| Stamina 5 | Evasion 6 | Strength 2 | Wisdom 6 | Arcane Power 5 | Accuracy 6|
Leroux Family Grounds | Slidell Louisiana | August 16th, 2023
| speaking | thinking | all other dialogue |

The Louisiana air was sweltering, and heavy with late summer fog. As far as Ondine was concerned, the swamp may as well have been suffocating her. The shearing zip of rusted blades snapped rhythmically through the air, cutting through the humming of bugs, the toad chorus, and the spanish moss rustling in the slow-blowing breeze. With each grating snip, the girl severs a pristine, white Calla Lily from its stalk. Usually, harvesting lilies meant that a burial was set for the evening, but today was a bit lighter than most.

Just after breakfast, Melisende informed the family that tonight's dinner would fall on the more extravagant side- Fresh fish carted in from the gulf, red beans, wild onion risotto, and surprisingly, Ondine's favorite desert; Dewberry pie. The occasion? Unspecified of course. Whatever the reason, each red headed child nodded their heads in unison, before receiving their tasks for the day. Melisende kept things simple for the middle child - watch her younger siblings, and bring fresh lilies in for the table. Dee would never complain; a day of menial tasks served as a much needed reprieve from the day to day chaos she was accustomed to.

Two dozen lilies. The exact number specified. Ondine snipped her twenty-fourth lily, and selfishly considered snipping a twenty fifth. A quiet rebellion, just for her. The young girl stood up, pushing sticky, red tangles out of her face in the process. She looked left, then right - nothing. Without a second thought, Dee frantically snipped her twenty fifth lily, removed her white lace ribbon from her curls, and tied the stalks off with a perfect bow.

"You can be so stupid sometimes, Ondine" a familiar voice spat from behind her. The girl whipped around on her heels to meet the eyes of her eldest brother Lucien. How typical of him to be lurking in broad daylight. "Mother gives you one real task for the day, and you just can't help but screw it all up." As he speaks, his thin lips curl upwards into a devious smirk.
The girl gulped, shuffling her feet off of the lilies she had stomped in the chaos. "WHY are you watching me, freak?" She spat back, tucking her bouquet neatly behind her back as she did so. Lucien took a heavy step towards the girl, intentionally soiling her dress with a small spray of foul-smelling mud. "Because unlike you, I do not procrastinate. I was walking the cemetery when I spotted you out here, frantically shearing lilies last second." He chuckled, part playful, part taunting. "I figured you would mess it up." He tucked a stray strand of crimson hair behind his ear, calmly meeting Ondine's angry gaze. "Show me them." He demanded. "Now." Ondine didn't budge.

Lucien scoffed, reaching into his vest for his whippy cypress wand. "Show me them, or we can both go show mother how you blatantly disobeyed her." If it hadn't been for the droning swamp creatures, the silence between the two of them would have been deafening. Resentment crawled it's way onto Ondine's face, as she did everything in her power to keep her eyes dry. Defeated, she eased her grip on the bouquet, untucking it from her back with visible loathing. She sarcastically extended her arm towards Lucien, rolling her eyes in the process.

As quickly as Dee had flashed the bouquet, Lucien had drawn his wand. "Diffindo." The man spoke plainly, flicking his wand in Ondines direction. With a clean, quick slice, the twenty fifth lily fell unceremoniously to the ground, tiny droplets of blood following suit. Drawing in a quick, startled breath, the girl brought her hand to her face to examine, discarding the bouquet in the process. A small gash leaked crimson down her index finger, and pooled blood in her palm. Warm, sticky, and stinking of iron. Ondine's emotionless grey eyes rose to Lucien.

Lucien looked a bit taken aback. "Don't give me that look." He swished his wand again. "Ferula." He spoke, softer this time. Dee enjoyed a moment of ease as a bandage whipped snugly around her fingertip. Wiping the spare blood from her bodice earned a low chuckle from Lucien. The tall man picked the soiled lilies from the mud, pointing his long, crooked wand to them as he spoke. "Scourgify." The mud staining the lilies melted from the petals with ease, like ice cream in sunshine. Ondine snatched the bouquet from his grip, wishing that she too could use magic to solve all of her problems.

