Errand Dance of the Bushpeople

Mentioning Ginger Crowdy, Interacting with Anyone.

The rhythmic booming of the bongos had Eliseo swaying and listening to the crackle of the nearby flames. His curious suit of moss and other plant materials obscured much of his vision but he was quickly losing himself in the beat and relaxing aura. Lost in his own little world, he didn’t even notice the arrival of several students, at first. It wasn’t until one of the young boys (@Piérre Marchonné) approached him and addressed him as ‘Mister Tree’ that Eliseo returned to the reality of the evening. His eyes shot up to the speaker who seemed to already be embracing the call of nature. “One does not play the bongos little master...the music flows through you, they play you!” Eliseo announced with his heavy accent.

“The fire cleanses us! Only the already dead are given to the flames to flow into the next part of the cycle, young master. Their ashes will feed the young plants to grow strong, much like you!” Eliseo could see the boy rearranging a smattering of plant material from branches to grass around his body. His curiosity was admirable and inspired Eliseo to begin drumming faster and he swayed with more vigor. The loose strands of moss began flowing back and forth with Eliseo as he sat.

Another voice quickly cut in and Eliseo whipped his head around to peer at the new face (@Andrew Vance). “When the plants reach into your corazon, you will not stop them from covering you,” Eliseo replied to the young boy. “I love it! With patience, you can cover yourself life me but I happen to like your back up plan. BUT,” Eliseo ceased his drumming suddenly and stared at Andrew silently for a moment as he pondered the boy’s inadvertent brilliance. “I agree with you Master Andy. You MUST roll in the dirt as you decide, coat yourself in the earth. The soil will clear your mind and show you the path!” Nodding to the boy, Eliseo began vigorously drumming on the bongo and resumed his erratic swaying beginning to feel more like a mad sage than a responsible adult.

As Eliseo began to lose himself in the drumming and the hope that the students would find inspiration in the plants or soil, he felt a slight tap on his shoulder… “HAHA!” Eliseo blurted as he turned his head to a young girl (@Ginger Crowdy). “Welcome little one! Join us in bringing forth a beautiful Spring! Cover yourself in nature's gifts and enjoy an evening to let go,” Eliseo babbled. Still not able to see well through the thick moss and plants covering him, he smiled to himself as he saw several students scurrying about and beginning to craft their elaborate or simple foliage clothing.

Eliseo couldn’t quite see where a voice was coming from but one girl (@Tory Williamson) seemed to have said a quick compliment while sneaking by. “And I like your spirit little sapling,” Eliseo hollered in response. Nodding his approval to the growing crop of young students, Eliseo continued his sporadic drumming while he watched through the haze of his mossy hood.

Interacting With: @Ethen Emrys

Atlas had been swamped lately with trying to balance, classes, homework, and Quidditch practice, including the impromptu practices she tried to squeeze into her schedule anywhere they would fit sometimes negating sleep or lunch. She knew their lack of pranks or dates for that matter were leaving Ethen to feel lonely and bored so when she heard the Grounds Keeper was putting on a Spring-Make-a-Mess Fling she made sure not to schedule anything in its place.

Putting on a pair of old joggers, a grey tank, and a hoodie, Atlas eyed her signature yellow converse before deciding against them knowing full well by the end of the night they would most likely be a disgusting brown color. Settling on her already beat-up white chucks, Atlas hurriedly tied the laces before stumbling out to the common room to greet Ethen.

“TEBO!” She screamed as she stumbled over to him, kissing him briefly as she gave him no time to respond before taking his arm tightly in her grasp and pulling him out to the halls. It was as if no time passed between the two of them as they loudly discussed their ideas for their looks, improving upon each other’s as they offered tips and designs.

No matter what they tried to make once they got there. They knew the ultimate goal was to get into this event with everything they had and be the two dirtiest students there. It wasn’t hard to spot the oversized fire and the already growing group of students as she and Ethen made their way across the grounds.

There were crates set up all around and even a table of food and drinks, Atlas knew Ethen would demolish before they even hit the hour mark. Eyes wide with excitement, Atlas quickly scanned the students taking in their looks as her face contorted obviously deep in brainstorm mode.

