The Lost Pearl 2025 Fall Ball

October 4th 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Colin McCoire

Emily skipped a few steps ahead of Colin as they made their way towards the Great Lake to embark on another evening of Ball shenanigans - whatever that was defined as these days. The ends and sleeves of her blue cardigan flapped with every movement while she pranced in her lighter-shade-of-blue shirt dress - a modest outfit that Colin made sure to gush over before they even arrived at the venue. She giggled shyly when he did it again. She found it strange how she hadn't gotten used to that yet, given how often Colin praises her simply for wearing "Plain Jane" clothes.

She beamed when she caught sight of the pirate ship that was brought along for this year's occasion. "Look, Colin! There it is!" She bounced excitedly, pointing and speeding faster towards the ship, admiring it top to bottom as her eyes drunk in the sight of it. She hopped on board and spun around on the main deck, taking in her surroundings. She already spotted AngelFyre and Simon over on the other side -- Colin already assuming they'd be going a round of smoochies together. Cutie patootie Avery off with some boy across the ways as well, and a collection of other young students were milling about the place.

She heard Colin make a weird noise behind her. "It smells old and manky!" he said, his nose turning into a dried up nut as he scrunched it.

Emily sniffed the air and shrugged. "Doesn't smell bad to me. Just smells of saltwater and wet wood... But no perfume." Emily wasn't entirely sure where Colin got that from. Though that being said, Emily was acutely aware of how powerful Colin's sniffer was. She was hardly going to disbelieve him, knowing his sniffing talents. He'd probably smell out her own Mother's perfume from halfway across the globe if he really wanted to -- All he had to do was follow the smell of burning apple and pomegranate. That was how good he was!

Colin brought Emily over to the portraits that hung on the walls. She followed his finger to one depicting a kraken. Emily grinned, lightly bumping her hip into his. "You should know me well enough by now that encountering a kraken is on my Magical Creature Bucket List!" she teased. "Number Eight on the list, to be precise!"

She stretched over his arm to look at the card they were given upon being greeted at the boardwalk. She tried to make sense of the scrawny handwriting imprinted on it. "So... I wonder what treasure there's left hiding in its lockers..."

Colin's sniffer tickled again. AngelFyre was nearby according to him. Well of course she was! Emily could see her right there, wrapped in the arms of her prince like any other typical day. Though what struck Emily was how she smelt of fresh herbs and courage, again according to Colin and his sniffer.

Emily laughed nervously. "I don't know about the courage part... But I will admit I smell a bit more earthy today. Auntie lent me some of her spray to freshen up my room after I cleaned it earlier...!"

Colin began to pour his heart out to her. He thanked her for the company, how it meant to him, regarding her like she was his own treasure. Emily smiled sweetly. She got the fuzzies in her chest again, though this time she managed to reduce the redness in her cheeks to a more appropriate amount of heat and not just scolding hot. They were still red as ever though.

"I always think fondly of our moments together, Colin. They're as precious to me as any pearl in an oyster!"

_{Word Count: 615}

Action: Snooping around!

Stats: Stamina: 8 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 7 | Wisdom: 9 | Arcane Power: 8 | Accuracy: 8
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace |Calming Presence

location: Autumn Ball

date: Oct. 4th, 2025

speaking: 0042A9

thinking: 80A7FF

With his eyes a light pink color and his cheeks matching, Leo smiled at the compliment he got back from Rosa. Walking together arm in arm together, he couldn’t help but feel happy, but he always felt happy whenever he got to spend time with Rosa now. It wasn’t like he felt this way around others he was friends with so the feeling was strange to him.

After asking her where she wanted to sit, Rosa pointed to a table in a quieter corner. Leo nodded in agreement, “Sure, that looks good.” He said softly, leading her around some other tables and people until they got to the table. Leo sat down across from Rosa and looked around again, the room had begun filling up with students ready to enjoy the night ahead.

Sitting down at the table he was able to take in everything a little more now. Chandeliers lighting up the room over each table, each table had candles in the center providing a nice atmosphere for the evening. As he turned back to the table he noticed a card sitting there and read the message on it before sliding it over to Rosa to let her see it too. “Here, look at this, it’s like a little message from the captain.” He chuckled softly and glanced across at Rosa once he had passed the card.

