Options, or lack thereof on Tumbleweed

Killian Row

July 09, 2023 10:49 PM

Tumbleweed Trip by Killian Row

Killian was on clipboard duty today. He did try to take any jobs he could off of the deputy headmistress'/his boss'/his basically mother-in-law's hands and clipboard duty seemed like a small thing to take but it was time consuming. He had run through the usual spiel - those who were comfortable and wished to do so could travel to Tumbleweed by portkey, others were welcome to use the enchanted vehicles which could fit too many students and drive too fast and suddenly warp into Tumbleweed - and was now waiting to check off names and shout over heads to ensure no one snuck off on their own.

"Please know that shop owners have been forewarned of our trip today and any reports back to the school of inappropriate behavior will be taken seriously," he had reminded students before they warped away and now that they were arriving, many of them horribly motion sick, he was glad he hadn't waited until they arrived. He was only reminding them periodically of things like "stay with a buddy," and "there will be staff and faculty around town if you need any help."

The town of Tumbleweed was unplottable because it physically didn't exist any singular place, but Killian would have sworn that the actual layout of the town was unplottable too. An ice cream shop that had been there a few decades previously was a coffeeshop now, and the old Quidditch store had moved up the lane a ways. Robes and gowns were glimmering in the windows of an apparel store and cauldrons gleamed even brighter beneath hang-drying herbs in the window of the apothecary. A man with a hippogriff on a lead was making his way through town when he caught sight of the students, stopped quickly, and led the hippogriff away from any possible people for it to bite.

Students would have to use their own funding to supply any Ball accoutrements, although there were usually a few odd relics around the school if anyone truly had no way to acquire something suitable. Class supplies were abundantly available at the school but some students preferred higher quality or less worn versions and he was sure the apothecary and bookstore both would be earning their coin today.

The Quidditch pitch was empty today, no exhibit or game occuring, but there was always the possibility of a pick-up game if enough people were interested. In fact, Killian had even seen wizards and witches in towns like these take up games of foot Quidditch - functionally the same as football except they punched each other since they didn't have bludgers and the snitch was a guy in his skivvies running away from the seeker - but he doubted that would happen today with so many minors about. At least he hoped not. Merlin, if he saw a single pair of skivvies today...

He returned to checking off names on the clipboard, doing his best to make his boss/basically mother-in-law/friend proud.

Subthreads:

Tagging Hans by Liesl Brockert with Hansel Hexenmeister

Shooting my shot (tag Iris) by Henry Spellman with Iris Cobb

I'm not here, do not look at me. by Winston Randall with Xavier Lundstrom

Shall we? (Tag Charlotte) by Quillan Arcadius with Charlotte O'Malley, Ursula Arcadius

Let's make the best of it. by Claire Osbrook with Verdillia Scurlock, Lydia Priory

Tumbling into Tumbleweed [Tag Misty] by Donovan Peters with Misty Brockert

Options, or lack thereof by Ian Malone with Tommy Jamison

*sigh* (Tag Alexei) by Amethyst Brockert

At least we haave today (Rosalynn and Lorena) by Isla Brockert with Lorena Abernathy

Can't be bothered to think of a clever title by Christopher Brockert

22 Killian Row Tumbleweed Trip 1450 1 5

Liesl Brockert

July 11, 2023 6:33 PM

Tagging Hans by Liesl Brockert

Liesl could not believe that she’d gotten prefect. Unfortunately, nobody else could either. Well, not so much Uncle Cory or Krisalyn, of course, or even her grandparents. Just everyone else, in particular, her parents and Desmond. And that hurt. It really did. Like, because she didn’t fit into their narrow definition of normal and, therefore, acceptable, they didn’t think anyone else would think her worthy either. Like she was somehow less capable of things like being prefect just because she didn’t dress conventionally, liked creepy things and wasn’t a “genius” like Desmond was. Like nobody would want Liesl at least not as she was, regardless of the fact that she actually did have people like Hans and Uncle Cory who did.

And apparently, the majority of the staff. True, the Teppenpaw didn’t know how large said majority was or which staff members it included. She might have only won by one vote. Nor did she know exactly which staff members picked her either,aside from probably Uncle Mortimer. It still felt really nice to be chosen, to be wanted .

Which reminded Liesl that there was another thing she very much wanted to be chosen for. And someone she wanted to be chosen by. This year was the Ball here at Sonora. She didn’t think much of the society balls she was forced to go to, though that was largely because she was not allowed to wear what she wanted and be herself.

However, she also did not like them because Hans wasn’t there. It wasn’t as if boys didn’t ask Liesl to dance or talk to her. She was a Brockert and, unlike at school where some people assumed they were snobby and stuck-up-an apt description of her brother, actually but it was a Desmond thing,not a Brockert one or a pureblood one-that was something that was highly valued.

The thing was though it was not these boys she wanted to talk to and dance with, especially as they weren’t seeing the real her. In fact, Liesl was under very strict instructions not to be herself. Which probably made her come off as stiff and awkward, which was also not good. Anyway, that was not the main issue. The main issue was that it was Hans she wanted to spend time with, talking or dancing or whatever.

Because Liesl felt a real connection with Hans that was based on actually liking some of the same things and a true friendship along with things like the whole accepting her for who she actually was thing. There were probably others who would, but they were accepting because that was just a personality trait of theirs like with Uncle Cory-being his niece might play into that, but if parents couldn’t be depended on for unconditional acceptance, why would uncles? Not to mention, like, how Eustace proved that they didn’t because of how he was towards his nephews-or because they themselves were different like Lenny probably would. And if you were different in some way, you had to empathize with someone else who was also different even if it wasn’t the exact same because it did not make sense that you would want someone to accept your differences or be sensitive to them but not return the favor.

So while acceptance was hard enough for Liesl to come by, a real bond based on not only that but actually common ground? Now, that was special. And she felt that with Hans. And she probably would not find that with anyone else. Not just because she couldn’t be herself at society balls and probably came off super awkward, both of which were hindrances, generally speaking, both for what was supposed to happen and what Liesl personally actually wanted, but because well, that was just something special and maybe it was even like Owen and Jemima had.

However, that did not mean that she wasn’t worried that maybe Hans did not feel the same. That he would ask someone else to the ball. And that idea bothered the fifth year so very much. First of all, there was the practical consideration of who else would she talk to? While she’d had the other then Beginner Tepps to talk to last time, other people in her family hadn’t had anyone. (Also, no offense to Patience and Lydia, this time she would really rather like to have Hans to herself at the ball. Not that she normally wanted to monopolize him completely but like, this was a ball).

More importantly though, well, she just…the idea of Hans asking someone else to ball, as a date, bothered her to her very core. Like sort of the same kind of bothered to the core that she felt when she had to go to society balls wearing what her mother wanted instead of what she wanted, but not exactly the same. Both were soul-destroying and this might actually be worse.

And it wasn’t as if Liesl really had anyone to talk to girl stuff about. Uncle Cory was a guy and Krisalyn was too young and Grandma Imogen was too old and Isla was too close to her in age and she certainly could not talk about Hans to Hans, at least not in this sense. Nor did she have that sort of relationship with Mother. She guessed she could talk to Aunt Amy or like one of Uncle Mortimer’s older granddaughters if she needed someone older and wiser and more experienced but not…as old as Grandma, but Aunt Amy was the one who talked to her about other…things that happened to maturing young women.

Today, though, was a trip to Tumbleweed, presumably to find ball gowns. And Liesl probably should do that, because Merlin only knew that she did not want Mother making the decisions there and that if that happened, then Uncle Cory was going to have to buy her a second gown as usually happened when Liesl wanted something that she actually liked. However, she wanted to hang out with Hans, not only for all those reasons that made her soul hurt at the idea of him asking someone else to the ball but because she had to walk around with a partner and obviously, it made sense to ask her closest friend because that was what people did instinctively did when they went on school trips.

And he most likely wouldn’t be interested in looking at ball gowns. Some boys did, but much like the make-up lesson in Potions, it would not be the vast majority who were into it. Although Hans might also need clothes for the ball, it was more likely that they could find something more fun and interesting, like look at the bookstore, eat ice cream, or hunt for local snakes for Hans to chat up and both of them to befriend.

Once they had arrived and received instructions for the day, Liesl turned to her friend. “So, what do you want to do?”

11 Liesl Brockert Tagging Hans 1537 0 5

Henry Spellman

July 14, 2023 11:07 PM

Shooting my shot (tag Iris) by Henry Spellman

There were few things in the world that Henry hated more than being alone when he didn't want to be, but being with people when he didn't want to be was up there. Basically, he just wanted to socialize on his own terms. Being prefect in a year that there was a Ball meant that that was unlikely... he wasn't about to look like an absolute nub in front of the whole school. Unfortunately for Henry, there wasn't anyone at school he was especially interested in. Well... that was mostly true.

One girl had always seemed just slightly untouchable, slightly off limits, and slightly too kind not to notice anyway. While rumor had it (confirmed rumor as far as he knew but still) that Billy Cobb had gone off and got a girl pregnant over summer, his younger sister had gone off and gotten... well, Henry wasn't sure if she'd actually done anything at all. It was impossible to say whether she'd become gorgeous over night or whether Henry had suddenly gotten a lot more clear-headed and finally noticed what was right in front of him. He wasn't especially a fan of Billy but Iris had always been plenty kind, and she was funny enough. Probably. They hadn't talked that much actually, but enough for Henry to know it wasn't just her looks that were getting his attention. God he hoped it wasn't just her looks... what kind of jerkwad would he be if that were the case?

