Terra Incognita Academy

[Dominique Noel]

The welcome back feast had ended and all the students had made it back to their dorms, all the students except for one. Dominique walked halfway to the dorm, ducked into a secret passage and grabbed all her party supplies. Taking secret passages and hallways that she knew would be currently unused, Dominique snuck out of the castle. She made her way across the dark lawn, barely able to see by the light of the moon and stars. Once far enough away from the school, Dominique lit her wand. The last leg of her journey wasn’t nearly as bad. She finally made her way to the spot of the party.

The spot was a rather large space on the beach, blocked from the castle by the giant cliffs. The ocean was relatively low, but Dominique made sure she set the fire and all items up far enough away that when the tide rose it wouldn’t all be swept away. The spot sported a couple of grassy hills before the giant rock face of the cliffs began. There was a cave off the left, but Dominique didn’t encourage people to go in and explore in case they were trapped by the tide.

All the party supplies were jammed into a never-ending bag. It was a bag that Dominique had charmed in her fifth year to be able to hold an infinite amount of things without getting any bigger than a medium sized pocket book. Dominique liked to think of it as her Mary Poppins bag. Working silently and diligently, Dominique pulled supplies out. Dry wood for the bon fire was pilled up on the sand, tiki torches were placed around, small tables were set out and blankets and towels were littered around on the grass. Dominique grabbed the liquor and butterbeer on one of the tables, while muggle soda and beer were placed in coolers. Bags of chips where also placed on the tables along with plastic cups and paper plates. The magical speakers were set up to play all types of wizarding music all around the party area. Spells were casted to keep the teachers and tattling students away, along with one to keep the music from carrying to the castle. Lastly, Dominique took her wand and lit the bon fire and tiki torches. Green flames lit the area, warming the air slightly.

Slowly people started to arrive. Most of the first arrivers were people who didn’t usually go to parties, or students who had only been invited to the party this one year. As time went on, other students showed up, creating a relatively large crowed. Dominique walked over to one of the refreshment tables and grabbed a cup and poured some firewhiskey into it. Finding a seat on one of the blankets, she pulled out her cigarettes and lit one, watching as the festivities unraveled.

[Matthew Wolfe]

Matt hadn't bothered with much of the Welcoming Feast; he simply couldn't be bothered to go for long. The reason was unclear to him, but for some reason unbeknownst to him he simply didn't relish the chance to meet and greet the people who had returned - and naturally those who were just starting their new time at Terra Incognita. Ever since the ball he had been somewhat in a daze, and even from other events nothing seemed to change his (pardon the pun) spellbound status. Nothing really captured his attention for long unless they walked on two legs, were human, attractive and above all: female. And even then he wasn't quite his usual self.

So it was that he decided to evade the majority of the meal, instead taking a few things to tide him over so that he could find somewhere to go. Where? He didn't care. Why? To think, and just be alone. With whom? No one; he wanted his own company for once. Anything to him sounded better than being left alone in the dormitory when everyone else was asleep, and he was awake. The food often seemed to contain some sort of ingredient to make people sleepy - even those who didn't eat that much felt drowsy soon after. It didn't make sense, but that said nothing really made sense in this academy. So many things happened without any logical explanation; and logic to Matt made the world go around. He may not have been the most logical student in the premises, but he certainly liked the idea of it.

Picking himself up off his seat, he had made a quick getaway, remaining unnoticed by anyone else (or so he hoped, he wasn't entirely convinced that no one saw his departure). His destination, he had decided, would be the beach. He loved the smell of the ocean air; he loved to feel the sand beneath his bare feet; he loved the sounds of the waves crashing against the sand and rocks. Being beside the sea was something that Matt greatly enjoyed, for it was his home. Living by the sea had not dulled his expectations of life around the waters, and if anything it enhanced his appreciation of the land.