With the lighting in the room, she looked even more beautiful now. The candle’s flame glowing in her eyes as he met them. Clearing his throat, Leo fidgeted with the ends of his coat under the table where she couldn’t see, trying to ease the nerves that had built up. “They really put a lot of thought and time decorating for tonight don’t you think? It’s incredible how they were able to pull this off.” He said as he admired a painting of a boat on the waves that was on the wall beside them. “Have you ever been on a boat before this?” He asked and turned back to face Rosa before being greeted by a server who brought them their appetizers, an arrangement of oysters and caviar. Leo admittedly never ate any of these despite seeing his parents and siblings eat it before at some fancy party they attended. It didn’t honestly seem appetizing but he decided to give it a shot for the sake of trying something new.

As he took a small bite of the caviar, the little pearls began bursting in his mouth and all he could taste was the saltiness as if he drank some sea water. “That is… interesting..” He laughed as he placed the spoon down. “Maybe I’ll wait until we get our main dish to eat.” He chuckled as he was now hoping their main entree would be coming sooner than later.

"You look like a very stylish version of the Hogwarts Express," Avis had said. Nodding, she tried to internalize her best friend's words: stylish. Trains were sleek and stylish. Perhaps that explained the outfit, which was similarly classic. Sleek and stylish, she repeated in her mind as they traversed the hall together as a measly attempt to assuage her self-conciousness.

Thankfully, the traversing didn't last too long as they would find a place to hide rest and people watch. Avis had found a spot under the railing and full of pearls. "Yeah, that's good," she agreed as she eagerly took a seat, hoping to drift far, far, far away from anyone that she knew.

And yet, there was Percy. And he looked normal. Healthy. Nice, even. And that was a dangerous bellwether that other people she also knew could only be nearby. Hunching her shoulders, she did her very best to look as small as possible and obscure the steam between the hanging pearls. For a moment, it looked like Avis too noticed someone in the crowd. Merlin, could they both end up with an embarrassing evening? She'd never want that for Avis as much as she very much appreciated being to stick to her like glue in this particular situation.

Somewhere off to the side, Mylo was practicing their sign language, which they were exceptionally good at and clearly they were still riding the high from the BSL errand they'd set up. Maisie was happy to see them happy. Otherwise, they might need an addendum to Operation Fun again.

Happy and useful it seemed upon Mylo's declaration that they'd found a table. "Oh, okay, that sounds good," she agreed, "maybe we can conjure some more pearls over it or an illusion of extra mist." Because as much as she hesitated to step away from her hidden perch, getting more distance from the crowd seemed like a good idea. "Join us when you're done?" she asked, but it was more of a statement in tone. She desperately did not want to lose the two people who served as her anchors at the school, especially when she was just waiting for some off color remark about her ears. Being a burden was awful, and she hated it as she looked over to Avis to see if she thought they might people watch over there.

Outfit

Reducio

Stats & Abilities
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 9
Muggle Condition | Perfectionist

Open to interactions!
@Mylo Atkins, @Avis Greymond & @Percival Rocier

@Aly Salinger

Clearly Theo hadn't been careful enough, as he plucked the pearl of the muffin, a shadow fell on his hand. A little sheepishly he looked to the side at the person who caught him and breathed a slightly exaggerated sigh of relief. "You scared me. I already thought the pirate with the lovely welcome notes was gonna make me walk the plank after not even five minutes now.", he joked and held out the pearl towards Aly with a smirk. "Is this enough in exchange for your discretion?"

Aly looked like she had dressed up as a pearl herself. Shimmering white, her dress could almost pass as a bridal gown. "You look amazing.", Theo commented.

"Don't you look simply dressed for the occasion."

Grinning, Theo saluted. "Privateer Duncain, at your service." He shrugged at her question if he was just hanging out alone. "For now. Tonight I'm improvising, no plans, no dates. Maybe something fun will happen!" He hoped it would. Theo could use some nice surprises and distractions nowadays. Recently he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been focusing on all the wrong things and lost time he would never get back.