He'd gone to the Ball with Iris the last time, but it was just because he figured he should take someone. That was still sort of true except... well, Henry found himself wondering whether she'd like to go with him and wondering if maybe her hair was as soft as it looked and maybe if she'd smile that sweet way she smiled if Henry was there or if it would look different. He wasn't really sure she thought about him much, although they'd been reasonably friendly since the last ball, but it was different now. Logically, he knew they weren't "all grown up" yet, but it felt like that a bit. In Sonora terms, they absolutely were all grown up, and he wasn't just a baby asking a baby to the dance this time. He liked to think that maybe she really would like to go with him.

He put his animal brain thoughts aside in favor of the focus required to keep his lunch down when he finally arrived in Tumbleweed. Mr. Row was doing an outsatnding impression of someone who knew what he was doing and the students were spreading out in some semblance of an ordered manner. Henry used his height to his advantage (they weren't actually that tall, but compared to a load of underclassmen, he had an advantage all the same) and looked around in search of the tell tale red hair. No no, that was Billy... There!

Doubting she'd be completely without company for the day, Henry moved quickly, hoping to come off as least creepy as possible so he didn't run or anything, and appeared by her side.

"Hey," he said, suddenly nervous as he looked down at her cute little face that thankfully did not look like Billy's. "I... do you want to date? Uh, I mean like for the ball. Do you want a date? Do you... I'll buy you ice cream. If you want me to, not like as a bribe." He took a deep breath. "I had a lot of fun with you the last time we went and I'd really like to not just go to the ball? If you want? I'd like to buy you ice cream and hear about your day and go to the ball but maybe we could have ice cream a couple other times before then too?"

22 Henry Spellman Shooting my shot (tag Iris) 1513 0 5

Winston Randall

July 14, 2023 11:28 PM

I'm not here, do not look at me. by Winston Randall

Winston really really didn't want to go to Tumbleweed. He didn't want to go anywhere. Anywhere was where dangerous stuff happened and real risky stuff could go down. Plus it was way easier to make a fool of himself in unfamiliar places. But Tissena had insisted. She had a way and that was was almost always insistent. And then she wasn't even hanging out with him! Merlin, that girl was a menace.

He landed in Tumbleweed having arrived by portkey with a thump and was pretty sure he was the thumpiest of all the kids his own age so he was already off to a terrible start. Despite himself though, he couldn't help being pretty excited about the smells and sounds of a new place, and he found himself craning his neck to spy what existed just beyond the dissipating circle of students. He knew from previous visits that ice cream was easy to find and he supposed he should get himself something to wear to the Ball because Tissena would probably insist on him going to that too, but he wasn't sure yet. In any case, he just hoped he didn't need a "buddy" for the day.

The thought of some time to himself bolstered his steps as he made his way towards one of the side streets, away from the bustling of his classmates. It didn't get him far though, as someone almost immediately interrupted him.

22 Winston Randall I'm not here, do not look at me. 1527 0 5

Iris Cobb

July 20, 2023 8:36 PM

Ummm.... by Iris Cobb

Well, here she was at Tumbleweed, and Iris didn't have anybody. Hansel had already been stolen away by Liesl, Ray was with Billy, and she didn't much care what her roommate was doing. Iris had half a mind to track down Alexei and hang out with him, maybe even try to get a ball date out of him. It seemed appropriate, last time they took a Tumbleweed trip Iris had bent over backwards to get Alexei to ask Amethyst. Yet when the shoe was on the other foot, what happened? 'Sorry Iris, you're not good enough, Liesl gets Hans. Suck it up. Go find someone else.' She wasn't even good enough for a 'Yeah, I know you like him. It's just terrible that he and Liesl get along so terribly well.' Just a little bit of sympathy would have been nice, even if she didn't actually mean it. Some 'friend'.

As such, upon arriving at Tumbleweed, she had no idea what she was doing, or who she could do it with. She was alone once more. She had no prospects and no plans and she did not like that. What was she doing? What was she going to do? At this point, she had precisely three options to decide between when she wasn't at school; lock herself up in the Cobbson place with the ghost and never emerge again, abandon the mountain and set out into the world all by herself, or (she shuddered to think about it) submit to Aunt Emily's plan. Along with being sweet and wonderful, Hans had given her another option, a good option, a wonderful option.

In the meantime, she stood watching the crowd of students pair up and disperse into the town. She was startled when a boy's voice spoke to her. It was Henry. He was looking at her odd. Then words began tumbling out of his mouth. As convoluted as they seemed, their meaning wasn't hard to grasp, but she couldn't quite figure out the reasoning behind the words.

"You… want me?" She asked some mild disbelief. He had asked her last time, and they had gone together. It seemed like ages ago. If she remembered correctly last time there was a chocolate frog involved. This time it was ice cream? It hadn't gone terribly last time. Henry was nice. It might be okay.

2 Iris Cobb Ummm.... 1526 0 5

Henry Spellman

July 21, 2023 2:34 AM

Me too by Henry Spellman

Henry spent a lot of time convincing people he wanted them. He wanted Oz more than he wanted independence or safety. He wanted his mom more than he wanted his dad, whoever that was. But did he want Iris?

You want me? was a big question. He felt very much like a kid all of a sudden, his whole life playing out in front of him like a series of linear milestones, guitar tabs with each note planned out, the next lyric in the bridge to a world he didn't know, the next flip of a land card for mana already planned before he even knew the cards in his hand. It was just how you played. There were rules. He didn't know what the game was but he knew some of the rules.

And with Iris, the rules didn't seem so bad. Maybe the rule was that he needed a date to the ball, but maybe it didn't have to be just that. Maybe it could be ice cream and holding hands and wrapping her up all nice and safe. Maybe it didn't have to be forever and ever but maybe it could be. Maybe he didn't have to decide right now.

Without really even realizing it, his mouth quirked up into a small smile. Then a grin. It was time to draw a card.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I really do. If you'll have me?"

22 Henry Spellman Me too 1513 0 5

Quillan Arcadius

July 21, 2023 3:38 AM

Shall we? (Tag Charlotte) by Quillan Arcadius

Quillan was curious about the Tumbleweed trip. He had also quickly realised that some of the things his father had taught him about society were already coming true, in that it was complicated. Or maybe he just had too many people he’d like to spend time with. His initial idea had been to ask Charlotte. That had seemed really smart because not only would he get to spend time with her, but he could ask Ursula to join them so that it didn’t seem inappropriate. That meant Ursula got supervised into the bargain, and she and Charlotte got to know each other. Multiple snidgets with one stone.

Except, he wondered if his roommates expected him. They often did things together as ‘the guys.’ He knew Nicholas and Alexander would be fine for company if he didn’t join them, as they could go off together. But that left Desmond. Was it rude of Quillan to leave Desmond alone, either to Desmond himself, or did it mean that he would end up joining up with Alexander and Nicholas, and would they blame Quillan for disrupting their twin time by failing to provide a partner for Desmond? Also, what if they had a load of fun without him and suddenly ended up slightly-more-best-friends with Desmond than they were with him?

The best compromise he’d come up with was to make his plans well known in advance. He had written to Charlotte asking for her company, and explaining that Ursula would join them. Then, once she had confirmed, he had informed his roommates, but added the suggestion that perhaps they could all meet at a certain point for refreshments, so at least he might not be left out entirely.

As they arrived in Tumbleweed, he didn’t have to scramble to find his partner, which was lucky, as his main priority was looking after Ursula. She had never liked portkeys and, while she wasn’t sick thanks to medicines, she never felt quite right after taking them. He sent her to sit in the shade, procuring a bottle of water from one of the teachers and bringing it to her. He stood, keeping an eye on the group, and let her lean against his legs whilst she sipped and recovered herself. When he caught sight of Charlotte, he waved her over.

“Hello. Urs doesn’t much like Portkeys, so I think icecreams and things might be best saved for later.” Perhaps around the middle of the trip, so they weren’t too close to the departure time either. “But we can do whatever you both like until then.” He really hoped they didn’t choose the museum. He would rather trail them around shops smiling and nodding that things he had no opinion on were very nice than go to the museum, though he had no objection to some of the living history elements. They reminded him more of the ways Ms. Faulk had taught him. “I’d like to see some of the duelling displays or talk to the ghosts, but if there are any places you want to go, we can do those first.”

13 Quillan Arcadius Shall we? (Tag Charlotte) 1570 0 5

Claire Osbrook

July 21, 2023 5:30 PM

Let's make the best of it. by Claire Osbrook

Tumbleweed. Claire understood the name, of course, but she couldn’t say she thought it was especially good marketing. ‘Weed,’ in her experience, was a bad word. Weeds meant burning up at eight o’clock in the morning during the summers, pulling the wretched things (since she wasn’t old enough to use magic) to keep them from choking out the more useful herbs and fruits growing in the outdoor gardens. Weeds were undesirable. Kind of like the Midsummer Ball, really.

