Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Aug 3, 2016 21:01:15 GMT
Dani was nervous. Really nervous. She probably shouldn’t be seeing as this was Meg and if Dani being a werewolf hadn’t scared her off, there probably wasn’t much that could. But still. The last time Dani had relaxed with friends had been almost a year ago. Actually, it had been the very night her life had gone to hell in a hand basket. She and the other apprentice wandmakers had been sitting around a campfire laughing and marveling at the stars, none of them realizing the full moon lightning up the night was about to change their lives. But it had. And now Dani was across the ocean standing on the porch of the home of the one friend she now possessed. She was very much hoping she didn’t find a way to screw that up. With a deep breath, she reached up and knocked on the door. It was a nice place the Ashlands had. The gardens stretched out near the house had already captured Dani’s attention. She loved plants with a passion. And she sorely missed getting to work with them, especially alongside her mother. Which was precisely why she was here – to garden. For one thing, Dani loved gardening, as well as Meg's company. And for another, it was far cheaper than therapy. Which she could probably use, if she was being totally honest. Meg had asked her over a few times before, but Dani had always found a way to slide out of it. This time, however, she had surprised them both by saying yes. Meg already knew her worst secrets. There didn’t seem to be much point in keeping her at arm’s length. Besides, Dani could really do with a friend right about now. The door opened to reveal Meg Ashland, and Dani smiled nervously. “Hey. Sorry I’m a little early.” Well, that didn’t sound awkward at all. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear to cover her nerves. Now more than ever Dani really wanted Meg to like her. But she hadn’t had a real friend in so long she wasn’t even sure she remembered how to do it. A compliment seemed like a good place to start. “This is a really nice place. I like it a lot.” It felt homey, a feeling Dani sorely missed after so long away from her family. outfit |
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Aug 8, 2016 3:26:35 GMT
Welp, she'd done it. Meg was a little proud of herself, really. Not that she'd really done anything - after weeks and weeks of failed attempts at getting to know the 'real' Dani, things had become so painfully obvious that the girl was kind of forced to spill it all to Meg. Meg could at least be proud of herself for not freaking out, probably. Wasn't everyone that wanted to make friends with a werewolf, that she knew for sure. All those Ministry pamphlets and Prophet articles told her to stay away from people like Dani - sometimes, when they were written with special vitriol, to stay away from the actual person themselves, and not just the wolf. To Meg, these were two separate entities entirely, at least in the case of Dani (mainly because she was the only werewolf Meg knew, but I digress) - she knew werewolves were dangerous, and she also knew Dani wasn't. She couldn't control that animal that came out of her on the full moon. And as long as Meg stayed very far away during that time, everything would be fine.
And things were, indeed, turning out pretty darn fine! Dani finally accepted her invitation to come over. Meg could tell she wanted to, really wanted to, and now understood why she'd always declined before. With that whole business out of the way, Dani was finally coming over. And to garden! Meg woke up excited that morning. She didn't have too many friends that wanted to garden with her. Even her family left her to it - her brothers and dad had the same skills as she, but hardly any of the interest anymore. Meg didn't mind much. With all the time she spent around people, she supposed a little alone time was nice once in a while. But if Dani wanted to come over and dig in, Meg was more than happy to oblige and open her gardens up to the girl. Anything to get her to open up herself. Meg apparently knew Dani's deepest, darkest secret now - and now it was time to work on the rest.
Meg was sipping tea at her kitchen table when a knock sounded from the other end of the house. She glanced at the kitchen clock as she stood up - she was assuming that was Dani at the door, and the girl was early. Meg grinned as she walked the length of the house. Maybe that meant she was just as excited as Meg. Meg abandoned her teacup on a side table in the living room once she got to the front door, and opened it up. "Hii," she chirped. "No problem! Gives us more time outside, that's never a bad thing." Meg had taken the whole day off, but she didn't know about Dani. She grinned broadly when the girl complimented her home. "Thank you! I think we've broken it in pretty well at this point." Without a doubt, Meg had probably previously mentioned to Dani that her family had lived on this plot of land for decades. Honestly, she'd probably mentioned it more than once. She was kind of proud of the fact.
