One Each Year - First Time Here Finished

Dee snorted at Ileen's rather... dramatized re-telling of the events in the Hogwarts Express - wasn't being overly dramatic usually Dee's forte? - and shook her head. "That's not quite how I remember it happening, and I don't think the oath was about knights, but sure, let's go with that." She grinned. Aida and Ileen seemed to be getting on very well together, although they were both extremely different in nature, and while Dee hadn't been actively worrying about how and whether they would get along, it was still a relief to see them fall into a rhythm that easily.
Dee grinned at Aida. "You got it! My ultimate goal in life, forming a guard that is bound to me and will protect me with their life, so I won't have to worry about jealous rivals trying to stab me in the back."
She burst out laughing at Ileen's challenge, bright and tinkling. "Oh - a tournament between my knights for my birthday? That sounds like good entertainment. It also sounds like I'd want to take part in it myself, though."
At Ileen's (unintentional) pun, Dee smiled brilliantly and reached out to link their fingers together. "Of course you'll always be the original Knight," she teased fondly.

She pretended to ponder the offer of a birthday song, tapping her nose as if lost in thought, then grinned and shook her head, sending her brown locks swirling around her. "I think I'll pass," she announced. "I'm not sure any of you can hold a note properly."
Dee nodded in approval as she watched Zykeal settle down at the edge of the gather after taking a piece of cake. Now, that was more like it. She supposed there was no reason to bother him any further - for now - and just let him enjoy her fabulous cake for the time being, before she got distracted by the current conversation again.
"I can ask my mom for the recipe," she said, shrugging. Honestly, she had no clue how to make the cake. She still bore a burn scar on her pinky from when she'd tried to help her mom in the kitchen last year, and she'd been banned from helping after that, and not all that keen to try again. She wasn't terribly surprised that Ileen knew her way around that stuff, though. It seemed like the kind of thing her Slytherin friend would be better at than her - just look at the eagle cookies.

Ariana had taken a seat on the blanket too, and had been provided with a piece of cake along with everyone else. Honestly, Dee wasn't sure if she had wanted to join them, or just been interested in the cake, or if Dee's enthusiastic greeting had just surprised her into going along with her, but Dee would try to hop over and talk to her in a bit. Her friends seemed to be able to entertain themselves just fine right now.

Before she managed to do that, however, there was another arrival: Lizzie had stepped into the courtyard and headed over to her little (but steadily growing) party. Honestly, Dee didn't quite know what to make of the blonde Ravenclaw yet. They hadn't spent much time together so far, only half an hour at an errand, and the girl had left rather abruptly then, too. But as she had said, anyone was welcome, so she returned the well-wishes with a bright smile. "Thank you, Lizzie! That's okay, you didn't have to get me anything. Do you want some cake?"
It seemed Lizzie was more interested in her guests than in Dee herself anyway, so Dee shrugged and started turning back to the conversation, when she was suddenly offered a rather squished bar of chocolate as a present replacement. Blinking in surprise, she stared at it for a second, then burst out laughing. "Thanks, Lizzie!" she repeated, taking the chocolate and placing it next to her other presents. It was a rather strange gesture, but she could appreciate it. "Come join us, there's enough cake for everyone," she repeated, smiling.

Interacting with | @Ileen Knight, @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood, @Zykeal Lane, @Sylvain Indarys, @Ariana Walker, @Lizzie Verdine
Permission given by Ariana to godmod her sitting down and eating some delicious strawberry cake :>

interacting with @Sylvain Indarys | @Dealla Prince | @Zykeal Lane
═ ∘◦❦◦∘ ═

Lizzie smiled at Syl and nodded her head towards him. They had both held hands which was pretty normal to most people but it had defiantly seemed special to both of them even if she was dating some and crushing on someone else. It was a whole mix up of unknown emotions.

She pushed some hair out of her face and turned around to face Dealla. Dee quickly laughed at Lizzie as the squashed chocolate bar was taken out of her hand and placed onto a table. She looked down at the other presents and her jaw slightly dropped. Her present was so basic and mushy. Probably even uneatable.

