Light of May ::: an original roleplay

Who: Star and Venus
Where: Venus's car
When: Little after five p.m.

( Which was why she was sitting on top of Venus's car in the parking lot, toying around with her glamours. )

Who: Venus, Trent, August, Star, and Willow (+familiars Raphaela and Haze)
When: Afternoon
Where: Venus' apartment

Texts had been sent and wards had been laid. Venus, with the help of her sister Willow, had spent the better part of an hour coaching Star on what was going to happen. Willow and Star would wait in Venus' bedroom while Venus explained the basics, then Willow and Star would come out and Star would answer any questions they had the best that she could. The most important part was explaining that they were going to make something like a game out of it, and that Star had to pretend that this was very sad, scary, and above all, very serious. And if she did good, they'd order pizzas and Star could have a reward.

Venus had no idea if that was actually going to work, but it was the best they could shoot for. She had the very thin hope that this way, Star might not say anything completely insensitive, and making a bad situation even messier could be avoided. Venus felt vaguely sick, but it was the best she could do. She was just settling back down on the couch when she heard a knock on the door. After mentally checking in with Raphaela that Willow and Star were safely occupied in her room, Venus called out, "Come in!"

Who: Willow and Venus
When: Immediately after this
Where: Phoneland

After securing an agreement from Star that she would stay, Venus had asked her to go into the kitchen with Raphaela and find something to entertain herself with for ten minutes. She'd even made Raphaela grab her the egg timer and she'd set it. Ten minutes, then Star could 'talk to the phone.' What did Venus care if it meant Star glamoured everything within sight to be a rainbow? She couldn't see anyway! Then Venus had hauled ass into her bathroom (something she was becoming remarkably good at with a blindfold on), and used the voice dialer on her phone for Willow.

Jesus tapdancing Christ what did I just get myself into. What have I done? Before she could even shut the bathroom door she had grabbed her 'emergency bag,' and before the phone even had a chance to ring she was beginning to prepare to place the wards. She needed Willow to be here, and she needed her to be here at least two hours ago. She needed enough magic in the building to guarantee beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter how hard they tried, Trent and August together could not kill Star. She was also pretty sure she needed a good cry and an icepick lobotomy, but both of those were going to have to wait for a time when Star wasn't in her kitchen.

Who: Star and Venus (and Venus' familiar, Raphaela)
When: Morning
Where: Venus' apartment

Venus' situation had not improved in the days and hours since she'd tried to scry into the dome, but she was finding ways of living around it. Leaving the apartment was, unfortunately, out of the question, but she could still stay here on her own without dying of dehydration or burning the house down. The blindfold had to stay on, that was a given, and even then when she stood she felt weak and disoriented. The great thing about the situation, the only silver lining, was Raphaela. In this situation, having a familiar was a godsend. The wolf could project images in Venus' mind and help her navigate around the apartment and do things for herself, provided she went very, very slowly. This morning she'd even managed to make herself a cup of tea, and was celebrating that by stretching out on the couch and waiting for her stomach to stop jumping around from the movement.

"This has to go away," she moaned, speaking only to herself. "I can't live like this forever." She dozed a little then, and it was Raphaela's voice in her head that brought her round again.

"That faerie is near," she said. "I think she's coming to see you."

Venus found she had no feeling about Star coming to visit whatsoever. Fine, great. It wasn't like the day could get any weirder. "I left the door unlocked," she mumbled, shifting slightly so her head was at least facing the door. "Don't tell Trent. Just tell her to come in when she knocks." If she knocked.

Who: Trent and Venus
Where: Venus' apartment
When: Evening

Venus had tried scrying last night, but had no luck. She'd been too tired, her head too fuzzy. Her eyes had felt like they were lined with sandpaper, and every time they started to shift out of focus they'd snapped shut on her. She'd finally caved and crawled into bed with Trent. During the day she went back to the school, but she got Trent and left before she started to feel too tired. She was determined. She changed out of her clothes of the day and into an old shirt of Trent's, and grabbed what she needed from the bedside table. A small, mirrored bowl she used for reading. She filled it with water from the bathroom sink, and went back to her bed. She grabbed a large, flat photography book from the shelf, and set it in the middle of the bed. She put the bowl on top of that. She took a deep breath, crawled onto the bed, and went about the slow process of making herself comfortable. She sat indian style in the center of the bed, crouching over the bowl. She forced every muscle she didn't need to relax. She stared into the waters until her eyes shifted out of focus and she saw not the water but through the water. And then in time rather than her own reflection in the mirrored surface, everything started to fade in together.

She concentrated on the school. She needed a focus, and she couldn't choose between Kyle or Lotti, so she kept her terms broader. The gym. She hadn't gone to that school but she'd been inside it for games before. The gym. She needed to see the gym. The gym. The gym. ( The gym. )

Who: Trent and Venus.
Where: Outside the high school, where the emergency services are holed up.
When: Late evening.

The contents of the styrofoam cup in his hand had gone cold a while ago but he hadn’t gotten around to pouring it out and stuffing the container in their small trash bag hanging in the back of the bus yet. His partner had wandered off about fifteen minutes ago to try and get an update, though Trent had told the other paramedic before they’d roamed into the crowd that they were wasting their time, that the authorities would come and find them if and when they were needed. They carried radios for a reason. Still, the other paramedic had insisted and Trent had watched them go with only a small shake of his head.

