More good than bad, I think. on Quidditch Pitch

Headmaster Brockert

May 01, 2015 1:36 PM

Renaissance Faire! by Headmaster Brockert

This year's annual Midsummer Event was to be a Renaissance Faire. Honestly, despite the horrible things that had been done to witches and wizards in this time period-or rather the unsuccessful attempts that stemmed from hostile intentions of Muggles-Mortimer had to admit, he did prefer this to last year's ball. He really didn't much enjoy hormonal, overly emotional, teenagers causing more drama than usual and getting together to listen to bad music. Really, the quality of popular music seemed to get worse every year.

On the other hand, today's musical selections would be the tunes of long ago. As would everything else. There were stands featuring merchants selling their medieval and Renaissance themed wares including handicrafts, artwork, books, clothing, as well as of course, food and drink. While the other items were available for a small price, food and drink were free. There were also handicraft demonstrations where students could make things themselves if so inclined and medieval themed games, such as archery, axe throwing-with axes charmed to only stick in the word and not cut anyone-and a dunk tank. Not to mention live animal and falconry displays and a chance to learn about the time period, celebrating all that wizards had done back then....like devise ways to avoid being killed by Muggles who considered them evil. Some of that might not be politically correct but it wasn't a politically correct time period. It was a hard brutal one, and yes, some of that was going to be taught. Besides, if anything, Muggleborns were the ones more likely to be in danger anyway. The day would commence with a traditional feast while watching a joust.

The California Pierces had been hired to wander around putting on skits, juggling, playing music and interacting with the crowd like those in Elizabethan England, as well as a fortune telling booth. Anything that they didn't provide, others had been hired to do. No student or staff member had to do any work for this event, beyond those Advanced Charms students who had to present research projects. Granted there was also the little California Pierce girl who Mortimer basically realized existed because she was in the same year and house as Owen and played Keeper for the combined "Teppalus" Quidditch team. It was certainly possible that her family would put her to work too.

He stood on the main stage, which would serve for performances later in the day, and cast the Sonorous Charm on himself. "Welcome to Sonora's Annual Midsummer Event, our Renaissance Faire. There are no other announcements at this time, so please enjoy yourselves." Mortimer really did mean it this time, because while he genuinely didn't care about people's enjoyment that much usually, they'd rather gone all out on this. He stepped down and went to get himself an old time medieval breakfast.

OOC-Students would have also gotten their yearbooks and I'm sure Amelle will get them up when she can. You may write for any fair vendors other than the California Pierces. Have fun!

Subthreads:

Fortunes, Forecasts, Lucky Charms! by California Pierces

Where's Wendy? by Rupert Princeton with Wendy Canterbury, Rupert

What now? (Tag Shino) by Jamie Park with Uzume Shinohara, Shino

Melancholy on my mind. by Ava Fletcher with The Jareaus

Mixing friends (Tag: Atlas & Duncan) by Liliana Bannister with Duncan Brockert, Atlas Primred

Hat trouble by Ji-Eun Park

Looking for friends (Caelia tags Kelsey, Emrys tags anyone) by Emrys & Caelia Lucan with Kelsey Atwater, Caelia Lucan

It's over..(Tag Effie) by Amity Brockert with Effie Arbon

Feeling a little on edge. by John Umland

You can't make old friends. by Joella Curtis and Alistair Johnson

More good than bad, I think. by Barnaby Pye with Anonymous

11 Headmaster Brockert Renaissance Faire! 6 Headmaster Brockert 1 5

California Pierces

May 01, 2015 4:17 PM

Fortunes, Forecasts, Lucky Charms! by California Pierces

Maria Pierce, the acting matriarch and coordinator in chief of the California Pierces, walked around the Sonora pitch and grounds, making sure her people were all in place and doing their jobs. She was dressed as a noblewoman herself, so she kept her step prim and proper rather than hurrying about like a peasant, deigning polite nods and greetings to the students and staff she saw and crisply issuing orders to any of her own family who looked like they needed direction (unless they were costumed to an equal rank as she, in which case she was more eloquently conversational in her suggestions).

She walked passed Saul and Jose, her family's representative Sonora alumni at the event, who were tossing juggling clubs and banter between them. It wasn't quite a scripted comedy routine, but they'd done this together often enough that they had a well practiced set of jokes and improv scenarios worked out in advance, peppered with some audience participation as they put random students on the spot with straight lines or riddles or the occasional query about how Pecari had done in in the current year's Quidditch Cup. They were both former captains of the team, so she didn't chide them for the break in character.

Further on, she nodded primly to a very elderly nobleman (also known as the nominal patriarch Joshua Pierce who was having a very good day today and actually remembered the current decade) who was giving a couple younger students a hard time about their modern footwear.

Maria continued her rounds, passing a small inclination of her head to her daughter, Ginger, who was dressed as fully in garb as the rest of the family but was otherwise allowed to meander and enjoy the fair with her schoolmates. She was a Sonora student as well, after all, and therefore part of the audience today.

Maria moved on, not wanting to embarrass her daughter in front of her peers and friends. Next she passed the handful of booths where her family's best charlatans sat in gaudy gypsy outfits behind velvet covered tables sporting crystal balls, rune stones, and tarot decks. Not a one of them had the Sight - that Talent was nurtured and used by their gamblers, not their fortune tellers - but they were all well practiced in how to use the tools of their trade. Maria was counting the skill to read body language and perceive subtle clues to tell people what they wanted to hear as much as she was including the Divination props. And every California Pierce could interpret a simple tarot draw by the time they were eight, so that was saying something. She breezed by without interrupting them at their work. They wouldn't be able to hear anything she said anyway. Each booth was shrouded in muffling charms to keep the readings confidential.

OOC: Welcome to the Faire! Feel free to reply to this post if you want to interact with one of the Pierces. If you are getting your fortune read, feel free to assume you were welcomed in, invited to sit across the booth from the gypsy, and asked what about your future you would like to know. If you're hoping for a particular answer for plot reasons or just for messing with your character, just let me know in an ooc and I will likely accommodate you as long as its not too terrible; these ladies aren't trying to traumatize anybody.

0 California Pierces Fortunes, Forecasts, Lucky Charms! 0 California Pierces 0 5

Rupert Princeton

May 05, 2015 2:09 PM

Where's Wendy? by Rupert Princeton

Having a Renaissance Faire as the Midsummer Event was a unique idea and a lovely ending to Rupert's academic career. He'd never been to a Faire like this before and he was looking forward to seeing everything with his girlfriend. Though Rupert was feeling somewhat glad to be finished with classes and his projects, his year was not ending on a high note.

Despite his efforts at playing well during the Aladren match, Rupert hadn't received any offers from any American professional Quidditch leagues. It was as if the scouts had simply glanced at the score and went on their merry way. There were a few teams that were interested in him, but all were from the United Kingdom. The English under-17's team he'd been a part of during the summer had really benefited him there, but that meant he had to return back home for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't as devastating as not making it to any Quidditch team at all, but it did mean he would have to leave a country he'd come to love and a witch he admired dearly. Thinking about Wendy still made Rupert feel like a fool, but it was more acceptable now that she reciprocated his feelings. He had told her briefly that he had been scouted by an English Quidditch team. If he joined one, he would join the Puddlemere United Reserve Team, a coveted position he wasn't likely to pass up. His father had been ecstatic upon hearing the news, but Rup wasn't aiming to please his father. He wanted to know what Wendy thought.

They had planned to meet at the Faire, their last date before graduation. He was waiting at the entrance, his brown eyes focused on the stands inside without really seeing them. He wondered if Wendy would want to part ways. She didn't seem to fancy him as much as he fancied her and sometimes Rupert wondered if she ever missed the first summer romance she'd had. Parting from her looked like agony to him, but Rupert would understand. If he decided to join Puddlemere United's Reserve Team, Rup would most certainly be with them for the next ten years at least. Without a Quidditch team to sponsor him here in America, he wouldn't be able to stay as an international student unless he enrolled back into school.

Things were complicated and Rupert wanted Wendy to be here so he could talk with her and feel more at ease. There was an air about her that he loved. He would miss her terribly when he was away. When he saw her, his face brightened and he kissed her in greeting. "Hello," he said afterwards. "Shall we go in?" He offered his hand to her, suddenly feeling brighter despite the melancholy thoughts he'd been thinking.

40 Rupert Princeton Where's Wendy? 248 Rupert Princeton 0 5

Wendy Canterbury

May 08, 2015 3:18 AM

Here I am! by Wendy Canterbury

There were a lot of thoughts going on in Wendy's mind. She had been very busy as Head Girl, but since that was her only responsibility it actually wasn't that bad. Unlike her crazy-busy sister, Wendy could never live without those breathers and times of fun. Plus she needed time for Rupert. After this year, who knew what would happen between them?

Wendy was a firm believer that there was a season for everything and she was just meant to enjoy it while it lasted. She wasn't as ambitious as Waverly and really liked living in Phoenix even if it did get a little nasty and dirty at times. She was a desert girl through and through. When Rupert had told her in passing about getting accepted to an English Quidditch team, she'd been very excited for him but knew in her heart she could never go with him. She liked Rupert a lot, but not as much as she loved her home.

The bustle of the Midsummer Event was exciting, a process she had been very much a part of as Head Girl. Now, as she walked onto the warm, gentle grass of the Quidditch field in black slippers and an authentic-looking Renaissance-style dress, she felt like she was getting closure. After today, she would leave Sonora's grounds forever and let the future take hold. For now, she was going to enjoy her last Midsummer Event and enjoy the rented costume dress she had ordered via owl. Wendy's blonde hair was braided in an updo with little flowers much like the Renaissance women she had researched during the winter break. It would get very hot fast, but today she would bear it instead of bearing skin.

Almost as soon as she reached Rupert, she hardly had time to say hello before he kissed her. Just as quickly it was over before she could raise her sleeved arms and she smiled brightly at him. "Yes, let's go in." She took his hand and laced their fingers together. "How do you like my outfit?" she asked, looking down at herself. She never got to dress like this and so had gone all out for the occasion. After Charlie had shown her how to put makeup on, she had even started wearing it regularly. That meant today she had eyeliner, mascara, and a bit of color on her lips. Renaissance women were all about natural looks, at least for the most part, so she'd kept it pretty simple-looking.

