The wind follows Felsi wherever she walks, her hair always fluttering as if she's standing in a light breeze. Her eyes are a very light blue, and if you looks closely the color swirls unnaturally.
Personality
Felsi is a born scholar, with a natural inquisitiveness molded by her upbringing around her father's books. Some would say she's better with books than people, although one shouldn't underestimate her. Like many Sylphs she has a natural talent for deception and a keen mind.
Backstory
Felsi is the daughter of a Human wizard who dedicated his life to studying Planar magic. He sought for a way to make communication with other planes easier for those without fantastical magic power, although in the course of his research he accidentally opened a rift to the plane of air, imbuing him with elemental energy. He thought he was unaffected until his daughter came out a Sylph. Professor Lorrimor is one of her father's colleagues, who she ended up getting to know extensively due to his interest in her unusual heritage.
”Emma, what’s the noise?” Determination asked passively, a high-pitched screech breaking the quiet of their room. Emma’s face remained motionless as she rose from her bed, but a distinct panic was rising in her chest.
”An alarm.” it could only mean one thing. She had no allusions that their stay at Bald Head Island would finish uninterrupted, no desire to pretend that this was some sort of vacation, but… well, that inescapable question came back. Who would it be this time? Did she have it in her to do this again?
No time to worry. She had to push the fears down. She stood up, gesturing for her tulpa to follow as she peeked out the door. Right as she did she found herself face to face with one of the mansion’s staff. She gave them a small nod, already knowing that she was supposed to follow. Quickly her hand shot to find an item that she’d left hanging by her door. She didn’t think they’d send it to her- it was among the rest of her clothes, but…
Well, she was grateful for it all the same. It’d been a gift so it seemed inappropriate to throw the purple scarf away, even if it was stained with Kusari’s blood. She wrapped the somewhat grisly garment around her neck, if only because she found some small comfort in its familiarity.
When they’d arrived in the basement Emma had already started trying to count out who was there and who was missing. Now that they were all assembled together it was clear that Angel and Gregory weren’t accounted for. She didn’t know Greg too well, and Angel was Angel, but all the same she’d hoped they’d make it out safely. Their team, such as it were, didn’t need more dead comrades.
But that didn’t mean she had any intention of staying. In fact, upon seeing Chris’s refusal she gave him an incredulous glance. ”No way. We’ve gotta go. We clearly don’t stand a chance against these guys given our past experience, and getting ourselves killed isn’t going to do anything for the others.” Determination, for his part, stood silently to the side.
Hazel stared out the window, the violin she filched from the music room lying unattended on the bed.
The guards didn't seem to mind, and she certainly paid them no mind by now. Thoughts and fragments of images and memories flew through her head, but everything just seemed muffled as her mind drifted to nothing in her room. Perhaps people thought her strange, unmoving and silent, staring out the window at nothing, but she was lost in her own mind, thinking about nothing and everything. Wondering what this strange feeling was, everytime she looked out the window towards the garden. A dull ache that did not seem to be a fever or any sort of fatigue, but persistent and there.
Emma had been trying her best to ignore it. That thing that she’d been putting off but couldn’t avoid: Hazel. Her roommate. Her friend. A psychopath that tried to kill her allies. She knew she couldn’t just ignore it all. Ernie was right, something had to be done, but what? Hazel was a continual mystery, and not one that Emma was entirely sure she could figure out.
Either way, though, the conversation had to happen.
Emma approached the door to Hazel’s room tentatively, knocking before she was fully sure she wanted to. A slight tinge of apprehension at the decision made before her body before her brain could commit.
Jerking out of her thoughts, Hazel turned towards the door, staring blankly at it before she remembered what to do in this sort of situation.
"Come in."
It was uncommon for her to have anyone actually knock on the door before entering; usually people entered and left as they pleased. Then again, most everything she was doing recently was highly uncommon for her to do or experience. An entire train of new experiences, one she wasn't sure how to receive or react to.
After another moment of hesitation Emma pushed open the door. ”Hazel. It’s been a while since we’ve talked, huh?” she started as casually as possible, her usually wide smile slightly subdued but still present.
Hazel simply nodded, staring at the girl all the while. There was something... odd in her mannerisms, but Hazel did not know why. But, now that she knew who it was, she turned back towards the window, staring listlessly out into the nothing beyond it.
Emma was a little surprised when she didn’t say anything, but she probably shouldn’t have been. Hazel would be Hazel, such as she was. Emma slowly walked up, approaching the girl, all the while eyeing the violin on her bed. ”You play the violin, Hazel?” she started, still sticking to a relatively innocuous topic, putting off the meat of what she had to say.
Again, Hazel simply nodded, before turning to her. "Did you want to see?"
Of course, she had but only a little knowledge of any sort of music, save for little tunes and tracks she happened to remember. Like that little tune the elevator played during that grand hotel they were in before it collapsed.
Once again Emma was caught by surprise- to be entirely truthful she didn’t think that Hazel had the capacity to play violin, but all the same Emma did all she could to look eager as she picked up the violin and passed it to Hazel. ”Yeah, sure, if you don’t mind.” Emma was slowly feeling a little more comfortable, a little more natural, at least for now.
Hazel closed her eyes as she fitted the violin to her shoulders, feeling the familiar weight of the violin. It seemed she remembered most of what Angel showed her, as she picked up the bow and put it gently on the string. She seemed to concentrate upon what she was doing, a little furrow appearing on her brow.
Before creating a cacophony of horrible screeches and wailing upon the violin.
Emma subconsciously let out a wince as Hazel started, but quickly recomposed her face into one of polite approval as she waited for her to finish.
Jesus Christ, this is awful, what did I even expect?
But, of course, Emma didn’t say that, giving a small shower of applause as Hazel finished, ”Well, learning an instrument is difficult. But stick with it, it’s rewarding.” was all Emma could find it in herself to advice.
Hazel stared silently at Emma for an uncomfortably long time.
"I see." She started on the violin again. "But it was just a joke."
She played a recognizable tune this time, with errors in pitch and notes here and there, but still recognizable. Perhaps it was the piece itself that was recognizable, for Vivaldi's Four Season wasn't exactly obcure after all. Not that she knew any of the piece's actual notes, it was just her mimicking the most recognizable parts of the music she remembered.
Emma paused.
A long pause.
Instead of clapping, this time, she burst out laughing. A joke? It was so unexpected that it worked to maximum effect. ”Well, that’s a lot better than the first one, I gotta say.” Emma took a tentative seat on the bed, leaning back a little. ”I use to play the guitar, y’know. Sister taught me. She was always a lot better than me, though.” she said, idly tapping her finger against the soft mattress.
"I see." Hazel put down the violin and bow, tilting her head slightly. "Then, shall I get the guitar from the music room?"
An unexpected development for her. To think there was another that could play the guitar. If that was correct, then Emma should be able to sing as well, like Angel did when she played before.
”Oh… well, yeah, sure. We can do that.” Emma was getting off track now, but hey, she could afford that. Hazel was still her friend in spite of everything. At least she thought she was. It was hard for her to know exactly where she stood with the strange girl, but she’d said it, so she’d stick to it.
Smoothing down her dress, Hazel left her seat to get the guitar. The guards wordlessly let her through and followed her as she left for the guitar. There was something odd with Emma before, but she seemed to be acting normally now, so Hazel did not linger long on the thought. There was still that odd feeling haunting her, ontop of that persistent ache.
"I have returned with the guitar." She said as she returned, gripping the guitar tightly by the thin part, holding it as if it was a club.
Emma carefully plucked the guitar from Hazel’s hands, returning to the bed and resting against her lap. She took a moment, trying to recall the songs that she knew, the ones that Val taught her. Finally, she lifted up the guitar and started tuning it, also taking the moment to get acclimated to the instrument again.
Emma started, picking up the tune to one of the very first songs her sister taught her- one of Val’s personal favorites. It had been a while since Emma had last picked up a guitar and it showed, but what she lacked in technical skill she made up for in passion, her admittedly pretty voice making a valiant effort to belt out the vocals.
She was certainly no Angel, but Hazel liked it nonetheless. Abandoning her seat at the window, she sat on the bed, closer to Emma, listening intently to her playing.
"It is good." Was all she offered, as she leaned in closer, inspecting the way her hands were placed on the guitar as Emma finished.
Emma set the guitar aside. “Good enough, I guess. Like I said, nothing like my sister.” a small sigh trailed her words. The song reminded her of home, of the shitty seedy bars that Val played at. ”Hey, Hazel…” Emma couldn’t keep putting it off, ”How are you doing? I mean, like, mentally. From what I heard the last battle was pretty crazy.” Emma said, starting to ease into the more serious subject she was about to broach.
"Men..tally?" As far as she could tell, she was fine. There were the occasional urges — the inexplicable deep grudge and anger — but that was all she could think of. But... she had the pills and everything else she could do to contain herself. "I am fine. Rest assured the collar and pills will be sufficient to calm me for now. I do not remember much of the battle unfortunately."
”Right… but…” Emma let out a deep sigh, ”Listen, Hazel, I’ve gotta be honest with you. People have been telling me that you’ve been attacking people on our team. What’s going on?” subtlety wouldn’t get to the core of the issue, not with Hazel, Emma decided.
"What... . I see." Hazel sidled closer, before stretching out her hands towards Emma's neck, tracing the black mark there. "This. It burned at the time. It hurt so bad I wanted to —" for just a moment her hands tensed into claws, before she relaxed and placed her hands at her knees. "I do not know. I do not have memories or control once I go white. Then, by your question, I assume the others who had the same mark had not killed or attacked anybody?"
Hazel looked towards the window, with an expression so slight it was almost unnoticable, save for those who knew her. It was a faraway look, as if she was contemplating something. "I am the only one?"
Emma frowned. This was harder than she thought it would be. ”There’s been fights, but not… not in the same way. And listen, I know you’re not like that, alright? I have the mark too, I understand, but we need to figure out a way to manage this… I know you, but the others don’t. They just know what happened out there, and they’re… not happy.” Emma moved through her sentence slowly, picking her words as carefully as she could.
"Manage? There is no way for me to manage it. It co...crup... blinds me to my mind." She stood up abruptly, going towards the window. A whole world, beyond that pane of glass... . "There is no need for others to understand me. I'm just a weapon, to be thrown at something until it breaks, or I do. "
”That’s…” it seemed like things were starting to click into place. What in the hell had the institute done to her? ”That’s not true, Hazel. You can pretend that if you want, but you’re a person. And if people start doubting that than things are going to start falling apart for our whole class. If they’re scared of you it’s going to make things harder for everyone.”
Hazel stayed silent, staring out of the window all the while. What would she do? How would she handle that? Did it truly matter for her? Wasn't that her purpose? A weapon without anyone fearing it wasn't an effective weapon after all. What was that clenching feeling in her chest?
"Are you afraid of me?"
”No.” the word came with little hesitation, her conviction clear. ”I’m not afraid of you Hazel. How could I be? I mean, I know you’re not a weapon. I know that what’s happening is because of the stigma, not you. I feel it too. I just… don’t want things to fall apart. I want to try to help you stop whatever’s happening to you out there.”
"I see." Hazel turned to Emma, her expression softened somewhat. "Then, that is all I need."
Emma smiled at that. Of course, it was cryptic, but it seemed like a good sign. ”Good. Y’know, it’s been a while since I’ve touched a guitar, maybe I should practice a little.” Emma said, relaxing a little, reaching for the instrument.
Emma was lying on her stomach, staring at her phone. She was watching it again. She really should’ve stopped. Watching her head get caved in by the people she was trying to help was hardly doing her any good. Determination, as he had been for the past week, sat on the floor. He insisted that it did not matter if he had a bed or not, but Emma had her doubts. He didn’t look comfortable, but if he was hellbent on taking the floor she’d let him.
It felt like some fucked up spin off of ‘The Odd Couple’.
”You should turn that off.” Determination was the first to break the silence. He usually was.
”Is it bothering you?” For Emma the prospect of casual conversation with the creature was still strange, although she was starting to get used to it.
”You know that’s not what I mean.” it sounded like Determination was chiding her, but she still had trouble discerning its emotions.
”Yeah, alright. Point taken.” Emma said not-so-happily, flicking the video closed.
”They call you… Pandora? What does that mean?”
”A character from an old myth. The first women, created as punishment when Prometheus stole the secret of fire. She was beautiful, and all the gods gave her a gift… but she was also a huge liar and kind of a bitch. When she was sent to the earth she was given a jar, inside which was toil, sickness, pain, evil, etcetera. Of course, she opens it, ending the golden age of man. It all sounds a little sexist to me, but hey, that’s the story.”
”I see…” Determination said, but Emma still wasn’t quite sure he understood, ”So that would make me the evil?”
Maybe he understood more than she gave him credit for.
”Presumably, although I’d hardly consider you evil.”
”What am I, than? Don’t humans… hate Dreamcatcher and his creations?”
”What? Where’d you hear about all that?”
”I’ve been doing some reading. Where do you think I go all day?”
”Uh-huh. Well… some people do hate Dreamcatcher. Some people revere him. But regardless of what people think, it doesn’t make you evil.” Emma flipped over, now laying down on her back. ”I mean, it’s up to you to decide what you are.”
”You don’t think that about yourself, do you?”
Emma was quiet for a moment.
”And how exactly do you figure that?”
”Because I know you.”
”How can you say that? You only started being aware like, a week ago.”
”I mean, we’re linked in a way, aren’t we? I think… not a lot of people really understand what goes on in your head. Even the guy with the scars. Maybe especially him.”
”And you do?”
”In broad strokes, I think. Like I said, we’re connected.”
”Well I don’t get to know what goes on in your head. What’s up with that?”
”I do not know. My existence is a mystery to me.”
”Well. Sorry you have to know what makes me tick, than.” there was a hint of sincerity, maybe a hint of hurt in her voice. Whatever it was Determination didn’t pick up on it.
”You do not have to apologize. I am going to have to ask that you don’t give up again, though. I know you think about it. My existence is linked to yours. I think that if you die I will too.”
”Give up? Like in D.C.? Yeah, sure, it won’t happen again. You’ll be there to back me up, right?”
”Right. But… I don’t mean D.C. Well, that too, but…” Determination slowed, picking his words carefully, ”The first time you summoned me…”
Emma’s eyes widened a little, realization washing over her.
