Aislynn

Persona: Forget the Night

Alright, I think the first story post is complete and I will put it up following doge's post.

@Fury Panda

Awesome! Can't wait to read it ^_^

Persona: Forget the Night

<Snipped quote by Aislynn>

Oh Dakota. I'm so sorry.

@Fury Panda

On the bright side, life's about to get a lot more interesting ^_^

Persona: Forget the Night

I love all of these characters T_T

@Raddum

Likewise! This is gonna be an awesome story ^_^

Persona: Forget the Night

@Fury Panda

Posted (finally) ^_^ Let me know if I need to change anything!

Persona: Forget the Night

Dakota Middleton

---

"Hey! Hey Dad!" Dakota sat perched on the edge of her father's bed, poking him repeatedly in the side. Although she was well into her teenage years, the young girl looked as though she could have been a six-year-old on Christmas morning. She shook and bounced as she waited impatiently for him to stir from slumber. Meanwhile, he was trying in vain to grasp what tiny vestiges of sleep remained in his mind. He groaned, turning over to protect his side from the incessant storm of pokes. But his efforts, as always, would prove to be no match for Dakota's persistence. "C'mon Dad! I know you're awake." She grabbed onto his shoulder, shaking him rather violently. "Get up!" His eyes fluttered open as she turned his body to face her. There above him was a pale but familiar face. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, though it was difficult to tell since they were half-covered by messy, purple hair. Her father couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her. Dakota was... a bit of a train wreck at the moment. The extra-large t-shirt she slept in was covered in holes and food stains (courtesy of its previous owner, her brother Josh), her hair stuck out in every possible direction, and from the red imprints on her face it was clear she had fallen asleep on her control pad again. But there she was, grinning from ear to ear without a care in the world. She laughed along with him, though she didn't really understand the reason behind it. But Dakota had always found laughter to be contagious, and it seemed she was particularly susceptible. "Finally!" She giggled again as her father struggled to his feet.

"So today's the day, huh? Always thought I'd be the first one out of this house." Josh appeared in the doorway. He leaned against the frame and flashed a cocky smile. "Guess all that noise you make was good for something." Dakota turned toward her brother and stuck out her tongue. He probably thinks he's cool, she thought with a smile. He'd been acting like this for quite some time now, which she found absolutely hilarious. Maybe it worked with his college buddies, but Dakota had grown up with the guy. Once you've seen somebody running around the house in their underwear pretending to be a superhero, any chance of them being seen as "cool" tends to fly out the window. Still, she was going to miss him. Dad too... Josh was right about one thing- both of them had always assumed that she would stay at home at least through high school, and be the last one out of the house. That is, until they received the letter from Casper. For a moment she spaced out, trying to imagine what life would be like away from her family. But her brother's voice brought her back to reality. "I get to keep all your games, right?"

"Only if they won't let me have them in my dorm. I'm gonna ask when I get there, and then Dad's gonna send them to me. Right, Dad?"

Her father was still standing there, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Huh... oh yeah. Sure thing, honey." He glanced over toward his alarm clock, and his eyes suddenly flew wide open. "It's ten already!?!" Suddenly he seemed fully awake, moving frantically around the room as he searched for various articles of clothing. "We're gonna be late!" Dakota cocked her head to the side, looking at him with confusion. Had he forgotten what time the train left? The only time she'd seen him in such a panic was when he was late getting her to her first day pf middle school, and he was afraid her teachers would punish her for it. But at least that time, they had actually been running late. The train station was only five minutes from her house, and they still had several hours before they would need to worry. Still, she couldn't help but grin at her Dad's disheveled appearance as he rummaged desperately through his sock drawer.

"You know the train won't get here until four, right?" She chuckled. "Phoenix is one of the last stops before Casper, since we're on the west coast. You've got nothing to worry about!"

"No, no, not that." He muttered. A few moments of confused silence later, he emerged triumphantly with a matching pair of socks. Seeing Dakota's troubled expression, he explained. "We have to go somewhere else first. It's a surprise." As if that explained anything. She glanced over at Josh, but he seemed just as dumbfounded as she was. The second he saw her looking in his direction though, his expression changed to one of pure apathy. He shrugged and turned the corner, obviously trying to come off like he might know, but didn't care what his father was going on about. Unfortunately for him, this attempt was also foiled. "Joshua Middleton, get your ass back here. Don't think for a minute we're not taking you with us!"

"Language, Dad!" Dakota grinned, throwing out a comment that he had so often used on her and the boys when they were younger.

