A Winter Meeting SHC Open

Entrances
Katrina was happy to see that the room didn’t stay empty for long. As she opened the doors to the classroom, several students entered. Among them, Katrina recognized most, but, as she expected, she didn’t recognize all. There were several members Katrina expected were first years she had yet to meet and made a mental count as each person came through the doors.

It seemed that the room warmed up significantly as people entered. Already conversations were starting, giving the room some comforting noise. Those who were enjoying the snacks would find that they were delicious, just as they appeared. Katrina couldn't help but smile and sip her hot coco, simply enjoying the atmosphere.

Paige Chase
The first person through the doors was a young girl Katrina had yet to meet. She introduced herself as Paige Chase. “Welcome Paige! Feel free to enjoy the snacks and the hot coco!” With Paige’s quick survey of the room, nothing would quite catch her eye, but the snacks would be delicious. And yes, there were chips and pretzels and dips galore for her to enjoy.

Lucia Fox
The next person to enter was another person Katrina had yet to meet. She thanked Katrina for inviting her and Katrina gave her a warm smile, “Thank you for coming,” Similarly to Paige, nothing out of the ordinary would catch her eye quite yet.

Ophelia Drexton
The next girl waved to Katrina and she replied with another, “Thanks for coming!” The girl seemed to marvel at the decorations around the room, Katrina felt a little glow of pride, it was certainly rewarding to see everyone so excited about her events.
OOC Note: Ophelia, I don’t see you on the sign up list. If you would like to participate in other SHC events in the future I’d recommend signing up here!

Aspen Summers
One of the members approached Katrina and she lowered her mug of hot coco with a smile. “Hi Aspen, glad to see you here! Nothing that you need to do, feel free to enjoy the treats and snacks and meet some people,” Just as Katrina finished talking, something would catch Aspen’s eye. Upon further look, she would find that there was something under one of the desks on the far side of the room. It was small, round in shape. If Aspen were to pick it up, she would find that it was a Chocolate Rocher wrapped in clear plastic with a golden circle sticker on it. It would be easy to peel off and she could enjoy the treat or save it for later. There was indeed a puzzle set up in the room.

Michael Miller
The first boy to arrive didn’t seem as excited as the others before him. He seemed to be in his own world almost immediately. But something would catch his eye in the midst of his zoning out. Not too far from him was a slip of paper with a golden circle sticker on it. If he were to pry it out of wherever it was, he would find a few words on it, a clue perhaps. ‘I may be small, but I contain the entire world. What am I?’ It was certainly something. Now it would be up to Michael to proceed.

Sapphire Riddle
One of the most active members of the Scavenger Hunt Club was Sapphire, she’d been at nearly every Club event since it’s creation and Katrina greeted her with a smile as well. Her assumption that there was an ulterior motive would certainly pan out. She would notice with little searching something on one of the chairs. Upon further inspection, she would find that it was a chocolate frog. The wrapping with a round golden sticker on it. A treat for the clever eye.

Evelynn Decipio
Evelynn arrived with an air of purpose. Katrina would wave and smile as she instantly got to work. Her eyes surveyed with that knowing look. Just as Evelynn snapped off the tip of her candy cane, her eyes would catch a slip of paper in the corner of the room. Like everything else found so far, it had a circular golden sticker on it. On it read: 'You can take me home with you, but if you don't bring me to class, you might be in trouble. What am I?' The hunt had officially began.

Conclusion
As the members of the club socialized or grabbed snacks or even found clues and treats, they would notice more about the other side of the room. The classroom side. There were three rows of four desks with chairs. A few desks had pencils or homework, each in the corner had a Hogwarts logo, just like normal. There was a teachers’ desk with several items on top, an apple, a mug, a book to name a few. There were two chalkboards on the wall, a map hanging between them. On a window ledge, there were a few candles, lit with completely harmless bluebell flames. Overall, the room was cozy, and there was much more to discover.

