Errand Dance of the Bushpeople

Michael is a werewolf. The news had drifted around the school, somehow. The Miller last name tarnished by the blood mixed with an animal. Yes, he had gotten a letter from his eldest sisters about how their father raved endlessly when he heard the news, before locking himself in his study.

Michael was scared of what that might mean, why did he get a letter from his father? Or a howler? What was the old man thinking? What was going to happen?

The day of the full moon was getting closer, only 9 days now. He would be drinking the potion within the next 72 hours. He sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed, his feet dangling off as he thought. He knew there was an Errand that day, or more so a party that night. He had heard about it passing through the halls, it sounded fun. It was outside, something he felt would take some of the subconscious stress off him, but one could only be so lucky.

He had thought about dressing in only shorts and wearing moss, or something as showy as that. He had thought of not wearing something to cover his chest at all, as that would be the most natural, but then his anxiety kicked in. He looked over at the folded white shirt and shorts behind him.

Michael sighed and laid down with his legs still dangling off the edge. He didn't feel like going but he also did. He wanted to be outside, it was an urge he couldn't ignore.

He sighed and turned around and grabbed his clothes, he was going.
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The boy ruffled his hair, not liking how it stayed down, not wanting it to be so slick to his head. He looked down at the crown he had made. Yes, he did not think he would go to the party-like event but that didn't stop him from making many crowns to go through to see which he liked the most.

This one looked the most beautiful to him because of the naturalness of it all. He created it the day before as he sat out on the camping site, thinking over everything.

He felt sad as he thought about the fact he only had a handful of months till summer break was here. He didn't want to go back to sleeping in the library or going weeks without speaking to anyone. Though he did miss murphy, his one, and only house-elf.

He was rasied by the elf after he got back. Murphy helped him grieve the deaths of his grandparents as his parents refused to met his eyes. He helped he figure out spells and potions, giving him lessons to learn basic things about what he was, and how it would effect him.

He smiled as he jumped down from his bed, the top bunk, and looked over himself in the mirror. He smiled as he put on the crown. Like a werewolf prince.

He tilted his head as he looked into his eyes. 'Brown would look better' he thought as he looked at their bland blue color.

He decided it was time to walked to the party.
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Michael walked towards the noise, the laughter, the chatter, the fun. He wanted to dance, that was the first urge he got as he walked there. His feet were getting dirtier as he walked, smiling as he watched them.

He was barefoot, something he knew his friend Dan Palmer would love, as he was an advocate for the lifestyle. He looked over the people that were dressed like him. So many flower crowns, all looking prettier and prettier as he walked closer.

He walked to the fire, looking in it as he got close. He closed his eyes as he relaxed, is shoulders losing the tension that was resting in them. He heard chatter behind him and turned, opening his eyes to gaze across many students making things with flowers and other things.

He walked closer and decided to sit down, and make something of his own. He looked over the flowers in front of him, each more beautiful than the last, before deciding to use all to make a necklace. The began to weave them together, adding flower after flower into a sort of braid. He began to hum as he worked, uncaring of the dirt that ruined his clean shorts, or that blackened his fingers.

He watched the others work at times, before focusing on his own. He frowned every time he accidentally broke a flower, before grabbing another and redoing his work. Slowly but surely, he finished the necklace and looked over the others.

"Does anyone. . umm, does anyone want to wear my necklace?" He asked as he looked over those closest to him.

WC: 808
Open to interaction

Mentioning Various Students, Always Open for Interactions!
Stay Wild Fellow Plant People!

As the evening continued to press on, the number of students continued to grow and, despite Eliseo’s carefree drumming, he was making an effort to observe all of the unfamiliar faces moving around the grounds with him. It seemed that the valiant young lad he had been speaking with was off to find some dirt to complete his outfit. It was just what could round out the boy’s ideas. He could also hear a more chaotic battle transpiring in a nearby patch of mud. While he hadn’t anticipated people becoming mud fiends, he fully supported such a devotion to becoming one with nature.

Eliseo’s eyes travelled around the bonfire, never ceasing the rhythmic drumming. The creativity of the students never failed to astound him. Their clever minds seemed to be working hard to create all manner of natural themed outfits. Some seemed to be intricately weaving flowers into their garbs, others had made vibrant pieces of jewelry. Eliseo even saw a couple of students who seemed like they might have a career in making plant based fashion, their skills and creativity went far beyond what he would have been able to accomplish with the same materials. He considered his own creation rather simple and straightforward. It had been time consuming but covering himself from head to toe with moss hadn’t exactly been as intricate as the creations of some of the students.