"A horrible date?" Casually, Theo turned around. "How did that happen? And with whom?" He looked at the other attendees around them, before leaning to her to whisper. "If you wanna ditch him, I have one last open spot on my pirate crew."

Actions: Offering Aly the pearl, flirting maybe just a little

Potions: Black Fire Potion, Invisibility Potion, Erumpent Potion

Sta-10 | Eva-17 | Str-10 | Wis-8 | Arc-9 | Acc-20

Muggle Condition | Calming Presence (Ally: Aly Salinger) | Blindvision | Savior | Broken Broomshaft | Evasive Maneuvers I & II

Note: Thoughts, Speech, Aamon

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It was almost what mere muggles called deja vu.

Her movements were simple, precise, smooth like the milky colored stone that sat perfectly still within the dark-colored setting; watching from the box it lay. She stood before her mirror, eerily similar to the previous ball, wearing a dress of the color he had told her would be the chosen attire for the evening.

Black.

Devoid of the glimmer that would often beg and scream for attention. The dress of simplicity that easily created perfection risked malfunctions from even the smallest thread. Nabi's gray eyes followed the curve of her neatly styled hair, not a strand out of order, before her hands smoothed the black fabric with a hum that broke the looming silence.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked past her reflection and towards the door the young Athanatos had barged in from, declaring she would be his companion just days before the ball, remembering the entitlement that seemed to crown him in confidence. His confidence could very well be a farse... a mask, another lie. She looked back at herself, clenching her jaw as her mother's letter came to mind; its contents stained the memory of the young Aamon while his comment echoed, causing her gaze to run cold, angels can not be of flesh and bones... they do not bleed.

Do not mirror the stars in red on an open back.

The soft tingle of her hand grazing the heirloom on her hip caught her attention, tilting her chin down, do not... fancy a mere boy? She took a deep breath and straightened up, muttering under her breath, "shed like lambs." The churning sound crept through the silence, an arm extended. Her fingertips grazed the cold links before taking a hold of the gifted necklace he expected to see her arrive with.

Lowering it over her collarbone with a hum.

Nabi's head tilted, feeling a gentle nip as one of the links accidentally pinched her skin from the movement of her clasping the accessory secured. Perhaps the house elf had skipped their meal... The necklace sat against her pale skin, sinking as if to embed. She looked at the clock before quickly applying an appropriate amount of red lipstick, the lines perfectly along the edges.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

There was a first time for everything, or so the saying went.

Her heels tapped like a dance over the stone floors, Nabi's hands held her dress as she hastily made her way through the corridors. A pair of vials that her parents had said to carry with her clicked together. It had not a request out of worry for her, no, she understood that much. The wind greeted her as soon as she took a step out of the castle, her eyes focused on the venue ahead.

Perhaps the night would be a first.

Leaves crunched beneath her soles while her hands let go of her dress, the tail of the dress returning to pool at her feet in an ease almost too calm for someone who had run a bit late. Her gaze took in the sight of the decorations while she set foot onto the Lost Pearl, The mermaids would sing in anger... A small hum left her before searching through the sea of pirates for her date.

Mr. Aamon Athanatos. A boy she had expected to wear anything but what her eyes landed upon.

He stood calmly, the lighting catching his uncharacteristic smirk. Nabi tilted her head in thought, studying his appearance with the eyes of the child born to two calculating, secretive figures. "Well... he certainly looks the part." Of an Athanatos or her date? At least he is not tipping over like last time...

A sly smile faintly played at the corners of her lips before she made her way toward him, her eyes locked onto him. "Mr. Athanatos... you look handsome... Did you wait too long?" Her voice was smooth, soft like the gentle whisp that shone along the jewel that adorned her neck. Nabi extended her hand to shake in greeting, clearly too formal for a date to do, "I hope you were not thinking of leaving..." she smiled slightly, "that would have been disappointing."

