Happy Birthday! Finished

Open for Interaction
Mentioning:@ Griseldis Edelhardt | @Opeila Seilun

Alan was making his way towards the Rehearsal room, following an invite to someone's birthday party. A little sceptical of why someone would invite the young lad he felt obligated to go seeing that his friend had also been invited to such an occasion. As he prepared a couple of days prior, Alan had requested his Nan to bake some pumpkin pasties for the day which came with a small handcrafted card. The card would be in the box when opened. Written inside the green floral patterned card which would change colour when opening to several different ones was "To the Birthday Girl wishing you a terrific day hope you enjoy some freshly baked desserts. From Alan Noble"

Alan was particularly unsure of what to get Opelia but chanced at Pumpkin Pasties as being the safe option. Wearing a plaid dark blue shirt added with a black bomber and brown pants Alan carried the green covered decorative box with the label 'Nan's Cosy Desserts' written on the cover tied into with a blue ribbon. The smell of freshly made desserts lingered in the box as if they were still just baked this morning as a matter of fact they were. Alan took a deep breath before entering the room, hoping his friend Gris would show up and go in with him. Not wanting to stand awkwardly as more students seemed to go in on their own he took a deep breath and entered seeing the room not going to many birthdays in his life he thought it looked quite crude looking in his mind as he said in thoughts "Is...this what all Birthdays look like? I mean it's not bad a lot of heart went into this"

Approaching the table where the label said: "GIFTS GO HERE,". Alan took a moment to examine the various gifts that surrounded the counter so far amazed at quite the turn out this Opeila was receiving a little envious which quickly faded as Alan muttered, "Well she has friends, and I didn't so...that's ok". With a nervous smile, he set his gift of treats down and looked around apparently there was a seating order not sure why Alan thought but was glad that his friend is on the same table.

Not wanting to be rude to he decided to introduce himself to the Birthday girl to which he realised she was nowhere in sight. Alan thought back to the last time he saw her was during the disastrous tea party event vaguely but was happy to be there regardless. Wanting to assist with the decorations seeing as it was still rather bare, Alan quickly went towards the supply box, rummaging through the boy pondered the lack of life in the room. Grabbing a set of Yellow cardboard paper and some streamers as well as a black marker he began creating a large sign which would read"Happy Birthday Opela Opeila". Alan managed to attach the blue streamer creating a small border around the poster he was creating. Hand drawing all the house symbols on each corner before stopping to admire his handy work with a grin on his face saying to himself just loud enough so the people sitting nearby may hear him "Think she'll like this Al? seems over the top, don't you think?"

Outfit:

Reducio

Gift:

Reducio

This, but the inside lined with green. An open-ended invitation to an outing is inside one of the pockets.

There was nothing on earth that Flash wanted to do less than go to Opeila’s birthday party. At the same time, however, he had to. If it had been anyone but Opeila, he would have formally declined, in the nicest way possible, but he promised to be there for her. After she had so excitedly talked about how important birthdays were to her, how would she feel if he refused her invitation. She confided in him that the people closest to her always left, and he had no intention of being one of them.

Even though the invitation was a portent of doom. For some ungodly reason, he was seated at table one, alongside Opeila, Burnett, and Ruka. Not only that, but Willow was going to be there. Only yesterday he had stood by silently as she cried her heart out, exclaiming that he was out to destroy her. It wasn’t true, but that hardly mattered. What mattered was that she believed it, and he still couldn’t think of anything to say that would show her his true intentions. He had been desperately trying to find the right words all night, but nothing came.

Instead his conscious hounded him, talking over his thoughts. You’re a failure, you’ve deluded yourself, you couldn’t even do the bare minimum, how could you fail so splendidly so quickly, you didn’t do as you should have, you should have been smarter, you can’t do anything right... It was incessant. He had nothing to grasp onto to keep himself floating above them, so in his fitful rest he simply drowned in them.

