International Women's Day Errand

Open to Interactions
mentioning: @ Griseldis Edelhardt | @ Alaric Equinox
interacting with: @ Ruthie Greer

Alan had heard International Women's Day was on approach and was to be celebrated in the Great Hall. Understanding that two of his friends Gris and Ruthie had organised such an event along with Professor Equinox. The young lad was eager to lend his support towards his female companions, seeing them both as extraordinary women capable of being leaders in their own right for taking the time to prepare such an event for everyone. Hearing about International Women's Day from his Mother and Nan he remembers it as a day where the world appreciates women for their contribution and dedication to the world today whether it was muggles or wizards it was a day of rejoicing.

Making his way towards the Great Hall wearing a dark jean jacket with a white shirt underneath sporting blue pants and white runners. Entering he was welcomed into the vast Great Hall with the long tables instead of a feast was greeted with many crafting materials and small bits of nibbles lined along the way. Looking around Alan as he was making his way towards the other end of the hall manage to spot his friend Ruthie. Offering a smile, he waved towards Ruthie before taking his place in an empty spot. Looking at the vast materials the young lad had a thought in mind from the inspiring speech Ruthie which was to send both his Nan and Mum letters of appreciation for what they do, as both women have raised and looked after him for as long as he could remember. Alan noticed his best friend Gris had entered dropping in a care package filled with crafting supplies as well as other utensils used for creating great things such as posters or cards. If Gris were to notice Alan would wave towards his friend as he began reaching for pieces of cardboard and writing utensils setting up the equipment he needed for making his cards for both his Nan and Mum taking an extra two for his friends.

Already cutting away the materials and shaping the cards neatly using the favourite colours of his Mum as well as his Nan. Blue and purple being their favourites the young lad began creatively think what sort of message he was going to send to his folks as well as his friends. Already having something related to baking for His Nan. Alan pondered about his Mother remembering the times she'd come home early from work or despite being tired from a hard day managed to keep everything in the house in order, which gave him thoughts on what message to send. Wanting to make sure he made the cards correctly, he re-tried a couple of times with the idea that he wished to the greeting cards to be perfect. If one were to notice the young lad, they would be able to see how intensely he's working to make these crafted cards right muttering to himself "Hope Nan and Mom like these...they always manage to go out of limb, and it's high time I thank these properly, so these have to be right Al."

First Post Word Count: 518/1000

The quill was oscillating between her second and third fingers when the first participant, a @Willow Anderson , arrived at the event. Ruthie recognized her from the previous errand in which she'd managed to help out Gris. The girl hadn't been the one to bloody up her hand, Ruthie recalled that much. This girl proceeded to put out a sign advertising friendship bracelets. Ruthie had never heard of a friendship bracelet before, but it seemed like such a kind gesture and in keeping with today's theme! "Did you make those?" the blonde asked the Hufflepuff. She'd be well impressed if she did; Ruthie had never really been the creative sort.

Willow was greeted by another one of the girls she had seen on her previous errand, @Mildred Wilson. Ruthie gave her a quick wave as she overhead Professor @Alaric Equinox offer up extra ink. It was metallic--shiny and pretty, certain to bring an extra flair to anyone's cards/posters! As he sat amongst them--like an equal--he enquired who those working on cards might be writing to. Ruthie hadn't even determined yet if she was going the card or the poster route. She'd been so busy planning the actual event that she hadn't really considered what she might do with it.

Her mouth scruntched together, unsure as yet how to answer her Head of House's question, when the voice of @Willow Anderson addressed her directly, thankful for the sustenance. "Of course! I hope you enjoy the sweets. I know there had been a special request for pink cupcakes, but purple is the official color of the day so hopefully, these work too," she explained cheerfully. Eating was one of her favorite things to do at any event so she was glad the food pleased the attendees now that she was on the planning side of equation. Willow seemed to be going the card route, but also was the first to express an interest in a poster, which got Ruthie thinking.

