[OPEN] The monster mash

[theearth]

Who: Badri and YOU.
What: Impromptu halloween masquerade
When: Halloween night, 10pm onwards
Where: A wedding chapel in Vegas. Y-yeah.
Warnings: None - shoot me a PM if anything needs adding!


[ Any of the Numbered who have set foot outside today are likely to have seen some of the rather unique posters plastered around on every available building/lamppost/fence/beloved family pet. Observe the glitter-saturated horror. ]



[ Y E A H. Regardless of which echo boundary they're in, the notices are everywhere. Some lucky Numbered may even have had one shoved into their mailbox! GOSH. There's also an address for a weddng chapel in Vegas (confusing many Fussen locals in particular) and a note that masks are mandatory and will be provided to people who don't already have one. How considerate!

C'mon, Numbered Specials. Party with Badri and forget all the horrid stressful things that are happening. ]

Comments

[purestambition]

[A year ago, that sort of idealism is the sort of thing Saretha would laugh and roll her eyes at. That she doesn't shows that maybe, just maybe, she's changed a little.

Still, she'd be a little surprised at that trust.]

I will... attempt to, at least.

[purestambition]

[Saretha's eyes widen for half a second, and the smirk widens.]

So I see. Getting a little carried away with yourself, are you?

[seed_of_memory]

You hear that, Natalie? You really do have to put up with two of us, now.

[she laughs a bit again... it feels nice to be able to do so, really]

... In any case, you're right. I think we should all exchange contact information.

[starlightheart]

[Natalie meanwhile, had completely missed a certain significance in Fuyuka's look from before, which. Probably says something itself she doesn't yet realize.

She just grins and pulls her hands back, before flicking her fake little wand.]

I can do that, then! Maybe one of these days I'll rub off on you!

[She blinks in surprise as Fuyuka laughs, and then points the wand at her face.] Like that!

Maybe there's hope for you both yet. But yes, we need to keep in contact! Even outside the Network, although that's probably the safest method sometimes, too.

[truthcharted]

The network is safe, sure, but I don't particularly like having to rely on it - I have no desire to not be able to use it when I need to.

[He shakes his head; if he's going to be working with these women, he needs a way to get in contact with them. That much is still true. But... there's something to be said for a proper phone, wireless or otherwise. After a moment, he pulls out a large smartphone, though he grins at Natalie.]

That'll be the day, miss. I don't know if I can turn into a bright, sunshine-and-rainbows person. So I'll enjoy seeing you try, and until then, I'm going to be serious and uninteresting. [There's a comical huff to back it up, even.]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[That brings the dance to a sudden halt as Rakka finally blurts out her confession. There's no mistaking that, no different way to take it, even to somebody as thickheaded as Raye can be. For a second, it's like being caught in headlights.

She needs to say something now, she knows that but... what? Something like this, she hadn't even thought of anything like this. Hadn't thought, or felt anything since the attack and what followed....

Except that wasn't entirely so, was it? For nearly every moment since then, she'd felt that... anger seemed like such a small word for it but what else could she call it? That burning rage, that drive to strike back and hurt the people responsible the same way she had been hurt, the feeling that drove out and smothered everything else. Every moment except a few. When she'd been with Rakka. Those times she'd felt... calmer somehow. Calm enough to come to some stupid party like this that she wouldn't normally set foot in. Calm enough to dance with her like this.]

Rakka. I....

[She trails off. She's never been good with words and feelings and putting them together and this is even tougher. She's confused, conflicted, both with what she finds herself suddenly wanting to do and not wanting to drag Rakka into what's still about to come.

Still, where words fail, actions step in, at least a little. Raye's eyes shift toward she's still holding Rakka's hand and her fingers wrap a little tighter around hers. Still gentle, but a gesture nonetheless.]

[seed_of_memory]

Indeed. It's always smart to have multiple venues of contacting people.

[she smirks at Kevin's final comment before shaking her head]

You do realize, I was the same way, right? Natalie has a way of infecting people. [in a teasing tone] It's extremely bothersome, to be honest.

[starlightheart]

Mm, I guess that's a good point... plus, with other contacts, we don't have to worry about forgetting, do we?

[It's something she's considered from time to time at least. For now, she just laughs at both their comments and slaps her wand into her open hand. Somewhat enthusiastically. Maybe too enthusiastically.]

I'll just take that as a challenge, then! You never know, I could prove you wrong there!

[charcoalfeather]

[The confession, as good as it felt to finally get it off her chest, icy pangs of fear immediately welled up inside Rakka's stomach. She could tell this was a big surprise to Raye, even with the hockey mask obscuring her face. It was all in her eyes.

Her heart was in her throat as the Haibane shook her head.] I-I didn't tell you, because I didn't know what you'd think. But, Jasmine figured it out, and then Emi did...

