Secret Blossom Ball Event Finished

The Slytherin's smile, the mask she had controlled well until now, got a crack when he told her that she was worrying too much, if he wanted to harm her, he'd done it with the box, not the bracelet. Opeila could only just stop herself from tossing the box away, she felt incredibly stupid, like she just fell for the oldest trick in the book. If there was something wrong with it, it was probably too late now. Play along.

His urging her to put it on raised her suspicions again. Was that a... daring tone, she heard? Opeila had thought of an excuse already. "It doesn't really go with the one I am wearing. This one is a family heirloom, I promised my grandmother that I would wear it. I like this one a lot though, I will definitely wear it sometime." She didn't react to him telling her not to worry that much.

It wasn't surprising that he had figured, their plan was quite transparent if she thought about it. Of course he would know that she was prepared as well. Opeila now only waited for him to mention it.

Instead he guided her to the dancefloor and told her he would lead if she didn't know how to dance. Opeila smiled. "No need, thank you, I know how to." Maybe not too good, but Lady Margary had always found it important that Opeila knew how to dance. So she had practiced a lot and Opeila now was okay at it, she would barely step on her partners feet. Theoretically. If she concentrated. What she wouldn't, since she was still trying to figure out her partner's motives.

Vladimir asked her, how many of her friends were watching. There it was, the topic she had only waited for. "I don't know. Enough." The first year made sure that she didn't say a lot. She didn't want to give him additional information to the one she was reluctantly giving him already.

Sadly, she really had no idea, how many were watching. Flash for sure and she had seen Bridget earlier. So those two probably. She had no idea where Jack went though... That was slightly concerning.

Opeila would let the Ravenclaw twirl her. The Slytherin had not really noticed until now, how much taller the boy was. This made it hard to keep an eye on his face.
He asked her where she came from and then told her where he came from. This was an information she wouldn't give him. "So we're doing smalltalk now?", she asked instead, still the friendly expression on her face, but he would be able to notice her tenseness. Her grip was a little too tight, her hands cold, her movements a little stiffer than they would have normally been.

He asked her if she knew why he asked for the dance. Opeila shook her head. "Please, do tell."

Mentioning @Thomas Lestrange @Jack Burnett @Bridget Collins @Flash Holmwood
Interacting with @Vladimir Athanatos

Selim largely ignored what his partner was doing, eyes trained on the target glancing away every so once in a while to try and make it not as obvious... sadly, it probably didn't work that well, 'Vladimir' just seemed to draw his eye. It was as if he were prey watching a predator draw near without being able to run, or hide.

His focus stayed on the target, entranced, something nagging at his mind, saying that if he looked away for even a moment, he'd be in danger.

Selim wasn't sure whether or not it was just his building paranoia making his mind perceive something as more of a threat than it actually was, if it was just his tired mind, warping his perception, or if it was something that he should actually be this concerned about.

He just knew he couldn't let them out of his sight.

He watched as Vladimir seemed to move shifting with his housemate, mouth moving with words he couldn't hear. He was too far away for Selim to read his lips, even as he made more movements that seemed vaguely like dancing (It was hard to tell with the crowd milling about around them).

He faintly registered a ruckus coming from his companion and the girl he was speaking to, but didn't look away from the tall boy in leather.

He was violently snapped out of his prey-like trance when someone grabbed his arm. Flinching violently, Selim swiveled around, hand darting out of his sleeve as he almost went for his dagger, until he caught sight of who it was. His pounding heartbeat slowed, and he slid out of his incomplete fighting stance, back to his normal, regal one.

It was simply Lestrange... not an attacker.

He didn't hear the conversation beforehand, so, without context, he couldn't really understand what his companion's narrowed eyes were trying to portray... also was he covered in... pumpkin juice?

He decided not to question it.

They both turned back around, and Selim grew stiff, uneasy, you never turn your back on a possible threat, but here his partner was, making him do just that. A shiver ran up and down his spine, but he forced himself to focus on the situation at hand, the distraction from the mission Lestrange insisted on focusing on instead.

He scanned the people present, jerking a bit when he heard a distant banging sound muffled by the music and conversations around him... he tensed further, eyes darting left and right, looking for threats.

He was knocked out of his intent focus once more, by Lestrange, who spoke.

“You see… my date…disappeared, I guess. Selim here, was helping me find…him.” His companion cast his attention to another boy, dressed excessively in white, which made Selim want to cringe. That boy was basically a walking target for attackers.... he'd probably die first.