The Grounds Keeper seemed to be deep into his bongo playing but he was in by far the best costume. You could not even see him-just shrub. It was everything, Atlas wanted to be. If she could perfect this master craftsman’s look she could pull off incredible pranks and no one would be able to pin it to her. It was the ultimate disguise and a level of camouflage she hoped to one day be able to do.

“Options...options...What do we have to work with…” She muttered as she skipped over to the first crate enamored with the wide variety of mosses the Grounds Keeper had gathered. “Okay. Good...good.”

Next Atlas shuffled to the next crate, as she danced her hand through the picked flowers wondering if she would be able to use any of them as paintbrushes or applicators.

The next crate had Atlas’ face lighting up like a Christmas tree as she reached in pulling out a large handful of leaves. “Okay Tebo! LEAVES! We have LEAVES and uhh MOSS!” Realizing how loud she was being, Atlas giggled before shuffling back over to Ethen so their conversation could not be overheard. “If we can find or make enough mud to cover us both I think we can look just like the Grounds Keeper!” Her eyes widened with every word until she looked out of her mind but she knew Ethen would share her joy and that’s all that mattered.

Word Count: 556/800

Reducio

Any godmodding has been agreed upon by Ethen and Atlas and talked about before it was posted.

Rose didn't know why, but she was especially happy today. Maybe it was just because of spring approaching. She could feel the days getting longer and warmer, shying away from the sharp cold of the winter months. Plants were growing, animals being born, life was everywhere when spring came. And the not-freezing weather was nice as well. It just smelled like a beautiful spring day, and Rose hadn't missed it. Just as she had gone more and more inside from the grounds as the winter months brought on their cold, she had started going outside more and more as the spring and summer months approached, trying to make the most of the better weather. Of course, the weather wasn't perfect yet, nor was it hot. But it was definitely nicer than it had been before, and Rose would take that as an excuse to go out of the castle and do something today.

She had heard about the campfire, apparently celebrating spring with plants down there, and she had decided that she was going to go.

Today she was wearing a simple gauzy top tucked into a skirt that fluttered just around her mid-calves. She had rolled the top's sleeves up to her elbows just because it looked better that way and had been forced to wear a white undershirt under the top- from certain angles, you could see through it a little. Her hair was pulled back just a little, pulling some curls out of her face, but most of it laid free down her back, beautiful auburn waves and loose curls resting around her shoulders. She was barefoot today as well.

Making her way down to the gathering of people on the grounds near the groundskeeper's cabin, Rose looked around. There was a guy who looked like he was a little overenthusiastic for this occasion and had decided to become a moss monster. From far away, he did look a little intimidating, but up close he looked ridiculous. At least that's what Rose thought. Oh, how she wished that she had the kind of confidence to look as ridiculous as that. She only ended up staring at the groundskeeper for a couple seconds before pulling herself away and telling herself it was rude to stare. Instead of dressing head to toe in moss, Rose went over to the plants that had been gathered for this event. An idea started forming as she looked through them for a while, finding flowers that she liked and making a little pile for herself. Most of them were pink or white. Then she took her small hoard of flowers to a place a few feet away from the fire. Rose sat on the ground and got to work.

First she picked up one flower, reaching back to finger her hair with one hand, finding the place where her hair was pulled back and using the other hand to position the flower in her hair, right in the middle. She kept doing this with a lot of the other flora in her pile until she had enough tucked into there that she thought it looked okay. Another unique skill of Rose's- she could visualize things fairly well. And since she had done her own hair this morning and picked out the flowers, and had a hand to feel around and get the image in her brain of what it looked like, even though it was on the back of her head. Just let her feel it out and she can gauge pretty accurately what it would look like from back there. Of course, she could be totally wrong and off and it could look horrendous, but she trusted her gut on this one. She couldn't see it, but it actually did look amazing, the placement of it all. She kept going, making instead a flower crown around her head. A complete ring of flowers weaved into her hair and together.

She then pulled all her hair behind her shoulders, then brought one leg in front of her. She weaved some flowers into a ring, tying their stems around each other- an anklet. She then wrapped it around her ankle and then tied it there, making sure it stayed in place. It was held up by the arch of her foot, mostly, and wasn't tight, but was held in place. She repeated it with the other foot. Rose considered maybe doing it with her hands, but she didn't think that was a good idea. She might be using her hands and she didn't want to crush the flowers. She stood up and stretched, brushing any grass off of her skirt.

