[Evangeline Lys de Verre]

tell me pretty lies

template by Punki of Adoxography

@ All girls! -x- 680 words -x- Door is open!

Today was the day! A beautiful Sunday evening, the sun having ducked under the horizon an hour prior. Evangeline hummed to herself as she dried off several plastic bowls after having washed them in the sink in her bathroom, mentally preparing the plans for tonight. It was going to be a slumber party, with all the girls invited! There had been so many classes lately that everyone was exhausted, not to mention the recent excursions that had also ended up in success, albeit tiring nonetheless. Everyone could use a break, and Evangeline decided she would be the one to host it!



And so it was settled. A slumber party in her room with movies and snacks! Her room wasn't too big, as most living quarters weren't in the academy, but it was still sizable enough given that most of these were meant to house four people back when Haven was much more crowded. So her room had ample space, with a single bed in the corner, a desk opposite to the bed against the other wall. Several stuffed animals sat a top both her bed and her desk, all of them sitting down politely. There was a wardrobe between the two, and on the other side of the room, a two-person plush couch sat facing a TV mounted on the wall. A fluffy pink carpet covered the floor in front of the couch, ensuring that anyone could sit on the floor with ease. The couch itself, despite being a 'two seater' was wide enough to fit at least five people of Evangeline's size, with two on the wide, cushioned arm rests, and the floor space in front of the couch could fit the same amount width-wise, more if they spaced out front and back. So, no problems with space as long as no one minded a bit of a squeeze to watch the movie.



Satisfied that the plates and cups were ready, Evangeline decided to send out the message to the group chat, inviting all the girls to come to her room at 9:00 pm, movie starting at 9:30 pm, and to bring any snacks or drinks they wanted to for the movie, as well as to bring sleepwear and blankets. She had already picked out a movie, an old horror movie classic called "The Possession", which was currently downloading to her MistFlix account. It was going to be great, mainly because Evangeline had always wanted to see this movie but she was dreadfully scared of watching horror movies alone, and her family had not allowed her to watch horror movies at home.



Aside from that, this was also going to be a great chance to meet many new faces, as well as familiar ones. She knew a lot of her friends would come, but she also hoped people she had briefly met or hadn't met at all would come, so she could have even more friends! Tonight was going to be a night of fun, with all the girls watching movies and talking about girl things. Evangeline didn't have much of an idea of what girly talks entailed. Perhaps fashion? Boys? Both? Tonight would tell.



Time passed as Evangeline cleaned her room until it was spotless, took a long shower, dressed up in a pair of comfortable pastel pink pajamas (with bunny motifs on it!) and prepared the popcorn in her microwave, ensuring there was enough for two large bowls of popcorn. She also had two large bottles of Momo Cola in the fridge, enough for everyone to sate their thirsts if they got thirsty from all the other snacks they would probably bring, with plastic cups all sitting on top of a countertop next to the fridge and microwave.



Evangeline would then take a seat on her couch, bringing out to tap away at her scroll, noticing the time was 5 minutes to the specified time. She would wait for knocks and open the doors to let any girls inside with greetings. Tonight was gonna be great! Evangeline could hardly wait for everyone to show up!

[Niraya Platinum]

Niraya Platinum
When snow falls, Nature listens.

[attr="class","rainbow"]

Niraya was laying on her bed around 6 P.M. because she was bored. She had just finished a long update patch file for Jixie and she was downloading it which would take all night. As she lays there letting time pass she hears her scroll ping. This caused her to jump a bit. Its been a while since someone used the global school chat. She pulls out her scroll and looks at the chat. It was Eva she was inviting people to a sleepover. Niraya hesitates to answer her because she was never socially accepted anywhere. so she never had a girls night let alone female companions to get close to.

She bites her lip unsure if she should pass up this opportunity. She must have read and reread the message a hundred times before she replies. After replying she gets her bedwear and her spare blanket together before going off to get some snacks. She stops by the local stores and gets a large cookie cake. It took a few different stops to finally find the store that sold cookie cakes. She had to stop she always wanted to try one. She heads back to campus with the cookie cake in hand and stops by her dorm room to get cleaned up. She takes a shower and puts on her sleepwear.

By this time it was 8:55. Her sleepwear sat loosely on her she liked it like that as tight-fitting sleepwear reminded her of her years on the streets no home, no family. Once she was ready she checks up on Jixie. as she feared it was only 20% finished which meant several more hours of waiting. She sighs and grabs her cookie cake and heads over to Eva's room. by this time it was 8:59 The hallway was empty which didn't help Niraya's nervousness as she approaches Eva's room. She gently knocks on the door and waits.

Eva was waiting for people so Niraya was let in quickly. Niraya walks in and smiles at Eva. "Hi, Evangeline." Niraya might have a warm expression on her face. but her ears and tails gave away how nervous she was. Her ears were laying flat on her head and her tail was wrapped around her waist. Niraya sets down the cookie cake and opens the package. there was picture drawn on it in the frosting of a bed with words around it saying 'Girls Only'.

↺ + HK

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[Carmim Clover]

❝ WORDS: 659 TAG: Evangeline Lys de Verre Niraya Platinum NOTES: asdfghjkl too cute HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS This was just the most exciting thing that had happened in her time at Haven. Carmim had never been to a girl's night slumber party before! Or any big girls-hanging-out kind of party. Growing up with a ton of brothers, she didn't get to hang out with other girls very much, but now she finally could. And it was hosted in her best friend's room! By her best friend! She was very excited. Hobbling down the hallway in an oversized white T-shirt and bright red athletic shorts that could just barely be seen below the bottom of the shirt, which hung down past her knees, she definitely looked pretty silly. She was carrying an absurd amount of things, stacked in her arms, everything she thought the party might need. Of course, she had no idea what to expect, so there were a lot of things bundled up in her massive towering pile. With a bit of effort, she knocked on the door with her foot. As Evangeline opened it, she would be greeted by the sight of two legs and a stack of everything but pillows and blankets, to five assorted cheese platters, three pizza boxes, a handful of board games, and what appeared to be a large jewelry box. Further inspection would reveal that it was not filled with jewelry, but with buttery fried rice and sun-dried tomatoes. And sitting atop the pile, the star on the tree, a very old-school looking boombox, wobbling dangerously as she walked. Very carefully, she set her things down and sprung at Eva with glee and delight, wrapping the girl in a warm hug. "Eva!" Remembering the Atlesian's customs, she leaned in to faux-kiss her right cheek, then her left, with the obligatory "Mwah!" sounds. She'd been getting better at that, every time the two greeted one another. It was just such a fun greeting! Like a puppy about to go on a walk, she darted around, setting out all of her slumber party provisions, putting the food where Eva's snacks already were, hooking up her speakers in the corner by the TV, setting her drum down with her blankets and pillows, and in general, scrambling to organize her things. While she did so, she turned back to the small Atlesian. "My friend, everything looks amazing here! I hope you do not mind, I brought a few t'ings of my own, but I was not sure what to bring, I've never been to a sleepover like t'is before, it is so cool!" The little redhead squealed with excitement. This was the happiest she'd been, basically ever. So awesome! Just then, she realized she had completely overlooked the other girl in the room, in all her excitement. She rushed over to the taller faunus, with a bright smile and a friendly hug. "Oh! Hello, my friend! I do not t'ink we have met before, but it is so good to see you here! My name is Carmim, it is very nice to meet you!" Her ears were so cute, she just wanted to pet them, but quickly reminded herself that that was probably not a very polite thing to do, so she instead darted off to the food stash, and very quickly loaded up a plate with a variety of cheeses, a slice of pizza, some tomato rice, and a big scoop of the popcorn Evangeline had prepared, before plopping down near her bestie and digging into her favorite snacks. Oooh, this would be so fun. "So Eva, what do girls do at sleepovers? Ooh, will it be like the one Lisa went to with Mark's sister and her friend Marie in Season 2?" She gasped and whispered dramatically, "Will we be talking about... boys? Like your knight in shining armor?" She giggled, grinning widely at the party's host, kicking her feet as she sat on the couch. This was going to be the best night ever.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Aegle Verdant]