”Don’t.” she shot out, voice filled with anger.
”Right. Sorry. I just… don’t want things to end that way.”
”It won’t.”
”What happened, anyways? I mean, why…” Determination couldn’t find the words to finish his sentence.
”You know what I’m thinking, don’t you?”
”Broad strokes, I said.”
”Right. It doesn’t matter anyways.
”I don’t really believe that, but I won’t pry.”
Emma nodded, pushing herself up into a sitting position. ”Good. The past isn’t something we should dwell on. We’re here now, aren’t we?” Emma looked over at the creature, ”Anyways, aren’t you getting tired of being called ‘Determination’?”
”Why would I? It’s the name you gave me.”
”I mean, it’s not much of a name. You want to be more, like… person-like, don’t you? Determination isn’t really a normal name.”
At this he gave what she interpreted as a shrug, ”It’s good enough for me. Descriptive.”
”Hmmmm, if you say so.”
”Do you plan on sleeping tonight?” he asked, suddenly changing the topic.
”If I can. It hasn’t been easy, I think I’ve told you that.”
”You need to rest.”
”Yeah, I do, but it’s not like I can just do it.”
”Sure you can. Just close your eyes and sleep.”
Emma laid back down, doing as he said, ”Easy for you to say. You don’t have to sleep.” she said with a slight pout.
”I wish I could. It’s be nice to dream.”
”Sorry.” she muttered, pulling her blankets over her.
”S’okay. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, what happened to your sister? The girl we were running with way back when? I was gone before it ended…”
”Emma?”
It looked like his advice worked, because she was fast asleep.
That’s what she wanted more than anything. To go back. To be done. It was too dangerous for them out here, they’d barely survived Wisford and they’d barely survived DC. Well, some of them did. She didn’t feel like she did. But at least they’d get to go back, back to the relative safety of the school. At least, that’s what she thought until it became evident that they weren’t. Her heart sank, the sense of impending doom within her growing. What could possibly happen next? The ever-present question still rested on her mind: Who was going to die? Marcus? Callan? Hazel? Herself?
She knew who she’d pick.
Emma filled up the journey with a combination of sulking and texting back and forth with Riley. Riley, after all this time it was still Riley. It hurt to think about- the promises they made, how things ended, and the fact that they still couldn’t let each other go. As for the others, well, Emma proved aloof during the ride over. She maintained her usual politeness, talked if they wanted to talk, but it was clear she’d rather be left alone for the moment.
When they arrived at the mansion Emma had little reaction to their surroundings. It seemed like another place for them to die in. She was ready to sleep, if sleep would come for her, although she doubted it would. After half listening to the butler’s spiel she readily followed the maids, heading to her room as soon as they were done talking, favoring the rest of the group with a weary nod.
She was quick the lock the door behind her. Finally, she was alone. She thought that she wanted to cry, but now the feeling wouldn’t come. Instead, she just stood there for a long moment. Maybe she was trying to cry. She found that it helped, but it wouldn’t now.
Instead she just waited for something to happen, but of course nothing did.
The form of Determination grew before her.
”You’re still here, huh?”
She started at him. But of course, the creature gave no reaction. She reached out tentatively, softly laying her hand on the creature’s chest. It was cold and smooth, distinctly unhuman.
”We’re so weak, aren’t we? Well, I guess that’s my fault.”
She felt a little silly talking to something that she knew wouldn’t talk back.
”Can… can you…”
Emma hesitated. How sad was this?
”Can you hold me?”
The creature extended its arms, wrapping them around her. She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks, or maybe it was a tear, she wasn’t quite sure. Determination’s embrace felt wrong, lifeless. She wanted warmth. But… this was all she had, wasn’t it? Or maybe it wasn’t. She didn’t fucking know.
Another long moment passed.
And then, suddenly, she was back on the cliff. The water stretched before her, waves crashing against the rock wall far below, suddenly morphing into the field of stars. It was the same vision as before this time, with the same drip of power.
And suddenly she was back just as quickly as it begun. She pulled away from Determination, looking the creature up and down. ”What's changed now…?” she said idly to herself.
It started before she realized what was happening. For a moment the creature shuttered, before doubling over as if it was in great pain. It took her a second, but she realized that Determination was doing something she’d never seen it do before. A split was appearing in its previously blank face, as if it was always there and now struggling to be opened. It was right… right where a mouth would be.
Suddenly she became very aware of what was happening and it terrified her.
The words came through the creature's stuck together mouth. ”I…” Determination’s voice was heavy, guttural, rough. It sounded like a monster, and it also sounded like it was in pain. ”I don’t…” Emma backed away, tripping over her own feet and landing ass-first on the floor. He wasn’t moving towards, but she was still scared. This was too much.
”I don’t… don’t want… don’t want to die…”
And then he was very suddenly gone. Emma didn’t move.
”F-fuck.” Emma stammered out between hurried breaths. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." came out in quick succession. She looked at the spot where he was standing before. He was still there, she could feel, ready to be called on. But... what did he mean?
What had she done? Of course, Emma didn't end up sleeping that night.
She'd heard the buzzing. Many times, in fact, since she had gotten up from the floor of the collapsed penthouse. Up until now she'd been tuning it out- there were bigger fish to fry, but now there was a moment of relative calm and Emma let herself focus on her vibrating pocket. Emma already knew who it was- the only person it could be, the only person that she wanted to keep in touch with that also cared enough to keep in touch with her. A bitter thought- not the contact she wanted, but the only one she could get.
Emma reluctantly stopped digging. The tulpas were probably doing a much better job of it anyways. She reached into her back pocket, hands closing around her phone, pulling it out in front of her... the screen was shattered, but the phone still worked. A small stroke of luck on a distinctly unlucky day, a day that she just wanted to end.
If she really wanted it to be over she could just leave, couldn't she?
But no, that wasn't an option. She flicked her phone, unlocking it, eyes going up and down her phone screen.
Em, what the fuck is happening? I saw the news, are you okay?
Em
Em
Em
Emma
Dude, fucking text back
Emma
EMMA
You better not be fucking fighting those things
Where are you
I need to know you've alive, FUCKING RESPOND
She hesitated for a long moment before replying.
I'm fine.
I'll get back to you when I can.
Emma sighed, silencing her phone, returning it to its spot in her pocket. Back to digging it was.
Heyo, was doing some CS stuffs and decided to push that big ol opinion sheet from before the RP started out, gonna paste it here for posterity ~
"You want to know what I think about everyone else... uh... why, exactly? Does my opinion matter...?"
"Okay, okay, fine, whatever you say. I'll go, I'll go... but uh, you won't tell anyone right? I don't want to hurt anyone's feeling."
"Alright, but just to clarify... even if I say something bad about someone I don't really... dislike them, per se. I just... I think everyone has the capability to be good, alright? And if someone... even one of the not-so-nice people in our group wants to be friends with me or talk I'll do my very best to reciprocate."
"I am not 'too nice'! I just don't like to get on people's bad side. I'd like to be friends with everyone. I'd also like to believe that everyone is good... what can I say, I'm an optimist?"
"Okay, when it doesn't apply to myself."
𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖
"I like Lawrence! Or do I call him Doc? I know people call him that, but I'm not really sure if he likes it or not..."
"Oh, I guess so. He does have that little plaque, but isn't that a joke?"
"Whatever. Anyways, he's really... well maybe not nice, exactly, but he's always so calm and collected. I like hanging around him, but I don't think he really cares all that much for company. I get the sense he'd rather be reading his book... 'Meditations'. Maybe I should ask him for a loaner copy? He seems to like giving them away, and it must be a good read... plus if I could get even like 10% of his composure I'd probably be a lot better of. Anyways, sometimes he can be mean, but I think he's just joking? He's joking, right?"
"Well- yeah, okay, okay. Whatever. Besides that he's a very helpful person... and, of course, being around him has the added benefit of calming my stigma. Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what he thinks of me, though... does he have a problem with me? Maybe I'm just being insecure? I just don't know... anyways I guess I should count my blessings he's my roommate, since I could probably do a lot worse."
𝕃𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒
"Oh, Lily? I love Lily! I enjoy hanging out with her, except... well, I'm not trying to be rude so don't tell her this... I think she's bipolar? Maybe? Don't tell her that though!"
"Hey! It's not even a bad thing, okay?! She's a little different, but it's part of the reason she's so fun. Sure, she can be a handful sometimes... she talks a little too fast to keep up with sometimes... and, well, you've got the idea. Her mood swings pretty quickly, hence why I think... yeah. When she's sad I do my best to cheer her up, but I don't know how helpful I am... I'm not really the person that should be trying to help people when they're depressed... maybe I should ask her to hang out sometime... do you think she'd like that?"
"... I guess maybe I shouldn't be asking you..."
"Hmmm? I guess I kind of get the 'little sister' vibe from her, y'know?"
"Well, yeah, we are the same age but still..."
"I suppose so. Obviously to a lesser extent, I can't exactly be described as manic, but I guess 'mood swing' is a pretty good way to describe how my stigma hits me. I'm good at faking it though."
"I'm used to being candid with these things... about myself, at least. Not the first time you guys have called me in here."
𝔼𝕞𝕞𝕒
"What? Oh, c'mon! I may have brought it up, but I don't really want to talk about it, okay? I... can we go to the next one, please? You guys have already had a psychiatrist talk to me about this..."
"Yes! I'm fine. Okay? I know you goons need to make sure I'm not going to... well, listen, don't worry about it, alright? Next question."
𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥
"Grant's a little hard to figure out. He's definitely a huge slacker, there's no doubt about that... but I guess we all have our things. Nobody's perfect, y'know? And it isn't exactly like he's far from being the only lazy high school student. At our age it's hardly an uncommon problem."
"Well, yeah. I'd like to try to get along with him... I'd like to get along with everyone, I should say... but it feels like he doesn't really want to talk to me sometimes... or is that just because he's not great at making conversation? I'm not really sure, I guess I'll keep trying until he opens up or tells my to go away..."
"Yeah, I used to be kind of like that I guess. Elementary school, I was super shy... so I kind of get the sense he is too. Some people just find it a little hard to get over it."
"Hmmmm? Well, I guess I got better at socializing because I had a good friend that helped me out. Maybe I can do the same for Grant? Or maybe that's a little idealistic..."
ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕣
Chris is always telling me things like 'Stop talking to me!' or 'Leave me alone!'. At least he's honest about it... he's very abrasive, if that wasn't clear enough. I'm sure he's a good guy once you get past his... 'attitude'. If he wants to hang out I'd be happy to but I don't think he wants me to be anywhere near him... maybe? What do you think?"
"Yeah, I guess I am hoping for a little too much. He's kind of a jerk, I guess? I think I get on his nerves. He's one of those guys that likes it when people think he's 'edgy', I think."
"No, I don't think that. It's not like... I'm sure there's a reason for that, yeah? Or maybe he just likes cultivating the 'angry loner' image. Maybe he thinks girls like it?"
"The 'bad boy' thing? Ew, no way. I'd rather they'd just act a little more genuine..."
"Yeah, Chris too. But still no. Even if he was, I guess he's not really my type? Why do you guys want to know so much...? Anyways, I suspect that he's a big softie compensating for something."
"Oh, no. NO. Not that way. You know what I mean! Geez, don't say that..."
𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣
"Sander... or does he want people to call him Sandy?"
"I don't think the name suits him, but if he likes it whatever. I think I heard someone say it once and I've been saying it since... does he not like it?"
"Whatever. I'm not sure about him. He's a nice guy! But his power... is really creepy. Like... well, either way he can't choose his power, so I shouldn't judge him for that! But it is weird... and it makes him act weird. But! There's a but. He seems nice enough besides that. He's pleasant and friendly..."
"Yeah, I guess that isn't the whole picture, is it? He strikes me as a little ingenuine... kind of like Chris, I guess. He's friendly but a little too distant. Everyone has baggage but it seems like he doesn't want anyone to find his."
"I'm a faker too, you guys know that, don't you? You've drilled me about it enough. I guess I have a good sense for this things? Or I'd like to think I do. Lawrence would probably be better at this than me, why don't you talk to me?"
"... Of course you have. What'd he say about me?"
"Can't fault me for trying."
ℂ𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕟
"Callan is cool! Well, she's lazy, but she's cool! Like I said before, being a little lazy isn't a crime..."
"I can be pretty lazy too, yeah... I get stuff done but I will take as long as humanly possible. Cal (I wonder if she would be okay with me calling her Cal?) is great to hang out with. Watch Netflix, play video games, whatever. I bet she'd be a good trivia partner... especially if every question was about The Office."
"I digress... I really like her view on Dreamcatcher and everything... I'm not sure if it's true, and I'm certainly not a Dream-Christian, but I'd like to believe it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If I got to pick someone to room with it would probably be her or Lily... if they'd want to, that is!"
"No, I like Hazel and Lawrence. They're fine, it's just that... they're not really talkative... or easy to get along with... and I'm pretty sure that I make up 90% of the conversation that goes on in our room. It probably would be almost exactly the same if I was in the room by myself most of the time. Things would probably be a little more mutual with Cal and Lily. I guess they're my dream team but I still love Lawrence and Hazel."
𝕂𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕣𝕚
"Hahaha. Kusari... okay, what I say in this room better not be repeated, especially to her."
"Yes, really!"
"Okay... I don't really think Kusari is that bad."
"Yes! She isn't very nice, but I think she's a total sweetheart and doesn't want anyone to know. Sure, maybe I'm just seeing in her what I want to see, but I don't think she's really as mean as she acts. She's pretty vulgar and sometimes tries to be as incendiary as possible, but I am almost sure that there's more than meets the eyes when it comes to her. She probably wouldn't like me saying that."
"Yeah, deeeeep down, you're right, but still! I'm going to try to meet the Kusari that I think she doesn't want anyone to know. She might hate me for that, but I'll put up with it for even a chance of seeing dere Kusari."
"Oh god don't tell anyone I just said 'dere' unironically."
𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤
"Marcus is awesome! He's funny, and I can't help but laugh at what he has to say... he's really fun to talk to. Like, seriously, he always cracks me up. It seems like happiness is becoming a little harder to find here every day, but he certainly helps brighten things up."
