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recoveringdreamer · 3 months

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TIMING: recent LOCATION: the raven PARTIES: @contemporarybardess & @recoveringdreamer SUMMARY: elora and felix... experience the raven together. CONTENT: none!

If there was one thing Elora loved more than a good night out, it was finding some fun urban legends around town to explore. In a town like Wicked’s Rest, most urban legends actually ended up being true, but there were some that, as far as Elora knew, were completely unconfirmed. One such rumor around town was that of a magic speakeasy hidden behind a mural of a raven. Elora was now very well acquainted with the various monsters, fae, shapeshifters, and magic users in the town, and the idea of a secret club where they all openly hang around each other intrigued and excited her.

As she came upon the towering mural of the raven, she did precisely as instructed. “Good evening, Mr. Raven”, she began, gazing at the painted eyes that nevertheless seemed to shine with life. Suddenly, a door appeared where there was previously only brick and mortar. While she probably shouldn’t have been surprised at this point, she was still caught off guard as the entrance just seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Almost hesitant to even go near the magical door, she slowly reached out and grasped the handle, turning it and opening the door before stepping inside.

Surprising no one who knew them, Felix discovered the Raven purely by accident. They’d stumbled upon the mural and admired it for a moment, patting the painted raven on the head and offering it a quiet hello without any expectation that a door would appear in response to the greeting. Once there, Felix couldn’t help but enter. Certain sayings about curiosity and cats did tend to hold some truth, after all.

They weren’t really sure what they’d expected upon entering the building, but the bar hidden within wasn’t entirely anticipated. It was a nice atmosphere, though, a pleasant vibe. Felix wandered a little further in, taking a seat at the bar next to a woman.

“Have you been here before?” They turned towards her with a friendly smile. “I, um… I’m not really sure what to order?”

—

The atmosphere of the bar that Elora stepped into was dark and almost ethereal. Not usually her aesthetic by any means, but it definitely seemed to fit the mysterious nature of the bar itself. She moved through the dimly lit rows of tables as she tried to navigate to the bar area. While she was a bit hungry, she could also really go for a drink. The people at the assorted tables appeared to be normal, but already knew that they were likely anything but normal.

As she finally grabbed a seat at the bar, she looked at the menu dumbfoundedly. None of the drinks being served were anything she had ever heard of before. What was worse was that there weren’t even any descriptions of the drinks on the menu anywhere. Asking the bartender was, of course, always an option. But Elora would rather accidentally order a glass of pure olive oil than have to bother the bartender with a perfectly reasonable question.

As she scrutinized the menu, trying to find a drink that sounded like it resembled anything she was familiar with, she felt somebody sit down just beside her.

“First time, actually. I have a menu in front of me and I’m not really sure what to order either. Have you ever heard of a ‘black lagoon beach comber’? Or an ‘arcane adonis’?” She inquired, not really sure if they were the type to know much alcohol. “Oh, did you mean food? I haven’t looked at the food items yet, but I am kinda hungry. I hope they’re a little less confusing.”

She then stopped talking, realizing she hadn’t even introduced herself yet.

“Where are my manners,” she began, extending a hand to the stranger. “I’m Elora, by the way.”

There was some quiet relief in not being the only one who looked lost. Felix knew that they were slower than some people. They knew that they were easily fooled, knew that they tended to fall for just about anything they were told. They’d been called stupid more than once, and they weren’t sure it wasn’t a fair accusation. So in situations like this one, their first assumption was always that they were the thing that was wrong. That everyone else knew exactly what they were doing and what was happening while Felix was the odd man out. It wasn’t a very good feeling.

So the woman next to him sharing in his confusion was nice. It felt good, felt better than being alone. It was nice to have someone explain things to you, but Felix preferred to have someone just as lost as they were figure things out with them instead. It always seemed kinder, somehow.

Letting out a quiet laugh, they shook their head. “Never heard of it, sorry,” they said. “But, um… I bet it’s black, right? So maybe it’s made with some kind of activated charcoal? No idea on the other one, though.” Maybe they could use the themed names to puzzle some things out, but certainly not everything. “The food menu isn’t much more descriptive, though.”

They didn’t even realize they’d jumped into the conversations sans introduction until they were looking down at the stranger — at Elora’s hand. With a sheepish smile, they reached out and gave it a shake. “Felix. Are you, uh… from around here?”

—

It was comforting to Elora to know that she wasn’t completely alone in her confusion. While she had definitely picked up on a few of the town’s secrets, there always seemed to be people who were “in the know” about things she had no clue about. She worried that this place would mostly be comprised of regulars, people who had been here for years and knew every little secret inside and out. She was worried about sticking out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, however, she had met someone who also seemed to be confused by the cryptic menu listings.

“Very nice to meet you Felix. Maybe we can figure out this menu together,” she said as she turned her attention to the food items. Maybe a drink wouldn’t be a good idea for her first time in this place anyway. “Also, in spite of my lack of accent, I’m actually from the south! Right along the border of South Carolina and Georgia. I only moved here this past summer. How about you?”

“Let’s see… Roasted Squonk? I’m not sure what that would…oh wow I don’t even know if I can pronounce that one, it just looks like a random jumble of letters” she continued as her eyes kept scanning the menu in front of her in confusion. “Hmmm, maybe we should ask the bartender what they recommend?”

Part of her wanted to leave in order to avoid embarrassing herself, but her curiosity had the better of her still. Besides, she couldn’t get up and leave now that somebody was sitting down next to her, it would be incredibly rude after all.

