Closed Bonfire Night Summer Camp 2024

Roleplaying as Casey Stone from Ilvermorny

Speech: Bold 257379
Thoughts: Bold Italics

Campfire Camaraderie with @Rachel Greenford

With how heartfelt Rachel's words were, Casey thought it ignorant if he tried to cut her off or dismiss her as she talked about her fond memories of home. He couldn't deny he was finding her stories amusing the longer he sat there, simply letting her talk as he pecked at his share of snacks. By the sounds of it, she had a pretty nice relationship with her folks back home. Exactly what someone would want to take away from a conversation like this, even by Casey's standards.

Casey didn't have to think hard when he was asked about any special campfire memories. His head was already brimming with nostalgia from the time he spent camping with his brother as well as with the whole family in general.

"I guess I gotta few tales," he answered. "Dad did this thing where he'd make sparkles over the fire. Kinda like muggle sparklers. Mom actually managed to procure some sparklers when she was in the muggle world one time. Bog-standard ones. Pretty fun I'll tell you. My brother and I would always play with beanbags that mom made until it got late. Sometimes the four of us would do a juggling star, tossing each other beanbags. Kinda fun. Makes for good exercise to keep warm in the early mornings too."

A wayward smile curved at the side of his mouth as he reminisced. Probably the first memory he had of his brother in a long time that didn't reduce him to a depressive state. All thanks to the fire.

_{Word Count: 303}

Stats: Stamina: 8 | Strength: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Wisdom: 6 | Arc Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Fearless| Poison Resistance

BONFIRE NIGHT
- July 17, 2024 -

interacting with @Colby Vidler /// open to interactions

COLBY'S retort made Septimus hesitate for a split second before he sat down, but it ultimately fell on deaf ears. Growing up, he'd been taught that confidence was mostly about taking what you wanted. His parents had eventually realized that this could be a dangerous philosophy to instill in a child — something that Septimus's caretaker, William, had foreseen almost instantly — and tried to remind him that it was best followed as a general rule with several notable exceptions. In this case, however, Septimus thought it applied. Plus, while Colby was probably right that word of mouth was enough to save someone's seat, the fact that she didn't do anything else to stop him from joining her made him think that she just didn't want company.

Too bad. She was just going to have to get used to him, considering that they were tentmates and all.

"Are you the guy with the fish or the rock collection?" Colby asked as he shifted his weight, trying to get comfortable in the folding chair, and picked up his bag of popcorn. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. Obviously, she knew that they'd met before, but... was she playing a joke? Or did she really not remember him? He wasn't the guy with the fish, and the "guy" with the rock collection wasn't even a guy at all — she was a girl! "No," Septimus answered after a short pause, "I'm not." He might've tried to remind her what it was that he'd shown off to their other tentmates as his cool show-and-tell choice from home, but he was quickly distracted by the dessert in her hand.

Colby explained what a s'more was — maybe she's never heard of a rhetorical question, thought Septimus — and insulted his popcorn at the same time, which caused him to huff. Like she'd know if it was stale. She hadn't even tried it. When he pointed out that there was more blackened crisp to her marshmallow than, you know, actual marshmallow, she replied that "burnt" was its own flavour and that she liked it that way. In Septimus's opinion, that was plain wrong: burnt wasn't a flavour, it was the failure to get the right flavour. He scoffed, just to let Colby know that he thought her answer made no sense, and said, "Sure." Turning away from the girl, he watched the bonfire twist itself into different shapes and ate a few more pieces of popcorn. A fight with Colby — this fight, at least — was starting to seem like a fight he didn't need or want to win.

He heard her get up from her chair and assumed she was leaving. When he glanced over to see if this was true, however, he was surprised to see the girl walking right up to him. He shrank back in his seat a bit. She stopped in front of him and grabbed his bag of popcorn out of his hands; it was gone before Septimus could even think to try and pull it back, although he wasn't sure he would've managed to do that anyway. As he watched, Colby took a piece of popcorn, popped it in her mouth, and then turned the rest of what was left (probably about half a bag's worth) onto the ground, scattering the caramel-glazed kernels across the dirt.

"Hey!" Septimus cried, feeling his face burn with anger and shame. "That was mine! What's your problem?!" Just as soon as he'd finished yelling, Colby shoved her s'more into his face, daring him to "take a bite or shut up about it." If ruining his popcorn hadn't done the job, the harsh tone of her voice was a clear sign that she wasn't just teasing him. Septimus looked around to see if anyone else was witnessing what was going on, but the other students in the area seemed to be busy with their own conversations. It didn't look like anyone was coming to save him. Maybe that was for the best; he was going to be stuck with Colby all summer, after all, and he thought it would only hurt him to be known as the guy who couldn't stand up for himself. He stared at the s'more and the bite-sized chunk missing from it in disgust, then (if she'd let him) he took it from Colby's hand.

