With the capture of Verandi Farley and several high-ranking Trossach members, the British wizarding world has finally caught a break. The rate of rogue werewolf attacks have started dropping at a steady rate and, hopefully, things will stay that way. The Ministry is starting to loosen some restrictions, like not arresting werewolves standing on the street for loitering, however there’s still an obvious power imbalance between wizardfolk and werewolves.
The Cotswolds pack are continuing to advocate for the rights of werewolves and petitioning to change the legislation that has been set in motion by the current Minister for Magic, whilst the remaining Trossachs members are trying to stay out of the spotlight and keep a low profile… for now.
Whilst the British wizarding world seems to have calmed down, the same cannot be said for over in Northern Europe where a rebellion of magical creatures has risen. The state of things has gotten so bad that the European Ministry has enacted protocols to protect those under eighteen whilst their adult witches and wizards fight to keep control of their countries.
Students from Durmstrang have been sent to Hogwarts to keep them safe and those not old enough to attend school have been sent to live with relatives or designated British Ministry officials outside of Europe for the time being.
Will the low rates of werewolf attacks in Britain continue? How long will Durmstrang students stay at Hogwarts? Will the creatures usurp the wizardfolk in Northern Europe? Only time will tell.
SEPTEMBER 2019 It's been a very long, eventful summer in the wizarding world. A baby was stolen, several high ranking Trossach members were imprisoned, and werewolf attacks have drastically dropped as a result. What will happen now school has returned?
MAY 2019 An attempt to capture the beta of the Trossachs has been launched. Were the Aurors successful in their mission? Go read more here!
Post by SCARLETT BIANCHI on Aug 30, 2019 18:54:03 GMT
Scarlett was whisked away by her boyfriend for the holidays but today she wanted to talk to someone who was like a mother to her, who has been like a mother to her for a long time. Scarlett had no idea how to tell Teddy she was carrying his child and so she left him with the kids as she went to search for Samantha. Her chocolate brown eyes kept looking around, her head turning to spot Teddy before she headed for the tent that was Samantha's.
The wolves weren't doing well, Teddy already expressed his concern of needing to move, to leave it all behind because the ministry is pushing harsher laws by the day. Every minute could be the last minute before their lives would go to hell and she knew Samantha would do the best she could to prevent that. Nonetheless she needed to talk to her.
"Sam?" She asked softly as she peeked around the corner, she couldn't really knock. "Wow.." she eyed the luxurious tent. It was like the inside of Scarlett's bedroom at home but more.. warm. The brunette bit her lip and eyed the older woman. "Do you have a minute?"
when friends are thin on the ground, and they try to divide us/we must find a way
53 posts
1 like
Post by SAMANTHA BANKS on Sept 1, 2019 15:14:03 GMT
The pack was all recovering from the full moon just before Christmas. Sometimes Samantha wondered whether it was a good idea to invite friends and relatives to the camp this year, with the moon so close to the holiday, but the relief on everyone's faces when their loved ones showed up told her it was the right choice. At least for those who had loved ones to visit--that made her heart hurt. But she had come to set up her tent at the camp as well, to make the holiday feel like it was with family. Because they were a family; that was Samantha's goal in creating the pack.
The noise of her tent flap rustling made Samantha look up suddenly. Even though she knew that there wouldn't be a threat anywhere near here, she was always nervous these days, more nervous than she had been in perhaps twenty years. But it was only Scarlett Bianchi, Teddy's young girlfriend. Samantha smiled as the girl looked around, seeming satisfied. She knew Scarlett came from a wealthy enough family; Samantha always hoped she didn't feel too put off by the conditions the wolves had to live in. There was always money coming in, Samantha made sure of it, but after it was split between the whole pack--well, many of them were still living in tents. She would put it like that. Magical tents that were bigger on the inside, but tents nonetheless.