Theo took to speaking to her quickly enough, and Aly felt a rush of relief that their semi-awkward kneazle-infested meeting hadn't tainted his viewpoint of her. In fact, the kindhearted American even offered her the (edible, presumably) pearl he'd just lifted from one of the muffins, though Aly waved one of her goblets to decline (she'd have waved a hand... if she had had any free). "I think I've got pearls aplenty already," she said dryly, gesturing to her slender neck and earlobes, which were positively dripping with the shimmering rosy jewels that seemed as fresh as if they had just been plucked from the lake hours before. "Perks of randomly coming into one's inheritance as a jewel heiress, I suppose. But that does come with its disadvantages... Barny Vidal over there being the biggest one at the moment." Aly's green gaze flicked over to where Barnabas, in his horrid brown silk suit, was laughing it up with a group of teenagers who were likely his Beauxbatons classmates, considering they all looked just about as uptight and French as he did. So distracted was she that any flirting the American boy may or may not have been doing went straight over her head like a badly shot Bludger.

"I think he's got a wand up his - well, you know. And I'm not about to be the one to try and remove it. Hence, the bad date part." She took a sip from her goblet, then set the other one down on the table, beginning to think that Mr.-Spanish-Antiques-Heir could very well get his own bedamned drink. "I didn't even choose to go with him, you know. Or pick this ridiculous gown, for that matter - though thank you, I suppose. My grandmother wrote to me and told me when and where to meet him. But considering that he left me and told me to basically serve him drinks as soon as we got here, I'm beginning to think I don't want to hang around him no matter what my grandmother says."

In the meantime, there was someone far more interesting right in front of her. Aly quirked an eyebrow at Theo when he introduced himself. "Privateer, eh? Couldn't spring for a higher title?" In truth, she had no idea if there were any ranks to the pirate titles, having little to no knowledge about buccaneers and other seafaring folk. The closest she'd come was talking to @Pericles Dralt's father about his shipping business over the summer... though she had to admit that now she was curious to learn more. Ships seemed quite the lovely lot, with all that open water and pure freedom. "I suppose you've already got a captain, then. Perhaps you can make room for a... first mate or something. As long as I don't have to swab any decks." She wrinkled her nose at that. Manual labour was certainly not her thing, at least when it came to dirty floors. "In this gown, I think I'd-" and just as she turned to look at him, her dress caught on the edge of the table. An awful ripping sound tore through the air, and Aly looked down to see her lovely (if a bit too poofy) wedding-gown-esque grandmother's bespoke creation with a big ugly split right through its delicate lace fabric. Granted, there were still several other layers that had not been torn, but the part that had sagged sadly as if it had been cursed with negative emotions or whatever the opposite of a Cheering Charm was.

Aly groaned. "Oh, Lear's beard." Her first thought was how annoyed her grandmother would be with her, and she reached for her wand to repair it. However, once the stick was firmly in her hand and she moved to cast, the eaglet caught a glimpse of Theo out of the corner of her eye and thought better of it; if he (and everyone else) was dressed so distinctly on theme, why should she have to look like she'd just been cut out of a Devil's Snare-like web of chiffon and tulle? Instead, she aimed the wand at her dress - the normal part, not the ripped portion - and said, quite confidently, "You know what? I'm never going to look like a pirate in this, nor will I be able to get around at all. Let's fix that, shall we? Diffindo!"

Action: Casting Diffindo to cut away some of the layers of her dress

Closed to other interactions | October 4^th, 2025 | outfit in banner, | #C47DDB
lovely & charmer affect everyone | paragon allies: theo, peri | sta 10, eva 14, str 5, wis 19, arc 7, acc 16
inventory: knife, wand, hardanger's cosmetics, murtlap essence, welcome card | @Theodore Duncain

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date: 4th october 2025 ──location: the lost pearl, great lake dialogue: #57756D ──mentioned: @Percival Rocier, Draven Mirador, Milica Vranekova

