Their sandcastle was coming along rather nicely, Lena thought as she listened to Flora's suggestions. "Sounds like a good plan. Shells and drift wood will look good and shouldn't be a problem to find, but the flag may be tough." The teen could transfigure something but up until now they had done everything by hand.

"Let's see what we can find nearby once we get the windows scratched out." Standing and dusting off her knees Lena next shook some wet sand free from her blouse. "I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty itchy by the time we are all done." A dip in the water should take care of most of it, but a hot shower was definitely on the agenda before climbing into bed tonight, Lena thought to herself.

Picking up a bucket that held some of the thinner tools, Lena rediscovered her half eaten chocolate bar, and, turning to find Flora studying the castle, Lena grinned. She knew better than to mention it to the young girl but little boys tended to act a certain way around little girls they liked, and darting in and out was one of those ways, the savvy teen thought to herself.

Taking out two tools, Lena set the bucket back down and walked a few steps around the castle, holding out one for Flora to take. "Where should we start?"

Kiara looked around at the shells and the tanks and crabs and fish and stuffed animals... then she noticed the stuffed whale that Magus had. She patted the head sticking out of his basket. "It's so cute!" she said. She was actually a little tempted to get a little colorful sand filled cloth crab she found, but she knew her cat would find it and tear it apart. She couldn't get anything stuffed, he always destroyed them. She had all her old stuffed toys from when she was small locked in a chest back home, after he devastated her by destroying a stuffed puppy she'd had since she was six. and anyone else shopping

Flora pondered the flag dilemma. “Maybe we could use some seaweed…or a leaf instead of cloth,” she said. Nodding at Lena’s comments about looking around, she said, “We’ll have to wait and see what we find. That might change everything.”

When Lena mentioned how itchy she was from the sand, Flora giggled. “Da usually does a spell that keeps the sand from sticking to us. Maybe we should do that if we’re ever at the beach again. I know we could just magic it away too, but we can swim and get rid of it and then dry off and eat. It seems like everyone is eating now, so maybe by the time we’re done it won’t be a huge crowd.” Flora glanced over at the buffet table. She was surprised that Drew hadn’t headed over yet as much as her cousin loved to eat. She watched the older girls and sighed slightly. They all seemed so pretty and poised. There weren’t that many boys and the ones who were there seemed as weird as that Jona. At least she knew Magnus and he was fun.

When Lena came back with some of the tools, Flora took one and idly twirled it through her fingers as she thought. “How about if you take the towers on that side and I’ll do the ones on this side?” she suggested.

After they set to work again, Flora concentrated on drawing windows and then with a smile, she etched out a design of a vine twining up the tower.

It was a bit confusing that Parker so suddenly left (), but then Elizabeth remembered that the red-headed girl had gotten some food from the buffet. She turned to Callista (). "Oh no you didn't do anything wrong. To be honest, I was wondering myself if it was me" She chuckled before going on. "To me it looks like she simply wants to eat in peace.", she explained. "So far, I had fun. The sun is pretty intense, though. I might have to check out the pearl shop and what they have. It's been a while since I bought earrings. Do you think they'd go well with diamonds?" It was no secret that Callista was by far the girl with the best sense of fashion Elizabeth knew, so who to ask but her? She glanced over to Toru (). Elizabeth hadn't really met the rather shy Hufflepuff yet, but Toru seemed nice. "Really? What happened Callie? I can hardly imagine you committing a blunder."

(& everyone)

"Diamonds and pearls are always great together, as long as you colour match," Callista replied, "I know I don't have to tell you that even diamonds and pearls that appear to be white on their own can seem more creamy or more silvery depending on what you put them next to. But pearl earrings are such a classic you could hardly go wrong with them--matching is most crucial when you're using two stones in the same piece or in pieces that will be worn close together, like bracelets and rings. You know that there are potions to keep the sun from bothering you, right? If you want to go into the water, that is."

Callista sat down and began to eat her sushi and seaweed salad, slipping Sabrina a few pieces of fish here and there. "I don't know what's wrong with me today. I seem to keep finding Zoe's sore spots. Everyone else has laughed off any misunderstandings. Blade thought I was laughing at him when he asked if Scorpius was the name of Juliana Malfoy's dog, but of course anyone who's ever seen both Scorpius and Pooka would crack up at that, which I explained rather quickly. That animal is allegedly a dog but I suspect him of being three parts wolf and one part Grim. I'm just glad he likes me."

Toru gave Magnus a mock glare, which only made them look cuter and puffed their cheeks softly. "Meanie." There was no malice in the name, they knew Magnus (probably) didn't mean to scare them (on purpose). The younger student sighed softly. "Y-You think he'll l-like it? Is i-it too forward?" They didn't want to cause the very frail bond between them and the red-headed Hufflepuff to fray and lose ground. They glanced back at the tanks again mulling over the options again while Magnus replied.