He went along easily with the story... by being completely stoic, expressing no emotion whatsoever, as per usual these days, not speaking, or even nodding in affirmation. No, he simply blinked deliberately, as if those around him were supposed to take that as confirmation.

“Guess I’m not the only one.” Lestrange motioned to the cannon fodder, “Would you be interested in a dance?” His companion then offered to carry cannon fodder's bags, and a flash of impatience burst through him

He cast a look at Lestrange, probably looking nearly as emotionless as before to everyone else, except, perhaps, his partner. His yellow eyes were narrowed ever so slightly, sharper, and perhaps a hint of disapproval glinted in them. The look basically said 'You're wasting time, we need to get moving'.

Context probably helped clarify the message, seeing as how Selim was just watching Vladimir with an intensity akin to a deer watching a dangerous predator. He was impatient, and he wanted to get out of this deathtrap as soon as possible.

Tension was lining his frame under his traditional robes, and his fingers were twitching at his side, as if trying to grab a weapon that was supposed to be there.

They had a mission to get to, there was no time for Lestrange to play with these students.

|- Mentions; @Thomas Lestrange, @Opeila Seilun, @Victor Moore, @Marion Davenport, @Vladimir Athanatos -|

Outfit:

Reducio

The mood between Vladimir and Opeila did not seem exactly cheerful. Opeila was plastered with an empty smile, while Vladimir could best be described as bemused. The two began to dance, both of them seeming to fall in line without much effort needed. Well, it seemed he was trained to dance. Flash felt the grueling weight of all the things he didn’t know.

That was the reason this was such a bad decision, why he had hated it from the start. They didn’t have even a fraction of the information they needed to make informed decisions. Partly that was what they were doing, just trying to know more. They could have laid a trap for him, ambushed him, or abducted him, but instead they just wanted answers. They just wanted to be led out of the dark.

Perhaps Dan had the right idea, maybe they should have ignored all the warning signs and just spent time with the people they love. Flash looked up long enough to see Thomas’ face get splashed by Marion’s drink and had to laugh. He returned his eyes to Ruka, who seemed more alert and attentive than he had perhaps ever seen him. No, definitely.

He really couldn’t relate to Ruka at all, the two of them had vastly different personalities. They knew so much about each other’s insecurities and motivations, yet so little actual information. Maybe they had that in common, at least. Neither of them knew how to fit in. Perhaps their gravity was just a matter of continuing to find each other on the outskirts.

”Ruka, I don’t…” Flash started, the two of them continuing to look back at each other from time to time.

Flash wanted to impart something. A compliment, something to show his gratitude, but it stuck in his throat. He didn’t know how to express it. In fact, it was pointless to draw attention to it. This might be his only chance to have fun, before something inevitably happened. Why waste it lamenting about regrets?

Instead, now that Ruka knew the steps, Flash drew him in closer. He could adapt. Flash had started to understand the feeling a bit more when Burnett had embraced him. They both just wanted to feel less alone. He wanted to give Ruka that, if possible. The feelings that he belonged somewhere. He could see it in the way Ruka interacted with people. He was detached from society. Isolated.

”I wonder if you would be interested to know more about me?” Flash’s voice was more unsure than he normally would dare to portray.

He rarely volunteered information about himself, he didn’t want to have to suffer through realizing that no one actually cared. That all anyone wanted him around for was because he made them feel better about themselves. Carried their burden, solved their problem, healed their scars, held them when they cried. Still none of his friends knew even the smallest details about his life. No one besides Burnett.

”I don’t think I actually like people much.” Flash’s expression floated somewhere around ambivalence and amusement. ”At the same time, I love them all. Each life, some kind of story to tell.”

Flash returned a more focused look on Ruka. Looking tranquil despite his panic moments before. He just genuinely wanted to know more.

”What do you think of people? Do you hate them?”

Interacting with: @Ruka Tân

Action:
Feeling hopeless, talking to Ruka

Previous posts: Pre-ball, Entrance, Recon, Asked to dance, Spots Vlad on dance floor, Dancing with Ruka

Temporarily Closed to Interaction

The boy seemed curt and distracted as he responded to her query. He didn't seem to be as excited about the ball as some of the other students rushing around in their giddiness. She found it interesting that anyone could look so grumpy at a party as this boy seemed to be.

