can i keep all this beauty forever inside ?

can i keep all this beauty forever inside ?

[lunahriian]

open starter - @lunarcovestarters location - The Daily Drip

The chatter of patrons and the hiss of the espresso machine adds a calming ambiance to what an outsider might see as a seemingly awkward conversation, or lack thereof. Felicity idly stirs her drink, the usual black tea with just a bit of sugar, eyes drifting around her surroundings before finally settling on the person across from her with a slight, almost shy smile.

"Hey, uh, thanks again for th' invite. T'be honest, I haven't gotten out much since movin' here, or... spoken t'many people."

[axiosawaitaddie]

With the final day of the full moon over, Addie had dragged her aching body out of the woods and back to the van. She'd washed all the blood from her skin and spat out the rest of it from her mouth, before washing that down, too, with whatever bottle was under the passenger's seat. It stung the inside of her mouth, but not enough to wash away the trickling memories that kept crawling back to her, more and more with each month that passed. The smell, the taste, the sound. She'd yet to piece together full memories, they were always fleeting glances or flashes of scenes that never made enough sense.

Tonight, she'd rustled around the van trying to find anything to take the edge off the pain and anxiety that always followed her out of the full moon's. Her hands shook as she dug around, but found nothing. Not half smoked joint, no baggie of precious, white powder, no nearly empty bottle of caramel liquid.

She needed to restock on everything.

Eclipse was always her go to. She'd plopped herself down on a stool early in the night and made sure her glass was never empty. Now, the crowd had dispersed hours ago and the music had crawled to a steady thump that matched the one in her head. Addie wasn't ready to go home yet, even if final call sat only an hour away. Her fingers drum against the glass, only one sip left, as she tries to stretch it out among the minutes she has left.

When a new, fresh glass is set in front of her, she sits up. "Just gettin' started," she quips back, before raising a brow. "Gonna send some of that my way, or hog it all for yourself?"

[lunahriian]

She scoffs, raising the glass to her lips for a deep sip, eyes still locked with the other's over the rim of the glass. "Hogging? You're the one who's nearly gone through all the whiskey we got in here, God forbid I enjoy some myself."

Still, she pours the the other another drink, leaning atop the bar as the bottle is settled between them, her other hand swirling her own glass. There's a familiarity to this woman, more than just the fact that Felicity had certainly seen her pass through before, especially into those dark back rooms. There's an energy there, reflection of self-sufficiency through any means necessary that Felicity knowns only too well, and that she respects enough to not point out. Not during their first conversation, at least. Another sip, deeper, and the burn settles into her chest as a crooked smile curls along her cheeks.

"Y'know, according to bartender rules, I'm not supposed to serve people who are clearly intoxicated, and I'm definitely not supposed to drink with them. Though I'm sure you can keep it hush-hush, Miss...?"

[zuvaxmoyoleroy]

" Your death? No. Your snacks... also no." Zuva started as he stepped inside, nudging the door shut behind him with his heel. His gaze dragged lazily over her with a shake of his head, taking in the half-dead expression and the way she collapsed onto the couch far too exhausted for her own good. "Pickle juice ain't exactly my go-to, ya know?" He paused just long enough for it to land before his grin spread, easy and unapologetic. "Oh, yeah. I got you pickle juice." He lifted the bottle slightly like a peace offering, or maybe a threat. "Figured it was the least I could do, considerin' you left me to fend for myself."

Zuva crossed the room setting the chips and the bottle down within her reach before claiming a spot in the armchair with a quiet exhale, stretching out just enough to get comfortable. "I almost feel bad wakin' you. Extra shift?" he asked, but at her question, his brow ticked up, amusement flickering. "Prom punch?" he echoed, leaning back. “Yeah, s'pose that was spiked but would've been too easy if that was it." He took a slow sip of his coffee, "Think chaos, folks getting drugged, shifting into bats and big cats, and before all that...there was a giant naked pirate." His gaze slid back to her, watching for the reaction. "Then a Hellhound crashed the party," he went on casually as if he were recounting mild gossip instead of something harrowing. "Real bad attitude. Folks didn't come out unscathed. You picked a real good night to stay in." The addition came a bit softer, thankful in a way that she avoided the worst of it and didn't get hurt.

[lunahriian]

"Pickle juice? Really?" She asks in disdain even as she reaches for it, unscrewing the top for a quick sniff that curls her lip before continuing in for a sip, grimacing from the sharpness of the flavor. Still, oddly refreshing after the night she had.

She's about to go in for another sip when he drops the veritable bomb of information, a party promising fun and whimsy resulting in near-death experiences. The Hellhound bit nearly brings her to choke, eyes widening, and there's a part of her that almost wishes she had been present to witness such raw energy in living form, but she knows Zuva, despite the time apart, knows with the dip in his tone that it must've been much worse, much more bloody, than his lead-up would convey.

