Touch Down on Labyrinth Gardens

Grayson Wright

January 14, 2022 6:22 PM

Orientation for First Years by Grayson Wright

The wizard who stood under the 1st Years Here banner off to the side of the wagon landing site could, to some eyes, have seemed assembled from a couple of incompatible stereotypes. His head and shoulders - clean-shaven face, short-cut, very dark hair which was starting to go grey, rectangular, wire-rimmed glasses, a none-too-boldly-colored tie - could have belonged to any non-magical man in his mid-forties. Then, though, what could at first have resembled a businessman's dark blue jacket just kept going, extending into a long, wide-sleeved wizard's robe, and he wore a matching pointed, round-brimmed wizard's hat, overshadowing the mundanity of his hair and glasses a bit.

"First year students...All first year students over here, please...."

Finally, all the older students seemed to have gotten off the wagons and dispersed, leaving only the new students. A quick head count came up to the expected number, and Grayson Wright smiled around at them all.

"Welcome to Sonora," he said pleasantly. "My name is Professor Wright. Tomorrow morning, I'll become one of your teachers, so I look forward to getting to know you all this year. For now, though - leave all your luggage with the wagons, and follow me, please."

He only led them a short distance into the Labyrinth Gardens, walking down a wide path which opened onto a hedge-walled courtyard with a central fountain, several stone benches, and three tables in it. On one of these tables, there were as many dark green folders as there were students present. On another, there was a buffet of light snack foods, with lightweight plates and paper napkins available so students could gather several refreshments in one trip if they wished. On the third table, there were several large apparatuses, each topped with a clear (and unbreakable) glass bulb which showed the color of the drink within, though they were also distinguished by written labels on their fronts above the spigots which, when turned, would dispense the contents into glasses: pumpkin juice, apple juice, grape juice, iced tea, and plain water. There was also a box of ice (charmed not to melt) with a scoop in it and plenty of clear cups.

"Come in, everyone, and please take one folder," he instructed them. "You'll get to the refreshments soon, but if you could give me your attention for a few minutes first..."

For many years, Professor Wright had recited almost the same speech to each group of first years, mostly from memory. He had noticed, however, that a lot of students seemed to find it all just as tedious to listen to as he found it to recite. He had, therefore, taken the (for him) bold decision to cut it down, leaving out most of the information that wouldn't be applicable to first years and focusing on topics they wouldn't also hear about from their heads of houses later in the evening.

"Once again, welcome, everyone," he said. "Tomorrow morning, you will all start taking seven classes - Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and flying lessons. I'll be your Charms teacher, so you'll see a lot of me for at least the next five years." Older students might have expected him to add for them to contain their enthusiasm, but he tried to be uniformly pleasant and straightforward with the Beginners classes. "You have schedules in your folders which tell you when and where each class meets, along with other important times, like when meals are served and when curfew is." He paused for half a beat and then added, "It's understandable if some of you feel a little overwhelmed looking at your schedules, so, just to be clear - we know that you all may have had very different educations before this, and different levels of information about the wizarding world. You'll also each learn at your own pace, and find you're stronger in some areas of magic than others. If you find yourselves struggling, we - your teachers - will all understand, and so will many of your fellow students. You'll each be Sorted into a House tonight, with a Head of House from the staff and several older student leaders we call 'prefects' who you can go to for support, along with all teachers having regular office hours and the option for scheduling special sessions if that's what's needed. Don't get discouraged, or let things get out of hand."

He cleared his throat after that little speech, which he hadn't fully planned out. "On more cheerful notes, we also can provide enrichment for any subject where you find you learn unusually quickly, and you'll have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities here during your free time. Club leaders will post sign-up sheets in the next few weeks, and the school Quidditch sign-up sheet should appear in the Cascade Hall. You'll also most likely find people in your Houses who you can create activities you're interested in with, if we don't already have something - you're Sorted into different Houses based on personality traits, though you're welcome and encouraged to make friends from other Houses as well. The Sorting Ceremony will take place later, in the Cascade Hall, where you'll dip the blank badges attached to your folders into a potion. If it turns blue, you're in Aladren, and will get to see even more of me, since I'm Head of that House. If it turns red, that means you're a Crotalus and will be under the care of Professor Skies, our deputy headmistress. Yellow badges go to Teppenpaw, and your Head of House is Professor Xavier, our very capable Herbology teacher, and brown ones go to Pecari and Professor Carter-Xavier - who, yes, is Professor Xavier's wife. Some people think of their Houses as a sort of extended family here, and I hope you'll all do your different Houses proud during your time here."

He resisted the temptation to add especially if you're Aladrens; he was not only Head of House, but had also been an Aladren student during his years in school, long, long before any of these kids had been born. Instead, he said, "if no-one has any questions about all of that, you can talk for a while and have some snacks until we begin our tour of the main building. If you do have any questions, feel free to come see me before we begin our tour – and welcome again to Sonora.”