Most importantly, however, Eliseo enjoyed watching the young witches and wizards just enjoying one another’s company or the absurdity of the task at hand. Many seemed to know each other while others seemed keen on making some new friends. The mood was jovial and lighthearted all around. He assumed it could all be traced back to his drumming. The howl of the bongos danced with the crackle of the flames and filled the air around them. But Eliseo thought it was a good time to increase his energy and, perhaps, spur more Spring related passion out of his young followers.

Rising back to his feet, Eliseo didn’t stop drumming as he began to sway and wildly dance around the large fire. He knew that he was currently wearing plants and made sure to keep some distance between himself and the flames but he wanted to make sure he could get a good look at everyone around as they were spread about the area. “Don’t be afraid to let loose little meatbags! Make friends, eat food, and become one with nature,” Eliseo called out above the crackle of flames. “The spirits of Spring do love those who embrace the wilds. Your outfits are coming along beautifully. As the kids say, don’t let the beetle take your shoes,” he said with a confident nod of his head. He wasn’t sure if that was in fact what children said but it seemed like an appropriate comment for the evening.

“And should you feel like joining this song of the wilds, the world is your drum and all you need is a good stick,” Eliseo continued not quite caring that his babbling probably made little sense. “BUT! If you cannot drum… then fill the skies with the howls of the wild… AWWOOOOOOOOOOMAA!” Eliseo sheiked out a loud howl over the sound of his drumming while he continued he erratic dancing around the fire. Spinning and hopping around, he undoubtedly looked insane as a sentient bush dancing around a fire but there were few opportunities that he might have to truly let loose. As he continued his drumming and dancing, he happily studied all of the intricate creations of the students still bustling about.

Interaction @Michael Miller

Reducio

Aurora was looking around the bonfire ground, maybe she will found someone who were as nervous looking as she was. Then, her eyes fell towards a boy. A first year as well, perhaps. He looked agitated as he was scared of something, maybe that is how she looked like all the time. He sat not too far away from her. She watched him broke some flowers while trying to tied them together to make a necklace. He surely did not have the art and craft skill like Aurora, but the one thing that made Aurora happy was seeing him re do his flower necklace over and over again. He managed to finish it at the end, which was amazing.
"Does anyone. . umm, does anyone want to wear my necklace?" The boy asked the students around him.
With an added confidence from her succeed attempt of modifying her dress, she decided to got up from where she sat and approached to boy slowly.
"Hi.. i could have another necklace, if you don't mind." She said to the boy quietly, not sure if he heard her.
The one thing she hoped for was that she will not scare off the poor boy with her stern expression. If she were able to become friend with him, maybe he could give her some tips and tricks on how to look as friendly as possible.

Open to Interactions
Interacting with: @Lucia Fox, Mentioning: @Michael Miller and @Aurora Ranvier

Carolyn smiled at Lucia as she inspected her flower offerings. “ “Oh no…I know couple since my grandma enjoys gardening and she takes me for walks to see various wildflowers occasionally but I’m no expert. I know some that she showed me or planted in our garden but there are plenty here that I don’t recognize.” She admitted honestly. She may have been a Ravenclaw but she would never pretend to know everything. She still had much to learn as any other kid around here. “I also know some flowers with medical properties since my father is a muggle surgeon and my mother is a healer but that’s about it. She added as an afterthought. That one was at least somewhat useful although she had yet to use that knowledge in practice.

"Well, she's got a white dress and blonde hair, and daisy chain necklaces and a flower headband, and flowers in her hair…” The Hufflepuff started describing the Spirit of Summer she mentioned previously. Carolyn listened to her with great interest. “She sure sounds beautiful…and it seems like quite a magical story.” For a children’s book the characters appeared to be pretty well fleshed out. Some children stories were like that. Those were the kind one could easily enjoy as an adult as well. The young Ravenclaw suspected Lucia still read it even now, considering how passionate she was about it. The delayed denial only further solidified said conviction. “Well…if you ever find it in your library perhaps you could lend it to me? It feels like I missed out on that one. I would like to read it sometime,” she said with gentle smile. Carolyn didn’t want to call her out if she preferred to keep the literary piece as a guilty pleasure but at the same time she was genuinely interested in the tale and she definitely didn’t think reading kids stories was something to be ashamed of.

