PARTY! (Candidates only, no pie-lots allowed!!!)

[Anonymous]

The afternoon had been nothing short of hectic. After finishing her classes Chica had rushed back to her room to help Devi set up for the party, arriving to find the walls decorated with paper decorations and balloons and such. It wasn’t exactly her thing, but whatever.

Now that everything was set up it didn’t look half bad. They’d dragged a table in from the cafeteria the day before, which was now sitting in the corner opposite Chica’s bed, on top of which was a speaker system with a bunch of music loaded onto it. Below the table sat several cooling buckets full of bottles of all description. Some munchies were out, just in their packets. If people wanted bowls they could bring their own.

Chica had managed to the last few pieces of dead skin out of her hair when she’d showered only an hour ago, which was a relief. She’d begun to worry it might not all be gone by the party and then she’d look all horrible and motley. But, thank gods, she was now looking more radiant and colourful than ever before. She’s chosen a bright orange halter top with a plunging neckline that was thin enough not to make her look like a whore but still enough to be sexy, or so she believed anyway, and a navy blue miniskirt. Each of her snakes had a little orange collar just behind its head. And she was wearing her goggles, of course. The party would end pretty quickly if she wasn’t wearing them.

Her hair wriggled with the excitement Chica felt but refused to let show on her face. It was impossible for her to hide her emotions thanks to her damn hair, but still, she liked to try.

She stood by the door, impatiently thumping her tail while she waited for people to arrive.

[Anonymous]

Devi rather liked crafty things. She loved making cheesy paper decorations for parties, it was just a quirk. She had made sure to safely store all her various projects away where she hoped people would be unlikely to disturb them.

She was dressed in what she hoped was drop dead sexy without crossing the line into whore. A light weight cream colored top with pink ribbon lacing through the top above and below her breasts, and instead of sleeves there were loose straps that rested over her arms. The bright blue skirt was lightweight and swishy with a slit that went well up her thigh. Strappy sandals that laced up her ankle and some playful jewelry finished the look off.

At Chica's arrival she gave her a large smile and a thumbs up. Unlike Chica, Devi had to keep some of her injuries from their fight, Dyerlich wanted her to still feel sore. Though most of it had faded, her cheek was still slightly bruised, though the rest were mostly hidden, "Now. People had better show up."

People like Col and Arrow and anyone else who thought they might get to get out of not showing. As if Devi would allow that. If they didn't show, Devi was dragging them down. Col had until 8:30. Arrow could have about that long as well, but she seemed more likely to show.

"We fuckin' rock. This place looks awesome."

[Anonymous]

So, he could either go to his doom, or die of boredom. Contemplation while naked in a towel.

Vaughan chose doom, seemed like more fun. Couldn’t be any worse than walking to your death, right? Running a hand through his bright red hair, he licked his lips and looked at his casual clothing. Bright ambers eyes leered at it. This crap wasn’t casual it was… Stage clothes. What crack had Jace been smoking when he’d folded these up and handed them to him to put in his suitcase? Then he remembered that Jace didn’t do anything bad, and that they did look like a normal white dress shirt and jeans.

Shrugging he quickly looked around to make sure his roommate wasn’t in the room, wouldn’t want to flash her without meaning too or anything, Vaughan quickly threw off his towel and got dressed. Wearing the strategically torn up shirt and pants. He looked like such a tool. A quick run through his hair with some cheap gel he aquired and he smirked at his reflection, a huge joke. Oh well, at least he was still pretty damn hot, even if he wasn’t part of IF anymore.

Now, to wander to that party without looking like some Soldiers Whore. He picked at the shirt where it was cut across his chest, exposing a nipple and held it up while he walked. On stage and off stage were two very different things, on stage he felt like a sex god who’s never been sexed up. Off stage, he felt like such a… a… Slut.

Three fourths of the way to the little party of Candidates he’s never met it occurred to him that he could have looked through his trunks instead of picking the two things closest to the top that looked dressy. At least there were safety pins and loose stitches holding the cut up fabric together.

Having lived with different people, Vaughan didn’t bother knocking on Devi and Chicas door, hoping from the depths of his soul this was the right place, he pressed the button to open the door and gave a smile and a sigh of relief when he saw a snake girl, presumably Chica the gorgon and a pink haired little thing, of course his attention was quickly stolen away by a simple poster.

It crushed his poor little heart.

Instantly Vaughans cheerful face fell and he let his hand drop, letting the fabric expose his chest while he stared. It was a poster of Cory. A deep frown crossed over his eyebrows and he let his head drop for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking up at the pair and smiling.  He lifted a hand and waved slowly to them all the while grinning, “Hi, I’m Vaughan.” He said simply before stuffing his hands in his pockets and wandering towards Devi then quickly turned around.

Major blot to his ego if she were taller, better not try it.  How awkward was this?

Swallowing lightly he looked around and kept his hands in his pockets and his head down slightly, not quite sure what to do in a situation like this.

[Anonymous]

Oh god oh god oh god.