Nearing the rehearsal hall, Flash found his footsteps weakening. He had dressed more low-key than he might have in another situation. For once, he didn’t want to stand out at all, though he doubted he could avoid it at that point. He felt like he was marching towards the guillotine, each step closer making him feel more weak. Before he could arrive at the door, he had to retreat for a moment to somewhere isolated, a vacant room nearby, to gather his courage.

Once there, he collapsed to his knees, his breath unable to keep up with his rapidly beating heart. He braced himself against a wall, flushed, feeling nauseous. He had to gather himself up again. He had to do everything in his power to maintain control. Empty… empty… Flash repeated the words to himself, over and over, trying to evacuate the emotions before they dominated his presence of mind. Empty… blank… calm…

It took him a while, but in time his breath returned. He had a job to do, and that was to ensure Opeila’s birthday went well and that she enjoyed herself. That was his anchor. He had to let everything else slide off him. He had to imagine his soul was hollow, where nothing could stick to it. Everything would just go through him. He stood up again, collecting Opeila’s present back into his arms.

He took the time to look through a few catalogues and pick out something he thought would suit her, but with a practical use. He decided on a nice peacoat, they were warm and had a commanding style. He thought she might feel more confident while wearing it, like the naval officers the style of coat was inspired by. It had an Italian double faced wool-and-cashmere blend, lined with the deep emerald green associated with their house.

That wasn’t the real present however. Tucked into the pocket of the coat was a formal invitation to an outing-- just the two of them. He hadn’t forgotten what she had said on his birthday, that she most enjoyed going out to have fun on her birthday. He made the invitation open ended, but assured her that he would pay for any neccessary expenses. He much more looked forward to that future date than then one he was currently residing in.

He had to go in eventually. He looked at his left wrist, where two identical friendship bracelets leaned against each other, unaware of the sorrow they symbolized. He couldn’t let them out of his sight, however. He wanted to feel her close, even though it wasn’t a reflection of reality.

Empty... He would have to go in a moment, after he hollowed himself out completely.

Mentioning @Opeila Seilun 
Interacting with @Alan Noble
Open for Interactions

Oh no! I'm going to be so late!! The Gryffindor Prefect didn't even have the time to dress up and still in her robe but there was no time, she would be late before the Birthday girl arrives at her party. Reason for her being late......Prefect's duties. She couldn't believe that due to one Gryffindor Prefect stepping down from the position means double work for the rest of the Gryffindor Prefects, so it didn't really only affect her, it also affected the other two. Griseldis was only able to return to her dorm room to get her new Slytherin's friend's birthday gift, it a box that was wrapped in the green and gold present paper and inside was a few handmade Chinese tea leaves in goldfish bags.

These Goldfish teabags were super popular by the people in China, it was originally made in Taiwan. Luckily, one of Griseldis's cousins just returned from her vacation from Taiwan and brought a few boxes for her. The Lioness hoped that Opeila would like Rose Oolong Tea Flavor and "Goldfish". And not just the gift, Griseldis also brought a box of her mom's homemade Chinese dessert called "Qing Tuan". It looked similar to Japanese Mochi but they tasted differently.

Quickly making her way to the Rehearsal room as fast as she could, and once she arrived at the destination. Not to her surprise, there were already a lot of students there. To Griseldis, this would be the second time she got invited to a Birthday party so she was still excited about it. Before greeting anyone in the room, Griseldis first looked around, she found the table where the label said: "GIFTS GO HERE", then walked towards it and placed her gift carefully with the rest of the other gifts. The pile of gifts was really high, only showed that the first-year Slytherin was quite popular. It wasn't that Griseldis was envy of Opeila, quite the opposite, she was only amazed by how such a gentle-looking girl could manage to befriend so many students already and she was one of them as well. Perhaps Opeila had a hidden charm to her, who knows? Then she went to place her desserts to the another table that has a label that said: "Snacks go here please!". "Alright, hopefully they will like this Chinese dessert my mom made." Griseldis said with a hopeful smile.

