Closed Hippogriff The Horse Bird/Bird Horse Club

Dialogue: English | Mandarin Thoughts: X

Finally the day came, the day when she finally managed to pack her things in the trunk and drag it on its bearings down the stairs of Gryffindor Tower. Actually...that wasn't the easiest of tasks! Why did she had to pack so much things during all years? Ying tried to hold it, but it was too much for the young girl and she almost fell from the stairs trying. Okay then... "Wingardium Leviosa" She said picking her wand from her pocket and switch and flip. Her trunk rose a little off the ground and hovered at her command. "I love magic!" She stated enthusiastically while now, much lightly, went down the stairs to the corridor, where she placed her trunk down and dragged it out of the castle to the campgrounds, walking aside many other students heading to the same destiny as her.

The campgrounds were filled with students coming from every places inside and outside Hogwarts. It was exhilarating to have the possibility to connect with people coming from every corner of the world. She wondered how would be like to have the possibility to meet every single magical place in the world.

Once she received the information about which cabin had been assigned to her, Ying half walking, half hopping went towards the Hippogriff hut. While at the door, she decided to politely knock first, she didn't knew if she was the first person to arrive or not, and having manners had been always part of her education and she wanted to let others know about her presence before enter the room.

The cabin was beautiful and cozy, the carmine, seemed to haunt her through Hogwarts, was like she had exited her dorm to just find it again, bur in a different location. Her guess seemed to be right tho, as if others had been faster to arrive then her. Two older boys where already there, she didn't recalled to have seen them before. "Oh! Hello!" She said with a courteous smile, "I'm Ying!" she introduced herself with a small and polite nod of her head. "You mind if I take this one?" She asked pointing at one of the several bunks in there. After they answer her, or ignore her, she carried her trunk towards it and put it on top of the other trunk that was already there...If she knew it, she probably wouldn't have carried her own all down those stair, risking end up at the hospital wing instead at the campgrounds. In a relaxed manner, Ying plopped down onto her bed, swinging her feet and looking around at all the decor and furniture. It was really a nice and fancy place to camp!

Open to Interactions

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Writing as approved Durmstrang iNPC Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Preobrazhensky

This was the second summer camp hosted by Hogwarts that Slava would be attending, although the last one had been at the London Quidditch Stadium in 2020. He had had a lot of fun there, and he was certain that he would this time, too. He arrived from Durmstrang with the other members of his school by portkey and after some brief “see you later”s to his friends, he was given his cabin assignment—Hippogriff—and guided to it. He was reminded of fond memories from the beginning of the 2020 summer camp, in which Margo had told him to call members of the Hogwarts Quidditch team “divine hippogriffs” as an insult. He smiled.

He soon arrived at the cabin, lugging his trunk along with him. “Wow.” The room looked incredibly cozy, the fire gently burning and adding a warm glow to the red and wood room. He put his trunk down next to one of the sleeping nooks, sitting down with an experimental bounce. Soft. He looked around the room, taking it all in, and before he explored the rest of it, he wanted to say hi to the three others who had arrived. “Hey!” He smiled brightly. He quickly recognized the girl, Ying, from some stair surfing using shields back in October. “Oh! I know you! Remember joining the crazy Durmstrang kids who were sliding down the stairs on shields?” He grinned. She was already cemented in his mind as fun—anyone willing to do something like that without a second thought had to be.

He turned to the boys. “What are your names? I’m Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich, but please call me Slava.” The Russian accent was clear in his voice—coupled with his name, it would have been obvious that he was either from Durmstrang or Koldovstoretz even if he hadn’t mentioned his school when speaking to Ying. He began studying one of the boys’ faces. When Slava had come in, one of them had been asking the other if he was “that famous American wizard”. What he meant by that soon clicked as Slava remembered the younger-looking boy from his time spectating the Hexwizard tournament. “Oh yeah! You’re the champion of that American school! Pleased to meet you, opponent, even if Durmstrang will always be better.” He said cheekily, winking at the boy that had been identified as “Miles”.