There was no way he was going to put his mouth where her mouth had been, so he turned the s'more around to the unbitten side as he answered her taunt. "I'm not scared," Septimus insisted, poking at the marshmallow with one finger and trying to scrape some of the charred bits off. "It's just gross." Glancing up at her one last time, he closed his eyes, scrunched up his nose, and took a big bite out of the campfire treat.

Chocolate. That was what he tasted first, as it melted in his mouth and smeared on his upper lip. Then came the graham cracker, and then, finally, the marshmallow. There was a foul taste and texture to the burnt outside that made him shudder every time it touched his tongue, but mostly, it was sugary-sweet, regular marshmallow. He chewed and swallowed, opened his eyes again, and held the rest of the s'more back out to Colby. "Alright, I did it. Take it back," he demanded, using the back of his free hand to wipe his mouth. "I told you I wasn't scared. You didn't have to spill all my popcorn. What is your problem, anyway? It's like you don't want to make friends."

An outsider might have (correctly) labeled this as an unfair assumption, but Septimus didn't think so in the moment. While not totally hostile, Colby had been very... direct... when he'd met her and their other tentmates on the first day of camp. He was starting to think that no one had ever taught her how to act around other people. With what was left of her s'more still in his hand, hoping she'd take it back soon, Septimus waited to see whether he'd passed her test or if his questions would provoke the girl even more.

Speech: #cfb24a| Thoughts: bold italics | Memories: italic #8e7cc3
wc: 221/200

Rachel listened intently as Casey shared his campfire memories, a warm smile spreading across her face. She could hear the fondness in his voice as he talked about his family and the simple joys they shared. It was clear to her that these moments were precious to him, and she felt honored

“That sounds amazing,” she said genuinely. She glanced into the fire, imagining how magical it would be to see sparkles dancing among the flames. She hoped to learn that magic soon, envisioning the delight it would bring to moments like this.

As Casey told his story of his family, Rachel noticed the distinct accent in his voice. It differed from the British accents she was used to hearing, and her curiosity piqued. She decided to ask about it. “I couldn’t help but notice your accent,” she said with a friendly smile. “You sound like you’re from America. Whereabouts are you from? What’s it like? I’ve always wanted to travel there.”

Rachel hoped her question would keep the conversation flowing. Like her brothers, she had been fascinated by American television from a young age. Rachel’s thoughts wandered to her family and their camping trips, and she felt warm nostalgia. She wondered if Casey felt the same comfort in sharing his memories.

Interacting with Casey @Emily Shepherd

17/07/24 | English | Arabic | Spanish |

Reuben was extremely excited for his second summer camp at Hogwarts, and Lorelai was totally not his only reason for being present there. After their last ball together, his feelings toward the girl had become considerably more concrete. They had kissed!! He loved her so, so much and all he wanted to do was be next to her again. He had come to know that they might be in the same tent, and that only served to make him even more excited. He wondered if she felt the same, or had thought of her decision to date him again between the ball and now. However, her letters did not seem to suggest any such thing, so he hoped that nothing had changed.

Reuben walked towards the bonfire, all pumped up to listen to some spooky stories. Hopefully he would come across one of his friends at the bonfire. He knew Zophyr was there, and although they had not started off as great friends, they seemed to hace become pretty close now, and Reuben would love to spend some time with them (or was it him? Or her? Reuben always struggled to tell).

Reuben wondered if Zophyr was here for someone particular too. They did not really seem to be the romantic type, but seeing them dance with someone the ball before last had managed to make him think that there was some romance hidden deep inside that hard exterior shell, and he was determined to know exactly who it was for this time, totally not because he loved teasing people.

Mentioning: Zoph [@Mahlioz Evethisawe], Lorelai [@Violeta Roux]

:Interacting With

STA : 6 | EVA : 10 | WIS : 8 | ACC : 10 | ARC : 2 | STR : 4 |
Calming Presence | Evasive Maneuvers

Reducio

OOC: Calming presence in effect

Claudia hadn't thought about home in a while, if she could even call it that. In the span of eleven months the thick spruce, sycamore and maple that grew around her every second had gave way to the busy medieval architecture of an alien city over three thousand miles away, every tie her memories had to her hometown swiftly cut and left in their own special Star Lake in her brain, complete with a surrounding fence. Even when this meant the loss of her parents (don't worry, they're still around, barely) and early childhood, the girl seemed to have processed this quickly. Almost too quickly.

