Event Blossom Ball - Underworld

INTERACTING: @Howard White, @Aurora Ranvier & @Lavina Cloven (iNPC)

| OUTFIT

The fourth year had been caught by surprise by those feelings and as fast as the anger had come, it disappeared and left him a little lost, with a girl clinging to him. The girl, that he remembered, he had attacked for literally no reason. But Alan also was not actually familiar with the girl so he could not help but awkwardly hug her back. "I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me... I just had a sip of this drink and-", the fourth year gasped, the drink! Had it been spiked? Alan sniffed at the remainder of the little glass but it smelled like whatever it was. Then again Alan did not know much about potions, which had cost him a few of the trial points he could have gotten, but still. How were they allowed to give out spiked drinks? Alan shook his head.

"Again, really sorry about what happened and no worries, you aren't in trouble or anything," he explained to her carefully, not wanting to scare the girl, that he had probably terrified. He would turn to his friend, "Howard, do you know what's going on?" he would ask the dhampir, hoping to get a response this time around. Alan also knew that he had to meet up with Scott and Ami eventually, though perhaps raiding the buffet was not such a good idea, if the drinks and foods were meddled with.

ACTION | apologizing, look for @Ami Procoppio & @Scott Alexander
POST TRACKER | X | H H O H P A | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X

-------------------------------------------------------------- Running Around / Open for Interaction / Hoping for Pats and Snacks --------------------------------------------------------------

The feline would also enjoy the pats and little scratches behind his ears that he would get from @Eun-ji Lee Hunt, Alan however was not missing but occupied by a situation that had made him lose sight of the feline.

If Violet hadn't been looking behind her, she would've surely been hit by the dancing feet spell right away. However, her brain and senses told her that she shouldn't turn her back so easily, and when Rodion's spell had just escaped his lips, Violet was able to dodge it sucessfully.

Her anger rising and her wand at hand, she was fuming from top to bottom when she faced her ex blossom ball date. Well well, they were already off to a bad start weren't they? "How dare you cast that spell on me you ugly Russian son of a-"

She glared at Rodion once mor before rising her wand and shouting "Incendio!", not even an ounce of regret while she casted the spell. Rodion deserved to be on fire, and Violet would soon be prepared to cast another spell on him. She was already prepared, whether she had failed Incendio or not, to cast another spell on him, without any regrets.

Her shoe had been forgotten, and she was now standing on one heel and her other heel was lost between the people at the event. She wasn't feeling very comfortable walking this way, but she decided that she would survive. Was it worse than being hit with the dancing feet spell?

Incendio @ Rodion

Reducio

Stamina: 6
Evasion: 8
Strength: 1
Wisdom: 10
Arcane: 2
Accuracy: 8
Perfectionist

English = 5D4A64 | Russian = 4E7A27

Interacting with: Nate Smirnow(@Haley Rose)
Open to interactions

Irina was very, very unhappy with this school. They had brought them here for a celebration of magical schools yet they decided to take advantage of the school with the smallest number attending. They had spiked the drinks and gave them no warning that they would be and honestly just made them look like fools. She was most definitely going to have a word with someone after this ball. These thoughts were all circling through her head as she sat on the ground and waited for the potion effect to wear out of Nate.

He had probably drunken the worst of it because he drank more than one. Whatever the effect of the first drink, made him feel the need to drink more. As Irina stared at him trying to provide comfort, she noticed him start to become himself again. The first thing noticeable was the smirk returning to his lips, a smile appeared on hers when she saw that. He was almost back to normal. They sat in silence for a few minutes and Irina was fine to just be there and provide support to him.

Finally he had returned to his normal self and looked to be free of the potions effect. Irina was glad that he was back and lightly smiled back at Nate before being slightly confused about the 3 words he said. After a moment of thought, it hit her that he was responding to her comment about telling a teacher what went on at the ball. She was happy to hear him talking in English again because that meant he was doing better. “Sounds good Nate, there is no way that I’m letting these people get away with what they did to us.”

