Mortimer Brockert

May 29, 2023 7:11 PM
Last year had ended as badly as it had started. Well, not quite ended , since the Bonfire itself had gone without incident as far as Mortimer knew and was concerned. He was sure that there was the usual drama about who was sharing a tent with who but that was…not his problem though he would have been sympathetic towards his own grandchildren, had it been them. Nobody had been horribly burned, or got food poisoning from improperly cooking something over a fire, and that was good enough for him.

The thing that had happened had happened slightly before the Bonfire. There had been an…accident. At least as far as Mortimer had ascertained, what had happened had been an accident and not something that Mr. Lundstrom purposely tried to do to himself. It was tragic, of course, Mortimer was not completely heartless contrary to popular belief. However, given the parents of the student in question, he had also been seriously worried about a lawsuit. The mother certainly seemed the type who would blame the school for not watching her children at all times in order to keep them “safe”. After all, she’d already made it abundantly clear that she didn’t think Sonora was good enough for her offspring prior to this.

Still, it wasn’t as if there wasn’t access to mental health services. This was a thing that even Mortimer would not object to, basically because he understood the need for them, as he had family who seemed to suffer from these issues-he wasn’t quite sure why Allegra had such a nervous disposition, but she had one and Eustace was clearly a raging narcissist, not that he’d ever get help for a psychological problem-and because they were a thing that having access to did not impose authoritarian rules on the student population or inconvenience him personally. The thing was though, students had to be willing to seek help, which was a problem because there was always a stigma, a fear that others would find out and mock and/or reject them, or have a staff member refer them.

Which meant that the staff members had to be aware of there being a problem. And there was no way they could be monitoring all the students constantly without violating their privacy and not respecting them as maturing young people. Nobody wanted to be watched twenty-four hours a day.

So, he hoped to Merlin that this did not mean more restrictions would be placed upon the students and their personal freedoms. Mortimer knew Amethyst had been pretty disappointed about her petition, which as far as he was concerned should have been successful. Never mind that he agreed with it and had assumed when he’d very grudgingly agreed to spells on their beds that they would work the same as the ones in the Bonfire tents, there was the simple fact that once another student started a petition, had gotten far fewer signatures than Amethyst had, and had still gotten what she wanted. Therefore, Amethyst who had more should also have.

So between that and a falling out with her friend, his granddaughter had also not had a good ending to last year. Not as bad as Mr. Lundstrom’s or his sister’s obviously, but still not a good one. And, of course, the Crotalus was his granddaughter, so Mortimer was a bit more concerned with her.Which led him to doing something he rarely did, and expressing positive feelings. He had actually told Amethyst that he was proud of her. Of course, he was unsure if that had pleased the sixth year or completely confused her. People tended to get weird looks on their faces when Mortimer did things like laugh or smile.

Once the older students were assembled at their tables and the first years entered the room. Mortimer cast Sonorous on himself and rose." Welcome to Sonora for the new first years and welcome back for all older students. First years, you should have received a blank badge at the end of Orientation. You will dunk the badge in the Sorting Potion and it will turn the color representing your house which are blue for Aladren, yellow for Teppenpaw, red for Crotalus, and brown for Pecari. Afterwards, you may join your house table."

After the first years had been settled, Mortimer continued. “Would Rosalynn Tellerman and Thomas Jamison please come up and get your Head Student badges." He continued. "In addition, I'd like to call up Phillip Carson, Liesl Brockert, Verdillia Scurlock and Tissena Randall to receive their prefect badges. Congratulations.” Honestly, other than being disappointed that Isla and Christopher hadn’t won, this was otherwise…not a terribly objectionable group. Of course, his grandchildren were the best choices which nobody ever seemed to understand, but it wasn’t as if Mr. Jamison, Miss Tellerman, or Miss Scurlock were horrible. And he was glad that Liesl had won and hoped it would, if not make Alfie and that harpy that he’d married proud of her, at least boost the Teppenpaw’s self-esteem.

Once the prefects and Head Students were back in their seats, Mortimer continued. “ Our midsummer event will be the Ball.” Dreadful event that it was. Though at least they didn't have to come up with something unique for it.

“Now for the singing of the school song.”Lyric sheets were passed around and the song began.

Every day we strive
Learning to survive
Life’s hardships and to solve its mystery.
Learning to defend
Our honour and our friends,
Flying high to meet our destiny
We will stand and face those who want to harm us.
We won’t let the world transfigure, jinx or charm us
I won’t fight alone, as long as you are with me.
Sonora be my home, my tutor and my spirit
Vasita quoque floeat; Even the desert blooms.


That done, he dug into his steak and bourbon.
Subthreads:

Aladren

Teppenpaw

Crotalus

Pecari

Staff
11 Mortimer Brockert Opening Feast 6 1 5

Nausicaa Scapetello

June 08, 2023 9:47 PM
Nausicaa still, to this day, could not understand why she was still subjected to those horrid wagon rides like the rest of the rabble that attended this miserable school. She well knew that Father could arrange other transportation, and yet here she was jostled about mercilessly. He was testing her, as was Mother. She had a mission, and she would complete it with all of the grace, dignity and ruthlessness within her. It would just be nice to not have some of that tested so much. If she could prove herself even in such terrible, adverse conditions, it would truly be a win beyond question.

Upon arriving at the school and quickly leaving the wagons. Nausicaa proceeded directly to her room to ensure that all of her belongings were delivered promptly and properly. This was her year to begin her actual operations, and she did have to admit to herself that she hadn't been nearly as successful as she would have liked last year. She had not acquired a following of adoring minions or potential co-conspirators. She had played very cautiously, and as such had not made the progress she would have liked to achieve her goal. Well, it was the sort of thing she really shouldn't trust to other hands anyway. But having a few lackeys would be nice, just in case she needed some work done with plausible deniability.

The big change this year that would let her officially begin her campaign, was her graduation into her third year and thus access to the optional classes like Divinations. She was not looking forward to it, the 'discipline' was a ridiculous one, nobody of sound mind took it seriously. Why it was even taught was beyond her comprehension, but it was the reason she was in this miserable place, so she had been required to sign up for the class. Apart from that, she hoped that since she was now out of the 'beginners' classes, she would actually start learning things.

At the proper time, Nausicaa made her way down to the hall for the opening feast. She found a seat at the Aladren table and waited for things to begin. Her disposition to avoid the majority of the student body had hindered her search for underlings, and she heavily debated the merits of attempting to be more social. Thankfully, the Headmaster began the event before she reached a solid conclusion.

As usual, there wasn't much of a ceremony. The new students were sorted and she watched each of them in hopes of perhaps finding a new minion. The student positions didn't interest her yet, it was not her time. She would claim it then when the time came, how could she not? She had inherited the debate club, so she did have that going for her in the eyes of those making such decisions. Until then she didn't see how it concerned her. She knew the announcement of the ball was coming, the school worked in an obvious pattern. For the most part, the boys here were unworthy of escorting her to such an event, however.. the matter would require some consideration.

She did not sing. Once that bit of nonsense was done and the food appeared, she perused the selections. Her mind returned again to the concept of interacting with these people in order to further her mission. It was an ongoing battle and not one that was going well, but she was not one to admit defeat. Ever. To that end, she turned to the person sitting closest to her, "Could you pass the spaghetti?" she asked while indicating the dish, "How was your summer?" She added attempting to sound interested.
2 Nausicaa Scapetello Perhaps I will finally start learning something 1561 0 5