Errand Lunar Year Lanterns Group 2

Interacting @Thora Larkston @Lily Áshildr Björnsdotti @Teiki Laurent @Sayomi Suzuki @Bridget Collins @Pericles Dralt @Ruby Cazares and @Cypresse Lian

It was a great honor when Professor Lian asked her one day if she would like to help out with the errand to share their Chinese culture and tradition with the students. There was absolutely no reason for her to reject that offer. When she first enrolled in Hogwarts, it was a pleasant surprise for her to learn that their Transfiguration Professor is Chinese but she only attended her classes and never got the opportunity to really speak Chinese with her. She already had huge respect for Professor Lian, despite her being blind, she was still very sharp-minded and her lessons were strict but detailed. Her task was to help Professor Lian to show the participates how to make Chinese Lanterns since she couldn't really do much while being blind. Griseldis's role was pretty much being an assistant.

The second group would arrive soon in the Transfiguration classroom, she was told to dress in a Chinese traditional outfit. Griseldis still the red and golden dress her mom originally made for her to join the ball and well...the ball was a disaster but it was a miracle that the dress wasn't ruined completely, and the House-elves were very nice and helped to fix her dress. This time, she would be wearing it with pride and honor. And she was certain there would not be any misfortune happen today.

Reducio

A sketch of Griseldis in her Chinese traditional dress
(Will color her again without the mask)

When the Gryffindor Prefect stepped inside the classroom, this time she was well perpared that the loud explosion noises of firecrackers would come from both sides, but it still brought her to smile. The whole familiar traditional Chinese New Year decorations in the classroom and the Chinese harp music really reminded her of the Chinese New Year she celebrated with her family and Chinese relatives, those memories really made her feel the warmth and pure joy. She then saw the Professor wearing in a traditional black Qipao, she went to greet her in Chinese and gave her new year wishes, "你好，簾博士！这里是梅，祝你新年快乐! (Hello, Professor Lian! This is *Mei [Griseldis's Chinese middle name, means plum blossom], Happy Chinese New Year!)", then she turned around and saw there were already students waiting in the classroom, she  recognized a few and there were two young Slytherin girls, perhaps first-years who she had yet to be acquaintance with. She quickly waved at them with a cheerful smile on her face, "Hello Group 2! I'm really happy to see you all here to participate in this special errand our Transfiguration Professor hosted. First, let me wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year!" Griseldis made the fist-and palm salute to them, it was a common etiquette used when meeting people in China. "I'm Griseldis Edelhardt, 2nd year Gryffindor Prefect and I'm only here as Professor Lian's assistant. This Group will be focusing on the Nian Monster theme so the rest I will leave the Professor to explain to you."

Cy grinned, smile laced with her trademark mischief, as the firecrackers went off, the snapping and crackling sounding off the high walls along with several shocked voices. In hindsight, maybe some of her students might not appreciate the surprise, but then she'd spent three years in America, where these things were illegal, so of course she'd need her fun here! Besides, anyone who'd been in her class before ought to be prepared for the falling off chairs that tended to accompany her lectures. She was nothing if not spontaneous.

"Hey, everyone," she greeted, reaching behind her to clear a section of her desk so that she could sit on it again. "Take a seat wherever! Or stand, like a weirdo. Dunno why you'd want to take the extra energy."

It didn't take long for the students to begin flooding in, one greeting her after the other, including @Thora Larkston, @Lily Áshildr Björnsdotti, @Teiki Laurent, @Sayomi Suzuki, and @Bridget Collins. You'd think that more than half a school year would be enough time to memorize voices, but unfortunately she didn't have the help of a face to aid her in memorizing the relatively quiet ones in class, so the introductions were rather helpful. "Hello, everyone!"

Two more, @Pericles Dralt and @Ruby Cazares, arrived a little later than the others, the popping of her firecrackers alerting her of their presence much sooner than she picked up on their footsteps amidst the chatter in the room. Sounded like there were a couple of people who knew each other already. Made sense - most of this group were in the same year.

"Hi, Pericles, Ruby," she greeted in turn before turning to her assistant for the day. "你好，梅！新年快樂，感謝你願意幫忙。" She turned back to face the front of the class again. "Hey, everyone! Gris might be taking too little credit for herself, seeing as she helped me plan half of this thing, but welcome! Happy lunar new year to all of you; I hope I didn't scare anyone off with the firecrackers already. If, by chance, you didn't all wander into a random classroom for no reason, I'll presume you're here for the Errand. On the tables you'll find craft supplies that you can use to make paper lanterns, a critical part of the traditions of Chinese New Year. There's also extra ink and brushes if you want to try your hand at calligraphy, which Gris can also help you on - because, as you can see and I clearly cannot, that would be difficult for me to do. Any questions so far, before we begin?"

