Valentine's Tea Errand Finished

@ Thora Larkston

At first, things were going well. Saskia was greeted by the sight of Thora, a familiar acquaintance who she had met several times in the past. It was only fitting to call her an acquaintance, considering how they weren't exactly close, but they have shared enough experiences together for her to consider the Slytherin a friend of some sorts, even if they both kept an awkward distance from each other.

Saskia would have spoken up too, giving an answer for the girl on how she was doing while she asked a question back. She would have had a nice conversation going to stave off her boredom before whatever the professor had in plan came into action. She trusted that this wouldn't just be a simple tea party, considering who was running the event to begin with.

But no. Oh no. Something just had to happen. It was like the Masquerade Ball from a few months back. No one suspected a thing. Well, maybe some paranoid people would have been more than cautious about the school events taking place, only to end in flames and destruction, but this was supposed to be normal. Aggravating amounts of pink aside, this should have been a simple errand that could have earned her house points and maybe give her something to do, even if it meant going with whatever weird things the professor had in mind. But she wouldn't be granted even a small reprieve from the chaos, would she?

A screech reverberated in the room. It turned out a girl had burning hot tea dumped on her head. Then the rest was a blur. Prefects were stopping the perpetrator, and then the professor finally put a stop to it. The Hufflepuff had been standing there like a deer caught in the headlights all this time, unsure of how else to process the mess in front of her. Last time in the Masquerade Ball, she had been quick to move- to help out. But now? It seemed that people were faster than her. She was truly helpless in this crossfire the other kids have created.

And then came the actual pairings. It was convenient, really. She had been paired with Thora, who wasn't necessarily a bad choice. The problem was that this was a pairing made by a professor who thought that they were good as a couple, if what she had said was any indication of that. That was far from the truth. Saskia wasn't here for love, for Merlin's sake. She wanted nothing to do with that nonsense. But maybe she could get Thora in to have a more platonic interaction. Screw romance. Who even needed that? She would still respect the girl's wishes if she did somehow want to play along with the professor's scheme, but really, she was just looking to kill some time. The previous disaster had caught the Hufflepuff off-guard, but now all she wanted to do was catch up with her acquaintance-friend.

She would also have a question given by the professor. Saskia made a face as she looked down on the paper. The question itself wasn't terrible, but did the professor have to add the commentary? They were children, for crying out loud. What was she thinking trying to force a bunch of kids on these dates?

With strengthened resolve, she turned to the Slytherin and gave a sympathetic smile. "Hey, you doing okay? What happened back there was a dumspter fire, if you ask me." First and foremost, she wanted to make sure Thora was okay. It would have been impolite for her to force her in a conversation if that was the last thing she wanted. Saskia then made a gesture towards one of the corners of the room. Maybe the girl appreciated a place where they could freely talk with no distractions. From what she knew about her, she seemed fairly quiet, anyhow. "Let's just go somewhere more quiet. Are you okay with that?"

Word Count: 741 + 661 = 1402

Mentions: @Olphie Bercegeay, @Ethen Emrys @Lamik Fillestar @Dan Palmer
Interacting with: @Ruthie Greer

As Jake clung to Ruthie, things suddenly began to happen. A shout of 'ENOUGH!' filled the air, and though the voice belonged to his scary flying professor, it was music to Jake's ears.

Professor Bercegeay (whose name Jake couldn't remember how to spell exactly but she always got the other kids' names wrong too so...) stood up, finally having seen enough of the chaos, and began to hand out detentions. She wasn't exactly nice about it, but anything that stopped the situation before it got worse was a welcome one for Jake. Maybe things were going to be ok after all...All seemed to be going well...and for a moment Jake felt himself begin to calm down. Until her attention turned on him.

