10 Dec 2019, 15:55
Autumn Cleaning
Alexx only felt a little bad that she had stolen an opportunity from Gris. Sure, this was Gris' errand, and maybe Alexx was a little jealous that she had never hoster one herself back when she was a Prefect. But Alexx was older and wiser. She didn't need some second year telling her when to sweep up leaves.
Not many of the group seemed rather chatty. For that she was grateful, because honestly, she didn't know what she would say. These weren't her people. This wasn't her crowd. She certainly did feel awkward and misplaced, but such is life. This is for the money. Nothing more and nothing less.
Raking was the easiest to start with. No spells. Not today. There was something far more therapeutic about the manual labor involved with raking. Even if it put a stitch in her side and cramped her arms a bit, she knew that she'd survive. This gave her time to think, too.
All that had happened this year. It'd been hard, to say the least. She was distant with her friends, behind on Headliner work, on edge all the time, and had Max Avery (of all people) cut her hair. Not that Max wasn't a good stylist (actually, he wasn't), but she didn't know at what point her life became so messy that she had a 13-year-old boy cut her hair.
229 + 364 = 593
Not many of the group seemed rather chatty. For that she was grateful, because honestly, she didn't know what she would say. These weren't her people. This wasn't her crowd. She certainly did feel awkward and misplaced, but such is life. This is for the money. Nothing more and nothing less.
Raking was the easiest to start with. No spells. Not today. There was something far more therapeutic about the manual labor involved with raking. Even if it put a stitch in her side and cramped her arms a bit, she knew that she'd survive. This gave her time to think, too.
All that had happened this year. It'd been hard, to say the least. She was distant with her friends, behind on Headliner work, on edge all the time, and had Max Avery (of all people) cut her hair. Not that Max wasn't a good stylist (actually, he wasn't), but she didn't know at what point her life became so messy that she had a 13-year-old boy cut her hair.
229 + 364 = 593
chill babe. we're all bad in someone's story.
18 Dec 2019, 21:34
Autumn Cleaning
If Pericles was at all perturbed by any lack of returned hellos, the young wizard certainly did not show it. He did not suffer some desperate need to socialize, but rather, a pervasive politeness which drove him to ensure he at least offered out his name. What did a name matter? A great deal, or so his father always insisted. Whether greeted in turn or no, once he had welcomed each errand tackler in turn, Peri took up his rake and got to work. His approach was not slow. He did however have a tendency towards perfection, reluctant to neglect so much as a single leaf. The area around a lone compost bin would be tidied in a wide radius. A long strip would be swept in, then the next, rows roughly rake-sized drawn into a large circular heap about the bin. Once he had cleared a sizable circle, Peri proceeded to pull his hide gloves on a little tighter before he started scooping said piles in with his arms. The process was proficient, methodical, albeit not without distraction.
"Oh...!" A pile he had just begin to build twitched at a corner, and from it leapt a single small toad. Pericles was well-versed in many avenues of obscure fact, though he was neglectfully uneducated in the realm of toads, thus unable to determine this was in fact a natterjack. But he did know it was a perfectly neat specimen. All thoughts of work went out the window in an instant. Sitting on his haunches, lowering his voice that the others would be less likely to hear him talking to an animal, of all things, he mumbled "Oh, look at you! I didn't rake your home, did I? I'm sorry if I did. Are you a lost pet, or a wild toad?" As one may expect, the toad had nothing to say. It flopped about for a frantic moment before emitting an aggravated croak. Peri continued muttering sympathetically at the thing as he scooped it up, stood, and glanced about in a most conspiratorial manner. Were they allowed to leave the errand and come back again...? He hid the thing in his hands, cupping it close to his stomach. It was perhaps a curious sight, him simply standing there looking about awkwardly, as if perhaps he needed a restroom. Then without a word, the boy started to jog away, moving faster if questioned. He would run just beyond their designated errand area before setting the thing down with a gentle farewell. Once he returned, Peri picked up his rake and resumed as if nothing of note had happened. He would drift near other stations, seemingly wanting to help on the sidelines yet unwilling to say anything more.