Reducio

Translation: Hello, Mei! Happy new year, and thank you for being willing to help.

@Cypresse Lian @Griseldis Edelhardt @Lily Áshildr Björnsdotti @Pericles Dralt @Thora Larkston @Bridget Collins @Ruby Cazares @Sayomi Suzuki

Teiki chose the option to stand- like a weirdo. It was that, or obnoxiously tapping her foot on the ground as she sat. Plus, standing made bouncing up and down at random intervals so much more possible!

The young girl took note of everyone's names, waving to Pericles and Lily. Both of them had joined her during a separate errand- and it had gone well. So, she was happy to have people she knew and mostly trusted in another errand. Because who knew how this would turn out- if the fireworks gave any indication. But- the young girl didn't let herself worry about all the bad things that could happen. She watched the teacher carefully, finally glad to not feel nearly as stressed while in the classroom. It probably didn't help that Transfiguration made no sense to the girl.

She glanced between the two tables- indecisiveness coming over her. On one hand, the girl absolutely loved anything crafty- which admittedly both were, although the lantern one more so. But- calligraphy was also really interesting- although she had heard that it takes patience. Which wasn't something the girl had currently. So, she began to walk over to the table filled with supplies to make lanterns.

A small momentary pause, as she watched her classmates and the teacher. "We can start, yeah?" She asked quickly, eyeing the craft supplies. She was excited- to put it simply. "Also- what did the group thing mean? Nian Monster sounded cool- or if that's later-" She paused, a small blush forming on her cheeks. Perhaps she didn't need to speak that much. After all, she was sure the two had already planned everything out.

Word Count: 620 + 278 = 898/800

Interactions: @Bridget Collins | @Pericles Dralt  | @Ruby Cazares | @Griseldis Edelhardt

Thora found herself being brushed off to the side--closer to the firecrackers--as more students entered the classroom, introducing themselves. It was a huge relief to the little girl that there were actually a couple people that she knew, and even some she would call friends. Honestly, being a little more socially secure was simply a bonus for her, as Thora had signed up for the knowledge. Maybe intelligence was more stereotyped among Ravenclaws, but the opportunity having opened up to learn about Chinese culture, she'd jumped at the chance.

"Hi, Bridget!" Thora piped up happily and waved as she noticed her first friend at Hogwarts greeting her. She wasn't exactly sure how their friendship was faring, the two not having seen each other too many times, but they were definitely still friends. It was mostly Thora's fault for their strained relationship, having distanced herself from people who either reminded her too much about the ball or didn't have the slightest clue about the extent of its destruction.

"How have you been doing?" it dawned on the girl that she hadn't really been keeping up with anyone--not Bridget, not Ruthie, not Gris, not Elena, and not anyone who she really considered either a friend or whom she had slowly grown to trust. Friendships were a strange thing. A loner in Muggle school and isolated from the city life in her little hometown, Thora simply wasn't good at all of this relationship business.

So yes, it was her fault that she and Bridget were growing apart. It was a fact she couldn't deny, so after wave after wave of crushing guilt, Thora had decided to simply accept it. She had time to fix this. As she waited for Bridget to answer--or not, it was really up to the other girl what she did--Thora glanced around as unfamiliar face after unfamiliar face trailed into the room. Until two people walked in. Something about them was familiar, although Thora couldn't match a name to their face.

But was that the girl that had hit her with a snowball--well, tried to? Thora'd ducked in time, thankfully, or else the other girl's aim would have been true. And for the strange boy. His hair was a very disturbing white-ish color that barely contrasted pale skin. He, too, had tried to attack Thora with snow, but using Leviosa instead. All of that said, the whole event had been a blast, so she didn't hold anything against either of them.

"Hey, Pericles, hey Ruby," Thora offered a small wave as she finally remembered their names. They'd met only a couple weeks prior, so it was surprising to even the girl herself that she was so forgetful. Heck, Ruby was one of her prefects! Maybe Hogwarts was getting to her head.

And finally, finally, Griseldis entered in all her dress-clad and outgoing glory. Speaking of which, the brilliantly colored gown looked fairly familiar, although Thora was pretty sure it was simply traditional wear for her culture. But as green eyes traveled over gold trim, only fear and fire came to mind. If Gris was wearing the same dress as she had worn to the ball, Thora was duly impressed. While some students came off of the event easy, a lot of people's outfits--Thora's included--had been destroyed. From blood and fire to knives, those in the heat of the battle had literally narrowly escaped with their lives.