Innocent and unworldly as she might have been, Aegle had a pretty good idea of what a slumber party was; All sorts of scenes from movies and comics abound of girls sharing secrets and watching movies and just generally chatting against the backdrop of some soft and sleepy night. So, while she'd never been to one herself, Aegle had a pretty good idea of what to expect. She did not consider, even for a moment, that she might simply not attend. For one thing, she already knew Carmin would be going, and there was no graceful way that Aegle might decline when her roommate had not. For another, she was curious, and eager to see Eva again; The princess had said she wanted to see Aegle again, and had even mentioned maybe getting together to train or spar. Aegle wanted both those things, and it might be taken amiss if she failed to attend a party Eva was throwing.

And yet, despite everything, Aegle didn't really want to attend. She'd seen enough movies and TV shows to know basically what was expected of her, and they were expectations she wasn't sure she could meet. Aegle wasn't sure she could be around so many people and not be weird, that she wouldn't inevitably say something inadvertently cruel or crazy and put off half the girls in her class in one fell-swoop. And there were other concerns as well, concerns far more ingrained and more difficult to express, and not so much tied to her own behavior as the behavior of the other girls. It was no accident that Carmin had rarely seen Aegle get ready for bed.

It was with these thoughts whirling in her head that Aegle approached Eva's room, or at least the room number the highborn girl had offered in the group chat. Aegle thought it said something about Eva, that she'd not sent the message to those particular people she wanted at her sleep over, but rather had posted a blanket invite to anyone who might want to attend. That thought went some ways to allaying Aegle's own misgivings, at least so far as her hostess' demeanor was concerned, though Aegle hardly felt so sure of the other girls who might put in an appearance; She already knew from the group chat that Kishka would be making an appearance, and had wanted nothing less than to spend a whole night around her. The same could almost be said for the faunus mechanic who'd helped to fix the actuator in Aegle's wrist, though she was ashamed to admit it. Her brief interaction with Niraya had felt very awkward and forced, and she'd not been able to shake the notion that the faunus did not like her. The question of why Niraya might not like her hadn't needed much asking; There had to be half-a-hundred reasons someone would be cold to Aegle.
'Still... she did fix my brace.'
Since seeing her name in the group chat, Aegle had wondered if she might not have misread things with the faunus tinkerer. Those doubts contributed to her reluctance to see her again.

"Hey?" Aegle pushed the door open with her shoulder, and swung her heavy duffel bag through the door. She was dressed in gray track pants which had seen more time as gym clothes than pajamas, and her usual voluminous orange hoodie. Her feet were stuffed into slippers too big for them, and scuffed the floor as she made her way into the room. She wasn't surprised to see Carmin had beat her there, the redhead didn't overload her schedule the way Aegle did, and she favored her friend with a fond, if awkward smile.
To Niraya, who was also there before her, she gave a nod, "S'nice to see ya again." she said, with as much sincerity as she could muster, before hastily looking to Eva.
"I've, uh, got some snacks and..." Aegle could not help a somewhat sly, somewhat guilty smile, "And a little somethin' t'drink too. Where d'ya want I should put it?"

After finding a spot for her duffel bag, nearer to Carmin's stuff than Niraya's or Eva's, Aegle unpacked the aforementioned tributes, mostly crisps in half a dozen flavors, from cool ranch to suicide hot. This last, Aegle opened and snacked on as she found her pillow and blanket near the bottom of the bag.

At last, from her pillow bag, and as furtively as a girl who whirred and clicked with every movement could, Aegle pulled a clear, unlabeled bottle of some amber substance, which she paced discretely down beside the popcorn bowls. Courtesy of a certain musician she knew.

words - 778

[Kishka Burzanova]

KISHKA BURZANOVA

This was a dumb idea. But Argent had been telling her she needed to make more friends lately. Even though she clearly had at least four friends. That was a lot of friends! Argent, of course, and then there was Niraya, and Aegle, kinda. And Nik was familially obligated to be her friend. She was absolutely rolling in friends. SO much friendship. Literally, enough friends she would never run out. Enough friends to make a cheesy sitcom about a bunch of dorks doing friend shit and shenanigans, with a sappy theme song. But he still thought she needed more friends. Ugh. At least the party was in Eva's room. She didn't really know the girl, and frankly, she had way too much pep for Kishka's liking, but it was something, at least. And she did like horror movies. Maybe this would be kind of fun. Who knows? Could be. Probably won't be, but maybe? She rolled in a little later than the rest of the girls so far, wearing a dark hoodie that smelled suspiciously like scale cream, and her favorite slippers- they had little spooky Grimm faces on them, and she liked them because she could pick on Nik by floating them over his face while he was sleeping and shouting. Endless entertainment. In her arms, she carried a smuggled bottle of vodka, swiped from her dad's stash last time she was home, wrapped up in her thick black blanket and purple fluffy pillow. And in the front pocket of her hoodie, she had a large bag of jelly beans, but make no mistake- these were more for messing with the other girls discreetly than for snacking. She grinned to herself at the thought. With a sharp knock, she tapped on the door, where she was greeted by the small blonde girl. It felt strange being so much taller than her other classmates sometimes... "Evangeline, yes? I remember you from the ambush tactics class earlier this week. Thank you for having me over." She flashed Eva a smile, though it wasn't exactly a sincere one. Fortunately, she was exceptionally good at masking her real emotions. Unfortunately, as she came into the room, she spotted a face she was less than excited to see. The little red girl was a pain in her ass, and she really couldn't stand her. Hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with her much. Nearby, her equally-small little punch-gremlin friend. Aegle. Kishka flashed her a small smile, and it was almost a friendly one. Hopefully the girl had been taking her advice, and working to grow a spine. Useless huntresses were hardly acceptable, after all. And of course, she was pleasantly surprised to see the mechanic girl here. Mostly because she was a nice middle-ground between taller-than-average Kishka and the munchkins of the lollipop guild. She tossed her a friendly wave. "Niraya! Good to see you." Turning to the host, she presented her bottle of liquor, with a mischievous grin. "It's not much, but I figured we could use some party favors, if you know what I mean." She strode over to where everyone else's stuff was stored, and set the bottle there, along with her shower things and toothbrush. Taking her pillow and blanket, she laid them out on the ground beside the couch, on the side furthest from the drummer girl, and grabbed a bowl of popcorn and a slice of cookie cake, before laying down on her side, flipping through her Scroll idly, as she awaited the start of the movie. This would be an interesting party.

