RC: Summer

[- - caffe espresso]

NYX POST FORMAT
• 　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Mentions Princeton, Alaister, Mel, Hel, Lyra, River & Osment　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Outfit Summer Dress & Casual Braid
  　　　　　　　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Location Bellerose Mansion　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Company Desmond
  
  Why did morning have to come? Why couldn't it still be night time so she didn't have to deal with the responsibilities of life? That wasn't how it worked though, dawn came whether or not anyone wanted it too. The sun rose over the horizon as always, peeked in through the window whose curtains have been drawn back as a maid lightly shook her miss. A small groan came from the lady tucked happily away under a thick white comforter. A mess of red hair laid out on the light blue pillow as if blood had spilled all over it. Nyx wasn't one to really put up a fight about sleeping in, today however she was. “No, I don't want to wake up,” she practically begged out and turned her face the other way. The maid held a smile on her face at the childlike action of her boss. Shaking her again the maid spoke even though she knew Nyx couldn't hear her, “Come on now. It's Princeton's birthday, you must sign for things and organize the decorations how you like.” Through the mess of hair Nyx blinked a few times at the other side of the room and sat up with a giant frown on her face. Handing her a cup of warm hot tea the maid soon left her miss to prepare the bath. “Stupid males,” she pouted out and sipped on her drink letting it fill her body with it's warmth. “Why did he have to go and do that for anyways?” Her voice was louder than befoure but nothing like a yell but it certainly held the anger. Nyx was still mad at River's actions last night, the confession, the punching the just ugh everything! “Grr!” she hissed out and even huffed. When her maid reentered the room she shot her a desperate look causing the maid to stop in her tracks. “Why! Why are men so soo... so complicated!? They go around thinking we're complicated but we're not. We're simple! No it's them! And their secrets and their stupid actions and their stupid clothes and their,” she didn't know what else to say, “stupid faces!” Okay guess that works. Angrily huffing out she took another sip of her tea. The maid simply smiled and walked over to the bed, made sure she was in view and spoke. “Because if they were simple, they wouldn't be worth your time.” Nyx frowned at that and handed her the cup. “Thank you,” she managed to say politely not that she was mad at her maid at all.
  
  Nodding she left letting Nyx slid out of her comfy bed and adjourned to the bathroom to soak in a warm bath. “I wonder how Desmond's night was?” She slunk further down so her nose was just above the water but the rest was submerged. It made her feel horrible with how much she was enjoying her brief night with Osment yet she wondered instead about Desmond. It wasn't that she didn't have a great night with Osment but the River part of it certainly didn't help and it was Desmond that she always went to for comfort yet that could no longer be an option ever again.
  
  After more thinking about nothing important she merely finished her bath, dried off and wrapped the towel around her chest then sat down in front of her vanity. “Right!” her voice held much conviction when she said the word. “Feelings we need to get it together. Desmond is a great guy but you can't go running after him any time something bad happens. He's your friend not your boyfriend. You can't just use him like that.” She nodded firmly at the statement. “River we'll talk with later after he's cooled off for certain. Osment should be the priority though after all his face just got bashed in. I should...” she bit her lip in wonder, “a simple text wouldn't hurt... right?” Picking up her phone she stared at it and then sat it down. “M... maybe later.” She felt guilty, it was her fault he got beat up because she didn't realize he had feelings for her still. Staring down at all the bottled perfumes on the desk she sighed. “How was I supposed to know? Was it obvious? It didn't seem obvious to me. Then... it didn't seem obvious that Osment liked me enough to go out with me once and agree to a second date so... ugh!” Covering her face with her hands she shook her head. “This is all my fault.” Dropping her hands she looked in the mirror again. “Things were so much easier when you were married.” In the sense she was speaking both about herself and Osment.
  
  Self pity wasn't going to solve problems though nor was it going to get Princeton's birthday party ready! Nyx kicked herself into gear which consisted of dressing in a summer dress, doing her hair in a braid and applying make up. Finally she was ready to tackle the day! The late morning went by quickly as she spent most of it designating where tables should go to hold the food, where that plant should no wait over there, and of course the decorations which she liked to make by hand herself.
  
  It was a little after eleven when she noticed Desmond arrive home. “Desmond~,” she called to him with a hand in the air. “Good afternoon! How are you on this dreary day?” Exhaling with a tinge of annoyance linked to it she placed her left hand on her hips and looked outside the window. “And here I was thinking we could use the backyard for the party. I'm sure Princeton is disappointed too.” As she turned back to Desmond her hand went back to just being by her side again. “The party should still be quite the event since it's Princeton and all.” With a cheery on her face she gave him quite the look over noticing that he was indeed in last night's clothing. “Well I should let you go get changed into some clothes meant for today and not last night,” a little grin was on her face even though she was a bit bothered by it. Maybe more than a bit but a bit is all she'd admit to right now. “I'll make something to eat while you get freshened up.” Nodding to him she went to the kitchen and began working on a nice healthy sandwich for him to eat as she knew he had a very particular diet. Hopefully he wouldn't mind something made by her since she was no Alaister. The very thought made her wonder about how people's nights went.
  
  Wiping her hand on a towel she grabbed her phone and saw that Osment had sent her a text. Feeling like an idiot for not at least checking earlier she quickly read it only bringing a smile upon her face.
  
  To: Osment
  I slept well thank you. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning
  but Nancy finally pestered me enough too. How did you sleep? Is your
  face okay?
  
  After that was done she sent out the ones she originally had planned too.
  
  To: Mel
  How was your night last night? Did you and Fen have fun together?
  
  To: Hel
  Heyo~ How was your date with Russel?
  
  To: Lyra
  Hiii! How was your date with Alaister? :)
  
  To: Alaister
  Lai lai! How was your night last night? Did you like how Lyra looked?
  I worked hard on her, she put up quite the fight you know! Oh right!
  Are you coming to Princeton's birthday party? I know you two are
  pretty close so I expect to see you there. Seven pm sharp!
  
  “Phew.” Nyx jokingly pretended to be exhausted sending so many texts. Laughing at herself she noticed Desmond's reappearance and blushed at her silliness. “Oh hah, hi. I was just texting people,” she said as she waved her phone in the air. “Here~!” Quickly she slid over the plate with a nice sandwich on it. “How was your night? I hope it was far less rough than my own.” She shook her head still outwardly annoyed by what happened. “Get this, River, you remember my ex you saw him at the Beach Festival. Well, he saw me on my date and ended up punching Osment almost three times befoure he would stop! It ended up being a disaster, not to mention he proclaimed his feelings for me as an explanation as to why he just beat Osment – his once best friend mind you! - up like a punching bag.” Shaking her head angrily she exhaled audibly befoure noticing someone trying to put a vase full of flowers in the wrong spot. “Excuse me!” she said loudly and then passed by Desmond, giving him an apologetic smile as she rushed to have that person put it over by the couch instead.
  
  The next few hours went by quickly with Desmond pitching in making some origami with her and helping hang some decorations. Just because she could afford for others to do such a thing doesn't meant she wants to especially since she enjoys making them herself. After handing Desmond a string of letters that said Happy Birthday she finally remembered she hadn't 'heard' about his night. “Oh my! Desmond I'm so sorry, I didn't even let you give me a response earlier. So do tell, how was your night? I'm sure the lady you spent it with was thrilled to be accompanied by Desmond Von Draesk.” Nyx really was sad she couldn't go with Desmond, she was sure it would have been a very lovely and quiet evening; though, somehow she felt as if it was for the best.

[- - caffe espresso]

SEBBY FORMAT
　　　　　▪▪▐: ♣ Condo O2 with Penelope ◝
　　　　　▪▪▐: ♣ Happy, yet sleepy too, kinda hungry. Mentions Cosette ◝
• 
  
  Last night was a mixture of horrible to not to bad when it came to Sebby's emotions. While he wasn't exactly expecting company he was a little glad Cosette was there to help distract him. She ended up easily completing said dare to which he laughed his a** off at especially as to how the female was only too happy to get back at the guy even though he had honestly done nothing wrong. Oh man that was devious and all too great to watch! After heading home to his empty apartment that had zero lights offering anything he simply closed the door, leaned on it and slid down with his knees propped up and head slung forward. That brief moment of happiness was very fleeting. He wondered partly how Millie was, maybe he should have sought solace with her but he didn't want to ruin her night. Surly she had a date and that would have been rude to interrupt. As he moved his fingers through his hair he moved his head back letting it tap against the door softly at first but then harder simply out of anger. In a bit of a rage he stood up and roared out his anguish in the darkness. “Damn it!” he cursed out knowing that everyone on that floor, if they were home, probably heard that. “s**t. Just ******** s**t!” He kept his voice down as he let those words fly out. Sebastian was angry, angry that he couldn't save his little brother, angry that he didn't just take better care of him but most of all he was angry at Collin. It may have been a few years but it still didn't lessen the anger, the hate, the hurt and most of all the abandonment.
  
  [******** this s**t,” another typical curse this time accompanied with him swatting at the air as if he was hitting away the hate filling the space. Irritated he began going through his fridge and pulling out all the ingredients needed to make multiple meals. It was about five in the morning by the time he finished making the dishes which were now in containers and shoved in his fridge. Letting out a loud yawn he stretched high into the air thinking of finally getting some sleep when he realized “shiiit!” he forgot today he worked. Off Sebby went, a good shower, a quick change of clothes and practically dashing to work and he made it on time. “Sorry I'm late,” he said in heavy quick breaths befoure going into the kitchen to do what he had been doing earlier.
  
  Thankfully the hours till noon ticked off rather quickly which made his practically zombie like self happy. His replacement came promptly on time which allowed him to slink off home and collapse face first into his memory foam bed which isn't too comfortable to do. A little muffled groan escaped him as he laid there but soon enough it was just snoring. That's the only sound that filled the place until there was a hard knock on the front door. As it kept on banging Sebby reluctantly peeled himself off the bed and pried open the door to see one of his neighbours. “So you think you can just go yelling late at night huh?” A snappy middle age entitled brat was glaring right at sleepy eyed Sebastian. “Dude, that was ******** hours ago.” Her eyes widen with anger. “EXCUSE YOU! Don't you cuss at me and especially in front of my child!” Blinking a few times he looked down to see a thirteen year old boy sighing and rolling his eyes. “You need to apologize to him and to me for your behaviour!” The kid shook his head obviously not wanting to have anything to do with this. “Mom come on.” She just stood there waiting. “Yeah... no.” Sebby slammed the door in her face and locked the door. He could hear her screeching behind it and how she was going to tell the manager and blah blah blah he stopped caring but a grin was certainly on his face from the event. [******** people are crazy.” With a stretch and a yawn there was no point in going back to bed now plus he was hungry. Upon opening his fridge his jaw dropped. “Holy s**t.” Obviously forgetting that he just made way too many meals last night to calm himself down. “What am I going to do with all of this?” Then it hit him, there was always someone just across the hall who wouldn't mind some of his cooking and it'd be a great way to apologize to Penelope if he heard that crazy lady going off.
  
  Pulling out three containers he placed them on the counter, fished out a bag from the closet and placed them inside. Befoure leaving though he made sure he looked presentable with washing his face and brushing his mouth from the sleep breath he might have had. As if he was going to go over to Penelope's place looking subpar! Hahahaha no. Changing out of his uniform into a white under shirt, a dark blue tee with white graphics above that, and even topped his layers with a thin black hoodie. Jeans covered his legs, white socks and some white sneakers to finish off his entire look. Aww yeah, looking pimptastic. Or so he likes to think.
  