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Better late than never, Cecilia thought as she lifted the hem of her dress and carefully walked across the wooden passerelle. With her stable balance, the splintered railing felt like a mere formality. Oh, how blessed she was to move with such stability again. Once she stepped onto the main deck, she released her grip on the dress. The fine details embroidered on the fabric caught the moonlight, shimmering like luminescent scales. She then paused for a moment, pursing her lips as she cast her mind back to the earlier events of the day. Was it wise to attend? Why wouldn't it be? She wasn’t concerned, right? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. Her focus quickly shifted back to the ball, but the thought lingered in the back of her mind. Cecilia ultimately decided that she was far too curious to miss out on this spectacle of a ball. Perhaps the evening would prove to be exciting and could serve as a rare opportunity to dress up without enduring any tedious political chatter. Besides, it would be a shame to allow her dress to collect dust after her beloved aunt had spent several days tailoring it. With that, she carried on and cocked an eyebrow suspiciously when the strange sailor handed her a card. Cautiously accepting the card, she began reading it as she walked past him. “A cursed ship,” she murmured under her breath with a slight smile. This should be fun. The faint scent of citrus tickled her nose, and she scrunched it up in response, slipping the card into her bag as though to distance herself from it. Her eyes widened in awe as she admired the scene before her. She took a particular liking to the bluebell flames that flickered within the glass jars. It felt like a clever touch. Her smile stretched wider when she noticed how the paintings seemed to sway with the ship – the framed kraken almost seemed alive. So far, she was pleased with the efforts that had gone into this event. Then her gaze drifted over the crowd, their faces glowing under the candlelight. Instinctively, she looked for Milica. Cecilia was concerned that the sheer size of the crowd would overwhelm her roommate, but quickly realised that the girl was nowhere to be seen. A pang of disappointment hit her as she bit the inside of her inner cheek. Perhaps she had no interest in attending, and though it was a shame, Cecilia could respect that. Her gaze then wandered once more until it fixed on the familiar tuft of brown hair in the corner. The way he anxiously adjusted his collar immediately gave him away – Percival Rocier. Although he stood far from the rest of the action, he seemed to be chatting with an older wizard. Cecilia felt that there was no harm in saying hello. Should anything go awry, she could simply disappear into the bustling crowd. With an escape route in mind, she snuck up behind the boy, and quickly brought her hands down firmly on his shoulders. “Boo!” Cecilia grinned as she drew her hands back, feigning ignorance to the fright she tried to give the boy. Standing beside him now, she finally took in his appearance. His dishevelled robes were no more. Instead, he donned exquisitely cut fabrics – most likely wool. “Look at you, Percival! You clean up nicely,” Cecilia remarked playfully, a faint hint of approval in her tone. Although she was mostly teasing, she was impressed by the effort he had put in. “This look suits you. Though part of me misses the grey hoodie,” she smirked, alluding to his more casual garments. Her gaze then shifted to his companion. An older boy whose dark curls seemed livelier than his dreary expression. She wasn’t sure if that was simply his face or if he was truly displeased to be here. At least his garments seemed rather comfortable. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about him vaguely reminded her of Milica. “Hello there,” she greeted him with a bright smile. “I’m Cecilia,” she continued before leaning forward. “Say, have either of you had anything to eat? I’m rather hungry, but I noticed a few grimaces that made me doubt whether I should reach for an appetiser,” she whispered in a hushed voice.

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──notes: outfit ──inventory: dogbreath potion, burn healing paste, antidote to common poisons, gillyweed ──antidote to uncommon poisons, hand fan

word count: 722── actions: none──

@Aly Salinger

When Aly didn't take the pearl from Theo, he threw it into his own mouth. "Yeah, I have to say, you do look like you just escaped an oyster.", he commented, quickly adding "In a good way!" Was that a weird thing to say? Well, it was out now, so he went with it. He followed Aly's gaze to the group of young men across the deck. "... Delightful? He looks like he just escaped a horrible clothing store."

When Aly set down the drink, Theo picked it up instead, taking a sip of it while Aly went on complaining about her grandmother's decisions and orders. "Well- I guess you have a couple of options now: I spit in the drink and you go back to him." He winked at her before going on. "Or, you sneak away and I cover for you. Or ditch him and spend the evening with the clearly much better option." Theo crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Whatever is wrong with privateer?", he called out in feigned outrage. If he was entirely honest, he couldn't think of a different title other than captain in that moment. "First mate Aly, I like it- careful!" Theo saw Aly's dress get caught on a corner of the table, but the warning came to late. He grimaced when the fabric tore- a silly no-maj habit really, he had learned how to fix tears in a second years ago, yet he immediately wondered if Aly would be in trouble with her grandmother for this.

