Natty Fenimore

[atfirstlight-rpg]

Prompt of Almo-Desire

Prompt - Desire

In 200 words or less, describe an item your character craves and something they desire emotionally. Be sure to delve into your character’s motives, and use your response to develop them further. This prompt is essential to the overall plot, so when you’re finished responding, be sure to like this post for a special task.

[tiffanyfenimore]

Natty’s not a greedy sort of kid. She’s known lost of kids who were, kids who’d decided that since they were sick they should get whatever they want, even when they weren’t sick anymore. That struck her being silly. Having said that, she has one thing she has wanted more than anything. She had caught an ad at a farmer’s market, advertising a years supply of candied almonds. Each month a different flavour: cinnamon toffee, sugar, honey citrus. Almonds had been her candy replacement until someone had told her Mom they’d make her sickness come back (which made them forbidden), and a year’s supply in so many tastes would be like winning the lottery.

For emotions, Natty wants security. It’s not that big deal really, but most of her growing up was spent in beds that weren’t hers, in hospitals and camps, moving homes to be close to those things or because of her Mm or Dad’s jobs. She was safe there, but those places were all full of adults who wouldn’t tell her things and kids who might not be there tomorrow. Something secure, something as stable as her Dad’s woodwork; that’s what she wants.

[atfirstlight-rpg]

The Latest Trick/The Mysterious Box: The Result

[michaelstarkey]

Sarah had been up for patrol the previous night, but Mikey got stuck with it. He hated it, but that had been the deal: she’d covered for him, so he had to cover for her. Twice.

Of course she’d called in the first favor without warning.

Mercifully, Mikey could summon enough coffee from the kitchens to sustain him through the night. It was a terribly Muggle habit—there were numerous Wizarding alternatives with much better effects—but he’d have needed Addie for that, and that was too much work. There was also tea, but coffee gave him that jittery feeling that tea didn’t. Coffee wired him, and he needed that buzz to get through the night. After all, patrols were never fun because nothing ever happened. A student or three out of bed maybe, but that ate up half an hour at most.

He drained his fourth cup of coffee as he entered the Great Hall and dropped the mug before he could vanish it.

He didn’t notice the crash of ceramic on stone. Instead, his eyes were glued to the girl suspended in the air above the head table, her arms outstretched, her eyes opened and cloudy.

"Oh my god…" he breathed, stepping forward cautiously, barely processing the other students standing around, looking equally unsettled. "What happened to you…?"

As he approached, he began to feel weighed down, as if the air were heavier, and his movements seemed slower. Indeed, she was completely motionless—even her hair, which was floating above her as if she were in water, was completely still. It was as if time around her had stopped.

He pulled his wand out and extended it, but he knew this was well outside his capabilities. This was very dark magic—even a Muggle could have felt that—and for that, he needed the expert. “Expecto Patronum!” he said, and a silvery hedgehog appeared at his feet and looked up expectantly. “Sarah, a student is in trouble in the Great Hall,” he said with his wand to his throat. “And there’s Dark magic here. Very dark. Please hurry.”

He pulled away the wand, and the hedgehog sped off.

He repeated the process to summon the other Heads, then turned his attention to the door of the Great Hall. More students would be arriving soon, and Mikey didn’t want them to see this. He needed to keep them out, get the stragglers out too, and buy the faculty time to deal with this problem. With a few flicks of his wand he created sentinels, half a dozen clay men with instructions to keep all students out of the Hall. Some headed toward the doorway, and others approached the students who were staring at the girl, with the directive to carry them out forcefully if necessary.

As he waited, he tried hoping for the best, but he knew things were bad. Curses were always unpleasant, but this had the markings of something far worse, and it made him shiver violently. No, it wasn’t his area of expertise so there was a chance he was very wrong, but from the looks of it, this girl was already dead.