Notes// The party has ARRIVED! | Tagged// Evangeline Lys de Verre | WC// 600

✬

[Evangeline Lys de Verre]

tell me pretty lies

template by Punki of Adoxography

@ too many -x- 1312 words -x- wish i had this many snacks irl

Evangeline had been lounging on her couch, holding her scroll up above her face and playing a simple tapping game to kill the short few minutes to wait for people to arrive. Right as it was about to strike 9PM, there was the first knock, and it pleasantly surprised her so much she actually dropped her scroll down onto her face. "Ow! Coming!" She called as she got off the bed, rubbing her nose as she headed to the door to open it and allow her first guest into the room.

And it was even more of a surprise to see that it was none other than the fox faunus, Niraya, who had arrived first. Oh, Carmim would be so mad that she hadn't come first, in a friendly sort of way. "Niraya! I'm so glad you came! Please, come in! Make yourself at home!" Evangeline said, holding the door open for the fox faunus to enter and set the cake down. As soon as Niraya had, Evangeline would come and hug the fox faunus in a friendly greeting that she would've done as soon as the door opened were it not for the package. "Ah, I have missed you, my friend! I have not seen you a lot in 'zee common room! Been busy with your forge? I hear you've opened one!" Evangeline said in her usual excited, cheerful manner, going off to rummage through her cupboards while Niraya opened the package. Evangeline walked back with a plastic cake-cutter (she had one on hand because Evangeline loved eating cake), giggling when she saw the picture on the frosting of the cake.

"Aha! I almost don't want to cut the cake and ruin the pretty frosting!" She said with a grin at Niraya. "But my hunger for cake is greater!" She said, as she was about to cut into the cake. But just then, there was another knock, and Evangeline handed the plastic cutter to Niraya. "Could you cut 'zee cake? I'll get 'zee door!" She said, quickly walking to open the door and allow her second guest to come in. As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by... Boxes? And a pair of tiny legs poking out underneath.

"Oh mon dieu, Carmim!?" Evangeline said in awe, stepping aside and holding the door open for her friend to come in and deposit her cargo. "You silly bunny, how are we going to eat so much!" Evangeline chastised in a friendly way, yet with a smile on her face as she met Carmim's enthusiastic greeting, very pleased that Carmim had adopted her Atlesian greeting, returning the faux-kisses. "Make yourself at home! We have popcorn and soda, and Niraya brought an amazing cookie cake, you should look at 'zee frosting picture before we start taking piezes of it!" Evangeline gushed out as Carmim began to go around the room setting things up.

"Of course I do not mind, bestest buddy!" Evangeline said, putting a finger on her chin as a thoughtful expression came to her mind, "To be honest, I've never had a sleep over ei'zer. I've never even had friends over to my house!" Evangeline said, turning to look at Niraya questioningly, silently asking if Niraya ever had a sleepover or friends over so the fox faunus could give insight if she had any.

While Carmim went over to introduce herself to Niraya with a hug as well, there was another sound at the door. Evangeline turned, seeing the door opening and revealing Aegle, with a big duffel bag. How many pillows had she brought!?
"Aegle! You have arrived!" Evangeline exclaimed, letting the girl in and pointing out where to set her duffel bag and snacks down first before catching the girl in a warm hug. "I have missed you too! Now, we can make up for all the stuff we did to each other in the VIP class!" Evangeline said, letting Aegle go with a somewhat playful grin. Her eyes perused Aegle's offerings, catching on the bottle. She narrowed her eyes, shifting it back to Aegle. "Oh, Aegle, did you bring us what I 'zink you brought?" Evangeline said, the smile on her face similar to one of a child who knew they were about to engage in a naughty ploy. "Who did you get it from?" She said in a low, sneaky voice, although her voice was still loud enough for the other girls to hear. She wasn't trying to be sneaky, more of just playfully sneaky.

She then turned to face Carmim, who had already helped herself to a plate full of snacks and was talking about what people did in sleepovers. Letting Niraya and Aegle serve themselves snacks, Evangeline would flush at Carmim's reference to the show, and outright turn as red as Carmim's hair as she mentioned boys and Evangeline's 'knight'.
"Ahhh! Bubbles! Fudge! Carmim! Don't talk about 'zat!" She said in a very flustered way, planting her hands over Carmim's mouth. "And you are one to talk! My friend told me about how you were napping shoulder to shoulder with 'zee crazy white haired boy!" Evangeline said, both accusingly and indignantly, pulling on Carmim's cheeks this way and that as she spoke. "Ar-" She paused, letting go of Carmim's cheeks and trying to remember her snake faunus friend's name... Why was it that, despite being such good friends with him, Evangeline could never remember his name? It was like there was a curse upon his name that made it elude memory, like a cognitohazard. "Ar... Arjuna? Artent? Argent! Yes, Argent told me! And speaking of him... I hear 'zere is a girl-"

As if the devil's name were spoken and thus the devil summoned, there was another sharp knock at the door, Evangeline letting out a small squeak of surprise at it. She walked over and opened the door, to reveal a purple haired girl. Kishka! She remembered her, the cousin of Nikolas. Her first impression of the girl hadn't been completely spot on; Kishka had somewhat of a mean streak. But Kishka was still nice where it counted, and was definitely not the rumored sociopath that her cousin was said to be, so that was perfectly alright for Evangeline! Maybe all Kishka needed was lots of friendship and love for her to be more nice!

"Kiss-ka! Yes of course I remember you! How could I forget someone with such pretty hair!" She came forward and hugged Kishka, tightly. "I've been wanting to get to talk with you!" Evangeline said warmly, her voice slightly muffled due to Kishka's hoodie in her face. But then she let the girl go and allowed her entry into Evangeline's room. "We have 'zee snacks! Popcorn and soda! Niraya brought some amazing cookie cake, Aegle bought many many chips and Carmim probably brought everything!" Evangeline prattled off as Kishka went around to greet the others.