A party. He was supposed to go to this thing. It would...help him learn the other candidates of the place but...he wasn't sure if he should go. He didn't...he'd been isolated from society for eight hundred years. By choice for that matter. Now he was in the ATC as a candidate. He was so...old here. Everyone seemed to be humans...mortals... it was just...and if he passed he would have to ride on a dragon. That was just...there was a whole level of wrong there. It would be like someone piggy backing everywhere on a cousin.

Not to mention that he was so...under dressed.

He didn't have ANY other clothes other than this uniform. His others ones...he put them in the hamper thing that would get them cleaned but they didn't come back. Just a note saying his clothes were burned. At least when he put his uniform in they were properly stitched. He had to make some very interesting modifications. This wasn't a normal candidate. Well. None of them were normal. But he was half dragon. Wings, tail, scales, that sort of thing. So there he was, the nervous wreck of a creature walking down the hallway, careful not to hurt anyone as he walked. That tail could just swing around and hit someone. Gold eyes flashed as he ran a hand through that shaggy green hair. It had little silver tips on it, which just made him look all the more weirder. There was one more thing that did that too.

He had a missing arm. Well. There was a faint sort of...arm that was there, it looked more like a dragon's arm there, but it was...like someone turned the opacity down on it and it was just transparent.

Draygovi really didn't think he should go. He had...he had work to do. Well...no he finished his work in class...uhm...he must have had some excuse. Or...would they even know actually? It wasn't like he really had gone out of the way to make friends with everyone, but...he had gotten this letter after all, they were nice enough to send it to him.

This was the place however. He pressed the button the door and looked inside. There were people here. He knew their names, he was very good with that sort of thing. Uh...the gorgon was Chica, the girl with the shoulder wound was Devi, and the boy with the...i-interesting choice of shirt was Vaughan.

"Uhm...H-hey. I'm Draygovi..." Maybe he could stay for a little while. He stepped inside, one arm instinctively reaching over to the other to hold onto it. It must have seen weird for him to be grasping at an invisible arm at his side. This was just uhm...awkward really.

[Anonymous]

Yes. People had better show up, or she would go on a killing spree. A very bloody killing spree. She was determined that this party would not be a flop.

She grinned, very satisfied with herself. “Yes Devi, yes we do.” Now all they needed was actual people to get pissed and do something they’d regret in the morning, which was what parties were all about. And…socialising of course. Got to meet all her fellow candidates and whatnot.

“What time is it?” she asked Devi. Before she could get an answer the door slid open, and for a moment, Chica thought she was hallucinating. Vaughan Liik stood at her door. It took her a moment to realise that it wasn’t a dream, and to remember that he was a candidate, and while they’d never technically met she had spoken to him. She wanted to say something, something unbelievably cool and sexy, but unfortunately her heart had leaped right up into her throat and was stopping the words coming out, so she just stood there, mouth slightly open. He hand raised a little, intending to wave stupidly at him, when suddenly his head dropped. His head dropped, just as he’d looked right at her.

Her hand fell back to her side and her face fell a little, the excited Chica replaced by a heartbroken one. He hated her already. Her hair drooped. He must have thought she was really ugly to warrant that reactio…

Nipple.

Vaughan’s nipple. Poking out through his shirt.

She lost all sense of sadness in that one, blissful moment. She could see Vaughan’s chest. It was so much better in real life too.

He smiled and she smiled back, still thinking about his chest. Grinning was easy when you were thinking about Vaughan’s nipple. He walked over towards Devi, which wasn’t exactly encouraging.

When he turned around, she struck. Let it never be said Chica Characa was easily discouraged. While her tail remained firmly planted on the ground, it would not have been inappropriate to say Chica flew at Vaughan. She latched onto him, arms wrapping around his shoulders, nuzzling into his neck a little. Touching Vaughan, she was actually touching Vaughan!

She pulled away, holding his shoulders and beaming. “Hi Vaughan!” she gushed, “I’m Chica, as you’ve probably figured out. I’m a huge fan and I think you’re awesome and and and…yeah.” She shrunk down a little, realising that she’d made herself taller than him, which was never good for a guy.

She let go of his shoulders and felt a light tinge touching her face. Turning away form him so she didn’t start gushing again, she greeted Draygovi with a wave and a smile.

“Hey! Uh, I’m Chica, nice to meet you….er..Drego…Dreygoy…uh…mind if I just call you Dray?” His name was way too hard.

“Uh….right. Well. Drinks and munchies are over there everybody,” she pointed to the table, “Help yourselves. Vaughan, why don’t you go pick some music?”

[Anonymous]

Vyomini sat on her bed absentmindedly pulling at the laces on her boots. She didn’t want to go to the party on her own but she hadn’t seen her roommate since they finished classes. And if she was late it would look rude. Demya might not mind but she would.

