An Attempt at Finding Common Ground with The King of Sass: Casey Stone iNPC
@Scout Fu-Hai
Emily's Speech: #cfa120
Casey's Speech: Bold #257379
OOC Notes: Until our tent has been finalised, I've kept the detail of the setting vague

For Part 1, Click Here

The duo walked in silence, the gap between them still palpably divided in tension. Emily could hear his begrudging footsteps hit the snow as she led him back to the tent, though still glancing subtly over her shoulder to make sure that is was him that was still keeping pace with her. Sure enough, to her surprise, Casey was still tailing her, his hands in his pockets like a petulant teenager. In the blinking glimpses she could catch she could see the damp patches across his outfit where the snow had seeped in. She spotted her tent up ahead.

"Come on. This way." She brought Casey to the front of their tent where she opened up the entrance to him, waiting for him to enter. However, Casey stood there sceptically, shivering in his stance after earlier's incident.

"Why do I need to come in? This is your tent."

"Just trust me. Come on."

"You do realise my tent ain't too far from here, right?"

"The average person can catch hypothermia as quick as ten minutes now come on!"

With an exasperated huff, Casey relented and stooped into the tent where Emily followed after him. Scanning the interior, it seemed that she and Casey were the only ones in the tent. Emily's tentmates must have all gone out, she assumed. Casey looked around himself. The tent was certainly different from the Cosy Cabin. He folded his arms and looked at Emily, unimpressed.

"Alright, you've wrangled me here. Now what's this crap about?" Only it was then that his words had gone unheard as Emily was already digging about her bag which she had kept by her bed, looking for something. After an awkward few minutes, Emily got back up from the floor and in her arms were a few shirts and a pair of jeans.

"These should fit you just fine," she said, gesturing to the jeans. "Now pick a shirt and get changed."

Casey gave her a blank stare. "Wha-?"

Emily affirmed. "Get changed."

"Hell no."

"You'll get sick if you don't."

"If it means not wearin' this stuff then so be it."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You're being ridiculous! I'm not wearin' girl clothes!"

"Pick a shirt and put the hecking clothes on!"

Casey's hands roamed his face and hair like he was experiencing first hand what a fever dream looked like in real life. Meanwhile, Emily was waving her spare clothes in front of him, his physical well-being still remaining her concern after his fall in the snow.

Casey grumbled before snatching the shirts out of her arms and examined them. Emily breathed out a patient sigh. She got him past the first hurdle at least.

_{Word Count: 566}

_{For The Know-How (Le Plot)
@Scout Fu-Hai - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Ruby Night - @Danielle Alden - @Renelle Dalton - @Simon Kincaid - @Colin McCoire - @Ophelia Northwell - @Ava Winchect (Tagged Ava in the off-chance she wanted to read more Emi lore)}

[Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

july 20th 2024		saturday
wc: 400		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shephard & casey		mentioning: :]

Sunburn, sunburn, sunburn. Oh, Scout Fu-Hai, you've done it this time! Poor girl stumbled into the opening of her tent, trying to ignore the feeling of her skin burning and peeling, and she didn't have a single remedy! At first she had tried to go out and just ignore her sunburn, she only lasted an hour or so before she had to go back in to lay down. Hopefully it'd go away in a few days and she could remember to wear her jacket and gloves. (It didn't.)

She ignored Emily and what- what the hell- is that the Ilvermorny jackass?! She had felt miserable enough as is, dealing with Mr. Snappy American was just going to make her skin crawl even more. If only she had aloe vera and some ice... though the snow outside was kind of similar to ice, it melted before she could feel any relief.

But that was an 'after I get out of these hot clothes' problem. Scout decided to just ignore both Emily and her problem for now, stumbling to her bed to yank off her jacket and gloves off, tossing them onto the floor next to her bed. They were a later problem- everything that was going on right now was a later problem.

Later was now.

"What happened to him?"

Scout would not speak to him directly, instead conversing to Emily. It wasn't like she didn't care about him- she wasn't some cruel or mean-spirited, unfeeling person-, but she was too miserable to listen to his annoying voice. And it'd be even worse if his words were directed to her, so talking to Emily it was. Emi had a lovely voice, much nicer than the boy did.

Why was he so hell-bent on not wearing Emily's clothes? She was no genius, but Scout could see that the clothes he was wearing were wet and gross... wouldn't it feel better to wear clothes that weren't like soaking wet? But boys were weird, maybe he thought it'd be wrong to accept help from the girl who's friends with the girl that jinxed him. But he totally deserved it so like... that probably wasn't even the issue!