"So." Meg clapped her hands together. "Do you want tea, or anything? Or are you ready to dig right in?" Ha. Dig. Cheesy jokes ran in the family.
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Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Aug 9, 2016 6:23:10 GMT
Dani’s apology was easily brushed off as Meg insisted it was fine. She actually sounded pretty excited. Dani found herself smiling back at her co-worker’s attitude. She really did love bubbly Meg. The other bartender’s loud and talkative nature juxtaposed nicely with Dani’s quieter personality. Apparently opposites really did attract. She shook her head as she surveyed the house. “I can’t believe your family’s been here that long. I’ve only moved twice, but it would’ve been a lot more if my mom had her way. She’s always been a big explorer. Dad’s the one who likes having a solid home base. Mom says it’s because all writers are homebodies at heart.” It took her a second to realize she had started talking about her family. But when she did, a quiet smile crossed her face. Now that Meg knew the truth, it seemed all the barriers Dani had constructed were slowly melted away. She reached up nervously to push a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Dani wasn’t usually much for talking. She far preferred to listen. But she missed her family like crazy, which resulted in more talking. Time to go back to questions. “Are you home alone?” She wouldn’t mind meeting Meg’s family, in all honesty. But she would probably be less shy about things if it was just the two of them.
Meg asked about drinks like a proper hostess, and Dani shrugged. “Tea’s great. Or we can just get to it. Whichever.” Dani had never really been picky. She did crack a smile at Meg’s little pun. It felt good to be happy, especially considering she got to share it with someone. Dani might be quiet, but she was still a people person. She didn’t do too well all by herself. She needed friends. Which she now had. The joke caused her to look back out at the gardens near the house. “Clearly you do a lot of digging. You and my mom would get along.” There it was again, her family slipping so naturally into the conversation. This visit had been a good idea. She looked back at Meg with a genuine smile. “You have a favorite plant to grow?” Plants were a subject Dani could definitely get behind. This conversation could quite literally go on for days if the world would only let it.
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Aug 11, 2016 21:29:54 GMT
Dani's mom was an explorer, her dad a writer. Meg made mental notes of these little things as the other girl spoke them, grin never leaving her face. Not only was Dani now talking to her and accepting her invitations - she was sharing! Meg could have burst with joy. That's all she wanted. She understood she came off strong but all she truly wanted was to know people, their true selves. She thought the world would be a happier place, with much happier people in it, if everyone just sat down for a conversation once in a while. Opened up. Then they would see they weren't so alone, or even different. "Exploring is good too! It's just nice to have a place to come back to after a long adventure, I get that. What does your dad write?" Dani had opened the floodgates now. Give Meg an inch, and she had miles of questions lined up.
"Nope! The whole gang's here today, I think." Meg glanced behind her into the house; bedroom doors were open, indicating Ashland men were indeed home - and sociable. You definitely didn't want to keep your door open all the time, living with Meg, unless you wanted to go crazy. Just because she'd known them all their lives didn't mean she didn't have just as many questions for them as complete strangers she met. Meg turned back to Dani, tilting her head. "Wanna make the rounds and say hi? I promise they're mostly as harmless as me. Or we can later; whatever." She shrugged casually, not wanting to force her whole family on Dani in one go. Dani was opening up, but even Meg could agree that might be a little much.
"Tea first, then. We can take it out with us." Meg nodded and smiled, completely forgetting the cup she'd abandoned just minutes ago. She needed fresh tea, anyway. "I love my flutterby bushes; they're so pretty, and so easy! I'm also really fond of Muggle flowers of all sorts. It's probably half and half out there, all put together." Meg cast an appreciative glance out the door at her yard before leading Dani into the house. "What does your mom like to grow? What do you like to grow?"
