music room to have a simple birthday/Valentine's day party with cupcakes.... and tea. She'd told Bonabelle to bring the tea things.
She was going to tell Lavender to bring some simple decorations, but the fact that it was going to be in one of the MARS rooms probably rendered that unnecessary. If they wanted a party room with music, the MARS room could make a decorated party room with music. So, she had put Lavender in charge of the music the room would play for them.
So with the arrangements made, Valentine arrived at the MARS room a little before the arranged meeting time. She stared at the music room door for a moment, still not quite sure how these things actually worked and mentally listed everything she wanted the room to be. Then she stepped forward and opened the door.
Inside was a fairly simple room, lavishly decorated in hearts and balloons. There was a round table in the middle covered in a white and pink tablecloth and surrounded by three fancy chairs. There was an antique Victrola in the corner that was playing some generic classical type music at the moment. Lavender could fix that when she arrived.
There was also a table along the one wall covered with a white tablecloth upon which Valentine set Mama's box of cupcakes. She looked around the room satisfied. Now she just needed her friends to arrive.
2
Valentine Duell
It's my birthday and I'll drag you two together kicking and screaming if I want to [Lavender & Bonabelle]
1490
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5
Bonabelle Row
August 20, 2020 12:07 PM
It's your birthday, I'll socialize if I have to. by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle was not a bit eager to hang out with Lavender. It wasn't that she had a problem with the girl - on the contrary, the girl seemed rather nice - but she had a problem with people as a whole. They were just a bit much most of the time. But this was for Valentine, and so she could make it work. Also, she got to host tea again. She'd packed up her little basket with all the things they'd need and now it was time to party.Woo . . .
She made her way to the MARS room with a determinedly blank mind. She was not going to think anything about anything today, because it was Valentine's birthday. The one thing she did allow a thought for were the cupcakes that Valentine had promised. While not normally a gluttonous person, Bonabelle could not say no to cupcakes. She could probably eat the whole box by herself if left to her own devices.
Whether Val wanted her birthday to fit in just right with the holiday it landed on wasn't totally clear to Bonabelle still, so she'd avoided a pink dress for the occasion, instead donning a happy spring green dress, with little lacy sleeves, and the only pink in her outfit was in her hairbow. Upon entering the room, however, she discovered that she needn't have worried. Her eyebrows raised automatically at the sheer "lean-in" vibe the room gave off, and she couldn't help chuckling a little as she approached Val. Her friend was sitting alone and Bonabelle was a bit glad she was the first to arrive.
"Safe to say you don't mind your namesake and birthday day then?" Bonabelle asked playfully, giving her friend a squeeze before sitting down and gesturing at the room around them. "Happy birthday, again," she said. "I brought tea, as per your request."
It was the same tea set she'd used before and she had it all set out and ready fairly quickly, hot water already kept inside, safe in the insulation and spill-proof charms the pot had come with. "I brought a few different kinds of tea this time, so you can smell them before you pick which one you want," she explained as she pulled out several tins of loose leaf and a few boxes of bags. They were mostly floral, as was Bonabelle's preference, but there was also a cherry black tea and a ginger peach tea (which was gross, but whatever). The others were mostly black teas, ranging from Assam to plain ole earl grey, to one with rose hips, another with jasmine, and, of course, one with lavender.
22
Bonabelle Row
It's your birthday, I'll socialize if I have to.
1488
0
5
Lavender Brockert
August 25, 2020 4:17 PM
Yes, that. by Lavender Brockert
Lavender was sort of nervous about Val's party. She was thrilled to be able to spend time celebrating her friend's birthday and honored to be included, as she didn't think Aelia or Janis was or any of the boys or second years. Not that the Crotalus wanted to be people to be excluded, it was just nice to be included when not everyone was because it meant you were special and not just invited because everyone was invited.However, she was nervous about spending time with Bonabelle. The Aladren seemed nice enough but Lavender did not know her well and even if two people were both nice-and the Crotalus did like to think she was a nice person-they might not...connect. And even though she'd had like, lessons on proper behavior, she wasn't sure the company she was keeping wouldn't judge her simply on being proper. Lavender didn't think Val would, Val was so super nice like that, not even judging her for stupid mistakes in class, but Bonabelle might . Not because the other girl seemed judgemental or anything but there were people who would-she had heard about Gabriel's faux pas in his club, which she personally didn't think was one, but apparently someone else did- and Lavender knew very little about her and whether or not she was that sort of person.
The thing was, if she wasn't perfectly proper, there were people who would judge her for that too and those people had the ability to make things difficult for her and her entire family.
Still, Lavender wanted for Bonabelle to like her. Truth be told, she wanted everyone to like her or at least, not hate her but she really wanted the other first year to like her because they were both friends with Val and it would probably be easier for the Teppenpaw if they got along. Lavender did want to make things easier for her friend and anyway, if Bonabelle didn't like her, then maybe Val would stop liking her too! Sometimes, that happened in books she read, where one person would stop hanging out with a friend because their other friend didn't like them and made them choose.
A three person dynamic could also be bad could also be bad, because two people always seemed closer to each other while the third person felt like the odd one out and she already was sort of worried that Val was closer to Bonabelle than her. Or worse, two would gang up on the third person, even if they all hung out as a group. Or if two got in a fight, the third person might have to chooses sides! Books for Lavender's age group involving female friendships-it was usually just girls- never really had everyone just getting along and peacefully coexisting, most likely because that wouldn't be very interesting.
