The Enchanted Maze Spring Ball '23

Interacting with @Galahad Browne & @Orion Lécuyer

Everyone had baggage. The amount of baggage they want to share is up to the person to say and up to the receiver to listen. Maya noticed the Auror badge that he was happily pointing at. So that was what he did prior to Hogwarts. He enforced the law. It takes a lot of courage and on-the-spot decisions when working in that field.

"Every person has a story," she said, thinking about her red cloak as one of her cherishing stories. For the first time in a long time, it was not worn. It was in good condition, nothing was wrong with her cloak. She just had been wanting to start anew. But of course, still remember where she came from.

"I have to tell you ahead of time, Mr. Galahad, I hardly follow the rules," she slightly joked, seeing as he was probably a man of the law and now supervised her among other professors in the castle. As she was slowly entering the maze, she saw a familiar figure come up to them. It was none other than the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Orion Lécuyer. Maya did not know Orion well, but he was definitely the good looking gay bachelor of the staff. The way he was connecting with Galahad made Maya nod to herself and slightly laugh at herself. Of course, all the good ones are taken or uninterested.

"You are too kind, Lécuyer," she said, enjoying the flattery. "I was going to ask what brings you here, but I seemed to have figured it out," she said, looking at the two together. It was an interesting couple, if that was what they would end up being. It seemed that they hadn't seen each other a long while. What should she do? Leave them alone together or should she be that one person who third wheels? One thing Maya was good as was reading a room.

"I'll let you two be," she said, placing a hand on Galahad's upper arm before leaving the two alone. If it had been so long that they saw each other, Maya would love to hear their story one day.

Reducio

Well, maybe it was because Andy really had spoken too much to someone new, and what was worse, someone that came from a non-English speaking country. The little girl in front of the brown-haired Second Year Thunderbird broo racer, Roksana was also from Koldov in Russia, the same school with his friend Annika, which kind of made sense cos Adny knew Russian girls tend to be very pretty, and Roksana definitely could be considered as a incredibly beautiful girl, and even more stunning with the dress, the earlings, and the beautifully-done hair. However, what Roksana said next kind of surprised Andy. "That little Russian girl is asking me to go into the maze with her together? But I just asked Es to do the same thing with me! Gosh, I never realized I am so good with girls! pretty little girls just come to me, all at once, and I have to choose one as ball partner, which is the hardest things! Anyway, let me wait for Es to reply first." The brown-haired Thunderbird thought.

"Oh, sorry, Roksana! Nice to see you, and I really don`t mind you bumping into me!" Andy bented down his knees and replied to Roksana with a warm smile, "It`s OK, I understand English is probably not your first language. As for the ball partner thing, I just asked another girl named Es to go with the maze with me, let`s see how she responds! It`s a shame I am only choose one girl as a ball partner when they are so many options!"

As Andy bented down his knee, he suddenly noticed a picture lying on the floor nearby. The brown-haired Thunderbird picked the photo and took a look, and it really surprised the brown-haired broom racer, "Wait, it that a photo of myself that I sent to my cousin Daphne the other day? Does that mean Daphne is somewhere nearby? Should I stay here or go to find her?" Andy murmured to himself in complete shock. He than thought for a while about what he should do. "I suppose I should stay here before I get myself lost in that confusing maze! The main job here is finding a way out of this enchanted maze, not meeting up with your secret cousin, I believe I`ll see her later!"

Action: Talking to Roksana and picking up his photo
Open to Other Interactions

Tags: @Aurora Griffith as Roksana, @Ciel Saskia as Mathis, @Kayla Realma as Es, @Duvessa Ember as Angelique, @Alma Stoll as Annika, @Daphne Sapphirus, Rita Su
Stats: Sta 8 | Eva 8 | Str 7 | Wis 6 | Arc 6 | Acc 7
Abilites: Charmer | Paragon of Health (Allies Tagged)

After Rita found Roro Griffith and offered a hand to the young Hufflepuff wearing a pretty green dress with flowers on it as well as blue high-heels to help her younger housemate in high-heels to walk more easily in the confusing enchanted maze, she heard a little " Oh crap" produced by a familiar voice somewhere neaby. "Is someone is trouble nearby? Let me have a look round and see if I can possibly give a hand to them! I hate seeing people being in trouble on this day for the spring ball, which is supposed to be happy! I have to help them get out of this trouble!" Rita thought and quickly had a look around to see if anyone seemed to be in trouble.

