Magical Masquerade: The entrance

Mask: Reducio

Outfit: Reducio

Event Tracker
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The compliment lingered in the air filling it with joy, it wasn't often boys complimented each other the way girls did and somehow that seemed to make it mean more to Matthew. Perhaps it was common in whatever Durmstrang was. Truly it was ringing clear just how little he knew about the greater wizarding world not to mention how little he had known about this ball before the fact. Nikolai was right though Viva looked utterly stunning in her dress and he wondered if Rowan would do too. People had clearly put their heart and soul on show for this outfit and it was beautiful to witness.

Deciding that whether it was regular for a Durmstrang or not he felt he should return the compliment, "You look very handsome in your suit too, and your mask is so incredible, truly menacing I love it!" Before he could turn to Viva and remark upon her dress he couldn't help but notice the sliver of the boys face that was on show grow warm with as much blush as his own, though with his paler skin it betrayed him even worse. Perhaps it wasn't customary after all.

Eventually pulling away his gaze he took in the glowing sight of Viva in her pink dress with beading wrapping up its princess cut. She looked like a princess brought straight out of a fairy-tale in fact most of the girls were in similar lavish ball gowns. His blush couldn't be hid as he took in the sight of her, he had been sure to let her know that Rowan had asked him to accompany her as he was worried she would ask him, or that she was waiting on him to ask her and truly he had no idea what to do with that. Being a twelve year old boy, emotions were confusing enough as it was without girls clouding his judgement. Staring down at her in this moment though he couldn't knock the smile away from his face "Viva, you look... beautiful. Really, that dress was made for you. Did you come with anyone?" he said adjusting his mask to cover his red stained cheeks more thoroughly. Really he had no right to ask, but he wanted to know all the same and was hoping he could play it off as coolly as possible.

Luckily right then Rowan had finally appeared, in classic them fashion both of them had been as late as each other. The two were similar in so many ways and it was one of the biggest comforts Hogwarts had brought him. Someone that understood him, in fact he had met so many people that truly saw him now that he wondered where they had been the rest of his life. Turning around to her a smile wide on his face, his eyes glazed over a similar beautiful dress and the elegant mask that framed Rowan's face perfectly. "Rowan! Wow you look incredible, isn't this all incredible. You don't need to worry people haven't even managed to get in yet. I think they're on the last clue now so we will be in soon!" Rowan's dress flowed down her body to twirl around her in the most magical way. Speaking once more he stepped back to bring the group into a circle only realising the slight awkwardness of the situation a second too late "This is Nikolai he's from somewhere called Durmstrang, and of course you know Viva, at least from my stories with her if not directly" Before the words even fully formed from his mouth he hastily added in direction towards Genevieve "Not that I talk about you a lot or anything, just you know..."

If the world could swallow him up right now that would suit him perfectly fine. Was this the reason he hadn't heard about the ball, had his brain subconsciously known this was a bad idea? Whatever it was it wasn't helping his face that was almost as red as Nikolai's dress robes at this point and so trying desperately to deflect from the situation he turned to him once more and said "So, Devil boy! Where or what is the Durmstrang Institute and how come I haven't heard of it?"

Action: Interacting with Nikolai, Viva and Rowan

sta: 6 | eva: 6 | str: 1 | wis: 8 | arc: 9 | acc: 5
Abilities: Calming Presence

Mentions: Reducio Open for interactions!! Action:arrived at entrance and looking through bushes

Outfit: Reducio Notes: Thoughts: italics. Speaking:#0000ff

----"Throw me to the wolves, and I'll return leading the pack,"-----

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The Ravenclaw Common Room wasn't as noisy and crowded as if usually is. The brunette haired girl sitting at a table in the room wondered why, her hand was cradled by her chin, staring in space as she tried to think why.

'Ah, I'm stupid, i-its the ball tonight... Should I go?' Brookline Quinn thought. She wanted to but she wasn't going with anyone, nobody, zero, zip, nothin'. And she didn't really wanted to go alone. But she persuaded herself to go anyway. It's supposed to be fun. But would it? Was the big question anyways.

Brookline gathered all her quills, parchment, her one ink bottle, and her books, carried them to her dorm, and set them gently in her trunk.

Brookline grabbed her long flowy teal dress and studied it with a beautiful pair of questionable dark blue pools. Her dress was long and pretty, would it still fit her?

