Fall Ball 2021 Samhain Festival

[ @Henry Knight as Charles • @Valerie Laurier as Ayu • @Rose Moon as Drew • @Logan Baird as Ro ]

warning the international student squad about the dangers of hogwarts balls • racing charles and ayu in • discretely laughing at celeste • going to eel catching

English #26687E • French #72267E

Cassie Heather McGregor-Martin of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, renowned for its grace and beauty, was going to a fancy, moonlit Hogwarts ball dressed as a Power Ranger, and she couldn't stop sniggering about it.

She wasn't even out of her accomodation in the campgrounds yet, but she could already imagine it: the grounds, transformed for the night into a fairytale wonderland, playing host to people covered in beautiful swirling gowns and suits and wizards' robes... and then five kids dressed in fake lycra wearing cardboard masks burst onto the scene, looking like the most weirdly-dressed gate-crashers ever.

But, in order for that scene to come to life, Cassie and her fellow Power Rangers had to actually get there. The Beauxbatons girl surveyed herself for the last time in the mirror on the back of her trunk. (She hadn't put it there - her mum had when she'd first gone off to boarding school, after declaring in a rather exasperated manner that Cassie would have to have something to see her appearance, or she'd look like a compost heap.) Her costume was very close to being perfect, or so Cassie thought happily. She (well, her papa really, but still) was the one who'd gotten these Power Rangers outfits, and she had to admit that, although they were obviously cheap kid's costumes - as evidenced by the cardboard masks which were held on with an itchy elastic band - they were pretty awesome.

Cassie was the red Power Ranger, of course, dressed in stretchy nylon with her rosary bracelet over her left sleeve. She hadn't actually watched the show in years, but she could remember that the red one was the leader. Of course, the red one was also male, but who cared? Cassie could dress up as a red Power Ranger if she wanted to, just as much as Charles could dress up as a yellow one. (Cassie hadn't actually told Charles that the yellow Ranger was usually a girl, or so she thought, and figured it'd be funnier if she left him in the dark.) Looking in the mirror, Cassie pulled her mask on over her hair, which was done up in its regular plait, wincing a little as the shapeless cardboard squashed her nose down but carrying on regardless. She strapped her wand holster around her waist, pushed her wand into it, and realised she was cold. Which was just as well, because that meant that she had an excuse to wear something from the last Hogwarts ball she'd attended - the silver jacket which Scarlett and her aunt, Fiona, had gotten for her. Cassie shrugged it on, leaving it unzipped so you could still see the iconic diamonds on her chest, and stared at her reflection for a moment. She wished that Scar were still here. Of course, Fiona and her accident came first, but that didn't mean that Cassie didn't miss her friend. After all, these trips to Hogwarts were now the only time when she got to see Scarlett, and now she couldn't. It was still nice spending time with her other friends from other schools, of course - especially Charles and Drew and, recently, Ro and Ayu - but she still felt like something was missing. I'll just have to enjoy tonight enough for the both of us, Cassie resolved, before slinging her bag over her shoulder and stepping out to go and find the rest of her Power Ranger buddies.

"Ready?" the girl grinned as she drew closer to where the rest of her squad were waiting. And a squad they were, or at least that's what they'd decided to call themselves - the International Student Squad, Trademarked. With sparkles, because who didn't love sparkles? (Except Cassie's mum, who hated how glitter got everywhere, but she didn't count.) Cassie: Beauxbatons. Charles: Durmstrang. Drew: Ilvermorny. Ayu: Mahoutokoro. Rosella: Koldovstoretz. And, of course, Scarlett - Hogwarts. She was there with them in spirit if nothing else, symbolised by the silver jacket Cassie wore. Cassie grinned as she looked around at the rest of them, dressed in various colours. She really felt like she was in a group. Like these teens (or pre-teen, in Ayu's case) would have her back, no matter what happened at this ball - which was definitely something which they'd need if the last two were any example of a proper Hogwarts ball. "Everyone got a water bottle?" These were to be their weapons against... well, everything, really. "REMEMBER NOT TO DRINK ANYTHING THEY GIVE YOU." Who was they? Cassie figured it didn't really matter. After what had happened with the stupid fricking love potion at the last ball, Cassie was determined to protect herself and her friends from having anything like that happen to them. "Okay?"