"What's even embarrassing about wearing Emily's clothes?" It wasn't like she wore tutus and poofy dresses or anything, she was literally holding out some shirts and jeans! What was different from the clothes she held out versus the clothes that guy literally wore on the daily? Maybe a minimal size difference, but jeez, what a baby!

An Attempt at Finding Common Ground with The King of Sass: Casey Stone iNPC and @Scout Fu-Hai
Emily's Speech: #cfa120
Casey's Speech: Bold #257379

Emily watched Casey flick through her shirts like he was judging them as pieces of meat. She rolled her eyes when she heard him mumble something incoherent before picking out a black shirt with coloured stripes on it. Ever the optimist, she smiled.

"Good choice...!"

"Whatever..."

Probably the least threatening thing he's said to her so far. Just as she was about to turn around and let him get changed, a familiar friendly face stumbled in through the tent. Turning around, Emily beamed.

"Scout!" She came over to greet her only to see that she was in just as foul a mood as Casey was. Emily noticed the familiar "hot and bothered" look that someone would give off when the heat gets to them. Emily was no stranger to it herself and wasn't about to stop Scout from trying to cool off... A little oxymoronic sounding given that a summer camp was emersed in a winter wonderland. At the same time, Emily couldn't fathom what being hot and bothered would feel like for the likes of Scout and her... Special heritage.

Casey looked up and his face got even darker upon seeing his newly acquired nemesis a few feet away from him. "Oh Hell's bells..."

"What happened to him?" Scout had asked, though with a hint of repulsion that one could expect after their falling out. Casey was about to come back with a snarky remark before Emily answered for him.

"He had an accident. He fell out of a tree and... Well..."

She trailed off when she saw Casey's face fall into a tiny recession of embarrassment. He looked back down at the shirt he was still holding before tossing it onto Emily's bed to take off his own soaked one. Emily could see the slim stringy physique he had before a quick glare from him pushed her into looking away awkwardly. That didn't stop Casey from opening his mouth though.

"I shoulda figured you were rooming with the Knocker of Jinxes," he said, his voice muffled as he poked his head through the shirt. He fixed himself before examining his new look. "Ah Christ..."

Scout seemed to pick up the disdain easily, challenging Casey. "What's even embarrassing about wearing Emily's clothes?"

"Tch." Casey scowled. "Dunno about you but I don't think I'm in no mood to be pitied by the clingiest person known to mankind."

"I'm not clingy. At least I don't think so..."

"Try meeting yourself, maybe then you'll get it..."

Emily was getting sick and tired of how thick the air was with the constant squabbling and whinging. She was glancing back and forth between her best friend and Casey, praying they wouldn't take the tent down with any more antics.

_{Word Count: 539}

For The Know-How (Le Plot)
@Scout Fu-Hai - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Ruby Night - @Danielle Alden - @Renelle Dalton - @Simon Kincaid - @Colin McCoire - @Ophelia Northwell - @Ava Winchect

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

july 20th 2024		saturday
wc: 400		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shephard & casey		mentioning: :]

Oh get a load of this. He fell from a tree? He was starting to sound a lot like Scout when she was younger. The only difference between herself and him is that she had no qualms with getting her dad to help her down before she fell. The only exception was that one time- but all in all that was a positive experience since it was the reason she found out she was a witch. And she didn't end up soaking wet from snow.

And on top of his foul attitude, he was whining about Emily? Did he forget that he was the moron who was snow-covered and had gotten jinxed by Scout? He must have an awfully high ego for him to be talking the way he is. But her head was starting to pound from the sunburn, so she kept herself quiet for the time being. She was also starting to remember how guilty she felt when she jinxed him out of oblivion, and she'd rather be mildly annoyed than guilt-ridden.

"You know, you talk an awful lot for someone who couldn't keep himself on a tree." She hissed, pushing herself up on her bed and pressing the outside of her forearm to her forehead to cool it off. Her face must've been tomato-red from the sun outside. Lord, she couldn't have put on a cap or anything? Wear some sunscreen? Like... do anything to keep herself from her own skin being set on fire? Why did she have to be a dhampir, why did she have to burn like oil in a pan?!

Her brown eyes drew to Emily and the boy, and she took immediate notice of his shirt. On one hand, she felt the immense need to ask him how he felt wearing such a cute, girly shirt (even if it was the most neutral thing Scout had ever seen), on the other hand, she didn't want to escalate this into a fight in her shared space with others. It'd be kind of funny to see him be annoyed, though. Just a little bit...

