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Elsbeth Carrow · November 7, 2025 – 6:01 AM

23 November 1895 — Frost Spirit Hunt; Sheffield

Winter was her favorite season, to be sure. Elsie adored bundling up in her best furs and velvets matched with her best silks layered atop woolen underskirts. She was kept toasty while still being able to admire at the elegance of a snowy backdrop. Of course, she would always prefer France or Joeson to an English countryside, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sight to behold. After dinner she descended with the rest of the party, arm in arm with Phoenicia Giannis, chattering idly in Italian about one of her dresses that was scheduled to show up tomorrow. She also had a new hanbok scheduled made for the upcoming Lunar New Year that she’d been designing with her mother. Plenty of owls had been exchanged back and forth between Elsie, her mother and the craftsman back home, yet they’d only just decided on the colors of the fabrics.

Yet when they reached the center of the lawn, Elsie could see her friend catching her beau’s eye. This very much meant it was time for her to stop chattering so Phoenicia could join him in a few moments supervised by their chaperone, which Elsie gladly did with a secretive wink at Phoenicia. It had been a rather uphill battle for Mrs. Giannis to accept her daughter marrying anyone (in her estimation, her daughter was still barely out of the nursery) but once she finally came around it had been Elsie that convinced her to bring Phoenicia along with a chaperone of her Mama’s choosing so she and her beau might be able to see each other.

So yes, Elsie relinquished her hold on Phoenicia quite willingly before wandering off to find her own brother and wish him luck before the race.

A voice to her right made her turn; a servant with a silver platter, atop which lay a scroll closed with a wax seal and a letter knife. Murmuring her thanks to the servant, Elsie reached from underneath her velvet cloak and took the implements, unrolling the piece of parchment as she walked away from the tent. Light was fading fast, so the witch hurried to the outer limits near where the hunter’s boundaries were drawn and read the parchment with haste.

In the end, it was a rather inconsequential letter - her mother merely reminding her of her social schedule in the following days. Thoughtful of her, to be sure, but Elsie was usually extremely detailed with her diary that there was usually never any need for reminders. Perhaps she would tell Rory he needed to come along with her on a few appointments the next time he was able to get away from the school.

She was so busy stowing the letter away and formulating a plan to get her brother to come along with her to a modiste appointment (alright, fine the modiste was always charmed by him and then in turn gave her a small discount) that she didn’t realize her cloak had somehow tangled itself in the enchantment. It was only when she tried to step away that she realized she was well and truly — caught.

Her first thought was to release herself from the confines of the cloak, but quickly reasoned that it would expose her to the slowly decreasing temperatures of the impending night. “Merde,” She cursed, her gloved fingers too slippery against the velvet to be of any use. She tried not to struggle too much; it wouldn’t do to lose her head over such a minor situation.

Anthony Alderton

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Ambrose Carrow

Anthony Alderton · November 8, 2025 – 10:57 PM

Anthony was rather excited for the race today, even though he wasn’t, himself, participating this time. (Mama had insisted he take the opportunity to engage socially rather than continue to spend all his time on his business ventures, even though the season was well and truly failed over. Again.) Still, the thrill of watching had him excited for the event.

Having dragged his cousins along, or at least the ones that would be dragged, so Atticus (whom he hadn’t spent any time with as late), and Basil (who’d escaped the clutches of Hogwarts despite the fact that he very well ought to have been in school, or so he claimed) Anthony was pleased with the turnout. They had a sizable Alderton-Foxwood group amassed in one of the viewing tents and he was well on his way to having a pleasurable night, even if he was tired of engaging with this debutant and that. Tillie didn’t count. Mama had forced her out too, and Reginald had deigned to join as well. It was only Lucy that Anthony had yet to cross paths with, but he figured she’d drop by. Or at least he suspected as much.

A delightful protest escaped Mathilda’s grouchy countenance as Anthony teased her about something she’d just said, but over his sister’s head he noticed a small commotion. A debutant he didn’t recognize seemed to have gotten herself caught in…. something. She was far enough away that Anthony couldn’t be sure what. She struggled, in vain, with the end of her cloak, but nobody seemed inclined to help her. At least nobody nearby who seemed to notice. Frowning, and unable to let it slide because it simply wasn’t who he was— Anthony finished the last sips of his firewhisky and excused himself from the little circle of teasing chatter between his siblings and his cousins.

He was just close enough to say something by the time he heard a curious little sound, a curse, and a French one at that— slip from the woman’s lips. Swallowing back an amused laugh, Anthony cleared his throat. “Excuse me,” he offered lightly. “Do you need a hand?”

Elsbeth Carrow & muse song
(the stray kids obsession continues to reach lol)

Elsbeth Carrow · November 20, 2025 – 6:47 AM

She was far too busy fiddling with her cloak to notice she’d gained an audience. How on earth was she going to free herself from this sort of enchantment? She hadn’t the foggiest what kind it was, much less how many layers of warding spells had been used. One wrong maneuver and her precious velvet cloak would be absolutely in shreds like in one of those horrid muggle machines that were cropping up all over the world. Her cloak was by no means of sentimental value, but its momentary one certainly gave her pause in doing anything that could be even close to destructive to it.