OOC: Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming. New authors have been given a buddy for ease, so look for your names below.'

Now, go forth, new first years of Sonora! Post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC board or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can. Have fun and we’re glad you could join us!

[Credit to Nathan Xavier's author for the content of this OOC notice]

Subthreads:

Orientation buddy for Flora Wilkins by Leviosa Scurlock

Orientation buddy for Antonia Guter by Fortune Ardovini with Antonia Guter

Hi, I'm Lenny by Lenny Pierce with Xander Faro

Orientation Buddy for Eris Ryan by Cole Pierce with Eris Ryan

Touch Down by Freya Curtis with Yaniel Ayala Velez

16 Grayson Wright Orientation for First Years 113 1 5

Leviosa Scurlock

January 14, 2022 6:22 PM

Orientation buddy for Flora Wilkins by Leviosa Scurlock

Levi gave her robes a quick brush down as she got off the wagon, in a vague attempt to smooth out any wrinkles from the journey. It was an action ingrained by habit rather than because of her own particular care or attention to how she looked. Case in point, she forgot to check whether her hair was mussed from where she’d fallen asleep with her head against the wall. Her mother had lacquered her hair up with enough products to keep her French plaits firmly in place and prevent fly-aways (having curls, her hair was very prone to those) that the damage was very minimal, and barely noticeable, and she still looked fairly neat as she made her way to meet her fellow first years for orientation.

She listened attentively-ish to the teacher. At some point, she became aware that her weight had shifted from standing evenly to leaning more on one foot, and that her gaze had drifted over to the hedges, and she wasn’t quite sure how long she’d been standing like that, instead of standing up straight, and whilst she was still aware of what he was saying she was also thinking about two or three other things at the same time. She tried to correct her posture and look more visibly like she was paying attention, but it only lasted a little while before she caught herself again. Standing up straight was such a chore.

Eventually, he stopped talking, and they were left to mingle and get snacks, which was much more promising. She went over to the refreshment table, helping herself to crisps and a biscuit—which she supposed she must remember to call ‘chips’ and ‘a cookie’ now that she was in the USA—and a glass of juice (which she was fairly confident was still called ‘juice’ here).

“Hi,” she smiled at the person next to her in line. “I’m Levi. It’s exciting to finally be here, isn’t it? I’ve read so many boarding school books growing up. And the gardens look really excellent.” Levi quite enjoyed spending her time outside and was looking forward to finding out what animals there were here for her to befriend.

13 Leviosa Scurlock Orientation buddy for Flora Wilkins 1545 0 5

Fortune Ardovini

January 14, 2022 6:22 PM

Orientation buddy for Antonia Guter by Fortune Ardovini

Fortune grinned wide as he hopped down from the wagon onto the school grounds. He made sure his robe billowed out dramatically behind him as he did so. It was the proper way to make an entrance. He followed the professor that was there to meet them farther into the gardens where the actual orientation was occurring. He'd read up on the school enough to know most of the information the professor gave them, but he listened intently anyway. There was always something new to learn, and he didn't want to become a 'troublemaker' right away.

Once they were allowed to eat and talk, Fortune swept quickly through the food line picking out a few things and getting clear to wander a bit. The garden was nice enough he though as he munched on one of the cookies he'd piled onto his plate, it definitely had exploration potential. He was looking forward to starting his learning, there was no doubt this would be exciting. When they were looking at schools, he'd deliberately chosen Sonora because he didn't know anyone that had gone here before, it was all new and exciting for him.

Fortune approached one of the other new kids that he was supposed to be mingling with. "Hi! I'm Fortune Ardovini, what's your name?" His perpetual smile continued as he gestured at the school and the grounds in general, "Are you looking forward to this? I am, it'll be fun."

2 Fortune Ardovini Orientation buddy for Antonia Guter 1549 0 5

Lenny Pierce

January 14, 2022 8:27 PM

Hi, I'm Lenny by Lenny Pierce

Lenny watched the ground come closer as his flying wagon approached the school. He'd been on the wagon since one of the California pickups and he'd claimed a front seat, so he'd seen the landing process a few times already as they came into a few more transportation stations to pick up more students, but this time he felt a swell of eagerness and anticipation thrum through him because this . . . this was Sonora. His parents had met here, and so many of his cousins and aunts and uncles had learned magic here. The place was practically a legend, it featured in so many family stories, and it was finally his turn to attend.

The wheels touched ground and Lenny barely waited for it to come to a full and complete stop before he was leaping down from the wagon and gawping about at the Garden they'd landed in. He'd seen hedge mazes before, of course. One of the Renaissance Faires his family worked for had a real one (and another one had a hedge maze that wasn't real but approximated fairly well).

But this one was beautiful. He reveled in it. He turned in circles, taking it all in. He smelled a flower, then picked another one and tucked it into his brown hair, which he had pulled up into a pony tail for the trip. He re-clipped his sparkly green barrette (chosen to match the school robes that sadly covered his much cuter outfit) to hold the stem so the flower wouldn't fall out. It added a bit more color to his ensemble. At least the rainbow colored shoelaces on his sneakers were still visible.