She'd skipped the welcome feast entirely, saying goodbye to Aunt Naomi and Micaela before weaving her way through the crowds enjoying the festivities and sitting outside her tent in the, strangely forming in July, snow. Normally, Claudia would've been all for a welcome feast. A chance to meet new people, especially the people she would be heading off to Hogwarts with in a couple of months, and to scout out who she thought she could befriend and the ones she should avoid, but there was something about that day that just felt off. Maybe it was the fast approaching full moon, but Claudia could never avoid her strange habit of always having to fully acclimatise herself into a new situation before diving right in. So, there she sat, feet buried in the snow like she was on a beach, holding the cup of hot cocoa one of the committee members had handed her on arrival as she watched all the people around her.

But today would be different. After having spent the start of her summer camp experience alone with only the snow as company, she decided to venture out into the main part of the stadium away from the tents. In the distance, the multicoloured glow of licking flames shone high above any tent nearest to her so, being the inquisitive mind she was, Claudia began to make her way towards the warmth in the cold wintery... July. Seriously, she could not wrap her head around the theming.

Upon stumbling to the site of the flame, she realised that it was in fact a bonfire, not only that but the biggest bonfire she had seen in her life. Claudia hadn't thought about home in a while, but it was all flooding back to her now like blood seeping to her head. Memories hit her skull hard of every wild fire she and her parents had shared in the rural heaven of her New York, of her home. Of the horror stories shared of the wildness outside her sheltered upbringing in the grassland and the wood. Of her special birthday s'mores, which she'd never even gotten to make nor taste before she was being infected with the very same thing from her stories. She hadn't processed at all. She'd just buried it deep, deep enough with a flimsy fence ready to break all over again. Why had she even come?

Dousing the flames threatening to pull tears from her eyes, Claudia focused herself to the very real flames in front of her. Forcing her body to move in the direction of the snack area, forcing herself to look away from the s'mores ingredients, forcing her father's special recipe not to come bursting through the floodgates. She picked up a bag of what looked like popcorn instead, reaching a slightly shaky hand inside to pull out a single kernel. Satisfied with the taste, she turned towards the small gaggle of students sat around the bonfire. She debated whether to go and sit on her own, in order to leave her with her increasing-by-the-second anxiety, but ultimately walked over and sat down on a rich looking loveseat a few seats away from a fighting couple of students about her age. Claudia began to watch them quietly, observing their actions with a calm nature one may use whilst bird-watching, occasionally turning out to watch the flames lick around the wood in all their coloured glory and eat another kernel of popcorn with her shaky hands.

hex code‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ me‎ntioning: @septimus merrill, @colby vidler ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ open to int‎eractions!

17/07/2024

"english" "portuguese" "spanish" thoughts

outfit

Banner was made by the great Pericles Dralt

RPing as Zophyr Qethnis from Uagadou

Genderfluid, pronouns at the moment: they/them

☽ Kirundi | French | English | Swahili | Arabic | Tswana | Xhosa ☾

Date: July 17 2024 Time: Evening

Interacting with: Reuben Garcia, Lorelai Diniz @Mellani Miller, @Violeta Roux Mentioning: X

As soon as Zophyr had noticed the patch of grass that did not have snow on it, they had raced right to it. Whatever event this would be, they could brave it. They just needed a break from all the dang cold. And it seemed this place would help with that - not only was there no snow on the ground, but there was a ginormous fire, hot chocolate, blankets, and already quite a few people, which meant body heat.

Perfect. Zophyr couldn't have been more relieved. Only two days into summer camp and they felt like they were turning into an ice cube. They first made their way over to the popcorn and hot chocolate (because who could say no to either of those?) and then scanned the crowds for either people they already knew or people they found interesting enough to get to know.

It ended up being the former, when they spotted Reuben. They hadn't talked to him much since summer camp started, what with the stress of getting settled in and the goddang cold, so they headed over to him right away. But someone had made it to him before them - a girl, seemingly their age, with long straight brown hair and light skin. The two seemed to know each other, from the way they were smiling. Zophyr raised an eyebrow, curious.

Had it been anyone else, they would have kept their distance and spied long enough to figure out who this girl was. But this was Reuben, their friend, and they had wanted to talk to him anyway. They munched a piece of popcorn, then approached the two with a grin on their face. "Hey Reuben," they said, hoping they hadn't interrupted a conversation. They nodded in greeting at the girl. "Who's this?