Headmaster Brockert was just finishing his speech and the Faire was starting to pick up. She eagerly looked around. "I'm presenting my Advanced Charms research project later today so I won't be able to spend the whole day with you, but let's enjoy ourselves now." She squeezed Rupert's hand and smiled at him. "What were you thinking about before I saw you?" she asked. The unspoken uncertainty of their relationship post-graduation would eventually surface, but Wendy didn't really want to get into that now. They would have to part ways if Rupert did decide to go back to England. That was the mature decision as she knew a long-distance relationship would never work for her. Even so, Wendy didn't want to think about that yet.

19 Wendy Canterbury Here I am! 245 Wendy Canterbury 0 5

Jamie Park

May 08, 2015 4:13 AM

What now? (Tag Shino) by Jamie Park

Jamie had never heard of a Renaissance Faire, and only really knew what one out of those two words meant. He’d gathered it was something that was supposed to be both fun and educational, and was highly dubious of anything’s ability to live up to both of those monickers at the same time. As he wandered into the Faire, his suspicions were somewhat confirmed as he saw food (excellent), axe throwing (cool) and seventh year charms presentations (lame). It seemed the Faire consisted of both fun and educational elements but it was going to be pretty easy to spot which was which.

From what Brockert said, not that it was much at all, they would be free to do as they liked, which suited Jamie fine. He could pick and choose the fun elements of the Faire and avoid reading Effie Arbon’s essay on sodding snow-globes, or whatever it was. The re was the yearbook too, which was usually good for a laugh or two, and he flicked the pages casually whilst he waited for Shino at their designated meeting point. He had been pleased to receive her letter. He wouldn’t readily admit it, but he missed her company. They had fun together. His ego had been mollified by the letter, proving to him that she hadn’t been swept away in a tide of new Quidditch friends. She’d clearly been just as bored without him.

“Well,” he smirked, as he caught sight of her, closing the yearbook with a snap, “If it isn’t the dazed, confused and potentially criminal Miss Shinohara. I think there’s axe throwing and archery at the very least,” he informed her, in reference to their agreement to spend the Faire engaging in as many competitions as possible. “Or do you want to join your cuddly new Teppen-pals and see who can make the prettiest most sparkly hat?”

OOC - as they’d made this arrangement in advance, I assumed it was ok to specify a meeting point (but gave me more to say if it was somewhere within the Faire). Hope that’s ok. Also, as I also write Effie, I’m not god-modding by stating what her project is on (weather charms).

13 Jamie Park What now? (Tag Shino) 284 Jamie Park 0 5

Uzume Shinohara

May 08, 2015 10:56 PM

The battle begins! by Uzume Shinohara

Like many elementary school students, Uzume learned the history of witches and wizzards from around the world, however her school preferred to focus on the the history of the East. As such most of her European Renaissance knowledge stemmed from a few brief lessons from when she was 8 along with any new information she learned from her time at Sonora.

Refusing to risk seeming naive compared to her technically ‘older’ (but not wiser in her opinion) friend, she forced herself to go to the library to learn at least a little about what in the world a Renaissance faire was supposed to entail. Despite her searching, she didn’t seem to find anything in the medieval history books explaining what a Renaissance faire was supposed to be (although she did learn a lot about the Italian Renaissance during her researching). Unknowing to Uzume, was the fact that Renaissance festivals were a mostly contemporary American event and wouldn’t have been in her history books in the first place. Angrily she left the library, purposely rearranging the books as she replaced them on the shelf as revenge for the library staff’s lack of reference material on the subject.

Now that she was actually at the event, she wasn’t sure how to think of it. Although her original plan was to find Jamie as quickly as possible, she found herself getting easily distracted by the booths. The large birds in the falconry section attracted her interest first since Takagari was a common pastime in Japan. She heard stories from her father about how the Shinohara family used to participate in the sport many centuries ago. However because the men of her family were now more involved in the political class than the warrior class, it was rarely practiced by any of her relatives. Still, she thought the birds looked beautiful. She stared for a moment, wondering what it would be like to partner with one while on a hunt. Something about them just seemed so regal that Uzume couldn’t help but allow her mind to wander into a daydream.

After a few minutes, she managed to pull herself away from the birds and towards the meeting area. She blushed slightly at Jamie-kun's comments, since she was indeed only minutes before staring sappily at the falcons knee deep into a daydream. However, the suggestion of doing arts and crafts with her Quidditch team she could have gone without, but Uzume decided to let it slide, assuming he was just jealous she made the team and he only made reserve.

“Let us just start with archery,” she said, ready to move on to the real fun of the event. Since her original suggestion of the wager, she thought non-stop about what she would force Jamie-kun to do, all which involved some type of public humiliation. However, she also thought about how much fun it would be to spend time with him again, and she wasn't wrong. She was already enjoying his company, back handed compliments and all. “Unless you wanted to go and ‘flirt’ with some of the girls doing arts and crafts?” she retorted with a grin, since she too had already skimmed the awards section.

0 Uzume Shinohara The battle begins! 292 Uzume Shinohara 0 5

Ava Fletcher

May 09, 2015 10:11 PM

Melancholy on my mind. by Ava Fletcher

Ava had never been to a Renaissance Faire before, but she had heard a lot about them from Dimitri Porter. Dimitri had been her first friend at Sonora and though she had made other friends in his absence, Ava could feel her enthusiasm waning with the days leading up to the Midsummer Event. She found herself wondering where Dimitri was and what he was up to, sure that the Teppenpaw would have loved the year’s event as her friend had told her about the various competitions he had participated in while at Renaissance Faires, including placing third in a young bard’s competition.

When the morning of the faire finally arrived, Ava felt more down and out than she had ever felt since her arrival at Sonora. Not even the feeling of a failed test or an unfinished book could rival the distraught feeling she felt today. Dressing in a simple blue and white checkered sun-dress, Ava slipped out the door of the Aladren common room to the library quietly, determined to to make too much noise so as to leave the area as unnoticed as possible. She planned on finding a quiet area in the library and read by herself so that she didn’t notice the absence of her once best friend, but the sun from outside and the noise from the Quidditch Pitch soon lured her aware from her solitary corner and Ava found herself wandering towards the area where the rest of the school was situated.

As she approached the entrance, Ava appreciated the colorful set-up and smiled despite herself. The stalls boasted all sorts of old-timey things and Ava was glad for having thrown her wallet into her dress pocket at the last minute after having gone back to the common room to put on more comfortable shoes. The displays and competitions were an incredible sight to behold and for a moment, she stood by the entrance just taking it all in. She noticed the area in which she could get her yearbook but ultimately decided on getting in later since she didn’t have anywhere to put it and didn’t want to have to carry anything while walking around.

A rumbling in her stomach directed Ava towards the food and drink stand, but a sign quickly caught her eye and Ava made her way over to look at the elegant books bound in rich colors and gold leaf. She bit her lip, her ponytail falling over her shoulder as she bent over to read some of the titles. There were an incredible number of covers that bore names she had put down on her “to read” list and Ava didn’t know where to begin. The stand resembled Papa’s library and the memory made her lips turn up in a soft smile. She really couldn’t wait to get back home to him especially since he had not really sounded like himself in his last few letters. She had a sneaking suspicion that as they were approaching the ten year anniversary of her father’s death and the nine year anniversary of her grandmother’s that Papa was growing weary.

It couldn’t have been easy, Ava thought, her forehead puckered as she hovered over a title she thought her grandfather might like, to loose both one’s only son and one’s wife within one year and then have a child dumped on one’s hands, but Papa had made it work. She had only respect and undying support for the man, but she always felt guilty when she left home for Sonora. Even though Papa had his friends, George, especially, Ava still felt as though he were her responsibility. That was why she had left her beloved cat, Seal at home this term so that Papa wouldn’t be so entirely lonely while she was studying. A medical text brought forth her mother to mind and Ava’s brow furrowed. She didn’t understand why Charlotte didn’t take some time off or find a position closer to home or at least aparate between home and work each day so that Papa wouldn’t be all alone in that little cottage of his.

She shook her head and went back to the book of fairy tales she was certain would delight her grandfather. Looking at the price she was sure she could afford it, and her hand reached into her pocket, fingering the edges of her worn wallet. If she bought this book, she didn’t think she’d be able to get anything else and there were many other titles she had been wanting for awhile. Her thought process, however, was interrupted when she thought she heard someone calling her name. Ava jumped, startled, her right hand dropping the book and her left hand quickly leaving her pocket, blushing furiously, embarrassed that someone had caught her out hesitating to buy a gift for her grandfather. “Yeah?” she stammered out, her hand feeling empty without the book in it.

10 Ava Fletcher Melancholy on my mind. 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Liliana Bannister

May 09, 2015 10:51 PM

Mixing friends (Tag: Atlas & Duncan) by Liliana Bannister

Liliana had arranged to meet Duncan Brockert at the Faire since they were in different houses and that would be easiest, and she had plans to go to the Faire with Atlas. However, she had yet to tell Atlas that they were meeting Duncan. She didn’t really know why she hadn’t done so, there were many excuses that were running through her head as she got dressed, selecting a light weight, loose off-white dress which would be perfect for the Arizona heat. Though the neckline was renaissance-esque, the lack of billowing sleeves and the way the dress was cut to hit right above the knees made it decidedly more modern.

Liliana’s hand briefly hesitated over the make up she had purchased for last year’s event before deciding to leave her face as is, grabbing a clear, grapefruit scented lip balm to keep her lips from cracking in the heat before tossing the bag into her trunk. It being the end of the year, she had already packed up most of her belongings, leaving out the little used make up on the off chance she wanted it for the special occasion. Liliana had only used it a few times since purchasing it a year ago, taking it out only for special family birthday dinners and her grandmother’s balls. However, with the anticipation of going back to France and going on dates, she found herself becoming more curious to know what it would be like to wear it every day. After another moment of hesitation, Liliana grabbed her coin purse out of her trunk with full intentions of making Atlas carry it around for her in his pockets.

She arrived in the common area early, having wanted to be able to let Atlas know Duncan would be joining them without feeling rushed. She found a comfortable seat in one of the chairs and waited, watching her classmates file out and head to the Faire, wondering, as Wendy Canterbury passed by, how different she would have been had she had an older sister or at the very least an older female cousin to teach her fun hairdos. Liliana’s own rib length light brown hair was down but brushed and pinned back so as not to get in her eyes and she reached a hand up to gather it as she leaned back in the comfortable chair so it wouldn’t be trapped awkwardly between the cushion and her back.