Eventually, he realized one of the adults was calling for him (by category, not by name, so he probably wasn't in trouble yet) to come join him, so Lenny did, congregating with the other new first years. "Hi, I'm Lenny," he told a few of the closest ones, figuring it was best to get his name out there before teachers started calling role tomorrow. It wasn't that he disliked his first name. He just didn't use it. He had no idea why his parents hadn't just named him Lenny if that was all they were ever going to call him. A lot of his relatives were named for 60s singers, and one of his uncles was even named for the same one Lenny was, so he'd gotten first dibs on 'John' while Lenny used a shortened form of his middle name 'Lennon' exclusively.

After an Age of waiting, the teacher brought them somewhere else, and Lenny collected one of the folders he was supposed to get. He fiddled with the blank badge while listening to the man speak. Nothing too surprising there.

He headed right over to the food once they were allowed to do that and got a glass of water to start with. He was just about dying of thirst. As he sipped at that, he wandered down the table of snack foods, frowning doubtfully, and not quite daring to put any of them on his plate. "Do you see any labels that say if anything here is vegan?" he asked one of his new classmates. "Oh, and I'm Lenny. My pronouns are he and him," he added, because this was something he had learned he needed to provide, or people were prone to think he was a girl with his hair up like it was and the glossy nail polish on his fingers.

1 Lenny Pierce Hi, I'm Lenny 1547 0 5

Cole Pierce

January 15, 2022 4:56 PM

Orientation Buddy for Eris Ryan by Cole Pierce

Cole had given his mom and dad big hugs, and his grandma a big hug, and his Gramelia a medium sized hug, and his Aunt Bel a big wave before getting onto the flying Wagon in Boston with his two cousins, Alexander and Mab, who were both sixth years, and both prefects. One was in Teppenpaw, and the other in Pecari, and he figured he had a good chance of ending up in the same House as one of them by the end of the night. Since both of his parents had been Teppenpaws as well, Cole guessed it would be Alexander in Teppenpaw, but Pecari was an outside possibility he wasn't willing to eliminate yet.

Mab took a window seat and encouraged Alexander to sit next to her and she didn't shoo him away when he sat next to Alexander, so he guessed it was okay to hang out with her in front of other people, though she did seem more reserved and scowly than she did at home. But maybe that was just the wagon. Cole didn't really like it much. It was cool at first, but after a while he got a stomach ache from the turbulence and his legs were cramping from sitting in the same place for three quarters of the width of the country.

He was really glad when they finally touched down at the school in Arizona, not least because he wasn't sure how much longer his queasy stomach had been going to stay just queasy and not try to do something more proactive. Feeling more than a little green, he made his way over to where the first years were being gathered. He stretched the kinks out of his legs and back, but then slumped down to sit in the dirt and put his head between his knees, like he'd been taught to do when he got carsick. (Not that he rode a car often, but when he did, his stomach wasn't too agreeable about that mode of transport either.)

Luckily, he was feeling a bit better by the time they moved to the clearing and he went for some water while his classmates collected their green folders. It would either help settle his belly, or make it worse, and this time he was fortunate enough that it was the former. He continued to sip slowly at the water while Professor Wright talked. When the speech was over, he got his own folder, and then went looking for some bland looking crackers at the snack table.

"How was your trip?" he asked one of the kids standing nearby when he moved away and started nibbling on a cracker. "I got a little wagon-sick. But I'm super excited to be here now!"

1 Cole Pierce Orientation Buddy for Eris Ryan 1546 0 5

Xander Faro

January 18, 2022 1:22 PM

Hi Lenny, I'm excited! by Xander Faro

He was finally here, at Sonora! Xander almost had to pinch himself to believe it, that after all his excitement and daydreaming and waiting, the day had finally arrived when he would go out into the Big Wide World and start at Sonora.

His excitement had very much been tempered when goodbyes were said; he hadn't thought about how hard that would be. The usually comforting warmth of his mother's hug had become almost constricting, a painful reminder that it would be the last time he hugged for a couple of months, and his little sister Thalia had been most upset at the thought of not seeing her brother every day.

But, with the sad came the good - as a good luck present, his parents had given him his very own owl!

Xander had been wanting a pet of his own for years now. He wanted an animal to look after himself, rather than the shared family pets, and to have his own owl was absolutely thrilling. Finally, he was deemed old enough and responsible enough to have a pet!

It was with these mixed feelings of excitement, sadness and pride that Xander stood and listened quietly and politely to the professor's speech.

He wasn't worried about the classes at all - more a testament to his 'it is what it is' outlook than any great intelligence - and was more interested to hear about the extracurricular activities. There had to be some pretty exciting things there!

Finally, though, the speech came to an end, and now Xander could get on to the most exciting part of starting Sonora - meeting his new friends!

