uwps002

[uwps002]

🎔 "This time of year is much more comfortable for me, since using this form in the winter... It's a little cold. But since it's hot, I can spend all my time in the water."

"What do you think, though? I don't really need to wear a swimsuit in this form since I'm naturally covered, but would there still be some sex appeal in wearing one anyways~?"

[uwps002]

🎔 It took a while for Céline to awaken, and when she did she was very groggy. Had she been asleep while sitting? She could tell she was upright, but it was dark. Her head ached. She'd been struck? And she was bound? Her arms and legs were all tied. It was Alecto's voice that finally snapped her out of it, and her human disguise melted away so that her luminosity kicked it, lighting all of her pink features so that she was visible in the dark. "Alecto!?"

This was bad. Where was she? How had she ended up there? As panic took root, faithfully recalling the events that had occurred before she'd blacked out became difficult to grasp. If there was anything she hated in the world that stood above the rest, it was feeling trapped. As an experiment that had been on the run her entire life, she'd gotten too used to feeling "free" in Spirale.

It was like a cold reality had just been dropped on top of her. Céline was usually so composed, but being put in a situation like this shattered that composure.

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"

She was in real danger of hurting herself, not only with how much force she was trying to break free of her bindings, but because she kept slamming her weight into the nearby wall.

@sunliteve -> @revivalbeast

They underestimated a frivolous young idol. So, they let the location slip.

As much as he wanted to rush there immediately — and attempted to, at first — rationally, he wasn't getting in without a plan. He paid his way into a service uniform and a hefty, realistically-marked box, and then he approached the entrance with clear eyes behind sunglasses and a pounding heart.

The building itself was a front, but presented itself as a bar-karaoke members-only establishment. It was technically just past opening time when he approached, and the area was still deserted. Hiyori hoped that meant the place was going to be thin on employed troublemakers.

He shifted the box and knocked at the door. Someone peered out through a window in the door, and after giving him a pointed look, opened it. One point for the Spirale*Mart delivery driver disguise!

"A delivery, now? Who for?" the stranger asked, and Hiyori stepped in, rotating the package to give him a good look at the recipient. By researching them, he'd found out a name of someone higher-ranked that often showed up there and marked it on the box. "Jefferson, huh... guess she won't want to wait on this." An uncertain look back at the door, his assigned post, gave Hiyori the opening he needed.

"It's my job to get the packages to their recipient. Just tell me where I can find her," he said in a level voice, and while the guard looked at him through narrowed eyes, the goon gave in easily. Laziness was so useful in others at times.

"I'm not really supposed to let you do that, but I'm not supposed to leave this spot either. Sure, what the hell. Head toward the back of the place, office three."

"Pleasure doing business with you," Hiyori replied with a nod of his head, walking at a measured pace further into the building. He didn't hear the clack of shoes suddenly turn to chase him, so step one was a resounding success.

Of course, now he was in enemy territory. Other dangers awaited, and his improvisational skills were going to get a workout today.

@revivalbeast ➥ @uwps002

[uwps002]

@revivalbeast - crew call

🎔 This was an unusual situation to find herself in to say the least. Céline had more or less figured out the gist of it, though. For some reason, Alecto and herself had been pulled into some kind of commercial. One for an island resort. The scenes would change all of a sudden here and there, but probably because they didn't look the part, it had thrown them into a store with a number of swimsuits on display.

Was it not going to progress until they got changed?

"Well, I was going to take you swimsuit shopping once it got a little warmer, but no time like the present? I don't think we're going to be able to leave until we get changed. Anything catch your eye, beautiful?"

[uwps002]

🎔 "What!? Hey, since when does the youngest buy dinner? I should be spoiled, in fact!" Like she wasn't spoiled enough!

"I don't think that's how it works, Cel."

"It'll be the two of you paying. As the youngest twin, y'know?"

[uwps002]

🎔 "So does this mean we can start going on double dates? I don't think we'd mind at all if you two paid for the meals. Thanks in advance~!"

"True." He won't deny that.

"Congrats on your love life, sis."