Three years ago, she had actually kind of enjoyed the Ball. She’d had a pretty dress (not a gown, of course, because she’d been twelve and not of the social station that saw that as a perfectly valid age to get engaged or whatever, but a pretty dress) and, more importantly yet, she’d been delighted with the opportunity to gain blackmail/teasing material against her brother for the next ten years. This year, though...well. This year was...different. When she’d been twelve, it had been perfectly acceptable to have no interest in attracting boys. At this Ball, she was going to be sixteen, which was...different. That would have been true even had she just been not interested, but since she was pretty sure, now, that she was kinda interested, just not in guys….

She had comforted herself a lot with the thought that at least there literally weren’t enough guys to go around, so at least she’d continue to blend in, wishing she could ask her roommate to go with her and pretending that she wasn’t doing so. Didn’t make the thought of going dress shopping any more appealing, though, and so she was relieved to spot other shops in Tumbleweed, and to hear that they were allowed to go to places other than the dress shops.

First, though, she had to get past a hurdle. Specifically, the buddy system. They weren’t supposed to wander off alone. That meant finding someone to hang out with who would...at least not spend the entire time dress shopping? Deciding to just get it over with, she accosted the first familiar person she happened to make eye contact with.

“Where are you planning to go?” she asked. “I’m here for the bookshop, and the stationery store - “ not that she needed parchment or quills, of course, when her family owned such a shop, but it was a comfortable, familiar environment, and always sort of interesting to see how other people’s looked compared to the Osbrook family’s – “and maybe the apothecary, but I can go other places with you if you’ll go to those with me.”

16 Claire Osbrook Let's make the best of it. 1540 0 5

Verdillia Scurlock

July 22, 2023 4:44 AM

I think we can do better than that by Verdillia Scurlock

Everything at Sonora was shaping up to be perfect this year. Provided that, as usual, Verdillia kept to a tunnel vision that looked only at her own life and pretended that Leviosa wasn’t doing… whatever it was she was doing. Usually, it was Verdillia’s job to correct her and prevent her getting too out of line, but she was getting a little fed up of that thankless task, and it was Verdillia’s last chance to attend a ball. So long as Leviosa didn’t do something so utterly disgraceful as to ruin the entire experience, then was it really selfish to think about herself for once?

She was a prefect, which meant she would be the focus of attention for an opening dance. It was like something out of a fairytale, or a proper society ball. She was going to be someone of note and import! She had her number one pick for fairytale prince, and had convinced herself that it was very reasonable that he should ask her, in spite of their slightly differing social stations, given that they were close friends. If that didn’t pan out, Phillip also needed a partner, being a prefect and was… broadly hygienic and never rude. Still, a girl could dream.

First though, they had a Tumbleweed trip. Given that she wanted to try on dresses and Tumbleweed was scarcely romantic, she was looking to spend the day more with a friend-friend than a would-you-like-to-be-more-than-friends friend. Happily, just as they landed, her roommate caught her eye.

“I want to check out the dresses and accessories, just for fun. Mother will probably want input into my outfit over Midterm and it’s too early to be sure of trends, but it’s always fun to dress up. The stationery shop sounds delightful too though. You can appraise it with professional eyes for me!” She smiled widely. Claire’s ability to dissect stationery was quite fascinating. “Shall we?” she said, offering her arm.

13 Verdillia Scurlock I think we can do better than that 1541 0 5

Donovan Peters

July 25, 2023 4:38 PM

Tumbling into Tumbleweed [Tag Misty] by Donovan Peters

Normally, Donovan would balk at what was essentially a 'shopping spree', but this year he was on a mission. Despite his best efforts, he hadn't managed to ask Misty to the ball. It was weird, the way that every time he spoke to her, he would think about asking, but then when he went to actually say the words, his mouth wouldn't make the words. And then his brain was yelling at his mouth to say the words, and his mouth was like, man, is it dry or is it dry?

People were starting to pair off for the end-of-year event, and Donovan worried that someone would ask Misty before he worked out his brain-to-mouth issues, so he was determined that today was The Day. He would go get a soda or something first thing for his stupid dry mouth, and then go find Misty. It wasn't until everyone was gathered around Mr. Row that he realized that he could just snag Misty as a cohort and they could tromp around town together.

Once Mr. Row was done telling them to behave, they finally got to leave. Donovan opted for Portkey, thinking that it would seem more wizard-y than a car. Landing was rough, walking afterwards was dizzying, but it passed fairly quickly and he looked around for Misty.

Spotting her behind Leo's stupid fat head...okay, it wasn't stupid or fat, but Leo's hair was poofy and it was in his line of sight; Donovan passed up his towheaded friend and instead linked his arm through Misty's.

"Hey, how about some ice cream?" he asked, thinking it might help with the sudden flush in his cheeks. Had his heart been pounding that fast when he'd landed, or was this a maddeningly audible thump, thump that signaled something else?

Sure, Misty was great, and overall a pretty good option to ask to the ball. She was a really good figure skater, and she was cute and funny. And sure, sometimes Donovan did or said dumb stuff just so she'd smile. But that didn't mean he was in love with her. So what if her giggles turned his insides to goo? Twelve years old was far too young to be in love, anyway. They were just really, really good friends.

At least, that's what he told himself.

64 Donovan Peters Tumbling into Tumbleweed [Tag Misty] 1569 0 5

Iris Cobb

July 25, 2023 8:44 PM

Okay then. by Iris Cobb

Iris was deeply conflicted. Henry wanted her? But she wanted Hans. And Hans apparently wanted Liesl. And Liesl wanted Hans. And Henry wanted her? What did that mean? How exactly did she feel about Henry? How did she feel about feeling about Henry?

Was he just a convenient boy to go to the ball with since the one she really wanted had already been stolen away from her? Could she agree to go with Henry under those conditions? It didn't seem fair to him. Was this what Amethyst had been saying, 'find some other boy, Liesl gets Hans.'? Had Amethyst had some hand in this? Was this some setup to get her officially out of Liesl's way? If it was, she didn't think Henry was in on it. He wouldn't be a part of that. Probably.

Where did that leave her? What did she say now? Henry looked so… earnest, and honest. Could she give up on Hans though? The part that actually bothered her the most was allowing Amethyst the satisfaction. She'll come back and say 'Congratulations on you and Henry, see you didn't need Hans. Liesl can have him now.' She'd try and be all 'reasonable' and not care at all that Iris still wanted Hans. That it wasn't fair that Liesl just got him because she should naturally just get whatever she wanted.

Henry should get someone who wanted him as well. Not someone who just wasn't wanted by anyone else. Still... she knew what it was to not be with the one you wanted. It was terrible, and that was just him not seeing her. She couldn't imagine what Hans actually rejecting her would feel like, she didn't want to. Here was Henry, who thought he wanted her, she couldn't bring herself to flat out reject him. That would be cruel... does that mean she had to let Amethyst and Liesl win? She desperately didn't want to give up without a fight, without forcing Hans into making the choice. But she already knew what that choice would be, she'd already lost years ago. It just wasn't fair though. She hadn't even had a chance.

Fine. So be it. She was done with the Brockerts and their stupid, horrible, manipulative games. See if she cared. Iris smiled back at Henry, "I would be delighted." Then she held out her hand to him. "What kind of ice cream do you like?"

2 Iris Cobb Okay then. 1526 0 5

Charlotte O'Malley

July 27, 2023 2:59 AM

We shall by Charlotte O'Malley

Charlotte was so excited to go hang out with Quillan and his sister Ursula in Tumbleweed today! Aside from her family, the Aladren was probably the person she liked best at Sonora. And she was looking forward to getting to know his sister too, especially since the younger girl was a fellow Teppenpaw.

She did feel a little guilty though for leaving Violet to find another partner. Piper had her friends of course, and obviously Tommy would prefer to hang out with his girlfriend Rosalynn with or without her friends or even with his roommate or something rather than her but Violet? Charlotte was a little less sure about her ability to make friends. Not that she was even sure her cousin cared that much about doing so but nobody was really supposed to wander around on their own.

It was just that…well, Charlotte needed to be able to have her own friends and her own life too. Not that she would never hang out with her cousin, but there had to be balance. Still, maybe she should have asked Violet to come with them today, since Ursula was and everything. It wasn’t as if Charlotte and Quillan were hanging out just the two of them, after all.

Which, to be honest, she would have enjoyed.It would never occur to her that it might be inappropriate for a girl to hang out with a boy just the two of them. Her parents really didn’t enforce such ideals. They had spent all sorts of time together just the two of them when they were the same age that Charlotte and Quillan were. Although, obviously, eventually, that led to things that would be the sort of things that chaperones were meant to prevent, that had not happened until much much later.

So she assumed that the reason that the other second year invited his sister to hang out with him was because he was a good big brother who wanted to help his younger sister make friends or that they just happened to be siblings close in age who enjoyed spending time with each other. Which Charlotte could understand. Although her brothers were six years older than her and her sister was twelve years younger, she loved spending time with them. She couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to not get on with your sibling like her dad and the aunt they didn’t talk to or about and she was happy that her dad was close to his other siblings even though aside from Aunt Peyton, they weren’t actually biologically related and were Grandma Jamie’s children from her first marriage. Blood was not the be all and end all when it came to family.