     As well as that she only had one outfit other than her uniform, the clothes she had been wearing when she’d been brought to the ATC. Just an overly large green hooded sweatshirt which she wore like a dress and a pair of slightly battered lace up boots. At least her hair wasn’t ridiculously long now but she didn’t want to hurt Devi and Chica’s feelings by making they think she hadn’t bothered to make an effort. Demya was supposed to take the spotlight off her but if she arrived by herself…

     Sighing she stood up, she’d have to go. For all she knew Demya could have given up and gone home. She had claimed she could leave at anytime if she wanted, maybe she was right.

     Vyomini pressed the button to the open the door and headed into the corridor. Devi and Chica’s room was just down the corridor from hers and Demya’s so she didn’t have far to walk. When she got there she stood outside the door contemplating whether to knock or just go in. She pressed her ear against the door; there was some noise from inside…

     Resigning herself to whatever greeting or looks she got when she entered she pressed the button and stepped inside. And was a little startled by what she saw; a gorgon hugging a red-haired boy who wearing a ripped shirt and a humanoid dragon person with a barely-there arm…Okay…

     “Um…Hi,” she said timidly, “I’m Vyomini.”

[Anonymous]

If there was one thing about Alik that went without saying, it was that he loved a party. Any excuse to get dolled up and go meet people was certainly his idea of a good time!

Luckily, Fala had given him the day off, kind woman that she was, and naturally, Alik had spent most of that day in the bathroom, at the mirror, making sure he looked perfect. His flat-iron sat on the counter, flesh-meltingly hot, and the bottom layer of his hair was bone-straight. The rest was flipped out at the ends, and the bangs were accented by four gold barrettes, angled downward toward his face. The longer pieces in front of his ears had gold bands around them. His eyes were done in matching shades of black and gold, looking like elaborate settings for his amethyst eyes.

"Done!" He said happily to himself, switching the flat-iron off. He was dressed in a very dark purple outfit, with gold accents. The top began at his neck, and ended at the bottom of his rib cage, with a triangle cut out at the top, surrounded by gold edging. His pants were tight and low-cut, simply because he could not bring himself to wear a different style, and his black boots overlapped them, up to his knees. He wore a pair of disconnected sleeves that matched the top, cut at angles toward the backs of his hands and his shoulders. He had even painted his nails. All he needed was...

Dammit, where is it?

He left the bathroom and searched his drawers; most of his things had arrived that day, but he hadn't had a chance to properly organize them. "Found it!" He held up a huge gold collar necklace, one of his most prized possessions, and clasped it behind his neck. There! He looked at himself in the mirror, pleased with his efforts.

He picked up a bottle from his dresser, a parting gift from his sister. It contained a sweet coconut liqueur, Alik's favorite. What better time to crack it open than a party? Then he looked over at his roommate's bed. He still hadn't seen him at all. Doesn't even look like he's gone through his clothes... maybe he's not the partying type. He shrugged mentally and left the room.

He spotted a girl... who didn't appear to be wearing pants, entering a room. Well, then, that must be it! He strode over to the door. The placards bore Chica's and Devi's names, and the door was still open. He slipped in behind Vyomini and waved. "Hi everyone! I don't think I've met any of you... but I'm Alik!" He smiled pleasantly at no one in particular.

He looked around, set his bottle on the table with the others and spotted Chica, the only gorgon in the room. He approached her, a huge grin on his face. "Chica!" he said, extending his hand to shake. "I'm Alik. Nice to meet you in person!"

[Anonymous]

Devi was going to reply to Chica when Vaughan arrived and the gorgon went in to obsessive fangirl mode. It was almost a little scary to watch. Though Devi had to admit that Vaughan was a looker. And he was coming over. Devi liked this.

Oh...wait. What? Devi's smile faded slightly when the boy turned away, snubbing her slightly. Rude! she thought she was looking quite smokin' tonight. Well, screw him. No Devi love for him. And the singer would have been alright standing next to Devi, she was the same height as he was in her platform sandals.

Though a....really strange new candidate arrived. The girl blinked as she adjusted to the fact the boy's arm was see through. But she had seen weirder and she gave him a huge smile, heading over to where he was awkwardly standing, "Hey there! You're a big boy aren't you." The candidate stood almost a foot taller then Devi did without her shoes, "It's nice to meet you....Dray." She was going with Chica on the name. Dray was much easier.

And there were more people arriving! Yay! Devi turned her bright smile on the short, painfully thin girl who....didn't seem to believe in pants. But that was fine with Devi. When she heard hre name, Devi reached over, hugging her, "Hey! You're one of DyerBear's candidates! Me too!"

And over the girl's head there was a very good looking redhead boy. And he was talking to Chica. Damn it! Devi frowned for a moment as she pulled away from Vyomini. What the hell? She thought she had done a good job tonight, yet all the cute people seemed to bee-line for her room mate. She should have worn a tighter top.

And she was so not thinking about Dyerlich's implication that her breasts were to small!

[Anonymous]

There was some sort of hope he’d peak at least six feet by the time he was twenty-one. It was a small hope, but it was there.

