“I’ll go with you, for food… Pictures are good, too. By the way, would you guys mind if Syl came with us to the cave, too?” asked the bright red hibiscus. Aida had a strong suspicion that there would be no problem with it, which is why she decided it would be okay to ask publicly while Sylvain was standing right there.

Aida was not much of one to talk about quidditch among her friends despite being Ravenclaw’s team co-captain, but this was simply because it usually didn’t seem relevant. At this point, Aida’s involvement with the team was strongly motivated by a need to engage her strategic mind in a more relaxing environment than the near-death experiences she had been having previously. However, quidditch just didn't tend to come up in her usual conversations with Dee, Sylvain, and Ileen.

Looking over at the food table, the various offerings looked grey and unappealing despite their actual desirable qualities. Aida’s appetite had been tremendously suppressed since a certain house elf incident that involved tainted food and mind control, so if she were going to eat normally it was going to be at the behest of her friends. As a consequence of this and other problems, Aida had grown rather skinny over the last month. No one had really talked with her about it, though.

Interactions | @Ileen Knight | @Sylvain Indarys | @Dealla Prince

RPing as iNPC Rudolf Novikov

Open to Interactions

It had taken Rudolf a long time to work up the courage to leave the Durmstrang encampment behind. Maksim and Vyacheslav had ducked out of the tent together, and though he'd been curious about their exit, Dolf wasn't risking his own neck alongside theirs. There were rules in place for a reason; Dolf liked to follow them, but the brothers Preobrazhensky didn't seem like the type to fall in line. If they wanted to get their asses handed to them by the headmistress, that was their right. Dolf wasn't taking the risk.

When Arjan left, he started to doubt himself. There had to be something luring all of his tentmates away, something worth checking out. Maksim and Slava hadn't returned, and the shadows that flickered by the walls of the tent every few minutes suggested that many of Dolf's schoolmates were headed to the same place. The headmistress could hardly punish all of them, could she? There was a chance that Dolf would be protected by herd immunity. He didn't want to be known as a stick in the mud, and he knew that if he missed a big party out of fear of the rules, he'd never live it down. Oh, and one more thing: with the other three boys gone, that left Dolf and Madhup Hexum alone. Together. That wasn't going to happen. No offense to the guy, of course, but that was not going to happen.

Dolf felt like an idiot looking over his shoulder every five seconds as he moved towards a source of light and merriment across the field. He still wasn't convinced that he was in the right by following his classmates. Getting closer to his destination, Dolf could make out what seemed like a party. Banners and lights, blankets and a fire pit — quite the setup. This was the Hogwarts encampment, wasn't it? Huh. They'd arrived with a bang. Dolf entered the fray of mingling students and kept his eyes open for a familiar face, preferably a friendly one. Leave it to Maksim to find the center of attention right away.

He ignored the barbecue — sorry, "barrelcue" — though he did grab a drink from the edge of a nearby table. Dolf told himself that he wasn't hungry, but there was a part of him that was still afraid of getting called out by the professor behind the grill. It was one thing to be punished by his own headmistress; it would be another, much worse affair to be dragged to her feet by another school's staff. Dolf raised his cup and took an idle sip as he hovered by the edge of the fire, letting the lively atmosphere start to relax him. Maybe this was alright. Maybe he could let his hair down a little, relax. It definitely sounded nice.

Arjan and Slava were eluding him, but Dolf finally caught sight of their companion. Maksim (@Ami Procoppio) had charmed some poor girl (@Frost Cira) that Dolf didn't recognize and led her away from a gaggle of them. Dolf chuckled as he watched the pair from afar, wondering what kind of nonsense the boy was spinning through broken English. He probably still had a chance with her, even if she didn't understand anything he said. A few years living together had taught Dolf that Maksim was just like that. A "smooth operator", his father would've said. The thought made Dolf laugh into his cup again, and he shifted his weight to get comfortable. Dolf kept his smirk on Maksim, waiting for him to pull his next move with the girl. This was sure to be good one way or another.

Interacting with @Callie Jensen @Elias Weare and @Rose Moon

Eyre realized that he had left his food behind in his angry haze, turning around to clean up the food that he'd spilt on the ground without daring to look Alexei in the eye. He then used the napkins to hold his nose as he came back to his sitting place, his head tilted down as he tried to stop his nose from bleeding.