"Uhhhh, I guess I shouldn't have said that, huh?"
"Sorry... no, of cours-"
"Let's get back to talking about Marcus, eh? He' cool. He sometimes seems like he's trying a little to hard to keep things from getting quiet, but... I can't really fault him for that, can I? He's great..."
"What? No! No way! Not like that. Well... no! Don't say that... anyways... I'm kind of curious about his scars. They're kind of cool. aren't they? They make him look like a badass."
"Really? You're going to bring up that stereotype? No, they just make him look interesting. I kind of want to ask him about his them, but that would be super rude, wouldn't it? I won't... maybe someday? No, I can't do that. Unless he decides to tell me... probably not... I feel kind of bad for saying they're cool, they probably sucked to get, huh?"
ℤ𝕠𝕖
"Hmmmmm... the first time I saw Zoe she struck me as kind of the 'tough big-sister' type."
"I guess we are pretty close in age, but that's the vibe I get. Kind of like Lily it's less about age and more about demeanor, eh? And height, I guess..."
"No, not nearly as cool as Val, of course. I don't think there's anyone nearly as cool as Val... anyways, let me finish. She's a little too tough, y'know? She's a total badass but that's kind of a bad thing sometimes. She's kind of violent and angry a lot... plus she's kind of distant..."
"C'mon, let me finish! I think that a lot of people don't really get Zoe. She's certainly self-assured, and aggressive, but I think she's trying a lot harder then she wants people to see. And I also suspect that she's not nearly as much of an angry loner as she wants people to think she is... at least that's what I think. She wants everyone to think she's a total hardass but I think she's actually a lot nicer than she wants to admit... well, I'd like to see if I'm right but I'm not sure she would let me be friends with her. Either way she's really strong an reliable... I wish I could be kind of like that.
ℍ𝕒𝕫𝕖𝕝
"Hazel...? She's my other roommate... and... well... what can I say, she's a strange girl. I think she was in one of those weird cults that lived in a bunker and wasn't allowed to go outside."
"No! You know I'm not trying to be rude. I think she's... well, I want to be friends with her."
"Yeah, she does kind of creeps me out if I'm being honest. But she acts nice enough, I guess. Sometimes I think she's not really there, if you get what I'm saying, but I'd like to help her act a little more human, y'know? There's more to her than she lets on... I'm not sure if that's good or bad."
"Yeah, maybe it is a lost cause, but I'd like to try to figure out just who the hell she is."
𝕊𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕒
"I'm pretty sure every single time I ask Siena about her past I've gotten a different story. I don't know if it's because of her power, or because she doesn't like me and is messing with me... or maybe because she really just doesn't know, I guess? Unlikely."
"Well, she's smart. She reads a lot, not surprising considering her power. She's a little different... spacey is definitely the first word I would use to describe her. She's can kind of be a nervous wreck sometimes..."
"No, I don't dislike Siena. I guess I am sounding I little harsh... maybe because this interview is dragging a little?"
"Just a joke. Haha..."
"Annnnnyways, like a lot of people I'd like to figure her out. I admire her smartness and creativity even if it's sometimes used to make up ridiculous lies. I feel kind of sorry for her, to be completely honest. Just like everyone else I try to be as nice as possible even when though her stories kind of get on my nerves."
𝔸𝕟𝕘é𝕝𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖
"Angel kind of reminds me of my sister, Val-"
"Well, they're both musicians... I mean, Val wasn't a superstar like Angel, more of a local sensation."
"No, no, I guess it's kind of a superficial observation. She's not as moody, but then again she's also not an aberration. Angel can be kind of difficult at times to say the least. I can't fault her for that, I know how she feels because I have to deal with a stigma too. It's kind of surprising that I don't get like taht too... guess I got good practice suppressing things before I got my stigma? I just made myself sad. Anyways, past all of the anger I know Angel is a sweetheart... I also know she could us a friend. I'd like to be friends with her."
"Well, I'd like to be friends with everyone... I'd also like to see her perform. I remember there was this one song that Val would always play. It's a little old, Boss D.J., by Sublime. Ever heard of it?"
"Well, old to me I guess. Doesn't matter. Anyways, Val would always sneak me into shows in these crappy dive bars and she would allllways play that song. Point is I wonder if I could get Angel to play it... I'd like that."
𝔸𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕟
"Well... Allison is nice?"
"No, no, don't get me wrong, I do like Allison... she's a great person and has a lot of positive qualities."
"I'm sure you guys already know, she's kind of... I don't really approve of her habits when it comes to men."
"What can I say? I guess I'm kind of conservative when it comes to that kind of stuff...? It's not her fault so I feel bad for thinking that way, so I'd rather just not talk about it. She's a really good friend, so it's not really my place to be disapproving of her."
"Yeah, besides that she is a very kind person. Sometimes kind of like Lawrence I can't tell when she's joking or not, but I still like hanging out with her... I mean, except when she's looking at... things..."
"Sometimes you can tell what she's thinking about... she can't really help it, still, y'know?"
"Did... I... W-w-what?! No way! A-a-are you guys really allowed to ask minors questions like that?!"
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕙
"Savannah... well, the first time I saw her I though she was absolutely adorable and went over to talk to her..."
"She didn't take it very well. She's very loud and very angry. She takes about any excuse to get mad about something. I wouldn't be surprised if she yelled at me for like... breathing the wrong way, or something?"
"Yeah, she's yelled at me... I've tried to keep clear of her because I'd rather not deal with the angry demon child all the time."
"Of course! I mean, if she ever decides she wants to talk to me, sure. I may... well, I may have just called her an 'angry demon child' but I don't think she's a bad person, just a kid, y'know?"
"She's kind of funny when she's angry, I guess. She spews some Irish nonsense which kind of cracks me up, y'know?"
"Well, I'm sure it means something, but it's nonsense to me. Anyways, I kind of get the sense that she mainly acts like that because she'd rather not be around people for whatever reason. Maybe she does it because she wants to be kind of edgy like Chris? I dunno."
ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤
"Christmas... I feel really bad for Christmas. I'd like to try and help him out, but I kind of feel like I'd be undertaking a massive task if I ever made a concentrated effort to get him too... well, for lack of a better word, man up."
"Well, he's kind of like a big ol' punching bag. I don't really like saying that but it's pretty true. He's really passive so he kind of let's people walk all over him. I try to help a lot of people feel comfortable in the group, but with him I think it'd be a big help if he'd just... well... get mad, every one in a while, I guess?"
"I don't think he'd hurt a fly, let alone get mad at one. I don't think I've ever heard him stick up for himself and he's pretty much scared of everything. If I can get him to... well, do anything, really it'd be a victory. Maybe just start by encouraging him to speak his mind? Why do you guys send him out on combat missions anyways?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
𝔸𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕟
"Uhhhh... Aaron is kind of tough. I actually like him quite a bit, but... well, I kind of try to avoid getting to know him too well."
"He's not exactly approving of... well, anything about me, really. I'd have to fake it really hard around him... like, harder than usual. From what I've heard he doesn't really like people that are mopey or depressed so..."
"Well, sure, like I said I like him. I'd like to be friends with him but maybe it's for the best that we're not? Like, if he wants to hang out, yeah, I will, since I like hanging out with everyone, but... y'know? It's hard to keep it up around him knowing that he would dislike the real me so much."
"Well, I assume he would given what I know. I guess no one really would like the real me, but him in particular really wouldn't."
"No, I wouldn't be as forthcoming about it around everyone else. Your psych evals have kind of broken me about it, but I'd rather that no one knew. It's easier that way."
𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥
"Brent kind of raises a red flag for me..."
No, don't get me wrong, he's a great guy. I'd say we're pretty good friends. He's a really hard worker at pretty much everything he takes seriously... even if it's only his physique."
"Well, what I mean is I kind of get the sense that he's running away from something. There's something he doesn't want to admit about himself. Kind of like me, yeah? I feel like... he doesn't really care about anything, really. He acts like he does but he doesn't. Even when it comes to the things he tries hard at I'm not really sure it's because he enjoys doing it, or because he wants the results... I think he kind of does a lot of things he does because he thinks he should, I guess?"
"No, I'm not very confident on my 'psycho-analysis'. I'm not a shrink like you. I don't really know what I'm talking about, just making guesses based on what I've seen."
"Yes, I'm well aware that that's what you guys do too."
𝔼𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕖
"Ernest... Erneeeeeest... doesn't ring a bell... I don't think I know an Ernest, do I?"
"I don't think I've ever asked someone else to vacuum for me, do you think I'm lazy or something?"
"Okay, okay, okay, fine, I just don't want to say anything bad about him. He kind of scares the shit out of me. The first time I met him I thought he was a really nice guy, and then I saw him slam some guys face into a wall. I guess the story he's really violent if you're not on his good side?"
"I just try to avoid the guy. Even though I don't think I'd really do anything to make him angry I'd just rather not associate with someone like that."
"No, I don't really like bullies. What kind of question is that? What kind of person likes bullies?"
"Yeah, if I saw him beating someone up I'd probably intervene... maybe..."
"He's pretty scary."
𝕊𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕒
"Sophia... well, trying to be friends with Sophia is pretty hard."
"I've tried approaching from every angle. I've hardly gotten a word out of her. I've heard that she isn't very talkative with anyone. At first I thought she didn't like me but now I'm pretty sure she's just very shy."
"Well, everyone could use a friend so I'd like to be hers. Unless she doesn't want me to. I hope that's not the case because I probably seem pretty weird if she really just doesn't want talk to me."
"I think I mention I used to be pretty shy. Even back then I wanted friends, I just had trouble making them. Maybe Sophia is the same way? Or maybe I'm just projecting because I'm a weirdo."
𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕠𝕣𝕪
"You guys recruited a lot of try-hards, didn't you?"
"Yeah, Gregory is kind of the same as Brent minus the whole 'hiding behind a facade' thing. Well, I dunno, Gregory could be too and I just haven't noticed it."
"At least he's not as crazy about it as some of the others. He's not wildly masochistic, just the regular sort of extra-organized."
"I guess that kind of doesn't make sense. He's way more organized than I could ever be and seems to have it together pretty well, but is willing to be a little loose about things, so I guess I can appreciate that? He kind of lacks tact but besides that is a pretty good guy." "That's it? Well, alright..."
"Yeah?"
"What, really? I said I didn't want to talk about that..."
"I've been taking those pills you guys gave me, what else do you need?"
"... Uh-huh... okay, maybe I haven't but do I really need to? They make me feel weird..."
Emma felt stupid for not seeing it coming. For thinking that the week could pass quietly by relatively free of incident. No, that wasn't the kind of life they led. Not anymore. She'd tried so hard to devolve into normalcy, despite D.C.'s prejudices, despite the constant reminder of their reality on her neck, buried in the doublethink of declaring herself Subnatural, being a subnatural, but trying her hardest to convince herself she was Human.
It was all so stupid.
She'd been resting on the couch when it started, scrolling idly by on her phone, keeping up with the news surrounding them and texting a certain someone. of course, she didn't realize there was anything wrong until she felt the burning pain in her throat, like hot coals sliding down her esophagus, like hands pressed upon her neck. The only indication she gave was a scream cut short by her attempts to catch her breath, panicked gasps that were gone before she knew it, a moment that stretched into eternity and then was suddenly just... over. The pain subsided like nothing had happened at all.
She shot up, searching desperately. Something bad was happening. A glance out the window and her questions were answered- monsters in D.C. again. It wasn't the first time- it was too late that she realized the building they were in was about to collapse.
It could only be described as a miracle, really. The fall was so sudden that Emma didn't have time to think about protecting herself, but somehow she got out mostly unscathed, landing on an upturned sofa besides Hazel. She got up slowly- her injuries were light considering they just fell from the top of a building, only scratches and minor wounds, but the wind was still knocked out of her, heart thumping wildly from the adrenaline rush that came from falling several tens of stories. She looked around- chaos around her, but people were starting to get up, the others hurrying to help those trapped and injured before she could.
"Hazel-"
She turned, seeing the girl was already up. Emma accepted the collar and then Hazel was gone before she could protest. Emma sighed. She still worried for Hazel, even if she was a single-minded killing machine. She couldn't exactly help her though. She held up the collar, examining it, trying to somehow divine what exactly it was that it did to Hazel. For now a mystery that was unsolvable. Instead she did her best to fit it in her pocket, roughly half of it still sticking out, but at least it was relatively secure and wouldn't take up her hands.
"Transmit." Emma said, still trying to catch her breath, "This is Emma. I'm safe... over."
Now, she just needed to figure out what the hell they were going to do.
After wishing the guys a good evening at the bar and seeing them take off, Angélique immediately went to each room she could afford and raided the snacks and wine shelves. If the boys would go out in town to have fun, then why would the girls not have a fun time too? Gathering the snacks and wine into the biggest and most comfortable living room she could find, the girl adept at organizing events took a few large bowls, poured snacks individually into their own bowls and brought a dozen of stylish glasses and expensive looking wine glasses onto a living room table. She even minded those who wouldn’t drink alcohol. She brought a few liters of soda and juice of varying flavors to the table. A mischievous part of her wanted to add alcohol to those, but for the sake of the underage teenagers, Angel stuck to her virtuous side. Turning on the TV, the singer Aberration switched to a music channel playing pop songs without stop.
Once everything was set up, Angel gave the thing one last look, making sure it was looking quite good before making her way in the middle of the penthouse. Channeling the familiar energies of a magic she had gotten used to, the sound Mage focused her thoughts on the recipients of her message: all the girls of her unit.
“Attention ladies! The boys are out in town for the evening! It’s time to party! Gather around at the living room!” Her voice enthusiastically reached out to the rooms where the targets of her message were residing.
Allison Revel had just changed into her bikini, planning to slip into the jacuzzi for the second time that day, when Angel rushed into the room to raid the snacks and wine. Wordlessly, Allison threw on a loose tank top and helped her friend get everything together. Allison considering abandoning the partying, especially with all the alcohol, but didn't want to dissapoint Angel. Besides, it was a good chance to interract with the rest of the girls.
Allison sat down as Angel turned on the television. Still, there was one big problem that sat in the back of Allison's mind. 'As long as I avoid the wine, I should be fine,' She thought to herself. Though, not being drunk didn't stop her earlier encounter with Emma from being awkward, and it didn't keep that thing with Kusari from happening. It was probably best for Allison to not think about all that and just enjoy herself.
