FTH - Private Group RP

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

This is a paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy RP thread for Frosty, faifai, chichi, and Clompy,
for an as-of-now untitled RP.
IF YOU ARE NOT THESE PEOPLE, GO AWAY.

OOC

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

Jonathan sighed as he scrubbed the last bowl and put it in the dish rack to dry, wiping his wet and wrinkled hands on the nearby dishcloth as his gaze moved to all he’d accomplished. He’d really gone all out for this party, he supposed, having spent much of the day prior prepping food and all of that day baking and cleaning. But then, the young man truly loved to cook, and what was a better excuse to go all out than a party?

Today was a good day, both mentally and physically. Only the ever-present unsteadiness of his walk, his balance, and the slightest of trembling in his hands gave away his less-than-perfect physical condition, and even part of that could be more attributed to nerves than the after affects of the lighting bolt that had struck him nearly two years prior. Everything was perfect: the little witch hat cookies; the candy-coated, eyeball cake pops – in the freezer still, so they wouldn’t melt before the party actually began; cupcakes with bright icing in patterns of spider webs and werewolves and witches’ silhouettes; caramel apples and clear cups full of candy corn and wrapped hard candies; pumpkin-chocolate brownies – a new recipe! – and for the more health-conscious, trays of fruit and veggies cut with the practiced neatness that was only possible on his good days – also still in the fridge pre-party. Pitchers were lined up on the counter, waiting to be filled with the punch and cocktails that were still chilling. Everything was ready, and whatever wasn’t consumed? They could make themselves sick on sweets for days.

Still, he was nervous. The dark-haired young man was always nervous, when it came to situations that involved people he was unfamiliar with, and this was an open party. Any one in the neighborhood was welcome to stop by and join in the festivities. Not to mention the costume Mallory was probably going to come force him to wear any time now. He still didn’t know whether the woman had settled on kitty or witch (a decision she'd been rambling about for days), but he supposed he’d find out soon enough.

He knew he could retreat to the privacy of his bedroom if he got too uncomfortable. It wouldn’t be hard to do, with his flat mates distracted by guests. And yet, despite his painfully shy nature, he knew he’d rather spend his time out here with everyone else, uncomfortable as that might become, then alone in his room, missing the fun – assuming there was, after all, fun to be had.

Jonathan startled slightly at a sudden touch at his shoulder, wobbling slightly in place before graceful hands steadied him, red hair falling over his shoulder as the woman leaned forward to examine the treats already laid out. Speaking of Mallory. . . The woman had apparently crept up on him in her socked feet, though whether that was intentional or not was impossible to say.

“Are you done? Are you ready to get dressed? I have your costume all ready for you.” Reaching past him, the woman snagged a cookie, pausing her nagging with a quick bite. ”It’s good,” she managed past a mouthful of cookie, devouring the rest before glancing towards the sound of the opening front door. That was either Micah or Nate, and she knew which she preferred.

Jonathan started to speak up to answer, but heedless of his softer voice, the redhead barreled on. “I decided on witch, if you were wondering. I have the cutest little hat. . .”

"Leave him be, Mallory. It's not quite time for the party, and he's not quite done cooking. You can pester him when he's quite done cooking."

The woman’s voice trained off at the interruption, eyes lifting for a quick roll before she straightened, turning her attention to the blond-haired vampire. “Nobody asked you~!” she announced cheerfully, her hands resting on the younger boy’s shoulders possessively. But then, they all knew what the woman thought of their resident vampire, and the lightning-struck young man was a charge she fully intended to protect.

His attention also on the vampire, Jonathan gave a brief, timid smile. “It’s fine. I’m done. I think.” He missed the redhead’s triumphant grin, the childish expression as she stuck her tongue out at the fair-haired male. He only felt the firm grasp at his wrist, heard the woman’s cheerful “Well, come on up, then,” as she pulled him towards her room, almost too fast for his lurching step to keep up. He barely managed an apologetic smile – he’d have liked to greet his flat mate properly, or even asked how class had been – before she’d dragged him off to change.

A brief shove towards her bed – piled high with cosmetics, no doubt for the makeup she’d be putting on, soon. He spared a glance at the redhead, nothing the dark dress with the long slit up one side, clinging to her body in places. Her red hair was slightly crimped, a pale streak artificially added to one side, and part of it was clipped back out of the way – the locks evidently weren’t finished being styled, he supposed. But what was it she was going to be, again? The Bride of Frankenstein?

“Here,” before he could fully absorb the chaos that was the woman’s bedroom, she was tucking his arms into loose, vibrant sleeves, then pulling the fabric over his head and pulling it down to reveal a simple, brightly coloured robe that fell nearly to his feet. “If you get too hot, you can always take your shirt off under it. Now turn around.” Her strong grip guided him to stand as she wanted, and grabbing a comb off the nearby dresser, she quickly ran it through his dark locks before planting a matching hat on his head. The top would have ended in a point, were there not a charm hanging from it, and the brim was so floppy it had to be adjusted so it didn’t block his vision, but it was comfortable, at least - or as comfortable as a costume got, he imagined.

“There,” she announced proudly, turning him again to face him towards a tall mirror propped against the side of her dresser. He was brightly coloured and looked younger than his eighteen – almost nineteen – years, but the look worked, somehow. “Now, go,” she added, depositing a blue wand with a star on the end in his angular hands before nudging him towards the door. Her work here was done. “I need to finish my costume.” A quick wink was tacked on to the words.

Face flushed, the dark-haired boy managed a brief thanks before he made a beeline for the door. Awkward enough that she’d found him a costume instead of leaving him to his own devices, but to have helped dress him, too. . . Embarrassing, in that overly familiar way, and yet. . . somehow heart-warming, to know she was treating him no different than family, and no differently than her own siblings had probably treated her, once.

Jonathan made his way back to the kitchen in his usual careful, slightly lurching manner. Micah was. . . well, not there anymore, anyway. He’d probably gone to change, or to find a few moments peace before there was none left to be had in the flat. Not sure what to do with himself – it was too early yet to start pulling the last of the food and drink out of fridge and freezer – the dark-haired young man settled into a nearby chair dropping the wand in his lap as hands reached past trailing sleeves to adjust the brim of his hat again. He could tell already the thing was going to be a nuisance all night – but then, better something irritating like that to concentrate on that what a fool he was likely to make of himself. Socializing had never been something that had come as easily to him as it seemed to for his brother. Hell, there were a lot of things that didn’t come to him as easily as they seemed to Nate. But then, Nathan was. . .special. Someone to aspire to be like. And Jonathan was Jonathan; no matter how he tried, there were things he’d only ever be so good at. He’d accepted that. There was no other choice.

[Luxury Starshine]

______M I C A H ► c a m e r o n

w h i t e c o u r t ◄ V A M P I R E_______

The eraser end of his mechanical pencil tapped quickly and repeatedly against the cover of his text book. The professor's voice droned on in a way that Micah sincerely wished would stop. Over half the class wasn't here today, and now, Micah wished he had done the same as them and skipped. Normally, when it came to his classes, Micah was all ears, eyes, and notes. He wanted to be a zoologist. If he really wanted it ( which he did ) it was in his best interest to not only do the work assigned, but to hang onto his professors' every word and do research on his own. Today though...today was just a little bit different.

Never before had Micah so looked forward to a holiday. Never. The other really big holidays...well. As a Jew, Micah did not celebrate the big holidays, like Christmas and Easter. It was Hanukkah and Passover. Neither holiday was much fun for him...although Hanukkah was about a billion times more fun than Passover. Actually. Micah was NOT supposed to celebrate Halloween either. As a child, he remembered his Hebrew teachers giving this lecture each year about dressing up and going trick or treating. He wasn't supposed to do it.

Micah loved his religion, but right now, he was telling it to go screw itself and let him have a good time. He was NOT going home, locking himself in his room, and not doing anything while the party was going on. He wanted to play dress up, he wanted to talk with the people, he wanted to see the kids go from door to door getting candy. He wanted it. Besides, as long as he didn't eat not kosher candy, what was the harm? Really? Really? Micah was sure that if he were still human and in this position he'd think the same...although he wouldn't have the guts to actually go through with it.