[uwps002]

🎔 Eventually Céline was going to help Alecto intuit the nuances of modern human language when it came to common phrases like "asking someone out", but clearly tonight wasn't going to be that night. "Oh, okay then! That works for me!" Her birthday also probably wasn't the best night to give Alecto that lesson.

The pink-haired woman hadn't known what to expect. Maybe fireworks or something like that? But what she actually was "given" was something much more wondrous as the sea lit up with a bright blue. Céline's mouth hung agape for moment, at least until her lips turned into a smile. "I... Did you arrange this somehow?" Even if it had just been a coincidence, that raised questions of their own.

"I love it, Alecto! Oh! Let me get a photo!" She hopped back a few steps while picking her phone out of her pocket and made sure Alecto was in the frame with the jellyfish. With a CLICK it was all done, and she'd definitely throw it in her scrapbook later. When she was finished she approached Alecto and stood on her tiptoes to pull her girlfriend down into a brief but passionate kiss. "You never cease to surprise me."

"Ask me out? We're going out." She's not necessarily confused, but more confirming that they're already together. Tonight and in general. "I was planning on going to your room, so we can spend the rest of your birthday together." In fact, she was surprised that they hadn't bedshared sooner.

She would have picked up Celine, but they were almost there.

The sun was setting on the board walk as she quickly kicked off her shoes and walked into the shallows, breath coming quickly as the sun just about fell over the horizon-

"Look!"

The shallows began to light up, a beautiful display of jellyfish illuminating the shoreline even as the orange of the sun started to disappear, a beautiful illuminating blue.

"They call came out to wish you a happy birthday."

[uwps002]

🎔 Exploding cake might have sounded exciting, but it was probably for the best that this wasn't the event that Alecto had lined up. But it had to do with the sun setting? That was a clue, and she could think of a few things! She managed to keep her pace with Alecto, but she was probably going to be exhausted by the time they got there.

She had way more stamina in the water, so sue her!

"Um... I was going to ask you out tonight! Do you want to stay in my room tonight whenever we're done... all this!?" She was at least trying to keep the conversation going as they ran.

"No, no exploding cake," maybe she misheard that, she wasn't sure, an exploding cake seemed like it might be fun. Alecto drags them both across the city, entering Golden Ward, almost racing the sun.

"But we do have to get there before the sun finishes setting." She trusts Celíne to keep up with her, although she's sure to keep her pace as close to her partner's as possible.

"We have to hurry."

[uwps002]

∞ "Hey! Let me have this, alright? You were so happy when you told me about Hiyori!"

"..."

"Was wondering when you were going to tell me."

[uwps002]

@revivalbeast asked:

"Come on," she had had a few birthdays in her 10,000 years, but some measure of excitement had grasp over her as she tugged on Celínes hand. It's a bit later in the day now, the sun starting to set, "It's your birthday, and I have a present for you, but we have to run there now."

🎔 "Oh!? And were are we gooooooing!?" Céline was hardly able to keep up with her girlfriend, but she was super glad that she had stayed in shape all these years. She couldn't imagine what Alecto might have gotten her as a gift, much less one that they'd have to run there to reach? Was there a time limit?

"What's up!? Is it like a cake that's going to expire any second now? They're usually still good on the expiration date!"

[uwps002]

Constantine sits silently behind Celine while she sits on the floor. He's doing her hair. Fingers expertly twist locks of hair together in beautiful braids.

"There's a bag in the living room," he starts as he begins forming a bun for a section of her hair after the braids. Once he's done, he hands her a mirror.

"What do you think? Too much?"

So, in the bag, there are pieces of fancy jewelry. "I know how much you love your fashion, so there you go. There's a play at the theater. I got you two tickets for. I figured you and Alecto might enjoy it. Seems like it might be up your guys' ally.

Happy birthday, Cel."

🎔 "Huh!? It's my birthday? How did you know?", she joked. Of course she was joking. They were twins! "And here I thought you were just doing my hair because you were pursuing an exciting new career as a hair stylist!" When he was finished, she checked numerous angles out in the mirror. "Looks pretty good! Maybe you seriously should consider that career path?" He'd done her hair a lot when they were younger.

It wasn't like they'd had anyone else to do it.

