10 Feb 2021, 07:48
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
Tuesday 16th February 2021, 3:55pm
The lake glistened in the distance as Gabriella skipped towards it, her basket of food clutched tightly in her right hand. She had brought with her enough food to feed an army, and she knew Gia was bringing some too, but in her household, food had always been a central part of the birthday celebrations, and she wasn't going to let that change at Hogwarts.
It wasn't a birthday party, as such, but it was more of a birthday party than anything Gabriella had ever had before, in that there were actually friends coming. That, unfortunately, had never been an option for Gabriella before, and usually she spent her birthdays with aunties and uncles and grandmas, not with real life human friends. She mentioned 'real life friends' specifically, as she had once - on her ninth birthday, possibly? - created cardboard friends and had a tea party with them. That had been fun, but Gabriella was a social soul, and she had always longed for that real human interaction. Finally, she was getting it, and the Ravenclaw couldn't be more excited.
Gabriella found a nice flat piece of grass by the lake, took out her tartan rug from her basket and laid it out on the floor. She checked her watch - 3:55pm. She had arranged to meet up with Gia at four, so that was ok. Her friend hadn't forgotten her. But why would Gia have forgotten her? They were friends, and good friends, at that. In fact, Gabriella realised with a smile, Gia was her best friend. She wasn't sure whether it worked the other way round - did Gia have a friend better than her? Gabriella wasn't sure; she had seen Gia with other students before, but the two girls had been spending a lot of time together lately, and they had only known each other a few weeks.
The girl sat down on the rug and arranged herself into a more comfortable position - she thought she had found a flat area of grass, but evidently even flat grass is rough. She didn't want to get the cakes out yet, as she was constantly self-conscious that people might see her and think she was going to eat them all on her own, which she wasn't. But when she was with a friend, it was clearly a celebration, and not some kind of sugar-binge. Although, if they were going to eat all of these cakes between the two of them, it would definitely still be enough to constitute a binge. But no matter - it was Gabriella's birthday, after all, so she shouldn't need to worry about what she was eating. Right?
She checked her watch again. 3:59. Gia should be here any moment...
Word count: 462
@Gia Adelard @Tory Williamson
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
12 Feb 2021, 22:11
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
@Gabriella Haworth | @Tory Williamson
The second object in her arms was a medium sized bag that had tissue paper peeking out the top. Gabby's birthday present. When her friend pulled out the thin paper that was covering what was inside, she would see that the object was wrapped as well. Gia liked it when her friends were surprised by what was inside, because being able to see (or feel, or hear, or smell) the present beforehand was just so. . . boring. So why not have it be a double surprise? the eleven year old had thought, and that was exactly what she had done. There was absolutely no way that Gabriella would be able to guess what it was until after she'd unwrapped it, Gia thought happily to herself.
Only a few moments after passing the large oak tree that stood near the shore of the Great Lake, Gia spotted her friend, who was checking her watch somewhat anxiously. Am I late? the Gryffindor wondered worriedly. It was certainly quite possible that she'd lost track of time in the kitchens, directing the house elves on how to make the cake. . . but it hadn't felt like all that long, had it? Just in case, the brunette hurried up slightly, hoping to arrive in front of her friend as quickly as possible. "Hi Gabby!" she said, skidding to a stop in front of the Ravenclaw. "Happy birthday!" Presenting the cake to the other girl with a bright, excited sort of smile on her face, she waited to see what Gabriella would say. After she gave Gabby a good time to speak, Gia bit her lip and asked, "Am I late?"
A moment later, she sat down on the blanket besides her friend and offered the gift bag. "Here, it's your present," she told Gabby. "You can open it now, if you'd like. And wow," Gia added, looking around the pair of them and noticing all the food the other first year had brought, "I guess we're having a big feast then, huh? Is anyone else going to come?" There was definitely enough food for at least three others, but if they were the only ones coming that was fine as well. The two first years had become good friends over the past couple weeks that they'd known each other, and the eleven year old was almost certain that they could spend hours talking and eating by the lake if they wanted to - which she kind of did, to be honest.555 words
OOC: The present is a book on Quidditch, if Gabby opens it in the next post.
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive ManeuversReducioLol this image is making me hungry for chocolate cake!