The idea of having someone to help them unravel the puzzling menu brought with it a sense of relief, because Felix wasn’t particularly good at making the smallest of decisions in the best of circumstances. For the most part, they went to the same restaurants and ate the same meals, and the routine was a comfort. This was pretty far from their comfort zone, and they offered Elora a grateful smile to communicate as much.

“Oh, hey, that’s cool! I’ve, uh… I’ve never been to the south.” They’d never really been much of anywhere, really, but that wasn’t something to discuss with a near-stranger. “I’m from here. From Wicked’s Rest. But, um, I moved away when I was a kid. And then moved back! Obviously. Since I’m here now.” They punctuated the awkward sentence with a quiet laugh, then looked back to the menu.

The idea of roasted squonk made them a little uneasy. They’d freed one from a bear trap once, kept it in their apartment until it was healed enough to release back into the woods. Eating one certainly wasn’t something they had any interest in, so they quickly struck that option from their mind. “Fried aravo? Do you… think it would taste like chicken?”

They continued studying the menu, commenting here and there. They turned towards Elora to comment on the presence of ‘spaghetti and bookwyrms,’ but when they looked back to point the menu item out… it was gone. “Um… I swear it was there. It was right where… that one is now…” Was this menu supposed to be incomprehensibly confusing?

—

While Elora had known some locals who had been in town for a while, it was still always interesting to get to know somebody with such a history here.

“Oh wow, that’s pretty cool! Have any fun stories from living here? I feel like pretty much everyone else here does at this point.” Since the pair were literally at a magical speakeasy contemplating eating fantasy creatures for dinner, Elora assumed that Felix wouldn’t be very shy to talk about the supernatural.

“Fried Aravo? Where do you see…” she trailed off as the words on the menu seemed to twist and reform in front of her eyes. She had heard of rotating menus, but was this really an hourly rotation? It was hard enough keeping up with their options as it was! “Whoa…this place is a little-”

She was suddenly cut off by the gravely voice of the bartender. “Sorry folks, busy night. What can I get ya?” he drawled out. He was a pale man, tall and thin, dressed in an all black three piece velvet suit.

“Uhhh, well I was actually hoping you could maybe offer some recommendations? My friend and I here are new and…well we have no idea what to order,” she said in response, hoping that the bartender could at least steer them in the right direction. Drinks aside, she was really starting to get hungry!

Felix let out a nervous laugh, looking down at their hands. “Um, a couple. Depending on your idea of fun, I guess.” Most of their stories felt more… stressful than anything. From all the things that had nearly killed them to the Grit Pit’s vicious grip on their life, they weren’t sure they’d call most of their Wicked’s Rest activities fun.

By the time they looked back at the menu, the fried aravo had vanished. What was more, the menu seemed to be ‘updating’ in real time. They might have had limited experience when it came to restaurants, but this didn’t exactly seem standard.

The guidance of the bartender was a welcome thing. Felix offered him a relieved smile, nodding along as Elora spoke. “Yeah, we, um… We’re not really sure what’s good? So we’d love to know what you get!”

The bartender studied them both for a moment before nodding his head. “Your food will be out shortly,” he said, then turned away.

Felix looked back to Elora, blinking owlishly. “Um… what?”

Elora really didn’t know what to make of the bartender’s statement. Had he ordered for them? All she could do was sigh. Maybe this was just part of the experience? Full service dining, so full service that you don’t even have to order for yourself? She just hoped that whatever she was served would at least be edible. She gave up on the idea of finding a decent drink, even though she needed one more now than before she came in.

“Guess we’re getting a surprise. I just hope it isn’t too…out there, you know?”

She flashed a nervous smile to Felix. In spite of the very stressful ordering process, Elora still had optimistic excitement that the night would turn out great! If nothing else, it was already shaping up to be a very unique experience, and she loved unique experiences.

“It’s okay, I’m sure he knows the menu like the back of his hand. Probably just going to get something first timers typically like eating. While we wait, maybe we can people watch a bit? There’s a lot of mysterious looking groups of people sitting at some of the tables, I love coming up with ideas of what their backgrounds could be. You know the best part? Since this place is magic, their background could literally be anything.”

“That guy right there,” she pointed at a man in a charcoal business suit sitting next to a man with longer hair and strange markings tattooed on his arms. “Bodyguard for a powerful spellcaster. The weird thing is… that’s actually probably what his story is! Already a cool background story, and he’s probably the lamest one here! Well, aside from us, that is. Unless you lead a particularly exciting life?”

“Yeah…” Felix agreed, looking down at the menu again. It had already changed since the last time they’d taken a glance, now boasting boiled ballybogs as the special of the night. (How could something be the special of the night if the menu changed this often? Wouldn’t special of the moment be a more accurate claim?)

But the restaurant was bustling, and the crowd raised Felix’s hopes that the food they were going to be served would be good. After all, surely this many people wouldn’t be here if the place was bad, would they? Popular menu items were popular for a reason. Felix knew that. And Elora had a point — they kind of had an expert doing the ordering for them.

Glancing in the direction the bartender had disappeared in, Felix nodded hesitantly. “You, um… You don’t have any food allergies, do you? I feel like he should have asked us if we had food allergies. Unless he already knows?” Stranger things had happened in this town, that was for sure. Still, Felix would be pleasantly surprised if they didn’t wind up being served something with enough dairy to make them sick.

People watching seemed like a good distraction, and they offered Elora a small smile and another nod. “That’s true,” they said, noting the way she seemed to accept magic as reality. Did she know about different species? Part of Felix wanted to shift enough to listen for her heartbeat or sniff her out, but it seemed risky… and a little nosy. They didn’t want to be nosy.

