Event Midspring Celebration

Interacting | @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood
Mentions | @Victor Moore | @Percival Rainwood

The chiffon of her dark blue ball gown delicately grazed her legs as the young Syltherin entered the Great Hall. Her appearance did not match the elegant and inconspicuous outfit she had chosen. Her step was jagged and firm, almost military. But she was not as determined and confident as she appeared. Yes, she had a mission. No, she didn't know if she wanted to do it at all. Tonight was the night she would stop running and bury what she hoped had simply never happened. Today was her first official date with a boy in her class. Percival Rainwood. And never in her life had she been so torn.
She took one deep breath and closed her eyes to calm herself, hands clenched into fists at her side. She felt the wood of her wand in her sleeve and that gave her a little more strength.

Just beyond the doorway, she paused and took in the spectacle. Her heart beat painfully against her ribs and nervousness drove the blush into her cheeks. Her date, Percival Rainwood, was still nowhere to be seen, but maybe he was already there?
Ileen stood on her tiptoes to get a better view of the crowd. Goosebumps chased up her arms, and with a soft gasp, she bobbed from the ball of her foot back onto her whole sole. It was as if someone had put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back to the ground. And that was good, then the young Slytherin was in danger of losing her balance. Quickly she reached out and caught herself on the front door. Images flooded through her mind, covering for a moment what she was really seeing. The hand on her shoulder squeezed tighter and bright blue eyes stared at her from the darkness.
Although Ileen's date wasn't here yet, she obviously hadn't appeared alone. It was time she dealt with it. It was time to answer him. How had she been able to run away all this time?
She shook her head slightly, trying to organize her thoughts. All year it had felt like everything she touched was breaking. She had tried to save her classmates and only made it worse. She had tried to protect Victor and only made it worse, too. But not today. Not tonight.
Her hand groped for her shoulder, squeezing the spot where moments before she had felt the strange yet familiar hand.
The feelings swirled around her like in a washing machine. Emotional stability was not something one would attribute to Ileen Knight today. She spun around, looking for an anchor. Hopefully, asking Percival to go to the ball with her hadn't been a mistake. Maybe she should have just stayed in the dormitory.

With a scowl, she took a step into the crowd and then her eyes found a familiar pale figure in a silver dress with an owl on their shoulder.
A smile flitted across Ileen's face and relief spread through her. She tore herself away from the maelstrom of despair that threatened to suck her in and stepped up next to her friend. "Hey, very nice dress. Almost like a knight's armor." She smiled at the owl and gave her a friendly nodd.
Ileen smiled faintly, then looked around again. "Are you here with a date? And have you seen Percival, by any chance?" Under no circumstances would she venture into the crowd alone. Not today. Not again. She stood close to Aida, almost as if they were sharing an umbrella. It was strange that Ileen was acting this way. Normally she was rational and down to earth. But not today.

Action: Entering the ball
Ability: Sixth Sense, Prodigal Charms Learner, Healing Sage
Stats: Sta:9 | Ev:9 | Str:3 | Wis:11 | Arc:6 | Acc:11

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Judith was still dancing as a mad head, and she knew she was. But for some reason, she just couldn't stop. As she was dancing with Hunter, it felt, comfortable, it felt safe for her to dance as a mad- head, and so she would. As Hunter made the compliment, Judith laughed out loud. She had always found Hunter quite funny, and she was happy she was able to spend the evening with him. She wasn't sure what about Hunter made her feel so comfortable being with him. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed just like her to be a bit nervous, or the fact that he was rather funny and handsome, or maybe just Hunter being Hunter.

As Hunter asked if she wanted to go to the festival or dance she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She was for sure embarrassing herself on the dancefloor but was still enjoying herself. " Oh, it seems fun! yes, we should definitely do that! What would they be up to there? Crafting? It sounds like fun to me tho! If you want of course, if you prefer to dance I'm good with that too, but i am quite embarrassing myself here." She said laughing. "Wanna go to the Courtyard?" she said while reaching out her hand toward Hunter's, not sure if he would take it, so they could walk off to the courtyard.