Goddammit. He wasn't even listening to the professor anymore...He was just thinking about how legal this actually was. Well. There went his grades for the week. He could recover.

Finally. Finally, finally. The bell rang and Micah gathered his things as quickly as he could, mildly listening to a few of the people who had bothered to come to class invite him to come along with them to a party they were going to. He shook his head. "I already have plans. Maybe another day." He didn't even bother to turn up the charm. And it surprised him, taking up an offer like that any other day of the year would have been excellent. Parties were great places to get his daily drink without anyone being harmed or too much panic occurring. Any day but today he would have said yes and gone, and then slipped back home once he'd had his blood.

But Micah had already drunk today.

Yes. There would be a party at his own place of residence, but in actuality, Micah knew full and well that if he tried to get what he needed to survive from any one of the guests that came...Mallory would have his head. So he'd gotten up early and gone to a bar, drinking from one of the people that went and drank in a bar during the day for whatever reason. The blood alcohol content had left him very tired, and it had taken the full force of his alarm clock to get him up...but Micah regretted nothing. Tonight would be fun.

He walked back with the sun having set already and the cool evening air hitting his face. Perfect Halloween weather. He didn't need a car, a bus, or taxi, not for this distance. It had been one of the reasons he'd chosen that particular place to live...walking distance from university. It was convenient. He'd thought that was pretty much the only way it would end up being convenient, but oh, how wrong Micah had been. It was very convenient in many ways...except Mallory. He could do without her distrust, but he honestly couldn't say he entirely blamed her. How wrong a creature like him must seem to her. But he didn't even kill, and she indirectly killed to maintain herself. She didn't care about his logic and words though. Nothing would ever change her mind.

He opened the door to the flat, and somehow knew that Nathan was not yet home. It was easy to guess, he worked strange hours, thought Micah knew he'd be home before the party got too far under way. Jonathan ( dear, sweet Jonathan ) was probably in the kitchen...Mallory...Micah wasn't sure, but he found the answer quickly when he looked in the kitchen. There she was, hovering over Jonathan's shoulder, a quick listen told him that she was trying to get him to go dress up now. The vampire glanced at the clock and resisted the temptation of rolling his eyes. "Leave him be, Mallory. It's not quite time for the party, and he's not quite done cooking. You can pester him when he's quite done cooking." Cooking was very important to the boy. He was doing all the cooking for the party. Nathan wasn't even home yet, it didn't really...

“It’s fine. I’m done. I think.”

Mallory's grin earned her an eye roll that he could not resist. This wasn't a competition. "Okay," he said softly, giving an affectionate smile and nod toward Jonathan. Was Jonathan really done? Possibly. But Micah doubted it. That was the trademark way of getting out of a situation that could end up in an argument. Appease one by smiling and being polite, and giving in to the other's demands. Well, that was up to Jonathan, but Micah would have liked it if the boy had stood up for...himself. At the same time though, that gentle nature that wanted Mallory and Nathan to be happy, and that was all it took for him to be happy....it was part of what made Micah love him in the way he did.

With Mallory dragging Jonathan off to be costumed, Micah went off to his room to do the same. He slipped into his room, closed the door and began to undress. His "costume" was all laid out. He wasn't really anything specific. He supposed that, if asked, he was a member of some cult. Yes. A cult that wore black hoods and high heels. A wonderful cult. Before all that could be put on though he needed to spray his hair.

Micah was not into wigs. They were itchy. He was not into dye. That lasted too long. So the wash out spray color was the way to go. He'd chosen black, which would really only make his hair look slightly brown unless sprayed too heavily, but all Micah really wanted was hair that didn't look so light and cheery yellow. He had to carefully spray each lock, and then had to wait for it to dry before he could comb and arrange it...

In the meantime though, Micah turned to the rest of his costume. Black v-neck, black pants, black socks, black high heels...which were very uncomfortable. He was never wearing these again, at least not on a not Halloween day. Then, a choker went around his neck. He grazed his fingers lightly along his hair, decided it was dry enough, and brushed it. That evened out the coloring a little bit, and made it look less...stiff. It was more comfortable too. Yes. A natural feel was always best. With that done he pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves, and then finally, the black velvet cape, he left the hood down for now, and slipped his hands through the armholes. Done.

Before looking in the mirror, he looked himself over. Should he have painted his nails black? No, he decided after a moment. That would have been a bit too much. Initial inspection done, he looked in the mirror...he grinned. Perfect. Yes, he would need a bath before he went to bed, to get the hair color out, but other than that. Perfect.

Now that he was done, there was no point in staying in his bedroom. All homework would have to be done later. Now, even if it still wasn't time yet, he would head back down to the "common" area. He wondered if Jonathan was done being tortured, and he wondered if Nathan was home yet...as he looked in the kitchen he discovered the former was, but the latter probably wasn't. A grin spread over his face at the sight of Jonathan. "You look..." he started, raising a finger to rest across his lips as he stepped into the kitchen. He was trying to think of the right word. The word that automatically came to mind was adorable, but he wasn't sure that was what Jonathan would want to hear. He could say good, but that was such a weak word. "You look wonderful," he whispered out at last, his grin becoming a smirk, but then becoming a grin again as he couldn't keep the smarmy appearance. Jonathan simply made him too happy.

"It very much suits you, Jonathan." Lightly, he reached out, and pinched he brim of the hat with fingers, giving it the slightest tug so that he would feel it, but the hat wouldn't actually move. That same same moved from the hat down to Jonathan's face, where he let the backs of his fingers graze gently, affectionately, across the boy's cheek. "It's bright, just like you." He chuckled happily, his hand making its last stop, one of Jonathan's hands. "You're going to have fun tonight, right?" He gave the hand a small squeeze before letting it go and coming down a little, so that he was on Jonathan's level. "You did so much work, you should reap the benefits."

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

- ❤ - darling, so there you are with that look on your face }

- ❤ - as if you never hurt, as if you never doubt }

Mallory watched smugly as the younger man lurched away from her bedroom. She’d done well, she thought. The costume was simple, required no make-up, and the dark-haired boy was absolutely adorable in it. Not that even she was insensitive enough to put it that way. While it was true that the dark-haired boy wasn’t exactly your typical male, he was sill male. Mallory had yet to meet one of the species that consider “adorable” a compliment when applied to themselves – and the redhead had dated a lot of boys before Nathan had come along.

Softly closing the door as the younger male moved out of sight, the redhead turned her attention to the task at hand – finishing her costume. She had her hair and makeup to do yet, and come to think of it, had she ever found those heels? Frowning seriously, the girl scooped up her brush, using it to form her hair into a mass of floofy, gravity defying hair with a massive supply of hairpins and enough hairspray to worry about spontaneous combustion, were the weather a bit warmer.

Hair tended to, she turned her attention to the mess of cosmetics on her bed, propping a small dresser mirror next to them before sitting down, folding her legs carefully next to her so as not to wrinkle or rip the rather form-fitting dress. Carefully, she applied a green grey foundation, highlighting her flesh with color or dark shadows as appropriate. An eyeliner pencil traced a stitch across her cheek, then a special adhesive was used to secure two bolt tops to her temples. Next, she pulled on two sheer, green-grey gloves, giving her arms a similar shade to the make-up job, then fitted a ragged jacket over it that cropped short and low in the front but fell long and flowing in the back. Ah, yes, and what was that final touch?

Her gaze moved across her messy room. Now, where were those heels? She really should have looked for them before doing her makeup and all, but once she focused. . . well, anyway, they had to be around here somewhere. One stocking-clad foot nudged through the piles of mess around her bed before moving to the closet and – ah, there they were~! Well. There one hell was, and the other couldn’t be far. A minute more of digging, and she found it, balancing with her hand against the wall as she slipped each shoe on, adding inches to her already above-average height. There! Ready to go~! And with just a little time to spare.

The woman stepped easily in the heels from her room, closing the door sharply behind her. No point in trying to be quiet and sneak up on anybody. Though she’d learned to walk in heels well enough through her high school years to look almost graceful, she’d never quite figured out how to be quiet in them, unlike some friends of hers. She really didn’t get it? How exactly did one walk that softly in two inch heels?