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Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Aug 12, 2016 5:52:10 GMT
There had been a time not so very long ago when Meg asking after Dani’s family would’ve made Dani clam up. Old habits died hard apparently because she still hesitated briefly. But then the answer came. “He freelances mostly. Articles for travel magazines and stuff like that. My mom’s an herbologist, so we grew up traveling. But she hates writing papers. Something about seeing a blank page just drives her crazy. So she does the research and Dad writes it up. It works pretty well for them.”
The offer to meet the family took a little more consideration. Just because Dani had latched onto Meg didn’t mean she was suddenly turning into a social butterfly. She was still pretty introverted at heart. Then again, Meg’s family sounded nice from what Dani had heard. So she settled for a shrug as she slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “Doesn’t matter to me. Now or later. Whatever you want.” Dani also wasn’t the most decisive person in the world. Not if she was with someone else she could pawn the decision off on. The way she saw it, the other person was less likely to be put out with the outcome if they had picked it themselves. And Dani’s sensitive self did not do conflict. At all.
Meg decided on tea now. One less decision Dani would have to make for herself. Brilliant. And tea truly did sound good. She nodded appreciatively as Meg spoke about her plants. “Well, they’re definitely pretty. So are Muggle flowers. I always really liked daffodils. Don’t know why. Maybe because they’re cheerful. How can you look at a daffodil and not get cheered up at least a little?” Meg headed inside, and Dani trailed after her. “My mom likes everything that grows. Literally everything. I think there are weeds she likes. Me, I’m about the same. I just like working with plants. Doesn’t really matter what kind. It’s calming. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I got to do it with my mom.” She fell silent, her enthusiasm dimming as she thought about her family. They were probably worried sick. She kept wondering if maybe she should write, but then they would just come find her. And she couldn’t have that. She couldn’t risk them getting hurt again. Which, of course, begged the question – what the hell was she doing letting herself get close to Meg? Wasn’t this putting her friend in the very same danger Dani had left home to shield her family from. She forced herself to push that thought away. Just once, she wanted to have a nice normal day with a friend without worrying about all of that. Hadn't she earned that much? Just once, she was going to let herself be selfish.
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Sept 5, 2016 3:27:58 GMT
"That's so cute!" Meg gushed, just envisioning the partnership that Dani's mum and dad had. They all sounded like quite the solid family unit, which made it all the more heartbreaking that Dani had to pull herself away from that unit. But they weren't going to think about that today; unless Dani needed this time to get some things off her chest - Meg was willing to listen to anything - Meg was going to try her best to make this a positive, happy day for the girl. She certainly needed it, and deserved it. "I'm jealous of your mum. I dunno if I told you already, but I've been doing some work in a lab for a friend. I mostly take care of her plants, but the scientist part of it is so much fun. Makes me wish I paid better attention in school," she laughed. "Do you do any writing, or are you more like your mum?"
Dani seemed a little hesitant still to meet Meg's family, leaving the decision up to Meg. Really, she thought it would be good for the girl. She'd already told Meg she made a good substitute for family - why not add a couple of brothers and a dad into the mix, too? After deciding on tea, Meg tapped her chin in thought. "I'll introduce you while we're waiting for the tea," she decided, and disappeared into her house in a whirl, leading Dani to the kitchen among much talk of plants. Meg thought this was probably the most Dani had ever spoken to her, and it made her smile broadly. "I love daffodils. I call them the heralds of spring. A sign that brighter days are ahead! They grow all over the place out here." Meg thought it was probably a sign that Dani liked daffodils. They were certainly a symbol of hope for Meg, and Dani needed hope in her life. "I think me and your mum would get along really well, sounds like. Especially if she's so much like you."