Lying on her bed with eyes fixed on the ceiling, Zoe flinched at the suddenness of the noise. She was tired, but sleep only meant things got closer to whatever consequences she'd have to face. After all, she'd given away classified info on live news, which she didn't think would get her any points with the staff. Plus crushing half her teammates' reputations by proxy.
Perhaps that was why she'd spent the past hour or so drinking alone in her room - Not that she'd have called herself drunk yet. There was reason to just leave them be, of course. Even without today, some of the other girls weren't about to join her fan club. But what exactly was this gonna do, make things worse?
So Zoe had emerged from her room, an obvious look of relief on her face as she realised the TV wasn't showing the news. One repeat of the experience had been more than enough, knowing what she looked like to the wider world. The redhead was clearly exhausted and yes, ever-so-slightly drunk, but she figured it might be understandable. For whatever reason, it would appear she'd decided to join the group regardless.
Emma surpressed a heavy sigh as soon as she heard Angel's voice. She wasn't sure exactly how she was talkng to her, but considering the nature of the Aberration's power it wasn't too surprising that she had some way of reaching them. Reluctantly, slowly, Emma rose. She wasn't relishing talking to Angel again, but if the others were there... well, that would be enough.
Emma took a hesitant step outside, giving Angel a small nod. She couldn't just ignore her presence, after all. She examined Angel's spread. Lots of alcohol, lots of soda. She gave a slight smile, "Good work, Angel." she said.
This shit is bush league. she thought. But she'd keep that to herself, she decided, taking a seat.
With her roommate gone for what Siena assumed would be the rest of the night, Siena found herself flicking through the screens of her newly acquired phone. No SIM card meant no calls, but the Wi-Fi had been more than enough to scrape together the last backup she'd saved to the cloud, which restored her phone virtually back to tip top condition. She'd have to put the contacts back in, but that was something she could do when she got back to USARLIN.
The call history was disturbingly blank.
'Maybe I should try calling them again when I get back...' Siena thought to herself. Almost a full week without a single attempt...what if they'd called her back? What if they thought she was ignoring them? Something close to panic rose like bile from her stomach, through her chest, clogging the back of her throat. She hadn't really thought about that. Or worse...what if they hadn't even tried?
Thankfully, a sudden voice called--oh? Though her recent thoughts had torn most of her desire to party away from her, the brunette sat up, put her phone aside, and made her way out of her room as she reapplied the mask. It was better than being alone. Finding a handful of others already out Siena gave a brief smile. "Oooh..." Not exactly the same as the parties she was used to, but that meant it was probably going to be more enjoyable than the stiff, rigid rules that had to be followed.
Due to the events of the past night and early morning, Sophia had done little more than sit around, listen to music, and think the entire day. And rest, trying to catch up on sleep. The sudden intrusion of a voice without a person accompanying it made her start, looking around for the person to no avail. "Meet in the living room," she murmured, at last assuming that the voice was part of one of her classmate's powers. Which one, she didn't know. That nightmare had been right, she really didn't know her classmates at all. Couldn't even list all of their names.
Some strange coincidence that one of them was hosting some kind of a party, as if to help her along. Get to know her classmates, that was one thing she wanted to do. But... a party? Parties meant lots of people, and people meant... ugh. Interaction. Talking. Exchanging information. All of which she sucked at. Would going to the party be worth the effort, the anxiety?
One way to find out, part of her said, but the other part, You'll just be confirming to them that you have no social skills whatsoever, and are some kind of mumbling weirdo. Go. Don't go. Go. Don't go. She made herself get up, walk to the door and leave that safety. I can come back whenever I want. She headed towards the living room, lingering every few steps as she felt her hands grow warm and shaky. But she made it there, to the edge of the living room where she now stood, trying to look relaxed and like she belonged.
Except she really looked decidedly nervous and out of place.
Lily was by the window, staring out into the night sky, her mind again on her past. Or more like the absence of it. It was a huge blank, a big void. And lately, she had been wondering if she'll ever be able to fill it. Piece by piece maybe. Or maybe one whole chunk all at once. Or maybe none at all. It would have been useful if any of her classmates had powers that can see into the past. That would be incredibly cool and convenient. Maybe there's someone in USARILN like that. I should ask when we get back. And then--- She looked towards the source of the voice or at least the direction it came from.
"Gather around at the living room," she repeated, looked thoughtful for a moment and then jumped down from her perch. "Okay," she said as though the person calling out to them would hear her.
As soon as she entered the living room, she grinned. There really was a party. She has never been in one nor has she ever been invited to one. Or at least as far as she can remember.
Spotting the familiar faces of Emma and Siena, Callan entered the room a little too eagerly. Amethyst eyes immediately fell on Zoe and she froze, mentally cursing herself for not being more careful. Her plan had been to peek inside and see who was there before making up her mind to join in, but.. she honestly hadn't expected to see Zoe. Part of her felt annoyed by that. Even more so when she noticed the red tinge to the girl's cheeks. Was she drunk? Maybe it wasn't too late to leave. Had anybody else seen her? Callan edged back towards the door.
Of course Zoe of all people would be the one to notice Callan's entrance, but she didn't turn towards the girl. It was clear what the problem was, why she froze at the door. Coming in would be the hard part, actively approaching the place where Zoe sat. Almost like there was some kind of reason to think that way. Ha.
It was pretty simple to deal with. Zoe stood up, deciding to just go with it. She'd... She'd ruined enough today, right? Let Callan enjoy the night, or something like that. Pretending not to have noticed Callan, Zoe stood up, giving Angel a look of semi-drunken apology. She'd probably figure out Zoe's reasons.
"Be back in five. Gonna... walk, or something." Wasn't quite up to thinking of a good excuse, but it wasn't like where she went mattered. As she stood, she gestured slightly towards Callan, indicating that someone should talk to her. Even if the girl was a childish brat, Zoe didn't feel like ruining anyone's night so soon.
Seeing one girl after the others showing up by the living room, Angel greeted them with an enthusiastic wave. She kept to herself however when Emma showed up, unease settling in as her eyes crossed the other Aberration’s. Memories of what they had spoken of back in La Plata were still fresh in her mind, but Angel figured that this party would be a nice first step towards bringing everyone together. Plus, it would be nice to ease off the tension by having some fun tonight.
Sophia was no exception to Angel’s enthusiasm. Upon seeing the girl timidly staying by the edge of the room, spying at the party, Angel beckoned her to join them with a wave of her hand and a cheerful smile.
Of course, things started to get awkward when Callan showed up and immediately returned where she came from upon seeing Zoe. Can’t blame her to not stay in the same room as the one who rotted her arm out. But still, Angel felt like everyone should have the chance to have some fun tonight.
“Alright! You better not pass out on the toilet though!” Angel went along with Zoe’s excuse, faking a heartily laugh as she walked towards the redhead. “You better be back, you hear?. No way am I just going to let you mop around by yourself while we’re supposed to be having fun. You two don't need to talk to each other.” the would-be party organizer whispered to Zoe.
Emma had been sitting, stewing in the awkwardness between her and Angel. At least Siena and Lily where here- along with a few others she hadn't recognized. She greeted them both with an enthusiastic wave- it couldn't be too bad if she had a couple of friends, right?
Just than Emma noticed Callan peeking out, ready to head back in. Emma wasted no time in trying to catch her glance, standing up and looking at her with pleading eyes. She stepped over rapidly, making sure to catch her before she completed her retreat, ”Cal, you're planning on joining us, right?” Emma glanced back at Angel and Zoe, before turning back and mouthing 'I DON'T THINK SHE LIKES ME' as subtly as possible.
"I know, but it'll be hard enough to get her in here anyway. Helps if I take some time." Zoe replied, glancing back to where Emma was approaching Callan. There was a reason she'd been drinking before she knew about this, and it wasn't for the taste - she was upset, and angry, and didn't feel like dealing with it. It was showing slightly as she sighed and sagged her shoulders, eyes flitting to the TV. "Don't wanna ruin anything else today. I'll be back."
Angel nodded, giving the Aberration an exaggerated sigh. "Okay okay. But hey. If you don't make it back, you owe me an hour of drinking together." the singing Mage playfully nagged Zoe with a grin, contrasting the redhead's foul mood.
"...You know I'd do that anyway if you asked." Zoe replied, looking for a brief second as though she were about to say something else before she shook her head and started towards the door out of the room. "Just tell me when I can come back in."
Seeing Zoe stand up, Cal retraced her steps a bit more quickly. Spinning around, she beelined for the door.
Hearing Emma's voice as she reached for the doorknob, her shoulders tensed. She turned to face the girl with a forced grin. "Uh." The smile slipped as she read Emma's lips. She looked past her, noting with relief that Zoe seemed to be leaving as she tried to determine who Emma might be referring to. Feeling more comfortable already, and genuinely curious about who Emma might be referring to, Callan opened her mouth to ask, but was interrupted by Kusari's sudden arrival.
"You really have a bad habit of running away." Kusari said, showing up behind Callan. She let out a yawn and adjusted the silk robe around her. She had to tie the thing pretty tight to prevent it from slipping off of her thin frame. She had only decided to answer Angel's call because she was unable to sleep and bored out of her mind. She glanced at Zoe as she passed by, the girl seemed to be a bit tipsy already. Now wasn't the time to talk to her about what she's done to Callan, that could wait until they were back at the school.
Lily made a beeline towards the snacks on the table, inspecting each bowl with an excited grin, not really realizing the tension between the others. In her mind, they were all allies, they were all friends, there was no reason not to be comfortable around each other. She popped a corn chip into her mouth before she finally decided to look at the other girls. It was apparently Angelique who had organized and called all of them over. Of course. Her power was the use of her voice. She greeted her enthusiastically. "This will be fun," she added. And then there were Allison, Zoe, Emma, Sophia... She lifted a hand and waved hello to her friend and present room mate, gesturing for her to come closer to where the goodies were.
And then Callan and Kusari.
But Zoe and Callan wanted to leave even before things started. She wondered why but as always, didn't really ask. Instead, she looked for Sophia again, noticed that she didn't make a move to approach where she was, grabbed two bite sized chocolate bars and headed straight to her. She extended one of the chocolates to her. "It'd be terribly boring if you just stay here, you know?"
'Too many people...'
With everyone entering, Siena realized her mistake a fraction of a second too late. If anyone had been close enough to notice, they might have seen a flicker of panic flash across her features. No, she wasn't good at parties. Not by herself. Not without them. But...it was too late to leave, right? Too many steps away from her door and the different type of danger that being alone posed.
So she smiled instead, watching the girls of her class, eyes searching for cues she could read. Ways she could meld into the crowd just like--'But it's not like those parties, is it?' The thought shattered her perception for a moment, the reality of the situation quickly eliciting a powerful mixture of emotions. Oh god, she didn't know what she was doing there. The curious part of her burned, the part that wanted to experience everything, but the coward heart tried to back away. Observe things until the uncertainty washed away, or...anything, really.
While her heart battled with itself, the brunette chose to make as though she was perusing the beverage selection. A multitude of soda (unfamiliar) and alcohol (somewhat familiar) was easier to handle, right? Her eyes lingered over a few of the more expensive bottles. Drinks that could be sipped and savored...drinks that she'd once shared with--
'Stop it.'
"Guess something familiar might make getting used to this easier..." Siena tried to convince herself of that much while sending a sidelong glance at the others. Maybe she could drink half a bottle at once and see where that got her on the "ready to party" ladder.
"Wh-- I'm staying. Uhm. I just-- uh," Callan stepped sideways to view Emma and Kusari at the same time, struggling to come up with an excuse. Her eyes flickered towards Kusari's thin silk robes before she quickly looked to Emma, and then towards Siena in the distance. "Er-- is that wine?" she asked, gracelessly shifting the subject.
Emma gave Kusari a small wave before turning towards Siena and the wine, ”Looks like it. Angel set up a real party, huh?” Emma gave the turquoise-haired girl a slight nudge on the shoulder, ”Thanks for staying, by the way.” she said with a hushed whisper. An uncertain smirk from Callan was all she got before her attention was torn away by someone else who had approached the snack and beverage table.
Hazel, drawn by the unfamiliar word 'party', had expected some sort of gathering where they were to initiate a strike against the boys or some thing similar. Instead she was greeted with bottles upon bottles of strange looking liquids, and presumably edible things in large bowls. Still wearing that overly large shirt with a poorly tied robe on top, she snagged a drink and starting chugging it. It had bite, but in a different, more hissy way. There were those other food stuff to try, and the girls to talk to, but for now, they were less important than her drink.
"Whoa," Callan commented immediately. "D-does she always drink that much?" she asked Emma, more quietly.
Emma gave Callan a wide eyed glance.
”Oh god, not again.” she said, already taking off towards Hazel, ”Woah! Woah! Hazel, let's slow it down this time.” Emma stuck up her hand in a 'stop' signal, ”You remember how you felt last time you started drinking that stuff, right?”
"I remember. Do not worry." Hazel stopped drinking long enough to reply. "He is not here to mix the drinks together. There should be no worries if I just drink it without mixing them."
She paused for a moment, before offering the bottle to Emma.
"Did you want to drink as well?"
”Oooooooh...” Emma said hesitantly. ”You should know, just because Ernie's not mixing doesn't mean they won't have the same effect. It's the alcohol in the drinks that makes you feel that way.” Emma reached for one of the bottles of wine, filling a glass, she took a slow sip before looking back at Hazel, ”See, slow? Enjoy it, don't drink it all at once. And try not to have too much.”
Listening in on Emma and Hazel's exchange, Callan laughed uncertainly under her breath. 'Not again'? 'This time'? Ernie mixing drinks? She'd definitely missed something. Making up her mind to ask about that later, however, Callan left the pair alone and approached the snack table herself.
Watching Zoe leave the room for a moment, Angélique returned to overseeing how the party went. Emma reached out for Cal to keep her here along with Kusari, Siena and Hazel were already enjoying the liquor while Lilianna went to check up on Sophia. This was going rather well, despite the circumstances, Angel figured. It was nice to see that everyone showed up.
Satisfied with the outcome, Angel walked to the table and poured herself a glass full of red wine. She then joined Siena's side, offering the girl a smile as she approached "Hey there Siena! Enjoying yourself so far?"
