The Garden of Eden Spring Ball 2025

5.

Emily seemed to sputter when Colin said she was cute. Colin thought that was cute too! She wasn't one of those girls who shoved her looks in your face or made a big deal of it. She was just --- Emily! Colin knew there were things he needed to learn about her. But, for now, it was just enough to be with a really pretty girl. The one he hoped would become his sweetheart!

"I don't think I've ever heard someone call me cute as many times as you have, my friend," Emily said. "Even when I'm what I would say, 'pretty average'..." Colin liked the way they just naturally leaned into each other. He smiled as she talked.

"Well of course ye're cute Emmi! I mean. Isn't it obvious? Don't you lot have mirrors in your dorms? Yer eyes are --- well. You know already!" Colin sighed. "Eyes of Sky," he whispered. "And ye've got a cute nose and a really pretty face!" He'd never actually said quite so much about Emily's beauty to her before. He could feel the warmth of a blush rising up from his chest just as we sure Emily was feeling much the same!

"I'd give anything to be even half a pretty as AngelFyre," Emily said softly. Colin didn't get it. Couldn't she see herself properly in the mirror? Or maybe someone had enchanted her mirror to show the wrong face? Colin wondered. "Heh... Sometimes I feel like 'cute' is an overstatement for me."

"Emily Shephard!" he said softly, so only she could hear. "You are no less beautiful than Fyre! Do --- Can't you see that? I mean. Fyre's me bestie and all, and even I can see she's gorgeous! But you!" Colin really began to wonder. Why would Emily think like that around AngelFyre of all people? "Ye really are a beautiful lass, Emmi. I don't lie about things like that," he said finally.

Colin took a deep breath. Should he kiss Emmi? His head turned. He caught sight of Cursa and Casey still chatting. Grr. They'd both be on him if he tried! He rested his head against Emily's in stead. AngelFyre and Simon started heading in their direction. She didn't look to happy.

"Uh oh," Colin whispered. "I think I'm in trouble lass. Fyre looks like I'm about to receive one her Lectures," he said softly to Emily. "I hope ye're never on the receiving end of one of them Emmi!"

Colin braced himself. An AngelFyre Lecture was an experience that he'd had many times, yet never quite got used to. They were always spot on and delivered with the greatest of charity. Yet, AngelFyre was never one to mince words. She might sprinkle her talk with liberal doses of muggle malarkey and witty humour, but there was always a point to what she said. Sometimes several points. And she had a way of making them hit home.

“Really, Woofy? Turning us upside down. What were you thinking? Were you even thinking?” No, I thought not!” AngelFyre lit into Colin! He wasn't quite sure whether to smile or shrink back in shame! He glanced at Emily to see if he could find some wisdom there! And it wasn't like Fyre had given explicit instructions or anything!

"I mean! You didn't say not to flip you over!"

Of course, AngelFyre ignored the obvious. “Did it escape your notice that I am in a dress, Mr. Man? Did it? Hmmm?”

"And of course I was thinking!" He indicated Emily. "I'll have you know my mind was quite occupied with this lovely girl!" Hah! Now it was Colin's turn to completely ignore his best friend's comment her dress. "Anyway," he said with a smirk; "I'm wearing me kilt! Never bothered me flying upside down!"

Colin shrugged innocently, turning towards Emily for confirmation. She'd seen him flying enough times to know the truth in that statement! But AngelFyre wasn't quite done! She took a step closer, being all dramatic! Colin actually stumbled back a step! For a brief moment, he wondered if she wasn't going to pull out her wand and send him flying about upside down! But there was something in her eyes. She stared at him. He stared back. Colin knew in that moment. AngelFyre broke out into merry laughter! “Thank you! We had a grand time, upside down skirt and all. Ahem.”

And suddenly everything changed!

AngelFyre stood as rigid as anyone in a full body bind hex.

