Gala of Mysteries Fall Ball

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

What did show up was Cursa's idiotic cousin, Colin McCoire. Naturally, he started chatting with the lovely girl he'd just nodded to. Not that Cursa was really interested. He only came here to try and take his mind of Castor and Pollux. He swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. He still couldn't believe it. Just --- gone. Some butt wipe of a wizard decided to attack a bunch of kids. Who did that? And now Cursa was left ---

He shook his head.

He wasn't going to cry. Certainly not in here, in front of all these kids.

Then a funny thing happened. He was watching as Colin tried to flirt with the dark haired girl. He had this dreamy look in his eyes, as if he were actually getting somewhere with the girl! And then this older guy just waltzes right by, completely ignoring Colin, as if the mange brained boy didn't even exist! He just shut Colin down and started talking to the girl. Cursa had no idea if they were a couple or what, but the look on Colin's face was totally worth it!

Cursa could barely contain his laughter!

And then the girl just got up and started dancing with the boy. It was so rich! Colin was just standing there with this slack-jawed expression on his face, like he was wondering who had hit him!! But the mirth didn't last long. The dark fog had deepened and Colin pretty much disappeared from sight, along with the other kids around. He couldn't even see the plate of mystery meat on the table in front of him. That was surely a blessing.

But when he heard Colin cast a wind charm, the whole climate of the place changed. First of all, the wind swept across the table he was sitting at, blowing the plate of Spam and the table cloth and everything right off the table. Cursa shot a sharp glance towards Colin, who was now visible in the light of some first year's magical lantern. "What's your problem?" But Colin wasn't even paying attention.

He'd had enough of the ball.

He's had enough of Hogwarts.

He'd certainly had enough of Colin McCoire!

Cursa got up and headed towards the huge doors at the far end of the hall. It was clearly a mistake even coming here tonight. And he had other things on his mind than the antics of his flea bitten cousin!

Mentions: Watched as @Aaron Jones completely disses Colin by dancing with @Illowy Magnard.
Moderated Actions: Leaving the ball.
Inventory: Wand, battered black trenchcoat.

Werewolves: So, who does your tick repellent collars?

Colin smirked as his casting of ventus took shape and the whirlwinds it caused blew through the place. It was just like a little storm! Bits of paper and decorations were picked up and tossed about, vases knocked over! He'd really have to try this in a duel some time --- wind was every bit as good as setting things on fire with magic!

The firstie, Meyra, didn't seem to impressed, however. "Was all of this really necessary?" she asked him as his little bit of chaos unfolded. Then she decided to head out, without even waiting for a response. Typical girl! But at least she reminded Colin that he too had signed up for the murder mystery game.

No one seemed to take much notice, of course. What was a minor wind storm in the great hall compared to all the chaos that happened over the last few days. He was actually surprised so many kids were even still here, from the other schools at least. He looked around. There were plenty of foreigners. One, he noted, was conspicuously missing. Where was the red haired boy? Cursa.

He turned his attention back towards Illowy's table, wondering if her watchful gaze might provide any clues. But no! Some older boy swept in and started talking with Illowy. Rude. As if Colin didn't even exist. Not even an excuse me, this is my girlfriend you're talking to. Colin narrowed his eyes. It wasn't like he was trying anything! Just passing some time with a fellow Snake. He shook his head.

Colin shrugged.

He thought about setting the older boy's hair on fire. His left hand even instinctively reached towards his wand as the pair headed over towards the dance floor. Colin rolled his eyes. What would be the point? He was just some stupid random kid who had interrupted Colin's conversation.

This left Colin rather torn. He had to go to that murder mystery game. But now Cursa had disappeared too. Colin wasn't yet sure what to make of his American cousin. They hadn't met under the best of circumstances, that was true. And he had called Colin a blood traitor. That would have to worked out. Most likely not on the piste, but for preference in some dark corridor...

Colin turned away from the ball. He really wasn't having good luck with these things. Dark visions forced him out last spring. Now this whole thing with Cursa and the attack on the foreign students this fall. "Maybe Illowy is right," he said to no one in particular. "Maybe I should find some cute girl and snog the night away..."

