Birthday Bonfire! PV to the invited Guests

Graphic by Leonard Oaksworth

Interacting With: @Opeila Winters, @Leonard Oaksworth, @Sylvain Wyllt, @Dan Palmer, @Lindsey Springhall &@Alan Vanes

Eyes of hazel glinted as Marshal watched the flickering blue flames. The way fire moved was truly mesmerizing, how it swayed to some rhythm of its own, flickering with an undeniable sense of life. How strange it was that something so vibrant and beautiful could become such an agent of destruction, spreading pain and heartache as it danced upon anything in its path.
Certainly, countless people had suffered the hot wrath of the flame, and yet, they could hardly live without it.
Indeed, fire seemed to represent life itself; by nature, it gave and took away, but was ultimately essential.

As he watched the blue light flicker, Opeila addressed his thought, rather ill-advisedly encouraging the young wizard to invent his blowtorch spell. Features cast in pale blue, his ensuing grin may have appeared almost manic to the casual eye, the prospect of creating such a magical phenomenon igniting a certain amount of enthusiasm within his chest.
Voice dripping with fiery passion, he replied, "I think I might just have to do that. And don't worry about the professors. I'll take care of them." Entirely failing to understand that the final comment seemed to imply mass professor murder or something of the like, he elaborated no further. Of course, in actuality, 'taking care' of the professors merely meant that he would do everything in his power to convert them to his newfound religion surrounding the nonexistent blowtorch spell, but it would be up to Pei to decipher his true meaning.
It was all semantics, really.

His eyebrows shot up when Opeila pulled one sleeve back and inserted her exposed hand into the blue flames. Instinctively, his face scrunched in a grimace as he awaited a cry of pain from the girl, followed by a swift recoil as she would certainly pull her hand back to safety. But no cry came; no sign of discomfort was shown. In fact, she seemed to enjoy the sensation, if anything.
Curious to test it for himself, he copied her actions, folding one sleeve back over his forearm before shoving his hand - without hesitation - into the fire's path.
Contrary to all logical possibilities, his skin did not burn. He marveled at the sensation of the fire licking at his hand as he allowed it to linger there, opening and closing his fist as though assuring himself that the nerves were functioning.

His unwavering gaze was broken when he received a slight shove. Stumbling a step to the side, he turned his attention back to Opeila in time to hear her assurance that their guests had surely enjoyed their dispute upon the invitations.
"Well, I figured I ought to give them a bit of motivation to show up," he said, his frisky grin returning. "I mean, your friends obviously have plenty of reason to come. But if mine are expected to come just for me," his hands drifted up and down to encompass his whole person, "Look at me. They need more than that."

The playful interaction was cut short, however, by an exclamation of Marshal's name from the distance.
Turning his head, the boy was rather surprised to see the excitement which radiated from his best friend. That was odd. Leonard didn't really do excitement. Marshal could scarcely recall a time when the Slytherin had been anything but anxious and fatalistic about, well... anything.
Nonetheless, the rarity of the situation did nothing to mitigate his joy. Mirroring Leo's enthusiasm, he responded in kind. "Leo!"
If for no other reason, this party was worth it simply to be reunited with the snake. The span of months had been much too long to go without Leo explaining every reason why they should, in all likelihood, be dead. How he was looking forward to hearing that again.
Leonard reached the bonfire, only to stop short of Marshal's open arms, which had been prepared for an embrace. Now the Gryffindor looked like a fool with his arms spread wide for no apparent reason, though the fact did little to harm his pride.
Opeila was the first to answer Leo's rather awkward question, followed by Marshal's greeting. "Good to see you, Leo! Now that you're here, the party can start. Some say three's a crowd, but I object."

And as quickly as two had become three, three became four with the arrival of a boy whom Marshal had never met. The stranger greeted Opeila with a hug and a compliment, not unlike something the first-year would do, then turned to he and Leonard, inquiring which of the two was Marshal.
The blonde raised a hand. "Well, somebody has to admit to it, so I guess I will! Don't want to pin that on anyone else." He accepted the gift, eyes flicking curiously between the bag and its origin. They immediately widened at the mention of chocolate.
"I don't know who you are, but I love you," he called as the stranger walked away.

He would not have the opportunity to ignore the boy's warning, as he was distracted by yet another newcomer. This one seemed fairly familiar, although he couldn't quite place him. Perhaps he had seen the older boy in the halls, or else it was entirely possible that he played Quidditch.
Any time he could, Marshal enjoyed watching Quidditch matches, getting a feel for the game, learning the rules, trying to understand different strategies. Truly, if there were a test concerning the game, he would be sure to ace it.
In any case, the newcomer hugged both hosts of the party, introducing Marshal to the idea that a total stranger would do such a thing. Normally, it was him initiating physical contact on unsuspecting peers, not the other way around. Yet he still returned the hug as if embracing a brother.
"So far, two complete strangers have given me chocolate before I even learned their names. This is why I love people."

Already, the mental quandary that had stymied his happiness was forgotten, replaced with the company of friends and new acquaintances alike. The lighthearted feeling was a welcome relief from the weight that had been sitting upon his chest.
And if his heart had been light enough to fly before, it soared when a sweetly familiar voice graced his ears.
"Lindsey! Hey!" His large grin grew wider still. "I've been..." He searched for a word other than 'great,' for he certainly hadn't been that. "All right," he finished, grin faltering, yet only for a moment.
He waited politely while his friend greeted Opeila, then accepted her offering- flowers and seeds.
The boy attempted not to stare dubiously at the gifts as he took them with a smile. "Thanks, Lynn. This is really thoughtful." At least he thought it was. He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to with the flowers, let alone the seeds. He supposed he would set the bouquet in a vase of water and place it in his windowsill, as a reminder of one of his closest friends.
He took a breath to say something else, only to have it expelled from his lungs when Lindsey pulled him into a hug. His expression morphed into one of bliss as he returned the embrace, basking in the thrill of feeling her arms around him, the warmth of her body against his. He could have stayed that way all night, but it only lasted a few seconds before she pulled away, glancing towards Leo.
Marshal fought any ill-feeling towards his best friend for the unintended interference. It wasn't Leo's fault that the moment was gone, though it didn't exactly feel that way.

For anyone other than he, the extroverted wonder, this rush of interaction might have been overwhelming. But he was happy, once again, to see another familiar face as Alan approached.
"Thanks for coming, Alan! Good to see you!"
While he didn't know Alan terribly well, he had met the prefect before, and that was enough for him to be considered a friend.
He took the pouch and peeked inside without hesitation, pulling the brooch free. He marveled at the craftsmanship. The design was perfect, seeming to embody all of the boy's ambitions in one item.
"Alan, this is awesome!" he exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm before turning to Leonard. "Leo, I think I found our brand image!"