Colin's arm slipped off of Emily's shoulder. His own body stiffened slightly. He looked around the garden to see if anyone --- or anything --- looked or smelled out of the ordinary. Well, apart from that strange girl Cursa had his eyes on. He took Emily's hand into his. He wasn't sure if she'd seen this before or not. Even Colin had only seen this a couple times.

He spoke to Emmi softly. "She gets like this, sometimes, Emmi, our Fyre does." He stepped closer towards his friend, drawing Emily along. Just in case AngelFyre toppled over suddenly. She stared. Colin knew well that he got that way sometime. Just staring blankly. Mind you, he was no Seer. Unless the heart of a poet seeing the vision of some Otherworld counted, as his Seanmamó had told him often enough. "If ever ye see me get like that, Em, it's either because I'm daydreaming about you or it's because I'm seeing some far off place. But Fyre," he nodded. "She got a Gift." He shrugged. He nudged Emily shoe with his bare foot playfully. "We just have to wait until she comes back from where ever she is now."

They waited.

"So, Simon. I hope ye liked yer little dance with our FyreAngel! She asked for something magical and I ---"

"Quick! Everyone look at your dance cards. Do they look any different to you?"

Colin's eyes darted back to AngelFyre's own.

Dance card? He looked at Emily. Maybe she knew. "Dance card?" he asked. "Is that something Muggle? Oh! Wait! Is that the bit of paper they gave us back in the Great Hall Emmi? I think I've still got mine somewhere."

Colin let go of Emily's hand and rummaged about in his pocket. "Nope. Bit of cheese, that. Choco. Hagstone. Ah!" Colin's eyes lit up. He looked from AngelFyre to Simon and back to Emily. He held the grubby bit of paper up. "Is this it? I don't even know what it's for!" Colin said excitedly. Clearly AngelFyre was worried about it, though.

Interactions: @Emily Shephard | || Mentions: @Meyra Lancaster | @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki | @AngelFyre McCubbin | @Simon Kincaid || Mod: @Meiyu Xiang

Action: Examining the dance card and wondering what it was AF saw!

Werewolf Skills | Evasive Manoeuvres | Werewolf Skills
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 12 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 12
Colin is carrying his enchanted satchel which has his brooms, a number of potions and some other useful things.

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

{--- 3 ---}

The lovely brown haired girl got up and left the table. She went off with a couple other kids. The moonlight cast her shadow as she walked over towards the refreshment tables. Cursa awoke, as if out of a dream or a trance. He blinked a few times. He wondered if this is what Colin felt like all the time.

No wonder that boy was so hopeless!

Still...

Isisdora...

Cursa shook his head momentarily. He shrugged it all off. He still had his friend Casey. They'd been just chattering the whole while, checking on Colin and Emily from time to time. Between the two of them, he knew Colin better. Which means, in all likelihood, he took Casey's warning last February more seriously than Colin ever would.

He nudged Casey, nodding over to where Emily was heading over to be with Colin. He hadn't even noticed his cousin leaving the table. "What the h---" Cursa caught sight of some magic. "Check that out Case! I think that's Colin's friend, whatshername! Why is she upside down?" Clearly someone was having fun providing an enchanted experience for the dancers!

"Say, do --- do you think Colin even stands a chance with Emily? I mean, you know her best." He turned to face Casey. "I've gotten some letters from Colin. He'd totally mad. He gets all ---" Cursa didn't quite know how to explain. He made a little thumping heart sign with his hands over his chest. He rolled his eyes. "Honestly. I don't understand what he sees in girls. I'm sure he ---"

His attention was drawn back towards Colin. The girl and the boy who had been dancing sugar plum fairies not two minutes ago were now standing with Colin and Emily. And the girl looked pretty pissed! "Uh oh! Looks like Colin's in for it now! I guess I'd be mad too if some idiot started spinning me around and upside down in the air!"

He watched as the girl suddenly lost focus. She just --- stopped paying attention to anything going on in the garden. "What's up with that? Spinning around one moment. Now stiff as a board!" He caught her saying something about the dance cards. He looked over at Casey. "What's that about?" He fished his own from his pocket. It had been empty. He had no one to dance with, and no real interest in dancing with with anyone.