“I’m going to take a look around, see you in a moment~” He explored the rest of the cabin, finding a dining area and a very fancy-looking bathroom. “Have you guys seen this?!” he exclaimed upon returning. He paced the room as he spoke, his excited energy needing to be worked out. “Are all the cabins like this one? It is very fancy.” I almost feel like I shouldn’t be here. He flopped down on the nearby sofa, finger tapping against the arm of it, having to stay moving. “Soooo, are you all looking forward to summer camp? Is it normal to be in these campgrounds? I’ve only ever been to the London Quidditch Stadium.” His cabinmates would soon learn, if they hadn’t already, that he had way too much energy and didn’t shut up. If they weren’t careful, he would become their personal annoyance over their month-long stay here.

The Hippogriff cabin, as a name, was very cool in my opinion. When I had gotten assigned to it for the summer, I was super excited. However, when I stepped inside the cabin for the very first time, my face and my spirits fell. It was Gryffindor-themed. Ugh. To be honest, I had never cared much for the Gryffindor house itself(because the Gryffindors I had met were actually very nice), and I was disappointed that I never seemed to see enough Hufflepuff-themed anything on campus.

An eerie Gryffindor aesthetic was certainly not going to put me off, that was for certain. I admired the fact that there were curtains in the bunks that could use for privacy. And I loved the fact that this cabin had indoor plumbing, as well as a small kitchen, complete with a dining room. Now this was camping in style. I looked around the cabin again and noticed the people there. One of them I recognized, a Gryffindor girl who I think was named Ying, who had been the moderator of an unofficial broom race I had done in April.

Besides Ying, there were also 3 older students in the Hippogriff cabin with me, all boys. There were 2 who might have already been of age, and there was one who looked like a young teenager. I was carrying a heavy bag full of my stuff with me, and I wanted to get unpacked before anyone claimed the first bunk I saw. I struggled to lift the bag off the floor, but then I saw Ying use the Levitation Charm on her luggage.

Sometimes I forget that I'm a witch. I whipped out my wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" My bag levitated in the air, and I grinned. Sometimes, though very, very rarely, I actually felt kind of bad for muggles, because to be honest, magic made everything so much easier. Well, almost everything...I wanted to get to work unpacking, and I wanted to do it quickly.

I dug around in my bag for my favourite book, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", so I could reread it for the 85th time and let the sociable students come to me(this cabin didn't have that many kids, most were much older than me, and I didn't know where to start!). I pulled out the book, headed to the common area, and sat down, then started to read. I was so tired, and for once, I didn't feel like saying hi to anyone specifically, I just wanted to lie around all day.

But, if anyone did happen to come my way, then I'd be ready.

Plot Hook ─ Serena has been hiding her pointy ears for years hats, headbands and hair in an effort to keep her goblin heritage a secret. Her family is known to be a Pureblood family. From 1st July 2023, she openly wears copper earpieces (drawn by me) over her ears to draw attention to them. Her goblin-ness may be a surprise to some people.

Open to Interactions | Mentions: Pizza Rat, Slava (@Ruby Cazares)

Serena exhaled audibly. It was not a sigh, per se but rather her taking a deep breath to try and relax. There was a fear in her that she struggled to shake. The fear of being “caught” as a part-goblin, being called out for it and being targeted for it. She had been fighting these feelings for years, struggling with the guilt of being able to hide a lot easier than some of her friends could. Her closest friends were, after all, incredibly tall and noticeable from a mile away or very pale and had literal claws or cried blood. It was a lot harder for them to hide than for her to simply cover her ears with a large hat or her mass amount of hair, throw on some heels or hide behind taller people. Besides, most of the school seemed to be rather short - the average height could not be much taller than she was, surely!

Whilst a part of her was scared, most of her was just pure angry. She was furious at the world that made her feel inferior for something entirely out of her control. She was pissed off with her parents who actively encouraged her (or practically were forcing her) to hide who she was and had been for years. She was mad that, maybe, the bullies were right about her - though, @Hugh Lowe would whack her with a tree if she admitted that. It made her angry at herself, though. If they were right, she would be angrier at herself than them. Because she allowed them to be right. In her stubbornness, she really did not want them to be right and was determined to prove otherwise.