They reached the kitchen at the same time they reached a lull in their conversation. Dani's mind must have traveled elsewhere as she quieted down, as did Meg's. She was thinking about Dani's mum, or rather mothers in general. Even if Dani's mum was an ocean away, she still had her. Had all those wonderful memories with her. Meg couldn't deny that she was jealous of that, and having a little trouble connecting with it. She had substitutes, good ones, but never the real thing and just didn't know what it was like. She liked to imagine her own mum would have liked to garden with her, too. This kind of thought brought Meg back to the meaning of today - happiness and hope - and brought her smile back, too, as she put on the tea kettle. She turned back to Dani and asked, "Ready to meet them? We can just pop in and say hi."
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Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Sept 7, 2016 7:03:38 GMT
The idea of lab work definitely snagged Dani’s interest. Partly because she was pretty sure leaving Meg unattended in a lab was just about guaranteed to end in some kind of explosion, but also because it just sounded interesting. “Neat! You hadn’t mentioned that. What kind of lab work? Or is it all super secret?” Dani grinned as if waiting to be let in some kind of secret. She had missed this – just relaxing with a good friend and talking about absolutely nothing at all. Even before she left America, most of her friends had slowly pulled away after she was bitten. That just made Meg’s friendship even more precious. “Well, I like plants like my mom. But I draw, actually.” Dani shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her hair as she suddenly became self-conscious. She loved her art, but it was also pretty private. Or at least, it had become that way in recent years. “I, um… I could maybe show you sometime. If you want. It’s really just a hobby. Nothing spectacular.” Actually, Dani had been told she was quite talented. But she wasn’t always the best at taking compliments. Too much attention.
Meg decided on meeting the family, and Dani nodded. “Okay.” If they were anything like Meg, she had a feeling she would end up liking the lot of them. She followed Meg through the house to the kitchen, a grin forming on her face when Meg brought up Dani’s mother. “Actually, I take after my dad more. Mom’s a lot like you though. She’s always happy and friendly. She gets a little nerdy about her plants sometimes, and then you can’t shut her up. But she knows how to make people laugh. And let them know she cares.” Dani trailed off a little with a shrug. The truth was, she missed her mother fiercely. She missed all her family. But especially her mother and all the time they had spent together pouring over plants while Dani sketched and her mother spouted an encyclopedia or facts. “You’d like her a lot. I wish you could meet her,” Dani finished in a much quieter tone. There was no doubt in her mind that her mother and her friend would hit it off right away.
Apparently it was time to meet the family. Dani nodded, squaring her shoulders a bit to fend off the sudden surge of nerves. She really, really wanted Meg’s family to like her. “You sure you don’t need to give them some kind of warning first?” It was said as a joke, but it only took one look at her to tell she was a little nervous. In Dani’s mind, she was a lot to handle, even if people didn’t know about the whole werewolf thing.
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Sept 10, 2016 23:44:24 GMT
"Could be super secret, could be I just don't understand most of it," Meg laughed, shrugging. The more time she spent with Luna the more she did understand, and she was also learning that some things just weren't meant to be understood about that wonderful girl. "Some potions work, I think she likes to mix things together just to see what will happen. She's always observing a creature or two, too, which is really neat. I didn't even know some of these things existed." Meg spoke fondly of Luna's experiments always, happy to have the chance to witness something like that. Wasn't every witch that got to observe the cutting edge of magic, even if most of it was over her head.
From blonde to brunette, Meg switched her fondness from one friend to the other right in front of her, at the revelation that this one was an artist. "Ohh, really? I would like that. What do you draw? Plants?" She said it only a little in jest. It would make sense, really, for her to draw plants if she liked them so much anyway. Dani went on to detail that she was really more like her dad, but that Meg herself was like her mum. This made Meg smile at all the comparative compliments bestowed upon her. Meg could only hope she was the kind of person Dani suggested, especially for people like Dani, who needed people like Meg in their lives. "Maybe I will one day," she suggested gently, at the idea of meeting Dani's mum. Not like she would ever push the girl into uncomfortable territory, but if Meg could somehow figure out a way for Dani to see her family again, it would be a win-win-win all around.