⋆ You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it⋆
Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6
Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6
13 Feb 2021, 01:53
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
It was yet another chilly winter day, and Tory was in a horrible mood. Again. It seemed like in the winter she was almost always in a bad mood. Maybe it was the uncomfortably cold weather or the fact she constantly had a cold, but winter had never and wouldn’t ever be Tory’s thing. She had more of a fall spirit. Plus, Valentine’s Day was in the winter, it had been two days ago, and love made Tory sick. Whenever she saw two older students kissing in the corridor, she made sure to shield her eyes as she passed. Today was no different. She had been sniffling and sneezing all day long, and it seemed as though she was getting heaps and heaps and heaps of homework, although deep down she knew she was getting the same amount as always.@Gia Adelard @Gabriella Haworth
Sniffling irritably, Tory made her way towards the Great Lake. Why? She didn’t really know. All she knew was that when she had sent her mother an owl explaining her hatred towards winter, her mother replied by saying ”Tory dearest, why don’t you go on a walk by the lake or around the grounds. I’m sure you’ll be able to clear your mind. By the way, I thought I told you to where your mittens. This is why your ill. Xo, Mother.” Anyways, Tory had decided to take her mother’s advice and go for a walk, and here she was.
Then she spotted her. Gabriella Haworth, a very pale Ravenclaw giraffe with dark hair, sitting on an old rug by the lake. Gabriella and Tory were enemies. They had had multiple encounters that ended terribly. Now, Tory thought to herself, what could she possibly be doing right now? Then Tory saw another girl with light brown hair sitting next to her. She was a Gryffindor. And in between the two was a tremendous amount of food.
Without thinking, Tory smirked and strutted over to them. She looked between the two.”Ah, Haworth. It is just so wonderful to see you again.” She then looked around the carpet dramatically, as if looking for something or someone. “Hm, it looks like your other imaginary friends forgot to show. That’s too bad. You were expecting others, I assume? Based on this amount, I mean...” Tory sneered, surveying all the food with a face full of judgement.
Word count: 392
“We didn’t know were making memories, we just thought we were having fun.”
~Winnie The Pooh
13 Feb 2021, 10:21
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
Gabriella turned around to see Gia skidding towards her - she looked as though she had been running, or walking quickly, at least. The Ravenclaw beamed as she saw her friend approaching. They had, of course, arranged this a while ago, but Gabriella had never registered that it would be her first ever birthday party - even if nobody came except Gia, it still counted as a birthday party, right? If they had enough fun... which Gabby didn't doubt, of course. Their past encounters had made it quite clear that they could, and would, go on talking for hours.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, in response to what Gia had said. "And no, you're not late at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're early..." She checked her watch again. 4pm exactly. "No, you're just on time. Pretty good going!" she laughed, taking Gia's present from her. Enthusiastically, she ripped open the tissue paper to find a book on Quidditch. Another broad grin split its way across Gabriella's face as she examined the book. "Wow, thanks so much!" she laughed. It was a really thoughtful gift, Gabriella thought. On the day the girls had first met, in the Great Hall, Gabby had mentioned how she was on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and Gia had said she would come and support her despite her own team, Gryffindor, being the opponents. She had reasoned that she could cheer for Gabriella personally without having to cheer for the whole team, which was true, and Gabriella appreciated it. Now, by giving Gabriella the book, Gia was carrying on the Quidditch conversation.
Then, Gabriella noticed the cake Gia had with her. "That - is... a big cake," she laughed. It was a chocolate cake, covered in icing and sprinkles of various colours. It was amazing. "Thanks so much!" she repeated. "And no, nobody else is coming," she frowned. "I may have, you know, overstocked a tiny bit. But it's alright, when there's a birthday, you're allowed to eat as much food as you want, even if it's not your birthday."
Suddenly, Gabriella spotted a familiar figure approaching them. An uninvited, unwelcome figure.
Tory Williamson.
Gabriella was unsure whether she had mentioned Tory to Gia before - she couldn't remember all the details of their conversations - but one thing was for sure, her friend was about to find out.
"Williamson," she said, darkly, choosing to ignore her enemy's snide remarks about the quantity of food Gabriella had chosen to bring with her. She stood up, slowly. This time, she wasn't going to let Tory get to her. She was going to rise above it, because it was her birthday, and birthdays were not the time to get into fights. "I would appreciate it if you could leave Gia and I alone today," she said, looking down at Tory. While Gabriella often found height more a hindrance than a help, especially when trying to blend in to a crowd, it definitely helped in this situation. She towered above Tory, and that was a statement of power - or at least it would have been, in the Bronze Age, where cavemen roamed the earth and the strongest and tallest survived and the smaller ones were thought of as weak. This was partly because cavemen relied more on their strength to survive, it was true, but height also had a natural sense of intimidation with it, and-
Gabriella stopped herself mid-train of thought. Was she really likening herself to a caveman? Wow. She knew height was a benefit. Could she not have stopped there?
