Hogwarts' Got Talent! Spectators

Interacts with @Serena Bowen

Mentions @Jack Burnett

As soon as she got off stage, she noticed some other people had arrived. One of them even applauded for her. It caused the Prefect to blush rather intensely. On stage, she seemed to be an entirely different person. A side of her that she didn't know. Once out that mindset, she just was... the forever bashfull Nico Shymane. 'Ah.. Thank you. Heh..' As the kindhearted being that she was, she'd flash the Hufflepuf a warm smile. Nico couldn't help but feel truly flattered by the amounts of applause she got. Not just from the audience, but from individuals aswell.

Taking a seat, the Prefect would keep the girl in mind, to wish her good luck whenever she'd have to go on stage. But for now... Nico had to calm down.
Still recovering from whichever she imagined to perform, she took another sip of her bottle of water. A soft blush rest upon her cheeks as she heard the applause resonate in her ears. That was incredible. She felt so pumped up. Was it pride? Maybe. This was her first public performance - well.. apart from the times where maybe someone caught her doing so. That was okey. Resting a hand on her chest, she could feel her heart pound fast still. A soft smile slid on her face. 'I did good...' She whispered under her breath.

For a moment she caught a glance of one of her fellow Slytherins. What was his name again? Was he here to perform? As Nico was rather shy and taking some time to get rid of the adrenaline in her veins, she had taken a seat which was abit more hidden in the shadows of the backstage area. It's possible he didn't notice her. Maybe the answer she was looking for was on the list. It could ring a bell.

Ehm.. Hm.. Burnett. Was that it? Possibly. Maybe. Nevertheless... Nico could hear the audience softly mutter and react to the next performance. Her eyes glanced down to the paper once more: Breana. Tapdancing. Oh right. Original. Letting out a soft chuckle, Nico closed her eyes and relaxed in the corner on her chair. Her hands gently holding onto the list and her waterbottle.

Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
Mentions @Allister-Jameson MacAllister , @Nico Shymane, @Breana Oliveire and @Lavinia Cloven

Ivy slipped into the seat next to the redhead, relieved she hadn't been turned away. It was not that Ivy would be hurt had she been rejected, but more so her pride. The corners of her mouth quirked upwards slightly at the other girl's (very close) attempt at her surname.

"Close," said Ivy. She spoke gently, knowing how embarrassing it could be to get someone's name wrong. "Bellamy. Ivy Bellamy."

The redhead introduced herself as Evelynn Decipio. Ivy's grey eyes flashed with recognition. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where she had heard it. She was sure that they had never met before, so where...?

And then it clicked. Valentine's Tea Party. Luckily, Ivy hadn't attended and had missed the chaos, but she had heard all about it from her housemates, who whispered sympathetically of the victim of a crazy Slytherin. Ivy decided not to mention it - this was supposed to be a fun event, and Decipio surely wouldn't want to be reminded of that disastrous day.

"No, I just thought I'd come watch," Ivy said in response to Decipio's question. She left out the part about how she had considered performing. "It's not every day that a talent show comes to Hogwarts, hm?" She smiled at the redhead as the lights dimmed. Ivy looked up in awe. They had really thought of every possible way to make this feel like a theatre.

A boy stood on the stage to announce the first act, his Scottish accent thick. Ivy knew that he was one of the new Quidditch chasers for Gryffindor, but couldn't quite place a name to the face. Shaking her head, she clapped as Nico Shymane took her place on the stage, lips parting slightly in surprise. While Ivy had never spoken to the girl, she had observed the way she acted around others, and she did not seem like someone who would even watch in a talent show, let alone perform in one. Then again, Ivy did not know Nico very well.

Her surprise only grew when Nico began to sing. Ivy didn't know how to describe the girl's mellifluous voice other than enchanting. The lyrics, too, were moving, and as Ivy got lost in the performance, they transported her back to the morning her older sister had eloped, the day she woke up to a cold, empty house and nothing but a letter to say goodbye. Ivy could almost feel the parchment underneath her fingers, the fire that had begun to burn in the pit of her stomach, the way her breath quickened and she couldn't breathe and oh my God she just needed to get out get out get out-

And then the music ended and Ivy was back in the rehearsal room, sitting next to Decipio as Nico bowed. The room was quiet for a moment, and then everyone burst into applause. Ivy clapped along, although her mind was still on her sister. She had managed not to start crying, but she was rather shaken that a song could have affected her so much. Ivy stole a glance at Decipio - she also looked rather unnerved, but her expression was hardening as she whispered to her. Decipio's voice was so soft when she spoke that if Ivy had not been waiting for something, she would have missed it completely.