As was a body. A “Hyuck” noise left his lips and he backed up a few steps when a green thing flew at him. It took a second to register it as Chica and then smiled stupidly and gently eased her arms off from around him, cutting off air was never a good thing for him. “S’nice to meet you too, Chica.” At the mentioning of being a fan he hand to take a deep breath, all of this made it so… Final. “Thanks, I hope you’ll still support IF after they get a,” Paaaaaain, “New singer.” Then Vaughan looked at her seriously, “Also, I’ll have to be polite and ask you not to do that again, I love hugs, but flying tackles aren’t my thing.” A quick pat on her shoulder and Vaughan flashed her a wide smile and he huffed out a breath and looked around.

What to do.

Passively Vaughan watched all the new comers, looking up sharply with a bit of a worried expression. Him? Pick the music? Vaughan chuckled lightly and made a face, “I… uh… Don’t have very good taste.” He honestly didn’t.

Vaughan had a weak spot for classical music and this place didn’t need classical. “So, you pick it!” Vaughan stuck his tongue out towards Chica, the whole thing that had managed to get pierced twice. “ If you have some IF CD’s maybe I’ll even sign ‘em for ya.” A joke of course, who’d want the signature of someone who wasn’t even part of the band anymore?

Amber eyes looked towards Vyomini, the short little thing without pants – Even Vaughan found that a little odd, sure his clothes were ripped strategically to show off his bets parts, but she wasn’t wearing pants- offereing her a bright smile if she looked his way.  Hmm, Chica and her room mate Devi.

Well, Chica glomped him.

Time to turn the tables.

At a fairly quick pace, Vaughan moved towards Devi, hooked an arm around her middle bent her over and planted a big kiss on her cheek. “Nice to meet’cha Devi, I’m Vaughan, sorry if I hurt you feelings when I turned around.” He righted her up and then felt relaxed… And stared at the boy, man? Who introduced himself as Alik prior to Vaughans attack upon Devi. Hmm.

”Ah, I don’t drink, and I’m a big of a health nut… So… Yeah, I think I’ll just be hanging unless you manage to force something into me.” Bright eyes flicked between Chica, Devi and Alik, the three more likely suspects, “If that gave you ideas, ignore them.”

Time to find safe ground.

Vaughan quickly moved to somewhere beside Draygovi, he seemed big. Not scary, playing in a band with an odd bunch of people knocked fear of looks right out of his head. Though if Draygovi growled at him there was a good chance Vaughan would go and hide by Vyomini. “Hi,” He said simply, “Vaughan,” He pointed to himself “and you’re Dray, nice to meet’cha too. I hope you don’t expect a kiss.”

[Anonymous]

This was probably about the second most people Draygovi had ever been around. One he got stuck in a crowd in Haviah and he had almost bit someone. He was still getting used to the fact that there were people...people who were going to talk to him. All of these people were so...odd. He had grown up around one human and a host of dragons, so more humans and...gorgons and very odd people really...made him a little edgy. Nervous even. That's when he was suddenly approached by someone. The Gorgon. At least she wore goggles. He still didn't look her in the eyes though, just in case. "Uhm...Dray is fine I suppose...Nice to meet you Chica." He gave a half hearted bow, not wanting to knock anyone or anything over with his wings or tail. Had to be careful.

"T-thanks." He looked warily at the food and drinks on the table but didn't move to them. He wasn't used to...food...well not food like that. His food had been animals mostly, anything he could really find. He even had survived on lichens and rainwaters. He turned his attention to a new person, Vyomini. She...she wasn't really uhm...wearing much. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Humans were so strange. Nice bodies. Strange people. There was his room mate too, Alik. He didn't really...talk to Alik much...at all. He might have said hello and that was about it.

Still trying to fit in here.

He was rather jealous of the people, he moved off out of the way, far out of the way at this point. Everyone had...clothes. Other clothes. He felt so out of place in his uniform.

"What? I...I guess so..." Big boy? In her terms he was ancient, he could be her great great great great great great great great great...grandfather, with a lot more greats. "Nice...to meet you too Devi." And then she was gone. Well alright. This was probably better. He decided that standing nervously in a cornered area was a much better place to be. Then when more people came, he'd slip out and scurry back to his room.

He felt like he could hyperventilate at any moment.

In the case of a human, that would be just sitting down and breathing into something like a paper bag. In his case, that could result in an ion charge being released from his mouth. That could spell death for anyone caught in the way. He closed his eyes and counted to ten. They were just candidates, like him, this was a social gathering. There was no point in being...so scared. He hoped. At least Chica was somewhat normal, he was a vagabond who lived in a cave for eight hundred years. All this new technology was still...scaring him a bit.

"Oh, y-yes, Greetings Vaughan...Yes...Dra y, that seems to be the alternate name for me tonight." He blinked a few times. "Why would I be expecting a kiss?" Humans were so strange. This would be an excellent time however to study all of them. This Vaughan seemed really popular and very...outgoing. Considering how Chica fawned over him, and how Devi seemed to brighten up with his approach. Not to mention the kiss thing. Did that mean that they were involved? Was that how humans greeted each other? It couldn't have been. He hadn't seen anyone else do that sort of thing.

Must have just been...a something rather.