"Oh...!" A pile he had just begin to build twitched at a corner, and from it leapt a single small toad. Pericles was well-versed in many avenues of obscure fact, though he was neglectfully uneducated in the realm of toads, thus unable to determine this was in fact a natterjack. But he did know it was a perfectly neat specimen. All thoughts of work went out the window in an instant. Sitting on his haunches, lowering his voice that the others would be less likely to hear him talking to an animal, of all things, he mumbled "Oh, look at you! I didn't rake your home, did I? I'm sorry if I did. Are you a lost pet, or a wild toad?" As one may expect, the toad had nothing to say. It flopped about for a frantic moment before emitting an aggravated croak. Peri continued muttering sympathetically at the thing as he scooped it up, stood, and glanced about in a most conspiratorial manner. Were they allowed to leave the errand and come back again...? He hid the thing in his hands, cupping it close to his stomach. It was perhaps a curious sight, him simply standing there looking about awkwardly, as if perhaps he needed a restroom. Then without a word, the boy started to jog away, moving faster if questioned. He would run just beyond their designated errand area before setting the thing down with a gentle farewell. Once he returned, Peri picked up his rake and resumed as if nothing of note had happened. He would drift near other stations, seemingly wanting to help on the sidelines yet unwilling to say anything more.
WC: 1,064
Errand Complete
{ 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔟𝔬𝔶: 𝔞 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢, 𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔬𝔶. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔞. }
(iNPC: Madhup Hexum)
19 Dec 2019, 06:41
Autumn Cleaning
By this point in time, the leaves in which Alexx had been steadily working on were now accumulating into a rather large pile. For the life of her, Alexx would not go near the compost bin, nor would she put anything in it; not even with gloves on! She had a traumatic experience cleaning up after the Blossom Ball last year, and now she no longer wanted to put any part of her near any sort of strange objects which were laying on the grounds. No sir! Someone else could do that job!
Alexx wondered to herself if Gris really wanted the leaves in the compost bin? Weren't those for... food? Alexx gulped. She had made a deal with herself to not use any spells, but she just couldn't handle the idea of getting too close to that. Pulling out her wand, she aimed it at the pile of leaves. "Wingardium Leviosa!" She commanded, eyebrows cinching together. Much to Alexx's dismay, however, only one leaf lifted into the air. Huffing, Alexx tried again. "Wingardium Leviosa!" This time the pile successfully lifted, to which she commanded it over to the compost bin. Alexx may not have been the best at spellcasting, but she could do what it takes to avoid getting dirty. While Alexx could maybe take some manual labor, too much was too much! She had her limits!
There was still a second, smaller pile that Alexx wasn't quite finished with, so she continued to rake away at that for the next few minutes, assuring that no stray leaves were left untended to. Part of her childish self wanted to hop into a pile of leaves, but she refrained, fearing that she would get her shirt dirty.
It wasn't so much that Alexx hated dirt. She did, but that wasn't the point. She didn't like people to see her dirty. Vivienne had always taught her children to remain well-groomed. This life lesson also taught Alexx not to get dirt on her clothes, under her nails, in her hair, on her skin- basically anywhere. Cleaning was always left up to the housekeepers (her family was surprisingly anti-House Elf, which was ironic considering all of the other terrible shit that they did), so it wasn't Alexx's place to worry about that. With the flick of a wrist, her yard was suddenly clean again, no matter that she lived in Greater Manchester, where the yard was more like the grounds here at Hogwarts. The size of everything that she was used to was large, and the theme was lavish. This was out of her comfort zone for sure.
But what was in her comfort zone? Money. Money was the winning factor no matter what she did. Alexx would do just about anything for money... Anything but get dirty! Perhaps she was just stuck in her ways because Alexx hated Vivienne more than she hated dirt, but she refused to get dirty even still, despite the urge to spite her mother. Alas, Vivienne was correct about a few things. Dirt being the worst thing on planet earth was one.
