ERRAND Starborn Wonders mass thread The Lyrids Meteor Shower

Time: April 22nd, evening
Interactions:
1. Asking @Taros Quintero about the Giant Squid and asking him to help with the tent.
2.Greeting @Katherine Townsend.
3. Noticing @Helen Aletheia Doukas.
4. Listening to @Elena Clark's speech about the comet and meteors, asking a rather existetialist question.

Paul was wearing his running trousers, a jacket and a dark blue T-shirt with short sleeves and a hoodie with an imprinted logo of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Because it was the closest thing to Astronomy he could think of and because he was a real fan of universe and all things related to it. He changed into the clothes right his last class that day. Nothing against the subject or the teacher who was a super cool, fun guy. But he was really looking forward to going for a walk for a change, into the hills and breathing in some fresh air. Perhaps, there would be someone who would be willing to race with him a little. Nothing long, just a few meters.

For the camping that the leaflet suggested would follow, Paul chose a bunch of things, like chewing gums instead of a toothbrush, a packet of sweets, his favourite fluffy blue pillow and, of course, his plush, purple triceratops called Mr. Yoda, after the famous character from Star Wars films. Without the latter, he wouldn't manage to fall asleep, so it was an obvious choice.
"Right, Mr. Yoda.. we're ready!" As he was stuffing the plushie atop of the contents of his backpack, he didn't zip the upper part, to let Mr. Yoda's head stick out of it, to see what was happening outside the backpack.

What he also included in his backpack, was his small, plastic, muggle game of Ludo. The game board was folded in a half, which was why it was so small. The plastic made it and the figures light, so it was perfect for travelling, tracking, or generally anything that had something to do with sports.

He ran out of his dorm and the common room, down the stairs with some stops, of course, because the stairs were young and restless, as his grandma would say, had she got to know them. Once arriving to the Great Hall, he saw a group of a few students with several adults whom he chose to join.

As he scanned the adults, he saw Ms. Townsend, the DADA teacher. "Good afternoon, miss!" Did he greet her with a large smile. He saw another familiar face, and that was one he perhaps might have seen a few times here and then in the library, however, didn't know her in person.
As the Groundskeeper introdced himself, Paul thought: Wow, Mr. Quintero seems cool too. I wonder how come that no adult in the castle is boring. Is it the fact that they're wizards? Like... is wizarding blood a guarantee of being cool? It could be...

"But first we need to get to the campsite!"

"Yay!" Called Paul, fisting his palm and throwing it up to cheer for what he was looking forward to the most.

"I’ll tell you a bit about the area we’re walking through and the creatures that dwell on this same land. Who knows, maybe we’ll even see a few!"

Paul's eyes widened and the boy's lower jaw dropped. "What, that's amazing!" Commented the boy, excited.

As they started walking, Paul stayed around Mr. Quintero. "Mr. Quintero, I've got a question. Is it possible that the Giant Squid's head looked out of the water of the lake when I was running around, two days ago?"
He listened to the Groundskeeper's answer. Along the way, he was late on several occasions, due to taking close looks at animals or insects on the bushes or flowers along the path to the campsite. However, he had no trouble making his way back to his original place in the group, running a little here and then.

Once they arrived at the destination and were told to find their tent, Paul immediately ruled out the option of the comfy ones. He chose to construct his own tent, because that held the promise of fun! So, he laid out the tent body, making sure it was facing the fire. He assembled the poles and connected them. He attached the poles to the tent body, using plastic clips to do so. The only thing left to do was raise the tent, which had always been a problem for this boy, due to his insufficient height and strength. His dad would do it back at home, whenever they went camping.
Paul looked around to find a figure closest to his dad there, which was Taros. Paul raised to his feet and ran towards the man, to ask him. "Mr. Quintero, can... can you give me a hand with the tent? I need to raise it. My dad always does that when we go camping, but here..."