Word count: 228
Godmodding approved by Hunter Argentum

@Wyatt Starkey @Hanako Tone @Alec Mason

Many people liked compliments, particularly young girls of her age and Opeila, although unlike others in many ways, was nowhere different in that way. With a happy smile she looked down herself and up again, when Wyatt called her beautiful. "Thank you!" It was always nice to hear that an effort was paying off. No, she did not notice his tone, for now Wyatt was free to overthink it all on his own.

Reaching the hall, she wouldn't even look to the same corner as Wyatt not that she knew the people there well anyway, but instead eyed the other students around her, waved to the occasional familiar face.
Her move to confuse Tone was a brave one, even for her and it made her heart beat faster. Yes, Opeila was truly basically asking to be pushed away, but none of that happened, instead Wyatt actually played along. So her instincts had been right and the broom racer was not a fan of the little bully either.

Except... Frankly, Opeila wasn't sure what she had expected when she asked Wyatt to play along. Perhaps that he would smile- which he did and... oh, no, she really didn't know what she had expected. But what she hadn't expected, was this. Wyatt rested his head against hers and it was only now that Opeila noticed how close they actually were. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and then continue twice as fast. She felt her cheeks flush. Oh no... Well, wasn't that embarrassing.

When he backed away, for a second, Opeila could just stare at him, before the smile, that had been soft before, turned mischievous. Right. Right! Tone! Quickly she looked back to the Slytherin boy and registered the shock and- was it irritation?- on his face with a smile. A bit of a nervous smile, damn, what was going on? "Hm, that worked!", she told her housemate enthusiastically- and also sounding a little out of breath. This had been her own idea, for Merlin's sake!

Occupied with her own thoughts, Opeila of course didn't notice the unhappy look of a Gryffindor boy with purple nails... well, if she had, she would have failed to interpret it anyway.
Wyatt's question if she wanted to eat or drink something was a real life saver. "I'd love to check out the French table, if you don't mind! It's been a while since I visited France and the food there was always amazing." Slowly Opeila felt her cheeks cool down a bit again and her heartbeat slowed down too.

Hell, yeah! What was better than crossing the ocean on a giant ship? Right, traveling to a different continent. And what was even better than that? Yes, visiting Hogwarts again. And even better? Yes, that was right, there was a ball! Of course Theo had heard of the tendency of Hogwarts balls to go wrong, but that was just a little spice on top to the young Thunderbird. He had always been able to appreciate a bit of a risk, that was why he enjoyed wild trips on great ships and was crushing on a girl whose family- no, let's not go there.

Anyway, Theo wasn't going to miss the opportunity of dressing up in his cheap but just fine festive clothes and show up in the Great Hall- a bit late but what did it matter? He didn't have a date with him this time, he had decided to show up all on his own.
What, last summer camp he had been crowned best looking of the group by a girl in a game of spin the bottle, that had to be worth something, right? Surely he wouldn't be standing alone all evening.

If his sister could hear his thoughts, she would have probably hit him with something by now, he thought, chuckling. Well, she wasn't here, sadly.
Slowly the boy made his way through the Great Hall, playfully winking at any girl who sent a look his way, to stop at one of the tables that looked like it might be the Durmstrang one.

Seren jerked, startled, towards the voice, her blue eyes unexpectedly going a grey-white in her shock (She had hair control down, fully, finally, but it seemed her emotions had moved to her eyes, a thing she had not yet discovered) at being approached by an unknown young man. An older one, too, and one who was... Asking to be her date, out of nowhere. And he had not even asked her name, nor given her his, which confused her. Her cheeks went a deep red, as her eyes went back to their normal blue, and her hand came up, as if to hold something that would normally be at her shoulder... A braid, perhaps, or the collar of her robes, either would be logical given where her hand had landed for a moment.