Oh no, it seemed to be her friend Daphne whom was in a little trouble. The poor younger Hufflepuff girl, whom Rita always remembered as a huge animal lover influenced by her father who was a zoologist, and the muggle born black-haired Hufflepuff beater had gained quite a little knowledge about the magical creatures thanks to Daphne, was wearing a green dress filled the pink flowers, and unfortuately got tripped by the vines due to her fancy dress, and fell on the ground. The pretty little Hufflepuff with long curly pale hair, however, did not seemed to worried, and continued to search something by hand. "Hi, Daphne! You seemed to be in a little bit of trouble with those vines. What are you searching and do you need any help from me, if I may ask?" The black-haired Second Year Hufflepuff beater held out her spare hand and attempted to pull Daphne up and see if there was anything she could help her younger Hufflepuff house mate. Rita really hated seeing someone in trouble on such a delightful day of going through the enchanted maze and attending the main banquet of the ball, especially one of her important friends like her younger house Daphne, the huge animal lover who has taught several things about the magical creatures to the black-haired muggle born girl named Rita. After all, Daphne agreed to go to the Valentine ball with Rita earlier this year in Feburary, and the black-haired Second Year Hufflepuff first-string beater knew she had to return the favor by offering a hand to her friend who seemed to be in some trouble.
Interacting with: @Daphne Sapphirus @Aurora Griffith

Action: Attempting to help Daphne
Open to Other Interactions!

Interacting With: N/A-Open

IC date: April 21, 2023
Dialogue: X

Outfit Image:

Reducio

April 21st marks its start, the Spring Court has finally begun. It was one of the events that most people had been looking forward to. Who wouldn't want to attend such a ball, all dressed in fancy gowns or suits. Perhaps even as a fairy, a knight or even as a dragon. Students had been preparing for this, most of them took their time in picking the perfect garment for the event, may it be to impress their dates or to simply dress up for this once in a year event. Not only does it invite Hogwarts students but also those from different wizarding schools who have arrived for another event that will take place soon. The Spring Court will be such a merry occasion.

Despite the merriness in the air, a certain first year student can't seem to shake the unnerving feeling of joining a huge social gathering. She was fine before, even excited for it just as much as her friends but now that the day had come, she was frozen there before the maze that was set for them to traverse into to get to the main ball area. In the end, she still finds crowded places to be overwhelming for her and it was enough for her to grimace at the fact that it's gonna be loud.

Unlike some of her peers, she wasn't wearing a dress. Fancy girly clothing wasn't her thing, feeling very uncomfortable in them. So she picked a long red coat reaching down towards her thighs over a plain white buttoned shirt tucked into her knee length black pants that's being held by a black belt. Her outfit was completed with a red musketeer-like hat that has two yellow feathers on it and a pair of dark brown leather shoes. At first, she wasn't sure if this was okay for her to wear during the spring ball but she did ask specifically for this. Another option she had was a dragon costume in which she added in her request letter to her parents as a joke but it seems like her father took it seriously. She'll probably send that one back later on. Her gaze fell upon the entrance of the maze, taking a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself to venture through it. This is all part of the adventure, her school life experience and she does want to get better in socializing so attending the ball would certainly help with that. Not to mention, there is something in the Spring Court that has certainly caught her interest and she won't let that one pass.

"Let's get this over with." Raizel whispered as she fixed her hat in place, eyes on the path laid out before them between the evergreen hedges, filled with wondrous plants that one could've at least seen once or twice in their lifetime. She took the step forward to start her adventure through the verdant maze, wondering what it has in store for them all.

Action: Entering the Maze

Outfit

Reducio

Thoughts Speech

Xaivier had been excited to come to this ball since the first announcement; but he didn't come particularly prepared. Firstly, he didn't have any outfits that can be considered something from the middle ages. The best thing he had was the suit from his mom, which was way too colorful for his liking. But he didn't have the galleons to buy a new outfit, so he had to live with it. Another surprise was that there was a huge maze outside the ball, which appears to never end. Xai isn't good at mazes. Not even the simple ones paper. This is going to be hard.

