Errand Pretty Little Baubles - Nothing More.

@Jo Morgan @Wren Caster @Saoirse Dwight

“A museum? Trust me, that’s going nowhere except for the rubbish bin,” Jo told him matter-of-factly. “It isn’t even worthy of a name at this point.”

Rafael feigned a hurt look, putting a glittery hand to his chest. “Aw,” he said, a joking frown on his face. “Words hurt, y’know?” He retracted his hand, a big glittery hand-print where it had once been. In one aggravated moment, he tried to wipe it off, but only got it more messy. “Shit,” he muttered, his shirt now covered in glitter. It must have been rather amusing, he noted. He hoped no one else he knew saw his mess.

Little did he know, Jo had taken his ornament, and poured all of his handiwork onto the table. “H-hey!” he sputtered, a bit outraged at the fact that she had so abruptly ruined his amazing piece of artwork. She was making a rather nice-looking ornament out of his chaos – it was so depressing. “Look, you’re ruining it!” he told her, his face a mix between anger and amusement.

Right after that comment, as if a retaliation, she threw white powder into the air. Rafa began to cough, covering his mouth. When it finally settled, he inspected the damage – his clothes, once covered in glitter, were now completely caked in powder. He was about to say something, but before he could, another rather familiar voice rang through the air.

“Hey Jo, Rafa! Fancy seeing you all here!” Wren said, a happy smile on her face. “I was wondering if I could join you all in making the ornaments? Please?”

Wren’s sudden arrival took Rafa by surprise – a grin slowly snaked its way onto his face. Wren was definitely funny like that. She had a rather spontaneous personality, but it wasn’t ever unwelcome. In fact, it was one of her more attractive attributes.

It was funny, because when he looked up, she was gone. He grinned, his mind drifting off to places she could have disappeared off to. “Yeah…” Jo said absently, very focused on her work. “I don’t know if you know Wren, but that’s pretty normal. She does that during meetings, too.”

Rafa found himself laughing a bit. “Yeah, Wren’s the best.” He shook his head, finding some foam balls and trying to put together a little snowman. “She’s my mate, all right. Bit spontaneous, though.”

For a while, he blanked out, all his focus on his little snowman. Their conversation died out, their focus on their respective works. Rafa decided that his snowman would be a rather jolly fellow. Sticking a little nose to it, he grinned at the beginnings of his creation. This was already his most spectacular piece of art.

“I made it better,” he heard Jo say, rather smugly in his opinion. He turned, taking sight of his once-beautiful ornament. “It’s a tree with snow on it, and there are clouds and the sun on top,” she told him. “I’m going to call it Slice of Life because it’s the perfect imprint of a beautiful, untouched winter day. It’s a slice of life without any kind of magic or any kind of danger - no signs of humans even - just a mundane, ordinary day in nature. It’s like a moment frozen and encased in glass so it’ll never get hurt or destroyed. Look, it’s finally something that can’t be ruined. By you. That’s not a challenge, by the way.”

Rafa raised his eyebrow – it sure did sound like one. “Oh yeah?” he said, a grin growing on his face. “You sure about that?”

Though, before he could act on Jo’s words, came back with her supplies. “Hey, guys, is this ok? I really hope I'm not intruding on anything here though,” she said in a friendly sort of way, starting on her ornament. “Oh, and Jo? Could you pass the scissors?”

They started talking, while Rafa added a little hat to his little snowman. It was really coming together. “You are quite handsome,” he told the little guy absently. “You’re welcome for that, by the way.” He gave the snowman a little cane and coal pipe. Finally, the snowman was done.

Before he could share his creation with his mates, Jo suddenly made a rather disturbing comment. “I’m pretty sure Rafa would love a pretty pink ribbon to go on his ornament,” she said.

“Erm, you know, I’m good! Thanks!” he said suddenly, putting his hands out in a rejecting way. Then, before Jo could answer his comment, held up his snowman proudly. “Hey, check out my snowman – his name is Jeremy!” he wasn’t sure why he picked that specific name – it was the first one to come to mind. He certainly was a jolly fellow – a handsome smile and smooth eyes graced his round face. A pure player. “A real Casanova, this one.”

He didn’t wait for a response, getting to work on his next piece of art. This one was going to be a girl snowman – a broad, for Jeremy’s sake. Jo was going to be absolutely jealous of his snowman-making skills. He deftly took a few foam balls, sticking them on top of each other with a toothpick. Then, he started rummaging around Wren’s supplies, looking for ‘hair’.

