Biscuits, Cravings, Decorations Event

Hex Colour:
#8C94E9

Christmas had already come and gone, and yet to Aly Salinger, it was if it had barely come at all. Sure, the decorations in the Great Hall had been up for a month, and the hallowed halls of Hogwarts had sung merrily with the echoes of carols of the holiday, the faint tinge of a warm scent of ginger and chocolate lingering in the air. But Aly had not gone home for the holiday, nor had she opened presents with friends, sung carols, or even written to family. It had been, overall, rather a lonely Christmas season for the fifth-year Ravenclaw... except for perhaps a bit of stargazing, a few days before.

And though she might not have been quite so cheerful and merry as she once might have been called, that didn't mean Aly didn't want to celebrate. But what would she have done to ring in her sixteenth Christmas or even the start of 2024? Listened, alone, to carols in her dormitory, or snuck down to the kitchens to bake a set of Christmas cookies she then would proceed not to eat? No, that all just sounded so sad. So when Aly heard that there would be a Christmas-cookie-decorating event in the Great Hall, though she wasn't much one for small talk and chatter with strangers at the moment, she definitely felt her stomach rumble with the want for sugar. If there was one thing that hadn't changed about Aly in the last two years, it was her insatiable sweet tooth.

Intermingling peals of laughter and musical chords greeted her even from outside the doors as she slipped into the warmly decorated Great Hall, casting her green gaze about to see if she knew anyone already there. Upon seeing no one on her first scan, Aly approached the snack table to gather a chocolate frog and a glass of fruit punch, and no sooner had she ladled some of the thin red liquid into her goblet than she noticed a familiar face, after all, just a few steps away, equally at the snack table. Pale skin, dark eyebrows, a jawline that could kill, and that tell-tale wavy brown bob: Opeila Winters. Aly immediately turned away as quickly as she could, raising the punch to her lips and taking a sip in an attempt to look normal and not as if she were avoiding the Slytherin girl with everything in her. After all, it was absolutely not the time to get into a very public row with her ex-boyfriend's new lass. It was not the time, indeed.

She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself and remembering the events on the shores of the Great Lake just the day before. You promised you were done with all this, the fifth-year reminded herself. You don't have to talk to her, but you can't be mad at her, either. Aly took another sip of the punch, trying to breathe in for four, out for four.

Action: arriving, drinking punch

⋄ January 7th, 2024 | Great Hall ⋄
⋄ Interactions: @Astra Norrick | Mentions: None ⋄

𝓢he would curse herself for it later, allowing herself get so lost in her own head that she failed to pay even a modicum of the necessary attention to her surroundings. One minute she's making her way to the table, biscuits and decorating supplies in hand, and the next she finds herself knocking into someone at full speed, her cookies dropped on the floor and the other student's punch drenching her hoodie and, most egregiously, her hair.

She was shocked into silence for a moment, and looked up to apologize to the hapless soul whose drink she so rudely upended- only to come face to face with the Accomplice herself, who apparently couldn't resist causing chaos wherever she went. Suddenly she felt like she was revved up, like she'd downed two shots of espresso and come back for more. It was as if she was a battery, and Accomplice's rude tackling of her had fully charged her. She wanted to run, or fly, or grab her beater's bat and let a bludger loose in the Great Hall, all things that would undoubtedly result in her being asked to leave the biscuit party, with varying levels of force.

She wasn't sure what exactly Accomplice had done, but she knew for certain that she had done something.

"God, I knew my suspicions about you were true. You bumped in to me on purpose, didn't you?"

Bex pulled her hoodie off over her head, only to groan in frustration when she realized that the punch had soaked through to her t-shirt underneath as well. She knew she should check and make sure the other girl was okay, especially as Bex could feel her own bruises beginning to form, but she was just so mad. She felt mean, and ugly, and like she was going to vibrate right out of her skin. She made to push past the other girl before she said something she'd regret.

"Just- I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine. Whatever you've planned here, I don't have the time."

