♢ Date | 2 August, 2024 ♢
♢ Interacting With | Theodore Duncain^{@Opeila Winters} + Felix Kolbeck^{@Winnie Harper}♢
♢ Hex Code | #C08838 ♢

Rett guffawed in fake astonishment at the ruthless accusations that Theo was slinging against him. "Me? A coward? I am merely protecting your dignity so the fine ladies here don't worry that you have suddenly switched sides and are no longer interested in them. Though, perhaps I would be doing you a favor." He glances at the room, eyes lingering on each of the young girls. Granted, he was the best appreciator of feminine beauty... and he didn't really know anybody here except for the worst people for him to know. But still. "Trust me, best to stick to your own school. You know how it went for me." Sadness, a sort of grief, flashed across his eyes. Theodore would be one of the few that knew about the long relationship with Rafa that ended in heartbreak.

He sighed, maneuvering his body to cover all but Theo's eyes to see the target and his wand poking out from Rett's side. He was such a good friend. He didn't look back to even see if the spell had landed before they were whisked off to the next group, Rett giving a half-assed salute to Theo as he smoothly glided across the dance floor. He hummed quietly to the progression of the music, briefly losing himself in the sweet melodies.

But he very quickly found himself once more when paired with Felix. A mild smirk coming over his face. "Me." He kind of hated that Felix was taller than him. More handsome than before. And he couldn't help the heart flutters at the slightly threatening tone of Felix's voice, a reaction to be unpacked later. For now Rett gazed into the eyes of the boy as he feigned pretense of not desperately wanting to kiss Rett, clearly. "No tricks this time, just me. Thought perhaps that is not up to your standards." He shrugged, clearly playing the smug dance partner that definitely didn't want to kiss Felix.

Rett couldn't help but roll his eyes though when he also went to cast a spell. "Ugh, I thought this was for kissing not for petty squabbles." Muttered under his breath as Felix focused on the spell momentarily, though to Rett's surprise he quickly returned to the moment. With a challenge.

His hand came up to gently caress Felix's cheek, his thumb running across sharp cheekbone. "It's okay to just admit that you want to kiss me, you know." The hand on Felix's face moved to the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet between the bit of height that separated him. The other hand frozen on Felix's shoulder.

It had been quite a long time since Rett had kissed someone besides Rafa. And how had he missed it. He would attempt to take it slightly longer than necessary, probably, but Felix was intoxicating in a way. Or may it was because he was a boy in proximity willing to kiss him. Maybe it was both, but he'd like to believe that he was wanted even if it was just a little bit.

He would separate when Felix pulled back, slightly breathless, a blush painting his cheeks a peachy crimson. "Not running away this time, at least for now."