Anyway, Charlotte was happy that Quillan was such a good big brother, and it only made her like him more. In fact, when they arrived in Tumbleweed, she spotted him giving the younger Teppenpaw a bottle of water and it warmed her heart. Then he waved Charlotte over and she walked over to the Arcadius siblings with a huge smile on her face. Hello.” She greeted them and continued “Sure. I can certainly wait for an ice cream. And talking to the ghosts might be fun.” She looked back at Ursula. “Is there anything you’re especially interested in?” Charlotte knew that a lot of people were probably going to look for things to wear to the ball, but the odds were that Quillan would be bored doing so.

11 Charlotte O'Malley We shall 1573 0 5

Xavier Lundstrom

July 27, 2023 3:23 AM

Ditto by Xavier Lundstrom

Oh good. A school trip. To the same place they’d been a billion times already. This just felt like an exercise in humiliating him, seeing as he would be both dizzy and in need of a partner once they arrived in the stupid dust bowl town. And then he could go chat to ghosts who knew the past (big deal, he knew the future), shop for the ball (he didn’t even want to go), or eat ice cream (overpriced and mediocre). He was probably going to opt for the latter, but the biggest question was… who with.

He had Alexei and Robyn, but he was conscious that he wasn’t either of their first choices for the day and he didn’t want to drag either of them down with constantly needing to babysit him (see, Oz? Was that something someone who was selfish and unaware would consider?). Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure what other choices he had, until he saw Winston from Crotalus slinking off by himself.

Fine.

He knew nothing about him, and maybe he was on his own because he was hostile, but if he turned out to be a homophobe or a blood purist who called Xavier slur words, he was pretty sure he was justified in ditching the buddy system. He fell into step beside Winston as he trailed away from the group.

“Hey,” he said. “Want to pretend to be partners?” He could recognise someone who wanted to be alone when he saw them, and he wasn’t going to be naive enough to think that someone who’d avoided him for five years plus now wanted to be buddies and have a heart-to-heart over the overpriced ice cream. But they could hang in each other’s vicinity and be each other’s way of staying out of trouble.

13 Xavier Lundstrom Ditto 1529 0 5

Hansel Hexenmeister

July 27, 2023 8:45 PM

Oh, look, that's me by Hansel Hexenmeister

Hansel was excited about another Tumbleweed trip. Sure, he'd been there a few times already, and seen most of the stuff there at least in passing, but it was a fun to have a change of scenery once in a while, get out of the school for a day. He had a few things he wanted to do today, first among them was to formalize his ball plans, but he already had plans with Liesl to spend the day together, so that should be pretty easy to drop into the conversation at some point over the course the trip.

Probably not first thing right off the bat, though. Hans didn't really have a problem with portkeys, but there was some disorientation even for him, and it was probably better to actually be somewhat settled doing something before springing a question like that on a girl.

So when Liesl asked what he wanted to do, he shrugged casually. "Figured we could maybe watch the ghosts do one of their reinactments first?" Ghosts were pretty low on the creepy scale, given how prevelant they were in old wizarding buildings, but they were on the creepy scale, so he hoped Liesl would enjoy watching them. Plus those sorts of educational events were much less crowded than the ice cream place or the clothes stores, especially during a ball year. "Maybe find one out in a field, sit out in the grass, and see if we can find any local snakes to tell us what they think of it, too?" he added with a smile.

1 Hansel Hexenmeister Oh, look, that's me 1524 0 5

Claire Osbrook

July 27, 2023 10:46 PM

Here's hoping, anyway. by Claire Osbrook

Claire wouldn't say exactly what the most reasonable thing to do when she saw Verdillia was, but she suspected it would have involved finding an urgent reason to be somewhere else. Moreover, she more than merely suspected that the most reasonable thing to do definitely did not involve speaking. Nor did it involve suggesting that they spend the day together shopping. There was no doubt that, whatever else they did, there would be frippery and girl-talk at some point - maybe even being asked outright what her opinion was on how Verdillia looked. How was she supposed to say you look beautiful without her voice going weird, or her expression, or....

However, once she had been seen, she supposed that she could have hardly bolted away without opening the door to...awkward questions, later. And then her face just...started talking, without a care in the world for what was and wasn't reasonable behavior. And then she, after that - bam! - she was caught...and on some level, she knew that she was pleased about it. Which almost made her want to stomp her foot like a toddler, or yell at nothing in particular while pulling her hair, or something like that, because it was just...it was just stupid, wasn't it?

Instead of doing any of that, though, she smiled (was she doing that too broadly? How could she ever judge such a thing, much less control it?) and accepted the arm offered to her because that was fine. That was normal. Girls who were friends (not girlfriends) did that kind of thing all the time. Nothing suspicious about that at all.

"Got to keep an eye on the competition," she joked about the stationer's. "And I actually know something about that...I spend forever picking out which ink to write a letter in, but I hardly ever think about clothes, so it's probably for the best if my mom has some ideas at midterm," she admitted ruefully. "I know you said you're probably not picking anything out for sure, but do you have ideas already about what you're going to wear?"

16 Claire Osbrook Here's hoping, anyway. 1540 0 5

Ian Malone

July 30, 2023 6:51 AM

Options, or lack thereof by Ian Malone

It was Ian’s last year at Sonora and that meant only one thing…RATS. Having previously taken his CATS, doing well on them and knowing what generally to expect with testing, he should not have been worried but ...Ian was Ian so asking him not to worry was like…basically asking someone not to breathe. Actually, worrying came much more naturally to him than breathing did to some people as there were lots of ailments that prevented people from doing so like asthma, chronic bronchitis and having to take a big scary test that your entire future was riding on. Ailments like that.

So, just like two years ago, Ian was studying every spare moment. Fortunately, he had more of them than he’d had for CATS preparation since this year there wasn’t any all year long time consuming events like the Challenges. There was the Ball, but that was just…something that happened at the end of the year after RATS and the Teppenpaw actually didn’t have to do anything other than find something to wear and that…was something that he actually did not see much reason to put a ton of effort in. It wasn’t as if he was going to ask anyone. Most of the girls around his age were related to him.

Although he supposed that as a prefect he did have to do the opening dance. Crap. Not only did that mean he had to look reasonably presentable, the idea of dancing in front of everyone was terrifying . Almost as terrifying as RATS! Ian supposed he was glad that the Ball was this year and not either of the previous two since if he was publicly humiliated by messing up the dance, at least he never had to see most people here ever again.

Still, that meant he would have to find a partner. Which, again, presented a problem. Even if there were available girls to ask, Ian wasn’t sure that he would have been able to work up the nerve to ask any of them anyway. Rejection would be mortifying. Lorena might be his best option as she was not a relative or uncomfortably younger than him and she was friends with his roommate’s girlfriend. However, that was probably not fair to Isla because then she’d be the odd one out and who wanted to spend their last night at school by themselves?

Maybe the seventh year would get lucky and they’d do a group dance like last time. He could only hope. Of course, then there might be rehearsing the group dance…which would only cut into his RATS studying time. Which was obviously much more important. After all, nobody would suffer, or worse actually die if Ian didn’t do a dance perfectly. Except possibly himself. Of embarrassment. Although he didn’t think that was literally possible, he might very well wish he was dead if he humiliated himself.

Perhaps he should just opt out of the dance. Except, he was worried about what others would think. Probably that he couldn’t find a partner-technically true, and it was not even entirely his fault, since the available pool of options was very small and the Teppenpaw couldn’t help that, it was only partially because he was shy and awkward and probably not the sort of guy that anyone wanted to go with anyway-or that the Teppenpaw thought he was above them and the ball and dancing and pretty much everything because he was Going To Be A Healer and Had Very Important Healer Stuff To Do. Part of that was true, he was going to be and did, but Ian certainly didn’t think he was better than anyone.

Still, opting out seemed like the least of all evils. Especially given how much he actually did not want to dance in front of everyone. Maybe it wasn’t quite as awful as it would have been to perform musically in front of everyone in the Challenges, since Ian actually did somewhat know how to dance, he was a pureblood boy after all, but still, publicly performing in any way was decidedly not his thing. Give him a first-aid station instead! Or if somehow there was an award for panicking and anxiety, well, Ian would really be a contender.

Anyway, today the entire school was going to Tumbleweed. Which did provide Ian with some…issues. Mostly because it wasn’t studying and he needed to be studying. Just because he had more time this year to do so than he had two years ago did not mean that he didn’t need every last bit of it. He hadn’t had nearly enough time when studying for CATS and RATS were harder .

The other thing was that Ian needed to find a partner to hang out with. His roommate was the obvious choice, but would Tommy want to hang out with just Rosalynn? If so, then Ian really didn’t have many options. Apparently that was a theme at the moment.

He was scanning around for someone to join when someone approached him. “Hey.” Ian greeted them. “Are you looking for a partner?”

11 Ian Malone Options, or lack thereof 1522 0 5

Lydia Priory

August 01, 2023 2:34 PM

I'm hoping to join you by Lydia Priory

Lydia had mixed feelings about the ball this year. On the one hand, she got to wear a beautiful gown and look like a princess. Plus, compared to things like the Challenges, CATS and next year’s impending RATS-regardless of how nice Mr. Barba had been about it and how he tried to help her calm down and reassure about stuff, she knew that she was going to be mortified next year remembering how she’d basically had a panic attack in front of him, plus the fact that other examiners were more terrifying- the Ball was a lot less stressful.

