The Lost Pearl 2025 Fall Ball

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Reducio Thoughts - in brackets Tavi - #8c6200 Others - #7B3F00

Reducio Tags: @Emily Harrys @Karime Leinor

Reducio WC: 388/200

Reducio Notes: 04/10/2025 Permission to write an action for Tavi—just keep in mind that she’s a ‘bimbo’ or ‘dumb’ character.

Tavi had arrived at the Perla Perdida a few minutes earlier, unhurried. Her dress fell gracefully to her ankles, and the corset—tightened with Nova’s help—offered the containment she valued so deeply. She wasn’t seeking company, but she wasn’t avoiding it either. She had chosen a seat near the window, where the floating lights of the ball reflected in the glass like enchanted constellations.

When Emily approached, Tavi recognized her by voice before face. She’d heard her name in class, and the way she pronounced certain words—like “avoid”—felt familiar. Not uncomfortable, just curious. Tavi turned her head slightly, without interrupting the motion of adjusting a brooch at her wrist.

“Tavi” she replied softly, without raising her voice or lowering her gaze. “I don’t have a partner. But I’m not avoiding anything.”

She didn’t say it defensively, but with precision. Like someone who knows that words are spells too, and using them well is part of the charm. Her golden eyes briefly met Karime’s, acknowledging her with a subtle nod before returning to Emily.

“Do you have a partner?”

She asked without pressure, but with genuine interest. Not out of social curiosity, but because she wanted to dance. Not out of obligation or protocol, but because she had chosen that dress, that corset, that flower crown… and all of it deserved movement. Deserved music. Tavi didn’t smile, but her gaze held a quiet warmth. As if, in the midst of the ball’s bustle, she too was searching for something. Not someone. Something.[/size]

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Draven had either arrived too early or too late.

He wasn't sure which emotion had slammed into him first- mortification at being clearly the oldest student on deck, nausea at the thought of spending an entire night surrounded by first years, or an intense, aching need to return to his dorm. But he was there, on deck, at a ball. And the students behind him were waiting impatiently for their turn to board the ship.

Merlin, give me strength.

He'd frozen at the entryway for an uncomfortable beat, surveying the ship desperately for anyone who looked like they could tie their own shoelaces.

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Draven felt for the strap of his bag. His thoughts were foggy, sluggish. They clouded his brain, crowding behind his temples and sending him into an unsteady daze. The ship seemed to sway underneath his feet. Perhaps it was swaying, actually. He wouldn't have put it past the professors to add in a bit of motion for kicks. See which student threw up first.

Only a handful of people were milling about on deck so far, and Draven recognized none of them- none, except-. A familiar head of brown hair stood out from the crowd. In a three-piece suit and seeming rather unsure of himself, Percival was wandering around, seemingly as lost as Draven felt. Well. Misery loved company.

Before the boy could be intercepted, Draven closed the space between them. No, the ship was definitely bobbing about. For Merlin's sake.. "Rocier," he said, his hand landing on Percy's shoulder and guiding him off to the side. "What's with the erm-" he paused. Usually, Percival sported things a lot grayer. And baggier. "-getup," he finished. "You didn't seem like the type."

Finally, his eyes landed on Mylo. The student was hovering near the entrance, drifting towards one of the tables. In all truth, Mylo had talked- (well, not talked, exactly) him into it. Crazy, how persuasive the little wix could be when they put their mind to it. Crazy how good that silly hat looked on them, as well.

Draven made a mental note of his location and company, filing it away for later use.

The crisp fall air nipped at Mikey's cheeks as he walked along the curving path to the Great Lake, his breath clouding in the moon's silver beams. In the distance, the ship was like something from a fairy tale, or a nightmare, with its towering masts and flashing blue lights bouncing off the water like stars. Even after all that crazy nonsense Hogwarts had managed to get away with, he couldn't help feeling that same rush of awe. Blimey, they've gone and outdone themselves this time, he thought.

He ironed out the crease on his dark blue vest as he strode, the silver buttons shining in the growing light at every pace. He'd lost his tie in the dorm somewhere, but the cuffs on his white dress shirt were rolled up and his hair looked like he'd attempted and failed to smooth it down. He pulled on one of his cuffs anyway, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach.

Down at the wooden plank, an awkward sailor saluted him with a foreboding smile, handing him a welcome card that smelt faintly of lemon. The guy's eyes were glazed, and Mikey had no idea whether it was done or if it was just something subtle. "Er… cheers," he panted, taking the card and providing the pirate with a suspicious half-smile before stuffing it in his pocket.

Boarding was entering another world. Creaking gently deck beneath his feet, bluebell fire dancing in glass lanterns. Rusted chandeliers swinging in the breeze throwing pale gold haloes across the tables. Everything was still even the distant music sounded like it was another time. And then he caught sight of her.

Avery leaned against the railing, fingers relaxed in her palm, moonlight stringing her hair like threads of silk and fire. Mikey paused for a moment. The sound of students and the faraway thrum of music, dropped away. He breathed quietly before continuing.

"You look amazing," Mikey said at last, his tone a blend of nervous humor and unobtrusive awe. The words were more softly uttered than he had meant, but they included enough gentleness to compensate. His smile came after a second, slightly awry, slightly shy as he edged forward to stand beside her.

He rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to play it cool his nerves while twisting his stomach into a knot. "Although, uh, I guess I missed the memo on dressing for luxury." He laughed with a glance down at his vest and rolled-up sleeves. "Guess I'm more. shipwreck chic?"

He leaned his elbows against the railing and looked out over the water. The moon's reflection sparkled in the ripples, occasionally interrupted by the shadow of students walking across the plank behind him. "It's crazy, isn't it?" he gasped. "Feels like we've marched right out of a novel. I'm half-expecting a sea monster to pop up out of there at any moment."

"I'm glad you're here," he added, a little softer. "Had no idea if I'd even be able to find you through all of this." He laughed mirthlessly, anxious again. He paused, stepping back a bit before offering his hand, not grandly or ceremoniously, but simply optimistic. "Want to walk around? Perhaps before all the good spots get snapped up, or before the deck gives way, whichever first."

His smile grew mischievous again, but there was still something sincere behind it, a spark of fondness beneath the teasing, the kind that made his heart race that little extra hard as he stood holding out for her to take his hand.



STATS
Stamina ◦ 6 | Evasion ◦ 7 | Strength ◦ 4 | Wisdom ◦ 9 | Arcane Power ◦ 6 | Accuracy ◦ 8

ABILITIES
Sixth Sense
Evasive Maneuvers

Action: Meeting Avery Gray

Interacting with: @Mikey Forville (Please owl to interact if not pinged! ) Mentioning: @Frederick Buckley Date: 10/04/25

Word Count: 512

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Avery wasn't even paying attention at first. She was mesmerized by the waves gently lapping the sides of the boat as the silver moonlight glinted off the water. The only thing bringing her out of her thoughts was a chorus of familiar voices as they stepped onto the ship. She recognized one of them as Frederick. One of her teammates from the unofficial Quidditch match she had been the captain of only a short couple weeks before. She gave a slight wave in return to his own before turning her attention back to the water. Avery turned at the sound of a familiar voice. A voice that rang above the voices. Clearing her mind and reminding her of who she was going to the ball with. Mikey. Her boyfriend. Even after only a couple days since they had officially begun dating, Avert still couldn't believe their confessions had come to that. She had been so worried that she had lost him when she came out about her feelings, but it was the opposite. Instead, she had earned everything she had ever wanted. A boy that cared for her enough to be with her through the good and the bad. For the better or worse. She smiled before saying, "Thank you, though I don't know what you mean by not getting the memmo on dressing for luxury. You yourself look like a dashing and handsome young man." She smiled again as she helped him straighten the collar of his white dress shirt. She laughed lightly before saying, "It really does feel like we're straight from a novel. This beats the fall ball by far, but it doesn't beat everything." She blushed lightly. Remembering the night they met clearly in her mind. She would never forget the first time she had locked eyes on him. "A walk? Sounds quite mysterious yet enjoyable. Considering this ship feels a bit like a ghost ship." She smiled brightly as she took his outstretched hand into hers. Their fingers locking together like second nature. As if they had done it all their lives. Her heart began to race as she felt the warmth of his hand in hers and the mischievous grin splayed across his face. His blue eyes striking again the silver moonlight making her heart skip a beat. It was as if he didn't even realize how handsome he looked in the light, and she still couldn't believe his smile was directed at her. Something at the beginning of her first year she would have never expected. She had always thought she would be a loner. Secluded, but Mikey had changed that. For the better, of course. Mikey made her see the good in life instead of just the bad. He always reminded her through his actions that love still existed in the world, and, after a world of pain in the past years, Avery accepted that love for the people around her and the love people gave her with open arms. It made her feel wanted. Like she actually belonged instead of being an outsider.

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Action: Chatting with Mikey Forville

Stats: stamina ◦ 7 | evasion ◦ 6 | strength ◦ 7 | wisdom ◦ 7 | arcane power ◦ 6 | accuracy ◦ 7

Abilities: 's Grace, Fearless

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The grass crunched as Tatiana walked the curved pathway to the wooden vessel that lay afloat on top of the dark water. Curiosity beamed against Tatiana's pale face. The breeze felt unfamiliar, not like the usual earthy wind that often wrapped the lake into a peaceful slumber, the students often would watch as the great squid lazily drift up the waters. But tonight was different. The air felt different. Everything was different

Tatiana was always the type to notice something different, usually she'd get over it quickly, learned that it had to be this way for things to go on. But right now, she just can't quite place why she cannot adapt to this new environment. Maybe because she was used to the lake's leafy, unkempt grass, to the great squid flexing its tentacles to the students, often causing them to get wet.

