Closed Fall Ball 2023 Candle-Lit Banquet

Waiting for @Bloom Silverton

Open to Interactions

Howard walked towards the ball at a lazy pace, his long legs moving with no sense of haste as he almost floated across the grounds. While the fact that he was in his last year at Hogwarts often weighed heavy on his shoulders, that particular stress had lifted this evening. Yes, this would be the last Fall Ball that the young man would ever attend and perhaps later he would feel a sense of mourning, but for now he was flying high as a sense of celebration filled him. Tonight Howard would simply let the joy wash over him as he visited with friends, stuff his gullet with fine refreshments and dance away the night with the love of his life.

The area set aside for the festivities was beautifully decorated as he had come to expect from the various Hogwarts party planners and speaking of decoration, Howard didn’t look to shabby himself. So often before he had chosen to wear a nice suit to such occasions, but this year he felt a little more need for some flare. A trip to Gladsrags Wizardwear had left him the proud owner of a new set of dress robes that currently billowed behind him as he made his way towards the concession table. Nothing too over the top, but the rich, black silk with a pop of yellow at the color left him feeling a bit fancy. And he would surely not miss the chance to flash some Hufflepuff pride.

So, there he would wait for his lovely partner. Passing the moments by snacking away on various delights, not to mention the punch was delightful this year!

Action: Drinking the punch.

Mentions: Elias Travers @Astra Norrick

English | thoughts	Date: 10/06/23
Outfit: Reducio	OOC note: Reducio Sorry if any French is incorrect, I am not fluent, I use a translator Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers| _______ Stats: ___________

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After Ruby was satisfied from eating and staring out onto the lake from the dance floor, she turned around to go back to her drink. She took another look at the lanterns before walking in the opposite direction as them though, since she thought they were really pretty. She fixed her dress and walked away towards the speakers. She noticed that there was a boy sitting right beside her drink, any closer he’d be sitting in it! She see up to see why he was sitting there, especially so close to the speakers. Ruby liked her personal space, that included personal space of her belongings, right now this was her drink. “Um excuse me?” She said she she neared the boy “Could you move, my drink is right there!”. She may have been a bit harsh for the situation, but she wanted her drink. She scoffed and waited for the boy to answer. All she could see from him was a boy shoving his mouth with chips, you could at least have some manners she thought, eat them like a normal person. She crossed her arms since the boy hadn’t answered, he was taking too long, at least to Ruby, who had expected maybe a bit too much from people.

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Word Count: 210/200

Interacting with: Ruby Angélique @Delainie Silverwing
Elias signing: #84774d
Elias writing: #6591ad
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

Elias noticed the shift in air behind him and stopped mid-bite, his mouth open and chip sadly uneaten. He closed his mouth and turned, just in time to see a dark-haired girl behind him. He lip read as best he could, getting something like "Could you move, my drink is right there."

Sorry! Elias signed. He stood and stepped out of the way, a little startled at her intensity. Didn't mean to inconvenience you.

He realized he'd just signed all of that in American Sign Language at an international event with mostly if not all hearing people present. He clicked his tongue, a habit he had simply because it felt right, before taking out his notebook and writing down his message, adding Sorry for this inconvenience, too. I'm deaf. He showed the girl this message, allowing her enough time to read before pulling the notebook back towards his person.

Elias looked down with a blush, partially from being so burdensome, and partially from realizing he had been almost pig-ish with how he was eating. He gently pulled his plate out of the girl's way as well. I guess I was a little too hungry.

Mentions: Elias Travers @Astra Norrick

English | thoughts	Date: 10/06/23
Outfit: Reducio	OOC note: Reducio Sorry if any French is incorrect, I am not fluent, I use a translator Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers| _______ Stats: ___________

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To Ruby’s surprise, the boy started signing. That wasn’t something that she expected, but now realizing why he hadn’t answered right away. Her mood immediately shifted, and she felt bad for being a little bit too rude to him. She sighed at her previous harshness, that was uncalled for. Then, the boy pulled out a notebook and wrote down that he was sorry for the inconvenience, and telling her that he was deaf. Ruby looked at him and smiled. All of a sudden, she signed back to him, saying “it’s alright, I know ASL, we can communicate this was”. She put a gentle hand on his notebook and pushed it down, she was sure that it would be easier to talk to him like this, instead of writing everything down. She look at him confused as he put his head down, she hadn’t meant to be that rude. The boy had shifted over though, so she picked up her cup and downed the rest of her drink. She tapped his shoulder, signalling him to look back up, and then asked him what his name was by signing, and told him her name was Ruby. Ruby knew multiple languages, mainly French, but also English and ASL of course.

