Invite only
@Hjørdis Jensen @Elaine Pendrast @Adam Harringtom @Serena Towers @Phaedra Stavrou @Reid Kovacs @Rosie Parker @Alexx Séverin @Eris Fawley @Rhea Bishop @Delilah Stewart
We can establish a post order as we go.

Dymphna’s thirteenth birthday began with the train ride home. With Hjørdis alongside her and Adam in the seat across, the journey was filled with talks of Summer Camp and the upcoming year. It wasn’t boring, or at least Dymph didn’t think so. She did have a love of learning afterall.

Arriving at the Teague residence, they would notice a large property with wide open fields, the rocky cliffs with a sea breeze and a forest alongside the back of the house. The house itself is odd, built from scavenged wood and having many floors but to the outside, it’s hard to tell how many there are. Sheep from a neighboring farm roam the area as well as other Muggle animals.

Seeing them coming, her grandma was waiting at the door. Like a party trick, Caoilfhionn (key-lin) transformed in front of their very eyes — from a grey Sheepdog into a grey haired woman. An Animagus, and someone who liked to show it off to her granddaughters friends at that. She welcomed the trio in with a warm smile and went off to call for the others.

Her mother and father were at work but both sets of grandparents were around to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves, as well as stay safe with the planned activities. Not that Hjørdis couldn’t handle it; she would likely end up as the only chaperone for the party goers by the end of the day. A maze of a house, Dymphna led Adam through to the kitchen so that they could wait for the others to arrive.

If they arrived by Floo, they would appear in the adjoining room — what she thought of as their cozy living room, with brown leather sofas, a coffee table and built in bookshelves lining the walls. If they arrived another way, hopefully Hjørdis or her grandparents would catch them on the way in the door.

She stayed where she was, standing beside the kitchen table, too excited to sit. Pots and pans were hung on the walls; the white countertops were sparkling clean. The kitchen was one of the more updated rooms in the house with new appliances, however the table in the center along with the mismatched chairs looked scuffed and very well used, old rather.

“I can’t wait for everyone to get here. It’s a shame Delilah isn’t able to make it,” she owled ahead to say that she would be with her own grandma over the summer. ”Have you been to a High Tea before? That’s what granny Eithne owled to say we’re starting with!”

Granny Eithne (en-ya) was grey haired also, but stern and rarely smiled. Like Hjørdis, she had a soft spot for Dymphna and the rest of the family. Despite her intimidating demeanor, she was a Veela and tended to attract even the most cowardly folk. She entered the kitchen with her husband, a jubilant fellow named Fergus who seemed to always have a smile on his face.

They went about the kitchen, gathering tea trays and taking them away to the dining room. It looked as though they were eating at the fancy table, and that excited her even more. They only ever ate there during the holidays. Fergus returned empty handed, walking over to clap Adam on the back. “It’s been too long since you’ve visited, Reid!”

Dymphna could have died. “Seanathair, you aren’t wearing your glasses. This is Adam. He’s a Ravenclaw too.” Her grandpa looked disappointed for a moment before perking up and offering his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ll go finish setting up.” Dymphna finally sat down. Maybe this party wasn’t such a good idea afterall.

Translations: Seanathair — ‘Old Father’

Hjørdis was mostly present to accompany the children back home, quickly check up on the health of Dymphna's grandmother - who was her own grandmother's sister - and her grandfather before returning back to Hogwarts. It was a fleeting visit, to say the least. She was mostly here to babysit the safe arrival of her cousin, if nothing else. The first thing she did was go to find Dymphna's nana, Caoilfhoinn. As her own grandmother's sister, Hjørdis considered her to be her gran too. She would check up on her health. Unfortunately, she walked into the formal dining room and came across the other grandmother, who she very pleased to not be closely related to at all.

"Eithne," Hjørdis greeted her politely as she entered the room. She held back her tongue from saying anything else. There was very little she could say. The Veela woman has a certain preference for her company and sadly, everything Hjørdis stood for was simply not it. The Slytherin has, after all, rather muggle. Nonetheless, she would be polite.

