Setting: 2025 Summer Camp, London Quidditch Stadium, The Tent-Ground
Word Count: 471

Puck had dreamt of dragons as a child, truth be told he still did. Shimmering green scales and intelligent eyes flitted in and out of his sleeping hours, and often he’d wake up still blinking the thought of wind out of his eyes and quelling the exhilaration of flying from his heartbeat. But none of his childhood fantasies had ever paid proper homage to the creature curled before him. And yes– they’d been told the tents were simply enchanted, but it was hard to reconcile the given fact with what lay in front of him.

Sleeping soundly, a dragon slumbered with its head resting on two front paws, a gap between the claws betraying the doorway hidden behind. Its scales shone in the sunlight, and its sides rose and fell in tandem with Puck’s own breath. Every so often the wings would twitch slightly, then settle, and every inch of the structure just brimmed with possibility. The possibility of what, exactly, Puck wasn’t sure, but the weight of it had settled deep in their bones on the walk over to the tent, and was currently bubbling up inside them in brimming excitement.

Their left hand shook back and forth a couple of times at their side, and Puck took a breath. They were the first one who’d reached the tent, and stepped onwards towards the dragon’s claws, half-expecting an eye to open as they got too close. Slipping between the paws and feeling almost as if they should be tip-toeing, Puck opened the tent door and stepped inside.

If they’d thought the outside was incredible, what lay in wait for them inside the tent took their breath away. The roof mimicked the sky outside, and with a pang they thought of the possibility of watching the stars at night, the slight differences in the constellations from home. Scattered throughout the large space were lamp posts and lanterns, and various sleeping spaces, many of which looked like nests of different kinds. It was cosy but spacious, and felt almost painfully like the sort of den-spaces they used to make with their brother, or the wood cabins they’d had holidays in a few times. A soft crackling cut through the air above them, and they saw an elevated nest, the corners of storm-blue blankets hung over the edges, and now they were aware of it the air around them felt like the brewing of a storm, those times when they’d look out over the Loch on a cloudy day and could almost feel the lightning in the sky waiting to be let out into the world.

Pulling them from their distraction Puck heard a shuffling and then the sound of footsteps as the door opened again behind them. Turning, they faced their first hopefully-friend, and raised a hand in greeting.

“Hi, I’m Puck.”

IC date: 11th of August

Interactions: @Lex Kervick, @Yeseong Lee, @Taiki Ishii, @Lucille Rosenhart, @Pyce Rotanski, @Stella Drake, and @Puck Maudley

Thoughts : Italics
Stephen's Speech : #1f2def
Puck's Speech : #633ec2

Outfit:

Reducio

Stephen is wearing an oversized Muggle band tee, a hand-me-down from his father. This he has tucked into a pair of well-worn dark denim jeans. Over one shoulder, he carries a navy backpack with a flap opening; the straps and fastenings are made of leather and bronze. His shoes are a classic pair of brandless trainers, white with black accents, tied with white laces which appear to have dulled in tone due to ready use.

Stephen wanders around the campgrounds, in one hand he holds a map, the other hand has the strap of his backpack as he navigates along the camp sites, he checks each site for its number marker as he attempts to find his tent, being his first year at camp he is both excited and a little nervous, according to the letter he received back after he applied to attend he will be bunking with 7 other students, whom he has never met. He is eager to meet new people, especially since moving into his first year at Hogwarts, it will be nice to have at least a few familiar faces. After a few more minutes of wandering, he finds his assigned tent. Stephen glances at it in awe, the tent glistens like the scales of a dragon, and for a moment, he believes it is a dragon. Had he not seen similar tents to this as he wandered the grounds, he may have been intimidated, but he watched other campers crawl in and out of this style, so he had a bit more confidence as he approached the flap.

