Interacting with @Alaric Equinox and @Lizzie Verdine.
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Charles didn't know how to feel. It was like everything was taken from him. He didn't feel happy, mad or sad, or even relived. He felt nothing, but for once after he was bitten he didn't feel fear. As Charles listened to what the professor said. He thought about it, maybe if Alaric talked to them they would understand. And they would spend time with him again like they did before he was bitten. Then Charles heard a voice he recognised instantly. And panic took over Charles at that moment. He knew that he should tell her after this.

But he didn't know how she would react and that's what scared him. "H-Hi Lizzie." Charles said trying to sound normal. He turned around to face Lizzie. And put on his best fake smile. There was something about Lizzie that made Charles just feel like he could tell her anything. But he never did tell her a lot about himself. Because he was too afraid, of what would happen if he did tell her. Charles turned to face the professor. "Well it wouldn't hurt to try I guess. But please don't do this if you're busy." Charles paused for a minute.

"And your work and personal stuff going on in your life. Is way more important than mine will ever be." It was clear that Charles did not want Lizzie to find out what he was. Charles gave the professor a fake smile pleading in his mind that he wouldn't tell Lizzie. Charles then turned to Lizzie. "Sorry to go so soon, but I have to go back to my tent mates. They don't know i'm here and we planned to do a study session tonight." Charles hated that he lied to Lizzie, but he needed out of there. So with all said and done, he gave them both a wave. And headed back to his tent.

Interacting with: @Ivy Bellamy
Mentioning: @Dealla Prince @Janet Jackson @Aaron Jones @Alan Vanes @Zykeal Lane

Stars. These were one of the few things Ariana could sit and watch for hours upon end with little movement or fracture of concentration. So beautiful, so serene. They remained a mystery, a beautiful depiction of endless possibility. Despite her fondness for the luminous balls of light, Ariana hadn't had many opportunities so stargaze before. The few times she had, well they were too painful to think about, for the last time she had stargazed, she had been lying next to the one person she would have given her life for, the one person she had been sure would have never left her. Ariana missed her cousin so terribly, that she had learnt to lock away such reminiscent moments, such scenarios she couldn't bear to revise. This of course has not been easy, the distress was almost like physical pain. Worse even. However, maybe this is why she felt the stars were so special to her; they reminded her of someone she had lost. Yet, the question still remained. Why? Alejandra had been so perfect, always the one person who could make things right, now she was gone forever.

The star chart Ariana had acquired was grasped loosely between her fingers and she turned it over, examining it with interest, before focusing her gaze on the surrounding people. Green orbs could in fact make out many familiar faces. The temptation to go around and greet as many of them as she could, was rather tempting, although she decided against it. Hues swept the cozy site, bouncing from group to group, face to face. Her gaze hovered over Janet for more than a second and Ariana had to furiously fight the urge to run over there and apologize. Yes, she was infuriatingly stubborn, she was not uttering a simple apology to the blonde girl until the brat herself though to acknowledge her mistakes. Her nose wrinkled in a mixture of annoyance and disgust, she swirled round, contemplating her other options.

Maybe she could go and say ‘hi’ to Dee, Ariana had quite a welcoming impression of the girl and she seemed surrounded by familiar faces too. Or she could head over and talk to Aaron, the boy was always fun to talk to, although he seemed to be chatting with someone else. Alan seemed an option, she could just make out the boy sitting around, chatting. Ariana would take a step forward towards him before stopping dead, hands falling limp to her side, doubling back as she caught sight of, Ivy.

Whatever was up with the girl, it certainly wasn't something on the positive side. The dark haired lion looked rather distraught, Ariana had swiped her gaze across just in time to witness Zyk strolling away from her. What th- Oh no. Turning sharply on her heel, she veered over to the girl, who was now standing solo not far off. Ariana knew perfectly well that she could have minded her own business, however, who was she to leave her own friend upset? In that case, technically it was her business, anyone who messed with her mates was going to have to answer to her. The brunette reached the gryffindor keeper and placed a hand on her shoulder, tilting her head to try and scrutinize Ivy's expression.