  Grabbing the bag he fearlessly opened the door and luckily there was no crazy female but the bottom of his door had a few scuff marks from her kicking it. “Seriously?” He still didn't get it, it was only around the time people would still have been making out anyways. Shaking his head he shut the door, locked it cause well ya never know and proceeded to take a few steps to the other side of the hallway.
  
  Knock knock. All nice and gentle like. And that's how you're supposed to knock on a ******** door.
  
  When Penelope opened the door he smiled brightly at her. “Afternoon love. My you look nice today like always. What's your secret?” Sebby leaned in a bit to her face a devilish grin on it. “Do you even have to try? I bet not right. Damn. Girls would be dying for your flawless skin and just wonderful style of clothing.” Giving her a little wink he stood right up again and then held the bag in front of the two of them. “I brought you food, lots of it. Three meals actually heh.” He smiled with his eyes closed and had a small blush across his cheeks. “I got kinda carried away last night making food.” Opening his purple eyes again he let them take in all that was the petite Penelope.
  
  As soon as she invited him he entered her home and then narrowed his eyes. “Yep, pretty sure your place is bigger than mine.” Joking of course especially in his tone. Setting the bag on the kitchen counter he turned to Penelope again. “So, you have a good night babysitting?” Some part of him kind of wished he hung around and babysat with her as well but he wasn't too familiar with Osment nor Isabelle yet. If it was his kid he wouldn't want them hanging around with a guy they barely knew so it was only fair not too. “You didn't kill the kid didja?” he had a toothy grin displaying his obvious not seriousness to the question.
  
  “Oh right.” The white haired male turned around and pulled out of the bag a decent sized glass container. “This one is tapa and rice, it's a Filipino dish. Basically thinly sliced beef marinated in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic then cooked. It's really good and not bitter so don't worry. I added some lumpia in there too, they're like egg rolls.” Setting that on the counter he pulled out another. “You got your typical beef pho.” Fishing the last one out he stopped part way through and then eyed her secretively. “Hmm I dunno if you want this one.” Seeing the eagerness in her eyes he grinned. “I dunno~.” It was no fun just letting her know what it was so easily. Quickly he pulled it out and displayed some homemade mac and cheese. “Taadaa!” It was one of her favourites and he knew that plus it was always delicious to eat anyways.

[- - caffe espresso]

ALAISTER POST FORMAT
• 　　　　　　　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Location Beach House O6　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Company Lyra　　　`↺⋮ ❖ Mentions Dawson & Princeton
  
  It was a beautiful morning or well more like his company was beautiful. Waking up to Lyra in his arms, feeling her naked body pressed against his own made him by far the happiest man alive. It was great, every part in the house was defiled last night due to their fun activities; he'd make sure to bleach the surfaces later but for now he was enjoying cuddling with his girlfriend. Running a hand over her side in an innocent yet loving manner he couldn't help but enjoy how soft her skin felt which only made him remember how great it tasted. Shaking his head a bit trying not to go there, again, for the umpteenth time he merely rolled to lay on his back and stared at the window that had rain pitter pattering against it. When he heard Lyra speak he nodded, “yeah, it is. Bet Princeton's pissed.” If he knew his buddy and he liked to think he did he wanted a day in the sun. As she moved to get out of bed he watched, eyes lingering on her body as she crawled out of bed and began looking for something. Propping himself up on his elbows he arched a brow in curiosity until she came across his favourite shirt which only made him grin. Having her rush back to bed only made it all the better. Grabbing onto her he pulled her into the bed and snuggled against her where they laid for most of the day just tangled together. He had no other wish, no other want to be anywhere but right here with her. Alaister already made note that he wasn't going into work today, yesterday at work to the other chefs. Of course men could only grin with the notion of why whereas the females were all too curious. Today would just be Lyra and him, maybe Dawson if he felt the need to come home for a bit; how he hoped that wouldn't actually happen. No he just wanted Lyra to be the only person he saw and even spoke to.
  
  After spending most of the day in bed he was growing hungry and needed to refuel after all they went through a third of a box already. Planting a firm but quick kiss on her face he rolled out of bed, “I'm ******** starving!” grabbed some pj bottoms and slipped into them as he walked to the kitchen. Hearing her trailing after him made him smile widely, it's just safe to say he went the whole day smiling. “Hmm what to make...” he pondered for a moment not bothering to ask Lyra what she might want cause well that would ruin it all. In all honesty he already knew what he wanted to make but he just was waiting to see if she wanted to chime in any suggestions. With nothing said he opened the fridge and pulled out the left over baked potatoes, the carton of eggs, milk, sausage, cheese and tomatoes. Well not all at once he did set them on the counter between items. “Babe want to cube those potatoes for me please?” She knew how to use a knife at the very least... right? Damn straight she did! While she did that he expertly chopped up an onion in mere seconds and began to caramelize them since he wasn't exactly a fan of bland onions.
  
  It wasn't long until the onions were done which quickly went onto a plate and Lyra done cutting the potatoes. “Alright I want you to make those potatoes into home fries. Not french fries, home fries. Completely different and far more acceptable for brunch.” He let out a little chuckle as he put a small amount of oil on the other frying pan and in the one he was already using tossed in the sausage to cook up. When the other was well heated he nodded at Lyra to put in the potatoes. “Just basically move them around every so often so they cook up nicely.” Soon enough the sausage was done which he took out and began the egg part. Once he felt the eggs had cooked the right amount of time he added the toppings including the tomatoes and cheese then with much ease was able to flip the other half of the omelet. Sliding that omelet off the potatoes were done. “Mmm those look good.” His eyes were not on the potatoes but her fine a**. “Oh and the potatoes look good too. Top it with some Parmesan.” He shamelessly grinned at her then went back to making the second omelet while she plated the home fries. Feeling her arms wrap around him from behind he smiled softly and placed a free hand on her arm; his thumb gently brushed against her skin lovingly. “Yeah, better get used to it. My place will always smell like food when I have someone to cook for.” Turning off the burner he slid the omelet onto the other plate. “Time to eat~.”
  
  Handing her hers they went to the table where he had once hidden under just a week ago. “Yes these home fries are cooked wonderfully. Man keep this up and I might be able to make you my next sous chef.” Alaister was being honest they came out really well and the Parmesan on top really helped add some yummy flavour. He could hardly believe she was sitting there in only his shirt but then again he was only wearing pants. “You know,” he paused to take a bite of potatoes and let her wonder what he was going to say. “We complete each other. You've got my shirt and I got the pants. If we were going to a store to buy just these parts it'd be a meet cute.” A light chuckle accompanied the end of his statement and then he polished off the rest of breakfast. They took care of the dishes and when the last one was in the dishwasher and kitchen clean (and bleached) he basically picked up Lyra and tossed her over his shoulder. Slapping her buttocks playfully he went back to the room and tossed her on the bed.
  
  Some more cuddling took place as he was still digesting after all. Lyra's head was resting on his chest as she was pressed against him. Holding her closely his fingers simply brushed against her skin every so often even without him really thinking about it. Even if he didn't mind the silence between the two he wondered what was going on inside her head. Luckily for him it didn't take long since she softly spoke his name sending a delightful chill down his spine even if she said it with uncertainty. Slowly she stumbled over her words but they were finally out.
  
  “You love me huh?” he replied bluntly, a grin plastered on his face. Tilting his chin downward he looked at her but she was burying her head in his chest while it was cute wasn't what he wanted. With his free hand he grabbed hold of her chin and lifted her chin up so they were locking eyes, he even moved down a bit so their faces were closer in proximity. “Say it, tell me you love me.” He wanted to hear this so badly, needed to really as he truly longed for this for such a long time. Hell he was ready to say it himself just a week ago but he wasn't going to let her get it that easily. When she finally said it he kissed her firmly, his tongue sliding into her mouth, and hand gripping at her skin. Soon he was on top of her a hand cupping her face with the other supporting him to not crush her as he slowly broke off the kiss. Staring into her eyes he said with full conviction, “I love you too.” His features were soft and voice warm to further reassure her he meant it. “I wanted to tell you,” a blush crept up on his face as he sounded a little embarrassed admitting this, “last week actually.” A toothy nervous smile. “When you punch me was the moment I knew.”
  
  “I love you.”

[ANXIYETI]

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x MENTIONS: Arethousa, Penelope, Juniper xxx COMPANY: Laurent xxx LOCATION: Home > Hospital
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Planked down on his bed, Lynn rolled over as a shaky groan escaped him. On the floor beside him sat a knitted trash bin. His eyes and nose were red and irritated. Quivering fingers plucked a tissue from its box and edged them near his nostrils. He blew, neatly folding the tissue after. He let it drop straight in the bin as a bristly breath left his throat. The side of his fist inched near his lips and he coughed and he coughed.

Lynn then observed the dew on the window, listening to the soft hum of drizzling rain. Poor fellow had caught some sort of illness yesterday. Thus, he spent the Star Gazing festival, a romantic or otherwise serene event, hacking and clutching onto his blanket with cold sweats. Sleeping and dreaming obscurely was a part of yesterday’s agenda as well. To think, he could have spent it with Laurent instead, or perhaps Arethousa, assuming he’d even have the courage to ask her. Sure, he really did like her, but he wouldn’t want her to think he was asking her on a date. Lynn wasn’t that forward of a man, he was quite the opposite of forward. Oh, how shy he would have gotten! The thought in itself made his cheeks redden. He hid his face and floundered in humiliation.

That afternoon, Lynn eventually forced his body to move itself and take a warm shower. He had an appointment with Laurent in a few. Coincidentally, it had already been scheduled a few days before he caught this monstrosity. At first, he was only supposed to go to refill his prescription. Lynn arriving to Laurent’s office unwell shouldn’t come as a surprise, however. He made sure to text his friend last night to let him know that he should probably stay at least fifty feet away from him if he didn’t want some dreadful sickness. Lynn continued on his way to dress himself, comb his hair, and brush his teeth, etc. He did everything so sluggishly with his pained and tired limbs.

It was horrid outside, the air was bitter. Nothing about the weather today was any better than a humid summer’s day, and Lynn looked just as miserable. He dragged his feet as he walked, holding an umbrella over his head. The walk to the hospital was a slow and tedious one; he steered away from the crowd when he started to cough again. The hand sanitizer in his pocket sure came in handy.

Minutes passed and Lynn was escorted into Laurent’s office. His eyes were dark and droopy eyes, skin paler than usual. His head throbbed, but he still wore his best smile. Upon making eye contact with the doctor, however, his eyebrows sloped pitifully and his shoulders drooped. While he wouldn't express it through words, guilt had suddenly overwhelmed him and it showed. He had always stopped by someplace to bring Laurent something. He was afraid he’d get him sick, however; he’d be very upset with himself if he were to do that. As his best friend, Lynn tried his best to help the doctor out in any way he could. After all Laurent had been through; how awful it must have been…he felt comfort just in being there to support him and make him smile at least a bit more. Bringing him treats was the least he could do, really. He never visited him empty handed. Alas, he held nothing in his hands today.