"Oh, I would love some cake." She said smiling and bringing her hands up to her cheek. She closed her eyes and knew that the cake would just be fine meaning she didn't give her extra chocolate away from no reason. After all, cake was better then chocolate but you can't just shove crumbly cake into robe pocket. It would get a total mess.

She then turned to Zyk who had finally seen her. She grinned and looked into is eyes. "Hello." She breathed out repeated what she had said before and grabbed a plate from the blanket. He leaned closer making Lizzie grin a little. They, probably, both had been practicing their acting which defiantly would be helpful if it was ever needed to get out of a bad situation. He continued his statements and cake eating while Lizzie cut a small piece with her fork and placed it in her mouth.

She groaned in delight at how good it was. "Oh, wow. This cake is amazing." She said with her mouth full. Lizzie quickly gulped it down and widened her eyes. She must have looked to bad there. They possibly couldn't even tell what she was saying. That was so unlike her.

Gulping again she smiled, "Yes. I do know Dee. You should know that already. You saw me with her at that errand." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders slightly taking another piece and plopping it into her mouth, "Do you have memory loss?" She savored the taste and closed her eyes humming to herself. "Do you like the cake?" She asked lifting the plate to his face, "I think it's delightful."

═ ∘◦❦◦∘ ═

Mentions: @Dealla Prince @Ileen Knight @Sylvain Indarys

Interacting with: @Dealla Prince

Mentioning: @Sylvain Indarys @Zykeal Lane [and everyone else around but im too lazy to tag all of you]

"Hi Ariana! Thank you!! I'm Dee. Do you want some cake? You're welcome to join us, if you want."

Ariana smiled and sat down, taking the slice of cake that had been offered to her. She waved back to another boy who sat accompanying Dee in her little party. He had a curious expression on his face- Ariana concluded that a lot of these people might not recognize her as anything more than a classmate or a member of the quidditch team. After all, first year went by so fast, the young beater was sure she hadn't even met half of her year yet. There was just too much else to learn, to participate in, the distractions were endless. Speaking of distractions, this gathering seemed to have swerved Ariana away from any other thought, no matter, she would get back to her various awaiting tasks later on.

She took a bite into the unfamiliar cake. It was something she had never tasted before, although that didnt mean she didn't like it, no. On the contrary, and the sweet flavour touched her tongue, she felt it was one of the best things she had ever tasted. Strawberries were some of her favorite fruits- no doubt when she got a chance that she would be asking Dee who had made such a treat.

Many people arrived at the gathering, most of whom Ariana merely recognised as fellow classmates, nothing more. Perhaps the lack of familiarity around her, was the mere reason for her unusual [so far] absence of speech. Although it also could be owed to her fatigue status, she didn't talk much at all when she was tired.

As she swallowed another delightful mouthful of strawberry cake, her eyes strayed to...was that Zyk? Who had just got up and left the gathering. Arianas gaze lingered after him for a second, her expression one of amusement. Had he been here the whole time? She hadn't noticed him, that was for sure. Wow, she really did need to get some sleep before her observation skills dropped any further! But that could wait. Turning back to Dee she beamed at the girl, leaning forward to capture her attention. “Hey Dee! Who made this?” She questioned brightly, gesturing to the strawberry goodness, “It's amazing, i've never tasted anything like it before!”

Interacting with: @Dealla Prince @Ileen Knight @Lizzie Verdine

Mentioning: @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood @Ariana Walker

Open to Interaction

Hexcode= #507091

"I do." Sylvain said in response to Ileen asking if he visited the library often. Then she caught his eyes. There was an anxiety in them, but not cowardliness or deceit. His eyes darted away after initial contact, only uncomfortably coming back once or twice. It was clear Sylvain's eyes betrayed his feelings to others and it was equally obvious that he knew it. If Ileen continued to stare into the windows of his soul, his mind would be easily read.

It wasn't a decision he made lightly but, it was the decision Sylvain thought was probably best for everyone around him. "I suppose we should focus on the merrymaking instead Ileen. Perhaps we'll have time to talk about each other later?" It was especially hard to say due to the glimmer of excitement in Ileen's beautiful brown eyes. An excitement his eyes held at the start of their talk, but was now fading with his disappointment. The shy scholar was visibly uncomfortable about sharing his personal feelings in front of everyone.