For the time being, Dani could meet Meg's family instead. Meg laughed at the girl's joke, responding, "I think they can handle you. They live with me, remember?" And then they were off. Jon's room was the closest so they stopped there first. A very tall man that favored Meg slightly in looks was sitting at a desk tinkering with something or the other. When Meg knocked, he smiled and stood up to come shake Dani's hand while his sister made the introductions. After a minute or so he returned to his desk and Meg led Dani to Theo's room. He was laid out on his bed reading a magazine and didn't seem like he was going to go anywhere, just waved from his bed and went through the niceties. With that done with, Meg led Dani to a staircase in the middle. She called down for her dad, and soon enough an older version of Theo came trundling up the stairs. "This is Dad. Dad, this is Dani. She works with me at the Three Broomsticks." The sound of the tea kettle whistled through the house. Meg waited a moment, then spoke again. "We just wanted to come say hi. We're gonna go garden. Ready?" She turned back to Dani.
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Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Sept 14, 2016 5:22:48 GMT
“That definitely sounds interesting,” Dani admitted. She was a little apprehensive about the idea of mixing potions to see what happened. That sounded like a good way to cause an accident. But creatures were definitely something she could get behind. “My brother Scott’s a big creature nerd. He wants to be a magizoologist. He was always wandering off as a kid to look for creatures. It used to drive my mom crazy, which is pretty funny because they’re both Thunderbirds.” Realizing that might not mean anything to her British friend, she added, “It’s the Ilvermorny house for adventurers. I was in Pukwudgie. It’s big on healing and that sort of thing. Supposedly it represents the heart of a wizard. Or at least, that’s how the story goes.” She really wasn’t sure why she had suddenly become so talkative. Maybe because she missed her old life. Her family, her home, her alma mater. Being able to talk about it after so many months was making missing it all a little easier.
The question of art made Dani nod, a shy smile creeping across her face. “I’ll draw just about anything, really. But we were always out for Mom’s work, and the plants were just there, so…” She shrugged. “I’ll bring a sketchpad next time and you can see some of them.” If Meg could be trusted with the werewolf secret, she could definitely be trusted with Dani’s precious drawings. And maybe they could get a laugh or two out of the stories attached to the different plants. Dani had spent so long keeping her life private, but the more she talked to Meg, the more of it she wanted to share. It was nice having a friend again. The thought of Meg meeting her family sobered her up a bit. “Maybe,” she said, her voice quiet and careful as she turned the concept over in her head. She wasn’t ready to face her family yet. But it didn’t sound quite as terrifying when Meg was the one saying it. Maybe someday…
Meg responded to Dani’s joke with one of her own, and it drew a small grin from the younger girl. “You’re not so bad.” And not just because she didn’t turn into a crazed terror every full moon. Dani legitimately couldn’t imagine a scenario where Meg would be hard to handle. Probably because she had never been unfortunate enough to cross her fellow bartender. She followed Meg through the house, reverting unconsciously back into shy Dani mode as introductions were made. She smiled and shook hands, but she stayed close to Meg and let the blonde do most of the talking. The rest of the Ashlands certainly seemed nice. It just tended to take Dani a bit to warm up to people, even when she wasn’t trying to keep them out of her life. Finally the rounds were made and Meg was suggesting they head for the garden. Dani nodded emphatically. “Lead the way.” It had been months since she had gotten to spend some quality time with real, live plants. She had been looking forward to this for days.
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Sept 21, 2016 16:35:59 GMT
"Ooo, magizoologist. That sounds so fancy. How old is he now, again?" Meg couldn't be happier than Dani was opening up to her so much, and even relating. They weren't so different, her and Dani, not in the places it mattered. Meg could find something in common with just about anyone; and she was finding a lot of those things with Dani. Their differences were just as enthralling, though. Meg listened to Dani detail her old school with great interest. Meg, of course, was a die hard Hogwarts alumna - but Ilvermorny did have some awesome sounding houses. "It fits you," Meg smiled at the girl. "And I'm also glad to hear other wizard schools with such fun house names. I mean - Hufflepuff, really?" She laughed.