"O-oh! I'm um...still getting warmed up, I think." Siena let a smile pull at her lips, raising her cheeks and forcing herself to allow it to reach the corners of her eyes. Close to an authentic smile for anyone that didn't know her well enough to have seen a real one--she supposed that was almost everyone. Carefully selecting her own glass, she deftly selected a bottle that she recognized--one that she doubted anyone realized the value of. Not the most expensive bottle, not even one that she especially liked--'I don't mind if you drink with me. The rest of 'em will expect you to drink a little better than this, though.'--but there were at least a few fond memories.
She poured herself two fingers of bourbon with ease that came from familiarity, though it wasn't entirely precise. Giving a mild-yet-mischievous smile to her companion, the brunette raised her glass lightly, allowing the liquor to lightly swirl around as she did so. "Through the lips and over the gums."
'Look out, stomach, here it comes.'
Callan watched quietly as Emma and then Angel each poured themselves a glass of wine, feeling only slightly tempted. Wine wasn't a drink she was very familiar with. Flavored beers, Rum and Coke, and Screwdrivers seemed to be common favorites when it came to the parties at her high school. At least the ones Gaby used to drag her to. None of them tasted very good, either.
Filling a plate with a few snacks, Callan gave one last glance towards the wine glasses before shaking her head and reaching for the punch. Of course, there was her super strength to consider, too. Definitely needed a clear head to keep that in check.
Reluctantly, Hazel put down the bottle, and poured herself a tall glass of wine instead. She diverted her attention instead towards the snacks, sitting down near a whole bowl of them, before starting to slowly but surely devour the contents of the bowl.
All Angélique had gotten as response to her wave and gesture was a small smile from Sophia, and she made no move to come closer in. She was fine right where she was, at the edge. She knew she would need to approach someone eventually, but... she'd wait. Just being here was good enough for now. To give herself something to do she observed the girls at the party closely, trying to remember their names and observing how they interacted.
Having Lily appear by her side made her feel somewhat better, though at the same time she felt a twinge of guilt. "Thanks." Sophia took the bar and opened it and ate, letting the chocolate melt in her mouth. Lily should be interacting with the rest, not staying here by her side. "Yeah, I know..." she responded with a sigh, her behavior noticeably different from how it usually was when alone with Lily. "Just..." A hand gestured to the people around them before she shook her head. "Nope." Looking over at the table where a few were now gathered around... alcohol, she frowned. Was this a good place for her to be?
"Really? You want to just stay here alone when there's food and drinks and people to talk to?" Lily raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, realizing that her friend was shy. "Okay," she said. "Or we could go together. I want to try those jellybeans there and maybe the marshmallows too and... well, everything including the drinks everyone's trying," she admitted with a giggle. "Though, I doubt I'd be able to keep up with them," she added, popping the chocolate into her mouth.
Sophia smiled tightly at Lily's remark about all the drinks, but agreed to go and snack with her. "Yeah... alright." She made her way over to the table, looking at each snack bowl as she decided which to try. "These do look good," she remarked quietly.
As the sounds of conversation began to fill the room, Zoe - Who'd actually been standing outside the door instead of going anywhere - Decided it would be safe to come back in. She tried to be as subtle as she could, but that wasn't really her strong point at the best of times. And at this particular time, she was a little shaky.
Probably wouldn't draw the attention of anyone that was caught up in conversation, or so she hoped. She wasn't normally too clumsy when she was drunk, but she'd been distracted anyway and the alcohol wasn't exactly helping. Taking note of where Callan was, Zoe decided against getting anything else to eat or drink for the moment and took a seat on the sofa, not looking at the arbiter other than an occasional uncomfortable glance.
Angélique grinned as she looked Siena down her glass like a seasoned drinker. Damn, Angel did not expect her delicate and well-mannered friend to be this intense when drinking. It sort of made her feel bad to have poured herself wine instead of the good drinking stuff. Wine tasted good, but it was better when savoring it slowly. "Damn, no restraint, huh? I like that!"
Finishing her glass of wine in one gulp, the seasoned party animal poured herself a glass of the same liquor Siena was drinking. Raising her glass high, Angel returned Siena's mischievous smile "Cul sec!"
Allison watched silently from her seat as the scene around her unfolded. Hazel chugging wine before adopting a more reasonable approach, Zoe coming, leaving, and then coming back quietly, Kusari being there at all, and Siena and Angel seeming to have a drinking contest. Allison probably seemed pretty antisocial, just sitting there not interacting with anyone. For a moment, she considered talking to Lily and Sophia, who seemed particularly uncomfortable, but Lily could probably keep the young girl entertained better than the room of drunken, awkward women. Instead, she got up to join Siena and Angel, opting to leave the drinking to the professionals.
"You two having a drinking contest over here or something?"
She'd forgotten how nice it was to drink with someone. Not the sipping of sherry or chardonnay, actual drinking. Though she'd tossed her first glass down in an attempt to loosen up, Siena found herself already starting to slip into a better crafted version of herself. Pouring herself a second helping--another two fingers, this time to savor the flavor--the girl smiled at Allison at her approach.
"I...think I'd lose a drinking contest," Siena said, punctuating the claim with a laugh. "But this is definitely the type of bourbon you'd use for one. It's a little sweeter than most, so it goes down easy."
The bottle of bourbon emptied itself quickly as Angélique helped herself a second time as well after her drinking partner did, taking her time to drink it this time as she listened to what Siena and Allison had to say. "Nah, just enjoying the drinking company. It's good to finally be able to have a proper party after so long."
Angel glanced at Allison, who had joined their side but hadn't taken a drink. "Got that right. The sour or burning stuff don't make good for drinking in one go."
"C'mon Alice, join us! We've got enough alcohol here to survive for days on the stuff. Can't leave this place without emptying at least one of their rooms, right?" Angélique pressured her best friends to empty those bottles, giving Siena a wide devious grin. It was hard to tell whether Angel was just as enthusiastic as her usual self when she was in a bright mood, or if the drinks started affecting her. Angel was known previously for being able to hold her liquor rather well for a while.
"I-I'm good," Allison said awkwardly, raising her hand in rejection, "It's probably better that I stay sober." If Allison was to start drinking, she was sure that things would go south extremely fast. Especially with the young Sophia present, Allison didn't want the tempting of her stigma to become any louder in her brain. The number of women drinking around her was already amplifying it enough.
"Hmmm, it's a bit of a shame though, missing out on this one." Siena claimed while gently tracing her fingers over the top of another unopened bottle. She'd noticed it earlier, but certainly felt a bit of hesitation in opening it. Pappy Van Winkle's was, by and far, the bourbon to top all bourbons...or so she'd heard. Gerwulf had once told her about the small glass he'd shared with her father after a rocky return from something vaguely described as a business trip...and even he could not deny that it was the type to drink straight up. No frills, no ice. Not even a few drops to open the aroma. "Apparently this is the king of its kind. It'd be nice to try it with--" She didn't miss a beat even as her mind fumbled for the correct word. "--friends."
It...it wasn't quite a lie, right?
"I think I'll shamefully miss out on it, then. Sorry."
"Really? Then that's something I have to absolutely try." Angel commented on Siena's bait about the bottle of apparently-sublime bourbon that hasn't been touched yet. The heavy-drinker of a Mage did the honors and opened the container with little effort, pouring the drink not only in Siena's and her own glass, but also in a third one.
"Oh, I'm such an idiot. I forgot you weren't drinking." Angelique said with a clearly fake apologetic tone, smiling ear to ear as she looked back to the two girls, mainly at Allison. "But now that there's a third glass full, it would be a shame if it that unclaimed drink goes to waste, right?" Angel playfully added as she slid the glass of bourbon towards her fellow Aberration friend.
"Not. Drinking." Allison said pointedly, leaving the glass on the table. She probably came off as rude, the other two just wanted to have a good time, but it was such an impossibly bad idea for Allison to drink. Maybe she should just go?
"Honestly..." Kusari grabbed the drink Angel was pushing onto Allison and downed it in one chug. "Such a bad influence you are." She said, wiping her lips. "If you want to drink with someone, how about me? That is, if you can keep up?" Kusari glanced over to Emma, flashing her a look that said "keep quiet."
Angelique's face turned more serious as she heard Allison's definitive negative answer. Perhaps she went too far, that much she realized. She wasn't as tipsy enough yet to miss those subtleties, as far as she knew. "Fine... you don't know what you're m-"
The sudden appearance of Kusari and her foretelling words heralded a challenge to Angel's ears. Smiling once more, she bottomed out her drink and let out a satisfied sigh. "Is that a challenge?" the fallen idol gave the white-haired Arbiter a cocky grin.
"I dunno." Kusari said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Will you make it one?" She refilled the glass in her hand. This was probably a little unfair, in fact it was basically cheating. But it was something else for sure, funny as hell.
”Hell yeah I will, girl! I haven't had a challenge in months!" The Aberration answered, looking passionate and enthusiastic as ever.
Watching as the challenge unfolded before her, Siena glanced at Allison with a sheepish smile and the bourbon in her hand. Well, this wasn't exactly what she saw coming when she'd sung the praises of a drink she'd never tried, though it was still an entertaining change of pace. "Well...that drinking contest is happening after all." Though thankfully it didn't involve her. She might have appreciated liquor, but Siena certainly didn't appreciate being drunk. "Well, if you're not going to sample any of the liquor, maybe I can at least interest you in something else here."
Making a motion over the selection that Angel had made available, Siena only noticed then how full her glass was. The alcohol would take its time working through her system if previous experience was anything to go by, but she'd never really been much of a quick drinker--this was probably the fastest she'd ever ingested the intoxicating substance. No doubt that was why she could feel a faint heat trying to rise through her. Too much too quickly. "Oh, I really was just going to sample this..."
"I really shouldn't..." Allison protested, as she looked over the table, and the drinking contest going on next to her. It was very likely that this night wasn't going to end without her drinking something. Maybe just one glass would be okay? "Fine, but that's it."Allison took the glass that Siena was clearly hinting she should take. She had no knowledge of the substance, in fact she had never had alcohol before. This was an impossibly bad idea. She took a sip of the strange liquid. It was... weird, not awful, but not something she wanted to sip at for a while. Allison threw her head back and downed the glass in one go.
At this point Kusari was on her eighth glass of wine. As she expected she didn't feel anything at all, she was more worried about how soon she'd need to go to the bathroom than how hard her liver would need to work. She let out a fake yawn as she refilled the glass. "You might want to throw in the towel now."
While it was clear that Angel looked no longer sober as she matched Kusari's drink count, she was having difficulty standing up but her liveliness and joy seemed to not only have remained the same, but instead doubled. At times she was tipping forward or backwards, her soft giggles transformed into laughter. When she heard Kusari's remark, the drunken angel of rock would laugh again as she poured herself another glass of vodka. "Hey... th-thiz con...contezt iz far from... over! I... juzt need a zeat." She stammered through her alcohol-induced haze.
Stumbling her way to a couch, Angelique let herself drop onto one free spot, not too far from where Zoe was sitting. Her glass-full of vodka was surprisingly intact from the fall, suggesting the girl still had good muscle reflexes despite her state. Or maybe it was true that she was far from over yet.
"Man, is thiz... juzt me or iz... the couch feeling like... quickzand? Can't get up... a-anymore." The rockstar of old laughed loudly before muting herself, chugging the drink in her hand as quickly as it was water.
Zoe was starting to figure out she'd had more than she realised. Maybe she hadn't realised quite how much she'd had to drink before coming here, never mind after a few more trips to grab more. But even still, she didn't think she was as drunk as the girl who'd taken a seat next to her, whose contest she'd watched out of curiosity. As Angelique flopped down next to her, she laughed.
"...'s not that soft. Shouldn't get in a contest if..." Zoe looked at Angel, and then to Kusari, the girl who'd challenged her. Kusari, who wasn't drunk in the slightest, despite the absurd amount of alcohol they must both have had. "How--" In a moment of realisation, Zoe came to the obvious conclusion. Can't get drunk.
"...Dick move." Zoe muttered, slightly underestimating how loudly she was doing so because Kusari would almost definitely hear her. Luckily, she didn't seek out a fight, instead moving towards the other girl on the sofa. Hopefully Zoe could take her mind off of rejoining the drinking contest, in the spirit of no-one getting alcohol poisoning. "Angel... You, uh, good?"
"B-better than ever!" The black-haired young woman replied cheerfully, fumbling in her seat as she was trying to get up shortly after realizing she was out of drinks and forgot to bring the bottles. "And... and you? En-enjoying yourzelf?" She added, her wobbly legs shaking as she tried standing up.
"Lot better than earlier." Because she was too fuzzy to properly recall the events. Watching Angel try to stand up, Zoe shook her head. So much for getting her to stop thinking about drinking. Ha. Rhymed. "I'll get 'em. You want a bottle or something?" At least this way she could try and stop the black-haired girl from having enough to put herself in danger. Plus she'd pass raptor girl on the way.
Of course, Zoe probably could have found something more stable to pull herself up with than grabbing the rockstar's arm but her judgement wasn't great either at the moment. She was halfway through the action when she realised her teammate's balance might not be up to it, but at least Zoe made it to her feet.
"Don-don't worry. I got... thiz." Angelique replied as she finally made it carefully on her legs, but the sudden shifting of weight as Zoe pulled herself up using her arm threw the rockstar off-balance, flopping back onto the couch. Despite that, she laughed innocently. "Or y-you can ind-... bring a bo-bottle of Jack."
"Gotcha. I'll be back." Zoe laughed off the fact that she'd sort of accidentally slammed Angel into the couch, turning towards the drinks table. So, there was a lot there... Bottles. Needed a bottle. Man, she didn't know what half of this stuff was, but at least Angel had asked for something she'd recognise. Grabbing the smallest bottle there, along with a glass of vodka for herself she turned to head back and sit with the girl some more.
Which she would have done, but on her way she couldn't help but catch sight of Kusari. Deciding the bottle seemed sturdy enough and that Angel could open it on her own, Zoe tossed it over to the sofa where it landed next to the singer. Turning to look at Kusari, she could have just forgotten about it until the morning, but that wasn't her style. Glancing at the glass in her hand, Zoe spoke. "Must be fun havin' drinking contests with a magic liver."