Muirenn entered the room, bursting in as though there were drums being hit. Somehow, no matter where she went, she seemed to make an entrance with merely her presence. "ALOHAAA~" She greeted everyone, incredibly loudly as she arrived her presence, "Eithne, ahh you look beautiful as always! Oh, Nora you're here too! Where's the little birthday girl?", Muirenn asked as she looked around for her. She spotted Fergus exiting the Kitchen and caught a glimpse of the blonde hair through the door, "Ahh, there you are, Dymphna, my dear!" She continued immediately turning towards the kitchen and entering it quickly. She made her way to Dymphna, going to give her a big hug, "Happy birthday, my love! I have something for you... It's uh, just hold one moment, will you, my dear- ahh I'm sure it wa- deary me... where is- AH HERE WE GO!" She announced everything she was doing as she rummaged through her handbag for something. It was a medium size branded handbag but she obviously had magically enhanced it to hold far more than it looked like it could hold. 

From the bag, she pulled out a rather sizeable bottle, "Happy Sweet Sixteen, my darling, this is from me!" She continued as she held out a large bottle of firewhiskey that still had the price tag on it in her hand, mistakenly thinking she was a few years older than she had actually was. It was still too young in the Slytherin's opinion, however. Anything short of eighteen was far too early.

Hjørdis quite luckily had followed her mother in when she started behaving oddly. She almost facepalmed as she grabbed the bottle from her mother's hand immediately before it even neared her cousin, "Nope." She replied, just taking it and shoving it into her own handbag without question. She took out a very neatly wrapped package. It had floral wrapping paper, before being tied with contrasting ribbon and a little bow. She held the gift for Dymphna, "This is from her." She replied, just ignoring her mother's flabbergasted and confused face. Hjørdis then proceeded to take another package out, "And since I'm at it, this one's from me." She continued, holding out the two gifts for Dymphna. The second was wrapped in a teal wrapping paper with white polka dots. There was ribbon on this one too and a paper flower, made out of The Daily Prophet clippings. Hjørdis knew her mother well enough to know that there was a very good chance that her mother would screw up the present.

In all truth, she expected her mother to simply forget to bring one, which would be fine or to bring something Dymphna did not like. But... to even consider such a gift for a thirteen year old? Hjørdis literally could not handle this. It was beyond ridiculous. 

"What's wro-" Muirenn started suddenly, questioning her daughter's behaviour. Before she could finish talking, Hjørdis shot her a look, "Nope." She reinforced, interrupting her mother without a second thought, "You're five years too early." Dymphna was thirteen, this whole thing was ridiculous. Normally, she would not have bothered to clarify but she felt like her mother would continue to harp on about it until she did. This one sentence ought to have been enough but the woman looked perplexed as always. 

Hjørdis shot her cousin a sympathetic look, almost to apologise for her mother's behaviour before turning to her mother, "I think it's best to leave the children to it, mother" She instructed, basically pulling Muirenn out of the room with her before she could traumatise Dymphna or Adam any further. The students would be able to hear Muirenn raising a few more questions about the gift and Dymphna's age as they left. She had to go find Cao, after all and there was no way in hell she was leaving her mother with these poor children.

{ In the Corridor. Heading out of Kitchen and away from Formal Dining Room. }

Adam hadn't realized just what he was getting into when he'd climbed on board the train at Hogsmeade Station -- but to be fair, he still had no idea. Seated in Dymph's kitchen, faint voices still audible as they walked away through the house, he found himself reeling from the events of the last couple of hours. It was time for a mental recap, one that would hopefully explain some of what he'd just been rushed through.

A few days earlier, while at summer camp together, Dymphna had given Adam his invitation to her thirteenth birthday party. He'd been overjoyed to accept the invite, a beautiful blue piece of paper with fancy designs decorating the corners, and in the heat of the moment he'd promised to be there. In the typical fashion, Adam's mind had caught up with his heart about an hour later, and the flaws in his plan started to poke through. He hadn't been planning to leave Hogwarts until the end of the month, when his mother expected him back home. He didn't have a gift for Dymph, not even a card. He didn't have any sort of way to get to Dublin on the 14^th, and no way to return to Nottingham after the party was over. Above all of that, he didn't have permission.