Her blood did not make her weak. Goblins were not inferior.

She would not be the one to prove the insults to be true. She couldn’t be. Staying quiet, hiding her identity, and allowing someone else to dictate whether or not she was proud of herself was what was weak. She could not allow it to continue. She could not be weak.

Goblins were known for their incredible ability to forge beautiful armour. People praised when something was ‘Goblinmade’ - because that was a compliment. She could forge her own armour from the age of fifteen. Hell, she could wandlessly cast spells long before any of her classmates could. They were probably also rich, given that they practically controlled the banks. She had managed to help prevent one of her classmates from turning into a hag. She was not weak. Having ‘goblin’ blood did not make her inferior at all.

There was a rage that had been building inside of her for years. The more she stayed silent, the more it started to boil over until she could no longer just be speechless. It was time to let the storm in and ride the waves that may come. Her anger did not negate the fear but it did help her to start designing a piece of jewellery that she was proud of. Inspired by @Howard White, she made herself a set of ear cuffs. Ones that highlighted her ears, rather than hiding them - just like he had asked of her when it came to his nails and showing them off.

Serena had mostly kept quiet as she quickly moved her belongings from the dorms down to the campgrounds, wearing a large summer straw hat over her head. She had kept to the back of the briefing, whilst she received the cabin allocation. However, now, she walked to the cabin and she could feel the nerves hitting her as she did. Her fingers shook slightly. "We got this..." She whispered softly. Mostly to herself but partially to the rather large brown rat that stirred a little in her pocket, even if he likely could not hear her.

Entering into the cabin, she dragged her belongings in. She scanned the room for a quick moment, taking in the decor for a brief moment before spotting the unassigned beds. With her head down again, she immediately went straight for one sort of in a corner that looked free. She had a lot of items and hurling it to the cabin was kind of difficult. The trunk would scrape the floor, likely drawing some more attention to her, and it did not help that she had multiple brooms - one of which was a literal tree - poking out from it. She liked brooms, okay?

There were a few students around already but she did not really recognise anyone as a 'friend'. Right. That was... Actually, that was good, right? If she did not recognise anyone, they probably did not recognise her. This meant, even if they judged her, they would not care about her or have any reason to, right?

Pizza Rat popped his head out of her coat pocket and she watched him scamper around. With a sigh, she took off her large straw hat and ran her fingers over her hair. They fell onto the copper ear cuffs that she had just finished making. Today was the first time they had fit around her ears and the first time she would showcase them. She felt her breath get caught for a second. Nope. It would be fine. No one would even notice. And even if they did, they probably would not care. Yes. That was it. It would be fine.

Serena looked up as someone mentioned something about the London Quidditch Stadium. She remembered playing a quidditch game there - it felt like a lifetime ago now that she was a broom racer. That was her last ever Quidditch game before she stepped down. Wait- The boy looked... a little familiar. Serena stared at him for perhaps too long, just wondering why he looked so familiar.

Ugh, she should probably go socialise with people and try this whole 'making friends' thing. But it was just so much easier to keep to herself, stay quiet and hide in a little corner.

Plot Hook ─ Serena has been hiding her pointy ears for years hats, headbands and hair in an effort to keep her goblin heritage a secret. Her family is known to be a Pureblood family. From 1st July 2023, she openly wears copper earpieces (drawn by me) over her ears to draw attention to them. Her goblin-ness may be a surprise to some people.

Interacting with: @Vladimir Athanatos but also kind of everyone | Mentions: Pizza Rat

Serena blinked as someone stood in her vision suddenly, "H-hi," She responded, clearly a little taken back by the figure's unexpected appearance. She felt his eyes on her, staring at her. Hesitant, she had no idea what he was waiting for. Was he going to start a fight? Was he going to punch her? Maybe she was standing in his way and he expected her to move. Wait, should she move? It could have been that he was expecting her to introduce herself.

Many thoughts flooded her mind and with each one, she could feel her heartbeat starting to rise. Her brain was moving incredibly quickly as she started to feel the panic surge through her. She opened her mouth to try and break the awkwardness that she was feeling, "Did you-" She went to speak, deciding to just ask him if he needed something from her but shut up as he started to speak instead. Wait- what? Despite the many thoughts she came up with, she never once expected the words that actually came out of his mouth.

