The Quest’s End (Music Room) [Gaming Club Members] on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Valentine Duell

July 16, 2021 8:44 PM

The Quest’s End (Music Room) [Gaming Club Members] by Valentine Duell

OOC: This is the conclusion of the Gaming quest threads, here and here.

While posted as an event for posting purposes, it is a co-write between Evelyn's author and Val's. BIC:

Valentine had been busy after leaving the note in the library and checking in with Nillix, the prairie elf, who had seemed enthusiastic about her part in this game. She did her best to swiftly and sneakily race from the hall to the MARS rooms and had been pretty sure that no one in the club had seen her. This was the difficult part. She needed a magnificent looking medieval throne room/feasting hall on the other side of this door. The tricky part was incorporating the room’s actual function into what she wanted, since (as a terrible oversight by the original designers) none of the rooms were set up to configure themselves as a ‘party room’. Oh well, she had been practicing and her results had been getting better. She closed her eyes and focused on what she wanted.

When she opened the door, and her eyes, the music room before her looked beautiful. The large room was made of cut stonework, there was a huge oak table running the length with magnificent chairs on either side. A few candelabras stood upon the runner on the center of the table, and plates were stacked at either end. Under the table was a beautifully made, yet still well-worn looking rug. The walls were covered in tapestries depicting all sorts of wondrous scenes. Dominating the far end of the room and table was an ornate throne upon a raised dais. An empty suit of armor stood on either side of it. The place of honor looked magnificent, as it should. The room itself was lit by a combination of the candelabras on the table, candle chandeliers and torches burning away in their sconces on the wall.

The music was appropriate as well, although she wasn’t sure about the players. In the corner of the room, on a small raised platform a few of what looked like the Sport room’s training dummies stood, dressed in ‘traditional fantasy bardic costume’ and ‘playing’ instruments. The music was some good, lively ‘medieval’ bardic music, and should continue throughout the course of the party. They could in theory change it if it got annoying, but it did lend to the atmosphere nicely. There was even space near the 'minstrels' for dancing if anyone was interested.

Between the torches and the tapestries were a few doors. These she needed to investigate as well. She opened the first one, giggled and disappeared into the small room beyond. When she emerged a few moments later, she had changed into a flowing pink gown and headpiece. The fabric was patterned with tiny slightly darker pink hearts. It was not quite a ‘princess’ level dress, more along the lines of higher nobility in your fantasy realms. She spun around and let it billow out and swirl around her. It would do just fine. Then she took another circuit of the room to make sure everything was in readiness.

As she passed the tapestries, her attention was grabbed by the first one. It clearly showed a group of people in a mild state of distress as a moving wall trap was trying to crush them! That was from their first game of the year.. Ugbard’s Tower! A quick glance over the rest of the tapestries revealed that each one held some scene from one of their games from throughout the year… how had she done that? That was awesome, but… how? Shaking her head in mild disbelief, she finished her inspection and found that all else was in readiness. Not that there was a lot more at the moment. They would be bringing the food, drink and other party supplies in the crates from the hall with them. Until then, she just had to wait.

When the door creaked open, she quickly hopped into position to welcome them all. Valentine smiled brightly as her friends entered and curtsied low to them. This, she had been practicing while waiting for them to arrive. She thought she pulled it off acceptability. "Welcome my brave and worthy adventurers! You have succeeded in your quest and rescued me from the loneliness of this room!"

Valentine moved aside and gestured for her friends to enter. "Please, come in! Come in!" She clapped with delight as she saw the supply crates. "Excellent! You got the supplies! You may set them down by the table for now. They contain everything we will need for the party that the room can't supply." Then she gave Evelyn a knowing grin, "But first…" she gestured for her partner in crime to take over.

Evelyn took a breath - a sigh really - and followed Valentine’s cue by taking her place in front of the group for what was sure to be a teary-eyed speech. She wished she had a fancy goblet or something to use for proper toasting but her own wringing hands would have to suffice for festive.