Sometime during his exploits, Wren had turned to Rafa. "Hey Rafa, um how is um your..." she sort of trailed off, gesturing towards his midsection. It took Rafa a moment to understand what she was going on about. "I'm sorry for talking a lot or for offending anyone," she added, eyed Jo for a moment. "That's just the way I am, you know?"

Of course, Wren would say that. He shook his head, a little grin on his face. “Yeah, my ribs are fine. A little sore, but that’s all.” He cocked his head, setting down his girl snowman for a second. “And, what are you going on about? You’re not offending anyone.” He gestured to Jo using Jeremy. “Plus, I’m sure she knows. Her and that puta are great friends and all.”

His face took a slightly bitter form, and he shook his head, setting Jeremy down. Not wanting to say anything more on the Saoirse topic, he got right back to work on the girl snowman.

It wasn’t long before the puta herself actually showed her face. Jo had mentioned her coming, but now that she was actually here, he could feel the pits of his stomach brewing something dangerous. “I have some other ornáidí!" she had said as she walked in, carrying a box full of ornaments. It was confusing, though, because for some reason, she was crying. Rafa furrowed his brow, a bit confused – what was the big deal? She even went out of her way to send him this remorseful sort of look. He didn’t even know how to take it. He almost felt sorry – almost. But then, he remembered how much it hurt when she wrestled him to the ground and jumped on his abdomen like a bouncy house. Nope, definitely not sorry.

“This is the Great Hall,” Jo said, interrupting his thoughts. “Today we are going to be civil to each other.” She held an authorative sort of air, the kind that demanded respect. And Rafa knew better – If he wanted to start a fight, there was nothing Jo could do to stop it. But, the peace was nice, and he didn’t want to shatter it. “Yeah, fine,” he answered, rather forcibly, biting his lip to prevent any loose words. Absently, he noticed the snowman he had been working on had been crushed in his hand, little white pieces falling out of his palm. Sighing, he dropped the wreckage onto the table. “Sorry, Jeremy,” he muttered. “I suppose we don’t all get love.”

A bit miffed this time around, he got to work on his second girl snowman. This time, he was determined to make it better than the last. Sticking the foam balls with a toothpick, he began adding hair to the little snowman – he ended up taking some of the pink ribbon Jo had sort of offered, gluing it to the top. Then, he got to work on her face, taking care to make it pretty for his male snowman.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Saoirse asked him breaking his thoughts.

He groaned, setting the girl snowman down for a second. She had to ruin everything, didn’t she? “Fine,” he told her rather hostilely. “No thanks to you.” He turned towards her a bit more, feeling a bit fighty today. “You know, I didn’t think you would care. Finally decided to grow a heart, now, did you?” He was testing her, he knew that much. She was a tough girl, she could take it. Plus, they both know she deserved it. At least, that’s how he rationalized it.

Saoirse knelt down to help Rafael gather some pieces of...Jeremy? She picked up a shard and looked over at Rafael, "no just I the little dragon atop Hufflepuff cave with fiery breath," she raised her head up as hair came back to its long, flowing fiery red color. "Came to steal your jewels," she booped him on the nose and laughed before handing him the rest of the snowman. Rolling her eyes, "but seriously I want to avoid any sort of causalties today, my arms are already bleeding and a mangled mess so I don't want anything else to look like that." Saoirse didn't want any casualties but she wanted some cheering up, she picked up a group of hooks and light threw them at Rafael before grabbing the female snowman out of his grasp, admiring its detail entirely un-where of how much she was angering him. She slid the snowman back into place near his hand.

Saoirse looked over at Rafael, "well, I heard you were a lucky one Rafael. Got a boyfriend, leader of a club, and your a good piano player," she paused taking a breath and winking at him, "I bet sooooo many people wanna be you." She rolled her eyes, it was fun light-heartedly teasing people now that it was her and not her cousin at least.

Honorable Mentions: @Rafael D'Spacito

The girl stared at the abomination in Rafa’s hands. “Casanova? Try catastrophe!” She giggled at her own joke.

Jo had been far too naive when she started Hogwarts. She'd believed that maybe in a world with magic, there were no fighting - no wars.

Maybe it really did take magic for people to finally get along.

But the thing she'd forgotten was that wizards were people, too. They fought and killed, ate food, had flaws. They held petty grudges and prejudices - worshipped those that proved themselves “pure” and demonized what they didn’t understand.