Shuddering a bit, Thora's eyes darted between the prefect and the professor as they conversed in Chinese--well, she presumed it was the Asian language. It was amazing to see how the two switched from language to language without a hitch, so she barely caught the transition back to English. Professor Lian encouraged them to get started on either lanterns or calligraphy, so weighing her options, Thora glanced at Gris. And opted for calligraphy.

The Slytherin was skilled at painting and loved the art. It had been a pastime since childhood, as the green Irish countryside Thora had grown up in provided ample inspiration. She jumped at every chance to practice at Hogwarts, seeking ideas in even the corners of the castle. Calligraphy seemed quite daunting, especially with the ink and brushes, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Anyways, it was an opportunity to talk to Gris, although there were clearly a few other students present.

"Hi, Gris!" Thora greeted her Gryffindor friend as she eased herself into a red chair, taking the professor's suggestion. "D-do you know how to do calligraphy? I've never t-tried but it looks cool." It wasn't exactly that the awkward girl felt uncomfortable around Griseldis. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But interacting with several students, some of which were probably not even in her year, under the blind gaze of her Transfiguration professor, was rather intimidating.

WC: 594 + 800 = 1394/800
~errand complete~

@Thora Larkston | @Griseldis Edelhardt

Maybe it was ridiculous, but seeing Thora light up the way she did when she saw her pretty much made Bridget's day. True, the errand would probably entail plenty of interesting and fun things, but knowing that the other Slytherin did like seeing her made the brunette a bit more confident that they were still friends. "I'm doing pretty well. I mean, busy, but that's, um, you know, normal for Hogwarts. You?" Bridget answered. It was nothing but idle small talk, something she had never had much success with, but even the mundanity of the comments, even the probable awkwardness in her wording, didn't bother her. She was with a friend, after all, and that made her feel far more comfortable than usual.

She watched as several more people entered the room, including the prefect, Griseldis, who had set up the leaf-raking errand Bridget had participated in. Although, of course, she listened to Professor Lian's instructions for what to do, as well as her invitation to sit down which made her standing feel very awkward, the Slytherin was left unsure of what to do. Yet another downfall of her low self-confidence was this uncomfortable feeling that permeated every inch of her, compelling her to do something but being too scared to take charge. Funny how quickly her supposed ease had dissipated.

And that was why when Thora sat down and asked for Griseldis to teach her calligraphy, Bridget instantly jumped on board that plan. Doing her best to make the action seem natural, she slipped into the plush scarlet seat next to Thora. Despite the comfiness of the chair, Bridget shifted her weight first one way and then the other, as if unable to get into an agreeable position. And she was ill at ease, still indecisive over if she should retrieve calligraphy supplies or just wait for further instruction. Finally, she decided the latter was probably the safer option, especially since Thora hadn't gone for any supplies yet.

"I- um, I'm interested in calligraphy, too," she said to the prefect, her voice stumbling over the initial syllables. Taking as discreet of a deep breath as possible, the small girl focused on looking calm and comfortable, although she was sure her cheeks were flushed by now, completely ruining whatever act she would attempt. So instead, she reminded herself that she was okay. This was an optional errand. It was fun. She would learn things. Her best friend was here. And she was good at sketching, wasn't she, so calligraphy should be within her talents, should be a cool skill to pick up.

Word Count: 432 + 687 = 1119/800
Word Count Completed

570/800

When the professor greeted him by name, Pericles, in a standard bout of curious conduct, glanced directly down at his shined black shoes. The boy pondered them with a stranger stare than usual- not the airy lost-in-thought gaze, but something fixed, and- was that a tint of color coming to his frightfully pale face? It was Ruby's greeting which had him glancing up again, and when he met her eye, relaxation returned to him. An easy smile sprung into place as he answered at a near whisper, "Hullo Ruby." Quick to find comfort in the presence of an acquaintance, he straightened his stance once more, hands folding for a posture of polite attendance. Seeing Griseldis again was a pleasant surprise: they had met during an errand she hosted, and he had come to understand the prefect as proficient, thorough in each aspect of her rank. He raised a hand to wave her way, a gesture which was extended to Teiki in turn. Upon recognizing Thora, a toothier grin grew, the almost impish expression one would exchange with someone who shared in a secret. The snow "battle" had been a bout of good fun for him, not some malicious assault, and Peri was pleased to see another associated with the cherished memory. He nodded her way, and with that, greeted those he knew so to settle into the errand at hand.