Her opponent was effectively defeated, much to the amusement of Kusari. Angel couldn't even stand on her own at this point, she was so out of it Zoe decided to try and help her.
Kusari had ignored the first remark Zoe had made towards her, seems she had put two and two together and figured that her ability was granting her an edge. She let that one go, however the second remark got a reaction out of her. Kusari put on a borderline manic toothy grin, and quickly placed her right arm around Zoe's shoulder, bringing the girl close. "That's what we're here for right? To have fun."
"'Course. 'Fun' like trickin' people into going way past what they should. Life of the party, raptor girl." Zoe returned the grin almost hungrily, as if she'd been waiting for an opportunity to rile someone up. It was unclear whether she was genuinely angry or just hoping to get a rise out of the other girl, or both. Either way, she seemed to be enjoying the situation. "Gonna start putting stuff in drinks next, or's that only on weekdays?"
Allison felt absolutely terrible. Drinking that entire glass was not exactly smart. Immediately, her nose and throat felt as if they were on fire, and the rest of her seemed to feel distinctly off. How strong was that alcohol? It only got worse by the second, though Allison could feel her mind loosening up, her thoughts running wild, if a bit sluggish. She needed to sit down. Angel was sitting down, clearly drunk off her ass, and Zoe had vacated the space next to her, so that seemed like as good a place as any.
"H-hey Angel, you alright?" She said as she sat down, well enough that she didn't seem completely drunk, or at least the alcohol hadn't really gotten to her yet.
While Zoe went to have a talk with Kusari, Angel cracked open the stopper from the bottle of Jack Daniels, taking a quick sip straight out of the bottle after 'making sure' no one saw her. Pouring herself a glass of the popular brand of rhum, Angel called out "Ten!" just before emptying her drink. God, now she started to feel it.
As Allison joined the drunken mess of an Aberration, she gave the girl a wide smile. "W-why d-doez ewery...one geep a-azking me that?" she mused, looking over at the table of drinks. "I-I guezz I d-did dring a lot... huh?" Angel said, sounding somewhat lucid of her own behavior.
"H-help me up... would y-you?" She asked Allison, her tone growing more serious despite her jolly mood.
Kusari's borderline manic smile had now foregone the 'borderline' aspect. "Zoe 'Severing' Fletcher is giving me a moral lecture, that's richer than the dipshits staying below us." She let out a chuckle before reaching her hand into Zoe's pant's pocket, her right arm still holding onto the girl's shoulder.
"Raptor? Come on now, you know what a raptor looks like." She pulled out Zoe's phone and held it to her mouth. "Hey Siri, show me what a velociraptor looks like." The phone quickly lit up and searched the internet for her question, bringing up a picture of the small dinosaur. "Now you see that? You see the way it's legs are bent? That's what is called Digitigrade. My leg, my leg is plantigrade, just like your legs." She zoomed in on the picture, focusing on the creature's feathers.
"And does it look like I have feathers? Nah girl, I don't." She lightly tapped the phone on Zoe's forehead and handed it back to her, also letting her shoulder go.
Holding the phone tightly, Zoe couldn't help but be thankful that was all Kusari had decided to do with it.
"...Not here for a biology lesson. Don't care if they're digi--" She broke off after a couple of attempts at the word. Not the point, anyway... And was she being laughed at? Scowling at what she saw as the implication she was a dumbass, Zoe shook her head.
"Figure of speech. And stealing things outta people's pants? Not helpin' your case here." Zoe locked eyes with Kusari, clearly unwilling to let it go. If she'd been more sober, she might've dropped it, but then common sense was out of the window by now. And she was needled by the girl's comments, so instead of walking away, she stood face-to-face with her classmate. It wasn't the first time she'd picked a fight when she was drunk, and it was heavy on her breath as she spoke. "We got some kinda issue to work out, Kusari?"
Kusari's grinning expression flattened into a blank glare. "Oh, no issue at all, Zoe. You've done Abso. Lutely. Nothing. Wrong." She let out an annoyed sigh and walked over to the snacks. She grabbed a bag of chips and tore them open, nearly causing the salty contents to spill onto the floor. Holding herself back from laying into Zoe now was harder than she thought it'd be. She didn't want to ruin the party, so she decided to drop the issue, and not bring up Zoe mutilating one of her allies.
Despite being drunk, there was one thing Angel could always rely on, her hearing. From her spot, the tipsy Aberration could hear the not-so-subtle discussion Zoe and Kusari were having.
It's all fun and games until people start getting worried and bicker.
While her initial plan was to get herself so drunk she'd pass out for the night, Angel could no longer afford to drink herself up to that state if her friends like Zoe and Allison starting being worried for her well-being. Even worse, started arguing and find someone to blame for her current drunken state.
With Allison's help, Angel managed to get up, and slowly started walking with her best friend supporting her. "Enough... both of you." Angel's magical voice reached out to the two girls, severely dampened by a mixture of alcohol getting to her throat and the suppressing cuff.
"It'z al- alright, Zoey. I... I know w-what I waz doin'." The raven-haired Aberration said, putting a reassuring hand on the redhead Mage's shoulder while giving the white-haired Arbiter a not-so-defeated smirk. "I... just w-wanted zome... one to k-keep up with my dri-drinking anticz." It wouldn't have been the first time Angel brought up a challenge for an ulterior motive, Zoe having experienced one of such quite recently.
Glancing back at Angel, Zoe shrugged the hand off of her shoulder, forcing a smile but still worried. She wouldn't stop the girl from drinking if she was aware of what was going on, but she couldn't help but be protective, even if the singer was older than she was and probably just as - if not more - experienced with all this. Hopefully. "Just so long's you don't poison yourself." Backing down for the most part, she shot Kusari one last warning glare.
Man, Zoe hated interruptions. And here she'd been all ready for a fight, but... Yeah, maybe she should've figured out what was happening first. Probably would've tried if she was thinking clearly.
"But... fine. She's running away anyhow. Think that means I win." Zoe raised her voice slightly so Kusari would hear her, more out of drunken stubbornness than anything else. Realistically, she'd have forgotten most of this by the morning, but for now, it was fun to try and antagonise the other girl, and why would she hold back now? With a shake of her head, Zoe walked off to get another drink. Something non-alcoholic this time. She got the feeling she'd had enough already.
Allison Revel unsteadily propped up her friend as Zoe walked off. The conflict was resolved from what the fuzzy mind of Allison could tell. The thing that she was most aware of was the girl she was propping up, clearly not able to stand on her own. "Ang... Angel," A wide smile hung loosely across Allison's flushed face, "Ya know, you're kinda cute when you're drunk," She paused for a moment, "like, really, really cute, actually." A drunken giggle escaped the poor girl's mouth.
"Awww jush Alice. Y-you're juzt bein'... drunk." which surprised Angel considering she had a hard time convincing the girl to drink. But her breath clearly smelled of bourbon. Did Siena managed to make her cave into peer pressure? The brunette Arbiter sure was full of surprises tonight.
With Zoe gone back to sitting where she had been previously and Kusari raiding the snacks, the singer's mind was at peace, although she felt partly responsible for the squabble between the two girls. Probably wouldn't have happened if she didn't have the bright idea to get herself wasted with their Immortal Arbiter.
"I'm... zorry 'bout that. Guezz we'll... have t-to gon-gontinue our jallenge... another time." The raven-haired rockstar gave the girl an apologetic smile. "Guezz I gotz... two lil' siz wo-worried b-'bout me."
"Let'z have a g-go... at it a-again zomeday, K-Kuz... Kuu." Angel stammered through the Arbiter's name, settling wih a familiar nickname instead. With a proper apology being said, Angel returned to her previous seat with the help of Allison.
“Zo? How wazzit?”
"Fucking awful!" Allison words were loose, slurred, and probably a bit too loud. She flopped onto the couch next to Angel. "I'm never doin' this again!" She leaned against the other girl without warning, resting her head on Angel's shoulder with a much too pleased look on her face.
"Oh... I guezz alcohol izn't for e-every...one. But zometimez it'z for the feelz... not the tazte." Angel replied, her drunk-happy mind not minding the head of the loving girl resting on her shoulder. On the contrary, being so close, Angel couldn't keep her hands to herself and began stroking Allison's hair, gliding her fingers through the other Aberration's silky strands of hair.
"Veelin' zleepy?"
"No," Allison couldn't help but let another giggle escape her drunken lips, "I just like lying here. This is nice." She wrapped her arms loosely around Angel.
Angel simply nodded, oblivious. Yeah... it zure iz a comvy sova."
"Yea... but I meant with you, silly," Allison said, pouting. Angel sure was dense sometimes, wasn't she? "As punishment, you get to be my pillow." Allison removed her head from Angel's shoulder, repositioning herself so that she was laying down, resting her head in Angel's lap.
"O-Oh, I... I like bein’ with you… too." The words echoed Allison's although they had a different meaning in Angel's sisterly mind. It felt weird to have Allison's head resting on her laps now, but somehow it didn't feel totally wrong. As a matter of fact, she welcomed it. It felt like those scenes Angel saw on TV when the little sister was looking for comfort by putting her head on the big sister's laps. The fallen idol felt gratified to have someone be that way towards her, she who always dreamt of having a sister. "I thought yo-you weren't sleepy? Billowz are m-meant to be zlept on, y‘now?" Angelique chuckled as she petted Allison's hair.
"You're awful," Allison joked, releasing another dumb giggle. "But you're my kind of awful. I've been holding myself back just for you, ya' know. It's really hard to hold myself back. Like, really, really, really, really, really, really..." Allison trailed off. The stigma had been beating at her brain all week, the stress of trying to avoid doing anything rash building up with time. Allison wasn't usually one to let the stress get to her, she had dealt with it for a while, but it seemed that the alcohol had brought it to the surface, letting it mix with the stigma's free reign of her thoughts. It was apparent in the sudden sadness of her voice.
Although drunk, Angel was not deaf to the shifting tone of a friend's voice. She was curious as to what Allison was holding back. No, she knew exactly what it was, but Angelique had refused to acknowledge it ever since that time she read Allison's love song at the motel. Sooner or later, she will have to face the truth. But not right now. Not while she did not have her whole mind clear. Instead, Angel just put reassuring arms onto the brunette lying down on her laps. "I-It'z alright. I'm z-zorry."
"Mhm. Thanks, Angel." Allison went back to sounding much too chipper, a drunken smile apparent on her face. "Yur the beszt." Allison continued to mutter unintelligibly for a few moments, before she clearly dozed off in Angel's lap.
"You're my bezt too..." Angel trailed off, hearing the heavy breathing of the girl falling asleep. Her lips returned to a serene smile, allowing her own eyes to wander to the living room, overseeing what the others were up to.
From her seat far from Zoe, Callan observed the drinking contest with great concern. Allison, Kusari, and Angel were throwing back glasses like they were shots. At this rate, someone was going to throw up, pass out, or both. It was fortunate that she managed to finish her cup of punch before Kusari slung her arm around Zoe as she immediately tensed to the point of crushing it in her hand. When the pair finally parted ways, Callan sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat. Everyone was getting hammered. Responsible drinking at its finest.
Her escalating nerves were getting to be too much and she wondered for a moment if her idea to completely forgo the booze had been a good idea. A buzz would probably make everything that was happening seem a lot less horrifically dangerous than it was anyway. At least Emma seemed to have the right idea. Having told Hazel to take it slow. "Hey," Callan turned towards Emma, glad to have at least one mostly sober person to talk to, "Who were you talking about before?"
Emma had been glued to an awkward corner; she'd came out for the drinks, not the company. She was in a weird mood, received an unexpected message. Plus, with the party focused around Angel, Emma would rather not get in the way of the girl's fun, the air around them remaining unclear after their little spat.
Callan, however, was a welcome voice. Ever since their little arcade outing Emma had been more and more convinced they'd be friends. Emma gave a small huff when she heard her question. ”Angel.” Emma said plainly under her breath, ”We had like... a... weird thing at the motel. I dunno.” Emma said quietly, making sure Angel wouldn't hear. ”And who have you been avoiding?” Emma said, raising her eyebrow slightly, well aware of how aloof Callan was being.
Callan did her best to keep her eyes off Angel while Emma explained-- though the older girl would probably be incapable of suspecting their gossip if she stared. It struck her as odd that Emma might not get along with someone like Angel, but then again, she hadn't really spoken to her beyond a few pleasantries. All she could say for certain was that Angel was friends with Siena, who didn't have the greatest history with Emma either, now that she thought of it. Brushing the thought aside for later, Callan balanced a pretzel stick between her teeth as she mumbled a barely audible answer to Emma's question.
"Zoe mostly," she said, willing herself not to look at Kusari again.
Emma's mouth opened a little, but she stopped herself. ”That... makes sense.” Emma sighed, ”Did you talk to her at all after that... thing?”
"I did," Callan answered grimly. "It... didn't go very well."
Emma nodded. ”Well, don't worry about it too much. You've got plenty of reason to avoid Zoe, meanwhile me and Angel just had a dumb argument.”
Her only response was a short, dry laugh before Callan slid a few more pretzels into her mouth.
Emma's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out quickly- she'd set it to track any news articles about Time Scar or any other of the notable Subnaturals in the group. Her eyes flew over the headline before she let out a light gasp.
”Are you fucking kidding me?” she said, irritation cutting clear through her voice. ”Take a look at this, Cal.” Emma said, lightly lobbing her phone at the girl.
On it a headline read in large block letters 'SUBNATURAL RAMPAGE? TIME SCAR AND PROTEUS SPOTTED IN D.C. NIGHTCLUB'. The ensuing article was a clearly written slam piece condemning any positive press Marcus's interview might have caused, describing the fight between two unidentified Subnaturals that accompanied Time Scar and Proteus into the club, further decrying them as a general nuisance and danger to the Regulars around them.
Callan glanced at Emma's phone. Her eyebrows immediately shot up as soon as she read the headline. Apparently Zoe wasn't the only person she needed to be worried about right now. "Whoa-- this is recent, isn't it?" she looked up at Emma worriedly.
Emma gave a frustrated sigh, ”The article just went up. After all that good press we got too...”
"It doesn't mention the two subnaturals that were fighting," Callan noted, scrolling through the article some more.
