|
|
Post by Elsie Beren on Aug 7, 2015 5:20:28 GMT -5
"I'm glad to hear it! We'll get you some shoes before next time, second hand shoes is kind of weird anyway." The one thing Elsie didn't think she could have dealt with would have been Mary trying to refuse the gifts. That would have just been awkward, and they would have lapsed into a weird silence, and the whole thing would have been difficult and annoying and would have dampened her mood. No, Mary just erupted into this beautiful glow that surrounded her, some kind of magic that Elsie had never heard of.
It was a good kiss, she thought. It wasn't the best she'd ever done, but that was probably because it was so brief. And it wasn't like she went around kissing girls all that often. Or ever, actually. So she was bond to make a mess of it the first time. She smiled inwardly at the thought, because a first time implied the possibility of a second, and she was very willing to put in the hours of practice needed to become good at it. Especially if Mary had the same ambition. She shoved the thought away, foolish as it was, it didn't deserve her time of day.
"Dancing's easy, you just let the boy lead you around and blame him if anything goes wrong. It's not like any of them actually know how to dance, not really." Elsie didn't really know how to dance either. Not with a partner at least, she could do a decent job of dancing on her own. Or nearby a friend. In fact, her lack of skill with dancing had been quite a disappointment to a number of boys back home. Snobs wouldn't even think about presenting a girl that couldn't dance to their parents, not that she wanted to meet the similarly arrogant family members.
|
|
Theodore Keating
Aer Student - Head Boy
Haven't you heard the word of my wanting?
Offline
|
Post by Theodore Keating on Aug 7, 2015 15:22:24 GMT -5
"Nah I'm not to good for you." Though he was believing that less and less... Maybe he was too good for her. Too good for this school. Look how far being good has gotten him. He couldn't just be good anymore and expect to be able to keep everyone he cares about Safe, something had to be done... Something. "I'm just right." She pulled away and he smile at her, trying his hardest not to let Hallie witness the turmoil in her head. All the thoughts that were running though all at once that if he was to say out loud wouldn't make sense to anyone.
'Fuck the O'Brien's, they killed her. Fuck the Antonucchi's they killed her too... How many more students are going to die at the hands of the mob? What can I do... Man Hallie looks pretty. If Aedan does anything to her... Where did Vinayak go? I hope he's having some fun without me.. God I miss him. Why couldn't you have just man a woman God? That way I could always be with him. God I need a drink..."
Hallie's words pulled him back out of his head and he looked at her. "Oh no it's okay I'll talk to him later or something." He said with a soft smile looking back over at him. It was nice to see him trying to make friends, he knew he feared that everyone would hate him because of his skin colour but Theo like to think Wizards were more progressive. Once you get past Vinayak race he was the sweetest, smartest and most handsome boy in the school and...
If that Vollia girl even thinks about falling for him...
"We are trying not to spend so much time together you know." He said with a smile as he swallowed. Why was this all so hard? Too good.. he's always been to good and that needs to change. It is going to change.
|
|
|
|
Post by Annabel-Lee Atkinson on Aug 7, 2015 15:49:03 GMT -5
Annabel smiled when he followed her and said that he would help her. Good something for them to bond over, something for them to share. And she was also sort of hoping it was something for him to hold onto. A thought that would keep him grounded when he slips into being the other person. And she didn't want to change that part of him, because it was part of him and she didn't want to get rid of that part of him. She just wanted to help control it, make it easier on him when it happens.
A couple of ghost floated by and she waved, they of course waved back. Annabel loved when spirits and morals interacted on this day, everyone was happy and free and they understood that they were free to come between this world and the other and they were not bound to just one. "Oh yes I am fine. This is a very good day, the spirits are free to do as they please and many are happy and it makes me happy.... I forget the word for happy. Glede?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Pietro Antonucchi on Aug 9, 2015 16:15:55 GMT -5
Jackson Reed
"Indeed ... once or twice. One can hardly win them all." Pietro usually won when it mattered, and that was the important thing.
He turned to look at Jackson, noting the expression with which the other man thought back on their school duels. Apparently Jackson was more deeply attached to the few times he'd beaten Pietro than Pietro was to the numerous occasions that he had been the victor. Pietro almost could have laughed, if he hadn't still been so stuck on the strange little exchange with the O'Brien boy.