All in all, Rose looked adorable and gorgeous. She looked like a little spring fairy right out of a storybook, and her skirt's colors even matched with the pinks on the flowers that were wrapped around her feet and head.

Even better? She looked happy and she felt happy. She moved a little closer to the fire, standing there and observing everyone else that was there. She knew some of the people that were there already. Henry, her friend. He seemed busy so she didn't want to approach him. Lucia Fox. Oh, Rose knew she probably owed that girl an apology, but she didn't want to give it to her, no matter how selfish that sounds. She would stay as far away from Lucia Fox as she could during this little event. All in all, people looked okay and happy.

_{Open To Interactions}
Interacting:@Rhea Miller
Mentioning: @Rose Moon | @Quinlan Knight
Languages: _{English | French | Italian | Arabic | Russian}
Outfit
Watch

Interacting with @Atlas Reid

The evening may have been early but Ethen could already feel as though the night would be filled with some much overdue fun. His more solitary personality had resulted in Ethen finding himself often bored or aimless. Atlas had been really stepping up her classwork to make sure that she excelled, which Ethen was proud of and fully supported. However, he quickly realized that without her around, he tended to be alone with not much to do. It was his own fault but finally it seemed that they would have an evening to just let loose and have fun together.

He had heard the relatively new Groundskeeper was throwing a rather strange Spring related celebration. Something involving wearing plants and a big fire, together it was a combination that Ethen did not wish to miss. Slipping on a dark grey hoodie and jeans, Ethen quickly tied his shoes and scuttled down to the common room.

“AH!” he shouted at the sudden assault as Atlas stumbled over and gave him a quick kiss. As usual, the girl was on a mission and had no time to waste. Before he even had time to compliment her or enjoy a quick hug, Ethen found himself being dragged down the halls where they began to devise their mutual strategies. He didn’t really know what he wanted to make or even what was at the fire but he never strayed away from the absurdity.

The large fire was impossible to miss and Ethen smiled widely as they made their way down the ground towards the small gathering of students. Several already seemed to be constructing things while a few others seemed to be gathered around a drumming bush. He assumed it must have been an enchanted musical bush or something and wondered what else the bush might be able to do but first he had to create!

As they made their way to the crates, Ethen couldn’t help his little fingers going to snatch up a quick snack that he forced into his mouth. The sound of a bongo and the crackling fire made Ethen slowly tap his foot with the beat as he admired the assortment of plan material. “Atlas, this may be our chance to become swamp monsters,” Ethen said trying to stress the significance of such a moment. “This is serious business!”


Suddenly, Atlas began yelling out the different options they had. Ethen assumed being loud must be her way of getting wild, he would be a poor boyfriend if he did not fully support her. “YOU ARE RIGHT! LEAF IT TO YOU TO FIND THE BEST STUFF!” Ethen shouted out as Atlas wiggled over. “Mud would be the perfect applicant! You are always so clever. TO THE MUD!” Ethen chuckled as he scooped Atlas into his arms. There was enough light still from the fire that he could see the ground well enough but most of it looked like lush grass. But he spotted his target. A small barren patch of dirt towards the edge of the forest. The plentiful rain and moisture from the Scottish climate generally kept the ground a bit soft or muddy and Ethen thought it was worth a try.

Carrying Atlas in his arms the short distance, Ethen spun at the last moment and fell backwards to plop down on the muddy patch. Sure enough he landed with a soft splat as dirt and mud sprayed around him and began to cover his once clean clothing. It was colder than he anticipated but he was sure he could quickly warm up once back to the fire.

WC: 606/800

Open to Interactions
Mentioning: @Henry Knight, Interacting with: @Lucia Fox

Carolyn’s mind was a mess. The news from home were incredibly scarce and grim. Even with her usual calm nature, the changes were slowly but surely getting to her. As usual, she dealt with the situation by working ridiculously hard at everything she did. She studied hard, participated in numerous errands and practiced ballet in her spare time to keep her brain occupied yet she was starting to get exhausted by all that. The young witch was incredibly persistent, always going all in which was both her blessing and a curse. This trait ran in her family and it could be very helpful at times but it could also do her more harm than good. No way I can go on like this. Carolyn finally decided with a sigh. Still doing nothing was out of question. She would go crazy. Thankfully, that was precisely when she heard of the event organised by their grounds keeper Mr. Céspedes. Welcoming spring sounded like a lovely idea even if she wasn’t in the mood for social gathering. Alright, I suppose that will do.

