The Enchanted Maze Spring Ball '23

Running out of the Hufflepuff Dormitory- to avoid the sickly sight of Yellow everywhere- he screamed and trampled on dandelions in his way, splashed several puddles of mud as well. But then the idea struck his head.

Perhaps... perhaps he should use the wet mud he splashed- for a purpose. But, as he continued running as fast as his little legs could take him- he realized it might be a stupid idea.

He took out his wand, and put on a grinch smile of mischief, and wiped the Walnut wand against his green ombre shirt- as it was a little wet from whatever touched it that morning- like someone soaked it in the bathtub.

Once approaching the entrance to the Hedge, he smiled mischievously. Clark had no intention of being as sweet as he could- especially against people that he felt had wronged him in the past.

Ahhh, there's someone he hadn't seen in a long time- since the fishy incident in the Girls Dormitory. How would he have known that Aurora would've pitched a fit over the smell of rotting tuna all over the floors and beds? But hey, at least his backstabbing meanie of a cousin @Logan Baird wasn't present otherwise Clark would've probably received another black eye.

But nevertheless, Clark drew out his wand and formed concentration, attempting to cast Anathema Daphnis (Take Root) with @Aurora Griffith's back turned, but Clark wouldn't know what was happening truly. He stood behind Aurora, several feet away.

Statistics: Sta: 6 | Eva: 10 | Str: 0 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 5 | Acc: 5
Character Race: Part Goblin Y1
Character Abilities: N/A
Action: Casting Anathema Daphnis (Take Root) on Aurora Griffith

The balls were always... interesting. Despite the many chaotic things that had happened at these big gatherings, they still took place and Samantha always loved to go. Now that she had a build-in date, aka her boyfriend Bubba, she enjoyed these special occasions even more. Throughout her years at Hogwarts, the brunette had learned it wasn't always smart to eat or drink anything at the balls. If she was going to be able to resist the amazing-looking food that night was a question only time could tell. For now, the young girl was still getting ready. Bubba was probably waiting for her in the common room as they had agreed to meet about 10 minutes ago.

After carefully braiding her hair, she quickly packed her bag, delicately placing the daisy she had picked for the boy earlier that day on top of all her other stuff, and rushed out of her dorm. In the hopes Bubba would forgive her for being late, she slowly walked down the stairs. Samantha wasn't used to wearing big dresses, so she almost tripped over the gown after the third step. After a quick rescue, she managed to get down the stairs safely. The idea of going down the stairs of the Ravenclaw tower wasn't appealing to the prefect but at least Bubba would be there to help.

As soon as she spotted her date, a big grin appeared on her face, and a twinkle in her eyes. Didn't she just have the most amazing boyfriend? "What do you think?" she asked him, as she twirled around to show him her whole outfit. The brunette looked a lot more grown up in the flowery dress than in her usual slightly oversized sweaters. The mascara, light blue eye shadow, and lip gloss made her look even more mature. As she turned, her dress twirled around her and the white sneaker she was wearing under the beautiful gown could be seen for a few seconds.

"Also, I got you something," she said, suddenly blushing a bit. Looking down, she opened her bag and searched for the daisy. Gently, she lifted the small flower out of her bag and showed it to Bubba. "I know it isn't as pretty as the flower you gave me during the last ball, but I still think it is lovely. Almost as lovely as you," she told the boy as she handed him the flower, which was followed by a quick kiss on his cheek.

The sound of music filled the young girl's ears as the pair made their way to the ball. Letting out a small giggle, Samantha turned to her date. "I don't think this music is very well suited for my famous disco dance moves." When she noticed the maze, Samantha moved closer to Bubba in search of protection. It reminded her of the last ball, in which she had to make her way through a mysterious maze filled with darkness and who knows what else. Darkness had become one of her enemies after the spider attack in her first year and even after 2 years, the young girl still struggled with the dark. "Do we have to go in there?" she asked him, a bit of fear showing in her eyes as she looked up at the boy. This maze didn't seem as scary as the last one, however, she didn't fancy entering it.