WC: 515+593 = 1108
Errand Complete
chill babe. we're all bad in someone's story.
23 Dec 2019, 03:48
Autumn Cleaning
• @Pericles Dralt •Sylvie wasted little time getting down to business after Gris left. She picked up a rake that had been propped against the tree and slapped on the provided gardening gloves before started to work her portion of the group's chore. She wasn't all too interested in talking. She'd given her greeting to them, and to her that was enough. At least for the moment. She wouldn't reject conversation if someone came and offered it, but for now, she would focus on the task at hand. She debated between rake and charm, but ultimately she decided on doing things manually. It'd take longer maybe, but it was good and honest work. Who wouldn't want a bit of extra muscle on their bones?
It reminded her of home. Raking up all the leaves in the backyard during fall was always a family thing. She'd jump into the piles of leaves and make an even bigger mess. Sylvie supposed that the nostalgia was a bonus to the coin she would be receiving. Could it be considered nostalgia if it was only but a year ago? She wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter in the end. Happy memories were happy memories as far as the young Gryffindor was concerned. They offered her a bit of comfort being so far away from so many of her loved ones.
Though the air was cool, the warm sun shining down on her back wasn't helping the bit of a sweat Sylvie was working up raking these leaves. Perhaps a sweater wasn't the best attire... She'd remember that for next time... But to keep her mind off of heat, she thought about what she'd buy with the money she was in the process of saving up. A pet was the obvious choice, but there were so many little shops to visit when it was time. How could she settle with only a pet? Maybe a dress, or a new book to study off of. It wouldn't hurt to be ahead in the reading, would it? She'd understand what was on the page someday.
As the girl's mind drifted off into space, she raked away at the leaves beneath her aimlessly. She'd gotten distracted, lost in her daydreams and thoughts. Who knows how much time had gone by when she'd snapped out of it. By the time she had, a few people had already cleared, or almost cleared much of their fallen leaves. Oops, is what she thought of that. Sylvie glanced around... Maybe she could get someone to assist. Of course, when she spotted a Ravenclaw boy who had already completed his task. Pericles, he said he was called. She paused what she had been doing (which wasn't too much) and gave him a small, shy wave; An attempt to grab his attention.WC: 260+466 = 726
Sylvie O'Niell
• STA. 10, EV. 6, STR. 5, WIS. 9, AP. 13, ACC. 9
• Hex: #900000
29 Dec 2019, 21:44
Autumn Cleaning
Pericles' piles were steadily scooped, one armload at a time, into his assigned bin. He took his time picking bits of broken leaf from his clothes, procrastinating against the uncomfortable idea of leaving while others were working. It seemed more of an individual effort than the group endeavor the boy had braced himself for, yet all the same, there lingered a needless guilt over the idea of heading "home" while some still toiled. But Peri was running out of leaves to pick. He had raked a wide radius, plucked his cloak clean, and tied the top of his bag tightly shut. Looking about for some other excuse to hang around, he stilled when he heard a spell being cast.
Wingardium Leviosa!
He turned about. Watching the leaves rise made his eyes widen. Were they allowed to use magic for this task...? But they were at Hogwarts- of course they were! Why hadn't he thought of that? Peri watched while the pile drifted off into the bin. Feeling rather foolish at the missed opportunity to practice, the young wizard was just resolving to cast at some rocks along the walk home when another distracting movement caught his eye. A wave. That silvery stare settled on the girl at the other end of it. What was her name again...? She had greeted the group, but if she'd given it, he hadn't heard it. His thoughts drifted, and- most unfortunately for them both- Peri was left continuing to send a rather blank stare her way while they did. Who was she waving at, he wondered? He checked behind himself, but it seemed very much as though she was looking right at him.
