Gala of Mysteries Fall Ball

Interactions
@Wyatt Starkey, @Jack Burnett, @Hanako Tone

Stamina: 12 | Evasion: 11 | Strength: 5 | Wisdom: 11 | Arcane Power: 10 | Accuracy: 11

Calming Presence | Components | Muggle Condition
Allies: Jack, Wyatt, Percival

The school ball. Always interesting, always exciting, always had something going on. This time, Haven read and re-read every single announcement she saw, ensuring that there would be no kissing this time. She was doing her best to actually pay attention to things and stop being so... Haven. Like how she was fully prepared to show up in a costume, but she read the recommended dress code, so it was still kinda sorta a costume, but she was not showing up as a pygmy puff. That would be embarrassing. No, instead, she chose one of her nice dresses and made her mother buy her a hat that matched the theme. She quite liked hats, so she was fond of that part, not to mention her mum did quite a good job, so she thought. But having a fancy hat did not necessarily guarantee a fabulous time, unfortunately. Though maybe she wouldn't have had such a terrible time at the Spin last summer if she was wearing a hat... maybe she should have gone with a bigger hat, so she was even harder to kiss.

Ah, the things that preoccupy a teenage girl's mind.

Despite her apprehension, she was still excited. But in true Haven fashion, she had completely forgotten about the gala until she saw her roommates getting ready for it, and then had to scramble around like a crazed maniac to get ready. Miraculously, she was ready on time- early, even, and didn't look like a drowned rat. That was a win, if she ever heard one.

Getting a date had never been on Haven's radar- especially not now, not after that disaster over the summer. Sure, she had crushes before... once, then made a fool of herself at the Triathlon and proceeded to avoid the boy after that. She'd just never been very good at that. Talking and talking well were two entirely different things. She could just go on and on and on for hours, and most people didn't like that, so she was still learning how to shut up every once in a while. Despite being so extroverted, she really didn't even have that many friends. She had so many things she had to focus on in school- namely, not failing, which was proving difficult. It was hard having a social life when you were trying not to flunk out. At least she still had Marcus, her beloved pygmy puff, at her side.

Except, he wasn't at her side. The darned guy had CHICKENED OUT on her. Marcus had been laying in his bed all day, acting like he was sick or something. He hadn't even eaten the treats she had given him- oh Merlin her pygmy puff was sick. She was a terrible puff mother! Haven quickly turned herself around to go take care of Marcus and make sure he was okay, putting her behind schedule.

She now she was alone, and late, but at least she still had her hat. Haven had no clue what she was going to do at the ball (she wasn't sure she trusted the dance floors), but hey, she could probably figure something out. She scanned the room, looking for a familiar face, when she spotted...

"OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS MERLIN'S UNDERPANTS IS THAT A CAT?" she yelled, with utter disregard for others as she ran across the room to the teeny little creature, all dressed up in an adorable little outfit.

"What a cute cat," she gushed, petting the little thing in Wyatt's arms. "I have a cat back at home... his name's Merlin. My parents didn't let me bring him, he's the family cat, but I have a pygmy puff here. Marcus. Marcus is my pygmy puff. He's sick, so I couldn't bring him, but oh is he so cute, just like this little cutie. You know, I could never get Merlin to agree to dressing up, he always hated it. I'd make him do it anyway, but he did not like it. He didn't like when I covered him in glitter, either, but I did that anyway. I've never really figured out how to put Marcus into a costume, you know, he's just so... round. And fluffy. Though I've figured out how to do a Marcus costume. Oh, maybe I need to turn him into me for Halloween. Oh, that's a great idea. Man, I wish he wasn't sick, then I could have brought him, and you could meet him. And then they could play together and be the bestest of friends and ...oh. Yeah. Hi. I'm Haven." She suddenly remembered basic human interaction, facing the boy holding the cat and then the people around him.

"Jack," she nodded to him, before her heart froze for a moment when she saw the next boy. "Oh. Hanako." The distaste in her voice was more than apparent- she had never been very good at hiding her emotions, and he was the cause of most of her stressors of this ball. If she could go the rest of her life without seeing him again and having to think of that awful, awful night with that horrible kiss, she would be very happy indeed. Alas, he was right in front of her. Stupid, stupid fate.

Action
Petting cat, hating Hanako

Note: Thoughts Speech	Nabi's Dress: Reducio
The Great Hall 2024.10.19	Interaction Status: Open Interacting: @Alyss Gilmour

Nabi was calmly making her way towards the dessert table, unware that she had caught the attention of a fellow young slytherin. Nabi's posture is tall and stern as she looked at the selection of treats, in search for the velvet cupcakes. Her search was interrupted by the sudden sound of a girl's voice, turning to glance at the direction of the voice; she had forgotten how tall she is for a first year and her heels only made her appear taller. Nabi glanced down slightly, her grey eyes landing on the rather small blonde girl.