[tiffanyfenimore]

There was a rush of air in Natty’s face, forcing her to close her eyes. She heard whirlwinds blowing in her ears. And just as suddenly as it began, it stopped and she heard, people. Opening her eyes, Natty managed to catch a glimpse of other kids looking confused, like they had thought they were the only ones here just a second ago. Which was silly of course. Unless it was some sort of mirror trick. There were grown ups here too, tall and earthy-smelling. They all had that Adult Look about their faces. That’s what drew Natty’s attention to the floating girl.

Cool was her first thought. Finally they were going to learn some real tricks, instead of the little things they’d been doing? True, it was all a bit more than the card tricks that she’d been expecting, but it was still felt boring and beginnery. Hanging upside down, now that was something.

Then she noticed the other girl was entirely too still and that she and the other kids were being rushed out. Things began to click together, and Natty did not like the conclusion. She took Marty from her pocket and held him close, so he wouldn’t accidentally see, his long tail dangling from between her fingers.

“It’s okay” she told him.. “It’s all going to be okay. Just don’t look, all right?”

And now she was out in the hall with the others and other kids were being turned away from the Hall and herded back to their Common Rooms. Still there were no explanations.

The box was to blame for this, she was sure of it. She concentrated on what it looked like. She wanted to be able tell the other kids about it later and get it right and about how, about how…well she didn’t know what had happened. But she would figure it out. Obviously it was a trick that had gone very wrong. Like an accident. Like in Batman. If she could figure it out first, she could figure out how to do it right. For now she sat scrunched up on the couch, holding onto Marty and telling him again and again “It’s okay. It’ll all be fine.”

[atfirstlight-rpg]

Prompt - The Mysterious Box

It’s early—very early—and you are one of the first up for breakfast. It should be sunny, but the day seems…heavy. Foggy.

Dark.

You move toward your House table but notice a small cube on the head table. It looks ancient and is covered in strange yet fascinating symbols. No professors are around yet, and it won’t be long before more people notice the strange box or a professor arrives…

It could be anything. Is it worth anything, you wonder? Is it dangerous? Should you leave it alone? Ask a professor? It’s entirely up to you. But if you want to take a chance, do it fast.

// Write up a short para about seeing the box, your thoughts on the box, and if you interact with it. Stop as soon as the box is touched; we will responds with what happens to your character—not how they feel, but just how the box interacts with him or her. Once we’ve responded, then you can keep going. //

[tiffanyfenimore]

Natty chewed thoughtfully on her apple slice as she stared at the box. The whole castle was quiet, though she saw a man walking out in the courtyard talking to himself. It was the sort of dark and stormy feeling that had scared her when she was younger and in hospital. The only reason she wasn’t scared now was that she had put Marty in her pocket -- She’d taken him to breakfast with her for the past few days, after an incident with some of the other girls’ cats -- and the warm pulse of his body reassured her that she was not in fact, about to be attacked. Stiil, empty castle, dark morning, lone object; she'd seen this movie before.

“ Look with your eyes, not with your hands.” Her Grandmama had always said. Daddy had said that was nonsense. He believed in handling things, learning all the variations in texture. There were key differences in with the grain and against the grain that the eye could easily miss, but were vital to what you made. A kink in a curve could be costly. At the same time a well done texture transform a piece of furniture into pure beauty. Natty had always believed Daddy when it came to wood, and this looked to be an old wood box. She looked around, then looked back. There was nothing it saying which professor it was for, but there was no Do Not Touch symbol on there either. And she had never seen a box that old or with such interesting things on it. She formed a quick plan: Pick it up, turn it over, memorizing as much as she could to look it up later, then put it back down. It obvious wasn’t hers for taking and she knew most grown-ups would refuse to actually tell her about it.

She touched the box.

((OOC: I suck at short paras. Sorry. ))

[tiffanyfenimore]

Into the Alley - Tiffany and Mikey

In the end it was decided that her Dad would bring her to shopping. They started early, so that mom wouldn’t wake up and stop them. Natty slept in the car on the way over. Dad was usually really good at finding places, so she was a bit confused when they walked by the run down building three times before he noticed it.