Cautiously, with the start of a smile starting to spread, he raised his hand and offered a tiny wave in return to @Sylvie O'Niell. His gaze flickered for the leaves still scattered around her before he called a hesitant "D'you... need any help?"
Wingardium Leviosa!
He turned about. Watching the leaves rise made his eyes widen. Were they allowed to use magic for this task...? But they were at Hogwarts- of course they were! Why hadn't he thought of that? Peri watched while the pile drifted off into the bin. Feeling rather foolish at the missed opportunity to practice, the young wizard was just resolving to cast at some rocks along the walk home when another distracting movement caught his eye. A wave. That silvery stare settled on the girl at the other end of it. What was her name again...? She had greeted the group, but if she'd given it, he hadn't heard it. His thoughts drifted, and- most unfortunately for them both- Peri was left continuing to send a rather blank stare her way while they did. Who was she waving at, he wondered? He checked behind himself, but it seemed very much as though she was looking right at him.
Cautiously, with the start of a smile starting to spread, he raised his hand and offered a tiny wave in return to @Sylvie O'Niell. His gaze flickered for the leaves still scattered around her before he called a hesitant "D'you... need any help?"
{ 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔟𝔬𝔶: 𝔞 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢, 𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔬𝔶. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔞. }
(iNPC: Madhup Hexum)
3 Jan 2020, 18:18
Autumn Cleaning
•••
As he stared at her, the girl began to worry that she'd stepped out of line. Perhaps he didn't feel like talking? Perhaps it would have been a bit disappointing, but she'd get over i- Oh, he waved back! She'd let her mind race over absolutely nothing. Lovely... She cleared her throat. “Hi!” Sylvie stopped waving after she had successfully picked up the lad’s attention and glanced down at the colorful leaves around her feet. “Yeah, I got a teensy bit... Distracted. You don’t mind helping me out, do you?” She gave him a friendly smile. She hadn’t spent time with many people in her year outside of those in her own house besides a select few, so she wasn’t well acquainted with Pericles, only seeing him in the classrooms. On that note, she didn't really know anyone here. But there was no time like the present to establish some new friendships! Conversation never failed to make a job go along a lot quicker, or at least make it seem like it was.
“Oh! And my name is Sylvie, by the way. Sylvie O’Niell.” She had almost forgotten introductions... Maybe she should have done that before she asked him to help her but it was too late now! Hopefully, he wouldn’t think that was awfully rude of her. While she spoke, she occasionally raked through the leaves, gathering the fallen foliage into a neat little heap before her. Work and chatter was what she was reaching for. Or hoping for. As hard as she sought to keep herself looking quiet and diligent- Perhaps a bit aloof, it quite literally never worked out for her in that way. She was a social butterfly no matter the situation. If she had neglected to interact with the rest of the group, she presumably would’ve been a little disappointed in herself for not working to establish any connections. “I probably should have used a spell like the girl over there, huh?”WC: 726 + 319 = 1,045
Sylvie O'Niell
• STA. 10, EV. 6, STR. 5, WIS. 9, AP. 13, ACC. 9
• Hex: #900000
7 Jan 2020, 18:24
Autumn Cleaning
@Sylvie O'Niell's chipper greeting was answered with a tentative (although not reluctant) "Hello." The boy had been lurking on the fringes of others' self-appointed areas, subconsciously seeming to try and offer his help, yet was surprised all the same when spoken to. Then came her request. Pericles looked taken aback, but brightened, as if he had been hoping for precisely that question. A quick glance at his "section"- ensuring he was well and truly finished- was followed by a prompt "Not a'tall. That is- no, I wouldn't mind!" Pearly teeth gleamed through a small crooked smile. While already odd, Pericles was an exceedingly silent student while in a classroom, so quiet he knew nearly no one through shared periods. That was not to say he wasn't willing to make a new acquaintance.
