I have a question [Allegra] on Crotalus Commons

Iris Cobb

July 09, 2021 10:40 PM

I have a question [Allegra] by Iris Cobb

Iris had questions. From her discussions with her roommate, Ian, Isla and a few others she was trying to figure out what she would do with the rest of her life and how best to start working towards that end. Isla's one suggestion had intrigued her, a rich socialite sounded like it could be a nice route to go. If she could just figure out how to get to that point. She suspected marrying someone that was already rich would be a step in the right direction, but that wasn't exactly something she could start working on yet. Was there things that she could be working on awhile? That she didn't know, and she wanted to find out.

To that end, she was waiting patiently by alternating between homework and doodling in the Crotalus Common room for her seventh year prefect. Allegra seemed like the ideal person to ask about such things since she was, as far as Iris could tell, in the position that she herself was aiming for. If Allegra didn't have any great advise, maybe she could go talk to the old Aladren Brocket girl.

Iris perked up as she spotted Allegra, "Ms. Brokert?" she called out to the elder Crotalus, then thinking that sounded awful formal, "Allegra? I'm sorry. I have some questions for you, whenever is convenient." Ma raised her to be polite, and she was sure that was on the list of things she would need to master if she hadn't already.

2 Iris Cobb I have a question [Allegra] 1526 1 5

Allegra Brockert

July 13, 2021 4:37 AM

Let's hope I have answers by Allegra Brockert

After a long day of being on her guard, Allegra was happy to return to one of the few safe places at Sonora and one of the only two of those places she had access to, the Crotalus common room. She was glad this would all be over soon for all things she wanted in her future-love, marriage, children, etc-there was nothing she wanted more than to be free of Topaz once and for all.

Well, okay, maybe once and for all wasn't exactly going to happen until one of them was dead-and odds were the one dying being Allegra herself, which was not an idea she was particularly fond of. Still, having to see her cousin a lot less than she had to now, was a thing that the Crotalus looked forward to more than anything else in the entire world.Being how she was, how she had to be whenever she was in a place that the Aladren might be able to find her, was nothing short of completely exhausting. It made it really hard for Allegra to function, to do her school work, to study for RATS.

She wondered if that was on purpose. If she was too tired to study, she wouldn't do as well on her test. Then, Topaz would do better than her which was often the other seventh year's goal so making sure Allegra was overtired would work to her advantage in that respect. She wouldn't put it past her given that it was far from the worst thing that Topaz had ever done.

And it wasn't even as if she cared about coming out on top in these sorts of things that her cousin was so...competitive about. In fact, the Crotalus had figured out a long time ago that doing so was not even remotely in her best interests. Her version of coming out on top was not being tortured. Or only with as being minimally tortured as possible. That was what she considered a win.

She heard someone call out for Miss Brockert. That just made Allegra look around to see if any of the other Miss Brockerts from Crotalus-because there were like, five of them- were around, but then the girl-Amethyst's roommate, Iris, she recognized now-said her name specifically.

Allegra walked over to the younger Crotalus. Maybe talking to her housemate and answering her questions would take her mind off things. She was honestly tired of even thinking about Topaz and just about any topic would be an improvement, a nice break from her own lifelong worries about her personal well being. "It's no problem" Allegra assured Iris. Part of her job as a prefect was to help younger students, especially those in her own house. It was honestly the part of it she was better at and preferred, compared to enforcing rules, given that she could be a pushover. Which was also her cousin's fault."What seems to be the problem?" Allegra asked. She sincerely hoped it was something she could help with. She didn't want to let down someone who was looking for help, she wanted to be able to solve somebody's problems even if she couldn't do anything about her own for the moment.

11 Allegra Brockert Let's hope I have answers 1426 0 5

Iris Cobb

July 13, 2021 6:13 PM

I'm sure you do. by Iris Cobb

Excellent, Iris thought to herself, step one completed. Attract Allegra Brockert's attention. Next, ask her the right questions and then plot out her plan for the future. Simple. Iris sat back down on the seat she had been occupying until she had needed to get the older girl's attention. She'd made sure to find a spot where there were seats for Allegra as well, if she wanted to sit down.

"Thank-you," she responded with as pleasant of a smile as she could, "I know you must be busy getting ready for tests and such, I don't want to be a bother." She shook her head at the suggestion that she had a problem. "It's nothing like that, well at least not yet." Her expression turned a bit more thoughtful. "I know it is early to be worrying about such things, but I have started to think about what I'm going to do after graduation."

"My family isn't very magical, so I have been talking to some of the other students to try and get an idea of what options are out there and what I can do to get ready." She gave Allegra a hopeful look. "I got some ideas but thought, since you're soon to graduate, maybe you have some thoughts or ideas some of the younger students didn't have."

2 Iris Cobb I'm sure you do. 1526 0 5

Allegra Brockert

July 14, 2021 6:26 AM

I appreciate your faith in me by Allegra Brockert

OOC: CW-Talks about silence by abuse victims BIC:

Allegra took one of the available seats near Iris that would allow for them to talk comfortably and hopefully fairly privately if the matter was something of a more sensitive nature. Of course, she hoped that was not the case because she wouldn't wish that kind of thing on people. Also, there were probably issues that Allegra was not equipped to handle. Like if Iris were being bullied, for example. Since the elder Crotalus was unable to handle the bullying-which in this case, was a word that actually minimized the situation-she received from Topaz, odds were that she wouldn't be able to help anyone else and would have to pass the buck to Professor Skies.