Irina noticed all of the little things that Nate was doing and let him have his moment. If he wanted to talk about it then he would. As he jumped up she almost did the same but, his hand was there to pull her up first. She gladly took it and muttered a little, “thanks”. While smoothing out her dress, she noticed how dirty it was, if there was a next time she would be sure to not wear a long gown. As Nate pulled them into a corner she saw his eyes flash to the drinks. The look in his eyes wasn’t angry but more so interested. Irina didn’t care if he was a little thirsty, she wouldn’t let him drink another one even if it meant tackling him.

She could tell that he was confused and after he asked what happened, she answered truthfully. “What happened was that I drank one of the drinks and it made super angry so I yelled at some students. Then you tried to break me out of it and took a drink yourself. Whatever it was made you super scared and it made you think that drinking more was a good idea. I tried to stop you but you went to fast and drank them before I could get to you. That’s how we winded up on the floor, whatever potion was in that drink had you on the floor and I was just trying to provide some comfort to you…. They poisoned us Nate, it’s as simple as that.”

For Moderation:

Reducio

Action: Telling Nate what happened
Stats: STA: 8 | EVA: 8 | STR: 7 | WIS: 9 | ARCP: 6 | ACC: 7
Heath points: 800/800
Abilities: Sixth Sense, Fearless, and Calming Presence
Effect: +2 to their awareness rolls. If a player attempts to enter a thread that you are already in, there is a 25% chance that you automatically detect them on entry.
Effect: Fear effects such as a dhmpir's aura, the ability terrible presence, a lycanothrope's intimidation or certain charms, potions and jinxes that would normally cause a fear effect do not work on you as you are immune to them.
Effect: An aura of calm. Allies (defined at the START of an instance regardless of later betrayal) gain a 10% chance to auto-hit their chosen target. This does not stack.(Not in effect)

Post tracker: [1] [O] [H] [H] [P] [H] [A] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Roleplaying as Durmstrang iNPC Arjan Oberoi

Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio, @Marshal Mozor and @Rafael D'Spacito

The soon to be sixth-year Durmstrang boy could not help but quirk an eyebrow as he watched the scene in front of him. The auburn-haired girl seemed so... confused, for the lack of a better word. He could not quite work out what - or who - she was looking for. Besides, who would she need to look for when he was around? Whatever it was, no one and nothing was as attractive as he was. There were zero reasons to look elsewhere, let's be honest now. The fact that she seemed distracted by something other than his presence was most insulting, really!

What made the whole thing worse was the arrival of a little kid who was so much smaller than he was. He was so small that Arjan almost did not see him. Seriously, Hogwarts needed to feed their students more milk or something. Why were they all so tiny? He always thought his sister was short but compared to the rest of the school, she seemed... normal. Weird. Was he trying to compliment him or insult him? A smirk crossed his lips, taking it as a full-blown compliment. He did have good muscles, after all. "Know where you're not needed - or wanted, kid," He replied to the first boy, deciding that Marshal was the outsider here. Not him, of course. He was the hero of this story, of course, "Though, I guess I could do with a punching bag," He added as an afterthought, stretching his arms a bit preferring that than the shooting range option.

It had been a while since he had exercised. At least a couple of hours! Perhaps it was time to do some weights - or a tad bit of boxing. The pipsqueak would do either way. Though, he would prefer a little bit more of a challenge.

"Woah woah, now now, miss," He replied raising his hands slightly to show he was unarmed as she raised her wand towards him, for no apparent reason. He had missed why she was doing this or the alarm in her eyes. Her actions just seemed irrational to him. "Oh, girl, you can shoot right into my heart," He responded continuing with the gun show theme. He made absolutely no attempt to defend himself, as he smirked towards her.

There was a third arrival. Another guy who seemed to be oozing his own aura of confidence. He had no idea who these boys were. They could have been her best friend or her boyfriend for all he knew. Probably not based on the interaction but hey, who was he to judge? People had weird relationships, maybe this was what they considered banter. "Geesh, what's wrong with this school..." Arjan mumbled to himself. It was not inaudible by any means but might have been cut out by the music if you weren't paying attention to him.

But it did not matter. Because he was the hero of this story, remember? "Hey look - I don't know what's going on but... Are these guys bothering you?" Arjan outright asked the girl, ignoring the fact that they were both just standing right there. He might have been a jerk by most accounts but he had no problem throwing a punch or two for a pretty girl. There did not even need to be a reason. He was happy to dispose of their company and save her.

Of course, he was ignoring a simple fact: the fact that he was likely more bothering to her than at least one of them was. But of course, that would be ridiculous. No one considered him to be a bother. He was so charming and beautiful that everyone wanted him around, obviously. It was actually odd though. None of them would likely realise it but for perhaps one of the few times, Arjan was actually being kind of... considerate? A trait that rarely surfaced.

Her words seemed to be full of confusion. He had no idea if she was just a very confused person or if something had happened... However, he was also not oblivious to the fact that she seemed to be very confused. This was weird, even for a Hogwarts student. The evidence was plentiful. Evidence 1 - she kept looking around, as though she was distracted or lost or looking for someone other than him and that was ridiculous. Evidence 2 - she had pointed a wand at him for absolutely no reason. Evidence 3 - ehh, who cares? The fact that she was not throwing herself at him was evidence enough. "What did you do to her?" He asked, turning straight to look at the little pipsqueak from earlier. The short boy seemed to be following her around, did he do something? Was he forcing her to try and attack him or something? He must have been! This looked like the work of an unforgivable spell or something, surely!

ACTION: No real action yet. Just him looking down at Marshal. Ready to take both the boys on >;( Assuming Evelynn is not okay, without any real evidence.

Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 15 | Wisdom: 3 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 10
Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong | The Martial Artist | Spell Spread | Charmer
Charmer Allies: Phaedra Stavrou, Falentra Black, Rudolf Novikov & Vyacheslav Preobrazhensky
Status: Smug again | Health: Full

[ Underworld 1 | 2 | 3 ][ Trials Persephone | Hermes | Apollo | Hades | Hecate | Orpheus ][ 4 | 5 ]

Outfit of the day | shoes

Englisch: 349293 | Russian 800020

Interacting with: Irina @Lavinia Cloven
Mentioning: /

Outfit

Open to interactions

Nate thought about her words and agreed, only what could they do as students? Students from another school that would soon be gone. But she was right, the two of them could not let that sit on them like that. They would have to think about the exact plan again but Nate wouldn't just let it go. After all, he had a horror trip due to some potions. How bad the whole thing was, he did not know yet.

His eyes fell on Irina's dress, it was dirty and he could only hope it wasn't his fault. He looked up again, not daring to ask, waiting for the much more urgent answer to his question. What had happened? Concentrating, he listened to Irina and nodded at the appropriate places. His memory was slowly coming back. He could remember coming to the ball and seeing Irina yelling at some students and the next moment he was afraid. Afraid of her and of everything. Piece by piece the memories came back, he saw himself running to the drinks and starting the biggest mistake of this evening.

"Damn." Nate whispered softly at first. He looked down at the floor and shook his head. "They poisoned us." He agreed with Irina and shook his head. So was this the hospitality here? Poisoning innocent students and all without warning? - Drink on your own risk - would have been a nice hint at least.

"I can't believe it." Spoke Nate now in Russian, at a loss for words. "Do you think our teachers knew anything about it?" he now switched back to English, more than eager to hear Irina's answer. Could it really be that this was all arranged? He couldn't imagine it, after all, his condition had not been fun and if the effect had lasted any longer on Irina, there probably would have been people injured.

He would definitely remember the visit to Hogwarts, especially that evening. But what now? Now he was here, at a ball in a suit, Irina in a beautiful dress, even if it was a bit dirty, and he was already poisoned. Should he just leave? That felt wrong. Should he dance? That would be strange too, even if he would ask Irina to dance right away, like a gentleman would, he was unsure if she would have been thrilled with the idea and so he decided not to.

"Now what?" he asked Irina as he scratched the back of his head. He was too excited for bed but whether he should stay in this crazy place he didn't know either.

Feel free to come and interact with a frozen in place Alec!

Outfit || Nail Polish(blue flames) || Wolf Pin
Interacting with : N/A(Open for any and all interactions!)
Hex code:#A0A9B8 || Mentions: N/A

Alec had been trying to tend to his duties. Wearing his not so greek and more underworld themed suit. Though with the sheer amount of things happening outside of what he was doing. In the midst of it, all the second year may have gotten distracted. There was a chance he'd wander off from his position at the trails. It's why he'd left a note there in place. Things tend to distract Alec too often, he could never stay focused on one task for long without wanting to jump and work on another at the same time. One could not reiterate the sheer amount of things happening at such an event. How all this left Alec there to gawk and blink. The students were natural chaos makers. Usually, his thoughts had always been there was just something off going on. But no!