Once she placed both the items on the correct tables, Griseldis saw her Ravenclaw best friend, Alan was making a birthday card, mumbling to himself. That reminded her that she also needed to make a Birthday card for Opeila. She went to give a gentle pat on Alan's back and said to him with a big grin, "Hey Alan! Sorry that I was late but it seems Opeila isn't here yet. And that's a nice looking card you made there, I'm going to make one for her as well."

Interacting with: @Flash Holmwood
Wearing: these jeans | everything except the jeans, earrings, ring, and watch
Bringing: This card with this written inside:

Reducio

To Seilun:

Your birthday should have at least one wish come true.
I'll give you a gift that's as clever as you.
This one favor can be redeemed any time
so long as I'm able and it's not a crime.
If you want an object, just ask and recieve.
if you prefer service, I'll surely achieve.
Just make sure you know what you want at your core
and always be careful of what you wish for.

Happy Birthday

- Jack Burnett

When Jack walked up to the room with his card half tucked in his pocket, he paused in his steps as a familiar head of light brown hair came into view. Blinking in surprise, he realized Flash was slowing as he neared the very room where Jack and Ruka had met for the first time. That was definitely the place that Opeila's surprise birthday was supposed to be held...right? So then...why was Flash moving away from it?

The vacant room that the other Slytherin disappeared into was what Jack guessed might have been a dressing room or a storage room of sorts for those who might have needed to perform in the rehersal room or store supplies meant to decorate it. Extra chairs, banners, things like that. It was small, private, and quiet - too much so for him to enter in after his peer without the blue-eyed boy noticing. Therefore, the redhead opted to simply wait outside for Flash to reappear, allowing him what time he needed to be alone.

Once the other Slytherin again showed himself, Jack noticed the preoccupied first-year glance at his wrist where what could only be two twin friendship bracelets were securely tied. His brow furrowed a moment and his mouth twisted before his countenance reformed into a more neutral expression.

Jack cleared his throat to announce his presence before attempting to speak. "Hi," he greeted gently, sensing the delicate state of the other boy's mind. "You, uh...you doin' alright?"

Opeila was... irritated. To say the least. She had been reading some birthday cards in the Great Hall, when another owl dropped a letter next to her plate. The Slytherin had opened it and not been sure, if she should be angry, worried, or amused.
It was from Mildred, the girl she had met at the Icecream Parlour. Who apparently had a very messy handwriting. The first two words cause Opeila to snort in disbelief. Dear Pei,
... No one, no one had ever called her Pei. Opeila didn't do nicknames. She was ok with her father sometimes calling her Peila, but that was it.

I know what you did!
What did she do? Anything that Mildred had been involved with? No, definitely not, she hadn't really thought about the rather shy Hufflepuff again after the day in diagon alley, to be honest. But now she asked her to meet her in the rehearsal room. It sounded a lot like Mildred was accusing her of something and Opeila considered just to ignore it. Or to send the letter back... Or...
No, she would go. She didn't even know, what Mildred wanted of her.

So after lunch Opeila made her way up to the Rehearsal room, the letter in a pocket of her robe. Before she opened the door, she stopped and frowned. Mildred didn't give her a time. What if she wasn't even there yet? Or was this some sort of prank? No, Opeila didn't think that Mildred would do that.

The Slytherin opened the door and entered the Rehearsal Room. Her eyes widened in surprise. She opened her mouth and closed it again, not knowing what to say. She was overwhelmed.

@Jack Burnett @Flash Holmwood @Griseldis Edelhardt @Alan Noble @Sean Hearth @Willow Anderson @Mildred Wilson @Tyranni Whitethorn @Ruka Tân

Mentioning @Opeila Seilun @Mildred Wilson @Willow Anderson @Tyranni Whitethorn @Ruka Tân @Alan Noble @Flash Holmwood @Griseldis Edelhardt @Jack Burnett

Sean had finished blowing the balloons but stayed against the wall he was leaning on. A few more guests arrived during that time, some seemed to know each other but Sean didn't know any of them. After a few minutes of wondering what he should do, he had never really been to a birthday party before so what was he supposed to do ? He decided on not doing anything, he just observed and listened for the moment. Sean was lost in thought when Opeila walked in the room, he was at the end of the room against but still managed to notice the look of surprise on her face.