They heard Kiara comment about something being cute and they saw the whale plushie. "A-Ah! C-Cute," they said in Japanese. Magnus would probably recognize the word since it was extremely common. Maybe they could get themselves a seahorse plush after they decided about Blade's fish.

((It's Magnus darling you keep missing the n lol)) ((and all))

Magnus nodded. "It tis, ain't it? Figured I could at least buy one gift for Tegan." He shrugged and didn't actually mention who Tegan was.

Magnus only snickered more. "Yep that's me, total meanie. Why wouldn't 'e? Nah, I don't think so. I mean I think it's sweet and thoughtful. Very Hufflepuffy. And yes Hufflepuffy is totally a word." He smiled at the Japanese. "I know that word. You should meet me auror friend Paul. 'E's fluent in Japanese. 'E once worked with the Japanese Ministry to take down a load of vampires that were roaming the lands and 'urting people. Stayed with an auror there named Roku."

They nodded a bit and took Magnus' suggestion. They would buy the fish and a tank for Blade. Toru began setting up an Asian inspired 10-galleon tank since they didn't really know much about Blade's interests. They also felt that the betta fish would appreciate the decor. That was their own personal opinion of course, since they couldn't exactly talk to fish. It would also sort of match Autumn's tank back at the castle. As they worked they listened to him talk. "I-It would be n-nice to m-meet him. I-I don't know m-many Japanese Aurors since I w-was born in B-Britain. I'm sure my c-cousins back in J-Japan might t-though." They could write them once they got back, it had been a while since they had corresponded with their cousins. It would be nice to touch base. "W-What do you think, Magnus?" Toru showed him the tank after they had finished fiddling with the contents.

Elizabeth gave Callista's () words a thought. "I think I like white pearls that seem more creamy. It looks softer. Clear silver might make me look cold or absent", she replied, wondering a little, before glancing at the small shop with pearls. "I might have a look then. Do you want to join? Just if you want, of course.", she inquired and chuckled lightly. "No worries. I've used a potion to be safe in the sun at Hogwarts already...it's just..." She stopped and lowered her voice. "Between you and me, I'm a bit afraid of what might lurk underwater. "

Elizabeth's eyes widened in concern of what her friend just said. "Oh, I'm sure it's not your fault. It's not unusual that people we consider friends to act different. Maybe they're just having a stressful day or worry about something. It happens that some emotions make us unaware of the people around us and we tend to communicate them differently than usually which causes these misunderstandings." She grinned. "To be honest, 'Scorpius' is indeed a rather special name to everyone who's not familiar with the Malfoy's naming theme. ", she added, watching Sabrina eating the small pieces of fish with delight.

(& everyone)

Callista relaxed a little. "You're probably right. Just not a good day for her. And Scorpius is an unusual name, and very Malfoy. But don't a lot of wizarding families use unusual names? You don't meet a lot of Muggles named Blade."

She lowered her voice. "The way he talked about his folks sounded like something I'd expect to hear from another Slytherin. You know what I mean? Our families have great ambitions for us, and we of course have great ambitions for ourselves, and they're not always the same? He knew who I was. Which is why it didn't occur to me at first that he wouldn't recognise Scorpius' name. I'm pretty sure more people know who Scorpius is than me. I think he expected me to be the kind of person he thinks his parents would like. I should've asked him who they were. He said the name was Edwards, but I don't know anyone else named that."

She fed Sabrina another bit of fish. "I don't mind going with you at all, if you don't mind waiting for me to finish all this. I worked up more of an appetite than I thought I would. But I petted a stingray! He was so cute! I never knew they were cute!"

Callista giggled. "I don't think this is the kind of beach where you need to worry about the sort of thing you're thinking of. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't bring us somewhere like that. Speaking of which...have you learned anything at all about the curfew?"

((and all)) Magnus smiled at the decor that Toru was building. Natural with an Asian inspiration. "I'd be able to get you as penfriends probly. Roku's nice and 'is brother is a wizard monk. 'E's pretty cool too named Isao. 'E and the other monks taught me some mediation for you know... the wolfy times." When asked what he thought, Magnus nodded. "I love it, it's beautiful. I think 'e'll like it a lot."

Blade was having a good time setting up the tank. He mildly wondered if his parents would be horrified to know that he not only was in a muggle shop but was buying things with muggle money too. It was a bit exhilarating to have this new found freedom.

On her knees again next to their sandcastle, Lena focused on digging just slightly into the smooth sand so it looked like a window was there. After each one she finished, the teen leaned back and let out a breath. Lena glanced over to check Flora's progress.