He smiled back at her, reaching down and messing up her hair even further. "When you've changed somebody's diapers and given them food and shelter for twenty years, you're allowed to call them an ass."

At this she burst into laughter again. That seemed to be a rather common occurrence this morning. For one thing, the way he had phrased that sentence made it sound like Josh was still in diapers after twenty years- a thought that nearly sent her into hysterics. She was even too busy laughing to point out that while her father had used the word "ass", he hadn't actually called his son that. Usually she was quick to point out when things her father said did not make sense, simply because it made him flustered. And unless it was during a serious conversation, they generally were all able to find amusement in it. In fact, even now they were both still giggling. Josh had turned bright red, defensive as he was these days- but Dakota and her father hoped to tease it out of him eventually.

"Now go get yourself cleaned up," her father spoke after calming down a bit. "I'm not taking you anywhere looking like that."

A few moments (and a failed wrestling match with her hair) later, Dakota found herself riding shotgun in her father's car. Neither she nor Josh had any idea where they were going yet. Dakota thought for a moment about prying further. Her dad was almost as bad a liar as she was, and the worst secret-keeper she'd ever met. A few guesses and he would certainly break down and tell her. Not today. Curious as she was, he had obviously been planning some sort of surprise for her. And this was the last day she would see him for quite a long time. Might as well let him have this one.

Unfortunately, Josh seemed to feel no such obligation. "Where are we going?"

"This way."

Nice one, Dad. Dakota rolled her eyes, but still couldn't help but smile. This was about all the deflection her father was going to be able to handle. She turned up the music, cutting off Josh's interrogation, and began to sing along. Soon she was joined by her dad, whose singing voice was... comical at best. Wherever Dakota had gotten her musical talent from, it certainly wasn't anywhere in his genes. Not that she cared. Even if the man could never carry a tune, she still loved singing with him. Her mind flooded with memories of her family singing and playing together- back before Josh thought he was too cool for it and Hayden... well, it was best not to think about that now. She fell silent and her eyes widened as they pulled into a parking lot.

"No way!" she gasped, clutching her dad's arm. "No freaking way!" Even Josh was visibly envious. In front of them was a large, dome-topped building with a bright red sign reading "AR LIFE." She had been here a couple of times before to look at games, but had never been able to afford anything. The last time had been roughly five years before though, so the newer technologies had been a lot more expensive. Still, if he was going to buy her a game, he would have just bought it beforehand and given it to her at home. There was only one reason he would bring her to the store with him...

"I love you, Dad!"

The entire way back, she couldn't stop blinking and twitching, watching the internet pass before her eyes. The area where they'd put the implant still stung slightly, but she was far too excited to notice. After thanking her father about a million more times, she'd gone straight to exploring all of the new features. While the concept of Micro AR was not new to her, she had never experienced it herself. It was fairly common among students her age, and not nearly as expensive as one would expect it to be, but her father had always been under the firm belief that the smartphones they had would be good enough for any practical use. Until now, apparently.

"You don't have to blink to make it work, you know," Josh commented, obviously jealous. "You look ridiculous."

She did know this of course, at the moment it was simply involuntary. She wasn't used to seeing the internet projected in front of her. Thankfully, her father stepped to her defense. "Josh, when you get into a gifted school, you can have one too. As for you Dakota, you'd better not play games on that thing during class. I payed to get it put in, and I can pay to have it removed."

"No promises!" She giggled, flashing her father a look to show that she was not serious, and would of course do her best to be responsible with her new gift.

After a brief stop by the house to pick up her luggage, and several long moments spent staring at her empty room, Dakota and her family arrived at the train station. She hugged her dad first, thanking him once more for the Micro AR, and for raising her and being such an amazing person. In fact, she continued to ramble on until it looked as though he were about to cry. Then she turned to Josh, determined to hug him whether he liked it or not. But to her surprise, it was he who lunged forward to embrace her. Then her father stepped toward them, wrapping his arms around both of his children. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and Dakota found herself wishing she didn't have to go. But the last call over the loudspeaker broke the enchantment.

The young girl waved frantically back at her family as she boarded the train. Smiling out at Josh and her father, she thought for just a second what it would be like to see Hayden standing there as well. Her face twitched once more, not from the Micro AR this time, but from the involuntary pain that struck whenever she thought of her fallen sibling. She missed him. In fact, as the train began to pull away from the station, she found herself missing all of them- her Dad, her brothers, her friends from middle school... Still, it lasted only momentarily. The same bright, cheerful smile returned to her face as quickly as it had gone. Today was her first day away from home. And if she had anything to say about it, it was going to be a happy one.