She had never been in an actual inn before, but she knew Mom would have turned around and marched them right back out if she’d come. It smelled like Dad’s workshop and fireplaces. She noted all the other people wore cloaks or big swooshy jackets. Dad took this in stride, asking for enough help to lead them to the back of the place and through

It was a door.Obviously. Some sort of door that was activated by a keypad that all looked like bricks to prevent burglars or something. 

She had never really been one of the quiet shy kids, but stepping into the funnily name street ( Di-ag-on Alley, she’d repeated the name to herself to as she read the directions he’d written down) she suddenly felt very small and very young in her oversized Camp shirt ( She‘d like the idea of wearing Marisol‘s Miracle Magicians last night) . She grasped Dad’s hand and he squeezed it loosely. He was tall and thin, with a smile Mom used to call charming and good strong hands. Natty had never known him to be afraid of anything, but right now he looked like he just gotten off the Rabid Jaguar 2000. She adjusted her ball cap and tugged her windbreaker closer around her as they walked. What she really wanted was for him to pick her up, so she could see over the crowd of funnily dressed people. But she was eleven years old, and technically too old for that sort of thing. She looked around again, and finally spotting another kid who looked a little less lost then them, reahed out and tapped them on the shoulder. “ Excuse me, do you know where we can find “ She looked at the paper with the directions. “This place?”

[michaelstarkey]

Mikey was surrounded by people shorter then him, so for the girl to tap him on the shoulder, she must have had to stretch.

For a moment he’d thought it was an adult—shoulder height an all—but no. A first year.

He smiled. “Hey, yeah sure!” He bent over to look at the directions. Robes first. He didn’t disagree—the most boring part should get out of the way, and then she could get to way more interesting things.

"This way," he said, starting to walk before he realized that he hadn’t introduced himself. "I’m Michael Starkey, by the way. Transfiguration Professor. They sent me here to make sure you all don’t get lost." He smirked. "It’s a bit overwhelming, innit?"

[tiffanyfenimore]

“ Yeah. I thought we'd be here forever and have to go home with all the wrong stuff. Dad!” she called over her shoulder and was joined by a brown-haired fairly short man in a flannel shirt.

“ Watch where you’re going Nat. You could get seriously lost out here.” He told her, a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry Dad, but look. This is Mr. Starkey he teaches Transportation at the school and he said he’s going to help us.”

“Is that so?” There was a moment, where Dad looked man over and decided that he wasn’t that much of threat - not yet, anyway - and shook the other man’s hand “ Joey Fenimore. This is Natty. Good to meet you. We’d appreciate any help you could give us. Transportation professor eh? Is that why they’ve sent you out here? I don’t expect there’s much need for a driving instructor for your first years is there?"

[tiffanyfenimore]

Prompt: The Dungeons // Carley, Natty, Oliver

(OOC: Hi, guys. I know Carley was supposed to start but I got bored. I asked the admins first, i hope that's okay.)

Last night, Natty had eaten so much that she thought she would be awake all night with a stomach ache. She’d woken up and gone down to breakfast only to find her table full of piles of toast and fruits and different egg varieties and breakfast meats. A long line of carafes and kettles. Natty was convinced that she was dreaming, until the first bite of bacon and then ate with gusto. She brought a bit of bacon and fruit back to her room for Marty, who was still sleeping off the journey in his pen, dressed and went back downstairs. She was nervous and excited. It had already been a weird going shopping, the train ride was full of other kids, but not really eventful. Then she’d sat on a rickety stool, had a smelly hat stuck on her head and someone she couldn’t see had sent her to the house with the red and the lion. Now, outside of piles of food, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to expect. Even the piles seemed weird. At camp, each kid had a specific diet. You handed in tickets so that you got your precise meal. At home, food was given a bit at a time so it wasn’t wasted. A whole year of buffets was…she didn’t know what it was. The uniforms she sort of liked. It made picking what to wear easier.