Looking at Saoirse, Jo finally realized why she had made the Acid Pop Club. It wasn’t just a safe haven for girls, but a safe haven for those who were different. When you walked into a meeting, the wands and potions and owls went away - they were just girls - no different from muggle girls- having a grand old time. You could be a werewolf or a Dhampir or even a Metamorphmagus and a joke is still funny and nicknames are still cool. In Acid Pop, none of that mattered, and it was a breath of fresh air. Nobody was a bitch, nobody was going to be ostracized for no good reason.

A thousands word lingered at Jo’s lips itching to escape, tying themselves into knots and sentences. But just this once, the girl decided not to say them. Instead, she looked at the girl in pain.

“What happened to ‘blazin’ Dwight?” she murmured softly, reaching out for a tousled black lock of hair.

It seemed the girl and Rafa had made up now - superficially at least. Jo breathed a sigh of relief. There would be no fighting in the Great Hall.

Saoirse’s hair returned to its original shade, and her glowing smile with it. Jo couldn’t help but beam. Her friend was back to normal!

“Rafa, Saoirse, shit’s already heated enough with the ole H getting arrested and all. I think y’all should just bury the hatchet... or should I say Shillelagh? Either way, I’m tired and I just want to make some pretty baubles. I’m not looking for anything more. Saoirse, can you help me make this next ornament?”

@Jo Morgan @Saoirse Dwight @Wren Caster

[font=Segoe Print]“No. Just I, the little dragon atop Hufflepuff cave with fiery breath, came to steal your jewels~”

That’s what Saoirse had told him, as she picked up shards of Jeremy’s dead girlfriend. She had even booped him on the nose all playfully. Rafa didn’t even know how to take this – he wasn’t sure if he should be outraged or confused…. His mind was spinning in circles. He barely registered Saoirse handing his snowman back to him, a blank sort of look on his face. There was something totally wrong with this scene, he knew. Saoirse must have wanted something from him – that’s the only thing that could justify all these strange things she was doing.

“Seriously, I want to avoid any sort of casualties today,” Saoirse continued, snatching Jeremy’s side hoe from his hands. His hands twitched where the snowman had been – he felt like he was short-circuiting. He didn’t like this at all. His face only grew redder as the moments passed, his gaze only growing sharper and sharper. “My arms are already bleeding and a mangled mess, so I don't want anything else to look like that."

He nearly spat something scathing back at her, but was cut off when she returned the female snowman. She hadn’t even done anything to it- what kind of alternate universe was this? "Well,” she continued all jokingly, “I heard you were a lucky one, Rafael. Got a boyfriend, leader of a club, and you’re a good piano player. I bet sooooo many people wanna be you."

Now, his cheeks were really red - whether it was from anger or embarrassment, he surely would never know. He wasn’t even sure how she knew half those things – he hadn’t told anyone but his fellow bandmates about his piano skills. It was sensitive information. He gaped a bit at the sudden announcement, not even that sure how to react. “H-how do you know that?” he sputtered after a moment, his hands suddenly sweaty. “Stalking me now, are you?” He wished he could say he had stated this scathingly, but he would be lying – he sounded more shaken, than anything.

He took a deep breath, clutching his female snowman. He had to take a moment and think about why she was doing this. Did she want something? Or was she trying to embarrass him? He supposed there was a slight chance that she was actually trying to make amends, but it seemed so out-of-character. The thought, however, did make some of his anger dissipate. His mind flew back to the Hospital Wing. She had been pretty remorseful then – that, or an excellent actor. She had him so confused, dammit!

“Rafa, Saoirse,” Jo’s voice shattered his thoughts, and he was forced to look up. The look on her face was a bit hard to read. “Shit’s already heated enough with the ole H getting arrested and all. I think y’all should just bury the hatchet... or should I say Shillelagh? Either way, I’m tired and I just want to make some pretty baubles. I’m not looking for anything more. Saoirse, can you help me make this next ornament?”

"I agree, Jo,” Wren added. “We don't need another incident. Just please be good while we are making the ornaments. This is supposed to be fun. It won't be fun if someone has to go to the hospital."

Then she had gotten all upset over something. All Rafa had taken away from the situation was ‘THE FUCKIN TREE IS CROOKED’. He had laughed, but soon enough, his thoughts had taken him captive again. This whole feud was getting rather tiring. He was having a hard time talking to Prim nowadays, dammit! There was no bone in his body that wanted to forget what happened in the library all that time ago. But, then again, he didn’t have to be her friend. He could just keep neutral comments, maybe just stay passive-aggressive. It seemed tiring, but at the same time, he wasn’t about to quit his snowman-making just for some shapeshifting jerk.