There were many who were just creating their own trouble and drama. Alec didn't understand it personally. It's like they were little... Well just... Evil creatures. Evil creatures feeding off of it all. He didn't even want to address how everybody else helping out was working with it all. It was a lot. Alec thought maybe being a part of the inner workings could stop some things. Well, somehow, that wasn't how it worked. Maybe things would be fine? Alec's eyes flitted around the darkly lit area. There was too much going on for it to just stay fine. The boy bit his lip as a nervous reaction as he looked. Maybe he could ignore it. For once maybe that was the answer. What's the worst thing these evil creatures or mostly nice but sometimes evil creatures could do?

There was a reason they were attending a school for magic. If they were actually advanced, they wouldn't be there.

With that down and out of the way Alec decided something had to be done. Something needed to be done. He was not going to be boring this time. He was going to be fun, Alec! Maybe, okay, not... Alec's eyes flitted around the courtyard area once more. Looking around at the mess that was already there. Alec had already excused himself from the table but went back for the bag that laid there. His messenger bag. Something he'd decided essential for the ball, just in case there were any mishaps. His trusty old bag, you know, him and this-

Nonsense. Listen, the point was he had this bag. And was in the midst of all this chaos. Looking at it, and ignoring it? Okay, socializing. Alec, it's was time for you to socialize. Be normal You've been practicing with those little note cards for speaking in your pocket, you'll be fine. Except that the note cards thing wasn't true and it just sounded funny in your head. Anyway. socializing! Alec was the bravest of knights he could take it on! What he was fighting for or defending? He had no clue. He didn't think it mattered however as long as it was enough to pump him up.

Now too socializing! Alec's legs didn't move. Apparently standing there was better.

For Moderation

Reducio

Action: Entering the thread(finally lol)
Stats|Stamina: 6|Evasion: 7|Strength: 7|Wisdom: 6|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 7
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers, Advanced Casting

Alec is carrying a messenger bag the contents include: Alec's wand and Joke Jar(repackaged to be blossom ball ready! It used to be a mason jar and slips of paper, and is now just a mini cloth bag and slips of paper for this occasion!)

English = 5D4A64 | Russian = 4E7A27

Interacting with: Nate Smirnow (@Haley Rose)
Open to interactions

Irina came to Hogwarts searching for adventure and a chance to meet new people. Now that she had been there for a few days and experienced some of this school, she could say with almost absolute certainty that they were crazy and out to get her. They poisoned them, for Merlin’s sake and she had no idea about the other things they could have up their sleeves. At least at her school they warned her before anything possibly dangerous took place. This school was insane though, they didn’t seem to care at all about keeping order or the safety of anyone there. And apparently they had no intention of trying to make their international guests feel welcome.

Nate had that look on his face where everything started to make sense and he seemed shocked about what this school did. She felt the same way at first but now she mainly felt fury. They had tricked their minds probably just to get a laugh. Nate was switching between languages and Irina felt mostly the same way as him. The question about if their teachers knew did strike a cord though. Could it be that’s their Koldovstoretz teachers knew that this was going to happen? In Irina’s eyes, she believed that they had no idea just like them. “I honestly don’t think our teachers knew anything, but the Hogwarts staff probably knew about it and let it happen.” The spite in her eyes was evident, she was not happy with this school and as much as she tried to hide it, it would probably never go away.

Just as she was about to ask the question, Nate got there first. What was next to do in this ball? They could dance but the music here was dark and gloomy, not the best for dancing. It would be nice to dance with her friend and if he asked than she would say yes. It’s just that there wasn’t much dancing going on and Irina had a feeling that this wasn’t the dancing zone. They could leave the ball and get away from anymore possible disaster. It was getting pretty late though and somehow this dark setting was getting darker. Right now, the only thing illuminating it was the blue flames and the spells being fired. Maybe it would be best for them to leave just to get away from the conflict but she would leave the choice up to Nate.

