Ditching the Valentine's Ball (Open)

Guest

Anthony wasn't fond of social events. The ones that his family dragged him to, he often found boring. Not being the most social person to begin with, he often found that as the nights dragged on, they became positively painful. Suits and tux's were uncomfortable, people made meaningless small talk, and he had this awful, awful feeling that if he mixed up his words, or stuttered (something that happened quite often), that all eyes were on him, fixating on his mistakes. It was something that had started out small, his stutter, but as he'd grown, it had gotten worse (much to his mother's dismay). He'd never been as confident as James, nor as eloquent as Florrie. And it frustrated him to no end that their charm came so naturally, while he'd struggle to do the simplest small talk.

One thing he did have on his siblings was his intelligence. Though that didn't seem to come in handy as much as charming people through beautiful words.

Considering he disliked large amounts of people, and social events, he decided to not go to the ball. Opting for a peaceful stroll through the grounds while everyone else was busy doing whatever it was people did on Valentine's day.

Guest

Koda had spent barely an hour at the Valentine's Day ball before deciding that remaining amongst chatty friends and swooning teenagers drinking more-than-likely spiked punch would be a waste of her night. She'd originally thought the event to be an ideal situation in which she could gain allies for future predicaments. The moment that a Seventh year Hufflepuff burst through the door in nothing but blue shorts and a festive, whale bowtie, the girl decided that her time would be better spent elsewhere.

Elsewhere, she decided, would be the school grounds. The darkness of the night would cleanse her eyes of Joshua Abbott's wannabe six-pack, and it would provide her with a chance to see if any other students had come up with the same idea. These students, she decided, were the types that she would want to create a connection to. Becky with the good hair would not aid her in any of the excursions that she had in mind.

As an icebreaker, also simply because she needed the taste of Valentine's punch out of her mouth, Koda had slipped a flask of fire-whiskey into the small bag at her side. She didn't drink often, only on the occasional social gathering, but she did find that she enjoyed the taste of fire-whiskey as opposed to any other alcoholic beverage.

A couple of minutes into the grounds, Koda noticed someone in the distance. She smiled; of course, someone else had chosen to ditch the ball. Could every student at Hogwarts truly enjoy that event? Before approaching, she made sure to do only a small amount of research.

His name was Anthony Byrne. The main topics he pondered included the names, Florrie and James. These were his siblings, perhaps? She guessed that he was most likely the runt of the litter. She shrugged to herself. This wasn't overly useful knowledge, but at least she wasn't going into the conversation blind.

The last thing she needed was to run into a full-of-themselves Pureblood, or even a full-of-themselves Half-Blood. This kid was a Pureblood, it seemed, but he did not seem like the type to be clouded by his bloodline. Of course, thoughts only accounted for part of someone's character. She could not read everything, but this was enough.

"Hello," she said, walking over to the boy. She reached into her bag and pulled out the vessel. "Firewhiskey," she clarified.

"Would you like a drink?" She raised an eyebrow. Koda was sure that Anthony was most likely far younger than she, but how he chose to ruin his mind was his own problem. It wasn't her job to be responsible for him.

Guest

It seemed he wasn't the only one who had the idea to ditch the ball, he thought as he saw the girl approach him. That was almost comforting in a way, physical proof that he wasn't the sole person that disliked social gatherings. Of course, it would have been impossible, to be the only one who thought that way, though it was nice to have reaffirmation.

She looked to be older than him, and he didn't recognise her as anyone from his house. Perhaps the reason he couldn't recall seeing her around was due to the fact that she wasn't particularly social either.

"H-hi," he replied, mustering a small smile. His eyes flickered towards the flask she held, that was, he was told, firewhiskey. And then she offered him a drink. It was something he'd always been interested in trying. He hesitated a moment- knowing his parents would kill him if they found out. Of course, how would his parents ever find out? The only two people that could ever tell were at the ball. Florrie though, she always knew things that seemed impossible to know. How, he wasn't sure.

After a moment of consideration, he did something that he didn't at all expect.

"I-I'll give it a try," he replied "How'd you m-manage to get it?" he asked.

Guest

Almost as soon as Koda had unsheathed her alcohol, the Third Year's eyes leaned inward towards the flask as though it was the only female at an all boys' school. She hid her amusement behind a small smirk. Anthony hesitated for a moment before accepting her offer. From the recurring names of his siblings, Koda assumed that his reservations were family related. Would they find out? What would they say?

He reminded her somewhat of a wolf pup; having the capacity to venture into the beyond but always falling back into the back of the pack. He'd better learn to either break away or fight back, she thought. Or else the pack may swallow him whole.

Eventually, the boy told her that he would like to "give it a try." She rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. One did not "give it a try." In the world of Dakoda Abernathy, you were in or you were out. As of now, Anthony was all in.

"Are you sure that Florrie and James won't mind?" She questioned, making sure that the comical aura of her statement was obvious. It would be enough to spook him, but not enough to scare him away. He hadn't done anything. Why would she chase him away?

When inquired on the origin of the adult beverage, Koda stated calmly,
"You can find an airline anything if you've all the proper baggage." It was vague but informative enough. In reality, she had found a bartender who would serve to minors willing to strip for him. Obviously, he did not want news of his business reaching the proper authorities. Naturally, Koda had threatened to do exactly that.

She now had a firewhisky connection whenever she needed one.

» Snow Ball Fights (Open)
» The Clement Christmas Ball (Open to All)
» Valentine's Day Ball (Open to All Staff & Students)
» The Christmas Ball
» The Main Ball