Her eyes practically sparkled at the jewelry in the bag. He was right that she had an eye for pretty things like that. But she couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of bringing Alecto to the theatre. "Well, she's pretty tall so hopefully the rows are deep... but this might be a good chance to dress her up in something fancy. Hm..." She was already thinking about what she could pitch.

"Oh, right!" She suddenly remembered that this was meant to be an exchange. "Happy Birthday to you too, Con! But your gift was a little too big for me to bring in without you seeing it, so its getting delivered today." She did pull out her phone and tapped away until she could show him a picture of a home aquarium. "I'm going to wire you some dust, too. Take Hiyori to the store I bought the aquarium from and pick out the decorations and sea life you'd like!"

[uwps002]

Céline’s birthday delivery from Hiyori includes two boxes: a fancy box from a high-end Golden Ward bakery, and a smaller box without branding. In the first is a personal vanilla cake layered with raspberry filling, frosted with rose water icing, and decorated with raspberries and cream. A white chocolate plaque on top reads "Happy Birthday Céline" in flowy handwriting. In the second box is a pair of drop earrings with translucent resin dahlias, the delicate petals transitioning between soft reds, whites, and pinks; outlined and hanging in silver. “I don’t know what you think of dahlias, but they remind me of you. I hope you have a wonderful day♪”

🎔 "Oh! Thank you, Hiyori!" Céline hadn't expected much, really. She didn't advertise her birthday, but it made sense that Hiyori would know it... since he was seeing her twin brother and all. "You didn't need to go to all of this trouble, though! ...I could have just stolen from whatever cake you gave Constantine!" She might still do that if he had any cake to steal.

"Have fun with my brother. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble! ...Sorry, I don't mean to give you such a monumental task!"

[uwps002]

@uwps001

🎔 "Have you heard the news, brother? You aren't the only twin with a partner now!"

[uwps002]

🎔 Evidently Céline was going to have to toss "potentially life imperiling power levels" onto the list of mysterious traits surrounding her girlfriend. Even so, she felt reassured that Alecto had no intention of leaving her, even though she wouldn't have blamed her if that had been her decision. She reached out to grab her partner's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze in the process. "Then let's not let loose if we don't have to, hm? We have other options at our disposal. Is there anything you can do without "throwing a tantrum"?"

First and foremost were Céline's own abilities. She wasn't as combat hardened as some of the other residents of the city. She'd only ever fought out of self defense, she was never the aggressor. That didn't mean she didn't know how to fight to kill. Her hands were stained with blood out of necessity.

How much longer did they have? Probably a few minutes, and only if they were lucky.

The rhinophores upon Céline's head twitched suddenly, and seconds later a pipe running above them burst. Water fell, but it didn't rain upon them. It split into hundreds of little droplets and froze in place, before stretching into needle-like arrows pointed at the door. "Don't forget I have powers too!" She sounded a little too smug about it, considering the circumstances.

The steel was buckling, but that bothered her less than the amount of people in here. She didn't like being around too many people like this, and it limited her a bit. If she screamed too loud, or got overwhelmed and started throwing a tantrum, they'd definitely die.

She could refrain around Céline, but that's because Céline is Céline.

She's gnawing at her lip, entering into a small regeneration loop absent from her up until this point. Her body is strong again, but...

Golden eyes look back at everyone, and then to Céline, whose weight was a comfort to her. She leans back.

"I won't go." She says with certainty, "But I..." She pauses, remembering how the others looked at her with such disdain when she ruined their plans.

"Mm, it might get dangerous. If I throw a tantrum, you and everyone else could get hurt." There were a lot of those things on the other side of the door.

"I can, um, 'let loose', but..." She looks back at everyone gathered here. "I get too loose."

[uwps002]

sea angel

[uwps002]

@revivalbeast

HOOOOOOOOARDE!

🎔 The descriptor of the modifier on her phone had said she was unlucky, and Céline definitely felt that way. Though it wasn't just her. Alecto and some others had gathered in an attempt to endure the initial wave of possessed NPCs in a fairly well secured warehouse. It was a plan that would likely have worked if not for the modified.