However, it was less stressful only when compared to the utter terror of those events. Lydia was not at all optimistic about getting a date. Even aside from the whole pureblood thing, there wasn’t really anyone suitable. Tommy was with Rosalynn, Billy was with Ray, Hans would probably ask Liesl, Alexei…might be more likely to ask Amethyst than her, because they were friends already-albeit not as close as the previous pair-and obviously, Amethyst was preferable to Lydia in general, because she was bold and glamorous and the Teppenpaw was weak and babyish. Amethyst was the sort more people liked than Lydia was. Iris had initially chosen her as a friend, even though it seemed like they had a fight and Amethyst seemed fairly down right now.

Honestly, even though the Teppenpaw was jealous of her distant cousin, she didn’t hate her and right now she felt bad for her. She hated seeing someone so unhappy. Especially since it seemed like it wasn’t how Amethyst usually was. Like, Lydia was usually a nervous wreck, it was perfectly natural and just how she was wired. Even though she knew Sophia, who was taking psychology classes in college, had different theories about that and that it was because of how their parents fussed over Lydia, and made her weak and dependent.

However, the Teppenpaw honestly preferred the explanation that she was simply wired that way, that she inherited her dad’s anxiety problems. Even Sophia had to admit that was a factor too. Lydia preferred this idea because she loved her parents so much and appreciated how they took care of her. She couldn’t accept anything negative said about them. Besides, regardless of Sophia blaming them, the Aladren alumna still seemed irritated by the sixth year. Although Lydia didn’t think Sophia would prefer Amethyst as a sister, she’d probably pick Gwendolyn. Or possibly Liesl, which bothered Lydia more than Hans picking Liesl, because Hans and Liesl were just…perfect for each other and obviously Hans had more in common with the fifth year whereas Sophia-who arguably also had more in common with Liesl than her-was still Lydia’s actual sister and honestly, the Teppenpaw craved her approval more than almost anything.

Still, regardless of the cause, Lydia generally was a nervous human being so her being less than happy was fairly normal, sadly enough. Amethyst seemed not to be herself, because she was usually fairly confident. Well, she was still confident enough but she was clearly unhappy and it just seemed…wrong.

Anyway, with regards to the ball and available dates, Ian was her cousin somehow and Lydia doubted she would be the type that Henry or the Pecari boys would be interested in. Especially Xavier since he wasn’t into girls.

And that…was okay, not having a date. Yes, Lydia would love to have one, meet her Prince Charming and all of that but she accepted that was absolutely not happening at Sonora, which was a very small school and not everyone could have a date. Although, she did remember a lot of the older kids,mostly the then Intermediates, last time being paired off with just some of her cousins being left out. It had been a topic of conversation over the following summer. Lydia herself had been able to hang out with Hans, Liesl and Patience and that had been nice. Better than being by herself.

Which was what she was worried about this time. The Teppenpaw was afraid of everyone pairing off and having nobody to talk to. Especially since the only people she was truly comfortable with were Gwendolyn, Misty and Verdillia and much as Lydia loved her cousins, she was hoping to hang out with her friend but she was kind of worried that Christopher would ask her the fifth year to the ball. Like, she would be happy for her friend especially since she had to do the whole prefect dance, but Lydia didn’t know who she would hang out with. As for her cousins, Gwendolyn, if she didn’t get a date-there were lots of boys in Gaming Club that she could go with-would probably hang out with Lyla and the third year’s other friends. And as much as Lydia loved Misty, it probably would make the sixth year look seriously uncool to hang out with a second year. And, besides, maybe Misty would go with her friend Donovan.

Maybe she could hang out with Patience-she assumed Hans and Liesl would be off doing their own thing together but maybe Patience would be available-or Claire, who she’d shared a tent with at the Bonfire last year along with Verdillia.

Anyway, today they were taking a field trip to Tumbleweed and after taking a few minutes to recover from the portkey, Lydia looked around for her friend who usually was her field trip buddy. However, today she spotted Claire approach Verdillia first. That was okay though, Lydia obviously had no problem with her friend’s roommate since she had been considering her to hang out with if Verdillia had a date. Of course, had it been Verdillia approaching Claire , she might have been worried that she had done something to make the other girl not be her friend anymore and spend the entire time in Tumbleweed worrying and trying to figure out what that thing was.

However, as that wasn’t the case, thank Merlin, Lydia had a tradition to uphold. She approached the two Crotali. “Mind if I join you?” She asked shyly. It was, after all, possible that Claire wanted alone roommate bonding time-not the first time that Lydia had been shut out due to that-and that would be awful because the Teppenpaw would have to find another partner and Gwendolyn was probably hanging out with her other friends who wouldn’t want her tagging along but it was still better than Verdillia rejecting her. Lydia was pretty sure that was something her boggart would change into fairly often.

OOC: Amethyst is my character as well, so Lydia's observations are not god modding

11 Lydia Priory I'm hoping to join you 1533 0 5

Amethyst Brockert

August 02, 2023 7:24 PM

sigh (Tag Alexei) by Amethyst Brockert

This term at Sonora had been very rough for Amethyst. She felt horrible about her fight with Iris and had debated apologizing just so they could be friends again. While her pride usually didn’t allow her to cave into most people, especially since didn’t really think that she was in the wrong here, the other Crotalus truly missed her friendship with her roommate.

Still, Amethyst had tried her very best to handle the situation. Yes, it was a shame that Iris liked someone who seemed so perfect for someone else and Amethyst wished that wasn’t the case. For so many reasons she wished that wasn’t the case. However, she had meant what she said, that Iris was a wonderful person-well, not so much lately, but usually-with a lot of good qualities that lots of people would want to be with while Liesl…was sweet but also, totally weird and someone who would have a hard time finding someone else who would appreciate her. As far as Amethyst could tell Hans was the only person aside from some of their relatives who did.

And he didn’t have to. It was different with your family. They just loved you whether or not they understood you. Or at least it was supposed to be like that anyway. Sometimes you had people like Topaz or Uncle Eustace who were incapable of loving anyone. And there were people like Liesl’s mother Jacqueline who only seemed to be able to love people she could understand or relate to.

In this respect, Amethyst felt horrible for the Teppenpaw. That was even worse than her own mother, who the Crotalus believed loved her and her siblings but just didn’t have the capacity to be…competent. Honestly, she rather believed that it was Mother and not Sapphire who was mentally deficient in some way.

Anyway, Hans liked and cared about Liesl and was not obligated to. That was the thing. They just got each other. Others-Amethyst included-did not get Liesl, someone else would get Iris.

Truthfully, she believed a large part of her roommate’s problem seemed to believe that Sonora or her community-which sort of sounded a little like a cult, to be honest- were her only options. Iris did not seem to understand that she did not have to go back there if she did not want to. Having magic was her ticket out. There was a whole world full of guys that would like her because-usually-she was very likable.

Well, Amethyst supposed,being likable wasn’t the issue right now. Liesl was likable enough and at the moment, she was much more so than Iris was and honestly, if Amethyst was Hans, she’d choose her cousin over Iris hands down. Maybe it would be more accurate to say Iris was more normal and would be able to connect with more people than Liesl would.

And even if it was true that this was it for Iris,there were still more options for her than there were for Liesl. The sixth year could go out with Henry or Winston or Phil or Eben while the younger girl really needed to be with a pureblood, which Hans was even if not…the exact same kind.And, more importantly, they had a real connection. Amethyst didn’t know why her roommate had settled on the Teppenpaw boy. True,he was nice and all but she didn’t know exactly what he and Iris had in common while he had lots in common with Liesl. It was as if the other Crotalus had decided Hans was the only available choice-even though that was absolutely not true for Iris- so she was going to develop a crush on him and go after him at all cost.

Still, Amethyst felt awful. Like she wasn’t being a good friend because she didn’t encourage her roommate to go for it or help her do so. Because Iris had helped her with Alexei. The thing was though she actually thought Hans did like her cousin. However, she hadn’t wanted to say that to Iris. Hadn’t wanted to mention the snake bracelet and that he said Liesl was pretty. That would have hurt the other Crotalus and things would have gone even worse.

Plus, to be honest, Amethyst was not one hundred percent sure that was the case. She was somewhere close to that but it wasn’t as if, like, Hans had told her that he liked Liesl or asked the younger Teppepaw to the ball or to be his girlfriend or anything. Although she did wish that if that was the case, he would just go ahead and do so and everyone could be sure and Iris could move on. Or that someone else asked Iris to the ball and she could forget about Hans. Which,honestly, would just prove that she’d only liked Hans because she thought he was the only option.

Although Amethyst didn’t necessarily think that would help her own situation. Regardless of the fact that she had not done anything wrong, she wanted to cave in, apologize and get her friend back. However, she was not sure it would work, she was not sure Iris would even hear her. And she didn’t know what to do. She felt like aside from sabotaging Liesl-which she wouldn’t do, because, well, she felt like that would have been like sabotaging Owen with Jemima, as in, it probably would not have worked, and also, oh yeah, that would be a Topaz kind of thing to do and Amethyst was trying very hard to not be like that particular sister of hers-and saying Hans should be with Iris instead-so, yeah, lying basically-she would not be able to do or say anything right.