”It doesn't, but I have my guesses.” Emma said with a frown. Didn't Marcus know better than to try something like the after what happened at the orchestra? ”I wish they waited until we got to CC1 to pull something like this. D.C. already hates us enough.”
Callan was quiet for a moment, staring at the words of the article without reading them as she thought. Handing the phone back to Emma, Callan frowned. "Who do you think it was?" she asked, concerns clearly elsewhere. Remembering the general's ominous warnings from before, she looked visibly afraid, "You think they're okay?"
Emma answered Callan's first question without hesitation, ”Sander and Ernie. Did you see the way they were sizing each other up at lunch? They shouldn't have been out drinking together.” as for Callan's next question Emma bit her lip. ”I wouldn't worry about them. They have superpowers... and... I don't think the school is going to let anything happen to them. We're important to them, for whatever reason.”
Sander and Ernie? Callan had almost completely forgotten about their little spat during breakfast before Wisford. With everything that had happened since then, it seemed so long ago. Comforted by Emma's reassurances, Callan was finally starting to see why Emma was so frustrated. She groaned, pressing her hands against her head. "They're drinking?" Callan glanced irritably back at Zoe, who was continuing with her table antics, "They couldn't have done that here at the hotel?"
”Apparently not.” Emma muttered.
Vrrzt
Another notification. Emma groaned as she unlocked her phone again, ”What the hell have they done thi-”
'SHOTS FIRED IN D.C. NIGHTCLUB- SUBNATURAL MASSACRE?'
”O-oh no.”
Emma got up quickly, ”Police at the club. There were gunshots. I'm going to call Marcus.” Emma said hurriedly, voice shaky. She retreated towards her room, finding Marcus on her contacts list. Callan shot one final look of concern back at the others before hurreidly following suit, heart pounding in her ears. Nobody else was sober enough to help anyway.
Speaking of Zoe, the girl was bored again. Had enough sense not to resume the confrontation with Kusari, and Angel and Allison were caught up in something or other. Who else was there around here? Lily and Sophia were already talking together, then Emma and Callan, which was obviously a no-no, and Hazel was Hazel. Well, process of elimination...
"Fancy meetin' you here." She grinned, walking up beside Siena and tapping her on the shoulder. "Done with drink tonight. Hangover'd kill me otherwise." Or someone else. Ooh, that was a good one. Have to work that into a one-liner, like... Something. About hangovers. All deadpan and shit... What the hell was she on about?
"So, how much're we messin' up the etty... eaty... The manners?" Zoe laughed, realising she was doing a pretty good job of answering her own question. But hey, Siena had said something about being rich, so that made her the expert or something. "Outta ten."
It was hard to believe the differences in everyone's interactions as soon as (enough) alcohol entered their systems...though Siena wasn't oblivious to the fact that alcohol reduced the inhibitions that normally kept one acting like a functioning member of society. Despite that, the brunette couldn't help but feel twinges of entertainment as she watched the events before her unfold.
It was nice, seeing how everyone acted when they weren't completely on their guards.
...which apparently hers was not, as Siena jumped slightly at the tap on her shoulder, her attention jerking to the source. Before she could even fully register the words, the brunette felt her guard dropping again. Siena still couldn't deny the odd sense of comfort that rose to greet her as she gave a small laugh before responding to the redhead's question.
"Well, I'd say maaaaybe an eight." She took a look around the room as if scanning it for her analysis before continuing her statement, a cheeky grin forming as she did. "I don't think there's a ten until someone begins dancing on the tabletop while singing in Italian with her clothing either half off or flung over the nearest chandelier." The grin fell into a controlled chuckle. That was actually a true story. "So I think we're doing a pretty good job."
"'That mean we're losin'?" Zoe laughed before she went quiet for a moment, looking up at one of the chandeliers with earnest curiosity. It wasn't that high up right? She could make that throw, and really, it wasn't like she was modest... It didn't occur to her that maybe Siena wasn't making a suggestion. Nah, that'd be dumb. After all, it was - Yeah, it was a great idea. But it wouldn't really work, she realised.
"...Don't speak Italian." She shook her head, looking slightly disappointed. That was the issue as far as Zoe was concerned. From the look on her face it was fairly obvious that Zoe had been considering the rest of the idea. After a pause, she snickered, appearing to brighten up as she turned a wicked smile to Siena. "You speak Italian?" It wasn't hard to see where she was going with this, although the redhead wasn't entirely serious.
...
"H-Huh?" Siena wasn't entirely sure what she was hearing, or...well, no. She was certain about what she was hearing, but the implications...Zoe was kidding right? The wicked smile, the brightened mood. The question. Siena battled with herself for a moment, uncertain over whether the redhead was serious or whether it was the alcohol and the desire to be funny. The brunette felt her smile falter for a moment, the alcohol dampening her usual rational thinking until an answer came. "Uh, I know some arias?"
...why did she feel like she was making a terrible mistake?
"R...Really?" Zoe looked like she hadn't been expecting a yes. And also like she wanted to ask what an aria was, since she couldn't quite remember but was almost 90% sure it was some kind of Disney character. It sounded right! But now that she realised her dumb idea wasn't a complete loss, the table didn't look that wobbly... Screw it. She'd done worse to her reputation already today. In a moment of something that was either bravery or outright stupidity, she looked at Siena, drunken determination settling over her expression as she decided she'd come too far to back down now.
"You just do the singin'? ...'less you felt like, 's up to you." Zoe laughed, completely ignoring what a terrible idea this was, although part of her was vaguely hesitant about it. Honestly, if Siena protested, Zoe would probably reconsider the whole idea, but otherwise hey, she was great at dancing! Or at least she'd reached the point where she thought she was, but reality didn't exactly agree. Besides, it was Zoe, and... "'S not anyone hasn't seen me half..."
Although come to think about it, last time had ended with her getting tased, so maybe she could do it without that part. Or did that ruin the point of it all? Either way, oddly enough, she couldn't shake the slight feeling that she might regret this tomorrow.
You really should stop her.
The thought was more distant and hazy than it should have been--probably the effect of having had more alcohol than usual without any food to help soak it up. Against her better judgment, Siena took another sip from her alcohol-filled glass. This was a terrible idea. She really should prevent Zoe from reenacting the singular most embarrassing thing that Siena had ever seen someone subject themselves to.
"Maybe we should uh..." Oh shit, where was her train of thought? The brunette cleared her throat to buy herself a moment to try and grasp the threads of what she wanted to say. It didn't return to her. "...uhh, go for a different language? Everyone does the Italian stuff."
That was not at all what the original train of thought was.
"...wait, can you dance?"
"Nope!" Zoe looked oddly proud of herself for that. "Not got-- Rhythm, all... She waved a hand around randomly in a way that failed to get any point across at all, but it seemed to satisfy her. But then she smiled widely, refusing to let her complete lack of ability to carry out the plan get in the way of carrying out the plan.
Stubbornness wasn't really a well-placed trait in this case. So instead of accepting the fact that this wouldn't work, she looked at Siena with a smile. "'S school, right? I'm learnin'." Zoe said, with the almost infallible logic of a complete idiot.
"Just... Choose one! German or something, that's almost Italian!" It was probably nothing like Italian, but Zoe wasn't sticking around to hear any protests. Her gaze fixed on one of the chandeliers as she stood up and started to walk towards the table. At some point, she'd forgotten that there was at least one person in this room scared shitless of her, but still-- What could go wrong, right? Trying to stop her at this point was probably futile.
And she looked precariously close to faceplanting as she attempted to climb onto the table.
This is a terrible idea.
That was the prominent thought as Zoe began (attempting) to climb a table just a bit too close to a nearby chandelier While Siena was aware that she should probably have stopped th redhead, a mixture of being stunned and morbid curiosity stayed her hand just long enough to let the alcohol start trying to talk.
"Wait, Zoe, you have to be careful climbing onto..." Was that really what Siena should have been concerned about?
"Don' worry, I have this!" Zoe did not have this, but eventually managed to make it onto the table with great difficulty. Not standing, but definitely on the table, having displaced an almost impressive amount of drinks and snacks in the process. Looking over at Siena from where she was lying across the table, she raised a hand lazily for a thumbs up. "See! 'm an expert!"
Still, looking at the chandelier, Zoe appeared to be trying to judge... Something. Yeah, the dancing was unoriginal, but there was definitely another idea that had grabbed her attention. Right now, though, she felt like there was something missing from this - Specifically, background music. Wasn't dramatic without background music. "Hey, you doin' the singin' thing?"
"I don't think I'm a terribly g--" Too late. Way too late. That alcohol-induced haze had set into motion a series of events that had grown into something that couldn't be stopped. She really should have stopped Zoe. Again the voice tried to sound, this time loud enough to break through at least part of the stupor, but not enough to make her take action.
Not waiting for an answer on the music front, Zoe looked at one of the chandeliers that was hanging a few metres over from the table. The whole idea of the things got on her nerves, really. And now that she looked, it wasn't that high up-- Well, it was, kind of. She wasn't sure whether it was too high for her to reach on her own, but when had something like that ever stopped her? Hmmm... Nope, she wanted to do something to it, but she wasn't quite sure she could reach.
Improvising was a good skill. She liked that skill. Barely even paid attention to the others in the room as she took her shirt off and tied it (badly) into a loop, glaring at the lighting all the while. Honestly, who even had the time to pay for chandeliers? Nobody. Absolutely nobody. They were dumb. Fuck chandeliers. Still half-committed to the original plan, she threw the loop, and whether by luck or some miracle of hand-eye coordination, it caught on the chandelier.
Of course, coordination and physical fitness could only stretch so far with the state she was in. A fact which the muscular redhead was to learn all-too-quickly as she jumped off of the table, stretching out towards the loop. It wasn't really a question of being able to physically reach the chandelier - Because she missed horribly regardless. But for what it was worth, it managed to be one hell of a faceplant.
"Oh my--Zoe!" The stripping was one thing, the loop was another thing, the jump was disaster. Quickly abandoning her glass on the nearest flat surface (ironically, the table), Siena quickly made her way to the redhead, concern evident in her voice, on her face, and good lord, Zoe really hit the floor with her face. Carefully, the brunette tried to think back to whatever useless first aid knowledge Gerwulf had tried to impart onto her. Tried being the key word in that instance.
'I knew I should have paid more attention to him then.'
"Oooh, this was totally my fault..."
Anxiously following Emma into her room, Callan remained on her feet as she watched, eyes darting between the girl and the phone. She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she heard Marcus's voice come through the speaker phone. Still prepared for the worse, she let Emma handle the questions as she listened intently.
”Marcus? What the hell is happening? They're talking about you guys all over the news... was anyone hurt?”
"Ernie brained Sander with a glass pitcher because they're both morons, and I almost got shot because of them, but nobody else that I know of. Maybe a few regulars that tripped over themselves?' Marcus said, almost absentmindedly.
”Jesus...” Emma gave Cal a glance at the mention of Ernie and Sander. She totally called it. ”I'm glad you're all right... glad that you're all all right.”
Emma almost considered telling him how stupid what they did was, but held off on it.
”So no one got injured? Shot? The news made it out like there was some kind of police raid on the club.”
"Awww, you do care!" Marcus said. Despite the fact that he said it in a slightly mocking tone, he was legitimately happy to hear that Emma had been worried enough to make sure he hadn't been killed. It was nice to be thought about, even if it was being thought about getting riddled with bullets.
"Not that I know of, and not any of us - save for the aforementioned pitcher smashing. Ernie's gonna get hurt later when I chew him out, but most of our blood is still where it belongs. As for 'police raids'...there were a lot of police outside, yes."
Emma sighed. ”Alright. What about Zhang? Are there gonna be problems with the Institute?”
"There's always problems at the Institute. But apparently the good Director was nice enough to send Kadabra to help us out! Say 'hi' to Kadabra!" he said, holding the phone out to the Precursor.
He might have had a light buzz going.
”Wait, wait, wait, what!? Kadabra's there? Marcus, what is a Precursor doing there? Are you messing with me?”
"Nope! No jokes! He stopped all the police from turning us into lasagna. It was pretty cool - bet you wish you'd been there, huh?"
Emma paused for a moment. If Kadabra was there that only reinforced what she already knew- the Institute had a special interest in them. Sending a Precursor to watch over drunken kids, though... that went deeper than mere interest.
”No, actually. No I don't. I mean, this isn't going to look good for us. The news is already reporting on it-”
Emma stopped herself.
”Listen, just... try not to get into any more trouble, alright?”
"To be fair, I was not the one getting into trouble. I was being responsible, and just enjoying the company. I will, however, be keeping an eye on these idiots and trying to make sure they don't get us all arrested. Although I doubt we'll have to worry about that anymore."
Emma was going to tell him that going out to a bar in a city hated them was trouble enough, but she decided to save that lecture for later, instead satisfying herself by giving Cal an exasperated glance. ”Alright. I'll see you soon, then.”
"Here's hoping!"
Even with there still being plenty of concerns, Callan recovered quickly from the scare upon hearing the casual tone of her inebriated roommate. She tried to remind herself that his judgement was probably impaired and she should definitely be just as upset as Emma. As Kadabra's name was mentioned, however, she was embarrased to admit that she DID kind of wish she was there. She'd have to remember to ask Marcus more about that later, but for now.... With the conversation coming to a close, her eyes wandered around the room she had managed to walk into without thinking.
Emma and Marcus's room. She wasn't really sure what she was looking for as her eyes combed over the floor and nightstands, but she quickly caught herself before Emma could think her nosy. "Alright, well. At least everyone's okay. If Kadabra's with them, I'm sure they'll be fine," she paused for a moment, feeling wierdly excited about having used the Precursor's name so casually. "Anyway, I think I've had enough excitement for one day... probably just gonna turn in for the night." If Marcus was going to be back soon, she definitely didn't want to be here in this room. She felt uncomfortable enough as it was, standing awkwardly by their bed.
”Yeah... the party out there is pretty...”
Emma's eyes narrowed. ”Well, parties are never fun if you're the sober one.” Emma said suggestively with a slight smile.
Callan grinned sheepishly. "Well, parties have never really been my forte," she admitted, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia accompanying Emma's tone. Old memories that weren't altogether good. But not quite altogether bad either.