"What about yours?" he asked.

Open to interactions! Especially if you're a girl! Even if your're a werewolf!

Actions: Talking with Casey about Colin and Emily; now properly examining his dance card.

Mentions: @Aleksandra FairBairn (Isadora Vilaca) | @Emily Shephard (Casey!) || Mod: @Meiyu Xiang

Werewolves: put a chain on em!

April 11th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Colin McCoire - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Simon Kincaid

Emily felt two firm but fair hands taking her shoulders. She was met face to face with Colin who looked down at her with gentle eyes, an expression that made Emily's cheeks go pink. He showered her with compliments - nothing out of the ordinary there - only there was a lace of insistence underneath his words of praise, and that made the colour in Emily's face even more pronounced.

"Y-You really mean that? You're not just saying that, are you...?"

But in the end, Emily didn't need to hear Colin say it. His familiar endearing look, the one that Emily slowly began to learn was solely for her, was all the explanation needed. They shared a forehead nudge. Colin would no doubt feel the heat radiating off Emily with all the embarrassment that flared from her.

AngelFyre then approached the two, looking... Not too happy.

"Uh oh... She's got a little bit of the "Prefect" face on her," she whispered to Colin.

“Really, Woofy? Turning us upside down. What were you thinking? Were you even thinking?” No, I thought not!”

Yikes. Even when she wasn't in trouble, Emily still couldn't help but shrink beneath AngelFyre's tone. Despite being officially out of the role, it would appear that a Prefect's energy never leaves the student, as seen in AngelFyre's demeanour.

"I mean! You didn't say not to flip you over!"

Emily's palm met her forehead and she sighed. For all the mental potential Colin had, he really ought to learn to use it more often. Read a face, McCoire...

“Did it escape your notice that I am in a dress, Mr. Man? Did it? Hmmm?”

"And of course I was thinking! I'll have you know my mind was quite occupied with this lovely girl!" Then Colin gestured towards Emily and the aforementioned younger Huffie squeaked.

"Bw-ehh??" Emily frantically shook her head as she glanced back and forth between Colin and AngelFyre. "D-Don't pin this on me!" Her face was a colourful canvas of red shades. Was that meant to be a compliment or was Colin really going to try and use Emily to weasel out of AngelFyre's telling off?? Such cheek!

Then Colin looked at Emily as if seeking more validation. "I'm wearing me kilt! Never bothered me flying upside down!"

Emily gave a wayward smile. "Yes, well... Some people prefer to have more dignity than you do when it comes to balancing wardrobe malfunctions with aerodynamics," she said.

There was a brief standoff between AngelFyre and Colin before the tension faded away into nothing. With newfound cheer, AngelFyre thanked Colin for a good time nonetheless and Emily breathed.

"You can be quite scary sometimes, AF," she laughed nervously. But no, really... She could be. AngelFyre had a knack for being a perfectly blended tea of sweet and spice when situations called for it.

Suddenly AngelFyre stilled and her eyes became clouded in a white haze. Emily paused, confused and anxious. "AF? AngelFyre...? Hello...?" She waved a hand gently in front of her but she was unresponsive. Much like her eyes, AngelFyre's mind and awareness appeared to be nothing more than white noise. At least, from the outside.

Colin had taken Emily's hand again and leaned into her. "She gets like this, sometimes, Emmi, our Fyre does," he said to her. Emily turned to him, perplexed.

"She does?" This was the first she'd ever seen of whatever had overcome AngelFyre. It was like she was possessed. "Is there something wrong with her...?" AngelFyre didn't look like she was in pain - thankfully - but Emily wasn't too keen on how rigid she looked in the way she was standing, taut and pulled back in her posture. She could see Colin shifting closer as if waiting to catch her.

"If ever ye see me get like that, Em, it's either because I'm daydreaming about you or it's because I'm seeing some far off place," Colin continued.