Warnings over and done with, Cassie was ready to have- "Wait, what?!" Charles had called for a race! "DON'T YOU DARE!" Cassie raced after Charles and Ayu, laughing her head off, seriously regretting wearing the slippers which she was wearing. She should have gone with the sandals which she'd worn to the Greek-themed summer ball, but nope, she just had to go for the ones which would be a pain to wash later. Her mum was going to kill her when she heard. Laughing, it turned out, wasn't the best thing to do when running, and when Cassie drew to a stop beside Charles and Ayu she clutched her side, a smile still on her face. "C'mon. You got a head start. That was hardly fair. Disaster ball is probably quite accurate, though." The last sentance was accomanied by a dry chuckle. Sadly, Cassie quite believed her words.

Cassie glanced around the scene before her, her eyes catching on a girl so blonde that her hair was practically white. Celeste Leblanc (@Gabriella Haworth). And she was wearing a tiara. Cassie sniggered. She had no idea whether Celeste was in earshot or not - probably not, since she was currently busy screaming insults to some weirdo wearing a crown, which Cassie figured was pretty ironic - but she still had to say it. "Oh my gosh. Guys, look. Celeste's wearing a tiara. Bets on that dress getting covered in mud or blood or fake punch or something equally unsanitary by the end of the night?" [gabriella, feel free to have celeste hear or not hear this. if she replies, cassie will either not hear or ignore her.] She squinted into the distance. "I mean, not that we can judge. We're wearing Power Rangers costumes. In the eyes of the world, we're practically five-year-olds," Cassie added happily. "Ooh! Let's go do eel catching!"

[ human • sixth sense • fearless • the muggle condition • sta 10 • eva 8 • stre 8 • wis 7 • arc 4 • acc 10 ]

[ wand • water bottle • 5 plasters ]

Outfit

“Oh, um, you mentioned it,” The boy’s reply was choked, his face so vibrant a shade of scarlet he could have blended in with the leaf litter, “Didn’t you?”

He didn’t want to admit that he had looked into how the girl had gone about organising the frog choir to see if she had any particular interest. Nor did he particularly wish to advertise just how much of a particular interest he had in her. No, the far more intelligent option was clearly to avoid the question with all the tact of a water buffalo wandering the banks of the River Liffey. He squeezed her hand involuntarily, and was exceptionally relieved when she took to focusing on the pureblooded git that he had pointed out.

She returned the squeeze, albeit for an entirely different reason. It seemed that she had her own plans as it related to the peculiar encounter that they had shared toward the start of summer camp. An encounter that had begun with her accusing him of being a kidnapper, and a pervert, although he had elected to entirely burn that second part of the memory from his brain. He would not miss that cauterised lobe. But where he had left the chance encounter angry and bitter, with unwelcome memories of glares cast at his mother, Aurora’s reaction had been far more visceral. Namely, she had attempted to assault the older boy. She had missed her one and only attack, and it seemed that she wanted to make up for that failure now. He watched her as she spoke, her voice dramatic and rambling, a cadence he had grown entirely accustomed to. For she spoke in her intense rhythm when she was excited. Naturally, that meant she spoke in such a rhythm almost every time that she spoke.

He missed her gesture not to look, true, but he didn’t all the same. His attention was entirely undivided as he looked at her. Nicholas wasn’t particularly aware of just how intently he was looking, and he would deny it should he be questioned on it, but his gaze didn’t break.