When Atlas arrived, she greeted him with a smile and a spin much like the one she had given him last year when they met up for the Ball. “You look nice,” she said smiling and handed him the coin purse. “How about me?” She wasn’t at all ashamed to be fishing for compliments from Atlas. As her best friend, it was his job to let her know if what she was wearing looked funny, she reasoned, even if she did have questions regarding his color pairings at times. They linked arms, their standard method of walking, to go to the Faire, and Liliana opened her mouth to tell him about their soon to be party of three.

“Oh, I invited Duncan Brockert to meet us there,” she said nonchalantly as they crossed the threshold of the Pecari Common Room into the Labyrinth Gardens. “I think you’ll get along, he’s really nice.” She smiled, the heat of the sun washing over her the moment the shade from the entrance disappeared. “Wow,” she said slightly breathless, trying to move on to another topic of conversation before Atlas could protest. “It’s really hot out, I hope they have something cool to drink.”

When the two reached the Quidditch Pitch, Liliana dropped Atlas’ arm upon spotting Duncan. “Hey,” she said in greeting. “Shall we? I heard the drinks are free and I’m parched!” She imitated a southern woman, fanning herself with her hand, her lips turning up in a small grin as her eyes and head rolled to the left.

OOC - parts referencing Atlas approved by his author. Duncan: since Liliana invited him to join her and Atlas OOC, I figured they probably set up a meeting place in advance. I'll let you decide where that is :)

10 Liliana Bannister Mixing friends (Tag: Atlas & Duncan) 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Jamie

May 10, 2015 7:25 AM

Let the most awesome Korean win by Jamie

“Nah, I wouldn’t want to get you all jealous,” he commented, when she asked if he’d rather be flirting with the girls at the craft tables. Man, if only they’d agreed to a battle of wits, he would be owning her right now. He still couldn’t decide what Shino’s humiliating fate would be when he beat her. Obviously, there were some ground rules to the bet… The punishment couldn’t go on forever (otherwise where would their next fun come from?) and couldn’t involve throwing Quidditch or academics. But it could involve an ‘I <3 Korea’ t-shirt, which was bound to annoy her, or addressing him as ‘sir’ for the rest of the evening, or having to take a turn in the drunk stall and get a wet sponge to the face…. So many beautiful possibilities.

“Archery sounds good to me,” he nodded. Archery was like… the national sport of Korea, and everyone practised it all the time and was super awesome at it. Or something. Technically, he only knew about this because it was one of those heritage things his mother droned on about, and about how she had been in archery (and every other) club at school. He had done it a couple of times growing up but was no expert. He was only a member of Sonora’s club in as far as he’d assured his mother he was. Seeing as she couldn’t read the yearbook, he hadn’t even bothered signing up, though given the cute little graphics that helpfully peppered the pages he might have to at least make that formality next year. He didn’t think Shino was a member either though, and it practically had to be in his blood to be good at it, besides just generally being older and more skilled than her anyway.

He took a bow, listening with boredom to the demonstrator explain what was a bow and what was an arrow and how you were meant to point it at the target not someone’s face, all in irritating pseudo-Medieval English. They were given three arrows each.

“Ladies first,” he bowed to Shino, though he thought it might have been fun to make his mark and shake her up a bit.

OOC - how are we going to decide the winner? Flip a coin (ask chatzy), then write it out accordingly?

13 Jamie Let the most awesome Korean win 284 Jamie 0 5

Ji-Eun Park

May 10, 2015 7:48 AM

Hat trouble by Ji-Eun Park

Ji-Eun had been behaving rather badly all year, though not in a way that she had been aware of. However, her behaviour towards Arnold (whom she had insisted on a ‘friends-only’ date with to the ball) had been what most people would have described as flirtatious. Ji-Eun, being rather naive of this, and of the effect she was capable of having on a boy, had never intended it as such. She loved reading the serialised picture stories in Korean magazines, envying the heroines and wishing she could be one of them. The fact that someone liked her like that cast her into that role, the starring heroine in the centre of a drama. It was something she had never thought herself pretty or special enough to be and she lapped up the role. She smiled at Arnold coyly, she flicked her hair, she playfully pushed or teased… Not because she liked him back and not because she thought that behaviour showed such things but because it was how she thought she was supposed to act - it didn’t have to matter or to mean anything.

She flicked through the yearbook, happy that she wouldn’t need any creative translating to make her mother proud. The Faire seemed an interesting end of term activity. She was looking forward to learning lots, and it seemed broad enough that there would be something fun for everyone to do. She had asked around when it had been announced to find out whether she was supposed to dress up but the consensus had been that she didn’t need to. Instead, she wore lilac denim shorts with lace around the edges, and a loose, long sleeved blouse with a pussy bow on the front. A few people seemed to have made the effort though, and not wishing to be left out of the festivities, she joined the ‘make a hat’ table.

Ji-Eun’s image of Medieval dress equated roughly to her image of fairy tale princesses - big sleeves, criss-cross bodices and those pointy hats with a piece of fabric hanging off them. Whilst she was keen to learn a bit more about the era, she wasn’t overly concerned about the accuracy of any dress details, seeing as it was going to be paired with current outfit, and she wasn’t going to let something trivial like historical accuracy get in the way of having a good hat. She set about finding some pale purple card to match her shorts and working out how to construct it into a cone. She fitted it to her head but found that every time she went to move it to stick it in place, either with her wand or the provided craft resources, it slipped and she couldn’t be sure it had stayed the right size.

“Excuse me,” she asked the person nearest, “Could you give me some help please? If I hold, can you stick?”

13 Ji-Eun Park Hat trouble 268 Ji-Eun Park 0 5

The Jareaus

May 10, 2015 7:35 PM

Let' try to take it off your mind. by The Jareaus

Chloe followed Emery around the pitch in silence for the time being. Neither of them had ever gone to a Ren Faire, but they had heard about them before. Chloe had been fascinated about them after she heard that was what the school would be doing and had sort of hoped people would dress up so that she would get the chance to as well. But then it didn’t seem like anyone was going to and she didn’t want to be a completely crazy person by doing it herself, so she decided against it. She might have be able to get Ji-Eun to do it with her, but she was never sure what Ji-Eun was comfortable with.

Not that it seemed to have mattered any way. Ji-Eun and her didn’t really hang out like they used to. Chloe suspected it was because Ji-Eun had a boyfriend now. She was a little upset over the fact that Ji-Eun never told her that they were dating. Weren’t they roommates and besties? Why wouldn’t Ji-Eun have told her? Chloe would have supported her relationship! She didn’t know what to think about the freeze with Ji-Eun but it did have her wondering if she had done something wrong to offend the other Pecari.

“Where is she?” Emery asked, his green eyes darting around the pitch, trying to see around the festivities. “Do you see her?”

If Chloe were being honest, she would have said that she wasn’t paying any attention, but that would only annoy her brother. He had asked her to help him find Ava. He thought that they would all be going as friends to the event together, but he was sure Emrys wanted to spent the day with Charlotte and when Emery left the commons, Ava was nowhere in sight. He looked in the Hall for her, which is where he met up with Chloe, and now they were wandering aimlessly through the crowd of people on the Pitch without much luck.

“Oh, there she is.” Chloe said, pointing to their friend who was looking at books (such an Aladren thing to do). Emery looked around to where Chloe was pointing and smiled. She really wished her brother would just admit to his feelings for the female Aladren so that Chloe wouldn’t be dragged around to fill his void. She was already feeling like a seventh wheel amongst their friends. Emery had Ava, Emrys had Charlotte, and Ji-Eun had Arnold. Then there was just Chloe. She enjoyed her friendships, but it didn’t stop her feelings of being a slight outcast to them.

The two Jareaus made their way over to their friend. “Hey Ava.” Emery greeted, but her startled jump caught him off guard.

“Glad we found you, Ava, Emery was having a total spaz attack not knowing where you were all this time.” Chloe teased. “I think he thought you ran off with another Aladren or something.” Chloe didn’t think Ava would get what she meant since the girl seemed totally oblivious to Emery’s feelings, and if she did? Who cares, maybe it would get them moving in the right direction.

“Everything ok?” Emery asked, blatantly ignoring his sister. “I didn’t mean to scare you or anything.”

6 The Jareaus Let' try to take it off your mind. 0 The Jareaus 0 5

Emrys & Caelia Lucan

May 11, 2015 3:40 AM

Looking for friends (Caelia tags Kelsey, Emrys tags anyone) by Emrys & Caelia Lucan

Emrys had Caelia had arranged to meet at Cascade Hall and walk over to the Renaissance Faire together. They planned to spend the first part of the Faire walking around and maybe playing some games before separating and joining their respective friends. Though this was his first Renaissance Faire, it wasn’t Emrys’ first fair as he and Wesley had snuck out one summer when they were younger to go to a nearby Muggle fair where they had won their dog, Lio. Caelia had not only been too afraid to join them, but also too young and even though Emrys had wanted to take his little sister along, Wesley had made the executive decision that Caelia would have to stay behind with Matthew for company and the two would have to cover for them while the older boys had fun. So Sonora hosting a Renaissance Faire pleased Emrys because it meant that he would get a chance to take his sister around when he previously hadn’t.

He leaned against the door of Cascade Hall, his mottle gray shirt catching slightly when he reached his hand up to run through his thick, golden-brown hair. Caelia was taking awhile and he was impatient for her to arrive. He missed just hanging out with his sister with nothing to do. Even though he and Caelia met at least once a week in the library to go over her schoolwork and even though she joined him just as frequently for dinner, it wasn’t the same. He missed being able to hang out with her without his friends around or her schoolwork in the way. When she finally arrived, he reached out and tugged at a bit of her curly blonde hair playfully. “Took you long enough, Cael,” he laughed. “Got a fancy date later or something?”

Caelia blushed, and pushed her carefully brushed hair behind her ear. “No,” she said sheepishly, slightly hesitant to reveal who she was planning on hanging out with after Emrys. “I’m just meeting Kelsey later.” She didn’t know why, but she got the feeling that her older brother didn’t approve of her friendship with her roommate. It didn’t make sense, Kelsey was pretty, nice and of Society, plus she lived with Caelia so that made her the perfect friend. But then again, Emrys did have some skeptical choice in friends—a group of fifth year half-bloods popped in Caelia’s mind as she walked next to her brother on the way to the Faire.