He really wished he could go back to his cave right about now. Spend a few more hundred years there. Maybe just wait for the humans to leave the Earth and move on. He nervously looked around at everyone, flashing Vaughan a quick smile before he went back to this thoughts.

[Anonymous]

((Me, Mia, Incen, Zombie, Draccy, Shizzy))

Slumping a little because Vaughan didn’t want to choose the music, Chica slithered over to the speakers. Then she registered what he’d said. Signed. Signed by Vaughan. She nearly died right there, or possibly nearly wet herself.

Quickly hitting shuffle on the speakers, Chica slid through the people to her bed. As music began to play she produced three CD’s from her drawers, all of them Indigenous Fairy, one of them quite rare as well. It took her a little longer to find a felt tip pen, but once she did she turned to look for Vaughan. To see him kissing Devi. Her hair all snapped their attention to Devi, swaying ominously. Gods. Damned. Dirty. Whore.

From her angle Chica had seen Vaughan not giving Devi a peck on the cheek, but a swooping, passionate kiss. Rage and jealousy smouldered inside Chica. She tried not to get angry, not to ruin the party. She would not make a scene.

Instead, she simply slipped over to Devi, her precious bundle held close to her chest, heading for Vaughan. She purposely elbowed Devi on the way past, and a few of her snakes hissed at her. That should convey the message.

Vaughan was, for some reason, hiding beside Draygovi. She realised Alik was talking to her. “Hi,” she responded, not really paying attention to him, “Uh….didn’t I see you in the orientation class? You came in late?” She turned to Vaughan, not really caring about Alik.

She stuffed the discs and pen into Vaughan’s hands. “W-would you? Please?” Signed copied would be so freaking awesome. Still, she was pissed at him for telling her off for hugging him then kissing Devi.

She turned back to Alik and flashed him a bright smile. “Sorry Alik, I didn’t introduce myself properly.” She went up to her level, raising herself up on her tail, flung her arms around his shoulders and gave him a very long, open mouthed kiss. Breaking away she winked at him, then turned around and slid away, putting as much sway into her hips as possible without looking silly.

Sliding up to Devi, she smiled. “Good party thus far eh?”

[Anonymous]

For once Farica was dragging him to a party, rather than the other way round. Setrul couldn’t begin to guess what the situation looked like; a rather tall athletic, green-eyed, hot blonde pulling a guy her own size down the corridor. And many a time people got the wrong impression about them. They were more like siblings though, as anyone who knew them long enough would notice, they certainly argued like brother and sister.

     Normally he loved a party but tonight he just wanted to go to sleep and the annoying thing was he couldn’t tell Farica why he was so tired. Damn Latona and her stupid training. Since he had only just become a psychic he had to be trained from scratch which meant a lot of extra work for his mentor, something she constantly complained about. However she was giving up her own free-time for him so he couldn’t dislike her. And once he had forgiven her for hauling him and Farica into the program she was quite likeable. She reminded him of Farica in ways, expect not quite as cautious. They were both always threatening to hurt him though.

     They reached the door and just headed straight in, it was past 8 so there was bound to be some people there already. As soon as they entered he hid his tiredness straight away. Latona had told him not tell anyone about the extra sessions she was giving him. Every morning about 4am he would get up and meet her at varying locations and she would train him. She had said that by the time the grace period was up she wanted him to be the same level as the other candidates. He wasn’t sure if that would happen but she seemed pretty determined.

     “Hey.”

     There was quite a motley crew assembled, a girl with pink hair, a gorgon who he assumed must be Chica, that guy from IF, a humanoid dragon creature, a red-haired kid and a silver haired girl who wasn’t wearing trousers…Okay…The hoodie she wore though was so long it practically reached her knees, she was very tiny and skinny.

     Farica laughed, “What a group we are, and the harpy isn’t even here yet.”

/////

On afterthought maybe she should have worn the trousers from her uniform, but they were uncomfortable and dirty...Everyone who came at in stared at her, maybe she could run back to her room, but that might look rude.

     Devi hugged her then which was a little unexpected, she wasn’t used to being touched in a way that wasn’t painful, she just froze. Fortunately Devi let go to frown at Chica.

     Vaughan flashed a smile at her but no-one was looking at her now, maybe she could sneak out…She started edging towards the door but then two more people arrived, just bursting in without knocking. One was an older boy with shaggy black hair and the other was a blonde girl nearly a whole foot taller than her. But what was odd about her was the psychic energy she was exuding, it was really powerful. Leaking that much wasn’t natural was it?

     She seemed friendly though and her comment was true, they were a strange group.

[Anonymous]

Alik acknowledged Chica's halfhearted reply with a smile. "Yeah, that was... me..." Chica had totally turned the opposite direction and made a beeline for the other redhead... that must be Vaughan. He looked straight at Alik, who smiled and waved a little over Chica's shoulder. Nice shirt.