When it was done, Paul hummed his thanks and went inside to lay down his sleeping bag, the pillow and Mr. Yoda, of course. Several minutes later, he came out of the tent, heading towards the group formed around Elena, as she summarized why they'd been there. Paul took a seat on the ground, listening carefully. Wow, she's so smart... even smarter than Cor, and Cor is the smartest person I know. Will I be so smart too when I'm as old as her? Nah, I don't think so, I'm not taking notes in any of the classes. I guess I'll just have to stick to the plan to be smart enough to become a Wizarding Police Officer.

"Wait, so... the debris is up there, and the Earth just... keeps colliding with it every year, right?" Asked Paul, lifting his hand, as if they were at school. Such was the power of the habit. "But what if there comes a time before the comet comes back, that there will be no debris left? What if all the debris is burned this year, or next year, and there's none left on the orbit?"

Speech -- Thoughts

The Lyrid Meteor Shower.

Pam knew of it the way one knew about something that interested them a lot but never had the chance to actually see.

The opportunity had presented itself though, and Pam had spent hours at the library (hours she should've spent studying) reading up on the event and finding out when it would occur and where and how she could watch it.

All of that before the notice on the notice board found her, and solved the most pressing issue she'd come across— the location. While the astronomy tower had been Pam's... well only choice of place, she'd jumped at the opportunity to witness the event from a place with a larger stretch of clear sky.

Or atleast that's what she assumed from the notice.

She'd hunted down her fellow classmate and star-lover Joseph Sims, and had asked him to accompany her. He had agreed, naturally, although he had frozen for a second and had left Pam wondering if he'd heard her at all. Either way, he'd been quick with his decision and Pam had been happy at the thought of his company. Somehow witnessing such an important event all alone felt concerningly depressing. She knew she'd be grateful for his presence.

And so, she found herself in the Great Hall after classes, surrounded by others who had also shown up for the event. Was stargazing always this popular? I never bump into these people at the Astronomy Tower.

Joseph joined her eventually, and Pam found herself waving to Astra first, the rock tucked safely with Joseph before she paid the boy even the slightest attention. Probably not the best of behaviours, but oh well, Joseph adored Astra much more than her. She knew he wouldn't mind.

Pam, on the other hand, had another issue dumped on her shoulders. "Joseph." She muttered as her stomach let out a particularly annoyed grumble, "I don't suppose you've got any food?"

Chocolate. Pam's eyes narrowed at the wrapper, watching critically, "Are you sure that's not expired?" She ate it anyway, grateful for the sugar, although she really longed for something more solid and filling and not so less. She didn't voice that part of her thoughts though, feeling only mildly sulky as they started out along the trail. Walking and lack of food. Real charming combination.

The walk specifically was rather uneventful, although the scenery more than made up for that issue, and Pam's mood got exponentially better as time went by, enchanted by the beauty of the trail. She listened to what the Hogwarts groundskeeper told them, although she eventually ended up tuning out his voice, tilting her head up to the sky, where the sun had finally started to set. "I wish I had a camera." she murmured regretfully, midway through. She would have liked to send something back to her father, but she didn't even own a camera of her own.

Gotta add that to my to-do list.

The trail led them to a plateau nestled high on the mountains, and one look at the terrain made Pam instantly grateful that she had signed up for the event, unable to keep the skip out of her step as she caught at Joseph's arm excitedly, "The view will be amazing from here! Especially when darkness falls completely. I hope the moon comes out today. Talking about that, do you prefer--"

Her over-excited chatter came to an abrupt standstill as she spotted the spread across the fireside and her stomach let out a hopeful grumble at the sight. "Uh, you know what," she muttered, unable to take her eyes off the food, "I'm just gonna.. um grab something first. Let's take a look around after that."

location ; grounds.	22/04/26 ; date
wc ; 699	sorry this took so long: ( ; ooc notes

Two or three summers back, the trickster in all her blessed naivety of childhood had often wondered about the crying stars. Not really crying, no, they could be described as a descent from the heavens itself. A blessing from the angels above. At least, that were the thoughts of a seven year old Estella. Looking back, the ignorance was humiliating, but the artistry of a child was amusing. Maybe her affinity towards the study of stars originated at that moment, the first touch of curiosity towards the astral mystics. Her own name carried the meaning of star, and it only felt like the string of Moirai that she would be interested in the subject. And on a fateful evening, the gold-haired girl was lounged by the window reading about such themes—a rare occurrence— eager on the pursuit of astral knowledge. Amber eyes scrutinized all and any words, halting at meteors. Speciously, they were meteoroids that burn upon entering earth's atmosphere, creating the streak of light that caused such a glorious sight. They were not crying stars neither were they a blessing from the heavens above. To the young and untainted heart of the child, it was an unsolicited information.