“First,” Evelyn began, emphasizing where Val had left off, “I want to thank our DM for the night, both for the adventure we’ve just enjoyed and the party we’re about to.” She paused to lead the group in a brief applause for Valentine. Then another breath and she did her best to sound resolved as she smiled a bit sadly at her best friend in the world. “Seven and a half years ago, Ness and I met in the Gardens for our first year orientation. From that night on, Ness has been the best of us. Welcoming me to the school despite being a new student as well, Ness showed me kindness, compassion, and the possibility that maybe I could find happiness in this new corner of the world.” She smiled a bit more softly at her friend then; it was a hard truth that didn’t need spoken about too much right now. “Ness gave me family - literally, gave me parents, a brother, aunts and uncles and others, and a place to live and thrive. Ness continued being Ness-like by doing the same for all of us in a smaller way by continuing the gaming club when Gary left and being, in many ways, the beating heart of the club even before he graduated. Ness, I’ll love you forever and this is definitely not goodbye for you and me, but for us and Sonora, it is goodbye. At least for now. I could totally see you coming back to teach something.” She grinned then, hoping that the comment lightened the mood a bit and brought some laughter. “Tonight, we celebrate the best of us. The Ness of us. To you, my friend.”

Evelyn then reached into the bag she’d been carrying with her throughout the evening, retrieving a very ornate, very pointedly gender neutral (in terms of historical monarchies) crown. It had been transfigured from blank character sheets and some game notes and maps and the text and figures were still visible although the paper had been changed into burnished metal. Where there would normally be gems on such a headpiece, there were instead figures of amulets and potion bottles (the game kind, not the real kind) and the contents of each sparkled brightly in various colors.

“My liege,” Evelyn said, dipping her head as she approached Ness to offer the crown. She might’ve given a full kneel if not for the fact that she was already much shorter than the Aladren anyway. “Your crown, as befits a DM of your great imperial highness.”

Satisfied that she’d given the best toast she could without either a drink or real toast, Evelyn dipped her head and bowed aside to give the floor back to Val. As they passed each other, she patted the girl kindly, quietly thanking her for doing everything that Ness deserved and that Evelyn couldn’t. Val was going to be the best of them next, Evelyn suspected, and that was something she desperately hoped someone remembered to tell the Teppenpaw in a few years. She blinked to clear her misty eyes as Val spoke next.

Nearly in tears from Evelyn’s eloquence, she sniffed and smiled at everyone. "Now if anyone would like to fancy themselves up a bit," Val paused and swirled her dress around again before indicating the doors along the wall, "Those doors should lead to changing areas complete with an appropriate outfit to your liking." They should give the room a chance to supply something fitting for whomever opened the door anyway.

Finally she curtsied again to Ness and then with a wide smile, gestured towards the throne, "The seat of honor is ready for your majesty whenever you are ready for it."

Subthreads:

Here's to new adventures by Ness McLeod with Evelyn Stones, Valentine Duell

Looking for a partner! by Valentine Duell with Henry Spellman

2 Valentine Duell The Quest’s End (Music Room) [Gaming Club Members] 1490 1 5

Ness McLeod

July 27, 2021 7:45 AM

Here's to new adventures by Ness McLeod

The quest had not been designed by Aladrens. That was clear from the spelling of 'Aries' and the absolute lack of decoding required on their half to get the clues. Ness didn't mind though. D&D had rarely been about intellect anyway, and it was fun to be doing something special. It did not occur to Ness that there was a particular reason beyond 'the end of term' or 'yolo' or that the thing the quest had been designed with was love.

Those knuts started to drop when the group (having happily and non-violently defeated the Terribly Menacing Crate Guardian) opened the doors to MARS.

MARS was often used for parties, and its ability to self-decorate to extraordinary levels was pretty famous. Still, the sheer level of detail and extra-ness marked this as a special occasion. Ness had figured the group was carting party supplies, but a party with music and dress up in a fancy banquet hall? That was brilliant. It showed on Ness' face in an open mouth followed by a huge grin, and even a slight laugh at the terrible danger they had rescued Val from.