She had no idea how to react to this situation. She had been wishing for a friend, because she would never have begun to think she was someone anybody would think attractive, let alone want to go to a dance with. Also, because she had no idea of the social rules surrounding such a situation. She was still so uncertain about the social rules of life, honestly, that she tended to fall back into a slightly nervous formal manner when she did not know how to respond.

His last question, at least, she felt she could answer without any fear. "Tteokbokki. It is a dish from South Korea. It is very spicy, yes. My grandparents sent it to me, so that I might share it with everyone. Even if it is spicy, it is very good, and something I always look forwards to when they visit."

She hoped that would encourage him to try it, though she had no idea if he was the sort of person who liked spicy food. She was able to identify his accent as American, though she could not tell much more than that, and she had heard that some Americans had trouble with spicy food. Also, she hoped her stalling was not too obvious, and did not offend her unexpected companion.

There was a moment of silent considering, then the (almost too) slender young lady held out her hand, and said, tone nervous and filled with a quiet shyness, possibly even a hint of something that could be fear (though of what it would be hard to say), "I am Seren Yong. I was not expecting to be asked such a thing, but... Yes, alright."

In her head, she was panicking as soon as the words were out. What if he thought she was ungracious, or rude? Or maybe he would think she was stiff necked and boring. Or... A thousand worries flashed through her mind, and though her face stayed calm, with a politely friendly expression on, like a mask worn for safety, her eyes showed fear that matched the hint in her words.

@Bloom Silverton | @Serena Towers | @Galton Lansdale | @Santario Martin | @Percival Gray | @Marina Oriel

As Howard nudged Serena toward Galton he would look over his shoulder just in time to see Bloom flash him one more smile. She wouldn't wait for him though as she turned and walked off to talk to another student. It would seem that the chase was on. A bit of cat and mouse to further instigate the slight craze that came with teenaged hormones. Fortunately for him he had been gifted with a rather sensitive nose. You can run Bloom, but you cannot hide.

The slightly stupid grin that crossed Howard's lips would quickly fade as he turned back to Serena. Her expression was one that caught him completely off guard. There was this hurt in her watery eyes that confused him so. Had he said something stupid? Done something to offend? The snap to her tone made him visibly flinch as she claimed to be no one's. "I...I..." Howard began to speak. Was he to defend himself? Try and explain that he meant no harm? For the briefest of moments he felt completely helpless. Why was it always so hard between the two of them? Howard had grown so fond of Serena over the years. At one point he had even crushed on her and now she had become such a close friend and role model to him. She was something special to him. It was almost impossible to define how he felt for her. There was love there for sure, but whether it was romantic or familial had always confused him. Yet no matter what situation they were in there was always this damned awkwardness between the two that they never seemed to overcome. Why was it the way?! What was it that drove this wedge?!

A quick change of heart would have Serena agreeing to accompany Galton and before Howard knew it the other boy had him by the wrist and was quickly dragging him along too. The confusion from Serena mixed with Galton's abrupt actions left Howard in a rare state of speechlessness as he tried to process what was happening. As they were pulled along she would offer him an out from the situation. First by claiming he wanted to go find his own date and then by explaining that it wasn't her idea to approach him in the first place. "Oh...ok." He felt almost rejected by her words. Howard had been joking around when he nudged her towards Galton, but she seemed almost eager for him to run off to either Erin or Bloom. It was almost tragic how badly they were misunderstanding each other. One open and honest conversation may not eliminate the awkwardness between the, but it would at least be a step towards understanding each other.

However, before he could speak any further Galton would shove them both towards Santario and Percival. Neither of which Howard knew well, but there was an undeniable bond formed between them after what they had all been through together. It did warm his heart a bit to see that she was doing much better and he even offered a quick fist bump to Percival. "Hey, hey! You two havin' a good night?" Howard said in greeting, but it would seem that destiny had determined this gathering doomed to unpleasantry as Galton's words were met with immediate offense. Not that Howard blamed Percival, but still, he had had enough of all this. His red eyes would return to Serena, but there wasn't anything else he had to say as his own irritation rose. "Nice to see you all, but I gotta...go." He offered the small group before turning away.