“That’s…nice,” Emrys said, his voice pausing awkwardly in between the two words and he winced. The sentence hadn’t come out at nicely as he would have liked it to. It wasn’t that he disliked the first year, but she seemed to be like one of those purebloods, the kind like his grandparents and like Charlotte, and Emrys didn’t really know how much he bought into that deal. Certainly none of his friends fell into that category except for Charlotte, but then again Charlotte was…Charlotte. Emrys knew he was being unfair in his judgment but then again he was also a sixteen year old boy with a crush. He was entitled to be a little unfair when it came to the girl he liked. But he was glad Caelia had made a friend, he just wished it were someone less like Grandmother Viviane.

He ignored Caelia’s suspicious look and directed her towards the yearbooks. “What do you want to do first?” he asked her as her flipped open his book casually to see who had gotten which awards. He felt it heart speed up a little when he saw that Charlotte and himself had won the award for best couple in their year despite not actually being a couple and he quickly shut the book closed so he didn’t have to look at the page any longer. It just served as another reminder that he didn’t have the guts to tell Charlotte he liked her. He had almost nearly done it at the ball last year, especially when she had looked so pretty in her dress, but someone he had lost the nerve and let the night end the way it had begun—in friendship.

“So, Emrys,” Caelia said in that sing-song voice of hers and Emrys knew that she had found the award. He reached over and closed the book shut for her and took it in his hands.

“You don’t want to read that,” he said. “It’s all nonsense anyway, I’ll carry it for you while we walk around, does that sound good?” He took Caelia’s hand and led her away from the table gentle. “What do you want to do first? There’s games or shops or hat making?”

Caelia hid a grin—she might not have been very intelligent, but she wasn’t stupid. “I’d like to read my yearbook, please,” she said in her best little sister voice. She knew exactly why it was that Emrys had confiscated her yearbook from her and she was pleased that now she had an ammunition to bug him with. He had teased her multiple times about Alistair Johnson and mumbled a few things about Kelsey Atwater and now she finally had something on him—she didn’t dare insult his friends since they were older and she really didn’t want to offend her big brother.

“Caelia,” he said in warning. She just smiled back at him innocently in return and Emrys rolled his eyes in frustration. His little sister—Merlin love her, always knew exactly what to say to get on his nerves. “Come on, let’s go over here, look at the animals?” He hoped the offer of birds would be enough to lure her out of the teasing-Emrys phase she was currently in. Caelia nodded and Emrys led them over to one of the cages that encased a large, beautiful, multi-colored bird. Emrys didn’t really know what it was, birds being an animal that kind of made him nervous, but Caelia liked them so he was willing to put up with it for awhile to make her happy—especially since it would mean she would be distracted enough to not talk about Charlotte.

A little before lunch time, Emrys walked Caelia over to their meeting place to wait for Kelsey. When Caelia spotted her friend, she hopped forward and started to run over to her. “Caelia,” Emrys called. “You forget something?” Caelia turned around and ran back to give Emrys a hug which he exchanged for her yearbook. “Have fun,” he said, handing her the lavender colored floral print wallet she’d given him earlier. He’d snuck in an extra couple of sickles when she wasn’t looking, a small fee to make up for confiscating her yearbook for the duration of the morning. He leaned back against the post he was standing near as Caelia joined Kelsey and shoved his hands into his pockets. Now he needed to find someone to hang out with.

OOC: Kelsey confirmed with author. Anyone can reply to Emrys :) Sorry the author's note is pithy, I'm tired haha

10 Emrys & Caelia Lucan Looking for friends (Caelia tags Kelsey, Emrys tags anyone) 260 Emrys & Caelia Lucan 0 5

Amity Brockert

May 12, 2015 3:31 PM

It's over..(Tag Effie) by Amity Brockert

There was something deeply satisfying about the Midsummer event this year. First of all, unlike last year's Ball, a Renaissance Faire wasn't something that made Amity feel crappy about herself. More importantly it signified that she would be graduating soon, which meant...never having to do anything one would consider work again. Ever since she ran away to her aunt and uncle's, her summers had been more relaxed and school had been the place where she'd had to do more. Especially this year. Between RATS and the Charms project, it had been way too much.

Honestly, there was a certain level of cruelty and sadism making people do big projects during their seventh year, a time when people where not only caught up in studying for RATS, but getting burned out on studying. Granted, Amity had been burnt out long ago, before ever attending Sonora. Still, it was enough to almost make her wish she'd taken up Potions rather than Charms for her second class. To make matters worse, it was being displayed for the whole school to see today, so she'd had to put a bit more effort into it than she would have otherwise, even though when it came down to it, when Amity had to do something requiring any effort, she studied for RATS instead. RATS was ultimately more important.

Besides, her issue had more been wanting to be seen by her classmates as a proper pureblood and a good person. How well someone could research a topic had little to do with that . Amity had plenty of unpleasant housemates who most likely were a lot more into that sort of thing than her. Anyway,people were likely to be more interested in axe throwing and hat making than reading some dry old bits of research.

Because today was about fun , what the Aladren had always believed Midsummer events should be. Whatever else one might say about the Headmaster and his demeanor, he seemed to at least get that, surprising as it was. She could still remember some of the prior events like the concert her fourth year where every last student had to participate. Or the Challenges during her second, though the biggest one had been having to deal with the little parasite and her cousin. Amity was glad that lot was long gone. Of course, last year's ball had caused her a lot of angst, but at least it hadn't been work and in the end, she'd become friends with Annabelle and truly saw that the Anns were different people.

Amity got her yearbook and opened it with a sense of trepidation. She noted with tremendous relief that she had not gotten Criminal and neither had Annette Pierce. She'd never thought the Pecari had deserved that. The seventh year was quite disappointed that she and Effie had not gotten Best Friends. Part of Amity didn't just need to know others liked her, she needed others to know she was liked.

Other than that, in addition to the same things she'd gotten last year, she had won Most Likely to Be Married. Most likely because she was already betrothed. Amity never had understood why Theresa Carey had gotten it over Arabella, given that Arabella had been betrothed to Paul Bennett when she graduated and Theresa's...thing with Cepheus had blown up in her face, though seemingly through no fault of Theresa's own from what the Aladren understood.

She tucked her yearbook under her arm and went off to meet Effie. This would be their last time to spend together at school, the only thing Amity felt truly sentimental about with leaving Sonora. She was ready to move on from the rest of it. She approached her best friend-they were best friends, whether others recognized it or not-and asked "What do you want to do first? I suppose I'm a little hungry, do you want to find out what people ate for breakfast during medieval times?"

11 Amity Brockert It's over..(Tag Effie) 233 Amity Brockert 0 5

Rupert

May 13, 2015 1:30 PM

Am I glad to see you! by Rupert

Maybe head-over-heels wasn't the right word, but Rupert certainly felt something akin to that whenever Wendy was around. But despite his smile, his heart still felt heavy and uncertain about the future. "You look lovely," he said enthusiastically. "Indicative of the times, no doubt. Well done. Did you order it from a fancy dress shop?" A dress as intricately designed as this couldn't have been put together quickly. Whilst Rupert didn't doubt his girlfriend's abilities, stitching together a dress just for this occasion seemed out of character for her.

"I'm looking forward to seeing your research project," said Rupert with a grin. "I'm glad I dropped that course. It's useful, but Professor Olivers gives loads of work. I wanted to focus on the team, though I suppose it didn't really do much good." He sighed, but he had already accepted Pecari's defeat. "It's on Adam's shoulders now. I think he'll do well as captain. I'm really going to miss my team."

As if to draw his nostalgia out more, Wendy asked just the right question. Rupert didn't want to answer her immediately. He looked around the Faire instead; he wanted to try everything and enjoy his last day on Sonoran grounds. "Do you want to check out the archery?" he asked, leading them towards the archery and axe-throwing area. He could see the axes flinging directly to a block of wood meaning they were most likely charmed. He wanted to try his hand at that and see how well he fared against his classmates. After playing Quidditch for so many years, his arm muscles had most certainly grown stronger.

But he had avoided Wendy's question. "I was just thinking of the future. Scary, I know. If no American Quidditch leagues pick me up I think I'm going to join the Puddlemere United Reserve Team. The actual team is well-renowned and my father is ecstatic. I'm very pleased as well; getting scouted by Puddlemere United is an honour."

He paused, wondering how to approach the next topic. Relationship talk never came easily to Rupert unlike his suave older brother, but it was necessary. The whistle of the axes and the sharp thunks of it hitting the wood grew nearer as they approached the area. "Where do you see yourself in five years?" he asked lightly, trying to keep the mood pleasant instead of drowning it as his heart drowned in unspoken questions.

0 Rupert Am I glad to see you! 0 Rupert 0 5

John Umland

May 13, 2015 7:16 PM

Feeling a little on edge. by John Umland

Robes, in John’s opinion, were utterly impractical items of clothing. He thought he’d once read something about them being appropriate for desert climates, but since he was usually a Canadian and even Sonora was charmed to be less desert-y than its surroundings, all they did for him was pick up dirt around the bottom hems and stains on the wide sleeves. Since cleanliness was a thing John generally approved of, he did not like the one article of clothing he had to wear every day being one he found so very difficult to keep clean. Ceremonial robes for special occasions were one thing, but having them as a uniform had seemed like a bit much to him from the start.

After two years, though, he had gotten more or less used to them. Used enough, anyway, that he only really thought about them anymore when he tripped over them, had to fish sleeve out of his breakfast tea or carefully lift it away from lines of still-wet ink on a page, or, apparently, reached the end of the year. Last year, there had been a ball, so he’d had to wear even more troublesome robes than usual. This year, there was no ball, but the robes still felt almost appropriate because the event was a Renaissance fair. He didn’t know off the top of his head just how long robes had been fashionable for university students, but he’d seen pictures of medieval ones in them, and since the robes still showed up at formal academic ceremonies, he guessed they would work as well with the general atmosphere as anything else and might even compare favorably to other options for once. If some of the other guys wanted to wear tights and necklaces, that was their business, but robes were as much enthusiasm as he was prepared to express. He was pretty sure, after all, that the whole thing was going to a disappointingly generic, more than half-medieval and vaguely-Anglo-French knight-and-lady show, nothing new or probably even particularly accurate, so he was not going to invest much into it. Digging out the dark robes he’d worn to the ball and figuring out how to charm them so they stretched to the right length again was as far as he was prepared to go. That this process had made his robes look a bit shabbier and therefore more period-appropriate was just a happy coincidence.