Emily displayed another dust of red across her face. This time she ran out of words to counter with, instead falling back towards the softest smile she ever displayed. Within her chest, deep inside her heart, she felt a little zing in her garden of friendship. Where she kept Colin's flower, she sensed a kindling warmth as it began to grow. The flower was evolving and Emily knew it meant something. A flurry of jitters began to sprinkle their way inside too. She didn't want to say it but she knew Colin was becoming someone to her. She couldn't find the name for it though... But it was definitely something that defined the sensation of feeling wanted by him.

She felt Colin's ticklish toe nudge her foot. "She got a Gift. We just have to wait until she comes back from where ever she is now".

"Oh..."

And so they waited. The minutes felt so long yet AngelFyre wouldn't budge. Though still concerned for her fellow Huffie, Emily was undeniably fascinated. "Oh my... Does she travel for long in these episodes?"

She waved another gentle hand in front of her. Still nothing. Emily frowned. "She must be a very long way away..."

And then suddenly AngelFyre was back, her blue eyes cutting through the white and her once frozen figure now melting against Simon as she returned to herself. Emily sighed in relief but before she could say anything, AngelFyre was struck with a different look. One of dread this time.

"Quick! Everyone look at your dance cards. Do they look any different to you?"

Emily shared a look with Colin before they both fished out their dance cards. Emily raked hers with a scrutinizing look before showing it to AngelFyre.

"I haven't written anything on mine yet," she said. "Why? What's wrong...?"

_{Word Count: 955}

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

MODERATION POST — ROUND 5.

_{Image generated by AI.}

With the air cooling, dipping into an uncomfortable temperature and forcing all patrons to feel a chill run down their spine, the crowd forming around one particular patron, @AngelFyre McCubbing, who had the misfortune of experiencing what could one would presume to be another demonic possession — exhibited earlier within the garden. Yet, the Garden of Eden, who was no stranger to visions and peculiar creatures roaming nearby, oddly sensed the tension brewing with the breeze; the bard hymns shifting into a more dramatic tune as the night transcends.

As the attention shifts once more back to the dance cards, whom had previously demanded partners to disperse and mingle, satisfying the purpose of a gathering, the names on the dance cards begin to vanish for all those who have written within the piece of card; irregardless to whether the patrons eventually complied with the requests. Instead, new words formed, four letters, engraved neatly in calligraphy, momentarily visible before vanishing once more.

Fire.

The fireflies disguised as fairy lights decorating the garden, began to slightly dimmer, few slowly departing from branches where they once rested, slowly moving closer to AngelFyre as though to inspect the situation, awaiting for some intervention. Yet, on the other end, few engage in dance with different partners, finally complying with the earlier requests of the dance cards.

Amidst it all, one pair, Meiyu Xiang and Jamie Saeng (@Aodhan Shaw), find themselves intoxicated following their choice of beverage for the evening. The sparkling sharbat which would taste refreshing, these two patrons find their senses heightened and their speech slowly becomes slurred, being the prime subjects of a spiking incident from a student who somehow slipped away.

MOD NOTE:

Reducio

Apologies for the delay in moderation, following this round, there will likely be two to three more rounds.

ROLLS:

Reducio

Garden of Eden — round five moderation.

Jamie Saeng as @Aodhan Shaw drinks sparkling sharbat.
This drink is spiked. [duration: 1-2: one round, 3: two rounds.]
[d3: 2] = 1, lasts for one round.

@Meiyu Xiang drinks sparkling sharbat.
This drink is spiked. [duration: 1-2: one round, 3: two rounds.]
[d3: 3] = 1, lasts for two rounds.

@Brookline Quinn is still under the effect of the spiked drink for 1 more round.
@Sage Willows is no longer feeling the effects of their drink following round 5.

Please let me know if anything has been missed.

Dance Cards

Reducio

_{Image generated by AI.}

Upon entrance into The Garden of Eden, each player will receive a "dance card", a RP opportunity for players to engage with. Within the dance card, names of whom your character dances with must be recorded, beware of prying eyes should their names not be found within the dance card and they are dancing with your player, as this would be the most scandalous thing to do.