"Wow, you have an eye for drawing details."

And that gave Lena a idea. With a spark in her eye she scooted to her left to the tallest tower where she had finished all the windows. This time she held her wand in one hand and with the confidence of much practice scratched two small runes beneath a simple candle outline. Lena's tongue stuck out a bit as she concentrated on the image base so it just touched the edge of the end sweep to the last rune. She knew it had worked when she felt the tiny tug of magic pull from her wand activating the magic.

Lena laughed. She had never tried it on such a small scale before. The affect was better than she thought it would be. The flame at the tip of the wick actually looked like it was flickering.

(oops sorry! That's how I was reading it so I ended up writing it that way XD) Kiara wandered around the shop a little more, but was soon bored. She walked back out to the beach and watched the sea gulls for a bit, then noticed the sand castle building team and got curious. She started in their direction, to get a closer look.

Sauvage blushed a little, grateful that the girls agreed with her gift for Fade. She stashed back into her purse for safekeeping and went to sipping on her pina colada.

Jona, however, was feeling very talkative as it seemed he was in a better mood now that all the drama and tension of the more had faded away and been forgotten. With chipmunk cheeks puffed out and full of pastries, Jona asked in between bites, "What are you guys' favorite cakes? Oh, and cookies! Favorite cookies. I feel like you can tell so much about someone based on their fave treats. Like, me. My favorite cookie is an oatmeal cream pie. Wait, does that count?" A moment of deliberation before he nodded his head affirmatively. "Yeah, I think it does. And my favorite cake is cheesecake - no, it's strawberry shortcake. No!" He threw his hands in the air motioning STOP. "It's definitely tres leches cake." He then offered his plate to the group, still piled high (despite his ravenous eating) with cakes, cookies, and other pastries.

Sauvage took a shortbread cookie form the stack, nibbling as she said, "I like a good tarte au citron. Zhey taste just like summer to me." She licked her lips and smiled as if she could taste it now.

((no worries lol.))

Magnus watched as Kiara exited the shop. She was probably heading for the sandcastles, he thought.

Zoe was feeling calmer. Her little shopping trip had helped too and she was looking forward to finding sea shells and building a sandcastle. She giggled softly with Jona's antics. He was just too cute. It was adorable he couldn't pick just one. "I like Dundee Cake, Victoria Sponge, Battenberg, and Sticky Toffee Pudding the most." Zoe chuckled. "Guess I can't pick one either. What's tres leches?" She took a slice of dundee cake, pleased to see one there.

Elizabeth laughed. "Seems like my parents didn't get the information about unusual names then.", she replied and nodded. 'Blade' was indeed a name she never heard, but it did sound nice. She didn't know him, but from his looks she would say that the name fit.

"Huh, now that's strange", she reacted to Callista's explanation. () "Like you said, Scorpius is pretty well-known. ", she glanced over to Blade. "But I never heard of the Edwards family. He seems to be not the usual Hufflepuff then. "

Elizabeth grinned. "No worries. Take your time.", she replied and looked to the ocean before looking back to Callista. "Oooh I love stingrays! Now I'm kinda jealous you saw one in real-life!" She shrugged lightly. "Ah, I'm never sure. Hogwarts had its fair share of dangerous activities", she said, with an amused tone in her voice, then sighed. "Not at all, sorry. The staff is not taking any actions - I expected them to be on the right track for something, but nothing happened."

Outfit Not Found

(& everyone)

Callista grinned at Elizabeth. "Still sure you don't want to go in? The stingray was super sweet." She sighed. "You're right, there's lots of things we do at school that are dangerous. But they usually tell us it's dangerous, except in cases where we ought to know that anyway--like flying."

Sabrina made a face at the seaweed salad Callista had got to go with her sushi. Why did humans eat such disgusting things?

“Thanks,” Flora smiled. She was pleased with how her side had turned out…until she looked at Lena’s. “Wow!” the younger girl exclaimed. “That’s so cool!” She watched the tiny candle flicker in the window, an awestruck look on her face. “Your part is great. I never would have thought of that…even if I was able to do the spell. Which I’m not.”

As she leaned back, still slightly mesmerized, another movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Turning slightly, Flora noticed another girl watching them. She smiled and said, “Hi! Want to join us? We might need some help with the moat.”

Lena's face lit up at the praise. "Thanks. It's not really a spell and you can do it if you study runes. It's my favorite subject."

Watching Flora's eyes move up and then hearing the young first year's greeting, Lena turned around to see another girl a few feet away. Smiling she settled into a more comfortable position.

"Oh, hi! Yes, please, join us. There's still a lot to do." Lena added. "Or you can just join us without being enlisted into service."