As Stephen walks into the tent he is hit with a feeling of wonder, not only was it bigger on the inside, but it seemed to be arrayed with a collection of nests for sleeping quarters, no sleeping bags or air mattresses here, they each seemed so cozy and welcoming, suddenly he noticed another camper in the tent, this boy, who seems to be about Stephen's age, is dressed in punk looking clothes, with dark fabrics, macabre themes, and intriguing piercings. All of this at slight odds with the bright grin on his face as he says “Hi, I’m Puck.” Stephen walks in further and addresses the boy. "Hi there, I'm Stephen, you must be one of my tent mates for camp." Stephen looks around the tent and looks to see what kind of sleeping areas there are. He notices a cozy-looking burrow-like space with warm blankets and what looks like gold coins. he picks one up and looks at it "Is this your gold?" he asks, turning to the Strawberry Blonde boy. "Seems to be quite a bit of this sprinkled about this little burrow." Stephen takes a closer look at the gold, being mildly familiar with wizard money, he notices that it seems off compared to other Galleons he has seen. "Hmm, it doesn't look right, maybe it is just decoration." Stephen turns and looks back at the boy, then blushes, realizing he has been just yammering on, not even leaving the poor boy room to respond. "Oh, sorry! I am a bit excitable at times. How are you?" Stephen blushes deeper, realizing how awkward his question seems, he shuffles nervously as he waits for the other boy to say something to hopefully alleviate the awkwardness he has created.

WC : 480/200

Setting: Creature Feature Tent, London Quidditch Stadium, 2025 Summer Camp
Word Count: 550

"Hi there, I'm Stephen, you must be one of my tent mates for camp." The boy who’d entered behind them (now named to Puck as Stephen) had an expression filled with a little bit of awe when he entered the tent, much like Puck thought their own expression must have been. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder and was wearing an old band shirt. Puck didn’t quite recognise who was on it but they filed the information away as a possible talking point for later. They were glad that there was at least one other person in their tent who would understand non-wizard things. They had hoped that there might be someone else who had no clue what was going on, but given Stephen’s apparent knowledge of the gold coins scattered around one of the sleeping spaces, that wish was yet to be fulfilled. Still, better to learn from those with experience than remain ignorant because everyone was in the same boat as them.

"Oh, sorry! I am a bit excitable at times. How are you?" The boy had a pink flush up his cheeks as Puck mentally shook themself out of their musings, stepping closer towards him and the small burrow-esque nest he’s standing next to. ”It’s all good, I’m the same, I get way too excited about things and then it’s really hard to stop me once I get going.” Puck leant down to pick up a couple of the golden coins, running their thumb over the design stamped on the back (at least it was probably the back. Maybe. Assuming it was like their own currency and the head was the back of the coin)”I don’t really know anything about any of this anyways, so really it’s kinda helpful." They gave Stephen what they hoped was a small smile, trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness the other boy seemed to be feeling. Realising they’d never answered Stephen’s questions, they dropped the coins back into the nest, right hand moving to their side and fingers playing subconsciously with the chains hanging from their jeans. ”Anyways I’m good, the tent’s super cool and these nests are really interesting. I’m guessing they’re all based on different animals but I couldn’t tell you which. How’re you finding it all?

Puck took a breath, not wanting to prevent the other from chiming in with his answers. Stephen seemed cool, and they didn’t want to accidentally overwhelm him. Thinking back to the other sleeping spaces they’d seen in the tent they really couldn’t connect them exactly to an animal they knew. There was a cocoon-looking one that might have been a spider’s or a butterfly, but given the magical nature of both the tent and the other sleeping spaces, they figured it was probably something less– mundane in nature. Not that spiders were mundane, some of them were absolutely awesome, but the flickers of sparks around a nest of soft feathers, and the some thrum of electricity they’d heard before were something so far from the now-simplicity of the spider that a part of them wasn’t quite sure what to make of their own place in this new world. But if Stephen was anything to go by, hopefully they’d work it out and make some friends along the way.