And, it occurred to her, maman would be absolutely livid if she ruined this garment - she was meant to pass it down to Hyacinth when she was finished wearing it for the season.

Hang it, hang it all! Elsie was nearly on the verge of letting out a small growl of frustration when a male voice reached her, threads of amusement lacing his tone as he asked if she needed any assistance.

Embarrassment bloomed within her, and Elsie drew herself up properly - her posture was second to absolutely none, of course - and regarded the ~~intruder~~ potential rescuer with a gaze that said absolutely nothing had gone wrong and did he mind stepping back perhaps a few steps to give a lady some room to breathe?

Except when she did so, his expression was rather kind instead of arrogant and presumptuous. Amused, as she’d guessed, but even she had to admit she’d gotten herself in quite a tangle, pun not intended.

“Erm,” Elsie said, eloquently.

Anthony Alderton

Anthony Alderton · November 22, 2025 – 3:53 AM

Anthony’s amusement did not abate even in the slightest as the woman straightened. Something in her posture and the way she held herself seemed ready to tell him off which, Anthony had long since learned from his Mama may have been a default reaction, and was exactly the reason he asked before acting. (Most of the time. Unless there was grave danger.) But her face quickly changed as their gazes met and he grinned more broadly without realizing it himself. She was rather pretty, all things considered.

The response, or lack there of maybe, was not encouraging however. Anthony huffed a small laugh and gestured towards her cloak. “It wouldn’t do to rip something so lovely,” he prompted gently. “Do you mind terribly if I give you a hand?”

Elsbeth Carrow & muse song
(the stray kids obsession continues to reach lol)

Elsbeth Carrow · November 23, 2025 – 9:53 PM

She assumed he might press forth and attempt to assist her anyways, but he stayed where he was, still eyeing the soft velvet of her cloak. Even though he spoke softly, white clouds billowed out in front of him, contrasting with the bitter cold they were being plunged into. It made Elsie focus on his gaze, the shape of his mouth, the warmth of his eyes.

On the surface level, he seemed a perfect gentleman, even going as far as complimenting on her cloak, being worried about the state of it. It was with this last comment having won her over that Elsbeth gave him a mute nod. She tugged at the cloak once more, as if it would suddenly be free by the sudden multiplication of gazes upon it. When it stayed put, tangled in the web of enchantments, the witch let out an affronted huff.

“If - if it wouldn’t trouble you too much,” She allowed, stepping back to reveal exactly how her cloak was caught. The cloak parted, letting in a chilly wind through that caused her to shiver. “I can’t seem to figure out how to free myself.”

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Anthony Alderton

Anthony Alderton · November 24, 2025 – 12:42 AM

The woman’s gentle nod gave Anthony the permission he sought to step in but she seemed determined to show him just how stuck it was as she yanked on it again, making little headway. A huff slipped past her pretty lips and he smiled again, amused at her expense and feeling only slightly guilty about it. “Not at all,” he offered in response to her quip.

As the woman straightened a bit and the cloak fell open, he realized that it was caught in the enchantments holding together the tent for the race. She looked frigid as a cold burst swept in and Anthony instantly felt himself want to discard his own layers to drape over her. But that would be weird— he didn’t know her very well. Or at all, considering he didn’t even know her name. He swallowed the instinct and pulled out his wand to try a few things. “I wonder how it got tangled in the first place,” he mused, curiously. It wasn’t often that magic knotted like this unless the spells were woven like some kind of spider’s web, each its own thread. Really it was something Basil might be better suited to untangling but Anthony figured he’d give it a shot before calling in reinforcements. He’d been a Ravenclaw once too.

The first few attempts seemed rather fruitless so, squatting down and trying to touch it with his fingers, Anthony brushed the fabric carefully. He could feel the vibration of the spells struggling against the fabric like strung chords on an instrument. “It’s well and truly caught in there,” he laughed. “I’m impressed.”

Elsbeth Carrow & muse song
(the stray kids obsession continues to reach lol)

Elsbeth Carrow · November 24, 2025 – 1:12 AM

This all might have been remedied if it had been warm enough to doff her cloak so they might work on it together, but as it stood, Elsie was already beginning to shiver with the weather, despite her thick wool skirts and dragon hide boots. “I haven’t the foggiest,” She admitted sheepishly, wanting to wrap her cloak further around her as if it would offer her protection from embarrassment at having gotten herself in such a predicament.

“I was only reading a rather inconsequential letter from my mother when I noticed that it was caught.” To her recollection, she hadn’t even moved very much either! Oh, where was Rory when she needed him? Well, perhaps Rory wasn’t the best person to help untangle her, but he’d have at least been good for morale. Elsie watched as the gentleman fiddled with the corner of her cloak. If he ripped even a few threads, she’d be the one to answer to both her mother and younger sister.