For some time, Matt sat alone on some rocks near the sands, just a little bit off from where most parties may end up later on. His arms were behind him, whilst he looked up at the evening skies, the wind soft enough to keep him cool but strong enough to cause his hair to flutter about somewhat irritatingly. But he wouldn't change any of it for the world, it was his home and sanctuary. He didn't know how much time he spent on this make-shift seat, but what he did know was that he had bypassed the meal completely. Somehow, in his reverie, people had managed to approach the beach to start the real celebrations. He didn't know who for the time being, but he knew that he was no longer the only being on this beach. He was of mixed views about this - one the one hand it meant company to distract him (and hopefully a lot of new girls to focus on), but on the other he could no longer think on his own. People were going to occupy his thoughts. He was in a conflict over what to do.

But typically of Matt, a chance to party overruled his doubts. He hadn't really had a good party since just before he returned home for the summer; the students of Terra Incognita made most parties fly by, and often end up with a lot of memories. Would he give up this chance? No. Pulling himself off the rocks, and slinking down to the beach, he began to mingle with the crowd, but still keeping himself to himself for the time being. He had a drink in his hand now though - he had conjured one to keep him happy - which would undoubtedly lead to many more.

[Geoffrey Carls]

Geoffrey Carls wasn't the normal sort of fellow one would see at parties. Sure, everyone who didn't actually go to the parties considered him a social butterfly, part of the "in crowd", or a partier or whatnot. Truth was, though, the parties he had attended made him look pretty tame. He hadn't even attended one since Fifth Year. He preferred one-on-one interaction, or hanging out with a small group of friends. Geoff had become everyone's best-kept secret, so to speak, and everyone seemed to have obtained the impression that they knew him better than any other person or any of his other friends. It was precisely these sorts of conclusions, brought about by these sorts of communications, that he wished to avoid from now on. For one reason or another, nothing about his life really made sense anymore. All the things he had taken pleasure in seemed meaningless and insubstantial. He hadn't even really talked to his friends all summer... Mio had all but abandoned him... And no amount of jogging or silly antics could brighten his smile to what it had been. So what was he to do with himself? This year could not be like any other year, that was for sure. Thus, the invitation to the party designed for upperclassmen came as a pleasant release. If one couldn't find pleasure in the good things of life, certainly some beers and intrigues with total strangers could at least turn some things around.

So the now seventh-year Momento Mori student made his mind up to go and stuffed the invitation to the bottom of his still unpacked trunk. Still wearing the same clothes he had worn all day, he adorned only a light jacket against the sea breeze before he tiptoed out of the dormitory, noting he was not the first student to do so. Matt Wolfe's bed had been empty as well, but thinking again Geoff realized he hadn't even seen his old friend at the banquet earlier that evening. Well, at least his stuff was at the foot of his bed, which meant he hadn't altogether left TIA. That was good. Geoff didn't think he could handle losing yet another close friend.

Using passages he hadn't used to sneak out in ages, with the proof written upon many a stubbed toe, he muddled his way up from the Momento Mori common room in the dungeons and slipped out of a side entrance to the castle. After that it wasn't too difficult to gain his bearings on the familiar landscape and without too many incidents he finally slipped behind the cliffside and into the small cove where torches were already lit for the party. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable for the first time in a long while, Geoff tried to scan for someone he knew as he made his way to the refreshments table. There were so many people already there, and so many he recognized but didn't really know, that he by accident completely overlooked the familiar face of Matt. Instead he focused in on a Carpe Diem student in his year. Owl-girl... Dominique... it was no surprise that she was here. Hell, she probably planned it. And, since she didn't seem too busy, and hers was the only familiar face he spotted, he made her company his target. He grabbed a muggle beer out of the cooler, taking a couple tries to break the cap off using the table, then headed over in her direction.

"See any owls?" He chimed amiably, raising his bottle in greeting before taking a swig out of it. This turned out to be a mistake, as the flavor was a bit more intense than he was expecting. The strong bitter fizzle of hops and carbonation tickled his nose and throat so that he coughed and sputtered somewhat after finishing his initial drink. Of course Dominique would get the good stuff. He felt stupid for not expecting it. Chuckling at his own naivety, he took another drink, more cautious this time, before grinning in a somewhat dumb fashion at his hostess.

"Well, if that doesn't point me out like a sore thumb, I don't know what will..." Geoff rambled, feeling silly and childish even in his attempt to cover up his completely unsmooth entrance.

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ooc | If this seems odd, I beg your forgiveness... it's three in the morning and I have jet lag. x.x