IC date: 11th of August

Interactions: @Lex Kervick, @Yeseong Lee, @Taiki Ishii, @Lucille Rosenhart, @Pyce Rotanski, @Stella Drake, and @Puck Maudley

Thoughts : Italics
Stephen's Speech : #1f2def
Puck's Speech : #633ec2

Outfit :

Reducio

Stephen is wearing an oversized Muggle band tee, a hand-me-down from his father. This he has tucked into a pair of well-worn dark denim jeans. Over one shoulder, he carries a navy backpack with a flap opening; the straps and fastenings are made of leather and bronze. His shoes are a classic pair of brandless trainers, white with black accents, tied with white laces, which appear to have dulled in tone due to ready use.

Stephen watched Puck as he smiled and expressed that he, too, could get quite excitable. Whew, I am glad I didn't make things weird. After a few moments, Puck responds to Stephen's earlier question "Anyways I’m good, the tent’s super cool and these nests are really interesting. I’m guessing they’re all based on different animals but I couldn’t tell you which. How’re you finding it all?" Stephen takes a closer look at the other sleeping quarters and says "Hmm, I'm not entirely sure what creatures these are for. Creatures aren't exactly my specialty; I am more interested in Gardening and Potion Making. My mum works in a small Apothecary in Diagon Alley, and she runs a small potions clinic out of our house for some of the local wizarding families near Bristol. She lets me help her out from time to time, making some simple poultices or pastes. Although I also love Astronomy! My dad and I usually spend most summer nights curled up on a blanket in our garden, he tells me all sorts of stories about the different constellations and how they are related and what kind of mischief they get up to." Stephen takes a deep breath and blushes again, realizing that he is sucking all of the air out of the room "Oh, Sorry, I need to remember to let other people talk..." He trails off looking embarrassedly down at his trainers.

WC : 236/200

Lucille was buzzing with excitement. Finally! Summer Camp! The notice had said that the camp had a circus theme this year and, although she found it a bit over-the-top, she was determined to enjoy it nonetheless. Besides, who was she to judge? Most people found Lucille to be a bit over-the-top, and, of course, she didn't blame them for that.

Saying goodbye to her family, Lucille hurried over to the campground. In her haste, it was a wonder she didn't trip and fall on her face. She was hoisting a trunk which, although not that great in size, weighed her down quite a bit. Lucille was a bit short, and so most of her effort consisted of trying to keep it high off the ground.

She reached the tents and, finally, paused, dropping her trunk on the floor. There were quite a few flashier tents, but Lucille's eyes were immediately drawn to one tent, more chilling than flashy. Enchanted to look like a dragon, there truly was no question where she would go. Lucille loved animals, magical ones even more so. In fact, she wanted to study magizoology when she was older, and so, despite the bright colors of the other tents, seeming to call her towards them, she made her way to the sleeping dragon.

As she neared, the dragon almost seemed to be breathing, but, unfazed, Lucille steadily made her way to the entrance, which she could now see was between the dragon's claws. She entered, lugging her trunk in after her, and dropping it with a loud THUD before looking up and realizing she wasn't alone.

There were two people already in the tent, and she seemed to have interrupted their conversation. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, wincing a little. It didn't last very long, though, the girl's exuberant energy taking hold of her once again. "I'm Lucille. I'm guessing we'll be sharing a tent?"

Speaking of the tent, Lucille finally got the chance to take it in. There were an assortment of beds, although calling them beds seemed unfit to describe them. Each one had been modelled after a magical creature, and Lucille's eyes slowly traveled around the room, taking them all in one by one.

Her eyes drifted from nest to nest, finally pausing at a cozy bed surrounded by moss and flowers. It intrigued her the most out of all of them, mainly because she would love to fall asleep with the pleasant fragrance of flowers enveloping her, almost as if she was sleeping outside. She glanced at the other two, who didn't seem interested in it, and hoped she was right.

"Is that one taken?" she asked, pointing to the bed. She wondered if it was rude to try to claim a bed before she had even asked their names, but she really wanted to stow her trunk somewhere and, besides, she wanted to claim it before anyone else did.