“Oh, no, my life, uh… definitely isn’t ‘spellcaster bodyguard’ levels of exciting.” They laughed nervously. “What about yours?” Did she have some hidden secret? If she did, she probably wouldn’t say it here. It wouldn’t be a secret if she did. Scanning the crowd, Felix nodded to an older woman sitting at a table alone. “What about her?”

Felix had raised a good point. The man hadn’t even asked either of them for allergies, just assuming any type of food would be safe. Elora didn’t have any allergies, thankfully, but she had hoped that Felix also didn’t have to worry.

“Wow, I guess he didn’t. I hope he actually knows and isn’t just guessing. You don’t have any allergies, do you? I don’t have any myself.”

Elora let out a light laugh at Felix’s comment. “We can’t all lead such exciting lives. Me, I work at a tea shop. Trying to get some sort of footing in the music industry and spinning my wheels for the most part. Nothing out of the ordinary, honestly there’s probably about a million people with my kind of story.” While it was mostly true, she left out her true identity, her powers, and just exactly who it was that she worked for. Not exactly something you spill when it’s your first time meeting someone, she thought.

Elora turned her gaze over to the old woman Felix had pointed out. She seemed very unassuming. Regular street clothes that a woman her age would normally wear, nothing unusual or otherworldly about her appearance at all. Honestly, if she were in any normal human bar she would fit right in. But since she was here, she seemed to stand out more than any of the flashy robes and jewelry of any of the other patrons.

“This lady likes to keep a low profile,” Elora began, dropping her voice just a bit. “Keep tabs on any business dealings discussed at a nearby table. One party will think the people they’re negotiating with are the ones in charge, when really she’s the one pulling the strings. Of course, with her tucked away like that, nobody will realize it.”

She was pretty proud of the story she was able to spin on the fly. She also sort of liked the little reality she had made up in her head, whether it was true or not. It was certainly a great way to make the mundane so much more exciting.

Just then, the gravely voice of the bartender crooned behind them again.

“Yer food’s here. Enjoy!” he said before laying both plates in front of the pair. In a flash he was gone and Elora and Felix were left to examine their plates of…well Elora wasn’t quite sure yet. She looked to Felix in order to gauge their reaction.

“Milk upsets my stomach,” Felix admitted, almost sheepishly. “But it’s okay! Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal. It doesn’t upset my stomach that badly or anything.” They’d eat whatever the waiter brought them and hope for the best; anything else would be impolite.

A tea shop sounded nice. Felix couldn’t help but wish that they worked at a tea shop instead of the Grit Pit. They tried to imagine it — employment in a nice, calm store surrounded by pleasant scents and warm machinery instead of the dingy violence of the ring, but it was difficult to do. After all, Felix had been fourteen when they were whisked away from society. The Grit Pit was the first and only experience they had with employment at all. Everything they knew about alternative options was rooted in fiction and daydreams. “Do you like it? The tea shop, I mean. Is it nice?”

The woman they’d pointed out looked ordinary, though Felix wasn’t sure it was true. After all, ordinary in Wicked’s Rest tended to mean something wholly different than what it might represent to the rest of the world. This was a town full of nonhuman entities living human lives. What was ordinary, in that context? Was anything?

They liked Elora’s description. In a way, it reminded them of Natalia, who might fit the description fairly well herself. They scanned the crowd, searching for someone else they might be able to use for the game next. The man in the robe sitting by the window felt too obvious; the old lady muttering to herself at a table in the corner felt cruel. Before Felix could settle on anyone, the waiter returned, placing the plates down on the bar before vanishing again.

Felix studied the food on the plate with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure if there was dairy in it. In fact, Felix wasn’t sure there was anything edible at all on the plate that had been presented to them. It looked like… a tree branch, coated in breading and dropped in the fryer. Something seemed to be moving beneath the fried layer. Felix swallowed, picking up a fork and knife. “Uh, yeah,” they said uncertainly. “Looks… good. Really good. Um, what’d you get?”

Elora was a bit sad to hear Felix was lactose intolerant. She had known several others with the issue, but was thankfully immune from it herself. She could put away milk and cheese at a frankly disturbing rate. “Well,” she began “I sure hope they don’t bring out any dairy. Something tells me anything dairy here wouldn’t be coming from a cow anyway. Maybe you’ll get lucky?” she offered, hoping that Felix’s meal wouldn’t end in a night stuck in the bathroom. She’d had those nights herself, but for different reasons than food.

Was the tea shop nice? Sure, the front of it was. Now wasn’t really the time to talk about what happened at the back however. “Oh yes, it’s very relaxing actually! It smells amazing in there, you should pop in some time.” Just don’t talk to the owner about making any deals, she thought to herself.

She then watched as first Felix and then her own plate was set down in front of her. Her meal looked to be…a glowing rock? However, when Elora poked at it, the texture felt more like that of Jell-o. It glowed with a bright purple energy that couldn’t have been the work of food dye. She hesitated a bit before her attention was drawn to Felix’s question.

“Oh, I got uh…something that hopefully won’t leave me with any sort of curse. Yours looks…” she started, settling in on Felix’s dish which looked to be barely edible. “Firm. Very firm. And somewhat alive, even.” At this point Elora wasn’t sure whether or not that could even be considered a bad thing. Were there worse things to get here? Were these really the “beginner friendly” meals? Or was the bartender pulling some sort of prank on them?

“You know, this definitely makes for a unique experience” she said to Felix, now trying to embrace the novelty of the bar. “It’s not a place you go to regularly every weekend, at least it’s not for me. But despite the…eccentric nature of everyone here, I’m still having a good time. And all the patrons here with their interesting stories and my hopefully edible gem jello will make a memory that I can hopefully keep with me for a while.”