”Oh yeah? Far be it from me to peer pressure you Cal... I understand if you're too scared.” Emma said with a wink and a grin.
"Wh-- scared?" Callan gawked, a smile creeping across her face as her demeanor slowly morphed, "I'm not scared."
Emma mentally cheered. After their bout at the arcade Emma picked up on Cal's competitive streak and it was easy to call into play here. ”Alright then supergirl, get out there and prove it.” Emma said coyly before opening the door for her.
Despite the urge to prove Emma wrong, Callan hesitated, thinking back to her original train of thought. If she drank too much, she might get careless with her strength. The look in Emma's eye as she stared at her expectantly, however... Callan smiled back confidently. Just a little wouldn't hurt. No more than Zoe, anyway. And the thought of not having to worry so much about everything-- even just for a few hours....
"Alright, Party Queen. You win," she groaned, an ambitious gleam in her eye as laughter leaked into the sound, "Not too much, though."
Emma merely returned the thought with a mischievous grin. ”We'll see about that.” Emma said, leaving the room and reentering the party.
Entering the room, Callan immediately noted Zoe standing on top of one of the tables. She did her best to ignore it as that foreign feeling of fear and anxiety tried to creep in, making everything seem like a bad idea as she forced herself to keep moving towards the drink table. Her discomfort was obvious as they drew near, but she said nothing. She was going to enjoy herself tonight. If that arm melting psychobitch got to be shitfaced drunk, why shouldn't it be okay for her to have a little to drink, too?
After what seemed like a lot longer than a few seconds, they reached their destination. Callan stared at the various bottles on the table, completely at a loss for what to drink. She rose her hand hesitantly, reaching towards one of the glass bottles at random while trying not to look like she'd never done this before. Gaby had always been the one to bring the drinks to her-- complaining loudly about Callan making her hold two if she refused to accept. And they always came in a plastic cup.
Carefully gripping one of the crystal wine glasses, Callan ignorantly picked up a bottle of straight vodka and moved to start pouring.
Emma was close behind Callan. She was prepared to offer suggestions, but kept quiet when the girl reached for a glass herself. However, when Emma saw what she was reaching for, ”Woah, woah, woah, Cal.” Emma said with a laugh, reaching to stop her, ”You know that's vodka right? Hard liquor? If you want to grab that maybe go for a smaller glass, although I'd recommend starting with some wine.”
Callan paused, suddenly overcome with embarrassment. Shit. Wine. Of course she should have reached for the wine. But what was she going to say? She reached for the bottle she thought looked the coolest? Cal forced out a short laugh, but didn't proceed to pour anything.
"Who's scared now?" Callan challenged, still hovering the bottle over the wine glass teasingly, "Geez, I thought you were the Party Queen?"
Emma laughed. She laughed hard. Cal was clearly in over her head, but if this was how she was going to be... Emma reached for her own glass. ”Alright, you're on. Pour me one too.” Emma said, extending her glass. It didn't take long for it to fill, followed shortly by Callan's. Emma's eyes were filled with daring as she raised her glass to her lips before quickly knocking it back- it tasted like shit, but it wasn't Emma's first time and she gave no indication of the discomfort she was feeling.
Cal mimicked Emma's movements with rising excitement. From the moment she started filling the glasses, she couldn't excuse that thrill that always came with rule breaking. This wasn't exactly rule breaking, but it was enough to make her smile as she rose the liquor to her lips. Unfortunately the taste of the stuff was far less pleasant. She'd tried to expect it-- the smell alone was enough to make her wrinkle her nose-- but half way through the glass she couldn't take it anymore. Any attempts to look like she had any idea what she was getting herself into vanished in an instant. Leaning forward suddenly to avoid spilling any on her clothes, Cal coughed into the wine glass, splashing the sharp liquid across her lips and chin. She quickly covered her mouth with her free hand, eyes watering as she continued coughing, attempting to subtly scrape her tongue across her teeth to get the vile taste out of her mouth.
Emma finished her drink in a much more graceful manner, draining the last of the liquid with a small groan. ”Doesn't taste so good, huh?” Emma grabbed one of the sodas on the counter and poured a bit in a free glass, ”Here. Chaser. Helps it go down.” Emma said, extending it to the girl.
Callan shook her head, still reeling too much from the horrible taste to feel embarrassed. She accepted the soda, drinking it eagerly. "Agh," she grimaced once finished, staring at the remaining vodka in her hand like it might bite her. "That's fucking gross," she frowned, glancing at Emma's empty glass.
Emma laughed again, ”Yep. My fault. I really should've stopped you.” Emma glanced over the liquor table before picking out a bottle of rum, bringing it alongside the bottle of coke. Next she found a highball glass before speaking aloud, ”You're supposed to have it with lime but we don't have any, so we'll have to make due.” Emma said as she combined the drinks- two parts coke, one part rum- to produce, unsurprisingly, a rum and coke, which she extended to Callan, ”This'll taste better than the vodka, I promise. Good beginner drink.”
Callan laughed, shaking her head, "Meh, I was kinda asking for it there."
She watched intently as Emma prepared the next drink-- the coke was something she was familiar with at least. As was the word "RUM" spelled out along the bottle she held. 'Rum and coke'. Glancing down at her vodka glass one last time, she abandoned it on the table in favor of the new drink Emma offered her. She smiled gratefully, a tinge of heat reaching her cheeks-- more out of shame. "Can't fool the Party Queen, huh?" she chuckled self consciously at the 'beginner' remark before taking a small sip. The taste was still slightly unpleasant, especially with her prior gulps of vodka still tingling in her throat, but it was far more tolerable.
Emma gave the girl a slight smile. ”Yep.” she chirped, agreeing with both statements. ”That probably doesn't taste great, but it's hopefully better than the vodka. I'm sure I'm not the first person that's told you that you don't drink it for the taste.”
"Yeah, I've heard that before," she laughed. A loud thump sounded somewhere behind the pair. A cursory glance at the table Zoe was no longer standing on quickly solved that mystery. The alchohol had yet to work its magic and so Callan couldn't bring herself to laugh. "Oooo," Callan winced quietly.
Emma raised an eyebrow. ”That's what happens when you get drunk and try to climb on tables.” Emma said, making not move to help the downed girl.
Callan nodded solemnly, but made no move to help Zoe up either. She felt bad for just leaving her there, though... so she quickly snatched up the rum and coke bottles and ushered Emma towards a further corner of the room where they could pretend they hadn't seen it at all.
Zoe didn't seem to be seriously injured... and Lily and Kusari were here if she was. Anyway, it wasn't like her arm had fallen off and she was bleeding out all over the floor or anything.
"You know, there was this teacher at my school who did that once. Right in the middle of the lunch room," Callan mused thoughtfully, taking another quick swig of her drink, "He was fired on the spot of course, but apparently the story was that he had a nervous breakdown after his wife left him for one of his old students." She smiled sheepishly, "That was the rumor, anyway. I think the guy was just nuts."
Unfortunately that turned out to be the most eventful story Callan had conscerning any of her high school teachers back in Atlanta. Evidently, despite her life of crime, Emma also got along well with her teachers. A boon for any high school student who wanted to get good grades, but not so great for conjuring up many stories to tell. Callan's habit of falling asleep in class was certainly no secret, but all that amounted to was embarrasing tales-- including the one where she almost took off her roommate's head on the first day of class.
It took more drinks than usual before Cal started to feel that somewhat familiar buzz cloud her mind. Though certainly no more than it did Emma, who undeniably had her beat when it came to all things liquor. Gradually, more and more giggles slipped in between her words as she spoke and by the time a lull in the conversation came about, she made up her mind that she was desperately tired of standing up. Making their way over towards an unoccupied couch, Callan sprawled across the cushions, stretching her appendages to take up every inch of the luxury furniture piece.
Emma had her fair share of drinks as well- after all, it was rude to leave someone drinking by themselves. Emma was quick to follow Callan to the couch, hovering over her for a moment before deciding to also plop down on the couch, well aware of the fact that Callan was occupying almost the entirety of it. She paused for a moment, searching for a topic of conversation, ”So, Cal, I've already interrogated you about the boys here... what about the ones before USARILN? Any fun stories? Tragic tales?”
"Oof! Callan cried as Emma sat on her stomach, though it was really more out of habit. Emma seemed to weigh about as much as a pillow-- definitely not enough to be a nuisance. "Make yourself at home why don't you!" she griped playfully, squirming easily out from under Emma until only their legs were intersecting.
Callan erupted into another small fit of giggles as the topic of boys came up. "I've had a few dumb crushes that never went anywhere," she sighed, But actually, I think that most guys might be, like... secret assholes or something? Like-- but only if you kiss them, right? Then it's like there's this switch.... I don't know. I haven't actually kissed very many people anyway. Only like... three? Oh! But I'm sure Marcus isn't like that. You're lucky, Emma." she giggled, but not even the booze could fully numb the small pang of heartache she felt as she said it. Her train of thought suddenly took a different turn, however. She groaned to herself as the memory came to mind.
" Oh my God, I totally have a story." she said, gripping Emma's arm as if it were ground breaking news. "Okay, it's not actually that great of a story, but I'm gonna tell you anyway." she chuckled.
"A week before I got picked up there was this big back to school party at Nate's. Gaby dragged me to it, she started, already missing details as the story spilled out like vomit, "And there was this guy-- Zac was there. I didn't really know him but he was the captain of the boy's basketball team. He was in a few of my classes and I sort of met him at this volunteer project we did last summer. He was tall and cute and funny...." Callan ran her fingers through her hair, "Anyway, Gaby told me to go talk to him because he was apparnetly looking at me and I didn't notice."
Her mouth twitched into a small smile, "So I went and talked to him. He was really funny. And really cute." She giggled self-consciously, pressing one hand to her cheek as her face flushed. The laughter stopped abruptly as she resumed the story, "Anyway, after a while he asked if I wanted to sit out in the backyard with him. It was really nice outside. And the fireflies were out and the moon was really pretty... we talked for a while. Just the two of us, you know? It was kinda romantic, even."
Callan frowned and tightly folded her arms, "That was my first kiss since 4th grade. It was really nice at first. We made out a little. but I think he'd had too much to drink... or I gave him the wrong idea... I dunno. Anyway, he unbuttoned my pants when I wasn't looking and I kinda freaked." She set her forehead up against her hand and sighed heavily, "Then he was like. Suddenly a huge asshole. He got real mad and asked why I came and talked to him if I wasn't going to put out."
She glanced down at her empty glass, swirling the last drop around the inside of the base as she was silent for a moment. "I haven't actually told anybody that story."
Emma laughed, both at the story and the fact that Callan was clearly drunk. ”Zac does sound like an asshole.” Emma agreed, ”You're right. Men... most men! Are all the same. Just assholes. Take it from me... only nice so they can get what they want.” Emma mused bitterly.
Callan brightened up and joined in with Emma's laughter, "Oh my God, yeah. That's what I'm saying, though." She laid further back on the couch, sighing in exasperation. "But it was kinda my fault, too. Like I probably shouldn't have kissed him I think."
”Nah, nah, nah.” Emma said, pushing her glass forward empathetically to highlight her speech, spilling a little in the process, ”You just kissed him a little, that's not a big deal, but man, trying to stick your hands in a girl's pants the first time you're doing that stuff? No way.” Emma leaned back a little too, ”That's why you gotta avoid guys like that. Captain of the basketball team? Guy's probably used to getting what he wants.”
Callan giggled for a moment, but she took the words to heart. "Yeah, no. You're right... He was an asshole. She tried to reassuringly nod while lying down, staring up at the chandelier. Apparently someone had turned the lights down at some point, but she didn't bother sitting up to see who was still hanging around after it had gotten so late. She yawn and stretched, clumsily trying to set her empty glass on the end table by the couch.
Callan's yawn made Emma yawn. ”Tired?” she said, the lethargy in her own voice evident. She knocked back the glass, finishing the rest of her drink and setting it down on the table. The moment felt oddly nostalgic- sitting here, on the couch, drunk in the post-party stupor... but now she was with Callan, who still oddly reminded of the person she was really thinking of. Emma stretched out across the couch, swapping from sitting to laying down herself, squirming in next to Callan.
Hopefully she didn't mind, because Emma was quite comfortable.
"Kinda" Callan shrugged, stifling a second yawn. She didn't say anything as Emma laid down, too. The couch was big enough to accomodate and the cushions were plenty cozy. The extra warmth from Emma wasn't a bad touch either. The bittersweetness that always seemed to linger whenever she spent time with Emma was almost entirely gone now-- whether by booze or the genuinely good times they'd had in the past few days. Replaced by a simple, happy feeling. Happy to have someone to talk to about stupid things. Happy to have someone to cuddle with. Slightly adjusting her own position, Callan felt like talking more than she did sleeping, but the jumble of words in her head couldn't keep up at the rate she was going. She almost attempted to mumble something before sleep finally whisked her away.
Lily grabbed the bowl that had the cheese flavored snacks and brought it with her, offering some to Sophia. Once in a while she would look over to the other girls. Some were getting drunk while some were merely talking. She would have jumped up and joined them, say hello and taste some of the drinks but it seemed like everyone was busy. And she had no idea what would happen to her if she got drunk. Her stigma was already a handful now, would it go crazy if she got intoxicated. No, no, just staying here then... Besides hanging out with the mostly silent Sophia was relaxing. She didn't need to worry if she should start making small talk or anything. But she did anyway.
"I guess you're not one for this sort of party too, huh?" she asked, munching on a cheese puff.
Sophia was getting increasingly uncomfortable as the minutes went by. So many of them were drinking, and she was the youngest here. She wasn't sure if it would have been best if she had left long ago and let the older crowd drink together. Interacting with the other people was something she wasn't considering anymore, watching was good enough for now. Though still nervous, she was feeling a little better now that she realized that no one was going to approach her. It was interesting to see how they talked and reacted, and to see who resolved arguments, who made efforts to approach people, and who preferred to wait for others to start conversations.
Taking another sip of juice that she had gotten, she looked back over at Lily as she was spoken to. She was surprised that Lily hadn't left her long ago to go and talk to the rest, she had thought that her friend was of the more social type. "Nah, I'm not. Too many people... end up doing nothing." Sophia shrugged. "Probably going to leave soon."