He wandered over to the snack table, which seemed to be a likely social hub. Besides, food was always a good idea.

He'd just put a sausage roll on his plate when someone addressed him with a question.

"Well, I'd avoid the sausage rolls," he suggested, gesturing to his plate with a grin. "But there's some fruit here, or are you looking for something a bit more substantial?"

Xander wasn't sure why Lenny had this interesting form of introducing himself, but he was always one to roll with what seemed crucial information to others.

"I'm Xander," he offered in a friendly reply. "I'm, uh, a boy too. What do you reckon, isn't this all great?"

Gesturing again, this time trying to encompass the whole spectacle that was Sonora, you couldn't miss the excitement that Xander was feeling.

9 Xander Faro Hi Lenny, I'm excited! 1550 0 5

Lenny Pierce

January 19, 2022 7:51 AM

Hi, Excited! Great to meet you! by Lenny Pierce

Lenny laughed, looking at the sausage roll on the other student's plate. "No sausage, got it," he said wryly. "Fruit's a good start," he answered, reaching for a some blue berries, "but I was hoping for maybe a cookie that's dairy and egg free?" It was a tall order, especially when he wasn't in an environment filled with other vegans or those with milk intolerances, but cookie recipes did exist that were safe for him to eat.

"And it's nice to meet you, Xander!" Lenny grinned at the other boy - who was also kind enough to confirm that was how he identified. "And this is great! I've been looking forward to Sonora for ages. I've got some older third or fourth cousins in fourth and fifth year," normally, he'd just call them 'cousins' and be done with it, but neither Rosalynn nor Janis lived with the main group of California Pierces, and he didn't know either girl very well, so adding in the extra little bit of familial distance felt appropriate. "And my Mom and Dad met here. Do you have family who went to the school?"

He contemplated an orange but left it, opting for an apple instead. He didn't want to try dealing with peeling the orange while standing around trying to hold onto a plate and a folder at the same time. An apple was just easier, if not as delicious. He added some strawberries, too, because those were good and tasty, and they'd pair with an apple better than an orange anyway.

OOC: Welcome back, Xander! Good to see you again!

1 Lenny Pierce Hi, Excited! Great to meet you! 1547 0 5

Xander Faro

January 21, 2022 11:56 AM

I'm excited for everything! by Xander Faro

A dairy and egg free cookie? Sure, Xander had heard of veganism, that wasn't new to him, but he hadn't considered the cookies ramifications before! The baking he'd done with his Yia-yia had been heavy on the dairy and egg use.

Still, Lenny seemed sure that that such a cookie was indeed a possibility, so Xander did a scan of the selection in front of them.

"There's some cookies over there," he pointed out. "But nothing to suggest they're your type of cookies."

He frowned, not having forseen such a complexity in his first conversation at Sonora. "Maybe we need to talk to an elf or something?"

Plus finding the elves would be pretty fun! Xander's family didn't have an elf, but his paternal grandparents did, and from Xander's experience elves could sort most things. A school the size of Sonora had to have elves, and if anyone could provide the mysterious dairy and egg free cookie, it would be an elf.

"I've been looking forward to Sonora too, but I'm the first in my family to come here," Xander confessed, kind of proud to be the first Faro here. "My little sister will be here in a few years though. What house do you reckon you'll be in? Do you want to be with your cousins?"

OOC: Thank you! Here's hoping I stick around for bit longer this time...

9 Xander Faro I'm excited for everything! 1550 0 5

Freya Curtis

January 21, 2022 3:06 PM

Touch Down by Freya Curtis

Freya was largely excited about the prospect of starting Sonora Academy. It sounded like an exciting new adventure that she couldn’t wait to begin. But as her first day loomed ever nearer, the eleven year old began to feel more and more nervous about the big step she was taking. She had no doubts that she was going to feel homesick. Whilst Freya was used to being away from home and travelling a lot, that was different as she was always with her family. The most she had been away from them was sleepovers at friends houses, but now she was going to be in a strange place so far from home, with no familiar faces to rely on. Freya did wish she at least had someone she knew at the school for support but she could only hope she’d make friends quickly and the professors would be nice.

The journey was pretty simple, but Freya felt extremely nervous and alone as she stepped off the flying wagon and took in her first view of her new home, but she tried not to let any of that show. Fortunately the directions for where to go were pretty clear on arrival so she joined the huddle of fellow first years, her eyes scanning over their faces as she wondered what they’d all be like. As daunting as the schedules and information all was, Freya did think Professor Wright seemed quite nice and that made her feel a bit more comfortable about her new surroundings. Once he had finished talking, Freya looked around at the other kids as some of them began to strike up conversations with each other. She didn’t feel particularly hungry, her mother having sent her off with plenty of snacks for the journey and she also felt a little too overwhelmed for eating, but she decided to pour herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

“Would you like a glass?” she asked one of the other first years when she noticed them also approach the drinks table.