Action || Really Kissing Felix

@Dealla Prince, @Allister-Jameson MacAllister

┏		┓
	Madhup was used to turning on the charm for fun. He was not used to this being reciprocated, more often met with either abashed laughter or rolling eyes, sometimes a well-deserved silencing spell. But Dealla danced to the same beat with a finesse that rivaled his own. When she leaned in to speak softly, he turned an ear to listen. When she praised his looks and tied in a tease, he drew away to level her with a grin both captivated and mischievous. "Are you inviting me to play?" Why play if not to be the best, she'd gone on to say, and the Chaser pressed a hand to his chest again as he enthused "We agree, you and me." Though they differed in ability- he with a broom and she with a wand- they shared a love of challenge alongside the consequential goal of self-betterment. Now if only they could get past the communication barrier before there was a colossal misunderstanding.... Oblivious to what Dee implied when she described Durmstrang as "close", Mad nodded along, impish features softened by fondness. He nearly went so far as to call the team a found family archetype, but blessedly, realization clicked (with mounting mortification) how weird that would sound, what with the make-out session she probably saw mere minutes before they met. Contentment swapped for a startled expression as the pieces clicked into place. "In this... team?" His future with Hogwarts' future race star flashed before his eyes. The necessity of an explanation, as clear as he could make it, was immediate. "Durmstrang is, strict. Like a military. Not all of us are good at following the rules when there are so many of them, and when we are away, we get ah-...." He stared skyward rather than meet her eye in case he had to pull them from the path of dripping wax. "Excited. Maybe foolish." A thumb jutted towards Felix as he scoffed in mock disbelief, "That guy kissed me," as if he hadn't been the one teasing him to do so in the first place. Mad spoke tenderly again as he continued, "But you will find nowhere safer than a group of our players. We train with as much joy as we play." Granted, in #9's dedication to this team, he was routinely ruthless towards their opponents. Madhup couldn't imagine a world where things were any other way, and as he explained the roots of their closeness to the Hogwarts girl, it dawned on him that she might be the type to turn a nose at their cold-blooded playstyles. "You should watch us play tomorrow." The proposition left his mouth the second it entered his brain. "If you still like what you see when the game is done, come tell me your name. We can talk duelling, and racing, and star signs." Mad reached to take her hand, expression lax yet eyes intense, aiming for a meaningful wink sure to stamp an impression of his ✨ flawless ✨ face into memory. Just as he lifted Dee's knuckles, the song started up again, leaving him a second to smile after her before the blur of dancers divided them. When the orchestra ceased, Madhup would find himself face-to-chest with an absolutely staggering six-foot-three lad. The sixteen-year-old had nearly a foot on him. Craning his neck back and dramatically shielding his eyes from an imaginary sun, the Durmstrang student remarked "Hay Bhagwan... are you part giant?" A contemplative look darted to and from the mistletoe, but his mind was still set on his previous partner. Madhup sighed as he gestured at the great gap between their faces: "I cannot kiss you. I have no way to reach, but you are lovely." The fake excuse almost immediately had a follow-up explanation, roundabout as it was, with Madhup pointing after Dealla Prince and asking, "You look like Hogwarts. Do you know that one?"
┗		┛

Flirting with Dee, diverting blame, chatting up AJ

The enchanted dancing once again came to a stop, AJ's wild mop of hair whipping him in the face and causing him to take a moment to clear it, an obvious splotch of dry wax tangling some of the locks on the right side of his head. "Plegh!.. He exclaims as he pulls some of the strands away from his mouth.

"Oh ets yoo, tha 'pashanet' one." "Oh its you, the 'passionate' one." He smiles softly, showing he meant nothing by the lighthearted teasing. Though he was quite glad his partner didn't desire the same thing again. As AJ wasn't quite as confident in his snogging skills.

It seemed the rather short boy opposite him did have other ideas though, joking about AJ's height and jovially lamenting about how this made him unkissable in this circumstance, it seemed they were both on the same page here. Uf there weer unny geeunts en th'fummily thee've yut t'meek thumseelves knoon." "If there were any giants in the family they've yet to make themselves known." He replies with a grin. "Y'sure tha yoor no' par'-gubblin?" "You sure that you're not Part-Goblin?"

It was then the other lad said something peculiar. That AJ looked like Hogwarts, was the implication that AJ looked as big and wide as a castle? It was only when he saw where Madhup was pointing that he realised what was being said. "Oh...aye, thas Dee, weer..." "Oh yeah, that's Dee, we're..." He trailed off for a moment as he tried to think of the ride word. ...Clussmeets?" "Classmates?"

It was all fun and jokes until someone called your bluff, and when Dee's question about fire and games was countered with the inquiry whether she was inviting her partner to play, Dee paused for a moment. Paused, and considered, her blue eyes thoughtful as they held Madhup's gaze. Despite her jokes and teasing about ruined dresses, she hadn't actually kissed anyone in more than a year. So what was she offering?

But that was past, and this was now, and between the two of them, there was a contagious sort of energy that really just made her want to dance along. Match his spirit, beat by beat. "I always play to win," she warned, but the smile that accompanied the statement held none of the bite, if some of the challenge.

But first, there was a different sort of challenge to overcome. In this?, she'd asked for details with a sneaking sense of disappointment. It seemed like she was really terrible at reading when people were flirting with her, or people were just assholes who liked flirting when their real interests lay elsewhere. Except in this case, Mr Durmstrang seemed almost comically shocked at the implication, and perhaps she had been a little too quick to jump to conclusions here, considering the clearly present (if honestly rather cute) language barrier. "Team?" Understanding blossomed behind her eyes as they skipped from her magical dance partner back to the pair who were, presumably, also on the Durmstrang Quidditch team. Who seemed to be very intent on playing hard, away from their school and the enforced precept to work hard. Still, it took two to kiss the way those two had.

