Closed An Axe-cellent Time IC Spring Break Event Vale's Mansion Party Year One

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MAGGIE HAWKINS

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interacting with: @Liana Kerr mentioning: @Vale Ashwood | @Ari Gwild | @Faye Simmons | @Draven Mirador | @Noah Jupe | @Juniper Kelly | @Avery Chen | @Hui Ming

April 8, 2022

XXXXThe Ashwood Manor was every bit as huge and terrifying and menacing as Maggie had anticipated. Maybe even more so, seeing as the first event that Vale had lined up for a bunch of first-year students was axe throwing. It was strange, to come to a friend's home and see her family lined up like the Addams family. Still, Maggie was planning on making a good impression. Probably wasn't off to a good start, considering the first thing she said upon observing the family's hospitality was "this looks like Friday the 13th." Now, she stood before the targets, an axe in hand, surrounded by her fellow classmates. A few she would've spoken to outside of school, expected to see outside of it, and a few were brand new. For instance, Maggie never would've hung out with Juniper Kelly outside of school. She didn't even know Ari Gwild, Faye Simmons, Noah Jupe, or Draven Mirador. Others, such as Avery Chen and Hui Ming (and their gracious host, Vale Ashwood), were far more likely to be seen outside of class by Maggie. "Shoot straight, Li!" Maggie jeered, grinning over at her best friend and letting her arm bend at the elbow behind her head. Then, with a wide grin, she swung it in an arc over her head, loosing the axe. Sharp shooter, indeed. Action | Throwing an axe. Accuracy | 7

The Teams

Team One

@Liana Kerr Prodigal DADA Accuracy | 9

@Vale Ashwood Fearless Accuracy | 6

@Habib Acropolis Parselmouth Accuracy | 3

Team Two

@Noah Jupe Perfectionist, Healing Sage Accuracy | 7

@Maggie Hawkins Calming Presence Accuracy | 7

@Hunter Argentum Prodigal Potions Accuracy | 4

Team Three

@Draven Mirador Wandmaker Accuracy | 7

@Faye Simmons N/A Accuracy | 6

@Della Barfield Parselmouth Accuracy | 5

Team Four

@Ari Gwild Perfectionist Accuracy | 6

@Avery Chen Blindvision Accuracy | 6

@Clair Fernandez Fearless Accuracy | 6

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Round 1

Fog: No

Team One Rolls

Reducio

Liana
Roll: 10
Slip? No
10 + 9 = 19 -> Middle ring hit! +3 points
Vale
Roll: 17
Slip? No
17 + 6 = 23 -> Inner ring hit! +4 points
Habib
Roll: 24
Slip? Yes. No bonus accuracy.
24 = 24 -> Inner ring hit! +4 points

Total Points: 11

Team Two Rolls

Reducio

Noah
Roll: 7
Slip? No
7 = 7 = 14 -> Second outer ring hit! +2 points
Maggie
Roll: 20
Slip? No
20 + 7 = 27 -> BULL'S EYE! +6 points
Hunter
Roll: 3
Slip? No
Roll did not bypass minimum requirement. Target missed. +0 points

Total Points: 8

Team Three Rolls

Reducio

Draven
Did not post in time. Action voided. +0 points.
Faye
Did not post in time. Action voided. +0 points.
Della
Roll: 23
Slip? No
23 + 5 = 28 -> BULL'S EYE! +6 points

Total Points: 6

Team Four Rolls

Reducio

Ari
Roll: 9
Slip? No
9 + 6 = 15 -> Middle ring hit! +3 points
Avery
Roll: 18
Slip? No
18 + 6 = 24 -> Inner ring hit! +4 points
Clair
Roll: 13
Slip? Yes. No bonus accuracy.
13 = 13 -> Second outer ring hit! +2 points

Total Points: 9

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What is Going On?

The first round went off without too much trouble. The fog decided it was going to be kind to those on their first axe swings and let them at least see how well they're doing. The Ashwood family observed in anticipation of how well children of today are at such a fun, anxiety-filled sport.

The first team steps up, involving both the studious, prodigal Liana Kerr, the fearless Vale (the hostress herself), and Habib whose family holds a clear affinity for snakes. Liana moves to prove that while she is an upstanding girl with a noble future ahead of herself, she can still work her way around an axe. She swings and her axe lands on target; the middle ring! Vale steps up next, moving to prove that the Ashwoods are naturally talented in axe-throwing. She swings her axe, and it lands on target. A inner ring hit! Unfortunately, despite such decent luck for the first two members of the team, Habib had a hard time holding his axe. But he didn't let that hold himself back. His luck breaks through and he lands an axe in an inner ring! The Ashwood family would clap at the marvelous work done by the first team that includes their little Ashwood as well.

