Jackson Reed
School Groundskeeper
Some bonds are stronger than blood.
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Post by Jackson Reed on Aug 5, 2015 18:44:30 GMT -5
Pietro Antonucchi
Jackson tried his best to ignore the man next to him. He had no desire to speak to him, honestly. However, when he brought up their school days, he had no choice. Slowly he nodded, and looked back to Pietro, "Yeah, we had a few duels. You were an excellent duelist. Knocked me out of the competitions more than once. Though I believe I beat oyou once or twice." Jackson gave a genuine smile then, the image of a young pietro on his back with Jackson standing over him. 'Do you yield?' a simple nod in return. Oh that had been a grand time.
Looking around the hall, he shrugged and glanced over at the melancholy man next to him. He had heard the rumors, he had seen the body, Jackson felt for the man. The girl had been innocent, much as Maureen had. Sighing Jackson shook his head, "Shame it can't be like the old days. Good old fun, people getting into fights, and settling them like adults." He paused and drank from his flask. "Aside from beING sick all the time, I quite enjoyed the time I spent here."
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Post by Elsie Beren on Aug 5, 2015 19:33:14 GMT -5
"You'd better get used to it Mary. I can't have you crying every time I do something nice for you," Elsie teased. It was far too much to ask of Elsie to not slip back into her usual carefree self at any opportunity. Then, in a flurry of movement that Elsie almost couldn't follow, Mary kissed her on the cheek and was already getting ready before the blush on Elsie's cheeks had time to fade. She took her friend's clothes from where they had been discarded and folded them neatly, she had a feeling that Mary would have later regretted just dropping them in her excitement.
She couldn't help but watch the slideshow of emotions pass across Mary's face as she dressed, from just feeling the fabric to admiring herself in the full dress and tiara. Elsie barely even noticed the rest of the girls parading out of the room, leaving just the two of them alone, dressed to the nines. She was quite sure that Mary hadn't noticed at all, she was so absorbed in the beautiful dress- which, Elsie was entirely certain, suited Mary much better than it did her sister.
"I think you're ready to go to the ball, Cinderella. But I promise, my magic doesn't have some silly time limit." Elsie couldn't stop grinning at her friend, her happiness was entirely infectious. Elsie stood up, right in front of Mary, and sized her up. She was going to make certain that everything was perfect for Mary. "Now, I couldn't get a pair of shoes because I have no idea what size your feet are. I could hardly ask. But under your beautiful floor-length dress, and distracted by the magnificence that is Mary Fulton, I really don't think anyone will notice."
One final idea popped into Elsie's head, and it was too tempting to resist. "Okay. So this is just on the off chance that none of the boys out there see sense and come clamouring for the chance at one dance with Mary Fulton. It's insurance, but I don't think you'll need it." She stopped blathering, bent her head just the requisite amount, and kissed Mary's lips. It lasted less than a second, but it etched the grin onto Elsie's face for the whole evening. "There, now you've been kissed. Come on, we're late!"
Elsie made her way over to the door, and ducked through it, hoping Mary was only a moment behind.
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Post by Emyr Sayer on Aug 5, 2015 20:27:18 GMT -5
"I'd offer, honestly, but it's been rather a while since I last danced a night away. I'm not sure if I can keep it up that long," he laughed. Whether or not that was true entirely depended on her own endurance, and how fast the music played late into the evening. If she was still going at it with the same level of enthusiasm by midnight, he'd be exhausted. But if things were to slow down before then, and turn from speed-focused to skill-focused, he thought he could feasibly go for hours. That was possibly the best advantage to walking everywhere, you tended to build up an intense level of stamina.
"Not entirely sure that it needs to be said, but you are a fantastic dancer yourself. It's hardly a staple of magical education, where did you learn?" He hoped that she wouldn't ask him the same question. That would either result in a terrible lie or a strange truth that he wasn't sure that he wanted to spread around. His grades were going up more rapidly than he could ever have hoped, he had a couple of friends, or nearly-friends at least, and no one was trying to lynch him. The more people know of his vagabond ways, the more likely it was that someone would get suspicious at why he always moved around. Once that happened, it was only a matter of time before someone found out and ran him out of Cascade.