Pietro did not miss the undertones of Jackson's next comments, but this was hardly the venue in which to pursue them. He crossed his arms once again. "I suppose it was a simpler time," he replied as diplomatically as possible. "Then we were all forced to grow up."
|
|
|
|
Post by Hallie Keating on Aug 9, 2015 20:17:27 GMT -5
If only he knew how serious she had been. Theo was indeed to good for her; hell, he was practically too good for another in the school, really. Who else promised to have her back, regardless of the circumstances? He had already taken a beating, for crying out loud! If that did not scream loyalty, then Hallie wasn't sure what did. She then smiled and shook her head, laughing a bit in the process.
"Alright, alright," she sighed, pulling away from him a bit and casually folding her arms over her chest. "I get what you're trying to say. Fine then," she turner on her heel, looking back at him as she began her trek in another direction of the hall. "If you need me," she told her cousin. "Don't hesitate in finding me."
With that, she merged and meshed back into a group of students, who were loud and boisterous and even obnoxious. Hallie sighed once more before making her way to the side of the large hall, where she leaned up against the nearest wall casually.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emyr Sayer on Aug 10, 2015 23:25:02 GMT -5
"Clearly we have met very different kinds of proper ladies. All the ones I've met have had an air about them, one that suggests they could end you if they wanted to." It wasn't as if he'd brushed shoulders with any number of proper ladies, but those from their ranks that he had met had all certainly been intimidating, even if just for the fact that they wore dresses worth more than his life. Wealth was always a little scary to him, he could hardly imagine what it would be like to be comfortable in your finances to the point of not having to worry about replacing clothes, or finding food, or even just keeping off of the streets.
"I am honoured to receive such praise!" So she was of Irish ancestry. He fought to suppress his innate Welsh dislike of the Irish, after all, she was very pretty and not Irish-born. That made it okay, didn't it? Emyr wasn't sure, but he decided not to dislike her based on where her family had emigrated from. "You weren't to know, but you should never ask a Welshman if Wales and Ireland are similar. Wales is infinitely superior to Ireland. In fact, it's generally best to not compare any of the British Isles. We're a little bit territorial. Diss the English all you like, though, no one cares." Hopefully that hadn't come across as too aggressive, he didn't want to seem angry about it. The lazy grin on his face should mitigate at least
Maureen certainly had a wit on her, more than enough of one to surprise him with ease. He was vaguely aware that she was in all likelihood much cleverer than he was, but that didn't mean for a second that he wasn't going to keep trying to match his wit against hers. "Dinosaurs with no dress sense then. Which would make them just regular dinosaurs, I suppose." He scoffed at the mere idea of her being a harlot. "You're no more a harlot than I am a Rhodes Scholar. And I promise you that I am never going to win that scholarship."
"A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a slightly shabby suit." Emyr had been very surprised that he'd even been able to find any kind of suit at all for the party, but he was glad he had. It certainly made sure he didn't stand out like a sore thumb. "Intellectuals? No wonder I feel out of place. Perhaps I just didn't fit in any of them so they picked at random, because I'm hardly rational either. They should have a house for 'vaguely hopeless' people, that would suit me just fine."
|
|
|
|
Post by Maureen Brady-O'Brien on Aug 11, 2015 2:20:14 GMT -5
Emyr Sayer
"Pfft," Maureen gave a dismissive little snort. "Let me amend my previous statement. Proper ladies are not openly terrifying. They do not parade around the fact that they could end you. The girls you've met have been faking it." She punctuated this with a little smirk, and then a giggle as he spun her again. It was certainly refreshing to talk to someone with such an irreverent attitude toward the pomp and circumstance that defined so much of Maureen's life. She had always known that it would be ungracious of her to complain out loud - after all, she'd always had things easy - but there were times when the expectations and the appearances wore on her, times when she just wanted to run away. She only spoke of such feelings to her brother.
Oh, no, now she'd made a faux pas, which was a rare experience for Maureen. Her eyes widened. She just had to play it off as gracefully as possible. "Oh, dear, please forgive me. I didn't know. But aren't the English absurd?" Well, now she felt silly. At least he was grinning. She could fall back on the fact that she was American-born and -raised and knew nothing of these international rivalries.
The mental image of a bunch of dinosaurs dancing around the dining hall was certainly one to cherish. "Truly relics of a graceless era," she replied. "We make them look primitive." The random flow of the conversation was fun, and dancing so smoothly was refreshing, and Maureen was becoming steadily more glad that she'd been talked into coming to this party. She caught a brief glimpse of Jackson, but looked quickly away. After all, what was the point of thinking about him? Much better to pay attention to the boy who was her own age, who was currently showing her a marvelous time.