It was plants; she knew it. Meg grinned and nodded her enthusiasm for seeing Dani's drawings. "Please! I can't draw worth a lick. If you ever need inspiration, I think my gardens out here might be due for some sketching." Art was one of the many things Meg had meant to get into, and just...never had. Her attention span was short and she really only had attention enough for things she really, really loved, like gardening.
And her family. Meg could stand around and chat with them all day, but she knew that would make Dani uncomfortable eventually so she hurried through the introductions. Meg intended to make Dani one of her good friends, anyway, so if that worked out there would be plenty more time for family chats. She high-fived her dad as she turned away back toward the kitchen and he trundled back down the stairs. Meg stopped in the kitchen just long enough to pull down a few teacups and some sugar and cream, setting it all out on the counter. She poured her own tea, adding massive amounts of sugar, before handing the whole operation off to Dani. Tea in hand, she then led the girl to the back door of the kitchen, which led into a backyard that rolled away in wild, gentle hills. Gardens dotted the property as far as the eye could see, losing their composure the farther away from the house they got. Meg preferred the wild look, anyway. "I've got some vegetable plants that need replanting, I thought maybe we could start there?" She paused and looked back at Dani for confirmation.
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Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Sept 22, 2016 0:00:20 GMT
“He’s seventeen. He’s all grown up.” Dani couldn’t help smiling a little as she said that. It was strange to think of her brother being of age and in his last year of school. Not that she had ever really seen Scott as her baby brother. The two siblings had been incredibly close considering they were four years apart. Actually, close wasn’t the word. They had been best friends. Until Dani tried to kill him and severed all contact. She found herself wondering how he was doing now. He would graduate in the spring. What would happen to him then? Talking about her old school distracted her from the surge of homesickness. She was definitely proud of her alma mater. “Well, at least out houses are real animals. Hufflepuff sounds like a Pokemon name.” Which probably didn’t mean anything to Meg seeing as she had grown up solely in the magical world. “It’s this Muggle game that’s getting popular in America. Especially with Thunderbird house. Scott has a bunch of Muggleborn friends that play it.”
The offer to sketch in Meg’s garden was one Dani couldn’t refuse. “I’d like that. A lot.” It sounded relaxing. And Dani could do with some relaxing. That was why she had come over today, after all. To try and unwind the perpetual knots that seemed to have become a part of her shoulders. Just for today she wanted to pretend she was normal.
The tea was ready. Some people had a preference as far as tea or coffee, but Dani honestly liked both. Mostly because she had been raised on both. Her dad loved to get up in the mornings and sit on the porch with a cup to write before the rest of the house got up, and her mother thought tea (and hugs) were the answer for everything. Dani put a little sugar in her tea, just enough to pull out the natural flavors, and trailed after Meg to the back door, blowing gently on her beverage as she went. The grounds beyond the house were gorgeous. Especially to Dani’s artistic eye. She nodded approvingly. “I see why your family never left.” The gardens giving way to unruly hills felt homey somehow. Definitely more than the close quarters of London. Or maybe it was just because Dani had grown up out in nature hunting down this plant of that. Either way, she could feel the knots in her shoulders starting to relax. There was just something therapeutic about nature.
She nodded in answer to Meg’s question. Dani had no qualms about getting her hands dirty. In fact, feeling fertile soil on her hands again would be like reuniting with an old friend. She had missed it. She let Meg lead the way toward the vegetables in question. Some part of her brain had also been mulling over the concept of school houses since it was mentioned earlier, and now as they walked she found herself asking a Dani-style question. “If you were going to organize students into houses, how would you do it? What would you divide them based on?” She took a small sip of tea to check the temperature as she tried to think of what her own answer would be. The Hogwarts system seemed too simple. Maybe because the categories felt so… rigid. Ilvermorny’s method made more sense, at least to Dani, but she had a feeling there was a better one out there somewhere. She just wasn’t sure what it was.