Ruthie had to admire Willow's enthusiasm, something that was not matched by @Persephone Barret if her comment was anything to go by. With widened eyes, Ruthie wanted to say something, but she wasn't sure what. How could she respond to that? Merlin, how was it that another girl could think it was ridiculous to celebrate her own rights, her own self? Had she not experienced any bias herself for being female? Thankfully, all of these questions seemed hush themselves temporary as the Professor addressed the other first year. Ruthie was grateful for that, very grateful. She didn't like exercising authority, even if she was technically a Prefect. It felt weird.

Ruthie noticed another girl, @Wren Caster, saunter in and get to work on writing a note. As she grabbed one of the larger pieces of paper, she thought she heard some sniffling. It looked, if only weakly, like the girl might be crying. What a range of emotions there was in the hall. "Pardon me, but are you all right?" she asked the girl. It was important to the Ravenclaw that this be a day of celebration, but she understood that other feelings may come through as well.

Soon came a boy, @Sean Hearth, who was making broad posters. They seemed to feature women she didn't know. "Wow, you can draw well," she said, always in awe of other people's artistic skill. "Who's Celina Barrett?" she inquired, wanting to know who he might be honoring. She suspected these might be historical figures, but the eleven year old's knowledge was very limited to Scotland and then the UK more broadly. Still, this is in part was they were here for--sharing knowledge--and she was eager to learn of other trail-blazing women.

The Hufflepuffs seemed to have gained a member when @Lydia Cooper showed up. Ru gave her a smile to welcome her to the table. Lydia was followed by another girl @Margo White who inquired who she was. "Yes, that's right," Ruthie answered, "thank you so much for coming. What was your name?" The girl mentioned the housepoints, which was fine. Ru wanted people here and if housepoints did that, so be it. The girl had apparently left a small parcel near her. The Scottish blond eyed it curiously before open it. Inside was a lovely bandana with "woman" and a skateboard on it. "Hey!" She called back to the girl, "Did you leave me this? It's lovely, thank you!" And so, she flung it around a knotted atop her hair like Rosie the Riveter.

@Griseldis Edelhardt seemed happy as always to jump in and help with an errand. Ruthie enjoyed their friendship very much and was grateful Gris was always there to lend a hand. She too was doing a card for a family member. "Your gran sounds amazing, Gris," Ruthie enthused. She only really knew her muggle grandparents, who seemed perfectly normal. It would have been nice to have ready-made family to look up to besides being a house wife, but that was a different era and things were different as she'd heard her parents explain.

"Yes, it's here! You're in the right place," Ruthie chirped as @Breana Oliveire joined the event. The girl seemed a bit nervous, but hopefully would settle in a bit soon. Ruthie felt like she had seen her around the common room, but not to speak to. Professor Equinox was quick to offer her his fancy color palette. Hopefully, this would make her more comfortable.

Smiling as he came in was her friend @Alan Noble. Ruthie returned his warm greeting. "Thanks for coming Alan!" she beamed. It was great to have some of the boys show up to support their female friends and women more generally. He was quick to start cutting up shapes and designs, but then Alan was creative as she had discovered in the common room. "I'm sure they'll like them," she replied to him, "it's the thought that counts as my mum says."

But looking at how furiously Alan was working and how creative and committed the others were, her blank piece of paper looked increasingly sad. Inspired by the others, she decided to go the poster route. She was, after all, a go-big-or-go-home kind of girl. The letters she sketched where tall and sort of bubbly. Handwriting was not her strongest skill. The letters arranged to form a phrase she'd read in a book once: "Women's Rights are Human Rights." It was something she believed in her bones, and if this turn out meant anything, it was something they all believed in too.

Reducio

Poster in the making:

Interacting with @Alaric Equinox and @Ruthie Greer
Current word count: First post (559) + Second post (419) = 978

She let out a small sigh, smiling in relief as a fellow Ravenclaw girl greeted and welcomed her. "Thanks a bunch... I'm Breana. O-oliveire." She said, doing a small wave towards the girl. Breana knew she's the first year prefect in her house, but she forgot her name. Ru... something. Still, it was nice to be greeted by a welcoming and somewhat familiar face.