Lynn gave Laurent a tired wave and sat down in the chair in front of him. “Hiya, Laur–” Lynn stopped in mid syllable and froze. Quickly, he slipped the collar of his jacket over his nose when felt the tickling sensation worsen. His eyes squeezed shut until he let out a sharp sneeze. As he adjusted his glasses he raised his head again, blinking a few times to recall where he left off. He prolonged hoarsely, “H-How are you? I hope you’re feeling much better than I am. I thought I’d be stopping by to visit and renew my prescription today, but, um, it turns out I caught something and it’s absolutely dreadful...” He sniffed; another dab of hand sanitizer met his palm.

“I’m coughing, sneezing, everything hurts, and I can’t seem to get rid of this wretched headache. I also took my temperature earlier and I had a fever of, uh…” he visited his memories for a moment, mindlessly watching Laurent as he did doctor stuff. “I believe it read 102.” Lynn sighed, trying his best to carry onto normal conversation like he would have if he felt fine. He was expecting him to take his temperature again to see whether or not he was still running a fever, too, so he readied himself to position thermometer under his tongue.

Afterword he brought up yesterday’s festival with that familiar look of shame. “Sorry that I couldn’t look at the stars with you last night, by the way. All I wanted to do is sleep, I’m afraid,” he paused for a moment. As soon as he recalled Laurent telling him who he spent time with yesterday, his dull expression suddenly lifted. ”How was your get together with Juniper?” He asked. Normally, Lynn would have been much more elated than he was now. He still tried to give the most playful smile his sick self could muster. Yet, when he began to reflect about yesterday’s mishap more, his smile dropped off his lips.

“I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to spend it with anyone this year, and missing a full day of work is bad enough,” he expressed, mumbling the last part. “I could have even asked Areth to spend it with me, but…” A long hum droned in Lynn’s throat, he looked down at his shoes. He tried his best not to blush. His heart was beating awfully fast, though, so he found it necessary to distract himself. He’d soon get lost in his thoughts, suddenly a dream he had yesterday. He slapped his leg, “Oh, I had the strangest dream yesterday…!” Normally, he never dreamt at all, but he always seemed to when he got sick.

This one in particular involved his best friend himself, his sister, and his little pet wallaroo, Riley. He spent a lot of time with the bunch, so he wasn't really surprised they were in his dreams. He described it aloud, “For some reason Penelope was trying to kill me and you were there, too, but wouldn’t help me. She had a cup of orange juice in her hands and I was tied to a chair,” his fingers quickly plucked up a tissue from the nearest box and pressed it against his nose. “Ri was there as well, except…he had large human feet? And…well…he was just hopping around you for awhile. I…I don’t know why he had toes and everything but it was terrifying.” He giggled when he imagined it again. “I remember that before you could make me drink the orange juice, he kicked the chair. I screamed, went down with it and I hit my head. After that, I woke up.”

Lynn couldn’t help but utter a series of chuckles. He shook his head and ended the action with a swift shrug to his shoulders. There was another tickle in his throat that caused him to cough. He covered his mouth, only to impulsively dab even more hand sanitizer on his skin. While he knew Laurent would have to run a test of some sort to figure out exactly what virus he had, he wondered. “Do you have any idea what this could be, Laurent? It feels like the flu, but, I never got one in summer before...”
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[Hitokiri Hitaru]

Unrequited love sucked. Like, nothing sucked more if anyone thought to ask Ardelis. What was it like to realize you just wasted your entire childhood and teenage years pining over a person you could never have? Elis could probably tell you. What was it like to realize that you would be nothing but that snot-nosed kid who wiped her buggers on that important person's sweater? Elis could certainly tell you that. And what was it like to leave that person's home after watching the stars with a wave and a smile only to duck down the nearest deserted street to sob on the curb knowing that no one would bother her? Guess what? She could tell you and probably start screaming. She lost to someone stupid named Lyra. Someone who already had someone else. Someone who couldn't possibly appreciate what a good thing she had right in front of her! But that wasn't why she was crying. That wasn't why she felt like her heart broke into a million piece. She was ultimately rejected by Reece and wished she could find someone to blame for it. Case in point, Lyra. Most of all, she felt completely devastated as there had been someone who wanted to watch the stars with her, someone she rejected in favor of Reece.

Elis thought about going home, but decided against it. What was exactly home anyway? Home was some half-empty room in an inn filled with strangers in a town that she just wanted to run away from. But what good would that do? She already was running from Japan, what good would it do her to pack up her s**t and leave just because she got egg on her face yet again. She had also contemplated hiding out in Orion's place for a couple of days until she got out of this horrible funk she had practically asked herself to be thrown in, but didn't budge an inch from her spot on the curb. Her cousin had probably been foaming at the mouth all night from being able to watch the stars, and she didn't want to kill his high with her dark cloud of negative emotion. In her honest opinion, Elis felt like she belonged on the curb any way.

When she had fallen asleep, she couldn't quite recall, but her eyes stung from all the crying she had done. The brunette was wide awake though once she felt a few droplets hit her. Her turquoise eyes looked up at the sky, confused for a moment as to why the clouds decided to take pity on her and start some waterworks of their own. Elis watched as some of the little shops started to get ready for what would surely be a slow day. All she could do was stare at flower shop down the street from her. Had she settled there on purpose the night before? Doubtful. Still though, behind that door was Dante setting up his beautiful bouquets for the day, writing his poetry probably like nothing happened the night before. The thought alone made her eyes tear up once more. But there was one thing she learned out of all this, wasn't there? Reece had been generous enough to try and give her a chance...maybe she could try that with Dante as well?

Slowly Ardelis got to her feet and started moving. Slowly, down the block she went, her eyes fixed on the flower shop. It was only once she crossed the street that paused and thought carefully about how stupid this all was. How awful was she...how fickle would she look in Dante's eyes to come crawling over to him just because she finally got turned away. No one wanted to be second fiddle. No one wanted to know that they quite very well could be the consolation prize. She took a step back, wondering if she should call for a cab to just take her back to the inn, but something stopped her. She wanted to apologize to Dante. She wanted to tell him that she made the wrong choice, that if she could do the whole evening over, she would have been on his roof instead of Reece's. Elis looked down and thought about what she probably looked like too. Did she really want to show up in front of Dante's all shivering in her stupid dress with blood-shot eyes looking like a wet dog?

[******** it..." What did she have to lose anyway? Not much. Elis decided to throw caution to the wind and made her way to the flower shop, slowly pulling the door open and taking a few hesitant footsteps inside. Everything was as it had been the last time she had stopped inside a couple days prior. Her eyes widened slightly when she watched Dante emerge from the back, leaving her suddenly very self-conscious about how much of a wreck she must have looked. What did she want to say again? Nervously, Elis bit down on her bottom lip and fixed her gaze on the floor.

"I...I'm sorry..." Elis began softly, her hands slowly gripping the bottom of her dress as she tried to formulate some coherent thought in vain. "...I made a wrong choice...." she continued, feeling her eyes well up with tears once again. "I would have probably been much happier if I watched the stars with you," she confessed softly before slowly looking up to meet his gaze. "I-if it isn't too late...and you h-have the time to spare...I would very much like to watch the stars with you, Dante...b-but a raincheck would probably be best...since...y'know...it's sort of raining..."

❀↪LOCATION:Flower shop ❀↪COMPANY:Dante ❀↪MENTIONS:Reece, Lyra

[a park in botswana]

　　　　　　*◜( LOCATION ◢◟— Elissa's Home　　　*◜( COMPANY ◢◟— Areth　　　*◜( MENTIONS ◢◟— Orion, Osment, Dawson, Laney, Millie, Princeton, Nyx

Elissa could scarcely remember sleeping last night, though she of course had - she remembered waking up at one point during the early morning hours (or so she assumed from the light filtering into the room), to find Orion's hands wrapped around her body, embracing her as she lay on her side. For a few moments, the young woman had laid there silently, remembering what had occurred only a few hours earlier. Elissa was unsure of when she'd really fallen asleep - only that once the events had begun, that it was quite a while afterwards before Orion and Elissa had finished ohohoh okay i'll stop. Though Elissa had no other experiences to compare Orion to, she could only say that it was amazing. She had never felt so close to someone, so intimate...and for it to be Orion, well, that only made her butterflies flutter even faster in her stomach. Somehow, however, she had woken Orion up, or stirred him from his light sleep. Unfortunately, Elissa still had to go to work, and her shift as the yoga instructor was only a few hours away. Honestly, she would have preferred to stay nestled in his bed, his arms, the entire day or forever...but, well, she had to pull herself away.

Orion had offered to escort her home, as Elissa accepted the offer, if only to spend even more time with him. She sat in the taxi ride home, wearing last night's dress scandalous, hoping and praying that it wasn't the taxi driver that had been working last night. Of course, she couldn't tell anyway, though the voice didn't seem to be the same. Elissa had worried that their encounter last night would cause them to become awkward, though thankfully, nothing seemed to have occurred. Elissa, instead, kept her fingers interlaced with his, snuggling against him on the backseat of the taxi. Her head remained against his shoulder, as she spoke in a soft tone, her usual voice as the two kept their normal conversation. Once the taxi pulled up outside of her home, and once Rusty had hopped out of the taxi in order to escort her into the townhome, Orion had lead her to the door in order to give a proper goodbye. Reluctantly, Elissa had parted from his arms, but not without another kiss. She promised to text him later, once he'd gotten more sleep and after work, before moving into her home. Moving into her bathroom, she'd undressed for the second time ohohoh and started the shower, preparing herself for another shift at the spa. Elissa was unsure of what to think of the entire situation. Did this...well, were they together now...? Neither she nor Orion had said anything official...but, well, how he had acted meant that he'd had the thought for a very long time...Her cheeks blushed at the thought. So he had felt the same as she had, ever since she was a teenager. Once out of the shower, Elissa had sent a text to Millie, her best friend, relaying the events of last night. After all, Millie had known about Elissa's "date" with Orion...but, of course, she didn't go into any graphic detail. Getting dressed in her proper clothes, Elissa and Rusty hailed another taxi to bring them to her place of work, where the work day went quickly. Not only because it was a good day, but because Elissa couldn't get her mind off of the previous night. Even her students seemed to notice her happier mood, though she could only blush and dismiss their comments by saying she'd had a good date.

Once leaving her class, and after another quick shower to make sure she wasn't disgusting, Elissa barely had time to change (unfortunately only into another set of her work clothes as she'd forgotten to pack a different pair) before heading back to her home to meet up with Areth, another good friend, and the local playwright. Both were close with Princeton, as of course, Areth worked with Princeton and the two even lived together. Elissa was a familiar face at the theatre, considering she often played accompanying piano pieces to any plays and musicals, and even lent her vocals to some of the productions. As a result, she and Princeton had grown to become friends, and it was his birthday today, after all. Nyx was surely planning the party right now, as she always did. Unfortunately, Elissa had caught wind of her sour date with Osment from a hasty text by Laney, just asking if she knew anymore...Unfortunately for Laney, she'd spilled the beans, since Laney had actually known first. Oops.

Still, with no texts from Osment nor Nyx, she'd decided to stay out of it. Dawson had texted her about it when he'd gone to pick up Isabelle to give Osment a break, but otherwise, she decided to only speak about the incident on a need-to-know basis, especially since she knew how much the night had meant to Osment. Poor guy.