Jake turned bright red, suddenly feeling like everybody in the whole room (and perhaps the whole world) had turned to look his way as Olphie recommended him as the student best to talk to about accidents since he'd probably had one or two recently. Jake was mortified. (How had she known that?!) Jake felt bad for the poor boy who had wet his pants, the situation had sure been scary enough, but this was something he was not going to be talking about now or ever. He hid in Ruthie's side.

Luckily the room was far too chaotic for any attention to remain on him for long. It soon moved on to the true point of the day and it was almost (but not quite) worse: Love.

Jake knew right away what love she was talking about. This wasn't the love that Jake said to his parents, or his friends, this was love. The kind of love that made boys snicker and girls giggle, though it made Jake want to gag. She couldn't be serious...! Could she?

Surely she wasn't really gonna try to match them was she? But oh she was. Jake listened in dread as each name rattled on. Hoping that she would forget him. Maybe skip him. He wondered if it was too late to escape the room but he felt stunned into paralysis - just staring and watching as the horror unfurled around him before he could say a word. He envied those who had entered late (including two friends of his, Dan and Lamik, who would probably escape the horrors of love). Finally the dreadful moment came - his name was read aloud along with a girl's he had never heard before. What had she said...? Aurelia? Well, if Jake was lucky, then that girl wouldn't know who JAKE was either - then they would both just wander around never finding each other until it was time to leave and what could you really do about that? Ruthie's name was read just next along with....

"Freddie the dog...?" Jake repeated, looking down in shock at his stuffed animal and then back up at Ruthie.

Lamik and Dan

Almost as soon as Olphie had announced the names and turned her attention toward Pursephone, two more students had entered. The troubled Slytherin would have to wait until Olphie addressed the important matters; she would have plenty of time to explain herself now or later, in detention. As the students began to move, she squealed slightly, then attempted to drag the girl toward the pair, who had already seemed to find one another.

Once she took in the two students, Olphie realized that they would be perfect together, as they were both Quidditch players! Lameduck (@Lamik Fillestar), Gryffindor Seeker, and Damn (@Dan Palmer), Slytherin Seeker, would certainly want to find each other's Golden Snitches once they fell in love. In a commanding voice, she briefly released Persephone's grasp to tap her fingers together, indicating that she wanted a match. In case they had taken a few too many Bludgers to the head, she explained, "You two! Have a paper with a question, and get to your first date! Now tut tut, no protesting, it's time for love!"

An Intermission

The Flying Professor swiftly walked away without a further regard for the pair, once again roughly dragging Periwinkle with her. She clasped her hands together when the two were away from Limerick and Din, ready to ask her once more for an explanation, when Caruh (@Kara Capricorn) came up to her and thanked her for the match. Olphie smiled and was about to go into a long interlude of praises for her expertise, but she only had time to let out, "Of course dear; Cupid has entrusted me with his arrow of love, and let me tell you, that arrow never lies. Just remember to make me Maid of Honor at your wed-"

The girl let go of her and walked away. Oh. There wasn't enough time to mull on this, however, as Ohsailia (@Opeila Seilun) came up to her and said quietly, "Professor Bercegeay. My friend, Ruka Tân is bleeding and about to pass out. I believe, that it is the best idea to take him to the hospital wing."

Olphie's eyes flickered from Partyfoul, then Roota, wondering how much longer she could procrastinate leaving the party. It seemed, however, that Roofa could not last much longer, even in the name of love. She also noted that the girl seemed to be quite uncomfortable herself, not fully stable on her foot. "Alright, then," she conceded, "let's go. You three, off with me. Prettyson, you stay on my other side while I'll support the boy. Ophelia, you're coming too; it's best you deal with that foot of yours."

She looked longingly toward the matches of students chattering away, wishing she could watch those first sparks of love. How terrible it was to be an adult with responsibilities!

Olphie has left the thread (to here) for the time being but will return.