Rasing an eyebrow slightly as she heard the young girl introduce herself and mention she had noticed her from across the room. Thinking to herself, My goal was not to be seen..., she made a soft hum for a response and tilted her head slightly, observing the girl, whom she knows is named Alyss. She noticed the girl looked a bit nervous approaching her and humed in response before finally saying, "My name is Nabi...it is an old gift I had recieved. I am afraid I would not be able to tell you where it was bought as it is custom made, Miss Alyss. My apologies...". Nabi's eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she glanced over her dress, hm...what an odd color for a dress...the poofiness is not doing her height any favors.. Of course, she was not about to destroy a girl's self esteem so Nabi says expressionless, "You look...nice, Miss Alyss".

Nabi notices the faux pearls but decides not to say anything about it as she says stoically, "I suppose you are just as ecstatic as everyone else in attendence, hm?". Nabi continues to observe the girl with an unchanged expression, her question was not really a question but an apathetic attempt at making Alyss feel less nervous.

Abilities: none
Stamina: 6 Evasion: 6 Strength: 5
Wisdom: 8 ArcPower: 5 Accuracy: 5

Actions: arrives at the dessert table, looks for a dessert, begins to speak to Alyss
Items: Wand

October 19th 2024
Speech: Bold #257379
Thoughts: Bold Italics
Bumping Into Amber Frost Hart @Reyna Evergreen
Mentioning Zyair Ona'je @Scout Fu-Hai

Casey stood outside the doors to the Great Hall. He was testing his hearing again. He didn't think he'd be this paranoid going into this Ball, though still coming to terms with the fact that he was recovering from the shock of his head injury after the Hogsmeade Bombing, he was trying to cut himself at least some slack. He covered the ear on the side where he banged his head from before, the sound dipping expectantly. When he uncovered it, his hearing picked up the clamber of voices and the music travelling across the Hall. As suspected, his hearing was fine.

He pinched the bridge of his nose before forcing his weight into the venue. He still couldn't believe that Huffie managed to persuade him to come. Actually, no. It wasn't quite like that entirely. Sure, it was Emily who asked him to come along, but he was just as open to the idea as she was. A shameful excuse to partner up with someone who can tolerate his sass but aside from that, he was still fooling himself into thinking she wasn't more than a means to an end. It was to be expected; he hadn't had any stable "friendships" in quite some time. Ilvermorny was proving difficult to make buddies with given his track record of brushing people off while still in "Missing Brother Grief" but after their get-together at Summer Camp, Casey wanted a physical reminder that she was actually a friend, not just a rental counsellor.

Casey navigated through the Hall whilst doing his best not to bump into the growing number of guests. While his recovery from the Bombing made up part of what had him so on edge about turning up, the rumours Emily told him about Hogwarts being a prime playground for things to go wrong, particularly at social events, also had him keeping his hands to himself. Between hags and werewolves and everything in between that had been surfacing at Hogwarts recently, Casey just wanted to chill with Emily, maybe get a drink, dance a few steps and then get the hell out. It wasn't like him to be this twitchy, but he had a feeling being with Emily for even five minutes would help soothe him right down. Though that didn't mean he wanted to hang about and get jumped on by any "unspeakable horrors" that appear to be a regular theme at these Hogwarts Balls.

He stood by the far wall, scanning the crowds endlessly as he tried to find Emily. He kept his hands at his sides, resisting the urge to shove them in his pockets for the sake of formality. He looked the part, a simple black suit with brown furnishings and a tie that more-or-less looked straight at the collar. He just needed to properly act the part. It was really more for the fun of the theme rather than etiquette. Casey didn't have the patience for that and he sure as hell wasn't going to start any time soon.

His mindless glances across the checkered dance floor and food tables left him unaware of a stranger that bumped into him by accident, eliciting a startled sound from Casey's mouth. Except they weren't a stranger, instead an upperclassman from Ilvermorny. Casey stiffened from the collision - having briefly reminded him of how Zyair fell into him right when the bombs went off back at Hogsmeade - but relaxed at the equally startled, but otherwise friendly face before him and the fact that the Ball wasn't in the process of blowing up. Yet.

"S'alright... No harm done."

The girl looked a little lost herself as Casey watched her scan the crowds. Casey gave a harmless smirk.

"Lookin' for someone too?"