And so, the young witch dug through her clothes until she finally found a perfect dress for the occasion. It was a bit older but comfortable and decorated with flower embroidery. Sure, it was black, which wasn’t necessarily a spring colour but Carolyn didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, deep down she was grateful, hoping to blend in with the night. It was already 7 PM when she finally slipped into said dress. She then also put on a warm cardigan and a pair of a pretty much destroyed black Canvas Ballet Shoes. She wasn’t quite sure if it was a good idea to dance barefoot just yet (assuming she even got the chance) and she hated dancing in hard shoes. The ballerina simply wasn’t used to it. She could do it for sure but it didn’t feel right to her. “You stay here and be good, Mordred.” She turned to her feline friend. Most of the time, he would accompany her wherever she went but this event sounded like a hazard. Bonfire? Huge amount of people? All the poisonous flowers he could eat? Nope, that sounded like a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, the cat didn’t seem to mind today…apparently it was a nap time and he just couldn’t be bothered. “Alright, I’ll see you soon then!” Carolyn bid him goodbye, finally leaving the safety of the Ravenclaw tower.

When she arrived to the event, she noticed several students already occupied the space. Good, she thought to herself as she moved through the crowd. She definitely didn’t want to be the first one here. For now, it appeared most of the participants were first years, she had never really met and Carolyn felt the sudden urge to turn around and leave. Still the smell of nature and burning firewood lured her in like a siren song. A false promise of comfort. The witch walked gracefully and without a sound. For a moment, it almost felt like the bonfire was melting the cold that had settled deep inside her bones and refused to leave for several months now. It wasn’t entirely true but it was a nice feeling nonetheless.

At last, Carolyn spotted two familiar faces in the crowd. One was Henry, who seemed to be occupied with some girl at the moment and the second one was Lucia, her dancing partner. She opted not to bother the boy and simply waved at him as she passed by, not really sure whether he even noticed. Lucia on the other hand didn’t seem overly busy and she was engaging in creating a rather beautiful outfit for herself. That seemed like fun. Slowly, Carolyn approached the table with all sort of natural supplies. It was obvious some of the students had a great fun using those. Perhaps she could make herself a flower crown at least? Fond yet painful memories of her grandma teaching her how to do that flooded her mind. She definitely enjoyed the activity despite the constant nagging from the old woman however now it was unclear whether they would ever get a chance to do it again.

Sighing for what seemed like thousandth time, Carolyn approached the crates looking for the perfect flower to wear. “Hello,” she made sure to greet Lucia with a gentle smile on her face. It took some effort today but her classmate was not to blame for her sour mood and she always made sure not to bother others with her feelings. “Ah…” Clematis x cartmanii Avalanche. That felt like a perfect choice of flower to celebrate beginning of spring season. “You look nice by the way,” she praised the raven-haired girl as she started working on her own flowery accessory. Eliseo’s constant drumming was almost begging her to dance but she had yet to gather enough courage to do that. Perhaps when she was done with her creation. Maybe I could decorate my shoes as well…She wondered briefly while wishfully eyeing the students that were already dancing around the fire.

WC: 839/800

Open to Interactions
Interacting with @Rose Moon
Mentioning: Henry Knight, Andrew Vance

Starlee was certainly one for creativity and springtime. In fact, spring was probably her favorite season. Or maybe fall? No... Summer... well no matter, how could you choose just one season to love? However, this winter had felt rather long and she was excited when she heard about this little celebration that the groundskeeper was holding. After her last mishap with the flobberworms, she debated against doing another activity with the groundskeeper, but figured that celebrating the springtime would be a harmless activity; as well as one where she wouldn't get in trouble. Plus, it was her own fault... cause... well... throwing a trophy into the fire to attempt to cover up all the flobberworm goo that had gotten on it probably wasn't the best of ideas that she had ever had.

