Welcome to Gaia! ::

Seb had been super busy leading up to the big event. Not only was he doing a lot of stuff for that, including baking, photography, and an art display, but he also had to study for OWLs, keep Alice from going insane while studying for OWLs, and all his normal responsibilities. On top of that, he'd been working in secret with Ella to write a song for Alice. That part was gonna make his exhaustion worth it. Honestly, if anyone deserved it, it was Alice. He'd also asked Mama if she could come along and see it, since he figured Alice would probably want a Mama there anyway.

Stopping by the student kitchens, Seb grabbed the fancy tray of triple-chocolate brownies, peanut butter brownies, and white-chocolate blondies that he'd made the night before and carefully wrapped up. Thankfully Lewis was also working late and helped Seb write up the allergy cards for everything, which Alice could help him sort up. Heading outside, he set those at the booth Alice was in, then gave her a quick cheek kiss before running to help set up his artwork and photography display. After that, he ran back over to his girlfriend, panting a bit. "Okay. I think everything's set up proper."

Grabbing one of the programs, which were carefully set every couple booths, he carefully scoured the list to try and locate his own name. Dang his inability to read. "You're up in thirty-four minutes, kiddo." Seb whirled around, seeing the other of his favorite people. "Mama! You made it!" Kinzlie gave her son a hug before stepping over to pull Alice into a hug as well. "You asked me to come, Bub. Of course I was going to be here. Finley closed the salon to be here for his sister and Nani closed shop for the day to visit her kids too. Not that they'd stop me." She grinned, ruffling her son's hair.

Seb was really excited for the day, especially now that Mama was here too. "Did Miss Nora bring you along?" It'd be super extra cool if Miss Nora was here to see his song for Alice. It was partially her that inspired the lyrics, so he really hoped she'd be there to watch. "No, Finley stopped by with Coty to apparate me. Chadwick was coming with Tsia so they could all meet up. Roxie's doing stuff too, so they wanted to be here for her. But Nora should already be here. She's got half her family doing something or another." Kinzlie chuckled, thinking it was crazy how big Nora's family was. She could barely handle her one kid most of the time, much less three kids, a dozen grandkids, a million adjacent family... it was a mess. "Oh good! I was hoping she'd be here too."

After hugs, Kinzlie was pulled over to the closest booth by Alice, who was proud to show off a variety of baked treats. "Oh yummy! These look fantastic, guys! They're nice and organized too, and I bet they all taste heavenly." Seb bounced on his feet, nodding along with his mama's words. There was a ton of really yummy treats indeed, and not just at their booth. Lewis had been painting in sugar frosting on cookies last night, which was awesome. "Yea! You should try those ones there. Alice managed to combine a blondie - which is like... a vanilla brownie - and banana bread! It tastes like magic, Mama." He grinned brightly, getting his hair ruffled again by his mama. "That sounds super good, Alice. You're becoming quite the baker. And speaking of," she paused, before pulling out a fancy baking cookbook, then handed it over. "I heard you were a little stressed, so I figured taking a break to try out some new recipes might help." She pulled Alice into another hug, hoping she liked the heavy book with its fancy pictures.

Alice listened to Sebby and Momma talk, nodding happily when it was confirmed that Mrs Nora was somewhere around the event as well. She would need to search out the woman to show her the display she'd set up. The blonde smiled a little when Seb described her new recipe, then said it tasted like magic. Alice was pretty proud of that one. Then Momma Kinzle said Alice was becoming quite the baker, which earned a little blush from the teen. She then present Alice with a fancy baking cookbook, a gift to help Alice with the stress from her studying. Alice hugged Kinzlie back and said, "Thank you! I do need a little break. My hair's been so... frizzy... lately." She blushed a little again, shifting her gaze. Seb knew what she was talking about. Alice had a habit of obsessively braiding her hair when she stressing out and studying. It was better than what she used to do though, before she had long hair. While they were talking, Lyric popped up and Alice happily waved at her friend. He asked about baked goods like a stray snicker doodle or something with chocolate, so Alice indicated her display. "Hey Lyric! I've got chocolate chip biscuits here and also my banana bread blondies also have chips in them!" She absolutely loved talking about baked goods or any kind of cooking to be honest. It was one of her favorite hobbies.

Jazz had been super excited about the Talent Showcase. It was supposed to be a huge party, with everyone showing off their skills. But the thing that had caught their eye was that food and treats was one of the categories! After finding Lewis (which wasn't that hard, he was super tall and always very colorful) he confirmed that Jazz was welcome to join in on the fun. Happily, they signed up to bake a cake and some cupcakes. It would be good practice, if nothing else.

The night before the showcase, Jazz had taken up space in the student kitchen, alongside several other students, all working on their own projects. They made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, all topped with rainbow frosting. Their centerpiece, however, was a three-tiered funfetti cake with homemade berry jam in the middle. It was decorated with fondant paint decorations in homage to the creator of the showcase.

When it finally came time to set up, Jazz had gotten a booth near a few artists working with various media. As they stood there, Jazz watched all the happy families, chattering with their kids and wandering around. It hit them a little bit that their parents weren't going to be here. They were both muggles, and so far as they were aware, the rules said they couldn't even see Hogwarts. Jazz let out a long sigh, using their striped sleeve to wipe away a few tears they hadn't even realized had formed.

"Oh, my little cupcake. Don't you cry." Jazz quickly whirled around at the familiar voice. "M-momma?" The woman stepped forward, pulling the preteen into a hug. "We wouldn't miss your big display for anything, little bean." Dad said, stepping over to ruffle messy blonde hair. "H-how? I-I thought n-nonmagic f-folks couldn't s-see Hogwarts?" Jazz questioned, being passed over to Bowen for a hug. "Well, we have the Governess to thank for that one. Remember, the woman who brought you your letter? She helped us study for an exam about magic, and now we're able to see magic things."

"That includes you, little bean." Dad teased, poking Jazz's nose. At least that caused them to laugh as Momma wiped Jazz's tears away again before kissing them on top of the head. "I-I followed y-your recipe! Y-you can have o-one!" The preteen showed off the cake display, glad to have their parents here with them at long last. It was super stressful being so far from home.