As soon as the words left her mouth though, Bex stopped cold, and stared at Accomplice agape while her brain struggled to piece together what she was experiencing, and give it a name. It was just an inkling that something was wrong but- the words had sounded the way that words typically do in her head, cultivated and crafted in a way. But words rarely came out of her mouth the way she thought them. They usually came out blunt and honest, with little frippery to cushion them. Like a knife in the hands of a child.

Reducio

She spoke slowly, feeling out the shape of the words as she spoke them. "Testing, testing one, two, three; I think there's something wrong with me."

Oh my god, she was rhyming.

Action: Officially, nothing. Unofficially, having a breakdown.

OPEN to interactions with anyone I've interacted with IC before and/or official NPCs/event organizers. All others, please owl me first.

sta: 8 | eva: 3 | str: 7 | wis: 4 | arc: 6 | acc: 7
Abilities: Perfectionist

Lovely banner made by the equally lovely @Delainie Silverwing - Thank you, Delainie!

S t a t s
Stamina: 10 || Evasion: 8 || Strength: 1 || Wisdom: 9 || Arcane Power: 6 || Accuracy: 9

A b i l i t i e s
Year 1 – Seer 1 (Auto Hit/Dodge) || Year 2 – Fearless || Year 3 – Seer 2 (Prophecy)

ACTION:

Being Social - spoke to Kim Aoki and Siobhan McCarty

"There's my Count Chocula!" she giggled as he slipped his arms around her and kissed her and then lingered a bit to lick some of the fruit punch off her bottom lip. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise at the last part. "Two things. One... you have me at a complete disadvantage as you know your flattery will get you absolutely everywhere, and two," she leaned back in for a few more kisses and then teased, "I think you, after all this time with me, are finally developing a sweet fang," and she laughed as she reached up to raise his upper lip, running her thumb pad gently over one of his fangs. "These really do drive me wild, Count, just so ya know," and she wiggled her eyebrows at him three times for good measure.

AngelFyre patted the seat next to her and reluctantly turned her attention back to the gingerbread cookie she was decorating. She had been piping the little bow tie onto the male ginger person and had briefly considered putting him in a green kilt, but she managed to restrain herself. She looked over to Simon after he sat down and was about to ask him how Rascal was doing when the oddest urge began knocking softly at the doorway to her mind. Instead of asking him about Rascal, she felt like she wanted to tell him that they should gather up their supplies... okay, her supplies... and go over to the Gryffindor table. She had a clear view of it over Simon's shoulder, and could see Kim Aoki and another girl who looked lonely.

"Conversions all around us tonight, it would seem, my love. Your apparent fondness for sweets," and she winked at him, "and me wanting to go talk to someone new. Maybe it's the prefect in me. What do you think Mr. Social Butterfly? Care to join me?" She began to gather her ginger people, not even having a care as to what she was about to go do. The gentle knocking at the doorway to her mind from earlier was now a frantic relentless pounding. It was no longer a matter of 'I will go if you go with me' let alone questioning the soundness of the idea period.

She was going.

She could not stop herself. And most unbelievably, she would even go without her fellow! Unheard of! Not that that thought would even dawn on her in that moment. With ginger people in hand, she leaned over and kissed Simon on the cheek and said with a great deal of unnatural enthusiasm, "I am going to make a new friend... maybe even more than one!"... she said excitedly as she looked around the room at all the faces she recognized, but sadly had no clue as to who the people were behind those faces. "I always say I want to be like you when I grow up," and she smiled as she began to move away from their table. "Okay. I do not say it, but I do think it. Now is my chance," and she blew a kiss at him and hurried to the Gryffindor table.

As she passed Kim, she felt none of her characteristic impulses to give him a wide berth, so she momentarily sat down across from him. "Kim, I know you like sweets, and there are a million here, but please accept this as a token of friendship," and AngelFyre slid her ginger person in the bow tie over to her acquaintance. "I realize we have not been close, but we have been close enough that I can see you have been troubled. I have stayed away because I know you are like me when it comes to crowds of people and I never wanted to push you. Tonight is different, so I am pushing. But only a little." and she smiled kindly at him. "As one introvert to another, I will just say that sometimes it is easier to share troubles with people who are not as familiar with you or your story because there may be less chance to disappoint or feel judged. I am worried about you. If you ever need nothing more than a sounding board, find me. I believe you know me well enough to know it all stays with me." AngelFyre then got up and smiled down at him.