She then dug her spoon into the strange rock jell-o in front of her and took a bite. It was…surprisingly delicious. It was sweet and flavorful. In fact, she had tasted some flavors that she had never even experienced before. If umami was the fifth flavor, this dish had some sort of sixth and seventh flavor that she’d never known about before.

“Wow…try yours! Mine’s amazing!”

“That’s probably true!” Given the items they’d seen on the menu, something as mundane as cow’s milk might be entirely impossible to find here. Felix wasn’t sure if they were allergic to things like aravo or snicker-snacker, but they’d probably be fine, right? The jaguar ate all kinds of weird stuff when he was in charge, and Felix never seemed to suffer too much indigestion in the aftermath. (Usually, it was more guilt and horror. They might have preferred the indigestion.)

They smiled as Elora went on, pleased to hear that she enjoyed her work. “Hey, maybe I will! I like tea.” They liked pretty much any hot drink that wasn’t coffee. That much caffeine tended to make them a little jittery, and they’d prefer not to be that. Plus, the idea of visiting their new friend at work was a nice one.

Nicer, perhaps, than whatever was on their plate. Felix liked to try not to judge books by their cover or plates by their appearance, but this looked… weird. Elora’s didn’t look any less strange. Felix wasn’t sure they’d ever seen food glow like that before. Was it even edible? Would Elora glow when she ate it? There were so many unanswered questions here.

“Yeah, I think… it’ll be, um, interesting!” That was the nicest true assumption he could make before tasting it, wasn’t it? Even if it was bad, it would still be an experience. And… there was something to be said for that. Not everything had to be good. Sometimes, it was enough for a thing to be interesting.

Elora dug her spoon into the contents of her plate and, inspired by her bravery, Felix used their fork and knife to saw off a bit of his own. He held it up briefly before shoving it into his mouth. It hit their tongue all at once, and they paused. They chewed once. Twice. Three times. It was… good? Really good, actually. It wasn’t a taste Felix knew how to describe, but they thought it was one of the best things they’d ever tasted.

Nodding as Elora spoke, Felix got a larger bite with their fork. “This is actually awesome,” they agreed. “I, uh… I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it would be, but it’s good. Do you want to try a bite of mine?”

“You definitely should!” Elora began, hoping to get more regulars at the tea shop. While there was a very strong staple group of customers who came in regularly, it was nice to see new faces every now and then too. “And what do you do for work? If it’s a shop or something maybe I can pop in for a visit too!”

She shoveled another spoonful of her meal into her mouth while she watched them take the first bite of their own meal. The expression on their face told her everything she needed to know.

“Good, right? Maybe I was a little quick to write this place off. The chefs back there know what they’re doing!”

She listened as Felix offered her a bite of their food, and Elora swallowed hard reminding herself not to be put off by the way it looked. She pushed her plate over to Felix so they could also try a bite of her food as well. Simultaneously, the pair took a bite of each other’s food, and once again they gave the same amazed expression.

“This is…I have no idea what this is. And to be honest, I think I’m better off not knowing. But I may have to come around here more often if everything on the menu is this good!” She then went back to finishing up her own meal, already down to a few bites left. In spite of this, Elora felt very full, like after a Thanksgiving dinner. “I’d love to try a drink, but it’s already getting kinda late. I should probably head back home after this, and I don’t want to order anything that’s going to make me feel a lot more than tipsy,” she said with a giggle. “How about you? Any exciting plans for the rest of the night?”

It was natural, of course, for the question to be turned around on Felix. That was what small talk was, wasn’t it? One person shared some small detail about their life, then they asked the other person to do the same. But work wasn’t something Felix liked to talk about so long as they could help it, and they shifted with discomfort at the question. “I, um, work at a gym.” It was a familiar lie, one they tended to give anyone who asked. As was its followup: “But it’s not really the kind of place people can visit.”

They didn’t like people to know what they did, much less people like Elora, who they found cool and interesting. And people like Elora, who they found cool and interesting, weren’t the sort who’d enjoy a night at the Grit Pit, anyway. It catered to a pretty specific audience.

The food was a welcome distraction from the conversation, which was a little funny. Felix had been expecting the opposite — for easy conversation to make bad food go down a little easier. But life was unpredictable, they supposed; sometimes, food that looked inedible was actually one of the best things you’d ever tasted.

“Really good,” they agreed with a grin, taking a bit of her food as it was offered to them. Like the food on his own plate, Elora’s was far better than it looked on the outside, even if the taste wasn’t one Felix quite knew how to describe. It was like nothing they’d ever eaten before, and they had very little to compare it to.

Swallowing the bite in their mouth, they nodded along. “I guess the downside is that I’d have no idea how to order it again if I came back,” they admitted with a laugh. The waiter had given no indication as to what either dish was called and, even if he had, Felix was sure the menu wouldn’t include it the next time they looked at it. The menu items didn’t seem to stay in place for very long at all. “Yeah, I might have to come back another day to try the drinks.” There was really no telling how alcoholic the drinks might be; Felix wasn’t sure tonight was the night to find out. “Oh, I have work later. I, um, work nights a lot. So I definitely can’t have a drink.” The higher ups at the Pit didn’t tend to care whether the fighters were sober or not, but Felix would rather not try to fight drunk. “Maybe we could come back sometime, though?”

“Oh! A gym?” Elora said nodding her head thoughtfully. She supposed they seemed like the type. She had never really been a fan of gym bros, but this one at least seemed pretty down to earth. “Why can’t people visit? Some sort of underground members only type of place like this little speakeasy here?”

Elora looked down at Felix’s plate, pleased to see they seemed to be devouring it all down similarly to how she had inhaled her own food.

