Event The Fall Ball (Masquerade)

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☆ @Elizabeth Isaacs @Leonard Oaksworth ☆

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Abilities

Metamorphmagus

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Reducio

My dear reader, have you ever stayed up all night? Seen the sun rise over your city, golden rays bathing ginormous glass buildings in a brilliant glow, warmth wrapping around you like a fine coat? Have you ever seen a child’s eyes as chocolate melted on their tongue, or witnessed your friend’s breath hitch as the song they are listening to hits a sick beat?

If you have, you can imagine the joy which broke out over Earl’s face in that instant. A flash of what must have been happiness in its rawest form, pure and unaltered by the ugliness of the world. The sort of emotion only the very innocent could feel. And in the next moment, he’d thrown his arms around Emile, hugging him tight, holding him as if he was the only thing that mattered. Forget the ball, and the people around him, forget the eyes cast their way and the somewhat painfully plain music. All that melted away as he wrapped his arms around his best friend.

The hug seemed to last a life time, encompassing all the things Earl couldn’t say because of his strange way of thinking and talking. It was like being held by a cloud, the smell of pumpkin pie and orange juice, cinnamon and oranges, filling the air around them. And yet, a life time wasn’t long enough. Eventually, the pink puff had to pull away, a pink blush having spread across his freckled cheeks all the way to his ears, breathing hard from the tidal wave of emotion which had washed over him all at once. “Oh my god,” he breathed, fingers flying to cover his lips, a smile which seemed to light up the air around them having settled on his features like a butterfly on a flower. “I didn’t know you’d be coming!!! Why didn’t you say anything???” His eyes had landed on his friends suit, and his heart started beating hard in his chest. Emile looked absolutely drop dead gorgeous.

The next few seconds were filled with sputtered ‘Oh my gosh’s and a somewhat awkward introduction between Emile and…the young boy who’d approached him. “Emile, this is…? I want to say Leno…rd? Leonard? I know it’s something with an L. Sorry gosh, we never did proper introductions. Hi, I’m Earl Gray! This is Emile LeDoux, he’s French, and so far has tolerated me butchering his language.”

That was somewhat of a lie, as Earl could hold his own in a conversation, but the comic relief had to be added in there somehow.

Now for those looking very, v e r y carefully at our young pygmy-puff-in-disguise, they would have noticed his eyes had taken on a subconscious brown tint, matching the color of Emile’s own gaze. It wasn’t very noticeable unless the light hit his eyes exactly the right way. Plus, it was very easy to get distracted by everything else, from the crazy hair to the constant gesturing as he spoke, and the overall...huggable quality which seemed to be hanging in the air around him.

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Stats

Stamina: 5| Evasion: 0 | Strength: 0 | Wisdom: 5 | Arcane Power: 10 | Accuracy: 10

Word Count: 500

Roleplaying as Durmstrang iNPC Arjan Oberoi

Closed to Interactions unless you DM/Owl me first

Donning his Durmstrang outfit, Arjan entered the Ballroom - after some time of trying to figure out where he was actually supposed to go. After all, he had only been at this school for a week now and was still very much getting lost on a daily basis. It was to be expected. He had almost walked into the kid's party, which he called the costume party. This seemed far more grown-up, however. At least in his mind, it did.

Whilst his outfit was not 'dressed to impress' by any standards - because it was literally his school uniform - he did look rather dashing in it. It was also very clean and neatly pressed, so there was not a single crease. He added a gold and black mask that covered his upper face. It flicked out in a way similar to how his hair would look whilst gelled up, his hazel brown eyes peeking through the mask.

Arjan glimpsed around the room. Quite a few students had already gathered, though he did not immediately catch anyone's eye or attention. There was someone in particular that he was looking out for but he could not see her amongst the crowd. Perhaps she had yet to arrive, perhaps she was hidden somewhere within the groups or perhaps she went to the other event. But based on their very brief interaction, he had already decided she was not the type to go to the other event.

Of course, this was entirely all made up in his head. Nonetheless, Arjan Oberoi had arrived.

Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 15 | Wisdom: 3 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 10
Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong | The Martial Artist | Spell Spread | Charmer

Outfit: Durmstrang uniform, mask

Interacting with @Ami Procoppio as Maksim Preobrazhensky, RPing as Alisa Sokolova

Alisa disliked huge social gatherings. The more people in a place, the more people to look at her, to judge her, either for the mother that had left them years ago or for the fact that she had been a muggle-woman when her father was a pure-blood family from an old Russian line, depending on whether the audience was muggle or magical, respectively. Alisa hated being judged. All those people she didn't know or care for had no right to decide how valuable a person she was, how much worth her character had based on decisions made by her parents. Their stares made her stomach knot, her hands shake and her thoughts turn heavy with fury.