_{Word Count: 677}

Action: Bumping into and striking a conversation with Amber Frost Hart while waiting for Emily

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

Date: October 19 Word Count: 395/200 Action: Eating "jello salad"

Mentions: Reducio @Tesla Stone, @Meyra Lancaster, @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki, and @Elisa Wagner

English: #00b899 Spanish: #009919 French: #e69f3d Thoughts: Italics

★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯

Lucy blushed as a girl yelled at her for closing her eyes. It was her fault after all. "Sorry." She managed to squeak. Don't draw attention. She might be a werewolf hater! Everyone could betray you, or find out your secret. Next time, I have to be more careful. As she was thinking this, a girl walked up to her. “Well, hello there! I’m Tes, a third year Hufflepuff here at Hogwarts. I seem to recognize you all from somewhere, if you catch my meaning.” Lucy was confused for a long second before realizing what it meant. The scars on her arm. Just like the one on her thigh. The reason she always wore pants. She was a werewolf too, and they had met during the full moon. “You don’t mind if I join you all for a bit, right? I don’t have anyone to meet here, and it'd be nice to spend time with folks that I have something in common with." Was she kidding? Lucy had a date, but she couldn't find Clément right now, and she was about to talk to two werewolves. Even if the other girl was annoying, she would get over it. Talking to fellow werewolves was worth the sacrifice. Maybe she would even apologize to her. "Of course! I don't mind at all!" She bounded over to Tes, and smiled at her, eager to let her know that she was welcoming. "My name's Lucy by the way." This was going to be great. Back when she had first got bitten, she had been convinced that she wouldn't ever find anyone like her. She would mope around for days, not even getting out of bed to feed the goats. But she had learned that there were others, and that moping wouldn't help anything. That didn't mean it wasn't hard to fall into despair, but she had learned to focus on other things instead of crying about what she couldn't fix. The table was full of food when they got there, but it didn't look entirely appetizing. Lucy was hungry though, so she took a chance and grabbed a piece of jello salad, hoping it tasted better than it looked. "If I die, don't eat this." She joked to them. Then she took a big bite and got ready to have some fun for the first time in her life.

★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯

Stats:
stamina 5 | evasion 6 | strength 7
wisdom 7 | arc power 5 | accuracy 5
Ability: Werewolf

★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯ ✮ ✭ ✬ ✫ ✩ ✦ ☆ ★

Full Outfit * Interaction: @Pericles Dralt Mentioning: @Evelynn Decipio & @Hanako Tone

“Don't worry. I've developed a knack for limited vision.” Eun-ji smiled upon hearing his remark. “Ah good. I'll be counting on you then.” See? He had her back. The witch allowed herself to be led through the fog, trusting Peri to not let her trip and lose face. A trivial concern. It was not like people didn't trip all the time yet every fiber of Eun-ji’s being screamed at her that she needed to be perfect. Or perhaps it was her grandparents' voices living at the back of her head...she could no longer tell.

Luckily, the short walk resulted in no accidents and her mind soon quieted down. She couldn’t dwell on these little things for too long otherwise she’d drive herself insane. Instead, the witch followed Peri’s example and took a moment to survey their surroundings. She barely stopped herself from cringing at the unfolding scene between Winnie and Matthias. Better not to know. From the very beginning, Eun-ji thought their relationship strange beyond reason and Matt always creeped her out. Peri seemed to share said sentiment, but his eyes still settled on something…or rather someone nearby. The witch followed his gaze curiously only to spot a familiar redhead. Ooh…now I see. Peri did not mention, who was the thief that stole his heart, but it was not hard to guess, judging from his current expression no matter how subtle it was. “She looks beautiful.” Eun-ji noted, quietly so no one else could hear. “…also very much alone. Perhaps you’ll get to steal her by the end of tonight.” She suggested playfully, not really expecting an answer. Evelynn may have very well been waiting for her date but there was always hope. Not that she wished for her to be stood up. That would be messed up.

“Any sign of yours...?” Eun-ji sighed, daring herself to look around some more. It was embarrassingly easy to find her own heart thief. He was handsome but he did not have any unique features and yet she was able to pinpoint his figure in the crowd within seconds. “Yes.” She nodded a small frown forming on her face. Was he…holding a kitten? Just recently, Eun-ji was thinking what a shame it was that Hana disliked cats and how she wished he would get along with Mordred and now, there he was holding somebody else’s cat. Granted, he didn’t look exactly thrilled but still. And yes, it was stupid thing to get upset about but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to turn away but her eyes would not listen to reason and so she watched on as he passed the fluffy creature to Wyatt. Was it his cat then? Did they come together or was it a random encounter? But then why would he hold his cat if they simply bumped into each other? Was she overthinking again? Most likely, but it stung nonetheless.

In truth, they haven’t even seen each other since the school started. It was partially her fault for being scared to face him, but he didn’t seem to be looking for her either. At times, Eun-ji couldn’t help wondering if he got tired of her already. She had been called dull and tiresome so many times that she sometimes started to believe it herself. At last, the witch managed to tear her gaze away from the boy. She hated this. She hated how little control she had over herself when it came to him. Most of all, she hated herself because she kept thinking of him. Often... and she just I couldn't stop. “Let’s go. We don’t want to miss the game.” She gave her fellow Ravenclaw a small smile, not willing to linger and overthink any more than she already did.

Action: Exiting the thread (Headed towards the Whispers of the Dark event with Pericles)

Outfit: Reducio "English"|Thoughts

10/19/24 OOC Note: Reducio Abilities: Charmer | Fearless

Amber felt a bit embarrassed. She managed to bump into someone, someone she knew which was even worse. At least it was someone younger than her. She recognized the person as Casey, a second year. He wore a simple black suit with a tie, which fit the theme very well. Clearly he had been trying to blend in and Amber had well, made him not blend in.
Oops. Oh well.
"Thanks," she replied. It was a little awkward as she looked for Kaya and Miles who were nowhere to be seen. She remembered last ball where she had met her pen pal and a new friend EmmaLee. This time it was going to be quite different for sure. She just hopped no one else was going to get hurt. She already had enough burns, that luckily were mostly healed. She had been lucky.
She almost jumped when Casey asked her whether she was looking for someone. "Yeah," she said, "I was looking for Kaya, my bestie and my date Miles." She smiled. "And I guess I was just noticing things. Its fun to see what happens at a ball. Like proposals." she pointed to the two older year students who she had recognized as fifth years. "How about you?" she asked, noticing that Casey had also been looking around.
She then remembered that Casey had also been hurt in the fires like her. "How are you doing after the incident arriving here?" she asked. She hoped that Casey wasn't traumatized about the fires, but she did want to know whether he was okay. Although he probably wouldn't be here if he wasn't. Sometimes Amber asked stupid questions. She tried not to fidget with her necklace suddenly feeling a tad bit insecure which was very unlike her.
Get it together self! You're outgoing! She took a deep breathe in. Maybe the fires had traumatized her more than she had thought...
At least she wasn't a loner because she was talking to Casey. Focus on the positive. Maybe she could even get to know him better.

sta 8 • eva 8 • str 8 • wis 7 • arc 7 • acc 8
Charmer | Fearless
Owl if you want to interact.

Word Count: 344/200

Uri gave a mirthful chuckle when Siobhan asked who he was referring to. "Oh my," he laughed, "It's you, silly!" He decided he should explain himself in case he thought he was being rude, "I don't know it's like a nickname... it just kinda popped into my head when I saw you and I just went with it," he said as he hiked his shoulders. Then his 12-year-old brain started to go into overdrive for reasons he didn't understand and he was suddenly worried she was insulted, "Errr I'm sorry if you don't like it I'll stop." He fidgeted in his awkwardness for a moment after he said it before catching himself and stopping.

He briefly turned his back and made himself some more Tang while she explained about the help a professor gave her when he realized he was accidentally being quite rude. To cover himself, he hastily grabbed a couple more chocolate-covered peanuts from the package he'd opened before she arrived and turned around just as she thanked him. "You may not be matching everyone else here but that's not necessarily a bad thing," he began as he offered the two chocolate-covered peanuts to her, "You're a bright spot in another wise dark setting and bright spots are lovely," he said with a smile before realizing he should tell her what he as offering, "These are chocolate covered peanuts from the space food, they're not M&Ms but they're pretty good."

As he finished the remark on the peanuts, the irony was not lost on him that this was mirroring the first time they'd properly met. When he'd been a proper tit and put on the mask he'd been sent anonymously. In hindsight, it had been pretty stupid to surprise Siobhan with that stupid mask. Still, they wound up being friends because of the whole incident. He smiled to himself as he recalled the memory.

She had barely finished talking about Whispers in the Dark when he said, "Sure I'd love to do that," then he realized he'd gotten way too excited and that she probably wasn't even asking him and he hastily added, "I mean... if you want to. But it sounds fun to me, I love a good chance to put my brain through its paces." He said, not fully aware of how dumb that sounded as he said it. He then sheepishly added, "I wouldn't mind dancing at some point if... er... you'd be interested in that," he finished with a smile.

Action: Being his awkward self

Interacting: @Siobhan McCarty
Mentioning: N/A

ILVERMORNY RULES!!! Cursa McCoire Stats: Sta: 7 | Eva: 10 | Str: 0 | Wis: 10 | Arc: 10 | Acc: 13 Abilities: TBD Trunk: Right Here!