The dress had mostly been in use for her parents' small balls they had and for several years, her parents hadn't hosted a ball at all. Brookline could feel her lips becoming tighter as she remembered that night. That ball was bringing back dreadful memories. She hoped this ball would different.

As Brookkine slipped her teal dress on, she grabbed her golden heels and strapping them in, making sure they stay on her feet. She put her hair up in record time, but it was very good so she kept it and clasped on her necklace.

She put on very little makeup, smoothed her teal dress now. It fit, finely. She made sure she had everything before she shut the door behind her and walked out to the Quidditch Training Pitch where the ball was.

Brookline hoped she was not too late. Large groups of students littered the entrance of the Pitch. They seemed to be finding something in the bushes. As she heard the riddle, her eyes hardened and started looking in the bush next to her.

Her hands moved and swayed as she looked for the answer to the riddle. The bush felt scratchy to her hands, and she was pretty sure her mouth had gone dry. This felt weird. Then she heard a small ripping noise.

"Ah shit, why?" Brookline groaned as a sharp looking thorn ripped a small hole in her long dress.

Brookline's face look worried, this dress had been her father's sister. Her father didn't want to buy a new dress for Brookline when there was a perfectly good one righg here. And if her father found out that his dear sister's dress was ripped, Brookline would be in large trouble. Her father was gonna be even more angry as Brookline and her father left at really bad terms.

Brookline ignored the rip in her dress and started to sway and move as she started looking again.

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OOC notes: Reducio ~477 /200 words ~

Abilities: Reducio Lovely Creature

Stats: Reducio STA 8 •EVA 5• STR 6• WIS 8 •ARC 4• ACC 4

@Kaito Foxglove + perms to overhear @Costanza Jewelweed & @Jessamine Hemlock obtained + open

Outfit | Mask

Pyxis released an internal sigh of relief as Kaito moved straight past his admission of isolation during the Fall Ball last year. While he didn’t think the Gryffindor would laugh or ridicule him for it, the snake still felt extremely conscious of the fact that he hadn’t really made many lasting friendships since coming to magic school beyond the single one kept from childhood. Thankfully, Kaito either had tact or was more interested in the ball than Pyxis’ personal life, so he resolved to move forward too, hesitantly brushing around the white flowers in the bush.

“Yeah, I think if every ball was the same, people would be fed up by now. So, um, I’m not that excited to be digging around in the dirt, but this is definitely different and I appreciate that.” He stopped searching for a second, widening his eyes at Kaito’s promise of mischief until he recognized the tone of a joke. “Well, if you do get up to some less-than-savory activities, make sure to send me an invite. I already don’t have a date, and I’m not going to do arts and crafts at a party, so please, I need the fun.” There was a brief pause between them and Kaito spoke up in recognition of what Pyxis said about the last ball. The snake realized then that he hadn’t really dwelled on the fact that some of the students could have died last year. He had heard everyone was just fine, so he felt like it was safe enough to move on without thinking much of it. “If they weren’t okay, you would’ve heard. I don’t think that kind of gossip stays in the ball.”

Kaito joined him in looking through the white flower bushes after that, and Pyxis was impressed with his knowledge on flowers. How fitting for the boy named Foxglove. I could never. Unfortunately for the duo, another Howler yelled the fourth clue. Pyxis pushed himself off his knees and dusted any dirt off his beige pants even though the brown particles matched his ensemble. His brows scrunched at the final clue and he looked to Kaito with a puzzled expression. What the heck is a Fleur-de-lis?! And so, the snake let his eye wander again. The ball attendees had quickly moved on to bushes of a variety of colors, but they all seemed to be the same shape. Despite the flowers being common-place, Pyxis had no idea what they were called.

Then he overheard someone. It wasn’t hard to pick out the girl who said it. She was the only one in his sight who wasn’t dressed to the nines. But he knew her immediately - Cranky. Pyxis supposed that nickname from the train still held up seeing as she didn’t care for putting on a ballgown or making an effort at anything in magic school. But the point was - he heard her. She was close by, standing off the path near where he was hanging out before Kaito had unknowingly guilted him into looking for the clues. She had said something about red lilies. Good enough for me.