He takes a step into the maze, placing his hand on the right wall, and begins running. Using the hand on wall trick takes longer, so he'll have to do it with haste. He twists and turns around the walls of the hedge maze, trying to reach the end. He sees other people in the maze walking slower.

"Idiots.." he mumbles. It's something he has never had the guts to say to someones face, but he sure as hell says it under his breath. He smirks as he passes by more people.

"Wait a sec.." He looks around. "Aren't those.. the same people!?

Action: Walks into maze, realizes he's walking in a loop

metamorphmagus

Date 04/21/23 | Location the maze | Actions Ava finds Duvessa

stamina • 5 | evasion • 5 | strength • 5 | wisdom • 5 | arcane-power • 5 | accuracy • 5

What would Ava do when Duvessa was gone?

Ava was with Duvessa, and an awkward silence had filled the space where a normal conversation between friends would be. Ava’s mind was somewhere else though. She was wondering what she was going to once a boy had swept her newfound friend onto his arm. Would she return to the common room? That was her first thought. It wasn’t like she was meeting up with someone at the ball. She could just hang out at the sidelines, but that seemed pointless.

Ava was jerked from her thoughts by a male voice. "Good evening, m'lady," Nico Cirillo. He was in their year, and even their house, but she hadn’t yet met him. Or maybe she had, but their meeting hadn’t been eventuos enough. "I see you've got company. Care to introduce your friend?" Ava flinched and turned her head away hastily while Duvessa nodded at her. "This is Aves. Ava Winchect." Since when had Duvessa given her a nickname? Ava would be grateful, though. With a shock, she realized Duvessa had used her full name. There was no way Nico could label it a coincidence or say that she was any other Ava. No point in hiding her face now. She turned to face Nico. She could play it up…no. That wasn’t who she was. She would present herself fully and hope it was enough for him. "So... You're the girl who tried to kill that kid in the dorm next to mine, right? Did all the staff really show up? or was it just Lear and Jensen?" Of course he would ask questions. She shuddered visibly, and tried to close off the coming memories and thoughts. "I don’t like talking about it." A quick topic change would do the trick. "I’m Ava," she held out her hand to shake, and whether he took it or not was his choice. After a pause she would continue. "I’m a first year in slytherin." As if that wasn’t obvious. She was surprised she hadn’t received a massive eye roll.

"So. Are we to go in, or am I third-wheeling on something?" Ava shrugged and stared at Duvessa. "Think I’m the third wheel here." She glanced at Nico quickly, then looked back at Duvessa. "You go have fun, I’ll see you at the ball."

Assuming that Duvessa and Nico left, Ava would turn to stare at the entrance of the maze. Would she enter?

Perfectionist

Date 04/21/23 | Location Grounds | Actions Talking with Nico, now that they are planning to go to the maze

Wis: 6 Acc: 7 Sta: 5 Eva: 7 Arc: 5 Str: 5
@Ava Winchect, @Nico Cirillo

WJust as Nico asked about...the night, Duvessa caught herself not trusting to look at he pair of them. Luckily Ava replied that she wouldn't like to talk about it, which calmed her down. She smiled at Ava, before the girl quickly introduced herself.

Nico asked if he was the third wheel here, and Ava replied that she probably was, she said a quick goodbye.
"See you in the ball!" Duvessa echoed, rather crestfallen to spend so little time with her new friend. Yet Ava wasn't expelled, so she could always catch up with all of her friends - especially after the ball. As the trumpets seemed to get louder and the smell of flowers never looked more inviting, the ebony haired Slytherin turned to her date.
"Escort me, if you please." She said haughtily, but almost immediately broke in a smile. She wasn't going to act like the queen or princess of this place; no, she was going to be just herself.

She waited for Nico's reaction before casting yet another excited look towards the maze. It seemed to be so tantelizingly close! She could almost taste the excitement in the air, as the couples or gangs of friends called out to each other, while others chatted quietly about entering.