It was better in Hogwarts, with so few of her own classmates in attendance, her cousins far away in Russia because they had not been invited to that particular trip, and that alone made the vindictive side of Alisa hum in pleasure. She had shown them. She was better, had the grades to make all those who doubted her abilities seethe in envy, had her father's quick wit and her mother's muggle knowledge of the world.

For once Alisa attended a ball for her own pleasure alone, and not to spite the silent onlookers.

The experience was disconcerting.

She left ridiculous in the dress she was wearing, for the fact alone that she was wearing a pretty dress and shoes that were not entirely flat. There was nobody around who she'd have to impress, to show that she could clean up well and be a young lady the Sokolov family should have been proud of to call one of theirs. Instead she was just Alisa, a gangly teenage girl without the right curves that would have made her feel like a woman, her fancy clothes making her feel awkward, robbing her of the poise and confidence in herself she would have had in jeans and with her wand in hand.

As it turned out, without spite as a motivator Alisa was in quite over her head. She was nervous.

When Preobrazhensky - she was still working on calling him Maksim in her head - had asked about coming to the ball with him she had been calm, cool, collected, agreed because she actually liked the guy, which had come as a surprise to herself, but one she had taken in stride.

Actually being at the ball, all dressed up and ready to face a hall full of other student, most from different countries, speaking languages she didn't understand? It made Alisa jittery, her knees shaking a bit when she walked up to the entrance. Her curly brown hair was falling around her face, not pinned up or in a ponytail for once, and she tried to hide behind it, which was utterly stupid, but seemed like a great idea at the same time. The dress was made her struggle the most, pearl white and glittering silver that were supposed to represent the moon, with a long sleeve on her left arm and none on her right, as if she was... well, confident enough to not care about her pale, bare arm, about the huge crescent shape ear rings that dangled from her ears and she shoes she had not made up her mind about yet.

She exhaled sharply when she found her partner for the evening, rushing over to great him - or at least moved towards him at the fasted pace her current outfit allowed.

When he recognized her she expected a cheeky comment, about her in a dress or her with her hair down, or anything, but instead he bowed and... complimented her attire, gorgeous words Alisa didn't truly believe but made her relax somewhat. He thought she was stunning. She felt herself blush, a faint pink color spreading on her freckled cheeks.

"Maksim," Alisa addressed him, for once not thinking about how to call him, moving her arm to link it with his as soon as he made the move to offer it, put at ease by the familiar company and his presence by her side. "I- thank you. It is my honor, you look very smart."

She remembered her manners in time to not make a total fool of herself. And he did look smart. The golden color of his suit suited his darker complexion wonderfully and the cross around his neck reflected in the light, catching the eyes of many girls who walked past them, staring at the Durmstrang couple. Staring was good. Alisa could handle stares. She followed Maksim when he donned his mask, putting her own dark silver one over her eyes. She had picked it to match his, and hopefully it would - not that she'd see either way.

He immediately started chatting in Russian and Alisa... Alisa breathed.

Maksim did not think she looked ridiculous. Maksim liked her dress. Maksim didn't judge her, had never judged her. That was the reason she had started to like him even though he was the epitome of what she hated in many ways: a pure-blood, the good sort, well-mannered and privileged, a boy who could be sure of his place in their world. His brash comments had annoyed her in the beginning, were still annoying her, but they also him likable for some reason.

"Your opinion matters to me too," she all but interrupted him when he was babbling, her spine rigid and blue eyes staring at the other people in the ballroom, her tone stiff and not as warm as it would have been hadn't she been so on edge. "I- there's no reason to be nervous. The Hogwarts students will not understand a word we say to each other and most of them are shit duelists and have even worse fashion sense from what I can see. They can't hold a candle to us."

She said it as much to convince Maksim as to convince herself, but he didn't need to know that. They were Durmstrang. They were better. That couldn't be up for discussion.

"What would your brother want with a girlfriend?" she added on afterthought, still in Russian, his words only now catching up to her. "You don't need a girlfriend. If you don't want one, I mean. Most girls are..." She almost said stupid. "Difficult. You can wait until there's one you really like. As long as you want. It's all silly hand-holding anyway."