If she could even hold that status anymore. She was making it pretty damn hard.

Thinking about it all was tiring him out. He pushed his problems to the side for a moment, instead taking a moment to appreciate the new and improved female snowman. He held it up for the small group to see. “Ahem. I would like to introduce you all to Jeremy’s Side Hoe,” he said, a massive shit-eating grin on his face. She was a very nice-looking snowman, he wouldn’t lie. “Jo’s definitely jealous now,” he added, sending her the most smug look he could possibly muster. No way in hell would she be able to keep a straight face. [/font]

Saoirse watched Rafael intently, his face was one big, red loading screen and it was hilarious, she had forgotten how fun it was to unintentionally mess with people. Her moment of joy just got better and better as his lips moved again.

"H-how do you know that?"

He spoke with sweaty, trembling hands.

"Stalking me now, are you?"

Saoirse burst out into hearty laughter, the same kind her father had. Whenever he laughed it was contagious, it made you feel warm and happy inside. "In your dreams, I heard you at the audition y'know for The Witching Hour? I'm not kidding Rafael, you're actually really good." She smiled at him, "then I've seen you with...I dunno his name, but friends or I should say 'mates' don't look, act, or talk with each-other like that, also I've overheard Prim before." Taking a deep breath, she looked over at Jo who was motioning for her to come over.

“Rafa, Saoirse, shit’s already heated enough with the ole H getting arrested and all. I think y’all should just bury the hatchet... or should I say Shillelagh? Either way, I’m tired and I just want to make some pretty baubles. I’m not looking for anything more. Saoirse, can you help me make this next ornament?”

Saoirse stared at Jo with a blaze in her eyes, it pissed her off how horribly Jo mispronounced that word. "Jo it's SH-laylee, y-know what forget let's leave the Irish speak to me right now." She stood up and walked over to where Jo and Wren were.

Taking out the supplies she looked over at Jo, "what do you want to do with ornament?" She tried to make another attempt at speaking before Wren shouted.

"THE FUCKIN TREE IS CROOKED."

Saoirse looked over at Wren, with another burst of laughter. She picked up another ornament and held it out to Wren, trying not to scold her or shout profanities. Of course, she couldn't reach the ribbon since it was scattered on Jo's side.

"Ahem. I would like to introduce you all to Jeremy’s Side Hoe,"

Saoirse looked back over at Rafael, holding up the new snowman out of the pieces they had collected.

"Jo’s definitely jealous now."

She snickered, her chest hurt too much to let out another laugh. She continued to work on the ornament, "Is rud speisialta é an grúpa seo(This group is special)."

I know I’m not Irish. You don’t have to yell at me - I was just trying to lighten the mood. Jo frowned, her feathers a bit ruffled at the reprimand. Sarcasm really wasn’t up her alley, unless of course it was a witty comeback or a joke. But then again, if she wanted to be friends with Saoirse, she’d probably have to suck it up. She drew in a sharp breath - the girl just really didn’t like being antagonized for no good reason.

In fact, she really didn’t want to be talking to people anyway. Saoirse didn’t like her - Saoirse obviously thought she was annoying. She bit her lip, regretting that she had interjected herself needlessly into the fight.

Jo shot a glance at Wren, hoping the girl had noticed the insult. Wren at least was on her side.

Trying to get her mind off of the comment, she frowned and returned to her work, stopping only when Wren began to shout that her tree was crooked.

“Jo could you please pass me the ribbon and a new ornament? I need to start over."

Jo quickly obliged to the girl’s request, handing her a pair of scissors and some fringe with a smile.

Suddenly Rafa held up a busty snowman. Snow-woman?

”Ahem. I would like to introduce you all to Jeremy’s Side Hoe. Jo’s definitely jealous now."

Jo began to wheeze, having to turn her face away because she was laughing so hard. She coughed loudly as glitter entered her nostrils.

I...ca....

Speechless, Jo fought for breath, unable to restrain her mirth.

Side hoe? Jeremy’s obviously doing much better than you! she teased.

The Gryffindor exhaled, Saoirse’s biting remark returning once more to her mind.

I’ll be getting back to the common room...I trust you guys can handle yourselves. I’ve got a meeting with a Hufflepuff who wants to join Acid Pop. Stella? I think. Stella Dawson. Rafa, you might know her. Cheerio!

