Event Blossom Ball - Underworld

Romance, friendship, melodrama, all punctuated by undercurrents of emotional tension and contrasts that Nicholas couldn't hope to understand. His own capacity for empathy and for understanding was severely limited, his emotional immaturity and personal flaws had made sure of that. The boy was capable of a raw determination, the likes of which was almost unnatural, and from those fires flowed a natural sense of rage and competitive drive. But, understanding the social situation that he found himself now was entirely foreign. More than that, it was entirely uncomfortable. He had expected the Underworld to serve as a respite, a place and a way to escape the true ball, and instead he found himself witness to countless petty arguments and attempts at subtle power plays.

The boy was more than bored or irritated, he found himself actively angered. Out of some sense of jealousy, yes, but he would not allow himself to entertain the thought that such a feeling could possibly serve as the basis for his actions. Rather, he chose to consider his movements those undertaken by someone who would dare not stand for sitting alone in the dark corner of the room whilst the rest of his classmates undertook distasteful attempts at one-upsmanship and so on and so forth.

He scoffed, physically, the sight of a few students bickering amongst themselves, a group of girls who he couldn't make out through the darkness causing a pit to well in his stomach. He loathed formal events, the sooner he would be done with it, the better. The boy slinked off, toward the sounds of spring, if he made an appearance and at least semi-spoke to a student or two, he could be back in his dorm before the night was young.

Action: Moving to the Spring Festival
Please pay no mind to Nicholas being a right twat with his thoughts, he doesn't reflect me.

[ @Henry Knight as Charles • @Rose Moon as Drew • @Scarlett Aden ]

arriving • meeting up with charles and drew • waiting for scarlett • showing off • hero trials (after next post)

English #26687E • French #72267E

Okay, so usually the prospect of a 'ball' wouldn't excite Cassie Heather McGregor-Martin in any way, but today was different. The last (and only) ball she'd attended had also been here at Hogwarts - a Masquarade/Costume Party in honour of Halloween. It'd been... okay. It hadn't been terrible, but it hadn't been amazing either. If Cassie was going to be honest (which she always was; it was one of her defining characteristics really) she would readily admit that the best part of the evening had been chasing after Star the ghost cat with Scarlett Aden, her best friend from when she lived at Godric's Hollow and a close friend now. Speaking of Scarlett, the two girls had decided to match outfits for this ball and Cassie was really looking forward to it. She hadn't chosen her outfit for either ball, actually - last time, Cassie's mum had sent her a green dress which Cassie had made her mind up to dislike, and this time it was Scarlett's aunt who had chosen something for the two girls. Fiona had amazing taste in white jumpsuits and sparkly jackets.

It was said sparkly jacket which Cassie struggled into at the campgrounds, trying to figure out which zip she was supposed to zip up first. It was an amazing jacket, sure, and Cassie was fairly sure it would be one of the best things she'd get to wear all year, but it was a little confusing. Armholes - zip (no, stupid, that's the pocket. that zip) - belt. Phew. Okay, maybe it wasn't that once you'd got your arms in the thing. Another great thing about the jacket was just how many pockets it had, which was brilliant because it meant Cassie didn't have to bother with a bag like last time. She couldn't help laughing a little as she stuffed in, along with her wand, three plasters, which her mum had insisted she take with her after Cassie had admitted that she'd ended up bleeding last time. Well, hopefully she wouldn't have to use them; especially since they were decorated with minions. Cassie herself didn't mind minions, but she suspected that she would end up having to explain what they were to someone if they ever saw the light of day.

Some extensively fancy makeup which actually turned out to be more like clear facepaint with glitter stuck on top was added next (it had been practised in advance, which was lucky, since Cassie had never really tried makeup before and had needed to rely on printed tutorials which her papa had sent her), and the look was completed with a silver moon headpiece which would hopefully make it clear that Cassie was, in fact, costumed as Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon, and not just some rando with a cool jacket and deceptively simple-looking ponytail. Cassie couldn't wait to see Scarlett's matching costume. Scarlett had probably seen hers - after all, it was Scarlett who had forwarded it to her - but Cassie didn't know what the Gryffindor's was like apart from its Apollo theme and 'basically-the-same-but-gold-not-silver' jacket. Cassie would be attending with Charles, her friend from Durmstrang (friend! they were going as friends, whatever Scarlett teased), but was pretty sure that he would be wearing a suit. Like always. Bor-ing! She'd refused to tell him much about her own costume: he only knew that it included a jumpsuit and she would be matching with Scarlett. Cassie couldn't wait to see his reaction to the Jacket Of Amazingness.

