Not Letting this Club Croak PV Frog Choir Close

Interacting| @Pericles Dralt

@Santario Martin

Pericles remained poised, expectant, stewing in a sense of obligation and uncertainty. Yet the moment a friendly greeting reached his ears, he perked and turned at the waist, the furrow of concentration banished by the brightness of recognition. Why, it was the mezzo-soprano Slytherin who had performed a serene rendition of an old lullaby. "Good afternoon Santario," the boy returned with equal measures of politeness, watching with a budding smile as she scanned the bins. Regrettably, he did not know which toad belonged to which singer just yet, but hoped that with time he could come to memorize them all. His own Sonoran Green sat in the shallow waters of his bin by the singer's side, basking contentedly in the afternoon warmth. He wasn't quite as large as the magnificently particularly plump Mr. Toadsworth, whose girth, the Ravenclaw wagered, gave him a most magnificently deep croak.

The sheer delight and sentimentality with which Santario greeted her partner brought the boy a surge of hope. He had half feared the posters were for naught, though the way she doted on her warty companion served as a reminder, an example as to why they would not be any old choir, but the Frog Choir. Never mind that most of them had toads. "Thank you for coming," Pericles called with that gentle voice of his, a far cry from what he was capable of singing with. "I'm glad to see you'd still like to sing- or at least, that you've come to see Mister Toadsworth! I've been worried about these fellows. With Professor Griffith gone and the choir gone quiet, I was starting to fear they may be getting lonesome." Pericles seemed to stray from saying all too much; he'd arranged information into tidy lines for his announcement, and kept them close as if to speak any early, or out of order, would mean they were lost for good. "You were wonderful back at the audition, by the way."

@Pericles Dralt | @Santario Martin

It was nice to get back into the swing of things. After her time away from Hogwarts, Dymphna was catching up with friends and warily making new ones. Frog Choir was fun for the time she was an active member and while away, she tried to sing a little each day. It wouldn't do her any good to return and not be able to sing as well as before. Her time at home wasn't at all boring: she made sure there was time for studies, catching up with her family (who would help her by showing the correct wand movements for a spell, etc) and time for other hobbies outside of reading.

The blonde meant to bring it up to Pericles upon her return. Instead, she ended up swarmed with coursework and trying to play catch-up on anything she might have missed. Phaedra's notes had been extensive and Reid did his best to help her as well, but she felt pressure to end the year on a job well done. It was only when she saw the notice about Frog Choir that reminded her to once again make time for hobbies and care for herself by giving herself time away from studies. She decided to make time after lunch each day to focus on something else. It seemed like her weakness was similar to her own mother's, who struggled with work/life balance.

"Santario, nice to see you again," Dymphna began, her eyes searching for her frog friend. She spotted him in the bin, looking just as happy as usual. Instead of handling him, she turned to Pericles. "I'm sorry we haven't spoken much since I returned. I meant to reach out to you about Frog Choir earlier, after hearing that Professor Griffith stepped down." It was a shame and she hoped that the choir continued throughout her time at Hogwarts. "How have you two been? Well, I hope." With that, she scooped up her friend she had yet to name and took a seat near the others.

@Pericles Dralt | @Dymphna Teague

@Santario Martin @Dymphna Teague

While Santario politely insisted that Pericles needn't be thankful for her attendance to this impromptu gathering, the lad could not help but smile gratefully. She was right- the frogs seemed more or less satisfied with one-another's company, their low and high croaks carrying back and forth in a series of amphibious conversations. Their chatter was practically a song of its own; at times, they almost seemed to sync in rhythm. Bobbing his head when complimented, Peri said with warmth to his tone, "I'm glad you were willing to try. My hope is that the choir could create a sense of confidence for those unused to singing in front of others, giving them a group to perform with. And with time- if we have enough participants- maybe we could support some soloists, with a choir singing in their background!"

He had carried on optimistically, though his eyes strayed here and there while he spoke, repeatedly returning to an approaching figure. He half hoped she intended to join them... she seemed to surely be headed straight their way.... Ah! And they were joined by Dymphna Teague! Pericles brightened. He did not know her well, but he made it his business to recognize most of the Quidditch players, whose games he studied with utmost admiration. "Oh-!" She apologized, and he raised his hands to deflect it, giving his head a gentle shake. "The fault is hardly yours!" The boy hesitated, a faint shade of remorse coloring his calm persona. "I'm sorry that the Professor is gone, too... and it seems, Ruthie, the club founder, may not be returning either." A mild frown was touched by signs of an uneasy grimace. "I've only recently heard that she's left Hogwarts, which is to say that the budding Choir is in my hands. I dunno why she's gone, or Griffith, for that matter."

The idea of leaving Hogwarts appeared to deeply unnerve him. He also didn't care for discussing business which wasn't his, though the departure of their Founder and Conductor was the core cause of this Choir meeting. It would be a short yet vital get-together for the group, or so Pericles hoped. What information he shared with them could easily be shared in future practices. He looked between the two, taking a moment to admire Dymphna's particularly robust toad, whose croak he imagined was especially complimentary to fairer voices. With confidence creeping back into his airy voice, Pericles insisted "But I don't intend to let the Choir fade without them. I've already enlisted the help of Professor Boniface as our conductor, and I've been jotting down occasions on which we might sing for the school- celebratory feasts in the Great Hall, Christmas caroling, play performances... perhaps we could explore choir songs from different regions, and dabble in recreating musicals!" His own toad, the spotty Prospero, was given a sideways glance and a flicker of fondness. "I'd be deeply sorry for something like this to fade out before it could so much as start. This has been an ungainly origin for us, and I know there were many who joined because Ruthie was a dear friend of theirs, so I won't fault them for not wanting to tag along. Yet at the start of next school year, I'd like to host a second audition and try to pick up the pace of our activity."

The speech was simple enough. Pericles glanced back between the older witches, eyeing their toads along the way as if to include them in the conversation. "Do either of you have any suggestions, or questions? If there's more you'd like to come from the choir, I'd do everything I could to bring it to fruition."