“Thanks, Cranky,” he said, passing by her and nudging the Hufflepuff’s arm with his elbow. He noted a masked, golden girl standing with her and recognized her as Jessamine, the devil on his shoulder. He gave her a wave too and descended on a red lily bush next to them, ignoring their conversation. He wasn’t so sure about the specificity of the color seeing as the others were hunting through the rainbow, but he would take Cranky’s word for it. “Let’s stick to red,” he informed Kaito in case he hadn’t heard what their compartment-mate had said.

Action: Searching a red lily bush.
STA: 8 | EVA: 5 | STR: 1 | WIS: 7 | ARC: 7 | ACC: 7
Prodigal DADA

Chronology
//1//2//3//

OUTFIT Reducio This cool mask is made by Alyssea Brown

INVENTORY Reducio Bottle of Water Chocolate Bar HVS Papers Omniculars Potions: Reducio Antidote to Common Poisons Bruise Removal Paste Burn Healing Paste Murtlap Essennce Tyty (typewriter) Wizards Camera

Zach wondered why Raizel stopped her words in the middle. Pray what, he thought. He looked at Raizel and tried to see what she was seeing. Awkward grin was imprinted on Zach's face when the older student approached them. The boy didn't know who she was until Raizel said her name. Miss Decipio. But the name still didn't click in his brain.

“Hey! I just tried to make this search process quicker!” Then his stomach grumbled. “So we can eat!” he added.

After that Raizel prepared to start casting the counter spell. Zach nodded. He didn't have any doubt at Raizel's spellcasting skill. He waited until the girl cast the spell, Reparifarge.

He could see the immediate effect. His feet came back. It wasn't rooted anymore. “You surely can cast it perfectly, Raizel. And wow! I'm not a plant anymore.” He kept looking at his feet. His trousers were coming back to normal and so his boots. Grin bloomed on his face.

Until the older girl gave him a warning that sounded more like a lecture for him. “I understand. But my target is the bushes, not-'' he immediately swallowed the next words. Arguing with older students was very unlikely for the boy. Not to mention that he was now a prefect. Well, he just remembered it. He should know better about the rules. “Thank you for the reminder,” he said. He clung his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I'll keep that in mind.” He was now standing awkwardly, with an awkward smile, and the awkward sound of his stomach.

The boy felt weird with no wand in his hand. He looked around, scanning the place to see if he saw the part of his life. Where would my wand fall if she cast from there? he wondered. His head was turning from side to side and his eyes moved slowly to scan everything around him.

Series of Unfortunate Shenanigans Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio, @Raizel Voltrouz Action: Looking for his wand Statistics: STA: 7 | EVA: 7 | STR: 3 | WIS: 9 | ARC: 7 | ACC: 10 Abilities: Prodigal Charms Learner | Blindvision

Speech: #DB7093

Speaking with @Matthew Campbell, @Nikolai Volkov, and @Rowan Bellegno. Open to any other interactions!

Viva smiled prettily as the strange blonde boy bowed deeply. Swirling her skirts elegantly, she smiled gracefully and nodded her head. Blushing at the compliment, she smiled. "Thank you, Nikolai. You look very handsome this evening. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting anyone from Durmstrang yet, so I must admit you intrigue me." Daintily lifting one high heeled foot away from a muddy spot on the ground, Viva blinked slowly. She was happy, joyful even, and felt like this night was so magical and wonderful already, and the ball hadn't even started yet.

She turned to look at Matthew, and was horrified and elated at the same time to see him blushing so fiercely. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She could only look into Matthew's hazel eyes. Finally, Viva spoke. "Th-thank you," she whispered. Blushing ever more, she looked down at the ground and pretended to adjust her feathery mask. "I did, indeed, come with someone," she said. "My best friend, Kiera. I don't really know where she went, though, I seem to have lost her." Laughing lightly, Viva managed to look up at Matthew again. Why had he wanted to know that? Why did she suddenly feel disappointed?