With a quick sniff he would find the direction he was looking for and he let his long legs cary him towards her. There was nothing awkward about whatever was happening between Bloom and himself. With her everything was just so easy. No! Not that kind of easy, people! But the kind when two people enjoyed each other completely and if their parting gaze to each other spoke of anything, there was no telling where the night could take them. Something had been growing between them. Something Howard was hesitant to explore at first but something he could also resist no longer. Soon enough he would be approaching her as she spoke to a younger student. "Hey!" Howard interrupted whatever they were talking about by placing a hand on Bloom's back. "Wanna dance? Or get outta here? Or something?" He asked her with a big smile.

Interacting with Kamila Yavlinksky (@Marina Oriel) & @Howard White
Mentions @Serena Towers

It seemed to be that the young girl was just as kind as she had looked. Even more-so, she was very talkative, but that did not bother Bloom one bit. Perhaps it was who she was or because Bloom was an older year talking to a first year. She remembered the days when older students talked to her and how she felt. She remembered feeling special for being noticed.

Koldovstoretz. Bloom's mind can't stop thinking about the amount of deaths from last summer. They really lost so many students to the terrorist attack in Hogsmeade. Now, if Bloom were to go with school or with her family, it was like it never happened. But she saw the pictures in the Daily Prophet. It was a catastrophe.

She spoke of her reason of being here which was why the schools were all here. The HexiWizard Tournament. It was going to be the first ever to include as many schools as there are for this event. Bloom had a chance to participate in it by putting her name in, but she chickened out and did not put her name into the goblet. There was so much at stake and so much unknown that went with it.

"If you've heard of our balls, then you wouldn't be connecting them to the word 'fun'," she said, wondering if the girl had heard correctly about what their events were really like. The last one had killer slugs and death. The ones before that... Bloom did not want to rehash. Everything was always a nightmare. It was shocking to see that everything was going smoothly so far.

"I attend Hogwarts. Oh! Sorry, I'm Bloom Silverton, a fifth year here," she said, realizing that she forgot to introduce herself to the young girl. Bloom was about to share more words with the girl when she felt a hand touch the middle of her back. For a second, she went stiff, but then looked over and saw that it was Howard and her body relaxed; the heat of her body moving quickly towards her back.

"Hey," she said softly, smiling back at him. The last time she saw him, he was with Serena and others. She wondered what it meant for him to leave her side and go to her. It then worried Bloom about what Serena would think or do seeing Howard with Bloom. If they dance together in front of her, then she would know. If they leave together, then she would know. What is Bloom to do? She doesn't want to hurt her good friend, but she also can't resist Howard. Even more-so, should she tell Howard what is going on, or would that ruin things in general between Serena and Howard? Maybe he doesn't know that she likes him and could be breaking confidentiality.

To be... Or not to be... A bitch. That was the question.

Bloom looked at Howard, ignoring how red his eyes were. She could see him for who he was under the Damphir appearance. She could see him. I guess I'm a bitch, she thought to herself. She was seen and she felt grateful to be chosen out of the many women who would probably be at his side. Bloom walked forward, turned around and grabbed Howard hand gracefully. "Let's dance," she said, her smile and eyes looking happy and relieved.

If he would accept, she would wave to the girl that she had met and bring Howard to the dance floor where they would be dancing together. "Oh! I don't think I told you," she started, "I got in as a Broom Racer!" Bloom was unsure if she was excited or terrified by this news about herself. She was never the daredevil type, but they needed players on their team and she had some random spark of confidence to put her name in.

Interacting: @Ileen Knight
Open to interactions with anyone.
Action: Looking for beings that appear to not be student or staff from the expected schools (Sixth Sense ability). Scheherazade is also looking (Beast Master ability).