NOTE: The inclusion of dance cards is solely for a RP opportunity, you are not obliged to comply with this, but should you mention it, please ensure the character your character dances with, was included in the dance card.

OOC Information

Welcome to the Spring Soirée!
1. To participate, you must be indexed. If you are not indexed yet, please apply here.
2. Moderation will occur every week on Saturdays.
3. Your character is allowed one moderated action per round. Please specify your moderated action somewhere OOC in your post.

Reducio

Moderated actions are actions that require rolls, like casting a spell on someone, physically fighting (like punching) with someone, surprising someone, etc. Rolls are not needed for pre-decided or consented actions, like asking someone for a dance.

4. Please include your abilities and stats in each post you make.
5. There are two other threads that are part of the Spring Ball, The Spring Soirée and The Twisted Tavern. You can directly enter the other threads if you have signed up for The Twisted Tavern or wish to participate in the main event, The Spring Soirée, but if you have already posted here, please specify that you are leaving this thread for either one of the other two, as your character cannot be in two places at once.
6. Please follow all usual H.io rules.
7. Enjoy the ball!

April 11th 2025
Speech: Bold #257379
Thoughts: Bold Italics
Cursa McCoire @Colin McCoire

Casey amusingly poked Cursa when his sudden infatuation with the strange girl was replaced with sudden awareness. "Looks like I was right before. Love and crushes have you and your family gripped like a chokehold," he snickered. Honestly, if Cursa didn't have his flaming red hair, Casey would probably have mistaken him for Colin a thousand times over.

They both watched entertained as a couple were levitated into the air, with some bizarre flips and mid-air cartwheels. Casey caught sight of Colin with his wand out, leading him to believe it was him that was causing the cutesy wootsy pair to flit in the air like that. Casey laughed quietly. "He has no restraint at all, does he...?"

Then Cursa leant into Casey. "Say, do --- do you think Colin even stands a chance with Emily? I mean, you know her best."

"Oh... Well..." Being considered as "knowing her best" felt a stretch to hear. Sure, he and Emily were close but he doubted they could be any closer than she and Scout were. If Casey and Scout were to be given a pop quiz about the Hufflepuff, Scout would most likely win by a marginal gap. He looked at the table, shrugging when he finally came up with an answer.

"Well, I'll give your cousin this... He'd have a much greater chance of makin' her happy instead of someone like me, assumin' you're goin' on about relationships in that sense. Besides, look at them. Even if Colin wasn't interested, I can tell he really thinks fondly of her. He laughs at her jokes, debates her ideas, defends her in all sense of the word... He's finally convinced me that he's dead serious about her. And she ain't even phased by his weirdness. In fact, after knowin' him a little better during the Beauxbatons trip, I can see why Emily sees good in him. And he is good".

He felt Cursa nudge him and watched as the pretty looking girl walked over to Colin when she and her fella were set back on the ground again, with a look that could only scream "pissed" across her face. Casey blinked. "Well shit". Then again... It looked like Colin had this coming for him from the moment he decided to turn his friend and her dance partner into billowing leaves.

Then she froze. Casey blinked again, this time confused. He saw her stand in the most tight position he had ever seen. "Jesus, you could knock her over with a feather or somethin'..."

Cursa drew his attention to the dance cards and he took out his own. It still had no name on it, though he did consider writing Emily's down earlier. But something about the dance card was strange. It was different than when he first got it. It showed something he hadn't seen before.

"What the...?"

Fire.

"You gettin' this, Red?"

_{Word Count: 490}

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

6.

At least AngelFyre's lecture wasn't too bad this time! It wasn't life or death or anything! And at least he'd had the opportunity to see how Emmi reacted. He noticed that stuck her hand on her forehead. He'd seen AngelFyre do that before. Must be some Muggle sign language thing. He added that to the list of a million and one things he had to talk with Emmi about!