8 Freya Curtis Touch Down 1551 0 5

Lenny Pierce

January 21, 2022 5:27 PM

That's a great way to approach life! by Lenny Pierce

Lenny eyed the cookies Xander pointed out doubtfully. "If it doesn't say, it's usually not safe," he admitted regretfully, "but talking to an elf is a great idea. They might have some set aside in case there were food allergies or something. Might be good to talk to one ahead of dinner, too," he added, thinking ahead to the feast later. They might use Smart Balance (or whatever the wizardly non-dairy equivalent to butter was) instead of butter to flavor the vegetables or something for him.

He looked around but didn't immediately see anything that might qualify as an elf. He'd never met one in person before, the family not having any, but he was kind of imagining a drearier looking version of a Santa Elf since they did housework and yardwork instead of making toys.

"But that can wait until after we finish these snacks," he decided, and picked up a few pieces of celery and scooped out a dollop of peanut butter to dunk them in. Peanut butter was usually safe.

"That's cool," he responded to the other boy being the first of his family to attend Sonora. That he knew what elves were and had looked forward to magic school, though, suggested he probably wasn't muggleborn anyway. "Most likely Pecari for me," he hazarded a guess to his House placement. "That's what both my parents were. My cousin Janis is there, too. Could be Teppenpaw, maybe, though. Dunno. I think I'm nice. My other cousin is in Aladren. I doubt I'll get that one. My grades are okay, but they're not top of the class. I won't mind if I'm with either of them, it might be nice to get to know them better, but I don't need to be. Neither of them live very close to us - Ros is in Nevada and the other's up near San Francisco, I think, while we're mostly southern California, so I don't know them very well."

"What about you, do you have a guess to where you'll end up?"

1 Lenny Pierce That's a great way to approach life! 1547 0 5

Antonia Guter

January 23, 2022 2:50 AM

Hi, I'm Tony by Antonia Guter

Antonia had not prepared herself for this. In fact, she had yet to read anything in depth about the academy or the magic world she threw herself in——a very uncharacteristic move as she always insisted upon reading more advanced materials than her class back home. It was almost as if she was punishing herself for reasons unknown.

She took a deep breath as she followed her peers into the garden. She was unable to suppress the gleeful gasp when she saw the greenery before her. It’s nice to have something reminding her of home. She was excited when she saw the endless sand outside before, taken aback by the serene beauty of the desert in its stillness. Antonia had always felt more connected to the nature than people, It was a calling she could not understand. She thought back to the glimpse of pearl white bones, almost negligible amid the sand on a fast wagon, and felt a chill in her bones. It was not that she’s afraid, but rather shocked at the indifference she felt towards it. She was deep in thought and almost missed their cue to take the folder. Her heart leapt at the thought of flying lessons. What could that be?

Antonia scanned the table before her and settled her eyes on the apple juice. She had had some cookies on the trip and was not particularly hungry. Conversations were flowing around her and finding quite content in her corner seat, she settled herself in by crossing her legs underneath the coat and sipped her juice quietly.

She almost choked herself on the juice when she heard someone talking to her. She was a bit flustered but quickly recovered herself. “Antonia Guter, friends call me Tony”, she extended her hand, “and yes, I’m actually quite excited about the flying lessons. What about you?”

56 Antonia Guter Hi, I'm Tony 1542 0 5

Fortune Ardovini

January 23, 2022 5:20 AM

It is truly a pleasure to meet you! by Fortune Ardovini

Fortune panicked for just a moment when the girl he'd addressed almost choked on her drink. "Oh gosh!" He exclaimed, "I'm sorry!" He hadn't been here for more than an hour and he'd already nearly killed someone. That wasn't the best way to start things off.

He was relieved when she recovered quickly, and gave her an apologetic, slightly sheepish grimace as he took her offered hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you…" he hesitated.

Mom had insisted he be polite, proper, and respectful when meeting new people at school. That meant the correct way to end the statement was 'Miss Guter', but she'd said that her friends called her Tony. Was that an invitation to call her such as well? Did that mean they were friends already even if he had just almost killed her? He figured in a situation like this it may be best to play it safe.

"Miss Guter. Though I wouldn't be against being one that can call you Tony." He gave her a grin, "Are you alright?" Boy he hoped she wouldn't hold that against him. "Call me Fortune, or I also answer to 'Hey you!'" As he tried to inject some levity into the conversation.

His eyes gleamed as she mentioned flying lessons. "Yes!" He cheered, "Flying is going to be great! They've also got a real Quidditch team here! Do you think you'll join?"

2 Fortune Ardovini It is truly a pleasure to meet you! 1549 0 5

Eris Ryan

January 26, 2022 6:46 AM

Eris meets the Wizarding World by Eris Ryan

There was no way this could go wrong. Absolutely no-fricking-way this could go wrong. Eris had prepared for this moment since she first found out about the magical world hiding under her nose all these years. She smoothed her vibrant purple hair down, adjusted her shirt, and took a deep breath. With shaking fingers, Eris reached for the door of the wagon beyond which her new home awaited her. Just as her fingers brushed the handle, she heard bright laughter and chattering from outside. She yanked her hand back and held it to her chest.