@Katrina Walker, @Rafael D'Spacito, @Victor Moore, & @Astrea Soleil Neptune

Silence was something that Piérre had never been good at. There was always something to flap one’s gums about: Rumors, stories, general comedy, or in some cases, a need to make some sort of noise whatsoever. In Piérre’s case, not making noise was a marker that something wasn’t sitting right with him, or he remained silent because something bad could happen to him if he didn’t stay quiet.

This was certainly one of those times, for when he drew close to the boy he remembered form the office, the poor kid flinched away, so much that he took a step back from Piérre, who was usually the one to put people at ease as oppose to beginning or cause further tension to already tense situations.

Katrina seemed able to resolve the flustered fellow, however, thank goodness, inviting the kid to take a seat with them. It seemed that where Piérre was likely to fail, others were likely to excel, that was mostly why Piérre needs to be around people. Together he and other people could do anything, all it was a matter of was simply working together and being willing to do things for the person who needed the most help.

Nodding at Katrina’s suggestion and then offering a hand for the boy to walk with him, Piérre let out a sigh as he watched them recede before him. God, why could he be charismatic now, now of all times?

As if suddenly remembering something, Piérre turned, coming face to face with Rafael! He was the kid at Two Flags who had been put on the opposing team. He asked him how he was doing. ”Well... I’m okay... sorry for ignoring you. I didn’t see you, honest! Kid seems pretty nervous, and I thought that I could make him feel better, but I was wrong... I try too hard, don’t I?” The last part was nearly whispered, and Piérre realized he was being left behind. ”Oh! Come on, let’s see if we can talk some more!” Piérre waved at Raf, willing him to come with to the clutter of chairs that Katrina and the boy were already with. He really wasn’t on his A game today, was he? Making people nervous, ignoring people altogether... what else was going to go wrong?

Already with Katrina and the boy was Wren, a girl that Piérre knew to be VERY chatty, even to the point of his annoyance level, which was pretty high. Still, Piérre wasn’t a kid to judge, and instead he smiled as he sat, a little further away from Caretaker office boy than before. If he was the cause of the kid’s uncertainty, then he certainly didn’t want to instigate more issues that he already had.

The whole conversation, Piérre was silent, nodding along and just smiling, not offering any input. It would be better to listen than to speak in this situation, for if you keep your mouth shut, it is better for others to assume you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Miss Bercegeay relieved the rest of the tension, fortunately, the bubbly teacher finally announcing her intents. A speed dating sort of experiment, handing off students to one another to get to know one another. That of course meant that Piérre would have to break up with the group he had found himself with, but it was quite alright. Maybe a break from the situation would allow him o recharge his batteries and come back with more humor than before.

Astrea Neptune was his partner, and the question before him was:

‘12. WOULD YOU GO ON A CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIP?

This may seem a bit odd and specific, but how she likes to travel is sometimes even more telling than where she likes to travel. Does she only stay in five-star resorts? Is she into sustainable locales? Is she a bargain traveler? Is she up for camping and RVing? All these alternatives offer "insight into her lifestyle, taste, and knowledge about other cultures." Sullivan says.’

Piérre couldn’t get over how interesting her name was, and with a smile, he thought about how that person could be. For some reason, it sounded familiar, and no sooner than he had thought of it than he recognized the name. It was a girl from Swag Club! All he had to do was look around for the girls from swag club and then narrow down those that it couldn’t be and the one it had to be.

As he wandered throughout the room, the unfamiliar sense of cold reignited in his body once again, and Piérre held back a shudder as he kept looking for his partner. Realizing something, Piérre went towards the cold. There had been a similar sort of presence on the battlefield playing field, and a particular raven haired girl.

Coming up to her, the feeling intensified, but Piérre choked down the urge to stammer as he spoke aloud with a smile and a wave. ”Hi Astrea! I’m Piérre, and it looks like we’re partners... Would you like to sit down somewhere so we can answer our questions and get to know one another?”

Piérre indicated to the rest of the room, and if Astrea wanted, he would let her choose the seat and then pull it out for her to sit in, like any good gentleman should. When she was seated, he would find a seat himself and then sit himself.