Cassie had decided to be fashionably late in order to show off her jacket in all its true glory (she really did love that jacket) but, unfortunately, got the time wrong and ended up right on time. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised - she was the sort of person to arrive on time for most things, unlike Scarlett, who was late for everything, or Charles, who always seemed to be early. She tripped into the courtyard practically buzzing with excitement. The invitations which had been posted around the school and in the campgrounds had been so intriguing! A little creepy, some of them, sure, but intriguing? Definitely. Cassie had attempted to figure out the codes but had given up once she realised that they didn't all follow the same one. Eh - she'd find out on the night.

Night appeared to be the appropriate term for the theme of the courtyard. The soft darkness seemed to seep into even the furthest and emptiest corners of the area, and Cassie had a sudden urge to find a torch and yell mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha as she shone light everywhere, ruining the whole thing. It was probably a good thing that she didn't have a torch with her. Actually, would torches even work at Hogwarts? They were powered by electricity, sure... but were they complicated enough to be affected by the magic hanging around here? Wait, why am I thinking about torches? Cassie had better things to do! Where was Charlie? Cassie spun around on the spot searching for him and then- "Charlie?"

Cassie pushed her way through the crowd towards her friend, who was wearing... a jumpsuit? She blinked. Then she blinked again as she realised that the boy standing next to him (Drew, if Cassie remembered correctly) was also wearing a jumpsuit - in fact, they were both wearing the same one. Well! This was unexpected. "Charlie! You're- you're in a jumpsuit too!" For a moment, her voice faltered. "I mean, they were going to be mine and Scarlett's thing-" she blurted, before adding, "but you can totally join the jumpsuit gang! Hey, and you two (oh yeah, hi Drew!) are matching too!" Having gotten over her little moment of pettiness, Cassie nodded firmly. "They're cool. Remind me of army camouflage. Sorta the same colour, you know?" She gave a little spin to show off her own outfit. "What do you think?" she grinned. "I'm Artemis."

[ sixth sense • fearless • sta 9 • eva 6 • str 8 • wis 7 • arc 4 • acc 7 ]

@Zykeal Lane @Evelynn Decipio @Marshal Mozor

It seemed that Opeila had been right with her assumption that Zyk had made the armlets himself, the little proud smile on his face said enough. "I do.", she said and nodded. "Did you make them?", she decided to ask him anyway.
He definitely shared her opinion about the fires that just came up at every dance. Opeila could vividly remember someone casting incendio on the Quidditch stands during the last blossom ball and someone else at a painting during the masquerade. "I've asked myself that a good hundred times. And then I wondered why they are even still teaching this spell to kids that are so young. Like, there are less harmful spells to know and that are doable as a first year, I am sure!" Opeila shrugged. Maybe the professors just shared her own naive hope that people finally had gained a bit of common sense.

Her friend's reaction to her little playful spin made Opeila turn red, as she quickly grabbed Zyk's arm. "Zyk!", she whispered with a little embarassment in her voice, but at the same time unable to stop herself from laughing... and turning red. Despite the unwanted attention Zyk had attracted with his shouting, Opeila did feel at least a little flattered...
This evening was already more promising to be more fun and a lot less awkward than the other two. The Slytherin allowed Zyk to put an arm around her and pull her along. Soon enough he had his wand in his free hand and spun it around. Opeila had seen him do that just about every time they met and slowly she began to wonder if he actually realized it. Maybe it was a nervous habit of his like other people playing with their hair.

Zyk soon directed her attention to another pair that had entered the ball- a familiar pair. Opeila recognized the redhaired girl as Evelynn Decipio, a Gryffindor who she had spoken to a few times last year and... was that Marshal? Zyk was still turned to Opeila- was he hiding in her hair?- and whispered something in her ear that made her gasp with playful indignance. The Slytherin pushed her ellbow into his side, rather gently, but so that he would feel it. "Don't be mean! That first year happens to be my friend. I think it's nice someone is going here with him. Speaking of, where are we going?"

Somewhere to dance. That was fine with her. "By the way, I've heard there is some competition for king and queen of the ball. How would you feel about participating?"

Playing as iNPC Hadrian Zuheir
STA 5 | AGI 14 | STR 15 | WIS 8 | ARC 0 | ACC 8+2=10
's Grace, Fearless, Stat Relevant

Mentioned	Interactions
N/A	@Henry Knight

Entering Underworld

Dress

Hair

The sound of pacing footsteps could be heard as Logan made her way back and forth in front of the mirror in her room. She was nervous about the Blossom Ball that was occurring down in the courtyard, but she actually wanted to interact with people though. The Hufflepuff had been the one to beg Henry to attend the ball with her, and he was probably already there, so there was no way she could back out of it now.