“Alright then…Here, let me help you with that,” Carolyn had gently taken the base of Lucia’s flower crown. “I think we can use both. If the Spirit’s supposed to be colourful we should keep it that way,” she nodded in agreement. “If you want to watch and learn, I can try to teach you. It’s not an essential skill of course but it can be quite relaxing.” Just as she finished her sentence she noticed a young boy sitting beside them. He seemed quite unsure of himself with which she could definitely relate. Unfortunately she was no social butterfly herself and she wasn’t entirely sure if he even wanted to be bothered so she opted out to focus on explaining her work to Lucia for now.

Carolyn was nearly done with her handiwork when the boy finally spoke out. "Does anyone…umm, does anyone want to wear my necklace?" Well she might actually use one…or perhaps she could ask him to make a daisy necklace for her Hufflepuff friend? She turned to the boy, prepared to ask just that when a girl his age joined the table. She was fairly sure she had seen her around their common room too. Well…I guess I was too slow then… “Say…would you like to join me for a dance later?” She turned back to Lucia. “You don’t have to of course…I just thought…the drums sound so lovely and you like to dance right?” She asked, sounding quite unsure. Carolyn herself wasn’t much of a show off but the beat made her want to dance ever since she came here and it would be nice if she had someone to join her for sure.

Watching the fire crackle, and hearing the drums beats, Bailey immersed herself once again in the process of making another bracelet. Once she was finished with the bracelet, Bailey shook herself out of the reverie she had been stuck in.

Seeing a few more students trickle down, Bailey again looked around. After gazing at the fire for some time, Bailey decided to take a walk around it, and introduce herself to anyone she didn't know in the hopes of making new friends.

Noticing two Ravenclaws, one in white and the other in black, Bailey decided to walk over. White and Black.... Like yin and yang. I wonder if they noticed that. Bailey though to herself.

Walking up to the girls, Bailey introduced herself. "Hi! My name is Bailey. Bailey Glade. And you are? She asked. In her usual manner, Bailey kept speaking before the other girls could respond. "I noticed yall's costumes were like yin and yang, since they were black and white. Did you plan it that way?"

Here Bailey paused to breath, and looked around. Seeing the groundskeeper dancing like a wild person, Bailey smiled to herself. It reminded her, almost painfully, of her younger brother, when on Guy Fox day they would dance around the bonfire their parents would make. "Aw. The good old days." Bailey muttered herself, still facing away from the other Ravenclaws.

A tear traced its way down her face, for Bailey was homesick. She had often longed for her family, but this event had reminded her of her home, and had only made it worse.

Hiccupping, Bailey turned to the other girls after wiping her eyes. "Sorry" she said. "But I don't think I caught your names. Could I have them again please?" Looking at the girls, Bailey again lost herself in the sounds of the fire crackling and the drums being beaten by the grounds-keeper. She was pulled out of her trance when...

Status: Complete

Word count: 661 + 321 = 982/800

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@Gabriella Haworth | @Eliseo Céspedes
Stamina 8 ⋆ Evasion 6 ⋆ Strength 3 ⋆ Wisdom 7 ⋆ Arcane Power 5 ⋆ Accuracy 6

7:00 p.m.
Friday, 19 March, 2021

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The light filtering through the windows of the Gryffindor Common Room was what jolted Gia awake. Her eyes immediately flew open and searched for the face of her watch to see what time it was. When she saw what it said, the eleven year old gasped. Gabby. . . the errand. . . oh no! After hurriedly racing up to her dormitory and tugging on a light spring jacket, Gia began to head out the door again. Before she could make it all the way out, however, a glimmer of silver caught her eye and she raced back inside to grab the two mainly-silver bracelets that were lying on her bed, almost forgotten.

The brown haired first year had made the bracelets quite some time ago—right around the time that Gabby and her had agreed to do this errand together. After hearing what the errand was going to be about, Gia had rushed to owl her family for the supplies she needed, and then got to work crafting what she had in mind. The two almost identical bracelets turned out perfectly, and the Gryffindor was very, very proud of her work.

Looking down at them in her hand as she ran through the entrance hall, Gia made sure that they were still just as she'd left them. Of course, she didn't think any of her dorm mates would have done anything to them, but they had been left out on her bed for quite some time, hadn't they? Plus, she really, really didn't want to show up a little bit late and with the bracelets ruined—that would definitely be bad. Luckily, after a quick inspection of the jewelry in her hand, the eleven year old was able to confirm that they were completely fine, much to her relief.