17/07/24 | English | Arabic | Spanish |

The minute Lorelai entered the camp area, Reuben's eyes drifted to her, as if pulled by some kind of magic. She seemed to search for some time, and Reuben was tempted to wave to her, but he did not want to confuse all the other people trying to search for their friends. Besides, there was a chance that Lorelai had planned to be here with some friend, and Reuben was totally okay with that too, but he really wished it was him she was looking for.

Soon enough, Lorelai seemed to have read his thoughts as she started coming closer, more like she was running towards him, which made Reuben even happier. She seemed to have grown prettier, if that was even possible. She looked taller and somewhat older. She also looked kind of nervous, and was stammering when she greeted him, but that probably had something to do with a certain four-letter word.

"Heyyy! Come sit", he said grinning to her, moving to one side so she could sit beside him. "Soo um how's everything going?", he asked, a fultile attempt to make conversation, when all he wanted to do was pull her close and kiss her. He did not care who saw... As long as it was not one of his few friends who would totally tease him for life.

As if summoned by the thought Zophyr seemed to appear out of this air, popcorn held in their hands. "Oh fuck", he whispered under his breath. "Hey Zoph!", he said loudly, grinning to them. He debated ignoring the question asking by Zophyr, but that would probably be even more suspicious, and knowing Zoph, they would take barely any time to figure it out. Reuben was surprised they had not already figured it out. "She's uh- Lorelai Diniz from Castelobruxo and she's um- a really cool girl and also uh- a really good friend and pen pal of mine." He had not said she was his girlfriend, but to someone like Zophyr it had probably become obvious. Yet, Reuben still hoped they would not guess, or if they did guess, he hoped they would not say anything.

"Lorelai, this is Zophyr Qenthis. He's one of my classmates back at Uagadou, and also a pretty annoying friend of mine." He introduced Zophyr for Lorelai's sake, because he did not want her to feel excluded. The fact that he called Zoph annoying was ironic, since among the two, he was probably ten thousand times more annoying, but Lorelai had no need of knowing that little detail.

Mentioning:

Zoph [@Mahlioz Evethisawe], Lorelai [@Violeta Roux]:Interacting With

STA : 6 | EVA : 10 | WIS : 8 | ACC : 10 | ARC : 2 | STR : 4 |
Calming Presence | Evasive Maneuvers

Reducio

OOC: Calming presence in effect
@Qrowley Beithir

17/07/2024

"english" "french" "parselmouth" thoughts

outfit

Interacting with @Septimus Merrill
Mentions @Claudia Kerr

The last of the popcorn had hit the floor. It had now blended in with the dirt and some of the ash from the large fire had gone over his popcorn debris. She looked down at it and did have a sense of remorse, but she wasn't going to show it. Colby crossed her arms and her eyebrows raised at the dark-haired boy.

"I don't need to be friends with every person I meet," she retorted. Was that the usual social norm in the Wizarding world? She grew up in the muggle world for schooling and people were often in cliques or were not friends with everyone. Colby had no idea what Hogwarts was going to be like, but she knew from her school that there were people who were "titled" differently by others– whether it was the popular group, the loners or band geeks, just to name a few.

"You yucked my yum." The best reason for her attitude. Her parents taught her about yucking other people's yum. Everyone had different tastes and he did not respect that. But even more so, Colby believed that she saved him. "Though I did save you from stale popcorn. So, you're welcome," she said as she handed him the empty bag and went to sit back down on the chair next to him.

"Gimme that," she said, reaching out towards him and grabbing the third-eaten s'more. Not caring that he had taken a bite from the other side, she had taken a bite from a third side, making the treat smaller. She took her gaze off of the s'more and onto the fire that was cackling loudly. The wood had moved ever so slightly, and the smell of burn was getting more pronounced.

Colby looked back down at the popcorn and instantly felt bad again. Her attention went back on the boy. She wouldn't necessarily apologize to just anyone, but since they were tent mates and it was just the start of summer camp, it was probably best to not make any enemies right now. last few days of camp, maybe. "I'm sorry. I can get you more popcorn, but I'm certain they aren't all fresh. It was made probably a few days ago in preparation for tonight," she guessed. "I could make you a s'more that's not so burnt, too," she offered.

While Colby was waiting for an answer, her nose had caught something that was not usual at a bonfire. It wasn't the smell of burning wood or s'mores. It wasn't even a sweet smell of treats that everyone was stuffing their face with. It smelled like... Dog? With her green eyes, Colby scanned the area around her slowly. There was so much going on that she had no idea where it was coming from. Was the smell near or far? Was it an actual dog that was nearby? Then again, Colby, being a werewolf herself, would not be surprised if there were others lingering about. In a way, she hoped for the werewolf to not find her as she did not want to share her true being with others– at least not yet. She was still figuring out how to validate herself to this day.