The boy flashed her a grin, the excitement from the date had already sent copious amounts of adrenaline through his system, and his head felt abuzz with all sorts of interesting emotions. None of those emotions did anything but turn the interior of his skull into a particularly hazy mix of pink. Coherent thoughts had become as strangers to him. So it was, entirely against his better judgement, entirely against his intentions to rope in his anger, that he allowed the girl to rub off on him.

“Sure,” He said simply, and grinned like an idiot, “It’ll be good to see that git get what’s coming to him.”

Then the American arrived. The accent was a dead give-away as to his nation of origin, and the way that he utilised his peculiar pronunciation to attempt to flirt with Aurora turned Nicholas’s confused, yet happy, pink cloud into a red haze. His emotions had already been running hot, his adrenaline already spiked, joy flickered and turned into rage in an instant. His own wardrobe choice had been insulted, it had stung, yes, but Nicholas hardly found himself caring. He knew he wasn’t a fantastic dresser, even when he had made some form of effort, and he’d already prepared himself for at least a barb or two. It was this interloper's attempt to steal away Aurora that caused him to clench his free hand into a fist.

The boy was obviously older, obviously bigger than Nicholas, and obviously had some sort of issue if he found excitement in the taunting of underclassmen from foreign schools. Yet, the snarl that had begun to form in Nicholas’s throat, a harsh retort that hardly did the Scots-Irish boy's way with words any favours, did not find its mark. Rather, it died in the womb, for Aurora spoke up instead, defending him. Nicholas's blush deepened further, an unconscious reaction both to the compliment and to her loyalty. His conscious mind, usually, would have opted to overanalyse the emotions he had been feeling and deny them in spite of any evidence to the contrary. Fortunately, ironic as that term may have been, the part of his brain he had any modicum of control over was far more focused on ensuring he didn't allow his anger to control him. Provided that no further insults were levied, he may even be able to laugh off the attempt to earn his contempt.

Of course, that meant that this Zuheir continued to speak. Every single word felt as if it were designed to draw absolute ire from Nicholas’s very soul. It was his methodology that so enraged the boy, for he had shot a final barb toward Nicholas, then turned his ire to Aurora. As Zuheir spoke to her outfit, and to her apparent lack of taste, Nicholas’s jaw clenched so tight that he could feel the physical pain in his neck as his teeth ground together. His anger drawing his tendons so taught that they threatened to snap.

Perhaps, if Zuheir hadn’t insulted Aurora’s economic standing, Nicholas may have disengaged, controlled his anger and wished the American well. Perhaps, if they hadn’t just been discussing their last experience with an upper-class prat who had bragged about his wealth and bloodline, then his childhood woes, relating to that very topic, would not have been so prominent in his emotional landscape. Perhaps, if Falentra Black had not hammered home the importance of protecting those close to him, Nicholas would have done the smart thing and not attempted to start an altercation with an opponent who was very much out of his weight class. Alas, such musings were best left for poets, for reality had deviated many moons ago.

There was no battlecry, no declaration of intent. Nicholas merely swung, aiming to clock the older lad in the head with his free hand. The already clenched fist moved, and so too did Nicholas’s body. It was only as he was partway through the motion that he realised he was still holding hands with his date. Not exactly the most graceful punch, but he didn’t care.

Regardless of whether he managed to land his blow or not, the boy would all but growl, “Don’t you dare talk to her like that, you thin-blooded piece of shite!”

Maybe he wasn’t cut out for first dates.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with: @Aurora Ranvier & @Aurelia Notrésvace
Mentioning: Eh, not gonna spam tags
Action: Attempting to punch Hadrian (sorry Aurora, you can't be the only one to do a little bit of assualtin')

Millie was an adorable young girl, with a curiosity that exceeded reason; at least that is what Alan had in mind after taking a dip into the endless possibilities. A lot of the features, if not all, reminded him of a younger version of his mother and thus as he was walking beside @Howard White, he would take one last look in the reflection of a glass. Of course that would make it rather hazy, it was still alienating to look into his reflection and see someone else, namely Millie. It had been a rather random name choice, the first girly name to come to his mind really.