After she placed her simple ink bottle on the table, her eyes perked up as she listened to Sir Equinox.“Please, you may use this as well. I brought the crate of them for everyone one to use. If you look here-“ “-You can even choose your own color. I am, however, happy to share the swirled silver black with you if you wish to use it.” Breana nodded with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Ah... T-thank you, Mist-- erm, Head-- er... Sir Equinox, sir." She stammered, leaning over to dip her quill on the metallic black and silver ink. She looked in awe as she saw how beautiful the ink was. Breana moved back to her place, opening up one of the books as she started her letter.

"Dear Mom," She started.
"Hope you get this letter soon ♥ It's Women's Day over in Hogwarts, and I wanna send this letter over to you for it! I'll also write to auntie soon," Breana stopped for a second and grabbed an extra sheet of letter paper just to make sure she won't forget. "but I'm borrowing some school books to look up what you did when you're a student here, and my borrow time for them is almost up, so... No time like the present!!!"

Breana laughed a bit to herself. She imagined her mother laughing with the letter as her father reads it out loud with his poor imitation of Breana's voice. She can't wait to get back home once the year is over. She looked over at the book she opened, and leafed through it to try to find any information of her mother. Soon enough, there she was. Breana gently caressed her tiny fingers across her mother's name, "Eugenia Everhart." Her mother's face didn't change much apart from maturity, and her red hair was still the same straight texture, except in the picture it's longer, and she was sporting twin french braids in it. Breana wondered, if she can be as notable as her mother. She hoped she'd have enough achievements in the future that she can look over proudly for herself someday.

((Mentions Griseldis, Ruthie, and Alaric. Open to interactions.))

Unless jogging around the grounds, Peri's attire rarely strayed far from his uniform. The young pureblood enjoyed oversized sweaters as much as the next eleven-year-old, but the homeschooled lad had spent most of his life under the influence of his father, detached from others his age. He arrived at the errand dressed as Dralt Senior would have attended an informal meeting: in a crisp white shirt, buttoned grey vest, pressed black trousers, and a pair of glossy dark dress shoes. The smart addition of a blue tie added a dash of House pride. There was one standard which nearly never changed: he was always carrying books wherever he went.

Today was no exception. In fact, Pericles had brought a book from the library, his personal notebook, and a binder from which he produced a single sheet of thick letter parchment. He had evidently heard tell of the event prior (as opposed to stumbling upon it) for he came well prepared. That trademark in-the-clouds smile lingered on his lips while he listened to the errand's introduction. Griseldis and Ruthie had already proven themselves plenty involved with the student body, often offering errands, doling out opportunities for involvement. Peri had been charmed by the prospect and did what he may to ready himself. What he had in mind called for a little more than writing a letter, but he was quite convinced his plans were sound and necessary. The fact that their Head of House Professor Equinox had provided supplies would make the matter of perfecting his project far easier.

Perusing the papers, his smile faded, eyes lidding with concentration. Peri took his time even in matters of color. He selected two from the batch. The first was a rich, solid, deep cobalt blue, matching well with his House colors. The second was a bright, brilliant, rich shade of crimson red. Seeming satisfied with his find, he collected one quill, a plain black inkwell, and a bit of glue before settling into a seat. The juggling act ended as each component was arranged for a tidy compact work space upon the table in front of him. Professor Alaric was a kind mentor, but as ever, Peri tended to avoid making eye-contact with teachers. He kept quietly to himself, going about his business with the proficiency of a Ministry man closed into a cubicle. Rectangular spectacles were pulled from the pocket of his vest, equipped, and with that the scrawling began. The first letter seemed to come easily enough to the boy. He scarcely stopped while he wrote, only pausing now and again to re-read what was already written, ensuring his verbiage was not redundant. Any prying eyes could have caught the large address at the very top: Dear Mom.