Without the clouding of juvenile velleity, she would ponder their origins, the history beyond such terms. She found they were often named after their constellations which they originated from. A way of stars to tell us there could never be such a far path from our origins, even on a new land aflame, a streak of your history will always be close behind. In the eyes of Estella Cain, it was and could be only seen as a curse. Starting anew, who would want such obstinate memories to trail behind them?

Thoughts forsaken to the past brimmed once again by the words before her. A sign up form of sorts for the upcoming meteor shower. Who could deny a night of star gazing? Without much thought, she found her name on the form. Thoughts of the event plagued her since, excitement bubbling over the child. After many moons, the day arrived in its anticipated glory and Estella found her patience thinning. At the designated hour, she left her dorm with all the giddiness of a child basking in their favorite playtime.

The plain grounds of hogwarts stretched beyond her, a line in the early stages of establishment. Students were obediently arranged in a meticulously liberating order. Acutely aware of the non existent partner with her to witness such a sightly marvel. Enveloped in this star-like solitude, her eyes searched for a familiar face, a knowing soul. The search came up empty, and the blonde couldn't help a pang of disappointment flooding through, albeit unwanted. It wasn't too much of an issue to the affable and blabbering girl. Gold-sprinkled eyes went through the small crowd again, looking for a possible target company. Absentmindedly weaving through students of all years, she pursued someone that wouldn't chaste her away at first glance. It was tad hard, seeing most arrived with a friend or more. Surely, there would be someone. With the last embers of hope slowly dissipating, she almost gave up and accepted that perhaps seclusion was indeed the better choice. Until, her eyes landed on a particular individual. With the ferocity of someone revived from the dead, her steps fastened and abruptly right behind them. Nonchalantly adjusting to a much more relaxed stance, grinning with a victorious glimmer, " Lovely night, isnt it? Though a bit crowded here, looks like most students brought some company. But it makes sense, I would also love to share such a rare sight with someone, you know? " Immediately, she held back a grimace. Why would a stranger listen to her ramblings? And it sounder far too strange. Small talks aggravated her, but it was not like she could just slip into a familiar conversation with someone she never met before. " I'm Estella by the way, pleasure to meet you. " Words to say that she was probably going to settle with isolation if not for seeing her died down her throat. But it would be better, to gaze at the celestial beauty with someone else. Far better.

[anchor=rp][/anchor]

When I heard, "Meteor Shower" I got really excited. In London, there was far too much light pollution to see any stars. But here, at Hogwarts we were in the middle of the mountains far away from any light pollution. Except for our wands. That was only when we cast Lumos. But other then that, I saw the mountains as a perfect area for star seeing. I signed up for a tent immediately when the sign ups came out. I had already noticed that many people have already signed up. I quickly looked at the list. Only a few people who weren't tolerable signed up. (Ahem Dido Bleaklane) They must have thought watching stars were a bore. That's ok with me. There were so many other people that signed up that the fact that I would be put in a tent with someone non-tolerable that signed up was very very low. However, I always get unlucky. I had received the fact that Dido was in my tent. Wow, just my luck. But I had Angel, Audree Jia, Veda Lunar, and Lily Young. I didn't know 3/6 people in the tent. Well...Audree sounded like a name I knew from my school. But I shook that off. I had remembered how Dido had burst at me, and almost attacked me during the labyrinth. I breathed. Maybe she would be better. That night I walked down to the grounds. I hoped that it would be a night of fun with friends and s'mores around the campfire. I arrived to my tent before the others have. I watched as my tent mates walked down to the grounds. Then I crossed my fingers and said a silent prayer.

Word Count Reducio 378/600

Action Reducio NA

Stats/Abilities Reducio Stamina: 4 Evasion: 6 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 8 Arcane Power: 5 Accuracy: 7

Interacting With: Reducio @Tina Carille (more in tent thread)

The stars were oddly comforting.

