21 Nov 2020, 15:28
Co-là-breith math (Happy Birthday)
November 21st, 2020
AJ had missed his birthday. Well, not 'missed' per-se, obviously his birthday had still occurred. He'd still undergone the transition from weird awkward pre-teen into gross smelly teenager. However in the wake of busy school life, various homework to be done, as well as duties as Duelling Captain he'd just sort of...forgotten about the annual event.
Well that was until the morning, two days after his birthday, that a parcel came in via owl for him during breakfast. It wasn't too heavy, but was definitively rectangular, and attached to it was a mostly deflated blue balloon bearing the words 'Happy Birthday.' The reminder had brought a smile to the young wizard's face. His mum had said she regretted letting him have a balloonless party last year, so evidently she was making up for it this time.
Now AJ sat on a bench in the small hall, clutching the parcel wrapped in brown paper, with the balloon still attached to the bindings. He drummed his fingers against it, unsure whether to open it now or to wait until he was back at the common room.
The boy took a look around him, everybody was basically going about their day. He didn't have any classes, what was the harm in at least having a look?
Carefully unwrapping the paper revealed a small box, and lifting the lid revealed a few different items. Most notable was likely the very squashed cake inside a little bit of tupperware. It was only a small sponge-cake, but AJ had idea how long it had been sealed in there, and didn't particularly want to chance it. Next was a small stack of letters, from members of his family, on top was one from his Mum and Dad. To the side was a joke present, a beard care and shaving kit. AJ rolled his eyes and laughed to himself. His parents clearly thought they were the world's greatest comedians.
Underneath the letters he finally noticed, was a beautifully framed photo. Just of his parents, standing together and smiling. It was recent, but it was clear they'd had it professionally taken. The frame bore a small inscription "Always looking out for you, Jackrabbit."
He smiled to himself as he set the picture back down. That was a nickname his Great-Grandfather was fond of using, the photo was probably his idea to some degree. AJ hoped he would be allowed to keep it next to his bed, it was a nice reminder to know that he had a family back home, one that still cared deeply for him.
He looked around again before placing his hand on the stack of letters. He'd just read one now, then he'd put the box away. The very top one, addressed to him, from "Ma and Da."
His eyebrow raised at the mention of 'proper Wizard.' He was just as much a proper Wizard as any, but he could tell his mother didn't mean it like that. His eyes watered a little bit from just how sappy the letter was, he was almost worried what the rest of his family had written. With a small chuckle he packed everything away and closed up the box."Dear Allie,
Heya! It's Mum (and your Dad too, but I'm writing so I get first mention.) I hope this gets to you on time for your birthday, I'm still trying to figure out this whole owl postage thing. I know I know, it's been a year and I shoulda worked it out by now but these bloody birds I swear.
Anyway, hopefully it's close enough at the very least, and don't worry, this box isn't all we've got for you. I didn't think the owl would be able to carry more than this to be honest with you, we're so excited for you to come home for Christmas, not long now is it?
I know it's not been long since we've seen you last, but you need to know we both worry about you
a lot when you're away. We know how much you love that school, we'd never dream of taking you away from it, so just let us worry, you keep having fun.
I hope you're making lots of friends, hopefully all the proper Wizards aren't being too high and mighty with you.
Still looks so strange writing down that word...Wizard...
Anyway, we want you to know that we love you very much, and we're so very proud of you. No matter what, stay safe Allie, we'll see you soon.
Love,
Mum and Dad."
However, he still had some parcel paper and a balloon to dispose of, which he was reminded of when he accidentally stepped on the pile of parcel paper which made a rather loud scrunching noise.
- Fearless - Prodigal DADA - The Muggle Condition - Wandmaker - Animagus - Prodigal CoMC
Stamina: 7/20 | Evasion: 11/20 | Strength: 5/20 | Wisdom: 15/20 | Arcane Power: 10/20 | Accuracy: 15/20
22 Nov 2020, 00:55
Co-là-breith math (Happy Birthday)
She prodded at the waffles that demanded her attention feeding bits and bobs of it to her owl who had ever so faithfully flown through to deliver her copy of the Daily Prophet. Flutters, now content with having robbed Elena with half of her breakfast flew off towards the Owlery while she pushed open the pages her eyes flicking over the text with a sort of dulled interest. It was always the same thing, nothing remotely interesting that caught her eye, something about a Fanged Frisbee that caused her to smirk a bit as she folded the paper up stuffing it inside her robes. She liked getting it every now and then, it proved to be a good distraction and kept her on the loop of what this crazy world was up to while she buzzing about this castle. Graduation couldn't be any more sooner but she still had some time left before the girl could even think about that.
Following the rabble of students as breakfast cleared up, she'd decided to pay another visit to the library. That Restricted Section just seemed to be calling her name however this time, it wasn't because she was on some noble quest to help her friends or anything heroic, rather, it was her curosity. The Gryffindor had been raised in a dominantly Slytherin wizarding family and as such, her parents had these weird assortments of Dark items that they seemed to drool over though Elena couldn't figure out why. It was just a way of making sense of all this nonsense but she imagined that sort of stuff, especially content over creepy, Dark magic and all things evil were not things that would be readily available to third years. It was still after breakfast and bright early, surely the libarian wouldn't be expecting anyone this early and that only made her task earlier.