"No, not at all," Ivy replied quietly. She shook her head and took a deep breath. It was just a song. Why had it influenced her so much? Ivy had to admit that Nico's talent was exceptionally good.

The next act, as the Gryffindor chaser stated, was "Breunna, tup-duncin'". Ivy had encountered Breana down at the Great Lake when she was crying, and made the mistake of snapping at her in a moment of frustration. After Ivy apologized, they were supposedly on good terms, but there was still a lot of awkwardness between the two.

Breana came onstage with a chair, dressed in a pair of suspenders and smart pair of pants. Ivy, forever an old-fashioned ballerina, raised her eyebrows slightly at the bold outfit choice, but tried to keep an open mind about it, remembering what had happened the last time she had been overly blunt. She had to admit, the outfit made sense for the act.

Ivy had never cared for tap-dancing, but Breana was doing a good job of it, and the music was catchy and fun. Her eyes widened at the clever use of a spell as the chair began to dance. It was comical borderline ridiculous, but Ivy found herself relieved that it was not an act that would make her cry. The music ended and Breana hurried off the stage as Ivy clapped with the rest of the audience. The act was received quite well by the audience, and someone even whistled loudly.

The chair did not follow.

"Oh, no..." Ivy groaned, under her breath. She looked over at Decipio. Ivy almost felt embarrassed for Breana as some of the stage crew hurried on to try and coax the chair into leaving. It wasn't eager to exit the stage, which was made obvious by the way it skidded around the stage in a frantic attempt to escape the crew. The audience was laughing, but Ivy was staring at the chair in horror. She could only imagine the embarrassment Breana was going through backstage.

After what felt like an age, the stage crew captured said chair and the Gryffindor chaser came on again, looking slightly red in the face and his voice a little more shaky than before.

"Well, that was unexpected," Ivy muttered to Decipio as the next act was announced. She rather liked Breana's act, but the... interesting finale had turned what would have been talked about as a display of talent into a comical act where the chair wouldn't stop dancing. The audience was already chatting loudly, the chair as the only constant subject in all unruly conversations. and only quieted down when a dark-haired girl walked onstage and announced that she would be doing Muggle magic.

Ivy sat up, suddenly alert. Muggle magic, she said? This would be interesting.

Interacting with @Alan Vanes

There wasn't a lot of time between when Alan arrived and then somehow she looked over and noticed Ruka was taking his leave with Jack. It made sense being that they were about to perform together and Willow simply shrugged it off as the talent show was beginning anyway. Nico was apparently the first person to perform, and the nervous energy jumped up tenfold as she realized eventually she would have to perform.

Alan asked her a confusing question, assuming she just was understanding it wrong she answered honestly. Leaning in to keep her voice hushed as Nico performed. "Flash and Rafael are a few acts before me I think. They're playing piano and singing, and I'm doing a live painting but I'm closer to the end." Nico's voice absolutely entranced Willow, if this was the standard for the talent show then they were all in for a curfew extension deserved treat. She made a note in her head later to thank the people that had put this on in the first place, she couldn't imagine all the work it took into organizing the chaos that is a group of artistic Hogwarts nerds. Her friends started fidgeting with the friendship bracelet she had with Flash. The ache that he might not showed up terrified her, since she really wanted his familiar face in the audience while she performed.

Calming Presence
mentions @Flash Holmwood, @Rafael D'Spacito, @Ruka Tân & @Jack Burnett
interacts with @Willow Anderson

Alan was slightly confused about what Willow said next, staring slightly, before a switch seem to click and he gasped. "W-Wait a second! A-Are you telling me th-that you and Flash don't p-perform together?", he asked with eyes that shone with surprise and confusion. He had totally expected the two of them to perform together, especially after Willow did not correct him in his response he send to her owl. Alan never actually checked the list of performances that was displayed at the entrance of the Rehearsal Room, too eager to actually meet Willow and Ruka and cheer the two of them up! He did remember Rafael however, having met the boy before, even though the two of them had not talked about much yet.