By the time Headmaster Brockert greeted them, though, what he had been able to see of the show had caused his expectations to tick ever so slightly upward. It looked like he was, for probably the first and probably the last time in his life, actually a little over-dressed this year, and it wouldn’t, to the best of his understanding, be a really authentic pre-modern-European academic experience unless they all got drunk again and had a riot this time, but it looked interesting. Maybe an interesting debate could end in a (fake, of course; they were mostly civilized here) sword fight before the day was over.

He went to see and applaud at his sister’s Charms demonstration, then to look at the book stalls. A glance let him know there was little there that was both interesting-looking and affordable, but he opened the yearbook up to its blank covers to write down a few titles and authors that sounded interesting enough to look for in secondhand and older editions the next time the family went on a major shopping expedition – wizarding books being one of the relatively few things they had to go out of their way to acquire. As he finished writing, he remembered one of the less bizarre features of last year’s special event and found a place to stand where he could open the yearbook's printed pages and briefly skim them without being walked into.

He went to the awards pages and frowned as he read, his head tilting to the side. This year, he was apparently perceived both as budding mastermind (surely they didn’t think he was going to be a stupid criminal, they’d called him Biggest Brain and Most Logical right there) and as the most dazed and confused person in his class.

It made as much sense as Julian’s current pair of shoes, an impossibly narrow pair with uncomfortably-close-to-vertical soles and not much connecting them to the ground at each end, to him for one person to be regarded as both of those things. He guessed one could argue masterminds were confused people, but he wasn’t sure that was how the word was being used, especially since some of the others awarded the honor had always struck him as pretty harmless. Friend Charlie was also listed, along with Roommate Gemma, and if either one of them was a budding mastermind, he would eat his hat. Without salt. Plus, he usually thought of confusion as a feeling one was aware of – a feeling he was experiencing a mild version of right now, in fact.

Maybe they thought he was going to be a mad scientist of the ‘invents death rays while unable to locate own trousers’ sort. Which he guessed wasn’t…too far off from reality, but…really. He had only had trouble finding suitable trousers in time for class once, after an incident involving overenthusiastic use of some really very good orange-and-raspberry jam on laundry day, and while he had sort of wanted to hit a few people a few times, he was pretty sure some of them even annoyed the better specimens of their own social class and he’d never actually done it…yet…

Shaking his head, he closed the book again and went to look for a problem he’d find easier to solve than the question of how people’s brains worked. Axe-throwing fit the bill nicely. Throwing axes were not among the weapons he thought he would favor if he was ever forced to resort to medieval means of defending himself, but he was curious to see if he could make them work, as throwing weapons just didn’t make much sense to him. With a flying axe, he guessed any part of it could cause damage if it hit the target at all, but in that case, why not save the money on metal and just throw a heavy stick? Maybe now he could figure it out.

He carefully noted which way the blade was pointing as he lifted it and which way he wanted it to be pointing when it reached the target. It went low, but to his surprise, when it landed, it was actually pointing in the right direction. It had turned in the air, but landed pointing in the right direction. Weird. He tried again and it did it again! It had to be something to do with the weighting, how it was weighted, but how did one know how many times it was going to flip in the air on its way to the destination? He took a step back before making a third try and clapped his hands when it stuck into the wood. It hadn’t hit the spot he’d aimed at, but he thought it would have been close enough for horseshoes and making the guy with the sword fall down before he got close enough to decapitate John, which was good enough for him right now, and it was still pointing the right way.

“Ha!” he said happily, without the first thought about how this might affect his reputation if overheard. The 'deadly weapons under normal circumstances' element had become a background feature of the event to him, less important than trying to see if he could make said usually deadly weapon land pointing the wrong way. If he couldn’t, he was going to have to do an extra research project this summer even though it wasn’t a medieval studies year.

16 John Umland Feeling a little on edge. 285 John Umland 0 5

Ava Fletcher

May 13, 2015 10:40 PM

Looking forward to it (among other things). by Ava Fletcher

The voice that startled her belonged to her friend, Emery, and Ava offered a half-hearted smile when he and his sister joined her. “Hey,” she said softly. “I’m sorry to worry you, I didn’t run off with anyone.” There’s no one to run off to,’ a bitter voice in her head said. But Ava ignored it. When she was alone it was perfectly okay to wallow, however, she didn’t want to bring down the mood of her friends and so she attempted to bring back her normally cheerful attitude. “Have you guys been having a good time then?” She turned back to the selection of books so that her face was hidden from them. “I’m thinking of buying this book for my grandfather,” she said, talking more to herself than them. “He likes fairy tales.”

That was an understatement. He loved fairy tales. It was because of her grandfather that Ava had grown up with a thorough understanding of the Brothers Grimm, Madame d’Aulnoy, and the like. From German to French to Italian versions, Ava had either read or heard them all. From first editions to brand new Costco covers, Papa had the largest fairy tale collection out of everyone Ava knew. Granted, out of the people Ava knew in Port Townsend, it wasn’t surprising that it was her grandfather with the collection, but it was still a cool thing to be able to say.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing him again,” she said, directing her attention towards the siblings. Her grandfather was probably the best friend she had, even though he was over four times her age, and though she knew he had his Monday night bingo, Thursday night poker and Saturday afternoon bookclub, she also knew that he felt lonely at times and even though he would never directly admit it to her face, she could tell from the uneasy air she got when she read his letters or the weary tone that appeared increasingly more often in his voice.

“Even though last summer was fun, it was too long to be away from him.” Because of the trip she had taken with her mother over the previous summer, Ava had spent less than a month with the man and especially in recent weeks the guilt had been plaguing her. Despite promises otherwise, Charlotte hadn’t really been keeping in touch and Ava felt foolish for having run off with the woman against her grandfather's better wishes.

Ava turned the book over a few times in her hands before deciding to buy it and she pulled her wallet, passing the coins over to the vendor and turned back to her friends. “Okay, I’m all yours now,” she said smiling for what felt like the first time in ages. Though she hadn’t originally wanted to be around people, her mood had noticeably lightened since Emery and Chloe had shown up and Ava was starting to feel like her old self again. “I’ve never really been to a Renaissance Faire before, I just know what Dimitri told me about them—he goes to them a lot,” she said. “What do you guys want to do?”

10 Ava Fletcher Looking forward to it (among other things). 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Wendy

May 16, 2015 8:27 PM

Digressing by Wendy

It felt really good being complimented on her attire, but especially when it was a costume she really liked. “No, I rented it from a costume shop over the break,” she said. “It wasn’t that hard to find a full-blown Renaissance dress, surprisingly.” Hand-in-hand, walking around surrounded by the chatter of her peers--this felt nice. It almost felt like home, but Wendy knew that once this was over she would be back in Phoenix and really feel at home again. Rupert avoided her question and Wendy let him, nodding when he asked to go see the archery and axe-throwing section. It was a little too violent for Wendy’s taste, but Rup didn’t seem to mind it. He did, after all, play a pretty violent position in a pretty violent sport. She wanted to support him, but it was hard when she didn’t really enjoy Quidditch all that much and also didn’t believe that it was worth while promoting sports where people tried to hurt each other.

Rupert’s heart was definitely in Quidditch and she knew that he would probably go back to England and follow his dreams. She was never planning on stopping him and she didn’t want to. If he needed to go, then she’d let him go. The idea of soulmates was romantic, but after awhile Wendy didn’t really know if she believed romantic soulmates existed. It was so limiting and she liked being free. Relatively free, anyway. Being married would be nice someday, but she was only eighteen. It would be silly to hold onto a romantic partner for that long if neither of them could even stay in the same country together.

As she listened to her boyfriend talk about joining a professional reserve team, a part of her felt happy for him. The other part of her heart sank. She felt a little like crying, but Wendy knew that this was inevitable. There were too many factors that were in the way, and now their very different dreams were another. Letting him--her first real boyfriend, confidante, and best friend--go was going to be hard. Just the thought was a lot harder to accept that she had anticipated, but she was a firm believer in sucking everything she could out of these moments and never looking back.

"I'm sure your team will miss you," she said and squeezed his hand. "I could just see on the faces of your teammates how much they loved you as their captain. The future is scary, but the American teams would be fools not to want you."

Five years. Where in the world would Wendy be in five years? “Still in Arizona, most likely,” she said. “Working at my mom’s bakery, maybe volunteer in the magical community in Arizona. It would be cool to tutor students, but I don’t think there are too many people here from Arizona. I don’t think there’s any, actually.” Wendy smiled at him. “But I’d definitely want to stay in touch with everybody that I’ve met here at Sonora. I still write to Aria sometimes. She left a really nice present for me right before she left and I never got to thank her face-to-face for it.” Besides Rupert, Wendy hadn’t made any lasting friends in her year. She did write to Carter sometimes, but since he’d moved away their relationship had sadly fizzled. Long-distance relationships of any kind were hard. “I’d like to visit Aria someday. I think it would be really neat to see what her compound looks like.”

Rupert's aura felt a little heavy and Wendy wanted to approach the topic of their relationship and avoid it completely. Luckily a distraction came up. "Oh, why don't you get in line to throw an axe? I'll go pick up a couple yearbooks for us." She let go of his hand and sped off to grab the yearbooks for them. This would be her last from Sonora. Every year she loved looking at the pictures and awards. It was a nice way to end the school year on a pleasant note.

As she walked back, she opened up the yearbook to look at the awards. The last section was always reserved for the seventh-years, meaning it was her year's turn. She had a pretty good yearbook picture this year as did Rupert. Her hazel eyes automatically went to the bottom of the awards where she and Rupert were unsurprisingly listed as "Best Couple." She smiled a little at the seventh year awards. She and Rupert had been voted for two different categories which fit them perfectly well. But seeing his picture made her heart feel a little heavy still. She had to talk to him about their relationship as soon as possible to enjoy the rest of her day at the fair. She shut the yearbook and quickened her pace to join him at the axe-throwing section.

0 Wendy Digressing 0 Wendy 0 5

Duncan Brockert

May 17, 2015 4:38 PM

Socialization attempts. by Duncan Brockert

When Liliana had invited Duncan to spend the day at the Renaissance Faire, he'd readily accepted, though Atlas wasn't someone his parents especially wanted him to be friends with. Still, the Teppenpaw didn't really mind the other boy at all. He seemed friendly enough, a lot more so . Nor had his parents specifically said not to hang out with him, just that the idea of Duncan socializing with living people was meant to have him make connections with other purebloods. Oh, and not be embarrassing.