"Of course I do. Come in, come in," she said, already rising to put on the kettle. "I'll get you some tea. How do you take yours?" Pouring in the water, she made a gesture at the portable stove to light it. Sitting back down to wait, she patted the chair next to hers. "What's on your mind? Do I need to speak to Teddy for you?"
Post by SCARLETT BIANCHI on Sept 6, 2019 6:51:42 GMT
There was no mistake about the fact that Scar loved to be here, even when not many of her friends or even her family would believe it. She didn't exactly have the warm hearted reputation but she did what she had to to survive and she did care about these kids and Teddy, even when it didn't always show. The brunette walked into the tent, it almost looked home like. So much different from what she expected.
"No sugar please, little milk." she said softly as she took a seat, her posture proud and elegant like usual though. She wasn't going to present herself as any less than the proud and elegant woman she is. Scarlett hated to come off as anything other than that. Her chocolate brown eyes looked at Samantha and her lips curled up into a small smile as she took the tea.
Scarlett first had to take a sip to calm her nerves before even being able to say what is on her mind. "What flavor is this?" she asked before actually answering the questions. "You don't have to talk to him it's just that I ehm." how was she going to put it besides straight forward and to the point? "I'm pregnant.." she said and looked at her tea for a moment. "I don't know what... the right time is to tell him? I want to tell him while I'm here but... how?"
when friends are thin on the ground, and they try to divide us/we must find a way
53 posts
1 like
Post by SAMANTHA BANKS on Sept 6, 2019 17:39:09 GMT
Samantha gave Scarlett a warm smile as the girl walked over to sit down. "It's regular black tea, with a bit of lavender," she said, pulling a teacup over in front of each of them. "I hope that's alright with you. I like the scent of it, so I add it to my tea often." Tea was a many-times-a-day habit for Samantha, who had acquired a taste for it long ago. It was hard to imagine a day without tea. While she had a large collection--chamomile for calm, peppermint for energy, and plenty of classic earl grey--she always came back to this particular concoction. Simple and relaxing, and she loved it. Carefully, she dropped a spoonful of the leaves into the teapot and sat back to wait for the kettle to boil.
And then Scarlett dropped the bomb. Had it not been for the circumstances of Samantha's life, it might not have been a bomb at all, but she could not help but feel a childish envy. If she had not lived such an isolated life, if she had not been bitten, and of course, if she had ever wanted to sleep with a man, then perhaps she could have had the family she always wanted--and now she was forty-nine, and she only had the pack.
She didn't want to be ungrateful for them at all. They were all lovely. The young ones were under her care, the older ones her voice in the world. Scarlett was young, she was not; she couldn't possibly be allowed to feel like this, and yet she did. She had wanted.
The kettle whistled. Samantha nearly jumped.
"Let me pour the tea," she said, recovering, "and then I'll try to help with a plan, shall I? And congratulations, by the way," she added, hoping her smile reached her eyes. She was happy for them, she was, but she wished she had time to think about it on her own.
Post by SCARLETT BIANCHI on Sept 16, 2019 16:37:47 GMT
The struggle wasn't lied. Scarlett was struggling getting this part of her life together but she hoped Sam would understand, she hoped Sam would be able to help before Scar had to tell Teddy. The brunette was seated where Sam told her to sit and waited for her tea as much as she waited for a response. Scarlett smiled a bit and nodded. "I like lavender, my mother often put little bags of lavender under my pillow when I have trouble sleeping." she said and bit her lip for a moment.
When Scarlett told her about the pregnancy she expected anything but a long pause. Did she upset Samantha somehow? Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all. Her eyes were aimed at her hands right now and Samantha's voice almost scared her out of her own thoughts.