OOC Must Read to Post

Reducio

Note
As we go, I will explain the treasure hunt side of the room more and more. As if your character notices more things. What I say in the not individual parts is common knowledge for all participants. Anything said in individual parts is only noticed by those people. (I will call you out privately and ask you to fix it if you accidentally mention something you don't know) What your character chooses to share is up to you, otherwise you can keep as much or as little of what you find to yourself.

Treats will be awarded in your character's exit post.

Also note that most of the riddles are not mine (I wish I were talented at riddlemaking). I found them online. Please do not search them up to cheat, it just takes the fun out of it.

Treat Count
Aspen - 1 Chocolate Rocher
Sapphire - Chocolate Frog

Riddle Answer guess: Map

Michael hummed as he thought about the note, a riddle. I may be small, but I contain the entire world. What am I? Michael turned and looked around the room again. He was never one for riddles, not liking the thought of being wrong. He walked around the room, looking at everything. The entire world? A globe would work. .

He looked around more before his eyes light up, the map. He looked around, not really wanting anyone to notice him and his search. He tried to sneak around over to the paper on the wall, but hit his side on a desk. He hissed at the pain, and looked around as his cheeks redden, "Im fine" he said softly to all that decided to look over. He carefully walked to the map, looking it over.

Okay so. . . what's he suppose to find? Another note? A prize? He sighed and moved back to look over the map.

Everything looked normally, and the only think he was seeing was the fact, America is bigger than he thought. Maybe one day he could go to American. .. It would be nice. He hummed, wait no, focuse. He looked back at the Map, then stepped forward to look over the map again. Hmm. . .

Thora wasn't typically one for new experiences, favoring familiarity and comfort despite the sometimes mundane life it meant. After all, to put herself out there into the unknown, to cast herself into a realm of possibilities both good and bad, was scary. That, combined with her tendency to shy away from social interaction - especially those of larger scale - was enough to deter her from joining many clubs. She hadn't even bothered to explore available clubs in her first year, though that could just be a natural result of her difficult assimilation to the wizarding world and unwillingness to venture beyond normality. Her second year had likely been her best in terms of social activity, having made a few friends and signed up for a couple clubs.

Now, though, it seemed almost as if she was, again, socially on the decline. Whether it was due to the tower of work she kept encountering or because she'd simply quit trying to work towards being someone she wasn't, it was undeniable that she'd retreated back into her shell. Well, to be completely honest, this was probably due to several reasons besides those, which included no particular desire to find herself at the mercy of another trauma-inducing disaster and a declining interest in meeting new faces. Of course, it didn't help that most of the few people she might describe as friendly acquaintances had seemed to disappear over the past months - or perhaps she just hadn't gone around finding them.

But with the new year had come fresh resolve to, once again, step outside of her comfort zone. After all, it did no good to be pessimistic, nor to dwell on the people she'd lost contact with. She had a couple friends whom she vastly appreciated, and to be frank, she didn't really need more. As for clubs, she'd hesitated to sign up for another, wanting to weigh the time she had to offer, but immediately changed her mind at the Scavenger Hunt Club. It was Katrina's club, and though their friendship had admittedly been shaky at times, Thora still wanted to support it. After all, it was a brilliant idea and she would appreciate getting to use logic, something rarely exercised in their classes or homework. Additionally, Frog Choir and S.W.A.G. club - both of her other clubs - seemed to have had little activity recently. Sure, Frog Choir would have the year's first audition in a week's time, but it was no significant time commitment.

And so it was decided.

Now, only a few days later, she found herself climbing the moving staircases yet again to an empty classroom noted in an invitation that'd arrived by owl post. She was uncharacteristically late, a thought that prompted her to hurry even faster up the steps, but this wasn't completely without reason. See, she didn't know exactly what she was headed to, not having attended a prior hunt and thus entering with no experience, and that made her slightly apprehensive. Being a girl of order, she liked having at least an inkling of an idea of what would happen before diving headlong into something - but she supposed a little surprise never did anyone any harm.