Obviously, the existential fear they created in Dido wasn’t immediately what would spring to mind when things were being described as comforting, but, nonetheless, they did comfort the girl.

The idea of such huge, massive things hurling themselves through the universe at such unimaginable speeds, all while billions of reactions took place inside them, balancing the crushing force of their own weight… put things into perspective. Even if just for a moment.

A somewhat less Lovecraftian reason for Dido’s reaction was that the stars simply reminded her of home. She couldn’t remember any real memories from her early years in Scotland but, gazing up at the dark sky, vivid pictures tugged at Dido: snapshots of the stars visible through a car window, flashes of laughter and late nights as an agitated two-year old stared past the gauze of a tent, soft outstretched hands pointing towards a scattered collection of light as loving murmurs were whispered above. She felt safe, and warm, and loved.

This cosy feeling soon evaporated when Dido looked down and saw the girl standing beside the tent Dido had been assigned to. It was Tina. Immediately, Dido tensed, her cheeks burning. Thankfully, in the dim light, no one that far away could probably see Dido’s face and the hot, crimson indication of guilt and anger and fear and all the thoughts that coursed through Dido’s head, replacing the sweet images with pictures of hatred and self-hatred and cruelty. No. Dido was not like that. She wasn’t that sort of person. She hadn’t done it. She hadn’t meant it. It never happened.

Dido turned on her heel away from Tina and away from their large tent. She didn’t even try pulling out her wand when she crossed through the tents and under ties and over pegs. Instead, she fixed her eyes on one of the nearby campfires and started carefully, but still swiftly, heading towards it. Somehow, she managed to only trip once, and that only a small stumble.

By the time Dido made her way to the main campfire, the prefect, who was, of course, another Ravenclaw, had just started her speech. Dido took a deep breath, rubbed her eyes quickly before beginning to listen, happily if a little absent-mindedly.

Mentions - @Tina Carille @Angel Dayes @Dido Bleaklane @Veda Lunar @Audree Jia	Dialogue | Thoughts	Date - 22/04/26
Interactions - @Tina Carille @Dido Bleaklane	Others dialogue	WC - 397

Lily was thrilled as she joined the group of students going to the grounds. She'd signed up the moment the announcement hit the boards. A rare meteor shower, I wouldn't miss it for the world. She felt like she was stepping into one of her constellation tales from the library. This was a dream of hers. As a young girl she'd always liked the outdoors and loved staring at the stars at night. Back in her home town the stars wouldn't be too noticeable and there would never be more than a couple.

The sky was clear here, the stars easy to see and brightening her path, and the grounds covered with many tents. It was perfect and an amazing escape from the loads of homework she had. Finally something magical without a wand or cauldron involved. She'd been so excited for this moment since she signed up, always wanting to see something as magical as this. Lily felt quite comfortable outside in nature. She knew many would shy away from staying in a tent, but Lily wasn't one of those people.

Lily was getting closer to her tent, hoping she didn't get lost and found the right one. It was time to meet her tentmates, stepping up to her tent, she was a mix of both, excitement and nervous energy, to meet all her tent mates. Once she saw who she was placed with she realised quickly that none of them were people she'd interacted with before. She had seen a few in her classes and around the corridors, some even being fellow Slytherins.

As she noticed two of the girls had already arrived, Tina and Dido, she recognized from seeing them round hogwarts. She was ready to greet them and hopefully get to know them, but as she stepped closer she noticed a tense feeling between the two and decided to wait till all her tent mates arrived before she introduced herself. She knew that some of her tentmates probably knew each other from before and that some might be in the same situation as her. Yet she hoped they'd get a long for atleast getting through this in peace. Maybe walking away with a few new friends.

She looked up, the stars peeking out already. The magic was yet to arrive. She was still looking up as the prefect started speaking, Lily listening on.