Roleplaying as Ginyami Midorimori from Mahoutokoro
"English | Japanese"

Ginyami felt very much like he was back on the chessboard in the first Hexwizard task with the outfit he had donned, heavy with layers of padding and armor. The only difference was that this time, instead of a European medieval knight's shining attire, he wore that of a Japanese feudal era samurai's instead. The metal helmet weighed down on his head and made it a little difficult to see, particularly when it came to his peripheral vision and he considered taking it off at least for a little while. He needed to get an idea of the layout of the place and, more importantly, who was around.

Removing his helmet at last, he tucked it under his arm and inhaled the soft perfume of flowers and the fresh, open air. Something about the scent was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it just then. Surveying the lush green hedges of the maze set up on the grounds, Ginyami wondered idly how difficult those who had set it up had made it. Surely it couldn't have been too hard if everyone was expected to get through it in order to join the festivities within. One thing that intrigued him was the rumor that there were both magical and muggle plants within the maze and, as someone whose family business centered around plants, Ginyami was curious as to what he might find.

Still, the Mahoutokoro student wondered more about the Knights Tourney he had signed up for. There were only 16 slots available, so he couldn't have been sure he would have gotten a chance to even participate, but he was looking forward to it nevertheless and hoped to be able to watch it if nothing else. The Tourney, unlike the Royal Banquet, was adjacent to the Enchanted Maze, though, so he had to remember how to get back out if he was called to join it. He drummed his fingertips on his helmet in anticipation, wondering when they might announce who had been entered into the contest. As the Japanese equivalent of a knight, Ginyami had felt obligated to try for it.

What to do, what to do? Well, Valentin had suggested they meet near the entrance of the ball and Ginyami supposed that would have been the entrance of the Enchanted Maze, so it seemed most practical to linger around there. After a few minutes of wandering about, dark, narrow eyes caught sight of a familiar figure in magnificently exotic and elaborate clothing offering a newly-conjured bouquet of flowers to a young lady. Ginyami beamed brilliantly at that and walked over calmly, curious as to the identity of the dark-haired stranger.

"Good evening," he greeted, bowing as best he could with his helmet still held under one arm. "Welcome to the ball. I trust neither of you have been here long?" His gaze went from the young woman to the young man who was Ginyami's age.

Action: Entering onto the grounds
Free Action(s): Making his way to the beginning of the maze and taking in the sights and people; spotting Valentin and his companion and making his way over to introduce himself
Interacting with: Valentin Schnell (@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood) and his mystery companion

Open to Interactions

Post Tracker: [1]

actions; head into the maze sta: 7 | eva: 7 | str: 8 | wis: 4 | ap: 3 | acc: 6 location; enchanted maze wc: ~350	ciel saskia [hogwarts first year] currently wearing; white sundress with yellow flowers, white heels interacting with/mentioning; @Valarie Song & @Rita Su & @Aurora Griffith & @Bailey Glade dancing queen - abba

saskia, ciel [hogwarts first year]
sta: 7 | eva: 7 | str: 8 | wis: 4 | ap: 3 | acc: 6
evasive maneuvers
wc: ~350

As Ciel waited patiently for Val, she was surprised to recognize most of the students that had appeared. "Hey Rita!" Ciel called out as the other Hufflepuff walked by. It had been a bit of time since she had last seen Rita, but it seemed like she was doing well- especially when Aurora walked headed into the maze with her. So cute!
She recognized a few more students, Bailey Glade being one of them, but there were a few other kids that didn't seem to be from Hogwarts, and while Ciel desperately wanted to strike up a conversation, she figured it'd be better to wait for Val instead. Didn't want to leave her literal date by herself! What kind of ball date would Ciel be?!
Luckily, Ciel wouldn't have to wait long, for Valarie seemed to appear just a few minutes after she did. She had already seen the outfit Val was wearing- the green dress Val had shown Ciel in the lavatories after Easter break had come to an end- but Ciel was still starstruck. It was like the dress was just made for Valarie, it looked so nice!
"Hey! Yeah, let's go in!" Ciel turned towards the entrance of the maze and felt herself get overwhelmed with the color again. There was so much going on! "By the way, you look really nice in that dress. I think I said it before 'n all, but you really do!"
After spending quite a few instances with Valarie, Ciel found it much easier to speak her mind without becoming incredibly embarrassed. But, it'd still be easier if she didn't make eye contact with Val yet, so she decided to walk into the maze instead. Hopefully she wouldn't get crazily lost!

