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Ella had spent the train ride with her cousin and his new dog, quietly reading the heavy book she'd brought along. It was the first in a new series called Elements of Time, and it was quite interesting thus far. She did occasionally quietly chat with Finn, then she purchased a few candies for them both with the trolley rolled around. After a long rest of the ride (and the thrilling conclusion of her book!) it was finally time to dress in their uniforms. Ella stepped into the small bathroom to change, looking at herself in the mirror. She pulled her hair out of the fancy metal clip she'd put it in, then she sent a smile toward her reflection. It felt... nice.

Once everything was packed back in her purse, Ella stepped out and immediately found herself in the crowd. Oh dear. She usually preferred waiting until the end so this wouldn't happen! But she let herself be pushed along with the rest, before standing as close to the train as possible when she managed to get out. Now she just needed to find... anyone safe. Scooting along, she noticed a messy mop of navy-toned hair and a blonde beside.

She quickly stepped over, glad her guess had been correct. As soon as she was close to them, she sent a nervous look over toward Alice. "H-hey. D-do you mind if I stick with you? I-it's very busy. After only a moment in the throng of people, the poor teen already looked on the verge of tears. "A'course not, Ells. We were just talking about going over to the carts. Wanna walk with us?" Seb sounded... not quite as chipper as normal, but perhaps he was tired of the busy platform too.

Seb's right hand was claimed by Alice, but he offered the other so Ella could keep with them as well. Thankfully, he'd grown a bit over the summer and was able to guide them to the edge of the platform and over to the carriages. He sighed heavily, making Ella wonder what was wrong. Immediately, she worried it might be her! What if Sebastian had wanted to be alone only with Alice and she had intruded? Oh, oh no. A small, shaky hand reached up, tugging on her far shorter hair to try and use it to cover her eyes a bit.

The skittish teen jumped a bit when Alice immediately proclaimed excitement at her. Thankfully, Alice seemed to understand immediately and spoke again, this time commenting on Ella's big haircut. The smaller girl chuckled nervously and nodded. Mhm, yes. And there's no tangles in it either." She sent over a timid smile, feeling a little more confident about her big decision. It was Alice's helpful letter that had allowed Ella the nerve to even get the haircut to start with. She allowed herself to be pulled past the crowd, glad it got far quieter off to the side, but it wouldn't last long.

When asked about quidditch, Seb looked over at Alice, sighing softly. "No... I mean, yes... but also no." He didn't really know how to explain what was in his head. But the swollen moon overhead certainly wasn't helping. His dark eyes glanced quickly up, sure that Alice alone would catch the glance. He dropped his gaze, shuffling over toward an empty carriage. Alice asked Ella if she would like to go first, so Seb moved to stand beside the little ladder, offering a hand.

"Oh, yes thank you." She stepped over with her short strides, setting a hand in Sebastian's before carefully scrambling up the ladder. She sat down and straightened her skirt as she watched her friends continue. "You're next, Alice." He reached a hand over toward her as well, helping her into the cart before he joined the girls. "Are you cold?" Seb looked over at Alice before wiggling out of his hoodie of the day. He'd worn it the whole train ride, so it should be plenty hot. He offered it to the blonde as he stretched a bit, letting the cool autumn air wash over his warm, prickly skin.

Once in the carriage, Ella pulled her cardigan tighter around herself, wondering if she would be weird for pulling out her blanket from her purse. Sebastian was able to help Alice get warm, but Ella noticed something in the boy's expression. He certainly wasn't acting like himself... "Yea, 'course." He said simply when Alice thanked him. Ella vaguely wished Linsey were here, since she would know what to say to make her friend all happy again.... but she wasn't, and unfortunately Ella just didn't know what to say. Perhaps she would write a letter to her sister when they went to their rooms...

Her focus was pulled back to the little group when Alice spoke up, saying she should let her practice her hairstyles. "Oh, I would love that, Alice. I am not terribly good with it yet. It's still fairly new to me. But I got a really nice silver hairclip from our trip to Italy." Maybe Alice could borrow it. It would look nice in her blonde hair. She glanced over at Sebastian, who's green eyes were now wide and alert. But he quickly turned his head and pulled his feet onto the bench to rest his head on his knees. Had she said something wrong?