"Aw, looks good."

Okay, maybe she couldn't keep herself from making a comment point blank. The situation was funny and was taking away her thoughts from her fire-skin and migraine. The shirt didn't look bad on him, though- at the very least, she could claim it was intended to be a compliment!

Grumbles and Goofs with Casey Stone iNPC and @Scout Fu-Hai
Emily's Speech: #cfa120
Casey's Speech: Bold #257379

Emily remained secretly thankful he took her shirt - even if it did have the Powerpuff Girls on it - something that couldn't help the small amused smile on Emily's face nor the unrestrained mockery from Scout. Though the next step was getting him into her navy jeans. She held them out for him, still trying to egg him on.

"You still need to put these on. Your other pair is soaked through. You'll catch a chill."

"Sonnofa-" He grabbed the jeans and walked over to a corner of the tent. "At least gimme some head's peace and lemme change privately." he said before facing away from the girls. Emily sighed and faced away, but thrilled she had him under some kind of obligation. She was trying to be nice, and even if Casey wouldn't admit it or Scout couldn't fathom it, he was unknowingly being accepting of it. Which only meant there was a little more to him than he wanted to show, as Emily had been suspecting silently all along.

Scout had retreated to her bed to cool off, the heat gnawing at her uncomfortably. Giving her something to do, Emily took a clean sock from her bag and ran out to the front entrance of the tent, rolling it up and dabbing it in the snow before coming back inside and pressing it to Scout's cheek. The last thing she needed right now was to be burnt to a crisp. If vampires were anything like the movies she's watched, Emily didn't want Casey to find out Scout was a dhampir by her catching fire and setting the tent ablaze in the process. Their relationship was already fiery as it is.

"A cloth would've been better but at least it's fresh!" Emily giggled. She could still smell the aroma of "Ocean Breeze" fabric softener thanks to "Auntie's" laundry routine. So Scout would be cooling down and smelling great at the same time! Not that Scout wasn't already. She reeked of confidence and a good heart every day of the week.

Casey came back round now fully dressed in Emily's chosen attire. They did fit a little bit snug around the waist and shoulders, with Casey having a bit more muscle and definition to him compared to Emily's soft and squishy frame, despite them being the same height and healthy stature.

"There... Happy? I look like a tool."

Emily nodded, smiling appreciatively. "Very much so."

"Good, 'cause I'm outta here."

Casey had his harms folded over the front of the shirt, most likely to hide the fact that he was now sporting the demographic of a young girl's TV show. He walked past Emily and reached the front of the tent.

"Aren't you forgetting something?

Casey stopped suddenly and turned around, slightly curious. Emily picked up his jacket, which he had tossed when he got changed earlier. She went to hand it to him only to stop when her finger brushed the pocket with something inside.

She knew she shouldn't be nosy, but...

She went into the pocket and found a folded piece of paper. Unravelling it her eyes widened.

The photo.

_{Word Count: 599}

For The Know-How (Le Plot)
@Scout Fu-Hai - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Ruby Night - @Danielle Alden - @Renelle Dalton - @Simon Kincaid - @Colin McCoire - @Ophelia Northwell - @Ava Winchect

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

july 20th 2024		saturday
wc: 400		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shephard & casey		mentioning:

"You don't have to." Scout mumbles, but she leans into the coolness of the sock. It smells fresh- and for some reason, the scent reminds her of her mother. As far as Scout was concerned, her 妈妈 mama did all of the laundry by magic, and it never really smelled to her. Her dad washed his clothes by hand when he was in China, and the smell was completely different from the 'oceanic' smell from Emily's sock. Oh, but she was muggle-born, so that might explain it.

"He does look like a tool." Scout whispers in Emily's ear- dropping her voice to such a quiet volume she wonders if her friend can even hear it. But she immediately snickers when Casey glances at her, giving away her comment as soon as she starts giggling. He does look a little silly, although it's not obvious at first glance that Emily's clothes don't fit, Scout took just a little bit of pleasure in knowing that he was wearing her best friend's clothes.

Scout only looks back over at Emily and Casey when the tent falls deadly silent. She's no genius, but she could practically see the tension forming in their shared space. Oh boy, if she wasn't going to set the tent on fire from her sunburn, the look in his eyes might've burned a hole through it. Instinctively, her hand roamed over to where her wand was hidden in her bag.

This time, she wasn't going to use it unless Casey did first.