That was until all thoughts of that slipped from her mind as she cast a passing glance at a boy. Wait, wasn't he the one who had put on that talent show? Elena had enjoyed that, violin was not a talent she displayed commonly so it had allowed her to come out of her shell a bit. She could only imagine what skill and organization it would have taken to pull off such a massive undertaking but he had done it. She decided to stop and chat a bit, after all, the girl wasn't a complete stranger to him or so she hoped. "Hey.." What was his blasted name again? "Allister, right?" She said inwardly crossing her fingers.
Following the rabble of students as breakfast cleared up, she'd decided to pay another visit to the library. That Restricted Section just seemed to be calling her name however this time, it wasn't because she was on some noble quest to help her friends or anything heroic, rather, it was her curosity. The Gryffindor had been raised in a dominantly Slytherin wizarding family and as such, her parents had these weird assortments of Dark items that they seemed to drool over though Elena couldn't figure out why. It was just a way of making sense of all this nonsense but she imagined that sort of stuff, especially content over creepy, Dark magic and all things evil were not things that would be readily available to third years. It was still after breakfast and bright early, surely the libarian wouldn't be expecting anyone this early and that only made her task earlier.
That was until all thoughts of that slipped from her mind as she cast a passing glance at a boy. Wait, wasn't he the one who had put on that talent show? Elena had enjoyed that, violin was not a talent she displayed commonly so it had allowed her to come out of her shell a bit. She could only imagine what skill and organization it would have taken to pull off such a massive undertaking but he had done it. She decided to stop and chat a bit, after all, the girl wasn't a complete stranger to him or so she hoped. "Hey.." What was his blasted name again? "Allister, right?" She said inwardly crossing her fingers.
STA: 9| EVA: 10|STR: 6|ArcPower: 5|WIS: 15|ACR: 10
29 Nov 2020, 21:30
Co-là-breith math (Happy Birthday)
| - |  By SK | - |
Dee had been a little - or more than a little - late to breakfast, as she tended to be when no one forced her to get up early. It was weekend, after all, weekends were meant to sleep in! Right?
Hence she was only now headed towards breakfast, when most students were already leaving the Great Hall, heading off to Bigger and Better things (or to just laze around in their respective common rooms, who knew?) Dee didn't really mind, she wasn't really all that hungry, so she would just snag a toast and take it with her to... well, she hadn't quite decided yet. There were spells to be practiced, an article to be written, and a side corridor on the fourth floor she had never noticed before yesterday to be explored. Any of those offered a possible way to spend her Saturday morning.
These thoughts of spells, adventures, and stories to be told carried her on her way through the small hall, until a flash of blue caught her attention from one of the benches on the side, and she turned her head almost automatically. It belonged to a balloon, the birthday variety. She hadn't seen one of those in... okay, it hadn't been all that long, as she'd attended the birthday party of one of her Muggle friends during summer. Still, it seemed out of place here at Hogwarts, where blue Muggle rubber balloons where something of an oddity.
A smile on her face and a spark of curiosity in her eyes, she changed direction towards the blue balloon, while her focus shifted to the boy the balloon was attached to. Dee's smile widened when she realised she knew that head of brown curls, and the boy it belonged to, too.
"AJ!" she called when she was only a few steps away. "Happy birthday! Wait, is it your birthday? Or are you throwing a party for someone else?" She stopped next to him, prodding the rather sad looking balloon with a finger, then shot him a teasing grin. "Did you run out of air while blowing that up? It looks a little pitiful."
While observant if she wanted to, Dee's attention usually behaved somewhat like a bubble: She was aware of anything in it, and tended to ignore anything outside of it. It took her another second or two to realise there was another girl standing near, who had apparently been talking to AJ as well, but then she shifted to gift the stranger with a brilliant smile as well. "Oh, hi! Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Are you AJ's friend?"
@Allister-Jameson MacAllister | @Elena Jangleton
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"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
13 Dec 2020, 15:44
Co-là-breith math (Happy Birthday)
The sound of approaching footsteps brought AJ swiftly forward out of his memories and back into the present time and place. His bright blue eyes blinking a few times before coming to focus on a girl who seemed familiar but not extremely so. Whenever he got that feeling about someone it was usually a classmate he had worked on something with, a fellow Gryffindor, or someone from the talent show. His brain felt like this girl was perhaps two of the three.
She had him at the disadvantage of knowing his name...well partially. He smiled slightly as he set the box down to his side. "Oh! Um H-hullo! Yeah ut's Ullister...w-wull uctualleh meh frunds tund teh call meh AJ." He gently corrected her, though at least he had the name half right.
He kept the smile up as he panicked internally, trying not to let the silence linger too long as he opened the memory banks to the night of the talent show. He swore she must've been one of the participants, she wasn't the painting girl, he was pretty sure she wasn't one of the singers...was it a musica-...