“Whatever is the matter Ivy? You look as though you've swallowed a lemon! And I must say, I didn't see any of those in the lovely baskets over there, have you tried out any of the candy?”

She took a step back and gestured kindly for Ivy to follow her, eyes softened in concern, fingers tugging at her hoodie strings. She would discuss the matter once they both sat down, of course she couldn’t ignore whatever was wrong.

As soon as the young wizard laid down amongst those he had deemed as friends, he knew better, this wasn't a place for him to linger any longer. The couch within heir tent would become his dwelling place for the foreseeable future. Maybe he'd try to venture out beyond those tent walls eventually, but, he'd recognize his mistakes as they were. It took great effort for Zykeal to raise himself from the comfortable blanket next to two queens of different houses and push himself to where he was raised, knees against his chest and his head still raised up, golden irises still looking upon the stars.

Taking a moment to collect himself, he looked over towards Ileen and Dealla and offered a few words of departure, "Dealla, Ileen.. Cya back at the tent." he mentioned. Although he knew Dee would hate the use of her formal name on the occasion, her constant aggression towards him would be dealt with later. It didn't matter to him at this point in the night, his night had turned into something amazing that with friends to something that became self-loathing and disruptive to his emotions. Zykeals presence wasn't needed here to happen the mood of his elated friends.

Using hands to push himself from his seated position, he'd stow his wand away in his waistband before he'd step away from the blanket. Casting no more thought or gaze to anyone whom surrounded him at the time being, he'd head off into the darkness of the woods to make his way, hopefully, back towards his tent no matter how long the trek tolled upon him. Zyk was just simply over the night. Baffled by the timing of situations and hating the fact that it was he, himself, that had caused the majority of the issues that now rested upon his soul.

Zyk leaves the thread.

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@Alaric Equinox | @Charles Simmons
closed to interactions

When Lizzie had said at the Welcome BBQ that Stargazing was going to be a magical night, she did not expect for it to be a bad night instead. Of course it was magical because there were literally wizards and witches there but Lizzie had thought of the 'magic' more as a feeling not something in their veins.

Lizzie stood there watching as the boy walked away from her. Just perfect. Nothing seemed to be going right for her. Charles obviously did not want to speak so she turned back to the professor and smiled at him, "I.. I should also be going as well. It was nice to see you professor."

The girl bowed slightly to him and continued, "I hope one day we can have a longer conversation then just two sentences." After that, the blonde swiftly turned around and ran off towards a table.

Lizzie sighed and took of her bag sitting down at one of the picnic tables. Instead of going towards someone, she would let people come to her. It sounded a lot more reasonable then scaring off ever person in sight.

The Ravenclaw looked around and placed her head in the palm of her hands. She did not want to look like a big fat loner and quickly took out a small book from her shoulder bag along with a muggle pen her mother had gifted her over the school year. Lizzie had always found it very interesting how the ink was already inside the writing utensil.

Once she had settled down from the negative emotions, Lizzie hunched over the book and started to try and write anything that came to mind. The more things that had her mind taken off of Charles and Zyk the better.

Interacting with @Aisling Collins at the telescopes

Interacting with @Aaron Jones | Briefly mentions @Marshal Mozor
Open to interactions

"I heard about Quidditch but I didn't know it involved flying on brooms," Aisling argued with a laugh. "I just assumed it was some sort of...I don't know! Some snooty sport? Y'know, like Lacrosse or Cricket!" The thought of either of those sports being played while zooming about on brooms was hilarious to the redhead, and she nearly devolved into hysterical laughter as her overactive imagination went wild with it. In an effort to not interrupt anyone's serene night out she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and snorted ungracefully into her palm.

Thankfully, it didn't take her long to recover. Immensely glad to have some sort of guidance she leaned forward to give Aaron her full attention, brows lifting as he began to recite what he knew about the Hogwart's houses. She repeated each one, struggling a bit with Hufflepuff since it sounded quite ridiculous beside the others. However, when Aaron revealed that he was in said house Aisling took extra care to not mention how silly it sounded on the tongue. "I see," she mused aloud with a grin. "Hufflepuffs are about friendships and taking care of each other? That's a really nice thought! You sound pretty proud of it!"