Either way, Piérre would then read his question aloud, trying to add a little flare to it as he tried not to read directly on the paper. ”So, how do you feel about traveling and seeing the world? Would you be more of a type to enjoy the highest in life, the finest foods and lodging, or are you more of a starlight and sunsets person?”

Interacting with~ @Ginevra Tsuchiya

"It sounded interesting!" he defended, though his lips were curled in a small smile. He hadn't ever thought of himself as brave, just really spiteful with his curiosity as his uncle aunty would say. "Still, sorry that your first tea party is one like this."

Following the others gaze he gave a small nod at her words, full-heartedly agreeing with not wanting to get dragged into it, "don't get me wrong, I wanted to see it, doesn't mean I wanna be a part of it."

He gave the other a confused look at her sudden mood change before taking a look around himself. He didn't see the teacher but there was a lot of people here so he doubted she was far. "I don't." he admitted frowning slightly, "but she wouldn't just leave her own party right?" The woman didn't seem like the type to take people ruining her plans all too well after all, he'd just assumed he didn't see the woman when walking in because she was busy people watching."I guess we can look," he offered putting his cup down though any need instantly disappeared when the woman of the hour made her presence known, beginning to list off pairings and he'd forgotten the woman liked to play matchmaker...

Wincing at the instructors command he couldn't help the small laugh he gave when he looked around at other pairs, some hesitantly, others right away, getting together after the woman's none too gentle command. The woman seemed like she could be a terror if you got on her bad side and that was one of the reasons he never dared to skip out on the woman's lessons. At least there was the small miracle he wouldn't have to try and find a stranger in the crowd!

"How will I ever find my partner," he joked quietly, turning the note over in his hands to read over the words, big, bold and hard to miss. Easy enough, though his nose wrinkled in dismay at some of the teachers...interesting wording...still, he shrugged it off, looking back to Ginny and taking over the conversation after it seemed she was done reading.

"Well at least my question is interesting. Just what do you want to get better at?" he asked, before thinking better of it and quickly tacking on, "school work doesn't count if its just for grades." he fixed giving the other a small smile, "that's too easy of an answer to give." He was actually curious after all!

Open to Interactions
Interacting With: @Teiki Laurent and @Ethen Emrys

Atlas and Ethen were on a mad hunt towards the snack table when Olphie had begun talking over the chaos. A small sigh left her mouth as her eyebrow perked up. Tugging at Ethen's arm, Atlas slowly tiptoed over to the treats table as she double fisted some expertly frosted red and pink cupcakes. Shoving one completely in her mouth so she had a free hand to hold another, Atlas could feel the frosting sticking to her face, but she had never cared much about how she looked around Ethen as there had been more than a handful of times they both had been covered head to toe in mud. 


"Thus eh ruhlly good." Atlas mumbled through the cupcake she was trying to choke down. Thinking it would be funny to hear how she talked with two cupcakes in her mouth Atlas pushed the other one up to her face but before it could be devoured, she felt Ethen snatch it right out of her hand and smash it into his mouth, a cascade of pink frosting mimicking her's made her giggle as she playfully shoved him.

"Yuh guhna peh fo thah" She taunted laughing so pieces of cupcake escaped her mouth. Not wanting to get in trouble for not paying attention Atlas turned back towards Olphie and listened to the plans in order for the next part of the party. Hearing that people would be paired with random matches made Atlas feel a little uneasy but she rarely had trouble making friends. She was often a lot for moat people except Ethen but who knows she might make a new goofball that she could convince to embark on crazy missions. 

As Olphie walked around the room and pointed out the new pairs, Atlas made note of her pairing, a girl by the name of Teiki Laurent. She looked to be about Atlas's age and she was wearing a pretty lavender dress although dresses had never been Atlas's thing, the girl seemed to like them. As Atlas waited for everyone to be paired she scuttled her way over to the other side of the room to join Teiki. 

