[img align=left]https://s26.postimg.org/iotav2czt/Seb_HAagain.png[/img] Lifting his mug of cider to Bran in greeting as he passed, Seb’s attention was grabbed by a feline approaching the food table. Quietly he watched the cat sniffing the ground and thinking about jumping up on the table. Being more of a dog person, Seb wasn’t exactly sure how to approach the cat. So he cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you… Where’s your owner? “ The cat sure looked familiar, but Seb wasn’t sure it belong to anyone he knew. Maybe it came out of the forest. It looked pretty soft and Seb wouldn’t mind petting it, but if it was feral he didn’t want to get bitten by it. But despite Seb’s words the cat ignored him and continued its single minded advances.

Outfit Not Found

Aliya pads around, then puts her paws up on the table. Her collar is now visible and she has a flashy pendant hanging from it. She's thinking about the pumpkin pie.

((OOC: http://domesticatedservals.com/ this cat is about larger than a regular cat and quite spotty. Might not be too big of a jump to figure that it's an African cat and might belong to someone from 4A -- someone is bound to have seen it with the Israeli girl with the really big hair, as while I've been less active in RP than I'd like, she's been her shy self and attending all classes -- I will not think anyone's godmodding if they say hi to her by name or recognise her/her cat, I swear and promise...))

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/NXgN4Rg.png[/img] [img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/sYVM2T3.png[/img]

Corvus seemed somewhat irritated when his introduction to the unknown student got ignored, but he quickly moved on, looking at Ivy(). He chuckled at how she tricked Bran into asking Lenore out. He had a vague notion that Bran really wanted to be Lenore's quodpot partner back then and he somehow felt bad that this didn't work out. But it seemed that these problems would solve itself at this evening. "Well, you know her name already.", Corvus then said and stroke over Elizabeth's hand. "She's my fiancée and did play her part in the Second task.", he explained. Elizabeth chuckled. "And we totally owned you.", she added amused, thinking of how great the duel with Lynnie Calder, Brans sister, went against the two older boys. However, she bit her lip when she noticed the look on Corvus' face. As he was highly ambitious as well, it had been humilating for him to loose - especially with his school time coming to an end. "I wasn't here for the whole tournament", Elizabeth quickly switched the topic, "I had to take care of some things at home first and I didn't want to miss too much lessons at Hogwarts."

(OOC, if I didn't ping everyone, just join in. I just didn't want to annoy you too much with another ping :'D )

Bran grinned as Ivy () teased back. He liked the high-spirited girl even though they’d never been anything more than friends. Before he realized what she was up to, she had twirled him over to gulp Lenore. ()

Pull it together, Calder! Bran mentally chided himself. He gave Lenore a smile that grew to a grin as the Slytherin girl stood up. He was beyond glad that she didn’t seem to mind Ivy’s interference. “Got to love Ivy,” he said with friendly affection. “She’s bossy but beautiful enough to get away with it.” As soon as he made the comment, Bran could have smacked himself in the forehead. Oh yeah, real smooth, Calder. Tell her another girl is beautiful! Merlin’s beard, you’re an idiot!!

Clearing his throat, he tried again to regain his normal composure and gave Lenore a half bow as he took her outstretched hand. “Who am I to go against the wishes of a lady? I’d be honored if you’d dance with me.” He had felt too out of place at the Fall Formal being all dressed up (not to mention scared, but he’d never admit that!), but here in the open air and with the wind ruffling his hair, Bran felt more like himself and he was ready to make up for not dancing with Lenore before. “Shall we show them what champions can do when it comes to dancing?”

Lenore watched as Bran went from looking frightened to happy. She was glad to see that the boy was in favor of their being put together like this. He had flirted with her throughout the tournament after all. But then, he flirted with a lot of girls. She guessed that it was just part of his confident nature.

When he opened his mouth however, he seemed anything but confident. After the first words tumbled out -a compliment toward Ivy- his expression was almost painful to see. Poor guy, he looks scared out of his wits. she thought. She gave him a moment and he regained his composure. His next words were all Bran the confident champion and she felt a bit of warmth creeping into her cheeks.

She dropped a small curtsy in return to his bow and grinned mischievously.