Also, while she was technically an adult, there were some issues that were just better handled by the staff and probably some that she would have to tell them about if Iris reported them. Which would mean breaking the first year's confidence. Or if the problem was another student, being a tattletale. For obvious reasons, Allegra had learned that nothing good could possibly come from telling on someone.

Still, perhaps she should not assume the worst had happened. Just because that was the problem she had personally, it didn't mean that was the case for everyone. Lucky them.

Of course, that didn't mean, for example, that Iris wasn't having a roommate dispute or something like that. Even though she didn't have one herself, Allegra knew some of those situations could be quite impossible. In this case, however, there was also the problem that Iris's roommate was Allegra's (first) cousin and a conflict of interest could occur. It probably wasn't that though because then the first year probably would have gone to a different prefect and anyway, Amethyst seemed to get on with her.

Anyway, the seventh year nearly sighed with relief when Iris spoke. "It's no trouble at all." In all honesty, Allegra did not really want to study all the time anyway. "I could use a break from that and I am a prefect, part of my job is to help younger students." She had to agree though that it was early for Iris to worry about that. "Well, I mean, I've never really thought about having a career myself. I've always just expected to get married and have children."Which, to be fair, was something Allegra had always wanted. The idea of actually having to go out to work sort of overwhelmed her and made her queasy with anxiety. Actually, the socialite aspect of being a pureblood woman sort of made her feel that way too. " Maybe work with various charities."

That also sort of gave her anxiety, because of how helpless she generally felt all the time but at the same time she did like the idea of helping people, if she was capable. Getting people to raise money for a worthy cause, like curing people of or helping them live with horrible diseases and medical conditions or helping victims of violent crime or abuse-causes that were especially near and dear to her heart given that she had two close relatives with medical conditions and two that were terrible people- were things that she found to be fairly important.

" However, there are a lot of careers out there depending on what you want to do" Allegra added. "Is there anything in particular that someone has mentioned that has appealed to you? I can probably help you find out more about it. I'm sure Mr. Row has a lots of materials."

OOC: Obviously, Allegra has a very skewed perception about not telling on people who are victimizing you. Do not listen to her about that.

11 Allegra Brockert I appreciate your faith in me 1426 0 5

Iris Cobb

July 15, 2021 8:34 PM

Is it misplaced? by Iris Cobb

So, it certainly sounded like Isla and the others had been right, which meant she was hopefully on the right track. Allegra had a point though, she hadn't gone to talk to Mr. Row yet, that was pretty much his job, wasn't it? Now that she thought about it, Ian had said she should go talk to him as well. Well, maybe she'd have to go find him sometime and see what he thought of the whole thing. In the meantime though, she had Allegra.

"I've been gettin' suggestions from folks ranging from sellin' flowers to making brooms." she replied to the older girl. "But Isla did suggest something that sounded different from any other job I'd heard about. It was just what you were talking about doing, getting married having some kids and then throwing parties and doing charity stuff?" She decided to turn it into a question at the end, just in case that was quite what Allegra had been talking about about, but it sure sounded like it.

She gave Allegra a reassuring smile, "I thought perhaps you might be going that route, and could let me know if there was anything I should know about or focus on for it. "We don't really have a job like that back home," she added as a way of explanation for her ignorance on the subject. "It sounds like an interestin' way to get a community having fun and helpin' each other out."

2 Iris Cobb Is it misplaced? 1526 0 5

Allegra Brockert

July 17, 2021 8:47 AM

I hope not by Allegra Brockert

Once Iris finished telling her what she and Isla had talked about, Allegra was honestly a bit surprised. Not so much that they had talked about it, because clearly the first year had been talking to lots of people about what she could do after graduation and her sister had just answered honestly about her probable plans for the future.

What she was surprised about was that not only was Iris not judging them for it, she seemed like she thought it was a desirable thing to do. That was not what Allegra was used to outside of the wealthy society pureblood community. She was more used to non-purebloods acting like there was something wrong with not having a career where you went out and made money. There was nothing wrong with them wanting to do that, but they shouldn't be critical of those like her and devalue being a wife and mother. Allegra had always been the nurturing type and was honestly pretty good with younger children and she'd always wanted someone who loved her (and could protect her from Topaz, possibly not in that order).

So it was honestly pleasing to not be judged, even though the younger Crotalus seemed to be asking more about the part of Allegra's future that she wasn't looking forward to all that much. Iris seemed to think the idea of having parties was fun, which was never something the seventh year had especially enjoyed . Maybe when she was little and they'd still been the sort of parties where fun things happened. The parties she had to go to now seemed to be more about socializing and impressing people, which made Allegra nervous. And finding a husband.