"Wh-What is life painting?", he asked curiously, before he seemed to jump in his seat, quickly holding up his hand, "O-Or wait, don't tell me, I want to be s-surprised!", he corrected his statement. But then he remembered that Willow told him that her performance was close to the end of the event and doubted, whether he wanted to wait this long just to find out what live painting was. Was it just painting in front of an audience? Was the 'live' just making it sound more fancy than the activity actually was? But more importantly was the question that became oddly present in his head, "Y-You paint?" Again it was a new information he learned about Willow. He also was surprised by the fact that Flash sand, as he had not expected that. But he usually did not expect stuff from people, so that was no surprise. He did wonder however who would be playing the piano during their performance: Flash or Rafael? And what about Ruka and Jack? Alan also could not wait until he saw that!

Interacting with @Ivy Bellamy

The rose tinge that had kissed Evelynn's features at having been corrected on the name had long since faded by the time the first act had ended. Any embarrassment she might have felt with the little blunder — however tempered by the kindness shown by the girl in not making a spectacle of it — had faded in the shadow of the emotional turmoil left in the departing singer's wake. Fortunately, it seemed she had not been the only one so significantly impacted. The sidelong glance she had cast towards her apparent new-found acquaintance revealed that she, too, had been more than a little moved by the performance. Shoulders releasing a tension she hadn't realized she carried, she fixed her attention back to the stage as the emcee returned once again.

"I've been to ballet and jazz recitals..." She commented with a casual incline of her chin as her gaze washed over the eye-catching garb of the Claw. "..but I've never seen a proper tap-dancing performance." She suppressed a snort as a memory came rushing back to her. "Closest I could say would be my cousin trying to imitate it. I still don't know what I would call that disaster. Loud stomping, maybe, but definitely not tap-dancing."

Her hushed commentary quieted along with the rest of the crowd as the performance started up. There wasn't anything about it that was particularly surprising or unexpected; she knew what a tap-dance entailed from theory that had touched upon it, but somehow she still found herself enthralled. Not really in a good way, though. When she thought of dance, she thought of the fluid steps of a ballerina. The impact of movement highlighted or countered by an orchestra. It was a display of strength and control, grace and beauty. Loud in its relative silence. This...this was noisy. Granted, the costume was flashy, and the music a night change of pace from the heartstring tugging solo that had preceded it.

"Oh, that's amusing," Evelynn had to admit, when the girl made use of a relatively mundane spell to effectively conjure a dancing partner.

She even breathed a breathy chuckle as the chair actually obliged Breana her solo, then performed one of its own. It was an impressive little bit of magic. As it continued, it seemed more and more to progress into something of a comedic skit, not unlike those off Charlie Chaplan. Evelynn could get on board with that, although refrained from bursting into any of the crowd's so obvious laughter. At least until the kazoo solo. The performance took a steep dive after that, and by the end of it, the redhead had raised a hand to at least partially veil her look of dismay. If the battle of the spotlight hadn't been bad enough, the fact that the chair continued on long after its time had finished was embarrassing to say the least.

"That…would have been better if it had been a comedy skit rather than a tap performance, I think…" she agreed quietly, trying not to come across too judgemental.

Evelynn applauded politely along with the cacophony of clapping from the rest of the crowd, but couldn't deny her relief when finally the chair was dealt with and the emcee returned to continue with the next introduction. "Muggle magic?" came Evelynn's skeptical echo. In a world of real magic, she supposed the mundane tricks were the last thing she would have expected. Then again…perhaps it was something that would be just as impressive to a witch or wizard as it was to a muggle.

"Clever, really…" she decided after a moment's thought. "Muggles would normally be impressed due to the desire to believe it's truly magic in a world where they believe it doesn't exist. And the magical would no doubt find it clever to see such feats knowing that it isn't."