When she went back to the Hall, a tall woman gave out instructions and handed out envelopes. Natty looked at her shoes. They were new and still shiny. And now she had to go down into dungeons while wearing them. She was going to scuff them up before lunch, she knew it. Grandma was going to be so mad, she thought, even though she knew she just could not write about it in her letter home.

She got down to the dungeons and thoughts of scuffed shoes were replaced by the fact that she was in a dungeon. It smelled wet and cold and fully of slimy things. Not that she was scared of slimy things. She just didn’t want to be around them if she could help it is all. Natty looked down at her instructions again."Does anyone know where the potions room is around here?" She asked. It felt like a stupid question. how big could a castle's dungeons be anyways? It's not like castle's went on forever. "I don't see any signs or anything."

[tiffanyfenimore]

Into the Alley (Starter) - Open

In the end it was decided that her Dad would bring her to shopping. They started early, so that mom wouldn’t wake up and stop them. Natty slept in the car on the way over. Dad was usually really good at finding places, so she was a bit confused when they walked by the run down building three times before he noticed it.

She had never been in an actual inn before, but she knew Mom would have turned around and marched them right back out if she'd come. It smelled like Dad's workshop and fireplaces. She noted all the other people wore cloaks or big swooshy jackets. Dad took this in stride, asking for enough help to lead them to the back of the place and through

It was a door.Obviously. Some sort of door that was activated by a keypad that all looked like bricks to prevent burglars or something. 

She had never really been one of the quiet shy kids, but stepping into the funnily name street ( Di-ag-on Alley, she’d repeated the name to herself to as she read the directions he’d written down) she suddenly felt very small and very young in her oversized Camp shirt ( She‘d like the idea of wearing Marisol‘s Miracle Magicians last night) . She grasped Dad’s hand and he squeezed it loosely. He was tall and thin, with a smile Mom used to call charming and good strong hands. Natty had never known him to be afraid of anything, but right now he looked like he just gotten off the Rabid Jaguar 2000. She adjusted her ball cap and tugged her windbreaker closer around her as they walked. What she really wanted was for him to pick her up, so she could see over the crowd of funnily dressed people. But she was eleven years old, and technically too old for that sort of thing. She looked around again, and finally spotting another kid who looked a little less lost then them, reahed out and tapped them on the shoulder. “ Excuse me, do you know where we can find “ She looked at the paper with the directions. “This place?”

[tiffanyfenimore]