Besides, he didn't think the fair would be much fun on his own. It just kind of seemed like the kind of thing where people hung out with friends. He just hoped he wouldn't end up feeling like a third wheel, Duncan knew that the two Pecaris were close. They often even ended up as best friends in the yearbook-as well as sometimes best couple. Merlin, did he hope they weren't a couple. As far as he knew, they weren't but that would have been really awkward for him.

The sun was hotter today than Duncan would have liked. He really hoped that wouldn't ruin the day either. He really did want to enjoy himself with Liliana and Atlas. He really didn't spend that much time with others and maybe if this went well, he'd discover that he enjoyed the company of other living people after all. He did generally like being around Liliana. Of course, Duncan still found the lack of ghosts disappointing.

Though, he still didn't quite believe there weren't any. Then again, it was either that or the ones here had seen him and disliked him. The fourth year would much prefer the former if those were the only two options. Though Duncan supposed it was possible that they were unfriendly ghosts because well, they were just people . Who happened not to be alive any more. So as some living people were unfriendly, the logical conclusion was that some dead ones were too.

Duncan didn't really have much time to mull over it though as the two Pecaris approached him. "Hi." He returned Liliana's greeting and nodded at Atlas. "Certainly. I'm actually kind of curious about what kind of medieval drinks are available." Historically, people usually drank ale and mead and stuff like that during this time period and there were reasons they couldn't have that at school. Unless of course, the mead and whatnot was made with out that particular ingredient, the way the axe throwing had been modified for safety reasons." Should we have breakfast too? I am kind of hungry."

11 Duncan Brockert Socialization attempts. 271 Duncan Brockert 0 5

Kelsey Atwater

May 17, 2015 5:28 PM

Being found by Kelsey Atwater

Kelsey had started out the morning by perusing her yearbook which had been a cause for a bit of shock and disgust. She'd been fine with what she had personally won, Most Serious. To her this was a good thing, it showed that she had a level of maturity and propriety that others did not possess. However, she was quite bothered by the fact that Aislinn Nicolls, a half-blood had gotten Biggest Brain. The idea of a half-blood being considered smarter than her was ridiculous and embarrassing. Kelsey would have really been okay with it had a pureblood girl, even if they weren't a part of society. At least the little snot had gotten Criminal too.

Not to mention, Rupert Princeton and Wendy Canterbury winning Best Couple. First of all, the fact that the two Pecaris were dating was an affront to all that the first year believed in. It was downright offensive when pureblood boys from good families dated non-pureblood girls. It wasn't fair to pureblood girls who needed betrothals when a boy acted that way. If too many boys did that, pureblood girls might end up spinsters, which to her seemed a fate worse than death. Purebloods had to get married and continue their lines. It was necessary for survival.

There was also the implication that one was unwanted and people didn't consider their family good enough. Not that Kelsey was really worried, given her impeccable manners and lineage. Her mother had been a Brockert for Merlin's sake! Besides, while she didn't consider herself the most beautiful person ever, she still felt she was rather attractive.

The fact that Wendy and Rupert getting Best Couple was something that the student body had voted on and therefore, condoned , was almost enough to make Kelsey throw up. Though of course she didn't because that was disgusting and unladylike.

After she'd recovered enough from her horror at the yearbook, Kelsey set out to check out the more educational aspects of the Renaissance. Even though it might not have been as important to her as blood purity and being a proper member of society, she felt it was good to feed the mind. One did after all need to be able to hold an intelligent conversation. Besides, if Kelsey learned enough, maybe she would get Biggest Brain next year, if the other pureblood girls didn't happen to be up to the task.

Shortly, before lunch, she was supposed to meet her roommate Caelia who had wanted to spend the morning with her brother. The Crotalus thought this was a good thing, maybe she'd talk to him about his unfortunate choice of friends. She wondered how Caelia-who might not seem the brightest academically-practiced better judgement than her Aladren brother. To Emrys Lucan's credit though, he at least apparently had the sense and taste to like a perfect lady like Charlotte Spencer.

"Hello." Kelsey greeted her roommate, managing a warm smile. She genuinely did like her roommate, whom other than herself, was pretty much the most proper young lady in their whole year. Besides, Caelia was a really sweet, friendly girl. "Ready for lunch?"

11 Kelsey Atwater Being found 305 Kelsey Atwater 0 5

Rupert

May 19, 2015 2:45 PM

Following your lead. by Rupert

Wendy's encouragement was nice, but if no one had picked him up by now it was unlikely they would in time for the season. It was nice of her to continuously support him despite her aversion for the sport. "Thanks," he replied, squeezing her hand back.

As Wendy tittered on about her five-year plan, he listened for any room made for him. However, she gave none and only talked about Aria and Aria and Aria. Would he merely be one of the few Wendy kept in touch with after graduation? Perhaps she was trying to avoid their relationship talk by keeping him out of her five-year plan. The next five years weren't set in stone and Rupert could be back in Arizona for all he knew. But would Wendy still want him after Sonora?

In any case, Rupert was going to leave back for England for the foreseeable future. It take five years or more until he were able to join the official Puddlemere United team. An honour, no doubt, but with sacrifice. If Wendy was adamant about staying in Arizona, Rup knew he couldn't change her mind.

He opened his mouth to say something but Wendy quickly let go of him with an excuse to grab yearbooks and ran off. Rupert stared after her for a moment before turning back to the axes. He joined the queue of students and greeted familiar faces. Though Rupert's circle of friends were rather small, he had enough acquaintances to natter. Given his personality, it was almost a skill to form quick friendships in a short amount of time.

It still seemed like a long time before Wendy returned. He was halfway through the queue when he saw her. "Over here," he said, waving his arm. "Thank you for picking up a yearbook for me," he said as he took one from her. "Let's see what horrendous photo they took of me this year." He didn't think himself particularly photogenic, but he enjoyed looking through it all the same. As he perused through the awards, he chuckled at Most Quidditch Obsessed. "I wonder how Leo feels being listed under this category after playing only for one year and loathing it. He likes the sport all right from a distance, but there really must be no one else in his year who enjoys the sport."

Again the Princetons hadn't been listed in any intellectual category and evidently both he and Leo were voted as Most Likely to Become a Criminal. Grandfather would be so proud. Rup had never encounted Amity Brockert enough to consider them worst enemies, but whatever she said about him to other pure-bloods couldn't be very good. He knew very little about her except that she was of the staunch, traditional sort, but perhaps that was all he needed to know.

"Well, Best Couple again," said Rupert as he shut the yearbook. "You always look so lovely in your photos." He tucked the book under his arm and looked over at the axes. "Is this really the sort of games people played during the Renaissance times? I suppose life would have been much more dull without Quidditch. The school did a really lovely job with all of this, by the way. Did you have to do much preparation as Head Girl?"

0 Rupert Following your lead. 0 Rupert 0 5

Joella Curtis and Alistair Johnson

May 20, 2015 1:11 PM

You can't make old friends. by Joella Curtis and Alistair Johnson

Joella was a little late making her way to the Renaissance Faire, despite her excitement towards it, as she had stopped to write a letter to Rupert Princeton in the common room first and was in no hurry to meet anyone seeing as she hadn’t thought to make any arrangements. Nevertheless, she walked in the direction of the Quidditch Pitch with a spring in her step, her hair and skirt bouncing around her. She had opted for a short, summery white dress that reached just above her knees but bore vague resemblances to medieval attire in one way or another with an old-fashioned gold and brown embroidered fabric belt around her waist and a matching pattern at the court neckline. The dress had short puff sleeves and a tutu-esque skirt which reminded Joella with a smile of the sort of lively dresses her dear old friend Emmy-Lou liked to wear to formal events, only Joella’s skirt was much more constrained and the layers which gave it some bulk were hidden underneath the outer cotton fabric. Her hair was left loose, although she had gathered some at the front to form a simple crown braid which she had learnt to do herself once she realized how easy it was.

“Joella!”

She turned at her name and was surprised to find that Alistair Johnson was the only candidate as to whom it could have been. She wondered at him for one, acknowledging her and two, calling after her in a manner that was decidedly unlike him. Despite how ill-treated she felt she had been by him all term, Joella found herself slowing down so that her old childhood friend might catch up and walk with her. She put this down to mere curiosity as to what it was he wanted as opposed to actually desiring his company.

“Hi,” Alistair smiled as he joined Joella. “How have you been?”

A smile. Small talk. It was as though Alistair thought they were mere acquaintances. But perhaps they were now. “I’ve been well, thank you,” replied Joella politely but didn’t care to return the question. “You’re late?”

“I didn’t realize there was a specified arrival time,” commented Alistair with mild sarcasm. “Yet I could say the same about you.” Joella didn’t seem amused but Alistair didn’t feel like admitting he had gotten carried away practising his shooting in MARS and then spent a fair while scrubbing up for the Faire afterward. His intense solitary practice hadn’t gone as well as he’d have liked and Quidditch no longer felt like something he shared with Joella - he was a captain now and she was on the opposing team. Alistair allowed Joella to go a few more paces in silence but when he was sure she wasn’t going to respond, he said, “you look nice.”

Joella raised an eyebrow. “Thank you,” she was surprised at his compliment but not fooled. “But you should know that flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“I beg to differ,” defended Alistair, a firm believer that flattery was in many cases the key - but not all, he would admit. “Although I’m not sure exactly where it is that I am trying to get right now.”

“Neither am I,” Joella spoke rather haughtily. “Do you wish the compliment returned?”

“I’m not fishing for compliments,” Alistair shook his head. “Merely conversation.”

“You smell like you’re fishing for compliments,” said Joella. But she knew Alistair was always one to scrub up well and just because he had changed his eau de cologne (something she was certain normal twelve year old boys did not use, even at special events) from that which Joella thought might still be stuck in her nose from last Christmas did not mean he was putting extra noteworthy effort into his appearance. Yet if she hadn’t known better, the Pecari would have said that Alistair Johnson had blushed. And when he didn’t reply, she found herself grinning. “I thought you wanted a response.”