Right before Areth had arrived, Elissa had also sent a text to Orion, asking how he had slept and how his day had been. So far, she hadn't received anything back yet, but she remained hopeful. He was probably just tired and busy, after all. Still, she prayed this wouldn't make things awkward...and that, maybe even, this could open a new door for their relationship. From best friends to...well, possibly even lovers. Her cheeks flushed even at the thought, as it seemed even almost too good to be true. Yet, she'd never imagined in a million years what had occurred only the night before...so really, was anything really so impossible?

Elissa's idea for Princeton's present had been to work alongside Areth in order to prepare something truly unique and one-of-a-kind as a present. Areth's job was to create a brand new screenplay, staring Princeton, of course, in a genre he loved to perform, and as his favourite type of character. Elissa had composed much of the music, blending it to Princeton's own voice. So now, the two were adding any finishing touches to the pieces and papers, before bringing it to the party to present to Princeton. So far, everything looked blind joke ahah great. Or well, sounded anyway!

"I think everything sounds great. Princeton will love it, I'm sure." It was a little unusual to think of Elissa, as someone who was blind, to be able to compose music, as well as even perform it, but here she was. Currently, she sat at the bench of her piano, pressing several of the keys to make sure those were the perfect notes for this verse. Rusty sat patiently off to the side of the piano, just in case Elissa needed any assistance. For now, however, Elissa could manage.

"It's too bad about this poor weather, though." Every morning, Elissa's phone was pre-programmed to announce the weather at a certain time, since of course, she couldn't look outside to predict what was going to happen. And well, the forecast had sounded like it would be a little dreary. "I'm sure Nyx's party will be great though, as it always is." Nyx certainly was a brilliant hostess. She couldn't remember many parties topping one of the hers, anyway.

"Do you think Princeton will like the gift...?" She spun around on the piano bench, to where she had last sat with Areth - towards the attached living room, which was only a few yards away, filled with a couch and loveseat. There was a TV, more so for guests to watch and for her to listen to. She smiled, hoping Areth was still in the location so she wouldn't appear so odd to be smiling at no one - even then, most people who knew Elissa well didn't mind since, of course, she couldn't see. From her eyesight, however, Elissa could make out Areth's shape well enough, but that sometimes wasn't always clear, either. "I think he'll love it." Areth had seemed to be acting a little differently than usual, perhaps maybe a little more quiet, but Elissa had simply blamed that on focusing on Princeton's present. Or maybe it was because Elissa was still dressed so oddly, in her yoga clothes. Of course, she'd change before the party. Areth would be very helpful to make sure her outfit didn't look strange, either.

[Aeolith]

tab tab tab tab DEAD AS DEAD CAN BE ▬▬▬ ↗↗
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ░░░░░░░░ ██ THE D↺CTOR TELLS ME
▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆
tab BUT I JUST ▱▱▱ CAN'T BELIEVE ▬ ﾟHIM ↲
tab tab tab ＥＶＥＲ ＴＨＥ ＯＰＴＩＭＩＳＴＩＣ ＯＮＥ




He had ended up not heading into work that day. Having woken up at his usual time at four-thirty, he had discovered that he had been handcuffed sometime in the night—to Hel’s wrist. He vaguely recalled what had happened that night. After grabbing the booze from his fridge, they had stayed at the apartment and drank in the living room. Russ could remember one beer becoming six, and then after sometime, he remembered things very faintly.

Flashes of Hel’s nude body came to mind—a really pleasant memory. That had meant that he had succeeded in having sex with her, right? Otherwise, he couldn’t remember much. That was the unfortunate part. He wanted to remember being able to feel her under or… over him. Other than that, he couldn’t recall much of the night after he’d drank a few beers too many. That morning however, hadn’t been so fun.

Neither he nor Hel could remember where they had put the handcuff keys. The handcuffs weren’t “bedroom toys” either; they were the real deal. Picking them wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish. And if he did pick them, he would likely end up braking the rivets inside, and would need to replace them. They weren’t cheap, either. And he’d surely hear it from the chief if they were broken.

Thankfully, they had managed to find the damn key… after employing Zahid’s help to find it. It had taken then most of that entire morning just to find the damn thing. To make it worse, it had been very difficult for the two of them to be entirely dressed given that their wrists were bound together. All Russ had been able to get on was his jeans while he had tried to help Hel get into her bra and panties. Other than that, however, they were otherwise exposed…

Zahid had certainly not been happy. Not in the least. He hadn’t even known that he and Hel were sleeping together. Then again… hardly anyone knew about that. It had only just started happening a couple weeks ago. Russ didn’t care about what he’d had to say, however. Hel was a big girl, and the two of them had known one another since childhood. It had been bound to happen sooner or later.

Having missed work, he and Hel had decided to go windsurfing at the beach—and to get away from a pissed off Zahid. Despite the rain, which had been pouring on and off all day, Russ had looked forward to doing that today after work. Regardless of rain, it was the perfect time for it. The stormy weather made for slightly more unsettled seas. It would be more fun today because of it.

Before the beach, he and Hel drove down to Melune Forest where Hel lived with Fen. Packing his surfing gear into the trunk of the car, they made it to her house for her to change, and then they were off. The surfs at the beach were rather tame despite the weather, but they were still large enough to get good air. Russ’s hair was wet from the spray, his wetsuit glistening as he made it back ashore shortly before three o’clock.

His gaze focused on the sky above, the thick clouds threatening rain again. They had moved in from deeper within the city, and appeared to cover the sky as far as he could see. A serpentine flicker of light slithered from within the clouds, and seconds later, a dragon roar sounded. He turned to find Hel, and approached her when he saw her coming back ashore. “Well, it looks like our fun might be over,” Russ said as another clap of thunder sounded. Behind them, the waves appeared larger and more threatening. Soon, it would be much too dangerous to keep trying to wind surf.

As if on cue, he felt a droplet of rain water falling perfectly on his cheek. Russ wiped at it with a finger, and felt more droplets along his hands. “We better get going.” He grabbed Hel’s surf board from her grasp as he headed up the beach toward the street. By the time they had made it to his cruiser, it was starting to pour. He hurried to stuff everything as well as he could into the car, and then hurried around to get inside.

“Whoo!” He exclaimed when both he and Hel were back in the car. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” Shaking his head, water sprayed from his wet hair, which was pushed back against his scalp. The shake made it twirl and fall against his cheeks. “So then… Princeton’s birthday is today. What I heard from Nyx all week was that she was throwing him a party. Wanna go?” He started up the car, and put on his wipers to clear the glass before backing out of his parking space.

“I should at least make an appearance. He is my friend, after all. Don’t really plan to stay there long.” He wasn’t really sure if Hel was a friend of Princeton’s. The guy was similar to Zahid in that there weren’t many people who could tolerate him like Russ could. He had a rather… strong personality. He knew River certainly didn’t like him.

“I just… haven’t gotten him a gift. I already know what to get the a*****e, though. So if you wanna stop by your house on the way to the store, we can change and get going. I don’t think the party’s started yet, anyway.” Getting Hel’s response, Russ drove away from the beach. He felt like an a** for not even having Princeton’s gift, though. What the hell would he even buy the guy? Cologne? Cologne sounded like a good gift, right?

As they headed off, Russ couldn’t help but glance over at Hel. Thinking about Zahid, he breathed out a sigh. “So… think Zahid will get over his b***h fit from this morning? I really don’t wanna hear it again when I get home…”




▶ LOCATION beach tab ┋ tab ▶ COMPANY Hel tab ┋ tab ▶ MENTIONED Zahid, Fen, Princeton, River

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE BULL*HIT tab PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE BULL*HIT tab PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE BULL*HIT

[Aeolith]

tab tab tab tab tab tab

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ﹙♕ ||⇨ I am a FALLEN ZERO

codedbyAeolithcodedbyAeolithBELOW THE GLACIERS OF THE EVIL

codedbyAeolithcodedbyAeolithBELOW THE GLACIERS OF THE EVIL

I am ❛ ► a golden . ﹄xSUPER⇩HERO ━━━━━━━━ »»

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ↺codedbyAeolith

codedbyAeolithＡＢＯＶＥ||ＴＨＥ ||ＳＵＮ||ＡＮＤ||ＡＬＬ||ＴＨＥ||ＰＥＯＰＬＥ

everyday

Mel giggled at Fen’s comment, and stretched as she lay on the cushions that he had placed down for them. So… neither of them knew much about stars, but at least she could say she knew a few constellations. She listened in silence as Fen pointed out another, one that she hadn’t heard about before. The names, however, sounded vaguely familiar. “Deneb, Altair, Vega… they make up the summer triangle,” he said, pointing up at the stars. She looked up at them, her mouth parted.

“Can I be honest with you? I wish the three of us had been named after the summer triangle… maybe if we had been born in summer, we would have been luckier.” Mel looked at Fen, then. He was referring to Hel, himself, and Jor. She had never met Jor, but Hel and Fen both spoke about him often. The pictures in their house showed them three, too. She knew both he and Hel missed him dearly. She felt bad for him. At the same time, she was glad he at least had good memories of him.

“You were lucky, though, Fen. You have good memories of him. You got to know him. Both of you. And isn’t that what matters? Good memories and something to look back on and smile?” Mel said, moving her hand to grab his. Lacing their fingers together, she held his hand there for a moment, the gesture feeling completely normal. His hands were warm within hers. Soothing. She heard him comment something under his breath, but she hadn’t quite caught what he’d said.

He turned to look at her, and she smiled at him. And then, somehow, Fen was moving in closer to her. The moment his lips touched hers, Mel sighed into it, her breath hot on his chin. Part of the way into it, she realized what this meant, her best friend kissing her, Fen kissing her, and she pulled away completely. She looked at him in surprise. “Fen… I,” Mel stumbled over her words, unsure what to tell him. Swallowing, she shook her head. “Fen… we can’t. I-I can’t…” Mel muttered, her eyes searching his.

“We’re… we’re best friends. T-this… I’m sorry, Fen. But I don’t want to ruin that. I-I, I’m sorry.” She stood up then and unruffled her plaid shirt, ready to leave. She wasn’t sure if she should stay here with him after this. She wanted to stay, she didn’t want this to ruin their night, but at the same time… she felt she needed to leave. Did he even want her to stay anymore?

“I-I’ll see you later, Fen. I really enjoyed tonight. Thank you for that.” With that, she left his house, the echo of regret calling to her.

tab tab tab tab tab ⇨ TIME SKIP !

She had tossed and turned last night. After leaving Fen’s, she’d gone straight home and had gone to bed, but sleep hadn’t come as easily as she’d hoped. She kept thinking about Fen, about the kiss, and she felt terrible that she’d rejected him. She lay in bed that night, her eyes staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts kept returning to that kiss. It had been brief, but his lips had felt warm against hers, much like his hand had. How did she feel about him? She cared about him a lot. She was close to him, much closer to him than anyone else since she’d moved to Raethia. It would be easy… being with him. It felt… normal, almost. But it was Fen, her best friend. What would that mean?

She woke up around five that morning, and left the house twenty minutes before heading to work. After being let out at noon, she had been ready to head over to Fen’s, when she remembered. “Oh…” she said when she had pulled out her phone ready to text him to see what he was up to. Even if she wanted to go see him, she remembered that he was at work right now. Leaving work, she decided to head home, instead. At home, she prepared herself some lunch, ate, and then played video games by herself.