The more he thought about it the more his stomach roiled. Maybe if the two were in private, or he'd had a chance to be better prepared they'd have hit it off. With a nervous chuckle, Sylvain decided to evade the topic of personal stories for now. "Better get myself a slice of the cake before it's all gone." He was momentarily worried he'd abruptly destroyed any chance at befriending Ileen. It wasn't clear why yet, but Sylvain was drawn to her like a moth to flame. As long as she was willing he wouldn't give up trying to talk to her. The two would just have to wait until they were both more comfortable.

Sylvain began to let the worst of his nerves overwhelm him but Aida's smile was joyous and reassuring so the wistful lad felt a little grounded. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and that was important to him. The happiness of others mattered the most in this moment, so he would try to preserve it and soothe his anxiety. A smile crept over his face as he watched the others eat their cake. Happiness always felt like it came easily when the students he surrounded himself with were happy on their own. There was no reason to doubt his own ability to enjoy the party, so he carried on with a smile and let his worries disappear.

Sylvain was unenthusiastic about a duel between two students at first, but he came around to support the idea eventually. The sheepish peace lover disliked fighting and violence. After seeing the playful nature of the combatants and realizing it was just a stick duel, the vigilant boy relented his stern caution and went with the party's spirit of fun first. Stepping back away from Ileen and Aida, Sylvain smiled as the two commenced with whatever japery would follow Aida's clear and inescapable challenge to Ileen's honor.

It would be a lie if Syl said he wasn't impressed by the two's back and forth. Sylvain simply watched the pair while eating a bit of cake. As he stepped out of the way, the awkward boy nearly bumped into Lizzie for the third time in a month.

With his mouth full, Sylvain mumbled "Fank youw Dee, Thish cake is dellishus." The strong of strawberry was perfectly complimented by the airy topping of cream. A delightfully sweet dessert for certain.

Ileen blinked at Syl in confusion. He asked her questions to… just to choke her off? That was – awkward? “If you want to stick with merrymaking then you might want to reconsider your icebreaker questions,” she suggested with a furrowed brow, her voice becoming a bit cooler. She was far too irritated to really make sense of it. To answer him these questions so openly had already been unusual for her. This behavior had been due to Syl’s friendship with Dee and the extraordinary topics.
The young Slytherin took a few minutes to figure out how to deal with this reaction of the brown haired Ravenclaw, then she just shrugged and turned away. Maybe he was more interested in the new arrivals. If he didn't want to talk, he didn't. She certainly wouldn't force him.
She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't feel a little bit rejected. And she hadn't even started the conversation. What was she supposed to think? She tried to focus on something else. It was Dee’s party and she just wanted to have a good time and her best friend to be happy. Her eyes caught the rude Gryffindor, being rude one more time and handing that delicious cake away. Dee hitting him on the head made more and more sense. Another doomed person…

When Syl went to pick up a piece of cake, Ileen relaxed a bit. This had been awkward. She still felt a bit like she had done something wrong – and that annoyed her since she hadn’t done something wrong!
Fortunately in that moment Aida returned with two wooden sticks and placed them in front of Ileen. She smiled and picked one up. Even though she hadn’t suggested a real duel before, she was kind of excited about that. “Sure Dee, you should fight for your own honor. You would be exactly that kind of princess.”
She grinned at Aida. This would be fun. Ileen never did anything like that in her life before, but honestly? She always had wanted to try. With a mocking bow to Dee she placed her hand on her heart. “I will win this fight for you.” Then she gazed at the white-haired girl and crooked her head. “Or not. You can face the winner then, Dee. How about that?” With an agitated grin she took position and pointed with the stick at Aida. “En guard!”

Mentions: @Dealla Prince @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood @Sylvain Indarys @Zykeal Lane @Lizzie Verdine

When Aida ran off suddenly and without explanation, Dee stared after her in surprise for a second, but then just shrugged and focused back on her remaining guests. Aida had a manner of doing things abruptly and out of the blue sometimes, she knew that by now, and she trusted that her white-haired friend would be back.