"Enjoy the cookie and Happy New Year!

And before the lad had a chance to respond, AngelFyre was off and away again. This time she moved about 20 feet down to sit across from a girl she was not all that familiar with, but one she thought might be a first year. "Hi! My name is AngelFyre, but most everyone calls me AF. I have not had the pleasure of meeting you before, I do not think. I hail from the great House of Hufflepuff, but I hope that will not be a damper to getting to know one another," and AngelFyre smiled warmly at the girl. "What are you making?" and AngelFyre leaned over and found she was completely interested in what the girl was doing, but was missing Simon at the same time.

------- ----------- -------

@Simon Kincaid @Siobhan McCarty @Kim Sato

banner tba| ironic, innit

@Alyssea Brown, @Raizel Voltrouz, @Rebecca Lark

Astra Roderick Thoughts Other People = Their Hex

Oh thank God it didn't stain my hoodie. You might think this was very selfish of Astra to say, and indeed it was, but she doesn't care. She's like an exhausted university senior coming back for her final semester at this point. At least, that's her mental image. Plus, it's a new hoodie. You can't tell me you wouldn't be utterly relieved if you thought you spilled something on your fancy new clothes but really it all got on someone else.

The other girl was drenched in the fruity drink, however, and as Astra started to mumble a half-hearted apology, she noticed the girl looked awfully familiar.

"You're the Anti-Sabotager," she muttered. The curly-haired Ravenclaw (if Astra's memory was to be trusted), previously known as Marshmallow, seemed to be getting a bit... energized? Maybe she was one of those people that gets hyped from anger, who was to say.

"God, I knew my suspicions about you were true. You bumped in to me on purpose, didn't you?" Anti rhymed.

"Are you bonkers?" Astra asked aloud, her usual careful accent giving way to a recognizable London one. Egad, I really am tired.

But as Anti's energy and anger rose, Astra's annoyance and energy mirrored it. "What in Merlin's name are you on about?" she spat, in a practically disgusted tone. "I've nothing 'planned.' I was having a good time before you full on ran into me."

Anti's rhyming speech seemed to catch the girl's own attention, and she spouted off another couplet, to which Astra scoffed and said "You're right, there is something bloody wrong with you. Lunatic."

Was it harsh? Yes, absolutely, without a doubt. Astra doubted anyone but the one, the only, Delainie Silverwing had seen such harshness from her. (And yes, she was still too prideful to let Delainie off the Spite Hook).

But once again, Astra was tired. And- hey wait, where was Roderick?

All of a sudden, the Slytherin's attention laser-focused on anything but Anti. It went to her cousins and- oh thank God, Roderick. But- where were the biscuits? Astra quickly poured new punch into the cups and made obvious effort to skirt around Anti while heading back to the table.

And as she reached the table, she noticed a plate of crumbs in front of her brother.

"You-" she started, staring at the plate. She let out a growl, rolled her eyes, slid his drink over with unnecessary force, and snatched up the plate before marching back over to the biscuit table.

While she was there, she angrily bit the head off of a snowman as she plated several more variously shaped biscuits, as well as decoration materials.

"You git," she muttered as she sat beside him. A sigh, and a deep breath.

Calm. I am the epitome of calm, cool, and collected.

This was a lie, but we'll let her believe it.

Astra took a sip of punch. She immediately regretted the action as it was so sugary she was sure to get diabetes within the next seven seconds. Astra hoped that Anti could feel the sugar seeping into her pores, especially if Anti was not one for sweets.