“That’s really good! I’m glad you liked your food too. This place seemed like it could be hit or miss, but I guess they never miss, huh?” she said, now taking a peek at the food the other patrons had. It was largely unidentifiable, but they all seemed to be enjoying their food regardless.

She took a moment to process what Felix had said about not being able to reorder the food. She supposed they were right, although she figured she could order the “glowing rock jello” again and the staff would probably know what she was talking about. Then again, for all she knew, there could 7 different kinds of glowing rock jello rotating on the menu.

“Oh you work nights at the gym? Makes sense, must be one of those 24 hour ones. Do a lot of people actually come work out at, like, 2 am? Seems like an ungodly hour, but people run all sorts of schedules here.” A 2am workout circuit didn’t seem too far-fetched to her, she just hadn’t had a full conversation with someone who worked night shifts before. She thought they were all pale and sleep deprived, but this one looked downright human.

“I’d love to come back some time, for sure! This place is definitely on my radar. It was also great meeting you tonight Felix. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up finding your super secret gym some day and drop in on you at work.”

“Yeah,” Felix confirmed, feeling a little guilty at the lie. It wasn’t like they didn’t want to be honest with people, but… their contract prevented them from saying too much, and people got a little frustrated when you couldn’t answer many questions. And, on another level… there was no small amount of shame there, too. They didn’t like what they did, and they didn’t like for people to know about it. People would think less of them if they did. How could they not? It was shameful. “It’s, um… Yeah. It’s pretty exclusive.” Another lie, though this one was better than the truth. No one should go to the Grit Pit, Felix thought. Especially not someone as nice as Elora.

She was right about the food, too. The menu seemed risky in a way, like the kind of thing that could easily go terribly wrong, but the food was good. And it seemed they weren’t the only ones who thought so – the rest of the patrons seemed to be enjoying their meals, too. Felix wondered how many of them had ordered themselves and how many, like Elora and Felix, had needed the waiter to pitch in with an assist.

“Something like that, yeah,” Felix chuckled nervously, trying to figure out how to explain the situation without outright lying, but without telling the whole truth, either. It wasn’t a line they particularly enjoyed walking, though it was one they had to balance fairly often these days. “People in this town definitely have, uh… unique schedules.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie. Felix knew some of their coworkers preferred the late nights at the Grit Pit, given their more nocturnal nature.

They let out another nervous chuckle as she mentioned ‘finding’ their secret gym, unease settling low in their gut. Please don’t, they wanted to say, but it would be giving too much away. So they only shrugged instead, offered a smile that was a little forced. “I’d much rather hang out when I’m, um… off the clock. Do more things like this!”

Elora cocked her head to the side a bit as she listened to Felix’s explanation of where they worked. They were being a bit dodgy, and Elora could definitely sense that. Still, however, she knew it wasn’t her place to pry. Often, when people intended to keep secrets, they did so with very good reason.

“Well, maybe one day I’ll be cool enough. Unless it’s like some strong man type of thing, then I’ll never get in,” she said, offering a weak flex of her bicep and pointing to it before putting her arm back down.

“But yes, we should absolutely do more fun things like this! Here, I’ll put my number in your phone. Hit me up if you ever want to go out again! Would you mind if I ever brought my girlfriend along? She’s super sweet, and usually loves these kinds of things. No pressure of course, I know meeting new people can be a little bit much sometimes.” She certainly didn’t to make Felix uncomfortable by essentially making them a third wheel for things, but she was excited to make a new friend and wanted them to meet the important people in their life. Plus, it was generally better for her partner to know the people she was hanging out with at the very least.

“And with that, I should probably head out. It was really nice meeting you, have a great night! Don’t work yourself too hard.”

There was a rush of relief as she seemed content to drop the subject, and Felix offered a weak smile in gratitude. “Nothing like that, no.” They didn’t add that they hoped she’d never be ‘cool enough’ to catch the Grit Pit’s attention, though the thought was there. Elora seemed kind, and kind people had no place in the Grit Pit.

Things like this certainly seemed far more agreeable, anyway. Felix had more friends now than they used to, but you could never have too many, could you? “Hey, no, of course she could come along. The more the, uh, merrier, right?” Maybe Mona would want to tag along sometimes, too, or Natalia. They didn’t think Anita would be interested — she seemed more content to do her own thing — but Teagan might. It was funny; Felix never imagined they’d have so many people to choose from when it came to inviting a person to hang out.

“It was nice meeting you, too, Elora! We should definitely do it again sometime.”

#contemporarybardess #elora: good eats #wickedswriting

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the-lil-exorcist · 3 months

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Ghost party ; Mack & Lil

PARTIES:@the-lil-exorcist and @realmackross TIME: Halloween WHERE: Eluria Cemetery SUMMARY: Lil goes to stop some ghost nonsense, unfortunately Mackenzie gets caught up in it. Fortunately, Sarah seems to like Lil. WARNINGS: None!

Mackenzie had always enjoyed Halloween. It had been one of her favorite times of the year, but being a zombie just somehow made it feel different. Well, that and having to work, but she did get to dress up, and it was pretty fun seeing all the little goth and emo kids rocking out anything but goth and emo. The Barbie goths dressed in pink were her favorite. She had decided to go for a classic - Carrie after being covered in blood. Fake blood of course. She may have eaten human brains, but there was no way she was using real pig's blood just for the aesthetic. She wasn’t that kind of girly.

As she walked out into the brisk night air after her shift at Dance Macabre, Mack took in the sights and sounds around her. People seemed to still be out in full force, despite it being a Tuesday night, and she couldn’t help but laugh enjoying the festivities of it all. The one person she had longed to see though, that night, had been Elora, and the thought had crossed her mind to go see the woman who she already deemed as her girlfriend in her mind. But with it being already so late, she had opted to end her night with a haunted stroll through Eluria Cemetery - nevermind the fact that it was the preferred hangout spot for vampires. But she was already dead and none-the-wiser about what she was about to walk into. Plus, it was still Halloween for at least another thirty minutes.