Was his suit shabby? She hadn't noticed. "It's a good thing you have so much mystery to bring to the table, seeing as how I have none." After the ... unfortunate incident ... Maureen felt as though she had been completely exposed: her weakness, her family, her pathetic, shameful vulnerability. In a way, it felt like being naked in front of the entire school. But this boy hadn't said a thing about it, and that was wonderful. Maybe she could just be normal tonight, just a typical student dancing with a boy.
She shook her head. "No, they never pick at random. Perhaps you will end up a Rhodes scholar, and I'll be left rationally fighting against my extreme envy. You must be far more intelligent than you give yourself credit for."
|
|
Mary Fulton
Aqua Student - Year 6
I just want everybody to get along
Offline
|
Post by Mary Fulton on Aug 11, 2015 2:30:42 GMT -5
Elsie Beren
Mary wrinkled her nose. "Secondhand shoes ... I don't want to imagine the smell." Oh, but that wasn't even on the table, was it? She was too lost in reliving that brief little moment, lips against hers ...
She'd finally been kissed, and it hadn't been by a boy, and she barely even understood how she felt about that fact. The kiss itself had been pleasant, if a bit of a shock, but there couldn't be anything wrong with it, could there? Was it the same sort of kiss that boys gave to girls? Did girls ever like each other in that way? And, if so, was it just as sinful as boys liking each other that way? Or was it, somehow, different?
It didn't feel wrong, but at the same time she was glad no one had seen it. Did she feel guilty, or just strange? Oh, and why couldn't she magically transfer the thoughts she was having directly into the journal by her bedside?
"Dancing with a boy?" she asked as they approached the dining hall. "Well ... I don't know if there are any boys I even want to dance with. Perhaps Vinayak, because he's nice, but ... I guess I had envisioned just dancing with you. Is that ... strange, or something?"
Oh, she was so confused but it wasn't bad like confusion usually was ... and that made it even more confusing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emyr Sayer on Aug 11, 2015 3:06:53 GMT -5
"I would like to see you tell them that. I certainly won't." Emyr was surprised at how much of the dancing slipped his attention, he'd spent so much of his abundant free time dancing that these kinds of movements were automatic for him, at least with the right partner. He decided to dance more often, again, sneak down into the town and find somewhere that would play some good music and let the rhythm soothe his troubles away. If all else failed, he could convince Knight to play for him; after all, he did claim to be some kind of piano prodigy.
She was definitely clever; her quick, excuse-less apology defused any potential situation faster than any attempt at justifying what she had said. Her parents had definitely succeeded in equipping her for navigating the political minefield he was sure that people from her background had to deal with all the time. Even the Irish ones. "Preposterous, even. Jumped up fools who thought they deserved an Empire because no one told them they couldn't have one."
"Let us simply hope that whatever is fated to take them out doesn't drag us along with them." That was bordering on the morbid side of things, but there wasn't much he could do to rescind the statement now. She could deal with some light-hearted extinction humour, he hoped. Emyr did his best to ignore her frequent distractions, Maureen clearly had more reason to be paranoid than anyone else. This school had proven that it was not safe for her, not in the slightest.
Emyr thought it was frankly ridiculous that Maureen believed she lacked any mystery at all. "Are you kidding? Aedan aside, you're possibly the most mysterious person in the school. The most mysterious in the general consciousness, at least. I've heard enough rumours about you to make you blush. Some kid tried to convince me that you are actually an Amazonian princess, here on a secret mission by the orders of the President. Hero, that's what everyone whispers, when the teachers aren't around." He suddenly felt like he'd said too much, that it sounded too fake, too much like a misguided attempt at flirting. He wouldn't take it back, though, that much he was sure of.
The prospect of him becoming a Rhodes scholar was so remote that he had to laugh. "I give away a little bit of my mystery, and admit that I only started school this year. First time. Thank goodness they didn't put me in first year, but intellectual is quite a stretch."
|
|
|
|
Post by Maureen Brady-O'Brien on Aug 11, 2015 4:29:42 GMT -5
Emyr Sayer
"They wouldn't be able to argue," Maureen replied, a hint of her family's arrogance rising to the surface. "Those who fake it are those who recognize it most readily. But, in reality, I don't bother pointing it out. It isn't a very entertaining use of time." Frankly, it wasn't a very attractive use of time, either. She'd seen plenty of young women squabbling with each other over status and clothing and various airs. She'd recognized the ugliest part of herself in them, and decided not to engage any longer. Maureen may have been a spoiled little rich girl, but she had a soldier for a brother, and through his example she'd learned that it was important to be practical.