There was no way his mum was going to let him leave the country on his own, not even if he explained it was for a friend's party. She'd never met Dymph, and ever since his dad had left last summer she'd been reluctant to let the Harringtom boys do anything at all. Knowing this, Adam hadn't bothered sending an owl asking to go. The last time he'd been faced with a situation like this, his aunt Bridgit had stepped in, persuading his mum to let him stay at camp. As the date of the party drew nearer, he'd finally made a dangerous decision: Bridgit was going to have to be his saving grace again. On the night of July 10, he scrawled a letter back home informing his mum of the party, the location, the time, and where she could reach him if necessary. He hadn't asked permission, he'd taken it. He knew she'd be furious when she read it -- there was a good chance she would Apparate to Dublin and drag him back home herself -- but he had to rely on Bridgit's ability to calm her down once again. There was no way he was missing this party.

With that matter taken care of, Adam had happily worked out travel plans with Dymph, arranging to ride home with her on the earliest train out of Hogsmeade. He was surprised to learn that Professor Jensen would be joining them, although he soon found out that she and his housemate were related -- cousins, actually, a fact that Adam found equally cool and terrifying. He'd always been a little frightened of the Slytherin head, and even after seeing her grill up a barbecue lunch for him the fear still lingered. Adam was sure that she had caught his wary glances at her every so often during their conversation on the train. He knew he shouldn't be so intimidated, but he couldn't help it. Maybe seeing her in the midst of a party would help to make her a little less fearsome.

Dymph's house was amazing, beautiful in a way similar to the Fawley manor, but not quite the same. Where Eris's family home had been imposing stone and cold surroundings, like a fortress, the Teagues lived in a castle as wooden and natural as the forest surrounding it, like the palace of some fairy king. The fields and cliffs that capped the landscape only added to the splendor; Adam could imagine all of the fun that Dymph must have had here in summers past. As their group headed towards the front door, he had torn his gaze away from the sea just in time to see a sheepdog sitting by the door magically shift into a smiling woman. The feat had left Adam stunned, and he had nearly tripped over his own feet as Dymph's grandmother welcomed them to the house. He knew that Animagi existed, but to see one transform in person was an incredible sight -- what an introduction!

He was guided through Dymph's house to the kitchen upon their arrival, and had chosen one of the many mismatched chairs to sit and admire the room. It was very polished and modern, but didn't feel as stiff as the Fawleys' dining room had felt. It felt like people actually ate here, talked here, together. Pulling himself out of his own head, Adam had tuned back in to the real world just in time to hear Dymph mention something about Delilah before asking him if he'd ever had High Tea, or something along those lines. Adam had been about to respond that no, he hadn't, and he wasn't particularly sure what High Tea was when the next host of people had joined them in the kitchen.

First was an older couple, another set of grandparents, Adam had guessed, maybe the Eithne that Dymph had mentioned. He'd given them a nervous smile as they'd moved through the kitchen preparing for the party, feeling a wave of nervousness swell inside of him when Dymph's grandfather returned and approached him. Whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been anything like reality -- suddenly, Adam had been patted firmly on the back and called by Reid's name. He had felt his cheeks burn red at the mix-up, unsure of what to say, but thankfully Dymph stepped in to rescue him. He knew that Dymph and Reid were friends, and he supposed he should take it as a compliment, since Reid seemed like a great guy. Still, he had felt bad when the smile on the man's face dropped for a moment; but he had given Adam a friendly handshake, and Adam had returned the gesture with an embarrassed "You too," before the man was off.

Dymph had sat down after that and Adam had given her an apologetic smile, but only a second later another new figure had burst into the scene. She was a very loud, very excited woman, and apparently she had come with gifts, though it had taken her a bit to find them. When she had finally pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey, Adam had almost choked on a laugh. He had had to fight to keep a straight face as the woman congratulated Dymph on turning sixteen, and even when Professor Jensen arrived on the scene to replace the woman's gift and give one of her own. It was all rather like a comedy act, and Adam imagined that he had looked confused beyond belief in his seat.

Professor Jensen had quickly escorted the woman out of the kitchen, and even now Adam could hear her voice trailing off as she was led further and further away. Now that he was alone with Dymph, he felt a little better about letting out a quick, quiet laugh. "Is it always this crazy?" he asked jokingly, before the sight of the gifts in front of Dymph reminded him of his own shortage. "Oh, I don't, uh, have anything for you...but it's coming! I promise! I'll send it to you before the end of the month." That gave him about two weeks to think of something the other Ravenclaw would like. Hopefully he would know her a little better by the end of the party, especially since she'd been so kind in inviting him in the first place.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I haven't said it yet," Adam remembered suddenly, smiling brightly at Dymphna in the chair next to him. "Happy birthday! How does it feel to finally be 13?" It hadn't been much of a change to Adam, but then again, he hadn't had such a wild day to ring it in with. Being here was worth any sort of trouble his mother might have waiting for him. The house, the party, and the Teagues themselves were all shaping up to be more than Adam could have ever expected.