He stayed where he was, he would have his chance to wish her a happy birthday. There was already a few guests and Sean wasn't really the type to jump up at people or anything like that. He hadn't really spoken to the girl since that time in the Courtyard, he wondered why that was. Actually he knew why, most of Sean's interactions are lucked based either he manages to be friendly or he just end up looking like an emotionless weirdo. He had been lucky with the first interaction they had so maybe he was unconsciously keeping his distance for fear or ruining that. He was lost in thought again thinking about how he was going to get out of this without any bad interactions.

Even though he had spent a good deal of time gathering himself, he was still startled when he heard the clearing of a throat, turning around to be greeted with an all-too-familiar face. Burnett, dressed in a fashion he had never seen before. Flash returned to himself right away, giving Burnett a good look over. He was expecting to see some kind of sinister grin on his face, or a bucket of paint to dump on him, but instead he seemed like he had simply been waiting. He almost looked concerned.

”I’m fine.” It was technically true, he wasn’t dying.

Flash had accomplished what he set out to do, to go back to zero and re-raise all his defenses properly. He expected to be confronted with more than a few things that would challenge him, but he would always be thrown off by Burnett. It was supposed to happen, just like how Flash intended to have people feel at ease around him, Burnett intended to confuse and mystify. The moment Flash would grab a hold of something that explained his behavior, he would wriggle out of his grasp by doing something ridiculous, as if out of spite for understanding him. With that, the two of them felt as though they were born to be in conflict.

Flash didn’t accept what Ruka had said, I can’t assume his reasoning for anything he does. Heaven knows what goes on in his mind most of the time. Minds weren’t random, they followed paths and patterns and were all knowable. Once one understood the rules and functions of another’s mind, their thoughts and actions could be read clearly like a book. No matter how often Burnett would try to obfuscate his true intentions, Flash intended to see through the mist. It was this line of thinking however that made Flash feel instantly on edge, even though Burnett appeared to be in a state of ‘being serious’.

”Since we’re headed the same way, I presume you’d like to join me.” Flash avoided talking about the room-- he wasn’t sure how much Burnett knew about what he was doing in there, but if he knew anything, he was sure to dangle it over his head eventually. He could deal with it when it came up. ”It seems no matter how I try, I can’t help but be associated with you. I suppose if it had been a month ago I might have asked you to enter the party separately. How funny it is what time changes.”

Flash mused on absently, walking forward towards the the doors to the rehearsal room. He could hear a loud cheering as they neared it, no doubt they had just missed the arrival of the birthday girl herself. Flash cursed to himself quietly, having already made the mistake of arriving late. At least Opeila being in the room meant most of the attention would be on her. Taking a deep breath at the door, Flash pushed them open and walked in with Burnett.

Inside was a depressingly under-utilized space. If he had been in charge, the decorations wouldn’t have been so paltry. He hadn’t met the Mildred who sent the invitations, but it was certainly the work of someone woefully unprepared to throw a party. Flash would have to remember to insist on taking control of the preparation next year. Though, next year was so far away. When he thought of what he had said to Jack only moments before, he wondered what his life would look like a year from now.

No-- he didn’t have time to go off on tangents. While Opeila was busy with other guests, Flash put his present beside the others. He was at least glad that people had arrived and she had plenty of presents to open. That part at least he wouldn’t have to try and compensate for. As long as Opeila was happy, he could take a back seat and try to avoid disaster. A quick look around spotted Willow and Ruka both. He didn’t intend to talk to or approach them in such a setting, but just looking at table one, he saw his name written on a piece of paper with Ruka at one of his sides.