An itch settles over her skin, the epicenter amongst the scars of previous sacrifices, and her fingertips tingle with a need to move, to trace the known symbols or sift through the cards tucked away beneath her bed, to gleam just what sort of future she had in store for herself in this town where Death, though felt lingering upon the air and in the earth the moment she stepped over that barrier, was now so plainly laid out before her. This was supposed to be a safe haven, a new start. The urge to run again is coiling in her chest.

Outside, the crash of bone upon rock snaps her out of the beginnings of her internal tempest, and her familiar's wings beat a quick and familiar rhythm as he settles in for his snack. Felicity shakes her head, releasing the anxiety that had built up, instead now reaching for her own bag of hot fries.

"Well, guess this town isn't gonna to be as quiet or boring as anticipated. For good or for worse." Without looking, she extends a hand to take his, squeezing lightly. "Glad you're okay. The others too. Y'know which ones."

[gazingatmestarry-eyed]

There was something to be said about how much Sun-Hee loved Jin, yet how difficult she found it to extend those feelings to herself. The manifestation more cherished than the witch who cast it, at least to the witch herself.

"My friend Len and her roommate." It occurred to her then that she thought Rae Elle was from there, too, but Sun-Hee wasn't completely sure. Rae Elle was really pretty, a little intimidating, but with a good taste in music. Admittedly, in the moment, that was about all the witch could recall of the other.

It didn't seem that important to Sun-Hee. Louisiana was a big state, or so she assumed. The world couldn't be that small, she reasoned without much thought to it. Her mind had clearly moved on. "So... you're new to the cove? Have you been to Kaitenzushi? It's so good. I love their dragon roll."

[lunahriian]

Her eyes widen, surprise obvious in a breath. Well, shit. Fuckin' microscopic. Just as quickly as it comes, Jia-yi manages to smooth her features once more to polite and sociable, tamping down the shock and earnest hope that it wasn't just coincidence, that they — or at the very least Lennon — were okay. The last thing she needed was to pester this very pretty stranger with questions, all for it to be as simple as a similar nickname.

No matter how much her gut knows its more than that, how even Chicken's crimson gaze flicks to meet hers, the knowing reflected.

With a quick and easy smile, she sinks back into the conversation. "Uh, yeah, yeah I'm new. Haven't gotten to see much, honestly, kinda hit the ground runnin' with the new job. But sushi sounds amazing." A pause, a sudden idea with nothing to lose.

"You hungry?"

[lunahriian]

for: @axiosawaitaddie where: eclipse nightclub

The final hour — the dreaded time where the club is dead enough that it's just verging on mind-numbingly boring, but just occupied enough where she can't just go home. The current aforementioned occupant is leaned against the bar, hunched shoulders hidden by leather, and still somehow looks like she could slam back ten more of the drinks she's already poured her. So it was gonna be a late closing, then. There'd better be a good tip. With a heavy sigh of acceptance, Jia-yi dips below the bar to snag another glass and the last half of the opened whiskey bottle, walking without a word and not waiting for permission before setting her glass down in front of the woman. A swift and practiced twist of her wrist and the bottle is uncorked, and she pours herself a glass of the same poison the other's been sipping on all evening.

"... Late night?"

[zuvaxmoyoleroy]

for: @lunahriian location: her place

"Rise and shine, sleepin' beauty." Zuva rapped his knuckles against the door again. It was well past noon too which made the whole thing far more amusing than it probably should. He shifted the bag in one hand, contents he would not call treat under any circumstance. Packet of hot fries and a can of pickle juice soda was something so specific it could only have been for her. In the other was his own reward, a decent coffee and a still-warm pastry he had every intention of keeping for himself.

It was rather impressive how she'd managed to miss the ball. At first, anyway, but as the night unravelled from champagne and dancing to more disaster and chaos, he thought she had the right idea after all. Sleep through the drama, wake up to the recap. Smart woman.

"Don't make me start thinkin' you died in there, cher," he called out, "I brought snacks, and I'm real close to deciding I deserve 'em more than you do."

[lunahriian]

It was far too early, never mind what the clock atop her bedside table said. Covering a couple shifts so others could go attend some fancy party had seemed a good idea at the time, but she was exhausted, and now there was a head-pounding knock upon a paint-chipped door that draws out a groan from her throat. With a great heave, Felicity manages to roll out of her bed, sheets momentarily tangled in her legs, before stumbling only slightly from her room to open the door. The sudden light hits her sleep heavy eyes, bright and hot, and she grumbles.

"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you?" A snide remark with no teeth in the bite, already stepping to the side and heading over to drop herself onto the old couch that still had the faintest smell of tobacco — the last remnant of it's previous owner. "So, what I miss? Someone spike the prom punch bowl?"