He was absolutely thrilled.

Alexx was still unsure as to why she was invited. It had always, deep down, surprised her that she was capable of making friends to any extent. Of course, she was ever grateful, especially on account of the invite. It pleased her, and much to her surprise, it pleased her mother. Besides, what else did Alexx have to do? In the middle of a custody battle no less, along with one of the biggest feuds in which her family had ever seen, she was very happy to extend her stay on the more southern parts of the world before she was to go off to America. A friendly visit before she indulged herself into a new world and new life for a few short months.

So she showed up, rather delighted to be there. Alexx didn't know who was going to be here other than Dymphna. Perhaps she had been told before, but she couldn't recall if she had. In fact, she had almost decided not to come. It was nothing against Dymphna, but Alexx definitely wasn't one to mingle with a crowd. However, for the very reason that it was absolutely nothing against Dymphna, in terms of Alexx wanting to be polite, she made her appearance.

In one hand, she clutched a delicately wrapped book. The wrapping was in green, crushed velvet. It was tied with a black bow in a very elegant manner. In the other, her fist was clenched. She was prepared to knock on the door. She had no idea how to do this. Alexx was just far too awkward; far too unsociable. What if someone other than Dymphna answered? How was she supposed to explain who that she was? On top of that, Alexx knows of the history between her family and the Teague family. What if they weren't happy to find the heir of two soiled bloodlines is at their door? Many things made her nervous that day.

On her way to Platform 9 3/4, she had nearly forgotten of the birthday party. She had very little time to pick out a gift. She had a most joyous train ride with Reid, Scott, and Ami that her brain had forgotten that she even needed to pick out a gift. But she told herself that it was alright. Her mind reassured her that she had a few days to decide. But what did Dymphna even like?

Books. The simple answer had to be "books". Ravenclaws enjoyed studying, did they not? But what kind of books? Alexx was sure that Dymphna, especially judging by this house, owned every book in regards to magic known to man (and woman) and then some. There was no way that she did not. So, what did Alexx have left? Another gift idea? No, Alexx simply did not have time for that. She would have to indulge herself into muggle books. She was sure that Dymphna wouldn't mind.

So, Alexx found herself in France, very, very briefly. Primarily in search of a book that was written in English. Alexx could not recall if Dymphna even spoke her language. But, she got lucky. One small bookshop that was tucked away in Paris. Many things were easily tucked away in the city. In the confines of this little shop, she was able to purchase a book by the name of Pleasure and Privilege: Life in France, Naples, and America 1770-1790. Alexx was unsure if Dymphna would even be interested in such a book, but it was the best that she could do.

And so, with all that, Alexx was knocking on the door. "Hello?" She called out, her voice unsure of itself. Despite all the preparation, she was still feeling quite outcasted. As far as she knew, Dymphna and she didn't even share the same friend circle. That was enough to make her nervous. Would she be the only one here that did not know those that she was about to be spending likely a few fine hours with? That was enough to make her feel extremely displaced.

But she had no choice. She had knocked. There was no going back. From this moment onwards, she would be gracing them with her presence. And, of course, they could easily leave her on their doorstep, never to answer. By all means, if that was so, she would turn around and go home immediately. But that was highly unlikely. Alexx didn't want to invite herself in and just waltz through the door, so she would simply wait patiently until someone answered her call.

Link to the book! (I spent less than 15 seconds finding this.)

@Adam Harringtom @Alexx Séverin
@Hjørdis Jensen (opening gifts)
@Reid Kovacs (reading his letter)

Her auntie Muirenn (meer-in) entered with her usual flair. The boisterous woman was seen mainly around holidays and always with Hjordis trailing after her. There was a good reason for it, Dymphna remembered, as she eyed the bottle before it was whisked away by her cousin. Gifts with the most beautiful wrappings were thrust upon her. She mumbled her thanks as they were on the way out of the kitchen, a little embarrassed that Adam had seen her auntie act in such a way. At the same time, she hoped that it would make Hjordis seem less intimidating to the boy - she noticed the way he interacted with her on the train.