"...That stupid Durmstrang twat tripped me." He grumbled, pretending that his friends hadn't seen it unravel in front of them. This BBQ really couldn't have gotten any worse. "I'm going to go back to my tent..." He said, picking up his sunglasses and placing them on his face so no one could see the tears that were dotting his eyes from the pain that was radiating from his scraped sunburn. (He made sure to grab the dumb hat, too, but he didn't dare put it on his head. He learned that lesson already.)

As Eyre turned to leave and started to limp himself over to the campsite, he knew instantly that he should've thanked the three for making sure he was alright. He supposed that he'd have to do that, later. For now, it was time to clean himself up and pretend like this day never happened.

OOC: Eyre has left the thread, unless stopped.

Writing as Ella Forsberg

The sizzles from assorted meat-based products and presumably some plant-based meat substitutes left a trail of smoke from the grill, providing a pleasing aroma. The meat wasn’t the only thing sizzling, joined by the vibrant birth of summer flings. Albeit...awkward, prompting the youngest Forsberg to tilt her head with most curious thoughts. Are all Hogwarts students this awkward? Not that the charming brunette was devoid of social nerve induced shortcomings, but this particular exchange[@Howard White &@Serena Towers ]prompted Ella to hold her breath. The air tightened as the pair fumbled to form sentences, amusingly stirred by Phyllis’ declaration that Howard likes raw meat.

"Do you think they like each other…?" Greta asked. [@Evelynn Decipio]

“Yes.” Not hesitating to confirm Greta’s suspicions. Ella would uncomfortably fidget until Howard officially introduced his girlfriend to Ella. She wore a sleeveless shirt that clearly read...Hufflepuff Quidditch. HUFFLEPUFF! Ella’s blue-gray eyes lit up at the revelation, the girl was her opponent for the main event this summer. Below the large house letters, a smaller font read team seeker. The same position as Ella. “Yes, we’re from Durmstrang. You’re the seek--” Ella’s question for Serena was cut short from a drive-by comment...it was from him.

"Forsberg! Hello! If the Brit scares you too much, you can always come and eat with me." Maksim [@Ami Procoppio] offered.

Ella’s heart skipped a beat when the charismatic curly-haired boy passed her side, temporarily muddling her mind, unable to follow up on her question to Serena. What’s a seeker again? There was a delayed reaction, leaving her staring with her heart shaped lips slightly parted before she collected herself to say…”Hi!” She knew his name, but her mind wouldn’t provide anything beyond he’s talking to me! “I--yeah! I’d like that…” Finally a few words came out, but the boy was soon gone. Ella gave a glance to her present company, breached with internal conflict. As much as she’d love to join him, she wouldn’t leave Greta’s side until she was comfortable.

A new girl approached and introduced herself to the ever-growing group. "I'm Aurelia. Aurelia Roberts. Are you guys from Durmstrang of Ilvermorny? I haven't seen you around Hogwarts" Aurelia said.

Ella could sense Greta getting overwhelmed with all the moving parts, but Ella always saw the brightside. Howard aside, the string of acquaintances were friendly and positive, and made her feel important. “Ella Forsberg. Yes, from Durmstrang.” She exchanged names with Aurelia before looking past her to see a familiar face. In the background a few feet away, Ella made eye contact with a boy she recognized[Ash] from Durmstrang. She met his wave with a kind wave of her own before returning her attention to those near her. [Given all the moving parts and interactions, I kept these responses brief.. But feel free to approach when things slow down!] @Aurelia Roberts @May Moonstar

Howard announced his departure, offering for the present company to join him and his date friend. “We have to catch up a bit.” She declined, motioning to Greta at her side before beaming at Serena once more. “So nice to meet you! And...good luck in the match!” She meant it, wishing ill will on her opponent was not the way she was brought up. Ella offered a soft smile and nod at Howard before turning away. There was nothing to say to him, too many melodramatic twilight vibes with that boy!