"I would offer to clean your dress up but I doubt you want me using magic near you right now." He half joked, before continuing. "You know I'm just protecting you, Dee." Even if his words were true, his actions left Ondine feeling hollow. "You are growing up.. you have to act like it." He cocked his head towards the house, as if to send her on her way. The girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say." She grumbled through gritted teeth. Ondine hiked her ankle-length dress up, setting off through tall grass. A moment of silence lingered before Lucien's voice cut through the fog once more.

"I mean it."

Inside of the manor, the mood was a bit lighter. The youngest children sprawled across the den rug playing chess, while Theo, Ondine's middle brother, helped Melisende set the table. Ondine did her best to sneak in without notice, leaning softly against the creaky door as quietly as possible in order to shut it. The loud, metallic CLICK of an antique door latch, however, is unmistakable. Melisende's eyes flick toward Ondine with precision; snake-like and frigid. "You should have been in.." her eyes dart to the large, antique grandfather clock across the room. ".. ten minutes ago." She placed the serving dish she had been carrying onto the tablecloth and removed her lace apron, eyes never leaving her daughter. The ticking sound of the grandfather clock and the shuffling of chess pieces created a soft, comforting rhythm, as if the house, unlike Melisende, had a beating heart.

The girl returned her mothers coldness with warmth. "I was making sure I got only the most symmetrical flowers for the table, I didn't mean to be late." She padded against the wooden floor towards the spread, delicately placing the flowers in the ornate crystal vase sat mid-table. Melisende's pointed boots tapped sharply across the dining room floor, her eyes dialed in on something only she could see. The raven haired woman rolled her eyes as she picked a wilting petal from one of the lilies. "So much for symmetrical, huh?" She quipped, before spitefully flicking the petal to the floor.

Melisende then called for Armand, signaling to the rest of the family that dinner was to start soon. Like clockwork, each of the Leroux children filed into place, taking their seats without a sound. The final family member to take their seat was, as always, their father. He looked different today, his brow furrowed, and his jaw sat ever-so-slightly clenched. As Armand drew closer, Ondine's eyes were drawn to an ivory envelope, with a familiar cranberry seal. Her body began to buzz with anticipation as everything started clicking into place. The reason for the feast was suddenly very clear.

Ondine was getting her letter.

Armand sat the envelope down onto the cold silver platter before her, squeezing her shoulder as he left for his own place at the large table. With her freshly bandaged finger, the young girl traced her fingers over the parchment. "We know you have been waiting. We have been too." Her father spoke, a half-hearted smile pulling at his lips. The lanky man took his seat at the tables head. "We are proud of you." He spoke plainly, his emotions sealed away.

Dee felt frozen in her chair. She knew that this day had been fast approaching, but still, somehow Ilvermorny felt like an unattainable dream. Leaving the swamp was a rare enough occasion, but boarding school? There was no way she could actually be so lucky. Looking to her family, she couldn't help but soften at her brothers facial expressions- they knew this feeling better than she could know. The fear, the excitement, the relief. They smiled knowingly at her, Lucien offering a quick wink to the girl.

"Well, open it then." Melisende said frigidly, sucking the warmth from the home in an instant. Slowly, Ondine slipped a spindly finger beneath the envelope flap, and tore through the parchment. The first thing that drew her eye was an expertly crafted golden pendant- her very own Gordian Knot. Repressing shaky hands, Dee pried the emblem from the envelope, smiling as she did so. It was heavier than she had expected, and quite handsome. She clutched the knot to her chest before unfolding the letter.

With a shaking breath, Dee prepared herself. As the parchment unfolded, a sense of hope rushed over the girl. This could be the out- the escape. She sat up straight in her chair, shaking her wild curls from her face in the process, and in her strongest voice, she began to read.

"Dearest Ondine, it is with great honor that we invite you to attend Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.."