What if they don’t like me? Or think I’m weird… what do witches and wizards even TALK about? Eris’ thoughts began to spiral into a vortex of anxiety. NO, stop it! She chastised herself. In one swift motion, she flung open the door and tumbled out of the wagon bumping into someone.

“Sorry…” she mumbled, but the other student had already moved on with the river of others flowing towards Sonora’s gates. Eris stood numbly trying to take it all in. Looking behind her, she could see a deserted wasteland of baked earth suffering under the Arizona sun, but ahead of her an oasis beckoned. The students continued to flow around her, parting like water around riverstones. A few smiled at her while the rest where lost in their own anticipation. There was no way this could go wrong. She just had to blend in. Ducking her head and peering through a violet curtain, Eris took the first steps towards Sonora’s gates following the teacher who looked like he knew where they were going.

Eris slowly moved towards the back of the group as they entered the courtyard. She didn’t want the teacher, who she guessed was really a professor ( Does he have a PhD? she wondered vaguely), to notice her and immediately dislike her from the start. Reluctantly she grabbed one of the indicated folders from the table and stepped back towards the tables as the professor continued to talk about being sorted into houses based on their personality.

I wonder if they have a house for people who ruin everything… she thought nervously. Eris hadn’t ever fit in anywhere before, how were they going to determine where she belonged without even knowing anything about her?

Her panicked thoughts were interrupted by a boy next to her. He did look a bit green, but she probably shouldn’t say that out loud.

“My trip? Oh, it was fine. Much less stressful than boarding an airplane and checking in through TSA. It was my first time traveling by myself anywhere though... or by magic... so I guess that was cool. Your face kind of matches the folder, you know?” Oops. She hadn’t meant to mention the green.

“I mean… Ihopeyouffeelbbetterffromyourwagonsicknesssoon," her words rushed together and she forced herself to count to ten and take a deep breath.

"I’m sorry. I don’t usually talk to… well anyone. I always want to but most people avoid me.” Eris really thought she should stop talking now. She should ask him something.

“Erm..” She ducked her head so her hair hid her from view again. “What was Mr. Professor dude talking about with the houses?"

60 Eris Ryan Eris meets the Wizarding World 1552 0 5

Cole Pierce

January 26, 2022 8:28 AM

And the Wizarding World meets Eris Ryan! by Cole Pierce

OOC: Welcome to Sonora! I'm glad you could join us! BIC:

Cole smiled, taking another nibble on his cracker as the girl spoke. He was glad she hadn't suffered from motion sickness the way he did. When she compared his face to his folder, he was glad he'd only nibbled, though, or he might have choked on it. As it was he kind of half-laughed, half-coughed at the sheer unexpectedness of the comment. Sure, he knew he probably looked bad, but most people wouldn't mention it.

She seemed even more taken aback by her own comment than he did, though, which made it easier to take it without offense. "Thanks," he said, welcoming the well-wishes for his stomach to improve.

"I won't avoid you!" he promised sincerely when she admitted to a lack of opportunity to talk to other people. It was a problem he had a deep seated sympathy for, being an only child.

He perked up delightedly when she asked about the Houses. This was a question he could answer! The opportunity to be helpful also went a long way toward curing the lingering queasiness, which suggested it might not entirely be the fault of the wagon anymore. "There are four Houses," he declared with authority, "Teppenpaw, and Pecari, and Al-" he hesitated, not having any relatives in that one, so it didn't get talked about nearly as often, but he pulled it out of his short term memory with the help of a glance toward the Professor who had introduced himself as the Head that House, "Aladren, and Crotalus. The students get divided into those four, and we can earn House Points, and there's usually some kind of prize at the end of the year for the House that collects the most of them," he explained what his cousins had tried to explain to him.

"Also, your Head of House, like Professor Wright if you're an Aladren," he pointed at their orientation leader, "kind of acts as your guardian while you're here, so anything you'd need a parent for, you can ask him. And there's House Prefects in the upper years, too, who are like older siblings you can go to if you need a little help but not a whole adult. I'm hoping for Teppenpaw or Pecari because the sixth year prefects in those are my actual cousins. Are you the first of your family to come here?" he guessed, or she probably would have peppered these kinds of questions on her older family members all summer, like Cole had done.

"Oh! And I'm forgetting my manners. I'm Cole. Cole Pierce, from Boston." He stuck out his left hand to shake, because his right was covered in cracker crumbs.