Much like Ivy, Evelynn had sat up just a little straighter, eyes watching keenly to see if she could discern how the trick — whatever it would be — was conducted. She sat back after only moments in, however. Disappointing. She'd been to several shows such as this, even witnessed "magic" first-hand from her grandmother who had worked as a magician in her youth and still enjoyed to entertain those of Evelynn's generation when they went to visit. Card tricks were among Evelynn's least favourite. More often than not, they were simply a pre-determined numbers game. In this case, it was no different; she'd figured it out before the trick was even completed. The red card had been planted in the 13th position in the deck. Regardless of the number of cards that would have been removed, by starting at the 12th position and working back, the red card would end up in the correct position. There was nothing magical about it. Not even impressive sleight of hand or misdirection. Just a lame party trick. OOC note: I actually thought the magic trick was quite clever, and really enjoyed seeing someone choose such an unexpected performance. Well done.

"I was hoping to see something a little more impressive…I wouldn't even have called that muggle magic…" she muttered quietly for Ivy to hear, clearly unimpressed by the performance.

Still, when the girl was ushered off stage, Evelynn politely clapped along with the rest — twice — before dropping her hands to the program to see what was coming next. She perked up again. Piano. This, like the vocal display in the opening performance, was what she had come for.

Location: Moving from the audience area > partition before the backstage entrance > backstage > the row of chairs near the partition > back to the partition.
Interacting with: @Allister-Jameson MacAllister, @Lark Flaer, @Breana Oliveire, @Rafael D'Spacito, @Flash Holmwood, @Nico Shymane, & @Ruka Tân
Mentioning & Proximity: @Pericles Dralt, @Evelynn Decipio, & @Opeila Seilun

When Ruka nodded at him and briefly turned to excuse himself from the others before getting up to meet Jack, the Slytherin found his unexpected excitement shooting up with some equally unanticipated anxiety. He hadn't initially considered signing himself up for the talent show at all, but after all he and Ruka had practiced together regarding fire-dancing over the past few months, he wondered if the Gryffindor might have thought he would have been good enough to join him in an actual performance.

Furthermore, he wondered if it might have pleased Ruka to be able to perform again with someone at his side since, from Jack's understanding, he hadn't done that since his father had been alive. It would have been nice to grant the other boy that, at least, but on the flipside, there was also the risk of horrible, traumatzing failure. Not that Jack worried so much for himself, but if he ruined things for Ruka? Maybe the other boy would never want to perform again, let alone with him. Fire was nothing to play with lightly, either.

Taking deep breaths to try to calm himself, though, he was first startled and then strangely encouraged by Ruka's quick and sudden one-armed hug. Perhaps he had underestimated the power of these shows of affection when he had been amused at Flash's apparent desire for similar comfort from his own talent show partner just prior. Looking at the original fire-dancer, he gradually raised an arm to return the hug before Ruka pulled away, his cheerful demeanor erasing all of Jack's doubts for the time being. The first-year immediately found himself beaming merrily back.

"Hey! Sorry for taking so long to come find you; I had to make sure everything was set up on stage. Also...mom sent some last-minute things by owl, so I wanted to get those in order before I asked you about it. We'll probably need all the time we can get to discuss them before we go on." He glanced back on stage, where Breana was dancing and grinned, her comical display only strengthening the giddiness rising in his chest. "Here, follow me and I'll show you. There's a partitioned area that's perfect for us to talk and go over some last-minute things. Maybe even practice a bit if we have time."

As he turned to lead Ruka toward the aformentioned destination, he noticed Breana was having some trouble on stage with her dancing chair and hesitated. The Master of Ceremonies, AJ, seemed to be at something of a loss himself, and had looked to his Ravenclaw friend, Lark, for answers.

Once more, Jack found himself questioning the Charms professor's decision of teaching students what charms in which order. As far as he recalled, the Dancing Feet Spell was one of the very first charms that students were taught at Hogwarts, so why in the world had the professor not quickly followed that up with a lesson on how to stop it? The Slytherin found himself grateful that he chose to study ahead of his peers rather than with them because from all he knew, the best spell to cease the chair's incessant dancing was one only taught in Charms to second years.

He sighed and glanced back at Ruka. "Sorry, Tân, could you wait for me a minute? I need to take care of something..."

Hurring toward the off-right wing of the stage, he pulled out his wand. Who better than a Gryffindor Chaser to chase the chair? Jack couldn't help thinking with amusement, watching for a moment to enjoy the scene before deciding to take action. Lark had joined too, but there seemed to be no magical end in sight, so the redhead at last intended to intervene.