Between Maksim’s drive by comment and the newest Huffle ship, Ella had nearly forgotten about Phyllis [@Bridget Collins] , who initiated a new conversation beyond Hi, nice to meet yous’. A welcome change of pace as she brought up the topic of Quidditch. Nichlas did not hesitate to confirm Ella’s status on the team for her, followed by mentioning he was...babysitting?! She looked at Nichlas like a puppy being scolded after going through the trash. How could he say that in front of her new friends! Ella’s visage reddened, turning her head sharply to face Nichlas. “I’m the back-up seeker.” She answered Phyllis’ question through gritted teeth, still locked onto Nichlas with a displeased stare. She was about ready to seek a time-out chair. “A comet, oh, that’s nice… I have a Nimbus, one-thousand and…one?” Ella was not well versed with brooms. Outside knowing her mother bought it for her, and that it goes fast, she knew next to nothing.

"Phy-llis Stan-wood, I thought I told you to wait!" Karilyna spoke out. [@Thora Larkston]

Yet another girl approached, but a welcome distraction as Phyllis turned her attention away to the new girl, allowing Ella a moment to scold Nichlas. She nudged his side with her elbow harshly as she handed her plate with a patty to be passed on to the adult he requested. She would also collect Greta’s plate before a stern whisper. “Can you not!”

"Sorry, I'm Karilyna, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

“Don’t be!” Ella offered an insisting smile, regathering herself from the annoyance Nichlas provided. “Ella Forsberg, it’s a pleasure.” At her side, Greta began to fumble nervously, likely overwhelmed with all the new company. She was a warrior on the quidditch field, but her social imperfections would be revealed from a bit of meet and greet encounters.

"Ella, I have no idea what they're saying. They're talking much too fast. Heeeelp. Are they making fun of us!"

Ella squeezed her forearm assuredly. “Greta, breathe. They are friendly.” She would use this opportunity to point out her brother[Hanzo] who she had found in the crowd a few moments ago. Perhaps his presence would calm her. “Look who I found.”

Assuming the burgers have been cooked for the group, Ella would turn back to Phyllis and Karilyna, extending an invitation to continue conversation. “I take it you two know each other.” She assumed by the way Karilyna approached Phyllis. “Let’s go find a table, shall we?” If the group agreed, Ella would lead the way to find an empty table. But not before turning back to Nichlas once more. “Coming, Nicke?” If he was going to publicly refer to himself as her babysitter, she would have all of London calling him Nicke before summer’s end. [@Alan Vanes]

OC note: Sequencing was a bit confusing, if you feel the same DM me.

@Rose Moon

Roleplaying as NPC Andrew Lycan
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@Ginevra Tsuchiya
[Gregorí Erkens]
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Open to Interactions!

The boys laughed hearty laughs before Gregorí went quiet for a bit. He seemed... thoughtfully sad... or sadly thoughtful. It was a little strange to see him like that, so Drew added, "You good, Greg?" Racking his mind for another subject they could talk about, Drew said awkwardly, "Soo..."
But Gregorí beat him to it. He said something about capture the base and what the heck was that? "I can only guess, buy I would think it was... Oh, I dunno, I think it would be like capture the flag, I guess, but either with a base or UK-ified. I dunno, it might be fun."
UK-ified wasn't a word. Drew knew that. He made up a lot of words on the spot. There was probably a real word for what he meant, but in his mind, at least, his made-up word made a lot more sense.
As for travelling, Drew answered, "Then whenever you go out of the country, you should bring me with you. Then we would have less chance of getting lost and if we did, it would at least be together. You never know, that might be fun to travel somewhere together. Probably when we can go out of the country by ourselves, of course."

Interacting with: @Annie Morgan [as Milo] and @Carolyn Hunt

Mentioning: @Nell Zoldak

Sky gave a small wave to Nell, sending her a smile as the girl disappeared. It was a little strange, she hadn't stayed for long, had Sky scared her away? She hoped not, this time she was trying to make friends, not terrorise others.

"Ah that is a pretty name, you are the sky of which the sun and clouds occupy above us."