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Post by Hallie Keating on Aug 5, 2015 22:33:45 GMT -5
Hallie blushed lightly in embarrassment, all the while placing her hands lightly on her hips as Theo began to work his fingers along the sides of her jawline and face. She felt odd thinking of such a thing, but in that moment, she noticed the differences in the way Theo had touched her, and the way Aedan touched her. Theo, being the sweet gentleman that he was, was careful and gentle...not to say that Aedan wasn't, because most of the time, he was...it was just that, underneath his proper, professional demeanor, she knew malice and perhaps even sadism lay at the root of his core.
This was not a night for such thoughts, though. This was a night that was meant to be enjoyable, and Hallie kept that in mind as Theo pulled his fingers away, then stood back to smile at her. She gleamed at him in response, then leaned in for another hug, planting a quick kiss on his cheek for good measure. "Thank you, Theo. You are honestly too good to me. I'd be lost without you," she told him, pulling away a bit. "And I mean that. Completely and totally."
With that, she turned a bit, surveying the room. "So," she lowered her voice, "where's Vinayak?" She asked wriggling her eyebrows at her cousin. "I'm sure he is here somewhere," Hallie continued, searching in front of her. "Maybe I can fetch him-"
She then stopped mid-sentence, noticing the apparent cold, hard glare on Professor Antonucchi's face, and frowned herself. Quickly, she followed the length of his gaze, realizing that it was pointed towards Aedan, who was now crossing the room. Her frown deepened with confusion, and as the glare faded from Pietro's face in a split second, she wondered what the issue was. She felt as though she knew the professor slightly well, seeing as how he was the Head of her house. It was strange; because he had never appeared to be a violent, vengeful man in all the times they had spoken. Something must have severely irked him. Though she wouldn't dare ask, it still made her slightly morbidly curious.
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Post by Arne Vinter on Aug 5, 2015 23:19:13 GMT -5
Annabel-Lee Atkinson
Arne stared at the flor, bringing their dancing to a halt. She shouldn't be with him, he didn't want to be here around these people who he barely knew. He wanted to ne home, in Norway, in the forests, and fjords, of his homeland. He felt terrible for the way he was acting, but truth was he did not enjoy group function like this, and now he was beginning to ruin her night because of it. Shaking his head, he sighed, and looked back to Bella, his mouth opened, but her words made him shut it. Had she really? Did she just speak his own language to him? She knew Norwegian!? Why had she not told him before? It didn't matter now though. They could have an actual conversation.
Excitedly, Arne took his hands, in his, kissing them gently, and firing off a rapid sentence, "Du kan snakke norsk ? Dette er fantastisk ! Hvem har lært deg å snakke ? Du er veldig god!" The light slowly faded from his face though when he noticed the confused look on her face. So she knew some, but not enough for a conversation? That was more than okay, he decided, and in truth it made him smile ven more. Looking around briefly he leaned in and kissed bell lightly on her lips. "THank you, thank you so much, bella..." He whispered, his cheeks burning.
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Post by Annabel-Lee Atkinson on Aug 6, 2015 0:33:38 GMT -5
She could tell he wasn't enjoying himself and that was alright. Maybe she could get him outside the dining hall and to a part of the school where they could still hear the music and they could dance just the two of them. She didn't want him to feel bad at all for this because she was having fun. After all, he was her friend to and she wanted him to be enjoying this moment. She wasn't upset or sad or anything, she just wanted him to be having fun after the week he had where she told him everything he had did...
But then after she was able to get her very broken Norwegian, he light up like a firecracker and just went off, speaking crazy fast in Norwegian and she couldn't help the confused look that came to her face. Okay she knew he asked about teaching...and that it was good. "I have been teaching myself. So I can talk to you and you could be comfortable. Jeg... Vil du... lykkelig. Ja?" She asked looking up at him with a smile only to find his lips being pressed against her and she blinked.
He kissed her, that was her first kiss! Which meant that he liked her! Which meant he might be able to love her...
"I..." She probably blushed a brighter shade of read than he did as she nodded and bit at her lip. "You are welcome Arne. Just know you are... viktig for meg? Yes is that how you say it?"