The first-year took careful aim at the frantic chair that was being dragged offstage behind the curtains and called, "Finite Incantatem." The General Counter-Spell, if it worked, should have ceased the enchantment on the chair immediately. Hoping to get AJ's attention, he waved to express that the matter had (hopefully) been taken care of and he had no need to trouble himself with it any longer. Hardly skipping a beat, the MC continued with his duties, allowing the show to go on.

"Guessing you didn't practice that one with your dancing partner before your performance...?" he chuckled lightly, turning to Breana to playfully elbow her in the side. "Great use of the spell, though. I was just in the audience and you should have seen Pericles Dralt. He was so solemn after Shymane's performance, but his jaw actually dropped when he saw you charm the chair. Not only was he clapping with the most enthusiastic of them after, but he actually did one of those finger whistles I wish I knew how to do. You know, the really loud ones that pierces through the rest of the applause? He must have really been impressed." With a sneer and a wink, he added, "Great job out there, making so many people laugh after Shymane had gotten a lot of them to tears. That's no easy feat."

That said, Jack turned to Lark, who had showed up in an attempt to aid with the rebellious chair. He hadn't wanted to disturb her if she was busy with aiding AJ, but since she had already come backstage, he thought he might as well have asked a question he'd had regarding the programs.
"Hi! Sorry, but...are you...'Lark MacAllister?'" he asked with a sly smile. "I was wondering if I might have accidentally gotten your program. That name was written on it." The Slytherin paused, looking thoughtful. "Oh, but then...I noticed the handwriting of your name was the same as the handwriting on the rest of the programs. You wouldn't have happened to have written all these yourself, would you have?"

The boy inclined his head with a curious, yet somehow knowing, smile. "If so, it's really a shame you didn't give yourself any credit. But if that's the case, I suppose the rumor that you were responsible for the phenomenal room decor must be true, too, seeing as I don't see any mentioned credit for that, either. And here I'd thought the teachers must have been responsible with how grand and official everything looks."

He glanced at AJ through the curtains. "You really shouldn't be so humble. I'd ask MacAllister to announce your part in this whole thing...but..." Jack hesitated, as if realizing something for the first time. It was exaggerated enough, though, for anyone to tell that he was only feigning a first-time revelation. "Wait...doesn't he have the same last name?" The boy tapped his chin, studying Lark critically. "You can't possibly be siblings, can you? Or cousins or related some other way?" He shook his head. "I could have sworn I'd heard something about you two being best friends, but that might have been with another Lark. Lark Flaer, I think it was." Jack shrugged.

"Either way, I suppose that's none of my business, but I do want to make sure you get credit, so I just thought I'd let you know ahead of time. Thank you for all your hard work. Since there doesn't seem to be any other credit given on the program and I can't see you as the sort of person to withhold giving credit to anyone else, I'm assuming you did it all yourself."

Grinning cheekily, he continued, "I have a performance partner to discuss things with, but I'll be here backstage if you want to talk. I'm sure you're probably far too busy with helping out the MC, though. Keep up the great work!"

It was then that he noticed a familiar black strip of cloth on the ground. Picking it up, he glanced over at where Flash and Rafa continued to hover backstage, immersed in each others' company as they prepared to overcome whatever nerves and stage fright might have been plaguing them.

The fact that Jack had signed Flash and Rafa up together was no accident, but the beneficial effect the pairing seemed to have on both boys seemed to go beyond what he had originally anticipated. Yes, he had believed that they could provide each other with strength in different ways. What he hadn't realized was that they liked and probably admired each other so much that neither was willing to back down from the challenge they had each involuntarily been signed up for. Perhaps it was due to pride and not wanting to seem weak or disappointing to their partner in the case one or the other was secretly looking forward to performing.

Regardless, though, the relative measure of just how much the other boy's opinion of them meant to them was extremely valuable knowledge attained. They may both have prided themselves on reputation, but this seemed to be a whole different level to Jack. It was more like them against the world where they had each contributed to an unspoken, mutual trust - a trust that allowed them to be themselves with each other to a degree that they felt comfortable showing each other some vulnerability.