“I’m not sure what’s next, we could dance or leave or do whatever you want to do, it’s your pick.”

For Moderation:

Reducio

Action: Thinking about leaving
Stats: STA: 8 | EVA: 8 | STR: 7 | WIS: 9 | ARCP: 6 | ACC: 7
Heath points: 800/800
Abilities: Sixth Sense, Fearless, and Calming Presence
Effect: +2 to their awareness rolls. If a player attempts to enter a thread that you are already in, there is a 25% chance that you automatically detect them on entry.
Effect: Fear effects such as a dhmpir's aura, the ability terrible presence, a lycanothrope's intimidation or certain charms, potions and jinxes that would normally cause a fear effect do not work on you as you are immune to them.
Effect: An aura of calm. Allies (defined at the START of an instance regardless of later betrayal) gain a 10% chance to auto-hit their chosen target. This does not stack.

Post tracker: [1] [O] [H] [H] [P] [H] [A] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Open for Interaction

Banner made by Winnie Harper

Mentioning @Alan Vanes

Interacting with @Violet Carrington

No detention for Aurora today. Her crying shenanigans worked wonders for the Gryffindor prefect, though, the Ravenclaw thought she will go to jail for real. A hug was her favourite thing in the world, after chocolate, of course. It turned out he was nice, not at all aggressive like she thought he would be after drinking the mysterious drink. As the brunette slowly pull away from the hug and wiped her one or two tears, she would just walk away from the older boy as if nothing happened. Hiding her embarrassment for sobbing on his shoulder, or maybe chest because he was way taller than the goblin impostor. The chocolate bar that was intended for the Gryffindor was still on her hand, perhaps it would make her mood better after the sudden unintentional hug which of course, she did not regret.

Her hand opened the chocolate bar and started to munch it in a big bite. Then she heard someone shouting. A familiar sound, indeed. Not just shouting, she was casting a spell. Not just a spell, it was incendio. Did she try to burn the whole Underworld that she and the others tiringly prepared? Not on my watch! Was it the same person who glared at her and making her quidditch team lost because of her incompetence? From the look of her physique, hair, and excessive glaring, she was positive it was Dora the Explorer. With her energy full again from her wonderful chocolate, Aurora ran towards Violet’s direction but not in front of whoever her target was because she did not want to get burnt, grabbed her wand from her bag and shouted “HEY YOU PURPLE PERSON! GO BURN THE SPRING AREA INSTEAD! MUCUS AD NAUSEAM!”

Outfit

Reducio

Inside her purse : pepper spray, inhaler
What's on her hand : A chocolate bar and a wand

For Moderation :
Stamina - 4 | Evasion - 7 | Strength - 5 | Wisdom - 8 | ArcPower - 4 | Accuracy - 7
Terrible Presence
Action : Cast Mucus ad nauseam at violet

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Moderation Post

Wild. Perhaps that was the characteristic of Hogwarts Ball. It seemed like there was no event that were being held in Hogwarts that went smoothly. Now that the trials are closed, the all the heroes slash participants have to do is wait. Who will be crowned as the king and queen of the blossom ball 2021?

Beffudlement Draught

Next time, it might be a good idea to just bring your own drink and not indulge yourself in any drinking fountain, especially in Hogwarts. Adlai Rod seemed to not acknowledge this rule as she took a sip of the delicious liquid. Her anger started to kick in. Ready to burn anyone who are standing in her way.

You will have an advantage when performing a violent action based on anger

Forgetfulness Potion

Yes, Evelynn. Keep drinking the spiked drink that clearly making you forgetful. The Gryffindor seeker will not be able to cast any spell for another round. Hopefully someone would help her. Either it is her own date, or the smug Arjan Oberoi.

No effect

Anastasia Beckett was one of the lucky person out of those who drank spiked drinks. She would not feel anything weird like some others might feel. Go on and continue your kidnapping scheme, maybe do something with chaos infused in it next round!

Rest of the Scene

After the Russian boy's missed Tarantallegra, his date, Violet Carrington was fuming in anger. Even without the spiked drink she was indeed scary, Rodion Makarovich better not mess with the Slytherin Hag. With all of the hatred, she cast Incendio on her 'soon to be ex' date.