By the time three had arrived, Mel found herself bored at home. Who could she bother at this time? Mel wondered. Realizing that in an hour’s time Aiden would be getting out of work, Mel decided she’d pester him! It had been a while since she’d seen him, anyway. Deciding she would go meet him up at work—and hoped that Fen didn’t see her there—Mel took off for the general store. She arrived there right at three thirty, and went into the store. Acting like she needed to buy some things, she looked around the shop in search of him.

Finding him packing up some groceries into a bag, likely for his last delivery of the day, Mel waited until he had finished. When he was heading out the front door, she hopped up to him and smiled. “Heya! Going on your last delivery? Mind if I join you?” Mel asked with her hands behind her back as she swayed back and forth on her feet. When he had confirmed, she followed him out the doors.

“I’ve been out of work since noon. Stayed at home playing video games, but I got bored of that. Since I know you and Fen were still working, I had to wait until now to pester one of you two! Is uh… Fen still around?” Mel asked him, hoping that he’d already gone home for the day. As much as she would like to see him, she was also afraid of seeing him right now. How would he be with her? Would he be upset? She wondered if it was better that they didn’t talk for at least a short while. She wouldn’t be able to stay away from him for long, though.

“How have you been today? Busy day at work?” She asked Aiden as she helped him with one of the brown paper bags full of food. “You’ll be able to clock out when we come back! So that’s good.”



▶ LOCATION general store tab ┋ tab ▶ COMPANY Aiden tab ┋ tab ▶ MENTIONED Fen, Hel, Jor

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
IM FLOATING HIGH tab IM FLOATING HIGH tab IM FLOATING HIGH tab IM FLOATING HIGH tab IM FLOATING HIGH

[Aeolith]

▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆ tab BUT NOW THE SUMMER`S DREAMS ARE BENT
LIKE GRAIN ↴ AGAINST THE ✖✖ SCYTHE ﹚
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
AND MEMORIES OF ♠ ｂｌｉｓｓｆｕｌ DAYS ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
they fall like leaves tab tab tab they fall like leaves tab tab tab they fall like leaves
they fall like leaves tab tab tab they fall like leaves tab tab tab they fall like leaves
they fall like leaves tab tab tab they fall like leaves tab tab tab they fall like leaves



He saw Laney come in from the kitchen to sit down next to him from the corner of his eye, but he didn’t turn to look at her. His eyes remained on the floor, his hands clutched onto his guitar. He listened to Laney who sat next to him, unable to peer up and look her in the eyes. He had planned to stay home all day and not see anyone, though he was certain that someone would have come looking for him. He had expected it to be Rosa, or even Rissa. Even Dawson was a possibility.

Instead of turning toward Laney, he looked through the den window and watched as the rain came down. It had been raining on and off throughout the day, weather that seemed to match his current mood. When Laney wasn’t talking, it was the only thing that could be heard. The raindrops falling on the roof sounded faintly of hoof beats.

The moment Laney said Nyx’s name, he turned to look at her. His eyes were reddish, and stubble had already started to form a shadow along his chin and across his jaws. He normally shaved every morning to keep his beard from growing out, but this morning, he had skipped that step.

“I feel like a fool. How didn’t I see it? Why didn’t I just—I could have done something. I could have told Nyx how I felt before this. Been with her more… tried to spend more time.” He shook his head. Setting down his guitar on the ground, he held onto the neck with one hand. But then, he felt Laney grab his hands and pull them away from the guitar. He looked at her.

“How? It’s already happened. I don’t think she sees me that way anymore. I don’t blame her. I’ve only been gone for seven years.” Even so, Laney pressed on, telling him her plans. He couldn’t help but look at her with a hint of hope in his eyes. This woman right here… this woman before him. She was amazing. It made sense why River and she were so close, why they had been since they were kids. She had always been there for him. They had been there for each other.

When he had come back only two seasons ago, it had been easy to talk to her again. It was even easier to talk to her and tell her things than it had been with even with his own family. Laney was just so easy to talk to, and rekindling their friendship was as easy as lighting a match. To hear that she was willing to even just try to talk to Nyx, that was enough for him. It made sense why she was the one he turned to first if he needed to talk.

“Thank you, Laney. But, I’m the one that needs to talk to her.” He paused, and squeezed her hand. “I know I will. I need to clear things up with her. Apologize for everything… fix this somehow. Even if it means…” Pausing again, River’s eyes trailed away from Laney’s. He knew what he was thinking, but to say it out loud? To confirm it? He really didn’t want to. But he knew that it was probably true.

“Even if it means I’ve lost my chance with her. But I’d rather be her friend, than not talk to her again…” There, he had said it. The one thing he was dreading to even say. In his heart, no matter how shattered it felt and probably would feel seeing her with Osment… or anyone for that matter, it was worse to not get to see her at all. He already endured that for seven years. He didn’t want to go another seven hoping, praying, and dreaming about seeing her, but being unable to. In any case, he still had hope. Maybe he hadn’t lost her for good. Maybe if he actually went and spoke to her, set things straight, there was the chance that he could win her back. He didn’t feel like it was totally hopeless. Not yet. He would tell Nyx everything as soon as he could talk to her.

Remembering the rumors, as ridiculous as they were, River nodded. “I still don’t understand why. We’ve always been friends… don’t see how today that’s any different.” He and Laney had always been close, hanging out together all of the time, and yet there were never any rumors about them being together as kids, or even teens. At least, he’d never heard anything about them. But now? Now they wouldn’t stop, and had seemed to spread like wildfire. Even Dawson had told him about how suspicious it looked to everyone how often he and Laney were together. Because of that, he’d spent less time with Laney. But they still seemed to be spreading.

Hearing Laney talking about them again, River started to realize something. “Has she ever asked you? If you and I are together?” Laney was right in that she was closer now to Nyx than he was. He had imagined they had talked about it by now. But based on what Laney was saying, it seemed like they never have. “Does Nyx think—” he sighed. “Oh no. She thinks we’re together.” And then it made sense. Why Nyx had asked him yesterday why Laney wasn’t with him for the festival. She thought he and Laney were together. He let go of Laney’s hands then, as if holding them now made it more set in stone that they were an item when they weren’t.

He had never put much weight on rumors, knowing that most of the time they were not true. He had imagined that Nyx would have thought the same. She wasn’t the type of woman that believed rumors as easily as a fourteen year old girl would, so he hadn’t been too worried about the rumors about him and Laney. Even after Dawson had pointed it out to him, he still didn’t think they would take hold. Nyx knew Laney was his best friend. Everyone did. So why was it so crazy that he spent time with her?

“She asked me last night. Where you were. She thought you would be with me. I didn’t think she would believe them.” But she had. Was that why she avoided him sometimes? Did she ever avoid Laney despite living under the same roof? “I didn’t even know there were rumors about us until Dawson told me.”

He got up then and looked around. Was that why it felt like she avoided him sometimes? Because she thought he was with Laney. How would he be able to fix this? The only way would be if he could just talk to her... but would she listen?




▶ LOCATION Home tab ┋ tab ▶ COMPANY Laney tab ┋ tab ▶ MENTIONED Osment, Rosa, Nyx, Rissa, Dawson

[Aeolith]

WELL I DON`T ┉ WANNA BE♚ ╯ THE BLAME ►
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ﹙ ✄ ﹚ it`s your turn so take a seat
⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ tab tab ☆ tab ☆ tab ☆
WE'RE SETTLING ↩ THE ◯ FINAL SCORE ▰▰▰▰
▶ OUTFIT outfit tab ┋ tab ▶ EMOTION concerned & peeved (@ River)




Kicked by a horse sounded about right. The way River looked—all those muscles—and the way he worked out, of course his hit had felt like the way Osment had described. She didn’t doubt it for one minute. Even while Osment told her it was unnecessary for her to yell at River for what he did, she intended to anyway. What he had done was completely uncalled for. Fighting for a woman was probably about the stupidest thing he could have done. She didn’t blame Nyx one bit for being upset if she was, which Rissa could only assume that she had to be. She also didn’t imagine Nyx being the type of woman to be wooed by a guy who was willing to fight—literally—for her. Some women, on the other hand, liked that sort of attention.

“What’s done is done, yes… but he can still be yelled at for it,” Rissa said in a huff. That was precisely what she intended to do once she saw him again. No matter the state he was in. Frowning when she realized Isabelle wouldn’t be joining them, she grabbed the umbrella that Osment offered. “Aw, what a shame. I haven’t seen her in a while.” Perhaps the next time she spent time with Osment, she’d be able to spend time with her. She would even buy her a little gift as long as Osment was okay with it.

Making it to the taxi, she got inside first after closing the umbrella, and was soon followed by Osment. Once they were settled in their seats, the taxi driver took off. Soon enough, they were leaving Osment’s street and were on their way into town.

“I have a few ideas for his gift.” She already had Princeton’s gift, but she wouldn’t be telling Osment that. At least, not yet. “But I’m not really sold on any one particular thing yet. He’s an actor, so… there’s bound to be something at the store that would work for him. Or, just something he likes at least. But if you want to ask Elissa for help, by all means.” Perhaps she wouldn’t find anything in the stores that would fit a gift for an actor. If she didn’t actually know Princeton as well as she did, she would probably just get him cologne and a new shirt. But, she didn’t want to give him a gift that was so… unoriginal. What she had for him already was much better than that.

“What do you like, Osment? If you wanted a gift, what’s the one thing you’d want?” She knew Princeton probably just a bit better than Osment, but she could assume what Osment would like as a gift. He had a thing for aquariums and animals in general, and with the cute daughter he had, she imagined that he’d like gifts that could include her. Perhaps free tickets to the zoo?

They arrived at the shops less than fifteen minutes later. Thankfully, by the time they had arrived, the rain had died down, and they didn’t need the umbrella at present. The two of them got out, paid the fare, and walked into the mall. Were it not for the rain, she would have preferred to shop at the downtown shops that lined the streets, or even the outlet mall, but the weather called for indoor shopping. It was a shame; she rather liked to walk around outside in downtown.

“Let’s check out this store first. I hear there’s a lot of nice men’s shirts here,” Rissa suggested, trying to bide her time before she brought up the River incident again. Going into the store, she began to browse through racks of clothing trying to look—with a lack of dedication—at the shirts. She managed to see quite a few that she would love to see on a guy, especially her type of guy, but nothing that really felt like Princeton. He had particular tastes.

Grabbing one that looked rather like Osment’s style, she held it up to him. “Now, this would look good on you. Perhaps a bit on the dressy side,” she stopped to look at the price tag, “and the expensive side. But it would work.” Rissa smiled as she pulled it away from him and set it back on the rack.

Alright, enough dilly dallying! Rissa thought as she started to look at more clothes. Taking a quick glance at Osment, she nonchalantly looked through some men’s dress pants as she spoke. “So… you finally asked her out, huh? Took you long enough. I think almost everyone who’s heard about you and Nyx going on a date have cheered you on.” Except River, she thought.

“Even with what happened. You two finally went on a date! Hope there's another one coming up soon.” Rissa kept as poker of a face as she could as she moved to browse a different rack, acting as though she wasn’t dying to know what had happened, exactly. She showed interest, certainly, but nothing that would show how much she really wanted to pump Osment for information.