"Between the two of us I'm sure we can give them a good show."

The curtsy and the slight flush had Bran smiling at Lenore, but it was the mischief in her grin that earned an answering grin from the blond youth. “What are we waiting for then?” he asked, as he tucked her arm through his and escorted her onto the dance floor. As they were the first dancers and had the entire floor to themselves for the moment, Bran made the most of it, effortlessly leading Lenore through the steps of more traditional dances as the band warmed up. Bran could hear the whispers and hoped that Lenore didn’t mind. He didn’t want her feeling embarrassed.

Apparently a couple of the members of the Flaming Rumors noticed the couple as well because the music began to change. The slow waltz they had been dancing sped to a faster tempo and Bran grinned. “Ready?” he asked and then spun Lenore briefly away from him before pulling her back as they began a swing dance. Both their capes blew and swirled with their motions and Lenore’s heels tapped across the floor in a happy sounding rhythm. Bran laughed with pleasure. The Slytherin girl was a perfect partner, full of swing and spunk and fun.

“You’re great at this,” he complimented as they seemed to flow through the moves together.

Lenore smiled to herself and blushed a bit as Bran lead her in the first dance. She had to get ahold of herself. She had been to countless social events with her family and danced with many a young man. Maybe it was the way Bran's eyes glittered or how his hair fell into his face now and then. He was so different from the stiff traditional 'well-bred' boys her parents always paired her with. He was free.

She could hear the whispers around them but she didn't care. She'd never been bothered by what other people said. And besides, what could they say that wasn't true? She liked being exactly where she was. She was about to compliment Bran on his cloak but before she had the chance the band changed to a faster beat and Bran gave her one of his grins. Next thing she knew, they were halfway across the floor dancing swing.

"So are you" Lenore replied smiling. "I didn't take you for the dancing type." She grinned to show that she was teasing and Bran released her for another twirl. She finished the spin and looked down. Shorts just didn't quite have the desired effect. She took out her wand and flicked it toward her waist. She spun in place and her shorts transformed into a knee-length skirt of gold that flared out beautifully.

"Now that's better." She grinned

((OOC: I would update Lenore's outfit but I'm on my phone. ))

[img align=right]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/330266.png[/img] "Man, I'm always ready for an adventure" She said, then winked at Bran (). She laughed when he twirled Ivy () but felt a bit uncomfortable with it at the thought of how unsettled she would be if someone randomly came up from behind and twirled her. But no one had (thank goodness), so she shrugged it off and listened to the conversation. Lydia was quite oblivious to body language and was left unaware of any hormonal thoughts that were brewing in surrounding minds, which is why she was so surprised when Ivy randomly spun Bran over to a Hogwarts girl that Lydia had yet to really meet ( ) and returned to the group looking completely satisfied and only a tad mischievous. Obviously some match-making is happening and Lydia wasn't sure how to feel about the whole thing. But now they were dancing, so she supposed all was well.

Lydia noticed Corvus waving at their group and nodded back with a smile. She got real quiet, though, when Corvus and Elizabeth walked up. They looked completely different from everyone else, all black and white with this ethereal air about them. Something about his demeanor always made Lydia slightly uncomfortable, but seeing as how she couldn't identify what it was, she tried to just shake it off.

"Oh my, that does sound rather strict. I am glad that you were able to find things to wear, though! Hoodies are really comfortable, so it's nice that you get to wear those," Rain smiled. "The dress really is lovely, I do hope you are able to wear it again."

Rain was glad to see that the Ilvermorny champions Bran and Corvus had arrived, she had wanted to congratulate them. "Ah, here are the champions, congratulations on a job well done, both of you!" she smiled. "Thank you Bran," she replied, "you look quite dashing yourself." Rain recognized the girl that had come in with Corvus from the second task, and was happy that she had a chance to meet her. "Oh thank you, as you can probably see, purple is my favorite color," she giggled. "I love your dress too, the sparkles on the top are just lovely, they remind me of twinkling stars. It's a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth, my name is Rain," she smiled. "I remember you from the second task, you did a fabulous job in your duel," she winked, grinning slyly in Corvus' direction.