He was talking to a pink-haired girl—that must be Devi; I should introduce myself later—about his aversion to drink. "I think I’ll just be hanging unless you manage to force something into me.” Thoughts buzzed around in Alik's head, which was hardly ever a good idea in a room full of budding psychics. “If that gave you ideas, ignore them.” He looked at Alik again. "Ohh, that's not fair. I haven't done any psychic training yet! Who gave you permission to read my mind?"

He looked at Chica again, who was offering Vaughan... a pile of CDs, and begging him to sign them. Realization lit in Alik's eyes. Ah. Rabid fangirl. As if cued, Chica turned back to him. “Sorry Alik, I didn’t introduce myself properly.” Alik grinned. "Oh, that's alright. I kno—" he was interrupted by a kiss. Screw biology! I didn't even offer her a drink! He did what came naturally until Chica broke it off. She winked alluringly through her goggles (chicks with eye-coverings, man, I swear) and slithered away. He tried to avoid a dumbstruck expression, and partially succeeded.

The three of them looked otherwise occupied, and Draygovi next to them looked sick, so he looked around the room again. The first person who caught his eye was a tall blonde. Next to her was a dark-haired boy, and the girl without any pants. He smiled brightly and waved at the girl—Vyomini, right?—from across the room. She was his next target.

[Anonymous]

Well, apparently Devi did in fact look good. Vaughan was hugging her and kissing her cheek. She laughed, her cheeks slightly pink. She leaned over to return the kiss to his cheek, "Well, it is nice to meet you too Vaughan. And don't worry!" Devi's grin got wider, "You already mentioned that you don't drink, so I made a bunch of my ultra amazing Fruitgasm."

She pointed over to the table where a bottle Devi had cleaned out and filled with a vividly pink liquid almost the same shade as Devi's hair, "Normally I make it with a bunch of fruit liquors, but I messed around with juices until I got it just about perfect. So drink up and tell me how amazing it is."

Then Devi stumbled forward as Chica slammed past her, her hair hissing at her. Oh...shit. Right. Chica had a hard on for Vaughan's band. She would have to apologize later...when...she wasn't sucking face with Alki.

Devi turned back to Dray, smiling at him, "Aw, why wouldn't you get a kiss? So far just about everyone has had one. Maybe Vyo can give you one."

Two other people arrived then, a tall, leggy blond and a dark haired boy. Though the girl made Devi's head hurt, she was leaking all over the place. Devi tried throwing up some shields, though they were rather rough, not having practiced much, but it was helping at least a little.

[Anonymous]

Rubbing absently at the place where Devi kissed his cheek, he smiled again and waved towards Alik. Everyone looked so… Bright and happy. Though none of them really compared to the brightness of his past family, they would certinally fill in that gap. They seemed weird enough to be sure. A coughing chuckle when Chica, holding something, elbowed at Devi and her cute snakes hissed. Bad time to cough/chuckle but it was pretty entertaining. Was it because he’d kissed Devi on the cheek?

Then… CD’s and a pen.

Oh right! He was going to sign them.

Taking a few steps into the middle of the room, Vaughan plopped down onto his bottom and looked at the three CD’s. One of them he didn’t even have, their first one ever. Vaughan lifted his pierced eyebrow and looked up at Chica to ask about it… But her mouth was otherwise occupied with Aliks. A grin spread out on his face and he chuckled and shook his head. Wow, she was fast wasn’t she? Oh well, Vaughan opened the cases for the CDs and signed the book by the pictures of him.

The rest of the party went on while he was haunched over the little books, idly flipping through the pages. It occurred to him then that he didn’t bother taking any pictures of his family and Vaughan bit his lip to keep from sighing.

No, now wasn’t the time to get depressed because he’d forgotten something. He’d find a creepy fan site and print off pictures. Hopefully he’d be able to avoid the scary ‘best friend’ ones.  Images of photo manipulated pictures rushed to his brain and he shuddered. That’d be like… Like incest. Ewww.

Putting the signed booklets back into their cases Vaughan stood up and held them above his head, “Chica, I finished.” He smiled and wandered over to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, too before putting the pen and CDs into her hand. Then it hit him. It felt… Wavy? Amber eyes looked towards the door, he couldn’t see anything, but his little mind could feel it. One of those two.

Didn’t really care which of them it was.  Oh right, Devi said it wasn’t a problem that he didn’t drink. That made him feel… Less of a third wheel, Vaughan stuck his tongue out towards Devi, said thank you then went over to the pair… and looked up at them. A bright smile.

”Hi! I’m Vaughan. I guess we’re all doing a bit of ‘My Name Is’ but… I missed orientation, and I’ve been getting lost in the halls regularly, so I don’t know anything ‘cept for Gabriel and Alaina. “ A smile and he leaned up and kissed the girl on the cheek, he could pick her name off with what little psychic powers he had, but it was still nice to hear them say it. “Nice to meet you.” A bright smile and he took a few steps back and put his hands back in his pockets.

[Anonymous]

Things were certainly odd here. People running about, kissing each other, people approaching him and then suddenly disappearing back to greet more people. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. This was a weird weird place, there was no doubt about it.