Rosa had told her only surface details. She didn’t imagine Osment would say much, either, though. But she was also just concerned about how he was, and if he was worried that River’s little outburst would hurt his chances with Nyx. River had done that well enough for his own chances, though, not those of Osment’s. In fact, she was almost certain that River might have even helped Osment’s chances. Only time would tell.

“I’m still not clear what happened. But… as long as you’re alright. And Nyx.” How had she taken River’s overreaction, she wondered.



▶ LOCATION shops tab ┋ tab ▶ COMPANY Osment tab ┋ tab ▶ MENTIONED River, Nyx, Rosa, Princeton, Elissa

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
THIS HEART WILL START A RIOT tab THIS HEART WILL START A RIOT tab THIS HEART WILL START A RIOT

[a park in botswana]

Unfortunately, River didn't think Laney talking to Nyx would do much good, though Laney kept that dumb, fake smile on her face, doing her best to convince him otherwise. What was the worst thing that could come out of it? She was probably already angry at him - surely Laney talking to Nyx could do no worse. There was always the chance that it could give River another shot. Looking closely at River, she saw the red eyes...the lack of sleep. And the growing stubble on his jaw...he hadn't even thought to shave like he did every morning. Nyx had consumed him all night, all morning, all day. And if she couldn't convince him otherwise, how long would this behaviour last? At this rate, River would get sick.

"Seven years shouldn't mean anything. You two were once together, River. I remember when you two were dating..." She smiled. Really, did she have a death wish? Laney remembered learning about Nyx and River first getting together. Oh, she had been stunned, but she had wished them the best. And then...a few months passed. And a year. And then two. "Remember how happy you were? Don't you want that again?" There was a glimmer of hope behind River's red eyes. It was working.

He denied the idea of allowing Laney to talk to Nyx, but feeling him squeeze her hands, she smiled and squeezed back, nodding. An apology could work, too. Though, no matter what River said, she had the full intention of speaking to Nyx at least referring to the rumours surrounding her and River. She didn't need River's permission about that, after all - Dawson was the one who told her about it, anyway. It probably explained Osment's odd feelings about this entire situation as well, since many assumed River and Laney were an item. When he admitted that he might have lost his chance with her, Laney frowned, shaking her head.

"Don't think that, River. Nothing is set in stone." Certainly an explanation of his feelings could help repair some of the damage, right? And now, everything was out in the open. Nyx was now aware of River's feelings for her. She had a lot to think about. As River spoke of how odd the rumours were, Laney forced the smile back on her face. She giggled nervously, doing her best to agree with him.

"I never understood them, either. I-I mean, even when we were teenagers..." She shrugged a little. Of course, Laney knew the reason why the rumours were there. River and Laney had both come back to Raethia City at roughly the same time. Laney was pregnant. River was constantly there, even accompanying her to the hospital. It was only obvious to assume. When River asked about if Nyx had ever inquired about their relationship, Laney shook her head. "No, she hasn't..." Though, there always seemed to be maybe a little bit of tension, especially if River's name was brought up in conversation. And then, there was that confusion at the Fireworks Festival, how Nyx's eyes had lingered on Laney only after she'd been wearing River's jacket...

River came to the realization, and suddenly, Laney had no hands to hold. She smiled faintly, bringing her hands back to her sides. It only made sense that Nyx would assume this, especially when River began to relay what Nyx had said to him. Her eyes widened upon hearing that Nyx had asked River where Laney was, under the assumption that River had taken Laney to the Star Gazing Festival, a predominantly romantic festival.

"She asked you that...? Oh no..." Her voice trailed off. But once her hands had been dropped, Laney began to realize that her fantasy of them being together was never going to happen. If River had been even remotely interested, he would have possibly flirted with the idea. Maybe even been open-minded to it. But instead, he dropped her hands after the realization - like holding them would somehow make it more real. That someone might be leering around and notice it. This really was like having her heart broken...yet, they'd never had the inkling of being together. At least she and Dominic had been intimate with one another...yet, this, with River, felt so much more real and emotional. Without the baby, of course.

"Y-Yeah...He pointed it out to me, too. D-Dawson's so observant..." And blunt. And realistic. Dawson knew of River's feelings for Nyx and had likely pointed out that his closeness with her would only make things harder. "I think it's...because of the baby." Laney glanced down at her belly, gently touching it with one of her hands. She could barely even look River in the eye now, as she felt like she'd just burst into tears at any moment. Laney needed to focus on something else until she regained her composure, to avoid having her voice cracking. "People think...you're the father." The doctors had. The nurses had giggled about it, she'd heard their voices in the background. About, "Oh, what a handsome father. The baby will be gorgeous."

Laney shook her head. "I always correct them, though." She had never had even the remote thought of lying about the father of the child. No one knew the name of him, however - other than Sebastian, of course. Laney only explained that he didn't want to be part of the baby's life, and most were fine with that answer. She remembered River becoming very upset by hearing that news, but there was nothing she could do about it. Dominic had made his decision, and she certainly wasn't going to go out and look for him.

"I-I...I think..." She took another pause, closing her eyes for a moment. "...You should stop coming to the appointments." Laney swallowed the lump in her throat, trying her best to not make it seem so obvious that she had to take such a large breath. If River noticed she was acting oddly, though, she could just say she was scared of being alone at them...which she was. Now there was too long of a silence. This looked suspicious. Laney tilted her head up to look up at River, a small smile present on her face. The corners were twitching, though. As if her entire facade were about to fall apart.

"I-I...can bring Rissa. Or, I'll just go by myself...But, we need to stop being seen together...especially at things like those. That's what...a husband does, right? Or a boyfriend. That's why Nyx thinks we're together." She took another pause. "I-I'm sorry I put you into that position. I should have never allowed all of this to happen..." Her voice trailed off again. Laney was beginning to focus on the facts now.

River didn't love her. He'd never love her.
She'd been such a fool.

Watching River get up, Laney glanced away for a moment, staring down at her hands. "...I-I...probably shouldn't even be over here right now, should I? O-Oh, I messed up again...B-But, that's just always what I do..." She giggled, almost painfully at the end, shaking her head. Suddenly, she began to tear up, as her hands flew to her eyes, trying to cover it up. But when she began sniffling, there was no way of hiding it now. Laney began to cry, shaking her head.

"I-I'm so sorry, River..." she whispered. Now her stomach was beginning to hurt again, as she winced, one of her hands moving to her tummy. This definitely wasn't a good time for any of this.

★ ◞LOCATION ⊹ x》　river's house　　　★ ◞WITH ⊹ x》　river　　　 ★ ◞MENTIONS ⊹ x》　rissa, nyx, osment, dawson, sebastian, dominic ★ ◞OUTFIT ⊹ x》　Pretty In White

[ANXIYETI]

LOCATION █ Townhome O4 xxxx WITH █ Millie and Natalie xxxx MENTION █ Nyx, Arethousa, Khalid

With his phone blasting some catchy dance beats, Princeton jammed out at the kitchen counter. He held a mayo-covered butter knife near his lips. His breath warmed the metal as he used it as a microphone to sing along with the words and tune. His voice was skilled, so anyone listening in wouldn’t suffer too much. A sharp turn on his heel and Princeton slapped a piece of ham on a bread slice. He bobbed his head and swung his hips to the beat, sliding cotton covered heels on the tile to the fridge. He plucked out some cheese and boogied on over to the sandwich being constructed again.

This was Princeton’s way of preparing for his 29th birthday party happening that evening, and his means of making up for the shitty weather. Of all days, it just had to be on his brithday, and that was certainly was enough to piss Princeton off. He cursed under his breath as soon as he woke up that morning just to hear the pitter-patter of raindrops against glass. Of course, he wasn’t quite prepared for the celebration Nyx was holding for him yet, as one could guess from his current state. At least there were still many hours until it started. He was shirtless and clad in jeans. He had his black rimmed glasses on instead of contacts that hid his dwindled vision. Not even his hair had been tamed hitherto. Letting it dry naturally allowed his thick locks to poof out wildly, making his do look similar to a lion’s mane.

Because Arethousa left early today, he didn’t find that being completely clothed was an obligation, even though visitors were rather common on his birthday. Regardless of whether or not his roommate was there and how many visitors he got, he’d at least have his shirt off. When Princeton finished making his sandwich he took a wholesome bite. He slapped the side of his wrist to his lips and hemmed, his face grimacing for a moment; he definitely added too much mayonnaise. Princeton shrugged, forcing himself to eat it anyway. Music was still playing on random; he couldn’t help but bob his head to the song beat as he chowed down on his culinary masterpiece. Suddenly, Princeton heard a familiar knock muffle through the melody. He immediately placed his sandwich on an idle plate and pressed the pause button.

It was no other than Millie; Princeton could hear her speak from where he stood. And if she was here, he knew Natalie was. What she hollered out confirmed it. He chuckled under his breath, preparing his voice for a drastic change. He allowed it to grow deeper and guise a typical announcer’s voice. ”Are these two rookies really up for the challenge? A win against Princeton the prosperous isn’t easily achieved,” he exclaimed. He had to stop himself from trotting on out to his door way with his shirt off. He staggered over his feet, “He only needs a few seconds to prep and he’ll be unstoppable, I’m putting my money on it!”

After his legs took him to his bedroom, they had to avoid a collection of boxes and various different things. They were all very nice gifts from his fans in Raethia city that were delivered to him or given to him personally. He hadn’t tended to most of them yet, but he had them neatly lined in rows. He had planned on putting them away much earlier. However, he has been a bit sidetracked as of late. Only things he managed to put away yet were the booze and food he had gotten. He was saving both for tomorrow evening. After rummaging around his closet, Princeton chose to slip on a dark collared sweater. It finished off his rather drab outfit for that afternoon.

Upon finally meeting up with his friend and her daughter, a bright beam crept on his lips as he made eye contact with Millie. He laughed under his breath at Natalie covering her eyes. He waved in return, “Hey, Millie. Thank you very much.” His smile sunk as soon as he stepped closer to the two. He took note of the horrid weather again and Millie’s soaked shoes. “Fu–“ Princeton’s eyes widened, he quickly uttered a few odd noises in order to change the curse word into something more kid-friendly. “Floop,” is what came out. Nice save. He really needed to work more on his swearing habit. He hissed, “Stupid rain...” He’d curse it if the kid wasn’t around, like that would help anything.

Princeton inched towards Millie and grinned down at her. An abrupt wave of happiness overwhelmed him at that moment. Although he tried to mask the reason up with the ‘she’s my best friend’ excuse, she was very special to him. He revealed a genuine kindness with her that he only sparingly showed with a few other people. Not even Khalid could make Princeton feel nearly as warm and at peace as Millie did. It was strange, but he never dwelled too much on it. “So how’re Millie the magnificent and Natalie the nutty feeling today, eh? You two enjoy the stars?” He asked her whilst stepping back a bit.

“Oh, Areth’s not here, in case you were wondering, Mil. She’s out doing who knows what. Not sure if she’s going to my party, either, never got to ask. Whatever,” Princeton frowned and rolled his eyes. He might have to text her about it later. It bothered him enough that Millie wasn’t going. He couldn’t do much about that, though, so he wouldn’t fuss with her. She had a good reason not to go. She needed someone to watch her kid and a babysitter probably wasn’t always easy to find. He’d soon let any of the disappointment he felt go, allowing his emotions to twist into something more chipper when he recalled a memory of last night. He lowered his voice a smidgen, ”Her gift was a coconut cake, she gave it to me last night. I mean…I was a seeing two at the time, but I remember it being pretty floopin’ good.”

