Event Midspring Festival

As the sun sank further, darkness would grow around them. Aside from the tall fire, the last gleam of light on the horizon was all that was left of the day. This was meant to be a festival about the sun, which was why fire was such a prevalent feature. Candles would float around people's heads as they traveled around the courtyard, either to dance, to make crafts, or to spend time with the people they loved. Many of those who arrived here early from the Great Hall were seeking somewhere quieter and calmer, which they would thankfully find. For those that had dates, this was a popular area for romance, as they would be able to have a bit of privacy away from the large crowds inherent in balls that invite the international students.

As the sky turned inky, the warmth of the bonfire would attract more bodies. Many of the attendees now either adorned flowers themselves or were wearing masks to hide their features. Many of those who hadn't consumed caffeine or sugar would start to feel the onset of sleepiness, if the idea of skipping curfew wasn't enough to reignite their energy. As soon as night fell, the goblet would spit out the names of the people destined to fight for their school's honor in the upcoming year. For those who wanted to have their dreams sent up on a pyre, or wanted to participate in the late night games, this would be the last chance.

OOC

@Bailey Glade moved from the Festival to the Celebration
@James Owen moved from the Festival to the Celebration
@Extressia Garren Leo moved from the Festival to the Celebration
@AngelFyre McCubbin moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Simon Kincaid moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Edme Achillian moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Hanako Tone moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Pea Elena Fowl moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Hunter Argentum moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Judith Cohen moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Simon Corbin as NPC Tiffany Golighty moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Akari Kato as NPC Enzo Delicrox moved from the Celebration to the Festival
@Ivy Bellamy moved from the Celebration to the Festival
(Please reach out to me if you think any of these are incorrect)

☁ Interacting ☁
@Flash Holmwood & @M J Davenport

Everything about Flash screamed exhaustion. She longed to leave the ball with him and go to the Room of Requirement where she was once met with a giant nest of pillows and blankets. Where they could both rest for the rest of the night and not have to worry about the ball, or impending doom, or school tests, or existing for other people. They could simply be and sleep comfortably for once.

The small smile that met his was one that had lines of concern and worry at the corners, but she knew there was not much she could do except support him and be by his side until they could both retire. "I'll stay with you until then, and we can leave together." She stepped back to give him space to stretch and get his body moving once more.

The bubble of glee of being offered a dance couldn't be denied, every ball she had been one step too far from a real dance. The only one she had had was with Rafael who was focused on a fight rather than her. Which, was far. She wasn't his date. But still, a teenage girl wants what she wants. Being led to the dance floor by her hand was what she had seen in so many Disney movies and romance movies that she had watched with her mom. A little girls dream, actualized. With someone that she deeply, truly cared about. To her it meant more that Flash chose to spend his time with her this ball rather than any of his many possible suitors.

In the gentle quiet of the Courtyard which was much less busy than the Great Hall they swayed together. She let herself close her eyes and lay her head on his chest. Feeling the beat of his heart and the soft crush of grass underneath her feet. Even the music became background noise, the sound distant in her ears like in the half sleep state of waking up from a nap with the TV on. For a moment they weren't wizards constantly wondering what lurked in the shadows, missing family, navigating relationships that they didn't have the handbook for. There was no heat of fire on their faces as they watched their classmates fall through the floor of the Common Room. It was just them. Just two kids... existing beside each other. Taking a moment of solace in a school of chaos.

As the music ended they pulled away and the softness settled deep into her heart. Her hand came up to touch her flower crown at the mention of it. Almost forgetting that she had one. Her eyes darted around the events, landing on the effigy. "Maybe we could make a wish-" The request was cut off by a change in Flash's energy. A girl that she didn't recognize approached Flash, apparently knowing him. She took a step back as the mystery girl grasped his shoulders.