The girl appeared to be more dainty than her but that could just be a guess so Atlas attempted to clear the frosting off her hands to no avail as she puffed out her cheeks unsure of where to begin. "Umm hi! I'm Atlas Reid. I uhh I'm a first-year Hufflepuff and I like pranks and messes...maybe because I am one." She confessed letting a smirk escape her lips as she felt the sides of her lips sticking from the excess of frosting on them. "I would say I'm not usually like this...but that would be a lie. It is hard for me to not get dirty or injured but uhh enough about me. I have to ask you this question on this piece of paper." Atlas continued as she opened the folded note decorating it with red and pink fingerprints. There were quite a few mini questions on the paper in regards to the larger question, probably to spark more than simple yes or no answers and give them enough to talk about, Atlas just needed to figure out where to start. Staring down at the parchment she realized she was leaving quite a bit of awkward silence in the air. 

"Right so...I guess a good place to start is, What are your favorite foods?"

The question wasn't necessarily a challenge but it would at least give them a starting place to work off of and as the conversation progressed, Atlas could inquire more and reach some of the deeper questions on the paper. 

Ethen was scrambling through the small crowd beside Atlas like a bloodhound in his search for ample snackage. He heard one of the professors begin speaking and despite his immense hunger, Ethen turned to listen to the woman begin addressing the assembled group. Atlas had already begun grabbing some perfect looking cupcakes and swallowed one as if she was some sort of twisted python who only preyed upon helpless cupcakes. But nothing looked more delicious in the world at that moment. She gumbled out an affirmation for the cupcake and Ethen knew that it was no time to become bogged down in manners.

Just as the girl began to raise a second cupcake to her mouth, Ethen's hand intercepted the pink frosted cupcake straight from her hand mere moments from her taking a bite. Gleefully, Ethen shoved the morsel in his mouth, not letting Atlas have a moment to retaliate. Frosting careened over his lips and cheek as he munched away at the delicious desert. "Eh wah worf it..." Ethen grumbled through his mouthful of cupcake as his friend threatened him playfully.

Wrapped up in the bliss of the quick treat, Ethen had completely forgotten that the spooky professor had begun to address the group. However, as soon as her attention was leveled on him, his eyes widened in confused embarrassment. "I-...I didn't have an accident... W-Well I did but not that kind," Ethen quickly stammered as the professor mentioned a potential incident with his bladder. He could feel the warmth of embarrassment as his cheeks visibly reddened with the mere suggestion. However, the professor had mentioned that a certain 'Mr. Mortified' might know a thing or two about such accidents while gesturing to another young student.

Ethen glanced momentarily at the unfamiliar boy but any embarrassment had already evaporated with his new curiosity about the boy's seeming title. 'Mr. Mortified'... He wasn't sure how the boy had gotten such a cool nickname but he hoped someday that the professor would bestow a similarly glorious nickname upon him. He didn't really know what the name meant but he was sure it had to have been something impressive.

Again Ethen had a small panic as the professor mentioned that they would be paired off with new people to make conversation. The mere thought put a pit in his stomach but he knew he couldn't be afraid of meeting new people forever. At some point, he would have to just get out there and prove that he could do it! Hearing his name paired with that of an unfamiliar girl made him slightly flush red but it quickly dissipated as he was handed his question paper. He knew he just had to do it.

Holding his paper up to read the question while meandering over towards where this Mildred Wilson had been. Unable to see where he was walking, Ethen had only made it a few steps before colliding with another student which sent him sprawling to the floor. His arm had smacked a nearby table on his way down, knocking several glasses of tea onto him. Springing back to his feet wide-eyed, Ethen acted like nothing had happened. "I-I'm fine..." He stammered out quietly as spilled tea dripped from his now wet hair and damp shirt.