Choking back the last bit of nervousness - which was, of course, uncalled for as it seemingly always was for Thora - she ascended the last step onto the second floor and made for the classroom, typically kept empty yet alive with conversation today. Pushing the door open, she poked her brunette head for a couple seconds before stepping inside, eyes roving across the room. Katrina had clearly done a wonderful job setting up for the event, what with the blankets covering the floor and the wealth of food and drink. And that wasn't to mention the other portion of the room which caught her eye immediately, its pristine appearance greatly contrasting the scene just next to it. It appeared untouched, but Thora knew better. This had been described as something of a social, but she hadn't glossed over the part about a treasure hunt. It was clear that despite the unusual nature of this event, there was still a world waiting to be discovered. But, first things first…

She trotted towards the middle of the room to avoid any collision with newcomers or the door itself and glanced over to Katrina, who had perched herself on a stool. Thora returned her wave with a smile, enthusiasm setting her eyes alight. Chewing on her bottom lip, she gave a quick once-over of the rest of the participants - well, those currently present, at least. As she'd expected, there didn't seem to be anyone here whom she knew - except Evelynn Decipio. Thora couldn't claim to know the Gryffindor well, but they'd conversed a couple times, once verbally and another time via owls and yes I will respond to that someday. She was hesitant to approach her, not completely sure she'd be recognized, but forced her feet to shuffle forward anyway. After all, a quick hello never hurt anyone.

"Hey, Evelynn," she approached the redhead with a smile and would wave if her greeting was acknowledged. After waiting a few moments, receptive to a further conversation if it was initiated, Thora would leave and begin poking her away around the portion of the room that had maintained its typical appearance. Not having participated in such a hunt before, she wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she kept her green eyes sharp nonetheless. Perhaps all she had to do was look - and once she succeeded once, the following times had to be far easier.

Feeling slightly idiotic as she ran her fingers over a desk, scanning the small area, she couldn't help but glance between her current location and the tables clearly intended for a more informal time of socializing, unsure of what she ought to be doing. Still, even if the hunt wasn't the main intention of the event, her curiosity had already been piqued and to deny it satiation simply wouldn't do.

She didn't find much, but there was one thing that caught her eye. It had glinted in the light briefly, but that was enough to catch her attention. She cast her gaze around as if she thought someone was going to grab it before her, before walking over and picking it off the chair to examine. She raised an eyebrow, lips quirking up in a slight smile. A chocolate frog? She put it in the pocket of her jeans.

She looked around again, so far only seeing one other person with sort-of-odd activity. Michael seemed a bit nervous though as if he had the same attitude she'd had before getting her findings, so she refrained from bothering him. She didn't want to make anyone feel bad in any way. Instead, she decided to stand at the edge of the classroom side and the event side - well, to the visible eye, at least. Considering that from her current viewpoint she could see a strip of paper in Michael's hands, added with the fact that he was on the seemingly unchanged side of the classroom, she could assume there was more than meets the eye.

She furrowed her brows. What was it that was hiding beneath the classroom facade?

She glanced back to the event side, seeing the tea supplies and walking over. She was okay with hot chocolate, but sometimes it was a little too sweet for her liking. As she made the tea, her eyes were once again distracted by the surrounding area. What pulled her out of it was almost dropping her now-made tea, a disaster she very much so wished to avoid. She cursed quietly to herself, frustrated that she'd let the classroom distract her like that. She was always painfully curious, and sometimes it really did cause her physical pain.

Mentioning Michael
Making tea || Looking around || Nearly killing her hand

Will be modding in the next few hours, please owl or dm for an extension. Only mentioning those who have joined and have yet to post this round.

@Paige Chase @Lucia Fox @Ophelia Drexton @Aspen Summers @Evelynn Decipio

Two extensions were requested, you now have another 48 hours to get your posts in.