The bludger comment confused her slightly, and at the mention of learning it at the Quidditch game she asked, "Can I sit with you during the game? I don't know the first thing about Quidditch. Well, aside from the fact it's played on brooms apparently, so I'm going to have a lot of questions!" And since Aaron was kind, and seemingly willing to answer them to the best of his ability, she figured it didn't hurt to throw the option out there.

As he explained the other Houses she tilted her head thoughtfully and hummed. Perhaps it was because Aaron was in Hufflepuff that he didn't have much else to say about the rest of the houses, but she wasn't bothered by what he could, and did, provide. One thing in particular stuck out to her, and she couldn't help but ask for clarification, "The Sorting Hat?" Another, softer laugh escaped her as she imagined a large wizard's hat being placed atop her head, only to somehow figure out what house she belonged in. Could a hat really do that? Well, anything was certainly possible with a bit of magic thrown in. She wasn't far from the truth, either.

And once more Aaron was quick to explain the very thing that had piqued Aisling's curiosity. "Oh, of course it talks!" She nearly lost her star chart to the wind as she threw her hands up, endlessly amused by just how comical it all was. Aisling had to remember that this was normal to the magical world- a world that she was now a part of. While laughable, she was going to have to get comfortable with things being far from mundane. A talking hat was, quite honestly, rather low on the scale for magical oddities.

The idea of something reading her heart felt a little overwhelming, and she fanned herself with her paper as she tried to wrap her head around the reality of that truth. This talking hat would sooner or later have to be worn, and in turn it would announce what house she would belong to for the rest of her years at Hogwarts. It would know who she was deep down, and it was a thought that mildly worried her. Not that she thought of herself as bad per se, but what if it saw something that she had yet to figure out about herself?

"I wonder...what is it going to see when I wear it, and what house it's going to place me in." Aisling had meant for the comment to be internal, and she chuckled out of embarrassment after it tumbled out of her mouth. Just from what little Aaron had told her she could feel a connection to each, some small and others much, much greater. "I wish I knew more so I could try and guess which one I would make it into. Maybe even take a bet on it!"

Rubbing her nape beneath her crazy head of curls she glanced away from Aaron, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she considered her situation. If it was a lot for her to take in and understand, she could only imagine how her parents might feel when she returned home after summer camp and tried to explain it all. A small part of her was understandably worried. Since Aaron had been in the same position a year ago, a new question came to the forefront of her mind. "Do...you have any advice?"

Only after asking did she feel ridiculous for the question ever escaping her. Aaron's journey, while not as new as hers, was still fairly fresh. It felt somewhat wrong to ask for more when he'd already given her quite a bit of information. "Sorry. I know that's a lot to ask when you've only just finished your first year." Lifting her hands she tried to wave it off, shaking her head in an effort to try and move them along to a different topic. Eager to do just that she opened her paper again and gestured towards it with a smile. "So, about these stars!"

It was about that time she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye approaching the telescopes. Distracted by it for a moment she looked away from Aaron, spotting Marshal nearby as he settled in and began fiddling with the knobs of his chosen telescope. Lifting a hand she politely waved at him, but since he seemed pretty intent on doing his own thing Aisling didn't try and butt into his business.

"Aida," Kibitzer repeated, selecting the simplest of the student's handful of names to apply to her. Dreadfully distinct, this one - pale white, like a ghost, with some kind of grim history about to pour out of her mouth. Mysterious lineage, sick relatives, dying pets - all manner of tragedies found their way to Rosalind's doorstep. Like moths drawn to the flame, they dived headfirst into the art of Divination and found themselves sorely disappointed. She didn't have all the answers. At least this one wasn't sniffling about it.

The kind of highly specific question asked by the girl made Kibitzer's eyes narrow, peering at her. Some students presented these as sort of 'gotcha' moments. They lead with something - such as imprisoned parents - only to pull the rug out at the last moment, revealing the entire prediction was based on false pretenses and is thus inaccurate. This logic only worked if you had no idea how Divination worked - starting from faulty information will only lead you to faulty answers.