He was offering to help her? Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, the confusion painted onto her expression in an instant as she tried to make sense of what he had just said. It took her a moment too long to realise that he was speaking about her luggage. It only started to dawn on her when her gaze followed the movement of his hands moving towards it, "Oh- no, I'm ok- it's- fin-" She started to protest but he had already lifted the entire trunk - wait, did he just fling her trunk over his shoulder?!

Serena found herself taken back again, not expecting him to entirely lift the thing. He had made it look easy. That was the sort of thing she had expected from Hugh or any of her friends that she knew was actually strong but not just some random guy. He had already started to make his way to an empty bunk bed. The Hufflepuff blinked for a few moments before her feet started to move and her body started to catch up, "Oh, uh, over th-" She started to answer his question, trying to point towards the bed in the corner that she had spotted when she first entered, which she was hoping to grab.

However, by the time she had started to speak, she realised he was moving it to a different one. Not wanting to inconvenience him even further, she corrected herself, "Here's perfect, thank you," She replied as a small smile appeared on her lips. "O-oh, thanks," She continued, watching him set it down.

For a brief moment, she wondered if maybe she was wrong. Perhaps she had drastically been overthinking the whole matter. She had expected people to be mean. Hell, when he first blocked her path, she had no idea what he was going to do but none of the thoughts were nice. She wondered if he was going to kick her out of the cabin or be mean. She had incorrectly judged the guy for no reason because of her fear. Maybe this whole thing was not as bad as her brain had led her to believe... Maybe it would be okay.

The heaviness of her trunk was clear to her. She had multiple brooms - including a tree - and plenty of armour-related items inside. Whilst magic could help fit a lot of things inside and remove some of the weight, there was a limit for sure and she was definitely starting to reach it.

She smiled a little at his butterbeer comment, "Sorry, I must have forgotten the butterbeer. Hogsmeade isn't far, though," She replied, mentally cursing herself for thinking the worst of the guy who was just trying to help. When did she become this person? She did not know but she hated it. She used to be so much more trusting and kinder... or perhaps just less paranoid.

"I'm Serena, by the way," She introduced herself, not bothering to add her surname. The Towers were a family who acted and claimed to be purebloods. She did not need to ruin their reputation any more than she probably had when it was evident that she was not one. She tried to place his name in her mind against his face. She had seen him around for definite. There was something familiar about him but she could not quite put a name to the face or say why she recognised him. They had not actually properly spoken from what she could recall but perhaps they had shared classes or passed by each other in the halls or maybe met at previous camps.

Catching a glimpse of some of the others, she stopped as she noticed an American student. Was he the Ilvermorny Champion? She was fairly sure he was but during the Hex Tournaments, she was always so busy trying to help Howard win that she did not really pay enough attention to the other schools. That would need to change. She needed to know who their greatest opponents were. All she knew now, however, was that Hogwarts - and Howard - had to win Hex and Durmstrang in particular would have to lose.

"I can offer you chocolate or sweets instead, for now?" She continued, as she did remember that she had some from Honeydukes somewhere in her bag, "Same goes for yall. Serena of well, here," She introduced herself to the rest of the room as she referenced Hogwarts, offering them candy too as she tried to ignore the pounding heartbeat that she could feel in her chest. It would be okay, she told herself, braving herself for whatever would come.

Katherine "Kit" Felix
Stamina 9 | Evasion 12 | Strength 13 | Wisdom 4 | Arcane Power 0 | Accuracy 15
Savior | Calming Presence (Hippogriff Cabin) | Evasive Maneuvers II

banner will be made/updated eventually c:

"At least Portkeys are quick!" She smiled, excitement bubbling even as the world spun around her. Summertime away from her parents a little longer was always fun plus the summer sports games were an exciting opportunity to play with other students and school, able to test her skill against some new faces. Kit paused, shaking her red hair out of its ponytail that now felt far too tight until it fell around her shoulder in small messy waves. "There," she nodded, grabbed her trunk, and went off to figure out her accommodations.