Isadora withdrew from the table a bit, sipping on her water as she waited for her still rushing heartbeat to calm down from her dancing earlier. She obediently followed his eyes gaze as he gestured her towards the visage of a girl she hadn't met quite yet.

"Oh...um, no I don't think I've met her yet," She said following the girls movements as she wandered the room in a beautiful dark blue dress. She was quite pretty, with auburn hair and striking blue-grey eyes. She turned to the boy again and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Is she a friend of yours or??" she noticed the irritation on his face as he stared at the girl. "I'm guessing 'or'...do you want to talk about it? Or...I could wander away if you would prefer to be alone with your thoughts. We don't even know each others name so it could be like I was never here!" She tried to joke with a hesitant smile. She even took a step back to show her sincerity at leaving him to his own devices if he wished. He seemed like he had a lot of other things on his mind and Isadora did not want to intrude.

Interactions: Janet Jackson (permission to godmod)

Fred entered the pitch which was decorated beautifully with flowers and golden balls of light. But for him the star of the evening was Janet Jackson. As soon as he set eyes on her his heart started thumping wildly. She was dressed in a short mint green dress and a simple gold star necklace, her hair was styled stunningly with flowers woven into it and her makeup was done to perfection. He had been expecting her to look beautiful but this was something new. Janet always looked pretty but this time she looked pretty and elegant.
“You look beautiful,” he said blushing slightly.
He blushed still more when she hugged him. She took his hand and pulled him off to get some drinks.
“Come on!” She said smiling, “let’s go get some refreshments.”
Fred felt ridiculous now that he had been dreading the blossom ball. This was amazing! He had been simply ecstatic when Janet had said she would go to the ball with him and although that was the main reasons for his happiness the refreshments and decorations were definitely a bonus.
“Do you think we’re going to need those escape brooms,” he said suddenly glancing over at the pile at the entrance, “the previous balls haven’t ended well I’ve heard.”
“I haven’t heard much about previous balls but (and I know this makes me sound crazy) I can’t help feel a bit excited, to see how this one will end.”
Fred knew that Janet was very optimistic (a large part of the reason he liked her so much) and she probably thought everything would end well. But Fred knew that she also wasn’t stupid and if she had heard what he had about the last balls she wouldn’t feel excited. But right now nothing could ruin this night for Fred and he too pushed it from his mind.
“Well neither of us have brooms but I’m sure they will have some spare school brooms we could grab if necessary.”
“Stop worrying!” She said, “let’s just enjoy tonight!”
And as he glanced at the beautiful Gryffindor girl beside him Fred felt certain he would.

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Kaylie soon finished her book and stood up. She looked behind her to make sure she didn't get anything on the skirt of her dress. Luckily she didn't. Kaylie finished her drink and went to get another cup as she had been reading for quite a while. After Kaylie had gotten her another drink she walked back to her spot having to have the same journey as before except this time there was more pushing. Kaylie was alone. It was quiet where she was. Kaylie put her book back in her bag and casually looked at all the student as she sipped her drink. She looked at her outfit. It was about as red as a rose as she had put a red rose in her hair to go with it. Her mother had sewn it herself after Kaylie sent an owl about the Blossom Ball. Kaylie continued to sip on her drink and look over the crowd. She liked it better when it was quiet. She wasn't really a fan of crowds and didn't like to be around people that much unless she actually knew them well. Kaylie thought to herself " Oh I hope this won't be a waste of my time."

Interacting with: @Saskia Nicholson Mentioning: @Dale Kurt & @Aaron Jones

Annie gave a brief nod to Aaron as he said he was going to go check in with more people. He was acting almost as if her were the host of this party.. She shook the thought off and looked up to see if she had caught Dale's attention. He simply waved at her before continuing on whatever important exploration he was on. The girl huffed and rolled her eyes, ah well she would bug him about it later. Once she realized the other people she had been interacting with left she turned her head to the side and noticed her hands gently holding onto her.

Annie momentarily panicked at how she could not realized it. She mentally thanked Saskia for keeping her warm, while her stomach was a mess of butterflies. "Uh, back to where we were then yes? Would you still like to dance?" Saskia stood there for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head and Annie's mood automatically perked up. She was probably smiling like an idiot as she lead Saskia to the dance floor. The girl had seen people dance a few times, but she wasn't accustomed to it herself.