Upon completion, he held the letter up, re-reading it for a final time. His ghost of a grin returned, warm with thoughts of home, sentimental over all his mother had taught him. Lady Dralt was a brilliant divinator, though she had also taken the time to enrich Pericles' childhood with earthly things. She introduced him to herbology, to the tending of plants both magical and mundane, how to harvest all manner of components. She had shown him a thing or two about brewing potions, too, but didn't wish to instill any "bad habits" in him before he came to Hogwarts. She taught him that gardening was not a "girly" thing, and that hobbies had little to do with gender whatsoever. She taught him to be kind, curious, gentle, yet also tenacious, open-minded, and durable in the face of uncertainty. Cenedril was both benevolent and brilliant. Not to mention, she had been a Ravenclaw too. Thus with a bit of glue and gentle pressing around the still-drying ink, her letter was fastened to the cobalt sheet of paper, which he would later fold into a card proper.

The second letter would take a great deal more time, but not because Pericles was unsure of what to write. In fact, he had already written the letter once before. The trouble was that he had to translate what was written onto that thick parchment. Upon opening, the book was revealed to contain a sizable section on braille, which the first-year had been studying devotedly in his common room. First he had written his intended message, then- letter by letter- translated the entirety of it into dots sketched for braille. He turned his paper over, dried his quill, and began to methodically press the metal into the parchment from right to left, careful not to press so hard that the bumps broke through. It was a tedious process, and at this juncture his smile was gone altogether. Forehead furrowed, lips quirked into a concentrated frown, Pericles looked a little older while ever so carefully pushing one letter at a time into place. His strange silver eyes flickered from notebook to letter again and again.

((Word Count: 817))

Interacting with @Pericles Dralt
Current word count: First post (559) + Second post (419) + Third post (279) = 1,257

Breana's eyes glanced around at the new boy coming up to the table, who also had a couple of books on his person... at least, one book and a couple of personal stuff. She never really interacted with him, but she has seen him walking around the Common Rooms, and sometimes in the large hallways near the classes. If it weren't for that, she would've thought he'd be in the Slytherin house, with his posture emitting an almost regal look to the young boy. She couldn't help but peek a bit on the first letter he worked on. "Good to know a lot of us are writing to our moms." Breana thought, looking back to her letter as she tried to scrawl on the letter, trying to replicate the picture the book has of her mother. It's not an exact copy, but Breana figured her mother would get a laugh out of it. She then wrote down how cool her mother was with her achievements in Potions class, and also how Breana herself would hope to make her happy with her own achievements someday.

She looked back at the boy, now raising an eyebrow as she's curious with what he's doing. "Is he... poking the paper?" She thought. She also noticed how arranged the dots were, so they definitely weren't decorations. "Is that Braille...?" She said aloud, her thoughts slipping through her mouth. Breana covered her lips the minute she said it, looking up at the boy with an embarrassed expression on her face. "A-ah! Sorry about that, I-- er..." She scratched the back of her head. "My dad's bookshop had braille books before, so the dots looked kinda familiar... Uhm, sorry if I was prying..."

Interacting with @Mildred Wilson @Ruthie Greer @Griseldis Edelhardt @Lydia Cooper

She looked over at Ruthie as she asked if Willow made these and she quickly nodded. "I did! The ones that aren't pink and purple I made awhile ago, but for those ones I made them over the past couple days because I thought it might be cute if a lot of us ended up matching because of this event." She was proud of coming up with that idea, although she was now significantly low on pink and purple yarn it was worth the sacrifice to bring everyone together in a different way. The other prefect Griseldis approached her as well, doubling down on the compliments on her bracelets and a blush spread across her cheeks from all the praise. She honestly missed sending owls to her, but it was great that they were getting to interact in person for once. "Hi Griseldis! Thank you, I really enjoy making them and I want to spread the love today."