Right now Millie was dressed in yellow dungarees and yellow boots. Her long hair had been tied into a stylized ponytail, making use of a bandana to actually tie and hold it together at the top. Styling long hair had been no joke, at least he could just wish it to be in a tamed condition, as it was not real hair after all. He would need to get into the mindset of Millie if he wished to pull this evening off flawlessly and therefore he would pull wicker basket a little closer as he carried the scooped up wicker basket and walked next to the older appearing Hufflepuff with a bounce in her step. Within the basket itself one could find a curled up cat, that had the fur pattern of a brown Siamese though the anatomy would not match the appearance and thus was likely a crossbreed.

"You think everything will be fine today?", she would ask the dhampir curiously, having to look up to the boy even more so than usual. Well, he was not that much smaller than Howard in the first place. He shook his head, not deeming this to be important right now. The pair would walk straight past a gathered group of students, though Alan could not help but take in the scene that had presented itself. It was confusing to tell from afar what was going on, but he would see a lot of familiar faces, one of the happened to be Falentra, Howard's ex as he had learned recently in the Great Hall during breakfast. Again not important, he was sure Howard wouldn't want to make her a topic right there and then and thus as Millie, the fifth year would follow his friend to the main area of the ball.

Reducio

Closed to Interaction

Action | head to Fall Ball location
Allies | Gryffindor Duellists, Howard White, Flash Holmwood, Santario Martin, Willow Anderson, Hugh Lowe, Evelynn Decipio

[font=Shining Like Stars]

[font=Shining Like Stars]Sakura Kobayashi Outfit : [x] Japanese English Thinking 29th October 2021 Samhain Festival - Hogwarts

[font=Shining Like Stars]Interacting with: Akira Shimizu @Avery Chen [font=Shining Like Stars]Mentionning: Sana Ohashi @Juniper Kelly If you want to come, you can!

[font=Shining Like Stars]You smooth the front of your dress. It's a great dress in Halloween colours. At the beginning of the year, your mother gave it to you and said you would need it. You didn't understand why this particular dress. You prefer cool colours. So it seemed weird to you. But you know the customs of Halloween. The pumpkins and the door-to-door and all that...
You leave the Japanese hut and head towards the place where the ball should be held. You didn't really understand because people were talking about a festival. Wasn't it a ball in the first place? You're worried that your outfit might be a bit extravagant. Especially when you arrive at the place. There were definitely people in their everyday clothes. You are reassured when you see that other people have clothes more suitable for a ball.
When you see the possible activities, you are a bit disappointed. You certainly won't be getting into the mud, that's out of the question. Afterwards, you don't really understand the Matchmaking Booth principle and you don't want to try it. There is a more natural activity and it would be nice to try.
But first, you have to find Shimizu-san. You have decided to come together. You're almost sure there will be innuendo. Especially from Sana. She'll probably think you're dating but you're just friends. You made a date to the dance but with the world having... It's a good thing your dress is flashier than the others.

[font=Shining Like Stars]Action: Entering the festival Waiting for Shimizu-san

[font=Shining Like Stars]Stats: STA: 5 | EVA: 6 | STR: 3 WIS: 8 | ARC: 7 | ACC: 6

Action: Giddeon is offering Lena and Celeste candy

Interacts with: @Martyna Romero (iNPC Lena Martins) & @Gabriella Haworth (iNPC Celeste Leblanc).

Mentioned: @Serena Towers

Inventory: Packaged and sealed candy inside his satchel. Wand. Heavy stuffed animal (small).

Outfit: Suit

Inventory: Wand, small lockpicking knife, wizard tight, corsage (for Tyranni).

Action: None as of yet. Waiting for his date to arrive. Trying to assess Hugh's risk of death, he will very likely attack Erin before the next mod.