Gathering up the ornaments she had made, Jo began to slowly walk away from the table.

OOC: Jo is a bit miffed and will leave the thread here unless she is spoken to or stopped.

[font=Monotype Corsiva] ”Ahem. I would like to introduce you all to Jeremy’s Side Hoe. Jo’s definitely jealous now."

After this statement Wren could almost physically feel some of the tension in the room lift up. Of course, Saoirse was still making her snide remarks, but all was well after a good laugh, as Wren's dad liked to say.

“Side hoe? Jeremy’s obviously doing much better than you!”

Wren's eyes got wide as she got mad.

"Jo! That was really mean. Even if it was just teasing. Rafa has every right to date a boy as you do to date a girl. (not saying you are just saying if you did). By the way Jo, Rafa is not one to let things slide, so I would watch out if I were you. I don't know if you know what happened in the library, between Saoirse and Rafael, it was not pretty, and I really would like to not have to take anyone to the hospital.

Wren could tell this was not a good situation, and since Saoirse, had handed her another ornament, and with a muttered thanks, Wren had started and finished the ornament was done. As she thought it might get a bit ugly she decided to beeline it out of there.

"Guys, it was nice to make theses baubles with you all, but I just remembered I have some homework left over from my last class, so I'll see you all around!" [/font]

Wren has left the thread

@Saoirse Dwight @Rafael D'Spacito @Jo Morgan

Jo spun around, exasperated.

“ That’s not what I meant! I meant that if Jeremy has a side hoe, he’s got a main hoe too. Last time I checked, Rafa only had one boyfriend.”

Jo was rather angry now - she’d only come here to make ornaments and have fun, and now she was getting dragged into unnecessary drama.

She tossed an annoyed glance at Rafa. “I didn’t mean to offend you, or Saoirse for that matter. I didn’t want to get dragged into this fight. It’s like nobody knows how to act anymore. We’re witches and wizards, for fuck’s sake. We should be past petty fights and this ‘we’re different from each other’ shit! All of us know how it is to feel different. I don’t give a shit if you’re a metamorphmagus, and I don’t give a shit if you’re gay!”

She felt her cheeks get hot, and tears streamed down her eyes before she could stop them. She knew she was overreacting, but everything she had been bottled up for the sake of being “a leader” came gushing out at once.

“When did everything go wrong?” she whispered. She wanted to go home.

Jo wiped her eyes and addressed Wren, who was packing up to leave. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of this. I meant it as a joke, but certainly not that kind of joke, and I certainly won’t stand to have it interpreted like that. I know perfectly well what happened in that damn library, and I also know it wasn’t Rafa who started the fight.”

She was terribly angry, even though she tried to speak to everyone calmly.

“I made Acid Pop so everyone would feel welcome, no matter what you were or who you liked. Rafa, we’ll always have our differences, but I would NEVER attack you like that. I was only here to have fun and make ornaments. I really don’t like that none of us can seem to get along. I’ll...” she choked. “I’ll be in my dorm if anyone needs me.”

And with that, Jo began to storm off with the glimmer of a tear still in her eye.

OOC: Jo will leave unless someone calls her. Also, I didn’t realize the joke could be interpreted as homophobic, and that certainly was not my or Jo’s intent. I apologize for the offense.

Saoirse frowned, she realized how rude that was and reached over to Jo. "I wasn't insulting you, I was just trying to help, ." She took a deep breath and realized what Jo was thinking, although before she could she do anything, this little bubble erupted.

"Side hoe? Jeremy’s obviously doing much better than you!"

The Hufflepuff had no comment, she wasn't going to poke the waking bear known as Jo Morgan at this time, she'd be a fool to do that. She stood up and shuffled herself away, she wasn't interested in getting into this drama today. When Jo became spiteful that's when it stopped, she watched her as she called out. "Jo, you didn't offend me at all. It was a lighthearted joke and I get it, I'm sorry." Saoirse sighed and tried to be rational, "I-I'm sorry..." she turned her head and crumbled into nothing, crying.

This environment was getting too toxic, too fast. Saoirse had no proper reasoning to stay here at all, considering how much hatred was being spewed out. She was tired of being blamed for things she had done in the past, she wanted to leave, she needed to leave. Standing up she walked towards the doorway, looking back at Rafael one more time. "I'm sorry."



Honorable Mentions: @Wren Caster @Rafael D'Spacito @Jo Morgan