"Sorry," she apologized to everyone at the table, clearing her throat. "Should be no more of that. Let's have a good time." This last part was mostly to herself, but no one had to know.

actions : beheading a snowman and sipping punch and making bad choices
inventory : wand

thank you Linda Ramirez for the banner

Quite unbeknownst to the seventh year, someone had played them all a fool and in doing so seemed insistent on making Alan look like a fool as well. So as he sat down at the table with his friends, he knocked over his cup of fruit punch, creating a puddle that soaked into the table cloth. It was quite unlike Alan to be this clumsy, as usually he was known to move with grace and flow, one that made him quite elusive during activities and duels alike. "Bloody cup," he muttered under his breath before gifting a nervous smile to the Hufflepuff girl that Howard had just introduced to him. "Hey Nellie, this was a terribly first impression, I am usually a lot more graceful than that. I am sure Galton and Howard can both attest to that," he was quick to tell her.

Alan also was a little concerned at the quite uncharacteristic ramblings of his friend. "Are you feeling quite well, Howard? You are acting strange," he asked with true concern. Whatever seemed to be going on with his friend was indeed strange. "You decorate biscuts at home?" "Do you not?" he asked back quickly? He could not imagine to not help decorate or bake the cookies at home. It was such a fun thing to do! "I grew up in London and I love all kinds of cookies I think, except for the ones that feel like you are biting on rocks, I always fear I will chip a tooth or something like that," he responded within a heartbeat, before nodding when Nellie too expressed concern at Howard. At least he was not being the only one to take notice at how strange Howard was acting.

House Colours: Slytherin

Calming Presence in Effect: All Students & Beast Master Familiars Affected
Cat's Grace in Effect

Only a few days back into the second semester of his fifth year, and the boy was already trying to brew a way to enact an idea that he had conceived of over Winter Break. It had a lot of moving parts, a lot of risk involved, but also the potential of revealing just about everything that he needed in order to draw conclusions in a personal case that Romeo had been working on for about a year and a half or so. The plan was foolproof so long as all the pieces that he needed he was able to come by.

But in the meanwhile, he had heard about an event, had come bas gossip in the halls, and had decided that today he needed to have a healthy social hour sort of day. Some kind of gathering in the Great Hall, wasn't it? Well, who was he not to attend a perfectly good party? Entertainment was always a necessity at these sorts of gatherings, wasn't it? And interesting things, gossip, secret-trading, and trade-trading was always fun. Information, materials, brokering, hawking... it was practically an open market for the cunning boy that always seemed to have his nose in the right--or perhaps wrong--place at the right--or again, perhaps wrong--time. It was perfect for him, just perfect.

Sure, he was late, but late was always most fashionable, wasn't it? With a silver bengal cat by the name of Figaro--Piérre's loyal familiar and constant companion at this school so far--laying about his shoulders like a fur stole, the boy ventured to the door and peeked in, slipping in quietly and then subtly finding himself drifting towards the sidelines as he watched the proceedings with curious eyes and a slightly tipped head not dissimilar to when a kitten sees a laser pointer on the ground before it for the first time. Ears alternatively piquing and unpiquing, looking and listening and smelling, just... keeping an eye out curiously. Green was the uniform crest today, a Slytherin serpent curling about on the lapel of his cloak. He had his bag of tricks with him, including his tools for mischief and his white yew wand.

Well, the music and the atmosphere was nice, at least. He could almost allow himself to feel relaxed here for a while, maybe. Still, he did bid his familiar to venture into the crowd with a command, extending his arm down for the feline to run along and onto the ground and then mingle with the partygoers.

Piérre stood by a fireplace. He was a little cold, though not much hungry... his appetite had never seemed quite 'right' for around a year now. Never really hungry, but definitely craving something he couldn't quite put his finger on....

For now he would simply content himself with watching. That was fun in and of itself, people-watching. With a slight smile on his face, Piérre hummed to himself and crossed his arms as he leaned against the mantle, twirling his yew wand in his fingers and nodding along with the music and the movement of the hypnotic gathering. Watching, listening, and wondering.

Perhaps, for once, something nice and normal would be the theme for tonight...