Interacts with: @Galton Lansdale

Mentions: @Hugh Lowe, @Erin Ryan & @Tyranny Whitethorn

banner by my delightful frat brother, astrea soleil neptune

ACTION: Attempting to shield Thomas and Falentra from Marion via bear-hug after she sees that Thomas has cast his spell. Will make herself Marion's new target if necessary/possible.

Emily arrived at the Ball, very excited and a bit nervous. She had her practice with Simon earlier, and said she would meet up wth some friends, but still was not sure what she would be doing. She had never been to a ball before. She dressed up quite a bit, because after all it was her very first ball, she was wearing a blue dress with diamons. Her hair was woren up, like she usually did, but now just a bit more fancy. She looked around, hoping to see some of her friends.

She walked around, just waiting to bump into some of her friends, she loved the decoration, the ball looked so lovely, she had never felt seen so much beauty in fall as today. She though about what her family would be doing at this moment, and then she knew, in the Muggle world, they were celebrating Halloween! Trick or tread, sharing candy, and just as here, carving pumpkins, she looked around and saw lots of pumpkins. She wondered where her friends were. She knew Juniper came with Cody, and Simon was waiting for his girlfriend. She hoped he was still able to give her a dance as he told her, they were friends and that she loved. She hoped Juni might want to dance with her as well, and ofcourse all her other friends who would come to the ball today.

Wordcount: 241

Roleplaying as Durmstrang iNPC Arjan Oberoi

Interacting with @Lydia Cooper | Mentions: Not particularly

The most amazing man was here. It was time for the ball to get far more exciting, of course. Who cared about anything when the most amazing man was here? Well... probably every single person, including his date. Nonetheless, Arjan stood by the castle doors as he wanted for his date. The lovely Lydia Cooper. He had somehow won her over with his incredible luck charm and that chiselled jawline of his. Dressed in a navy blue blazer and suit pants, he wore a white t-shirt on the inside to go a little more 'casual'. He had heard rumours of the ball being more 'casual' after all. So, he was dressing the part. Not in plaid, of course - who the heck wore plaid? Not him. But danggg, the boy looked fine. At least, in his own opinion.

"My lady," He greeted Lydia as soon as he saw her making her way over to him, with a smirk on his face and a small bow as though he was a true gentleman, "You look beautiful. May I?" He complimented her, words that he would say regardless of what she was wearing. By the end of his sentence, he held up a corsage for her. One that matched his boutonniere, that was already placed appropriately.

After they had gotten settled in, he would make sure his clothes were in order, patting them down a little before turning back to his date, "Shall we?" Arjan asked as he offered his arm to her if she wanted it.

Making his way into the ball, he would pause as he approached. The decoration seemed quite on par for Hogwarts - a little spooky ins some places but oddly cute in others. What made him stop in his tracks was that it seemed to be getting a little rowdy here already. Far too rowdy. It was like, they had no idea who was about to enter.

But never fear, for Gaston Arjan is here. With a wave of his free arm - if Lydia had linked herself with the other one - or both if she had not, the Durmstrang sixth year proudly and confidently entered the festival. He clearly caught the attention of every single person - because, let's be real, he was Arjan Oberoi. He had lines of people interested in him and Lydia Cooper was so lucky to be the one that he was therewith.

Doing a drastic hand wave before sleeking up his hair, again. With that, he guided his date into the ball - assuming she followed - basically shoving everyone else out of the way by shimmying past each and every single one of them. A gentle shove here and there as he made his way further into the ball.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked Lydia, guiding her in, wondering if he should led the way to some sort of drinks table, to the dance floor or go further into what appeared to be a different area (the Fall Ball). Arjan was not really interested in any of the chaos going on at the moment, mostly because it did not seem to be fascinating. Besides, there was someone he was searching for and his gaze had not managed to see them yet.

Outfit of the Day

ACTION: Wander through the area looking super dapper

Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 17 | Wisdom: 3 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 10
Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong | The Martial Artist | Spell Spread | Charmer