Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mot shook his head a bit, processing this as fact as best he muster. He wanted to somehow ease her crying, but soon Lizzy headed somewhere Mot could not morally follow. Bathrooms. He would not follow here there. He gathered she needed time alone now.

With a deep frown, Mot simply stood outside the gym in the hall. He rubbed his arm, eyes downcast to the floor.

Jericho actually blinked when she picked up a fork. That was new. She never needed a fork before. And for a moment, he eyed her as if trying to find some hidden mouth the boogies might have cut for her. Yeah. No.

"She's a good friend, and I don't mind it really," he replied while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is.. there a problem?"

He didn't want to interrupt, or make her hate him before they'd even really begun to know one another. Thackery wasn't even sure that she liked hugs. And with tears in his eyes and a constant sniffling he couldn't stop...well. He didn't look very impressively strong, either.

But all of the worries in the world couldn't stop him.

He shuffled to the side of Riley not currently occupied by a distressed Israfel and reached out to hug her arm, tear-streaked face resting against it for a few quiet moments.

Even after he pulled away, he still didn't speak--just looked up at her like a scareling might look at his hero.

Sniffling he tried to talk but-

Talking while crying was a bit difficult.

"I twibed to sing to oob but you-you didbunt hur me." More sniffling and he snuggled up against her. "Donb die agun."

Points for trying at least.

It was sad, that Riley would never know how powerful her few words had been for the two - or what they'd done for Thackery. All she knew was that they seemed happy, and that was her doing.

Mission accomplished.

I will do my best. She assured Israfel, as she'd only understood the last thing he'd said. Thackery's addition to the conversation was.. tender. Her eyes crescented as she looked down at him, and pressed the flat plane of her face against his forehead.

You're welcome. Thank you for wanting me to get better.

Astra had been distracted for some time, deciding to dissapear to the ghouls toilets in order to salvage what remained of her dress. When she came back, she could see a few students had gathered around another...

....Was she seeing things?

Could this be true?

She saw the purple tentacles that were her trademark, although marked by insanity in a way that enhanced her beauty more then marred it. The red gown she wore reminded her so heavily of a rose, one that was tempted with thorns to show that it was not only beautiful, but dangerous as well. She panicked when her vision blued, afraid she would lose her, but quickly realized she was already crying her eyes out. No surprise there.

But perhaps even more so was that it was Her. Standing there, hugging others, just being there and not being dead.

Slowly the fae approached, moving so slowly in fear the mindflayer would vanish from her sight. Go back to being dead and gone.

"..R-riley?"

Her voice ended in a choked sob hardly above a whisper. She looked up towards her, hoping she would respond and confirm her thoughts, that she was there, really, really, truly there...

Although terribly late, even by her own standards, Hadiyya had eventually arrived at prom. It was a wonder she'd even bothered to show up at all, considering her nergal was currently home visiting his mother and aunts, but she had eventually given into the mixed desire to attend and spent the better portion of her evening getting dressed and arranging her hair so there would be little chance of it getting trod on by her fellow students. Considering how very much hair she had, it hadn't been an easy task. A thin braid cut across her forehead, the end buried within a nest even more narrow braids, all of them twisted and looped around into an intricate knot at the back of her head. What hadn't been braided was left loose to cascade down her back, but the length ended at the back of her calves, rather then trailing the floor as it usually did.

Her dress was her usual skin baring attire, though she'd gone a little more traditional, and as it was, more festive. All black and gold, satin, feathers, and pressed metal coins. She'd paired the outfit with a mask in matching blacks and golds. It even had a lovely little plume of feathers. Altogether, the ghoul felt she looked quite nice considering she hadn't intended on showing up at all only hours before.

As she entered the gymnasium the ghoul paused within the double doors to gather her barrings and take note of who was around. Then further hesitating as the sight of so many happy couples emphasized the emptiness beside her where Sharra should be. She missed him, it was obvious in the press of her lips and the slight sadness reflecting in glowing blue eyes.

The point of attending tonight's event was to help take her mind of his absence, and although she knew she'd be aware of his void at the prom, she surely would have felt it more had she stayed in her room.

Forcing dark features into her usual serenity, the ghoul left the safety of the door and entered the throng of moving body, searching for familiar faces, and spotting one she didn't expect to ever see again, let alone at a school dance. It made her freeze, breath catching in her throat as she stared wide eyed at the knot of students surrounding what had to be a mirage. Riley was dead, she'd heard the rumors, seen the statue being taken away. She'd felt the lose of losing a dear friend, not only her own, but everyone around her as well.

But there she was.

Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat, Yaya found herself unsure what to do. There were already so many people milling about the mindflayer, she didn't want to intrude, and yet.. and yet she'd missed Riley. They might have begun to grow apart as their school lives had went on, but they'd been good friends, and Hadiyya still considered her special.

Not even sure if it would work, the djinn focused all her attention on the other demon. Throwing a single thought, for Riley alone. I'm happy you're alive.