The brunette noticed that they were only an inch difference in height, with Saskia being the taller of the two. Annie sucked in a deep breath before looking shyly at Saskia. "Uhm- I don't exactly know how to dance, can you lead?" She saw Saskia give a small smile and Annie felt her face get hot but before she could say anything, Annie was spinning off in a cloud. Saskia had taken the lead and did some sort of ballroom step with her. They were rather close with Annie's one arm on her shoulder and her other hand clasped with Saskia's. Saskia's other hand lightly touched her waist and Annie panicked.

I feel like I'm on cloud nine, but I can't it's too much, what am I doing I don't like her do I? Many thoughts raced through her head as Saskia led them around a few times, but it was all a blur to Annie. Finally she tore her hands free from Saskia and looked at her with a sad look in her eyes. "I- I'm sorry I couldn't be a good dance partner, maybe you should go find a guy or someone better." Annie spat out the words before she could hold them back, she was sad, sure, but the words were vile coming out of her mouth. With that she ran off in the direction of the changing rooms, not caring if she pushed past people rudely or made a scene.

Leaving Main Thread to go to Changing Rooms

Permission to god mod Saskia given

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Interacting With: @Lydia Cooper @Thomas Lestrange @Selim Faust @Wren Caster @Victor Moore
Mentioning: @Aaron Jones

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Status • Open

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[font=Segoe Print]“Rafael D’Spacito! Where the hell have you been?!? You left her alone, and were late of all things, and I should kick you in the you-know-where area, but I’m not. For the sake of poor Lydia here, who you, may I remind you. LEFT ALONE.”

Wren had always been fiery, Raf had always known that much, her mood being able to change at the flip of a coin, her tastes fine, her sense of humor acute, a well never to run dry. The very thought of such a girl never ceased to bring a smile to the boy’s face, a mischievous glint to his eyes – there was something about the lovely first-year, be it her playful nature, radiant smile, flighty mannerisms, that reminded him of his late sister, Sophie, and all her presence had once entailed. Yes, he loved the beater like his own sister. Yes, he would jump off a cliff if it meant saving her. Yes, he didn’t trust anyone with her heart, be it wholesome yet ever-fragile. Over their school year at Hogwarts, the two had grown quite close, to the point where the young Captain felt as if he could tell anything to his friend, his deepest darkest secrets, worst fears, fatal weaknesses. Was there another girl at Hogwarts like Wren? Another girl who could make him laugh with the simplest of phrases?

However, there was no amount of kindly words nor strong ties that could stifle the pang of fear that had stricken the heart of the Gryffindor child at such a vile concept, his eyes immediately going wide with shock and a yelp subconsciously leaving his throat as his ears caught the horrendous words she’d just uttered. His hands, once clad in his pockets, were now held before him defensively, palms out as if offering a concession. The pain – the mere memory of such pain – was too much to bear, and for a moment, he was acutely stricken with fear, his bottom lip quivering as he regarded the girl in front of him. Wren was a woman of her word, he noted painfully, which meant bluff wasn’t her MO. Oh man, he’d better talk fast. Sputtering over his words – “Wren,” he uttered, his voice low enough to possibly evade the ears of his lovely veela date. “It was an accident! I – “ he fumbled with the words for a moment more, an edge of exasperation to his tones, “ – I got a bloody nose, yeah? Just, don’t hurt me, okay?” There was something erratic about the way he spoke, the glint in his eye, that suggested experience in such a matter. After all, it hadn’t been too long ago that Perse had attacked him with her foot of iron, jeopardizing his ability to have kids far into the future.

The girl would soon leave, which came as a relief to the young Captain – wiping a bead of sweat that had drippled down his temple, he turned to Lydia, sucking in a deep breath. “She’s crazy,” he muttered in slight irritability. Perhaps too much for poor Victor to handle. He allowed such a concept to entertain him for a moment, his eyes chasing his fellow Gryffindor in an effort to find her Slytherin date. Sure enough, there was Victor, clad in quite the striking silver suit – damn, bold choice, but the guy sure as hell made it work. Something else would catch his eye about then, and he squinted, as if vying for a better look. Were those magic flowers? Yes – it seemed as if they’d flickered colors, from black to white, and then black again. Such a gift caused the Gryffindor’s brows to furrow. Were those destined for his friend? "Crazy..."

"Then it will be my pleasure to guide you through this enchanted garden, Sir."