Perhaps her next reaction was a bit too brash, but someone had their hands on her brother and he didn't want them there. Before she could think about what she was doing her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out her wand. "Hands off my brother. Flipendo." The incantation dripped with more venom than was probably necessary given that again, she knew nothing about this girl but, what was done was done. She just hoped the spell actually hit for once.

Action: Casting the Knockback Jinx at M J Davenport

Stamina 12 ☁ Evasion 8 ☁ Strength 5
Wisdom 10 ☁ ArcPower 6 ☁ Accuracy 7

Healing Sage | Lovely Creature | Spell Spread

☁ Outfit Reference ☁

Reducio

“Well, I can’t blame you for thinking that. You did see a rather unpleasant side of me when we first met. I’m not sure if you grew up with muggles or not, but are you familiar with the movie Shrek?”

What? Why is he bringing up that kids' cartoon Shrek? She have watched that movie with her aunt a long time ago when she is very young. Needless to say, she HATED that movie. Ugly green ogre making up parodies about fairy tales she used to love. Utterly awful.

“ ‘Onions have layers’ said philosopher Shrek, the main character of the movie. We are all onions. But better smelling and more attractive, of course. Peel one off and there are still tons for you to see. My point is, you have seen 2 layers of me. One for the world and one solely for you”

She didn’t really remember anything about the movie to really understand his reference. But if she dissects his word correctly, is he saying that this is him showing his true self? why does that somehow very hard to believe, that he is actually this nice.

“So are you a muggle-born? I am purely a witch by blood,” She makes a gesture at herself. She was a little surprised when she heard him talking about a Muggle movie. For some reason, she assume that Hana was a wizard born like her. She is also unsure why she would assume that.

“But I grew up with my aunt who is a Muggle in London. So yes, I have heard the movie you are talking about. but, Ugh- I hated it. I watch it when I was little and I’m pretty sure that green ogre gave me nightmares.” She continued with a disturbed face. But she’s not surprised that her date would like those kinds of movies.

“And if I understand your, reference.. clearly, you are saying that you just merely showing another layer of you?” She looks at Hana still with the same suspicious look.

“I see.” She doesn’t, she doesn’t see it. Something feels a miss. She might relate to his story, about how some people have hidden layers- sighs- like an onion- especially someone like her. She knows that deep down there’s actually a layer of kindness or even a layer where she keeps her heart, or so her aunt says. But what Hana was doing, did not feel genuine. First of all, he only likes her for her looks, he didn’t know anything about her. Second, he even brought it up himself, that he have threaten to turn her hair shocking pink during their first meeting, which obviously was not a very pleasant thing to do to someone he originally liked. If he thinks his flattery could make would make her blind to his intention then he is certainly wrong. Yes, she loves the flattery and admiration. But if it's gonna cost her perfect image, then she is not stupid enough to be blinded by them.

“After going through all that trouble to fight off your many other suitors? What else should I do if you don’t seem to believe my words?” He continued.

Sigh- Maybe she is overthinking this. Maybe his 13-year-old mind wouldn’t have the brain capacity for that kind of advanced scheming. But her heart still feels a little uneasy. She breathed the air in the courtyard. Honestly, for a while there she didn't even notice the big fire in the middle of the festival, with an effigy in the shape of a dragon. Even though it looks to have been charmed into something that is perfectly safe to touch, she was still thinking of pushing Hana into that fire. Just cause.

So what should she do next? going to go on the rest of the day like nothing is bothering her? Heh, She is Pea Elena Fowl. So why not put his love to the test. If she just keeps tormenting him to the end of this celebration, maybe he will finally be able to tell her the truth, or maybe- he would leave her for good. And that is a win-win for her in all honesty. She would hate to eventually reject him.

“ Would you mind if I leave you for a few minutes? It’s for a good cause, I promise you. It’s a surprise~”

Oh great, what is he doing now?

But while he is leaving, let’s think of another way she could ‘test’ his love for her.