"...have more dignity than you do when it comes to balancing wardrobe malfunctions with aerodynamics," Emily grumbled. Colin blinked. Wardrobe --- what? Colin looked down suddenly. Had he done his buttons up wrong --- again!? Even as AngelFyre went on about her dress, Colin checked his shirt. "Whew!" he whispered. "Only one button out of place this time! Thanks Em! Honestly. Shirt buttons are soooo complicated!"

Colin often wondered what it was really like for AngelFyre when she had a proper vision. From the outside, she just kind of went all --- stiff. Like she was dead. Colin paused. What a weird thing to think about his best friend! But in a way, it was kind of true. For several minutes, she was literally dead to whatever was going on around her. She was somewhere else. He wondered if it was the same place he went. Maybe Seers went into a different place?

Colin reckoned this must be the case. He saw wonders and visions, but he'd not seen anything like the future or even a glimpse of something that had already happened the way AngelFyre did. "Oh my... Does she travel for long in these episodes?" Emily asked.

Colin had no answer. He didn't even know how far he travelled in his own visions. He shook his head slowly. "I wish I knew Emmi. All I know is she goes somewhere. And then she comes back and, well, she's seen something true. Sometimes I wished I paid more attention in Divination." He rolled his eyes. "So much of that seems so fake. And then --- there's what Fyre does. If you ask me, I think it's beyond magic."

And when she did come back, something was clearly --- wrong!

Colin shifted closer to Emily. "There's something going on, Em!" Colin looked around. "Keep yer eyes open lass!" He looked down at his dancing card thing again. "WHOA!"

He held it up so Emily, AngelFyre and Simon could see.

"I---I didn't write this! I didn't even know what it was for when they gave it me!" It was blank before, but now the card had a single word written upon it. "This is very sus." Colin's mind thought back to the ball a couple years ago when Lily was attacked. The word written on the card boded something evil, Colin was certain.

Colin slid his left hand up into his right sleeve. He withdrew Naur-an-Edraith from its holster. Even as he did so, the word written on his dance card disappeared. Colin glanced at Emily and the others. "I think we should be ready for anything!" Colin sniffed the evening air and looked around the place for any signs of impending doom.

Interactions: @Emily Shephard | @AngelFyre McCubbin | @Simon Kincaid|| Mentions: @Meyra Lancaster | @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki || Mod: @Meiyu Xiang

Action: Sees the word "Fire" and checks the place out for chaos --- sniffs the air and looks around!

Werewolf Skills | Evasive Manoeuvres | Werewolf Skills
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 12 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 12
Colin is carrying his enchanted satchel which has his brooms, a number of potions and some other useful things.

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

{--- 4 ---}

Casey jabbed Cursa's ribs. "Ow! What's that for anyway?" He teased him about Isadora. Cursa rolled his eye. "Look. I am nowhere near as bad as Colin McSnoggy over there!" His eyes drifted over towards where the cute girl had gone off to. Oh well. There was a more pressing issue just at the moment. Cursa sniffed. "I don't have a crush." He leaned back, trying to see around the girl who was inconveniently blocking his view of Isadora. The inconveniently places Devon Wallen.

He turned back to Casey. "What? I don't have a crush!"

Casey laughed, nodding towards Colin's shenanigans. Cursa shook his head slowly. "Colin's such an idiot. I mean, at least he's not some prideful jerk on top of it. Do you know?" he began. After a pause, he continued: "Last fall when --- when, you know. It was Colin. I was such a mess. Just sobbing. He just wrapped his arms around me. I didn't know what to think at the time. You know Alex and Angus. They're always talking shit about Colin and Liam. But. Well, they've got him all wrong. I'm sure of it. I don't know what's going on between the four of them, but I'm telling you Casey, I'm switching sides. Colin might be goober, but he's really just, well, real."