Dr. Ruth Wilson rolled over on her stool to her patient.  “Your meh tells me you’re going to a new school.” She always tried to use the terms for parent that the child normally used. It was occasionally hard to keep track of all the mums, mumms, momma, mahs, and mehs. And that was just the mothers. “Yeah.” said “Natty” Fenimore. Dr. Wilson waited until she stopped kicking her legs out before moving closer. “A specialty school.” “Yep.” “ I went to one of those. Which one? Look left please” Dr. Wilson shone a light into the left eye. “Some weird name. Warthog’s or something.” “Hogwarts?” “Yeah that one. You know about it.” “Mm-hm. Look right, please. It’s a very good school. I went there myself .” “Did you like it?” “Well it was school. Look up, please. I missed my family for a while. Hadn’t been away before.” “I’ve been to camp- “ “Look down please” “-but that doesn’t count, ‘cause we always went home after. I don’t want to go live at school.” “ It’s only sad for a little while. It’s a really good school though. Made for people like you and me.” “With sick kids. Like camp?” “For other special kids. ” Natty sighed. Dr. Wilson had sighed that way before and had heard other kids sighing that way. For years. It was the I-Just-Want-to-Be-Normal sound. “There’s nothing wrong with being special.” “I know.” Natty said sulkily. She’d heard that speech many times over the years. Dr. Wilson decided to leave the matter at that. They continued the exam on the other eye. Checked depth perception , puilarly responses. “Now then, “ Dr. Wilson said at last. “ I’m going to cycle through some pictures. I  want you to look over at the screen and tell me what you see.” “Dog. House. Elephant. Tree. Car.” “Okay. Let me just make some adjustments.” She scooted over and taped away on her keyboard, dictating notes in what sounded to Natty like over complicated series of words, then wheeled back to the patient. “Hold still please, just need to adjust this manually. “ She did so. “Look again. Tell me what you see.” “Dog. Car. Some kind Of…like elf thing…with wings… E.T. Car. Tree. E.T. again.” Dr. Wilson looked again. Huh. Gnomes did sort of look like E.T. “Very good. This sort of adjustment is experimental of course.” “It’s all experimental though.” “That’s right. You may have headaches or blurred vision, but they should subside. For now, wear these sun glasses until you’ve adjusted. If you get headaches, feel nauseated or anything  after next week, have your meh call me and we’ll readjust okay?” “Okay.” “ Don’t worry about the new school. I’m sure you’ll grow to love it. It’s one of the greatest experiences people like you and me will ever have.” She stood and escort Natty out the door, holding it open with the one arm that allowed it. Natty  had never commented on it, unlike her mother who constantly seemed on the verge of asking,  but a well placed Memory Charm always made it slip her mind. Car accident was a simple lie, but Dr. Wilson considered it a matter of pride that she never actually lied. She just made sure people never asked. 

[tiffanyfenimore]

My Biography as written by me

Tiffany Nathaniel Fenimore | First Year

Blood Status: Muggle-born Wand: Beech, 14½ inches, Essence of Pixie Hair core, Flexible Pet: Rat (called Marty McFluff) Patronus: Stegosaurus Boggart: Rat king; alternately, the Pied Piper Amortentia: Open sky, dirt, crayons fresh from the microwave Quidditch Position: Chaser

Background

Tiffany’s family is mostly Muggle, with spots of magic throughout. Witches and wizards born on either side are generally never given training and are encouraged to suppress their magic, lest they mar the family honor. She is a distant relative to author James Fenimore Cooper, of whom her father was an avid reader. Her middle name is taken from his favorite character. No one calls her Tiffany. At least not more than once. The name was given on pressure from her maternal grandmother, Eloise Graemantle. Her daughter Kirstianna married Joey Fenimore after a very ritualized courtship that was completely opposite of their meeting at a Phish concert. They had Tiffany through a surrogate, because Kirstianna believed her figure was important to her career as an advertising executive. (It’s not).

Around four years old, a tumor caused her to have her right eye replaced. The replacement is a magical one that allows her to see through magical illusions. This caused problems when she went out and would start pointing out things like goblins in the backyard, which her parents put down to active imagination. As she grew older, a damper was placed on the eye, to avoid the problems that come with an older child talking about the Gryphon the neighbors are keeping. All this exists as vague memories to Natty, who is convinced they’re just things she dreamt or stories she made up.

Her home life is surprisingly normal, nonetheless. While her mother is working in high class business affairs, her father Joey earns his living teaching film appreciation, English, and woodworking at the local community colleges. Half the furniture in their house are his creations. It’s a source of contention between her parents, as he gave up a lucrative career in computer maintenance to do so.

+ studious, adventurous - reckless, stubborn

Personality

Despite the efforts of Kirstianna, Eloise, and Joey’s family (his mother Sandra, and his sisters Helenia, Diana and Cindy), Tiffany has refused to follow the personality of a thoroughbred young lady. She is instead very much a Daddy’s Girl, even using his nickname for her—Natty—as her “real” name. She has a not-so-secret obsession with dinosaurs and is an avid reader. She’d love to be a more active kid, but her mother is convinced that anything that is too active will trigger a relapse or her illness, so she is instead and avid reader of adventure tales and wants to grow up to become Indiana Jones.