Reducio mentions and pings: @Bailey Glade, @Ava Winchect (Akihiko) fearless

Reducio Reducio ooc notes: stats: Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 6 | Wisdom: 7 | ArcPower: 5 | Accuracy: 6 Actions: Watching Bailey and deciding to approach her.

21/4/23 • english • japanese • wc: 220

· ─────── · · ─────── ·

Botan had heard of a ball taking place at Hogwarts. He wanted to attend it, but there was one problem. He had no date. Botan had been so caught up in his rivalry with Akihito, trying to pass his cousin in the color of robes and trying to learn the more advanced skills. Well, teach himself.

But, there was no way Botan would pass up this opportunity. Too much to miss out on. Thirty minutes before the ball, he went to his wardrobe. “何を着たらよい?” what should I wear? He muttered to himself.

Trying his hand at some recent fashion, he found a plain black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots, and a black leather jacket. Shrugging, he went off to the ball.

When he arrived, he found many girls waiting for people. He didn’t want to talk to a girl who already had a guy, or a date. Looking around he spotted a girl. She had blond hair and a beautiful dress on. Botan studied her, while pretending to wait for a nonexistent date of his own. After a few minuates and no one showing up for this girl, Botan went over to her.

“こんにちは…” Hello do you… he started, and remembered the girl probably did not speak Japanese. “Sorry, habit. Are you waiting for someone? Or do you not have a date?” He asked seriously.

Spoken Words:X|Thoughts: X

𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈

Reducio

An event had been held at Hogwarts, when attendees from all of the magical schools came together to form friendships and have fun. Yet eventually it would be revealed what lies beyond all the fun. The Spring Ball was Ashley's first formal event. He had never been to a ball before, so he was hoping it would be a blast. He was anxious about everything, and him and his friends put a lot of effort into piecing things together.

The most intriguing aspect of this was that Ashley was attending the Ball with a companion he hadn't anticipated. Given their first, never-forgotten interaction, this felt like a dream come true. In the process, the boy had some feelings of shyness. He kept adjusting the golden crown he was wearing in the hopes of looking gorgeous for his date.

"I feel like I'm about to projectile vomit!" Due to his current anxiousness, he experienced it nausea. He felt a need to appear flawless for the young man he was going with. He had previously spoken with him and had formed a fresh opinion of him. The other lad had undergone a positive transformation and was now the ideal match for the ball.

While waiting, he paced back and forth. Even though he wanted to sit down, his current nervousness prevented him from doing so. He closed his eyes and made an effort to quiet his mind in the forlorn hope that he wouldn't overthink everything. He was continuously being attacked by thoughts, unfortunately. He experienced a minor sense of lightheadedness. He thought that the day of the ball had been the worst day of his life.

Was his date alright though? Or, he might have been getting ready like Ashley, or he might have felt similarly to Ashley. Candidly, Ashley simply didn't like himself at such crowded events. But, changing one's perception entails making minor behavioural adjustments. One of the few occasions was this. Ashley made the decision to leave, but his heart protested because it was confident enough in his ability to see this through.

He noticed a pair of happy smiles making their way into the Maze together. He was both familiar and unfamiliar with some of them. They all appeared to be representing and well-dressed. Without realising it for a moment, Ashley was actually grinning at the happy expressions. He became more at ease as a result of the laughter and smiles he heard and witnessed. He stood as he made an effort to collect his emotions.

"Montez, have a little patience. He will come." Ashley was persuaded by his inner voice.

As that was happening, he had a flashback of himself and the other young man stargazing and sharing an important aspect of themselves while looking at the constellations. For a brief time, that had been lovely. As he was comforted, he experienced the same sensations from the hug.
He felt relieved thinking about such deeds, and he returned to his customary tranquillity. He quickly broke out of the recollection, grinning to himself.