The new look was ...unsettling.

When she arrived, Tatiana was greeted with somewhat dead-looking sailor, though he looked normal enough, wearing what any pirate would, but he also seemed to be getting strangled by a stray collar. Silently nodding at the dead sailor, Tatiana entered the grounds where place was scattered with students catching up, making jokes about dead sailors, others were trying out the decor to see if their gold and silvers were real. But the card that the sailor gave had been the one that particularly caught her eye.

The handwriting was messy, hard to decipher, and it greatly ticked Tatiana. After reading most of it, ignoring the parts that were hard to read, she now knew that the captain, Bartholomew Vane, had long since rode the ship, the one that he called The Lost Pearl, but the ship had sunken and now lay deep under the lake, and he was also greatly feared during his time. Quite interesting for a lad that had been long dead

Reducio dress · hair

Reducio Stats Sta ⤷ 5 Eva ⤷ 5 Str ⤷ 4 Wis ⤷ 6 Arc ⤷ 5 Acc ⤷ 5 Abilities Part-Veela · Alluring Speech — Sample Thoughts — Sample

Reducio Action: Entering the ship, reading the card the sailor gave

Reducio WC: 314/200 — Open for interactions

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Kafelé had finished his lessons for the day and headed back to the dorm room. Looking through his belongings he found only some casual clothing, his school clothes, and his traditional dress clothes. He really liked them but was a little worried he would draw too much attention. Attention aside he didnt have much in the ways of formal attire. After putting on his Jalabiya which was green and had a floral print that extended down the length of the front. The outfit was alot like a robe or long tunic and came with a hat. Kafelé looked at the hat one hand laying on it. His instinct was to put the hat on and cover all his hair but....."I...I like your hair. It looks nice." he remembered Aisling his friend's compliment. The other friends he had made since had complimented his hair as well.
Kafelé decided to leave the hat and instead fixed his bun a little lower and made it slightly neater than usual. He hoped he looked good enough for a school ball. He headed out through the common room and into the great hall.
He was told the ball would be down on the edge of the Great Lake. Kafelé walked down towards the Great Lake the evening sky offering little in the ways of light. Luckily some other well dressed students passed that were seemingly headed to the ball so he followed them the rest of the way. The beautiful lake glistened under the moonlight the crisp night air was pleasant on his skin. A series of flickering flames and blue lights came into view as he approached his destination. As Kafelé stepped upon the wooden passerelle he noticed a girl who was wearing a rather pretty purple and light blue dress talking to a boy. Her braided red hair looked really nice, he thought maybe he should have done something more with his. As he walked past he recognized her voice but couldnt believe it. "Aisling, is that....you? You look... really pretty." He said nervously.

Aisling perked up she heard a familiar voice. Is that Kafelé? she thought. She turned to see him wearing a long, green tunic. She smiled before turning to Percival quickly. "Excuse me for a bit," she whispered to him before walking over to Kafelé.

"Hi!" Aisling greeted, her voice warm and welcoming, "you look quite dashing! How ... how have you been? I haven't seen you much around the Common Room lately." This was true; Aisling hadn't seen much of her new friends in the Hufflepuff Common Room lately. She knew that they were probably just entrenched in their coursework. Then again, so was Aisling. After all, she had to focus on the academic part of her Potions class if she was going to struggle with the actual making of the elixirs.

A smile grew on Aisling's face when Kafelé complimented her dress. A rosy hue painted over her freckles. "Oh," she said, "thank ... thank you." Her bluish-green eyes glanced up to see that he wasn't wearing a hat like they met last time. "Your ... your hat," she noted, "you ... you're not wearing it. She shook her head slightly. Aisling know it was a touchy topic when they met in the Common Room. "I'm sorry, I ... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by pointing it out," she stammered, "I just ... I just realized that, uh, you ... you know. You aren't wearing it." She smiled. "Your hair looks nice," she said, "I like it."

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Interactions: Open

Althea had not intended to attend the Fall Ball this year. After all, it has been three years since Althea last attended a ball, or any social event, if she were to be blunt. The last had been the Blossom Ball in her first year, and she had only just returned to Hogwarts after a three-year "hiatus". There were barely any familiar peers who even remembered her existence, so there was close to no chance of finding a date or gathering a group of companions in time for the ball. What was a social event without some form of socialisation that did not feel as if she were shaving her lungs?