When Kishka revealed her clear bottle of obvious liquor, Evangeline blinked. "Oh mon dieu, we're all going to get 'zee drunk tonight, aren't we..." She muttered in a voice that was equal parts apprehension and acceptance, gesturing to the bottle Aegle had brought too. Tonight was going to be a fun night, it seemed...
"Lets save 'zee hard drinks for after 'zee movie." Evangeline amended, allowing Kishka and anyone else who hadn't gotten snacks yet to get it, before taking her own stuff. A plate with cake and popcorn on one side, and a piece of pizza that had fried rice and a piece of cheese piled on top of it, a cup of Momo Cola in her other hand. She sat down on the carpeted floor facing the couch, allowing the other girls to have the couch as she settled down. "We still have maybe ten minutes until we start 'zee movie, some time for o'zer girls to come!" She said, smiling at the girls cheerfully, ready to chime into anything girls were talking about.

[Niraya Platinum]

Niraya Platinum
When snow falls, Nature listens.

[attr="class","rainbow"]

Niraya Hugs Eva when she hugged her. "I didn't open a forge here. I don't have that kind of money. but I do work at a forge in town." When Niraya opened up the cake box Eva quickly got a cake knife. Niraya nods when Eva mentioned she didn't want to cut the cake. "It does look nice. But we are going to eat it." Suddenly a knock at the door had Eva go to it leaving Niraya with the cake knife. Niraya hums to herself as she cuts the large cookie cake into equal squares...well as equal as she could get.

The first guest arrived and from the sound of it, Eva and Carmim were close friends. It wasn't long before Niraya was hugged by the second guest. Carmim seems quite excited to be here as she greeted Niraya. "Hello, Carmim I'm Niraya. It's nice to meet you." She hugs her back with one arm as she still had the cake knife in her hand. Niraya finishes cutting up the cake once they stopped hugging. Once that was done Niraya gets a couple of pieces of the cookie cake and sits on the couch.

The next guest arrives and it was Aegle. It was nice to see another familiar face. Eva greets her with another hug. when she was unpacking her duffle bag she pulls out a bottle of brown liquid. Eva seemed to know right away what that could be and her expression said it all. they were going to get drunk. it would be Niraya's first experience with it. her nervousness returns as her tail wraps around her and her ears lay flat on her head. when Aegle greeted Niraya She returns it with a warm smile but her nervousness still showed.

After a bit, the fourth guest arrives. It was Keshka an interesting character, to say the least. She walks in and pulls out a bottle of what looked like a clear liquid. her sinister grin said it all. it was vodka no doubt more the top shelf kind so they were most definitely getting drunk at this party. When Keshka greeted Niraya she returns the greeting. Her nervousness still showing as they waited for the right time to start the movie.

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[Carmim Clover]

❝ WORDS: 921 TAG: Aegle Verdant @everyone else too I guess NOTES: SHOT SHOT SHOTSHOTSHOTSHOTS EVERYBOOODYYYY! HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS The little redhead beamed at her friend's greeting, though she was a bit confused at her comment about the amount of food. Was this a lot? She had considered bringing more, actually, but figured she would be stepping on the host's spotlight a little... Eh, no matter, if there was any left over, she'd just bring it back to Nik. That stupid boy needed to eat more anyways. Honestly... Did he think she got to be as strong as she was by starving herself? Cigarettes, a meal did not make. As she greeted the quiet faunus, she wondered briefly if she was just nervous about having so many people around. It could be a little overwhelming- her first few days in Mistral were like that, coming from a small village. Carmim flashed Niraya a cheery and reassuring smile, as the door opened again, Eva letting in, "Aegle!" Her roommate stepped through the door, offering her a fond smile of greeting, as the tiny drummer launched herself at her friend like a blur of red, wrapping her arms around Aegle in a tight (but not too tight) hug. "I am so happy t'at you are here, my friend! T'is is going to be so much fun!" Another especially girlish squeal. Her eyes shimmered with pure joy, at all the friends, new and old, gathered here. Said eyes then caught the sight of Aegle's bottle, as she gave her friend a sly grin and a wink. "Oooh, I see you came ready for fun." At Eva's question as to the provider of tonight's special beverages, Carmim couldn't help but giggle, shooting Aegle a mischievous look. "Hmm, I wonder who it could be? Someone special, eh?" Her tone was playful, lightly teasing her friend, as friends so often did. And who knew? Maybe there was someone special... She'd have to find out later, once they got to talking about... heh heh. Boys. Speaking of those, she grinned as Eva blushed, and outright laughed as she began her 'swearing.' Giggling through Eva's hands over her mouth, she took delicious pleasure in getting her best friend so flustered. Seems boy talk would definitely be happening. And it would be wonderf- what? She stopped laughing, her mouth hung slightly open in a confused stare at the mention of a crazy white haired boy. Wait... "W-what!? Oh no, oh gosh, oh no, Evangeline Lys de Verre, you take those words back right now!" Now it was her turn to be flustered and red in the face, aghast at the implications, and struggling to argue against them as the tiny blonde tugged at her cheeks. Her? And Nikolas!? Oof. Hopefully that wasn't a widespread rumor, she couldn't bear the stain on her unsullied reputation... "I would rat'er eat my shoes t'an t'ink about him like t'at..." She realized then that maybe that wasn't the strongest analogy, as she seldom wore shoes... But still! Ew! "Now, Haven's very own Mark-look-a-like, on the other hand..." She grinned at Eva as she over-exaggerated a very Lisa-like swoon. Mid-swoon, however, the door opened once more, as a purple-haired girl entered, clad in... Apache's hoodie? Oh no. She must have killed him and taken his clothes! What a nefarious evil-doer. She quickly shook those silly thoughts from her head, though. It was no such villain, it was just Nik's cousin, Kishka. She was, of course, oblivious to Kishka's point of greeting everyone but her, though she was still wary enough of the girl not to cheerily hug her as she had everyone else thus far. Instead, she simply offered the girl a wave and a friendly smile. "Hello, my friend! Glad you have made it." The taller girl flashed her a quick smile before returning to ignoring her. Carmim was satisfied, but would still very likely avoid speaking to the girl for most of the party. She was a little intimidated by her, frankly. Her vodka bottle did catch her attention, however. Oh wow. Between Aegle's bottle and Kishka's, they weren't getting out of this party sober. She hadn't really gotten drunk before, so this would be a new experience for her... She tapped on her collarbone with her thumbs in anticipation, hammering out a soft, but just barely audible, rhythm on her body as she thought about it. She'd had a sip of her uncle's whiskey once, but not enough to get her drunk. Or was it? She didn't really remember the rest of that night, actually... She was rather small, after all... Oof. She was distracted from her thoughts of drunken belligerence by the Atlesian's lovely voice, announcing the variety of snacks available, to which she chimed in with, ""Cheese trays, pizza- pepperoni and jalapeno, spicy chicken and pineapple, and eggplant with olives!- and a pot of fried rice and tomatoes. Old family recipe!" She beamed with pride, excited to share her food with so many friends. Hopefully even more girls would arrive as the night went on, but there were enough of them now that they could really have some fun, even without considering the alcohol. It seemed Eva had the same thought in mind, as she went ahead and prepared a plate before sitting down, announcing that they had a bit more time to wait for new arrivals. Plus it was fun just chatting with everyone right now. Carmim kicked her feet to and fro, sitting beside Eva, as she scooped a few pieces of buttery popcorn into her mouth.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Ruqa Reyes]

A tall woman entered the dorm room, arms braced against the doorframe. "Yo yo yo, I'm here," She waved to everyone in the room before heading on in. Dressing down for the occassion, Ruqa was wearing some basic house clothes but of course fitting to her own specific sense of fashion. She sported a plain grey hoodie with sufficient sleeves to accompany all of four of her arms and black shorts, giving her a more soft look than she usually presented.