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Post by Arne Vinter on Aug 6, 2015 1:57:24 GMT -5
He was important to her, and she was teaching herself his own language! Picking Annabel up, Arne held her up and spun her happily. Carefully he set her down, and hugged the girl. "Thank you, Bella. Thank you." He cradled her face in his hands, ready to kiss her again, but stopped. Oh this was an excellent moment, and he didn't want to ruin it.
Taking her hands again, he nodded, as she spoke. "Good, good. It's very good." He stated happily, as he began to smile, and squeeze her hands. "You are very good, Bella." He stated and hugged her close, feeling normal for once.
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Post by Maureen Brady-O'Brien on Aug 6, 2015 2:52:25 GMT -5
Emyr Sayer
"We'll just have to solve that, won't we?" she replied with a flirtatious grin, loving this boy's dancing more and more. Oh, for dancing, they were simply perfect. "I had no idea I was picking the best dancer in the room. I'm very lucky." This was glorious. He led them effortlessly, weaving between and around the other couples, and it was as though they were making music of their own to overlay the tune they were dancing to.
This was good. James was gone, and Aedan was too outwardly polite to come break up her dancing to be mad at her, and Pietro, well ... he'd gotten his own hideous punishment, hadn't he? Sometimes she could even look directly into his eyes and smile knowing that her big brother had given him exactly what he deserved.
That didn't get rid of the fear that he might come for her again, but ... well, that was just something to push out of her mind. She couldn't be weak, couldn't be controlled by scary people. She would just be in this moment, dancing, floating, flirting ... just be in this moment.
But why was Jackson talking to Pietro? That was strange and awkward and ... no, no, she was being in this moment.
She was pulled up from a smooth dip, offering another smile of enjoyment. "Well, it's all part of being a proper lady. Dancing is part of what makes a girl truly a girl, if you ask my parents." A brief little eye roll expressed how silly she found all the proprieties. "Although, in this moment, I cannot complain."
Hmm. All that training in sensitivity was coming in handy. He didn't particularly want to talk about himself, did he? Well, that was all right. If there was one thing Maureen had always been good at, it was talking about herself. Maybe part of that skill had gone away in recent weeks, but it didn't hurt to get back into the swing of things.
"I can dance, and sew, and cook, and all those other silly little things that are supposed to make me a lady. I'm not certain that they work, although some of them are fun. Like dancing. ... So, you are an Aer student, I see?" That seemed neutral enough not to alarm him.
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Vinayak Dar
Aer Student - Year 6
Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.
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Post by Vinayak Dar on Aug 6, 2015 16:50:38 GMT -5
Viola Tilly / Theodore Keating
"Yes, um ... outside of the comfort zone. Friends." His heart was pounding in his ears, and he felt guilty about Viola's reaction to his reaction. But at least she didn't seem angry or disgusted. He deliberately did not glance at Theo this time. Instead, he looked at Viola, who seemed flustered now that he had become flustered himself.
Yes, punch would be good. It would take him for a few minutes out of Theo's view, and therefore he would be unable to betray them any further with his lack of self-control. "He is a very nice person. He would be pleased to make your acquaintance. But right now, I believe he is having a private conversation with his cousin, so ... punch it is."
Swallowing hard against his nerves, Vinayak walked with Viola over to the punch table, noting with interest the end of a strange little stare-down between Professor Antonucchi and Aedan the asshole. This whole family versus family situation just got worse and worse, didn't it? It was becoming absurd. God, how he hoped that there would be no horrific explosion of fighting to ruin this party.
Yet another reason he needed to be here for Theo. It was bad enough that he hadn't been around when Aedan had beaten him up.
Getting two glasses of punch, Vinayak clinked his with Viola's and took a sip. It was fruity and refreshing. This was all right. He could do this. "So, I guess I should know more about you, since we've gone to the same school for so long, but I didn't really become gutsy enough to make many friends before this year. What about you? Who in this room is worth knowing?"
Who in this room is not a racist xenophobe?
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Post by Viola Tilly on Aug 6, 2015 17:14:29 GMT -5
Vinayak Dar“Perhaps later, then,” Viola agreed with a faint smile. Beyond thankful for Vinayak’s diversion of punch, she was glad to be out of the awkward situation she had managed to put them in. “Lead the way,” she hummed, happily to follow him away from the discomfort still lingering in the air.