Before she could begin untangling these curious questions, a flustered red-haired girl seemed to appear out of nowhere. Viva immediately felt her stomach clench and her cheeks flame once again. Of course he would have a date. How could she have been so stupid as to have forgotten that? She had been caught up in the magic of the night, she supposed. Had all the little moments her and Matthew had shared together been nothing? Been as unimportant as that blade of grass over there? She had thought they had a connection. Apparantly he didn't feel the same way. As she stared helplessly at Rowan, looking quite lovely in a pink dress, Viva began to feel an emotion she wasn't entirely used to feeling. It was deep, and unpleasant. She all of a sudden had the urge to say something nasty to Rowan, and she hated that feeling. You see, Viva was indeed a very kind-hearted person by nature. She never wanted to wish ill will upon anyone if she could help it, but we all have our flaws and our imperfect moments. Viva had not really ever before felt this new feeling: jealousy. But as she stood looking between Matthew and Rowan, she felt it creep through her veins.

Shoulders starting to sag, Viva suddenly felt like crying. She weakly tried to paste on a smile, determined not to ruin Matthew's night. She didn't want to feel this way towards Rowan, who seemed a genuinely nice person, but it was almost like she couldn't help it. Her head jerked back towards Matthew as she heard his words. Stories about her? What in Merlin's name did that mean? Too confused and hurt to think more about it now, Viva decided it was probably best to remove herself from this situation. Of course, if she left, she wouldn't have anyone to talk to, because it seemed Kie had vanished completely. Turning her brunette head this way and that, Viva could not catch a sight of her friend anywhere.

Viva blinked at the small group she was standing with. She had forgotten about Nikolai, and she abruptly turned towards him. She couldn't bring herself to look at Matthew or Rowan right now. "I believe the last clue is a lily bush," she offered quietly. "A red lily bush to be exact. I'll... go look in one." Hurrying away, once more trying to hold back tears, Viva left the small group and stepped up to a red lily bush a little ways away. Carefully pulling apart leaves so she could see inside, Viva sniffed lightly, trying to keep her feelings deep inside.

Action: Talking with Rowan, Matthew, and Nikolai, then hurrying away to search a lily bush.

Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 4 | Wis 7 | Arc 7 | Acc 6 | Lovely Creature

Action: Searching the honking daffodils bush
Interactions open
Stats:Stamina 6 | Evasion 6 | Strength 4 | Wisdom 8 | Arcane Power 5 | Accuracy 6
Abilities:Calming Presence

Please note: This character is an event NPC

Mathias was a prefect boyfriend and he was in the perfect relationship as far as Winnie could remember.

In the quiet recesses of the mind of an arrogant teen, he alone possessed memories of a shared life. The burden of the truth of their tribulations, near losses, some victories and many debates. He was in a stable, long-term, mostly committed relationship with Winnie Harper. In truth, his superficially perfect relationship with Winnie was tumultuous, she was quick to anger over small things such as overlooking their anniversary, forgetting various muggle holidays, calling her ugly little friends mudbloods or failing to answer her summons for weeks at a time. Minor dalliances would at times enrage her needlessly. Yet he valued her, her shortcomings might have been numerous and he was most certainly lowering himself in numerous ways but he wanted just her.

Winnie was a rose in a garden of dandelions.

She was trusting and she smelled sweet. Her voice, even the shrill noise she made when she was angry was like bells to his ears. Her hands small, admittedly mighty. He liked a girl that could toss him around a little, well... a lot.

He could overlook her deficits in breeding and the fragility of her mind.

A benevolent creature.

His girlfriend, Winnie, was unaware of the truth. The honest circumstances of their romance was that she only recalled a quarter of multiyear relationship and she would arrive at the ball shortly. She spent the day prepping and preeing more than likely and her thoughts and mind undisturbed by the turmoil that consumed his thoughts.

Years ago, when he needed to procure himself a "muggle" girlfriend to demonstrate the open-minded nature of their politically aspirational family. His uncle, Thaddeus Athanatos had his eye on the seat of the Minister of Magic and the great podium upon which his family stood was alleged tolerance. There was a greater demographic afforded to the "progressive" notion of inclusion rather than exclusion when only a minority of wizarding society maintained a pure-blooded status. A pragmatic choice to display to the wizarding world a willingness and a tolerance.

It was not her fault, not really that she was overly sensitive and needy. Their briefly-blissful relationship would begin to crumble time and time again due to her insufficiencies. Mathias had long ago stumbled upon a solution that would save them: a potion that induced amnesia. Crude in ways, it was hardly selective but if he dosed it right a bad day could quickly become a good one. He had slipped the potion into the Ravenclaw's drink, erasing her memory of their conflict, his alleged transgression.