Heels clicked softly against the hard floor as she moved from carpet to the imitation hardwood floor of the kitchen, nose wrinkling slightly with distaste at the interaction between the two males – she came to late upon the scene to catch the words, though the overly familiar gesture grated against her nerves. The blonde – though his hair, at the moment, appeared to be darkened – was so affectionate, and somehow the trait annoyed her in him. She knew it was probably because of what he was, and it wasn’t really fair, but she honestly didn’t give a crap. That was the very thing that made him dangerous, and the last thing she wanted was to see anyone getting too attached or comfortable. Hell, she still didn’t know how Nate had talked her down into continuing to let him stay here, once they’d found out what he was. She only knew that some day they would regret it.

“Micah.” The woman’s voice was flat and accusatory as she snagged another cookie, nibbling on it thoughtfully as she examined the two males’ expressions. Jonathan was adorable, of course, but what the heck was that guy supposed to be?

She smirked, her tone teasing, if not exactly lighthearted. “Nice heels. Need me to do your make-up, too? I have some black nail polish upstairs, and plenty of eyeliner.” What was it the kids called it these days? Emo? Maybe that’s why he was trying to be, but then what the heck was with the cloak? Didn’t he know that your Halloween costume should be easily identifiable?

Ahhh, well. She supposed she couldn’t hold it against him for being Jewish. After all, that was not the part of him she distrusted. Smiling sweetly, she moved to the chair next to the younger male’s and perched lightly on the edge, blatantly ignoring the usually-blond as she directed her attention to Jonathan.

“Now, if anyone gives you a hard time, just come find me, and I’ll punch them right in the face for you, okay?” The words were meant to be reassuring, in her own way, but it was easy to see they had only made the dark-haired boy more nervous. Ah, but it was true. Her fists of justice really were the best.

“Just don’t bring them to this shotacon, okay?” She paused to direct a brief, pointed, and obviously insincere smile at Micah. “We want to scare them away, not have a body to hide~!” The declaration was said a little too happily, and after a quick pat on the head, the woman rose and moved to get a drink. Shouldn’t Nate be here soon? Not that she was surprised he was running late. It was unusual, given what he did, but people would start showing up soon, and there was no way this was going to be fun without him around.

Ah, well, whatever. She was used to being disappointed, and gods knew that when it came to him she couldn’t hold a grudge. She’d be happy enough when he arrived, and in the meantime? Well. She’d always managed to entertain herself, hadn’t she?

{ darling, so share with me your love, if you have enough - ❤ - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
{ your tears, if you're holding back, or pain, if that's what it is - ❤ - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[December Frost]

xxxxxxxxxxxxN a t h a n ◎ B e n n e t txxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAnd when t r o u b l e thinks its found us...the w o r l d falls down around us..

Nathan really didn’t know why he was expecting things to go any differently. Every year, the hospital became slammed with different events that certainly coincided with holidays. Halloween was one of the worst ones, so he didn’t even bother to check the times that he had to be in for the day. Luckily enough his request had been answered and he would be getting off in the early evening meaning he had the earlier shift. Knowing that, he could only hope that the cases coming in and out of the hospital were minor compared to the ones that the night shift was going to have to deal with. It was the same as he’d gone through every other day with the staff. Whoever was in charge would hand out cases and everyone would just pick up more as they finished.

It really was a good system and he actually found himself enjoying some of the day. A few kids in costumes had come in early because of a bad batch of brownies being given out at a party, but they were all adorable. When they weren’t being sick, he had them twirl around and act out their costumes with a laugh. Parents watched on in interest as he continued to check through each of the nine children and assure them later that each was fine. Prescriptions were handed out and then it was onto the next folder. His glasses seemed to find a permanent perch on the end of his nose when he was working on the busier days like this, so he made no effort to actually take them off. Nor did he make many efforts to keep track of time. There was a rush at one point dealing with some sort of firework explosion that dealt with quite a few burn injuries. That was sure to keep him busy for a few hours prepping and making sure everyone was taken care of.

Eventually, he looked at a clock and saw that it was sometime close to four. A smile stretched over his face and he reached in the back pocket of his scrubs to check his phone for any missed messages, just chuckling as the lull passed and there was little work to be done. Naturally, it couldn’t remain that way, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t daydream about the party that was bound to be getting set up back home. Jonathan was no doubt setting up all sorts of things that he’d made the day before. Mallory was probably scurrying about to help and wrangle Jonathan into his costume…Micah was probably going to get back soon. It was so easy to think of what they were all doing and it was all he needed to do for that extra burst of energy to get him through those last few hours. A call of his name pulled him from his thoughts and he shoved his phone in his pocket and rushed to the sliding doors of the ER.

There wasn’t a chance to look at the clock again until it was closing in on six, which was an hour later than he was supposed to be getting off. Standing at the central station, he reached over to clock himself out and hesitated when he saw another of the nurses running around the corner crying. The whispers of all the other hospital workers around him spoke of all sorts of things, but it didn’t really matter. He gave chase on the woman, dodging gurneys and carts of supplies amongst the people that were milling through, Nate turned into the break room and sighed when it came up empty. Leaning on the doorframe for only a moment, he skimmed the halls and saw no sign of her, which left him to make his way to the door before he could be called back in.

Once behind the steering wheel in the parking deck, he leaned his head back and pulled the band from his sandy brown hair to let it loose around his face and down his neck. Flicking down the visor and taking a glimpse in the mirror, he couldn’t help but make a sour face and prod at the darkened rings beneath his eyes. At least he had the next two days off. Starting up the car, he started on the way home and idly glanced along at all the costumed people walking the sidewalks. It wasn’t until then that he realized he was about really about to waltz right into the middle of this party and he was still decked out in his scrubs. Sure, they had little patches of all sorts of evidence of a day’s work in a hospital, but was it enough? Certainly not considering the people living in that flat. As soon as the light turned green, he quickly made a turn and stopped into one of the stores he frequented when any of his little ragtag family would call him at work to pick things up on the way home.

Naturally, it was jam packed of mothers getting last minute things and children running around playing with each other. Costumes were flying off the racks and candy bins and shelves were desolate, but it wasn’t so much what he was after. Carefully shifting through the crowd to the makeup, he used one long arm to pull one package labeled ‘Scary Makeup’ off of its peg and then continued to pull a few other factory packages of faux scars and cuts and bruises. Then he made his way through, jumping over a fallen child along the way, to get to the end cap just to watch. For a holiday, it seemed a lot of people took Halloween seriously; so much that they were knocking each other over to get whatever it was they wanted. Chuckling as he turned, the nurse made his way toward the registers and then had to backtrack a few steps. Now there was something that could be exciting for the crowd back at his place. Mild enough for Jonathan and exciting enough for Mallory and Micah would probably have fun with it too. Tucking a box under arm and his little plastic packages in hand, he rushed to get out of the store and sat there in his car to apply all of it.

”I probably look insane..” His voice mused out loud as he started in on placing the fake marks and mars around his face. Satisfied with the gaping looking wound that was obviously plastic on his cheek, he laughed and then went on to add one over his eyebrow and another across his nose. Really, Nathan didn’t stop until all of the little things in the package were gone. Ignoring the wandering eyes from the people passing by him in the parking lot, he carried on with the make up to pale his face and darken the already shadowed rings beneath his eyes. It was a little bit until he was satisfied with it, but when he turned his face (neck obviously included) the effects were almost comical. If nothing else, his surprise of sparklers for everyone would certainly make up for how lack luster his costume was for the event.

On the road once more, he took the twists and turns necessary to actually get home in the traffic that usually came with holidays. Singing along to all the terribly cheesy music coming from the radio, he toted himself along until finally pulling into his parking spot and glancing up at the lights in the place he called home. No one was outside, so at least there was that much. He could make his ridiculous entrance and continue to feel awful about being so late. Tugging the bag along with him and clicking the button for the car to lock over his shoulder, the man jogged inside and paused in front of the door. Now, he could have knocked, but what was the fun of that? Honestly…A wide smile crossed his face and he quietly pushed his key into the lock and let it creak open slowly. Nathan could hardly believe his luck that all three of the occupants were sitting at the table all together! Putting on his best zombie stagger, he made it across the threshold and then burst into laughter. ”It would’ve been impressive if I could’ve done this all night, huh?” Wasting no more time, he pulled out another of the chairs and set the bag of sparklers and empty wrappers in it before grinning at the set of them.