Reducio

𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓼| 𝓣𝓻𝓾𝓷𝓴

𝒔𝒕𝒂 • 𝟓 | 𝒆𝒗𝒂 • 𝟓| 𝒔𝒕𝒓 • 𝟕 | 𝒘𝒊𝒔 • 𝟔 | 𝒂𝒓𝒄 • 𝟕 | 𝒂𝒄𝒄 • 𝟓
𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐥 - 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬

𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕫𝕖 𝔼𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟

𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏
@Lucian Mornstern

English • Spanish
Stats: sta • 7| eva • 6 | str • 7| wis • 4|arc • 5 | acc • 6
Race: Human
Ability: N/A
Action: Walking toward maze

Sabrina stood at the side of the maze, arms crossed with a frown on her face. She didn’t want to be at the ball but she had shown for some reason. She didn’t have a date but was perfectly fine with that. She liked being alone. When she had written her mother about the ball at Hogwarts, her mother insisted she go. Sabrina tried to explain she wouldn’t get a date but her mother said to go anyway. Sabrina watched as other students walked into the maze but Sabrina rolled her eyes at that. She would stand there all night if she had too. Sabrina wore a dress. It was navy blue and went along nicely with her dark hair that remained loose and wavy at her sides. Sabrina let her arms drop to her side after a while of standing there. She wasn’t scared to go into the maze. Sabrina muttered something no one else would be able to hear in Spanish before walking closer to the maze’s entrance.
“También podría entrar en el laberinto encantado. Nada más que hacer.Might as well go into the enchanted maze. Nothing else to do. Sabrina took a step towards the maze and then another. She wasn’t going to let her own pride prevent her from having a decent time at the ball.

Jack sighed deeply as he left Hogwarts castle and stepped onto the grounds wearing a jester's outfit and carrying a bag of equipment. He didn't feel particularly jester-like just then, but despite everything that was running through his mind, he was determined to have a good time at the spring ball. With Flash having not returned from Easter break, he could only imagine what had happened to his peer, but he had no way of knowing as any owls he had sent were met with no response.

Trying to ease the worries from his mind, Jack stood next to the entrance of the Enchanted Maze and took out three unlit torches, weighing them in his hands as he considered each of them. It had been a little while since he had attempted any sort of fire-dancing or even just plain old feats with fire, but he hadn't forgotten what he had learned from Ruka.

Eager to add to the festivities, Jack tossed the first unlit torch high into the air followed by the second and the third before catching them each and tossing them up again one by one. He smiled as he began to get back into the swing of juggling and tried not to think of too much else. Perhaps he could entertain others if anyone bothered to come and watch him.

HP: 600/600
Stats: STA 6 / EVA 9 / STR 3 / WIS 15 / ARC 9 / ACC 9
Abilities: Prodigal Charms / Binding Mark / Perfectionist / Perfectionist II
Action: Entering onto the grounds
Free Action(s): Juggling unlit torches for practice and the entertainment of himself and others
Interacting with: No one yet.

Open to Interactions

Post Tracker: [1]

Writing as NPC River Fayre
@Pax Zhang as Chiaki

Reducio mentions and pings: @Ciel Saskia (mathias) @Ava Wincehct, @Valarie Song dhapmir

Reducio Reducio ooc notes:

21/4/23 • english • irish (gaeilge) • wc: 230

· ─────── · ♫♪· ─────── ·

Today was the day. I was going to the ball. This time, I actually had a date, so I knew I was going to have a better time than the other balls I had gone to. I was going with a foreign student named Mathias. He was a blind boy, but that didn’t bother me at all. I didn’t care that he was blind. He met my basic needs. A date who would most likely show up to the ball. And wasn’t interested in an actual relationship.

I decided to wear a green spring dress, and french braided my hair. I added my white shoes, and found a floppy hat that I was going to wear, but changed my mind. It make me look sort of ugly.

I made my way down from the tower and on to the ground. I was definitely not the first person to arrive, and began looking around for my date Mathias. On my search, I spotted a few friends. Valarie and Ava, and Ciel. I waved at Ava, and began looking around for Mathias.

When I finally found him, he was with two other foreign students. I didn’t know them, but I still approached the group. “Hello Mathias. It’s Charlie. Ready to get going?” I asked softly, because a I didn’t want to scare him, and b I also didn’t want to rush him.

| 5 STA | 5 EVA| 5 STR| 5 WIS | 5 ARC | 5 ACC