Sky felt her cheeks tinge pink, that was saying something, since the girl wasn't usually one to blush often. His excitement was almost infectious, and once again Sky had to force down a laugh, containing herself, willing herself to keep formal. Maybe opening up wasn't such a bad thing. He accepted her request, and turned to leave into the crowd, prompting Sky to step forward to follow. She turned to Carolyn. “I guess I'll catch you later then? Unless you want to tag along.” She had never in fact asked for somebody to come along with her for something. No it had always been that she preferred carrying out tasks alone, solitary. However the concept of new friends was inviting, warming up to new people was interesting. She had taken a liking to her mother's antics, maybe being kind wasn't too bad after all. Carolyn however, seemed completely fine with Sky going off without her, for she gave a wave and a smile, “Enjoy the exploring! See you later Sky,”

She turned her head to smile at her, waving back. However, in her distraction, she hadn't noticed Milo's abrupt halt, and as she blindly took a step forward, she almost crashed into him, her blush deepening as she steadied herself and stood up straight again, the embarrassment evident on her features. "Would you like to meet some of my fellow Durmstrang friends? They don't bite we are all fairly nice or at least the people I associate myself with.." Sky gave a small smile, gathering the remaining dignity she had left and biting into another strawberry before saying, “Of course, It would be a pleasure to meet them. Lead the way Milo.” Right now she could look anywhere but his eyes, for when the poor girl was embarrassed [which she had to admit, did not occur quite often] she usually became quite flustered. This contrasted greatly to her confident, haughty ego- which presently seemed to have flown out the window. She smiled and gestured for him to call them over, or lead the way, whichever was better.

@Rose Moon

Abilities-Keen Eye
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@Eyre Reeves
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Open to Interactions!
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Hex Code- FF0000

Rose's keen eyes caught on Eyre depressingly limping away.
And the only way to possibly explain it is that her big sister instinct kicked in.
Her helping instinct kicked in.
She "saved" him once, what was to stop her from saving him again?
She jumped to her feet and grabbed her sweater and the bottle of burn cream she had our here, speedwalking over to him. Careful not to touch him because of his sunburn, Rose said, "Oh, gosh, Eyre, are you okay? Do you want some help?"
Eyre sure looked like he needed some help. And Rose didn't want to humiliate him, but she would have never forgiven herself if she had just let him leave. Her voice was gentle and full of concern for him. It wasn't that she didn't believe that he couldn't manage by himself, she just knew that she could help him if he would let her.
He really did look miserable. "Let me walk you back to your tent," Rose continued. "Who are you tenting with? Can they help you?" Hoping and praying that Eyre was going to be okay, she walked by him, ready to catch him if he fell or steady him if he stumbled. If she was in half as bad shape as he was, Rose would have tripped at least ten times by now.

Reducio

Interacting with: @Astrea Soleil Neptune as Johannes Ambroży
Mentions: @Anastasia Beckett as Alexei & @Eyre Reeves

Oh..., She wanted to meet people and little did she know that she met someone who flattered her the minute she spoke up. Bloom's pale cheeks had a slight flush of pink. She looked away from the Durmstrang student, her eye catching students that were straight ahead from her. She could feel the warmth of her cheeks. Bloom, personally, did not care, but her cheeks were doing it on her own and she could not control it. Bloom rubbed her left cheek as if to tell herself to "knock it off".

Looking back at him, she smiled and nodded. "I wonder how you figured that out," she joked. Bloom could tell that the boy sitting next to her was from Durmstrang. There was a specific aura that he had. Was it because he looked serious? Probably. She had never seen a Durmstrang student not look so serious. But why? Bloom had no idea what they taught at their school. She heard that it was a lot more strict than it is at Hogwarts, that's for sure.

"Ah, so you are Durmstrang," she said, his name was all she needed to hear to know where he came from... Aside from his accent, of course. "Pleasure to meet you, Johannes," she said. "So how do you like London so--?" she asked, starting the conversation but then seeing that he was into what was happening in front of them. There was a boy who tripped over another. Bloom recognized the boy who was on the floor to be from her school, but she did not recognize the other. The worst part of it all was that no one did anything but let it be. Should she let it go, too? It seemed that Johannes did himself. Was it a thing that often happened at Durmstrang?

"You'd think that people would just behave accordingly," she said with a sigh. This was a fun outing for all schools to come together. It was not the time for people to put each other down. But just as there are many students together, there are many personalities, too. She wondered what personality was bottled up in Johannes. Was he a kind person or was he just as harsh as the two boys that they just witnessed? Perhaps that was the ultimate chance people go through when meeting someone new.

Bloom wanted to go up to the Gryffindor, but she felt as though he was so uptight that asking if they were okay was not going to be a good answer. Even more so, going up to him in front of others might embarrass him. Perhaps she would go up to him later on and ask how he is doing.

Bloom's attention went back to Johannes. "So, what's it like at Durmstrang?" she asked, curious about his school.