Mentions: @Illowy Magnard |

Aaron Jones

| @Tesla Stone | @Meyra Lancaster | @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki | @Minnie Duke

Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 11 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 12

Moderated Actions: Colin leaves the ball, looking for Cursa. Unless some cute girl decides she needs to snog the night away... || TRUNK

Kit: Colin has his wand readily available. He carries burn paste, bruise paste, lockpick knife, a variety of keys, a hurley stick (in case he has to get all muggle on someone), his silver arrow broom, a hag stone, and a variety of other very likely useless things in his pockets and enchanted satchel.

Aston was a bit stunned to see the boy looking straight at him as he talked, but he smiled and continued his talk, hoping to make the guy feel a bit better. He was happy to see that the blond boy seemed to have recovered and even talked back to him. Though Aston does not plan to accept his apology, "No, no need to apologise, these things just happen sometimes and you can't control it, it's fine." I'm sure if dad ever had a choice he would have never let me see what was happening to him. "Yeah it's really loud in there, so many people and so many things all happening at once. This is my first ball, not counting that small one at summer camp."

Aston kept his eye on the boy, he was taking his hat off when he asked him the question. He conflicts between telling him some excuse and telling him about the truth, the slightly embarrassing and all too personal truth. Screw it, he already had a panic attack in front of me, it'll be fine. "Well I'm gonna be honest with you here, I followed you out here. You uh...pumped into me and my friend without an apology so I was kinda angry. But then I saw you, and frankly I couldn't just leave you out there all alone. I know some people with similar issues, it's not pleasant and I don't want anyone to go through that. Not without support anyways." Aston's eyes fell dark as he said that, he looked at the floor, not wanting to see what face the stranger was making. It was the first time he talked about this to someone, like he finally acknowledged something he was avoiding for so long.

Word Count 294/200

Date: October 19th, 2024 Interacting/Mentioning: @Uri Davies

Speaking: #b284be Thoughts: #c9a0dc Translations:

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ "Mystery is as mystery does... Whatever is whatever was..."⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Siobhan laughed at Uri's weird rendition of the 1920s mobster voice as one of her bees landed on him. She held her hand out, coaxing the bee to return to her and to leave the poor boy alone. Plus she really didn't want them wandering off with him, she wanted to make sure she kept track of her belongings while at the ball. However Uri seemed to find her bees amusing, as though he had never really encountered the insect before. She supposed that if the bee wanted to sit on his lapel, then she could let it sit for a few more minutes.

At some point during their conversation, there had been an announcement that there would be no more opportunities to join the murder mystery game to which Siobhan frowned. She had been hoping to join and while talking and reuniting with friends was wonderful, she couldn't help the look of disappointment that crossed her face.

"Oh... The sign ups for the game have finished. How unfortunate." Siobhan mused with a small frown on her lips. There hadn't been much club wise that had jumped out at her during the school year so far- and while homework was interesting to her she had been so excited for something academic that wasn't related to school This game was a chance to showcase her wit and now she'd need to just hear about it from everyone else.

"Oh well... I suppose there's always next time-" She shrugged as she swirled the dregs of her tea in her teacup. She looked around the table slightly behind Uri, observing the spread and trying to find something to drink that wasn't overly sugary. Uri had been holding an electric orange drink in his hand, which smelled vaguely of oranges but also something slightly more... chemically?

"What is that you're drinking? Did it come from a particular table? All of this food looks quite strange to me even though theres things such as "TV Dinners?" I don't eat much of this processed types of food. My ma insists that it's quite unhealthy." Siobhan mused before regretting the words that came out of her mouth. That seemed to be quite rude as perhaps there wee people who couldn't afford fresh food like that which came from her family's farm straight to their table. She felt bad- she hoped it didn't sound pretentious... She had learned from her mother that perhaps one of the reasons she had been struggling with communication among her peers last year was because she forgot to think before she spoke.

"I apologize- I simply meant that I wish there were fresher options?"

Inventory
-Wand
-Siobhan's personal teacup
-Lavender Syrup
-Enchanted hairclips

sta 5 | eva 7 | str 7 | STATS | wis 6 | arc 4 | acc 6

Action: Rambling because she doesn't know what to do
Abilities: Healing Sage

Role-playing as Luka Antonov - Durmstrang iNPC

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Mentioning: @Aston Beckett Location: Hogwarts - Great Hall Area Date: October 19th

Speech: English: #7e1635 | Russian: #3e2169 Thoughts: Italics Outfit: ☆

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The smile the boy had while talking gave Luka butterflies, it was so kind and genuine. Or maybe it was just the effects of having a fairly severe panic attack. He thought for a moment, trying to convince himself of the latter. He blinked repeatedly, realizing he'd been staring. His suspicious expression allowed him to play it off as an interrogating glare.

As the boy explained how he ended up out there in the corridor with him, Luka's "glare" shifted into an almost sad expression. "Oh," was all he could manage to say. The black-haired boy went quiet, he seemed upset, and it was Luka's fault. He'd clearly done something to bother the boy. He wanted to apologize but he didn't know what to say. "Sorry my panic attack upset you?" That would just make it seem like he was being rude. He hesitantly set his hand on the boy's shoulder, like he had done. "Thank you," he said, barely above a whisper.

A few moments passed in awkward silence before he finally spoke up, "I, uh, I'm Luka, by the way." He gave the boy a small smile, every other time he'd had a panic attack, he'd had to deal with it on his own. But just the boy's presence had helped him calm down. He had come to Luka's side, without any idea as to what was wrong with him, and he didn't leave. He cared without knowing who he was caring about. He didn't know the boy's name, but Luka knew that as soon as he learned it, it would become his favorite word.

Feeling the hand on his shoulder Aston looked up in surprise, not expecting the sudden touch. It wasn't unwelcomed, in fact it brought a warm feeling to his chest. Weird. Upon hearing the boy's gratitude, a soft, gentle sound he almost missed. Aston didn't quite know what to say, deciding to just nod with a small smile.

It was silence between the two of them after that, Aston sat against the wall, suddenly aware of the cold of the stone floor and the feel of his suit. Can't believe I'm still not used to it, wonder how long it'll take. Even his breathing felt loud, perhaps it was just the quiet here compared to the hall, or he was just being oddly self conscious for some reason.

The boy's voice broke the silence between them, pulling Aston's attention out of his weird thoughts. "Luka, that's a nice name. I'm Aston. I'm a second year at Hogwarts, Ravenclaw. " Aston smiled, happy at the idea of making a new friend. The ball certainly hasn't been what he expected, though to be fair he wasn't really expecting anything. Unlike what felt like most people at the ball Aston's plan was limited to "go to the ball, with friends, hopefully." And that plan was basically out the window by now. Surely Kenzie will be fine. "So wanna do anything? The ball got almost everyones attention, it should pretty empty everywhere else."

Word Count 237/200

Roleplaying as Hans Jenssen

“Who… Can I ask who you are talking about?”

Regret glinted in Hans' gaze, the moonlight only bringing out what had always been there. Dark coffee eyes flashed upwards towards the icy boy grappling at every inch of his chipped mind. Brows furrowed as he turned back to Astrid, taking a seat and gesturing for her to follow - after all it was always best to speak of such things sat down. His body slouched inwards, fingers pressed to his temple, no more than a silhouette among shadows, no more than a stranger with such uncharacteristic posture. Drawing in a breath and willing his eyes to derive some interest from the vase sat shattered in front of him, Hans spoke, voice stilted when the rhythmic breathing he relied on failed him, “Nikolai.

“Give him some time, that’s what I tell myself. He just needs a minute, and I can understand that. I’m fine with letting him be, his company, even without conversation, is a gift in of itself. What hurts the most is I can’t do anything about it and I don’t even know what to do about it. All that's in my power is to just watch him suffer. It just feels so pointless, getting this devoted into learning magic then finding out not only does it not solve more problems, but it kills. But…. But, Astrid, he’s strong right? He is strong, and he will be fine. Astrid, he will be fine.” Hans would have taken Astrid by the shoulders and shook her if only to receive an affirmative. The fire that used to burn in him had quelled to a mere simmer, dimming with his fading good cheer. The world had dulled into a darkening spiral, unrelenting, unsympathetic, eating up every inch of sunlight he tried to summon.

But even when the world remained callous and stubborn, even when he had lost his own trust, Hans' heart told him to retain his face in the fearless dragon-heart. Strong, he had called him. He hoped it was enough.

Hans was in the wrong for piling such burdens on Astrid’s shoulders when he, this Atlas of his own troubles, felt on the edge of collapse. His guilt, leaden, unforgiving, and stone cold, had not been designed to be shared. “No, sorry, you’re not my therapist,” he conceded. Drawing his finger along the table cloth, he continued to admit, lips twitching upwards in the soullessly crooked imitation of a grin, “And... I've also been told wallowing in depression isn't exactly my best look, is it now? Let's talk about something else.”

@Anastasia Blackwood-Varney as Astrid Olsen

]Sta: 8 | Eva: 10 | Str: 5 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 2 | Acc: 10 | Fearless | Charmer

Charmer affects everyone but Nikolai Vol'ka, Valentin Schnell, Johannes Sauer, Felix Kolbeck, Greta Fransson, and Astrid Olsen

October 19th 2024
Speech: Bold #257379
Thoughts: Bold Italics
Getting Chatty with Amber Frost Hart @Reyna Evergreen
Mentioning: Emily Shephard (Hey, I know her! )
Also tagging @Scout Fu-Hai for continuity sake

"You're not hard to put up with! I think you're a great person to talk to!"

Well... That was a first. Actually no, more like a second. Emily was technically the first person to call upon that sentiment. Still, Casey couldn't get over the last time someone was actually enjoying his company. Probably didn't help that he barely had any back in his first year at Ilvermorny. The fact that it was coming from a girl as well. While Casey was nowhere near thinking about that kind of acquaintanceship with any girl, Emily included, it still made him look away and scratch the back of his neck shyly. Jesus, a year without socialising really did do a number on him. Although he already knew it, it was still worth it for Casey to realise just how apparent it really was. The more times he did it, the better he felt.

"Thanks..." he finally said graciously.

It also surprised Casey at how well Amber took to being fourth place in the Water Race. While she did seem like the kind of person to just enjoy the thrill of it, their entire team seemed a little more than determined to win back then. Casey was only really bothered about finishing the race on his own terms, but for a while, the idea of being fourth place didn't sit with him well. Amber quelled that sentiment instantly when he saw her indifference.

The conversation died off almost as quickly as it picked up speed when Casey brought back up the "Thing" back at Hogsmeade. He didn't expect an instant answer, or any at all really, from Amber. She was just as affected by it like everyone else was. As if on cue, Casey covered his ear as if by instinct, testing his hearing and awaiting for any pain to come to where he banged his head during the ordeal. To no shock to anyone, Casey was fine, though his bouts of paranoia were starting to irk him. The ornament he found in the wreckage was still tucked away in his back pocket. His fingers curled into his palm, expecting to feel the blisters he got from the flames. Like his head trauma, they were gone too.

"If only our ball partners were here..."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah..." His attention went back to the crowd, his eyes darting between the faces that went past him. "For crissakes, what's takin' her so long...? "

"...Sey?"

Casey turned his head to where he thought he heard his name being called.

_{Word Count: 486}

Action: Talkin' with Amber and Stalkin' for Emily

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

There was a level of comfort and relief as Aaron attempted to carry on as though they both hadn't nearly hopped out of their skin moments ago. Illowy chose to ignore the protective hold he'd had on her before they returned to their dancing. She would simply allow herself to be pulled back into the moment and have fun for once at one of these dances. A task made all the more easy to accomplish in Aaron's company; but then, he always seemed to have such an easy way about him that made falling into light conversation and laughter easy.

As he would offer her a nip of firewhisky, Illowy hardly would pass it up, trusting him to be her look out. The girl was quick and discreet as she took her quick drink from the flask, doing everything she could not to make a face at the strong taste as she passed the flask back for him to tuck away. Small of a drink as it was, for a moment at least it helped her feel a little more loosened up as they danced and quipped and joked back and forth in a way Illowy hadn't in a long time. It gave her some hope of this being an actually decent night.

The older girl reached for Aaron's arm before he could bump into another party-goer, though it was too little too late. At least it seemed to be someone he knew as the lad fell into easy conversation that way only he was to apt to do. The snake had to admit she was a little jealous of how easy it seemed to be for him to chat people up like a proper social butterfly.

Her attention was called back when Aaron started making introductions, and Illowy gave a small dip of a curtsy as she was introduced to the other girl and the boy she could only assume was her date, "So you're to thank that my feet haven't been crushed all night." she gave a small chuckle, "Its a pleasure."

When Aaron asked the other girl, Greta, for a dance then asked herself if it was alright, Illowy simply nodded and gave the his hand in her's a soft pat, "Of course. I'm sure I've hogged you to myself quite long enough." she teased before releasing his hand from her's, "I hope everyone enjoys their evening. Excuse me." she offed another small smile and polite curtsy before starting back towards her original perch.

Finding her way back, she thought that at the very least she could say she had one enjoyable dance at one of these events that wasn't marred or interrupted by tragedy. But now, it was time to return to more serious matters. After all, she wasn't really here to have fun or goof around, she needed to keep an eye out for any further issue. All the same, she did find her gaze wandering about for anyone else she may know, which was few and far between. Sure, there were people she knew in passing or recognized from her classes or House, but none of her friends appeared to be there. That now seemed to include Colin, whom she now realized she'd completely lost track of... one could argue was something of a problem.

While she didn't think of the lad as dangerous by any means, he did seem to have a knack for getting himself into trouble... or at least in the middle of trouble. The last she'd seen of him had been just before Aaron had spirited her off to the dancefloor and Colin had seemed preoccupied chittering with his own friends and sorting out the fog above him... He's probably gone off to another event, she settled with herself, crossing her arms at her stomach as her eyes drifted back off around the room.

It seemed there was plenty of personal drama going on, but she was hardly about to insert herself into petty castings. That sounded like a Prefect or Professor problem, not her problem. As long as nothing got out of hand, she'd consider this night a success.

Role-playing as Luka Antonov - Durmstrang iNPC

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Mentioning: @Aston Beckett Location: Hogwarts - Great Hall Area Date: October 19th

Speech: English: #7e1635 | Russian: #3e2169 Thoughts: Italics Outfit: ☆

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The boy introduced himself to Luka, he was a Ravenclaw, which Luka remembered was one of the houses there at Hogwarts. That's the one with the smarter people, I think. So maybe not everything at Hogwarts was awful. Maybe just everything other than Aston (and of course the library, but that goes without saying.) "Aston," he quietly echoed the boy. "I like it, I feel like it suits you well," where the confidence came from, he didn't know, but just as soon as it came, it left. He bit his lip, silently cringing at himself.

Luka never had been much of a fan of his name. It was short and boring and lacked any kind of characteristic. But hearing it in Aston's voice made him like it just a little bit more. "Oh, I'm from Durmstrang, a second year. We don't actually have houses there, which I think makes it better. Because if all my friends were in different houses then I'd probably be lonely," he said thoughtfully. Not like I have any friends to be separated from though. The thought surprised him, since when did he care about having friends? Even as a young child he always preferred being on his own. Maybe it was just how nice Aston was being to him that made Luka feel like having people around wouldn't be that bad. Barely five minutes and he's already a bad influence.

"What about the girl you were with?" A sudden possibility popped into Luka head, what if that's his girlfriend? I've just gone and taken him away from his date. He folded his hands in his lap, feeling a bit guilty. "Won't she be expecting you to go back?" He silently prayed to whatever god would listen that Aston would say no, not wanting him to leave.