⦾ 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 ⦾

Valentin Schnell, Ginyami Midorimori & Malia Aurora Laine
@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood, @Jack Burnett & @Beatrice Dupont

's Grace in Effect

Running as quickly as he could away from the Durmstrang cabins where he had delivered a Roman-style shield that he made for an errand in March to his brother by means of a note tacked onto the implement. Hopefully Piérre had caught his twin before he had come to this part of the celebration as well. From what the kid had seen from his place in Gryffindor tower, there had been lights from the Grounds just as much as there had been from the Great Lake. It was likely that the main celebration was there, but Piérre was finding this labyrinthine attraction far more interesting than anything else that could have possibly been conjured for the entertainment of the children involved. All all sides, those thorny hedges sprung and their roots twisted with wild glee; snarling and gripping into the fertile grounds where they had been planted for the purposes of this celebration. Already, Piérre was curious as to how this event would go wrong; all of them seemed to do so, after all.

Well, at least he wasn't in charge this time. Nothing that would happen tonight could be placed under his realm of responsibility.

With him, as he usually was, was the minstrel's familiar and constant friend-- the silver bengal cat Figaro. Crushing down the crimped fabric of the collar ruffles that edged the boy's colorful costume of choice, the cat didn't seem to mind much, his tail curling around Piérre's throat lightly and purring like a thunderstorm as he watched the ground for any tripping hazard that his boy's light-dependent eyes would likely have difficulty spotting as the sunlight began to peter away and the silvery moon started to edge itself lightly over the horizon. When it would finally become dark enough, the cat would be at home and his poor human would be floundering in the dark unless he utilized a wand-lighting charm. That time would come when that time would come, though; for now, Figaro wanted to rest a bit in preparation for the boundless energy that his master was sure to express as the night drug on.

Coattails fluttered behind the boy as he almost fluttered into the fray; tapered, opalescent tourmaline wings drifting behind him and following the movement of his arms as the fabric connected there by careful stitching of the gossamer fabric to the court tumbler's outfit. As his arms moved, those fabrics ruffled and reorganized themselves into silky, soft wings that almost made the boy appear that he had wings not terribly unlike a pixie. Hummingbird wings.

Green eyes, sparkling with fae mischief, darted about; a broad, closed-lipped smile drawn across his features. Chest puffed lightly, poise confidant, the hummingbird buzzed lightly into the maze, a flicker of color lost immediately into the dark; a sparkle here and a sparkle there would catch eyes only for half-seconds at time. At his right hip in another holster (like the yew and snallygaster wand over his heart), there was a gorgeous Damascus steel seagreen knife, slightly sharpened, but ultimately at its worst no harmful than a butter knife as it was intended to 'pick nonmagical locks'. Over this all, the entire colorful and 'loud' ensemble of the boy, there was a light sound of shuffling cards; a playing deck that the boy had brought with him and had procured from a leather pouch at his hip, a pouch that also contained a fire red phial that was his failsafe if anything went wrong in this maze. It was not a desirable failsafe, but it was a failsafe regardless.

If he had to, he could burn the entire maze down with a Firebreathing Potion.

Turning the cards in his hand as his nimble fingers began to unconsciously attempt small close-up magic tricks, the boy shrugged the strap of his Czech mandolin, shifting the instrument slightly so that pressure would be taken off his clavicle slightly. He had been trying to learn the mandolin over the course of the year, and while he was by no means a master of the string he was certainly able to play a few folk songs without hesitating and he was able to sing a few native Italian songs at a slow tempo while trying to work his fingers into the correct frets at the same time. Maybe he could hold a small nocturne when the time was right or if people were interested to try and find him.

Ah yes, he had a few plans for tonight; and most of them involved his being what could commonly be perceived as a 'holy terror' to those who were just too self-absorbed for Piérre's taste. If there was mischief, he would naturally find it. It was like the law of magnets; opposites attracted-- Piérre was attracted to those who needed to be knocked down a peg, or maybe it was those kinds of people that were attracted to him. Whatever way you sliced it, the Jester was always there; always ready to make good on his position in life.

But ah for now, what was this he spotted; an individual flying down from the highest tower in Hogwarts? Two people upon one broom? Was that a pale face that appeared more like a comet than a human? Would that one person happened to be one Valentin Schnell?