How had they come to the topic of girlfriends - and boyfriends? Alisa was terrified of ever having a boyfriend, of making kissing faces and holding hands all the time. The thought alone of having someone that close to her made her feel a little bit sick. She didn't need a boyfriend, right?

Stats: ♛ Stamina: 8 ♛ Evasion: 8 ♛ Strength: 4 ♛ Wisdom: 10 ♛ Arcane Power: 12 ♛ Accuracy: 8

Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers ♛ Fearless ♛ Perfectionist ♛ Advanced Casting ♛

Outfit:

Reducio

Interaction: @Howard White
Open to further interactions!

“Howard?” Falentra would mumble out under her breath, her head quickly lifting to make sure she wasn’t hearing things throughout the mumbled voices in the background. He was there, standing before her. At first, she had to double glance at him for she had never seen him dressed in such a way... not that it was a bad thing. He just caught her off guard.
A smile instantly crept its way onto her lips, though she tried to hide it and in result she would smirk. Of course he would soon follow with his charm. A kiss on the cheek came first which need she say it yet again caused her cheeks to flush. A compliment then followed, a sarcy one at that. It would only cause her smile to widen. If there was anything she loved more, it was the humour they shared. They were probably the only ones who understood it. “Why thank you young sir. You look dapper yourself.” She would join in with laughter as she pushed herself off the wall, bowing to him rather than a curtsying.
It would have only been briefly that her eyes would quickly look him up and down. Normally, this expression held judgement when giving the specific look but it seemed for once a now-turned stare would have been throw his way, admiring him in his suit. He looked handsome and so grown up. Not only had he gone all out with a suit, but his hair looked slightly different. It would seem he had slicked his hair back ever so slightly, though a few stubborn pieces seemed to be sticking up. Had he been rushing? Or was he just not used to putting this much effort in that he struggled to perfect it? If so, she felt that. Dressing up like this made the pair uncomfortable. It was just another reason for her to love him for all the similarities they shared and related to.

As she got to his side, she would quickly run her hand through his hair, flattening it without making too much of a scene. “Ya silly git. Did you know you had little horns poking out yer ‘ead?” She joked, her index fingers wiggling beside her head to interpret the devils horns. It was an action she made sure to act quickly as she didn’t want anyone to really see her goofy side so freely.

The Slytherins attention was soon brought to the drinks held out to her. She took the glass of pumpkin juice from his hand and brought it to her nose, sniffing it to see if he had already poured in some of yet fire whiskey he began to mention. Oh how that brought back memories of her birthday. It was strong bloody stuff and already she could feel the burning sensation in her throat. “You put it in already?” She asked as her eyes scanned around in look out for any prefects or professors nearby. It was sure to look dodgy if anyone was to look over. She didn’t care though, as long as they remained looking from a distance and not coming over to bother her.

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Open to interactions, please just owl me so I don't lose the reply

While this young Ravenclaw, in particular, was traditionally averse to the idea of balls and large social gatherings in general, he had been dragged practically against his will by his good friend and dueling partner, @Callie Jensen. At the moment, Thomas was dressed rather unexcitingly, in dress robes, wearing a mask that all but concealed his identity. He felt stupid, ridiculous even, but at least Callie couldn't call him a stick in the mud in later discussions due to his lack of attendance. What was perhaps most uncomfortable was the sheer vastness of the room, and how tiny Thomas truly felt in it. It was only made worse by the fact that most people in attendance came with a partner, with whom they were currently dancing. Was it typical etiquette to show up to these affairs with a date? Was Thomas making an absolute fool out of himself? Perhaps he should have gone to the other party, this was so incredibly not his scene.

Eyes scanning the room in search of faces he recognized, Thomas noticed a good friend of his, Eyre, who appeared to have brought a date with him. Greeeeeeeeat. If the pureblood who didn't know what Roblox was could find someone to dance with, and Tommy couldn't, that'd be colossally embarrassing. Pathetic to the highest regard, even. It wasn't an insult to Eyre, at least not in Thomas' eyes, but instead, it served as further proof of how much of a loser the Ravenclaw was. Granted, he didn't think much of social status in most situations, generally believing himself to be above the need for popularity and acclaim from others, but Thomas would be lying if he said that this massive ballroom, full of people who he didn't know, some from places he probably couldn't point out on a map unless he thought really hard about it, didn't make him feel lonely.

