Summer Camp The Lake Party Closed

Interacting: @Evelynn Decipio
Mentioning: -

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The Chinese boy was tilted his head slightly at the start of the explanation the upperclassman was providing, but did not interrupt. The concept of the trace had been explained to them on their entrance to the world, but it was good to know that the trace was marked to the anniversary of when a person is named, as opposed to the anniversary of their birth. It was an interesting tidbit to be filed for later.

The elder started listing off more rules, and he stiffened immediately. Dueling? Like those honor fights in the middle ages? It was an uncomfortable thought. He was aware enough to recognize that he stood out. With his actions, and mannerisms and history and choices. What if someone challenged him to a duel? It was a matter of honor to comply, was it not?

In his distraction, he paid only half a mind to the rules she was listing off. They commonsense enough, really: forbidden forest is forbidden; lake with creatures is dangerous; there is a schedule.

His brows furrowed in concentration and his mind engaged in contemplation, the boy all but missed the subtle display of irritation. He took another absent bite of his sandwich, and sat in silence for several moments, chewing on the food. It did not surprise him that a person such as this was prefect. If pushed, he might even say he approved. She came across as dutiful and serious, and more aware of the point of view of students whose motivations didn't start and end at a well, I'm here now. Time to have fun.

After swallowing the morsel, Ming brought up a hand to cover his mouth. "Pardon the presumption," he said slowly. "If honor duels are commonplace enough that there must be a separate room designated for dueling, then I cannot imagine the re-education and corrective measures have been going too well."

A small sigh then. "I had expected different: a batch of boisterous boys, or a gaggle of gregarious girls, fraternizing with friendly and foe alike." He blinked. Had he just created an alliteration? No, better not to get distracted, there were more important thigs to address here at this point in time. "But if the situation is indeed so dire, perhaps you could point but some known names and faces that I should be wary of?"

A pause, as a thought hit him. Should he carry his wand round with him? He had not thought to do so, if only because he could not use it for anything other than as fancy poking material. Now that he thought about it, though, he could hardly stow it away neatly on his person. The moment passed, and he came back to himself.

"It would not do to be suddenly find myself on the business end of the more eager sort, shall we say." He concluded lamely.

OPEN TO INTERACTION [font=century gothic]INTERACTIONS @Hui Ming [font=century gothic]MENTIONS n/a[/font][/font]

The Outfit Reducio

Silence. Something so common in the dead of night, or at any time responsibility be requested of her peers. Yet, silence was something uncharacteristically uncommon in conversation. Too often, Evelynn was accosted by those who would sit in dialogue awaitin gtheir turn to speak rather than actually listen to their counter-part. Or, worse, not wait at all and jut in inappropriately early and cut off the speaker. How refreshing it was to sit across from one with some measure of control and decorum. This one's silence, however, would go beyond that merely of polite company.

Introspective and thoughtful, it was as though he took care to weigh each of Evelynn's words as a connoisseur might with a sip of wine. She wouldn't be surprised if he emerged from his first day at school adorned in bronze and azure, she reflected. His was the aura of an intellectual. Although, she supposed, perhaps his observation and care remained restricted to social constructs and the fabrics of a crowd rather than the pages of a book. If he was more concerned with appearances and perception, perhaps his would be a mantle of scales instead.

The span of quietude that had allowed her a moment of her own observations ended as the boy spoke up. A brow quirked at his mention of "honour duels". She thought it a peculiar way to describe their sport until she realized perhaps he'd taken their mention to fall more in line with the midnight escapades of brazen lordlings trying to prove their mettle and conclude disagreements with guns instead of words.

"Not duels of honour," Evelynn corrected with a small smile. "As much as 'corrective measures' certainly might be in question--" Her tone teased at the notion that far too many of her peers danced dangerously along the lines of impetuous delinquency. "--the duelling to which I was referring is a club. A sport, if you will. Not entirely unlike Quidditch—which is a game played upon brooms—in its extracurricular organization. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, there's to be a duelling competition at some time during this camp. You would be able to witness it then. Although it can be a touch... extreme, I suppose."