It was when the floor was passed to Evelyn that the final pieces fell into place though. Suddenly, the world shifted from the fun and silliness of a make-believe fantasy adventure to a whole host of very real things. Things it was odd to be thanked for, at least here, because D&D things and Evelyn Things had always felt like totally separate parts of life, even with the obvious overlap of Evelyn being literally right there. And as for the rest... Ness wasn't the best. In some ways, Ness felt like the accidental stand in between a title which seemed like it should have passed from Gary to Valentine. The timing with which the younger girl had shown up was spooky, almost as if it had been designed (not that Ness believed in such things). Ness had borrowed and shared that mantle, but it had been Gary and Val's project all along. They lived, breathed and understood this thing in a way Ness was still years away from... And now to be held up as something special.. The tears were streaming down Ness' face long before Evelyn offered a crown and gender neutral regal titles.

"Thank you," Ness managed to croak out to Valentine and Evelyn. "I... Let's get changed?" Ness decided that a few moments to compose thoughts and self might be good, plus it would just be rude not to get all dressed up.

Once they were all costumed, with Ness looking slightly like a highway robber crossed with a monarch, to be fittingly rougish as well as fittingly regal, Ness tentatively took the throne. Or at least stepped up to it.

"Thank you for this," Ness gestured at the room and the crown. "As I'm sure you've all noticed, the gaming club isn't a solo effort. It was for Gary, but for me, I've had all kinds of help." Help which Ness had been nervous about taking at first or being overshadowed by, though hopefully that had been well-hidden enough not to need apologising for. Most of the help had come from Val, though they had kept the model of letting anyone run one shots.

"I want to thank all of you for making my time as club president a fun adventure. Given That I've had so much help, it seems fitting that I share this," Ness indicated the throne, which had two arm rests almost big enough to be seats themselves, especially if they were destined for small occupants. "Firstly Evelyn, my right-hand human." Ness patted the appropriate arm rest. Hopefully Evelyn knew she came first in so many ways, and that she was in runner-up position in terms of a speech only because this was gaming club specific. Ness tried to put the thank yous for Gary, and how Ness had nearly spoiled that for Evelyn, far out of mind, hoping that sharing this one could make up for some of that. "You're my best friend, and always will be. I couldn't have done any of this without you." Maybe. Ness probably could have, that sentiment was a bit hyperbolic. "Or, if I could have, it wouldn't have been half so much fun," Ness acknowledged.

"I think we all know though, when I say I have had help and support with gaming club, there's one person I mean more than others. Val... I might be the head of this, but you're the heart and soul. I'd be honoured if you'd come and share a throne with me, seeing as you have done all year." Ness patted the left arm rest. "And next year, it's gonna be all yours, though I hope you'll find people to support you, like I had you.

"Distinguished adventurers, please show your support for your graduating comrade, and pledge your allegiance to your new leader." The Aladren lifted Evelyn and Val's hands, before taking a seat with them both.

Ness wasn't sure how long the arms would make confortable seats for. But if they all collapsed inwards into a big squishy hug pile, it definitely wouldn't be the worst end to an adventure.

13 Ness McLeod Here's to new adventures 1419 0 5

Valentine Duell

July 28, 2021 10:15 PM

Looking for a partner! by Valentine Duell

Valentine thought the party was going well. She was still a bit giddy about being proclaimed the new president of the club for next year, despite Ness' assurances she hoped she would do a good job. She had chatted with some people, helped get the food and other supplies unpacked, and snacked a little bit. The prairie elves had done a wonderful job and she would have to be sure to thank them later for their efforts.

As the music continued to flow through the room, Val's attention was repeatedly pulled towards the 'performers' and the dance floor. Well, it would be a shame to let it go to waste, she thought to herself. Glancing about the room, she wondered if anyone would want to join her on the dance floor. It wasn't really the type of music you could dance to by yourself very well, at least not from any sort of examples she had experienced. It was the type where you either needed a partner, or perhaps some big organized group. Val was pretty sure she wasn't going to get any sort of big, organized group dance going.

She was pretty sure neither Bertie nor Gabriel would be up for dancing, Philippe maybe? Morgan might, but would she want to with another girl? Val wasn't sure. Evelyn and Ness probably would and not care, but something told her it was her duty now to make sure she was interacting with the members she would have next year. So, she chose one whom she thought might say 'yes' and asked with that friendliest smile she could muster, "Would you care to dance?"