After talking to the girl Paige would continue snacking before deciding to not eat it all. Yes, very generous. I know. Paige pulled herself away from the dip, but would keep and eye on it. She also kept her eyes peeled for anything. Something. She was the reigning champion of Easter egg hunts in her muggle home town. She even ended up finding green eggs in trees. It was awesome. She was determined to not let her muggle hunt buddies down. Not ever. She knew she would have to try harder, for this was the magical world. Who knew what could be anywhere. She could be looking at a clue right now.

She casually walked around, smiling to people. A technique she learned was to not let on that you were looking in a certain area or if you found something. Her eyes scanned the room multiple times. Hmm... If I were a clue, where oh where would I be? Somewhere obvious, somewhere no one would think to look. Maybe? Paige ran her hand through her hair. She turned around. Maybe more pretzels wouldn't be that bad... The dip seemed to be calling her. She would continue looking later, yeah. As she walked back to the snacks, something caught her eye. She turned. Was it a clue?

[font=century gothic]

OPEN TO INTERACTION

[/font]

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Thora Larkston[/font]

[font=century gothic]MENTIONING n/a[/font]

It wasn't long before Evelynn found something that caught her attention. A small slip of paper in the corner of the room seemed out of place, and a quick inspection seemed to prove just that. The riddle written upon it was clue enough to indicate that it had been planted, but if that hadn't been enough, the golden sticker surely was. Pleased to have discovered something in so timely a fashion, the shadow of a smile tugged at the redhead's lips; but as she read over the phrase, it was quickly replaced by a slight frown.

"You can take me home with you, but if you don't bring me to class, you might be in trouble. What am I?"

What was it, indeed. With one crease, and then another, Evelynn folded the paper with greater care than was needed, pensive. Something that could be taken home, but was crucial for lecture. Her wits were the first thing that came to mind, but as she lifted the paper to tap ponderously against her chin, she quickly discarded that thought. You can take me home, the paper had said. Which meant that it was possible not to take it from the class. She couldn't very well leave her wits behind.

Instead, she thought of what was required for lessons. Her wand? No… Again, an implement such as that was kept on hand, rarely out of reach. It wouldn't be left in the class. Her gaze roamed over the portion of the not-so-empty classroom that had been set up to mirror an actual class searching for anything that might jog her thoughts into a possible solution. Books…perhaps? Now those were something that she tended to take to and from class. Students were often requested to open their textbooks to one page or another to follow along with the material being taught, or to reference something for a potion or assignment. Unfortunately, there appeared to be neither a bookshelf, nor a convenient stack of texts.

She was in the midst of continuing her scan, eyes peeled for anything out of place when someone called her name. "Larkston!" Evelynn greeted after half a second's pause.

It wasn't that she had forgotten the girl's name, nor had she needed a moment to identify the Slytherin. Rather, she was not expecting the greeting from her. It wasn't like they were on bad terms or anything—quite the opposite, at least as far as she knew. But as the two were in different years and different Houses, Evelynn hadn't seen her in over a year. Except perhaps for the occasional glimpse passing in the halls or from opposite sides of the Great Hall at mealtimes.

"Are you a member of the club, then?" she wondered, distracted temporarily from her hunt. Had Larkston always been a member? Evelynn couldn't recall having seen her at a meeting before. But then again, it wasn't as though she had attended many herself. "We haven't spoken in a while," she acknowledged, folding her arms one over the other against her abdomen. "Are you well? Did you do any painting over the holidays?"

Evelynn was more than happy to converse for a little while, at least. Eventually, however, at some point a little ways into the conversation, her gaze would wander while speaking and fall upon one of the stacks of homework on the corner of a desk. Homework! Of course! Assignments could be taken home, or back to the dorms, to work on and complete, but they certainly needed to be brought back to class to turn in again. Any who left their homework behind certainly would be in trouble. Fortunately, this would be about the time that Thora would likewise disengage from the conversation, leaving Evelynn free to investigate.

Really not minding whether others saw her hunting or not, she started rifling through the stacks of homework in search of… something. What, she wasn't sure. But definitely something.