Post Tracker: [1] [2]
N.b. Hug permission was granted.
Stats: Stamina 10, Evasion 6, Strength 1, Wisdom 10, Arcane Power, 10
Accuracy 11
Abilities: Blindvision, Sixth Sense, Beast Master

banner made by the lovely @Pea Elena Fowl And yes the quote is 100% Hana's thoughts

“Ah- you are right of course, I don’t need you to tell me I look wonderful. But your gaze certainly does the job.” She sweeps her braided hair back with a smirk that Hanako wanted to swipe away if he could. To be fair, she wasn’t wrong. He was just mad there wasn’t anything else to blame apart from him being a sucker for attractive folks. He merely responded with a sheepish smile while hiding his urge to snip that long braid of hers. There was no need to even question why they were here agreeing on how amazing she looked without a word about Hana’s attire. Like Pea, he didn’t need anyone to tell him he looked good or not. But they were dates. Isn’t it like- a rule to complement each other?

A: Aww you look so pretty
B: Ooohh thanks you too

But that’s not happening right now. What’s going on was:

A: Aww you look so pretty
B: *flips hair* ya ik

He was baffled he even expected anything more from her, considering she yapped so much about what he should and should not wear. But this shouldn't be a concern for a lovesick puppy such as he, so he’ll keep his mouth shut about it.

As much as an unrivaled actor he is, his surprise was evident when it was revealed her accessory was actually a living accessory. Hanako took a slight step back as she extended the lizard who was now on her palm. “Oh apparently, my lizard likes you.” What the hell?? It moved!

“ Oh, does he~? How nice of him” his smile was a bit too tight to be considered genuine by anyone. After composing himself, he stopped leaning away from the creature and tried to make eye contact with it- as uncomfortable as it was. “ Pleasure to meet you, Birkin”. Third Wheel. What was he doing butting on their date? He couldn’t really ask because being a Parselmouth only allowed him to understand a certain sort of reptile. The far superior sort. It’s not that he was terrified of Birkin, he was much more harmless than cats. Hana just preferred snakes. But if tolerating the tiny dragon was going to win him points for Pea’s affection, then tolerate he will.

Why was his name even Birkin? The irony. He did want to know how she knew of such a luxurious muggle bag brand. It came to him that apart from being head over heels in love with herself, he didn’t know much about her. Did she have a muggle upbringing or a wizard one? She didn’t seem to be so out of touch with the magical world to be a muggle-born. Alas, he kept this curiosity to himself. She was going to deplore him by the end of the night anyway.

He had to hold back a sense of relief when Pea accepted the corsage without causing a fuss. He had half expected her to fling it back to his face and complain about it. He almost forgot about her near-silent gratitude. While he helped her put the corsage on, she could notice the brief smile he gave her. Different from the ones he had so far that were sweet and gentle. This one was probably the most genuine smile he would ever show her for the night.

It was a clue to him why her 'thank you' was much appreciated. Perhaps there was a heart under all that blabbering about how pretty she is. Heaven knows Hana -as unfortunate as it was- had a heart as well. Deep deep deeeeepppp inside. This sort of familiarity amused him. Not enough to call it quits and not ruin her night. But still.

And good god was he right because not a moment after expressing discomfort about going to the festival, Pea suggested they go to the festival. Just great. What was that thing he said about the comforting familiarity between them? He couldn’t remember, but if he ever said that, he must’ve been hallucinating because Pea Elena Fowl was an annoying brat. How dare she pretend not to notice his obvious discomfort.

He sheepishly grinned and was about to sputter out anything that could perhaps change her mind, until he saw a few other familiar faces near the entrance of the ball. Sir Knight and Adlai Rod. He hadn’t seen Rod in a while, as himself as his paper bag-wearing persona, Mac. Knight was just near her, handing her what Hana assumed to be a gift of some sort. The happy look she sent him had Hana’s stomach churned. What the hell was up with the ball today? Matchmaking every unlikely couple Hana would never even think would ever happen. What’s next? Pea and Enzo? Ridiculous. @Adlai Rod@Henry Knight@Akari Kato

With a newfound urge to gtfo, he looked back to Pea with a determined look. “ As you wish~. Shall we go now?”