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Word Count: 207/200

Date and Time: October 6th 2023 7pm

Interacting with: @Alyssea Brown, @Helena Rose and @Landon Matthews

Outfit: Dress Shoes Hairstyle

Madi smiled at Alyssea, "Thanks Alyssea, you look stunning too, i'm so glad we decided to go with the similar shoes, now we're kinda matching in a way. And also, great job with the theme and decor, it looks stunning" Madi said with a giggle, taking another cornish pastie and eating it as she stood with Alyssea, whilst other students slowly started wondering down. As she noticed the two people that she was talking about, the girl in the sunflower dress and the boy in a blue suit, Madi nodded towards Alyssea's suggestion and smiled, picking her dress up slightly so that it doesn't get dirty. "Yeah sure" Madi said, walking over with Alyssea towards Helena and Landon.

As Madi walked over, she was wondering why she felt so nervous, I mean, the two people, according to Alyssea yesterday, were fellow Hufflepuffs. Once she was facing the two other Hufflepuffs, she smiled at them both and stood next to Alyssea, "Hey, I'm Madison Bennett, one of Alyssea's friends" Madi said to both Landon and Helena before looking at Helena's dress. "That dress is stunning on you by the way, it suits you well" Madi said with another smile, taking a glass of punch from the nearby table and taking a sip of it.

Hera opened her mouth for this compliment, but no sound came. More than anything, she wanted to say, "I'm not as beautiful as you," but these 7 words couldn't come out of her mouth.

"Thank you, yours is very nice too. It makes you look like a real princess."'You always look like a princess anyway'. You don't need a crown

When she held her hand, Hera felt the adrenaline level rise in her body. She could feel the warmth of Kat's hand. She let go of her hand because they quickly went to the refreshment table, and this caused the warmth of her hand to disappear and remain cold. I wish she had never let go of my hand.

A long silence made him realize the beauty of the surroundings. It looked more modest than the posters did. There were various dishes on the tables. 'A ball fit for princesses.No, Hera, don't think about that.'

Her eyes fell on Kat. She started to act strangely in a way he couldn't understand. "Huh. Are you okay?"

Hera was relieved to see that he was a little better. She was happy when she spoke in a cheerful voice. "No thanks. I think I'd rather eat first."

She smiled and looked at the table to see what was to be eaten. Meanwhile, she heard disgustingly loud kissing sounds coming from the back table. When she returned there she saw a boy giving him and Kat a kiss. She felt his face turn red. Wait, did Kat know this kid? Before he could think about it any further, she heard Kat apologizing under her breath. 'I don't like it when she blames herself like that.'

"Would you like to dance with me?"

She said it louder than he thought. She could feel the people sitting next to him staring at them. Her face was red b ut Hera was ready to do anything to stop Kat from blaming herself.

A sweet princess @Yekaterina Vladimir

Interacting with @Howard White
Open to other interactions

Time had flown. This was the last Fall Ball of her life at Hogwarts. While on one hand Bloom was scared out of her mind about the limited amount of days left of her educational career, but on the other, she was glad that she wasn't alone. She still had, and felt that she always will, have Howard White by her side.

The two of them over the summer have gotten quite close both physically and mentally. They've connected in ways that those in love would experience and she was head over heels for him. Bloom could only see herself with him and could not see a life where he would be out of the picture. In a way, she had become extremely dependent on him both physically and mentally.

Bloom wore a dress that was once her older sister's when it was her last Fall Ball. It was a yellow dress with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps. The dress hugged her waist and flowed out into a ballgown. The gown wasn't as large as others, as it still shaped her legs when flowing down. Typically, Bloom always wore something blue. As a surprise, she wore something out of the ordinary, the dress being yellow and Bloom out of her comfort zone.

Both agreed to meet each other at the ball itself. Bloom couldn't help but be a tad bit late to the dance. She was getting her black pumps on and slowly getting out of the building from the top of the castle. The last thing she needed was to trip over herself on her way to her last Fall Ball.

When she got to the grounds, she could see from the distance that the Great Lake was where they needed to be. Bloom looked down at her shoes and sighed. The one time she wanted to look the part with her pumps, they were going to be in dirt-- let alone wet dirt if near the lake.