The brunette glanced down at her outfit, one of her old dance costumes. Her dress was white and lines with gold with a pair of gold sandals to match. Her hair was pulled up into a braided bun with a leaf clip sitting above it. Not wanting to go anywhere without her wand, she had it slipped into the gold belt that ran around the waist of her dress.

"Okay, behave while I am gone," the girl muttered to her cat as she crouched down and ran her hand across the grey cat's head. She quickly stood up and made her way out of the dorm and through the common room. Her flats tapping against the ground quietly.

Even the entrance to the ball made Logan nervous, as it was designed to look like the Underworld. Putting on a brave face, she walked through, looking around for Henry or anyone else she may know. She finally spotted the boy talking with others. He was not wearing anything fancy, but Logan didn't mind. She made her way over to the boy, dodging through crowds of people as she went. "Looking nice Charm," she said with a grin from behind the boy.

speech #bf0040
action arriving, then leaving for trials
abilities prodigal charms leaner, fearless
stats stamina 7 | evasion 6 | accuracy 8 | strength 6 | wisdom 6 | arcane power 9

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@Lucia Fox as Cassie, @Henry Knight as Charles, @Rose Moon as Andrew

[font=times new roman]S[/font]carlett was so ready for this.

Ever since the invitations had first arrived in Hogwarts announcing a theme of 'Ancient Greece', Scarlett had been bouncing with anticipation for her first Blossom Ball. Last year, there had been a few mix-ups and she ended up not attending. She was partly glad to have missed the mosp attacks and the trauma that most students had endured, but was also slightly miffed at not being able to experience the event that everyone had been deeply affected by. This time, Scarlett wouldn't mind a little disaster so she could prove herself a bit, but she wasn't indifferent to some normalcy and plain partying.

Fiona had evidently had a lot of fun with the outfits. Scarlett had mailed her with the news of the Greek theme and her aunt had sent a speedy reply, gushing about how excited she was for Scarlett and how exciting outfit planning would be, and whether Scarlett would like to go matching with Cassie? That final idea was god-tier (pun intended) and Scarlett had sent another letter to Cassie informing her. After a few days, she received a shiny parcel by owl, fed some treats to Loki as a reward for the journey and inspected her attire for the evening.

Now, Scarlett found herself entering the Courtyard in a white jumpsuit and a sparkly gold jacket, as well as a random gold headdress to really enhance the theme and 'Greek running sandals'. Her hair was pulled into a simple messy ponytail, but with the help of a friend, she had put on some gold eyeshadow and sparkly stars on her face. It was slightly itchy but Scarlett was sure she could manage for the night. Apparently, the outfit was based on Apollo, the god of the sun, healing, music and some other things Scarlett couldn't remember. Cassie was going as Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, and her outfit was basically the same but with a silver theme instead. According to Fiona, Scarlett had a rather 'limited colour palette' so that was why she was Apollo. Scarlett didn't mind. The sparkly jacket was amazing.

It certainly was a contrast to the appropriately decorated Courtyard, which followed an Underworld theme with dark classical music playing, echoing round the cavern-like place. Bowls of punch could be seen, but they had an odd smell radiating off them. Apparently, if you wanted to get to the next area of the Ball ('Spring') then you had to pass through here. Scarlett planned to do that to get to the more vibrant area of the Ball, but she had to find Cassie first. And anyway, she really wanted to do the 'Hero Trials', which were a series of trials based on figures from Greek mythology. If you were the best of the best at completing them all, then you would be crowned King/Queen/Ruler of the Ball and get a little money compensation for your efforts. Scarlett was more focused on the 'fun' aspect of the trials rather than the prize, though it wouldn't hurt to try and beat Cassie.

Speaking of Cassie, Scarlett could currently spot her with Charles, her 'friend', and the Andrew guy from the dinner at the other schools' arrival. Charles and Andrew were also in matching military-like jumpsuits whilst Cassie was in her sparkly silver jacket, jumpsuit and sandals. You couldn't match with someone if that someone didn't show up, right? So Scarlett paced towards the little group in her matching outfit with Cassie. Of course, she was one of the last to arrive. Many people were already drinking, talking or fighting. That was just Scarlett. She was always oddly late.

"Hello there!" said Scarlett brightly, announcing her arrival with a grin at everyone. "Cassie - or should I say Artemis - Andrew - is that right? - and Charles. Nice jumpsuits, you two." Scarlett gestured towards the boys' outfits. "But of course, ours are totally better, am I right Cassie?" She glanced towards her friend, still grinning.