—

Lil hated halloween, and it wasn’t really for the decorations or atmosphere. In fact, she liked the idea of halloween a lot - but execution of it usually meant that the exorcist was dealing with calls all night. She had tried to stop it, insisting that she wasn’t going to take any calls until November second - but she always ended up caving.

So, in spite of herself and dressed in a suit instead of her regular attire she was again called out to deal with a haunting. Pulling her hair back she muttered under her breath for a moment ducking at the gates so the ghost couldn’t see her. They were already throwing things - and she had a feeling a lot of ghosts got pissed at teenagers again. She should get a hold of some before they started body hopping again.

God she hated Halloween.

“Hey - you - you’re not going to want to go in there. Ghosts are trying to throw anything that’s not too heavy -” Lil said, calling to Mack who seemed to not have seen the swirling. “I wouldn’t go in there tonight.”

—

As she stood at the gates of the cemetery, her mind quickly shot to Winter. This would have been somewhere that she knew her ex-best friend would have loved. Well, maybe now that the seeing ghosts thing was actually real. In fact, she wasn’t entirely sure how Winter had been doing with all of that. It had become a sort of whirlwind after the sleepover and then when Mackenzie confessed her secret about Brody to Winter, all bets were called off. Two months without her best friend had been hard, and she had even missed Henry.

With her mind preoccupied, she had failed to hear the person calling out to her. And instead, continued on her trek into the cemetery. It was somewhat ironic though that the thing distracting her was about to be the thing that–

Before Mackenzie could go any further, she had noticed a bouquet, no, several bouquets of fake flowers coming her way, “Hey! What the fuck? Who threw those?!” Looking around, she finally realized what the woman had been trying to warn her about. With wide eyes, she slowly looked around to find more than enough transparent looking people staring back at her, and without any hesitation, the young zombie took off running further into the cemetery to get away from the spirits that were now chasing her.

—

Lil sighed as the other wasn’t really paying attention to her as she tried to grab her attention, the ghosts rather pissed off at the intrusion of the corporeal in their space. Usually an upset ghost or two would be outmatched by the rest trying to calm them down but the teens this year had really messed up the balance.

So now the reaper had to step into the fray again. Calling out again to the other woman she yelled, “Ghost - Hey come back here. You’re about to enter a really bad time. - Fuck,” Lil managed before the flowers were thrown at her. “Hey Jean - that was fucked up and you know it. Come on man, you remember me. I’m the one with the brother - pink - okay - yeah they aren’t going to listen to me please come back over here Lady.” She said ducking behind a tree. “They are pissed today. I’m hoping you aren’t one of the people who has been trying to summon them yeah? ”

—

Mackenzie frantically ran around the graveyard dodging headstones left and right, even managing to leap over a few like they were hurdles with a tuck and roll on occasion. She had trained for this for nearly all of her life, and it could have easily been something that looked like it was straight out of a movie. However, every hero must have their downfall, and Mack’s suddenly came as her toe caught on the top of a headstone; her dead body starting to tire out. As she went down, the ghost that had decided to try and scare her from the front had suddenly found itself in a new home – Mackenzie’s body.

Moaning, the twenty-five year old, slowly climbed back to her feet, but something was different. It felt…off. Mack didn’t feel like herself. In fact, this wasn’t Mack at all, “What…where…” The current inhabitant took control of Mack’s hands and began feeling all over. Legs, arms, torso, face…And soon they pulled out Mackenzie’s phone making an effort to find the camera. With selfie mode intact, they let out an excited scream, “I AM BEAUTIFUL!!!! Look at me?! Just look at me!!!” Without hesitating the ghost began snapping pictures of herself making duck lips and flirty eyes.

—

Lil stalled realizing that the - “Oh fuck you weren’t human were you.” She climbed over to where the person who was absolutely being possessed now. She ducked trying to think of a plan. It usually didn’t happen like this, usually there was a struggle and a fight, which only meant that the Lady who had run in was probably not a human. Probably - it would come to her eventually. What mattered now was she had to get that ghost out of her.

Standing up and thinking Lil sighed and decided this might work. Pulling up her hair and trying to make herself look - less annoyed she ducked and did a double take going up to the woman.

Moving closer Lil put her hands behind her back smiling as she approached trying to get the ghost not to bolt possessing someone. “Hey - I know this is sudden but could I get your number, Gorgeous?” Lil said moving closer looking friendly. “I was just walking by and I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you. I’d really like to take you out on a date.”

_____

“Just call me Sarah from now on boys.” Sarah, with a very suppressed and struggling Mackenzie, turned off the phone and shoved it back in her pocket. As she walked forward, she made sure to keep a little wiggle in her step to impress all the other ghosties who were watching in awe of how she had so easily possessed Mackenzie in the first place. But the voice behind her, made Sarah jump.

Quickly turning on her heels, she noticed the shorter woman slowly approaching her. Sarah was cautious, her eyes narrowed. It was as if this…human? Had just appeared out of nowhere, but it didn’t take long for Sarah to realize she could now be seen. She was solid, after all, and wearing this meat suite meant she had a connection back to the human world. Which also meant she could have fun as long as she kept her new body in good condition, “Oh, really…you think I’m gorgeous? How come I’ve never seen you around here…” She kept her eyes trained on the woman, cautiously stepping backwards as Lil stepped forwards, however, unable to hide the smile spreading across her face.