Carefully walking towards the Great Lake, Bloom saw the exquisite setup of the ball. It was like it came out of a fairytale the way the candles were placed around and how spacious it was for everyone. There were already a lot of people, but Bloom felt like she was on a mission to find the one person she was here for. He wasn't on the dance floor. He wasn't looking out to the water. Finally, she found him hanging out by the punch bowl, drinking his fill.

With a half smile, she walked over to him from behind and leaned slightly against the table to take a better look at the punch he was drinking. "Is it spiked?" she asked, knowing that something goes off course at these events. Bloom hoped that it would just be a spiked punch bowl rather than dangerous events that can result in killing us all.

If he would let her, Bloom would grab Howard's arm and move him slightly away from the table and immediately let go to twirl around. "What do you think?" she asked, wondering what his take was at the fact that she was wearing a yellow dress. When she twirled, one of her spaghetti straps fell over. Bloom was quick to pick it back up. Having the dress be her sisters at one point made it that it wasn't exactly a perfect fit on Bloom.

ACTION: Arriving at the Fall Ball

[ october 6, 2023 ] ♥ outfit

It was the strangest autumn in time out of mind. The trees remained clothed in green until the middle of October and then all of a sudden were a riot of color.

And so the autumn ball came, right when the season somersaulted into yellow and red and brown paint instead of fading in as it usually would, and was all the more magnificent for doing so. The air was cooler with a tincture of earthiness - just a hint that brought to mind the cozy evenings and warm soups to come.

Yet one couldn't truthfully say that Miss Fang loved balls. Yes, it was no surprise that she would jump at the chance of poking through shops of glamorous dresses and buying whatever accessories she laid her eyes on. And yes, the sweets and snacks of a party were enough to make the girl prance down the stairs, eliminating anyone in her path.

But it was the thought of people that made her stop in her path. She imagined herself dancing with a faceless stranger, tripping over her heels and nearly plunging into the depths of the Great Lake. She pictured weaving in and out through hundreds of students, the ear-piercing racket of cackling and screaming and chattering. It wasn't as if she got apprehensive or fretful in those kinds of situations - she had long learned to open up her heart.

And speaking of balls - Xin thoughtfully patted her colorful apparel. Her traditional Chinese dress was really quite nice if she said so herself; Green, with flowers woven in with gold string. There was a delicate red shawl with gold patterns embroidered that she snuggled into. It trailed on the floor. Nothing would prevent it from getting ridiculously dirty tonight, Xin thought with grimace.

She went out to the Great Lake alone - nothing to complain about really; she didn’t have the courage to ask someone out. She pictured a boy asking her out on a date; he had copper skin and a classic Cheshire cat’s smile - he looked familiar, someone she liked; Xin’s cheeks glowed crimson unknowingly.

She might meet him at the ball. A small part of her yearned to talk to him, but it merely skimmed over her mind and disappeared. They’ve known only for a month or two, but it was enough to make her blush in his presence; she wouldn’t call it love, but there was definitely a special feeling that lingered.

“I guess fate decides now,” she sighed, pace quickening. Now was not the time to focus on these complicated things; she was never someone who understood feelings, let alone solve them.

Whatever was in Xin’s mind was soon evaporating as the ball came to view. True to Alyssea and Estelle’s words, Festival of Lights was amazing. She was met with a warm seasonal palette of reds and oranges; her uncertainty turning into an awestruck stumble as he was surrounded by exquisitely colorful objects. The two focal points of the event, however, stole the show with rows and rows of tables covered end to end in mouthwatering confectionaries, anything from chocolate cauldrons to licorice wands, and the only thing that could divert her eyes from the food was the lake's edge with its beautiful assortments of floating lanterns that shimmered like the stars.

And then, she saw him through the crowds; he always had that smile no matter what day you catch him at. Xin looked up at the ever darkening sky - it was perfect, just perfect for some very special things she had in mind with a particular someone. A smirk slowly crept onto the Gryffindor girl’s face.

“Boo!” Xin jump up right behind Pyxis and giggled. It was naive, really, but he'd have to put up with that. “Didn't expect to see you at the autumn ball.”

@pyxis hellebore –––––– ♥

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Action: Arriving to the ball
Interactions: OPEN
sta • 6 | eva • 7 | str • 4 | wis • 10 | arc • 7 | acc • 7