Setting: 2025 Summer Camp Tent
Word Count: 398

Stephen’s interest in astronomy sounded super cool to Puck, who was about to ask what his favourite constellation was when a loud THUD pulled him from his conversation with Stephen and he turned to see a dark haired girl standing near the entrance of the tent. She had a large trunk next to her feet, which Puck assumed had caused the noise, and looking up at them and wincing slightly she apologised, before an excited grin stretched across her face. She seemed excited, looking around the tent to take it all in. She introduced herself as Lucille and walked, enthralled, towards one of the sleeping spaces, eyes darting to view each nest around the space. She stopped next to the one covered in moss and small flowers, looking back towards Puck and Stephen to ask "Is that one taken?"

Puck glanced at Stephen –who hadn’t seemed particularly interested in the bed the girl was pointing at but he didn’t want to assume– and walked over towards Lucille, who had a hopeful glint in her eyes. “We uh, hadn’t really discussed beds or anything yet, apart from musing at which animals they might belong to.” Puck was really starting to wonder though, and thinking back to the soft hum of electricity he felt some of the hair along his arms rise to goosebumps, excited at the thought of learning what magical creatures there were whose nest held the brilliant thrill of a storm inside it. But yeah we haven’t really talked about who wants to go where, so if we’re doing ‘first come first served’ I’ve got no problem with you taking that one as long as Stephen’s cool with it.” Turning back to Stephen he glanced at the bed he’d looked at before and crossed his fingers, ”I’d uh, rather like that one up there if we’re placing dibs though, is that cool?”

The high-up nest reminded him of watching storms with his brother and sitting up high in the trees in the rain. The height of it and the promise of lightning that seemed to flow through the air around it were comforting, and it felt just a little bit closer to home than he’d been in the week since coming to London. Realising he hadn’t introduced himself he pivoted back to Lucille, smiling. “Nice to meet you by the way, I’m Puck. Are you first-year too?”

IC date: 11th of August

Interactions: @Lex Kervick, @Yeseong Lee, @Taiki Ishii, @Lucille Rosenhart, @Pyce Rotanski, @Stella Drake, and @Puck Maudley

Thoughts : Italics
Stephen's Speech : #1f2def
Puck's Speech : #633ec2
Lucille's Speech : #8c2626

Outfit :

Reducio

Stephen is wearing an oversized Muggle band tee, a hand-me-down from his father. This he has tucked into a pair of well-worn dark denim jeans. Over one shoulder, he carries a navy backpack with a flap opening; the straps and fastenings are made of leather and bronze. His shoes are a classic pair of brandless trainers, white with black accents, tied with white laces, which appear to have dulled in tone due to ready use.

Stephen stands chatting with Puck when all of a sudden a loud THUD sounds from the enterance of the tent. Stephen turns to see a dark haired girl who looks to be about the same age as he and Puck. She apologizes for the noise and intoduces herself as Lucille.

Without further introductions she immediately asks if one of the sleeping areas is claimed, Stephen is taken back by her forward nature, but only for a moment, which gives Puck a chance to respond first. “We uh, hadn’t really discussed beds or anything yet, apart from musing at which animals they might belong to.” Stephen hadn't really considered which area he would like to sleep in, but it seems now was the time to act people are arriving and claims are being made, Lucille seems to favor the grassy little meadow with flowers and Puck the stormy nest on high, Stephen decides to stake his claim too. "Oh, well if we are claiming beds, this one that looks like a little burrow seems really cozy so I wouldn't mind sleeping here."

It is only then Stephen realizes that he and Puck had not introduced themselves, Puck however is quicker on the uptake and introduces himself to Lucille first. "Nice to meet you Lucille, My name is Stephen, Puck and I are both going to be starting Hogwarts this September, I am guessing you are the same? you look about our age."

WC : 241/200

Lucille let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, when she'd been anxiously waiting for confirmation that she could take the bed. And, it seemed she could. She grinned, before steeling herself to carry her trunk across the room.

They asked her if she was starting her first year, too, and she was quick to reply. "Yep!" She said cheerfully. It seemed like the girl wanted to say more, but instead, she dragged her trunk determinedly to the bed, finally pushing it halfway underneath the bed. Then, she sat back on the bed with a jump, almost as if her excitement was uncontainable.