Incomplete information lead to misinformed readings, and those lead to upset children, returning to her angry that she was wrong and thus Divination is a scam. She much preferred children who wanted her to tell them if they would have good luck, get married, graduate from Hogwarts, or succeed at quidditch. With them you could gauge their sensitivity, and simply say "yes" if the reading was not to your liking.

But the professor dutifully tossed a handful of bones in the air, answering the question of her preferred method. She would prefer not to get too touchy with Aida's hands, considering the sensitivity of the topic. The bones hit the table and landed in their spread. Rosalind peered down to read them, but they were inscrutable. Anything could have happened. But she had to say something, so she fell back on to what she knew.

"Yes," said Rosalind, pain on her face for a brief moment. She was going to regret giving this girl hope, even if the bones aligned with that answer. If they had been sentenced within this child's brief life, they were likely fine, if cold and alone in prison. "I believe they are alive."

She had asked for a complete answer. Considering she had asked a yes or no question, that answer seemed as complete as the alternative.

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood Sorry if the answer is dissatisfying. She may not be as talented at revealing the future as you would have liked, but she gives it a good shot.

Interaction: @Rosalind Kibitzer
Thread left.

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INTERACTIONS [closed] @Ariana Walker

MENTIONS Lizzie Verdine︱Zykeal Lane

She hadn't expected her apology to actually work, of course. It had come too late and too sudden, and Ivy had been readying herself for another argument, bracing herself for harsh words and even more anger, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she was clinging to some kind of forlorn hope that he would accept her apology. How stupid she felt right now! Zyk seemed unable to form any words, as he was just staring at her in... horror? fury? sadness? She couldn't be sure, but she stared back at him pleadingly, willing him to say something, anything, anything but the silence.

Well, you should be careful what you wish for. She stared at him, grey eyes filling with tears of sadness and confusion. There were so many things she wanted to say, but her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat, and all she could do was stare... the way she interpreted it, he had chosen Lizzie over her. She had known he would, but it still hurt... "We can't what?" But Zyk was walking away again, the way he had at the Lake in May. Last time, Ivy had tried to get him to stay and listen - but this time she let him go. "Oh. Ok then. Walk away. It's what you do best," she whispered, watching him leave.

Ivy looked back at where he had been sitting just moments ago, and then ahead of her, the tears pooling on her lower lashes. She blinked and they spilled over, but she didn't take much notice, still too stunned to move. What had just happened? No, that wasn't the right question to ask. What was going to happen now? She couldn't imagine returning to the crowd and pretending everything was alright when nothing was. Should she leave? Yes, that would be the best option - but her legs seemed to be frozen to the spot...

She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone laid a hand on her shoulder and began to speak. Ivy turned to face Ariana and stared at her helplessly for a moment, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. "C-candy? Oh, Ariana..." How she wished that candy would be able to fix this situation! She drew the back of her hand across her cheeks, trying to wipe away the tears, and sat down on the bench where Zyk had been only moments ago. To be honest, she was starting to feel a little more relieved now that her friend was here now, because although they hadn't known each other very long, Ivy trusted the girl for some reason, and she was almost certain that Ariana felt the same way too. Yet along with that trust came the fear that her new friend would end up hating her for one thing or another, and she wondered if Ariana would think badly of her if she told her the reason for her tears... didn't she know about Lizzie and Zyk too?

"Ariana, I... I'm fine," Ivy finally said, staring down at the ground. She hated herself for saying it, for lying to her friend... how many times had she pretended to be fine? Fine. The worst word in the English language. Fine didn't mean anything - it was nothing but emptiness and fake smiles, a word someone created for pretending and small talk. In a split second, the Gryffindor changed her mind. What did she have to lose? Why not tell her the truth? If she was truly a friend, she would help, wouldn't she? "No, actually. I'm not." Ivy's eyes welled up with tears again and she blinked them away furiously, looking up at the night sky. The stars were so bright, so beautiful... it was so unfair. "I am not ok," she repeated. "And you'll despise me for the reason, and so will everyone else, especially Lizzie and - and I don't know what to do."

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Interacting with:@Ivy Bellamy

Mentioning: @Lizzie Verdine