"But I digress..." she waved that less desirable notion off with an idle flick of her fingers and plucked up a few berries. "As far as warnings of specific individuals, there are a few, certainly. I would be wary around Howard White. He's a dhampir of Hufflepuff. It's a shame, really. I believe him to be largely misunderstood, but has demonstrated himself to have a rather volatile temper with rash and reckless tendencies. He is dangerous if crossed.

"The same could be said of Kyle DeRook. Former captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team and with a nearly perpetual sneer across his features. He has a reputation of physical outbursts. Similarly... mind yourself around Percival Gray. It is no secret that he holds no fondness for any with a hint of muggle blood in their line. Although..." Evelynn regarded Hui as though renewing her perspective. "...perhaps you may be an exception. He seems to regard propriety and competence in high esteem.

"As for the rest..." She shrugged a brow concomitantly. "I would urge you to seek acquaintanceships and develop your own opinion. There are many among these walls who seem proficient with wearing masks. Where I may quarrel with one, you may discover a kindred spirit."

Interacting: @Evelynn Decipio
Mentioning: -

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A small moment of silence, a lull in the conversation. It was a blessed relief, one so rare that Ming allowed himself to revel in it. It was not often that people who were not adults appreciated his measured approach instead of the spontaneity of those his age. It made him feel a sense of kinship to Miss Decipio.

Another small bite of his sandwich and the Chinese boy realized that he had almost finished his food though the prefect seemed to have a small trove of finger foods left. He resolved to eat slower, lest he completes his meal before her. For all that few would think anything of it, he found it extremely uncomfortable to have nothing to do with his hands while someone else ate. As a measure to fill the time, the boy looked around at the party. There were a lot of people, and a lot of noise, but nothing really interesting stood out to him.

His thoughts were brought interrupted as Miss Decipio replied to his previous query, snapping his attention back to the conversation at hand.

Relief washed over Ming as the upperclassman explained that duelling was a sport, rather than the code as expected had expected. It meant that he would not be challenged to magical combat by the more ‘enthusiastic’ segments of the student body when he inevitably offended them for something or the other. Let it be as extreme as they please, so long as they keep it to themselves

When the conversation moved back to the topic of people to be careful of, Hui Ming balked at the description he was provided of one White. Violent and unpredictable was bad, that was indisputable. But for him to be called a ‘damn peer’ by the likes of Miss Decipio was certainly unexpected, to say the least. That she seemed to hold him no personal grudge made the situation all the more confusing.

The other warnings, of a disgraced Quidditch captain and a possibly blood-purist named Gray were certainly less scandalous. Her advice to make at the end about forming his own opinions also seemed well-intentioned. And very engaging. he had many questions he would have asked her normally: why was Muggle blood bad, were Squibs not functionally equivalent? What about him, in particular, could be an exception in Mr. Gray’s eyes? Ming was certainly no paragon of blood purity, nor anything beyond what an 11-year-old should be. Had this Mr. Gray a history of causing issues, like the other two had? But for all his curiosity, for all the urgency of his questions, the Chinese boy simply could not pull away from the Hufflepuff comment.

A Hufflepuff damn peer.

“Pardon my bluntness, Miss Decipio.” He hedged. It would not do to offend perhaps the only student in the whole school who he could stand by accusing her of impropriety. “But was there something wrong with being in Hufflepuff, or has this Mr. White wronged you in some way?”

OPEN TO INTERACTION [font=century gothic]INTERACTIONS @Hui Ming [font=century gothic]MENTIONS Howard White, Aurelia Notrésvace[/font][/font]

The Outfit Reducio

As she Evelynn had come to accept, the boy maintained a rather reserved air about him during conversation. Polite appearance, her mother might have called it, emphasizing the importance of keeping one's emotions largely in check. Certainly, there were situations that called for such displays, but those were generally reserved for moments where empathy and understanding were necessary. And even then, everything in moderation, dear.