The attempt of neglecting the daggers being shot through eye contact of O’Brien and Antonucchi failed. Goosebumps covered her arms and legs, the night of the so called attack coming to the surface of her memory. Shivering, she thank Vinayak for the drink.
After the silent toast, Viola drank to a blossoming friendship. She hadn’t realized just how thirsty she was until she had her first sip on the punch. Finishing half the drink, she forced herself to lower the cup away from her mouth.
“Oh,” Viola said, furrowing her brow. She looked around the filled hall, surveying each individual. “I... I’m not sure.” She shrugged. She hadn’t had any quarrels with anyone herself, but she was somewhat withdrawn from her peers. Pardon Mes and Thank Yous, other phrases used in passing were usually the fillers of her conversations.
With chuckle, more or less the pushing of excess air from her nostrils, Viola looked up at the boy, “Well, you know Annabel, Mary, Emyr... I only really know Annabel for the most part, and Mary.” Biting her bottom lip, her gaze fell back to the remaining drink in the cup. “I can’t say I’ve been very open to friendships, myself.”
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Post by Annabel-Lee Atkinson on Aug 6, 2015 19:27:53 GMT -5
Annabel laughed some as he picked her up and spun her around, "Arne!" She said giggling and blushing like mad as he set her down and then just hugged her. He thanked her again and she shook her head. Really it was nothing, he had been making such a effort to speak to her in english that she could at very least return the favour and learn some Norwegian. His hand cupped her cheeks and she could tell that he wanted to kiss her but... He didn't. So when his hand moved down she took the chance to quickly kiss him back.
"Thank you. I was hoping you would be willing to teach me more." She said with a smile now being hugged by him and Bella took his hand. "Why don't we get off this dance floor." She said now pulling him to a place where they could just sit and watch everyone else. "Are you still enjoying yourself? Because if not we can leave?"
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Post by Emyr Sayer on Aug 6, 2015 23:27:12 GMT -5
"Somehow you manage to make that sound vaguely terrifying," he laughed. Emyr might nominally be a wizard, but having a witch tell you that she'd make sure you could dance all night was still something to take at least slightly seriously. Who knows what she might come up with? "You're also incredibly complimentary. I'm just a nobody from rural Wales, surely there are at least a couple of Yanks who could show me what for around here?" Emyr wondered if Samuel- Aedan- would take a leaf out of James' book and give him a few bruises for daring to interact with someone who was clearly affiliated with him. Emyr made the frankly foolish decision not to care, this evening was becoming altogether far too pleasant to worry about a possible beating later. Such seemed just to be a part of his life, he still preferred it to being run out of town.
"A proper lady? Is that what you are, then? I honestly hadn't noticed." The temptation to tease was just too great, she had been flirting casually with him, he might as well flirt casually back. Surely that fell within the bounds of propriety, even as she expressed her disdain for such things. "So in their eyes, if a girl can't dance she's not a girl. What does that make this lot then? Dinosaurs with good dress sense?" He certainly couldn't call a lot of it dancing, that was for certain.
"Believe it or not, I can dance sew and cook as well. Though probably not quite with your flair. Now I'm starting to think that I'm a proper lady." Strange that all of those skills that were simply necessary for a life on the road were considered to be effeminate by nature. He counted dancing, given that if you couldn't dance spending nights in pubs was really rather dull. In a place that hadn't tried to ban alcohol, that was. "I am, but I haven't the faintest clue what that means."
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Post by Arne Vinter on Aug 7, 2015 0:29:38 GMT -5
Arne continued to hold Annabel in his arms, his cheek resting on her head. He could not explain the joy that he felt in this moment, because of her. She was learning his own language because, she liked him, and he was important to her. Arne held onto Bella for a moment longer, unable to full express his happiness, her just stayed there, holding her. It wasn't until a chaperon began moving towards him, that Arne let go, and followed Bella. As they sat, he pulled her close, smiling shyly, but the light still filling his yes, as his arm slipped around her shoulders "Of course, I help you."