"So I've been told," she replied to the invitation to watch the Durmstrang game the next day - who were they even playing against? Did it matter? Her eyebrow twitched slightly at the confident assumption that she liked what she saw, but then... she did. Liked what she felt even more, teasing and flirting and smiles, the promise of something new and exciting, anticipation fluttering in her stomach. "I might just take you up on that." The players seemed intriguing enough to suffer through a game of Quidditch for.

Her eyes trailed down to their fingers then back up when Madhup took her hand, and she smiled at the gesture, then grinned at the wink. There was a short moment of hesitation just as the music started back up, the temptation to say something more, do something more, drag them off the dancefloor to escape the incessant pull of the music, but then, tomorrow would do. So she just gave a wave as she twirled away, and called, "Hey, Durmstrang! If I'm going to watch, you better win!" before letting the magic carry her off.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that she knew her next partner, considering she was at least distantly familiar with most of the people on the floor, but there was still a vague sense of amazed delight when she found herself facing Manuela Macedo as the music came to a stop the next time. Dressed in black, her curls pinned up, Manu seemed rather less excited to see her, but Dee's grin only widened at what could really only be a curse, considering the tone it was uttered in. "Lovely to see you again, too," she replied sunnily, her eyes skipping across the dancefloor, quite possibly skimming the crowd for her former dance partner before returning to her current one. "Dee to you, darling."

But instead of engaging in thinly veiled hostility the way Dee might have expected after their previous encounters, Manu posed a different riddle: The miss-ul-toe, she wanted to know about, and Dee's expression turned puzzled before lighting up with realisation. Not just languages differed here, cultures did too; Castelobruxo was located quite a bit further away than Durmstrang was, and apparently the mistletoe tradition was not a well-known one there. Well, didn't that just open up opportunity for mischief... except this was Aly's friend, and Dee hadn't really been on her best behaviour during their last duel, either. This might just be the time to mend some fences. Or bridges? Plus, the tradition was just silly enough that Manu might think she was making fun of her, either way.

"Aly did indeed warn me about the toes," Dee replied, straight-faced. "The toes of Miss Ul, very dangerous." She snorted, then shook her head, pointing up at the branch floating innocuously above their hands. "Here, this is mistletoe. The plant? Evergreen, white berries, associated with Christmas?" She refrained from pointing out that this entire event was called the Mistletoe Spin, instead moving on to more relevant information. "It's a tradition here that if a couple gets caught under a branch of mistletoe, they have to kiss. That's what this entire dance is about, really. You get paired off, and if you find yourself under some mistletoe when the music ends, like we are just now..." She grinned and gave the Brazilian girl a wink. "It's kind of like spin the bottle. Just more fun."

Action | Teasing Manu

Madhup Hexum (@Pericles Dralt) | Manu Macedo (@Aly Salinger)

Stats | Sta 7 | Eva 16 | Str 3 | Wis 15 | Arc 8 | Acc 20
Evasive Maneuvers | Charmer | Perfectionist II | Spell Spread | Restricted Potions
Charmer affects everyone present.

Moderated Action:Offering a kiss if the other accepts whichever way they prefer

Trunk

Statistics
Stamina: 8
Evasion: 8
Strength: 9
Wisdom: 14
ArcPower: 8
Accuracy: 8

Greta Fransson @Evelynn Decipio @Dealla Prince

Theo was a wielder of a beater's bat, not the wand and his lack of practice showed now, as his spell shot past Felix and dissipated in the distance. That was all he saw before Rett and he were torn apart again, spun across the dancefloor.

The spell once again brought them to a halt- face to face with Greta, again. Theo didn't make an effort to bring back the smile, overplay the paleness or make a funny remark, although she clearly was. Instead, she would find him untypically serious, tight-lipped and pensively looking down at her. Every camp he had wanted a chance to talk to her, to see her, and now that he had one, he wished it passed as quickly as possible. Theo wasn't prepared to face her now.

He had waited, for years. Hurt Dee, whom he could still see dancing from the corner of his eye because Greta had never left the top of his priority list, near his sister. Back when she cried because of how her family treated her, he'd have helped her escape them in a heartbeat had she asked, run away with her if that was what it took.
Only now it entered his mind that maybe he had been a fool, taking signs to hard too much.