He was a complete disaster and even his little question paper had been soaked over with tea making it a bit difficult to read. Undeterred, Ethen quickly hurried forward hoping to avoid any further incidents on his journey to Mildred. The girl was in a nice white dress, juxtaposed with black shoes, and Ethen quickly smiled a greeting towards the unfamiliar girl. "Um... HI!... How... I mean, I'm Ethen. Uh...nice to meet you. I promise that I am not always covered in tea... It just sort of jumped out at everyone and I used my body as a shield to protect my fellow students," Ethen rambled out awkwardly as he finished his approach towards Mildred.

Scratching his head uncomfortably, he could feel the moisture from the tea and knew he had to appear like he was insane. He was... But he thought it was probably best people didn't know that within two minutes of meeting him. "So, I guess we are um... paired up for now," he smiled warmly. Ethen clutched the now soggy question paper in his right hand as he peered into the girl's eyes trying not to do anything to make him look like more of a mess than he already was.

Interactions: @Atlas Reid
Mentions: @Olphie Bercegeay @Mildred Wilson @Sola Haze

Teiki smiled apologetically at the girl when she said that she hadn't heard of the Masquerade Ball. Well, Teiki supposed it was for the better. Although, considering everything that seemed to revolve around that event- perhaps not. They needed people to help figure out what was going on. Or- just people like Evelynn.

The raven-haired girl perked up when the Flyin professor began to speak. She followed along to the words that the teacher said, before glancing around the room. It seemed that her partner had already figured out who Teiki was, so the Hufflepuff excused herself from the table. She thanked the two, before walking a little ways to meet Atlas. It was an interesting name, she had decided. She wondered if the girl had any traits similar to her name. Good navigational skills perhaps...

Teiki began to deftly unfold the paper, eyes trained on the task for a few moments. But after a little while, she brought her gaze up to the other girl. Teiki giggled softly at the splotches of frosting, but she felt nothing against it. Candies were good after all, and rather messy sometimes.

"Teiki, Hufflepuff First Year. And-" she paused. "I enjoy exploring." She ended simply. She considered it to be a little more confusing than that, considering adventuring wasn't really the goal. It was simply to see stuff. She certainly wasn't a "life on the edge" sort of gal. She laughed quietly at the girl's words, although wondered if she should really be allowing it. After all, self-deprecation isn't really a good habit to get yourself into. She glanced down at the paper at around the same time that Atlas started to unfold it. What a nice thing about not having to move too much...

13. IN A NEW CITY, WHAT ATTRACTION DO YOU HAVE TO VISIT FIRST?

Some say you never truly know someone until you travel with them. Odds are you won't be traveling on a first date, but this question (paired with the above) can offer a ton of clues about her persona. "This opens the door for conversation relating to history, religious perspectives, art, and culture," Sullivan says. If she's crazy about museums and monuments, you can infer she's a history buff—or better yet, ask her if she's a history buff. Let one question lead to another.

She debated starting, but Atlas had already decided to cover up the silence that had happened. Blue eyes glanced up to watch Atlas, and she took a moment to consider the question.

"Sweets. Mainly candy bars, but anything chocolate really. What about you? Oh- and the paper asks what attraction you would go to first if you were in a new city." Her head tilted off to the side, glancing between the others paper and Atlas herself. She sort of wanted to read what Atlas's paper said, although she couldn't really from where she was standing.

Interacting with: @Lark Flaer @Astrea Soleil Neptune
Mentions: @Olphie Bercegeay
Abilities Active: Lovly Creature and Calming pressence

Dale made note of Astrea's name, not an easy one to forget... but knowing him, he'd find a way to do it. He was also glad to hear that she was a fellow Slytherin, but she had a weird way of putting it... something about bells, he assumed this was about them winning the house cup. She had a pretty weird way of speaking... but then again, almost everyone that came from some kind of wealth seemed to have a weird way of speaking, something he would just have to get used too. Before he could say thing else, the Professor spoke up, she addressed the brawl going on and sorted it out, Dale thought it was a bit late, but whatever.