Maybe Ella could ease tensions. She'd seen Linsey do it, and maybe she could give it a try too. "I-I would let you borrow it too, but your hair is a bit too short." She sent a hesitant grin toward Sebastian, but after the boy just grumpily huffed, sent a defeated look toward Alice. She just never was going to be good with people, was she? She sighed softly, thinking maybe she should go back to not speaking and hiding among the shadows until someone else could speak for her.

Poppy was practically bouncing with excitement as more first years joined the fray. Awesome! There were a bunch of people who looked like they'd make cool friends. She wasn't super keen on getting on the boats, but then it was just a short (probably) ride before they were actually at the castle! It couldn't really be seen from here, or... not from her vantage point. Maybe if she was as tall as the dude with the blue robes... but certainly not her little eleven year old frame.

Just as she was trying to decide which boat to take, Poppy heard someone talking about her hair, which was currently very blue. The question - naturally - was about just where she'd gotten it done. "Thank you! My mum tied it up in this fancy knots braid thing... but the color? That's all me! Watch this!" Poppy focused for a second, nose wrinkling with the process of channeling the correct magic. A swirl of rainbow colors danced through her hair and up her arms a bit, before stopping and settling in a vibrant nectarine color with her show-offish mood. She loved being a metamorph, and more so when other people commented on her skill.

"See, I'm what's called a Metamorphmagus. I can totally control my looks! .... Well... sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to get the magic to cooperate." She frowned a bit, hair sinking to a deeper yellow shade with her frustration. It was then she realized she totally forgot something! Her hair went back to that excited blue. "My name's Poppy, by the way. Or 'Penelope'," she said, adding finger quotes for emphasis, "if you're uncool or my parents. Either way, it's nice to meet you! And I like your hair too. It's very funky."

Seb was already not having a good day. He was tired and all the noises were like icepicks into his brain. He wished for a fleeting second to be like Meallan or Aina and just... turn off the noise. The platform was hot and there were so many smells that his brain was on the edge of collapse. He knew that after the moon it would feel better, but somehow that three days felt like a lifetime away. Once he was safely on the quiet cart and his temperature was coming down with the breezy weather, his head was starting to untangle. Ella, probably trying to be nice, offered to show him her hairclip.... but she'd also mentioned it was silver, meaning his stupid "allergy" would get in the way of his friend just trying to be nice. Green eyes scrunched closed as he tried to focus on his breathing like Miss Nora had practiced with him.

Thankfully for him, Alice thought of an excuse on the fly. Maybe it would work like Hesperia's so-called allergy to garlic. "O-oh... I'm sorry. I-I didn't know..." Ella's soft voice spoke up, and for once Seb was grateful that she spoke so softly. Or maybe everyone else was just too loud.... or maybe he had a headache. He could try to ask Healer Marni.... Alice mentioned his earrings of the day, so Seb nodded, finally seeming to return mentally to the conversation. "Yea... um.... they're spiders today. I've got webby hoops, little red spiders... and now I have an industrial bar in my left side." His voice sounded tired, even to him. Maybe they'd believe he just wasn't feeling well.

He sighed softly as Ella simply hummed softly over his words. She seemed to be thinking, but at this point, he didn't really care what her thoughts may be. He was about to turn toward the side to exit the conversation again when Alice spoke up, specifically to him. Emerald eyes glanced over, listening to her plan. Apparently she was wanting to get her ears pierced, but hadn't had the time. "Oh, yes. Mama did mine. I did another set for her too, so I can handle that." With the fact that he was able to detect Ella's heart pick up speed, clearly she was uncomfortable, but she was simply avoiding eye contact. "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything's clean and stuff too. Don't want you getting ill, after all." That seemed to work, or at the very least, Ella seemed to relax a bit. He ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to let his mind wander to happy thoughts.

"Maybe we should do it when there's a grown up around. Do you think Madame Kavanagh would do it? Or I can write to Linsey for sterile tools, if you'd like." Ella chimed in, her soft voice causing Seb to look back over. "Nah," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I've got a bottle of peroxide somewhere in my trunk. Got some pins too. It'll be fine." Ella looked a bit worried, but Seb was surprisingly confident in his ability.