Princeton’s brow rose at the young girl’s excited chirp, and a laugh bellowed out from his lips. ”Thanks to you, too, kid. And yeah, go ahead,” he permitted her to take her hands off her eyes; he’s been decent for a few minutes. “But hey, can I guess what it is first? I bet I can get it right!” He decided to joke around with her before he’d let her show him his present, though he was rather curious to see what she had for him. Princeton was better with children than one would think, and Natalie was no exception to that. He recognized she was a fun and eager kid with potential to be something. He enjoyed teaching her how to act, too, and actually tried to make his interactions with her a bit on the lighthearted side.

He led them both to the living room and sat himself down in a large armchair. Placing a finger on his chin, Princeton's eyes met the ceiling as he pretended to be deep in thought. Truthfully, he was just mustering up the most ridiculous guesses. “Okay. Let’s see...mm…it’s a sports car, isn’t it?” Princeton glanced down at the girl with a sure look on his face. From her expression alone, however, he knew that wasn’t the answer she had in mind. He continued, “A pink elephant.” Wrong again. He took a short pause to rub his temples, squeezing his eyes shut. “Two pink elephants?” He opened an eyelid with a wide smile; he’d chortle after. He made his last guess, “What about a spaceship? C’mon, Nat, don’t tell me it isn’t a spaceship.” And of course, she protested. He slapped both hands on his knees and shrugged in defeat. “Alright, alright. You can give me your present now, I give up!” He glimpsed at Millie from where he sat to smile at her, then he focused on Natalie again to prepare himself to accept her gift.

[Prophecyte]

• 
  　　♔*　║ ◞LOCATION ⇣❝Elissa's Place　　　♔*　║ ◞COMPANY ⇣❝Elissa　　　♔*　║ ◞OUTFIT ⇣❝Rainy
  　　♔*　║ ◞MENTION ⇣❝Lynn, Princeton, Diana, Nyx
  
  A series of typing slipped on the metallic keys of an old authentic typewriter that sat in the corner of her room. Of course there was a normal computer sitting at her actual desk, but nothing felt better than writing something with history. Her eyes narrowed as her vision traced along the words printed in ink. She yanked out the paper without sliding it, balled it up, and tossed it over her shoulder. Again she rephrased the sentence another eleven times before she became satisfied. Only about halfway to the page before, she stopped and sunk back in her desk chair. Her head briskly fell against the chair's leathery back support. Letting out a single sharp breath, she frowned out of slight irritation. This was the same page she had been working on for five countless days, but somehow only managed to piece together two full paragraphs-worth of material.
  
  Finally, she sat up and ripped the paper out of the typewriter with a contorted grimace on her face. Balling the paper up again she threw it onto the floor. A blanket of crumpled and torn paper covered her bedroom carpet. At her 9:00AM morning walk with Aison, she failed to notice the mess. It was also easily explained why every ball of paper she threw ended up shredded. The mountain dog would catch the snowball-sized paper, then shred it into as many pieces as he was satisfied with. He simply saw it as a cycled game and sat patiently while he wagged his tail and heavily panted with excitement.
  
  Areathousa didn't sleep at all from the night before - in fact she hadn't slept well the night prior. Since she had wasted so much time in the real world, her thoughts were scattered. She struggled to sleep when she laid tucked under her duvet. Nothing but frequent tossing and turning. It was painfully clear as to why - but she didn't see it. Peeling her glasses from the bridge of her nose, she set them gently on her desk. A blurred vision came to sight, but she closed her eyes before her fingers pinched the bridge and gently rubbed them out of frustration. It was hard to get anything done like this. Especially since Arethousa had plans with Elissa.
  
  Grabbing her glasses and setting them back on her face, she took another quick breath. Her head turned to her digital clock sitting next to her computer. As she checked the time, she realized she was already going to be late if she stayed home any later. Standing up sluggishly, she approached the mirror on her sliding closet doors, she noticed the dark circles forming under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Aison's tail slapped against her leg with his mouth wide open and tongue hanging from the side of his mouth as his attentive eyes stared back at her through the glass. Arethousa gawked at him for a moment before she shook her head at the young dog and rolled her eyes. Her bare feet stepped on the pieces of crumbled and shredded paper that covered her entire floor. Already internally crying from having to clean up the hurricane that hit her room later, she pulled her hair over her shoulder as she grabbed a nearby brush on her dresser and quickly combed through the knots but went through quickly - so this naturally avoided her having to braid her hair. Instead she tied her hair up and pinned her bangs back. Before she finished changing, she took a peek outside to see the weather. It appeared to be a lifeless day so far.
  
  After she dressed for the day, and presumably for Princeton's birthday bash - er party, she slipped on her white jacket and wrapped on of her knitted scarfs around her neck. She put on her pair of boots ( which she honestly still had difficulty walking in ), grabbed an umbrella, tucked her phone securely in her pocket, and left the bedroom door open for Aison to run around freely in the townhome; although he normally stayed put in the room until she returned or he was called for. So hopefully he wouldn't be bothering anyone while she was out - especially since she knew Princeton wasn't thrilled about the dog so much.
  
  Before she headed out the front door, she pulled her phone back out of her pocket. It had been a while since she heard from one of her close friends. She figured it would be nice to send a message. Arethousa did owe a stroll, or perhaps bird watching; although she didn't understand it. For a while she had been quiet with communicating with others - of course, other than her roommate. It felt like days since she hadn't even seen Diana.
  
  　　　　　Sending To: Lynn
  　　　　　　　　Hey there, stranger.
  　　　　　　　　I haven't heard or seen you in a while...so I
  　　　　　　　　thought I would check in on you... Maybe
  　　　　　　　　we could hang out some time soon? ◟( •⌄• ू )
  　　　　　　　　Too bad we couldn't spend the Star Gazing
  　　　　　　　　Festival together. There's always next year!
  
  Not that she didn't have a great time with Princeton or anything, but a nice sober evening would have been more than approving for the woman. Imagining Star Gazing with Lynn only reminded her of all the countless times they spent bird watching. Although Arethousa knew nothing of birds, she asked questions like "what does this species do?" or "how do you tell the difference between colors or how do you know if they're male or female?". She was always eager to learn something new, so it's always been impressive to spend that time with Lynn. However, he wasn't the only one who deserved a text.
  
  　　　　Sending To: Diana
  　　　　　　　　We have a lot to catch up on...
  　　　　　　　　Let me know when you're free! I hope you're
  　　　　　　　　having a better morning than me, to be honest.
  
  More than 24 hours of deprived sleep for any person wasn't healthy in the slightest - and she had already been barely functioning. Just barely Arethousa opened the front door, felt the wind as she lifted open her umbrella. Breathing out a sigh, she could see the clouded fog escaping from her mouth. Somehow she wasn't expecting it to be that cold. Before she went to Elissa's, she stopped at Bellato Cafe for some nice hot coffee.
  
  Upon revising the piece, Arethousa remained quiet at the Yoga Instructor's home. It wasn't like Elissa would really notice, but Arethousa couldn't wrap her head around her friend. So this made the playwright extremely curious and gave her a run for her money on her attention span. At times she would stare intently at the beautiful blind woman between the final revisions. Of course, she didn't want to sit directly in front of her and just stare - although she was half tempted to. She knew she was odd, but she wasn't quite that odd.
  
  After Elissa's comment, she gently smiled and responded with a simple, "Mm." Arethousa bobbed her head to herself with approval. If anything could do writing, it was this woman, however when it came to music, Elissa was always the one Arethousa ran to - especially since it was much easier to talk to someone who could create something more beautiful than herself. In fact, Arethousa awed at how well the woman could actually play the piano for having a huge handicap. Surprises come in all kinds of packages. Small and large. At first she was legitimately surprised to see this, but even to this day it still never ceases to impress her in the least bit.
  
  Quietly, she rubbed one of her eyes groggily as Elissa mentioned the weather. Hell yeah, she agreed to this depressing weather. Personally Arethousa loved this kind of weather over the hot, dreadful days. However, the patter of the rain only drained her energy more. Even the coffee wasn't able to keep her attention all together as well as she had hoped for the long run, but at least she came through to help with Elissa's gift to Princeston. Although the woman wasn't lying when she mentioned Nyx's parties. She didn't even know anyone else that threw parties, in all honesty. Embarrassing to say the least, so all the better not to say anything. Arethousa always thought it was nice and refreshing to have someone be as generous as Nyx was, however. "Mmm." She agreed after a few moments of her rubbing her other eye.
  
  A silence fell between the two until the dark-haired beauty spun around to ask a question. All of which, she couldn't answer right away since she had been taken off guard. Her smile was kind and gentle as always. A redeeming quality Arethousa wish she could say she had. For someone who's lived with their roommate for quite some time, it turned out that she couldn't honestly answer at the time. As she opened her mouth to reassure her wryly, Elissa was able to speak in her place. Falling back in the love seat, Arethousa did in fact smile as she met the woman's potential gaze. "I'm positive he'll love it." Finally she was able to speak with a bit of courage. It was all thanks to Elissa for that one. Positivity has always been the first step, so she supposed.
  
  Another thick silence fell between the two before Arethousa leaned forward to observe Elissa closely again. She asked rather boldy, "Did something happen last night?" Well there was a festival after all, so she had assumed it was for that reason. Tilting her head to the side as she folded her hands together on her lap, she cooed. "I've been watching you a few times and couldn't quite put my finger on it, and I haven't been able to figure it out until now." She took a breathing moment before she started to talk again. "There's only two common things I hear about when someone is glowing," she paused to sit straight. "Either someone is in love or -" Arethousa caught herself from saying the next part, but instead the tone in her voice was very amused and light. "My friend, you are definitely glowing and it's really hard not to notice." Letting out a lighthearted and gentle laugh, she only pointed out a meer spectacle observation, but she was certainly waiting for some kind of adorable reaction.
  
  "Did your stars align last night? Dare I guess who or what happened?" She playfully teased as she grew more curious by the minute. Hopefully Arethousa wouldn't bombard Elissa with too many questions, however curious she had been.

[x-EternalAlice-x]

Last night had gone very well. He and Keira hung out on the rooftop for a few hours, talking about whatever came to mind. Keira told him stories about the stars and the meaning behind the star names. Aiden, in return, elaborated on any of the stories with his own views on them. His revisions and additions to the stories mostly went over well. Some were a flop. However, that was the risk of storytelling. He could never know how his spur of the moment imaginings would go.

Once it started getting closer to time for the lights to come back on, he and Keira parted ways. He wouldn’t have been surprised if they had stayed up on the rooftop until the lights came on and maybe longer. But, they both had work tomorrow. Neither of them were the types to completely ditch work (Even if some days he was very tempted to do just that). So, he respected her wish to at least get some sleep and the two arranged to hang out at some point in the future.

He made it back to his place by the time the lights had come back on. He didn’t pay much attention to who else had yet to return to the mansion. He simply went straight to his room and flopped onto the bed. He fell asleep lying on his bed with his clothes from last night still on. Aiden didn’t seem bothered by that when he woke up the next morning. All he did was shrug off last nights’ clothing and change into a different outfit for today. He would work on getting the green glow in the dark lights off the previous outfit later.