However something new caused him to reach for his head, pinching at the bridge between his nose. There was something weird going on. Someone wasn't holding their power in. He could feel it but...he hadn't a clue who it was. Ugh. He remembered to put his blocks up, but they were feeble at best. Even after eight hundred years he hadn't really figured his powers out all that much.

Things really were strange, he didn't remember human society being so different.

"W-what? I don't...need anything like that." People kept sneaking the hell up on him. If they weren't careful he was going to jump onto a wall or try and fly onto the ceiling. Why would he want to have a kiss? He remembered them being sorta...personal and very ahm...different. Maybe the rules for kissing had changed since he'd been gone. He wouldn't doubt it really. Everything had really changed.

There it was again. More kissing. Truly the meaning must have changed. But the question was what did each mean. Some people were really kissing on the mouth, it looked rather...passionate, while other times were just little kisses on the cheek. He scratched his head in confusement, trying to put all of this into perspective. Maybe he shouldn't have come. He should probably leave, but the opportunity to study human culture and all that it was...too good to pass up.

He meandered quietly over to the drinks, looking around. Water. Water. He just wanted...water. He found a glass and a small pitcher, pouring himself a small bit of it. It looked so...clear.

Like it was clean.

He had survived off what little rain and underground springs he could find. Filthy stuff but for a creature who could eat rocks, dirt and the threat of microbes didn't really phase him. He sniffed the drink carefully. Smelled...like nothing. Carefully moving away from the table, case anyone else wanted to get something, he took a small sip, extending his tongue into the drink first. It was just...water. He lapped it a few times with his tongue, testing it, before completely draining the contents.

It was nice. Cold too. He quickly handed the cup over to his other hand, the real hand, noting that some people looked at him weird when he used his draconic phantom limb. That's all he would need, more people looking at him oddly.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Arrow had left her dorm a while ago, but it took her nearly half an hour to get to Chica and Devi's place. Normally, it would have taken a couple minutes, but today Arrow took the long way. Intentionally.

Which is to say she walked in the opposite direction, got lost in a few hallways, somehow ended up by the classrooms, and had to cross through the cafeteria and make her way back to the dorms. That was okay, though, she didn't mind if she got lost this time. She was dragging her feet for a reason, and that reason was that she really, really didn't want to go to the party. Maybe it was just her natural shyness, but she just didn't do parties. They were loud, there was alcohol, a bunch of people she didn't know, so many emotions bouncing around in a muddling mess, and...she shuddered.

Chica would be there.

The gorgon intimidated her. Not only was she part snake, but she'd threatened to crush her and eat her and for a moment during orientation, when Chica had wrapped herself around her, Arrow had really believed she'd been about to make good on that promise. But orders were orders, and her mentor had ordered her to attend. And have a drink.

After orientation, she wasn't about to disobey. Even if no one told Marshal that she'd been absent, she just knew he'd be able to pull the information from her mind and then she'd be busted. Better to just suck it up that to be...ah...whipped naked in the cafeteria.

No matter how slowly she dragged her feet, it was inevitable that she'd eventually arrive at her destination. Arrow just hoped she'd allowed enough time so she wouldn't have to be alone with the gorgon. She paused in front of the door, reading the placard, then took a deep breath and opened the door.

She nearly wilted in relief when she saw that a lot of other people had shown shortly before her chest tightened as the anxiety kicked in. So many people she didn't know. Her wide blue eyes scanned the crowd, looking for someone she knew so she could latch onto them, but the only ones she recognized from orientation were Alik--whom she'd never really gotten to talk to, stressful day and all--and Chica--who she was going to avoid at all costs. Part of her had been desperately hoping to see Col, who she'd hung out with in the cafeteria and felt comfortable with, or Phenyo who she shared a dorm with and trusted, but neither of them were there to save her from this crushing sense of isolation in a crowded place.

Oh, right, she should probably move out of the doorway.

Brushing messy black hair out of her eyes, she closed the door behind her and sort of shuffled over to the left, keeping close to the wall and the door. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her fitted blue jeans, dressed in those and a simple beige tank top. Well. This was okay. She was fine just staying low key over here. She shot a cautious look over at the table full of drinks. Right. She had to drink something. Ugh. That meant moving, but maybe if she did she could escape.

Cautiously, she crept over to the table and paused, looking over the drinks as her brow wrinkled in confusion. She had no clue what any of this stuff was...

[Anonymous]

Chica quirked an eyebrow when Devi ignored her. Well….fine then. She could just be that way. Then again, maybe the pink haired candidate simply hadn’t heard her.

She blinked. That was unusual, considering alternatives to a situation. Apparently Chica was really enjoying herself, her inner bitch was even being suppressed.

Everyone had sort of stopped talking to her, probably not maliciously, but still, she was left with nothing really to do. She thought about how pretty she was, all the boys…other than Vaughan….had seemed to gravitate to her over Devi. That made her smile. And after all, why wouldn’t they? She was obviously prettier, and infinitely sexier. Devi wasn’t ugly or anything she supposed, the girl just lacked a bit of….curve.

