Open Hear Me Roar

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian had never actually attended the Halloween festivities in costume before, and he was surprised at how much he was enjoying it. The lion costume was a bit hot, and had been uncomfortable to put in, but actually milling around the crowds, there was something exciting to all this. His height wasn't something he could easily disguise, but Vivian felt pleasantly anonymous with his face mostly covered, peering out at the world beyond his mane. It almost like he could just do anything, talk to anyone with no fear, because tonight he wasn't himself. Feeling that way and actually doing it were two different things though, and Vivian wasn't quite as bold as his costume implied. At least not right now. He lingered by the snack table, sipping a glass of pumpkin juice nervously as he looked around at classmates and strangers alike, trying to figure out who the people inside the costumes were.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette hadn't attended the Halloween feast in years, but since this was her last chance to go, she had decided to. Her costume wasn't very impressive, but it was something. It reminded her a bit of the Slytherin Quidditch uniform, and she felt comfortable in that. She entered the great hall and looked around at the decorations and activities. She wasn't sure if Margo would be here or not, but hoped to run into her if she was. But she also didn't only want to talk to Margo. Odette had noticed that she didn't have many friends around her own age. Margo was the only person she really talked to from her year, and besides that she mostly spent time with her sisters. So when she couldn't spot her girlfriend, Odette looked around for someone else to talk to. She turned her head and noticed a tall person in a lion costume at the snack table. She wasn't sure who it was, but approached anyway. "Let me guess, you're a Gryffindor?"

 

[Hudson Worth]

Hudson hadn't been sure what to do for his costume, he just threw some clothes on and decided to be French for the evening. He wasn't even sure why he was going to go to the Feast. He had stayed away pretty much every other big school event that Vivian might attend and finally came one that he was certain to not see his ex. He still hadn't really worked through his feelings. It'd be a few months but not having any real close friends made it hard for him. He had no one to talk to anymore and he felt more alienated than before. Walking down the snack table he picked up a few bits that didn't remind him of anything he'd ever shared with Vivian during their relationship and began snacking. He stood nearby letting his hair cover his face hoping no one would really bother him too much. He overheard a girl saying something about being a Gryffindor and looked over and saw a guy, maybe a girl, dressed up as a lion. the Person's feet were pretty big so he guessed it was a boy, though the lion's mask kind of made it hard to really tell. He had to laugh a little the mask was not the best lion head ever. He thought it kind of looked creepy with the two large teeth coming down over the person's mouth. But he decided to mind his own business and turned back to watch the crowd of people milling about.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

The disadvantage, Vivian was discovering, of a costume in which nobody could see his face, was the fact that it was difficult for him to see out at all either. It took a moment of adjusting the mask before he was able to recognise the girl who had spoken to him, a classmate whose name escaped him momentarily. She clearly didn't know who he was either, which was at least some small relief. "Hufflepuff, actually." Vivian responded quietly. He could hear a distant laugh that was familiar somehow, but his mask was too difficult to see through, so Vivian didn't try to see where it had come from, trying to figure out what the girl who had talked to him was dressed as. "Are those just Slytherin Quidditch clothes?" He asked uncertainly.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette noticed a boy looking their way but didn't pay him much mind. If he wanted to talk to them, he would, right? Instead she focused on the lion, who told her he was really a Hufflepuff. "So, your costume is a Gryffindor?" She asked him with a sly smile. "That is pretty scary." She didn't mean it, but thought it made sense to poke a bit of fun at the old Gryffindor - Slytherin rivalry. She now had two sisters in Gryffindor, so definitely knew it wasn't a bad house. At his question, Odette tossed the ball up and caught it again. "Nah, it's clothes for a muggle sport." She said with a shrug. "But I just got it in the best colors, why not?" She thought the outfit would probably be good to do some training in, like running. Odette knew she had to stay in shape if she wanted to win the Quidditch cup this year. "Are you a seventh year? It's a bit hard to tell with the mask."

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian was surprised by the girl's comment, a nervous laugh escaping him, but he shook his head. "Just a lion." He said quickly, not wanting to offend any Gryffindors who might be nearby. Vivian didn't know much about Quidditch, but he was fairly sure the ball the girl was holding wasn't a Quaffle, a suspicion confirmed when she explained her costume. "That's cool." Vivian said quietly. He supposed he should know more muggle sports, but his grandmother only followed Cricket, and Vivian had never taken any interest himself. He nodded when she asked what year he was in, flushing slightly as he lifted his mask a little to reveal his face. "Vivian." He introduced himself quietly. Vivian hated that the only thing his classmates would recognise him from was one of the more embarrassing moments of his life, but he thought it was unlikely that she would know who he was otherwise. "I, um... I was the guy who got splinched at apparition last year." He clarified, looking down.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette was feeling a bit more at ease talking to this guy, and grabbed a drink from a nearby table. She wasn't entirely sure who he was, but at least he seemed to be around her age. If she could somehow manage to see his face sometime tonight, she could possibly befriend the kid. "Thanks. Isn't that lion costume warm?" She asked him, frowning a bit. She didn't think it was very comfortable. The boy introduced himself, and Odette thought of the Hufflepuff boys in her year. She mostly knew Austin, as he was a Quidditch rival, but she did think she knew who Vivian was. "I see-" She started to say, but then the boy said something that made her tense and pause. The word 'splinched' was never not going to give her a jolt of panic, and it took Odette a moment to recover. "Oh." She said after a moment, her voice quiet. "I... actually wasn't there for that." She said, wondering if he would remember her running out of the lesson now that she had said so. She really shouldn't have even tried to take apparition, but she had been stubborn.

 

[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian nodded when the girl asked if he was warm, adjusting the mane slightly. "Yeah. It's pretty uncomfortable..." He said softly, shrugging. "But I've never actually dressed up for Halloween before..." Vivian was happy to be participating for once, rather than sitting the event out, though he didn't entirely know what to do with himself. And he definitely hadn't dressed for the temperature. Vivian's heart sank as the girl explained she hadn't been there and he flushed, lowering his mask. "Oh..." He said awkwardly, ashamed that he had told her something so embarrassing unnecessarily. "Sorry." Vivian had thought most of his classmates would have taken apparition, though now that he thought about it he did remember one girl running out of the lesson he had gotten hurt in. Maybe that was who he was talking to.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette could understand the boy's desire to dress up for this last year. It was basically the same as she had done. "Well, I only have once. In my first year." She said, thinking back to the time she had dressed up as Harley. And Harley had coincidentally dressed up as her too. She felt a pang, thinking of how she hadn't talked to Harley in ages. They had started as enemies, had then become more than friends in one go, and now they were... well, nothing. It had never been the healthiest relationship, but it did make her sad to think there was no chance of friendship probably. "It's okay." She said quickly. "I heard about it, but if you hadn't had that ...accident, then I would've been the talk of the year since I left that lesson before we could even try to apparate." She said, in an attempt to make him feel a bit better. "So you really saved me from being the source of gossip. I guess I should thank you." She said with a wry smile.