Besides that, he saw a gathering of quite a few quidditch players and a prefect, second years and first years alike. Opeila had certainly made an interesting bunch of friends. He was a bit surprised Jack and Ruka had made the cut, though Ruka had indeed actually put himself together for the occasion. Flash had a strange feeling seeing Ruka dressed correctly, even with shoes on. He hadn’t even considered the possibility, and he cleaned up nicely. He almost wanted to rub it in his face after Ruka had made such a point about the outside reflecting the inside, but with him and Burnett back together, perhaps everything had sorted itself out.

Not likely. Something else had been bothering Ruka, something unrelated to Burnett. There was no time to over-analyze it however. The day was supposed to be about Opeila. Once the surprise had time to set in and she was mostly free, Flash approached her with his usual happy smile.

”Happy birthday, Opeila. Fond wishes for a year of brilliant growth.”

Interacting with: @Opeila Seilun @Jack Burnett
Mentioning: @Ruka Tân @Willow Anderson @Mildred Wilson

Well crap. Tyranni could see that the girl whom the party was for was overwhelmed. When the door opened, people were still going about their own business, placing decorations or mingling among themselves. Having herself finished the place cards, she had stepped to the side of the room to watch everyone else who had entered. A few of the new students she recognized from either Slytherin, or from other events around Hogwarts, but she didn't really know any of them. But this was expected since she was only really familiar with a couple of the names on the invite.

Seeing Opeila appear overwhelmed, she tried to think about what to do. Personally, she would have LOATHED being surprised like this for a party. Not sure if it was shock, anger, happiness, or some other emotion, but reading the girl's reaction, Tyranni quickly approached the girl, but stayed back far enough to avoid the reach of the other girl in case she was quick to react with physical actions if upset.

"Hey. Happy birthday. Are you okay? I know this kind of stuff can be overwhelming for people like us." Tyranni spoke with her voice low and quiet so that no one else could overhear. Plus, it always helped to sound calm and collected if someone was secretly freaking out. As she waited for the girl to respond, she took another quick glance around the room to see if anyone else had noticed the girl walk in, and to watch for anyone else approaching.

Interacting with @Opeila Seilun and mentioning the others in the room

@Willow Anderson
@Opeila Seilun  @Jack Burnett @Flash Holmwood

Ruka blinked slowly at Willow's response to his observation, frozen in movement for a second. Clearly this had been the wrong thing to say; She was touchy about the missing bracelet which clearly indicated that she and Flash had left on bad terms.

He wondered, idly, if Flash had actively done something to hurt Willow, or if the Hufflepuff had just gathered more incriminating evidence that the Slytherin boy was bad news.

Either way, it didn't really matter; His prediction about Willow not wearing the bracelet anymore soon enough had come true, but while he thought he'd be able to revel in being right, he just felt kind of hollow about it. A part of himself wanted to reach for the bracelet he'd made himself back at the Great Hall and give it to her, tell her that her wrist looked wrong without the little trinket, that she shouldn't wear her loss on her sleeve like that, but instead he just continued taping the drapes as Willow positioned them on the tables.

"Yeah I could've been," he admitted with a little nod as she pointed out that he should have been nicer about the way he'd handled the situation of their last meeting. She was right of course; the way he'd talked to her was unacceptable and she really hadn't deserved that. "I was angry. That's not an excuse, I know. Just an explanation. I was angry and you were there, and I'm sorry." He shrugged lightly and looked up to offer her a small smile, knowing full well that she probably wouldn't return it. Not with how fragile and shook up she seemed from her situation.

As silence took over both of them, Ruka just sighed, continuing the work they were doing with his head hung low. She was right, they still had a few tables to do, but the fact that she refused to talk to him beyond scratching any surfaces as they did spoke volumes about how much they last encounter still weighed on her, and how much the loss of Flash's friendship hurt her inside.
Again he was reminded of himself during the weeks after the Valentine's Party, of his own aversion to other people, his distrust and longing to keep everyone at a distance. He still hadn't shed that skin completely, of course, but it had been considerably thicker after losing Jack's company.