The Part that seemed to really freak people out was the part all about parings and love, he didn't know why everyone was so surprised... it was a valentines party after all. Dale was hoping to leave before that part, but his conversation with Astrea distracted him. He got a paper and a match, Dale was relieved when he heard Lark's name followed by his own, she was one of the only people he really knew in the room. It seemed like the flying professor was taking mercy on him.

He got up and looked over to Astrea, "It was nice talkin to you, maybe we can have a longer conversation next time. Good luck with your pair." Dale said as he waved goodbye and made his way over to Lark.

As he drew nearer, he tried to remember who the professor had matched Ruthie with... some called... freddie the dog? he shook his head no way that was a name.. or a person. He waved again to Lark, "Hey... again." Dale looked around, everyone seemed to already be introducing themselves and reading out the questions on their slips of paper. "Soooo..." Dale said a bit awkwardly as he opened up his slip and read out the contents, "What's your favorite animal?"

Interacting with: @Ethen Emrys
Mentioning @Teiki Laurent @Sola Haze

"Oh, um... I'm First Year like you," she said. "I mean... if you're a First Year. I can't really tell." she said.

That was a relief, Mildred thought. She has a slight fear of her upperclassmen, for unknown reasons she didn't exactly know why but she always tried to stick with those who were in the same year as her. She nodded and smiled saying, "yep! I'm a first year also!" With the topic being the houses she noticed sola did was a bit hesitant to answer, perhaps she didn't like her house? she thought. While Mildred has always believed that she's meant for another house, she didn't dislike her house.

"I'd love to say I'm in Hufflepuff, but you could probably figure out quite easily that that's a lie." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, ruffling her hair slightly. "I was actually... um... sorted into Slytherin," the young girl said, Mildred actually was quite surprised she assumed the girl was also a fellow Hufflepuff, Sola seemed quite nervous but kind, Mildred wouldn't have guessed she was in Slytherin although she didn't want to feed into stereotypes she couldn't help herself. Mildred said, "I actually wouldn't have guessed you were in Slytherin!" While Mildred was sort of lost in her head once again she heard. "I'm a First Year. Oh! Slytherin's cool." from her fellow Hufflepuff, she thought that Teiki was the epitome of Hufflepuff, someone who was kind and loyal.

Remembering her question, "No, I've never really been to any of them. I'm not really in-the-loop yet, so I usually don't hear about these things until they happen." Sola said. Mildred smiled in relief that she wasn't the only one who hasn't been to any of them yet, she has seen some flyers or announcements on them in her common room although she would always walk past it, or ignore the ones that had to do with an errand or any social gathering of the sort. She would have ignored this event flyer, however, with her house ranking, she wanted to at least help her house a little bit with their ranking.

"Never? Either of you?" She laughed softly. "Well, normally they're smaller groups, but this one's quite large. Reminds me of the Masquerade Ball." Masquerade Ball? Mildred thought, she didn't know that was an event like that before, although she wouldn't have gone in the first place or would have gone to have some refreshments. She was glad although, that normally the errands weren't this large, to be honest, the amount of people in the hall is starting to make her feel quite nervous.

Mildred sat and sipped on her tea, by now it was cold and tasted more like water now. she listened as Sola answered Teiki question with, "Well," she said at the girl's question. "I heard about it from the message boards in my dorm." "I noticed the errand, but mostly I'm here to meet people and maybe make new friends." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I don't have many of those." While Mildred had come here for house points and only that, it was a nice touch to have met some kind people.