Thank goodness she'd moved properly past the awkward moment regarding Ireland and Wales. It usually worked best to be honest in such situations. She hadn't known, so she simply admitted it and asked forgiveness and moved on. Sometimes it was extremely helpful to have been taught in the ways of polite conversation. "Jumped-up, indeed," she replied, but then she didn't pursue it further since she knew she didn't have the necessary background to be able to converse intelligently on the topic. She would ask him more about Wales later, when they were more removed from her awkward misstep.
What a kind boy, refraining from making her feel badly about her mistake. Yes, she liked him. He was sweet and good. Her random choice had been extremely fortunate.
She offered a faux-shocked gasp in response to his extinction joke. "My, my! Don't let them see the meteorology reports." Oh, how terribly subversive of them! Thank goodness no one else could hear their conversation. And then ... what? Was that how people were talking about her? Was that what they were really thinking when they looked at her with those pitying expressions? Maureen's step faltered as she found herself slowing down, looking into his eyes, trying to discern whether he was telling the truth. They didn't just think of her as weak? For a long moment, she just looked at him, then realized she had ruined the lovely flow of their dancing. "I'm sorry," she offered, pinning a forced smile to her lips. "It's just ... well, you must speak of this to no one, or my royal guard will be forced to terminate you." Perhaps it was a pathetic attempt at covering up what those words had just done to her, but it would have to do. It was the best she could muster.
It was certainly shocking to hear that he hadn't been in school before, but her first emotional response was a compassionate one. "Well, if you need any tutoring, I'm not half bad in my classes." She wasn't top of her class, but she was certainly no dunce, either. "But I do assure you that they think carefully about House assignments. So I wouldn't be quite so hard on myself, if I were you. Um ... should we keep dancing? Or have I destroyed it?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Elsie Beren on Aug 11, 2015 4:31:25 GMT -5
"You can get them cleaned Mary. I promise I will never make you endure the stink of someone else's shoes. If you make them smelly, though, that's up to you to fix." Elsie had had to borrow shoes from her siblings before, and it was always the kind of horrible that you swear to yourself you'll never put yourself through again. Yet somehow, you always do. She added 'shoes' to her often-forgotten mental list of things to do before putting the whole thing out of mind. Better to focus on the here and now, and to enjoy herself.
In the lull that cropped up in their conversation, Elsie started trying to form a list of the boys she wouldn't mind dancing with. She figured this was an okay course of action, given Mary's own introspective mood at that moment. Aedan had the look of a good dancer, but he was very into Hallie and she doubted that he would let go of her for even a moment to dance with someone else. It was a shame, though, he still had the shine of a dramatic hero on him after the disaster in the dining hall. She didn't really get the Norwegian, Arne, there was just something off there. Probably why he got on so well with Annabel, birds of a feather and all that.
James was too upset about something or other to dance happily with anyone, she thought. The same could probably be said of Theodore and Vinayak, though not when they were together. Doubly a shame, dancing with the head boy would have been just as good for her reputation. And Emyr was just too ragged, too similar to her in some ways. Or maybe she was just making excuses because she didn't want to dance with any of them anyway.
"I think you might be right, this school has a sorry offering of boys, really. Dancing until dawn with you doesn't sound like a bad outcome, not bad at all!" Elsie had to make some kind of entrance into the dining hall, this was a party after all. She sped up from the walk they had been doing into most of a run, bursting through the doors and disappearing into the crowd, hiding just below it's surface so that Mary could find her, but no one else would manage.
|
|
Mary Fulton
Aqua Student - Year 6
I just want everybody to get along
Offline
|
Post by Mary Fulton on Aug 11, 2015 5:01:40 GMT -5
Elsie Beren
"What?" Mary replied, trying her best to make a joke even though her mind was full of churning, contradictory thoughts. "My feet are never smelly. Only other people's." The closer they got to the dining hall, the more nervous she became. All right, so she was no longer worried about being the odd one out in her uniform. But there were still so many other concerns! She couldn't just talk to people. People were scary, and she was the pathetic poor girl, and everyone knew she was awkward and strange!
And what if Elsie found a boy to dance with? What would she do then? Just stand by the wall, quietly hoping that someone would talk to her? Oh, this was a bad idea, but it was so hard to abandon her newfound best friend.