She made her way down to the groundskeepers cabin, smiling as she saw that already a group had begun to form. She was wearing one of her typical cozy casual outfits: a simple pair of black leggings with black boots, and a slightly oversized white button down on top. She felt like it would be able to fit in with whatever fun activities they would be doing. When she arrived, it seemed that people were really getting into the spirit of things, with some people covering themselves just as Eliseo had, and others opting for the more simple method of a flower crown, and others somewhere in the middle. She surveyed the group, spotting a familiar face, Henry, in the crowd. He looked busy with someone else, and she continued to look around and recognized the boy that had started that game of Monopoly in the common room. Andrew... right? He also looked entangled in another conversation that she didn't want to interrupt. While Starlee was typically quite the bubbly person, she tended to come off as shy around acquaintances and when she wasn't already outwardly excited. There was one other person she knew and who didn't seem to have anyone to chat with: Rose. She thought back to that animal errand they had done, as well as the more recent frog choir auditions. She seemed really sweet, so Starlee made the determined effort to try to get to know the Gryffindor girl better.

Before she could do so, she needed to get crafting on her celebratory spring outfit. She walked up to the tables that Eliseo had arranged for them and surveyed her options. Various ropes, fabrics, and huge crates full of plants and flowers. At this point, she knew that she wanted something colorful, she was just still unsure of what. She knew she didn't want to cover herself up completely though, that would just be too much. Plus, while Starlee certainly like plants and herbology, that didn't mean that she wanted to roll around in all of it.

She came up with the perfect solution: A simple flower fascinator alongside a matching cape. It would be simple, yet still colorful. She began to grab the items she needed, like enough grass for a base for the cape, along with some rope to tie the flowers together and onto the cape, and then finally, a bundle of various flowers in all sorts of beautiful colors that she could then begin to weave together.

She took a seat as she began to lace the flowers in and out of the fabric she had chosen as a base for the cape. Various shades of red, yellow and pink all began to come together to to form a beautiful, cascading cape. She then began tying flowers together for a small flower fascinator, and ended up using a clip that she had in her hair to tie it too. She stood up, draped the cape over her shoulders, adjusting pieces that she didn't particularly care for or organizing the colors better. Once she was satisfied, she spun around daintily, like some sort of woodland fairy, watching as some of the longer plants flew upward as she spun around. She laughed as a feeling of fun and fancy came over her. She simply loved her new flower cape.

She came back down from her little excitable fairy high and noticed that Rose was now standing by the fire, having finished her flower additions, by that of a crown and some anklets. Starlee admired them, it seemed the girl really had a knack for flower crowns. She made her way next to her and said, "Hey Rose! Nice to see you here. Your flower creations look amazing!" She smiled, hoping that Rose would like the compliment. "This was a lot of fun, I feel like a fairy princess!" she said, spinning around again to show off how her cape twirled so elegantly. She began to dance a little from side to side to the bongos that Eliseo was so intensely banging on. She was certainly enjoying the mood of the evening.

Reducio

The Cape & Flower Headpiece

WC: 819/800

Englisch: #008000 Outfit
Mentioning: @Rhea Miller
Interacting: @Henry Knight @Rose Moon @Eliseo Céspedes

Haley had been looking forward to this day all week. She had always loved being outdoors, especially during spring and summer. And what would do her mood better than to welcome spring so officially? She loved this idea and knew from the first moment that she wanted to be a part of it. But not only her state of mind should match this great event, but also her outfit. She put on one of her spring dresses, which was light blue and covered with many small flowers. Since it was nevertheless very fresh outside, she put on a denim jacket over it and a pair of tights, so that she would not freeze later.

As she made her way across the grounds of Hogwarts, she took in regular breaths of air deeply through her nose. But quickly, it was no longer the clean air she was used to, flowing through her lungs, but an almost warm smoky air. And when she lifted her gaze, she could already detect the cause in the distance. A huge campfire lit up the dusk. Haley eyes widened, her mouth formed a big smile, and her steps quickened.