She spots the smaller blonde girl, a dainty figure that looked like she was twelve and gives her a sheepish grin. "So, ah, Eva, right? Nice digs you got here. Not sure you remember me but ah we spoke for a little bit. Anyway thanks for inviting us, its always better to watch horror movies with other people"

"Wasn't sure what to bring to girls night so I ah got something special," Ruqa brought an arm from behind her back to show it was carrying a small cake box. "Just a small lil' something" she said as she lifted to cover off to show an eye shockingly adorable strawberry shortcake, complete with an blooming orchard of sugar icing roses. It was the kind of cute that made you gasp out loud in public. Not what you'd expect from the rumoured gorilla of Haven but damnit even Ruqa enjoyed cute things.

She looked over to the bottles of alcohol and whines a little bit. "Whaaat you guys were planning to get drunk?? Crap I should have bought beer instead," Ruqa says with a bit of cheekyness. "Damn Aegle, looks like nice stuff. Top shelf even!" she giggles with the itty bitty bruiser.

The opportunity was perfectly timed and hopefully would end up with more friends as the night was over. Frankly it was a necessary break after the intensity of the Argus Limited mission, not that she'd been loath to bring it up. After carrying the weight of the whole team, pulling asses out of danger left and right, she really just needed to crash with something relaxing and not stressful.

Because horror movies were totally relaxing! They just were not the quiet kind of relaxing but she found that they could be a good way to release some of that pent up energy. Most people she's met have a way of coping with stress. Some bottle it up inside, some turn it into energy to do other things, in the end all that negative energy had to go somewhere. In effect the horror genre stimulated those pre-existing emotions, amplified them and dragged out those emotions all in under two hours. Not that she expected to get that scared of course, she's seen way more freakish stuff down in the Ground District.

Ruqa smiled over to the familiar red head in the group. "Hey heyy, Carmim, come here and give me some love!" Ruqa goes up to serve her a high five "Maan you are tough woman to kill. Honestly thought you bit the dust, no pun intended, but really you are made of some stronger stuff."

WC: 518
Colour Hex: 54e1fb

[Aegle Verdant]

"Oh, Aegle, did you bring us what I 'zink you brought?"
A part of Aegle, and no small part at that, had hoped that nobody would take much notice of her amber offering. There was a reason she'd tried to get it onto the table and out of her possession as quickly as possible, not the least of which being that she knew she wasn't supposed to have it at all.
"Who did you get it from?" Asked Eva.
Aegle grinned sheepishly at her, "Dinnae reckon he'd want me answerin' that."
In fact, it had been one of the musicians conditions for sharing his brew with her. Despite his claim that, because he brewed it, he was allowed to have it, Reynard had not been especially eager for his name and hobby to be spread about the campus. She might not have even thought to bring it, were it not for alcohol occupying a prominent, if not necessarily obligatory, role in the assortment of fictitious sleepovers which had primed her for the real thing.

Her worries were soon abated however, when everyone present paid her proffered bottle more interest than disdain. Though it was tough to tell what Niraya had thought of the offering, both Carmin and Eva seemed outright interested. Nor was she even the only one of them to come bearing booze; When Kishka showed up, she rather loudly and proudly announced her own contribution to the cause. Part of Aegle was relieved that she was no longer the only one with the wont and ability to acquire alcohol. Another, much bigger part was really rather distressed that she and Kishka had something in common.

Aegle was happy to sink to the background as things got a bit busier, what with Kishka arriving and settling in, and a few slices of cookie cake being spread across the room. She felt rather uncomfortable, being honest. Not as uncomfortable as she had been when Eva hugged her, nor when Kishka had shown up, but certainly not as comfortable as she might have been punching a bag or practicing forms. In a lot of ways, interacting with girls her own age was untrodden territory for Aegle, a literal no-mans'-land of cues she'd never learned and predilections she could not predict. So, for the time being, it seemed safer to watch the night's events as they unfolded, and keep from diving in until she was she knew just how deep the water was.

One thing that soon became apparent was how split down the middle the room was already becoming. On one side, there was Carmin and herself, on the other was Kishka and Niraya, with Eva constantly flittering between. Despite her attendance suggesting otherwise, Aegle sensed a distance between Kishka and their hostess, made all the more apparent when compared with how she treated the faunus girl. More obvious was Kishka's aversion to Carmin, whom she'd seemingly gone out of her way to avoid noticing. The feeling, while not mutual, was mirrored in Carmin own cautious courtesy towards the dark skinned girl. She did not outright ignore Kishka, but nor did she try to make herself the center of the other girl's attention. Niraya, for how expressive her ears and tail made her, was difficult for Aegle to read, but her familiarity with Kishka was obvious, making Aegle wonder if they might actually be close friends. Eva was wholly above it all, seemingly ambivalent and immune Kishka's razor sharp smiles. For her part, Aegle stuck close to Carmin, though she would not have necessarily called her roommate a close friend; Eva and Carmin, with their inside jokes and playful teasing, definitely seemed closer than Aegle felt to her roommate. She was definitely the new girl, and being in the same room as so many others who'd had half a year to learn one another's personalities really enforced her awareness of the fact.