_____

“Oh I’m new in town,” Lil said lightly, looking the other up and down promising she would absolutely say sorry to the person whose body this was. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind, as Lil was pretty sure she was older than her. “I’m actually an artist who’s just passing through town and I was just sketching over there.”

Lil pointed to a bench awhile away. “You looked really pretty standing in the moonlight so I had to come talk to you. Names Laura by the way. Sorry if my approach was too strong.” Lil said chuckling,holding her hands up to show she wasn’t going to move closer. “What’s your name Gorgeous? Why are you out here in a cemetery?”

_____

It was like having a front row seat to a trainwreck, and Mackenzie couldn’t stop watching. Whatever Sarah did or said, Mack did or said. And right now, Sarah was being oddly turned on by this stranger who was trying to act all coy and innocent. Oh come on. Do you really believe she’s telling the truth? You’re in my body…use my brain! I’ve been acting a lot longer. I actually know how all of this works, ya dipshit. Mackenzie wanted to growl in frustration, but couldn’t. Instead, all she could do was watch Sarah approach the stranger, err, “Laura…That’s a lovely name. My name’s Sarah.”

The ghost bit at her bottom lip, “You really think I’m pretty.” She kicked at some gravel, before looking back up. Her modest flirting game was strong. “Well, I was just drawn here…by the pull of…the spirits…” The pull of the spirits?! I would say fucking kill me, but I’m already dead. “They just had this…hold on me…you know?” Sarah continued to let Laura flatter her. “Do you think you could maybe draw me? Something like one of Jack’s French girls in Titanic?” You’re aging yourself, Sarah…

_____

“Aw you think?” Lil said, smiling brightly, and not at all like herself. She wasn’t a particularly strong actress, but she’d gotten out of enough trouble with police that she was good on the spot. Keeping her eyes on the ghost in the human she nodded. “Sarah - I like that. It’s a great name for you.”

Lil nodded softly not lowering her gaze, being more confident then she would actually be. “Yes you really are pretty.” The person was clearly was but well Lil was just trying to get her to come closer. She really didn’t like making personal statements like this usually.

“Oh? Spirits?” Lil said looking around like she didn’t see ghosts. “You think there are some here? I’ve always wanted to talk to one. Oh I understand I love spending time in cemeteries for the same thing.” Lil said looking sheepish as she lifted her hand to scratch her neck slightly wanting to see how Sarah would react. “ Oh - I mean I’d love to draw you.” Lil said, her eyes looking calmly at Sarah. “I - kinda left my sketch pad over there but um - maybe just a portrait for now?” Lil said with a wink. “I don’t know if I could quite paint you like one of Jack’s girls, but I’d like to do this at least.”

Lil watched hoping Sarah would come closer holding out her hand as if she was a little shy.

______

Sarah had been a ghost since the 90s. For lack of a better term, she was horny. And if Laura needed some lovin’ in her life, then Sarah would be that - Dear God. Help me. Please help me. Somebody. Anybody! Can anybody hear- “Thank you. It’s like Sarah Jessica Parker, you know? She played this really hot witch in this movie, and I just think it’s so cool that my parents did something right.” She rolled her eyes laughing.

“Duh, I know there are spirits here. I can feel it, like, in my bones.” The more comfortable Sarah got, the closer she moved towards Laura. “Have you ever played with a Ouija Board? We could try that sometime.” Yeah, go ahead. Why don’t you tell her you’re a spirit! Let her know who you really are! Then maybe she can get- “But first, um, I would totally love to be drawn by you. I bet you’re so talented.”

Seeing Laura stick out her hand, Sarah reached out to grab it, “Then maybe we can get pizza and go back to your place?”

______

“Oh yeah I think I’ve seen that,” Lil said pretending not knowing that movie as Sarah came closer she smiled encouragingly. “Oh really? Yeah - I did hear something about ghosts around here.” Lil hated Ouija Boards, but widened her eyes, “Oh no I haven’t - maybe we could do that later. If you think it won't be too scary. I know how I look but, I’m actually a scaredy cat.”

Jonas was absolutely going to lose it later, but she somehow managed to keep her composure as the ghost got close. Not wanting to scare the person the ghost was in she thought on her feet knowing she didn’t want to end up having to actually take Sarah to a secondary location. She was pretty sure the other was already scared.

So Lil took her hand gently and said softly, “Yeah that would be nice although I am staying in a hotel right now. Could you do a favor for me before though. Just a tiny one. You look really pretty in the moonlight and I want to take a picture. I think you’d be perfect for one of my pieces - It would only take a second.” Lil said, tilting her head innocently looking hopeful. “If you could stand still for me with your eyes closed, I think it would look just perfect.”

_____

“Really? Who’s your favorite character? Mine’s Sarah of course.” She giggled and let out a snort on accident when Laura mentioned ghosts. “You want to know a secret?” Oh seriously? You’re gonna listen to me? Go ahead. TELL HER what you are. Besides the aforementioned dipshit. I’m sure she’ll love hearing you’re a ghost. Dumbass. “I’m an expert at them. I’ll keep you safe.” Expert my possessed ass.

Sarah continued to move forward. At this point it was more of a shitshow than a horror show, and if Mackenzie could laugh, she would. But it was so odd. It was as if the longer this went on the weaker she could feel herself becoming, and she didn’t like it. But she could tell that this Laura person had a plan. She had been warning Mack not to go into the cemetery after all. Sarah just needed to keep believing the lie.

Following Laura’s lead, Sarah stepped forward, “I mean lots of things happen in hotels. Doesn’t mean it’s bad.” She wiggled her eyebrows hoping Laura caught on. Like OMG, gag me with a spoon and then shove it down my throat the rest of the way. God, I wish I could roll my eyes right now. Stupid ghost. “Totally.” Once she was in the perfect spot, she wiggled just a little getting comfortable, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Like this?”