"I yes.." she said and cleared her throat quietly. "Thank you.. I'd like that." Scarlett knew this news was hard on Sam too and it made all of this a bad idea. She should've just spit it out to Teddy when she got here.. when she had the chance. "I'm sorry for the bomb... it's a lot to take." she said and frowned. "I just have to tell him but... when I had the chance.. I couldn't."
when friends are thin on the ground, and they try to divide us/we must find a way
53 posts
1 like
Post by SAMANTHA BANKS on Sept 19, 2019 1:29:19 GMT
Picking up the teapot, Samantha poured it into two cups, still nearly boiling, and slid one over in front of Scarlett, along with the cream jug. It would be more polite to let the girl prepare hers first. Samantha always took her tea with cream; she'd been doing it since she was a little girl. If she was being honest, she wasn't sure if she even liked tea without it, despite it being her favorite drink in the world. She did like the scent that was rising from her cup, though. It was hard to remember a time when her nose hadn't been so sensitive, but she did her best to keep only sweet scents around when she could.
Her lips pursed as she considered what sort of advice to give. She had never been in the same situation, but at least she knew Teddy well. "Do you fear he'd be angry? Or too nervous?" Teddy was a warm-hearted young man; she couldn't imagine him being upset to have a child, but there were other concerns to think about. He was only twenty, his only career being activism, and there were times when Samantha was worried about how quick his moods seemed to change. It happened to all of them, but it always seemed to hit Teddy worst of all, one moment excitedly impulsive, another deeply gloomy, yet another full of fiery irritability.
"Perhaps you can catch him in a good mood," Samantha offered. "We've already had the full moon a few days ago, so he should be bouncing back from that." She thought further. "What about writing it down? Then you could think about your words beforehand."
She crossed her legs before she continued. "I have one thing I'd like to make sure about, though. I hope it's not too personal of a question, but--how are you taking care of yourself? Does the school know?" On one hand, it was important for Scarlett to get the proper care, something the girl did have the means to do. But on the other, if the Ministry knew a werewolf's child was growing there, right at their school... Samantha hoped Scarlett would say no, simply so she and Teddy could make a plan.
Post by SCARLETT BIANCHI on Oct 4, 2019 15:44:03 GMT
"I know Teddy loves me and he loves to have a baby it's just.." she sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she prepared her tea. She poured a slight amount of cream in just for the sweetness and eyed her stomach for a bit, she loved him more than anything and she needed him to know about this child, she needed him to know everything but how? What would happen? He wouldn't be able to see her for months and the worries that would go through his mind, it would hurt him.
"I know he is a sensitive man, but he has the biggest heart.." she said and frowned. "Worrying him would only make me feel guilty." she said softly and bit her lip. "I'm nervous when I shouldn't be, I know he would be happy.." she said and eyed Sam. Her expression hardened when Sam asked if anyone in school knew. If they knew her parents would be alerted, she'd be disowned and not have a single thing to use to help get this child a good life.
"No one knows." she said softly. "They are not meant to know... ever." she added. "If they find out, so do my parents and my father.." god the things he could do. "He wouldn't like it."
when friends are thin on the ground, and they try to divide us/we must find a way
53 posts
1 like
Post by SAMANTHA BANKS on Oct 6, 2019 3:11:07 GMT
"Nobody at all?" Samantha's eyes widened, suddenly worried for the girl's health. She couldn't blame Scarlett's parents if they were upset, but if they were going to punish her harshly? That would be cruel, not to mention dangerous. But without a healer, all manner of things could go wrong that neither Scarlett nor Teddy were trained to deal with. At this point, she was going to have to treat the girl as a member of the pack. "I understand not telling them, but you'll need a healer. We have one, here, in the pack. I don't know if he's trained to deal with pregnancy, but even if not, that would be better than nothing. As soon as you tell Teddy, I'm taking you to him." In that, she wasn't going to accept arguments. She knew those she allowed into the pack; she wouldn't allow a healer who wouldn't properly treat everyone.