Still, people had different ideas of what was enjoyable. Like some people liked Quidditch which Allegra thought sounded like torture-and she had had quite enough of that in her life, thank you very much. Not to mention most of the things that Topaz found enjoyable which no decent human being would agree with (and were especially not fun for the Crotalus.) Esme and Amethyst seemed to think parties sounded like fun, and Angelique loved them.Maybe Iris was more on the outgoing side like they were.

She considered the first year's question. This was something Allegra had trained for her entire life but she wasn't entirely sure how to respond. She genuinely wanted to help Iris and not give her bad advice. "Well, first of all, I think making connections helps. Knowing the right people. This might sound obnoxious because she's my cousin, but your roommate is honestly a good one." Obnoxious because that was basically saying Allegra was a good connection. It might be true, but she wasn't comfortable saying so. " If she likes you, and she seems to, she'll probably help you out. We know a lot of people who are involved in charitable organizations and helping those out can be very rewarding. Do you have a particular cause you feel passionate about?"

11 Allegra Brockert I hope not 1426 0 5

Iris Cobb

July 18, 2021 1:17 PM

Then I'm sure all will be well by Iris Cobb

Iris watched Allegra as she considered her question. The older girl was being friendly enough, and she almost had an air of relief about her? Iris wasn't sure what to think about that, if anything, so she just made a little mental note and stashed it away in case for some reason it became important later. Iris nodded along to Allegra's answer about connections. She knew they were important, but as Allegra pointed it out, she saw that for this job in particular, they would actually be a requirement.

If she just grew and sold flowers, connections would be good to have to spread the word about her flowers, but she may not need super-great or personal connections for that. However, to get people to come to a party in order to give money, she would need to be able to convince folk that it was worth it, and that would take some work. Apparently she had already started off good by being friends with Amethyst. Not that she wouldn't have been anyway, or at least tried. They were sharing a room, and she knew from experience that life was easier if you could get along with the person you shared a room with. Or rather, she knew life could be difficult if you didn't get along with the person you shared your room with. Amethyst was a much, much, much better roommate than Billy.

"Cause?" Iris asked in response to Allegra's question almost involuntarily. Oh no, now she looked stupid. Causes had to be what the charities were for, right? Umm... victims of bear attacks? No. Her mind was blanking in a panic of loosing any sort of credibility she may have had with Allegra. Especially since Allegra had just told her that connections were good and she might be ruining one at this very moment! She plastered on a smile to attempt to cover all of this up and replied in the most normal voice she could make, "I don't really have anything specific.... what sort of causes are out there?" Yes, that sounded good... if not a bit uninformed, but she would have to live with that.

2 Iris Cobb Then I'm sure all will be well 1526 0 5

Allegra Brockert

July 19, 2021 8:43 AM

I certainly hope so by Allegra Brockert

Iris seemed a little uncomfortable when Allegra asked what cause she was interested in. Which of course made the older Crotalus worry all over again that there was something wrong and upsetting going on. Fortunately, it was just that the first year simply seemed to not have an idea for a cause to support.

Although she seemed slightly bothered by that. "It's all right." Allegra reassured her. It was perfectly normal for eleven or twelve year old girls not to know anything at all about different groups that needed help or to worry about them much. Most people that age tended to either be completely care free or worried about concerns in their own life, with herself obviously having been the latter. On that note, it was probably reassuring that Iris didn't have something picked out to support, because it meant that things in her life were good.

Allegra thought for a moment, trying to remember some of the causes from the fair a few years ago.. "Well, there's a lot of different ones."She replied. "My family is involved in one supporting people with allergies and asthma. My cousin Ruby-Amethyst's older sister-did a booth for that a few years ago at the charity fair here which I participated in. I also participated in one for magical home and garden historical preservation that my friend Sylvia did." The latter in particular was probably not a cause Iris was going to care all that much about. Allegra thought it was a decent one but she honestly would have picked something that helped actual people. Not that she ever would have said that to Sylvia. The older Crotalus had been a little on the intimidating side. Of course, Allegra was the sort who was easily intimidated.

She continued. "Other booths included charities to help the poor, victims of violent crime and abused children." Those had been especially memorable for the seventh year. She had made a quilt for the poor people booth and the other two....well, for obvious reasons. While Allegra didn't fit neatly into either category, she had definitely been victimized her entire life by someone who would probably go on doing the same to others once the Crotalus was out of her clutches.

"And of course, there are many other causes to donate time and money too." Allegra went on. " Such as other diseases and medical conditions or animal related causes like, funding animal shelters and preventing creatures from going extinct." She looked at the first year. "I certainly don't want to tell you what to support, that's up to you to choose." The older Crotalus was not that sort of person, who was going to force her ideas and beliefs about what was and was not a worthy cause onto someone. "And obviously, you have lots of time to decide. The only advice I can honestly give there is to pick something that's not controversial because those things are easier to support and you'll face less opposition overall. " After all, nobody was going to argue against helping people who victims of violent crime or child abuse aside from violent criminals or child abusers. Illnesses were arguably even better because they could strike anyone or impact anyone's life.

Still, she did not mention that to Iris because she wanted the girl to decide for herself what mattered to her.

11 Allegra Brockert I certainly hope so 1426 0 5