Goodness, the only boy she really knew was Vinayak. She didn't think he would deny her a dance, if she asked, but she also didn't think he would ask on his own. Wasn't she supposed to dance? Oh, goodness, this would be terribly awkward.
"I'm glad you would be willing to dance with me, because you're right ... the boys here are a sorry lot. Oh, wait!" Then Elsie was off running, and Mary wanted to keep up with her but the dress was so long and she didn't want to step on it and pull it apart, so she had to move slowly. Suddenly alone, and holding the front of her dress off the floor, Mary made her way nervously into the dining hall. It was shockingly crowded, at least here near the wall. Where had Elsie gone?
Well, if she couldn't find Elsie, she might as well go back upstairs. That is silly, Mary scolded herself. You are silly to be so dependent on another person. But, really, Elsie was the reason she had come here tonight ...
"Oh!" she exclaimed, catching sight of her friend after what felt like an hour and was really only moments. "This is ridiculous! Um ... do you want to dance, or find some people to talk to, or ... ?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Emyr Sayer on Aug 11, 2015 5:53:12 GMT -5
It was apparent that he was totally outclassed and lacking knowledge in this particular area, so he decided not to pursue that line of conversation any further. Much better to acquiesce to her expertise and continue with something that he might be actually able to properly discuss with her. The political rivalries of the British Isles were clearly also not a point that they could chat about, but then again he hadn't expected Americans to be all that aware of how things worked back home, anyway, and regardless of her ancestry Maureen was clearly an American.
"That, was a terrible, terrible joke." He could hardly believe that she had managed to squeeze such a clever pun in there. More interesting, though, was watching her face as she processed what she had said. It was clear that Maureen had never thought of herself, or what had happened to her in that way. She saw it as weakness, where everyone else saw strength. Enzo Antonucchi couldn't have given the students heroes as clearly as he'd given them Maureen and Aedan if he had tried to, and Emyr was fairly sure that many students would rally behind them if someone else was to fall. They needed heroes, when people were being killed at random. They needed people to believe in, people who had stood up to the cruelty of Enzo and survived.
Emyr caught her automatically as she faltered, a gut reaction to make sure she didn't fall ungracefully to the floor, or hurt herself. "I'd hate to be terminated by a royal guard. So impersonal." And with that most unromantic of lines, he found himself kissing her. He hoped it was a good kiss, and that if it wasn't the raw feeling behind it was enough to make up for it. Emyr hadn't exactly been thinking of kissing her, but he also hadn't been not thinking of kissing her, and well, kissing her was turning out to be quite lovely. As soon as they broke apart, he had to quickly backtrack to remember what she had said immediately before the kiss.
"Thanks for the offer, but I've already convinced a couple of people to help me. I'm even passing some quizzes, now." That was certainly something to think about, but not tonight. Why was he in the intellectual house? "If you didn't destroy it, I think I just did. Shall we say two thirds blame to me, one third to you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Arne Vinter on Aug 11, 2015 23:05:23 GMT -5
"Close. Glede is, happiness. You would say." Arne held Bella close, kissing her cheek briefly. "For me. Happy is Glad." He explained, then watched as more ghosts flitted by them, and Bella and a few exchanged words. Quietly he rubbed his hands together for a moment, looking between Annabel, and the ghosts. This was what she saw everyday, something she lived with permanently. "Bella, could you.... nevermind..." he mumbled looking back down.
Why would a ghost want to speak to him? He was nothing special, they wouldn't waste their precious time with him. So instead he fell silent, until she pulled at his arm, and made him look at her. Quietly he mumbled, "I've never spoke to a ghost..." Looking at her, he swallowed, and timidly asked, "Could you... meet me one?"
|
|
Vinayak Dar
Aer Student - Year 6
Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.
Offline
|
Post by Vinayak Dar on Aug 12, 2015 21:01:57 GMT -5
Viola Tilly
Vinayak chuckled, sipping his punch and working very hard not to pay attention to the waves of anger that rolled almost palpably off Professor Antonucchi. "All right, we know the same people. Well, at least they're good ones."
Oh, he was so bad at this. What else? What else should he ask?
"You know that awkward moment when you don't know what to say but you're still trying to be nice and make a friend? Yeah ... that's me right now," he offered with a self-effacing chuckle. "And then you come up with something silly, like, uh ... what's your favorite subject? I'm a Charms fan, myself."
|
|