Pulling the cream jug back over to herself, Samantha poured a healthy amount into her teacup, stirring it gently with a teaspoon before laying it on her saucer, watching the steam rise from the drink. She was going to have to put aside her envy, she knew, just like she did every time someone brought their child into the pack, but it was somehow harder with Teddy having a child, Teddy who she was so close to, who she worked with most of all. He was young and she had passed that chance already, she knew, but had she ever had the chance in the first place? No, not with the life she'd been given.
Picking up the teacup, she took a long sip as if to give herself strength. "You will finish school, though, I presume?" she asked. "In these times, we need everyone to be well educated, you know." Samantha hoped Scarlett would say yes, would be able to get the kind of job that Teddy's family deserved.
Post by SCARLETT BIANCHI on Oct 14, 2019 18:27:27 GMT
Scarlett wasn't stupid but she was very much aware that this situation wasn't going to end well for her. The brunette knew her family was going to destroy her and she wanted to be financially stable before that even got close to happening. She had a hiding spell that would help her perfectly and she had most things thought out for now, but the future? She had no clue. Of course she didn't have to do this alone but she needed help from every corner and every helpful person was another person to lean on.
"I don't trust the school healers. They will report it right to the headmistress and that will go to my parents." she told her though she wasn't going to argue against meeting the pack healer. "I won't mind meeting him." she added and cocked her head to the side a bit as she took a sip of her tea.
"Yes I will finish school, one of the many reasons to hide the pregnancy. I will discuss the baby details with Teddy over time I just.. need the courage to tell him."
when friends are thin on the ground, and they try to divide us/we must find a way
53 posts
1 like
Post by SAMANTHA BANKS on Nov 3, 2019 0:13:43 GMT
As someone who was very good at hiding medical conditions--she had been hiding being a werewolf for nearly twenty-five years--Samantha understood Scarlett's desire to pretend nothing was going on. Still, she was rather afraid things wouldn't go so smoothly. Being a werewolf was, as things went, surprisingly quite predictable; the full moon came exactly when you would expect it every month. The cycle of the moon didn't change, the strategy of locking herself up to avoid anything bad happening when she was out of her mind didn't change. If she could only source aconite from somewhere that wouldn't arouse suspicion--but that was a worry for another time.
No, it was knowing that, no matter if Scarlett was remarkably talented with glamour spells as she would have to be to hide something so significant, pregnancy had a timer. If anything went wrong--if, Samantha thought, calculating quickly in her head, the baby wanted to be born even a little early--that couldn't be hidden.
Perhaps she would share this worry with Teddy later, once Scarlett had gotten that chance to talk to him. The girl seemed so sure of her plan that Samantha thought she might not get through to her with everything that could go wrong with it. "That's settled, then. You'll meet with the healer." She put a hand to her chin then, returning back to strategies for something happier. "I still think writing it might help you. If that seems too formal, maybe you could practice what you'll say with me right now? Or perhaps I could go along with you, if you needed?"
Post by SCARLETT BIANCHI on Dec 17, 2019 12:58:02 GMT
Scarlett didn't think the severity of the situation was well known by Samantha which was understandable because she didn't discuss her family with just anyone. Teddy knew about her father and his.. ways and Samantha did not. Scarlett let out a sigh and wasn't going to bore this woman with the fact that she could die because of this mistake, that she could get poisoned through god knows what her parents have sent her. So far they were unaware but when they did know.. hell would rain down on her and the fire will take her down.
"Yes, I'll take Teddy with me and meet Dexter." she said softly and knew Dexter was probably able to determine her situation how unfortunate it might be. Her situation at school however wouldn't be such a cake walk and she knew Samantha was worried and she understood those worries but her fear for her father was way greater than that. "I just don't want him to be sad.. or in pain while I'm in school. I know Teddy will worry because he is a total sweetheart like that.." she said and chewed on her lip.
"I gave him a gift, a snowglobe with my idea of the perfect family inside of it." she said and her cheeks flushed red a bit. "I do want a family with him.. I know I'm young but.. he would make such a good dad.."