Oh how interesting, just who Piérre had been looking for. As for the person that he had arrived with, though, Piérre could not say that he could tell who it was yet; it looked to be younger girl who had dark hair. Oh, oh! But he did recognize the other boy that showed up in a Japanese robe! That one was the kid that he had seen at the Sato Yule Ball when he had been stalking Romeo, that kid, and Valentin from the sidelines! That was the kid that Romeo seemed very very angry at; the kind of angry that even Piérre sometimes struggled to achieve the level of despite all his nonsensical nonsense that he pulled over on his twin on a daily basis. Hm, yeah... If Romeo didn't like someone, that was usually a good indication that Piérre shouldn't like that person either.

Hey hey! But what if he kept an eye on all three of these guys! Just long enough for Romeo to show up and make sure that nobody did anything shady? Or, you know, maybe Piérre would stick around even after his twin showed up just so that he could have his fair share of entertainment from the fireworks that could maybe go off if his brother got amped up enough.

Ah, people-watching and waiting... one of his new favorite pasttimes in the recent years. It was so interesting to watch people working together or bickering among themselves. Stroking his cat once before refocusing on shuffling the Italian-made Da Vinci brand Persiano cards, if Piérre's eyes could glow in the dark, they would have with the intensity with which he looked upon those unsuspecting souls.

The night of revelry had just begun, and the Jester was on the prowl.

Action: Enter the Maze with Active Stealth
Observing Valentin and his Female Guest
Beast Master: Figaro Enters with Active Stealth

Reducio

Statistics:

Stamina 7 | Strength 5 | Evasion 15
Wisdom 10 | Accuracy 14 | ArcPower 5

Abilities:

Keen Eye | Calming Presence | Beast Master (Cat) | 's Grace

Inventory:

Holstered Yew and Snallygaster Wand | Deck of Playing Cards | Figaro | Mandolin
Locksmith's Knife | Gentleman's Slapping Gloves | 1 Firebreathing Potion

────────────────────▱──────────────────── QROW BEITHIR • HOGWARTS Interactions ----------------- Mentioning│ Reducio @Rhys Read And @Azrael Faire ───────── ──────────────────── ───────── Reducio Alrighty Aphrodite - Peach Pit Song Dedication

.

──────────▱───────── ──────────▱─────────

Growing up wealthy, Qrow Beithir indulged in their fair share of lavish formal events; finding any excuse to dress up was enjoyable, and of course, dancing was always rather fun too.

The young Slytherin had been rather excited upon the announcement of the spring court, and though they weren't attending with anybody of romantic interest, many acquaintances, as well as the few friends the child had made, would be there, and the prospect of a formal party was enough to have the redhead send an owl home, requesting for formal robes to be sent almost immediately.

Of course, they hadn’t told anyone but their own parents that they would be attending; however, considering they had spent a good portion of the day getting ready in their dorm, it wouldn’t necessarily surprise them if their roommates had already started gossiping about how the quiet redhead would be attending, and with how fast word often spreads around Hogwarts, it also wouldn’t be surprising if Qrow's friends already knew.

Having spent so long getting ready, it was fairly easy to tell that the child had spared no expense. Qrow was sporting a more masculine appearance tonight, with their facial features a little sharper than usual. Their hair had been grown out for the occasion and tied in a viking-style updo of extravagant braids and long Celtic red curls. Not usually one for makeup, it was a surprise to see the Slytherins acidic green eyes set with smokey black eyeliner as well as a dab of glitter on the inner corners.
However, it was their suit that was the most eye-catching. They wore a Victorian-Aristocratic style ensemble: a white ruffled button down with a collar; a forest green v-neck waistcoat that was decorated with golden embroidery; smart dress pants in an inky shade of black; and a pair of slightly platformed loafers. In place of a tie, the Slytherin wore a large cross pendant, and they adorned a multitude of gold serpent-themed accessories: a pocket watch that hung out of their waistcoat, a ring, and a single emerald drop earring.

Qrow had watched as a plethora of students gathered outside the maze (including their Gryffindor friend Rhys and their, rather unfortunate in their opinion, date, Azrael), looking on in amusement at the awed and excited faces of all their peers.

The buzz of their fellow students was beginning to make their own excitement grow. They were looking forward to this.

ACTION:

Entering the Maze behind @Rhys Read And @Azrael Faire

Reducio

Ency: Accio!
Stats: STA 05 | EVA 05 | STR 05 | WIS 05 | ARC 05 | ACC 05
Abilities: Metamorphmagus