Still, she was alone. Mostly. She still had Alexei. The Crotalus had been spending a lot more time with him this year as it was too uncomfortable to be around someone who seemed to be taking out her anger and frustration out on Amethyst and she hoped to spend this trip to Tumbleweed with him too.

So, once they got to their destination, she made a beeline for the Pecari. After all, she didn’t want someone else to pair off with him first. That would leave her on her own. Even if Amethyst wanted to hang out with her cousins, they had other plans. “Hey.” She said to Alexei. “Would you like to hang out with me today?” There was a note of something less than her usual confidence, a need there that Amethyst hoped that the other sixth year either didn’t notice or did and it elicited sympathy and understanding in him, even though mostly she just hoped he enjoyed her company as she did his. However, she had been feeling vulnerable since the fight and she hated it.

11 Amethyst Brockert *sigh* (Tag Alexei) 1532 0 5

Isla Brockert

August 03, 2023 6:45 PM

At least we haave today (Rosalynn and Lorena) by Isla Brockert

This was Isla’s last year at school and she wanted nothing more for it to be amazing and special and the best year ever, to go out on a good note. Unfortunately, their final Midsummer Event was the Ball which was her absolute least favorite of them all. Not only were balls inherently not that much fun, but the last one at Sonora had left a bad taste in the Aladren’s mouth. It was probably her worst memory of her entire time here. Not only had she been left on her own while her friends had dates, there had been pretty much nobody left to talk and basically Isla felt like most of her family had been snubbed. It wasn’t at all a nice feeling, plus it was rather boring.

She was under no illusion that the one this year would be at all better. Well, maybe Lorena would not have a date this time, but…she felt selfish wishing for that. Isla didn’t wish for that because the other Aladren deserved someone special, someone who was a better boyfriend than Oz had bee, but Isla also seriously didn’t want to spend the night alone again which she would if her friends both had dates which Rosalynn obviously would. Even the cousins closest to her in age and degree of relation,might end up having dates.

The thing that made it even worse was that it would be Isla’s very last night at Sonora and she wanted to spend it hanging out with her friends not chatting with some random first or second year or someone she’d barely spoken to in seven years. If it was a Fair or a Bonfire, they obviously would have spent the time together, even if Rosalynn spent part of it with Tommy or he joined the three of them and with the Concert, the Performing Arts club would have put on a puppet show. Things that were fun.

Balls, on the other hand, well, Isla was kind of meh on dancing to begin with. Then there were all the romantic connotations. The pairing off. At this point, she was not uninterested in a romantic relationship, it was just that there was nobody at school for her to pair off and have one with. The seventh year supposed that was one good thing about graduation, which she was a bit anxious about since she was going to miss seeing and spending time with her friends every day, she would at least have the opportunity to find that special someone.

Still, while Isla could accept not having a date of her own for Sonora’s ball, it was the part where everyone else paired off except possibly the youngest students. At the last one though, Isla had been a third year and everyone around her age was still largely paired off. Even some of the then second years. Well, technically the two Tepps hadn’t been, but they’d been hanging out with the two first years in their house and the four of them had still been a group. Isla didn’t think that was going to be the case this time. Hopefully, Hans would ask Liesl, she very much wanted that for her cousin, but it didn’t help her much.

And today was a trip to Tumbleweed…so people could shop for the Ball. Isla was all for a field trip anywhere, but she just…hated how things were all about the Ball. She very much wanted not to think about it and this was just a reminder. Besides, she’d probably go shopping for gowns over midterm, so it wasn’t as if she had to now. Still, at least the Aladren could hang out with her friends today, and if they wanted to do so,that was fine. At least she could spend time with Rosalynn and Lorena and that was what she wanted, even Tommy joined them and brought his roommate along. Or even if he wanted time alone with Rosalynn, at least Isla would still have Lorena-and possibly Ian-around.

She quickly found her friends once they arrived in Tumbleweed. “So, what do you guys want to do today?” She asked.

11 Isla Brockert At least we haave today (Rosalynn and Lorena) 1521 0 5

Christopher Brockert

August 03, 2023 7:43 PM

Can't be bothered to think of a clever title by Christopher Brockert

Christopher had not been at all surprised not to get prefect. He did not think himself to be all that…impressive. And, to be honest, he was pretty sure people might have forgotten he even existed if he had not been the Headmaster’s grandson, a fact that was decidedly meaningless when it came to getting prefect.

Which, of course, it should be. Although it should not have been something that seemed to count against them, which it very well might be. Prefect should have been decided on merit, but what were the odds that among all of his group of first cousins, only Emerald and Allegra had merited it?

That said, Christopher sincerely thought that Verdillia might have been the far better option. He very much tried to blend in and remain unnoticed. It was a well ingrained childhood habit. He had spent his years prior to Sonora trying his very best to avoid Uncle Eustace. If people didn’t notice you, they couldn’t hurt you. It was a pattern that had followed him to this very day and probably always would. That was what happened when you had toxic family members.

And, as he wasn’t prefect, that meant he didn’t have to dance in front of everyone at the beginning of the Ball either-and he didn’t have to find a date. Though, to be fair, Chris didn’t actually think that the latter part would be a huge problem. Verdillia would probably go with him and since she had to do the dance, he probably should do the chivalrous thing and ask her anyway. Christopher honestly hated the idea of her having to face a humiliation like that since she was his friend and he cared about her.

Still, he supposed that with not being prefect and having a low maintenance-for him anyway-event at the end of the year-although, to be fair, Chris didn’t know which of the other Midsummer Events would exactly be high maintenance event since unless it was absolutely required or he got stuck being roped into it by one of his friends or relatives he wouldn’t do a booth at the Fair or an act at the Concert-he could focus on his CATS.

Which were only moderately terrifying for him. Like, they were incredibly important and he actually needed good grades on them so he could continue the classes he needed so he could go to be an architect. However, since it wasn’t a social situation and he usually got good grades anyway, Christopher was less worried than he could have been. The examiner would be judging him on his magical abilities, not how traditionally masculine he was. Only DADA was something to worry about there.

Anyway, today there was a field trip to Tumbleweed, and the Crotalus never quite knew what to do on field trips. Not so much activity-wise, he usually did whatever the people he was with did-but well, finding someone to hang out with in the first place. Verdillia usually hung out with Lydia and Cole usually hung out with the other Teppenpaws in his year. His cousins had their own friends.

So, generally speaking, he was at a loss.The fifth year was still not comfortable with most people. He never was sure that they would…accept him. Although, at this point, Christopher had some idea who was at least reasonably safe, and fortunately, most people were. Like, obviously Teppenpaws in general were people he felt would be accepting and he’d had a good time with the fourth years last year at the Bonfire as well as Yarielis. And maybe Piper, Lenny and Levi were going to look at ball gowns and he could hang out with Cole and maybe Yarielis too-Chris had a feeling looking at ball gowns would not be something the younger Crotalus had much interest in-and failing that, maybe he could join one or both of the Aladrens in his year.

Before he could join any of them, however, someone approached him…

11 Christopher Brockert Can't be bothered to think of a clever title 1539 0 5

Misty Brockert

August 05, 2023 12:29 PM

Let's tumble along! by Misty Brockert

Misty didn’t really have much of a plan for the day going into the Tumbleweed trip. Really, it was pretty rare for Misty to plan much of anything; she tended to get by flying by the seat of her pants. At most, she thought she might peruse some of the dress shops, but she wasn’t planning on buying anything today. She wanted to go with Mama over break so that her mom could see what a big girl she was growing up to be. Plus, she was pretty sure it was the only Ball that Gwendolyn would get to attend because of the four year rotation of the midsummer events, and even if Mama didn’t say it out loud, it was probably pretty special to her for the girls to all go together.

The second year also hadn’t planned out who she’d be wandering Tumbleweed with, either. She was always happy to trail along behind her sister, but she tried not to do that too too much so that Gwendolyn could have her own life and friends here and not always feel obligated to look out for her little sister all the time.

She portkeyed in with her head mostly empty, which was good for portkey travel anyway - just like with figure skating, when you did a lot of spinning, it was best to keep your mind empty so all those thoughts didn’t get rattled around. So when her very cute friend Donovan asked her if she wanted to get ice cream, she was more than happy to follow along. “Okay!” she agreed enthusiastically.

“I love ice cream,” she commented as they headed toward it. “What’s your favorite kind? Mine is mint chocolate chip!”

12 Misty Brockert Let's tumble along! 1567 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

August 05, 2023 12:42 PM

And everyday forever! by Lorena Abernathy

The school year was inching ever closer to midterm, and thus far, nobody had been asked to the Ball in her friend group. Rosalynn’s was inevitable, and Lorena knew that Tommy was just probably still working on some new elaborate way of doing it and essentially being the most romantic human being alive. But Lorena really wanted someone to ask her, too. And Isla, of course. At the risk of sounding vain, Lorena really thought her more mature look this year would bring in more attention than it had thus far. It had definitely worked at home over the summer. Of course, there weren’t really that many boys around Sonora, but still. She had worked hard and learned a lot about how to style her appearance. She had thought that was the strongest factor keeping boys away before. Sure, she was a little bit weird and bookish, but she had always been kind, just sort of awkward. It was the modern century, of course, so she could as easily ask a boy, but Lorena didn’t think she was bold enough for that. Plus, what about Isla? It was one thing if someone asked Lorena, but it was another to actively choose to hang out with someone other than her friend, who may or may not have ended up with a date too.