1 Cole Pierce And the Wizarding World meets Eris Ryan! 1546 0 5

Yaniel Ayala Velez

January 26, 2022 3:14 PM

Like in football? by Yaniel Ayala Velez

Yarielis fidgeted, transferring the baseball cap from one hand to the other, before realising this probably looked like a nervous gesture (because it was) and firmly sticking to one hand. Wearing it would have been better. Mama hadn't said 'no, you may not wear a baseball cap' but that was possibly because she hadn't been asked. Well, she probably also wouldn't phrase it like that. Mama wasn't that strict. But she probably would have said 'Are you sure it goes?' or something like that, which would have been enough doubt to start chipping away at Yarielis' decision. It decidedly did not go with the first day outfit Mama had chosen. That shopping trip had gone exactly how the first year had thought it would - Mama pointing out nice skirts and dresses, amd Yarielis being too afraid of disappointing her to say she hated them all. It wasn't like Mama had anyone else she could pick out clothes for and dress up. The perks of being an only child...

The offensive dress was now hidden under the Sonora robes. They were weird and dress-like but seeing as everyone had to wear them it was harder to call them dresses. And they were long enough and loose enough that maybe no one would insist on things like sitting with your knees together when wearing one. Still, they didn't feel familiar or right yet, and the dress underneath was - like all dresses - horribly uncomfortable. It was like people only made dresses out of material that prickled your skin as soon as they were on, even if they'd seemed soft and innocent on the rack.

Yarielis took a few steps towards to the orientation space, and then realised the cap had switched hands again. In fact, that hand was now balled into a fist around the soft, squashy fabric of the hat's dome. There was nothing else for it but to jam it on. Mama wasn't around to see, and no one could see the dress it didn't go with, and the only thing to worry about was it being a dress code violation and ending up with detention before they even properly began. That was almost enough to make Yarielis yank it off again, but the comfort derived from having the hat - the reason the first year had it out in the first place - outweighed the anxiety. It provided a line of protection against both the sun and other people.

They'd be nice, right? There was no reason to susepct the vast majority wouldn't be, but these interactions could make or break the next seven years, and that was a lot of pressure.

Still, with a very literal baseball-themed cap that declared membership of (or at least allegiance to) a little league team, Yarielis felt more grounded, and stepped into the clearing.

First up was a lot of information. The first year nodded periodically, knowing most of what was said already from reading school brochures, but it was good to have a recap. Then they were set free to socialise. A drink sounded like a good first move, as Yarielis' mouth was incredibly dry.

Someone else was already there though. So, here it was, social interaction number one. It was an offer of juice.

"Thanks, that'd be nice," Yarielis agreed, offering the other student a smile that was much more confident than Yarielis felt inside.

13 Yaniel Ayala Velez Like in football? 1554 0 5

Freya Curtis

January 28, 2022 7:05 AM

I can't say I'm familiar with that concept. by Freya Curtis

“Here you go,” Freya handed her fellow first year student a glass of pumpkin juice, accompanied by a warm smile. “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” she remarked as she helped herself to a glass.

“Very exciting though, don’t you think?” she added enthusiastically. “Do you know much about the school?”

Freya was aware that there would be some people at the school who wouldn’t have even known about the wizarding world until recently. Although she didn’t know any muggles personally, Freya’s parents had made sure she had some understanding of the muggle world and explained to her that she may well meet muggleborns at her new school. Freya was aware of some of the unfavourable opinions that society had in regards to these people but she had always been raised to be kind regardless of things such as social status, appropriately so of course. Although many people she knew were more callous about such things, Freya understood being a good young lady to involve having compassion for those whose situations were below her own.

Freya herself didn’t feel as though she knew a great deal about the school despite her thoroughly magical upbringing. Although there were Sonora alumni among her family members, Aunt Joella was the most recent that she was actually close to and she had graduated over ten years ago. Although she knew her second cousin Beatriz had graduated only last term, Freya didn’t see her very often so she didn’t know her that well. At least she had some knowledge to go off of, which was more than some would have, but it was still very new and strange for Freya and she did feel very alone.

8 Freya Curtis I can't say I'm familiar with that concept. 1551 0 5

Xander Faro

January 28, 2022 7:56 AM

Overenthusiastic is the only way to approach life! by Xander Faro

A point to Xander! He might not have managed to find Lenny's mysterious no-dairy-or egg cookies, but apparently his elf suggestion wasn't bad, and that made him feel better about the whole situation. At least he'd been some help!

It was nice to sort someone's problem out, and Xander didn't want to just stop there.

"Shall we go find an elf now so you can make sure you get a good dinner? Everyone's busy with snacks and their green folders, I bet no-one would notice if we slipped away!"

He paused, realising he had perhaps got a little carried away there. His mother had explained to him that he had a tendency to do so, and that it was nice to want to help people, but you had to think about what was appropriate for the situation.

"Or maybe the professor wouldn't like it so much if we disappeared on him," he admitted, thinking that Mother ought to be very proud of him for realising that. It was normally only when looking back that he could see his ideas had, perhaps, gone a bit too far. Hindsight was a wonderful thing.

"I think I'll be in Teppenpaw or Pecari," Xander theorised, having put a lot of thought into the whole house issue. "There's no way I'm clever enough for Aladren, and I don't think Crotalus is an option either."