When Mildred complimented her she smiled warmly, "I drew a lot of plants at home growing up, so it's just kind of something I've developed over the years. I don't really do crafts, just drawing and friendship bracelets so this is a bit different for me but I enjoy it!" She didn't realize she could get even happier when Lydia joined the table, "Hi Lydia! It's so nice to see you again, it's been awhile." She finished working on the card for her mom and pulled out a light purple paper and began on her card for Mildred. Something about Mildred was easy to trust and like and she was hoping this would help solidify a friendship for the future.

She was drawing outlines of poppies all around the front of the card as a frame, accenting it with a pink ink that she found in Professor Equinox's crate which was was becoming more and more grateful for him bringing it. As Willow looked up from working on her card she realized just how many people had joined into the event. It made her heart happy realizing how many people want to come together and celebrate and learn about influential women. Her school never had anything like this, so it was a welcome change of activity. She opened up the card and began to draw a simple drawing of Mildred and Willow laughing together, she was never too great at drawing people but she hoped she could do them justice.

She worked in silence, mainly liking to concentrate on her art in front of her instead of talking because it would often mess her up in her process. She let the conversation buzz around her, time seemingly going quickly by as she finished off the details of her card. She lightly blew on it to help the ink dry before closing it and sliding it over to Mildred. "I hope you like it, I felt like poppies suited you for some reason."

Word Count: 524^{1st Post} + 290^{2nd Post} + 491^{This Post} = 1,305 words.
Errand complete, open to interaction!

((Interacting with @Breana Oliveire))

Upon realizing he was being spoken to, Pericles glanced up with a small smile perking into place. It was a calm curve, nearly neutral, though his eyes were more telling. The odd silvers flashed a flicker of interest, gleaming like a mirror. While she wasn't wearing their House colors, he had peripheral memories of the witch: he liked her hair, and was sure he recalled seeing the fellow eagle in a distinctly stylish hat. Her name was lost to him however. It wasn't that the lad did not care to recall it; rather, names only overheard had a way of escaping him, and would continue to elude until asked for outright.

Breana's nervous chatter did not seem to disturb nor disrupt Peri. He simply smiled on through it, patient, pondering, until the poor girl trailed off. When at last he spoke, it was in a mild manner with a cadence as carefully composed as his posture. "Please don't apologize. Curiosity is indicative of a malleable mind, my father says, and is irrefutably beneficial in moderation." The young pureblood crinkled his freckled nose with a boyish smile, harshly contrasting the formality of his father's words. Peri had faced a fifty-fifty possibility of being placed in either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Evidently, wisdom had narrowly outdone ambition. A hand waved over the poked parchment before his shoulders shrugged. "It is braille, or at least, I certainly hope it is." The sheen of sheepishness that tinted his smile suggested this was not a show of snark. "I've never written it before now, but I tried following this book's key as closely as I could. I can only imagine being so lucky as to have a family-owned book shop. You could learn t'do anything that way...."

His airy words hung in the air as Peri stole a glimpse at the girl's own letter, then his eyes went wide beyond rectangular-framed glasses. "...like drawing. That looks really good." Teeth flashed under a fleeting crooked grin. Pulling the parchment glued to blue towards him, the boy unabashedly pried back: "D'you think you could sketch something for me, like a flower? I would pay your for your time of course."

((Word Count: 817+362= 1,179, completed but posting til end of interaction))

Interacting with @Pericles Dralt
Current word count: First post (559) + Second post (419) + Third post (279) = 1,257 [Stopped counting, but will still post until the end of the interaction.]

"Please don't apologize. Curiosity is indicative of a malleable mind, my father says, and is irrefutably beneficial in moderation."

She perked her head up and looked back at the boy, listening to him as he quoted his father. Breana has seen him before, but she wasn't sure if he was a first year or older with how refined and polished he presented himself so she was a bit intimidated to approach him until now. She was also stricken by how formal he was, especially when he's also wearing such fancy sort of suit. Breana looked up at his face, only noticing now how his eyes has an odd yet beautiful color of bright silver, as if looking at a well polished knife. She blinked her eyes a couple of times. "Why in high heavens were you thinking about his eyes like that?! Come on, Breana, focus!!" She thought to herself, bringing herself back down to the conversation.

