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

[somesayinfire]

"I think they're a wonderful combination," she says, eyeing the tequila. "You know, tequila's one of my favorite liquors. The best thing about it is that everyone has a different story, but they all end exactly the same way. Like, okay."

She puts both hands on the bar and surveys the party quickly, as though the underage attendees won't find some way to overhear her if they want to.

"One time in college, I did 13 shots of it in about three hours. People tried taking the bottle away from me, but I kept finding it and 'sneaking' more." She does the air quotes. "I wasn't very subtle. And that night ended the same way everyone else's tequila stories end. So what's yours?"

[betroth]

"Then, how about an Agave Kiss?" Fruity, chocolaty, creamy, vintage, and unexpectedly chock full of the number one liquor that has felled many a man. Or woman. In line with the offer, Brooke had a point; there were drunken stories, and then there were tequila stories. Chloe lines the mix up with a stifled giggle and reaches for a cocktail glass. Their hostess had quite a lovely collection.

"Thirteen shots sounds impossible! You're the one who may need a second liver."

Not that she isn't contributing.

"Mine... skinny dipping in a lake," she remarks nearly off-handedly, though she does have the grace to look at least a little sheepish when she holds her hand out to motion for the raspberry liqueur she'd nearly dropped. "Though I woke up on my roof. Someone, ah, said something about stargazing and feeling gravity once I got down."

Which she did, without puking, thank you very much. Though she was covered in hay. No one could explain that, so she doesn't either.

[somesayinfire]

Brooke hands over the liqueur readily, only smirking a little bit. At least she'd never gotten "suddenly naked" drunk. (That she could remember.) But ridiculous tequila stories aren't a competition; they're a community event that brings people together, and she already feels a little closer to Chloe because of it.

"Are you sure you were only drinking?" she asks, the smirk growing. "Stargazing is always great, but I didn't think being able to feel gravity was a booze thing. An agave kiss sounds great, by the way."

The more suggestive a drink sounds, generally, the better it is. That philosophy's worked great for her in the past.

[betroth]

"No, no! N-Nothing like that all all." She waves quickly; she had stories, but not those kinds of stories. It was mostly in the company of family and friends of family anyway; any number of the sprawling Weiss clan were usually present for holidays down on the farm, where the rules were looser and it was more difficult to get in trouble.

"My cousins and my sister..." A fond laugh as she layers up her drink. "They were all able to drink before I could. That was around New Years, but," a smile as she tops her raspberry-cream-tequila concoction off with creme de cacao. "I didn't see a lot of them until the Fourth of July."

Chloe picks the glass up and holds it out.

"Making up for lost time, hm? My first... and last! Tequila story."

[somesayinfire]

Brooke takes the glass and raises it to Chloe. "Here's to less nudity in the future." Well, it's bad luck to drink a toast to yourself, and it seems they're both trying to temper their drinking anyway—though it could just be for tonight on Chloe's side, for all Brooke knows. Anyway, it's a pretty solid toast, if she were to say so herself. She takes a celebratory sip, because she is a demure lady, and smiles appreciatively.

"Wow, this is really good! Ever consider taking up bartending as a side job, o disciple of Dionysus?" The last part gets added with an enormous grin, because she can't believe she's gone this long without making a proper reference to her costume.

[betroth]

Chloe will toast to that. Even if it was a little ironic, celebrating a hope for a future involving less alcohol-tinting with... alcohol. They were playing safe though, and the party atmosphere was far too enticing to play the part of the wallflower or otherwise. And the time of year did little for wanting to go skinny dipping much of anywhere, which is a thought that silently amuses her.

"You dress better for it," she intones, twisting at one of the circles of fabric around her wrists. "I waitressed a little around the holidays and summer, but... mm, no, I never thought about bartending!"

[somesayinfire]

"Please. This is just a costume." Never mind that it's not much of one—add sleeves and she's basically got her walking around clothes. "You've got the knowledge for it, and you're adorable enough to make bank in tips. Not that I'd go back to tipped work if I could avoid it."

She puts the drink down on the bar, nudges herself a little closer to Chloe, and lowers her voice, because she is about to swear. "I kind of like not having to kiss ass to survive."

[betroth]

Oh, getting conspiratorial, are they. She gives no indication she takes issue with the dreaded swearing, nodding in agreement instead.

"That's — too much! About the knowledge, and otherwise. I was just keeping myself busy, at the time," she admits, not sounding overly fond of her experience, but hardly granting it any ire, either. "But now with classes, and trying to get my certification in equine therapy, I've run all out of time instead."

[somesayinfire]

That's probably a good opinion to have with regards to the service industry, as far as Brooke is concerned. She doesn't exactly hate the dues she had to pay in it, but they're not the best of times, either. At any rate, it's Chloe's academic interests that catch her ear.

"I didn't realize you needed to get certified for that kind of thing. How intense is the process? ...Wow, sorry, you don't have to answer that. I sound like somebody's nosy aunt at Thanksgiving."

[betroth]

"Ah, but I get curious too!" She's quick to offer, expression smoothing out encouragingly. "I don't mind sharing. It's not very vigorous, because I'm working towards something I'm passionate about!"

And she really is all lit up as she talks about it, cheesy as she knows it probably looks. She can get downright goofy about the prospects.

"I've already done my applications, CPR certifications, and my two online exams. All of the self-study aspects, basically. I lead horse trails every weekend... if the weather permits. It doesn't count towards my teaching hours, but I'd never stop just because of that."

[somesayinfire]

Goofy or not, it's really great to see anybody get excited about the things they love, and Chloe is no exception. Her height and her costume really add to the experience, making her entire explanation about twenty times more adorable than it has any right to be. ("Oh my god she's so cute" isn't a negative stereotype about being short, is it? Probably not. Yeah, Brooke doesn't feel bad thinking it.)

One thing catches her ear. "CPR certification? Is there, like, equine CPR?" It makes sense if there is, but it's not something she ever really thought about. It'd be nice to get some verification straight from the horse's mouth-to-mouth.

[betroth]

Chloe nearly inhales some of her drink thanks to an ill-timed sip, holding it down to a half-snarf half-laugh-esque type thing.

"No, oh, my god, no!" Though she has to admit she's probably been due for that question and it's much funnier in these circumstances. She has to reach for a napkin before she can go on.

[somesayinfire]

Brooke starts laughing outright at Chloe's reaction. It was a dumb question, maybe, but damn, the look on her face was worth it. She has to put her drink down to make sure she doesn't spill it; she also passes over a napkin.

"Here. Sorry." She's not sorry. "I just didn't know! I mean. It makes sense. Kind of." No it doesn't. Horse mouths are enormous.