It wasn't so bad to leave right now. He could get away from these insufferable couples that were testing his patience. It took constant reminders of the role he had to play to not cause a ruckus about them. He wasn't going to wait around for Percival to make his appearance. Which would only unbox a lot of other unnecessary emotions at the moment. Plus, he'd get away from Alec. Granted he wouldn't be that interested in wringing Hanako's neck once they leave. Two birds with one stone! @Alec Mason@Percival Rainwood

Besides, the festival was memorable for him. It would certainly do the same for Pea.

Action: Leaving to the Festival from these anger-inducing couples to protect Hana's sanity byee

Swear word warning

It’s not a date, the simple rebuttal to Aurora’s attempt to abandon him to Erin’s devices died before Nicholas could even speak it aloud. He didn’t want her to leave, not truly, even as mentally turned around as he was he knew that much. Not just because it would leave him to face the terrifying blonde by himself, but also because even his own delusions weren’t enough to fully blind him to the feelings that he still felt for the girl. Nicholas wanted to reach out, to grab her, to stop her from leaving, to do what he should have done weeks prior. Perhaps he should apologise, try to explain that he was foolish, dumb, and everything inbetween.

Instead, Erin began to shriek. For once the words were only secondary in their level of offence and danger, the shrill tones that tore his ears seemed inhuman in their brutality. Instinctively he took a step back, as if trying to shield himself not only from the painful sound of her screaming but the scene she was creating. It was only after he allowed himself a moment to react to the horrendous sound, including an instinctive check to ensure that his ears were not bleeding as a result of the near-avian shriek, that he understood what she’d said.

Immediately, his face went beet red and he erupted in protest, “What!? No! That’s bullshit.” It was far too lewd to even speak aloud, to even think of for more than a moment.

It didn’t matter though, because the storm was set upon Aurora, accusations that she’d stolen Nicholas levied at the girl who already seemed about two moments away from breaking into tears. The boy’s fist clenched, only the blonde’s gender halting him from once more stepping in with his fists to defend Aurora’s honour at a school ball. An archaic point of view, especially considering the discrepancy in physical strength between he and Erin, but one that maintained a grip over him. Yet, as his subconscious debated the morality of hitting a girl, the demon in white cast free from her mooring.

One moment, she’d been shrieking, and the next she was gone, her instincts sending her in search of other prey.

Just like that, Nicholas and Aurora were alone, bereft of the monster that had seen fit to toy with them. It was only then, in those shell-shocked moments after Erin had come and gone, that Nicholas finally reached out to try to prevent Aurora from leaving.

“None of that’s true,” He blurted out, and then, as if trying to hastily explain every last facet of what he’d thought and considered, he spoke, the diatribe unending “She’s been messing with me for weeks, I don’t know why, I think she just likes fucking with me. Look, shit, I’m sorry. I haven’t done that and not with her. I just- I don’t- I don’t know how to- how to speak or act- or-”

He closed his eyes, hard, the feeling of pressure and slight pain against the organs the sole emotion upon which he could focus, “I like you, Ro. And- and- that’s why I was so- I don’t know, I thought you dosed me with love potion, and I was hurt and I- I don’t know.”

Nicholas was many things, and a poet most certainly wasn’t one of them. The subtle art of wordcraft came about as naturally to him as arithmetic did to a monkey.

“I-” He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know at all where his ramblings were leading. That was, except for a single word.

“Sorry.”

He dropped his hands to his sides, all but limp. She could leave, his loud confession and hasty apology were all that he had left to say. No doubt he’d spoken loud enough that Erin would have heard what he’d said. Screw her, she’d not be able to toy with his emotions quite so clearly now he’d confessed them. And if any of the other ball-goers dared to question it, they could get screwed too. The only opinion Nicholas cared about was that of the girl before him.

Outfit: Black slacks, white button-down shirt (sleeves rolled up, loosely buttoned)
Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 9 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Tags: @Erin Ryan & @Aurora Ranvier
Action: N/A (Confession uwu)