"Is it always this crazy?" Dymphna’s cheeks were still pink from the whole ordeal. “When everyone gets together like this.” It wasn’t a quiet house, that was for certain. Five people lived there so it was never lonely. There was always someone to talk to, something that needed doing. During events such as this, it could be overwhelming but even Eithne didn’t let family squabbles get in the way of celebrating.

As she looked down at the gifts in her lap, the blonde wondered if she should open them or wait until Hjordis returned to see her doing so. Her family wasn’t that strict about opening gifts in front of everyone as some families might be. They never really took part in that tradition, instead opening gifts as they were given or after the event itself. Dymphna spent hours afterwards writing and sending out thank you owls during her previous birthdays and Christmas’.

She turned back to look at Adam who was going on about his lack of present. ”You don’t have to get me anything, Adam. I invited you so that you’d have an extra fun summer.” It was likely that some of the friends she made during her last few years didn’t know one another and she wanted to change that, helping them meet one another and hopefully become friends too. ”I don’t feel any different,” she admitted, “but maybe it’s one of those things where I will later. Afterall, thirteen feels completely different from eleven.” She shot him a smile, “I’m glad you were able to come, even if you had to meet my embarrassing family.”

At least her parents weren’t there to embarrass her further. Dymph could see her father pulling out the photo albums to show all her friends and her mother cornering them to talk about how they’re doing in school. As much as she loved them, it was best that they had to work. There was a commotion from one of the other rooms before a strange owl flew in. It wasn’t one that she recognized but she stood to get a treat for it. As the owl munched away, she took the box and the letter addressed to her.

The address wasn’t familiar to her nor was the handwriting, but she could make out Reid’s own in the letter, though it was different from the last time she had read it. “Moving?” She thought aloud as she opened the box. Despite the confusion, the lobster on the locket made her laugh. ”Reid can’t make it,” she explained to Adam, trying not to sulk. Was this why he was acting so strange in the month before they left school? Who were the Fosgates? Not much was clear but she would write a reply later, hopefully get some answers or at least, ask when they returned to school in September.

The owl left as quickly as it had arrived, not waiting around for her reply. She would send off her own letter with her mother’s owl after the party. Now that Dymphna had opened one gift, she figured she might as well open the others - really Hjordis’ but she would thank her auntie as if she herself had picked it out. The first gift, the one she suspected was Hjordis’ main gift, was a dress in Ravenclaw blue. The second, a subscription to Witch Weekly in which her great aunt - Muirenn’s mother - Doireann (direen) was an Editor.

Thankfully, the blonde wouldn’t have to leave Adam alone while she went to change. It was only a moment later that her granny Eithne appeared and motioned for them to follow her into the formal dining room. She took the gifts and letter with her, looking around in awe as they entered. The decor was extravagant, as expected from her granny. Across the ceiling were banners that displayed the Teague crest. Over the years, the wand, sword and ship had been taken out, leaving their family crest a simple swan adorned with green leaves. The table was covered in a white tablecloth, rose centerpieces in navy blue and gold were spaced evenly apart, the colors of the house crest.

The trays of a variety of finger sandwiches and scones sat between the bouquets, as well as mismatched teacups for their tea. Various spreads for the scones had been made ahead of time by Eithne herself. Dymphna couldn’t wait to have one of the cucumber sandwiches or even the barmbrack. “Thank you, a sheanmháthair,” she gave her grandmother a hug which was returned readily. “Make yourself at home, Mr. Harringtom. I expect the other guests will be arriving soon.” As Eithne left to help prepare for another surprise for the party, Dymphna gestured for Adam to sit.

“I’ll only be a moment,” she promised him as she slipped out towards her room to change. Meanwhile, her grandpa Fergus met the Slytherin at the door. With a smile and an introduction, he escorted her to the formal dining room to wait for Dymph to return. Despite his wife wanting everyone to wait to eat after all the guests arrived, he didn’t want the children to go hungry if they had forgotten to eat breakfast. “Go ahead and dig in. We’ll have cake when everyone’s here.” Not wanting to linger, he left to help Eithne with any other preparations, and to hopefully find his glasses this time. He didn’t want any other mix-ups to happen like with Adam.