But Aly didn't seem to mind, on the contrary. The tear seemed to instead have inspired her to ... shred her dress, to get more of a pirate look herself. "Great thinking, first mate. Uhh, hold on." Theo untied one of his red ribbons and gave it to her. "The whole crew needs something red. Crew rules."

Actions: Giving Aly one of his red ribbons, still flirting maybe just a little

Potions: Black Fire Potion, Invisibility Potion, Erumpent Potion

Sta-10 | Eva-17 | Str-10 | Wis-8 | Arc-9 | Acc-20

Muggle Condition | Calming Presence (Ally: Aly Salinger) | Blindvision | Savior | Broken Broomshaft | Evasive Maneuvers I & II

04/10/2025
mentions @Frederick Buckley @Ally Craig @Marcus Contarini Crawford	ooc: hihi
location: great lake

There was a bit of a breeze, and the girl liked it a lot. She waited as Fred made his way towards her with Marcus, both of them dressed for the part.

"Hi, Fred! Thanks! You look great, too!" She beamed at him, as he returned her greetings, along with a compliment. She was more surprised than anything, when Marcus gave a small bow, along with..was it..Italian? It was more out of muscle-memory that she put one leg behind the other and lowered her body into a small textbook curtsy she'd been taught to do many times. Her uncle, the one who sent her the dress she was wearing, lived in Venice as a wealthy merchant Lord. When she would visit, he would speak Italian, and she picked up some. But she didn't go to see her Uncle's family often, it was usually everyone at her grandfather's house, in which mostly English was spoken. "Buonasera, Signorino Marcus." She stammered through the Italian, thanking her lucky stars that she picked up a bit. She really should be picking up Italian again. She grinned when he grinned.

Ally really was glowing when she appeared in her pink gown, enthusiastically talking about her experiences with balls. Ally, it turns out, came from a pure blood family, though she didn't attend many balls. She smiled at the mention of Ally's gran. The way in which she snuck Ally into these special occasions related immensely with her own experiences. Maisie's grandmother would sneak her extra pudding at dinner parties or business meetings where she'd have to stand like a statue for three hours, but that was a different story.

"Wow! Well, now you'd get to experience your first ball!" Maisie laughed. This night would be many firsts, for both her and her friends. First formal event away from her parents. First time socializing on her own with people of different backgrounds. First.....

Maisie quickly shook her head, as if to rid the thoughts that kept coming. Nope, today wasn't the day in which she'd reminisce time that flies. Today was the day in which she'd have fun and make memories.

She looked at Marcus, who was silent, and tried to get him back in the conversation. She didn't want anyone left behind. That feeling was awful."So... you're Italian, Marcus?" All right, that was a lame starter, she contemplated, shifting her gaze around awkwardly.

================================

After they went on the boat, and had a look at the old sailor and his cards, they were becoming rather hungry. Naturally, what someone did when the were hungry, was that they look for food. And that was exactly what four first-years did.

They occupied a table in a corner, one not too big, not too small, and just big enough for the four of them. Maisie picked up the menu in front of her, and looked at the first section of it: the appetizers.

There were a few choices, and she didn't really know what she wanted, nor did she know who was going to take their orders. She couldn't see a house elf or a waiter in sight. Maybe they simply had to say the name of the food?

She wanted to voice her thoughts out loud, but perhaps questioning where the waiters are was not a polite remark. So she only said, "What are you guys getting?" All the while looking around for the answer of her question.

ooc: permission to godmod everyone's characters (: , permission to godmod Maisie, too.


Action: getting seated with group after meeting up, wondering who'd be taking the orders
keen eyes, Stamina: 6|Evasion: 6| Strength: 5| Wisdom 4|ArcPower: 6|Accuracy: 8|
(It's actually just in my signature at the bottom..)