Interacting : @Hanako Tone (Close for interaction except if we have plans)
Mentioning :
Action : Just chatting with Hana
Post Tracker : X | X | X | X

banner made by the lovely @Pea Elena Fowl And yes the quote is 100% Hana's thoughts

She didn’t seem to like Shrek so much, how dare she make such a face to the world’s most immaculate animated movie? He was offended but he would be lying if he said he was surprised. She seemed to be incredibly picky about appearances, much like Cu Sith. Perhaps if the two met, they could bond over how ugly most humans are.

And right on track, he had opened up a conversation about blood status. He loved being a mastermind. It was the most basic thing you could know about someone in the wizarding world. It wouldn't make sense for a lovesick puppy such as he to not know this much. The idea that Argan was a pureblood was no surprise with how she carried herself. They tended to be more.. ‘Aristocrat’ like? It was muggle history class all over again when it comes to the purebloods.

At the very least, he could appreciate that she didn’t sound so disgusted at the idea of him being a muggle-born. Hanako was no advocate for muggle-borns nor did he support pureblood supremacy, but he didn’t feel the need to jump in on a silly topic like that. It’s literally potential to do magic, why people fought wars over it was beyond his young adolescent brain. But not having Pea run away after noticing he’s not a pureblood like her was refreshing. No no. She was going to leave him when he wanted her to.

It took him a few seconds to determine if he should lie about his history to her or not. But considering he had already lied to her all night, perhaps a break was what she (and him) needed. “ I’m surprised. Do I give muggle-born vibes, or did you conclude that just from me talking about movies from a muggle community?” he snickered. “ Most people mistake me as someone who was used to all these magic things, you know? I suppose it comes with being a 3rd year. I’m actually a half-blood. I grew up in a very muggle environment, that hasn’t changed. But I did get to know a lot about the wizarding world through my grandmother. I believe she’s a pureblood but…” he trailed off, suddenly aware of what he didn’t know. His grandmother had claimed to be a pureblood. She always lacked muggle knowledge as if she didn't grow up there. Hana understood she fled from Japan with his grandfather during their early adulthood, but no knowledge of her family was known to him. If Pea asked if she knew them, Hanako truly didn't know how to answer. Nor did he wish to. “ Well she just told me about wizards through stories since I was younger. Imagine my surprise when it turned out everything she said was true. I thought she always had a wild imagination” he shrugged with a smile.

It was when she started talking a bit about her history that Hanako’s genuine interest spiked. “Oh? A muggle aunt?” Hanako made a thinking pose before showing her another surprisingly genuine smile. “ Heh, that’s quite the same as my situation isn’t it? Having a close relative shows you a different world than what you’re used to. That's quite-” interesting, he wanted to say. But he jumped back into reality and realized that NO - Stop! This is the girl he’s going to make scream or cry by the end of the night. What was he doing bonding over similar circumstances? “ Cute “ he added quickly, traces of his earlier smile being replaced with the sweet one she was used to.

“And if I understand your, reference.. clearly, you are saying that you just merely showing another layer of you?”

“ Brains are Beauty~” he complimented. “ No one is 2 dimensional. Or in this case, have just one layer of themselves.”. She seemed to understand so then why did she still look unconvinced. How??? He basically had a different personality since they started the date. Looks like he really needs to go above and beyond for her. What a picky date. He couldn’t wait for the night to be over. At the very least she allowed him to go and with a last grin, he went his way to the crafting table.

Open/Close for interactions

Actions:
>Leaving to the Crafting Table. For real this time.
>His date with he is leaving for a bit ohhh noo i hope no one steals her awayy while he's gonnneee @Akari Kato

Leaving the Area

Interactions: Open Actions: Entered the effigy & attaching note

The courtyard did not seem as crowded as the Great Hall, they felt a sort of relief for being here before the rush. Jay felt less awkward with the emptiness, they never asked anyone to be their date, and neither did they ask friends to tag along. The Griffindor was all alone, but that was better than what happened to them at the other dances... Jay cringed thinking about it, it all put a stain on their reputation. It wasn't only once or twice, it was three times that their date ditched them! As Jay walked around the courtyard and looked at the flowers in detail, they felt a sense of sadness. Perhaps they were a boring character, Jay cursed the cosmic gods.