The second team was up next. Poor, scared Noah came with a calm Maggie and a blind Hunter. Maybe he had a right to be scared, because Noah would be swinging an axe without trouble and landing it on the second outer ring of his target of choice. Maggie was up next, and her calm exterior will help her succeed in the long run and she lands directly on a bull's eye! The family could be heard making noises of excitement at such a display of amazing talent from both Noah and Maggie. Up next was Hunter, and the family looked forward in anticipation. A long lost relative! Did he too have the Ashwood talent of axe-throwing much like their beloved Vale? Wait, why did he take his glasses off? Was he going to go in swinging while blind? That even grabbed Duncan's full attention along with the rest of the family. As Hunter swung his axe, they watch it swung toward a target...pass that target, and all the way into the woods. The family along with Vale stared at Hunter. And boy, did they stare for a long time. Without much of a voice, they slowly went back to their former behaviors.

In the midst of the awkwardness, team three was up next. But poor Della will be the only one taking a stand. Such a lioness thing to do as her teammates were probably holding each other tightly as they heard an owl's hoot. It didn't matter for young Della, for as she swung her axe, she landed her team a bull's eye worth remembering! The Ashwoods would clap excitedly despite the poor lioness' disadvantage. Adana, despite the clear bravery of the young girl, would grow concern of the two children on the team.

Last but certainly not least, team four would be proving themselves. Perfectionist Ari, the worried boy he was, would take an axe and throw it to the best of his ability. He landed it naturally on a middle ring of a target. Such an impressive feat! Up next was musically talented Avery, who seems to want to show off for Vale as well. And it turns out his wish would come true, as he steps up and makes a glorious swing on an inner ring of a target. Clair was next. Will her fearless endeavours help her? Not completely, for her poor hands would accidentally let the axe slip from her hands far too early and land only on an second outer ring of a target. The team would get happy claps by the Ashwood family.

Once the axe throwing was over, Duncan would move from his spot and retrieve the axes from the trees while his wife would gently smile as she knitted with her mother-in-law on a log. Raydon quietly slept, or at least it appears he was sleeping with that hat over his face. Vale hopped and giggled as the first round of axe throwing mostly went smoothly.

Will round two, however, say otherwise?

200 word count minimum is required for all posts. Players have until April 23rd's 11:59 pm (23:59) EST to post along with action of axe-throwing at a target. Players who do not post in the designated due date will have their action voided. Remember to post your action clearly in the next round's post. Any post that doesn't will have their axe-throwing action voided.

action; throwing the axe.

Seeing her axe hit the target was somehow satisfying - similar to what she felt when her spells landed on practice dummies just where she intended. The feeling wasn't quite as intense, though. In the duelling club, her accurate hits were a reward for arduous practice. Here, it felt more like luck than anything else - she didn't really know what she did right when throwing, and if her technique could be improved for better results. A quick glance around told her that she at least wasn't performing the worst, which was a relief. Being the worst at anything was utterly vexing. She had enough of that in Flying lessons.

"Nice one, Maggie!" she called out, seeing that her friend's throw had been as good as Vale's initial demonstration. Had she done this before? Was it a common Muggle sport? "And Della, too," she added, noticing that the Gryffindor's axe was also wedged in the bullseye. It was easy to acknowledge that others performed great, even while her own throw was quite mediocre. This was not duelling, where she had spent long hours perfecting her skills, and failure wounded her self-esteem. This was just a bizarre activity she was unlikely to ever try again.

She picked up another axe, glancing over at Vale who decided to join the game as her teammate. It was looking like their team might actually win, since a professional was on their side now. Not that Liana cared much about victory, for once. As long as nobody got decapitated today, she would consider this game a success.

The redhead glanced over to where the ugly doll was placed, feeling slightly guilty about not having told Vale that it likes to move around if left unattended. She'd figured it wouldn't scare any of the Ashwoods, and might even come as a pleasant surprise to its new owner to discover that the doll seemingly had a life of its own. Gifting potentially jinxed (if not cursed) items was definitely frowned upon, though - especially without telling the recipient anything about the magic that affected the item. "The doll is a restless one, Vale, I'd keep an eye on it if I were you," she finally said, fully aware of how silly it must have sounded to their peers who were certainly grown out of their toy phase by now. And to hear the very serious Liana Kerr speak of a doll like it was a living thing... Well, no matter. At least a token warning had to be given.