2 Valentine Duell Looking for a partner! 1490 0 5

Henry Spellman

July 29, 2021 12:14 AM

I'm not good at that. by Henry Spellman

Henry wasn't really part of gaming club but he was really lonely and this was the sort of group he'd have been 'in' with back at home. They didn't play Magic here (which . . . made some sense), but they did play D&D. Henry had only dabbled with the group a few times, far too shy to really commit, but he was here now. It was the end of the year and Henry was going to be going back home soon, to where the only magic in the world was inside himself and his brother, and that was the most depressing thing he could think of at this point. So he attended. He didn't really do much by way of collaboration along the way, mostly because his love of table top gaming did not extend to LARPing, but now that there was an actual party happening (and worldly a lot of emotions, which he did not appreciate), he wasn't sure what to do. So he was standing there, nibbling on an apple, when Val approached him. He didn't even throw up, although he sort of wanted to.

Nodding and putting his hand out to the older girl, Henry wondered what on earth he was doing. He was doing what you were supposed to do when a pretty girl asked you to dance, except now he had to do the dancing part and there weren't enough people around to disguise the fact that he sucked at this. Still, he wasn't one to do things halfway and, being the Crotalus he was, he'd even practiced dancing before, just in case he ever needed to know how.

"Uh . . . like this?" he asked, taking one of Val's hands and holding it up and placing the other of his own hands on her upper waist (really, as far up towards her shoulder blades as he could comfortably reach). "I don't know how to . . . uh. Like this?"

22 Henry Spellman I'm not good at that. 1513 0 5

Evelyn Stones

July 29, 2021 12:19 AM

And new bosses by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn only waited until the first moment she was reasonably allowed to scoot off of her seat before unceremoniously dumping herself into the throne with Ness. Whether she was on any part of the seat or solely on her friend's lap was unimportant as she wrapped her arms around Ness' neck and squeezed out a hug. The costume she'd chosen was as close to Nimue's elven garb as she could manage and heaps of fabric draped over their mingled legs as she embraced Ness. It was, rather notably, only half of a character, as a certain male elf was missing from this particular party. But Ness had been a potato in that session and so it seemed rather amusingly apropos.

A lot of things went through her mind and a lot of things she wanted to say. Somehow, though, it didn't really seem like she needed to say any of them. She'd already made her public declaration of Ness' excellence, and now there was just a party and some end of year stuff (oh those pesky exams) standing between them and their futures. That was a terrifying thought; what on earth was Evelyn supposed to say about it? Instead, she settled for genuine and simply grinned cheek-to-cheek with her best friend in the world.

"I love you," she said happily. "Thanks for everything, Ness. I'm excited for the rest of everything."

22 Evelyn Stones And new bosses 1422 0 5

Ness McLeod

July 29, 2021 12:50 AM

Hoepfully we don't have to fight them to the death by Ness McLeod

"What is it with us and chairs?" Ness giggled, as Evelyn spawled into the throne, making it as big and complicated a pile of smush and limbs as the library chair had come to be. What Ness meant was that this seemed a fitting note to end on, but without using that dreaded word. And it was only the end of some things. It was the beginning of plenty of others. Ones that would still involve them seeing each other all the time. Right? Evelyn seemed to be thinking along similar lines. Or thinking of similar things. The fact that the big wide world was waiting. With Heinrich and CJ in it... Ness tried to swallow down the lump of jealousy and other feelings. Just because there was a picture forming of Evelyn without Ness there didn't mean it was real. After everything Evelyn had just said, Ness knew they were forever. A different kind of forever to the one Evelyn would have with Heinrich. Best friends forever.

Ness's arms snaked around Evelyn, squeezing her in, enjoying this moment of undivided attention. Of being allowed to be Evelyn's everything, and be just a little bit possessive.

"I love you too. And I'm excited too. For all the things we're going to do, together and..." The word hitched in Ness' throat, "And the ones we'll tell each other about as stories over dinner."