Piérre Enters, and Sorta just... Watches the Proceedings [Cat's Grace/Keen Eye?]
Beast Master: Figaro Enters & Scouts [Cat's Grace]

Statistics: Stamina 7 | Strength 5 | Evasion 18 | Wisdom 12 | Accuracy 16 | ArcPower 5

Abilities:
Keen Eye | Calming Presence | Beast Master [Cat] | Cat's Grace | Animagus [Hummingbird]

Items:
Firebreathing Potion | Garroting Gas Potion | Invisibility Cloak | Soda | Wand
[Sharpened] Locksmith's Knife | [Red] Deck of 52 Playing Cards

Special thanks to Linda Ramirez for the wonderful holiday banner!
@Alan Vanes, @Galton Lansdale, and @Howard White

Icing was worked with a careful hand, gliding a piping tip over a biscuit's dry surface; gently, and with precision, as to prevent icing from pouring off the edges via overfilling. Her focus was unwavering, even as she was met with the surprise that was Howard. She hadn't expected to see him here, then again, she wasn't really sure what kind of people this little event would lure in. Regardless, she was pleased that he had come to take part in the warm festivities. He deserved this time of peace, truly. The dhampir's rather chipper greeting, warranted a small smile. Briefly, Xailah peered up from her task of cookie decorating, to properly greet the young man. "Howard! It is splendid seeing you here." Genuine in her tone, she'd gesture vaguely to a free spot to sit nearby.

It wouldn't be long before Howard was joined by a little... friend? A younger girl would find her way to him, and judging by her use of a nickname when referring to him, it was safe to assume the two were rather familiar with each other. Xailah listened to their light chatter, trying her best to refrain from grinning. "Oh? Howie?" She'd muse, a brow arching with a curl of muted humor. Craning her neck, she peered past Howard, looking at the younger girl who had claimed the spot next to him. Looking between them she'd nod, encouraging the diminutive. "That is cute. But, she is right, you know. You could pass for a Howie." The lioness teased.

Her playful tone would change with the arrival of another familiar face: Galton Lansdale. It hushed, watering down into something modest.

Galton was... possibly the one person you didn't want to see at an event with catering- to put it gently. He was the Buffet Bandit, Bane of Happy Hour; Candy King, Consumer of Confectioneries- and many other strange titles he had picked up along the way, as proof of his consistent lunch hour havoc. His frenzy for food had garnered him a reputation over the years, and not an entirely positive one either.

While Xailah's regard towards her fellow lion could have been mistaken for dislike; what she displayed was really only caution- wariness, in the face of someone who had shown her what they were capable of (involuntary attempted cannibalism aside). Detecting Galton's uncharacteristically muted demeanor, she nodded to the seat across from her; trying her best to wordlessly convey that he was no bother. "Not at all," she assured gently. She did not mind his company- in fact, she welcomed it with hesitant arms (figuratively speaking, she was very content with maintaining a healthy distance from him). Xailah eyed her Gryffindor curiously as he reached for a cookie, but never brought it to his mouth.

His question about cookie decorating was answered with a firm nod, followed by verbal confirmation. "I have some knowledge. What about you?" She asked, looking down at the progress she had made on her biscuit before peering over at the boy across the table. "I wouldn't have thought you had the patience for decorating-" Lightly amused, she watched Galton spread some white icing on the cookie he selected. "No offense." She'd try to offer him a tight-lipped grin, as reassurance that offense was indeed not her intention. "Forgive me, it is just that you are usually so..." pausing, she bounced her hands around (the decorating materials still in her clutches) in a peculiar little manner, as if they were a pair of velveteen rabbits, "Energetic."

Hearing Alan approach, Xailah whipped around to issue him a "hello". His later observation of her cookie inspection, would earn him a soft snicker. "Not a fan?" She parroted, almost sounding appalled by the question. "I like sweets just as much as the next person." Holding up one of her decorated cookies, she'd nod at her handiwork. "I just want to decorate a few, at the moment." She explained, then setting the finished cookie to the side before reaching for a new canvas.