It was nice, at least, to hang out with her friends today. Lorena felt Ros did a pretty good job of balancing the friends vs boyfriend vs all of the above social situations. And Tommy was always understanding of that as well, although he definitely seemed to be around a bit more than past years since Stanley and Wally had graduated. Lorena didn’t mind by any means, but having girl time was important too.

Isla asked what the girls should do first, and Lorena glanced around at the multitude of options before them. “Were you guys planning on looking at dresses today?” she asked. “My mom sent me some money to get one, if I find one I like. I wouldn’t mind starting there.”

12 Lorena Abernathy And everyday forever! 1510 0 5

Tommy Jamison

August 05, 2023 12:52 PM

Sounds like bro time to me. by Tommy Jamison

Tommy didn’t really know going into the Tumbleweed trip what Rosalynn’s plans for the day were going to be, but when he saw the girls beginning to group up, he gave a little wave and smile to indicate that it was fine with him. They probably wanted to shop and do girl stuff, so he didn’t really mind strolling along another course today, and he could catch up with them later.

He glanced around the still-gathered mass, shifting the small velvet box in his pants pocket to the inside pocket on his jacket - it seemed he wouldn't need that today, so he wanted it somewhere more safe and didn’t need it so readily accessible. Tommy saw Ian among those standing around, and as he approached, Ian preempted him in asking to partner up. “I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he said.

Ian Malone was a nice kid - naturally, since the boys were Teppenpaws - and sometimes Tommy felt kinda bad for not taking the time to get to know him a little better. He considered his roommate to be a friend, but they were not especially close. Tommy had spent most of his time at Sonora with the friends he grew up with: Theo, Wally, and Stanley. Now that the others had all graduated and left him behind, it was sort of like when he was ten and they were all here without him - he had Charlotte, but the age gap made it a bit less ideal to hang out with all the time.

But he had Ian now, and he needed to take advantage of it. Ian spent more time studying than Tommy did, so it was nice now to have an opportunity to hang out with none of that stuff hanging over their heads for the moment. “Do you drink coffee?" he asked as he started slowly moving in that direction. "I remember the coffee shop here being pretty good.”

He let Ian weigh in and allowed him to chance course if it in fact did not appeal to him. As they walked toward their decided upon destination, Tommy made conversation. "So, thinking of asking anyone to the Ball?"

12 Tommy Jamison Sounds like bro time to me. 1518 0 5

Ursula Arcadius

August 10, 2023 6:14 AM

All together then! by Ursula Arcadius

Ursula was excited for the trip to Tumbleweed. The town itself sounded moderately appealing - she would rarely turn down a day out, and she was sure the ghosts were all very fascinating, but she mostly judged places by their shops and and their flowers and wasn't getting her hopes up for a little dustbowl town that was more theme park than anything else.

But she was excited about spending time with Charlotte. Quillan’s friend. Quillian’s friend who was a girl. Quillan had denied wanting to marry her, but using the flimsy excuse that they were only in second year, which was absolutely not the same as saying he didn’t want to. And yes, whilst they could technically hang out at school, it was more interesting doing so on the school trip, and acting as Quillan’s chaperone. Or translator. Maybe he liked Charlotte but just didn’t know how to speak girl? He could be dense sometimes when it came to intuiting what Ursula wanted, though she was happy to make it obvious by spelling it out for him.

The necessity of taking a portkey was putting a dent in her enthusiasm—there were things that were worth the ride, but the appeal of Tumbleweed failed to balance out the displeasure of a churning stomach. She took a bit of a break, trying to regroup, and had mostly managed it when Charlotte came to join them.

“It might be fun to hit a few of the shops, just to see what they’re like,” she answered, when Charlotte asked her what she wanted to do. “I read that there’s quite an interesting antiques store. The ghost there tells good stories about about the pieces. Are there any other good stores?”

OOC: Happy to alternate which sibling I post, and just take turns with you - so Charlotte would be next

13 Ursula Arcadius All together then! 1577 0 5

Liesl Brockert

August 17, 2023 9:51 PM

Yes it is by Liesl Brockert

Liesl grinned. There was nothing better than hanging out with Hans. Honestly, over the past…year or so, she had decided that she liked his company better than anyone’s though Uncle Cory was still a close second, but she… obviously felt much differently about her uncle than she did about Hans.

And it was okay for her to like the older Teppenpaw more than…well, anyone. It wasn’t disloyal to her uncle or anyone else. (Although, some people obviously didn’t deserve any loyalty, of course.) It was a perfectly normal thing to…like someone in a special way that you didn’t like anyone else including and especially your family that was also more than you liked anyone else. And that was pretty much how Liesl was feeling about the sixth year.

Of course, she was terrified that Hans did not feel the same way about her. Although he had given her the bracelet, that she wore pretty much every day, and said that she was pretty, due to years and years of conditioning ,Liesl was never quite sure that she was wanted, liked and good enough and was usually pretty sure that she wasn’t. Even when she did something good, like getting good grades-which now that Desmond was at school, she was compared to him unfavorably, as she had been able to sadly and accurately predict without the aid of anything they used in Divination-or getting prefect-which only led people to think unkind things about Patience and her suitability, if Liesl beat her-or got second in the Challenges-which was of course down to the abilities of Jasper and everyone else on the team despite the fact that Xavier hadn’t been especially good at magic, Mab didn’t exactly scream natural leader, and that the last event had Liesl written all over it. Not that they did not all make good and significant contributions but…so had she. But no, all because of them, and Desmond would surely lead his team to first. Also, being good at making a haunted house was not a skill that Mother thought that she should be proud of-it just wasn’t enough, there was always some explanation, some fault of others-in the case of prefect-or skill of others-such as the Challenges.

So that someone would like her best, like her in a special way that they didn’t like anyone else and it was even the person that she felt that way about? Well, this was a confounding concept for Liesl to say the least.

“Ooh, that sounds fun!. Both the historical reenactments and finding some snakes to see what they think.” At the very least it seemed like Hans wanted to make her happy, since while ghosts were a bit more normal to magical people than to Muggles, they were still sort of creepy. After all, they were dead people. Even though Liesl had this distant cousin, Duncan, who was a therapist specializing in working with ghosts and helping them transition to their new status-a pretty cool job, really-and he insisted that they were just people who….happened to be less solid than people like Liesl, they were still dead . And that was a bit creepy and therefore, something that interested her.

11 Liesl Brockert Yes it is 1537 0 5

Donovan Peters

August 22, 2023 12:19 AM

Ice cream! by Donovan Peters

Step one, complete. Misty was fine with getting ice cream. Although, thinking about it, Donovan wasn't sure he'd want to hang out with someone who wasn't on board for ice cream at any given time.

That wasn't the case though, so Donovan steered his partner towards the shop. He was slightly less nervous as he chatted with Misty. It was just like any other day, except they weren't at school, and pretty much had run of the town so long as they stuck together and stayed out of trouble.

"Rocky Road, definitely," he answered her question, "It's got everything, nuts, marshmallows, chocolate- what's not to love?"

After they'd each received their ice cream over the pink-striped counter, Donovan turned to his companion.

"Say, Misty-" how on earth did his tongue feel heavy? He plucked the cherry off the top of his ice cream and set it on top of hers. He didn't much care for cherries. "Would you want to go to the ball with me?"

The question hung for a moment. Donovan didn't know if it would be rude or not to lick his ice cream before receiving an answer, and it started to drip down the side of the cone. Regrettably, he'd forgotten to grab a napkin.

64 Donovan Peters Ice cream! 1569 0 5

Charlotte O'Malley

August 27, 2023 3:52 AM

Off we go then! by Charlotte O'Malley

OOC: CW-Brief mention of psychological abuse BIC:

“That sounds great!” Charlotte replied enthusiastically. “I like antique stores and if you get to hear the history of a piece, that’s even more fun.” Honestly, brand new stuff was overrated in some ways. Antiques often had more…character. There was history attached. Of course, the Teppenpaw came from the sort of family that had heirlooms , so arguably it wasn’t abnormal for her to be surrounded by history filled antiques.

Also, antique stores were full of items that weren’t made any more. So, you could get things that were collectible items, like those that were made when her parents and other relatives were children. Charlotte knew that both her dad and his cousins, Amity and Chaslyn had not had…good childhoods. Her biological grandmother had not…really wanted her dad to have anything nice, while spoiling her aunt rotten-and rotten, she apparently truly was-though he’d had toys that he kept at his grandparents’ house. As for Amity and Chaslyn, well, they had lots of toys, they never had a chance to actually play with them. This led to Amity being particularly interested in reclaiming her childhood by collecting American Witch dolls and vintage items from when she was a kid. Although she still had her actual childhood toys were pretty much in mint condition.