13 Ness McLeod Hoepfully we don't have to fight them to the death 1419 0 5

Valentine Duell

July 31, 2021 10:21 AM

It's not bad if you give it a try by Valentine Duell

Valentine was not the best dancer in the world. She had liked to pretend to dance a lot before she started coming to school, but hadn't really had anyone to practice with. She had with Papa on occasion, but the size difference hadn't really done much for actual practice. Since coming to school, she hadn't really had a lot of time or occasion for it. But really, how hard could it be? You put your hands around the person and moved your feet. She was rather thankful at this point that her fancy dress skimmed just barely off the floor, which meant that no one could see her feet being a mess while they danced.

She was naturally utterly delighted when Henry assented and put out his hand to her. He was being rather dashing at the moment. She took his hand and they took the appropriate dancing positions. Well, almost. She smiled at his questions and then moved his hand a little farther down to the proper location. Not to far down though. "I think so," she replied cheerily, "Although I honestly haven't done this much, so I apologize in advance to you and your feet." To the best of her knowledge, he was suppose to lead which she was pretty sure meant that he was supposed to move first and she would follow him.

"I'm glad you came along tonight, I hope you had and are having fun." Valentine wasn't bad at noticing relationships between people and she had noted that Henry didn't seem to have many. She wasn't sure though if that was because he wanted it that way or if there was some other reason. If that was how he wanted it, she didn't understand, but wouldn't interfere. If he wanted more friends and such, she had no problem making it her mission to help make that happen. First she had to find out some more information though, which meant she had to talk to him. She gave him a bright smile, "You seem to have been having fun when you come to play, did you play much outside of school?"

2 Valentine Duell It's not bad if you give it a try 1490 0 5

Valentine Duell

July 31, 2021 10:49 AM

That would be terrible by Valentine Duell

Ness looked wonderful after emerging from the changing room, something akin to Robin Hood after fully pillaging Prince John before sending all the riches back to the people. The Imperial Highness began a speech and Val cheered for Evelyn's acknowledgement and ascension. However, when Ness started talking about her, she turned beet red and sort of wanted to vanish. She hadn't done anything that special... but she couldn't let down Ness, so she smiled nervously and made her way up to Ness' throne.

Val, for all of her social tendencies, was not one for the spotlight. She loved bringing it to others so that they could shine brightly and be everything they could be. But she wasn't anything that special to occupy it herself. Still, she found herself next to Ness because that was what Ness wanted, and this was Ness' party. Then on top of things, Ness declared her as the game president successor! Morgan had seniority and was an Aladren. Yet Ness still picked her? Hopefully Mogan wouldn't be upset at her. She smiled at Ness and everyone else a bit nervously perhaps. "The honor is mine," she replied to Ness, "And I will do my best not to let anyone down." She was going to need help though. She hadn't really given serious consideration to dropping the Gaming club next year, but now she couldn't. The other clubs would probably have to go though.

Ness raised her hand and then she sat with the others on the left arm rest of the throne. It wasn't long before Evelyn apparently lost her balance and landed on Ness. Had she known this might happen, she would have maybe tried to design the arms a little better. It didn't take her long to realize that Evelyn may have done that on purpose, and Ness was reciprocating the feelings. She felt a bit like an intruder on their moment. She moved to stand with the intention of going and overseeing unpacking the party supplies and getting things going so everyone else could start having some fun as well. She distract everyone so these two could have a moment or so if they wanted it. She could also try to pull the spotlight away to somewhere else when necessary as well.

2 Valentine Duell That would be terrible 1490 0 5

Henry Spellman

August 03, 2021 12:39 AM

But if I try, I can fail. by Henry Spellman

New idea: chop his own hand off so he never had to face the horrors of having a girl move it closer to stuff he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to even know about. Since self-amputating seemed like the wrong response socially, and the dreaded 'hover hand' was going to be way too obvious, Henry just settled for a small scooch half an inch back up Valentine's back and putting as little pressure on her waist as he could reasonably manage. He almost wished he'd donned a costume just so he could pretend it was a character he was playing as instead of himself that was dancing right now, although costumes were really not a good way to avoid notice and thus really not his thing.

