when the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake [open]

[titansno]

Who: Rachel and any and all guests and trick-or-treaters
What: HALLOWEEN PARTY
Where: Rachel's brownstone
When: Starting in the evening on Thursday, October 31.
Warnings: Halloween things. Power flareups. Drinking. Probably people misbehaving.

Rachel has been finishing up preparation all day. With the current condition of the city, it hasn't been easy to get everything, but it's done! Outside, the brownstone has jack-o'-lanterns glowing on the steps and stoop to welcome guests and visitors to the door.

Fake cobweb is stretched above the door and the atmosphere is right. Inside, music is playing, decorations are set, there are games to play, there are tables of food and drinks and a large bowl of Halloween candy by the door. The fun even extends to the backyard!

On the second floor, there's a room with a flatscreen TV and a big couch playing classic monster movies. Finally, there's a wet bar that she's trusting the adults to keep the kids out of.

The invitation is out, so all there is to do is wait.

[ooc: subthreads up! go forth!]

Comments

[titansno]

Rachel can be found all over the place at the party. She's not the most social person under most circumstances, but Halloween being Halloween, she's gone all out for once and she's making an effort to at least seem approachable. A host has certain obligations, right? She's dressed as a witch, carrying her drink in one hand. Between the crooked pointy hat and black-and-blue hair, she's not easy to miss.

The occasional floating objects near her are likely enough to stand out, too.

[somesayinfire]

Dang, this party has some pretty good special effects. This wasn't the first time she's hung out with Rachel tonight, but it's definitely the first time she's got a guest in tow. "Hey, Rachel," Brooke says, catching her around the makeshift theatre on the second floor. "This here's Luci," and she indicates the person who could very easily be a younger version of herself. "She's a pretty big fan, and I told her I'd introduce you two."

With that, she steps back and allows the two of them to interact however they may like. Of course, she'll still be hanging around—this'll be fun to watch on both ends.

[ladyofluminosity]

Luci was fine with meeting Rachel, but being shoved front and center and being left to her own devices was not part of the plan as discussed. She blond stands there a bit awkwardly, looking behind at Brooke as she makes the off-hand comment about being a big fan, then back toward Rachel.

Okay. You can do this, Luci. This is just someone you look up to. Someone you look up to a lot. "...Thank you for having me..." She immediately starts to look down a bit. Yeah, this was going well.

[titansno]

With her focus actually being occupied now, a darkness envelops the books and pens floating near her--individually--before they drop. She blinks, shaking her head. Rachel knows the signs of the sort of problem Luci's having. From signings and her own social problems...yes. "How are you enjoying the party?"

Ugh, she's terrible at this sort of setting. It's something basic, anyway.

[ladyofluminosity]

Come on, now, you're usually not this terrible at meeting new people. Granted, most new people aren't celebrities in their own right, but that was beside the point. She could have a polite conversation without the awkwardness of a die-hard fan, couldn't she? This was a regular person just like her in front of her.

Wait.

Luci stops, noticing all of the items falling, or, more notably, what was holding it up. Was that... Was that her doing that? Suddenly a lot of things started to make sense. That in and of itself helped her gain a bit of composure. "It's fun. Can I ask you something?"

[titansno]

Maybe. It's worth a shot, Luci.

Rachel raises an eyebrow, even if she has a strong feeling it probably has to do with her little power flare just then. "What is it?"

[ladyofluminosity]

Rachel's change of expression immediately made the blond back down. Was this really the best time to ask? They were at a party, things were supposed to be light and fun, and somehow Luci felt that, while she might entertain the inquiry, the timing wasn't right. If she was right, the two were at least somewhat polar opposites, and the concept fascinated her, but there was such a thing as tact.

She paused, thinking of something else quickly. "What made you want to start writing in the first place? I... love your books. All of them, honestly. I've always been a big reader, but, something about them, I just can't put them down." This was true, they felt like they came from a certain place--Malchior, especially--and she wanted to know more about that, and, really, more about the crafter of these worlds she'd grown to adore.

[titansno]

She's answered questions like this before. Rachel's never been terribly comfortable going into great detail about why she started writing, but... eh.