Dymphna came down a few minutes later, wearing the blue dress that Hjordis gifted her. Her hair was left down and she still wore the sneakers that she had on at summer camp, so she wasn’t as put together as she would be for an event where she would wear the dress in a formal way but it still felt nice to be a little dressed up. The lobster locket was another addition that she enjoyed, smiling to herself anytime she caught sight of it in the mirror on the way down the stairs.

Entering the dining room, she spotted Alexx and ran over to hug her. “You made it!” The families had some history, causing the girls to be friends but the Slytherin had never been to the Teagues house before. There was something that Dymphna wanted to show her before she left the party but there was still time for that. For now, she hugged her friend and went to sit beside Adam. “Have you two met?” She guessed not but would skip introductions if they already knew one another.

{ In the formal dining room, awaiting guests arrival }

Interacting with everyone in formal dining room

Serena had been looking forward to the summer break for a while now. It had not been very long since it started, to be honest, but she was thrilled to be back home. At least, she had been until she reached back home. She kind of forgot how annoying her older brother really was and how he was such a "mother's boy". He was incredibly good at sucking up to the pureblood families that they held relations with than she was. It irked her to no end, how he just seemed to have an advantage in ways that she did not. She never really thought she would miss Hogwarts, what with all of the drama that took place there - and because studying was incredibly dull.

However, the Hufflepuff did miss her friends and her freedom. There was something about Hogwarts that made you feel like you had more space and independence. She was not forced to dress up and attend dull parties, where she had to smile and be polite to children that she may have disliked with a passion at school. She never had to walk into her own living room to see a room full of forty year olds and had to be on her 'best' behaviour. Hogwarts, even with all of its rules and restrictions, provided more independence than her own house. Never once was she forced to have her hair in a certain way or be told she could not be friends with someone who was not a pureblood.

Luckily for her, however, the Teague family were a long line of purebloods. When she received Dymphna's birthday invitation, her mother was delighted. Serena mentally rolled her eyes at the sight. Her mother was only delighted because it came from a pureblood. If her friends Reid or Rosie had sent the invite, her mother would have scowled, said she could not go and made a big deal about not associating with that type or people will 'talk'. But it was too late. Anything people wanted to say was probably already  said. Serena had already had to deal people talking and rumours spreading in the past year. Students seemed to talk more than these pureblood families her mother spoke of but then again, she was living a sheltered existence from that side of the family to a bigger extent than she realised.

Dressed in a simple black dress with a small present clasped in her hands, Serena arrived at the Teague residence through the floo network. She was greeted by the sight of a very cosy living room. Whilst she did not see anyone in the room, she could hear the echos of voices not too far away. When it doubt, follow the noises. Serena made her way out of the room and across the corridor till she reached another room. The noises got a little louder. Popping her head through the door, she spotted the familiar faces of a few of her friends. "Hi!" She greeted the room as she entered, "Dymphna! Happy birthday!" She exclaimed, turning her attention to the birthday girl and went to envelop her in a hug, if accepted. As she let go, she pushed a small neatly wrapped box into her hand. It contained a bracelet with a charm shaped like a birthday present on it, "Sorry I'm a little late."

@Hjørdis Jensen @Alexx Séverin @Serena Towers @Adam Harringtom

The party flew by, presents unwrapped, candles blown out and cake consumed. It wasn't too long before everyone was being led outside towards the cliffs where rickety steps would take them down to a massive ship. The ship showed that the Teague and Stavrou families once had a bond, and while they continue to communicate through specific family members, they haven't been on the best of terms quite a while now.

Sailing was something that Dymphna loved to do during the summer. The blonde excitedly pointed out to her friends where they could potentially find pirates treasure, the caves that water had submerged to the point where no one could enter them (with magic, perhaps it was possible). They spent around an hour sailing around the area that they called home, protected from the sun by an enchantment put upon the ship.

Back at the inn, after everyone had said their farewells, Dymphna secretly showed Alexx the room that her family stayed in during the Second Wizarding War. It was small, big enough for the couple that sought shelter. It was also regularly cleaned by the family, lest they needed to provide protection again. One could never be too careful.

*Since so much time has passed (almost a year, wow!), I went ahead and wrote out what the plans were for this thread. Feel free to headcanon your characters meeting at the party if they hadn't already met, getting along with her family (or not, up to you). This way the party could be mentioned in future threads if needed - such as if your character discovered something lurking within the caves while sailing. *shrug*