And from the look in his eyes, Scout genuinely contemplated if he would try to hex or jinx Emily. Which she wouldn't deserve, even if it was a little rude to go through someone's jacket. There was very little Emi could do to make Scout not go to bat for her. Especially against Casey. He was such a jerk.

But she should try and break the tension, at least a little bit. "Um... you should just give him the jacket so he can go." She offers, and she steals a glance at the photograph. From her position, it's hard to actually tell what's on it, though Scout can see what she thinks is a person. It might be a weird looking dog or something, though.

i know casey and scout don't know each other by name but if i have to type out any variation of "ilvermorny boy" one more time ill cry.

Silent Messages with @Scout Fu-Hai and Yours Truly
Casey's Speech: Bold #257379
Emily's Speech: #cfa120

Damn it. He was this close to leaving but he just had to forget his jacket. Not only that but the one person that had been infuriating him the most throughout the entire summer so far had her hands one the one thing he didn't want anyone to see, let alone touch.

He stiffened. He could see her looking down at the folded slip. He could feel her desire from across the tent, that urge to unfold that slip and graze the contents she's been wanting to uncover ever since their first meeting. The same thing she had been badgering on about. The same thing that had been slowly banging against his walls, threatening to slip through the cracks as the weight of his grief pulled at his ankles. Casey couldn't explain it. He really couldn't.

No one would believe him given his attitude, but he was capable of being very vulnerable... To his parents. Only they could share the pain of having his brother - and their eldest son - going missing without a trace. Anyone else wouldn't stand a chance.

And that was the moment Casey finally answered his own question after a year of fighting off his peers - Only he would understand. How could anyone else? Why would anyone else want to?

But Emily did. Casey could see it now as she was urged by Scout to return the photo before getting she was swayed to good look at it. As their eyes met when she passed him his jacket, he saw the patience and longing in her hazel-brown irises... It wasn't even about the photo anymore. It was about wanting to feel what Casey was feeling. He suspected it when she first helped her up after getting tossed across the snow from Scout's magical outburst, and again when she went to help him after tumbling off the tree earlier. Now, as her soft expression was locked onto his guarded one, he was beginning to understand her intentions a little bit better.

His jacket zipped up to cover the shirt he was now clothed in, he hastily left the tent. Though not without flashing a look of weakness back to the Hufflepuff. Emily caught a pleading sparkle in his gaze as he left. It was his true self calling out. His hard shell was beginning to fray and the "Casey" she had been heckling with didn't realise it.

As he pounded along the snowy path back to the Cosy Cabin, Casey was fighting to maintain his façade. He wasn't looking for pity. Sympathy was boring to him now after a year of being told useless nothings by the people around him. What he wanted was someone who could listen to him. Another realisation he hated admitting to himself. But as he rushed across the site his face struggled to prevent the prickly threat of tears. She had gotten under his skin - but not in a bad way.

By God he wished he had more of his brother's steely side but he would forever be cursed with emotion. He could smell faint traces of her from the shirt he borrowed off her. The feel of the cotton against his skin, the fresh aroma that emanated from it, the way she looked at him. Even the way she felt when he pushed her all those weeks back. Everything about her was soft. Gentle. The "Casey" he had been projecting found it all sickening to high Heaven.

But the real Casey had been screaming for her attention all this time ever since their first meeting.

_{Word Count: 678}

For The Know-How (Le Plot)
@Scout Fu-Hai - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Ruby Night - @Danielle Alden - @Renelle Dalton - @Simon Kincaid - @Colin McCoire - @Ophelia Northwell - @Ava Winchect - @Brookline Quinn (as requested :] )

Stats: Stamina: 8 | Strength: 7 | Evasion: 7 | Wisdom: 6 | Arc Power: 6 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Fearless |Poison Resistance

july 20th 2024		saturday
wc: 350ish		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shephard		mentioning: zyair + casey

"Em..."

Well that couldn't have gone worse, huh? Blind to logic, all-seeing to emotions, the look of inherent yearning on Casey's face was... like completely undeniable. Come on, Scout hated the guy but she couldn't ignore the way he looked at her best friend. She pondered, if for a moment, did she look at Zyair that way when they had met?

"You should-"

Does she suggest Emily go after him? Accompanying her to pursue him was probably a horrible idea for Scout, she'd definitely ruin any attempt at conversation with Casey. But like, come on! All this time Emily had spent trying to help him out, wasn't this a perfect chance? She could figure out all his little secrets and fears, or at least try! Scout figured Casey was just as hardened as she was, but Emily easily eroded the walls she had put up, why couldn't the same be said for him?