Xailah listened contently while Alan continued, sharing a little snippet about his life outside of Hogwarts. It was admittedly nice, to get a brief window into what his home life may have been like. He was such a sweet young man. He must have come from somewhere warm and very loving. "Yes," Xailah smiled fondly in response to his question, "my sister and I would bake and decorate cookies together for the holidays. We didn't have the chance to do that this year." At that, the smile faded. "Too busy with social affairs over the break, I'm afraid. It must have slipped our minds." Or so she chose to think. Maybe it implied a bittersweet truth: they were losing interest in such activities, with age, perhaps. There'd be little time to dwell on the subject with disaster lurking just around the corner. Well- okay, maybe disaster was an exaggeration.

Xailah wasn't quite sure what exactly had happened. Alan shifted his attention to Howard and the child who was accompanying the boy, but what took place afterwards was completely lost on her. One minute she was listening to chatter, and then the next she was watching Alan spill his drink everywhere. Out- onto the table- it tumbled, splattering and promptly ruining the pretty cloth covering it. "Oh! Alan!" Xailah exclaimed, slightly startled than anything. Jumping up from her seat, she would reach for a few nearby napkins. "You are getting your punch everywhere!" Was he even aware? He seemed far too caught up in conversation to even consider being bothered. Maybe he was suffering from a mild case of butter fingers today- after all clumsy wasn't exactly his brand. Quickly, Xailah would dab at the tablecloth, soaking up a majority of the spillage. She'd have to get the rest with her wand sometime later.

Trying to clean up the mess Alan is making.

⬩Cat's Grace |☆| Blindvision⬩

Open to interactions!

Axyen entered the Great Hall, nothing special really. He wore Hufflepuff robes, with a grey long-sleeved shirt with yellow stripes near the top underneath. A Hufflepuff pin was attached to the robes and Axyen wore long black pants. He was definitely in excellent Christmas attire, his current items naturally included his wand, which Axyen made a habit of bringing his wand nearly everywhere at this point. Arnold(Axyen's pet Pygmy Puff) was sleeping in the dormitory for the night, so Axyen felt no stress about leaving in a rush to check on Arnold. He entered the scene, and it was nothing like he was expecting but the most isolated area seemed appealing. He was technically a part of the party, just by standing there and existing, but he wasn't really contributing to it in any way, shape, or form. Axyen looked down, he decided to try and remember what ingredients he used in Babbling Beverage, it was his personal goal to memorize at least one potion by heart to prove to his brother that he did not have terrible memory(his memory was decent, but he still can be somewhat forgetful of even simple things.)

For now, Axyen was also thinking about going ahead and grabbing a cookie, but looking at the chaos he wasn't sure. He always felt nervous in these party-like scenarios and he felt like some statue stuck in the middle of it all, after a bit of hesitation, Axyen decided to go ahead and grab a decorated biscuit and began thinking about random Christmas topics instead. Axyen wondered if Santa was just an incredible wizard in disguise, maybe that was a good subject to read about. Axyen's eyes would shift around every once in a while just to see if there was anything to do that would 'inconvenience' someone(which was another excuse for Axyen to avoid being socially active.) After a little bit, Axyen went in to take a small bite out of the biscuit he was holding.

Oddly enough, thinking to himself in this public setting was very calming and relaxing. Axyen didn't quite understand it, he was kind of just there to exist and for some reason that was good enough. But then again, just about any amount of social interaction(even just being present in an event) was considered good enough. Maybe that was something Axyen needed to fix about himself, it was something he could try and improve on, but he wasn't really sure about what to do. He fixed his stuttering for the most part, but his shyness remained. Maybe thinking to himself was just a poor excuse to not interact with anybody. Axyen decided to not bother himself with the topic any longer, he was here to enjoy himself, the magic of a Christmas party.

Information!!!

Actions!!!

I entered the scene, ate a biscuit, thinking to myself, and occasionally looking around.

Items!

Wand, partially-eaten biscuit.

Stats and Encyclopedia!

Stamina - 6 | Evasion - 6 | Strength - 2 | Wisdom - 9 | Arcane Power - 10 | Accuracy - 8
Encyclopedia link