Upon arriving at the place where the errand was going to be—or where it had already started to be—Gia searched the crowd for her best friend. When this strategy didn't appear to be working very well, the brunette opened her mouth to call out instead. "Ga—" Before she could fully finish what she was saying, however, a voice cut through her own, calling her name. Her gaze immediately shifted towards the person speaking and her face brightened in a grin. "Gabby!" she exclaimed happily. "Oh, I'm so sorry I'm late, by the way! I kinda sorta fell asleep." Gia gave the Ravenclaw a sheepish smile. Then, remembering, she added, "And"—Gia held out the hand holding the two bracelets—"you can choose which one you want. I made them a week or so ago. . . I'll have the one that you don't pick." She grinned at her friend and waited for a reply.

When she got one, the girl gave the bracelet Gabby wanted to her, and attempted to clasp the other one onto her own wrist. Failing miserably, Gia giggled. "Well anyway, they're supposed to match what we're doing—you know, making flowery and plant-y things to dress up in. That is what we're doing, right?" The Gryffindor laughed again, then noticed the pink flowers her best friend was holding. "I'll need supplies too I guess—should I make a simple headband, or go crazy with this?" Gia's eyes scanned the vicinity and landed on the Grounds Keeper, who was dressed perfectly to match her idea of "going crazy." Or at least. . . Gia thought it was the grounds keeper, it was a little bit hard to tell.

"Look," she pointed him out to the other first year beside her. Then, Gia called out, "I love your outfit, Mr. Céspedes!" If that hadn't been him, well, it was too late to take it back now, Gia thought with a grin to herself. And. . . she was really starting to think she wanted to make something similar. . . who knew how long it would take to do that, though.

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602/800 words

@Eliseo Céspedes
Open to interactions cuz’ I was lazy and missed a ‘round’

Mister Tree had answered Piérre’s question in a way that caused the boys eyes to sparkle a bit brighter with a mixture of awe and amazement. He shook his head voraciously as he acknowledged the wisdom-filled words speaking of how music played you as its own, being the conduit between music and the greater plan. The rebirth by the cleaning of fire. Of course the trees were okay with feeding a blaze, they were being purified and preened, so that they could grow and become healthier and healthier than before.

“Ohhhh...” He said quietly, the revelation dawning on him. “Kinda like a firebird!” He mused to himself, bobbing back and forth while messing with his orchid crown. The old must feed the new, and the new must grow from the old’s ashes. Nothing can grow without the other’s help. Without the young, there was no future, and without the old, there were no roots.

Giggling, Piérre was off like a shot again, trying to find more dirt and grass to roll in and act like the child that he had been ever since he was just toddling around. To heck with formalities! This was no time for being glum or serious in any regard! This was a celebration! Kind of like a rough and tumble, rowdy, happy birthday party celebrating nature and her children; the whole school!

There were so many people around, Piérre couldn’t tell who was who. This was also probably because he was spinning in a tight circle, around and around and around, and his world was blurring and becoming like a carousel of color which bled and changed before his very eyes. Everything was spinning with him. Dizzily, he stopped for a second, letting the world right itself as Mister Tree spoke again, a loud howl filling the air before the moving shrubbery started moving about the fire.

For a second, Piérre panted for breath, crouched low to the ground, but bubbling in his chest was an inspiration; a fluttering sensation that was giddy and strange alike, an urge and a laughter which couldn’t be held back in the preteen’s flimsy form.

“YYYYYYYEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” A tight spin as Piérre threw his head back and called to the heavens. He didn’t feel like he had ever raised his voice once in this way before. He had certainly shouted and cried out in surprise or joy, but never making noise just for the sheer sake of making noise. And he didn’t feel embarrassed or nervous at all. Something magical was here, some sort of magical removal of inhibitions. A confidence. The kid felt like he could dance forever!

Stamping his feet and jumping like a rabbit, Piérre tried to do some somersaults and cartwheels, small things that he had loved to do as a child, immature things that had a place in this moment. Just a sheer happiness and joy which couldn’t be dampened; at least, not in this moment.

Put aside the fear and the uncertainty that he had felt about the school, the events he had been out through. This was fun. And Piérre loved having a good time.

530 words

Thankfully, the cape was complete, and Rhea - who had just tied it around her neck - was swishing and spinning gracefully to display its grandeur. It looked magnificent, if she did say so herself.