[gazingatmestarry-eyed]

"I've never been there." To a Goodwill or Louisiana, but Sun-Hee didn't clarify. "Hi Felicity." Once their handshake began she forgot she was suppose to let go. "Hi Chicken!" At her greeting Jin jumped from Sun-Hee's shoulder to the ground. The fox flitted around the bird before bunting the familiar's wing with her nose. "I think they like each other!" It was an unfounded declaration, but Sun-Hee meant it.

It was only after leaving her hand in the other woman's for too long did she realize she was supposed to take her hand back. Her face flushed pink as she finally retracted her hand before winding them both in a clasp behind her back. "Is that where you and chicken are from? Louisiana?" Lennon and her roommate Zuva were from there. Rae Elle, too. It made Sun-Hee wonder if they all knew each other. "I have some friends from there."

[lunahriian]

Her hand is returned to her coat pocket the moment it's released, though for once she actually makes an attempt to not make it seem rude. Hopefully the remaining grin gets it across as she follows the other's gaze to their mingling familiars, Chicken already playfully snapping his beak at the tip of the fox's tail. He always was somehow the more personable of the two.

"Nah, just passed through, in a way. I'm from the Delta." The mention of these 'friends' makes her thoughts pivot, distracting her from further explanation of where or what the Delta even was. Her head tips, almost bird-like, curious as her eyes lock in on. The world couldn't be that small, could it? "Which friends?"

[ignoringevery-omen]

@lunarcovestarters

option one where: broken records

He looked under the display before him, sighing as he stood up and ran a hand through his hair. This was the fifth store he had been in, searching high and low and it looked like he was coming up short, yet again. Looking to the person next to him he sighed in defeat. "Have you seen a rock, he's got a little cowboy hat, googly eyes, a moustache?" It was a prank and it was beginning to drive him insane.

option two where: echo acres woods

From a distance it would look like the witch was setting up a relaxing bonfire in the middle of the woods, a small clearing a neat stack of wood surrounded by stones to contain it. That was until the small firepit was engulfed in a giant fireball, the kind that ought to have burnt the witch, had the fire not curved around him, spreading through the small clearing, nearly kissing the looming trees before retreating to be contained by the firepit. From the outside it seemed fake, an illusion, but in Lunar Cove it was normal, or normal-ish. Flexing his hands, Mac nodded to himself, glad that his magic seemed to back to normal, enjoying the quiet crackle of the fire before he heard someone approaching from behind him. "You need a bell or something, I could have barbequed you."

[lunahriian]

option two

The hope had been for some time alone, solitary peace sought amidst the shadows of the pines and oaks, sounds muffled by swaying greenery above and gentle decay beneath her hiking boots. True peace, which had been harder to come by before returning to the place of her birth, was still seemingly elusive with such high a concertation of magics and blood-thirsts in one area.

And that was before whatever the fuck happened the other night. The sudden light and heat at the corner of her eye nearly has her throwing herself to the ground to duck whatever is incoming, but just as quick as it came does the scorching heat fade, the light dull back to the faint glint between the trees she had barely noticed before. A voice follows, alerting her to the fact that she is, in fact, not alone in these woods, which causes lips to press into an annoyed line. She closes the distance, brushing off damp pine needles that have clung to her dark flannel, her steps just shy of petulant stomping. "Oh I'm sorry, didn't realize the possibility of an impromptu forest fire was scheduled for today. Didn't see any of those signs at the trail head."

[gazingatmestarry-eyed]

closed || @lunahriian (Jia-yi & Sun-Hee)

Mid stride Sun-Hee stopped to watch another walk by. Her eyes falling from the familiar to the witch. A newcomer to town. Sun-Hee was sure. She'd remember her. "Hi!" Her greeting exclaimed before she'd fully turned around. "Jin wants to meet your bird!" The witch pointed to her familiar. A tiny, red fox that sat perched a top her shoulder, as if she bloomed from beneath Sun-Hee's dark hair. "She loves other familiars, and I love your jeans! Where'd you get them?" Her smile twitched wider with every step she took forward. "Oh, and I'm Sun-Hee!"

[lunahriian]

She is used to being ignored. Every town she passed though, every road she walked and every door she darkened, her presence was never noted beyond a single glance, a slight change in course to avoid collision. She was cellophane, unremarkable at best. A ghost at worst. So when so cheerful a greeting, so earnest and bright as a bell that breaks dreary morning mist, it brings her to pause, to glance and try to remember the rules of polite engagement.

Already, she catches herself staring too long. She blinks.

Yet her familiar beats her to proper introductions, gliding from his cramp resting spot upon her shoulders and hopping towards the, presumably, young woman before her. "Oh, uh, thanks. I got 'em from-" she glances down at the faded, lived-in denim. "... Honestly, I think I knicked 'em from a Goodwill back in Louisiana." Another pause, an awkward smile, before she juts her hand out for a shake. "I'm Felicity." She flicks her head in the direction of her familiar, who at this point is circling in little hops, crimson eyes staring up at the fox. "That's Chicken."