”I’m sorry I’m running so late. Things at the hospital were…awful, but that’s a different story for a different time! Just look at you guys. Micah, I didn’t know you were thinking about changing your hair color to something like mine~” Making the rounds around the table, he put his hands on the shoulders of the vampire and grinned. ”Though it shrouds you in some mystery. Spooky spooky! And Jonathan…” Pausing for only a moment to lean between the two males, he glanced at his brother from beneath the brim of the hat and grinned widely despite the makeup he’d applied looking rather disgusting. ”I have to say that this suits you! Though I still say he would have made a fantastic little black cat, but by the looks of it…you’re certainly a wizard in the kitchen. Not that we didn’t already know that…” Poking the knuckle of his index finger on Jonathan’s nose, Nate continued on to Mallory and gave a low whistle. ”…and you. Well we already know what I think about you…” Leaning down with a smile on his face, he kissed her cheek and let his fingers trace the curve of her waist as he closed in to whisper against her ear. ”Best looking one in the room as always. You know how much I love this dress, right? I'll show you just how much later...maybe...”

Grinning and arching his eyebrows, he stood up and then went back to his bag, picking it up and shaking it so it made as much noise as possible. ”But I brought home sparklers! Which will be fun, right? So I’m forgiven for not being able to make it home to set everything up, right? That and my awful joke of a costume? Ohhh…what are these?” Finally, his eyes fell on some of the spread of food, suddenly aware of how hungry he was. Did he eat lunch? Probably not…that was about the time they had the faux spider bites coming in for treatment. Stifling a yawn behind his wrist, he reached across to the cake pops and twirled one in his fingers before grinning and settling back with a carrot stick for the time being. ”Not as nourishing as brains, but hey…I’m a zombie nurse, right? Where is everyone? Not that it matters! We should be having a good time already!”

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
xxxxxI p r o m i s e you won't ever, no, you won't ever feel a t h i n g.

[chihari the Kiwi]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJEZZIE DARLING ☂

xxi HAVE a PROPHECYxxxx ☂

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx☂xxTHREATENING to SPILL into WORDSxxxx


Today was Halloween, a pretty serious holiday where Jezzie came from, but she'd come to know that humans celebrated it far differently than she did. For one thing, there were no sacrifices involved. At least, not from what she'd seen so far. It was a good thing she wasn't completely in the dark. Last month when a little boy who lived down at the corner had told her that he was excited for Halloween, she had gotten him to tell her everything he knew about it. He was very informative, so she gave him a popsicle as thanks. The boy seemed happy, and both of them went on their way.

Rule Number One: Wear a costume. It seemed to be a tradition to dress up as something you weren't on this day. Well, that scratched out 'witch' (which seemed to be a popular costume) since she already was one. She could be a witch any day of the year. Today she could be something different. One of the neighbourhood kids had suggested a vampire, but the only way Jezzie could think to dress up as one would be to sneak into Micah's room and steal some of his clothes. That would not go over well, at all.

It was while she was purusing through some children's books at the public library that she'd come up with her idea. She'd forgotten what it was called now, but that didn't matter. Her costume was all made up. A nice, bright blue dress and a white blouse and blue bonnet. Little blue shoes with bows on them, too. It had looked too boring before, so she'd added tons of embroiderie. Dragons and griffins and trees, pretty much anything she fancied. After she'd gotten through with it, it looked pretty impressive. But there was just one problem.

Where was she going to get sheep?

Her brother solved that problem by giving her Hubert. Well, technically he was a goat, not a sheep, but he would do just fine. The Emperor could be the other sheep (not that she'd told him that's what he was supposed to be when she'd stuffed him into the fluffy wool sweater she'd made him). Both cat and goat had pretty blue bows tied around their necks. Empe only consented to the costume when she kept telling him how handsome he looked in it, and how everyone would be so awed when they saw him. Yeah, sometimes cats needed to be buttered up. So her costume was good to go.

Rule Number Two: Pumpkins posses great importance. Why, she didn't know. Something to do with the harvest. First, you had to cut them open. Then you had to scoop their guts out. Then carve a design out of them. It took her three tries to get the steps in the proper order. Oh, and then a candle was put inside so that the gaps would light up. Jezzie made pumpkins out of Empe and Hubert, and stuck them on her front lawn, along with a light curse that would cause anyone who smashed them with a terrible, itching rash. That done, she trooped off to consult her list.

Rule Number Three: Excessive amounts of candy + small children. Sounds fun! But she didn't want to stay home all night and hand out candy. So, after much deliberation, she simply removed the candles from her hollow pumpkins and stuffed them full of candy. A slight alteration was made to the curse so that it wouldn't affect anyone who took candy. There!

Rule Number Four: Explosions are gooood. Who came up with that rule? She liked it! But making a big explosion wouldn't be good, because someone might get hurt. So instead, she sat on the floor and made spark balls. When lit, they were burst into a bunch of different coloured sparks, some forming shapes. They were really popular back in her witch neighbourhood, so maybe the kids here would like them, too.

Rule Number Five: Party at Mallory's. Oh, she'd nearly forgotten! Would it have started already? Anxiously, she checked the clock. Nope, it seemed like it would be okay. She definitely wouldn't be early, though. And she'd been wanting to help set up. That was too bad.

Pouting slightly, she scooped up Empe (who was already trying to wiggle out of the sweater) and draped him over her shoulder. Now, where had Hubert run off to? If he had gotten into her brother's room, she was dead meat. That was one of the rules that had been imposed on her when he'd given her the goat. Already fretting, she began to search the house.

She found him in the kitchen, trying to eat the window curtains. Luckily they were just out of his reach, or she would have been in trouble. "C'mere, Hubert." She cooed, slinging a rope around his neck so that he wouldn't go barrelling down the street like he had the last time she'd tried to take him for a walk. "We're going to Mallory's!"

Hauling the uncooperative goat out the door wasn't an easy task, but she emerged as the more stubborn of the two. She would have felt more triumphant if the Emperor hadn't been laughing in her ear the whole time. On her way out, she grabbed a ratty old rug. She doubted Mallory would appreciate her getting goat hair all over the carpet. As for Hubert's annoying habit of eating things not meant to be eaten... She'd just have to keep a close eye on him.

With goat, cat, and rug in tow, she trooped next door in her ankle-length dress. Easier said than done, when you're dragging a goat that'd rather go in the other direction. Ignoring the resistence, she trooped up to the front door and knocked loudly. Then she rocked back and forth on her heels, pausing once to nudge Hubert's nose with her foot. He was trying to eat the door mat. Silly goat.


xxof GROWING certaintyxxxx ☂

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx☂xxOF overxxxx

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

Pale hands dropped from the floppy brim of the hat as Jonathan heard another body enter the room – Micah – and he managed an uncertain smile to mirror the vampire’s grin. His ducked his head shyly as the blond worked to come up with the right compliment, looking up again when a light tug was given to the brim of his wizard’s hat before the vampire’s hand dropped to lightly brush his cheek. His smile widened slightly, became more confident, the dark-haired young man happy with the compliment. It suits you, after all, was a much more desirable result than looking cute or even wonderful, which the older male had said as well.

“Thank you.” His voice was lifted in his usual soft tone, a familiar thread of uncertainty present in the sound. Reluctantly, he released the blond’s hand as he pulled it away. Blue-violet eyes met clay red as Micah lowered his perspective. “Yes, I’ll try.” His gaze momentarily slipped away as he lightly gnawed on his lower lip before adding, in that straight-forward way of his, “though it wasn’t much work at all. . .” But then, cooking wasn’t really work to the younger male, though significant effort had clearly gone into his preparations.

“You coloured your hair.” He paused, for a moment looking as though he was going to say more, but the sharp click of heels against the hard floor shifted his attention from the blond to the approaching redhead. Jonathan leaned back slightly in his chair, the distance added between he and the blond a subconscious reaction to the Mallory’s presence, though her disgusted expression made it obvious she’d witnessed enough of the affection between the two males to make the movement pointless.