From what Jack had seen, Flash was always allowing and even encouraging others to lean on him; particularly girls like Opeila and Willow. Unfortuantely, perhaps in his efforts to remain a strong pillar of comfort for them, the blue-eyed Slytherin didn't appear to have anyone to lean on himself, nor did he seem to seek anyone out. Jack knew that was a mistake, but he couldn't just directly tell his peer that. If it was seen as his opinion, Flash was likely to ignore it out of spite or suspect Jack of ulterior motives or simply refuse to listen for any number of other reasons. Besides, that wasn't how Jack operated; it was far too simple. This way, at least, Flash could be made to try relying on someone else for once if it was Rafa who was not only willing, but seemed to be motivated by it.

Additionally, Rafael seemed to be so obsessed with being big, strong, and brave that Jack thought the guy ended up missing the more important, subtle, and profound methods of exemplifying such traits as opposed to the superficial, obvious, cliche demonstrations. By singing in front of a crowd, however, he could prove his courage and mental strength through his willingness to expose his more vulnerable self. Being there for Flash, too, was bound to boost his morale and inpsire him to be stronger - not just for himself, but for his talent show partner.

Furthermore, the pair could bond in their mutual dislike of Jack. Rafa couldn't simply say it was because Jack was a Slytherin anymore when Flash, too, fit that description. And Flash, though he seemed to like to make a show of being courteous and polite to all, had no reason to keep up such pretenses toward Jack when Rafa was so blatant about his own loathing of him. In watching Flash's face flush at Rafa's words, the hazel-eyed Slytherin smirked, glad that Flash could, at least, take someone's word as genuine even if he didn't trust too many others.

Both Rafa and Flash were clearly uneasy, but were also bravely doing their best to face their fears for the sake of each other. All in all, the redhead was extremely pleased with how everything seemed to be going since they had already exceeded some of his greatest expecations.

”We did our due diligence, our performance should be just like we rehearsed.”

As glad as he was for them, Flash's comment to Rafael crushed Jack's last attempt at self-restraint. He opened his mouth, unable to help himself...and perhaps just a bit out of spiteful envy at how easily the two seemed to be getting along.

"Awww, you rehearsed together?" the redhead gushed loudly, clasping his hands together to rest his cheek against like a school girl in love with the idea of love. "That's so cute! I'm sure the power of...whatever you two have...will see you through."

Jack fluttered his lashes mockingly before recalling something else he wanted to make certain they were aware of. "Even in the face of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team will you surly prevail. Pretty sure I saw your co-captain out there in the crowd, Rafa. And isn't the MC a fellow chaser of yours? Man...you've got some guts."

Opeila, too, had surprised Jack by choosing to commit to her involuntary sign-up for playing the violin. He was eager to hear what she had felt the desire to hide until now. And then, of course, there was Ruka, but Jack had never had a doubt the Gryffindor would have taken advantage of the opportunity. It was performing alongside Jack that the Slytherin hadn't been sure he would approve of which was why he had put a question mark beside his name when he'd put it next to the second-year's.

The redhead was proud and pleased with the little group, though. Of all of those he had written the names of without their permission, not one of them had chosen to back down and withdraw their impromptu submission. Perhaps tonight they would find they had more bravery in them and would enjoy the chance they were given more than they ever imagined they could have.

Jack had every intention of returning to Ruka when he noticed a certain dhampir prefect seated in one of the chairs set up in a row by the partition that led to the backstage area. Pausing to address her on his way back to the Gryffindor, he noticed she seemed a bit shaken after her performance, but also that she had glanced his way. Had she recognized him, he wondered? Another troublesome snake student and a fellow member of her house? He didn't see why she had any reason to - aside from maybe more memorable events such as when her fellow prefect, Quinn, had confronted him at the Valentine's Day tea party, or when she had walked in on Jack's involvement in the abandoned bathrooms regarding Victor Moore. Maybe she had seen him here and there since then as well, but the second-year prefect had no reason to remember his name and face specifically among the hundreds of others in Slytherin that she probably saw more or less as regularly. They weren't even in the same year, after all.

Still, Jack couldn't help stopping to speak to her briefly regardless. "Shymane. Congratulations on your performance. You did spectacular," he told her with an honest smile. "Mind me asking what the name of that song was? Or...what made you want to sing it?" He hesitated before quickly adding, "Sorry, you probably just want to rest for now. Must have been nerve-wracking up there. It's just...you sang with such emotion..." Hazel eyes unfocused for a moment. "...I thought maybe...you might have had some specific, personal memory in mind when you sang."