Their talk focused mostly on Colin. And Emily. He felt like he was just getting to know Colin himself. Something deep inside told him that he needed to learn the truth. The truth that Alex and Angus weren't telling him. He'd sent Colin a letter not too long ago, but his cousin never mentioned getting it. Probably too smitten by Emily to even register anyone else's mere existence!

"Well, I'll give your cousin this... He'd have a much greater chance of makin' her happy instead of someone like me, assumin' you're goin' on about relationships in that sense."

Cursa nodded.

"Besides, look at them. Even if Colin wasn't interested, I can tell he really thinks fondly of her. He laughs at her jokes, debates her ideas, defends her in all sense of the word..."

Cursa watched Colin intently. Casey seemed to have much the same view. He had learned that if you were someone Colin liked, he would defend you to the death. And even if he didn't particularly like you, he'd still defend you if you were wrongfully accused of something. And he really did seem to actually like Emily. "Yeah. There's --- I don't know. A kind of nobility about the way he treats her? All I've heard about him is the snagging --- no, snogging. That's the word. I wonder about that. I heard he got a bad case of hagslugs. Dunno if you've studied those yet or not Case."

Cursa shook his head slowly. "They cause a boy to just want to kiss any girl that walks by!" Cursa shuddered. "It's no wonder he's so loopy! But I haven't even seen him kissing Emily at all, so there is that. Maybe he got cured?"

"He's finally convinced me that he's dead serious about her. And she ain't even phased by his weirdness. In fact, after knowin' him a little better during the Beauxbatons trip, I can see why Emily sees good in him. And he is good".

"Yeah. Well. Colin is weird. I've a theory about that..."

They watched as one of the Hogwarts girls chewed Colin out for flipping her around in the air when she was just trying to dance. Cursa laughed. Served Colin right! He almost wished they were closer so that they could hear more clearly. Cursa only caught a few words. Woofy in particular. "Woofy," he mused. "What an interesting nickname..." For some reason, Cursa's brain glommed onto that name. "That I need to think about!"

Cursa lost track of the teen drama as he thought. Why did those pictures Casey was showing back in France come to his mind? Those horrible wounds. Why did the glimpses of Colin's scars come to his mind? Cursa shook his head. He'd seen how Colin got the scar on his face. Their cousin ham fisted Hamish slashed him with a knife back when they were ten, and some other cousin botched the healing. Cursa remembered that day vividly. First time he'd ever worn a kilt. It was brutal.

But there were other scars too.

Cursa remembered seeing into Colin's shirt as they were working to free Castor from the shattered carriage last fall. It was like a puzzle. And the pieces were floating in Cursa's mind. Colin. Wounds. Pictures. Woofy. The letter. AngelFyre loving Colin. Best friends. --- Woofy. What was it about that nickname? Why would you call your best friend "Woofy"? What did it signify. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered about the defacement of the letter that was supposed to go to Colin last summer. Could it be ---?

Cursa's blue eyes widened. There was a sudden recognition. His heart thumped. Could that be it? Was that the answer to the riddle? Wait. Does that mean Alex and Angus weren't actually lying about everything!? "Hey I---!"

"What the...?"

Casey jabbed his elbow into Cursa's side again. Damn that boy has sharp elbows! Cursa thought as his train of thought was derailed.

"You gettin' this, Red?" Casey asked.

"Wha---? Oh! Uh..."

Cursa fumbled around for his dance card. Of course it was empty. He had no date. No one had asked him to dance. He asked anyone to dance. Isadora... His eyes searched where she had last been seen. She was now gone. Cursa sighed. Not even her name was written on his card. Only --- wait.

"WHOA."

Cursa dropped his dance card on the table, amid the strewn flowers.

There was a word written on it. In fancy letters.

"Oh shit, Case. Not again!" What was there about England and Hogwarts anyway? "I've got a bad feeling about this!" Cursa fumbled around in his pocket, grabbing his wand. He looked around to see if anyone weird or out of place was hanging around. Well. Weirder than Colin anyway! "Let me know if you smell any manky mushrooms, Case."

Open to interactions! Especially if you're a girl!