She helped herself to some of the snacks Carmin had brought when a new knocker arrived at the door. Eva opened it, and thereupon revealed yet another familiar face, as the four-armed Ruqa was welcomed into their midst. Aegle's heart gave a little hitch at her entrance; Ruqa was something of a minor celebrity, following her mission aboard the Argus Express. Half-a-hundred tales were being floated about the campus, each recounting the cyborgs exciting, impossible, and often outright contradictory exploits during the bandit ambush. To trust the quad scuttlebutt, Ruqa had: Tied a tiger faunus' tail in a knot, then beat him unconscious with it; Had caught a grenade in midair and used it to knock out the bandit who'd thrown it; Had used a whole vat of super glue to stick a dozen would-be attackers to the floor of one of the cars; Taken three bandits, including an academy wash out, all on at the same time; Used her metal arms to hide in the ceiling of one of the cars, and cleared it of hostiles like something out of a comic book; Fought the entire mission with one metal hand behind her back, and still come out of it completely unscathed; and dozens of other equally unlikely, but no less impressive for all that, rumors just like them. Whatever the truth might have been, Ruqa had definitely done something interesting and impressive to warrant such a vortex of rumor mongering.
None of which changed how incredibly uncomfortable Ruqa had made her during their first encounter, nor how embarrassed Aegle still felt following that encounter. She wanted nothing so much as to slide beneath Ruqa's notice, and failed almost immediately.
"Damn Aegle," Said the cyborg, as she eyed Aegle's alcoholic alms, "Looks like nice stuff. Top shelf even!"
Ruqa giggled, like she'd made a joke and, uncomfortable, Aegle giggled too. It wasn't top shelf, not even close. It was home made and just about strong enough to strip paint. Surely she could see that. Surely?

She was glad to shift aside when Ruqa turned her exotic gaze onto Carmin instead, finding strange relief in no longer being the focus of Ruqa's intense attentions.
'Not bad,' She thought to herself, moving past the red head and cyborg to collect some cake for herself, 'Y'in a room with five people. Two of 'em, y'pretty sure don't like ya, one of 'em makes y'feel weird, and you're jealous enough of three of 'em t' turn green from it.'
Coming to this slumber party was beginning to seem like not the best idea she'd ever had. Passing by the bottles on her way back to her seat, Aegle eyed the amber contents of the one she'd brought. She remembered the fiery tickle, the flush of warmth, and the still calm that had soon followed, along with the momentary dulling of all her inner voices.
Placing down her plate of cake, Aegle, in spite of Eva's prior urgings to the contrary, worked the stopper on the bottle free and poured some of its contents into one of the disposable plastic cups she'd brought for that very purpose. Returning to her space on the floor, by Carmin's side of the couch, Aegle tried not to wince with her first sip, and returned to watching the other girls.

words - 1,205

[Kishka Burzanova]

KISHKA BURZANOVA

"Kishka," she calmly and politely corrected with an impressive show of patience and resolve to not fuck up this whole friendship thing. That was strike one against little blondie. Kiiiiiiiishkaaaaa. Not Kisska. Not Kisha. Not Kika. Kishka. Of course, she did take a moment to embrace the compliment Evangeline had given her, as she stroked back some of her hair with her hand. She smiled down at the smaller girl. "And thank you! It takes a considerable amount of effort to get it this soft and full, not to mention maintaining the right shade and brightness." On second thought, for giving her the opportunity to gush about one of her favorite parts of herself, she removed the strike against Eva. She added it to little red's stack instead. Not that that mattered much; Carmim was already on strike fifteen, at the least. Out of three. It did appear that she was Evangeline's friend, however, so she couldn't exactly be openly rude to her. Or well, she could. But then she would fail at her mission to acquire another friend so she wouldn't have to hear any more complaints about her being too mean. She was the correct amount of mean. The right amount! A perfectly acceptable amount of meanness. As the small redhead offered her a greeting, she responded with a warm smile, and a friendly wave back, which seemed to please the dwarf enough to leave her alone. It was remarkably very similar to the social events her parents had occasionally taken her to when she was younger. A whole lot of diplomacy and pretending to like people she hated. In other words, absolutely dreadful. As she moved to stand by Niraya, the vulpine girl returned her greeting, though she definitely seemed a bit off. Nerves? Maybe she also hated half of the other guests? If so, that was quite understandable. Or maybe that arrogant wannabe royal had come by with more of her pompous bullshit. The thought set her blood boiling. She hated that punk even more than she hated Clover. Maybe more than she hated Bel... Nah, not quite that much, but it was close. At that moment, an absolute giant bounded through the doors. Now, Kishka was pretty tall, herself, but this woman stood at least a full three inches over her head. And the aura of badassery emanating from her put her at least at Nik's height... There was no mistaking it, as she saw the three mechanical arms, the fourth tucked behind her back with something. This was none other than Ruqa Reyes. The clearest standout from the Argus Limited mission, far surpassing every other trainee. Always on the prowl for rumors and gossip, Kishka was definitely keeping tabs on this one. Rumors told of everything from her shattering the mountain with her fist, thus trapping a Giant Nevermore under a landslide, to filling a car with glue and nets like some kind of spider, to single-handedly clubbing thirty bandits to death with their own arms. Legends surrounding her were great, indeed. But she was smarter than that. She had the inside scoop, of course, knowing both her Argent, and her shitty cousin. Unfortunately, the fabled Gorilla of Haven had not used Nik as a battering ram to free all the other trainees from a car full of acid gas. A shame. The glue, however, was true. She was a little envious, actually. That was ultimate level comic book villainy. Truly, she was in the presence of a prodigious genius. As Ruqa entered the room, she offered her a genuine smile, born of respect. Something she didn't give lightly. "Ruqa, yeah? I heard about your recent mission, congratulations." She glanced over at the miniature human beside Eva on the couch. "Oh, and uh. You too, Clover." See? Not petty at all. She was being downright friendly. A friend-making machi- ew, no, scratch that. That phrase felt weird in her mind. Gross. No. Just no. She watched as Aegle and Ruqa interacted, a bit intrigued that the taller girl was even aware of the girl's existence. Maybe that was a little too harsh; Aegle was basically useless, and a crybaby, but she had come close to almost being useful in the recent ambush tactics class. Maybe there was something she was missing. As she watched her, however, she saw the girl discreetly pour herself a drink, which absolutely tickled her funny bone. Oho, Aegle? Okay. Her eyes grinned approvingly, though her smile gave up no secrets. Just as quietly, Kishka too ignored Eva's suggestion, and discreetly poured herself a small plastic cup of the vodka she had brought, before walking past Aegle to return to her original spot in the room, but not before slyly clinking her cup to Aegle's with a wink. Cheers, kid.

Notes// buncha drunks | Tagged// Evangeline Lys de Verre | WC// 800

✬

[Evangeline Lys de Verre]

tell me pretty lies

template by Punki of Adoxography

@ too many -x- 1220 words -x- movie begins, feel free to include movie scenes in your own posts but dont end it

Evangeline tilted her head at Niraya's answer, before nodding understandingly. "Ah, I must have misheard 'zen! Nevertheless, you are doing fine work I hear! I will probably have to commission you to make 'zee bolts for my crossbow!" She said happily, clapping her hands together.

Evangeline narrowed her eyes coyly at Aegle as Aegle evaded her question about who the alcohol was from, the look in Evangeline's eyes telling Aegle that she was probably thinking what Carmim was thinking; the boy was someone special. Regardless, the interaction between Evangeline and Carmim proceeded as Carmim defended herself from Evangeline's valid accusations. Evangeline however didn't let it go as she crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks at her friend.