And now, once again facing her, it took everything he had for him to not turn on his heel and leave. At least not before he had made sure that she was fine.

"Are you alright?"

Action: Considering to flee the situation.

Group 9

MODERATION POST

Mods are short but sweet this week. Sorry!

No moderated actions in this group.

The music starts back up again, and the spell whisks everyone away to find a new partner... and by the time the violins fade out once more, each skilled dancer is paired with someone very new, in a situation that is either also new or vaguely familiar...

THE DANCE FLOOR HAS SPOKEN:
Please note that, since this group is smaller, there may be repeats of previous pairs.
Felix Kolbeck (@Winnie Harper) and Theodore Duncain (@Opeila Winters) end up under the mistletoe!
Manu Macedo (@Aly Salinger) and @Allister-Jameson MacAllister end up under a candle.
@Dealla Prince and @Tristan Theramin end up under a candle.
Greta Fransson (@Evelynn Decipio) and Everett Brooks (@Dorion Anderson) end up under a candle... that is dripping wax on them!
Johannes Sauer (@Astrea Soleil Neptune) and Madhup Hexum (@Pericles Dralt) end up under the mistletoe!

For any questions or concerns, please owl the moderator of this event, @Aly Salinger.

Also and very importantly, please make sure your action is clearly visible and separated from the rest of your post. Preferably put it in a quote at the bottom but as long as it's separate that's fine. I would also appreciate an inclusion of any stats and abilities you may have in your posts. Makes it much easier to mod!

One final note: if you have missed the last 2 rounds in the Spin, you must post within the next week or risk being removed from the event temporarily (e.g. you will no longer be matched with partners) next Saturday. This is to make it fair to those who are being consistently active. If you come back later and wish to be active, you may rejoin at any time, but note that you'll be #dancingonyourown until the next mod post.

Durmstrang | Year 7 | Height: 5' 2"

Russian‏‏‎ | Swedish‏‏‎ | Norwegian‏‏‎ | English

Theo cut through Greta's string of nervous speech and questioning with three little words, though decidedly not the words that every girl dreams of hearing. She blinked, chipper smile faltering, and fell silent. The Theo that she knew, with the easy smile and the happy glow, seemed to be absent. Standing before her now was an unsmiling, tight-lipped shadow of his usual self. If it was at all possible, the way he looked down at her with thoughts obscured seemed to both deepen her blush and simultaneously leave her pallid. She felt suddenly cold, warmth fleeing before his cold front. (@Opeila Winters)

"I..." She wasn't sure how to answer his question. In fact, she wasn't even sure what his question was. Initially, she'd taken it as something of a jest, but his countenance and the tone of his voice had said otherwise. Maybe her stammering had left him questioning her sanity, not that she could blame him. The world had been a bit topsy-turvy for a moment there. Or perhaps he thought her unwell? "I am okay," she murmured self-consciously. "Sorry. Maybe I talk too much.." Chewing on her lip, she averted her gaze and started fidgeting with a seam of her skirt. There was a certain chill about him. An aura that made Greta want to take a step back and hide, as though she'd done something to upset him.

Then again, maybe it was just nerves. He was asking how she was doing, so obviously he couldn't be mad at her, right? People didn't ask about the health of others if they weren't invested in the answer. Durmstrang was slated to play against Ilvermourny and Beauxbatons the following morning; maybe with so many of the Drumstrang quidditch players here showing off their physical aptitudes and irresistible charm, he was just getting nervous about having to fly up against them in the game. That had to be it. And with that conclusion, Greta brightened a little bit, a cheeky smile trying to take hold as she hazarded a glance back up at him. "Are you okay? Tomorrow is day of big game. You are nervous?"

She tried to linger as much as possible, to undo and disperse whatever this shadow was that had descended over the American. Eventually, however, the music would start up and she'd feel compelled to comply with the tug of the melody, leaving Theo with a bright smile and a promise to watch for him on the morrow. In their departure, the smile faded, uncertainty returning. Her gaze flicked frequently towards him, trying to watch for him during the head-spinning chaos of the choreography. Unfortunately, her height did not exactly lend to that endeavor. More than once, she lost him in the crowd, view obstructed by one student or another.