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Nov 25, 2016 7:42:16 GMT
"Aww, cute." Meg smiled at Dani's smile over her brother - that was too cute. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a little brother. But I think I like being the baby too much." Even most of Meg's multitude of cousins were older than her. It certainly fostered a sort of attitude in a person, always being around people that were older than you. She liked being protected and taken care of. But the idea of having a little sibling to watch over did appeal to Meg's caring nature - she supposed she would just have to take that out on her friends.
Meg laughed, but stared blankly, at Dani's reference to some sort of game. She had no idea what that was, but it did sound sort of funny, like Hufflepuff. Meg's family wasn't strict on tradition or anything, they were just old-school. They'd lived a certain way for so long, in this same very house, that advances in the Muggle world just sort of passed them by. "Oh, I see! What sort of game is it?" Meg was still interested in learning about them, though. She watched Muggle movies with her cousins fairly often.
"You're welcome any time to come over. Really," Meg nodded when Dani seemed interested in drawing in her gardens. With tea in hand, they wandered out into those very gardens, Meg beaming at Dani's appreciation for her home. Why would anyone want to ever leave this place? As hard as it was sometimes, living with her brothers and her dad, literally all Meg had to do was step out the kitchen door for a reminder of how blessed she was.
Dani agreed to her suggestion about the vegetable plants, so Meg led the way over to one of her raised beds, essentially just a big box full of dirt. Set off to the side were several pots with pepper and tomato plants that were very obviously running out of room to go. Meg settled into the grass and sipped at her tea as Dani asked her a question. Meg tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hmm...I'd ask them, I guess. Ask them what they were interested in, like potions or transfiguration or even art or sports or whatever, and do it like that. So they could be with like-minded people and focus on that throughout their schooling. What about you?"
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Shop Staff
Three Broomsticks Bartender
Werewolf
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21 years old
Ilvermorny Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Ash
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Post by Danielle 'Dani' Carson on Dec 2, 2016 5:54:15 GMT
Meg was most definitely accustomed to being the baby. Nothing wrong with that. It made her who she was. But Dani couldn’t helped smiling at the sentiment of wanting to look after someone else. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’ve be good at it.” She was certainly good at taking care of her friends. Dani herself loved being the oldest, but sometimes it was nice letting someone else look after her for a change.
How to explain the game? Dani reached up to scratch the back of her neck as she tried to figure it out. “Well, it’s a videogame.” Which probably meant nothing to someone from a strong wizarding family. Right. Sometimes Dani forgot other people didn’t have Muggle neighbors and grandparents. “It’s sort of like a Muggle movie, I guess, except you have a remote and when you push the buttons, the character does things. Like you can control where they walk and stuff. And then there’s a story and you go through it. And with Pokémon, it’s this world where there’s all these creatures and you collect them, and they have different abilities, and when they fight each other, they get stronger. So you go through all these different towns trying to collect more types and get stronger so you can beat other trainers and become the best one.” She paused as it suddenly occurred to her exactly why the kids from Thunderbird loved it so much. “It sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s super addicting. Or so my brother tells me.” Videogames were more Scott’s thing than Dani’s. Although he wasn’t as consumed by them as some of the Muggle kids Dani knew from back home.