Rain watched amused as Ivy tricked Bran into dancing with Lenore , giving a small chuckle. "Good," she thought "he needed some encouragement, as he has obviously been wanting to ask her." She grinned as she watched them dance, hoping it would go well for both of them, and was quite impressed when Lenore transformed her shorts into a lovely flowing skirt.

Bran laughed at the teasing comment about him not being the dancing type. It was good to have fun and to see Lenore having fun as well. And being with her and being the one to help her enjoy the last night was an added bonus that Bran had no intention of giving up.

As his dance partner paused and took out her wand, Bran watched, curious as to what Lenore had in mind. As she transformed the shorts into a skirt, he had to swallow. And he’d just thought she’d looked good before. Now she was stunning; a vision of golden light. He nodded at her comment. “You looked nice before, but now…” he smiled and agreed, “yeah, it’s definitely better.”

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Corvus noticed the sudden absence of Lydia's voice(). He was well aware of his demeanour, however he couldn't understand why it made people feel uneasy. "I like your choice of colour", Elizabeth said to Lydia, regarding the green clothes and gave her a small smile. Meanwhile, Corvus summoned two glasses of elf-made Wine from one of the tables and handed one two Elizabeth, keeping the other one to himself. "It's the best type of beverage I could find here.", Corvus stated calmly before having a sip of it. Elizabeth nodded shortly and turned to Rain.() "Thank you as well", she replied and blushed slightly at the mention of the Second task. "I guess we had luck...", she added, twirling a strand of her hair and Corvus grinned amused. "Well, of course you did, since Bran and I are far more advanced in magic...or we just pulled the gentleman card.", he said. "...definitely. However, the task is in the past, right?", Elizabeth reckoned with a crooked smile, knowing that that wasn't probably one of her best lines. "I've read a lot about Ilvermorny and Corvus told me about it as well, but it's so amazing to see it with my own eyes. I wonder if you learn more here, given the fact that you have 8 years of education instead of 7."

[img align=left]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/334505.png[/img]

Lenore chuckled at the look on Bran's face when he saw her skirt. Then she caught herself and hoped that he wouldn't think she was laughing at him.

"Thank you Mister Calder. You look rather nice yourself." she gave a small curtsy.

They continued to dance and the Flaming Rumors kept up the beat nicely. After a while though, she began to realize that she was getting rather winded. She was enjoying having Bran all to herself but would need a break. Would he go back and join the others, she wondered? She hoped not. Still, she couldn't hoard him and she had the rest of the night. And there were a few people she wanted to talk to as well.

When the song ended she paused, her hand still in Bran's, who had caught her after a final twirl.

"I think it's about time I stopped for a drink." She was breathing harder than normal and could tell that she was a bit flushed. "Do you mind?" Then she added with a small laugh, "We can find out if Ivy ever met that band member who was giving her eyes."

Blushing a bit at both the ‘Mister Calder’ and the compliment, Bran smiled and said, “Thank you, Miss Addlebourne. You do have good taste.” He gave her a mischievous wink as she spun in his arms.

While he enjoyed the dance, or more specifically the time with Lenore, Bran was also glad when the song ended. It wasn’t that he wasn’t in good shape, but dancing was different from exploring, hiking, and climbing, and he was ready for a rest. He would just as soon get some refreshments and wander through the trees with Lenore, just enjoying the night. But would she want to go off with me? he wondered. Maybe she would rather just sit around and chat to their other friends.

Bran looked down at his dance partner at her question. He was acutely aware of her hand in his and planned to keep it that way as long as she allowed. “I don’t mind at all,” he smiled. “Allow me to escort you, my lady. We shall sample the offerings and take our turn watching the others. Bet they won’t be as good as us though,” he winked as he gave their linked hands a little swing and then walked with Lenore over to the refreshment table.

He had to laugh at the comment about Ivy. “Oh, Ivy’s probably not only met him but also found three more to talk to.”