Squeezing her hand, Arne watched the ghosts flit around, and he tilted his head, staring at them, then at Bella. Shaking his head in reply to her question he smiled, "I am fine..." again he looked between the ghosts and Bella. "Is it not.... ahhh... "he snapped his fingers, and waved at the ghosts, "uncomfortable, for you?"
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Mary Fulton
Aqua Student - Year 6
I just want everybody to get along
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Post by Mary Fulton on Aug 7, 2015 1:14:36 GMT -5
Elsie Beren
"Better get used to it ... "
Really? Really? Oh, yes, and right now she absolutely was Harriet to Elsie's Emma because here she was, the fairy godmother bestowing beauty and grace upon the scullery maid. And ... get used to it? How could she ever? How could things like this ever cease to be incredible, beautiful gifts? She couldn't simply accept them as her due, because then she wouldn't be showing proper gratitude. Then she wouldn't be showing the depth of her appreciation.
"Shoes?" she replied with a laugh that was almost manic in its bafflement. "You think I care about shoes at a moment like this? I've never ... I've barely even seen a dress like this before, let alone worn one!"
She couldn't help but blush at the mention of her "magnificence," even though the blush from earlier hadn't fully faded. Did Elsie really think that, or was she just being her kind self? There was no pity in her voice, was there?
But that worry was completely swept away by what happened next. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out exactly what Elsie was talking about, but before she could even guess, there were warm lips on her own for the briefest of moments. Was that ... well ... was that supposed to feel so different from the cheek kisses? Because, oh, it did. It was hardly even the same gesture. Weren't only boys supposed to do that? But then, why did it feel so nice? Why did it feel as though her head had floated up to bump against the ceiling?
There wasn't time to say anything, which was fortunate, because Mary was speechless. She pulled upward on the dress, terrified of stepping on it, and followed her friend out of the dorm and through the common room. "Are you going to teach me how to dance?" she asked, nerves in her voice - nerves that weren't only for the concept of dancing, but also for the kiss she'd just received. "Because I think I need a teacher."
Really, it was fortunate that there was a party to go to because, otherwise, Mary would simply have sat on her bed, staring at the ceiling, processing that kiss all night long.
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Post by Maureen Brady-O'Brien on Aug 7, 2015 2:01:28 GMT -5
Emyr Sayer
"Terrifying?" Maureen repeated, her eyes widening in faux shock. "Well, don't tell my parents! Proper ladies are never terrifying!" She rolled her eyes again, punctuating the expression with a little giggle. Yes, all right, this was working. She still had some charm left.
Then he mentioned something that was incredibly interesting. He was from Wales? He was from the British Isles? Oh, how desperately she had always wanted to visit! "Not a one," she replied, a look of admiration in her eyes. "I've never danced with anyone quite like this rural Welsh nobody ... oh, and I'm so envious! My family has Irish heritage, and I want so badly to visit. Have you been to Ireland? Are Ireland and Wales very similar?" She practically had to bite her tongue to keep from rattling off an endless list of questions. Fin, of course, had been abroad, as had Jackson, but she couldn't very well ask them about their experiences in other countries. After all, they'd spent most of that time in harrowing forays. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't beg them for stories.
She spun out, and was tugged back in, and she couldn't resist getting just a tiny bit closer than she had been before. After all, he was handsome and he smelled good and he could dance and he wasn't mean ...
"Hmmm ... well, I don't know if they would consider any of this good dress sense. Not even my outfit. My shoulders are showing! Clearly I am a harlot! ... Oh, and don't you worry. You're not nearly pretty enough to be a proper lady." She offered him a teasing smile as they continued to float just as gracefully as they had the entire time. The way this boy danced was like a dream! "But you're right, I have never met a boy before who could dance and cook and sew. It's intriguing. You're something of a mystery, I suppose."
It was sweet the way he didn't know exactly what his House assignment meant, but it made sense. Maureen hadn't seen him around school before this year, so he must be a transfer, and she supposed it made sense that House assignments were not as clearly explained to transfers as they were to first-years. "Aer is for intellectuals," Maureen explained. "You must be very intelligent. In theory, if your intelligence is the most dominant aspect of your personality, you end up in Aer. My House, on the other hand - Terra - is supposed to be for people whose most dominant trait is rationality. We're supposed to be grounded and sensible, which sounds terribly dull, really."
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