Word count: 595
@Gia Adelard @Tory Williamson
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
14 Feb 2021, 20:25
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
“Hmm...how about..no.” Tory replied to Gabriella, but said nothing afterwards, due to lack of confidence, which was caused by Gabriella standing up. Ever since their first encounter in January when Gabriella called Tory short, she had been more self-conscious about her height, and as the days went on, she saw many more children her age that were taller than her. Maybe she was short. Plus, comparing herself to her mother, who was 6’3, and her grandmother, who was 6’1, didn’t make matters any better. Would she still be this short next year? A 13 year old as of November 13, only 4’11? The thoughts made Tory shutter.@Gia Adelard@Gabriella Haworth
The worst part was, Tory could tell Gabriella was happy of her height right now. She could tell that Gabriella knew it was an advantage, and that Tory was now thinking about making a run for it. But she then remembered, she really wanted to ruin Gabriella’s birthday, or that’s at least what she thought it was.
Tory now couldn’t decide on a not-so-important decision. She should next insult the Gryffindor (who she had seen a few times, but didn’t know), insult Gabriella, or insult both. Not wanting them to think she was weak, Tory hastily said whatever came to her mind first. “How many galleons did she pay you to come?” She asked, looking at the Gryffindor girl.
Wow, this was definitely not mum’s idea of a walk... Tory thought to herself while waiting for a response. She then thought about her mother, which reminded her of her cozy stone cottage and beautiful meadow and grumpy cat who she adored. Tory would much rather be there right now, not here by the Great Lake, clogging her mind with even more stressing thoughts instead of clearing it, her hands numb because she had forgotten her mittens, making lame comments, for no reason whatsoever. But unfortunately for Tory, there was no going back now. If she chickened out and ran away, she would never, ever hear the end of it from Gabriella. But why did she care? She wasn’t try to impress Gabriella and this Gryffindor who she still couldn’t recognize, right?
It all confused Tory deeply, so she took a deep breath and plastered a determined look into her face. She didn’t know why she had done this, but whatever she had done, she was going to take on as strongly as she could, even if it meant facing super intimating pale Ravenclaw giraffe face-to-face.
Word count: 413
“We didn’t know were making memories, we just thought we were having fun.”
~Winnie The Pooh
14 Feb 2021, 20:50
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
@Gabriella Haworth | @Tory Williamson
The Gryffindor gave a small laugh when Gabby mentioned the cake she'd brought along. "Yes, I suppose it is." she agreed, laughing again. "Hope you like chocolate, because. . . well, it's a completely chocolate cake. I had the house elves in the kitchen make it just a little bit ago, so it's perfectly new, too!" Gia was very proud of how it had turned out, since it looked almost exactly like the cake she'd been envisioning in her head when she was instructing the house elves about. They had also whipped it up really fast, she remembered, for it had seemed like they were done in only a couple of minutes. There were a lot of them, however, so it could just be that they had a lot of eager hands offering to help out, for they certainly did. "You overstocked just a tiny bit, but that's alright. Like you said, it's your birthday, so. . ." Gia laughed again as she surveyed the large amount of food surrounding the two of them.
All of a sudden, the expression on Gabriella's face darkened considerably. "Wh - " Gia started to ask, but then she heard someone making a particularly rude remark about the amount of food they had and the small number of people present. Gabby didn't say anything in response except for a single word, which the eleven year old quickly realized must be the new girl's name. Turning to look at the newcomer, Gia thought she might recognize the girl from somewhere. . . Her musing was interrupted when the Ravenclaw first year asked if she could leave them alone. A little confused at what was going along at first, the brunette stayed sitting for a little while. The situation became much clearer, however, when she heard the sharp, stinging tone both girls were using to speak to one another. The two girls definitely didn't like each other all that much.