A monstrous cry from outside had summoned what looked like tens of the creatures to the steel, retractable door of their hideaway. It was sturdy, but how long would it last? She'd led the others into the depths of the base, before returning to Alecto's side near the entrance. Her human disguise was dismissed with a shimmer.

She let her shoulder gently lean against Alecto's body. "I double checked, and we're the only two with abilities. What's our plan here? My body is more durable than most, so I should be able to endure. But I'm worried about them slipping by and reaching the others." A factor that gave the slug woman pause.

"I'm the one who decided to look out for them. If you'd rather leave now... I don't want to force my desire to protect them onto you..."

[uwps002]

🎔 "Hehehe... Treat me as bait again and I'll crash the next date you two have." This really wasn't the time for sibling banter, but he had technically started it (in her own opinion and she would never see it otherwise). There'd been no doubt in her mind that he would catch her. They might bicker now and again, but they really hadn't had anyone they could trust other than each other for most of their lives.

She slipped out of her brother's arms just in time to watch Hiyori's spell go off and the dragon roar. "Guess that means it's time for me to actually put in effort~!" Toffee Strike imbued the end of her weapon with powerful toffee, and she crouched down to activate her leap again. She flew fast enough to smack the dragon in the side of the head with her hardened weapon, making it cry out and knocking out one of its candy fangs.

She landed nearby. "TIME FOR THE FINAL BLOW, CON! DON'T MESS IT UP! NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING!"

@uwps001 -> sunliteve

GREAT! Or perhaps not! While the dragon reveals its belly by trying to reach upward toward Celine, the bioweapon seems to be veering off course.

"Ce--!!" Instead of finishing his almost NEAR panic tone in calling out his sister's name (give him a heart attack), he's moving to catch his sister. He has no one else but himself to blame, truly!

Constantine luckily does catches Celine in his arms with a light 'oof' noise, "you're so annoying."

@sunliteve

[uwps002]

🎔 "Pride" definitely wasn't a feeling she had ever felt towards her real body. She had been hunted for it and had taught herself that others would only see her disguise as beautiful. Alecto had been the first person to challenge that in a meaningful way. There were clear differences between the two of them. She still didn't have answers about Alecto's background, but that was something that could be discovered with time, right?

She had no right to judge people based on who they used to be anyways.

Alecto was warm. That was the only thought that filled Céline's mind as she was hugged closer. Most people didn't express affection through biting, but there was an exception to be made here so long as those rules were followed. On the subject of Alecto's past though, she had to wonder who this "him" was she spoke of. Someone related to her past? A question for another time, when it wouldn't ruin the moment. "It's okay, I believe you. Alecto's so big and beautiful and strong, I don't think she'd ever fail to protect me. You can sleep though! ...Even in my bed, if you want."

Would she need a longer bed though? Alecto was so tall.

"Mhm! You can call me to go on dates whenever you'd like. If I'm working at the time, we can meet after. Or we can plan in advance... Whatever you'd like to do!" She used her arms around Alecto's neck to lift herself up higher so that she could plant a kiss on the woman's lips. And then the slightest nibble on the way back down. "Do you want to grab dinner tonight? It could be our first "date"! Officially!"

When Céline's body shimmered, Alecto's eyes beamed with excitement. She showed her true form, and Alecto was both jealous and proud that she could do something like that. Proud? Pride? Is that how she feels? She's not sure about the feeling, but there's something blooming in her chest.

She doesn't understand, not entirely.

"I won't bite too hard. I won't bite too much. But you can bite me." Her words flow out, a dam having broken. She gathers Céline in her arms, squeezing her close.

(She remembers pretending to be on a date, bringing a fake walkie talkie to her lips, and calling Crown. Crown was so pretty, she knew it'd never happen, even if she had been so pretty at the time, too. But she had been her, and Crown had been Crown. But now she was holding someone so beautiful. She wonders if she'll get kidnapped for this, too.)

"I'll protect you Céline, I won't go to sleep. I won't go away. If he comes, I'll kill him so he won't ruin this." A confession, right? She has no problem doing that. It's not a sin to kill the Undying, right? She won't go back.

She has something to be awake for.

"Can I call you to go on dates?" With a phone instead of a walkie talkie this time.