Another feminine sounding voice broke his train of thought, this one was definitely a lot more familiar. Though he still wasn't sure if his relationship with the owner of the voice was that of friendship or a sense of rivalry.
"Deeyullah!" He called back as the girl approached, offering a silent apology to the pseudo-stranger in the hopes that she understood that this new situation required a moment of attention.
"Meh Burthdee? Oh wull...yus, but actuelleh noo. Ut was two dees ba'. Jus' go' tha parcul a luttle leet." He explained. "Don' beh so heersh tah tha bulloon! He's come ullong wee."
Now that Dee had hopefully been conversationally satiated he returned his attention to the other girl. Until Dealla herself asked a question that could likely be his salvation. "Oh! Yus, wull...meer ucqueentansus ah suppoose. Thus us...wull, she can untrudooce heersulf most leekely." He gestured to her. Hoping beyond hope that he could get the girl's name without embarrassing himself.
@Elena Jangleton @Dealla Prince
(Deeply sorry for the delay, work has been murdering me. Activity should pick up after boxing day but I'll still do my best to post often.)
- Fearless - Prodigal DADA - The Muggle Condition - Wandmaker - Animagus - Prodigal CoMC
Stamina: 7/20 | Evasion: 11/20 | Strength: 5/20 | Wisdom: 15/20 | Arcane Power: 10/20 | Accuracy: 15/20
15 Dec 2020, 17:53
Co-là-breith math (Happy Birthday)
@Allister-Jameson MacAllister and @Dealla Prince
The accent that overlapped his words was instantly noticeable. Yup, he was defnitely that boy who had taken up the pleasure of being the commentator for that Talent Show. Such an accent was hard to miss and it was quite a unique one. "AJ it is then." She said smiling, simple and way easier than what she had tried to pronounce originally. Their brief little interaction however didn't last long as another stranger joined the fray, unknown to the Gryffindor girl but clearly known to the boy as the female approached. She noted down the name AJ mentioned, Dealla..not someone she had met or heard of as she offered a friendly nod in the girl's direction. Wait? It was the boy's birthday? That would explain the balloon at least.
"Oh, your birthday? Wish you all the best." Elena fit a bit oddly out of place here being the only stranger in this group of three, two of which seemed know each rather well judging from their interactions. "No worries. Name's Elena. Elena Jangleton." She didn't know if friends was the appropiate term she would use but she didn't want to be rude either. House-mates maybe? Acquaintces? Friendly passer-bys? All seemed like feasible options to her. Sure, acquaintces worked. Perhaps in due time, they could knock that up to house-mates or friend, didn't seem too far off with his friendly personality and all.
They seemed like a cheerful bunch, not like those kids Elena had stumbled across in that Owlery one time, that had been an entirely different situation altogether and only reinforced the fact in her mind how little she actually stepped out of her littel safe circle. That had been changing this year though and she felt good about that , Adlai was a walking, talking, living example of what she meant as the trio conversed. "Doing anything remarkable aside from blowing up birthday balloons then?" She agreed though if it was up to her, a Hot Air Charm would probably save her the effort of doing it by hand.
STA: 9| EVA: 10|STR: 6|ArcPower: 5|WIS: 15|ACR: 10
30 Dec 2020, 13:52
Co-là-breith math (Happy Birthday)
| - | By SK | - |
Dee winced when he called her Dealla, repressing the urge to just turn around and leave again. She had told him to call her Dee... right? Although, admittedly, his heavy dialect made her name somehow sound a little more charming. Maybe. She'd overlook it as a birthday favour.
"Dee, please," she corrected him, stopping next to him and tilting her head slightly to one side in amusement at his explanations. Yes but no, huh. "Belated happy birthday then. Parcel from your parents?" She smiled down at the balloon again. The knowledge that it was so deflated because it had been on its way for a while made it somehow more endearing. "I got one from my parents, too, for my birthday last school year. No balloons, but cake, which I think is a decent alternative." She grinned, remembering that day. It had been slightly chaotic - like all her events tended to be - but had left a very warm memory for her. A short pause, then she looked up at AJ again, a spark in her eyes. "You should come to my next one!" She'd had guests much more unwelcome than AJ at her last birthday.
Her smile brightened just a touch more at the introduction, and she raised her hand for a silly little wave. "Nice to meet you, Elena! I'm Dee. Please don't follow AJ's example of calling me Dealla." She lowered her voice as if telling a secret, leaning slightly forward, like she didn't immediately proclaim this to anyone upon first meeting. "I hate it. It's terrible. I don't know what my parents were thinking." After clarifying this very important fact, Dee straightened back up, expression slightly impish.
Elena's question was met with approval, and she turned her head to look at AJ, nodding. "You should do something! Celebrate your... well, celebrate the second day after your birthday I suppose. Do something fun. Any plans?"
@Allister-Jameson MacAllister | @Elena Jangleton
Terribly sorry for how late this is, I'm still trying to catch up from a month ago, will hopefully be faster next time~
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"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."