"I think you're nice too, maybe we'll end up in Pecari or Teppenpaw together!"

It would be really great if he ended up in the same house as Lenny, he was enjoying their conversation so far.

"But we all have lessons together, right? So we get to meet everyone anyway, no matter what house they're in?" he queried. If Lenny's cousins and parents had all attended Sonora, hopefully he would be able to confirm that one.

9 Xander Faro Overenthusiastic is the only way to approach life! 1550 0 5

Yaniel Ayala Velez

January 28, 2022 5:29 PM

Oh. by Yaniel Ayala Velez

Pumpkin juice. It was weird, and definitely tasted like it was trying to be good for you. It was fine. Not Yarielis’ favourite, but growing up semi in magical society, it was impossible to avoid it completely. And people liked it when you smiled, and said yes, and liked the same things they liked, and didn’t make a fuss about wanting something different, which was why Yarielis had accepted it in the first place. At least after several sips, the horrible bone dry mouth feeling was gone. And at least this other student admitted to the situation being a lot. Which meant Yarielis could nod and say “Yeah, it is,” and actually really be agreeing this time.

“That too,” Yarielis said, in response to the idea of it being exciting. This was a whole big magical rite of passage after all. Knowing that boarding school and being part of this world was looming on the horizon had meant a certain degree of holding back at home. That was a big drawback of having a foot in each world, and of non-magical relationships. They weren’t going to last, and so Yarielis had never seen the point in getting super close with people back home. Now, these were relationships that could be real, and go deep, and last. Which kind of made Yarielis want to pull the baseball cap down even further and go running back to the wagon. Not that anyone was going to expect to get deep within the first five minutes. That was something that it would take time to build up to.

“I’ve read all the brochures,” Yarielis confirmed, when the other first year asked about knowing much about the school. “And we had a while to look through different ones and think about it - my mother is magical, but she grew up in Puerto Rico. Dad was born here, but here he’s non-magical. So, I guess I know a middling amount. How about you?”

13 Yaniel Ayala Velez Oh. 1554 0 5

Eris Ryan

February 02, 2022 1:08 AM

Pre-sorting jitters by Eris Ryan

Eris had listened to the boy named Cole— who had kindly promised not to avoid her despite her mortifying word vomit— describe the different houses and his cousins and had felt more lost by the minute. She really really hoped that the sorting ceremony wouldn’t be like gym class. She didn’t want to be a member of a “family” by default. Not that she would blame them for not choosing her, she didn’t know the first thing about magic or… any of the things she saw listed on the course schedule.

Staring at Cole’s hand offered in greeting, Eris hesitated. The last time she shook someone’s hand they accused her of having one of those prank zappers in her hand. At the time she thought they were just lying to get her in trouble, but maybe she had done something magic when she was nervous? But probably they were just being mean. She didn’t want to take any risks. Eris opted to awkwardly wave at Cole instead.

Eris felt it was best to be honest… but maybe not too honest about who she was. After all, if she wanted Cole to be her friend it wouldn’t do to scare him off. “My name is Marie Ryan. But everyone calls me Eris… long story, don’t ask… You’re really lucky to have family with you here. I don’t know how I’m going to keep anything straight. I’m the first… “ She paused feeling weird about what was about to come out of her mouth, “witch… in my whole family. My parents are muggles; they took the news better than I did. We live outside of Raleigh now. I wouldn’t say I’m from there though.”

She noticed some of the students were starting to move towards a door into the school… “Guess we better get this sorting business over with, huh?”

60 Eris Ryan Pre-sorting jitters 1552 0 5

Cole Pierce

February 03, 2022 5:33 PM

Is that a dance? by Cole Pierce

Cole wasn't quite sure how one got from 'Marie' to 'Eris' but there was apparently a long story attached to it, that he kind of wanted to hear someday, but she didn't seem interested in explaining right now, so he didn't ask, as requested.

"Oh, cool," he said when she explained she was a muggleborn, and so the first in her family to have magic at all, never mind attend Sonora. "My parents are both magical, but I went to a muggle elementary school!" he said excitedly, like this was something quite rare and amazing. "My dad's a first grade teacher!" He'd spent most of his life being 'Mr. Pierce's son' to his classmates so it seemed entirely natural to share this information with Eris, too.

He assumed that living outside of Raleigh but not being from there meant she was like his parents, living someplace they hadn't been born. Cole was pretty solidly Bostonian, though his city accent was nowhere near as strong as his cousin's was, thanks to neither of his parents having one. He'd been born there, and raised there, and all of his family except Mom's parents lived there.

"Yeah, okay," he agreed, following her to where the promised school tour looked like it might be starting soon.

OOC: If you want to end here we can, but you don't need to close off threads to move on to new ones. They can be happening simultaneously in real life, but at different times in character.

1 Cole Pierce Is that a dance? 1546 0 5