“We got attacked by a demon yesterday.” Pari said. She wasn’t sure why she brought it up, but watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Pari pinched her lips together, scowling, but despite her efforts, the words came pouring out of her mouth. "I don't know! We've been dancing around each other for ages and tensions were high and it just-- it just happened!"

At that moment, the door to Kyros's office burst open. Both royals swiveled around as Sparrow came careening into the room in a whirlwind of tiny, dangerously fluttering silk, her expression frozen somewhere between shock and delight. She had been holding papers when she’d opened the door but they scattered upon the ground, slipping from her hands as she charged towards them with a shriek, white hair bouncing against her skin. “Oh my god, Pari!"

Pari exhaled, pressing her hands to her face. "... I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, Sparrow."
"It's fine." Sparrow replied quietly, picking herself up off the couch. "You deal with this thing however you want to. I should get back to work."
"Sparrow--" Pari began again, but Sparrow's eyes looked back at her witheringly, and the rest of her sentence died in her throat. "What?" Sparrow demanded. "Obviously you don't want help with this. You know exactly how you're feeling, because you always know exactly how you feel and how to fix things and the rest of us are just pathetic, nosey busybodies, aren't we?"
"No, that's not--"
"Isn't it? Pari, I wanted to talk to you because I care about you. But if you're going to be rude, then I won't bother. What's the point? I mean, who am I, anyways, to even think about helping you work this thing out?" she crossed her arms, glowering down at Pari. "I'm just some uneducated ex-servant who just so happened to inherit a throne. But I'm still not on equal footing with you or the other nobles, right? I never will be. You're always going to think of people like Feo and I like we're at the bottom of this ladder, while you're obviously at the top. We're, what, less than the dirt on your Manolos?"
"I didn't mean--"
"Maybe I shouldn't even mention our presences in the same sentence as your seven-thousand dollar heels!" Sparrow accused, "You give more of a shit about them than you do about us. You know that school's never been something that I'm good at, and you threw that in my face at the first inconvenience. Do you know how hard I'm trying, Parisa? Catching up on college, catching up on tiran politics, trying to learn about current events and government policies and mermaid history and diplomacy and -- you don't care at all about me, obviously, so how could I even think that you'd care about Feo? He's even worse than me, at least I'm a queen now. He's still just some random, orphan cat boy that Saskia picked up off the street--"
"Oh my God, Sparrow, would you give it a rest?" Pari hollered back, jumping up to defend herself. "That's so fucking untrue! Do you really think I'm that much of a bitch? I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said that shit to you, but what the hell are you talking about with Feofil? He's my best friend! He's the only one that gave a damn about me when Kyros had my whole family locked up -- everyone else left! Feo was the only one who kept an eye on me -- the only person who would talk to me for fucking months. My own cousin wouldn't even look at me! All the friends I had immediately cut me off! He kept me from being a pariah! But he was just being a good friend, the only honest person in my life, and I was stupid enough to think that it meant more than just the fact that he's a good person, and I fell for him!" She jabbed her finger at Sparrow, her voice blazing with indignant rage. "So don't tell me that I think Feofil is some orphan boy when I know he's the only person in my life that I can one-thousand percent trust!"

For Pratyu to keep track of all the ish that goes on there.

1. Aressthalya --> anti ascension, anti demon, main goal: protect family, Altair by getting rid of the demons once and for all. She understands the threat they present to her people
2. Jānis --> pro ascension, pro "symbiosis", traditionalist and conservative. Wants to keep the demons around because he understands that Altair would be much worse off without them (in regards to the very nature of the land).
3. Most Lumanlisc sisters --> progressivists that do not want the Ascension, are afraid of the demons, and want to live in peace. Against the traditionalists. Binzy and Nquilla want to rule; most of the others do not care one way or another, but acknowledge that if they conceded their seats, Altair would probably devolve into a greater mess.
4. Roo --> cannot bring herself to decry demons because she is of the opinion that the land belongs to them as much as it belongs to her own people. Wants to find a way to coexist, even if they frighten her
5. Imperialists --> remnants of the Jānis regime. Conservative, insist on the need to keep demons around and very anti Sangrian. