closed Feast

Chauncey's advice still came through in her head. "Baby, I can get you far-" Xailah had only been half-listening at the time, a portion of her attention twisted around the stacks of rings bedecking his fingers. They were gold- the rings, or so she assumed at a glance- and danced in the pulsating nightclub lights whenever he moved his hands to emphasize his point. "-But if you do this right, it can get you places. You think you've got it good now? This will change the game." He had shoved an open envelope into her hands; the contents already thoroughly read through. "You want to get big? Take the shot."

Big had never been the goal.

Mastery was never the game.

But Chauncey had a knack for appealing to the opportunistic side of the human psyche; it was how he found most of his success in the club industry. If he knew there was something bigger awaiting someone, he worked that pawn to his advantage. Usually.

Xailah was a case he had been working on for some months now that tested his prowess of people. A personal project of ambition, if you will. He saw greater things in her future and aimed to shove her in the "right" direction. The only way for her was up, or so he insisted. The ritzy club owner was apparently doing something right in his mission, because soon he'd have her fancy little boots planted on France's doorstep.

⬩───────────────⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ♡ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅───────────────⬩

Ah, February 14th: a (mostly) universal day reserved for celebrating all things love and passion. While many endured the day out of pleasure, Xailah was present on matters of business. Although, given the holiday, one would have thought she'd be home with her own sweetheart but the universe- finicky as ever- seemed to have other plans.

Circumstances were nothing short of ironic. The one day out of the year Xailah was most avoidant of, was the one she agreed to work on. Later discovering Hogwarts school had received an invitation to partake in Valentine festivities from their French counterpart was the cherry on top of this grossly saccharine sundae.

That, combined with the nature of Valentine's Day, only added more stress to already uneasy shoulders. Xailah's impression of Valentine celebrations was far from positive- then again, she only had the perspective of a former Hogwarts' student to judge it from. Hogwarts and Valentines went about as well together as lighter fluid and party sparklers. They were a dangerous combination. In the past, negligence from Hogwarts' personnel had caused many a festive night to end on an unsavory note; and, in the rare instance a lack of careful supervision wasn't to blame for a poor experience, downright droll company wasted no time in picking up the slack.

Needless to say, she didn't have the most optimistic outlook on the evening, but, she was willing to give Beauxbatons a chance.

The fringe of the Valentine's feast provided a decent post for the hired entertainers to do their work and remain mostly undisturbed by the guests. Being one of the few attendees leaning away from the theme of red and roses in her dark attire, Xailah attracted a few looks from the jubilant crowd as she dutifully plucked away at a floor harp.

One would even identify her.

"Xailah?!" rang a familiar voice from the swell of unfamiliar partygoers. "What are you doing here?" Over the bob of neatly done updos, Xailah spied her sister's white frame shimmying through the crowd. I could ask you the same thing, thought the eldest, but Meadow's attendance wasn't the least bit surprising. She was a Beauxbatons student, and festivities like these were her sort of element. In fact, Xailah would have been surprised to not find her there at all.

Being more attentive of the two when it came to observing the interpersonal relationships of others, Meadow was quick to call out the one thing she found blaringly unusual: "It's Valentine's Day, shouldn't you be at home with-" a giddy little grin split between rose-tinted cheeks, "-you know, Him?" She very much knew the name of her brother-in-law, but omission poked fun at a girlish bond between sisters. Before marriage, whenever Xailah spoke to Meadow of the man she met over the winter holiday of 2023, she often referred to him as just that- Him. It was a funny little quirk that the younger of the sisters had picked up on and frequently utilized to tease her older sibling; suspecting the woman used it as a suppressant for an unspoken fondness of the man. It rustled the darker woman now- as Meadow would observe with delight- just as it did then.

Meadow's prodding was quickly shut down with a sickle-like glare. "What's wrong? Did you two get into a fight? Did something bad happen?"

Silence was all the eldest could offer the girl for a time, her fingers vigilant on harp strings. "Meadow, please." Xailah gave between thinned lips, far more patiently than the younger girl deserved. "Ich arbeite." "I am working."

"Sorry I was just-"

"-Concerned?" The pantheress cut the girl off, not even sparing her the courtesy of a glance this time. Meadow bobbed her head, her mouth settling shut. "I thank you for your thoughts, but we are fine." While that may have fooled anyone else, Meadow was often far more perceptive than she let on. Something was certainly afoot, she had never known her sister to be so... dismissive when inquired about her husband.

Meadow's questions only deepened regret. Sheepish as she'd be to admit it, Xailah was beginning to greatly lament being unable to spend most of the evening with Barrow. After all, it was their first Valentine's together- or rather, it would have been. It was unfair to abandon him, especially when she had been acting avoidant toward him for the last few days with seemingly little reason. "You should go. Enjoy the evening while it is still young." With a tilt of her head, the she-cat gestured toward the sea of people Meadow previously emerged from, discontentment present in her voice.

This was going to be a long night, the young performer could tell already, but the show had to go on.

Consider this an "arrival" post. Performing a song with a few other musicians while talking to her sister.

||Open to interactions||
Meadow can be interacted with but she is only being used as set dressing for this post, she will be making an exit in my next post.

Reducio

Metamorphmagus (-5 DC to all transfiguration spells, +2 to stealth actions, 50% chance to recognize transfigured things/people)

-Blindvision (can see in the dark! Immune to all things that limit/remove sight)
-Cat's Grace (super sneaky, +2 to stealth actions)

Stam 12 | Eva 17 | Strength 2 | Wis 16 | Arc 4 | Acc 17

February 14th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
Mentioning: @Scout Fu-Hai - @Colin McCoire and @Ava Winchect

Emily had been up bright and early that morning, trying to finish up a last minute gift for someone. In fact, more than one someone. Not just any someone. Three someones! The first was Scout, whom was unequivocally going to receive a gift for being the awesome friend she was. The second was Casey, simply for it being the norm now that she wanted to make him feel as appreciated as he did her. And lastly but certainly not least, the third someone... Someone that she decided to repay after being so sweetly looked after the other night. A little birdie - not Tavra, her thunder-buddy Thunderbird pal from Ilvermorny - had told her Colin had taken care of her when she collapsed the other day. The morning after she fell asleep from emotional exhaustion, she was wondering who was strong enough to carry her over back to bed like a sleeping princess. Naturally, she should've guessed from the beginning who it was.

While Colin was the more obvious answer, it was still hecking adorable of him all the same. It wouldn't be his first act of kindness that Emily wouldn't be grateful for either. Emily was indebted to him for a lot of different things, some reasons which were hard to explain when they translated to Colin having done nothing other than just acknowledge her in the room. Simply being close to him, just like with Ava, Scout and many others, filled Emily with an indescribable amount of safety and fuzzies.

Emily already had a special buddy gift in the works for both Scout and Casey well before they all came to France. To magically conjure up a last minute gift for Colin - unironically or not - was always going to be hard. Sure, she could've gone the conventional route and given him a flower or card, but nope. Emily figured she'd do something different that would even remotely symbolise the importance of having Colin in her life. Otherwise, she would have to dig out her heart and give it to him, which would be a messy inconvenience.

In the early hours of the morning, Emily had snuck out to a quiet part of the grounds and worked on revamping and decorating one of her old ribbons she had "Auntie" send over. It was a stroke of coincidence that Emily had packed a few sewing necessities to pass the time while they were at Beauxbâtons. An old hobby worth revitalising, she thought. No better time than now to start.

Despite her technique with a needle being a little rusty, if not wonky in spots, it turned out pretty well. A green ribbon was appropriate for Colin, with red lining along the edges and carefully drawn yellow patterns from left to right. Assuming Colin could be careful with it, he could wear it as a small sash around his wrist or tie it to his bag.

Bits of of coloured thread dusted Emily's lap as she snipped and stitched them along the ribbon. By the time she was done, the morning glazed over the campus, the sky brightening and illuminating the grounds for the new day.

Discarding the bits and bobs she no longer needed back into her sewing kit, she had just enough time to sneak back towards the cabin, put the kit back, gently tuck the ribbon into a safe place, get changed for the feast, take the ribbon back and place it into her pocket before hurrying towards the venue. All without suspecting a thing. No biggie.

Brown hair billowing behind her and cheerful excitement painted on her face, she raced to the entrance where the feast was to be held and waited there. She had a red card for Scout in one coat pocket, part two of the comic she had introduced to Casey for his birthday ages ago in a small tote bag and Colin's ribbon in her other coat pocket.

Now all she had to do was wait.

_{Word Count: 659}

Action: Arriving and Waiting for Buddies

Stats: Stamina: 7|Evasion: 6|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 8|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

Open to Interaction

Mention: @Xailah Alptraum-Leveret

The whole Valentine's Day celebration had really started to grow on young Harvey. Upon his arrival he had found the decorations and the theme of it all to be fussy and overdone, but that harsh judgment had mellowed as the week went on. He would still consider such things to be frivolous. That part of his upbringing would probably stay with him forever, but he would never be as strict as his grandfather wanted him to be. The appeal of the arts and music he had gained from his mother and though he would not be too open about it, the boy was enjoying himself.

When he arrived for the feast, Harvey would don his finest black dress robe as that was the finest clothes he had brought with him, but today he decided to join in the festivities by pinning a red rose to his chest. Yet he had not shown up to the event empty handed. Within his robe pockets he carried many small gift bags he hoped to give to any new acquaintances he met today. What was inside them would have to be a surprise. The idea of exchanging customs was one that had peaked his interest. The magical community was world wide, but every region seemed so different from the other. The chance to learn more was to enticing to pass up.

Harvey held off on the food for now as he awaited the chance of new meetings, though the temptation was rather strong. He'd most likely be going up in a pant size upon his return to Hogwarts. In the meantime his gaze would turn to the stage of performers as they entertained the crowd. The witch leading them was rather talented a d he offered her a strong round of applause when the first song came to an end.

Interacting with: @Lyanna Oak and anyone that chatted with Av during the Tea Party Mentioning: @Emily Shephard Date: 02/14/25

Word Count: 299

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Avery walked into the feast actually happy considering how she had been feeling yesterday. It was Valentine's Day, and it was another event! Instead of a tea party, this time it was a feast! Avery had never really been to a feast with other schools. She guessed that her cousin, Dylan really wasn't here. She had looked for him, but she later came to the conclusion that he hadn't come. Well, considering what had just happened with their grandfather, she couldn't blame him for not wanting to come. Her grandfather's sudden sickness had shocked Avery to her core. He was always the one that showed her new parts of the woods she had never seen before or new things in nature that she had never heard of before. She couldn't lose him! She wasn't ready to say goodbye yet! Avery snapped out of her train of thought. She had been brooding way too much lately for her own good. This trip was supposed to be a getaway from all the things happening. It wasn't supposed to tear her to pieces again! Avery glanced around the room. She didn't see any of her cabin mates yet. She knew they would arrive soon, but, for now, all she had to do was wait. She wondered when her best friend, Lya, would arrive. They had such a great time the night before, and she couldn't wait to discuss it with her! Avery glanced around the room again and saw a familiar face. The girl, Emily, that she had chatted with at the Broom Race. Avery gave a friendly wave to the girl before focusing her attention on a dancer. She didn't recognize her, but in a way she did. Avery felt like she had seen her somewhere, but couldn't quite place where.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

Reducio

's Grace

ROLEPLAYING AS BEAUXBATONS iNPC AURÉLIE NATHALIE DUVAL

February 14th, 2025 Peter Smith (@Brookline Quinn)

sta 6 | eva 9 | str 6 | wis 8 | arc 6 | acc 7 fearless, perfectionist

"french" | "english" | thoughts | "others"

┌─────────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────────────────┐

Perhaps the idea of a week long celebration of Valentine's Day was not the best idea. No, no don't get Aurélie wrong. She loved how the international students were at her school, and that they got to have feasts and tea parties and fun activities happening all throughout the day. But also, she had to wear fancy clothing... again. This time, Aurélie decided to give up and wear some colour. It was Valentine's Day after all, and wearing a bit of pink was pretty much in the rule book.

The pink blouse and leggings she chose were the most comfy, and pretty much the only, pink things that Aurélie could find, and she hoped that her "date" to this Valentine's feast wouldn't mind that she wasn't in a dress. Peter wouldn't mind.

The setting was beautiful, and Aurélie could tell that the headmistress had put a lot of thought into the arrangements. Choosing one of the empty tables set for two, the French girl plopped down. She looked around, feeling foolishly early, as not many others were there. (But she did see her friend @Emily Shephard from Hogwarts, who she waved to with a smile.) Should she have waited in her dorm for a bit longer before coming? Was she too early?

The worries were getting to her. Anxiety was not something that she usually experienced. Aurélie just hoped that Peter would arrive soon. She always felt calmer when he was around.

└─────────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────────────────┘

created by the amazing underpaid addie spinks!

@

Roleplaying as approved Beauxbatons iNCP Peter Smith

@

𝓟eter took it upon himself to dress up just a bit more than he had at the arrival tea party. All he had worn was his Beauxbatons’ uniform and he clearly stood out when absolutely everyone else wore something more fancy. But there was no way he was going to be labeled as fancy pants. No freaking way. That’s when he found himself in a pair of slacks and a dress shirt.

He scanned the transformed gardens, green eyes looking for one person in particular. A girl, in fact. A incredible one, for sure. Aurélie. Peter loved her name, he relished the quite way her name literally rolled off simply and steadily. Aurélie!

Peter wondered about flowers, Aurèlie, and in particular, Valentine’s day. When he was young, his father had entertained Peter and Marietta with tales, where Mr. Smith, in his prime, would woo girls and, now, Mrs. Smith with flowers.

“What flowers would you bring Mum and why would give her flowers?” Peter would ask, and his father answered. “Your mother liked blossoms and irises. She liked irises because irises reminded her of them, and Iris is her name. When you’re older, Peter, you’ll know that flowers are always sweet and polite. And I want my boy to be polite and sweet!”

Peter went to the flowering part of Beauxbatons’ gardens and plucked a couple of roses. He didn’t know if Aurélie liked roses but he thought it would be better than anything since roses were a huge part in Valentine’s day. He stepped out to the area where the decorated tables were out and he looked for Aurélie again.

The Beauxbatons boy found her! The French girl wore a simple pink outfit that was quite cute and reminded Peter of hearts. That reminded Peter of his own beating heart. Aurélie was seated at a table set for two, the other seat empty, and he bounded over the girl, a large grin on his face filled with sunshine.

“Aurélie! Happy Valentine’s day!” Peter would sit down in the empty chair across from dear Aurélie, and hand the roses over to her. “I didn’t know if you liked roses or not but I hope they smell good.” He flashed her a little smirk, and desperately hoped Aurélie would like flowers. Maybe she wasn’t a flower girl, but either way, Peter’s cheeks flushed the slightest bit.

396 words and @Aurélie Duval (@Ophelia Northwell)

outfit	date	key	stats
Reducio without the black nails, lol	Reducio february 14th, 2025	Reducio thoughts •English •Welsh• rp	Reducio stamina seven × evasion six × strength seven × wisdom eight × arc power eight × accuracy eight × calming presence × keen eye

occ note

Reducio

please do not try to “guess” peter’s welsh accent as he tries to hide it. only if i give you explicit permission you may or if you already know that peter is welsh; thank you! ;]

ROLEPLAYING AS BEAUXBATONS iNPC AURÉLIE NATHALIE DUVAL

February 14th, 2025 Peter Smith (@Brookline Quinn)

sta 6 | eva 9 | str 6 | wis 8 | arc 6 | acc 7 fearless, perfectionist

"french" | "english" | thoughts | "others"

┌─────────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────────────────┐

If Peter doesn't get here right this instant, I'm going to hunt- Aurélie's crazed thoughts stopped abruptly as she finally, finally spotted the boy who she'd been waiting for all this time. All thoughts of "hunting him down" flew out of her head as she took in his appearance. Her date wore the most fancy thing she'd seen him in for a while, a nice shirt and slacks, which went nicely enough with her own decision not to wear a dress. He'd brushed up nicely, and were those... flowers in his hands?

They weren't just any flowers. They were roses. Red, romantic Valentine's Day roses. And... were they for her? Aurélie held her breath as the boy bounded up to her, all grins and charm, and sat down in the empty chair that she'd very clearly reserved just for him. And then he handed her the roses and the French girl, who's face was already warmer than it should be, turned red in the face. Still, she couldn't stop the grin that overtook her face even if she wanted to.

"Oh, Peter! For me? Thank you so much!" She sniffed at the roses, her eyes closed and her lips in a smile of pleasure at their flowery scent. "They're amazing. Happy Valentine's Day to you as well! I-I don't have anything for you." She was stuttering now? First, the anxiety, and now stuttering. Who was she becoming?

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Cursa had rolled his eyes when Colin said he going to the Valentines feast. After the other night, when Casey urged him to slow down a bit on announcing his feelings for Emily, Cursa managed to convince Colin that, just perhaps, jumping up on a table, howling and shouting Emmi's name might not be the best approach. Colin had balked, of course! How could he not shout it from the rooftops!

In the end, Cursa made Colin promise not to shout too loudly.

Colin smirked. Okay. There would be no yowling. No shouting of Emmi's name. No jumping on the tables. Why did this have to be so hard!? But! Colin's smirk deepened. No one had made him promise not to run very fast into the place and jump into the chair right next to Emmi's! And if Meyra or Jun were already there, well, the wonder twins could expect to be yeeted!

He even went all out getting ready for the feast! After a proper shower and scourgify, he made sure his hair was properly messy and he even cast a colour changing spell on his kilt, so now it was a kind of drab red, befitting the day! Colin checked no fewer than four times to make sure all the buttons on his shirt were done up properly! (Only one was out of place.) And he undid the top couple buttons as usual. Right! Preparations complete! He made sure his wand was securely tucked into its sheath strapped around his right arm, up under his sleeve.

Last but not least, he made sure there was something extra special for a super extra special someone! He had actually worked on it back at Hogwarts. He'd gotten to thinking after they destroyed their bottles of Darkest Night. He went back into the chamber and found what he was looking for amidst the debris of molten glass and dust. It had made him smile, to think of what they'd shared that night.

So Colin took that memory and made something for Emmi to wear. His plan was to give it to her at the feast. He only hoped she would like it!

So with Emmi in his heart and the thing he'd made safely in his pocket, Colin ran towards the place of the feast just as fast as he could! Long legs really helped! Colin could actually run pretty fast! And it wasn't long before he dashed through the doors, looked quickly around the place and spotted the girl! Oblivious to all the other kids and the music Colin ran straight towards where Emmi was sitting, and without a sound, jumped up onto the chair next to Emily's!

As he settled down onto the chair he scooted it closer to Emmi's. Colin could feel a blush creeping up across his face. He was happy just to be here! "Emmi!" he cried.

@Emily Shephard

Actions: Dramatic entrance and finding Emmi!
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 12 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 12

February 14th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
Hurricane Colin! With @Colin McCoire
Mentioning: @Ophelia Northwell and @Avery Gray

Emily had been waiting for some time by the front entrance before she got a chill. She knew Scout wasn't as much as a morning person as she was, but she didn't expect Colin to not be one too. Not with the bundle of energy he kept up his spine. Was he not coming?

Or wait! Back up! He had a girlfriend! Ohh crumbs... Emily had clean forgot, which she acknowledged with a good face palm. For all his-- uh-- affectionate escapades, Colin did in fact have a girlfriend, at least one that Emily could remember by hearsay. It wasn't Ava, which Emily felt a little silly to admit for thinking in the first place. What could she say? They got along well for what she had seen with the two of them in a room together. But no. Her name was Chloe. Or was it Clarissa? It began with a "C" anyway.

Well. If by some chance Colin was hanging out with his lady friend today, then there was no good to be found in Emily still standing there, waiting for him when he might not turn up. Ah well. No biggie really.

Emily entered the feast where she was sheltered from the breeze, scanning the decorated venue for a spare seat where she plopped herself. She gave a friendly wave to Aurélie whom passed her on the way in, the same to wee Avery when she arrived as well.

She popped the collar of her shirt before fixing her jumper that began to roll up at the bottom. She suddenly felt like she was too formally dressed, or rather formal enough to be an intern at a business firm and not at a party to celebrate a day of love with platonic snugs. Thankfully she had colour on her attire, otherwise she would pass as a boring stiff in a child's body-- Good God, she'd be the emotive antithesis of her mother!

Then the air around the garden changed, a temperate wind brushing across the landscape. Lifting her glance from her lap to ahead of her, a streak of white hair zoomed into view and Emily's face gleamed. An entrance like that could only be acquainted with--

"Colin!!"

She watched him bound over to her and stylishly land into the chair beside her with not a sound from under his toes. He pushed himself closer to her, all the more for Emily to reach out and squeeze him into a big old snug. Which she did! Her cheek smooshed into an undone button while her arms lovingly held the rest of his skinny figure. Man, he was so snuggable!

"So you did come after all! I thought you'd be off elsewhere today," she said, her pleasure for his company seeping through her words. She finally released him and grinned brightly at him, getting a good look at the red tint in his face. His face had been doing that a lot recently. Probably from all the hyperactivity!

"I'm surprised you didn't drag Cursa with you," she added, only now noting the lack of the other McCoire's presence. She then chuckled. "A bit energetic today, are we?"

_{Word Count: 550}

Action: Snugging a wild McCoire!

Stats: Stamina: 7|Evasion: 7|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 8|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace