Welcome to Gaia! ::

A very long and agonized groan issued forth from the overly fluffy, pink bed as a pale hand slipped out from under the covers. The hand groped around for the eyephone on the bedside table, wrapped itself around the thing and pulled it back inside the cavernous darkness under the blankets. Then the blankets were thrown away to reveal Belladonna curled up in the middle of her bed, her hair frizzed out and two pets curled on either side of her.
"Hecate~ Why can't I wake up today?" The witch bemoaned as she stared at her phone, which had no new messages or e-mails or Groanspring questions or anything of any importance to her.

It hadn't been altogether too long since Mort had vacated the school, but already Belladonna was bored. She was also really sleepy, which was something she didn't seem to be usually afflicted with. More often than not she got to bed at a reasonable time and could always fall asleep easily. And even when she had been afflicted with that annoying Insanity, falling asleep wasn't the problem. But last night, for whatever reason, she just could not get to sleep.
Maybe it was the cuddle match for Belladonna's affection that Lanna and Binx had silently proposed amongst themselves. Currently, the foxfire had taken to curl herself in the curve of the witch's waist, while Binx had taken the little spot behind her knees. They were both wonderfully comfy, but for whatever reason last night, Belladonna just did not want them touching her.

"That's it!" She finally shouted as she sat up and dislodged both pets. "I'm getting coffee." It was something she rarely did, so she made sure to dress as nice as possible without going over the top. She fixed her hat properly onto her head, bid her pets farewell and managed to find the Bloodbux somewhere hidden in the labyrinth that was the maul. Since she was here, maybe Belladonna could do some shopping...
The aroma that greeted her upon entrance was one sweet enough to energize the witch all on its own, but she had come to get a drink and a drink she would acquire! Though it was difficult, she managed a bright smile at the girl behind the counter before she giggled and admitted, "I don't really know what I want... Have any suggestions?" The staff looked nice enough, so hopefully they'd help her decide on something yummy!

For a long moment the witch only stared at the rushing ghoul and felt a little bad that she was interrupting her with inane questions about what kind of coffee she should get. While vanilla sounded nice, it didn't sound as nice. Not today.
"Um! I was actually hoping for something... Maybe a little more surgarey? Maybe something with caramel??" The witch had a notorious sweet-tooth and she wasn't sure what flavors of flappucino they offered. Vaguely she wondered if they had a candy-corn flavor? Oh that would be just lovely...

The smell seemed to distract the witch enough that she missed the girl's staring, but she certainly did not miss the mention of a fellow student. The witch whirled back around (she had spied a particularly cute shirt in a story across the way) to look up at the ghoul.
"You go to Amity? So do I! I'm Belladonna Divine, Knob. Lovely to meet you." Belladonna swept into a quick curtsey, but tilted her head after a second. Was this.... No, it couldn't be... Could it?

Before she really could stop herself, the witch blurted out: "Do you know Mortimer McNeal!?"
A moment later her face flushed a bright pink, but she didn't bother looking away and instead held her gaze steady with Gene.
This was Gene? She was so nice! And really adorable~
Unless this was a totally different Gene. It was possible... She was still pretty adorable.

At the mention of candy corn, the witch's eyes glazed over and she had to fight the urge to drool. It had been quite a while since she'd had any of the delectable treat and now seemed like the perfect time!
But just before the witch was about to place her order, Gene launched into a sentence that made Belladonna proud with its ability to just keep going and loop in various people. When the girl pointed out the boil behind her, Belladonna turned and waved, accompanied with a smile. She wasn't sure why Gene was introducing them, but if Randy was going to take Gene's spot so she and the witch could chat, all the better!
(Though the way Randy was staring didn't really sit well with Belladonna. When Gene wasn't looking, the witch gave him a very decided 'Eyes up here' gesture, that she followed with another flip of her hands which, had she been more advanced in her studies, might have rendered him momentarily blind.)

"Oh! I'd like a Candy-Corn Flappucino please. And a chocolate muffin... Would you like one too?" The witch offered, since it seemed apparent they were going to have a fun little chat. "I have some time, so we should chat for a bit! Or go shopping! Whichever~"
Shopping would be so wonderful! Already the witch was trying to decide what colors would best suit Gene. Although Mort had mentioned adding her to their steampunk group, Belladonna had no intentions of making it a threesome. But that didn't mean she couldn't still find her lovely things to wear! With Genel's lovely hair, she couldn't help but want to dress her. Just a little.

With a bit more glee then she should have possessed, Belladonna paid for her drink, patiently waited for it and once received it, skipped happily over to a window booth where she promptly bit into her chocolate muffin and almost died of joy. Since they had both been giving Randy pointed glares, Belladonna shot him one last nasty look before she sat in the booth, but it was only as a precaution. She had a lot to talk about with Gene, but first: Coffee.
The witch took one sip of her drink and melted.
"Oh my Hecate this is soooo~ gooood~" She cooed as she cradled the drink in her hands. Already she could feel the energy coursing through her. It was magical!

"So you're a second year, right?" Belladonna finally asked after another two bites of her (totally amazing and crazy yummy) muffin, and of course after she had delicately wiped her mouth and made sure she didn't have chocolate smeared all over her face. "Do you like it?"
That was more a question to determine if Gene had been on any... special adventures, AKA Field Trips of DOOM.
The witch needed to know exactly what to be curious about. It would do her no good to get all a-tizzy and ask about the (now destroyed) Four Clans Islands if Gene hadn't even gone on the trip! It would just be a disappointment!
And of course Belladonna also wanted to ask highly curious questions about Gene's friendship with Mort. After their very interesting last meeting, the witch might have been just a little bit... Well, obsessed wasn't the word, but certainly she very much so cared about his welfare.
Among other things.

Though she looked at her over a combination of drink and muffin, Belladonna nodded sympathetically as Gene talked. That was the general consensus of Amityville. Liked the school, hated The Hunters. The witch totally understood. (Granted, she hadn't really encountered any Hunters, so she could only go off what others said... For now.)
"I have heard of their... Nefarious deeds." She put in while Gene took a bite of her muffin. "But how did the Horsemen treat you all during the trials? I haven't heard much on that, at all!" She leaned forward a little, her eyes wide as she prepared herself to listen to the terrible things they had done. Should they be considered enemies too?
All she knew was that their Islands had been destroyed (all those beautiful fashions! That culture! The travesty of it all~), but she had heard next to nothing about the Trials. What had those been like?

As for Gene's question to Belladonna, the witch sat back and looked down at her drink for a moment.
Of course the ghoul hadn't seen the witch, she'd been in hiding for the past few months. But how did she put that? Obviously this ghoul had an extremely hard work ethic. She worked while she attended school! That took an immense amount of dedication. Dedication that Belladonna seemed to lack heavily. When things got rough, she ran away. It appeared that Gene was the type to not do such a thing.
"I uh, I like Amity. Its a lovely place. What do I do?" Make out with boys in their rooms. Her mind instantly retorted while her cheeks took on another pink hue. It quickly dimmed and she found it within herself to reply to herself.
Alright. Just one boy. "Oh... You know. Witch things. Take care of plants, go flying on my broom. But I um... I took a bit of a, er... A break. For a month or so." She didn't look at Gene, but instead kept her gaze focused on rolling the remaining crumbs around. She had demolished that muffin! "I wasn't... Feeling well. But I'm better now and you should see a lot more of me!"

Well, that was a bit botched. But it would have to do for now. Not everyone would be in the same boat as Mort or Jackb and understand that one had to take a break every so often to coax oneself back from the brink of... Despair. Gloom. Insanity.
Some people were just gifted with the determination to not quit.
Belladonna certainly wasn't.

While Gene explained what had happened to her, Belladonna watched her with an intense, but understanding gaze. Mort had mentioned something like this too. And for all she had known, Belladonna hadn't known the Trials had been like this.
Instantly, she reasoned why the Four Clans would do such a thing. It was a way to help the students learn to fight harder and smarter. They knew what their enemy was capable of and had it showcased for them in an altogether too real way. They wanted the students to take this seriously.
But that still didn't make it right.

When Gene was done, Belladonna reached over and squeezed her hand. She didn't say anything, but offered the girl a small, reassuring smile before Gene stood up.
Quickly, Belladonna finished off her drink and happily nommed the remaining candy corn pieces. A strange, energetic feeling had started to course through her body and she had started bouncing a little.
"I love shopping!" Belladonna chimed in as she took Gene's arm and wrapped around her own. Oh, they were going to be the best of friends! "I don't have a particularly favorite store in the maul, I tend to make most of my own clothing. But many of these stores have some nice pieces for when you don't feel like dressing up! Or can be altered to you own specific purposes! Hee! Is there any store in particular you like? Otherwise, I might just go to all of them!" Her words came at a mile a minute and were accompanied by giggles.
For one of the few times in her life, Belladonna was even more hyper than usual. That coffee sure had done a number on her.

"Coffee newbie!? How could you tell? I almost never drink coffee, I always get enough sleep on my own but I just couldn't get any last night so I decided to get some coffee but I guess that might not have been the best idea given how much I'm bouncing!" The witch seemed intensely curious as to how Gene had known such a thing, but she certainly bounced. As they walked she seemed to almost skip and when she stood still, she nearly vibrated. It was kind of fun!
At the mention of black coffee, the witch only stuck out her tongue and shook her head. Black might be a great color, but not in one's drink. Yuck!
"It kind of feels like a bunch of Treats are trying to lift me off the ground with the sole power of their little fluttery wings!!" Wheeeeee~

"Indie? I guess?" The witch giggled a little loudly as she skipped over to the first rack of clothing. "This store is indie! Look at this scarf! Its soooo cute!" It was patterned with bats and stars. Actually, the witch really liked it. "Dress each other? Hhmm! I'll have to think of a style for you. I bet you would look just darling in a Regency dress! You have the perfect figure! And your hair! We could put it in little ringlets on top of your head and Oh my Hecate I will certainly teach you how to sew!" The witch had grabbed the scarf and was already furiously rummaging through the other racks, trying to keep beat with the song but not being able to concentrate on both shopping and the music. It was all so much! This was such fun!
CAFFIINNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

"You've never worn your hair like that? Oooh, but it'd be so pretty! We'll give you little black flowers, oh you'll be just darling!" Already the witch was doling out affection on this girl. Maybe it was the coffee, or maybe it had been the lack of female companionship, or maybe, just maybe, it was because she did honestly want to be Gene's friend. Whatever the reason, she smiled warmly at the girl before she snatched up an off-the-shoulder shirt and bounced over to the ghoul. "Here. Try this on. And if that doesn't work, then we're going to another shop that would suit you marvelously!"

At the mention of Mort, Belladonna's cheeks reddened for a moment. At the mention of his room (and the things that had occurred there), they continued to be red.
"Redecorate? What did you have in mind? Would it be a surprise for when he comes back? Or will you break in? Ooohhh, I'm usually against this sort of thing, but I have always wanted to learn how to pick a lock!" She was back to talking quickly, but now there was a slight waver in her voice that could have meant anything or nothing.
The idea of redecorating was... Strange to the witch.
On one hand, it would be lovely to give him such a nice gift, something to lift his spirits after his awful time and certainly harrowing trip back home. At the same time, Belladonna had a great moral dilemma. She did not like the idea of messing with people's things. Especially their rooms.
"Maybe we should get his permission first?" She offered in a small voice. Oh dear, she would have to explain herself, wouldn't she?