When the music stopped, she found herself looking up--though nearly as neck-craning up compared to her Durmstrang peers--at a blonde boy with delicate features and side-swept blonde hair. (@Dorian Anderson as Rett) If it weren't for the green of his piercing eyes, Greta might have thought he'd stand a striking resemblance to Felix (@Winnie Harper) in initial demeanor. Little did she know that he had been involved in the little scheme of a spell being slung her way. "Hello," she greeted him, a warm smile flourishing. She had no idea who he was, which meant there was no way that he could be upset with her. "I am Greta. I am student of Durmstrang. What is your na--AHW!"

Greta jerked her arm back in pained alarm, a burning shock alighting suddenly on her forearm. Wax had dripped onto exposed flesh, and though the initial stab of heat faded quickly, it left an irritated throbbing. "Ow..." A grimace accompanied the peeling of partly dried wax to fleck to the floor as she glanced up to spy its overflowing source, side-stepping around the blonde boy to avoid its path.

Action: speaking with Rett

Greta Fransson @Evelynn Decipio, Felix Kolbeck @Winnie Harper

Theo watched her smile fade away at his question, only making him feel more worried. He found Felix a little further away, with Rett... How good of an idea would it be to walk over and punch him in the face?
He was still considering, when she answered. "Talk too m- No, no that's not what I meant..." Confused he looked down at her, unsure what to make of her reaction.

Time was slipping away too quickly, the game wasn't made for long conversation and this time he wasn't too sad about it. Or so he thought, just until he found himself standing in front of Mr very punchable face himself. Under a mistletoe. Oh, fuck no.

Theo had no interest in playing games and if this guy was anything like Niche- they looked similar enough, he supposed- someone would be leaving with a black eye. The thunderbird wasn't usually easy to rile, but he felt tense enough that the wrong word might just make him snap. If Felix stuck to the game and tried to kiss him too, he certainly would snap. He observed the boy in front of him carefully, not entirely sure how to react to the situation they were in.

Action: Considering to flee the situation or punch Felix in the face.

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio

│ │ │

▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ SIXTH YEAR ▪

│ │ │

𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @Evelynn Decipio as Greta @Opeila Winters as Theo @Dorion Anderson as Everett

Ugh, how dare this punk smirk at him, how dare he have the same honeyed accent that Ret used. It made his heart squeeze in pain as memories flooded back to him. The sweet tender moments between them, and then his first heart break. George had been no better. The corner of his lip twitched as he tried to keep his cool, "What standards? Ret? No. She liked to toy. If you haven't noticed by now, I prefer when people are forward about what they want." Hypocritical, considering Felix hardly ever told people what he was feeling.

Well he hadn't ACTUALLY cast the spell, give the guy some credit. "Listen, haven't you ever had a friend that's too naive for their own good? I just am looking after mine."

The Swede raised a brow at his next statement, a flush burning across his features, "That's not what I said." Tonight was really starting to backfire on him, but at least Rett's touch made him feel oddly calm. He followed the boy's lead, leaning down to press their lips together. His were surprisingly soft, and Felix's hand reached up to cup his cheek. He slid his tongue against his bottom lip, before using his teeth to nip him; a small revenge for his game so many years ago.

"I like you better when you're not pretending to be someone else." Felix said once he had broken apart from the kiss, "See you later, Peach." He offered the boy a wink before the dance rushed them away from each other.

The whole thing was starting to get old and he was considering grabbing Greta and Hanya and just leaving. They could have fun elsewhere, right? He could keep a better eye on her when he didn't have do some dumb fucking dance. He also didn't know if the American had ended up kissing her, but he hoped he didn't have to see his face again befo--

Fuck. The universe was really testing his patience tonight, wasn't it? He had to keep it civil, for now at least, unless the guy said something out of pocket. Cold blue eyes stared over at Theo's own. He had noticed the mistletoe above them, but no fucking way was he going to put his lips near the guy.

What was he going to ask the guy? What his intentions were with Greta? "Are you mute?" He finally said, in English, "Or are you sour because I kissed Greta?" Felix was definitely asking to get punched, but he didn't care at this point.

"If you want to prove your worth, go get what you want and stop standing around sulking about it. Greta deserves someone who is as brave and compassionate as she is, but here you are," He gestured towards the boy, "giving wet towel forgotten on the bathroom floor energy. I was worried I would have to keep her away from some idiot tonight but you're just a disappointment."