Dani sat down in the grass next to Meg, taking a sip of her tea as she listened to Meg mull it over. “That’s actually a pretty good idea.” Sorting by interest. Although the world did need variety and differing viewpoints. So maybe that was too constrained. But then how would Dani do it? She ran a hand over the top of the dirt while she considered. Merlin, she had missed this. Maybe it was time to get some plants for her tiny little apartment. Brighten the place up a little. “I don’t know. I think the best way might be to pair up both ends of a spectrum. Like the kids who are really strong in one area and the kids who are really weak in it and put them together so they can help each other. But that opens up like a million different combinations, so it’s not really doable.” She shrugged. “I guess I like how Ilvermorny does it. With Hogwarts, at least how I understand it, they sort based on what you value. Ilvermorny is more on what type of person you are. Healers or warriors or scholars or adventurers. It’s more about how you approach the world than what you want out of it. But breaking it down into four groups seems too simple. There should be more options.” She grinned sheepishly as she realized how much she was talking. Dani didn’t usually speak this much around people other than her family. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”
They were here to work with plants, not to listen to Dani wax poetic about school. She took another drink of her tea and then set the cup down on the ground. “Okay. So what are we doing out here?” Anything at all was perfectly acceptable. Dani just wanted to be back to working with the plants she loved so much.
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Shop Staff
Bartender at the Three Broomsticks
Lab Assistant
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24 years old
Hufflepuff Alumnus
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Mego
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Post by Meg Ashland on Dec 29, 2016 3:18:11 GMT
"Thank you," Meg said with a tilt of her head, slightly surprised. Someone besides herself thought she would make a good big sister - huh. That was new. Not that it was question Meg really went around asking people, she just thought it was sort of assumed that she definitely came off as the family-baby type. It didn't really matter, though, in the end. At her age, she highly doubted she would be getting any baby brothers or sisters. Her dad hadn't even dated one person since Mum died - hadn't even shown any interest in it. Meg supposed in addition to her friends, she always took care of him, too.
But now was not the time for such strangely bittersweet thoughts - Dani was explaining the concept of both Pokemon and video games in general to her, and Meg had to give the girl every bit of her attention in hopes of even trying to understand. She'd heard of video games, sure, and she was pretty sure her Muggle cousins had one of those video game machines along with the one they put the movies in - but much like movies, Meg's knowledge of Muggle machines was heavily limited to those few summer visits with her family. "That sounds awesome!" Meg smiled, at least half-pretending she understood what the heck Dani just said. Her smile fell just a bit after a moment, and she scrunched her eyebrows together. "But, like...it's not real, right? Just like the movies?" She hated to think there were some poor little animals trapped in those video games, being forced to fight.
Dani had Meg's mind moving a mile a minute today. It was nice, if a little exhausting. Most of the time, when people talked to Meg...mostly, they just wanted her to listen. Which Meg didn't mind at all - she liked having new things explained to her, and offering her little quips of support and sympathy where needed. But it was nice to have her opinion asked, for once. Dani even said she liked it, which made Meg smile again as she listened to the girl's own idea. Pairing up opposites...Meg nodded her agreement. Not a bad idea; though she didn't think everybody would be so keen to help their partner. Some people didn't have one helpful bone in their body.
When Dani began to describe how her school did the sorting, Meg leaned in, throwing her full attention on the girl again. She'd been thinking about Ilvermorny a lot lately, actually. Meg knew there were other magic schools out there, of course there were - but it never really dawned on her that they might be so different from Hogwarts. It was crazy to her to think that magic could be so different in other countries (obviously, Meg didn't get out much). "Not rambling, I like it," Meg said, returning to her smile. "I agree that four groups is way too little. Maybe there should just be one big group and they let people do what they want. But...," Meg paused, chewing on her lip. "What you said, about what you value versus what you are? Do you think those are different?" Also a new concept to Meg, one she was very likely misunderstanding, but still. The things she valued made her who she was, and she was pretty sure the Sorting Hat saw that...being able to read her mind, and all.
But no matter! Again, they had lots to do today. Some thinking, some talking, and some gardening. "I wanna put these," she pointed at the vegetable plants in the pots scattered all around them and the raised bed box, "in that." She pointed at the box and then looked at Dani. "Have you done a lot of rehousing? It's pretty simple. You just have to be gentle and make sure you get all the roots out of the pot, and then make sure you dig a big enough hole in the box to cover up to about six inches of stem above the roots." With that, Meg pulled a tomato plant toward her and dug in, gently coaxing the plant out of the pot.
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