"Uh, thanks," Henry said, his tongue suddenly feeling thick and his face feeling hot. He probably shouldn't have come tonight at all but then, he hadn't properly known it would be a party. "It's good," he added, nodding at the decorations and stuff because people usually thought you answered their question if you complimented them instead and he didn't really wanna ruin stuff for her by saying he wasn't exactly having fun by just hoping he didn't smell as much like anxiety as she did of something pretty.

He wasn't really sure how he'd given the impression that he'd had fun when he played with the group but he found that he was glad he'd done so. Of course, there was a good chance she was lying to be nice or for some motive of her own because people did that a lot but it felt good to think that maybe that wasn't the case. "Yeah, I like tabletop games," he said with a shrug. "I didn't play this much though. Mostly Magic the Gathering." His face turned even more red because he wasn't supposed to talk about his cards. He knew that Oz worried about him when he talked about his cards. Telling a girl, one who was friends with everyone and could spread gossip like none other if she wanted to, was absolutely not something Oz would have gotten behind. It made Henry feel guilty, like he'd ruined Oz' reputation by inevitably ruining his own. "But not much, it's kinda lame or whatever. I like. Uh. Sports. Quidditch? You play Quidditch, right?"

OOC: Hover hand, in case you don't know.

22 Henry Spellman But if I try, I can fail. 1513 0 5

Valentine Duell

August 04, 2021 9:43 PM

If you don't, you can't succeed. by Valentine Duell

If she wasn't mistaken, Valentine thought Henry might not be very comfortable with dancing. He shifted his hand again and was barely touching her at all. He had agreed to dance, but perhaps he had changed his mind? Maybe he had been expecting her to be a better dancer? She may need to work on that, somehow... sometime. She'd certainly like to be a good dancer, graceful and elegant and such. She was contemplating saying something about it when he commented on the party.

"Thanks." She responded genuinely with a pleased smile, "Evelyn and I had been planning it for a bit, but it turned out way better than I expected." He still seemed very nervous, and she wished she could say or do something to help him relax. Her eyes opened a bit wider when he said he played Magic, then he seemed to backpedal rather awkwardly and take a hard left turn to another subject altogether. Alright, she could play along for a moment.

"I've been chaser, or back-up chaser for three years now," she began. If he wanted to talk Quidditch she could talk Quidditch, but she suspected that he might actually not. "My passing and scoring rates are pretty good as well, but I've been trying to get the seeker position for the past two years now, but I'll probably have to wait until Jeremy and Anya both graduate." Jeremy's name may have possibly been pronounced with the slightest hint of disdain, but Anya's was clear of all unfriendly intonation. "The game itself is okay, it's fun and something of a family tradition, but really I just love the exhilaration of flying through the air with the wind whipping all around me." Her face clearly showed the delight she felt at the experience. "Are you thinking about joining the team? What position do you think you'd like to play?"

Then it was time to bring things back around to his previous statement. "As for Magic, I think that's great. Do you have any cards here at school?" Her eyes looked at him with honest inquiry. "I've wanted to learn how to play but Papa always complained that collectable trading card games like that were a terrible money sink, especially if you didn't have anyone to play with." She rolled her eyes at the memory. "Plus he thought they might skew my 'mental processes' about how magic actually worked before I got to school." She rolled her eyes yet again, "He got me a pack of the Pokemon game cards at one point though. I think it was after I asked him a lot of questions about which of those creatures actually existed that he decided not to get Magic cards for me."

2 Valentine Duell If you don't, you can't succeed. 1490 0 5

Henry Spellman

August 09, 2021 12:22 AM

I succeed at not failing. by Henry Spellman

Henry realized almost immediately that he'd basically made a mistake in bringing up Quidditch because he didn't even know the positions. It wasn't something he paid attention to enough to know that 'chaser' was actually the legitimate name of a position until Valentine repeated it a few times and then she was talking about 'seekers' and he thought that maybe she was messing with him. Two positions were just synonyms? And she couldn't play one of them until some other kids graduated? He got the idea of second string and he supposed there were positions like quarterback where only a few people ever got to play it over the course of their time in school, but they weren't called stupid things like 'seeker'. He nodded though because he supposed that was good stuff all the way around regardless. He wasn't sure how hard it was to get on the team, or the back-up team, so he didn't want to seem too excited, but polite nods to show he was listening would do it. Besides, he didn't care that much about the sport but he did have a general interest in Val herself and he was happy to listen to her talk about it, even if they did have wildly different ideas of what was fun. For example, flying wasn't on Henry's list. He let out a soft chuckle when she asked if he wanted to join.