However, more importantly regarding the antique store, was that it meant that at a bare minimum, Charlotte shared an interest with Ursula, and possibly Quillan too since he mentioned talking to the ghosts. Which was still history. Still, as much as she wanted to…become better friends with the Aladren, and common interests were a way to do that-even though her own parents were proof that opposites could attract, so having the same interests wasn’t everything or one hundred percent necessary, it was still nice for it to happen-Charlotte was absolutely interested in befriending Urusla too. It would be nice to have a good female friend that she wasn’t related to. Although, to be fair, Misty was not a close relative, and the Teppenpaw hoped to become closer to her too, she had enjoyed sharing a tent with her and hanging out at the museum. Furthermore, most people would also consider Piper a distant relative being that she was actually Dad’s first cousin, and therefore Charlotte’s second cousin but in the complex spread out family that they had, that was a relatively-pun not intended-close relation. Also, if people wanted to be super picky, Violet was her step cousin, but to the Teppenpaw, that was a distinction she tended not to make. Dad considered Uncle Arnold his brother and the lack of shared biology did not matter- literally nobody understood this concept better than her dad- and Charlotte had been raised to not make such a distinction.

Although come to think of it, maybe female/same-sex friendship wasn’t the be all and end all either. Mom and Dad had obviously been closer to each other than anyone else the entire time they’d known each other, although Dad had been friends with another guy in his class and Mom had been friends with Misty’s aunt, Hope. Still, they liked each other most. Also, Lavender’s friendship with Val had certainly been…incredibly complicated, largely due to the fact that Lavender did not get on with her friend’s girlfriend, and often felt…neglected while Lavender’s friendship with Graham seemed considerably more…stable. Truth be told, while Val-who was also dating Charlotte’s brother, Wally-was incredibly sweet and nice, her relationships seemed extremely complicated in general, especially for a person who liked and got on with everyone-although, really, considering what the second year had heard about her biological grandma and aunt, she was pretty sure that if Val ever met them, that would no longer be true. As much as Lavender thought Val either had a high tolerance for or was completely oblivious to toxic people, Charlotte really doubted that Bonabelle had anything on either her dad’s biological mother or his full sibling.

That said, she still wanted to at least get on well with Ursula since she was an important enough person to Quillan that he actually wanted to spend time with her. The fact that she was also a Teppenpaw was a good sign that she was nice and to have something in common-as being in the same house, even Teppenpaw was not an indicator that people did. Mom had nothing in common with her roommate at Sonora and obviously, Crotali seemed to encompass a wide variety of personalities as Dad and Aunt Peyton had nothing in common with that other aunt. And the other first year Aladren, Mathias, was…different. As for Teppenpaws,while they all shared the trait of being nice people, that did not mean they liked the same things. Their new prefect, Liesl, another of her myriad of relatives, was…well, Charlotte didn’t know of any other Teppenpaw that was into creepy things.Except maybe Hans, with his snake.

Not that she was criticizing them. It actually proved that just because someone was interested in the dark and creepy side of life that they could still be good and kind people, she just meant it was an example of how people in the same house did not necessarily like the same things.

Basically, Charlotte was just overall glad to have a place to go off to bond with the younger Teppenpaw. Plus, it would be easier on Quillan if they got on and easier overall for their afternoon plans.

“Well, there’s a nice book store and some boutiques and souvenir shops. Also there’s a store where you can buy crafts that other people have made.” There was a difference between that and a store where you can buy supplies to make your own. Charlotte happened to enjoy both. “I haven’t actually been here since we didn’t come last year but I heard about some stuff from my family.”

11 Charlotte O'Malley Off we go then! 1573 0 5

Hansel Hexenmeister

August 30, 2023 10:13 PM

And I like you by Hansel Hexenmeister

Liesl liked his idea, which was a good start. So he tracked down a map and a schedule of events and looked for something happening soon that met their criteria. "Here," he pointed out a spot on the map. "Looks like there's going to be a square dance in about ten minutes." There was also a showdown out by the shooting range, but he figured he could work the school ball into the conversation a lot easier at a square dance.

It took them about five to find the spot as the town had apparently tumbled a bit since the map was drawn up and it wasn't quite where they'd thought it should be, but they found it and settled out in the grass to watch. He called for some snake company to join them, but wasn't too disappointed when nobody showed up.

"Looks like it's just us for this show," he said when no rustling answered his summons. "Dancing is not exactly something snakes get anyway. Not having legs, you know." There was still a couple minutes before it started. Now was as good a time as any, he guessed. "What about you? Do you like dancing?" he wondered. "Maybe with me? Maybe at the ball? Maybe as a date?"

1 Hansel Hexenmeister And I like you 1524 0 5

Liesl Brockert

September 08, 2023 4:50 PM

Really? I like you too! by Liesl Brockert

“Sounds great!” Liesl replied. Honestly, basically, it didn’t matter what exactly they did. It was the time together that mattered. Not that she didn’t spend a lot of time with Hans, but, for example, they didn’t have classes together this year, and that sucked. They might not even have all of them together next year either since, while there were some classes that she knew that she was going to keep that Hans was in, such as Transfig and Charms-classes that most people seemed to keep-she was unsure about the others. Liesl really enjoyed Divination, which Hans didn’t take but also, the other ones he did take, were DADA and COMC, which she might also want to take. Dueling and the other physical parts of the former weren’t her favorite but overall it was the class with the most creepy, spooky things. She would have dropped COMC but then she realized that if she took it, she could help out more with the snakes when she visited Hans.

And then that would have been five classes. Most people who took that many either were those who needed specific classes for a career, like if they wanted to be a Healer, or they were giant show-offs, people like her brother who wanted to show off how brilliant they were. (While Desmond was only a second year, that definitely was the sort of thing she expected him to do. Once again, she did not need Divination to predict the behavior of her family.) She…fit into neither category, and certainly didn’t want people to think she was an intellectual elitist like her brother.

Which might sound like Liesl was judging him just like he judged her. However,while she did not want to be a hypocrite,the thing was that being an intellectual elitist was not a good thing whereas the things he judged her on were not inherently bad. And while taking that many Advanced classes did not make someone that, her brother would do that because he was one and the Teppenpaw worried people would think that about her if she took that many too.

More importantly though Liesl wasn’t sure she could handle doing so. Because she wasn’t Desmond who she’d always been led to believe was much smarter than her. And that might very well be the case, but the implication was, as always, that she wasn’t as good. That certain things were only for the very highest of intellects, a category that Desmond belonged in and she did not. Four classes were doable for someone of her intellectual ability, five were not. As usual, she needed to stay in her place and not try to show that she was as good as her brother was

She supposed she could always just…have Hans teach her about snake care, Liesl really didn’t need to know how to care for any other creature, aside from her cat, which she already knew how to do, If she just took Charms, Transfig, Divination and DADA, then she and Hans would still have three out of four classes together.

Her last year was really going to suck though, since Hans wouldn’t be here at all. Liesl was sure they’d still see each other after he graduated-at least she really really hoped so, she believed Hans at least wanted her around as a friend but she would not put it past Mother to put a stop to her spending time with him. Although Liesl would be an adult and she would leave - but she’d still be here without him and that would be awfully lonely. Though that was the only year that Krisalyn would be at Sonora with her, which would be nice, but not the same. When it came down to it, the older Teppenpaw’s company was preferred above all else.

They made their way to the square dancing, which was a bit of a challenge. Honestly, for all magic was wonderful and could make life so much easier-she had no idea how Muggles managed without it, how much time was lost to doing chores and looking for lost items and just traveling from one place to another-a town that moved and shifted so the streets and buildings were not where they were before was sort of a pain. And she wasn’t exactly wearing the best shoes for walking. Just because Liesl wasn’t the same sort of girl that Amethyst was did not mean that she dressed in super casual attire and the sort of shoes that were comfortable for walking did not go with her clothing choices.

Finally though, they made it. No snakes came to join them, but that was okay. It was nice just for it to be the two of them.

Then Hans began to speak and it was as if time basically stopped and the Earth stood still. He was asking her to the ball? He was asking her to the ball!As a date ! “Yes. yes! I would love to be your date to the ball!” Liesl exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. More than anything in the world she wanted that! This had to be the happiest moment of her life!

11 Liesl Brockert Really? I like you too! 1537 0 5

Misty Brockert

September 10, 2023 11:52 AM

Brb screaming by Misty Brockert

Rocky road was definitely a good answer too, Misty thought. Both that one and mint chocolate chip had, like, chocolate chips and stuff in them, which was most of what Misty liked about her favorite too. If it was just mint, that’d be too much mint. Like brushing your teeth. But also, regular chocolate chip needed to be spiced up a little, so that was where the mint came in. A perfect combination.

She was prepared to pay for her own ice cream, not sure if this was a date or what kind of customs Donovan really had in that regard. She also didn’t really know what kind of money he had to know if this was like a budgeted excursion from his parents. Not to be presumptuous, but it was usually a safe bet that Misty’s family had more money than other people, so she tried to be conscious of that. Still, she didn’t really care either way, so when it was time for the exchange of currency, she took his cue but held her bag close for access to her wallet.

But then very quickly, she forgot all about that stuff. She didn’t even notice the ice cream beginning to drip down Donovan’s hand (although if she had, she would have realized how glad she was that she opted for a bowl instead of a cone).

“Would you want to go to the ball with me?”

Misty’s whole face lit up, and she tried to repress the urge to scream. The sound in her throat reached a compromise with her, making its escape as a slightly less piercing squeal. “Yes!!” she exclaimed once she was able to form words again. “I would love that!”

12 Misty Brockert Brb screaming 1567 0 5