Persona: Forget the Night

Hey everybody, hope you had a chill and relaxing holiday. Mine was more stressful than I would have hoped but I made it out the other side. Currently I'm waiting on @Dogematix and @Aislynn's prologue post, and building my first post to start the story.

@Fury Panda

I've got it about half finished. Been running between houses for the holidays, so I haven't had a chance to be online much.

Persona: Forget the Night

Sorry for the delay... holiday craziness.

Persona: Forget the Night

@Fury Panda I'll get working on that post, but I'm also going to be fairly busy because of the holidays

Persona: Forget the Night

Hey guys, sorry I wasn't on yesterday. Ended up crashing at a friend's without my computer. I'm back now though ^_^

Hogwarts: Before the War

Kendall Price

Kendall Price

Name:

Kendall Price

Age:

14

Birthday:

November 17th

Sex:

Male

Ethnicity:

Caucasian

Nationality:

Brittish

School Year :

Fourth

Blood Status:

Muggleborn

Hogwarts House:

Gryffindor

You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. Their daring nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.

Pet:

Stella Price- Natterjack Toad


Boggart:

Kendall is terrified of letting people down- so much so that as a child he would cry for hours at the slightest expression of disappointment that was shown toward him. As such, a Boggart would appear to him as a crowd of scornfuil and sad-looking people, all of whom he knows personally and who's opinions of him he deeply cares about. When under the influence of the Riddikulus charm, the disappointed expressions are replaced by pouts as the "people" find themselves dressed in outlandish multicolored clown outfits and plastered with excessive amounts of makeup. Kendall could never bring himself to take anyone who wears too much makeup seriously.

Wand:

Ash wood with a Phoenix feather core, 12 ½" and Solid flexibility

Favourite Lesson:

Defense Against the Dark Arts- Learning of the existence of magic changed Kendall's life forever. Although this is his fourth year at Hogwarts, in some ways, he is still reeling from it. The thought of using magic to protect himself and others offers him a sense of comfort and stability in the fascinating but dangerous world he now finds before him. He also finds the practical nature of the course very appealing. Kendall has never been one for book learning.

Least Favourite Lesson:

Arithmancy- No matter how magical the world is, math is still math. And Kendall still sucks at it.

Extracurricular Activities:

Frog Choir- Kendall has always been a talented singer, but never sang in public before attending Hogwarts. After being roped into it by his best friend during his second year, he found that he actually quite enjoyed performing with the group.

Appearance:

Kendall stands about 5'11, and weighs roughly 175 pounds. He's lanky and uncoordinated, with skinny arms and long legs that give him a distinctive stride when he walks. He has massive feet, which he despises with all of his being since they look so comically disproportional to the rest of his body. Everyone says it means he will get taller, but he refuses to believe it until he's at least 6'2. His hands are rather large as well, but at least his long, thin fingers match the rest of his figure. Kendall's skin is pale white and unblemished, one of the few things about his appearance that he actually likes. That, and his eyes. They're bright blue and expressive, and even with all his insecurities, he has to admit that they're definitely his best feature.

As for clothes, Kendall is perfectly content in his Hogwarts robes. The bagginess of them hides how incredibly skinny he is, but more than that, they make him feel at home. He'd always felt out of place in the Muggle world, and when he dons those robes, be can't help but feel like he's finally found his purpose. He rarely wears jewelry, save for a black bracelet on his left wrist, which he only takes off to shower.

Personality:

"The game isn't worth winning if you're breaking the rules."

This is Kendall's favorite saying, and it sums up well the beliefs that drive him as a person. While not necessary a "follower" when it comes to friend groups and team projects and the like, he's very much a "rules are meant to keep us safe" type of person. That being said, he does possess many leadership qualities. He's very outgoing and appears confident, as his beliefs are very strong and extremely important to him. That is not to say that he doesn't have his insecurities. While Kendall may appear confident, he considers himself to be about average in... well, everything. He's not the most attractive, nor the ugliest person he's ever met. He gets decent grades, but has never been the top of his class. He's clumsy, uncoordinated, and a bit funny looking, so despite the fact that he has never been a "loner", he was never exactly popular either. In fact, until he discovered that he was a wizard, he was firmly under the impression that there was nothing special about him at all.