"Definitely not," he said, his imagination flipping through a reel of Oz laughing at him for trying and then his mom worrying about him. "I don't really do sports," he added. "That's my brother's thing. Besides, sounds like tough competition. I'm glad you enjoy though." He only knew a few things about dancing properly like this and figured this would be a good time to use a move to hopefully distract her enough from making him talk too much more about sports, so he stepped out of the way and twirled her around once.

The topic landed back on Magic before he could think of anything else and he was almost excited for a minute because she really did seem interested. But then she called it a money sink. Age old guilt clawed its way up into his throat, where he swallowed it to keep it quiet. Quiet was, after all, safe. Valentine didn't look like she believed her dad about it being a money sink but Henry knew her dad was right. Henry's own cards were mostly either cheap ones, all he'd ever really asked for for holidays and birthdays, or ones he'd won and been given or found. A couple of his friends from home had gifted him enough cards to cobble a deck together and he'd been able to get some pretty good cards when they had enough money for mom to make a purchase like that, but it was part of why he protected those cards like they were precious; they really really were precious when you couldn't afford a 'money sink' like that.

"Yeah, they're not that great," he said with a shrug, skipping her question about whether he had any at school. He wasn't about to reveal that to someone who may have a motive to liberate him from them. His heart always ached a bit when he lied, but that's what you did when you had to think about more than just yourself. "Tell me more about this instead. Do you do a lot of LARPing at home?"

22 Henry Spellman I succeed at not failing. 1513 0 5

Valentine Duell

August 09, 2021 9:33 PM

But, you will then certainly fail at succeeding. by Valentine Duell

Valentine smiled to herself as Henry nodded along to her Quidditch speech. She was pretty good at reading people, and she was fairly certain that Henry didn't have much of an idea what she was talking about. That was fine though, he was being friendly and she wasn't about to bore him with some topic that he didn't really want to talk about. Before she could respond though, he stepped away and for the briefest of moments she thought he was leaving. Instead, he did the best thing ever!

Letting him lead the motion, Val spun around delight clearly plain upon her countenance. Her dress swirled about perfectly, just as it was supposed to do. She couldn't help but let out a light giggle as they came back together again. Her arm on his shoulders held a bit tighter than previously as she braced against him for the moment it took her to regain her equilibrium. "That was fun!" She exclaimed happily, "You're certainly good at dancing if you're not one for sports. Have you been doing this long? As I warned you earlier, I haven't." She looked mildly apologetic but thought she was doing okay. She hadn't stepped on his feet... yet.

Then she sensed that she had said or done something wrong. She was curious what it was, but didn't want to press. If Henry didn't want to talk about Magic right now, that was alright. She could still leave the door open to him perhaps. "No?' She asked then after a brief pause she followed his example and shrugged as well. "Well, I may still pester Papa into getting me some over the summer, they won't mess up my education at this point, and..." she paused a moment. "Maybe I can find someone around here to play with sometime."

"Nope." Val said simply. "I don't get to do much of anything at home. Well..." she paused again, reconsidering her words. "That's not entirely right. There's just not much to do around home I guess. I haven't had anyone around my age to do anything with until I got here. I got into playing tabletop games because Papa thought it might be a fun thing to do with Mama and some of his coworkers." She had a thought then and giggled. "Actually, coming to school here and learning how to be a proper witch is probably more LARPesqe then any actual LARPing would be." She smiled and looked around the grand hall before them. "This is something amazing, isn't it?" Then she turned back to face him properly, "How do you like being a wizard now? You didn't grow up with it, did you?" She smiled at him, "Despite having a witch and wizard for parents myself, it still feels like I grew up halfway between both worlds."

2 Valentine Duell But, you will then certainly fail at succeeding. 1490 0 5