"I did hear recently that Professor MacTavish is holding another errand digging up and planting flowers around the castle. It would be cool to do that as a group rather than alone..." Mildred definitely agreed, she asked her one friend, (it was quite sad that she only had one friend she thought although in the end, she wasn't really here to make friends, why was she even thinking about that in the first place?) Ross, if he had wanted to do it with her, although he declined in the end stating the house points were too little. Mildred was a tad upset by this, although she couldn't help it and decided she would just have to do it alone in the end or go to the library, although it would be nice to do with other people she agreed. Mildred replied with "Oh! I heard about that errand also! I think it'd be nice to do it with other people, although now that I'm thinking about it ill probably just stay in and not attend..."

Sola whispered, "Do... do either of you know what's going on over there?" Mildred looked around the room, and she was quite shocked, the whole room looked quite like a.. mess, if she were to put it nicely. she saw someone was being.. bitten?, another person on the verge of passing out, She wondered where was the professor? Mildred visibly paled, what a mess this whole errand was she thought, she might just be scared of errands forever and she wasn't even in the whole drama. Speaking of the professor, she had an announcement to say, Mildred was quite nervous about what was going to happen. "Now, students, let's all get back to the true point of this day: love. I'm going to pass out some papers to you; each paper will have a question. After you have received your paper, I'd like you to find your partner and converse, using each question as your guide! After you've talked a while, you'll get an opportunity to switch."

Mildred knew this simple tea party was too good to be true, she waited to hear her pairing, she listened along as she watched everyone from her table get paired off, "Teiki Laurent and Atlas Reid"... "Sola Haze and Logan Baird" ..."Mildred Wilson and Ethen Emrys" She thought, Ethen? she sure didn't know anyone with that name, this was just great. Mildred sighed and smiled and said "Good luck with your pair! I hope to see you guys some other time." She noticed Teiki thanked us and went off to search for her partner, She noticed her empty cup and decided she needed a refill.

Mildred tried her best to not bump into anyone, the hall was quite filled with movement of those in search of their partner, Mildred reached the refreshment table and got some more tea, she decided to get two cookies one for herself, and her pair. Mildred went off to search for a table to perhaps wait for the crowd to die down then search for her partner, or maybe they would find her. She sat down and looked at her question,

"WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS?

"If sports are big in your life, this will take you into a ton of subtopics," Sullivan says. Ask what sports she's interested in, what teams she roots for, and if she played sports in college. Depending on her answer, you can see whether you're up for some healthy competition or standing behind the same teams. And if she doesn't care, then you can decide whether it's a slight turn off or a deal breaker.

She wasn't really a sports fan, she hoped her partner liked sports or something because this would not go far.

Mildred noticed someone walking towards her, that was surprising however what was even more surprising was he appeared to be covered in..tea? some sort of liquid. She automatically assumed that must be Ethen although he didn't seem to be doing so well she thought. She looked at her cookie she had brought for him and thought, this wouldn't exactly help him now, would it?

"Um... HI!... How... I mean, I'm Ethen. Uh...nice to meet you. I promise that I am not always covered in tea... It just sort of jumped out at everyone and I used my body as a shield to protect my fellow students," Ethan rambled, Poor guy, Mildred thought He seemed very nervous perhaps even more nervous then she was, she smiled at him and said "It's nice to meet you too Ethan!" she decided to maybe try joking around to perhaps help him out of his misery she said, "I think you look fine, who knows maybe tea-covered clothes could be the new fashion trend?" She thought that wouldn't have been the worst trend, lord knows what strange clothing trends that were popular back home. She paused and thought, he used his body as a shield to protect his fellow students? that was pretty brave of himself, she responded with "Are you okay though? the tea is pretty hot, and that was pretty brave of you!" she decided this would be a good time to give him the cookie she got, who knows maybe food would help him feel better, Whenever Mildred got hurt or was upset some nice snacks always cheered her up. " "So, I guess we are um... paired up for now," he replied, Mildred thought that she should at least try to make the best of this situation. She remembered her question and said, "Here, this is for you" she handed him the cookie and said " uhh, do you like sports?" although, i suppose she should go look for help for him? questions should be the last thing they should deal with,, looking at his stained clothes.