"Just kidding though, don't get too offended," she added afterwards. "I'm Apollo, because that's pretty much the only god I can be with my 'limited colour palette'. But you all look great."

She would pause, giving others time to speak. Courtesy, Fiona had said. Then she continued. "Actually, I'm going to do the Hero Trials right now. I'll get them done and then we can start drinking and partying." She paused, pondering a thought and tilting her head to the side. "Why don't we compete against each other? We're an equal number. Boys versus Girls."

With that idea thought out loud, she turned away to amble to the Trials. She had competed in Trials before actually, back when she was one of the top earners in March. How hard could these new ones be? "Come join me if you want! Cassie, let's prove that we can beat these wannabes." She then turned on her heel and walked off, hoping Cassie would join her.

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Reducio

Action: Entering the Underworld and leaving to the Spring Festival.

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]I[/font]t didn't take long for Jack to notice the biggest familiar face. It was like a ginger shark fin slicing through the sea of children. Mr. Quinn was an adonis among the flocking children in much too adult clothing. Jack couldn't help back gawk at the two that stood in front of him. Nico and Quinn sure did make a stark appearance. "Quinn! Ma' man! Or should I say M'lord of darkness'." Giving a rather faux and ostentatious bow, the boy crossed a single arm over his check and stuck out his right foot. That's what people have done in movies, so he just ran with it. "I didn' think ya' two would show up and steal all the attention! If I knew that ya' were, I would've tried harder-" He took a moment to flex his childish arms, and present his half-assed costume. Not to mention the fact that he was embodying a frat boi rather than a greek whatever. "However, Lord Hades- Lady Persephone," Jack winked at the two, "Don' ya think ya could've made tha underworld...a bit more....invitin'? it's kinda dark and dreary in here- if you could hop onto that, that would be great" Obviously he was joking, but still, he wasn't exactly lying. He was a fan of large and bombastic, not subdued and calm. "Oh, by the way. You two are lookin' fantastic! The black really suits you, Healy." Jack made a point not to mention the fact that Quinn was being rather openly affectionate, but hey it's a party. Screw it, he can do what he wants.

Interaction with lord @Quinn Healy & Lady @Nico Shymane

Dress | Headband | Shoes | Necklace | Hair

Interacting ❃ @Aldor Humbleglow | @Henry Knight
Mentioning ❃ @Rhea Miller | @Gabriella Haworth

Ok, she wouldn't lie, the first year did indeed think that that unknown fellow GryffindorRheahad been intimitading, if anything. But oh well, not like she would ever admit that in her entire life. Never, ever, admit your scared. It was rule #2 for having an enemy (Rule #1 was never to hug your enemy because of sheer joy, as displayed at the "fire in the blizzard" errand in January), and it made a whole lotta sense to Tory. If she said she was scared of the girl, then Haworth would use her as a weapon, which pretty much meant instant defeat. She had to hold her head high in this war of ultimate enemy-hood. Wow Though Tory, chuckling to herself, I sound completely ridiculous, this isn't a life-or-death-battle. She continued on her way to the food table.

"Tory?-" The girl heard a voice say once she had gotten closer to the snack table, a voice that was unmistakably Aldor's. "Hullo, Aldor." She said, turning around and looking at his magnificent costume. "I love your costume! Much cooler than a plain old suit. How long did it take to make?" She knew it had to be a Greek god of some sorts, seeing as the entire theme of the ball was Ancient Greece, but she couldn't tell which because she barely knew anything about Greek Mythology and whatnot. Another boy came up to her and Aldor who looked recognizably older and taller than the two of them, probably a second or third year.

"Hello, I'm Henry." He said to her with a small smile, in which she responded, moving her head to face him and returning the smile, "I'm Tory. First year, Gryffindor." Tory turned back to Aldor. "Sorry I couldn't find you sooner, I was in a bit of a, er, kerfuffle.." She said. "I know our plan was to hangout here and just eat, but uh, I wouldn't touch the punches or drinks. I've seen some strange things happen to other people who have drank them..."

The moon shone brightly beneath the clouds, and the air was crisp. There was a silky feel to the courtyard, and Tory glanced around at everybody; there was quite the crowd now. She could spot some party guests here and there leaving to go somewhere else, probably another Blossom Ball location somewhere about the castle or around it.

❃ For moderation ❃
Action ❃ Talking by the snacks
Sta: 6 | Eva: 5 | Str: 4| Wis: 8| Arc: 7 |Acc: 5