Being by himself gave him entirely too much time to think and he felt his free hand going for his pocket for the cell phone pushed into the depths entirely of its own accord. With a sigh he finally ditched the cold contents of the cup into the grass over which the ambulance had been awkwardly driven to be parked off the road, a little closer to the school. It would make it easier to get patients to the back of the vehicle when that barrier came down, if they needed medical help, though Trent wasn’t looking forward to the drive off the grass. He heard the liquid hit the grass with a dull splash and fumbled around without looking for the bag, only releasing the cup when he felt the opening and knew he wasn’t going to spill dregs of bad coffee all over the inside of the bus. That left both hands free to work the phone when he successfully retrieved it from his pocket.

Nothing new. As he suspected the rest of his family had, Trent had sent those of his siblings who had attended the dance urgent messages asking them to contact him. When he checked the status of the messages he saw, not for the first time, that they had failed to deliver. Lotti and Kyle’s phones were out of reach. Cupping the phone between both of his hands and resting his chin on them, elbows on his knees as he perched in the back of the open ambulance, Trent turned his eyes on the school, trying to figure out like so many others what it was that was keeping their loved ones trapped inside, and the rest of them out.

Who: August and Venus
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Venus' Apartment

( He needed to talk to her. )

Who: Star and Venus
Where: Camelot Place
When: Morning

( But hi and also I love you. )

Who: Allegra, Willow, and Venus (and a few familiars, I'd imagine)
When: Afternoon
Where: Bohinen house

It was a strange thing, but Venus had woken up that morning to realize she was nervous about trying on her mother's dress. It was easy enough to figure out why - she was already pretty attached to the idea of wearing it, and there was no guarantee they'd be able to make it work. Venus had told herself a million times that it'd work out one way or another, but she still had a lot of nervous energy as she parked in the driveway of her family home. She let Raphaela out of the passenger seat, and the familiar immediately took flight towards the roof. Apparently, she needed a break. "Some help you are," she mumbled, before heading up the walk and letting herself in.

"Anybody home?" she called, realizing she hadn't even checked the garage to see if her mom was in. They'd said Saturday afternoon, but not set an actual time. Without really waiting for an answer, Venus headed to the stairs in case her mother was already in the attic.

Who: Trent and Venus
Where: Trent's apartment (to start)
When: Early afternoon


( Please don't lose the keys. )

Who: Allegra and Venus
When: Lunch
Where: Many Paths

Venus had been a little mopey ever since Missy came back to claim her job, but she was trying to get over the hump. Mainly because she knew her sulking was starting to get on the nerves of those around her. She'd decided to leave the office for lunch, but she only went so far as Many Paths, stopping to get a salad along the way. There she sat in a chair by the counter, eating while flipping through one of the bridal magazines that had been waiting in the back of her car.

She sighed as she flipped a page, a wistful expression on her face. "I almost wish I was the sort of person who could justify going into debt for a dress I'll only wear once." Another sigh, and she forced herself to turn the page. "Huh, this one looks like a cupcake. I don't think that's the impression I want to make on my big day." She wasn't even sure if anyone was listening to her, but when had that ever stopped her? Her mother was around somewhere, Willow might be too. It wouldn't be the first time she talked to herself, and sure as hell wouldn't be the last.

Who: Julian and Venus
When: Afternoon
Where: Venus' apartment

Well that was... strange, Venus decided, continuing to stare at her phone a moment longer before finally hanging up. Julian had just called her and asked if he could come over and talk. He had sounded like he was having a bad day, and he had mentioned he needed a woman's perspective. Yes, strange. Strange and odd and... well, okay, possibly fantastic as far as pack politics were concerned. She sure as hell wasn't about to turn August's best friend down in a request for help. Besides, she'd met Julian before. He'd always been kind to her. That alone meant Venus was willing to bend over backwards to help out once or twice if the opportunity arose.

The apartment was clean, but Venus still went about the superficial act of tidying up for company. She put the tea kettle on the stove and made sure there was beer in the fridge, just to cover her bases. She shot a quick text to her sister, and debated texting Trent and August as well. No, after. She didn't know what Julian wanted to talk about. After would be better.

After that... well, Venus just sat in the living room and waited. She was already dressed, though she'd had no intentions of going out today. It was miserable out there. She wore a ratty pink dress she never wore in public, but it wasn't indecent. Just old. Had been in the back of her closet since her college days. Oh well. It'd do. Casual was good.

Now what the hell could he possibly want?

Who: August and Venus
Where: Sunny's Diner
When: Noonish

( Hey, August. Just you today? )

Who: Jo, Lotti, Venus and Trent
Where: The Broadway bridge!
When: 11:37 and onwards

This march was a very important event in Jo's opinion. It was kind of like they were all telling the nay-sayers "we're here, we're different, get over it" which other groups had been doing for years...and not really getting to have an easier time of life, but there it was. If you asked Jo the only way people would eventually stop protesting against things people couldn't help was if you shoved the truth in their face. And this felt very much like that to her.

She was happy to be with her sister Lotti, to whom everything was awesome and fun. She cheered everyone up with her very presence, what better company could Jo have asked for?

A fun game ensued between them, in which they would smell the people around them and either identify their 'races' or not, depending on whether or not they had smelled that kind of scent before. Jo didn't know many scents, mostly other weres, elementals and psychics - only she couldn't differentiate them by specifics. It was still fun. She was pointing out a were-rabbit ahead of them when the horrible and humongous sound of something blowing up (she had seen enough movies to recognize that noise, surely) sounded behind her. Jo turned around to see what it was, and the next thing she knew she was the one flying backwards, or forward (she wasn't sure) going to drop on her back, very uncomfortably, in pain and coughing over the dust and smoke.

The air around her filled with such smoke she couldn't see much of anything, and her back really ached. "Nnnnyaaaahhhhh what the hell!" She protested, trying to look around her for her sister. "Lotti? Lotti you there? Jesus fuck I can't see a thing."

Fable and Venus, who have more in common than they think they do.

For Tristan and Venus