"It is braille, or at least, I certainly hope it is."
"I've never written it before now, but I tried following this book's key as closely as I could. I can only imagine being so lucky as to have a family-owned book shop. You could learn t'do anything that way...."

She smiled, instantly being reminded of home."Ah, heh, yeah..." She said, her smile growing wide and genuine as she talks about the shop. "Though I gotta be sneaky whenever I want to read a book that's on sale. It's not exactly a good selling point if the kid of the owner can read anywhere like it's a library, or at least that's what my dad thinks." Breana blinked, surprised at the boy's reaction to her little scribble.

"...like drawing. That looks really good."

She instantly felt a hint of warmth surrounding her cheeks. Is she... blushing? Breana covered one of her cheeks with her hand, surprised that her face even did that, and looked down at her letter. "W-wha--? Er, really...? I-i mean, I just wanted to copy the picture... I didn't wanna offend the book cutting it up and a-all that..." She looked back at the boy. "Oh Merlin, even his smile looks like it's well polished... Breana get your head back in your body, for heaven's sake!!"

"D'you think you could sketch something for me, like a flower? I would pay your for your time of course."

"H-huh? You..." She looked down at her letter, then back at him."You want to pay me? For just a doodle? I-i mean you don't have to, I'm fine just helping someone out!" She smiled, looking down at the letter. "Erm... what was I going to say..." Breana muttered, before hitting her forehead lightly with the bottom of her palm. "Name! Doy!!" She shook her head, looking back at the boy as she laughed at her own forgetfulness. "Forgot to introduce myself. Call me Breez-- Er, I mean Breana! Breana Oliverie-- Oliveire, yeah... that's... me...." She said, flimsily holding out her hand for him to shake.

Interacting with @ Ruthie Greer
Mentioning @ Griseldis Edelhardt
Still open for interaction

Alan, while piecing together his masterpiece of cards for his Nan and Mother, managed to finish both were neatly crafted resembling their favourite colours. For his Mum, Alan had crafted a Blue coloured card on the front was cut out white letters spelling out "Thanks for being the Best Mum! Happy Women's Day!" on the back was a short little message which he kept covered as the young lad was a tad embarrassed. If one were to sneak a peek on the end of the card would say "Thanks Mum for putting up with me I appreciate all that you do for the family and I couldn't ask for a better woman like you keeping us all together." The card was decorated with bits of glitter, and small drawings of his Mums Patronus which he only ever saw once was a Fox used as a border for the front of the card.

His Nans card was quickly a no brainer as he had spent so much time with her growing up, similar to his mothers the front was the same except the card was purple "To Nan Happy Women's Day!" Similar to the border on the previous card, Nans Patronus being a horse surrounded the big words in the middle. On the back of the card If one were to look was written "Nan, you're an amazing person who's looked after me and kept me well fed since I was little, your pastries will always be the best, and I thank you for the continued support you always show towards all of us."

Satisfied with the progress made so far and glad he participated as he was about to grab more materials for two more cards, Ruthie came to him thanking Alan for his participation. The young lad turned and looked towards his friend offering a warm smile towards the first year "It's no problem Ruthie happy to support my friends and the cause it's incredible how well you organised this." Alan suggested after pondering with a grin across his face "Maybe something to help write to your mum next time hmm?" With reassurance that his designs were good, Alan said: "Thanks just those two have been a big part of my life, and I should give something back to them." Looking over towards what Ruthie was creating he said to her "Whatever you make as you said it's the thought that counts Ruthie you're terrific at what you have created here today and I'm sure you can show it off on to whoever you're thanking".

With that phrase in mind, Alan although already planning to make a card for Ruthie and Griseldis thoughts of what message to write for them eluded him but with is a phrase he went back to crafting immediately. When he was done, Alan slipped The First card towards Ruthie hoping the first year would notice while Alan began on the second card.

Current word count: First post 518 + Second Post 488 = 1008 will still post until end of interaction but consider my Errand complete!