There was no question about it. Hogwarts sucked. Scotland sucked. Even the food sucked.

Cursa entered the so-called "Great Hall" of Hogwarts School and looked around at the place, now that it was decorated for the ball. He hated balls. Never let it be said that Cursa McCoire was anything other than a proud Pureblood. But still, balls were stupid. Mostly it was pretentious families trying to impress one another with their wannabe status. Most of them could only trace their lineage back a couple hundred years. Well. That was America for you! Ilvermorny itself was practically brand new compared to Hogwarts!

Even so.

This place screamed Pureblood, and here was a McCoire coming home, as it were, to the ancestral school, finding it full of half-breeds and No-m --- Muggles. He'd have to get used to language here! Everyone even sounded weird! He wasn't impressed. He'd hardly stepped out of his carriage when everything blew up! Somehow, he'd been lucky enough to be blown clear of the wreckage, and lucky enough not to die the way so many other kids did.


Cursa wandered over towards the tables laden with --- was that even proper food? And here we all are, he thought, a dancing party with a side of funeral joy? Looking around at the kids who had shown up already, most were dressed in some kind of fancy dress. Cursa felt out of place on that account. There was a girl a couple years older than him kind of hiding behind a pillar. She seemed almost as out of place as him, but she also had the look of someone who knew what was going to happen next. All his clothes had been blown up and burnt to ash in the explosion. He did manage to scrounge a black trench coat and a half way decent linen shirt and a hat, so he didn't look entirely out of place.

"SP--- SPAM!? What even is this stuff?" he wondered aloud. Must be something No-Ma-- I mean, some kind of muggle food?" Oh well! That's what there was to eat, so Cursa tipped some of the revolting looking stuff onto a plate and headed towards a table. He nodded towards the black haired girl as she surveyed her domain. Finding a spot to sit, Cursa wondered what the evening would bring. Would anyone from Ilvermorny even show up?

Mentions: Noticed @Illowy Magnard
Moderated Actions: Trying not to puke on --- SPAM?
Inventory: Wand, battered black trenchcoat.

Werewolves: Looks like someone needs a flea dip!

Action: Entering the Great Hall, getting food, eating, resting her eyes.

october 19th, 2024		saturday, evening
wc: 400		zyair ona'je - uagadou
interacting with: Sabrina Ortega | @Sage Willows		mentioning: scout & casey | @Emily Shephard

keen eye | calming presence
stamina: 5 | evasion: 7 | strength: 4 | wisdom: 7 | arcpower: 7 | accuracy: 10

Zyair felt... bad. Horrible, awful, déplorable. First he had been the indirect cause of Casey getting severe head trauma, then he completely blew Scout off when she had asked him to join her for the Gala. Now he was sitting waiting for Sabrina, who he felt horrible for asking her to go with him- he needed to find a way to gently tell Sabrina that he has made a mistake and try to patch things up, all the while he tries to help Casey with his whole mystery shtick.

To say he was stressed would be to downplay his feelings entirely. He was more than stressed. Also not to mention his ears were still ringing from the whole 'blowing up' thing that happened just a few days prior, Zy was super stressed. It was unlike him, hands holding and closing around his wand in his fancy tuxedo pocket, Eba's voice repeating in his ears telling him of all the life lessons she had learned. Of course, she failed to mention what one should do when they initially tell a girl to come with them to this whole ball and then immediately regret it because the girl they actually want to go with asked later and then-

Why was he even making excuses for his behavior?

He felt so odd, so selfish at a time like this. It had been his idea to ask Sabrina to come with him, not because he didn't think of Scout, but because he wasn't ignorant of how Sabrina acted when he was around. At first he thought he felt the same, he had a history of smiling suave when cute girls were near, but then he got that damned letter from Scout and any interest he had had in anyone else was killed off almost immediately. But he didn't... love her. No, he definitely didn't.

"Where is she...?" He muttered absentmindedly, looking through the crowds for Sabrina, hoping he'd spot her before she spotted him. Alternatively maybe he'd see Scout and that girl, Emily. Maybe they'd be with Casey- gods, no, never mind that thought, Scout seemed a little raw about their situation still, and he'd rather his friends not try to duel each other in the middle of such a well-decorated hall. Zyair thought about calling out her name, but that'd be awfully awkward if she weren't even in the hall...

He'd wait a little longer. If she didn't show, at least he wouldn't have to worry about inevitably leaving her on her own.

action: waiting for sabrina, fidgeting
owl b4 interaction pretty please :3