Violet's Wisdom (Wdc 9)
9+10 = 19
Aurora's terrible presence
d100 = 16
Violet's Accuracy
5+8 = 13
Rodion's Evasion
1 = Critical Failure
Duration
d6 = 4 (1 round)
Damage
50 + (2x10) = 70

It hit him. The fire would lit his so called designer outfit and burn it to the ground. He would be left with his full of holes t shirt after the fire die down. But it was not all, Seeing her nemesis trying to burn down the Underworld, Aurora ran towards her and cast the curse of the boogies.

Aurora's Wisdom (wdc 12)
16+8 = 24
Aurora's Accuracy
3+7 = 10
Violet's Evasion
17+8 = 25
Curse gone wrong
d70 = 47 = Maximilien de Fostoncy (iNPC Lindsey Springhall)
Duration
d6 = 4 (1 duration)

Sadly, the curse that was intended for Violet Carrington hit another innocent person, AGAIN. This time it was one of the international student named Maximilien de Fostoncy. After the flipendo accident, she should have known better to not cast any spell for the rest of the night.

TRACKER

Health

Rodion Makarovich 633/700	@Violet Carrington 564/600
Astoria Swann 360/500

Summary

@Evelynn Decipio is under the forgetfulness potion for another round
@Adlai Rod is under the befuddlement draught
@Anastasia Beckett is under ordinary liquid influence (She's okay)
Violet Carrington cast Incendio at Rodion Makarovich, he lost 70 HP
Rodion Makarovich burning for 1 round
Aurora Ranvier cast Mucus ad Nauseam at Violet Carrington and missed and hit Maximilien de Fostoncy (@Lindsey Springhall) instead.
Maximilien de Fostoncy will have runny nose, -1 accuracy, -1 arcane point for 1 round.

The Trials of the Heroes are closed!
Congratulation to @Pericles Dralt , @Dealla Prince and @Xailah Alptraum as our king and queen of the blossom ball

First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth

Π ε ρ ι κ λ ῆ ς
Outfit

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As a boy born in Greece but raised in England, Pericles had a somewhat romanticized concept of the country. He adored its history, its cuisine, and even admired its fashions from afar. Most of all, he was enamored with its legends- real and fictitious alike. As he braved the entrance to this theatrical Hades, he took a moment to act his age, inwardly likening himself and his peers to brave Olympians off to test their skills in a series of incredible trials. His performance was not unlike his costume for the eve: executed with enough traditionalism to meet the standard, but with enough personalized flair not to be perfectly plain. Pericles played to his strengths, using his head and heart, both the knowledge and passion for the culture he was so close yet so far from.

The second-year Ravenclaw was not the fastest person present, nor the strongest, nor the most clever. The trait which would play fully in his favor that night was his adaptiveness. In Hades, an obstacle bumped by his foot brought about a whispered Oh, and with it, the reminder to move with great deliberation. A jumpscare from the deep darkness elicited a sharp gasp and wispy laugh to take the edge off of his nerves. On he proceeded through the maze, hands splayed, steps quick but cautious, ears perked at the lamentations of the lost so he may avoid the same dead-end pathways. When questions came from the shadows, the jittery energy of it all did not debilitate him, but made his mind sharp enough to swiftly deliver erudite answers. The greatest thrill of all was that nagging, lingering little doubt that at any moment, a hag or something of the sort would spring out and snatch him away. No one would see it in that oppressive dark. Relief came not just from his sufficient completion of the task, but from the fact that the worry was proved wrong.

The trial of Hecate was like a breath of fresh air. Pericles breathed in the light as he at last stepped from the shroud, taking a moment to savor the drastic alteration in atmosphere. This task was direct, fair, clean competition. He thanked @Alex Mason when he wished the group luck and set straight to work. Lumos was a simple spell. His jitters did not get the better of him there, nor would they stop him from recounting his knowledge of potions. A steadying moment was taken before the attempt at untransfiguration, a moment's patience which paid off well. On to Orpheus. Somehow, this was almost worse than being in the black blanket of Hades. He could see, so the temptation to turn around grew, festered, haunting his every step. It was incredibly difficult to recall the tragic fate of Orpheus when his ears were buzzing with his beloved sister's voice. Even if it wasn't her, how were they replicating it? He needed to know... it was that same need to know which had placed him in one too many dangerous scenarios these past two years. It was a fatal flaw, one which would lose him the trial. He turned, and as with the many mysteries of Hogwarts, his hunger for closure went unanswered. Pericles heaved a morose sigh. He had come so close, but no Abigale, no answers.