She was snapped form her musings by a kiss on the check. “Wha…?” She blushed when she realised it was Vaughan. She took her things back and just stood there, frozen, with her mouth hanging a little until Vaughan was gone again.

Giving herself a little shake she swallowed then slipped over to her bed to carefully stow her now much more valuable collection.

With her underdeveloped psychic awareness, Chica wasn’t even slightly bothered by Farica’s leaking. She didn’t even notice it. Glancing about she realised more people had come in. There was a tall blonde and some guy. Vyomini’s lack of pants caught her eye and the girl received a raised eyebrow. She looked a tad to young to be doing that sort of thing, so Chica wasn’t entirely sure if she was impressed or if she disapproved.

Then she noticed Arrow, and her mouth twisted into an insidious smile. It was her personal mission tonight to get that girl pissed enough she’d shed her shyness….and maybe some clothing with it. Watching the shy ones make complete fools of themselves was always funny.

She snuck up behind Arrow, then threw her arms around the girl and hugged her. “Hiiiiii Arrow.” She let go, smiling at her. “I’m glad you came. Er…looking for a drink?”

She bent down and took a small bottle of green liquid out of the coolers. It said “Natures Garden” on the front in swirly script, with pictures of flowers and leaves in the background. Placing the bottle on the table in front of Arrow she said softly, “Try this one, it’s nice and sweet and barely has any alcohol in it at all.”

That was a lie. Gardens were what girls drunk when they wanted to get smashed but didn’t like the taste of hard liquor. It didn’t taste like alcohol at all, just like a soft drink. She picked it for two reasons. One, it was a relatively unknown brand, and two its alcohol volume content was incredibly hard to see, due to the background of the label. Together there was a good chance Arrow would just trust her and drink it. One might even be enough for an inexperienced drinker.

She placed a hand on Arrows back, serving both to hopefully comfort her and to stop her escaping, while still grinning at her pleasantly.

[Anonymous]

Crevan was staring at the e-mail and all the responses as he sat in his room. He had finally figured out most of the computer's ins and outs. He had taught himself some things over time. The most he ever really needed it for was to communicate with his family as they were so spread out. Better not to think about that at the moment.

The two girls had included him in their letter though. It felt nice, even though he was sure they had no idea who he was. They may have on the off-chance heard of him. More likely it was some sort of automated mailing. He had been too busy hiding out in his room brooding to make friends. He was content to be alone for the time being. He had yet to see Seiteki, she was busy after all. He had just been reading the books they left with him. He kept getting a sneaky suspicion that maybe he might not be able to cut it. That was really a silly thought though. He had been training himself forever...but never professionally trained like this. He was hoping they were waiting till Seiteki could train him.  That's what he was really hoping for. He would wait for...a very long time, very patiently for her.

He turned his attention back to the screen, staring at the invitation. This would be interesting. He hadn't even replied to the invitation. He hoped they would excuse him for that. He had been battling with himself about going. He wasn't even really sure why he was so conflicted. The age maybe. He needed to show up though, after all these people might end up being the soldiers he would fight alongside. Life could always be worse! Riding a dragon would be cool. Way more interesting than theft he was sure.

He nodded to the computer and pushed the button to shut it off. He stood pulling the black hoodie off of the back of his chair. He pulled it on over his dark red wife beater. He thought for a second and his tails turned into nothing. He found it was much easier to move through these halls without those five tails constantly moving. He slid his belt that laid on his bed back into his big baggy black pants. He slipped on his black tennis shoes.

He stopped and looked in the mirror. He never realized how much black he wore till he got here. After all it was just such a given with theft sometimes. He left his ears on his head though. He always did, they made him feel like his family was with him. Which he really needed at a time like this.

He pushed himself away from his room shutting the door behind him with his mind. He liked the feeling of learning a few new skills though. He wandered the hallway and he slid a very shiny rainbow colored disc out of his pocket and started to spin it across his fingers. The thing always calmed him down.

He stopped outside Chica and Devi's room. He could tell by the feeling that seemed to be pouring out of the room. He get a quick knock then opened the door.

That was a lot of people, for one room.

[Anonymous]

Devi hadn't heard Chica, to busy trying to make sure everyone was greeted. And keeping an eye out to make sure all the candidates, minus Phenyo who didn't seem to want to come because it would get Arrow in trouble, were going to arrive. Devi hated seeing lonely people, she wanted to be friends with all of them.

Though Devi did grin at her friend and giver her a thumbs up when Vaughan gave her a kiss on the cheek. And maybe Chica wasn't going to be so pissed at her anymore, as she had gotten a kiss as well.

She started to move closer to Chica when the gorgon latched onto a rather scared looking dark haired girl. That like a few of the other pilots set of Devi's lonely alarm. Devi wanted to be friends with everyone and then introduce them to everyone she knew so that everyone could be friends.

Chica appeared to be scaring the poor girl stiff anyway, so Devi made her way over, holding her hand out to the girl, "Hi there. You must be Arrow, yeah? I'm Devi. It's nice to meet you."