He looked over at Willow one more time as he considered saying something else, but before he could, the door opened to reveal the Birthday Girl herself.

There were cheers and loud birthday wishes, and Opeila seemed at least slightly overwhelmed by the situation; Clearly she hadn't been expecting this, which made Ruka wonder if she was even aware of the guest list, considering the group of people that would be gathered at this event wasn't exactly tight-knit. 

Ruka looked at Willow one more time before taking a step towards Opeila, hoping to squeeze in a little private Happy Birthday wish, but just as he wanted to approach her, his eyes fell on two new arrivals.

The first face he spotted made him immediately step back again, jaw tensing a little as he watched Flash approach Opeila himself. After knowing that he'd even managed to lose Willow's trust and friendship, the sight of the other boy only made him more frustrated, but he decided to shake it; This party was about Opeila, and she definitely didn't need any petty drama on her birthday, no matter how much he would have liked to forward Willow's punch to the Slytherin's face.
Instead of angrily throwing himself at Flash, he contented himself with tapping a steady rhythm of One, two, threes into his thigh.

The second arrival made Ruka relax almost instantly, jaw slackening. The tapping of his fingers ceased almost immediately as a small smile spread on his face. He lifted his left hand in a small greeting, unsure if Jack would even see it, but at this point it was almost an instinct to focus his attention on the Slytherin boy whenever he was in a room.
Selim's accusation of being needy stung at the back of his mind, but he shook it off, instead focusing on the calm that had settled in his chest at the sight of Jack entering the room.
No matter how much Willow resented him, or how uncomfortable Flash's presence might have made him, it was going to be alright with Jack around.

With a newfound bravery, he stepped closer to where Opeila stood, observing Flash for a moment and waiting for his interaction with the Birthday Girl to end so that he'd be able to get his own Congratulations in as well.

Interacting + Mentioning: Everyone at the party.

Willow felt slightly bad about being so irritated with Ruka, but honestly could anyone that knew why blame her? She wished she could speak and accept his apology and throw another one back but it felt like her mouth was wired shut. On any other day she would try and comfort Ruka about his past anger, but she couldn't build up the care. Something that came as a first in her life, and she was terrified of it.

Her care and kindness to others is what has kept her afloat for all these years. It's easy to not focus on yourself when you only focus on those around you, making sure they're ok and happy. You can share that happiness for a moment to forget about your own deep sadness. She hadn't let it rise up in her for awhile. Even when people would be literally beating her down, she tried to feel their happiness in doing it. At least she could be there for them in that way. She supposed that maybe the happiness she fed off of Flash she had misjudged, and it was actually from him manipulating her rather than genuinely happy to be around her.

As she heard clapping begin she turned around seeing Opeila walk in and people immediately started to swarm her. She figured she could finish up this table to calm herself down and make herself seem ok before greeting her. She quickly turned to finish up the table and do a couple of quick grounding exercises in her head before turning back around to return the streamers to where they had come from. Her eyes landed on a couple of newcomers into the room, including Flash who was giving Opeila a birthday hello she assumed. As well as the Slytherin she couldn't seem to shake no matter what she did. She still didn't know his name, but she hoped he wasn't at her table because she would probably just walk out.

Her eyes returned wistfully to Flash, wondering how different this party would feel if it wasn't for last night. Maybe she would be able to take joy in it, have a good time and laugh with some new people and good friends of hers. But that wasn't the reality. What made it all worse caused her breath to catch in her throat and threaten to reverse all the work she had done to make herself appear like she had her stuff together. He was wearing both bracelets on his wrist. She almost felt dizzy from just seeing it. She steadied herself by leaning back on a chair and watching a few people go and say their "Happy Birthday" greetings to Opeila. She would do the same eventually, but for now she had to recenter herself once again. She went to go join her table, which had a couple people she did know and a few that she didn't. She put a smile on her face as she sat down at a table no one else had come to yet.