Joella Curtis was of respectable society and of a good pureblood family that anyone could find a valuable connection but she was still in many ways everything that Alistair didn’t like. She had a habit of deviating from correct etiquette and seemed to think herself exempt from the constraints of her position in society, particularly her sex. It was understandable that at the age of twelve she may not have all the merits of a true lady but after meeting Kelsey Atwater, Alistair didn’t think Joella could use this as an excuse. It certainly wasn’t as though she would be bad company to keep as Alistair’s own parents valued their closeness with the Curtises and therefore encouraged Alistair’s friendship with the Tennessee patriarch’s youngest daughter. Even so, it hadn’t failed to escape his notice that in the freedom of Sonora, Joella wasn’t picky about who she mixed with. This was dangerous, he thought. And still, in spite of all of her differences, Alistair liked Joella. She had been his best friend when they were children for this reason and he didn’t think either of them had changed so much that they should cease to enjoy one another’s company. Hence he found himself smiling simply because Joella was grinning that toothy grin of hers that he hadn’t seen in such a long time and it made him feel like a kid again, although he was sure it wasn’t long before he would be reminded that he was still very much a kid when he returned home for the summer. “And I am glad of one,” he replied quite honestly. “Now, would you care to be my Renaissance companion?” he offered his arm. “For the morning, perhaps?” he added, sure that much like himself Joella would like to take the opportunity to converse and spend time with other students.

Joella hesitated for a moment before shrugging and taking his arm. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” she said, her tone not as begrudging as her words. She soon removed her arm from his, however, to take his hand. It was a gesture that meant very little to Joella as she had always been very much a “hand holder” having been surrounded by older people for so much of her time. Alistair of course would know this but she didn’t doubt he may feel uncomfortable to be seen with her in such a way. But Joella was all too sick of the aloof Ali so he’d have to like it or lump it.

Alistair was keen to have a look at the yearbooks, particularly just to see his name printed as the Crotalus Quidditch team Captain, and almost dragged Joella over to them - not that she was at all reluctant.

Flicking through the pages of a yearbook, Joella was pleased to find herself named both Most Talkative and Most Quidditch Obsessed as she had been last year. She thought one could take them as fairly complimentary awards, because socializing and Quidditch were two things she loved.

“Most Talkative,” Alistair mused at Joella's awards after looking at his own. He also spared a glance to see if those he had voted any people for the correct rewards, although he found he’d mostly forgotten his votes. He did note Caelia Lucan and Kelsey Atwater’s faces in the book, however, out of curiosity because they were among the few he thought he should know more about. And Ginger Pierce’s smiled jumped out at him a few times, not that he particularly cared about getting to know her off the pitch, of course. “Why does that not surprise me?”

“Class Flirt,” responded Joella with a grin. “That doesn’t surprise me either.” She didn’t know if Ali was a flirt as such, a little unsure as to how one could qualify as one, but she knew that he was generally much kinder to girls than he was to his own sex. Him being labelled as Most Quidditch Obsessed didn’t come as a surprise to her but Best Looking she refused to mention because of what it would do for his ever-increasing ego. She did take a brief moment to look at him, however, although she already knew she agreed with the label.

After spending much of the morning walking around, catching up and looking at what the Renaissance Faire had to offer, Joella and Alistair parted to go their separate ways.

Joella made her way over to the archery queue, fancying her chances after two years of attending Keme Runningbear’s fabulous Archery Club. She recognized the person beside her in the line and turned to them. “Hi,” she smiled in a friendly manner. “Say, do you know if this is a contest?” She wasn’t actually sure if she was meant to be competing against the others in some way or whether she was simply getting to try her hand with some different bows.

Although he wasn’t nearly as studious as he would have liked to be or perhaps liked to think he was, Alistair made his way over to the book stand. He knew in his mind that all he would look for would be factual books about Quidditch but he pretended to be interested in a range of intellectual, academic books too. As he reached to pick up a particular, rather old looking book, he noticed another hand reaching to do the same. “Oh, sorry,” he apologised as he picked it up. “Here, you have it,” he spoke politely, holding it out to the other student.

OOC: Joella and Alistair are both tagging anyone! Alistair would be more likely to offer you the book if you are either female or have an important surname or both but I’m not fussy so go ahead anyway if you’re neither.

8 Joella Curtis and Alistair Johnson You can't make old friends. 295 Joella Curtis and Alistair Johnson 0 5

Barnaby Pye

May 21, 2015 1:36 AM

More good than bad, I think. by Barnaby Pye

Now that the school year was over, Barnaby could say that he had happily survived the horrors of American boarding school and was ready to return home to London. He could not, however, say that he had made a friend. While the Barnaby who had started Sonora at the beginning of the year would not have minded leaving the year without a friend, the Barnaby who had finished off the year felt somewhat odd and uncomfortable with the idea that he was friendless. While he was looking forward to seeing Tarquin again, it just wasn’t the same thing, especially since in a year’s time Tarquin would be off to Hogwarts making all sorts of friends to replace him with. While logically Barnaby knew that he was Tarquin’s platonic soulmate just as much as Tarquin’s was his, the twelve year old was having a bout of irrationality as he wondered if Tarquin had replaced him with his father’s house else.

Luckily, Barnaby had been able to get one of his roommates, Spencer, to agree to go to the Midsummer’s Faire with him and he hoped that the day would end in at least a tentative friendship that could be continued over letters or even picked up again at the start of the next school year so that he wouldn’t be utterly alone when Tarquin went off to Hogwarts. Neither himself nor Spencer had ever been to a Renaissance Faire before and so Barnaby was pleased that they would be on euqal grounds entering into the experience together. Also pleasing to Barnaby was that Spencer seemed to have some reservations regarding the event—if the other boy’s comment on stake burning and flame freezing charms was anything to go by at least.

At the very least, their conversation in which they had agreed to go to the Faire had been rather agreeable and Barnaby found himself actually looking forward to meeting Spencer at the Faire—even though they were roommates, Barnaby had asked to meet Spencer there since he had a letter he needed to owl home before hand. Barnaby had even lent Spencer one of his clips, something that not even Tarquin had ever gotten from him. Granted, this was because Tarquin had never asked, but Barnaby also wasn’t sure if he would lend one to Tarquin if he should ask since it was now something that was unique to his and Spencer’s roommate-ship.

“Hey,” he said when he found Spencer. “Hope I wasn’t too late, I couldn’t get the letter tied to the owl’s leg properly and it was rather important that it be on there securely.” The school owl he had chosen to use had been particularly fidgety that morning as he only had a few crumbs to offer it as a treat since it was the end of the year, and as a result it had taken Barnaby about twice as long as it normally would have to tie the letter on. “I’m so excited to get back to London*. How about you?”

OOC: *After saying he was from London, Barnaby would have asked Jack where he was from so I took liberties here with information I remembered from one of Emrys’ interactions with Charlotte. Apologies if I got it wrong! Also, I tried to address all of Jack’s questions in this response so that you’d have the info for Jack’s/your knowledge. Sorry it took so long to get back to you!

10 Barnaby Pye More good than bad, I think. 298 Barnaby Pye 0 5

Anonymous

May 21, 2015 2:50 PM

Tag: Jack Spencer (nm) by Anonymous

0 Anonymous Tag: Jack Spencer (nm) 0 Anonymous 0 5

Caelia Lucan

May 23, 2015 12:24 AM

Being hungry. by Caelia Lucan

Caelia smiled when Kelsey greeted her warmly. She was pleased to have found such a proper friend in her roommate. It was a horror to think that if she had been placed in another house she would have had to resort to the sort of friend that Emrys associated with, but then again, Caelia reassured herself, she wasn’t in another house, she was in Crotalus, surrounded by like-minded people who knew how to associate with proper society.

“Of course!” Caelia responded. “I’ve been smelling the food all morning and I’m just about the hungriest I’ve been in such a long time!” Other than a lemonade, she really hadn’t eaten because she hadn’t been hungry for breakfast and had ended up nibbling on some of Emrys’ food while he ate. “While walking around did you see any stall that looked interesting?”

Of course, Caelia also wanted to take a seat so that she could peruse the yearbook while eating since Emrys had not given her a chance earlier. She didn’t get why he had tugged the book away from her. It wasn’t as if being friends with a Spencer was more embarrassing than being friends with two half-bloods, but then again Caelia had never really understood her brother’s more tolerant attitude once she had started etiquette lessons with Grandmother Viviane. Once she had been like him, careless about what she did, though looking back at it, Grandmother Viviana had helped her to see that was just her trying to accommodate her older brother’s interests, not actually her expressing herself.

The real Caelia, she had learned in those few years while Emry was away at Sonora, was someone who knew the different between society and non-society, and someone who understood why Purebloods were superior to other types of witches and wizards. Not the Caelia who happily befriended the Muggleborn squib next door, or the Caelia who chatted with the Muggle milkman. No, that Caelia was gone, and hopefully for good. She had been so wrong then, so blindly led by her admiration for her older brother who could do no wrong. Thankfully with the help of a few cups of Grandmother Viviane’s special tea Caelia had been set straight.

10 Caelia Lucan Being hungry. 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Effie Arbon

May 23, 2015 1:08 AM

Or is it just beginning? by Effie Arbon

In some senses, Effie’s seven years at Sonora were ending on a relative high. She had had a date with Anthony Carey, and one that wasn’t obliged by any sort of school event that required them to partner up. However, she wasn’t sure where she stood as a result…. Did having a date make Anthony her boyfriend now? She had thought such things would seem simple, be black and white - surely you were either dating someone or you were not - but it seemed somehow more ambiguous in real life. She worried a little about what would happen when she left school. It wouldn’t be so easy for her to see him anymore, and she felt a like this might be too little, too late. Certainly, she thought Father would have expected her to have achieved more by now, and had even hoped of her finding a suitor for Delphine as well. She didn’t think he blamed her for the lack of suitable choices for her sister, but she blamed herself for the fact that Delphine was being sent away to search different pastures. Whilst the date with Anthony had delighted her, she now found herself on the brink of a very strange and possibly lonely summer ahead.

She had agreed to attend the Faire with Amity, and was looking forward to getting to spend time with her best friend but it was an all day event, so she thought there was the possibility of her splitting her time between all the people who were important to her. She would certainly try to check in on Araceli later, though as she glanced around upon arriving at the Faire, she failed to spot the smaller Crotalus. Araceli had developed a habit of not being very easy to find this year. Apart from her sister, she hoped to see Anthony before they graduated. Amity was always bemoaning how little time she got to spend with her intended, so Effie was sure she would understand.

She flicked through her yearbook, noting with pleasure how she and Anthony shared a number of awards, suggesting to her how well-suited they might be. They had also been nominated for best couple, though given the number of false rumours started by that page over the years, it didn’t do anything to appease her worry and confusion over what their dates so far meant. Still, it had to be a good sign, along with being deemed pretty, well behaved and ladylike. She tucked the yearbook under her arm with a small smile on her face and went off to find Amity.