It wasn't long before she arrived at her destination, continuing to walk with a giant smile on her face. "This is great." She said to herself, still a bit stunned, and looked through the round of students who were already there. She didn't recognize most of the faces, and even though Haley had been worrying way too much over the past few weeks about what the others thought about her, if they had heard about the rumors or if they were prejudiced against her, today she did anything but that. Today she didn't care, the thought didn't even occur to her. Because today she just wanted to enjoy this evening and look forward to the coming spring. Here and there she caught sight of a few familiar faces and she nodded to one or the other with a smile, until her gaze lingered on a mossy figure. It took her a moment to realize who it was, but Haley started laughing at the sight. Not in a mean way, but because she thought it was brilliant. "That's a great outfit!" she exclaimed to the grounds keeper of Hogwarts as she pointed to him and winked.

While Haley was looking around at all the flowers and plants, taking bits here and there, she caught sight of Henry. The two rarely met, but always at some event. The last time they met was on Gia's birthday and she decided to greet him. Her bags packed with all kinds of flowers, branches and leaves she made her way to him. "Hey Henry, nice to see you! How are you?" she inquired with a smile and recognized another familiar face a few meters away.

It had been a few months, but in January the two of them and two other girls had conquered a huge iceberg with magic. She wasn't sure anymore, but she thought she remembered that her name was Rose. She smiled at her as well, gave her a quick wave, and turned her attention back to Henry and sat down in an empty seat. After she sat down she gave the girl next to Henry a smile as well and set about emptying her pockets.

She cleared her collected utensils from her pockets and started making a flower wreath. Her movements were quick and after only a few minutes the wreath took shape. Haley had done this many times as a child, she couldn't even remember a time when she wasn't sitting in the garden making ornaments out of flowers and plants. Be it wreaths, bracelets or rings.

Word Count: 621

Rhea thought that, considering how horribly this endeavor could have gone, she was doing alright.

The first row of leaves had been woven into the towel; she could tie it around her neck and it effectively poked her exposed skin. The operation had mostly been trial and error. She had first attempted to pull the plant directly through the towel (which was obviously ineffective and, frankly, stupid), and when that didn't work, she tried to glue the greenery to the threadbare fabric. This second attempt resulted in a frustrating mess about accurate to Rhea's expectations. So began the meticulous process of measuring out and cutting holes in the towel to weave the leaves through. As long as that had taken, the results were satisfying, and Rhea was confident that she could have an excellent cape eventually.

She was just about to begin the second row when Henry Knight approached her. He looked well enough, and she flashed back to that stressful chess game at the beginning of the month.

"Hello," he greeted her. The young Gryffindor glanced at him briefly, still concentrating on her cape. "H'lo." She assumed he would start on his project, but it wasn't important. This old towel was.

Finally, the second row was done. This one was clearly more hasty than the previous, but it wasn't terrible. Rhea liked the way it had turned out. She smoothed it with her hand, trying to press down the irritating needles that stuck out. Henry spoke again. Rhea almost laughed.

"Either you're kidding or you're... wrong," she said, just refraining from saying he was stupid. "I am truly terrible at crafts. I mean, evidently I am a chess master, but not so much with anything that requires creativity. I am going through the motions. That's not effing 'crafts'."

Where was this anger coming from? Rhea hoped it hadn't hurt his feelings. She took a deep breath.

"Sorry 'bout that," she grumbled. "But I swear, if you ever saw me attempting anything artistic, you'd be appalled. And not in a good way."

He had finished his flower-vine-crown-thing and placed it on his head before speaking again. Rhea felt so mad that if this were a cartoon she'd have steam blowing out of her ears. "Yours is fine," she said, doing her utmost to keep her voice even. "It's incredible. You look cool."

Her third row was halfway done at that point. At this rate she wouldn't be done for a week (or several hours at least). Some people already appeared to be finishing up anyway. As Henry was approached by another person, someone that Rhea was unfamiliar with, the Gryffindor reluctantly elected to change her strategy. As happy as she was with the appearance of her cape, she needed it to go faster.

Well, maybe instead of doing horizontal rows, she could hang vines vertically from the top of the towel. That might work, maybe. Rhea looked over the supplies and lifted a few particularly leafy vines from the collection. She pulled the first one through one of the holes she had made and wrapped it over the top, then tied it. There. It dangled pretty elegantly. Rhea would continue to do this until the entire length of fabric was covered, and then she would be able to put it on.

WC: 564 + 876 = 1440/800