"Sorry about that! I'm glad to meet a few more first years. Who knows? If we aren't completely annoyed by each other by the end of camp, perhaps we'll see each other at the castle!" The words sounded pessimistic, but were said in such a casual, cheery tone. Lucille continued without pausing. "Good thing we're not fighting over beds. That's a promising start."

The girl seemed completely relaxed, looking back and forth between them. Her words might be a little jarring and out of pocket, but Lucille had no ill intentions. She was being friendly the only way she knew how: by saying whatever was on her mind. Lucille's eyes finally settled on the tent entrance. She wasn't waiting for someone specific, but she wanted to see who entered next, and so, without realizing it, her eyes remained trained on the entrance.

So far, her tentmates seemed quite nice. Of course, she'd barely spoken to them, but first impressions, right?

Stella knew that writing her name down on the tent sign-up before she had gotten her food was both a brilliant and rather impulsive idea. It meant she and Pyce would be the in same tent, but also meant she had no idea who she'd be spending the summer rooming with. Speaking of Pyce, they were still eating. Stella would have stayed, she really would have, but she was impatient and didn't quite want to keep her bags with her. Besides, Ren and Lilah had already left to their tents. What was the harm in going to hers?

She found her way to the campground and looked at all the tents. Each looked so colorful and fanciful. The more circus-looking ones looked particularly fun. But Stella was looking for that wonderous sleeping dragon. There were quite a few like it, but Stella wandered around until she found the right one. It was breathing like magic. Stella knew in that instant that she made the right choice in picking a tent.

The brunette ran to the tent, slipping inside to see that a few students were already there, as well as several beds, all decorated differently. At least one of the students had seen Stella walk in. She gave a quick wave before heaving her bags onto a soft-looking white hammock.

"I hope this bed wasn't taken at all?" She had what Ren called her "cool confidence seconds after having tripped down the stairs" smile on. (Bold-faced lie in Stella's opinion. She had fallen out of a tree. Not down the stairs. She was better than that.) Though, while Stella wouldn't call it false confidence, it wasn't her fullest smile. There was an edge of uncertainty in the back of her mind. She had absolutely gotten that from Pyce, worrier that they tended to be. With luck, there wouldn't be anything to worry about.

☽︎ WC ☾ Reducio 313	☽︎ Interacting With ☾ Reducio @Stephen Ross, @Puck Maudley, and @Lucille Rosenhart
☽︎ Extra Notes ☾ Reducio Stella has a noticeable Scottish lilt to her English accent, it's not heavy, but you can definitely hear it. Also- She has her pet rat in her pocket. He's just chilling.	☽︎ Outfit ☾ Reducio A loose-fitting shimmery green robe. There is a single gold clasp at the top, though it's not being used. Underneath is a brown t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

As Lucille finished speaking, another girl entered the tent. She looked to be the same age as the rest of them, and Lucille wondered if their entire tent would be full of first years. Not that she minded. It would be nice to get to know people in her year. Probably would be helpful to know people in class who she could ask for help or team up with for a group project, too.

It seemed the girl was following the same philosophy Lucille had been when she entered the tent. She waved, and Lucille waved back, but the girl wasted no time heading to a hammock and asking if it was taken, without any sort of introduction at all. Lucille smiled, seeing her as someone just as eager as Lucille had been.

"No, I don't think so," Lucille said, glancing at her other tentmates, although they had already clarified what beds they wanted. "That was a great introduction," she joked, looking back at the girl. Her words sounded slightly rude, but the smile on Lucille's face and the humor in her voice clarified that there was no ill intention in them. "I'm Lucille," she said, pointing at herself almost unintentionally, as if it wasn't already clear who she was talking about.

Her eyes drifted to the hammock the girl had chosen. It almost seemed to be woven of silk, and Lucille leaned forward a little to get a better view. "What do you guys think that belongs to?" she asked, addressing the whole tent.

WC: 255
Mentions: @Lex Kervick, @Yeseong Lee, @Taiki Ishii, @Stephen Ross, @Pyce Rotanski, @Stella Drake, @Puck Maudley