A run was really just the thing he needed to get his thoughts straight. Hermes would not disappoint. When his good friend Xailah had become a broom racer, Pericles purchased a pair of goggles for her with wings on either side, meant to represent the messenger god's own swiftness. He didn't have a lucky trinket like that with him, but just like the scrawny Jesse Eisenberg in Zombieland, he knew the true value of cardio. Pericles loved to run. He did so solely for his health however, so at first, racing as competition was a rough concept. As soon as he gained a rythm, becoming confident in his ability to not crash into another contestant, his tempo improved drastically. Those mornings racing alongside the Great Lake would pay off in the end. Pericles positioned the pomegranate carefully on the pile in @Levi Drakos' arms so that he didn't spill the lot. The lad would wipe a faint sheen of sweat from his brow before continuing to the trial of Persephone. This test pertained to another interest of his, flowers, or at least by extension, their obscure symbolic language. After darkness, ghostly voices, a test of the mind and a test of speed, this was just the break he needed. It was fragrant, pleasant, peaceful. At times he smiled to those passing by, excited to be caught up in a group activity that didn't involve all of them fighting for their lives. The flowers were recognized with relative ease, some plucked without bothering to double-check the paper, if not out of confidence then just to be cheeky.

The last, but certainly not least difficult task was at hand: the trial of Apollo. Pericles was blessedly prepared. His choice of song was relevant, both to the ball at large and the theme of this exact task. It was an obvious choice. The trouble was, could he pull it off? Would the words roll easily as he remembered them? He steeled himself, steadied his breath, broke eye-contact with the spectator to meticulously recall the lyrics. His voice wouldn't fail him tonight. He sang sonorously, no excessive brovado, but clear and strong. Singing was a passion for Pericles, one which he combined with his adoration of the theme, melding talent and heartfelt zeal. @Kazuo Shimada's applause was answered with a bright grin and a deep bow. His cheeks took on a humble hue at the paean's praise, and the tokens were taken with a murmured word of gratitude. The trials were a true experience in and of themselves. Peri was immensely pleased to have had the opportunity to take part in them, though he could not help but be secretly relieved that he was finished. Contestants had been tested physically, mentally, emotionally, and even psychologically. He was sapped.

At long last, the Ravenclaw emerged from the trials triumphant. Stepping into the Underworld area was like sinking into a cool bath at the end of a hot day. He allowed its somber, low-light ambiance to wash over him, adrenaline fading into drowsy repose. Fountains full of colorful drinks frothed up ahead. The boy was parched, though he'd always had a policy about taking part in food and drink at public affairs. At least... his father had taught him that cautious habit. Did it still matter? He was so thirsty, and honestly, if something horrible was going to happen, surely it would have taken place in the blackness of Hades. Could just one cup hurt? Maybe... he would first find a place to rest, where he could deliberate over it. One hand braced to the wall while he sleepily stuck to the sidelines. Pericles found a nice shady silent spot, far from the exit of the trials and the entrance of the castle, where he would sink to the path with an exhausted exhale. This was fine.

The knackered prefect was distantly aware of spells being cast somewhere in the area. Was someone already on fire? Ah, well... whatever it was, it sounded like the typical type of chaos, students fighting one-another rather than the monster kind of chaos. They had a distinct ring from one another which became all the more apparent as his academic career progressed. It had been a beautiful ball, though. Couldn't they coexist for today?
One normal night is a perilous trick, normal is hard to attain. Children are crazy....
He shut his eyes and slouched, arms over abdomen. If they could keep from killing one another for a few more minutes, he could regain his strength, do something about it. Five more minutes....

Returning from the Trials
Trying to stealthily sit down somewhere to catch his breath
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[/reducio]Generally open to interactions, but meeting @Aly Salinger first!
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Arrival | Hades | Hecate | Orpheus | Hermes | Persephone | Apollo