Even though that was what the Crotalus wanted. It was better for drama to be in fiction than in real life, even if it wouldn't make for a very good story. She just did not like conflict of any kind. It made her stomach feel funny. Lavender had grown up with a bunch of boys and read these books sort of as way of seeing how girls who were around the same age tended to interact. Instead it had terrified her! There was always some mean girl who had friends who were equally mean or scared to cross the head mean girl tormenting someone else.
It still wasn't enough to make Lavender abandon the idea of female friendships and go hang out with boys though as she was never going to be the sort of girl who liked doing the sort of things girls who liked hanging out with boys often did. She liked more...girly things over things like playing Quidditch. A tea party was perfect. And with girls her own age rather than stuffed animals and dolls!
Lavender was nervous about bringing the music though. She only had music by magical groups obviously. It was all the latest pop stuff aimed at eleven year old girls. The sort older people might make fun of and say made their ears bleed. Boy bands and whatnot. She'd also brought some rock though that she'd borrowed from some of her relatives, just in case Val preferred that. However, there was no muggle music and hopefully they wouldn't expect it from her. Or make fun of her for her taste.
She entered the room to see both other girls had already arrived. "Hi." Lavender greeted them, handing over her present for Val. Giving a gift that she wasn't one hundred percent certain the other girl would like made her nervous too."Happy birthday."
11
Lavender Brockert
Yes, that.
1504
0
5
Valentine Duell
August 29, 2020 4:48 AM
Whoo! Party under duress! by Valentine Duell
Valentine had just given the room it's final examination to make sure everything was as perfect as it could be for the party and had sat down to try and calm her nervousness. Would this party go well? She loved Bonabelle and Lavender both, and she really, really, really hoped her friends would get along together. They had to. Right? But if they would... shouldn't they have already been hanging out more? No. They just haven't gotten a proper chance, neither one was particularly outgoing so they just had naturally not interacted much. Her face set in an expression of joyful determination, it was time to fix that.Not more than a moment later the door opened and Valentine broke out into a wide smile as Bonabelle walked into the room carrying her tea set and dressed beautifully for the party. She hopped up from her seat and restrained herself from running across the room to wrap her friend in a big hug. "Bonabelle! Welcome!" She instead only walked very quickly and returned Bonabelle's squeeze... enthusiastically.
She giggled at Bonabelle's question, "Nope." She glanced around the room and looked down at her own pink and white dress. It had been one of the presents she'd gotten this morning in her room, and it swirled out perfectly when she spun around. She'd tested that thoroughly after putting it on. "I may as well use it to any advantage I can, at least for now." She gave Bonabelle a playful smile, "That may change in a few years if I turn into an angsty teenager, so best have fun with it now."
"Thanks! You're the best!" She indicated the table so Bonabelle could start setting up the tea things. "Ooo... excellent!" Valentine looked over the tea selection and had no idea what she was looking at. "Do you have any recommendations? Does the smell translate well to flavor?"
The door opened again and Lavender entered the room, Val thought she looked awful nervous. "Lavender! Welcome!" She smiled wide again and rushed to meet her friend. Lavender was on the receiving end of a hug as well when Valentine reached her. She pulled away and accepted the present Lavender had handed her. "Thank-you!" She smiled appreciatively, "but you really didn't have to."
She escorted the girl into the room and over to the table, "Bonabelle is just getting the tea set up and she's brought a big selection." Then she saw the other things Lavender was carrying and remembered the task she'd set before Lavender for the party. "You brought music! Awesome!" She gestured towards the old-fashioned looking device that was currently putting out some quiet, bland classical music. "Do you want to get the music going? Then we can get this shindig underway!" She glanced at Lavender's selection, "Do you have any Strawberry Machine Cake?"
2
Valentine Duell
Whoo! Party under duress!
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5
Bonabelle Row
August 30, 2020 6:45 PM
At least we both love *you*. by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle smiled but it came out a bit tightly; she hated to imagine Valentine as an angsty teenager. She hated to imagine anyone as an angsty teenager, but it reminded her of the conversation they'd had at orientation about finding a boy to marry here and that was just a horrible thought. Someday, Valentine's day might not be about Valentine at all, and then what would Bonabelle do? She pushed that thought aside as selfish and adopted a more natural smile as she set her things down. "Smell usually translates pretty well to flavor. You can't always tell how sweet or bitter something will be, but the flavor is there otherwise for the most part. Sometimes smelling the whole bunch of it together is a bit stronger than the tea itself, so if you like the smell but you don't want it so strong, that can be done." She grinned more earnestly at the ask for recommendations, but she shook her head. "I brought a selection. You get to try them all. Last time you just tried the one I like, so now it's up to you."When Lavender arrived, Bonabelle tried not to look like she was looking the girl over. Valentine was social and generally fond of everyone, but not everyone had been invited to this shindig, which made Lavender special. By default, that meant that Bonabelle liked her, but it was hard to say whether that meant she was actually likeable; people like Valentine, people who were so extremely social, had little discernment in terms of who was worth spending time around. Still, she had no reason to distrust the girl other than her own tendency to distrust everyone, so she smiled.
She was curious what the music would be like. Lavender was a Brockert, so they probably weren't about to hear any muggle hits, but Valentine asked for a band that Bonabelle had never heard of and she wasn't sure if that was because they were a muggle group or because they were obscure. Either would be in character for Val. She dipped her head to the girl when she drew closer.
"I'm not sure we've properly met?" she confirmed, knowing that being in the same small class didn't necessarily mean they knew each other. "I'm Bonabelle. Lavender, right?" She smiled, wanting to give her no reasons not to like her. "It's good to meet you officially."
22
Bonabelle Row
At least we both love *you*.
1488
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5