Realizing what he was saying, the first-year shook his head to clear it. "Er, not that that's any of my business. But...if you'd care to share about it sometime, I'd be all ears." His smile became crooked and awkward after that and he decided he ought to get back to Ruka before he made an even bigger fool of himself and lost all his nerves before he'd even had a chance to get up on stages.

"Anyway...I'd better get back to my partner, but...again, great job! Hope to talk to you later." Raising a hand in a brief farewell, he cast her another grin before hurrying back to the partition just outside the backstage entrance.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling it out, he quickly located the Gryffindor once more. "Thanks for waiting, Tân. Okay, so about that thing I needed to show you..." He walked over to a clothing rack and selected four hangers. Removing them from the rack, he carried one pair in his left hand and the other pair in his right.

"These probably would have been nice to have about twenty practice sessions ago, but my mom had to special-order them, so they took a while to get to her before they could get to us." He held them out for Ruka to see. One pair out outfits - a long-sleeved shirt and light, breezy pants - was just plain black. However, the other pair of outfits, though the same style of clothing, was black with designs of a couple of foxes formed of fire dancing across it. Each version had a smaller and a larger size; one to fit Jack and the other to fit Ruka. All the attire, both plain and not, seemed to be made of the same kind of fabric.

"This is supposedly flame-retardant cloth. My mom said the fabric breathes and is specially made so we shouldn't get too hot in them while moving around even with a close proximity to the fire. They're also really light, but...I didn't know if you'd prefer to perform in those sleeveless shirts that you use sometimes." He gave Ruka a sheepish smirk. "Not like we don't both have scars to hide this time." Normally, Jack liked to think he wouldn't have cared who saw his scars, but with as many people as there were watching the show, he didn't want any unsavory rumors going around, especially if some could have come back to harm Selim.

"I also figured they could keep you from getting more burned in the future since the sleeves are long." He waved the plain black set a bit. "This pair was meant for practice and the other, my mom says, was meant for performances. I don't know, though..." Jack frowned at the flaming foxes. They had been shaped of red, orange, yellow, and white fire which, against a black background, was particularly striking. "Think it might be too flashy? Distract too much from the actual flames? 'Cause we can always just go with the plain black ones instead if that would make a better impact."

Jack nodded toward a small bottle of ink and some charcoal in a box set on a table nearby. "I also brought some...potenetial face paint, I guess? Thought soot or whatever might add to the theatrical look. Could also help us blend into the black to make the fire stand out more." Laughing, he said, "But you're the fire-dancing expert, here. You know what works best. What do you think we should do?"

Location: From the stage area to the partition, then from the backstage area to the audience.
Interacting with @Jack Burnett
Mentions @Pericles Dralt

The well-dressed tap dancer started to panic. Her performance ended smoothly, thank Merlin, but it did have a small hiccup: the chair she enchanted can't stop dancing now. Her mind drew a blank as the mischievous little chair continued to tap dance away, a couple of students trying to help out with taming the furniture. Finally, a redheaded Slytherin quickly helped with the situation. With a flick of his wand, the chair now back to its normal state. She let out a sigh of relief, now retreating to the partition to unwind.

She took off her gloves, tucking them in her pockets as she swiped the sweat from her forehead. Breana grimaced in disgust as she realized how much sweat came off from her. Does she really sweat that much? She made a mental note to tell the emcee to tone down the lights a bit. She took off her hat and fanned herself, catching a bit of air. She blinked in surprise as she heard someone talking to her.

It was that Slytherin lad! Though, now that Breana got a good look of him, she now remembered who he was. It was Burnett something or the other... She remembered him when she got into a flying fiasco not too long ago. She hadn't talked to him properly, so him striking up a conversation with the little girl was a surprise to her. "H-huh...? Oh, no..." She chuckled, her breathing slightly heavier after the dancing. "I thought it up last minute... Guess I should've practiced for it, huh?" Her slightly tired expression quickly turned into one of fluster as the Burnett boy mentioned Pericles. "W-what?! He's here?! Of all places?!!" She thought to herself. She mainly did the show out of sheer fun, to goof off. But now with Pericles in her head, she's starting to overthink, her mind running wild about the different scenarios that could possibly become of this.