Kendall loves everything about magic. He loves flying and making potions and casting charms... even after 3 years, it all still fascinates him. He has a great amount of respect for his professors, so much so that it angers him to hear other students insulting them behind their backs, as schoolchildren are bound to do. This has earned him a bit of a reputation as a "goody-two-shoes", and he is somewhat disliked among his house for his tendency to report the misbehavior of his peers. He does not really enjoy being a tattle-tale (A second year even tried to turn him into an actual "rat" once) but he truly believes that what he does is in their best interest.

While not exactly the brightest of students, Kendall genuinely loves school, and has a very good work ethic. When not in classes or choir, he spends most of his time studying, much to the chagrin of his friends. He's one of the few people in his friend group who don't have a tendency to procrastinate. Kendall is by no means opposed to going out and having fun with his friends, but he has always made it clear that his studies come first. Yet he does desire to be there for his friends. As his best friend once said, "Kendall isn't always there when you want him, but he's there when you need him."

Backstory:

Kendall Price was a strange boy. It was not that he did or said anything strange, nor even that he looked odd, but strange occurrences seemed to follow him wherever he went. Despite being adopted as a baby, he had a fairly normal family life. But his "strangeness" did begin to manifest as he was growing up in Newcastle with this parents, Roger and Linda Price, and his two younger sisters, Ellie and Diana. The two young girls always managed to keep the house much louder than he would have liked, but he and Diana tended to get along fairly well. Mostly, the commiserated over their annoyance with their sister. Ellie was the youngest, and by far the most annoying of the bunch. She was constantly teasing Kendall about his orange-red hair, calling him "carrots" (an insult that everyone knew she'd stolen out of Anne of Green Gables, but she still insisted she'd come up with herself.) That was, until she awoke one morning with brilliant neon-orange hair that glowed in the dark. The family assumed that she'd gotten into the cleaning chemicals, for lack of a better explanation, and solved the problem by shaving her head. Ellie was mortified, and while her hair grew back it's normal, black color, she never quite forgave Kendall.

At first, Kendall also thought she must have gotten into the cleaning chemicals and was blaming him out of spite, but as he got older, he began to notice other odd things happening around him. Once, when a teacher began yelling at him for zoning out in class, the screaming suddenly turned into a series of chicken noises, much to the shock of the teacher and the amusement of everyone else. Another time when he was drifting off, he awoke to find a full page of notes in front of him. He could have sworn that as he shook himself awake,, he saw his pen writing on its own for a second. Kendall fell asleep in school quite often, so he figured he was dreaming. He never meant to do it- he was terrified of disappointing his teachers, and he always felt horrible afterwards, but it just kept happening. The noise in his house made it difficult for him to sleep at home, and he had always found school rather boring. He couldn't help but feel like there was something else out there.

That something, as it turned out, was magic. When Kendall received his invitation letter to Hogwarts, he could scarcely believe what he was reading. Had the postage not been delivered by an owl, he likely would have thought it to be a prank. But in a way, it made sense. All of the strange things that had been following him since birth- Ellie's hair, the teacher's chicken noises, the self-writing pen- magic could explain all of it. And for the first time, he was genuinely excited about school. His parents, however, took some convincing. Naturally, at first they thought it to be complete rubbish. In fact, they called a family intervention to convince Kendall that the letter was all made up. But Kendall was certain now that magic existed. Thankfully, family interventions involved the whole family- even his eccentric uncle Edward. Uncle Edward occasionally came over for dinner, and would tell the craziest stories about mystical creatures to entertain Kendall and his sisters. As it turned out, he had been speaking from personal experience. Nobody in the family, aside from him, had ever shown signs of magical ability, and as he was an adult by the time Kendall's mother was born, their parents had never seen any profit in raising her in that world. But as soon as Uncle Ed saw the letter, he was absolutely delighted to share what he knew of the wizarding world with his nephew.

After seeing proof- the magical textbooks Kendall brought home, his wand and robes, the toad who sat patiently on his shoulder- they reluctantly allowed him to attend. Though he had despised it before, Kendall now found himself loving school. He was completely fascinated by everything about magic. Being a rather outgoing person, he was quick to establish a group of friends, though his devotion to his studies and his teachers made him very unpopular with the more rebellious crowd. He loved magic, and the possibilities it brought. For the first time in his life, he began to make goals- grand dreams of making the world a better place. Hogwarts had given him a purpose. He'd finally found his home.

Extra:

Kendall loves animals, especially large dogs. The sight of any dog, in fact, will make him immediately drop whatever he is doing to go fawn over it.