"I'm sure I will," she had said, as a response to his question about whether she's be dancing. "I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of this beautiful creation." She had twirled once again, grinning, as he spoke to the redhead Gryffindor. Did he know everyone at this school? It certainly seemed like it. She could kind of see why - despite his awkward, quiet disposition, he had a sort of odd charisma about him that was hard to ignore.

As he spoke, she contemplated, then elected to snatch the vine crown off his head and try it on her own, just to test it out. The effect was immediate; she was flooded with prowess and a sense of power, and suddenly she was looking down her nose at all these children, these puny mortals with no ambitions or high status. It was perfect. She considered running away with Henry's crown, but then decided that wouldn't be very dignified of her. The Gryffindor would have to craft her own.

She returned the vine crown to Henry's head he can take it from her if you want and began to dig through the supplies, searching for a particularly bendable stick already covered in leaves or whatnot. Her plan was to twist it into a circle and tie the ends together. It was a simple task, especially relative to the cape. Plus, this time she would know what she was doing.

She started looking for her her stick. This search proved a strenuous one, and she ended up snapping several innocent sticks in the process. Well, it wasn't her fault they could take the strain.

Finally she retrieved a long thin stick without any twigs that would stab her skull poking out, and when she bent it it did not break. This was absolutely ideal, better than she had expected. She supposed inconveniences were fewer when there was magic involved. Not that this in particular necessarily had anything to do with magic, just the presence of magic in general.

She struggled with tying the ends together but eventually managed it using some twine and some strategy. There. Her leafy stick was a circle now. She placed it upon her head and the feeling of power returned.

Now all she needed was her staff, which she had already discovered in her pursuit for the crown. It was a tall, burnt-sienna-colored stick that Rhea could just barely fit her hand around. Her rough callouses were the only things preventing her from getting splinters of wood in her palm. It was a stick that only a true warrior could handle.

She wrapped it up in vines anyway, because - okay fine - it still hurt when it scraped her.

Now that her attire was complete, she found herself sauntering up to Céspedes, who appeared to be drowning in moss and greenery. "You look absolutely terrific," she called to him. "Simply the most magnificent thing I have ever seen, sir."

Following the interaction, she would turn on her heel and return to Henry for further conversation, if he was available to talk. Perhaps he would be ready to for the bonfire dance too.

WC: 564 + 876 + 547 = 1987/800

_{Open To Interactions}
Interacting:@Rhea Miller | @Haley Rose | @Eliseo Céspedes
Mentioning: @Rose Moon | @Starlee Kennedy | Loki
Languages: _{English | French | Italian | Arabic | Russian}
Outfit
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Interacting with: @Kazuo Shimada
Open to Interactions!

Gentle rose petals fell from above, a few landing in her hair. She managed to swat some of them away before they hand but a couple managed to land on her face. One petal sat itself by her mouth and she plucked the petal and threw it away with the others. “Well…” She started. “We go to a magical school where even the paintings talk so trees wouldn’t be so hard to believe.” She looked up at the boy. “Though these ones don’t seem to be the talking kind.” Her eyes judged the tree line as if they might correct her otherwise.

As Kazuo looked down she could see him a little clearer, illuminated by the firelight. He and her shared certain similar features, although they looked entirely different. Against the darkness his black hair blended in, contrasted by crown of red petals on his head. Not the most inconspicuous choice of headdress for someone wanting to be hidden.

She looked back the where the other students were as they laughed and socialized around the fire. It was moments like this when the children weren’t in mortal peril where they looked as they were supposed to – young and carefree. Hogwarts and all the mysteries that surrounded it combined with the realities of life seemed to age all of them much faster. They worried about much different things than children back in her home town would. But her and now, it seemed like a time where they could forget. If they could not forget then they could at least pretend those horrible things didn’t matter as much and they were just plain students at a boarding school enjoying themselves. When he asked her what she was doing there, she did not exactly know how to respond. It would seem odd if she just said that she saw a fire and was drawn too it. Too stereotypical of a Hufflepuff. “Says the boy all the way out here talking to trees.” She retorted. “To be honest I completely forgot this was happening today, so I hadn’t really expected to be here.” Looking up at him she gave him a small smile. “Maybe I just wanted to hear the trees whisper as well.” Averting her gaze back to the scene of compost Chewbacca and his other children of the bog dancing she couldn’t help but smile even more. The smell of burning wood and the beginnings of the season continued to welcome her. “Did they tell you any secrets?”