At the mention of supplies stationed on the desk, he sent a sideways look to Ruby, muttering: "D'you want to try and paint calligraphy? If you'll carry the ink and brushes, I'll get the craft supplies." Unless she objected, he would take towards the table, presumably gathering up papers and tapes which they would use to get started. Having heard Thora talk to Griseldis about calligraphy, he would gravitate their way with supplies, chiming in "Oh! Are you going to teach us to write the, ah... the symbols?" He didn't yet know the correct term for hanzi, but he was eager to understand it, at least a little. Peri would settle into a sit, peering curiously back at the professor, anticipating the start of a story or some such introduction.

WC: 295 + 360 = 655

Interacting with @Teiki Laurent @Thora Larkston @Bridget Collins @Sayomi Suzuki @Pericles Dralt
Mentioning @Lily Áshildr Björnsdotti @Ruby Cazares@Cypresse Lian

After Professor Lian told the group about their task for this unique errand, she also mentioned to them where they can find the tools and the materials for crafting the lanterns. Then she asked the group if they have any questions. While she would be answering a few student's questions if they ask her, the Gryffindor Prefect would be the one teaching them how to use a brush to paint Chinese calligraphy. The Hufflepuff girl, Teiki first asked if they could begin, Griseldis gave her a nod and replied to her with a friendly smile, "Yes, you all may start to make lanterns, of course, I will show you how to make a Chinese paper lantern and the Chinese calligraphy." Then Teiki asked about the Nian Monster, that truly brought back some of her childhood memories, she remembered her grandfather used to tell her bedtimes stories but all of them were Chinese folktales and the Nian Monster was one of those folktales, it wouldn't hurt to tell the Hufflepuff before Professor Lian could answer, she would give her a short version about Nian Monster and even took out a small picture of a creature, then show it to the whole group.

Source of the picture [click here]

"Since our group's theme is Nian Monster so I brought this picture with me, a friend from my grandfather is a Chinese painter, he painted this picture and gave it to me as a Chinese New Year gift. Honestly, there are a lot of different kinds of versions about the Nian Monster but the stories end the same. 'Nian' means 'year' in Chinese and the reason why it was called the Nian Monster was that the beast always would appear each new year to create chaos at a village. However, the villagers were able to found out what could scare the Nian Monster in the end. I think it would be much better to let Professor tell you about this story." Griseldis still preferred to let the Professor tell the group the Nian Monster's story, so she quickly changed the subject, "So while Professor Lian tell us the Nian Monster story, you can ask me for help anytime."

It didn't take long that some students already were curious about how to write Chinese calligraphy. It was Thora who greeted her first and asked her how to do the Chinese calligraphies, then another Slytherin girl she also met before in one of her own errands during Autumn. Then she saw an Asian Slytherin girl picked up a brush and also asked her if they were going to write the Chinese characters. Griseldis remembered that the Professor mentioned her name before so she knew the girl was Japanese. And the last one was blond Ravenclaw with glasses, Pericles who seemed very interested to learn about the Chinese calligraphies. Very typical Ravenclaw, so eager to learn new knowledge, Griseldis thought with a fond smile and replied to them, "Yes, indeed, I can show you guys how to write the Chinese characters with the ink and brush." The lioness took a piece of Xuan Rice Paper from the side and place it on the table in front of her, unlike normal paper, the Xuan Rice Papers were very thin and soft. Only used for traditional Chinese painting with ink or water paints. She first poured a bit water into the ink slab then used an ink stick that was lying beside and began to grind in circles gently with patiently [click here to see how it looks like grinding ink], "The process of ink grinding requires time and patience, this process is able to make people stay calm and enter a state of mind suitable for calligraphy." A few minutes later, Griseldis stopped and placed the ink stick carefully on the ink slab, then picked up the brush and started to paint the Chinese calligraphy slowly.

"Alright! This is how you write Chinese calligraphy.", when Griseldis finished her work, she showed them the four written simplified Chinese characters:

"Xing Nian Kuai Le - means Happy New Year in Chinese"

"Now, how about you all try it out." Griseldis looked at the group, she was very excited to see if they could manage to write the Chinese calligraphy on their own.

OOC: We apologize for the long wait, a lot of things happened irl but hopefully this errand will be completed soon and you will get your reward.

Hey, everyone, sorry about the wait!

So far, the people in this errand who have completed the word count are:
@Thora Larkston
@Teiki Laurent
@Bridget Collins
All of you have been rewarded. You are free to keep RPing, or if you can come up with an IC reason to leave early (like your character forgetting that they double-booked something or getting sick or whatever), you can do that too.