Inwardly, Thomas was just praying that @Elias Weare didn't show up, perhaps he had decided to attend the other party. The other boy would certainly have something to say about his datelessness; he was a cool Quidditch player, Eli probably had a girl, right? Completely blind to the fact that Elias was also something of a recluse, and likely didn't have a date who he hadn't met just moments prior, for the first time in ages Thomas truly felt self-conscious about himself. "Okay. I'm just going to get some water and pretend like I want to be here," the young wizard mumbled to himself, attempting to soothe his nerves by grabbing some refreshments near the exit.

The exit. God, that was tantalizing, the ability to just leave without anyone knowing that he had been there at all. Sure, Callie would tease him for being boring and for chickening out of this social event, but at least Thomas wouldn't be embarrassed. As the Ravenclaw sipped away at his drink, with every second he was drawn closer and closer to the door. All he had to do was not get noticed by anyone...

Action: Stand near the refreshments like a weirdo, hoping that his archnemesis doesn't appear
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers, Statistically Relevant
Stats: Sta 4 || Eva 7 || Str 1 || 11 || Arc P 9 || Acc 10

"Okay. I'm just going to get some water and pretend like I want to be here."

Interactions: @Thomas Baines. Open for more.

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Open to Interactions
Roleplaying as: Paisley Brown
Interacting with: @Sarah Lightwood
Action: Hacking at a mental wall

Reducio

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"No, it's alright, I'm alright, everything is fine. We've only been dancing a little while, after all. So, what happe-" the girl was about to ask "What happened to your brother?" so as to change the subject, but she had stopped mid sentence, realizing that if someone had to correct is to was, while they were speaking, as if they had forgotten about something, there was probably a painful memory that didn't need to be spoken about. Still, it was best not to let these things fester for long. Troubles like those needed to be spoken about, and Paisley knew that all too well.

There was silence for a few moments, in which Paisley took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She always did this and she always regretted it afterwords. She doubted herself too much, and believed in others too little. She opened her mouth to speak several times, then closed it again.

It seemed as if the two of them had hit the inevitable friendship 'wall'. They were on the brink of transitioning from "I'll nod to you and wave in the halls" to becoming "Hi, can I talk to you about something?" Not 'friends' but not 'best friends'. There was trust that could be built here, lest they break down the 'wall'. it was a hard place to be, especially while in the middle of dancing at a ball. With Paisley's close friend, Allie, they had thankfully been sitting down in private while they tore down the obstacle. But here, Paisley and Sarah were out in the open, where anyone could intrude on the conversation with their own useless chatter. It would be awkward, no doubt, not to mention terribly timed. Oh gosh, please don't let anyone talk to us right now. This is hard enough as it is. she pleaded inwardly, glancing up. Her eyes were most likely not visible through her mask, though, so she had faith Sarah wouldn't notice unless she was closely examining her.

The blood pounded in her ears as she started to spoke. A few moments before the words escaped her lips, a look of hesitant determination crossed her face. Am I really going to say this? she asked herself. Of course. And if it goes horribly wrong, it's all your fault.

In a shaky and slightly worried voice she stated,"You're upset," then paused. This is it. The first hack at the wall. You've readied your pickax, now swing! "Why?" It was a simple question. The answer, on the other hand, was more complicated.

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Open to Interactions
Roleplaying as: August Henry
Interacting with: @Melissa Carson @Marshal Mozor @Lydia Cooper
Mentioning: @Andrew Vance @Earl Gray
Action: Hopping around from person to person
Abilities in action: calming presence

Reducio

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August bowed to Melissa, winking as he did so. "Farewell,"Something about this girl was so...heavenly he couldn't help but adding with a wink, "You're looking splendid tonight. I do love your dress." It was a simple compliment with no underlying intention. He wasn't giving it because this lady happened a girl, or because he felt the need to be romantic with her. In fact, he felt the notion of: 'a boy complimented me, so now he loves me' to be rather stupid. It just didn't make sense, no matter how hard he thought about it.

When the other boy came over, whom he supposed was this girl's 'date', August had already risen from his bow and was getting ready to evacuate the scene all together. The arrival of her partner threw him off guard for a few moments, but as he heard what they had to say, he relaxed. He wasn't angry, which was a good thing. He saluted to them both and responded, "August, sir, and I was just leaving. Have a wonderful evening, both of you. Do enjoy yourselves." with that he dashed away, ready to meet more people.