Standing up a little ways behind her friend, Gia crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at the newcomer. She didn't know why the two seemed to despise each other so much, but at the moment it didn't seem all that important. The other Gryffindor had come over and blatantly refused to leave Gabby alone when she'd been asked politely, and that was just rude. When the girl addressed Gia, the eleven year old rolled her eyes. "Who are you?" she asked coldly. "And Gabby didn't pay me anything to come - I came because I wanted to, and because that's what friends do." she wanted to add something else, but left it at that for now. Not sure if Gabby had wanted her to help or even say anything, Gia glanced over at her friend to see her reaction.554 words
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive Maneuvers
⋆ You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it⋆
Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6
Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6
15 Feb 2021, 00:13
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
Hearing the Gryffindor talk, Tory immediately turned her head and fixed her intense gaze on the chestnut haired girl. Tory knew that “Who are you?” Was a very simple question, but decided to over complicate it for herself anyways, and couldn’t decide on whether to be full of herself or plain. Not like it mattered, because she quickly, sternly said “Tory Williamson. And you?” Before she could think about it anymore. Then she thought about what the still unnamed Gryffindor said next, “And Gabby didn't pay me anything to come - I came because I wanted to, and because that's what friends do.” And contemplated her next snarky remark.@Gia Adelard@Gabriella Haworth
The fake look of astonishment on Tory’s face looked so sarcastic, it was hard to keep herself from laughing when she said “What?! Haworth The Colossal Giraffe has friends?! Real ones?! I’m so surprised!!” . She exclaimed, the look of false astonishment still painted on her face mischievously. Suddenly, she found herself thinking about this current situation again, and thought back to when this hatred between Haworth and herself had actually began.
It was a month or so ago, and both were in tremendously terrible moods that day, but both for different reasons. Tory had been speeding around a corner when Gabriella dramatically bumped into her, which set off bombs of anger in both girls. They did some arguing, some screaming, and some insulting, before they each stormed off. Since then, it had been ultimate despise against each other, not for bumping into one another, but for the way each girl had handled it so badly.
This just went on to show how extremely horrible Tory could get when she was in a bad mood. Once she was upset or angry, it was useless trying to do anything about it. Once she was mad, she was mad. And recently she found herself pondering her father’s death much more, which hurt her, which just added to her already constant bad mood in the winter, which equaled an always furious or sad Tory. And since she was just a toddler when it happened, she remembered nothing at all, but would lay awake sometimes at night thinking about how much different her life would be.
Tory quickly redirected her thinking. She had a bad tendency of doing that sometimes, thinking about totally irrelevant things to the situation or moment, but at least she was good at snapping herself out of her deeply dark thoughts. What mattered right now was not her dead as a doornail father, it was the fact that she had a negative relationship with unnamed Gryffindor to make, and a birthday bash to crash.
Word count: 444
“We didn’t know were making memories, we just thought we were having fun.”
~Winnie The Pooh
15 Feb 2021, 15:05
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
For a moment, Gabriella stood awestruck, lost for words. Usually, she realised, this would be a good thing, but in this situation the opposite was true. A bad thing. A very, very bad thing.
"How many Galleons did she pay you to come?" snapped Tory, looking straight at Gia. Gabriella gaped - she knew Tory was mean, but this mean? She tried to save her friend from answering, but Gia replied immediately.
"Gabby didn't pay me anything to come. I came because I wanted to, and that's what friends do." Gabriella smiled slightly. Gia was handling the situation far better than she herself would be - by this point in their first encounter, Gabby was yelling down Tory's throat.
"Sorry," muttered Gabriella under her breath, hoping it was just the right volume so that Gia could hear it, but Tory couldn't.
"Haworth the Colossal Giraffe has friends?" exclaimed Tory. If Gia was taking the calm approach to this, Tory definitely wasn't - a look of fake surprise was pasted onto her face, and Gabriella had the feeling Tory thought she was good at acting. She smirked - this was far from the truth.
Anyway, Tory's acting skills weren't the thing she was going to pick up on. No, there was something far better she could use. "Colossal giraffe?" she cried. "That's the term you're going to use? Well, I'd rather be a colossal giraffe than a tiny, insignificant microorganism in the sea!" She hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Because - because that's what you are!" It was lame. It was really, really lame, and Gabriella knew it. She should have learnt from previous encounters... insults and screaming were not the way to go. In the past, she had been lucky, and seemed to have won their battles of words, but this time, Tory had come with insults ready-made. Gabriella decided that when she got back to her dormitory, she should compile a list of insults she could hurl at Tory. After all, she didn't want to have to resort to that one Shakespearean insult she knew - you quintessence of dust - like she had so nearly needed to the first time.