Seeing that his fellow Ilvermorny champion and Elizabeth had joined the group near the refreshments, Bran’s hand involuntarily tightened on Lenore’s. Stop being stupid, he mentally told himself. The guy was engaged after all! And here was his intended. Okay, Calder, deep breath. He’s not after Lenore. She’s just a friend to both of you…for now. He’s your schoolmate. Get a freaking grip! The internal chastisement made Bran realize that he did have a grip…too tight of one…on Lenore’s hand. He gave her an apologetic look as he eased the hold and then said in his usual cheerful voice, “Hi, Corvus. Good evening, Elizabeth. Good to see you both,” he smiled. ()

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Elizabeth chuckled at Bran's greeting. "I can only return that. And it's certainly better not having to see you in a duel again", she replied. "You should try the elf-made wine, it's fantastic." "It's good enough for a school festivity, I guess.", Corvus tossed in. The wine seemed somewhat pale to him. "Ah, always demanding high standards of everything", Elizabeth remarked and looked at Lenore and Brandon. ( ) "I've seen you dance and it looked amazing. Your movements were flowing into each other and swift as water", she complimented them with a smile on her face. "Do you want to dance as well?", Corvus asked then while stroking her hair carefully which made her turn her face to him. "Not yet", Elizabeth said amused, while wondering if Corvus just asked her to comply with the standards set by Lenore and Bran. In fact, this was the truth and Corvus lowered his hand a bit. Even though he knew how to dance, he was more than happy if he didn't have to. He took another sip of his glass of elf-made wine. "It was great to see you and Teresa achieve fame for Hogwarts", Elizabeth went on while Corvus seemed to be playing with her hair again. "And so lovely with no dead champions", Corvus added dryly. "Charming, Corvus", she whispered and looked apologising at the couple in front of them. "Well, the tasks weren't as challenging as last time.", Corvus said quickly. "Fine, then next time, I'll ask the judges to come up with more dangerous tasks especially for you.", she replied with a wink.

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Lenore laughed at Bran's reply about Ivy ().

"Too true. Ten galleons says she'll have them fighting over her by midnight." Lenore liked Ivy quite a bit. The girl certainly wasn't shy and her unpredictability made her fun to be around. At least for a while. It wasn't Ivy that was the problem, Lenore just liked quiet and could only take high-energy environments for so long before she needed to get out and have some quiet. Still, she had become someone Lenore would call a friend and there weren't too many who could claim the same.

Bran swung her hand and she was glad that he hadn't decided to let go. As they walked to the refreshment table, Lenore saw Corvus and Elizabeth () and gave them both a smile. They were holding glasses of wine that looked perfect after the dancing. She would have to be sure to get one.

"Good evening Corvus. Good evening Elizabeth, it's good to see you. I wasn't sure if you would be staying after the last task." Lenore smiled. She had heard only afterward how the Ilvermorny team had fared in the competition as she had been too busy with her own opponents to watch it herself. The accounts varied but if Corvus had lost, she had a feeling it wasn't entirely without his consent.

She chuckled at Corvus' comment about the lack of dead champions.

"That does make an event more pleasant, doesn't it?"

At this point she noticed a small pain in her hand and looked over at Bran. The boy was looking at Corvus with an expression that reminded Lenore of the look cougars get when another animal invades their territory. Lenore had to admit, she had spent more time with Corvus this term than she had with Bran. She liked the boy and admired his strength of character. But he was engaged and therefore, out of bounds. The thought that his presence bothered Bran was flattering but unnecessary. Boys. Lenore thought wryly.

"And congratulations on your victory!" she added to Corvus and to her own partner. "I should have thought to say so sooner, Bran, I'm sorry. She smiled at the blonde boy and winked. "I guess you had me too distracted."

Bran seemed to be regaining control and Lenore turned her attention back to her fellow Slytherin.

"What have I been missing across the pond?" she asked pleasantly, letting go of Bran's hand and picking up a glass of the Elf-made wine.

((OOC: Anne, I'm not sure how well Lenore and Elizabeth know each other? Being in the same house it would make sense that they've met. Lenore is 7th year so they're a bit apart right?))

[img align=right]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/330266.png[/img] Lydia blinked from her reverie and thanked Elisabeth for the compliment. "Everyone keeps saying they like the color. Apparently, I need to wear bright colors more often." She made a promise to herself to stop being so weird for the night. She wasn't sure when she would see some of these people again, after all.