To see him almost recoil at the description she had given of Howard, then, had taken her somewhat off-guard. And yet, she couldn't blame him. Had this same situation been delivered to her upon her arrival to this new world, she might have been equally struck by the notion of sharing a school with individuals typically regarded with fear and caution. In fact, it wasn't so much his reasonably human expression that gave her pause, but rather the questions that followed.

A berry paused midway to her mouth, hovering temporarily forgotten over her lap as she regarded the boy's peculiar question. "Something wrong with Hufflepuff?" she echoed, not so much requesting clarification as much as confirming to herself that that was indeed what he had inquired. "Not at all.." she replied, perking a brow as doubt crept slowly beneath her countenance. "Truly, an argument could be made for those who brandish the colours of black and yellow to be the most grounded in the school. The House of Hufflepuff regards its members as loyal, hard-working and diligent. Ideal members of society, really," she summarized, fanning the fingers of her free hand.

Ironic, really, that those who seemed to have the most disregard for societal reform—Warren and White—also hailed from that house.

"No, it is not the fact that he is Hufflepuff," she emphasized, lowering her hand to lean her weight upon it, "nor could I say he did anything to me, per se. Rather..."

Her sentence cut off as she scrutinized the boy, filling time as her mind battled within itself of just how much to say. It was one thing to encourage awareness. It was quite another to paint a peer—particularly an elder peer with a penchant for reckless violence and the aptitude to carry it out—in a negative light. Still, it wasn't slander if she discussed her own experience. Nor would this be anything more than what could already be pieced together from a trio of articles published in the Headliner over the course of several months the year prior.

"In the month of October during my first year, I bore witness as a girl was carried into the hospital wing one evening," she decided to share, no more emotion in her tone than had she been reading from a historical text, but lowering it conspiratorially nonetheless to avoid anyone else from overhearing the information she was about to unload. "She had been attacked. Bitten," she continued, motioning to her neck where the scars that yet remained on the unnamed victim would have been. "She had lost a lot of blood, but recovered quickly enough, thank the Lord. When she roused, she described something having grabbed and pierced her neck while sending a letter in the owlery.

"Last year, an article was published in the Headliner—our school newspaper—describing the events from the perspective of someone who had seen the body arriving at the wing and seen us leaving it later. At that time, the identity of the attacker was still unknown, but it was not the only attack to happen since then. The author wrote under a pseudonym—T. Ruth—and called for students to remain vigilant for their own protection. There have been instances where half-giants and other beings had infiltrated the castle in the past and attacked students or attempted to carry out unknown objectives. In fact, there is still an ongoing investigation into the death of an ex-Ministry employee, Delores Umbridge, who was allegedly murdered on castle grounds.

"Regardless, the identity of this particular individual—identified only basically as a dhampir given the nature of the injuries—was unknown. They were at large. Their motive, how they got into the school, whether they would attack again... none of that was known at the time of the article which encouraged anyone with information to come forward and provided specific methods to protect yourself against a dhampir attack. However, in response to it, an interview with a student was conducted by one of the journalists, and its contents printed. It was a confession of the act, but anonymous, and carried with it the message that the individual—the attacker—was feeling wrongly victimized. Not long after, Howard White staged a demonstration of defiance against the school paper, confessing publicly to having attacked Aurelia Notrésvace, and calling for justice for the way he had been wronged in the original article.

"The entire debacle has been quit the scandal, stirring empathizers and persecutors, alike, the former on the side of White; the latter, directed towards the anonymous author, T. Ruth. I believe it to be settled down now, and I am uncertain whether any consequence came of the revelation to his action. Still, he has a known history of violence, and is one with whom I would necessarily want to be left alone. Of course... there are plenty who would deny all of that."