As he passed the side of the ballroom, he waved to his friend, Jayden, whom he had spoken to as Ilvermorny had arrived. Gosh, that was so long ago! he thought to himself, and then came to a crashing halt that practically made his shoes skid like tires. He almost had run straight into a girl who was walking towards the tables, and he stared after them for a few moments before continuing on. His pace was much slower, his stance more dignified than it had been before. He watched as someone's hair changed from the color pink to cyan, and he made a mental note to speak to them later.

He noticed another girl standing awkwardly off to the side of the dance floor, and he couldn't bear to let them go unnoticed. He pranced up to them, and was immediately blow away by their amazing mask that they wore. His eyes flicked up to it every once in awhile as he spoke. "I love your outfit! Your mask especially." he said, as if they were old friends rather than students who had never before met. "Are you here with anyone? If you aren't, would you care for a dance?" he extended his hand out to the redhead, hoping his presence would sooth her worried nature. There was nothing here to be frightened or awkward of here, it was just a ball, after all. (This piece of interaction in the last paragraph was with @Lydia Cooper )

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Banner made by the amazing Eyre Reeves
Open to Interactions! (DM or owl first please!)
Interacting With: @Flash Holmwood
Mentioning: @Eyre Reeves | @Rose Moon
Hex Color: #FF4080
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For Moderation:

Action: Simping for Flash, entering the dance floor
Health: 800/800
Abilities: Lovely Creature | Fearless | Terrible Presence
Stats: Stamina 5 | Evasion 10 | Strength 5 | Wisdom 9 | Arcane Power 10 | Accuracy 6

Flash's laugh made Ana's stomach flutter. Her cheeks grew redder at his words, and she was grateful for the small disguise her mask offered. It wasn't much, but it was enough that hopefully, Flash wouldn't think his date was unable to breathe or anything. His reply sent the butterflies in her stomach flying about madly just as they had begun to settle down. "Oh, how flattering," she laughed gracefully as she took his arm. She was a bit more flustered than she would have liked, but so far, she had managed to maintain a bit of composure. She wasn't entirely certain what her exact feelings for the boy were, but she had an inkling that they were a bit more than platonic. Was it too much to hope his feelings were something similar? It seemed to be pointing in that direction, but Ana wasn't exactly the most observant when it came to these matters. The universe had it out for her that year, so she wouldn't dare to presume anything just yet.

Right then, she felt the way she had when she had first met Flash. Not like her old self, but like there was light beyond the darkness that currently overwhelmed her. Like there was a lifeboat approaching her in her sea of sadness. She didn't think that she would ever heal from all that had happened, but she was beginning to have just the slightest bit of hope that she would be able to move on. In any event, she could pretend like things were sane for one evening, right? She deserved that much. One night where she wasn't being set on fire, punching anyone, being attacked, or dealing with the fallout of her parents' actions. One night to be a young girl dancing with an incredibly handsome boy. How hard could that be?

If she wasn't already thrilled to be spending the night with Flash in particular, she would have been delighted at the prospect of having a capable dance partner. She had begun dancing only slightly after she had begun flying, and while she didn't live and breath to dance the way she did with flying, it was one of her favorite pastimes. A good partner made all the difference. She had been to more than her fair share of balls and galas where she had ended up with pompous sons of even more pompous friends of her fathers who couldn't dance a lick and trod on her feet the whole night. Flash didn't see the type to overadvertise his own abilities, so she believed that he would be a good person to dance the night away with.

As the pair entered the dance floor, she caught a glimpse of a couple that made her stomach twist and not in the nice fluttering way Flash did. Eyre and his Raggedy-Ann girlfriend. God, it felt wrong to be at any kind of event and not even so much as speak to him. Still, things with him had gone badly enough the last time that they had spoken she wasn't about to try to fix that. Thinking about him and past events they had both attended meant thinking about her parents, which was something that she positively refused to do that night. Her parents were locked in a box at the back of her mind, to be set loose the following day, and anything that lead to thoughts of them was to be relegated to the same confines. Anyway, Ana found Rose incredibly irritating, another thing that would spoil her good mood. All of these thoughts flashed across her mind in an instant before she turned her full attention back to her date.

"As have I," she said, smiling uncontrollably again. His hand on her hip definitely made her breath catch in her throat, despite the fact she had danced with countless others in the same manner before. This was different somehow. She quirked a cocky eyebrow at his next words. "Same goes to you." Her dark eyes met his ocean blue ones, and for all she cared, they were the only pair on that dance floor.

Interactions: @Paisley Brown, @Thomas Baines (in the background). Open for more.