They then saw a tall effigy made of wood and straw, it looked like a dragon. Jay smiled in excitement as they saw the sign and table with papers on it. The fourth-year excitedly rushed to the table and grabbed one of the pieces of paper. It took a while to think about it before Jay decided what to write, they pictured certain people in mind as they wrote;

As they put the paper down they blushed lightly, this was a bit embarrassing for them to write. The green-haired student folded the paper and entered the small walkway that led to the inside of the straw beast. Once they were inside they looked at all of the little notes attached, it was quite wonderful.

Jay went ahead and attached their now unfolded note to be with all the other notes.

ACTION:Left the dragon effigy after leaving messages and now in the mask making area with @AngelFyre McCubbin

Sta: 6 | Eva: 7 | Str: 9 | Wis: 5 | AP: 4 | Acc: 5
Race: Dhampir

Graphic by Liana Kerr

Posts: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || this one || 11 || 12 || 13 || 14 || end

ACTION: What Kind of Animal is @Simon Kincaid

She smiled as this was an easy question to answer. Without any hesitation, she self-assuredly stated, "A wolf." Scanning the table and looking at the vast array of masks, AngelFyre hoped a wolf mask was amongst the offerings. She was running her fingers gingerly over the multitudes of plain, undecorated masks in various shades of putty, cream, light gray, and beige, while looking for the animal she would have chosen for Simon had he left it up to her to choose for him.

AngelFyre was unaware of it, but she was smiling. It was not a smile that was in any way extraordinary but for the fact that it was not the usual resting position her facial muscles defaulted to as a rule. This was clearly evidence, if anyone in the know had any reason to doubt it, that her heart might just be rapidly wresting control from her over-active and over-serious brain. It would be rather wonderful to be more like her love in this respect. Simon was Mr. Smiles. Smiling, God love him, was his default facial expression, and it was, by far, his most attractive feature, and that was really saying something.

Her thoughts and her search were temporarily halted when mere moments later she smiled even more widely when she saw that Simon had located a wolf at the far end of the table. Excellent! She was ecstatic that he wanted to make it for her and even that little bit of knowledge gave her butterflies.

As he was walking back towards her, wolf mask in hand, she wondered if she had not answered his question what animal he would have chosen for her. "So, Simon, had I not told you which animal to choose, can you please tell me which one you would have chosen for me... and why? Annnnd, please also divulge which one you choose for yourself as I want to make a mask for you, too. And do tell. Why would you choose this yet-to-be-divulged animal for yourself?"

She loved these little moments that presented any opportunity to learn just anything about him, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. Nothing about Simon was inconsequential to AngelFyre. And then she locked eyes on the mask she would have chosen for him.

Would she be right or wrong? How well did she know him? This was the best kind of fun!

Banner by Liana Kerr

❝ Interacting with: @Pea Elena Fowl | Mentioning: @Hanako Tone ❞

French dialog: #4d6284 | English dialog: #262d5e

the ency

Finally making it to the outdoors section of the event, Enzo decided that it was indeed a wise idea to come out here. He already felt much less smothered by the overly energetic attitudes that seemed to surround each and everyone back indoors.

Though that sense of newfound calmness clearly had no intention of staying long, for as he began walking through the courtyard, looking around to see what this area had to offer, his attention was almost immediately caught by a rather interesting pair: The Hanako boy, and what he could only assume by the looks of it, was another date. It was truly nothing short of mind-boggling how that boy consistently managed to acquire dates.

However more importantly, how come that boy was suddenly appearing at every single turn? They had not even known of each other’s existence until the chess combat tournament last summer, but now it seemed they could not rid themselves of each other.