Jonathan tilted his face towards the woman when she took a seat next to him and spoke, a frown replacing his previous smile. “Okay. . .” Did she think that was going to be a problem? That she’d actually need to punch someone in the face? No. . . that was just Mallory being Mallory, right?

Maybe he should sneak off to his room at some point and avoid the inevitable discomfort entirely, if the redhead thought there was a possibility that it might escalate to that point.

“What’s a shotacon?” he asked the question automatically, though given some of the things the redhead said about the vampire (much to his dismay), he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. But it was also a deflection, wasn’t it? He couldn’t promise to come running to her when he felt uncomfortable, though he dearly hoped such a situation wouldn’t arise. Did meeting new people always have to be like that, or was it just him? As though sensing the turn of his thoughts, the woman gave him a strangely comforting pat on the head as she rose again. Mal was so often in motion, it didn’t surprise Jonathan that she’d only managed to stay still a minute or two.

The front door creaked open, and his attention caught by the sound, Jonathan straightened and turned in his chair, watching his brother stagger into the apartment exaggeratedly. It was a short performance, but the younger male’s expression brightened into an easy grin at the sight of his sibling. Here they all were, now. Together.

“And you’re grotesque.” He gave a sudden, surprised laugh as his nose was poked, the answer slipping out without conscious thought – and despite the fact that his softer voice was lost against his brother’s as Nate continued speaking, all enthusiasm and cheer. For a moment, he rested his chin against the palm of his hand, content to listen to the older man ramble on. His head tilted slightly as the brunette hovered over the food, finally settling on the healthier option of a carrot over the plethora of sweets available. He frowned, pushing away from the table and rising. Had his brother eaten at all since he’d left home? He wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“There’s leftover Chicken Florentine in the fridge, if you haven’t eaten,” he commented, his voice taking on a more serious tone. You couldn’t just run around all day without food and expect a couple carrots and some sweets to be a sufficient meal. You need protien and vitamins and nutrients! “Or I could make something quick. An omelet?” he suggested - honestly the quickest thing he could think of that had protein and could have nutrient easily added in vegetables and cheese. It was obviously something Jonathan didn’t mind doing, especially if it would ease some of his current nervousness with the familiar task as this thing got going. The beginning, after all, always seemed to be the hardest part.

There was a sudden and loud knock on the front door – he stiffened. Speaking of beginnings, he hoped it went without say that he wouldn’t be the one answering that. . .

[Luxury Starshine]

______M I C A H ► c a m e r o n

w h i t e c o u r t ◄ V A M P I R E_______

Jonathan was as beautiful as ever. By beautiful, Micah meant his soul, not his exterior, though, Jonathan was externally plenty beautiful to be a White Court vampire himself. Delicately beautiful. Mallory and Nathan were beautiful too, but not quite in the same way...but that was beyond the point. Jonathan's exterior matched his interior, delicate and gorgeous. Micah loved that, that spirit, that soul...he might have been beautiful enough to be like Micah, but Micah would never even think to change him...to chase away his soul. His smile softened into contentment at the thanks, but then flitted back to a grin at the protest. "You did work today, Jonathan. It may not have felt like work, but you expended energy, and spent time on it. Even doing something you enjoy can be work. Work is work, and you should be rewarded."

Micah could not help but grin even further when Jonathan noticed that he had colored his hair. He looked like he was going to say more, but he suddenly pulled back, and truthfully, the vampire could not blame him. Mallory had finished her own costuming and had come back into the kitchen. If there was one thing Mallory did not approve of ( and there wasn't. There were many things, not just one ) it was him being so close to Jonathan, and frankly, Micah didn't give a care. He loved Jonathan. He would never hurt the boy, and Mallory only cared because he was a vampire and she was racist against him for it. She would just have to get over it one day.

As Jonathan leaned back, he stood back up to his full height, watching as Mallory snagged another cookie. Well, he supposed he could appreciate subtle approval, not that he had ever heard her complain about Jonathan's cooking before. He smirked a little at her "scathing" comments. They didn't hurt at all. "I decided against nail polish, and the rest of it sounds like too much of a pain." Already though, she was making her way to Jonathan, probably not listening to him at all.

For once, he somewhat agreed with her, whoever messed with Jonathan deserved to be punched in the face...but he did not agree with Jonathan not being able to bring them to him... "I'm not sure what a shotacon is either, Jonathan, but whatever it is, it doesn't sound like something I actually am..." his eyes narrowed at Mallory. "And I would never kill someone at the party!" It was honest to God truth. Killing someone at the place he lived in would leave him far too close to the investigation if a body was ever found, plus, he was sure that Nathan wouldn't approve and it might just traumatize Jonathan, something he never intended on doing. He pouted a little, knowing that Mallory wouldn't believe him no matter what expression he wore, but hoping that Jonathan would at least believe him...if Nathan were here, he'd believe him...

And then, as thought a prayer of his were actually being answered, the door opened and in lurched a zombie...a Nathan. "Sorry to hear your day wasn't the best, Nate. Hope it gets better." the day...er...night was young, right?

Micah grinned as Nathan's hands placed themselves on his shoulders. Ah. One to brighten the room, as always, even in that horrible makeup. Some makeup was better than nothing at all, right? He reached up, letting the palm of his hand rest affectionately on Nathan's until the man decided to pull away. "Just for the night. I'll give your hair color back and go back to being blond in the morning." He couldn't help but give a laugh at the last comment. Spooky, spooky, huh? Well, at least he'd succeeded at something, right? To his knowledge, Halloween was supposed to be spooky.

After this, although he was listening, he kept his mouth shut in a smile and let himself out of the conversation...though not for long. Soon, before Nathan could even say whether he wanted an omelet or leftovers, there was a knock at the door, and swiftly, Micah's head turned to Mallory. "You should get that, lovely hostess greeting lovely guests." It wasn't him being sexist, no, not at all. It was simple logic. Mallory and Nathan pretty much owned the flat, and aside of the two, Mallory was the most presentable and likely to gracefully let them in. Micah loved Nate, but honestly, the man was only thinking about eating at that moment, much like Micah only thought about drinking after twenty-four hours of not doing it. It was better for her to get the door. He'd do it himself, but that...well...that would be presumptuous.

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

- ❤ - darling, so there you are with that look on your face }

- ❤ - as if you never hurt, as if you never doubt }

Mal grinned, the expression almost impish with mischievousness. She couldn’t say she was surprised neither of them knew the word, but geez, it was too fun to see the proof of it. The only question was: should she make something up and string them along a little or have the blatant amusement of giving them the real definition?

“A shotacon,” she announced between bites of her cookie, “is someone who’s. . .” She paused, brows lifting slightly as she turned her gaze to the vampire, “into young boys.” A softly mocking laugh trickled past her lips, one hand lifting to cover her mouth as she turned her attention away again, projecting exaggerated cheer as the vampire again protested her comments.

“Not at the party maybe. Should we keep an eye on you in case you leave~?” Not that she exerted enough effort to care what he did outside their home, so long as she and hers weren’t involved in it. Well. And she’d prefer none of their neighbors showed up dead, either, but her expectations weren’t too high, there.

Before she could manage another mocking comment, the sound of a slowly creaking door penetrated the room, and the redhead followed the other two’s gaze to see her favourite person staggering in, maintaining the imitation mere moments before bursting into laughter. That was Nate for you: cheerful, enthusiastic, acknowledging everyone equally and brightening every room he went into. Just seeing that smile was almost enough to make her forget that he wasn’t always like that, that there were times he, too, was overwhelmed.

The woman tilted her face up as her lover leaned over her, nose wrinkling slightly as the full affect of his makeup was seen full on. Wasn’t that a little much? But he was, she supposed, making up for lack of creativity. A kiss was planted on her cheek, and she straightened slightly at the touch at her waist, lips curving in an expression that could only be described as wicked. “If you’re lucky,” she teased as he pulled away, catching his hand and brushing a kiss over his knuckles before releasing it.

Mallory laughed happily when the brunette retrieved the bag, shaking it tauntingly before announcing its contents. Sparkers! She loved sparklers. Of course, they weren’t as good as things that actually exploded, but most fireworks were a pretty big no-no in this group. Sparklers were a happy compromise, pretty and fun and most importantly, not at all loud or explosive.

There was, after all, a very good reason the redhead always visited family for the Forth of July, and that reason, she very well knew, was the brightly-adorned young man they were all so protective of. As much as she liked explosions – fireworks and violent movies – that first trip to the movie theater after Jonathan had come to live with them, and the rather unfortunate choice of film that had cause it to be such an unpleasant experience, was still too fresh in her mind for the redhead to forget how fragile the younger boy in some ways still was.

Slate-blue eyes narrowed as Nathan zeroed in on the food and Jonathan, sensing the same thing she was now suspecting, and offered to make him something to eat. But Mallory knew Nathan. He’d probably laugh it off and munch on carrots like that would be enough. But here she was, a witness to his own inability to take care of himself first again, and didn’t he know that made it her job to take care of him?

There was a sudden and loud knocking at the door, and sparing a moment to shoot the vampire a look of mixed suspicion and disbelief as he spoke – seriously, what was with that ‘lovely hostess’ nonsense? – the woman straightened from where she was leaning against the counter and jabbed one perfectly polished finger through the air towards her boyfriend. “Eat something.” Though it was a simple, straight-forward demand, she felt it was fairly obvious, given the conversation at hand, that she did not mean “munch on carrots and celery all night." That was not sufficient.

Heels tapping loudly against the floor as she strode away, the woman moved to answer the door. Of course she’d answer the door, even if it’d been Micah who’d suggested it. Obviously, she was the best choice. Well, her or Nate, and frankly speaking, she was prettier just then. She pulled the door open, positively beaming at the sight of the dark-haired girl standing there.

“Well, look at you,” she exclaimed, stepping out into the hallway to get a good look at the girl. Cute little dress. . . bows and embroidery everywhere. . . the most adorable little bonnet. . . “You look fantastic, Jezzie. Did you make this yourself?” The embroidery alone. . . yikes, how much time that must have taken. But the girl seemed to have a flair for such crafts, and her darling little costume hardly looked like something you’d buy in passing at most of the Halloween displays she’d seen. One hand came up to rest on her shoulder as she guided the girl towards entering the apartment, pleased to have their first guest at this little party.

And then she noticed the goat. That cat that always followed her around in his ridiculous garb was one thing, but. . . a goat? How had she missed that until now? Wasn’t that kind of detail normally the first thing people noticed?

“What is that.” Her tone was flat with disbelief as she came to a sudden halt with the girl in the doorway. She couldn’t possibly imagine a scenario where that thing was coming into her apartment. It would poop all over everything and. . . and nibble on their guests! And that was not okay at all.

{ darling, so share with me your love, if you have enough - ❤ - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
{ your tears, if you're holding back, or pain, if that's what it is - ❤ - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[December Frost]

xxxxxxxxxxxxN a t h a n ◎ B e n n e t txxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAnd when t r o u b l e thinks its found us...the w o r l d falls down around us..

What never failed to amaze Nate is how he could just walk into the apartment and feel all of that stress and turmoil from the workday just melt away. When he was amongst these three people, everything was right and nothing bothered him from the outside. Sure, there were little idiosyncrasies about these people that made things hard from time to time, but Nathan really tried not to take that upon himself. How could he in the end? Everyone was very much their own person and that left him to just try and make bridges instead of burning all of them. Still, seeing them all smiling at him as he entered made every stop and hassle worth it all.

As he made his rounds, the man just laughed and shook his head at Micah. ”Well good because I’d have to start worrying if you were trying for it. I’m obviously the only one that can pull it off.” With a playful roll of the eyes and a flick of the hair, he found himself glancing back to Jonathan before leaning over Mallory. ”Grotesque…that’s a good word. I suppose I am. Hopefully I don’t smell grotesque though…or is that one of those adjectives that are used simply for a sight instead of a smell?” Grinning widely once more, he turned and focused his attention on Mallory, chuckling and giving her side a squeeze before heading onto the sparklers. He tried to register reactions from each, but at least Mallory would be thrilled with them. Sure, they didn’t blow up or anything, but they were fun regardless. Flumping them back down in the chair he would eventually sit down in…eventually, the nurse gazed over the plethora of goodies and then settled on the vegetables rather quickly.

He really hadn’t eaten and he honestly should have known that he wasn’t going to get away with it so easily. Part of his mind mentally cursed at him for not picking up a brownie or something else first, but then he shrugged and sighed. The smile still ever-present on his face, he tilted his head to his brother and reached out to the rim of hat, giving it a wiggle. ”I’m fine. Really. I’ll heat somet…” Pausing, he arched a brow over to the door and pointed. ”Sounds like this party is about to get started!” Before he could even think about answering the door, Mallory was up and off on the way, but not without making her singular demand. Who could actually complain about a set of people trying to make him take care of himself? Shooing her along with a smile, he turned the same face back to Jonathan and nodded. ”Are you sure an omelet wouldn’t be too much trouble? I know…I know I should’ve eaten lunch, but things were just ridiculously busy.”

Pushing off of the counter and making his way to the chair he’d put the bag in, Nate pushed it onto the floor and sat down, beaming up to Jonathan with a smile that likely really showed how tired he was. All the same, he bit into a carrot and turned his attention to Micah. ”My day has already gotten better just being here for five minutes. Not too bad of a record, hm?” Chomping on another piece of the orange vegetable, he finally glanced back toward the door and gave a wave to…well, he could see the blue bonnet. With Mallory’s exclamation it was confirmed. ”Jezzie! See, the party really has started. Even though we probably could have just had one on our own.” He spoke across the table, leaning forward on his elbows and trying his hardest not to poke and prod at all the junk he’d spread all over his face. ”Did we have anyone else call and say they were coming? Any friends from work or class or the store or anything?” Opening it up to the room, he stayed hunched over for another moment before stretching his arms high in the air and listening to his back pop a few times. Wincing and turning his head, he made attempts to straighten it out before stifling a yawn behind his hand and hopping up to get himself a cup of water. ”Mallory, what is it?” Finally realizing that Jezzie still wasn’t inside, he forwent his cup of water and went to the door, bracing his arm on the door frame and leaning over Mallory in attempts to see just what the spectacle was. As soon as he laid eyes on the goat, he had to laugh. ”J…Jezzie! I guess if you’re doing Halloween you’re going to do it right, hm?! But we’ll have to put the goat outside on the patio, okay? We don’t want anything getting ruined and no one getting pooped on!” Resting his other hand on Mal’s shoulder, he grinned and glanced down at the redhead. ”Does that sound fair enough? We’ll have to get a picture of you guys at some point though!”

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
xxxxxI p r o m i s e you won't ever, no, you won't ever feel a t h i n g.

[chihari the Kiwi]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJEZZIE DARLING ☂

xxi HAVE a PROPHECYxxxx ☂

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx☂xxTHREATENING to SPILL into WORDSxxxx


Jezzie waited patiently by the door, perking up when she heard the click clack of someone in high heels coming towards the door. She'd expected to see Mallory when the door was opened, since she really didn't expect any of the men to wear heels. So when the woman opened the door, she gave her a bright smile.

"Hi Mallory!" She chirped a happily, glowing at the praise of her dress. It had taken a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it, and she'd enjoyed every minute of making it. So far she'd managed to keep Hubert from eating it, and she meant to keep it that way. Of course, she knew better than to be deluded into thinking she'd be able to keep it clean. She knew full well that, by the time the night was over, she'd be covered in goat and cat hair. Oh well. It would wash.

"Thanks! Yep! I did. The embroidery took forever, but I think it was worth it." She said, smiling down at her skirts. The designs had turned out so pretty. Just looking at it made her happy. Suddenly, she noticed the look on Mallory's face change. "What?" She asked cluelessly. She followed the woman's gaze to Hubert, then back again. Oh. Did she not like goats?

"It's Hubert. He's a goat." She said slowly, a puzzled expression on her face. "Have you never seen one before? I thought they had them in the human world too..." If they didn't, she should probably go put him back. Leaving him unsupervised would be disasterous, but she didn't want to bring a strange animal for the humans to gawk at, and have to explain it. But she could have sworn that there were books on goats at the library. Now she was really confused.

"Sh-should I take him home?" She asked anxiously. Just then Nathan appeared, and she stopped worrying for a moment to smile at him. "Hi, Nathan. This is Hubert." She said, gesturing to the goat. Claws digging into her shoulder made her wince and roll her eyes. "You already know the Emperor, but he's upset at not being introduced, too." She said, gesturing to the cat on her shoulder. Almost immediately, the sharp pricking went away. Silly kitty.

When Nathan said that Hubert could stay on the porch, Jezzie heaved an internal sigh of relief. Hopefully Mallory would be okay with it, and she sent her a pleading look. Leaving Hubert at her house without her there to watch him would be bad. He didn't know all the house rules yet. "Well, he originally wasn't supposed to be part of my costume." She explained to the two of them. "I just got him yesterday, as a birthday present from my brother. I haven't quite figured out what to do with him yet. My brother was going to sacrifice him to appease the dead, but he wound up having to work today, so now he's my pet." She explained, thinking nothing of how Hubert had narrowly managed to escape death.

"Are Jonathan and Micah both home, too?" She asked. She wouldn't mind it Micah wasn't, since she still couldn't tell when he was being serious and when he was playing with her head, but she was fond of Jonathan. It was hard not to be fond of Jonathan.


xxof GROWING certaintyxxxx ☂

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx☂xxOF overxxxx

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

Cheeks darkened slightly at the soft reprimand; he ducked his head and managed a small nod before having spoken again. Micah was so gentle and kind, more so than anyone he’d ever known. Even Nate, who he wholly adored above all others, couldn’t match how careful the blond was with him, and even though it made him happy, it made him a little sad, too.

Not like Mallory. The woman wasn’t unkind, exactly, but she was so straightforward there was never any need to guess what she was thinking. She always said it, or did it, and took the consequences as they came. She was terrible at apologies, but gave them when she meant them, and loved to tease more than was strictly friendly – and somehow, she disliked Micah immensely, despite how very different he’d proven to be from what he might have expected, had he known exactly what kind of undead he was, that first time they’d met.

“W-what?” The flush in his cheeks deepened when Mallory explained the meaning of the word she’d used, following the statement with one of those mocking laughs they’d all heard every now and then. He knew she was teasing; she was always harder on Micah than the rest of them. But still. A person shouldn’t joke about such things.

But before he could figure out how to say as much, his brother had arrived had his thoughts and attention had been turned fully on him. His frown deepened as Nathan admitted to not having eaten, and by the time the darker-haired male plopped down in the seat next to him, directing a tired grin at his younger brother, he was getting up to pull ingredients from the fridge: eggs, vegetables, and cheese.

“It’s no trouble at all,” he interjected softly as the other two males spoke. A minute or two of whipping and chopping, and they would be together in a pan, cooking. And then it would only really take a few minutes to cook – omelets really were a quick meal, both in preparation and consummation.

As for friends, well. Just about everyone he knew was already here. Certainly everyone he knew well, to any degree. Half the reason Jonathan stayed in the apartment, isolated himself so easily from the rest of the world, was because his abilities were more often dormant in this familiar space. The dead could be found in more places than people realized, but here, in the confines of these walls, it was mostly the dead that were familiar that he saw. Sure, every now and then, that was not the case. The undead – whether of the reanimate variety or the incorporeal – seemed to gravitate to him, though not to such an extent that it made him nonfunctional.

But all in all? Everything that mattered was here. When it came to party guests, he had nothing to contribute. His family was here. Outside of this apartment, he didn’t have any friends.

Not any living ones, anyway. He frowned. No, not any living ones, though he couldn’t exactly call the dead friends. They were everywhere, really. They were more like. . . well, unwanted nuisances seemed harsh. Weren’t they just lonely, too?

He gave a soft sigh, a melancholy expression momentarily passing over his features as he worked a spatula under the cooking mass of eggs. But it was impossible to be sad with those cheerful voices nearby, not to mention the potential festivities to come, so the moment passed, and the dark-haired boy paused to consciously return a smile to his face as he listened. Jezzie, was it? He liked the girl, though he didn’t know her well. She was a little weird, to say the least, but she seemed nice. She was very friendly, and what little conversation they'd had revealed they had some things in common. Mal seemed to upset about something, and after a minute, he gathered that it seemed to have something to do with. . . a goat? Had Jezzie brought a goat with her to the party? Where had she even gotten a goat?

Well, he couldn’t think too much of it. The girl was a strange. He didn’t really expect to ever be able to understand the way she thought. And, well. . . even if she’d brought a goat, he kind of hoped that kitty that was always following her around had come, too. Sure, it was a little weird that the feline went with her everywhere, but Jonathan seemed to like cats (though he’d never had a pet before, besides the dog he and Nate had before they were separated, and he honestly barely even remembered the animal), despite how standoffish this particular cat seemed. Were all cats like that, or was it just him?

Turning the burner down slightly, the dark-haired male moved to lean lightly against the counter, peering towards the open doorway. Yep, there she was, goat in tow, cat on her shoulder, both apparently costumed as well. Were they supposed to be sheep? Jezzie was a shepherdess, right? Where was her shepherd’s crook? And there was Nate, cheerful as ever, suggesting a compromise that should please both females, and the look on Mal’s face. . .

He couldn’t help it – he laughed – before straightening again, violet-tinged eyes shifting his gaze to rest on the dark-clad vampire before smiling shyly, then turning his attention back to the eggs, the quick meal he was compiling for his forgetful brother.

His expression deadpanned. Forgetful brother. Oh, mostly just when it came to taking care of himself. But really, who forgot to eat? No matter how busy work had been, it was important to stop and eat. Didn’t he know that? He was the nurse, after all. No matter how many times it happened, it still irritated him. But there was really nothing to do about it, was there? Nate was Nate, and Jonathan adored everything about his brother – even the irritating parts. And Mal would take care of him, too. The woman was so fiercely protective of everyone she cared about, and didn’t she, too, care about Nathan the most?

Again he slid his spatula under the omelet, carefully working it completely loose before pulling a plate from the cabinet and using it to flip the food in the pan. A minute or two more, and it would be done. Leaving the eggs alone to finish cooking, he retrieved a glass as well and filled it from juice from the fridge. Punch or soda was hardly appropriate to drink with eggs.

[Luxury Starshine]

______M I C A H ► c a m e r o n

w h i t e c o u r t ◄ V A M P I R E_______

He gnawed a little on his lower lip as Jonathan blushed, so adorable, but there was nothing to say to it. It was what it was, and it was Jonathan...probably being embarrassed, which wasn't nice on Micah's part, even though he hadn't been trying to embarrass him.

But it wasn't long before Mallory was the one causing embarrassment. Micah's cheeks stained red and for a few moments his mouth did nothing but hang open. He couldn't believe what she had just accused him of. Although he would have been highly offended in his life at even the mention of being into BOYS in general, that didn't bother him. Oh yes, he had boys, you couldn't really be picky when choosing a dinner that was likely to run away if you slipped up. It was the word "young" that got him. He knew she didn't mean young like Jonathan was young, a little younger than him. No. She meant little, like...significantly younger than him. Small boys. Micah did not usually care about things that humans considered moral, but that...well, in his mind that fell in line with rape. Little boys didn't think about sex! They probably didn't even know what sex was! Urg. No.

"I am NOT a shotacon!" He protested, cheeks still stained ( which was quite a feat, even when it came to Mallory ) his hand fisted at his sides. I'm not into young boys!" He paused for a nanosecond, realizing that he was a vampire, and as such, for all they knew, he was much older than he looked, thus potentially making him much older than he looked and by comparison... ( he didn't want to think that he really would be cradle robbing if he lived too long, he really didn't. ) But really... "I'm only twenty years old!" Perhaps...that wasn't something he should have said, but he'd said it and there was no taking it back. "And go ahead! Watch me! I'm not leaving the house again tonight unless it's an emergency!" Like he would kill anyone at the party... How low did Mallory think he was? Oh. Rhetorical question. He knew the answer. Very.

"Please don't believe her..." He sighed at Jonathan, "Really, I'm only twenty, I'm not into young boys." He grumbled folding his arms over his chest, but allowing his mood to instantly cheer ( at least outwardly, inwardly he was still stewing. ) at Nathan.

"Obviously," he said with a slight tilt of his head. "It's your hair color. No one else could do it as well as you." And, in a way, it was true. No one could do someone else's natural hair color quite as well as they could do their own. No, unless it was needed for a long term disguise or something, Micah would stick with his sunshine colored hair.

With Jonathan off to make an omelet ( more cooking. Though Micah knew Jonathan didn't mind it in the least, especially when it came to Nathan, and Micah himself was guilty of providing more work for the boy - he just had to keep kosher, didn't he? ) and Mallory off to answer the door, Micah settled down a little. He smiled again over at Nathan, this time it felt a little more real. "No, not a bad record at all. I'm glad. I wouldn't want you feeling sour, not just today, but ever."

The person at the door was Jezzie, and to be honest, Micah stifled a laugh, and how could he not? This was the girl that he'd joking told about bush monsters and had believed him. If nothing else, she deserved the laugh. And the problem was... A goat? She'd really brought a goat with her? Like Mallory was going to let that in...and if not her, Jonathan, the house cleaner, would definitely stamp out the idea...in his mild way, of course.

"I didn't invite anyone. I don't have any friends." Normally the latter statement was said in a sad, or upset way, meant to draw in sympathy, but you could tell by Micah's tone of voice that he wasn't upset about it in the least. It was merely a fact that went along to affirm that he wouldn't have invited anyone. Sure, he had classmates, but they weren't really close, not close enough that he, who understood the sanctity of a homestead, would invite to his home, even if they hadn't had other plans, and his other acquaintances...no. Even more so.

He listened now, keen vampire ears able to hear Jezzie talking about how the goat came to be...a sacrifice to appease the dead? "A goat wouldn't appease me..." he muttered under his breath with a small snort. It was true. It would take more than a goat to appease him, and HE was dead.

[CLOMP-a-saurus]

- ❤ - darling, so there you are with that look on your face }

- ❤ - as if you never hurt, as if you never doubt }

Mallory giggled at the vampire’s reaction to finding out what the word meant, her mocking amusement echoing through the apartment as she moved on to answer the door. Really, it was too funny. That guy was far too easy to tease.

As for inviting friends. . . though the redhead registered the cheerful question from across the room, she could hardly answer it with her attention on the younger girl. Besides, they’d know soon enough that she’d invited some people, if they bothered to come. After all, if there was one thing to be counted on, it was the redhead’s status as a social butterfly. She kept in contact with old classmates in the area, befriended people at work, in class, where she ate fast food and at the grocery store. . . people tended to love or hate the redhead, and she knew a lot of people. Sooner or later, some of them were bound to show up.

“It was totally worth it,” Mal agreed, casually reaching to finger a dragon breathing bright flame. The girl really did have skill with a needle, didn’t she? But that hardly excused the presence of a goat – a goat! Who brought that to a Halloween party? Who got that as a gift for their birthday?!

But then, did that mean. . .? “When was your birthday, Jezzie? You should have told us. We'd have thrown you a party or something.”

She’d known it before, of course, but this incident only emphasized what a very strange girl this was. Cute, friendly, fun. . . but strange. But before she could tell her that, yes, she should most certainly take the filthy animal home, Nate joined her, laughing – laughing! – at the sight of the creature and offering an alternative solution. The patio. And just how did he think the beast was going to get there? Going though her apartment?

The redhead directed a pointed look at the brunette as his hand rested on her shoulder, crossing her arms across her chest with disapproval, though she chose to let this one go. She’d hold it against him later, no doubt. Use it to get something she wanted. She wasn’t above that, when it suited her.

Turning back to the dark-haired girl, the redhead beamed, the expression seemingly genuine despite it’s forced nature. When it came to fake smiling, Mallory Trimble was an expert.

“Yes, Jonathan and Micah are both home, too.” She chirped, turning for a moment to look back towards the two. Her tone made it clear which one she liked better – as if anyone who had spent very much time around them didn’t already know. “Come on, better bring it through.” She added, deciding to ignore the comment about sacrificing the animal. With this girl, it was always something weird, wasn’t it? Maybe she was one of those old fashioned. . . pagans or wiccans or whatever those overly made up teenage girls were calling themselves these days. “Just don’t let him poop in here, okay?”

“Lots of tasty things to eat,” she commented lightheartedly, glancing back with a grin as they passed through the kitchen towards the patio, by the younger, dark-haired boy finishing up the omelet. The apartment smelled like eggs and cheese and chocolate. Deeeelicious.

{ darling, so share with me your love, if you have enough - ❤ - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
{ your tears, if you're holding back, or pain, if that's what it is - ❤ - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[December Frost]

xxxxxxxxxxxxN a t h a n ◎ B e n n e t txxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAnd when t r o u b l e thinks its found us...the w o r l d falls down around us..

It seemed as though Nate was going to get his meal…whether he liked it or not. Sure, he could have lied and said something about how he managed to make it down to the cafeteria for ten minutes for a sandwich and then run right back upstairs but that lie would have been impossible to keep up with. He’d tried it in the past…so he certainly knew that it couldn’t be done. With the request off to his brother, the older sibling just sighed and then turned his eyes back over to Micah with a chuckle. ”That’s sweet of you. Every day can’t be perfect but I find that when I’m here I can be perfectly content with the world around me. It’s almost enough to make me wish I didn’t have to go out again.”

Anyone that heard him knew that much was a lie. It was impossible to keep him in the house for any extended period of time when the weather wasn’t awful. Even then the weather seemed to not deter him from going out on errands or going to help someone. As everyone chimed that they hadn’t invited anyone or they simply remained quiet, he tilted his head and then leaned back with a sigh. ”Well then maybe you should start making some…or not. Because then you’d be gone and I’d start to miss you.” It was all said with a good heart, but Nathan sometimes wondered if he should push for everyone to be a bit more social. Not Mallory, of course. She tended to attract conversation like a light catching moths. ”But I think any of us all together is quite the party. It’ll be nice to just relax and not worry about work for the next two days.”

With another flash of a grin, he hefted himself out of the chair to go and see what the problem at the door was and reached over for another carrot stick before heading over to Mal and Jezzie. Tilting his head at the goat, he listened as he chuckled and then tried to compromise. No. A goat being unattended would be awful. It wasn’t like they could do much harm to the metal railing on the balcony, right? Tilting his head inside, he just gave a point with his thumb and glanced down to Mal. ”Oh it won’t be so bad. There’s not much Hubert’ll be able to get to that isn’t going to give him lead poisoning out there.” With his attention turning back to Jezzie, he reached a hand out for the leash or even to grab the goat and run through the place with the animal to get it outside faster. Perhaps that would win him some points toward making Mallory a happy camper again.

”Yeah, you and Empe come on in and I’ll take care of the goat here.” Reaching down for the goat carefully, Nate squirmed along with the animal and eventually got it through the room and onto the porch, tying it up so it wouldn’t be able to escape. Of course it wasn’t without injury. One of his fake scars had been bitten off and could now be seen through the sliding glass door being chomped on by Hubert. ”Well, if there’s a zombie goat out there later, that will certainly explain that. But come on in Jezzie. Have a seat! Help yourself. How are you tonight?” Trying to get the show on the road, he stood behind his seat and watched the back of Jonathan’s head with a sigh, but he paused and gave a confused look to Micah instead. ”Goat wouldn’t wha?” Willing to let it go, the older man would give a shrug and then push a hand through his hair before deciding on his next plan of attack. Weaving his way next to the stove, his arm wound around Jonathan’s shoulders for a squeeze of a half hug before letting loose. ”And you too for that matter. I shouldn’t be making you miss this just to help me catch up on meals though I always appreciate it.” Giving his brother a nudge, Nate took up the glass of juice and took a sip of it. ”Come on. To the table with you. I can put this on a plate and come over in a second. Do whatever it is you want to do.” Reaching out to the edge of the hat, Nate gave it a pull and smiled even wider. ”So! Anyone see something oddly creepy or spooky or scary today? Rumor has it there were a lot of fluked pranks going on all day today.”

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xxxxxI p r o m i s e you won't ever, no, you won't ever feel a t h i n g.