Part of it is the fact she's already had one of Brooke's candy apples, but she finally nods after a moment's hesitation. For some reason she suspects Luci wanted to say something else. "It was an escape. I'd been reading constantly since I was a kid, so that's where some of it came from." Her accent slips a little more than it usually does--born and bred in Queens.

"I must have been about your age. I had a commute every day of the week. I had to schlep over from Forest Hills to lower Manhattan and back, day after day... oy, I'm kvetching. Sorry." She shakes her head, trying to focus. Rachel wants to try to answer the question properly--to some extent, anyway--but she might need to sit down with some water.

[ladyofluminosity]

An escape. She knew the desire to want to live a different life, which was the reason she would retreat toward books. Luci nods knowingly. "It's fine, really. I'm sorry to ask such an awkward question. I mean, you probably get it all the time, anyway. I can't even think of anything interesting to say, I'm really sorry." She stumbled a bit.

It was still on her mind, what she saw, but no, it wasn't the time. It was hard to say if there really would be a time. "What is Manhattan like? I've never gotten the chance to go to New York City, but I've heard it's quite a place."

[titansno]

Rachel does wish she could answer more completely, but she doesn't trust herself to get there quickly without saying too much. Not usually, and especially not now. "Don't worry about it, I've had worse meetings with fans." She manages a little laugh.

"The city is..." Rachel smiles, distantly. "There's no other place like it. It never stops. There are always so many things to do, to see, to try. It's alive. Like nowhere else I've ever been."

[ladyofluminosity]

The idea of a city that never stopped, constantly moving, living, thriving. "I wish I could see it." There was a bit of something in her voice, likely Rachel might know--regret perhaps? She couldn't leave the city, much like the dark-haired woman in front of her, without forgetting everything, and Luci was not willing to make that sacrifice.

[dominateartimus]

Unless you are wearing a white mask that obscures your vision, like Xander was. He didn't notice Rachel right away as he moves slowly around the place. He was unintentionally living up to his costume, this universe's rendition of Slenderman.

He was on his way for another refill of a non-alcoholic drink, before noticing that something was floating in the air in front of him. He was going to dismiss it as some hanging decorations and reaches up with a hand to gently move it out of the way, but not feeling any wire or resistance as he grabbed item did raise some concern.

"Excuse me," he starts, being rather polite. "Are... you aware that there are some objects floating here?"

Then again, what he just said might have been obvious and a little bit inconsiderate. He could blame his mask and his recklessness for this. It wasn't too late to apologize.

[titansno]

She whirls around in surprise, having not heard or seen him beforehand. It only gets worse when she registers what he said. Her eyes turn a glowing white for a brief moment before each of the small items--books, pens, paper pads, etc--is shrouded in inky blackness for a second before dropping to the floor.

"Again?" she murmurs, sounding a little annoyed before she places her drink down on the nearest table, starting to pick up what she dropped. "Sorry about that."

[dominateartimus]

He doesn't flinch at the sudden turn around or witnessing her eyes glow white for a few seconds. When he hears the objects drop to the floor and feels the weight of the object he grabbed, he gives a small nod. That was interesting, since he hasn't encountered anyone who could use telekinesis.

"It's all right." He replies before he moving down to assist with picking up items. "I take it that you're not in full control of your new ability yet?"

[titansno]

"You could say that." God, that was an understatement. It flared up near-constantly, when she wasn't paying attention. "At least there are worse places for it to happen."

[dominateartimus]

"I agree. At least it wasn't in public." He adds before handing over the items he collected. "...It took me a few days to control my ability of disappearing in to shadows."

Which earned him plenty of bruises in the process. Hopefully the gracious host he was speaking to was not having that kind of difficulty with her abilities.

i can feel that icon staring into my very soul

[titansno]

"Could you imagine? Cops would be on me in a second."

Wait.

Second part just registered.

"Disappearing into shadows?" Xander gets a raised eyebrow at that one. Now she's definitely paying attention - it seemed sort of familiar, but hell if she could figure out why.

Thankfully, she hadn't been experiencing had any such problems.

it has a habit of doing that

[dominateartimus]

"I don't have to."

He pauses at the question about his ability and blinks briefly behind his mask. He gives her a quick nod.

"...Yes. I can merge with my own shadow or one that belongs to another person or thing." He answers before picking up another object from the floor. "When I first got it, I was unable to control myself from disappearing in to my own shadow."