Breana's face turned into a rosy hue as Burnett mentioned him cheering louder than anyone in the crowd. Was Burnett lying? He couldn't be, why would he lie to her? He just met Breana! But what does it mean, if Peri was cheering for her that loudly? Come to think of it, she did hear a loud whistle... Oh no...

She didn't hear much of the last part that he said. Something about complimenting her about making the people laugh. "I--u-uh, yeah, sure, thanks..." She stammered. Breana wasn't sure if she's dizzy from the dancing or from her overthinking, but right now she needs a drink. She quickly scurried over to the water area, taking in as much water as she can in her system.

Now for the largest feat for her tonight: How to leave the area without Pericles noticing. She wasn't sure if there was a rewarding ceremony after this, but seeing how the lineup has a fire dancer, she figured that she wouldn't make the final cut. So now is her time to be sneaky. If she can sneak away deep enough into the crowd, she can still enjoy the other talents without worrying about how sweaty she must look when Peri has her on his peripheral view.

She walked over to the backstage area, not realizing a problem with her sneaky plan: Her tapping shoes. Curse the loud metals on these fancy shoes! If she removes them, it'd look silly, holding the shoes whilst walking, and the floor might be gross. Maybe she can shuffle her way through? Breana nodded to herself, her feet shuffling away through the floor like a little penguin that just learned how to walk. As she headed down to the audience area, one would hear some loud clacking noises as she descended. So much for her plan. Still, people are focused on the next act by now. Maybe they won't notice her? She kept her body pressed against the walls, making sure to keep herself unnoticeable as she shuffled her way to the back, hoping that the Pericles won't notice her in her brightly-color clad suit.

Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
Mentions @Serena Bowen

Ivy could not help but laugh softly at Decipio's comment about her cousins' tap-dancing. Tap dances weren't exactly hard to execute, but the sounds made from the metal at the bottom of the shoes should be crisp, clean and clearly differentiated from each other. A rookie tap-dancer often sounded more like stomping than proper dancing. Ivy turned her focus to the stage as the performance began, wondering what would happen.

The whole point of Muggles was that they weren't, well, magical. Ivy had been to enough shows with Lillian to know that what they called magic was really an illusion, created by a sleight of hand rehearsed many times before. She glanced sideways at Decipio, and nodded at her statement. "I've seen a few 'magic' shows with my sister," Ivy added on. "Some of the tricks they pulled off had a similar effect to a spell's. Like a ball that disappears into thin air is a little like casting a Vanishing Spell."

This performance, however, was not one that would show off anything overly fancy. Card tricks? It was a rather common trick, and an easy one if you memorized it - Ivy could do a trick similar to the one that the girl displayed. Still, she refrained from looking too disappointed, clapping politely with the crowd as the 'magician' exited the stage. Ivy snuck a look at Evelynn, and was relieved to find that she was not the only one who had found the act a little mundane. "The trick was one I've seen many times before," she agreed. "Perhaps it would be more impressive to those who had not seen such a trick before."

At the mention of piano performance, Ivy's eyes brightened and she looked toward the stage as an unfamiliar blonde sat in front of the piano. She had learnt how to play the piano from a young age, and it would be hard to impress her. What would she be playing, Ivy wondered? Perhaps some Rachmaninoff or Tchaikovsky? She would be impressed if the girl nailed Liszt, but please, please, please, let it not be Für Elise... Composed by Beethoven, Für Elise was one of the most overplayed pieces in the classical world, and to be honest, it was one of the easier repertoire pieces Ivy had come across. If it's Für Elise, I swear I will...

Oh, never mind. The girl was playing something else - but this wasn't anything akin to the classical pieces Ivy had learnt throughout her years of piano. It reminded her of one of those Muggle pop songs she detested. Once again, Ivy tried to hide her disdain and annoyance as she watched the girl play, although she could not help the fact that her fingers twitched with each note, as if she wanted to go up there and play a piece herself. Ivy would not pretend that she liked the act, but when the girl exited with a little bow, she clapped politely, although her shoulders slumped with disappointment.*

"I was hoping for something a little more akin to classical repertoire," she confessed quietly to Decipio, but there were many more acts to come. Perhaps the next one would be better? It was violin, after all - perhaps some Paganini or Vivaldi would balance it out and appease her.

*OOC: I actually thought that the piano act was good fun. Ivy's just a bit of a priss.