[img align=left]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/330658.png[/img] Ivy was relieved to see Lenore () smile broadly as she danced gracefully with Bran (). Her old friend had needed a little encouragement in going for the girl, and it was nice to see the young lady from Hogwarts so relaxed and happy for a change. The flush in her cheeks was very becoming and Bran had stars in his eyes like he couldn't believe his good fortune. They looked great leading the dance floor festivities together.

She took a tiny copper colored flask from her dress robes and tipped swigs into two mugs of hot cider, one for her and another for the student from 4A (). "Tiferet, right? Thanks, and you're welcome to the hooch. We'll have just enough to warm us up."

Ivy was amused by Corvus' () demeanor around Elizabeth. Like Lenore, a little romance seemed to make him more open and casual. Both of the champions were still proper, but notably less reserved. Bran on the other hand looked less sure of himself, which was charming since it was directly in response to Lenore's presence.

She finished her cider while Rain (), Lydia (), Tiferet, Corvus, and Elizabeth conversed. The Flaming Rumours took a quick break between sets, and the Thunderbird on the bass guitar beckoned her back over to the refreshments. He grinned and gestured with two plates of pumpkin pie topped with fresh whipped cream. The boy asked roguishly, "Sit with me awhile? I've got exactly 15 minutes to eat this pie and find out which song will get you dancing again." Ivy noticed Lenore and Bran using the respite to chat with the group of students she had just left. She also saw the Pukwudgie drummer give her a shy nod before she turned back to the bassist. [edit] You got a forum point while making a post! Check out the shop here!

Hi. When will this RP close?

[img align=right]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/330266.png[/img] Lydia was bored; people started to go in their own directions and the conversation with everyone ( ) died a while ago. "I'm gonna go for a run," she said to no one in particular. Maybe when she gets back something exciting will have happened, or maybe more people will be around. She bent down to retie her shoes before she headed out.

Bran gave Elizabeth ()a slightly sheepish grin at the mention of the duel. “You’re not the only one glad about not having to worry about dueling again,” he said. “Once against you was enough for me for a while. Though I have to admit you and Lynnie worked well together.”

The comment from Corvus about the quality of the drink had Bran rolling his eyes. “Okay, Mr. Prim and Proper, be that way,” he said teasingly. “Just leaves more for the rest of us.” Smiling, he was about to ask Lenore () if she’d like to try out Elizabeth’s recommendation when the other Hogwarts young lady slipped her hand from his and helped herself to the wine.

Hoping that he hadn’t upset Lenore with his stupidity, Bran got some wine as well and raised his glass. “To friendship,” he toasted with a smile. He really did consider Corvus a friend and Elizabeth too now that they had officially met. And of course Lenore was a friend. Bran wondered briefly how hard it was going to be to maintain that friendship once the Slytherin girl returned to Hogwarts. Certainly they could write to each other, if Lenore agreed. But it wasn’t as though they could become more than friends with an ocean separating them. Catching a movement out of the corner of his eye, he watched Corvus lightly stroke Elizabeth’s hair. Hmm…or was it, Bran thought to himself.

Turning back to Elizabeth, Bran felt a blush rising at her words about his and Lenore’s dancing. “Thank you for the compliment,” he said. “I enjoy it and it’s not hard when you have a great partner like I did.” He smiled at Lenore.

He had to laugh at Corvus’ no dead champions quip. “Thank Merlin for that. Of course, we could always tell the heads that there’s a complaint about the ease of the tasks and ask for another one.”

If Elizabeth’s comments had him blushing, Lenore’s had his face nearly igniting. Too distracted indeed! HE was the one distracted! He hastily took a sip of the wine and then smiled at Lenore. “Thanks,” he said. “You did well too. Personally I think all the champions did a great job. Now we can enjoy the spoils of victory. Can I get you some food to go with your wine?” he asked.

As the band took a break, Bran glanced over and spotted Ivy and grinned. “I think you were right,” he said to Lenore, nodding toward the stage. “Their break might turn out to be longer than planned. If you’re done with the refreshments for now, would you like to go for a walk until the music gets started again?”

(ooc: So sorry for the later response everyone!! Work has been hectic and then Morostide started and sidetracked me. I had deleted the alerts along with some others and happened to think about the thread tonight. Hope things are going well with you all and Happy Morostide!!)