Perhaps he should learn a thing or two from Enzo and realize you do not need your own date to enjoy your evening, you can just ruin someone else's and get the same results.
After the first ball he had attended here, though it was not as awful as he had initially expected, he had since not shown up with a date. By choice of course.
Enzo, to be quite frank did not understand the point whatsoever, or why people felt it was necessary to have one every time. It was all much too gushy and cringeworthy for his liking.

Enzo glanced back and forth once more between the pair before his gaze settled on the girl that stood alongside Hanako. He did not recognize her. Not that it really mattered but whoever she was and wherever she was from, Enzo could not help but sort of pity her. Did she know what she was getting herself into? That boy was without a doubt a piece of work, so he hoped for her sake that she was ready for a chaotic night.

Different from the previous ball, tonight, Enzo did not care enough to specifically go out of his way to ruin someone's 'special' evening. Truth be told, he had been more than satisfied with the outcome of his last interjection, however, that did not stop a delightful idea from blossoming, once prompted. And prompted it was when Hanako blatantly decided to ditch his date and go galavanting off somewhere on his own. Whether or not he would return was not the point, but right now Enzo saw a perfect opening to plant a few seeds of hatred, and who would he be if he ignored such a golden opportunity.

The more he thought about the girl the more he was interested, and while he said he was not going to intentionally go out of his way to interfere with someone's night, there was no harm in passively asking her a couple of friendly questions as well as conjuring up a bit of charm. And if that would end up messing with someone's night, that would be collateral damage and not his problem in the slightest.

So with his usual air of slightly unsettlingly grace, Enzo approached the girl who spiked his interest and put on the best grin he could muster up without feeling sick to his stomach.
"Bonsoir Mademoiselle, fret not, I will be on my way very shortly... Though I was unavoidably curious, and I had a simple question that only you can answer" He began, moving towards one side of the girl before he continued.

"Now humour me. What on earth is a seemingly decent lady such as yourself doing with someone like Monsieur... Tone, is it? "

Action: Stealing Hana's date </3
The Outfit↴

Reducio

OPEN TO INTERACTION

───Interactions─── Reducio @Marshal Mozor @Ivy Bellamy

OUTFIT Reducio Elie Saab Spring 2022 Collection

────Mentions──── Reducio Marion Davenport Willow Anderson Flash Holmwood

"Yes of course all night," Evelynn replied, brow lofting while shooting Marshal a look that might have intoned are-you-quite-alright. Whatever confusion she might have had was short-lived, however, as his following sentiments smoothed over what could only have been a misunderstanding. Smile gracing his lips, Evelynn quickly flicked her attention from Marshal back to Bellamy to rest her with a reassuring smile of her own. "Quite right," she agreed, nodding along with Marshal's clearly-not-sarcastic sentiments. "It is a social event, after all, which would imply being social. We are happy for you to join us. The more the merrier, no?"

And with introductions and formal necessities out of the way, Evelynn could then circle back to the previous discussion at hand. "And how would that not be preposterous?" Exasperation inflected her voice as she turned sights back first upon her underclassman, and then back towards the effigy. "Could you imagine the fright and panic that would induce if it came alive? And what then... should it take on the abilities of its vestige? And temperament as well? The last thing we would need is for it to shoot flame across the celebration. No, I would rest well knowing it remained entirely mundane."

"But.." A hand slipped through each of Ivy's and Marshal's elbows, "I am not afraid." His suggestion at such a notion was even more galling.

Sure, innately, she knew he could not have been seriously accusing her of being too fearful of approaching the great monument, but she had still found herself bristling, lips pursing and stance straightening, feverish to prove otherwise. Steps would steer the trio in that direction, intent for them to take their turns with participating in this little activity. It reminded her of the Tanabata festival she'd seen featured in a few of the shows her mother would watch. In fact, it was because of those that her mother had gotten the idea stuck in her head to start something similar, sentiments written on papers to tie to the covered under-branches of their weeping willow.