[She prattled on, a side effect of her panicked backtracking.]

I knew that the party would be a good time to tell you, and I really wanted to make you feel better after... [She didn't finish that sentence, only shaking her head once more.] If you're angry, I understand. I-I'm sorry, Raye. I...

[She trails off as well, finding her gaze drawn down to her hand where Raye had just given her a gentle squeeze, a clear gesture if she ever saw one.

She didn't know what to say, frankly, she didn't think she should say anything.]

...Raye...?

[moreweaponsthanyou]

I used to be a respectable 5'6" height and now look at me. I shrunk more than a feet. Middle school kids are taller than me.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

No. [She answers quickly, shaking her head as well.] I'm not... I'm not mad.

[She follows Rakka's glance toward their hands. She felt something there, that much she knows, something different than with the others but no less unfamiliar. She doesn't know what to think, or really what she feels. A day ago she'd been preparing to go to war with anybody in the city connected to the mafia, had her course set and clear cut and now....

She doesn't let go of Rakka's hand though.]

I just.... [She huffs a short, frustrated breath, looking away.] Sorry. I'm no good at this stuff.

[charcoalfeather]

[It was a small relief that she wasn't mad, though Rakka could not shake the small feeling of guilt she felt for admitting her feelings to Raye. While it was ultimately a good thing, she knew that Raye's mind had been occupied before...

The hand is still being held, which means that gives her the ability to use her other hand for things, such as finally removing her mask.]

Well, I'm not that good at it either. [She chuckled sheepishly, trying to put a bit of humor into the situation.] After all, it took me a few months to finally tell you this. So, it's okay.

[chalicejoker]

At least you still look mostly human?

[moreweaponsthanyou]

Yeah I know, I got off easy.

[knights_king]

Hah. I mean, you aren't serious, right?

[knights_king]

No, uh. It's just... Well, she's a vampire, too.

So, think Cinderalla with bat wings. [Which he thought had their own sort of cute motif, but he suddenly became aware that it would distract from the Cinderella theme.]

[knights_king]

Ahhh. [He smiled, withering.]

That one wasn't my fault.

[knights_king]

"Not many folks used to willingly be friends with me," That was to say--almost no one had ever been. He would chat with stoners and metal-heads, because they were the only people outside the team that gave him any time of day.

Then, there was George, who actually managed to become a good friend.

"My choices were kinda slim, you know?"

[scarlet_devil]

Mn, but I am being serious. [She smiled, looping her arms around him.]

[knights_king]

I mean--I'd get dirty, right?

[He smiled weakly, almost pleading with his eyes as she hugged him--]

[scarlet_devil]

"Ah, their loss..." She hopes he has better luck on that account now. She figures he'd get along with the younger dwarves, maybe that white haired guy, Tony she thinks is name was.

"There's one thing though... You got a gorgeous girlfriend now."

[scarlet_devil]

We'd both would. Hardly the image I'd like to present, hmm?

[Maybe after everyone else is leaving, she might let him indulge. She might even join him.]

[scarlet_devil]

Only one way to find uot fore sure, Rakka...

[onecream_fivesugar]

That... Sounds incredibly lame. You might want to try finding some other parties in the future. I'm not exactly the best at finding them, but I could probably help out a little.

[You're kidding.]

Yeah, that's what I'm going for, I think anyways. If one of us can get back up when they push us down, the rest of us probably can too.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

Months, huh? [She chuckles a little herself, despite everything.] Don't tell me I'm that scary.

[Still, it all leaves her with a question of just... what it is she's supposed to do now. Or say. She knows that she has to decide on something, Rakka deserved that much after everything, just... what? Was it right to say yes right now? She still has her fight, still has so much to do and... and there's no guarantee that everything will turn out okay. But at the same time... she doesn't want to walk away from Rakka either. Just like that camping trip. She could say whatever she wanted about drinking too much and stumbling into the wrong tent but she knows the truth.

She'd really just wanted to be close to Rakka.]

So, I... uh.... [She huffs out a breath and them grumbles as the mask catches it. Stupid thing. Huffing again, she reaches up and yanks the dumb thing off her face. She's still... struggling with what to say. There's what she wants and then everything else. So many problems, so many reasons why this isn't a good idea and--] ... Aw, fuck it.

[She'd almost died once, and even before that she'd lived with too many regrets and missed chances. Hadn't she said she wasn't going to live like that anymore? Words still aren't coming, so she does the next best thing she can do. Leaving the mask dangling from her wrist, she circles her arm around Rakka's back again but this time she closes the small gap between them and draw Rakka in, holding her close. It's not exactly her smoothest move, her stomach's fluttering and her heart is hammering away with nerves, but she manages.]

So... you wanna finish this dance?

[... Ugh. She really is awful at this.]