Actions: Fire on the dance card? That can only mean wand is drawn and looking around for danger!

Mentions: @Aleksandra FairBairn (Isadora Vilaca) | @Emily Shephard (Casey!) | @AngelFyre McCubbin|| Mod: @Meiyu Xiang

Werewolves: That one totally needs to be neutered!

April 11th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Colin McCoire - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Simon Kincaid

Emily rolled her eyes but just couldn't bring herself to huff about Colin's complete inability to understand some of the complex awkwardness of being a girl. Emily was partial to long skirts but even she came equipped with a pair of dark leggings or tights underneath to spare an audience of unwanted "Upside-Down Skirt Syndrome". She knew Colin was a fan of his kilts but that begged the question--

"Surely you wear a pair of shorts or something underneath those kilts of yours, right? Otherwise what do you do when it... Um..."

Nope. It wasn't worth it for Emily to finish that question.

Colin drew attention to the mismatched button on his shirt. "Only one button out of place this time! Thanks Em! Honestly. Shirt buttons are soooo complicated!"

Haah. Emily chuckled before standing toe to toe with him, her hands reaching up to his top button. "Honestly, McCoire. If you stood still and paid attention some more, you would be able to spare yourself some hassle". Emily undid all his buttons with quick fingers. She got a flash of his scarred torso before covering him up again with properly matched buttons the whole way up and down his shirt. She softly frowned at some of the larger scars she could see peeking through the sliver of his exposed form as she fixed his buttons. After Colin told her about him being a werewolf, Emily shuddered to think how Colin accrued those marks, now aware of the possibilities. Were they from mere werewolf scuffles or did any of them actually enter beyond "Bite Marks Through Skin" territory? Were there any that weren't even werewolf related?

Again, more questions Emily didn't want an answer for.

"There!" Emily finished her work with a neat pop off to Colin's shirt collar and grinned. "Now you look like a gentleman!" Now if only she brought a comb, she could tame that bird's nest hair atop his head into something smooth and fluffier! Emily giggled at the thought.

With AngelFyre drifting in her little "journey", Colin whispered into Emily's ear. "So much of that seems so fake. And then --- there's what Fyre does. If you ask me, I think it's beyond magic."

Emily placed a finger on her chin. She'd heard something like that before. Then she remembered, her finger snapping at the memory. "Oh! That sounds similar to dream space. Auntie told me about it before. It's described as the world within our own. Inner wisdom, pathways and pieces of existence all sewn together using threads of fate and consequence. If AngelFyre comes back with truth, then maybe that's what she sees? Auntie says those who practice divination for a long time can potentially develop an otherworldly sight. I wouldn't really know though since I'm not as spiritually aware as she is, though perhaps that's where AngelFyre goes..."

As soon as AngelFyre returned she implored everyone to check their dance cards. Colin took his out and Emily saw the bewildered expression that suddenly painted across his face.

Emily blinked worriedly when she leaned over to look at Colin's dance card. The word Fire had been written on it. Curiously, the Huffie looked back down at her own and gasped when hers presented the same thing.

"Huh?? But-- This thing was blank before! What on earth is going on?"

Colin was already on the forefront of sniffing for trouble. Literally. Emily's hand drifted over the pocket that housed her wand. She scanned the venue. She knew there were candles lit that could easily spread a flame or two if provoked. Only a fool would be swayed into pyromancy. Then her line of sight drifted to the trees. She grazed the inside of her lip between her teeth as she shuffled over to the far side.

"One thing this part of the school has taught me is that there's always something skulking in the dark. Whether they're friend or foe, that's something else entirely".

She stood close to one tree. Finally revealing her wand, she pointed and muttered Lumos.

"Sometimes the world feels like an invisible magic circle... With an inside and an outside".

She moved her wand around as she searched the trees with squinted eyes.

"Some people are inside the circle..." Emily swallowed. "... While others are outside".

_{Word Count: 700}

Action: Casting Lumos and searching the surrounding trees for something shifty...

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