" 'Zat is exactly what a girl having a crush on a boy would say!" Evangeline announced like she was presenting incriminating, irrefutable evidence, despite the fact that her own words could be used on herself with her situation and the mountain man. "I saw you visiting him every day in 'zee infirmary! Melly was telling me 'zat you were leaning over his face! Doing... NAUGHTY!" Evangeline accused, not knowing that Melly had intentionally failed to mention that Carmim was probably just trying to forcefeed Nikolas something healthy when she had been leaning over. But then Evangeline's accusatory air vanished and she leaned in closer to her friend in a more conspiratorially way, and whispered, "You have to be careful Carmeem! If you... kiss him! You will get 'zee..." Evangeline trailed off, tapping her own stomach in a silent gesture, warning Carmim about the dangers of touching boys they liked.

Kishka had entered by then and corrected Evangeline's pronunciation of her name. "Ah, pardon! My accent makes it difficult to say... Kiishka?" She tried, definitely putting in effort to say her name right, and she said it mostly right, although the same problem remained where she emphasized the I sound into more of a longer E sound, similar to how she said Carmim's name. She also noticed a definite tension between her and Carmim, although it was mostly from Kishka's side. Nevertheless, they were being polite about it, so no problem!

She turned back to Kishka, admiring her hair again as Kishka obviously gave a response of pride about it. "It looks magnifique! And such a special color too! Not purple yet purple! Oh, I can't even name it! I'm jealous!" Evangeline said, playful yet also sincere. She wanted to make this girl feel more welcome, especially because she had heard Argent mention Kishk-

Wait a minute.

Evangeline fixed a curious look at Kishka. Was she...? Was he...?
Questions for later.

And then the door opened and Ruqa entered. Evangeline smiled brightly at the big woman who greeted them with an arm behind her back. "Ah, you must be Ruqa!" She exclaimed brightly, quickly going over to give the woman a hug, having to jump up to wrap her arms around the woman's neck, giving her a tight embrace. Unlike what a lot of people at Haven thought, it was obvious Evangeline didn't think of Ruqa as either scary or as a gorilla. She withdrew from the hug and smiled at the big woman, speaking, "I hear you did a very, very good job in 'zee train mission! My friends Carmim and Argent were 'zere too, so I owe you very big thanks for looking after 'zem!"

At the sight of Ruqa's cake, Evangeline clapped her hands together and made a happy noise. "Ah, more pretty cake! I will be fat after tonight. Fat and happy!" She exclaimed, taking Ruqa's cake from her to go and set it next to all the other snacks and cut it into almost-equal pieces, while the others mingled and shared some conversation.

As everyone began to settle for the movie, Evangeline allowed herself to study all the current guests in turn. Niraya looked somewhat uncomfortable and shy, judging from the residual tenseness in her facial muscles, and the way her ears were flattened. Despite Evangeline indirectly asking Niraya a question, Niraya seemed to not have picked up on the cue and hadn't replied.

Regardless, Evangeline's eyes shifted over to Carmim, who was as jaunty and cheerful as ever. Her red friend was so much similar to Evangeline in so many ways, but whereas Evangeline was much more like a bright, gentle ball of sunshine, Carmim was more of an energetic series of firework explosions. Same energy, different expression.

Aegle looked about as nervous as Niraya was. The same tense energy hung around her, despite her continued attempts to relax. Evangeline wondered what she could do to help both her and the faunus relax... Hmm, perhaps the movie would help? It was horror after all, and that would take their minds off of muddled thoughts and more towards the movie.

And then there was Kishka, a girl she had recently battled in a class. It seemed neither of them held ill will towards the other; it was class after all. Evangeline could definitely see the resemblance with Nikolas, Kishka's cousin. Despite Kishka being very different from her sociopathic cousin, they shared certain tells and traits. Like how Kishka's eyes could flash with the sharpness of razors, how their emotional energies could completely flip from relaxed to lethal within the span of a breath... But unlike Nikolas, Kishka was far more... Whole. In body and soul. Better for her to mesh with.

Ruqa was the newest addition to their little party right now, and she was still in the process of grabbing snacks, making smalltalk and settling down for the movie. She occassionally looked scary, as she had back in the briefing before the train mission, but right now, she looked very normal, friendly even, with the ghost of a smile on her face as she picked out snacks for her plate, easily joking and talking with the others. Evangeline knew that Ruqa probably did have a dangerous side, but she was much better than some of the others like her since she was actually friendly and happy otherwise. Unlike Nikolas, who appeared dangerous all the time.

"It is time!" She said happily once Ruqa had settled down, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on while she turned off the lights in her room, leaving them illuminated just by the TV. She spent a few seconds navigating through MistFlix until she found the movie, already downloaded. "The Possession", starring Hickory Greene, featuring the story of a girl who gets possessed by the demon "Kazoozoo" in her room and exorcists being called in to save her. A very scary movie, made better by the fact that the lead actor, Hickory Greene, was the same actor who played the handsome Mark from the romance drama.

As the movie began to play, Evangeline's focus was drawn to it, her hands absently taking a bite of the pizza slice that had rice piled on top of it. She didn't notice some of the other girls already starting on the alcohol. The movie proceeded through the opening few scenes, with an ancient demonic artifact being unearthed. The beginning of the movie wasn't too interesting, but suspense was slowly building, and Evangeline had already scooted backwards on the floor until her back was against the couch, Carmim's legs a comfort right next to her.

[Niraya Platinum]

Niraya Platinum
When snow falls, Nature listens.

[attr="class","rainbow"]

Niraya wasn't talking to people as they weren't asking her things. This didn't help her feel any better as she was terrible at social situations. Niraya waited in silence as everyone had their own conversations without her. No one seemed to pay Niraya any attention which was probably because she only met the others here once or twice before coming here. Niraya Just silently waits and eats her plate of goodies since no one seemed to pay her any mind. A new person walks through the door and they had 4 robotic arms. Niraya had never met this person so this only worsed how she felt.

It wasn't long after that Eva started the movie. Niraya watches the movie unsure how to react as she hasn't really watched movies in a really really long time and none of them horror. She watches with a nervousness her first horror movie and it was dealing with possessions and demonic entities. this was going to mess with Niraya for weeks to come.

↺ + HK

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[Erytheia Hellebore]

The noble warrior stood, and the people looked to her.
For she was a beacon - hope given form, yet still only human.
Within that truth there was great promise.
If one could stand against the night, then so too could anyone - everyone.

In her hand the warrior held a Rose. And her aura burned bright.

❝

If Erytheia had to be honest with herself, she wasn’t all too sure about showing up at the impromptu party Evangeline had organised, if only because she was so utterly lost as to what form it would take. Evangeline was of Lys de Verre blood, a name that the young Hellebore lady was, if not familiar, then at least well acquainted with. Surely there must be some element of formality to the invitation - but at the same time, Evangeline had integrated herself so well into the social environment of Haven that she could very well have adjusted to their less pompous compatriots’ tastes by making this an informal party. Which was worse - to come overdressed for what might be a simple affair would mark her as flaunting her wealth - and to come under dressed for a more dignified occasion would make her shameless. It was quite the dilemma, one that the young Hellebore had only decided to make a decision on when it was clear that most of those coming were names that she had never heard of, with the exception of Evangeline herself and one or two more.

The first few hours after class had ended were spent applying various beauty treatments to her face and skin, while also rummaging through her comfort food cabinet for something she could bring. Eventually, she settled on a box of truffle chocolates and a tin of caviar, going about the rest of her preparations while also taking the time to finish some of her theoretical homework while she waited. The number of items she decided to bring doubled, and then tripled as more and more people responded to the invitation on the school chat, until eventually she decided to bring everything in a simple handheld bag - that would be far easier than trying to carry all those tins and boxes by herself. Evangeline’s room wasn’t far from hers, not at all - but it would hardly do to carry everything through the door and dump it on the first available surface like some hooligan neanderthal, would it?‌ Appearances had to be kept up, after all.

After it all was done, Erytheia took a short bath of a half hour, washing her blonde hair with lightly scented lavender shampoo and massaging the conditioner into the ends. Some more time was spent drying and combing out all the little knots before she changed into a comfortable red nightdress and slipped elbow length satin gloves over her hands. And with just enough time on the clock to pop down to the younger girl’s bedroom, she was all set-

Only to realize she had no way of carrying her sleeping items.

Slight panic ensued.‌ If there was ever such an image as a dignified scramble, then that was Erytheia at this very moment. Not because of any inherent behavioral clause, mind, but because she had spent far too long maintaining her appearance to show up disheveled and sloppy and disgraceful now. So she forced her nervous limbs to move slowly, and to try to find a way to solve the issue before she was irrevocably late. At last, she came upon the idea of snatching one of the smaller wheeled luggages she had brought her items to Haven in, and packed in her pillows and blanket as fast as she dared. Then it was off, out through the door and down the stairs to where the younger girl’s room was, pausing for a few seconds to pull her unbound hair out of her eyes and tuck it behind her ears as well as straighten out what little creases had gotten into her dress in her time coming down.

Erytheia raised a hand and rapped lightly on the door - once, twice, three times, before lowering it back down.

“Hello?‌ Eva?” she called, loud enough that she could be heard through the door but not so loud that she would bother the neighboring rooms.

“It is I, Erytheia!‌ Have I come too late to join in the festivities?”

@ ● 669 words ● 669 total words

MADE BY MIZO

[Aegle Verdant]

With nobody making a fuss, Aegle figured she was in the clear as fair as her little party-favor faux pas was concerned. Her face was feeling warm after only a couple of sips, and the answering fire in her stomach was already worming its way through her body. Her thoughts that her actions had gone unnoticed were soon disabused however, when Kishka, of all people, leaned down to tap Aegle's cup with her own. Aegle looked up sharply, guilt written across her face, but the tall girl only smiled and winked and walked on to her side of the room, leaving Aegle even more confused. She continued to watch Kishka, wondering.
'Does she just me t'know that she knows?'
Aegle watched the other girl take a sip from her own glass, then watched the momentary tightness that moved across Kishka's face when she swallowed.
'She's drinkin' some as well,' Aegle realized, 'Or, at least, she's drinkin' whatever she brought.
That was two things she and Kishka had in common; A disquieting thought.

It came almost as a relief when Eva finally elected to start the movie, and not simply because it had been forever since Aegle had watched on, and never since she'd watched a horror movie. Seated on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin atop them, Aegle let all obligation of conversation get washed away by the title card's opening sting. It was quiet to start with, a lot of talking and not a whole lot of action, which was a far cry from the sorts of movies Aegle had watched. She wasn't sure what was happening, being honest; It was very dark and a lot of what was said came in the form of veiled allusions, like the characters were unwilling to be too specific about what they were talking about. There was something strangely unsettling about that, Aegle felt. Not simply their reluctance to give what they were talking about a name, but the possibility that it might not even have a name at all.

After an especially dark scene, set in what Aegle thought might be a crypt of some kind, the movie cut jarringly to a scene with what was soon revealed to be a mother and daughter, living somewhere near Atlas. Which made sense, given that Eva had chosen the movie. These scenes were much better lit, and far easier to follow, and featured easily recognizable locations like the pair's home and the daughter's school. Except, Aegle found them even more unnerving. Something about the way the camera hung over the characters, or how shots came at the pair from around corners or from the top of stairs... It was like they were being watched. The music didn't help. Even in the quieter, more mundane scenes, there was this tension building, like something was coming closer, closer, closer. It made it feel as though there was something just outside of the shot, where neither she nor the characters could see it. Something waiting.

Needless to say, she was engrossed. No sooner had the movie established how mundane and normal their lives were, did strange things start happening to the mother and daughter. The daughter, especially. She started having nightmares, and complained about seeing things that weren't there. Aegle could feel a knot tying itself in her stomach when the mother, distressed, took her child to see the local doctor, in a vain effort to figure out what was wrong with her. She felt cold, watching that scene, listening to the daughter as she tried to explain what was wrong, watching as bafflement knitted itself across the doctor's concerned face. By the time that scene had ended, Aegle knew nothing good could happen to the daughter.

What followed was a scene in the daughter's bedroom, shot from the inside of her open closet. She was tossing and turning, making quiet sounds. Asleep, or so it seemed, but restless. Then the camera crept out of the closet and into the dark room. The light shifted, the shadows changed, and the camera drew in closer. The girl in the bed shuddered, warm breath puffing white from her mouth, and the camera came closer still. There was a sound too, some stringed instrument, high and shrill and urgent. The thing that was the camera was at the foot of her bed now, and she lay ringed in shadows as sharp as teeth, whimpering, still asleep, and yet somehow aware of what was coming.
A knock at the door made Aegle jump where she sat, and yanked a sharp, shrill, squeak out of her lungs with a barbed hook. Aegle covered her mouth, and felt her cheeks flood with color, as wide, emerald eyes fastened themselves to the door.
"Hello?‌" Called a familiar voice, "Eva? It is I, Erytheia!‌ Have I come too late to join in the festivities?"
Relief crashed through Aegle, but not before a sharp beeping came from her wrist. Peeling her hand off of her mouth, Aegle saw a flash or red and black and a number much higher than she cared to think about. Embarrassed, and now annoyed, Aegle silenced the watch as Erytheia was let into the room, then attempted to drown her shame with another few mouthfuls of the sour cider.
'S'just a movie, y'big baby,' She scolded herself, as the alcohol fell into her stomach like a crystal of fire dust, 'Nothin' worth gettin' worked up over.'

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