[font=century gothic]ACTION: Chatting with Larkston, looking through homework piles
ABILITIES: Keen Eye | Fearless[/font]

Intro
Katrina was slightly disappointed when she found that her hot coco was empty. She sat the mug down by a leg of the stool and looked around the room again. It had filled significantly now, there was still plenty of room to walk around, but it didn't seem quite so empty. Katrina smiled a little as she saw more students meandering into the classroom decorated side of the room. There was still plenty of chatter, but now she noticed a few people here and there discovering treats or clues, each with a golden sticker. Those who hadn't found anything yet would likely not notice the clues until one caught their eye. But Katrina knew where things were, so she had no trouble noticing people.

@Michael Miller
At first, the boy seemed distant and unimpressed, but now, Katrina watched as he seemed to leap into action and into the hunt. He read the riddle over a few times, if Katrina remembered right, it was the riddle about something small containing the whole world. A clever clue if she did say so herself. A smile widened across Katrina's face as his eyes lit up. He walked over to the map pinned on the wall. After a bit of investigating, he would notice a bulge in the corner, if he reached his fingers under the edge, he would be able to pry off a package taped to the wall behind the map. Marked with the golden sticker was an Acid Pop and a small golden token. Those from the Summer hunt would recognize it as a smaller version of the tokens there, a small disk of cardboard spray-painted with gold paint, hand written in golden puff paint were the letters 'SHC'.

However, this was not all Michael would find. Against all odds (with a lucky dice roll), the boy would have something else catch his eye. Set on the ledge of the chalkboard to his right was a Peppermint Toad and another strip of paper with a golden sticker on it. The paper would read yet another riddle: "Inside I'm black and white, but on the outside I can be many different colors. What am I?" Now the question was, how long would the boy's luck last?

@Thora Larkston
Katrina had been pleasantly surprised when she'd seen Thora's name on the sign-up list. They went back to first year but Katrina had yet to see her much. After a troubling incident, they had struggled for a while reconnecting. But now, Katrina hoped, her club would be able to create more of a bond. Katrina had waved and smiled as she walked in just a bit behind everyone else. She instantly found Evelynn and began talking and Katrina was glad she was able to warm up so fast.

It seemed some of Evelynn's luck with spotting things rubbed off on Thora. As she ran her finger over the table, she would get a glimpse of something as she watched her finger. Something taped to the leg of the desk. A small box with a golden sticker. A familiar shaped box. It was a chocolate frog! Her interest would certainly be piqued, the hunt for her had officially begun.

@Sapphire Riddle
Sapphire had accepted the fruit of her discovery, slipping the chocolate frog in her pocket. She would make herself a cup of tea and her eyes would catch the glint of gold from a sticker like the one on her chocolate frog. Distracted, she would nearly drop her tea! What a catastrophe. Once she recovered from her near accident, she would likely scan the room again to find the glint of gold. Thankfully, she could trace the shimmer right to a slip of paper slid between the top and the leg of one of the desks. If she were to pry the slip of paper out, she would find something scrawled across one side. "I wear my jacket all the time. I stand with my back to you, showing my spine" A riddle.

@Paige Chase
Paige was simply enjoying her time in the event, she had a smile on her face and eyes darting about occasionally. Something caught her eye, was it a clue? No, it was not, it was simply a piece of shimmery thread from one of the blankets. Just as she turned back from getting her snacks, however, something different would catch her eye, a glint of gold. She would be able to successfully trace the light to a treat wrapped in thin, see-through, plastic. Of course, there was a sticker on the top, a golden one at that. The treat inside was nothing more than a mince pie. Not one of Katrina's favorites, but perhaps it would be one of Paige's. If it weren't there were certainly more things to discover.

@Evelynn Decipio
Evelynn always had a way to notice things. Katrina had paid attention to the fact that she always seemed to spot things first. It was a curious ability she had. Perhaps it was luck. Perhaps it was something more. Nonetheless, as she poked through the stack of Katrina's old homeworks (as that was all she had on hand to use as props) Evelynn would come across a bump. The bump would end up being a chocolate frog with a golden sticker and a golden token identical to the one Michael had found.