The Ravenclaw girl, Clair, voiced something that Liana was feeling quite acutely herself. Indeed, being wandless felt like she was missing a vital part of herself. "Yes, it makes me feel vulnerable, like I'm defenseless," she admitted, raising the axe above her head with both hands.

Action: Throwing an axe at the target.

Noah threw the axe, but slammed his eyelids shut in pure fear, and when he opened it, he was stunned to see that the axe landed on the second outer ring. "M-maggie... I hope you didn't b-bring you- your spider-"

Noah would look back at Vale, a pleading look worsening in his eye with every second he thought about how his axe hit the target.

Was Noah dangerous? Was he a murderer now? Was he someone that would be shunned by the entireity of the Wizarding World and the Muggle world? Was the Ministry of Magic going to find out about this and imprison him at Alcatraz where dementors could feed on his soul and joy?

What was making Noah so anxious? Was it the fear that Vale was here to kill him? Vale probably never liked Noah from the first time they met in Hogsmeade several weeks prior, and wanted to rid of him.

"H-hunter- c-can you- p-put on yo-your glasses? I- I- don't want to be killed today! I'm already getting a sneaking suspicion that Vale wants to do that already, if not her, then her family! They scare me! They intimidate me! What family could be so dark and still happy at the same time? This makes me feel like I'm watching some of those... muggle horror films." He whispered to Hunter. Though he knew the first part of what he said was perhaps ironic because Noah had shut his eyes mid-throw.

Action: throwing axe
@Maggie Hawkins | @Hunter Argentum

†-----------------†--------------「 Wood to Ash 」-----------------†--------------†

@.Liana Kerr

†-----------------†--------------「 Fire 」-----------------†--------------†

----Vale sighed at her throw. It wasn't a bull's eye, but it was something. Her teammates did well, on the other hand, causing her to smile and praise them.

"Liana! You did so well. You too Habib. Going to be great at head chopping in no time!"

Vale turned her head to seek her doll on the log only to find it was missing. She blinked in confusion, hurrying along to check if it fell over or not. It didn't. The young girl made a pout, turning to her older brother to see if he was a culprit to the missing doll. He sat only peacefully asleep. No dice there, and so she turned to her mother.

"Mama! Mwanasesere?" Mama! Doll? It was fast-speaking Swahili, with her mother turning to her and pointed it out...calmly sitting nearby the axes! How did it do that? Was it like Jela? Vale turned excited, moving to grab her new doll and hugging it tightly. It moves on its own! To think Liana gave her something so special. Vale knew she owed the girl a favor or two. But what would such a refined girl like Liana would want? Maybe she'll ask her later. It was a thoughtful gift that needs to be gifted in return.

Liana wasn't lying about the doll being restless.

Vale would turn to hugging the doll tightly and laying it next to her leg with it was time for her to axe-throw. The axe-throw was a natural movement for her, grabbing an axe and throwing it as fast as she could without a worry. But hearing Noah Jupe after throwing made her turn her head in confusion. A soft giggle escaped her lips.

"Kill you? Oh no, that's a mean-spirited thing to do! Especially without a warning." Vale never killed anyone in her entire life, at least not so far. She clapped her hands together, seemingly without reason.

"I don't think friends kill each other so much, Noah. While interesting, maybe too cruel even for me." Vale made a large smile at the boy. What a strange boy, always so scared of the world around him. But it'll be such a fun thing to watch as he's stuck here in one of the most 'creepiest' mansions to date. At least, according to that one reporter that came by a while ago.

Interactions | @Liana Kerr @Noah Jupe
Mentions | None.

Action | Throwing an axe.

Hunter lifted the ax, but in a sudden moment, two things occurred at once in his head. For starters, there were multiple eyes of people focused upon him, and a similar feeling of fear for crowds occurred in his head. A psychological and mental attack that he hadn't taken into consideration due to focusing too much on other students. Hunter worried and became paranoid about others that he rarely took self-notes about himself. There were a few things off about Hunter that were obvious such as note-taking during a break. At this point, many could consider Hunter to be a scornful reminder that at some point everyone would have to go back to Hogwarts and resume their classes.