✰ c'est la vie ✰

The night sky was by all accounts beautiful, a vast canvas of darkness dotted with countless stars and a pale moon basking the campsite in it’s ethereal glow. Students gathered around the bonfires seeking warmth in the frigid night, yet Thomas and the girl he had invited -he only realised he had never asked for her name- sat closer to the edge of the clearing, away from the embers but still in their glow. The chill had never bothered Thomas, maybe his aloofness extended to temperatures as well as people? As it was, sitting in the cold wasn’t going to be an issue for him, and if the girl had chosen to sit there in the first place, then surely she wasn’t affected either.

Around them students and professors alike turned their gaze towards the heavens, looking for falling meteorites. Thomas couldn’t help but do the same, meteor showers were rare, and the weather conditions unusually good, he probably wouldn’t see something like that ever again. As always he had brought his notebook with him, the opportunity to draw the night sky didn’t come often, so he really didn’t want to let it pass. Of course, he was also in a conversation so he’d have to pay attention to that as well.

Speaking of, the subject was now the purpose of life. About how people spend their entire lives trying to find some meaning to their existence. She told him that maybe there was no meaning, but that we keep searching for one because it’s the easier path, that we have no other choice. That it wasn’t necessarily joyous, but that it was at least honest, and thus more important. But most of all she had asked what he thought of it. It wasn’t an easy question by all means, so it took him a bit to formulate an answer in his head. But after some time, he was ready to answer.

“I think… life is meant to be lived. That living is a purpose of it’s own. I know it sounds… simple, too easy maybe. But more often than not, the simplest solution is the better one, that’s what Occam’s razor is all about, right? Maybe I’m wrong about it, but honestly who cares? We’re the only ones who can give our lives meaning. We’re free to choose what it all means, but that’s not the easiest thing to do, letting others decide who you are requires much less effort, and I think that’s why so many people keep chasing something that isn’t there.”

As he was giving his thoughts on the matter, Thomas was furiously sketching in his notebook. He had decided to draw the sky, well a false sky really. The celestial dome was shattered, like a broken mirror. On the broken pieces were countless stars, familiar to anyone who went on this outing, as the false sky was based on the on the one they were sitting under. Behind the fragments of the broken sky you could see the real moon, or rather it’s remains. The celestial body was also shattered, how and why a mystery to all. He stopped drawing as soon as he finished expressing his thoughts, and lifted his eyes off the paper to look at the girl.

All in all he was feeling quite satisfied, both by his explanation, and by his drawing. In his opinion he had captured the feeling of a raw, ugly truth. Of illusions being shattered, of the veil of lies slipping. It wasn’t something he usually represented, but that was also because he never talked with others about such things. That night was definitely more interesting than he thought it would be.

Dido came over. She turned red like a tomato at first seeing me. I bet she thought I couldn't see because it was dark. But apparently I had good vision. I gave Dido a weird look, "Hello Dido." I said plainly and sifly. Then I put my overnight duffle into the tent. It was quite roomy inside and I started to decorate. Even if it was only one night. It was simple decor. Pink bows, adding my pink comforter. (An extra) After I crawled out of the tent, I saw another girl approach. I didn't know her but she seemed nice. "Hello! My name is Tina Carille and i'm a first year, muggle-born Ravenclaw. It's nice to meet you! What's your name?" I asked, sounding more like my normal self and not someone who wanted to get away from someone. "Would you like to go over to the campfire?" I asked the new girl before she could respond. Then I swiftly walked over to the campfire. I actually learned a lot about the meteor shower. Number one, the meteors were discovered in 1861. Number two, it occurs once every 60 years. Number three, they've been observed for more than 2600 years. I learned that all from one Ravenclaw prefect. I also heard the legend of Lyre of Orpheus. Which was cool. My favorite type of stories wasn't legends, but it still was really cool. I went over to the snack table because I was feeling quite peckish. There were marshmallows and some fruits. I grabbed the marshmallow and put some extra chocolate and graham crackers on my tray. I sat back down at my seat by the campfire. I had nestled myself between Professor Kitty and another person. I also saw Professor Kitty snatch a snack from someone. "Professor Kitty!" I said, with a joking type of scolding tone. I carefully put my marshmallow onto my roasting stick and held it out toward the fire. I really hope my professor wouldn't steal my smore in progress.