Lizzie and Zykeal had sat down next to each other and seemed to be talking. Dealla hadn't been aware they knew each other, but weird and weird attracted, she supposed. So it made sense? Maybe. Either way, they seemed to be fine by themselves, and even though she had insisted Zyk join them, she wasn't actually that keen on talking to him. He always seemed to be able to get a rise out of her, whether it was intentional or not, and she didn't need that right now.

Ileen and Syl seemed to also have started talking between themselves, so when Ariana leaned forward and asked about her cake, Dee took that as an invitation to scoot over and talk to her only unknown guest. "My mum made it and sent it to me this morning!" she replied, smiling down at her own piece of cake. She did miss her parents, today especially, but the cake made it better, and so did the company of her friends. Dee lifted her head to direct her smile at the green-eyed girl next to her. "Sometimes it's good to have a piece of home, right? I don't get homesick, really, but it's strange to be away from my parents on my birthday. When's yours?"

When Aida returned with the sticks in her hands, Dee burst out laughing, bright and infectious, then waved her hand in a theatrical gesture. "Yes, my knights, go forth and battle each other for the honour of dueling me. Or something." She let her hand drop back to the blanket, content to watch her friends wave sticks at each other - for now. She would definitely demand a turn later on.
Distracted as she'd been, she hadn't noticed Zykeal leaving without a word after eating only a few bites of her glorious cake - she would later, though, and would possible swear revenge on the spot.

Interactions | @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood | @Lizzie Verdine | @Zykeal Lane | @Ileen Knight | @Sylvain Indarys | @Ariana Walker

Reducio

Interacting: @Ileen Knight @Dealla Prince

Hexcode= #507091

As Ileen seemingly took offense to Sylvain's sudden change of heart and regret for opening up so suddenly, a visible amount of anguish crept over his face. The lad was saddened that he'd caused her pain. "Sorry Ileen. It's rude of me not to answer you back, but I don't want to stop your duel so I promise to write you an owl answering the questions later." The scrawny scholar paused for a second as Aida handed her a stick. "Show her what you've got, impress me," the mage said reassuringly as the young Knight turned to face her challenger.

The cake was delicious. It left him a little parched, but that was no problem either as he'd luckily learned to keep some kind of water on hand due to the consistent need for it as a daily necessity at Hogwarts. The lad moved over towards Dealla's blanket to talk to her. Even though he'd shared an awkward moment with Ileen, getting too deep before really knowing his own feelings, Sylvain was starting to feel like he fit in at Hogwarts most of the time. Most of the kids seemed as nerdy and friendly as he was. Some of them were even shaping up to heroic. It didn't shake him that he had one small misunderstanding. There would be time to make up for it later.

Motioning to Dealla as if asking to sit beside her on the Picnic blanket, Sylvain would stand unless she acquiesced him. As the curious lad witnessed Ileen challenging Dealla to face off against winning contestant, Sylvain looked on the pair of duelists focus. Mentally noting their strengths, comforts, and weaknesses for use for future plans. Sylvain watched as Aida made a flashy attempt to startle Ileen, a bold and experimental tactic that promised results but risked much.

The reserved wizard determined that it was best to know the shortcomings of his friends and compensate for them in the heat of the moment rather than find out too late. House Ravenclaw learned this truth the hard way out in the hellscape of the Forbidden Forest. If Sylvain was going to get ahead, he'd need to plan that included all four of them. Aida certainly wasn't a swordsmen then, and honestly none of them were ready for that level of danger. What's more was how unprepared they'd been in the forest. Sylvain wouldn't be caught off guard a second time. He shivered as he remembered the flaming acromantula.

Leaning more towards Dee as it was about to be Ileen's chance to riposte, Sylvain kept his watchful eyes trained on the clashing before him while speaking to the Charming Birthday Princess herself. "I assume you're confident no matter who you'd face, but I am curious of your thoughts." He smirked as he posed the question in a shady manner suggesting privacy, "but out of the pair, who would you rather duel and why?" Sylvain asked the question hoping to continue his earlier theme of morals vs. beliefs from Chess. "Do you bet on your best friend and fight her, or do you want to see what the challenger has to offer?"