“Do you figure we have to ruin the cloak to get me free?” She asked, regret already coating her tone as she posed the question. “Maman will absolutely hit the roof.”

Anthony Alderton · November 24, 2025 – 1:57 AM

Anthony smiled up gently at the woman’s sheepish response. She seemed distressed by the whole situation which he supposed he understood, especially if it was a valued garment which her elaboration confirmed. At the question of harming the precious item he shook his head quickly. “I certainly hope not,” he reassured her. “At worst, I’m sure you might be able to remove the cloak without harming a thread, and we might seek assistance from the coordinators. But hopefully it won’t come to that.” He ran a hand through his curls, mussing them, as he considered what to do. It was too cold to leave her standing here on the edge of the racetrack where a veritable blizzard had been enchanted to freeze the contenders. She was not nearly well enough equipped to stand alongside the edge for long away from the heated enchantments.

Concern pinched Anthony’s brow as he tugged the magic with his wand again. He only knew so many disentanglement and dissolution charms off the top of his head. “Are you cold?” He asked, eyeing the woman again. He was still inclined to give her his jacket, even if it meant he did have to fetch Basil or a coordinator to get them resolved faster.

Elsbeth Carrow & muse song
(the stray kids obsession continues to reach lol)

Elsbeth Carrow · November 24, 2025 – 4:08 AM

His reassurance did enough to comfort her for at least a few seconds while she tried to figure out any other option available to them. While it wasn’t exactly the worst thing in the world to have to replace a cloak, like she’d said, eomma would not be pleased. And neither would Hyacinth. She watched him consider the options before them, noting he had slightly cast his curls askew as he ran a hand through his hair. Being used to her brother’s larger waves, Elsie had the strange urge to reach out and touch one of his curls. Given that it would be completely inappropriate for her to do so, she refrained and decided to set aside that strange impulse for analyzation at a later date. (Or perhaps not, it really didn’t seem like the best use of her time.)

She watched as he tried to undo the charm and gave another experimental pull at her cloak. She felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment at how long this was taking. And yet when he asked if she was cold, her body betrayed her by giving another shiver.

“No,” She responded, sub-consciously reaching for the cloak to pull it tighter around her. Elsie blushed again at her blatant lie. “Erm - perhaps we might fetch one of the coordinators, I should hate to waste more of your time trying to fix my little predicament.” Her voice had gone all high, partially because of the cold and partially to cover the fact that she was embarrassed.

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Anthony Alderton

Anthony Alderton · November 24, 2025 – 6:57 PM

The first thing Anthony noticed was that the girl shivered at the same time that she told him no, she was not cold. A blatant fallacy, if he’d ever seen one. The second thing was that her cheeks were rosy and flushed, which was at least marginally incongruent with the fact that it was so chilly. She was embarrassed, either that she was causing a fuss or that she was cold and had lied about it. Either way, that settled it. Even as she mentioned calling over a coordinator and pulled the cloak tighter around herself, he was already straightening and pulling off his rather heavy winter jacket. (It was a nice one, lined on the inside with a clever gingham pattern; he’d gotten this one just a few weeks ago in Paris.) With what he hoped was a chivalrous, unobtrusive smile, Anthony made as if to drape it over her shoulders. His face asked ‘may I?’ even as his voice demurred. “Please, if you’d be so kind as to hold onto this for me? I have one more idea and would hate to ruin it.”

There was a teasing glint in his eye as he took the woman’s response to the affirmative and gently rested the heavy coat over her slender shoulders. Even bundled up and with her warm cloak, she was slight. About Poppy’s size actually, so miniature~ he thought fondly. Anthony wouldn’t dare utter this observation aloud however, to either woman, so he inclined his head and took a decided step back. It was utterly frigid he realized now, clad in only his dress jacket and trousers.

Anthony rubbed his leather gloved hands together quickly and knelt beside the knot again. He hadn’t been completely lying; he did have one last idea before calling over a coordinator. He looked over his shoulder towards where his cousins were still huddled and made to hiss at Basil. If anyone could figure out this mess it was the self-appointed academic in the family. But for the first time in Anthony didn’t know how long, Basil Foxwood seemed to be having a jolly old time with his face flushed and a laugh on his lips. He wouldn’t hear the beckon and Anthony wasn’t sure he had the heart to rip his cousin away from their little huddle. Not when he was in this jolly of a mood. (And he looked a little whiskey raked already anyway. He might not be as much help as Anthony imagined.) The eldest turned back to his predicament alone. He tried one last magical trick, this time with a switching spell instead of disillusionment and— “Oh!”

There, caught in the fold of the enchanted knot was his left glove and her cloak was suddenly in his grasp. Anthony blinked. It worked! Grinning up at the woman, he released the fabric gently. “Perhaps it wasn’t so complicated after all,” he teased, at both their expenses.

Elsbeth Carrow & muse song
(the stray kids obsession continues to reach lol)

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