But there's also the question of, would chasing him down even be a good idea? Scout considered herself the kind of person to need time to process, but it wasn't like she was as smart as she was sure Casey was. If a photograph pertaining to something she cared so dearly about fell into the hands of the person that's been trying to figure out her secrets for weeks... she'd need time to process that information, too.

But the longer Emily waited, the longer it would be likely Casey would foster some sort of dreadful thoughts of the situation.

"You should go after him, Em." While it might not have been the best idea someone could come up with, it was one Scout thought was most applicable to the situation. Go, Emi! Work that Hufflebuddy magic and get through to him! she thought. If her best friend in the whole world couldn't get through to that nasty Ilvermorny boy, Scout was sure nobody could. But she had lots of faith in Emily, she was a sweet genius!

"I believe in you, get through to him!"

A First For Everything with Casey Stone iNPC and @Scout Fu-Hai
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics

Something about Casey's expression had imprinted into Emily's mind. For all the hostility he had been dishing out it was off-putting to see him in with a small fraction of vulnerability for that one brief moment. At the same time, it was something she had been secretly hoping for; a tiny sliver of hope that he can be reasoned with, all thanks to that one look that screamed "help."

"You should go after him, Em." Quite a turn-around from Scout after what happened between them a week or so ago. More so given Emily's slightly more complicated relationship with the boy as opposed to a physical scuffle in Scout's case

"Wha-? B-But..." She was conflicted on what to do. On one hand going after him would only embolden his icy ego, but at the same time she was sure that leaving him be would only isolate him further into the hole he had dug himself in. Scout was probably sensing the same thing since she was gently urging Emily to chase after him.

Emily stood awkwardly at the tent's exit. "I don't know... He might just brush me off again... Or maybe he'll get violent if I try to push it too far. Maybe he's right... Maybe I am too clingy..."

Though with the way things are now between them, "clingy" was probably letting her off easy. Not five minutes ago, Casey was betraying all sentiment of "clingy" and was looking at her more like a blood-sucking parasite that needed to be stamped on. Emily would be going against any kind of humble pie if she came out and said she was a master of making friends, but she didn't like the sickly feeling of not being able to get along with someone either. Especially when it was as obvious as white chalk on a blackboard that Casey wasn't in a good frame of mind.

"I believe in you, get through to him!"

Emily heard the unmitigated encouragement from Scout's direction. Looking back at her, she could see the trust and faith in her. Scout... She really was an unrelenting force of loyalty and good will. Held back by her doubts, Emily somehow managed a weak but hopeful smile in return.

"Thanks, bud... I hope so..."

_{Word Count: 456}

For The Know-How (Le Plot)
@Scout Fu-Hai - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Ruby Night - @Danielle Alden - @Renelle Dalton - @Simon Kincaid - @Colin McCoire - @Ophelia Northwell - @Ava Winchect - @Brookline Quinn (as requested :] )

[Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast|Cat's Grace[/color]

july 20th 2024		saturday
wc: 300ish		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shephard		mentioning: casey

If she could, Scout would've bopped Casey right on his stupid face. How could he convince Emily that she was 'clingy'? What, had he never met anyone in his life that wanted to be around him? That wouldn't surprise Scout- at least she had friends who loved being around her and she them! Plus, she'd never call any one of her friends clingy, much less her beloved Hufflebuddy. Maybe she was just a better person than Casey is all.

She hopped up and ran over to Emily, stumbling over dropped clothes and a mix of her items and items from her tentmates. In Scout fashion, she stood behind Emily for a moment, and then smacked her hands against Emily's back, pushing her forward. Maybe her push was a little rough, but it wasn't like words were getting through to her kind-hearted friend. If there was nothing Scout could say to convince Emily to go find Casey and knock (verbally!) some sense into him, then she'd just have to settle with a shove to the back.

A physical force always seemed to work better than a verbal one, at least in Scout's case.

"Come on, go go! He's going to get away if you don't run!" She pushed against Emily's shirt again, albeit softer this time. "Run! Run! Sprint! I don't know any other words for running- so run! Let the icy wind guide you to your fate or whatever they say in movies! You've totally got this!"

By the end of her mini-speech, Scout was biting back giggles. 'Let the wind guide you'? Where had she even heard that from? Her dad used to watch movies all the time, maybe that's where she had grabbed it. Or from some shoddy book someone would read to her as a kid- if only she knew some proper lines of dialogue from them, then she'd give a better monologue to Emily that could really inspire her.

"And if Casey says one more mean thing to you, I'm gonna smack him right up his American head!"