_____

“Sarah Jessica Parkers Character” Lil said lightly hoping that the ghost wasn’t really going to push her on that. “Oh yeah I love secrets,” Lil said with a smile leaning in and nodding. “Okay. I mean I don’t have a reason to think you're not an expert.”

Lil internally was happy that the ghost fell for it, hoping not to scare the girl who might be watching as she slipped her hand out of hers and nodded. “Oh - Fantastic. I’m sure you’re going to love the piece.” She grabbed her phone out of her bag palming the small bag of salt she needed in her other hand easily.

“Yes, perfect. Hold still, Gorgeous,” Lil said softly, her hand getting out salt as she slowly went around her making sure not to touch the other. “Perfect. Just perfect.” She said the line was closing as she stepped back.

“Okay you can open your eyes now - although you might want to keep them closed.” Lil said as she grabbed onto her necklace her voice going back to her normal register as she dropped the act. “Sorry, Sarah. I know what you are and you can’t stay in that body.”

Lil was a little sorry at least, but not enough to not exorcize the ghost to give the other back her body. “I’m just going to push you out okay? You can try to go on peacefully after this. Now don’t move or the salt might be uncomfortable.”

__________

Sarah absolutely loved this new life she was living. She had found a hot girl in 0.2 seconds of being in some random hot girl’s body. That hot girl has a name, and it’s MACKENZIE. Bitch. She was going to be the muse to someone’s masterpiece and even star in her own photoshoot. And as she stood with her eyes closed, she continued to listen to Laura’s instructions until she realized the tone of her voice had changed.

Quickly opening her eyes, Sarah looked down to find the salt circle, “What the fuck?! YOU BITCH! You lied to me?! I thought we had something special! I was going to rock your world!” Yeah, more like she rocked yours…with rock salt. But enough with the chit-chat, can you please just get this thing out of me!? I’m getting so tired.

Ignoring the warning about the salt, Sarah headed straight towards the drawn out circle, until she felt a strong barrier send her backwards, and one that Mackenzie had felt too. Fuck me! Uh, let's not do that again! Please! “Why are you doing this to me? It’s not like I’m hurting anybody! Besides, I deserve to have a body too!”

_____

“Yeah, I did. Sorry about that. I’m sure it would be fun, but what can I say I don’t like spectators. Bum bum tiss,” Lil said, going to sit down in front of the circle. She looked a little concerned as the ghost tried to pass through the salt. Starting to murmur the ritual of removal she started to ignore the other as the words started her hand on her necklace, the locket smooth in her hand.

She would respond, telling her that she wasn’t trying to be mean. She just knew that the girl that body deserved to have a body too. It was as simple as that. Honestly, she wished she couldn’t hear ghosts in bodies too. It always seemed to make this more complicated than when she couldn’t hear them. Closing her eyes she continued her hand on the ground as she did so her voice getting a little louder when she finished the chant standing up.

Surging forward she went to make sure the girl didn’t move. “Hey - hey Lady. Don’t move okay? From the circle until I get a pouch out of my pocket. You’re not human right? You’re uh one of them - undead?” Lil said, trying to figure out the word as she went to her pocket. “Ghosts really like your kind and you have to be careful. I have a pouch of a thing that will help you not get possessed again, it won’t be for long but it’ll get you out of here. Also - names Lil. Sarah’s going to be pissed but she can’t possess you again if you keep this bag with you leaving.”

Moving her hand to the bag Lil murmured a ritual the feeling of a ritual jolting through her hand as she got it the other. She could also sense that Sarah was right there pissed, but she couldn’t hear her anymore.

_________

Hearing the chant, Sarah could feel herself getting weaker. She didn’t like it. She liked having a hold over this human’s body; though she didn’t enjoy the smell of rotting flesh that she caught a whiff of every now and then. But the woman was still hot and would have made Sarah an absolute babe back when she had still been alive. And as much as she wanted to protest it all, she just didn’t have the strength.

But on the flip side, Mackenzie could feel herself getting stronger. It was nice starting to have her decaying body back. And the closer she got to being herself again, the better she was able to listen to, “It’s nice to meet you, Lil. Officially and not via Sarah. I’m Mackenzie.” At this point she didn’t care if Lil knew her secret. The woman had helped to save her from disappearing, and the most she could do was oblige in what was being asked of her, “Yeah, zombie. And I will gladly stay here, until it’s safe to go.”

Looking around, she could see the other members of the cemetery keeping their distance. And once Mack was free to leave, she’d be moving a little bit faster than how she had entered.

When Lil was finished, Mackenzie looked down to see the bag, “I’d say you’re a lifesaver, but you know.” She laughed softly.

_________

Lil chuckled at that, “Nice to meet you Mackenzie. And that’s what it is - yeah you should be careful around ghosts.” She now recalled her dad’s information on that, and while he was annoying he usually wasn’t wrong about things like this.

Giving the pouch she let go of the other letting her stand up and situate herself a smile on her face. “Hey, no worries. Also - I am sorry I was flirting, I just didn’t want to freak you out by you know grabbing you. I hope you’re not insulted. Let's get out of here before I have to exorcize a whole cemetery.``

Lil looped her bag back onto her shoulder, and ignored Sarah who was in fact still trying to get her attention as she nodded towards the exit. “Just keep that pouch in your hand and - well I hope next time we meet you aren’t possessed.”

#para: Mack #all that is shown to me; paras #rip to sarah you were funny #this was a lot of fun to do thank u Sunny #Lil: I can flirt my way out of this I know I can

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