“Alright,” she nodded, in response to her friend’s query about food. She had had a sensible breakfast of toast, fresh juice and fruit salad in the Cascade Hall before coming down to the Faire. As she perused the offerings, she found herself rather glad of this, as it all looked rather bland and stodgy, supplemented by interesting but probably rather unladylike foods, such as meats on sticks.

“Whilst I might like a nice knight to joust for my favour, I think on balance I’m glad I live in this day and age,” she commented.

13 Effie Arbon Or is it just beginning? 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Amity

May 26, 2015 5:45 AM

Of what? by Amity

"I suppose I sort of do. I mean, Phillip isn't a knight but he...does joust.I mean, as a hobby." Amity replied, blushing. He hadn't exactly done that for her favor either, given they'd never met before the idea of a betrothal had come up. Quite honestly, the seventh year would have liked that. That someone really wanted her. Well, Phillip seemed to like her well enough now . He was polite and considerate and listened to what she wanted but it wasn't really exactly the same as if they'd known each other before and he'd requested her personally, rather than his father requesting ties to her family.

Amity rather liked that he liked to joust though. It wasn't something she wanted to do herself of course, even if had been at all proper for a lady-whether or not Quidditch had been traditionally acceptable, she'd never seen anything saying ladies ever jousted-as it was just another of those things that seemed like it would take a lot of work to be good at, but it was something different, that made Phillip a bit more distinctive personality wise and all she had to do was watch. Really, Amity kind of wished he was being featured in tonight's joust, just so he could be here, but from what she gathered, they'd hired out professionals.

And that aside, she was rather glad. Not only did she not have to do anything but the overall quality of the event was likely better, with a wider range of services. The vendors and performers and all that...knew what they were doing. Not to mention that doing things this way spared the students stress and drama. This way nobody had to worry about how the event they had planned turned out-Amity, of course, planned to use party planners for every event she ever had and house elf labor for the grunt work-or working with someone they disliked.

Of course, she'd heard that there were people who liked being busy, Arabella had had a roommate like that and it was a concept the Aladren could barely fathom. When her cousin had told her that, Amity had replied that a week with Mother could cure anyone of such...bizarre tendencies.

"I agree though. I personally like the part where Muggles aren't constantly trying to kill us." Amity replied. They probably would if they still believed magical folk existed. "And the advances in hygeine. The medieval times sounded awfully smelly." Given that Phillip had taken up jousting a long time ago, he'd learned something about the time period and had shared facts about it with Amity after she'd told him about the Renaissance Faire, particularly the ones relevant to her Charms project. He'd been tremendously helpful on that and seemed eager to hear about the Faire itself. Hopefully, in part because he was interested in her .

11 Amity Of what? 233 Amity 0 5

Shino

June 01, 2015 5:07 AM

I didn't know your sister was joining us? by Shino

“Please. I don’t get jealous. Not at little boys trying to act charming anyways,” she said trying to imagine Jamie-kun actually putting the moves on someone. His tongue was so sharp he would be more likely to get slapped than actually impress any witch.

“Why?” she asked feeling in the mood to push his buttons, “Do you want me to be jealous?” She gave him a flirty look, or as close a look as she could make. She had seen enough witches flirt before to know how to mimic the girly-gooey-eyed look they gave boys they were trying to court. She wasn’t vying for Jamie-kun’s affections, but she hoped that it would get him a little off his game before the challenges.

Jamie seemed unusually keen to begin the games, quick to agree to archery without his usual fussing, which left Uzume wondering what was going on in her friend’s mind. Uzume didn’t linger on the thoughts too long, as she tried to appear competent during the demonstration, if only to have the demonstrator get on with it. Japanese archery, Kyudo, was part of her curriculum at school, although their ability to perform the movements properly was much more valued than their accuracy. Looking at the bow, she felt her confidence waver momentarily. The bow was much different than the long bow used in Kyudo. It was a much smaller Western bow for starters, and the placement of the arrow felt unusual in her hands.

Stepping up to take her first shot, she armed the bow. Looking down at it for a moment, she tried her best to remember the proper stance she ought to take. When she felt ready, she raised it up, pulling the bowstring back as smoothly as she could. Due to her limited strength, she could only hold the position for a few moments. She never did have much talent in any martial arts, although she was thankful it was Kyudo rather than Kendo. Releasing the string and arrow, she didn’t even have time to see if it had hit the mark before the string of the bow painfully snapped against the side of her left arm.

“Itai,” she whispered, rubbing the now reddish skin of her forearm, punishment she supposed for not giving her Kyudo Sensei her full attention all those years ago.

OOC: Sorry it took so long to reply. I think Chatzy sounds like a good idea.

0 Shino I didn't know your sister was joining us? 0 Shino 0 5

Atlas Primred

June 12, 2015 12:20 AM

Dreadfully late to the party by Atlas Primred

Only a few more hours left until he would be on his way home. Back to his family, back to his sister and Steven, and of course the beautiful girl who had captured his heart. He was more than ready to see her again, to spend days under the sun and in the water and… he blushed letting his thoughts linger as he packed the last of his shirts into his trunk. Looking at his bedside clock, he noticed it was about time he headed down to meet Liliana. He quickly tied his Vans, and checking his attire in the mirror, headed down to meet Liliana. He made sure to wear a breezy cotton shirt, since he knew it would be hot down on the Pitch. He had choose a light blue one, since it felt like a summery color, and was just about the only shirt he hadn’t outgrown that year.

Atlas smiled gleefully as Liliana spun for him, a citrus scent filling the air. He wondered for a moment if it was her shampoo or soap, before his eyes moved to her shinny lips.

"You look nice,” she said as she handed him her coin purse. He raised an eyebrow, wondering for a moment if the compliment was genuine or more of a ploy to butter him up into being her purse for the day. He didn’t have a real problem with doing her a favor, since he would most likely have her buy him something in return. “How about me?” she continued. Atlas squinted. Was that…make-up? She never wore make-up except for when she had been his friend-date to the ball the previous year.

“What are you wearing?” he asked her, quirking an eyebrow. “Dressing up for someone, hmm?” Though he normally wouldn’t have used such a border-line flirting tone, just thinking about Ann-Marie made him more confident. Plus it was Liliana, she was like a sister to him. It was practically his job to tease her from time to time, along with other things. “A little sour I would say,” he said as he pocketed the coin purse, referencing the faint grapefruit smell coming from her direction. "but cute I suppose if I had to call it something.” He gave her a playful look, enjoying the relaxing pre-summertime atmosphere. He would miss Liliana, but there was a really special girl waiting for him at home too.

“I never really talked to Duncan before,” he said as her arm fell comfortably into his, “but sure, if you say so.” In truth he was a little disappointed it wasn’t just going to be the two of them, because it would be their last time together before a 3 month hiatus, but he had always thought Duncan was a nice classmate and if Liliana liked him then that meant he was fun. “By the way, "I’m just saying up front, if I have to be your purse you are buying me some shaved ice, or whatever equivalent they had in the middle ages.” Atlas couldn’t stand heat like this since it reminded him of his days in San Diego more than a little.

When they reached the Pitch Liliana dropped his arm almost too quickly, leaving Atlas a little curious but thankful, since it was dreadfully hot and being in close contact to someone wasn’t really helping. He grinned at her imitation of a Southern belle, mostly out of pure embarrassment. Why he had ever decided to make this girl his best friend would forever be a mystery to him.

"Certainly. I'm actually kind of curious about what kind of medieval drinks are available. Should we have breakfast too? I am kind of hungry,” the teppenpaw replied a little formally in Atlas opinion. He was a Brockert, so Altas guessed that made sense, but still.

“Yea that sounds good, Miss Allie Hamilton over there owes me anyways,” he said gesturing to Liliana. Over winter break, Ann-Marie forced him to watch the Notebook with her, saying that she felt like Allie since they were doing long distance, or something. Atlas really didn’t understand it, and in all honesty he thought the movie was a snooze fest. The only reason he reminder he name was because of how many times they yelled it in the movie.

OOC: Sorry this is so incredibly late, I understand if you can't reply.

0 Atlas Primred Dreadfully late to the party 276 Atlas Primred 0 5

Liliana

June 12, 2015 5:21 AM

Better late than never. by Liliana

Liliana made a face at Atlas’ veiled comment but refrained from retorting since she really didn’t want to carry her own money. Besides, she was determined that they have a nice outing, especially because another friend would be joining them, so when Atlas basically demanded she buy him a treat at the Faire she just nodded and rolled her eyes slightly. “Whatever you say, Princess,” she teased. “If you want a shaved ice, a shaved ice you shall get! Your humble knight lives to serve!”

It was nice being able to joke around with Atlas like this. They often found themselves getting into silly fights over nothing, so when they got along it was like having one of her cousins there at school with here—a cousin who could also bake and do cool things to her hair! On their walk over as they joked back and forth she worried if Atlas would accept Duncan and wondered if the three of them could become friends together, but when she saw Duncan she put those thoughts away. Liliana knew that she held more liberal views on Muggleborns and Muggles than other purebloods at the school—in part due to her friendship with Atlas, but she didn’t think Duncan was the sort to discriminate based on something like that. He was in Teppenpaw and additionally he was such a fun, easy person to get along and hang out with, she couldn’t see why the three of them couldn’t be friends.

She nodded at Duncan’s suggestion but quirked her head as Atlas called her by another name. She didn’t understand half his references sometimes and she was sure that was something that came with the territory of having a Muggleborn best friend, but sometimes it could get frustrating. However, she decided that in this case it was best to just ignore whatever strange thing Atlas was talking about now and led her friends in the direction of the food stands.

“Where do you guys want to go for food?” Liliana wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to eat, but she was down for anything—so long as her two friends were having a good time. Though Atlas was her best friend, Duncan was a close second on her list of people she liked at Sonora and she was excited that the three of them were hanging out. Even though it was the last day of their fourth year, and even though she wouldn’t see either of them again until school started up again in September she hoped that if the three had a good enough time it could become a regularly occurring event.

“I wonder what Medieval Pumpkin Juice tastes like,” she said later as they approached the drink stall and collected herself a cup. “If it tastes like squash I might scream.” She was joking of course and her tone of voice clearly showed that, but part of her also felt like that was a totally reasonable thing to say—she really did hate squash. “So, Duncan, what are your plans for the summer?”

OOC: Open to continuing the thread if you guys are.

10 Liliana Better late than never. 274 Liliana 0 5