The boy was suddenly snapped out of his trance by the lovely Lydia – his face, once stricken with confusion and worry, quickly regained the easy smile it once held. The worry was still in his eyes. He quickly took the hand of his lovely date, wiggling his eyebrows at her cryptic words. “No, my lady,” he countered, “the pleasure will be all mine.” His words carried a genuine tone, albeit a slight detachment from reality. The very moment that they began walking again, his eyes would return to the mysterious bouquet – they’d been handed over to that annoying little Slytherpuff, Aaron. Curious.

The following moments were hard to remember – the two had strolled through the garden, Lydia chatting about the scenery in her lovely way, Rafael nodding along, punctuating every other sentence with a ‘wow’, or ‘that’s awesome’. He wasn’t listening. No, his eyes were sorely trained on the flowers, clutched in the hands of the wannabe chaser as he wormed through the masses. When Lydia mentioned her state of mind, the boy would look down, nodding once more. “Yeah, alright.” He didn’t mean to sound detached, truly – with every moment that ticked on, it seemed as if something truly horrible were going to happen. Who else could feel the creeping of danger? The cold breath of impending death?

He hadn’t noticed his new company until Lydia had spoken – his eyes immediately had darted over to the acquaintances before him, scanning to put names to the faces before his eyes. Surely enough, there was the lovely Wren, and her Slytherin date, Victor, along with Thomas, utterly covered in pumpkin juice, and Selim, who… cleaned up rather nicely. Seeing Thomas in such a state, on a normal day, may have brought the boy a great deal of humor, probably even warranting a guffaw. However, there seemed to be more important things to address than a wardrobe malfunction. For most likely the sixth time, his head had turned, eyes catching the flower chauffer once again. He was hiding the flowers under the Refreshments table… perhaps he’d better take a look then.

“Yeah, um,” he coughed, his eyes returning to his present company, addressing each with a curt smile and nod. “Victor. Thomas, loving the pumpkin juice look. …Selim, wow. You don’t look like a walking grease stain. Impressive.” Then nodding to Lydia, “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

With that, he promptly turned, disappearing into the ever-amassing sea of bodies.

The refreshments table wasn’t terribly far from where the group had been standing, so it wasn’t a long trek to the hiding place of the shady gift. He supposed he must have looked strange, crouching down and lifting the tablecloth so that he could have access to what lied beneath. With quick fingers, he grasped the flowers, brown eyes skimming over the plants in question as he considered their significance. “There you are,” he mused to himself, picking them up. Now, what was he looking at… [/font]

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Action • Trying to Find What's Up With Them Flowers

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Open to interactions
Interacting with |
Mentioning | @Arc Perscivious

Taking pictures of the ball goers was something that ate through film pretty quickly, and she only had 2 more rolls left with her. With a small sigh, she stooped down her long raven locks hiding her face from the crowd as she started the process of changing out the film. She began by manually rewinding the film into its original roll, which took more time than she cared for, but this was Hogwarts after all, and you just had to deal with it. Once that was finished, she popped the back of the camera open and gently removed the film roll and deposited it into the black plastic canister that would hold it snuggly until she could owl it off to her grandfather to develop for her.

She placed the now closed canister into the left side of her bag and pulled a new cartridge from the right side. Opening it carefully, she would install the film with the camera door closed as much as she could with her fingers still in the compartment. Once finished, she would snap the back of the camera closed and stick the empty canister into the middle of her camera bag, where her camera was usually nestled.

That was when it hit her, for just a few moments, that uncontrollable cold shiver that trickles and plays down every vertebra of your spine. She froze in place as an unforeseen hand slid itself between her ribs to grip the heart that was starting to beat faster. She fought against it fiercely as she always did, standing up and pushing her hair out of her face with her empty hand. Looking around for the source. She only felt this feeling around two people that she knew of, and that was the older dhampir and the Ravenclaw Prefect that she hunted down after the last ball. Those sharp sapphire eyes darted around the people near her, near the entrance as she felt the feeling slowly creep away. Whoever it was, they had gotten farther away and to quickly for her to be able to spot them.

Blinking a few times, she decided to go could try to find whoever it was after she was done with these last two rolls. They went through quick enough as it was there were plenty of people, activities, and decorations to take photos of here. It didn’t stop her from wondering which friend she managed to miss, though. As she started to walk a little down the side of the pitch, she rubbed her hand across the folds of her skirt, feeling the comforting outline of her wand nestled in its hidden pocket before once more hiding her face behind her camera.

Commentary on pages 2, 4, 8, and 13

Outfit | Locket | Hair | Camera bag