The following people are still short of the word count:
@Lily Áshildr Björnsdotti by 445 words
@Sayomi Suzuki by 230 words
@Pericles Dralt by 145 words
@Ruby Cazares by 461 words
Keep it up, you guys!

Cy smiled as the sound of the inkstone reached her. "Calligraphy is a very important art form to a lot of countries, like Japan, Korea, Israel, India, and of course, China. Obviously I can't really judge what your outcome looks like, but a few tips: Hold your brush like this," she demonstrated with her wand, "with the brush in between your middle and ring finger, and raise your elbow off the table - you want to be writing from your shoulder, not your wrist, which will feel really shaky at first, but you'll get used to it. When you make a stroke, you're going to want to make the line and then back-paddle a little before lifting the brush off the paper so you have a clean end. Write big, so that you have more space to work." She scrunched up her nose as a thought came to her. "Also, roll your sleeves up. You're going to get ink everywhere on your first try."

"I'm going to start the story now, but if anyone has questions or needs help, Gris is awesome at calligraphy - I think, not like I can actually tell - so she'll help you out!" With a flick of her wand, a vibrantly colored cutout flew out from behind her desk, a great monster with sharp teeth and claws.

"A long time ago, in ancient China, there lived a monster under the ocean. Its name was Nian, written the same as the word for 'year' in Chinese." With a flick of her wand, Cy made the cutout prance in the air, letting out a deafening roar before settling down and putting its head in its paws. "Honestly, for most of the year, it wasn't much of a monster after all. It was mostly content just to chill and nap in its lair. But one day a year, every year, on the day of Chinese New Year, it would wake up and terrorize the village next to the sea, eating pretty much whatever that moved and destroying their houses."

Cutouts of houses, farms, and people floated into the air next to the sleeping Nian, and then it woke, rising to leap into the village, knocking over buildings and shredding livestock. Scraps of paper fell to the floor. Then the monster returned, padding across the air to settle down and sleep again. "So each year, people would hide in the mountain nearby to wait until the night was over before coming back. They'd arrive at a destroyed village, but hey, beats dying."

She twisted her wand again, and the current scene retreated into the shadows to be replaced by the cutout of a middle-aged woman and a man on a bed in a house. "One year, there was a lady who lived in the village. Her husband was sick and bedridden, so she stayed behind to care for him, hoping that the Nian would pass their house by chance. As she made dumplings alone, with the rest of the village already hiding in the mountain, there was a knock on her door." The woman opened the door to reveal a hunched-over figure. "Outside, there was an old man who asked for some food. She took pity on him and gave him some of the dumplings she had made, inviting him inside, but warned him about the Nian and advised him to go with the villagers into the mountain.

"Surprisingly, though, the old man declined her offer. He said that he knew a way to rid the village of the Nian. She doubted him, but hey, when somebody says they might be able to save you from certain death, you don't exactly argue with them." Cy grinned, facing the class again. "How do you guys think he'll do it? Will it work?"

The painting which Griseldis had been given was an intriguing work of art. The texture resembled watercolors, but the style wasn't something familiar to Peri, so the boy admired it with a long look and arched eyebrows. As tempted as he would have been to take notes in that moment, he was soon absorbed by both the craft lesson and story. Rice paper itself was new to him. He held it with great care, turning the delicate leaf of parchment in his hands, then set it aside to mirror the prefect's motions. This "suitable state of mind" she'd mentioned quickly became apparent to him. The rhythmic method of grinding ink was easy to lose one's self in, and there was something satisfying about preparing one's own materials instead of opting for the convenience of an already corked bottle.

Squinting at the unrecognizable characters, Peri tried to mirror them, glancing back and forth whilst painting. Even his lips quirked in concentration, and his posture shifted accordingly when the professor advised they write from the shoulder, not the wrist. All of it was new, and for the curious Ravenclaw, that meant it was worthwhile. He gradually fell into a pattern: stroke, retrace, lift, repeat. The moment that paper monster pranced out into view however, he lost his pace and simply stared. There had been something magical to the process of readying ingredients and decorating the strange paper, but seeing actual magic was always a treat. Per the norm, as in class, he remained deliberately silent when Professor Lian gently prompted her audience for feedback on the tale. Yet his interest was clear in his stillness, in the transfixed expression hanging on her every word.

WC: 295 + 360 + 282 = 937/800
Errand complete! Exiting, unless there are further interactions.