As he got himself ready for work, Aiden realized today was going to be one of those lazy days of his. There were days where it didn’t come straight away to him what he should trolling wise that day. Sometimes, yet rarely, he ended up actually acting “normal” for the day. In a way, that kind of acting was trolling in of itself considering how he acted so eccentrically on a regular basis. But, Aiden had yet to decide if it would be one of those days yet or not. He just finished getting ready and headed off to work with no plan in mind.

He did his best to figure out what he should do throughout his work shift. He could walk around with a bag on top of his head. He could dress up in a costume for no apparent reason. He could wear a mask around. So many ideas, yet he couldn’t settle on a single one. It was times like this that he wished Thel was around. Thel would surely give him a good idea, or even Mel. He would have gone to Fen for some ideas. But, the guy seemed a bit off today for some reason.

Aiden had tried to ask Fen what was up with his mood. But, Fen wouldn’t give him an answer. After getting the same answer more than once, Aiden decided to give Fen some space today. However, that meant he had no one to consulate trolling ideas with at the moment. What a bummer! Because of that, the work day seemed more slower than usual. Thus, when Aiden finally got to his last delivery of the day, he grinned to himself. After he finished the delivery, he would be free to find his buddies and discuss ideas with them.

Luckily for him, he didn’t seem like he would have to wait that long even. For as he was heading out the front door, out popped Mel. The grin grew on his face to almost Cheshire Cat proportions. “Yeah thankfully, but man I’m glad to see you! Today has been soooo boring!” Aiden’s grin relaxed just a little bit as Mel asked her question. “Sure! Would be grateful to be saved from the massive boredom of today!”

Once they were out the door, Aiden listened to Mel about her day. He nodded and made sure not to hum the random tune now in his head. It was not his fault the general store had been playing Moves like Jagger while he was packing the last grocery bag! It was a good song to dance to in his opinion! Though, he forcibly got the song out of his head when Mel aked about Fen.

“I didn’t know people actually got bored of playing video games.” Aiden couldn’t help the tease as he chuckled. “Yeah, Fen should still be at work. I haven’t talked to him much today though. He’s been a bit off today. Can’t put my finger as to why.” He shrugged. “Probably ate something bad this morning for breakfast. That can put anyone in a sour mood!” Aiden said with complete and utter confidence. His grin at that moment might have made it hard to tell if he was joking or not.

His grin slowly shifted into a pout while Mel helped him with one of the paper bags of food. “As I said, it was really boring! I don’t know if it was because of how late I stayed up, or the weather, but today my brain has been lacking in imaginative spark!” Aiden snapped his finger as if emphasizing his point. “I mean, I got some ideas flowing through my head…like maybe trolling Dustin, or dressing up like a girl. But, nothing solid.”

Aiden sighed dramatically before nodding. “But like you said, I’ll be able to clock out when I get back, which should give me time to think on things.” Aiden told truthfully as the pout shifted back into a grin. “Funny enough, I had hoped to encounter you or Thel since Fen didn’t seem in the mood to bounce ideas back and forth. You two can come up with pretty interesting ideas yourselves.” He winked and then chuckled. “So Mel, got anything in particular you like to see me do?”

Occasionally, he took requests if the person was his friend. But, even then, it depended on his mood and the request itself. He may or may not end up doing the request if the request simply wasn’t his style…or he just didn’t feel like it. A whimsical fickle person he could be at times.

✘ Mel xxxx ✘ General Store-Streets xxx ✘ Keira, Theleos, Fenrir, Dustinxxxx ✘ The Delivery Person

[x-EternalAlice-x]

Diana Rosalind Emerson

Temp format until commissioned format is finished

Last night had been interesting to say the least. All that she had expected of last night was simply spending time with River and Rissa. Though, once Rissa left, it became the assumption of her and River would hang out before going their separate ways sometime during the festival. Instead, she had to deal with River giving Osment a broken nose. Not exactly the way she wanted to spend her festival night. Add on top of that the unexpected arrival of Dustin and him literally taking her away before she could see River? Yeah, this years’ star gazing festival was just a bit too crazy in her book.

At least the night ended without any extra craziness. Dustin literally plopped her onto his bed and told her to relax. “No more ******** stressing out over stupid s**t” as he put it. She hadn’t realized how tired that how ordeal made her until she found her eyes drooping after he said that. It didn’t take long after that for her to conk out to the world. She slept for ten hours straight before finding herself waking up on Dustin’s bed.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact she ended up just sleeping on Dustin’s bed while he slept somewhere else in the house. She believed he said the couch, but she couldn’t remember for sure. Diana always made sure never to figure out where Dustin lived for the reason she didn’t want to tempt herself (She even purposefully avoided looking at his address during appointments). With her desire towards him, she rarely trusted herself alone with him outside of work. Now, she knew where Dustin lived and was in his house. Yet, Diana didn’t find herself naked and regretting her actions like she thought she would.

Did she actually want to find herself waking up naked beside Dustin? Was that why she felt unsure of how she woke up that morning? Ugh! Curse the illogical nature of sexual desire! How did her sister deal with it all the time? She wasn’t sure she would ever know. However, the fact Dustin didn’t try to do anything at least showed that maybe, he wasn’t an absolute brute. He was still a brute in her mind. But, he wasn’t a brute with no morals. That was good for her. Though, why hadn’t he?

Now that was question Diana wished she knew how to answer.

Based off all that she knew about him, he seemed like the type to just take what he wanted. Consequences be damned. If he did feel a hint of the same fire she did for him, then shouldn’t the most likely course of action have been him and her waking up in bed together? The kiss made her think he felt somewhat the same way. Did he not make a move simply because she was too tired? Was there something more to it? She really needed to figure out why Dustin did what he did last night. Because if it wasn’t to try and seduce her, then why did he do that?

She figured she could get an answer when she went to go see River. For when she did wake up at Dustin’s, she quickly got up and left his place. She was sure by now he would have noticed that she had left with how many hours had passed since she left. She felt nice enough to make up the bed she had slept in. But, that was about it. Doing any more than that might convey the wrong idea to Dustin. She didn’t need her own drama right now with the drama of her brother.

It was sometime around one that she got back to her and Rissa’s place. Sometime before she fell asleep, she made sure to send a text to Rissa explaining that River had punched Osment in the nose and to make sure not to get on River about it. As well as to not go around telling many people about what happened. She knew her first request would likely go un-heard. Diana figured Rissa would tell some, but wouldn’t tell everyone. She trusted her twin to do that much in regards to River.

However, Diana didn’t catch her sister while she was back at their place. She figured she must have missed Rissa or that she hadn’t looked hard enough for her. Not when her mind was still distracted by her thoughts while eating food and getting herself ready for the day. Luckily, she made sure she wouldn’t be working day shift today just in case she stayed up late. However, she did have night shift. So, she didn’t have much time to check up on River and talk to Dustin if she wished to take her time with both matters.

Considering her brother was more important, Diana headed towards his place first. She got there and noticed Laney entering his place. She figured Laney must have decided to visit River. She didn’t want to interrupt the two and decided she would go talk to Dustin instead. With the ranch being somewhat close to the cottages River lived in, she didn’t have to walk far to get over there. She just had to keep her hood up since the rain was still going on. Just at a light pace now instead of a heavy one.

As she headed towards the lighthouse, Diana felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and glanced to see a text from Areath. She chuckled at the irony of Areath’s words. How true it was that there was a lot to catch up on.

To: Areath

You have no idea how right you are there. I believe I have some free time tomorrow? Unless something changes. Can’t wait to talk to you! And uh…more like my morning has been very…interesting. I’ll tell you when we meet up soon what I mean.

From: Diana

She sent the text and proceeded towards the ranch house up ahead.

After arriving at the ranch house, she knocked on the door. She didn’t get an answer. She furrowed her eyebrows and knocked louder. Still no answer. She pressed her lips into a thin line as she rubbed her jacket covered arms. Is he not here? It wasn’t like she knew his schedule. For all she knew, Dustin could be on the other side of Raethia City right now. However, since she did know at least that he worked at the ranch (based off the source of some of his injuries), she figured it was worth looking around for him. Plus, would keep her nearby River for whenever Laney left.

Diana walked calmly across the ranch. Her rain boots took most of the impact of any mud, since she decided to wear capris that stopped little below the top of the knee high rain boots. But, being out of the rain caused her to shiver. The rain was no ally of her black t-shirt. At least she had the forethought to wear a light rain coat instead of one of her normal jackets. However, rain coats weren’t exactly the best at keeping out the chill. Thus, when she caught sight of a white hair, she sighed in relief.

“There you are.” She whispered to herself and walked towards Dustin. She noticed he was tending to one of the oxs. She slowed her walking as she got closer to Dustin. She observed how he didn’t act like a total a** with the animal. Guess she should have known someone that acted like an animal, at times, would get along with animals, especially one of the animals he reminded her of more than once. Though, she also noticed he was just standing out in the rain with no umbrella or hood. Really?

Her lips turned downwards at the sight of such carelessness. With how drenched he looked, he must have been out when the rain was heavier. She shook her head and took out the umbrella from her bag. She popped the umbrella open before closing the distance between them. She moved the umbrella over his head first before she adjusted her position to where she stood beside him. “Are you always that careless with your health? On second thought, forgive the dumb question.”

Even if Dustin was an a*****e, he was still one of the patients that came to see her. She naturally wished all of her patients the best of health no matter their attitude. It was simply a part of her nature. “Though no, I’m not here to give a health lecture.” She quickly said, having a feeling he might think that based off her “greeting” to him. “I’m here to talk about last night.”

She let the words linger in the rained soaked air. When he seemed to be truly paying attention to her, Diana went on with her questions. “Why did you basically kidnap me last night? What was your intention?” She asked both of the questions with her lips tugged faintly downwards. “Not to say I’m not grateful for a good night’s rest…but why? I thought you were just a total a**-” She cut herself off at hearing something odd.

“Moo-b***h”

Her eyes darted over towards the ox Dustin had been tending to before she started talking. She stared at the ox with raised eyebrows and rapidly blinking eyes. She shook her head upon not hearing the odd statement again. Must have been just me. “a*****e. Why would you involve yourself in-”

“Moo-b***h.”

Diana scowled at once again getting interrupted. “Okay, I know you can be childish. But, playing ventriloquist is not the way to tell me to shut-”

“Moooooo.”

She blinked as the scowl faded from her face. She focused her gaze back on the ox. She narrowed her eyes as the ox looked at her. “Mooooo…..b***h.”

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. Either Dustin was a damn good ventriloquist or…“Did that ox just call me a b***h?” She asked with her tone filled with surprise. “What the hell?” She looked at Dustin with her eyes still wide and her mouth formed into a ‘o’. “Since when did oxs know how to say b***h?” She felt glad no one else but her and Dustin was there. Anyone would look at her strangely for asking that!

“I mean, what is this madness? Is that what you do all day? Play ventriloquist or actually teach oxs how to say curse words? Are you trying to make everyone go mad?” She scowled now with a faint glare. If Dustin had meant to get her off topic, he surely had done it. Then again, who wouldn’t focus on the fact that an ox had just called them a b***h?

Location: Raethia City: Ranch
Company: Dustin Goodwill
Mentions: Rissa, River, Osment, Areath, Laney
OOC: Permission from Silent to put a line of Dustin dialogue into the post