Gabriella winced. The damage was done - she had used a terrible insult - but what she had really done was provoke more fighting. If she had just asked Tory to leave enough times, she might have been able to continue enjoying her birthday. If she had only made the effort to rise above it...
She had no clue how she was going to make it up to Gia, either. Gia had come here expecting a good time, and instead she had been given a pointless fight. This was steadily turning from the best birthday of her life to the worst.Word count: 468
@Gia Adelard @Tory Williamson
(I finally made a post layout, lol)
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
20 Mar 2021, 22:13
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
@Gabriella Haworth | @Tory Williamson
Hearing a quick "sorry" whispered from beside her, Gia turned her head ever so slightly so she could give Gabby a quick nod. "It's fine," she replied just as softly. Then, hearing Tory's next remark, she turned back, her gaze already pointed up at the sky in a very dramatic eye roll. "Why yes, you certainly do look surprised." the eleven year old replied dryly. "And—" Before she could finish her sentence, Gabriella said the rest of it for her. Well, okay, maybe it wasn't exactly how she would have said it (she definitely would have left out the "tiny, insignificant microorganism" part for sure), but it was close enough. "Honestly," the Gryffindor said with a small smirk playing on her lips, "That's your insult?" she asked Tory. "You decided to call Gabby a 'colossal giraffe?'" The brunette shook her head.
The day was definitely not turning out to be the best, that was for sure. . . and it wasn't even close to what she'd been expecting. That wasn't really the part that mattered all too much to her, though. The big thing was how Gabby felt about her birthday party being, well, crashed.
Wondering what she could do about that part of the day, Gia was quiet for a couple of minutes as she thought, barely even listening to whatever insults the other two were sure to be shooting at one another. After a little while of not coming up with anything good besides "leave the party for now and set up a better, surprise one later" she sighed. Finally looking up, the first year bit her lip as she glanced over at her friend, wishing she could do something better.
"Hey, Gabby," she murmured, quiet enough that Tory couldn't overhear her, "What do you want to do?" Hopefully, Gabriella would understand that she meant something more along the lines of, "should we keep arguing or. . . continue the party later, somewhere else?" The eleven year old could definitely keep coming up with insults to hurl at Tory if Gabby wanted her to, but honestly, she would kind of prefer to leave. She didn't want to make herself an enemy too fast, especially since she didn't know Tory well enough to have a firm, solid opinion on her yet. She did enjoy making snarky remarks at times though, that much was true.530 words
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6
Evasive Maneuvers
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Oh my gosh I am so sorry for how long this took!!!!!!!
⋆ You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it⋆
Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6
Sta 8 ⋆ Eva 6 ⋆ Str 3 ⋆ Wis 7 ⋆ Arc 5 ⋆ Acc 6
28 Mar 2021, 18:16
This Fiesta is a Fiasco
Gabriella smiled slightly as Gia defended her. She may have called Tory an 'insignificant microorganism', which was definitely lame, but 'colossal giraffe' wasn't much better, and Gia was using that to her advantage. The Ravenclaw frowned; was she really analysing this conversation like she was preparing to write an essay on it? What really mattered was that Gia was on her side rather than Tory's - after all, she didn't know whether Gia had met Tory before. On the day she had first met her friend, they hadn't met before, but that was nearly a month ago - who was to say what had happened since.
"What do you want to do?" whispered Gia in Gabby's ear. It was a good question; what did she want to do? Certainly, she didn't want it to carry on like this - it was unfair to thrust her bad relationship with Tory onto Gia, her friend definitely didn't deserve this. But she didn't want to break up the party yet, either - it had the potential to be such a good day... Just then, Gabriella made up her mind on what to do.
"Um-" began Gabby, speaking quietly to Gia, "wait a moment." Then she turned to Tory and spoke in a louder voice. "Williamson, I'm going to give you a choice. Either you stay, and ruin the day of this girl you don't even know, or you leave, and maybe I'll forget today ever happened." Hopefully, mentioning that Tory staying would ruin Gia's day too might be enough to get rid of her enemy - she had heard that generally Tory was quite nice, though she couldn't see it herself - but she couldn't be sure. If Tory stayed, Gia would have to leave.
"Just leave if she says no," whispered Gabby in her friend's ear. "We'll talk some other time, ok?"
Then she turned back to Tory and stared her in the eye, waiting for what she had to say.Word count: 332
Interacting with: @Gia Adelard and @Tory Williamson
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.