The rules were simple enough and the flags atop the cabins impressed Kit, a simple reminder at some of the 'easy' things magic could do. She'd have to figure out how to incorporate animation magics into her art at some point, wondering if she could do something similar with visualizing music. Whomever enchanted the flags should expect plenty of questions in the future while the Beauxbatons student was at camp, although she suspected that such a feat wouldn't really be advertised even if it was rather interesting to the girl. Soon enough she get her own assignment and magical creature to represent- Hippogriff.

"Ah, what a noble friend." She wasn't too familiar with the rest of the names assigned to the same cabin, but perhaps that would make it more fun? So long as none tried to explode the cabin, it would be fine.
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The first impression was red. Lots of it, which Kit didn't mind, but very distinctly red. It felt warm, a little cozy despite the camp and Hogwarts being a rather foreign place. The actual design of the place, however, was not nearly as interesting as the people within for the time being- she had time to observe the bunks and amenities later. The Beauxbatons student walked in just as a rather tall boy (Vladimir) set down a trunk of another camper, a somewhat short- half goblin?- girl (Serena). Friends, perhaps? Regardless, she paused in the doorway of the cabin for a moment before shrugging and moving her things over to whatever close bunk was still available. It was mainly just to prove that it was hers, pulling the curtain around the bed back and leaving her stuff unpacked besides the trunk. She'd turn around to hop up onto the mattress, kicking her legs a little as green eyes glanced towards her cabinmates.

It seemed one of them had had the same idea (Ying), which earned them a smile, an appreciative head nod, and a wave if she glanced in Kit's direction. She seemed more trained on looking at the decoration versus the people, but simply swinging one's feet was a fun way to relax in the fourth year's opinion. Another (Miles) had actually taken the initiative of unpacking which the girl could agree with even if she wouldn't follow in his footsteps. Getting everything sorted would wait until after the Sugar Fair she had heard about unless she truly grew bored out of her mind before then. Unlikely, but possible. Reading wasn't Kit's preferred free time activity and since it didn't lend itself to conversation she wouldn't bother the girl unless she seemed to suggest some curiosity in observing or joining the conversation (Aurora). Finally, one seemed to have returned? from further into the cabin with his own excited questions and observations (Slava).

"I think they'd be pretty standard, right?" How varied one could make a cabin, she didn't know. "Unless there's like a whole castle in one-" or maybe trampolines and a foam pit, which sounded far more exciting to Kit. "I wish we could see some of the others." She shrugged. It wasn't her main worry and she could understand the rules for why, so it was decided that she'd just have to meet with others in different cabins and ask them about it. Not too bad of a challenge.

She'd pause in case others also wanted a chance at answering the boy's questions, but otherwise was more than happy to share her own opinions on the matter- except for the campground part. The Beauxbatons student was just as clueless on summer camp customs as he was. "Same. The stadium was fun though, I'm excited to see what activities they've thought up this time around! Plus the sports are always great... do you play?" He didn't seem familiar, but she mainly focused on watching quidditch rather than any of the other sports- although broom racing would have been a good second choice if she ever decided chasing wasn't for her. She'd have to pay more attention this year.

Her attention would immediately turn towards the mention of candy, no attempt to hide intrigue at the potential assortment of sweets her cabinmates might have. Her own small supply remained stowed in her trunk, debating bringing it out but deciding against it. "Oh, are you thinking of going to the Sugar Fair later today? Seems like you have a good assortment for it." It seemed appropriate considering the offer. Despite her interest, she wouldn't ask for more candy since she had her own and there was a chance to get some later. No need to steal some from others for the time being. "Also, I'm Kit- of Beauxbatons. Lovely to meet you all!" Her accent switched from a general American accent to a Lyonnais French although the a hint of the other could be heard in either language. Considering no one else seemed to be offering last names, Kit wouldn't either- nor would she offer her full first name but that was more due to her general distaste with 'Katherine'. If no one knew the name, then she wouldn't have to worry about correcting people later.

mentions | everyone so far
interactions | @Ruby Cazares (Slava), @Serena Towers

Apologies if time is a little weird in this post! Let me know if any corrections need to be made.