The other thing that occurred in his head, or rather eyes, was more physical. As Hunter drew his arm back in a similar fashion to what Vale had done, he was about to let the ax loose. However, he lost immediate balance and the world had a much more blurry feel to it. Hunter could feel the slight immediate strain on his eyes, and he took great displeasure in the comments from Avery and Noah. The glasses weren't prescriptions, and Hunter could see normally without them. At least, that is what he thought. Every year, month, day, minute, and second Hunter wore those glasses the moment he got them on one of his birthdays. The world was full of vivid and natural colors, but Hunter's world was filled with these colors and a tint of yellow. The yellow was natural to him, and it dampened the amount of visual stimulation he gained. Hunter was always observational, sometimes too observational. He took in information in a way that many people his age shouldn't.

By taking his glasses off for a while, everything felt rather... strong. The dark green mist of opaque nature due to the scattering of light of minuscule droplets already slammed into Hunter. The refraction of slight light on the ax as it was thrown caused a slight pain in Hunter due to the unfamiliarity with clear steel and rust coloring. Hunter fixed his posture and stood back up, and placed his hand over his eyes to darken and relax the pain. Taking out his glasses, he placed them back on. He could only wonder how long it would take for his vision to be fixed.

Hunter's Journal

Reducio

Noah Jupe: Small stature, stuttered speech. Slight motions of anxiety and... immediate question of killing? A potential fear of spiders based on a comment towards Maggie. Immediate fear on my miss and comments about Vale and her family. Has mentioned "muggle movies," potentially not a muggle due to utilization of the term but has some sort of experience with them and/or their items. A potential candidate for knowing more about muggle ware, if required his fearful nature could be used against him in order to gain such knowledge.
As for current accuracy: Average

Avery Chen: Confident in wording with a feeling of enthusiasm towards teammates and others. A leader in the making of sorts. However, his high aptitude for confidence has shown to bring him into troublesome situations. Mentions of fear in breaking his wand. Key noted, he has shown a change in tone of voice and word choice for Della Barfield. In Wargames, his lack of attacks on her and change in behavior may be a hint of affection from Avery for Della.
Accuracy: Above Average

Liana Kerr: A strong duelist and strategist who has made a comment about feeling defenseless without her wand. Her dueling capabilities seemed to have honed her ability to throw an ax. To have fought alongside her, I can only comment to never attempt a duel with her. However, I am curious as to what means more to her. Her teammates or the win of a competition.
Accuracy: Above Average

Della Barfield: A potential connection between her and Mr. Chen, but I have not confirmed as such. Despite her statement of never throwing an ax, she has proven to almost be a natural. Being the motor of her team, she refuses to be held back by the lack of points from her teammates.
Accuracy: Exceeds Average

Clair Fernandez: Based on previous encounters and her motion of a sigh, Ms. Fernandez potentially has a short temper if I had to assume. However, despite this, she still seems to pay great attention (question about our wands) and is an overall team player.

Ari ...: Ari, since I have not heard his last name yet, is another Ravenclaw fellow. His motions appear to be one of caution and thought. Yet, I don't know much about him. He's the biggest mystery so far.
Accuracy: Average

Habib Acropolis: Eyes and motions wander around. Possibly daydreaming? About what though? Had a question about magical creatures. Is he looking for creatures? Or is he afraid we'll be attacked by some?
Accuracy: Above Average

Maggie Hawkins: Accuracy during wargames seemed excellent, but not against moving targets. It seems my theory is more accurate than I thought by throwing an ax at a nonmoving target.
Accuracy: Exceeds Average

Hunter kept his journal close at hand, avoiding letting others get an easy sneak peek at what he wrote. However, one could potentially read what he wrote if he was too focused on what he was doing.

This journal was a piece of Hunter that some knew little about. A piece that questioned everything and learned from everything. From it, Hunter took note of strengths, comments, relationships, and of course weaknesses. Anyone could be a potential enemy or friend. However... Hunter did notice something. He came to this location originally because his distant cousin Vale had requested it. Yet, he found himself in situations with the same type of people. Was this group bound to become his first-ever friend group? He didn't know, and it was a question he couldn't focus on at the moment. He got up, and tucked his journal back into his hoodie since he was next to throw.

Action: Glasses on, Throwing an Ax

Interacting: @Liana Kerr | @Avery Chen