Hers would be a walk of relative silence, her mind falling into thought as to what she would write. The dragon was even larger up close, chin lifting to stretch her neck near to its limit as she peered up to its crest. Gooseflesh prickled slowly over her skin. This one might not have been the real creature, but she was painfully reminded that there were actual dragons in the world, and perhaps they just as large. All over again, she was awed by just how ignorant she had been. At how sheltered the muggles where. And just how terrifying magic could be in having historically, and still to this day, veiling a truth so large as this.

At some point, a slip of paper had made it into her hand and her gaze sank to it, its surface blank still. The sign nearby had directed them to fill out their hopes and dreams and affix the sentiment to the dragon within the archway. But.. what was she to write? What did she hope for? To make it to the next day, and then the next? To successfully complete her classes? To restore the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to glory and seize the quidditch cup for a second year running? No matter what came to mind, it seemed to ring hollow.. superficial. But time wasn't exactly on her side, and the more she stalled, the more students lined up behind awaiting their turns. So, wheels feverishly turning, she grabbed a quill and hastily scrawled:

For everyone to be safe, to know security, to not have to be afraid of the halls and shadows of this castle we call home. To find our place and our role, wherever and whatever those may be.

And with that, she would pluck it up and hold it close, ink side facing her such that none might spy the words. To fold it too early would smear the words. Which seemed an odd thing to worry about given that it was to be burned very shortly anyway. Even still, she would wait for the ink to dry before she creased its surface, but waste no time doing so once it had.

By then, she had expected the way to be clear for her, but as she started to enter through the narrow archway into the shadowed belly of the dragon, she found her way somewhat barred. "Are you quite alright?" she asked Marshal, pushing her way into the confined space, evidently unbothered by the proximity. It wasn't like it was D'Spacito and a broom closet after all; and no Piérre has intervened to block her retreat. Still, she had somewhat underestimated just how tight a space it was and hitched her breath a couple of times when her dress brushed up against a few of the pinned dreams, crinkling their presence.

"I wonder what they say.." But she couldn't dwell on them. Already, light flickered in and out of view as the silhouettes of heads at the entrance checked to see if the coast was clear. "Come on, we are holding up the line..." Her shoulder bumped into Marshal's as she tried to shuffle further along, arm brushing against his as she hastily affixed her own paper to the wall in an inconspicuous place, then promptly bumped into Marshal again. "For heaven's sake..." She clicked her tongue in growing agitation. "Could they not have make this even moderately more spacious..."

As they emerged, she paused to breathe deeply of the fresh air, wooden aromas exchanged for fresh florals. Fingers reached to tend to a few locks of hair that had been snagged and pulled loose in the effigy, and her gaze would set to wander anew, searching for their next prospects. It wouldn't wander long. The last she had spied of Flash, he had been in conversation with a younger student. Now, he was accompanied by two girls. Or rather, one girl—Willow—and something else entirely more dangerous. All of a sudden, she would feel herself reeling, her stomach dropping out from itself as though having taken a blow from an unseen assailant.

What was she doing here...

She found herself frozen on the spot, sight fixed towards them in obvious disbelief. Her hands had settled, one to her thigh, fingers feeling through the fabric of her dress for the wand that lay beneath as though reminding herself that she wasn't entirely helpless. The other, however, had fallen to the nearest surface of support that just so happened to be the back of Marshal's arm. But was it for support? Or as a subconscious manoeuvre to make sure he couldn't possibly take even a single step in that direction. If asked about it later, no doubt she would firmly argue for the latter, but the slightest tremor of her grip might have suggested the former.

Even as the scene played itself out, Anderson drawing her wand and casting, and the elder witch taking her retreat, Evelynn was hardly placated. She couldn't take her eyes off Flash—off his eye. Nor could she ignore the icy grip that clenched at her own gut at the realization that her paranoia may have been a rational mistrust all along.

ACTION: Talking with Marshal and Ivy, doing effigy wish things, noticing Marion and not feeling quite so fearless

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