Yet, on the night of the Fall Ball, here she was — wandering down the winding path leading to the Great Lake as the glistening moon made its slow ascent on its inky, star-dusted black canvas. Excited chatter and delighted giggles filled the air as students all made their way towards the event venue. She minded the longer ends of her outer skirt as a pair of gleeful first-years sprinted past her side, practically racing in their beautiful gowns towards where the alluring glow of bluebell flames lit the end of the path ahead. Her outfit of choice was, fortunately, a dress of an appropriate style that she had tucked away in her wardrobe back home — A peal-white sleeveless, one-piece dress layered atop an ashy black skirt, finished with a leather corset hugged by delicate golden chains. It was frankly the only reason for her attendance to begin with. Her godfather simply refused to stand by after receiving word about her unwillingness to attend the Fall Ball, and with the help of her grandmother, both had owled the dress straight to her the day before the celebration with an extremely persuasive letter and the family's persistent screech owl.

Althea had half the mind to turn back as a dimly lit, wooden passerelle came into view. The cool, creaking railing gleamed under the moonlight, leading her further down onto the ship's deck. 'Ramshackle', had been her first thought. There were shadows cast by dangling remnants of torn fishnets, and faded paintings of dramatic scenes, as well as a striking and scarred man, which gave an air of time-worn grandiosity.

Following the crowd towards the bâtiment, Althea stood to the side as an almost ghostly man — who she thought dressed undoubtedly like the picture definition of a pirate or some sort of olden-day sailor — distributed handwritten welcome cards in a show of warm reception. She smiled politely even as a strange chill sank into her bones, wishing she had the mind to bring a shawl or jacket as she stepped deeper into the venue. Reading the card's contents with a curious hum, she made a quick scan of the room. It was quite intricately decorated within, with elegant candle-lit tables and a pleasant atmosphere for a formal celebratory occasion that strangely blended in with the environment.

Althea made modest, speedy strides towards a quaint table in the corner of the room. It was meant for two, but a tiny part of her was not truly against having a fellow lonely soul join her for a pleasant dinner. Yet, as soon as she approached her targeted table, she felt the low heel of her boot get caught on the floorboards. She twisted in an awkward manner as she tried to keep her balance, and glanced at the peculiar scratches that dug long lines into the aged wooden planks beneath her. Her eyes trailed the length of them, soon leading to an entrance in an empty portion of the room. She kept her eyes fixed on that. She thought amusedly, It seems to lead to somewhere... Should I head over?

Action: [Non-moderated] Act single and wonder about the Weeping Shore entrance.

AULIS VOROZHEYKIN.
KOLDOVSTORETZ. DIRECTOR OF STUDIES.
Russian. | English.
Spoken. | Thought.

|| ACTION. Taking a sip of a drink from a table; watching the people enter ||

Interactions: Open

Outfit

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Pendant

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Harvey made his way towards the Lost Pearl as the early night hours cast the moon's glow across the scene. The silk white robe that he wore over his navy blue suit billowed behind him just as he hoped it would. There was just enough of a breeze to catch the fabric for the added dramatic effect and it was all very fitting to what he had envisioned. The clothing was not of his own making, but he had submitted the design to his goblin tailors, Rurnak & Sons and their work continued to be second to none. To round out the theme of the night and to further showcase goblin craftsmanship, Harvey add ordered a pendant from his grandfather's personal smithy and the fine goblin silver simply dazzled in the moonlight.

The boy's mind wandered to the black haired beauty that was to be his date tonight. While he would have preferred to make a grand entrance together, he would have to wait for her. Hopefully they could make a splash on the dance floor instead that would get the gossip mill rolling. There was nothing like one of Hogwarts grand balls to get the buzz going about the "it" couples of the school and Harvey sure wanted to be one of them. While he certainly had an air of superiority about him, the boy was definitely an attention seeker and who didn't want to make the other boys jealous by having a beauty on your arm for the evening. He had to blink away the thoughts as he accepted the card from their eery host and made his way onto the ship's deck. For now he was solo and impressing no one. Might as well try to make some small talk in the meantime.

The theme of tonight's festivities were certainly dramatic and lent to an aesthetic that was fun to design for, but the actual degrade of the ship left little to be desired for the young part-goblin. Harvey liked his fancy things, splintering wood and rusting metal weren't his idea of haute design. No need to fuss about that now though. It was time to mingle. A nearby witch caught his eye as he appreciated the design of her dress. Hopefully she was as interesting as her choice of fabric.

"Good evening." Harvey approached with a charming smile. "Your dress is quite beautiful. Red is a bold choice for tonight's theme, but I must say that you're pulling it off rather well. Like a rose lost at sea." The boy offered a slight bow of his head when he introduced himself. "Harvey Barrows and you might be?"

Actions: Interacting with @Tatiana Contraire
Stats: Stamina - 5 | Evasion - 6 | Strength - 5 | Wisdom - 7 | Arc Power - 6 | Accuracy - 6
Abilities: Extra Income | Gobbledegook | Perfectionist