"Pericles Dralt." The gloved hand not holding his rake upright reached out as he added, "'Peri' is fine." Following the witch's lead, the young wizard shepherded any errant leaves into the pile she had formed, raking them into a tight uniform circle. "I'm glad there are errands we can take on while we're at school," he was saying softly, a sleepy smile worn while they worked. "I hope to save up for a pet all my own. D'you know what you'll do with your reward sickles?" Idle chitchat faded at talk of spells. It sparked a light in the lad's eye, quickly catching his attention and lessening the dreamy haze he appeared to operate from. "I suppose we could," Peri murmured, eagerness to exercise magic beyond the classroom evident as he added "Could I try, too...? If you'll levitate the leaves, I'll see if I can hold a rake steady under them, in case any fall from the bunch!"
"Pericles Dralt." The gloved hand not holding his rake upright reached out as he added, "'Peri' is fine." Following the witch's lead, the young wizard shepherded any errant leaves into the pile she had formed, raking them into a tight uniform circle. "I'm glad there are errands we can take on while we're at school," he was saying softly, a sleepy smile worn while they worked. "I hope to save up for a pet all my own. D'you know what you'll do with your reward sickles?" Idle chitchat faded at talk of spells. It sparked a light in the lad's eye, quickly catching his attention and lessening the dreamy haze he appeared to operate from. "I suppose we could," Peri murmured, eagerness to exercise magic beyond the classroom evident as he added "Could I try, too...? If you'll levitate the leaves, I'll see if I can hold a rake steady under them, in case any fall from the bunch!"
{ 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔟𝔬𝔶: 𝔞 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢, 𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔬𝔶. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔣𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔢𝔞. }
(iNPC: Madhup Hexum)
8 Jan 2020, 01:50
Autumn Cleaning
After handing the rewards and the invitation letters to the first group, Griseldis went to check on the second group and wonder how they were doing. Once she arrived there, yes, the path was also been cleared out, free of fallen leaves. However, she noticed the atmosphere is quite different than the first group. It was calmer without much warmth but still pleasant somehow. The Gryffindor Prefect cleared her throat then started to wave her hand at them with a cheerful grin on her face, "Hello! I'm back again! I see you're all doing well." She then turned to look at her friend Ruthie, her smile softened a bit and went to pat on her shoulder, "Hey, Ruthie. I hope this errand was not too hard for you. But I see you and the others did a great job raking the leaves." Of course, Griseldis isn't really a bais person, she turned to face the others and gave her praise with her thumb up, "You all did a wicked job! I already brought your rewards, by the way, thank you so much for participating in this errand!" With that being said, she handed each participant a small pouch and inside was filled with 10 silver sickles.@Ruthie Greer @Bridget Collins @Pericles Dralt @Alexx Séverin @Sylvie O'Niell
"I also have something else to give it to you, here.", with that being said, she gave each of them an envelope. If they opened it, they would see the following:
The Yam Party Invitation
Dear participants of this month's errand,
First, I would like to give you my biggest thanks to you for your hard work and willingness to clean up the path that was once covered by the fallen leaves. So in order to show my way of gratitude I will host a Yam Party at the Great Lake tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm, we will roast some sweet potatoes together and simply have some fun. You all worked so hard so I think it would be great to at least let you guys enjoy a little fun time. Of course, it's your decision if you want to come to this small party, I'm not even sure if you like sweet potatoes or not. I will fully understand if you can't or don't want to come, but I want you to know how thankful I am for your selfless and kind act to help out.
Again, thank you so much for participating my errand and I hope to see you again.
Sincerely,
OOC: Yes, you are all invited to the Yam Party! At the moment, I'm a bit busy but will create the Yam Party thread later and you will be tagged by me once the thread is posted. It's up to you if you want to join or not.
Stamina: 11 | Evasion: 10 | Strength: 10 | Wisdom: 5 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 12
Fearless|Martial Artist|Evasive Maneuvers|Obnoxiously Strong
Fearless|Martial Artist|Evasive Maneuvers|Obnoxiously Strong