The moment she started to look around again, she would notice that the chalkboard was slightly crooked. Just slightly. For a few moments, she wouldn't be able to take her mind off of the fact that it was just a few degrees off compared to the map and the other chalkboard. She would become fixated on it. For the next while it would nag in the back of her mind, the fact that the chalkboard was crooked.
Unless she fixed it, which would mean her action couldn't be searching… otherwise she would have a -3 on her notice roll for two modposts

Conclusion
Katrina was a bit startled at how fast her members were able to find all of her hidden clues. One minute she was confidant the hunt would continue for a while, and the next, she was worried there wouldn't be enough things for people to find.

As people warmed up to the room, they would start to notice more. The classroom side had a teacher's desk. It had a few stacks of homework which Evelynn was rifling through. There was also a small shelf with a few books from various classes. (Katrina's old school books) There was one large teacher's copy on the desk. The window ledge also had a large grey chunky knit blanket on it, but it would be just out of reach if someone tried to mess with it.

OOC Must Read to Post

Reducio

Note
Just a reminder, you must write an exit post in order to get your candy. Feel free to stay as long or as many rounds as you'd like, but just keep in mind that if you do not write an exit post, you won't get your candy.

Also, the tokens which Michael and Evelynn found are a part of something at the end of the hunt. It's a surprise, but just wanted to let you know! (A bit of incentive to stay until the end)

There are only a few more things to find (I didn't expect the rolls to be so high for everything) so there will only be two or three more modposts before the Hunt part is wrapped up and the rest of the event begins. (No you did not miss anything, I am spoiling a few surprises to keep everyone engaged)

Total Treat Count
Aspen - Chocolate Rocher
Sapphire - Chocolate Frog
Michael - Acid Pop, Peppermint Toad, Token
Thora- Chocolate Frog
Paige- Mince Pie
Evelynn- Chocolate Frog, Token

Interacting with @Katrina Walker. Open to interactions!
Actions: Finish her hot chocolate, realise that River the pygmy puff was hiding in her pocket, ask Katrina if it matters (Kat, feel free to have Katrina have a suspicion that Lucia is River from the letters if you want, but please don't ask her about it or anything because I'm planning to have Lucia confess some of her secrets soon ), investigate the 'normal' area of the room
Outfit, le fuzzy cardigan
So sorry for the late reply!

Katrina thanked Lucia for coming, and the Hufflepuff didn't trust herself to do anything but give her a little smile before heading over to the hot chocolate table and getting herself a drink.

When her hot chocolate was finished, Lucia put her cup back down and stared at her cardigan's right pocket, which was wriggling. A long pink tongue peeked out and licked Lucia's t-shirt before retreating, and Lucia looked into the pocket to see her pygmy puff, River, squeaking and wriggling, shedding fur everywhere. "River!" Lucia hissed, and River stared up at her reproachfully. She had recently decided that sleeping in Lucia's pockets was a good idea, and this wasn't the first time the Hufflepuff had forgotten which pocket in question she was in. "Merlin..." Sighing, Lucia lifted the pygmy puff out (with difficulty, as River didn't seem willing to leave the warmth of her pocket) and placed her on her shoulder.

River looked around, squeaked, and her tongue stretched out, grabbing a miniature marshmallow. As River ate her marshmallow, Lucia made her way over to Katrina.
"Um, Katrina? Do you mind if River joins in? Oh, she's my pygmy puff," Lucia blurted, then remembered that she was called River in hers and Katrina's anonymous letters. "I got her for Christmas," Lucia added suddenly with an air of pride. "But, uh, she keeps sleeping in my pockets and I didn't notice she was here so..."

When she had received an answer from Katrina, she made her way over to the side of the room which the host has apparently left alone. Well, what was the chance of that? Katrina had never seemed the sort of person who'd just leave it, there had to be some kind of reason. Right?