It was and still proved to be a miraculous solution. The petty quarrels and heated exchanges vanished from their lives, replaced by an artificial harmony. Mathias was a hero and he had spared Winnie unnecessary pain and that their love would flourish in the absence of strife. He did not feel guilt over this. He did not care that they had been living in a facade, a world where the truth was intentionally obscured. The secret truth should have been deafening, a constant reminder of the memories he had stolen.

He did not care. He should have cared but he did not because he got what he wanted and he had what he needed.

Dressed in white. Mathias' skin was so pale that it seemed to have drained of life itself. His face nearly devoid of color, his eyes a piercing shade of green that seemed to bore through the darkness. His lips were thin and colorless, giving him the appearance of a corpse that had been freshly exhumed. The suit, something that was conventionally a symbol of elegance became a pedestrian rite of passage, this need to 'belong' through retail establishment rather than blood. A delusion he was more than happy to allow his lessers to engage.

As he walked, his movements were slow and deliberate, like those of a sleepwalker. His footsteps were soundless, his gaze fixed on some unknown point in the distance. His cousin was supposed to be here and there was an underwhelming sense that something was terribly wrong.

"Winnie?" He saw a ginger woman, well the top of her head at least and a garden of pink. One of his qualms with these events is the fact that faces were obfuscated, everyone looked alike. He was not wearing a mask, he forgot that this was a masquerade. Before he could answer, he would lean in for a kiss.

Alas, she was not Winnie.

Permission for a female that is not winnie but has long red hair and is wearing a pink dress and a mask to claim to be this target. However this is assumed to be a faceless NPC.

Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 0 | Wisdom: 5 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 9

Abilities: Wandmaker: Phoenix Feather

Action: Digging in the dirt!

Reginald's heart raced as he darted across the grounds of Hogwarts, the feathery paper mask that he adorned with pearls using some library glue clutched in his hands. Quickly, he attempted to secure it across his eyes, thinking back to when he made it with Theo, the older student he met in the great hall, with fondness and a soft smile.

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. I'm late!" Reginald muttered, his urgency peaking as he raced towards the Quidditch Training Pitch. A surge of relief washed over him as he spotted figures still gathered, their presence showing that he hadn't missed the festivities entirely. With a fist pump of victory, Reginald allowed himself a moment to adjust his mask before looking down at his attire for the night.

His suit, created from a pristine white fabric, draped gently over his lithe frame, accentuating his admittedly youthful features with an air of surprising playfulness considering the professionalism of the outfit. Each stitch spoke of a perfected level of craftsmanship. The golden accents, a set of purposefully placed jewelry that he had selected to compensate for the mask he simply decided to make himself, added a touch of celestial splendor to his ensemble, catching the moonlight in a brilliant display of radiance.

Reginald's ensemble was a testament to what he thought of normal outfits, the mask showing a degree of rebelliousness to what normal people would recommend or buy, while the outfit screamed of his competence at standing out. As he stood amidst the gathering throng, he let out a breath to see that his outfit was still in proper shape, and then finally turned his attention up to the people around him.

"Oh...Wow." He said as he laid eyes on the people around him. Their masks were probably bought from the most illustrious of shops. As he walked deeper into the throng of human beings surrounding him, he let out a whistle as he saw a young boy's outfit, his mask and eyes tying into each other masterfully, both accentuated with an amber coloring that drew his attention quite easily. "Leave some attention for the rest of us, will ya?" He said to the boy as he passed him by, a smirk ever present as his eyes finally shifted to the type of stuff he was waiting for in this ball! Excitement! Activity!

He smiled wide, seeing some people dig around in the bushes, and though he didn't know exactly why they were doing so, he ran ahead "Oi! Wait for me! I wanna dig too!" He said loudly as he ran over to where a girl with long, flowing, brown hair was digging around in an uncomfortable-looking navy-blue dress and an impish grin returned to his face as he leaned over to the bush.

"Mind if I have a go? I don't know why you guys are digging around in here, but it seems like fun!" He said as he began to rip into the bushes and dirt in front of him without waiting for confirmation or approval from the girl, dirtying his hands, but enjoying himself in the process. A win, in his opinion.

Word count: 520
Notes: FINALLY HERE!

Interacting with: @Siobhan McCarty and @Uri Davies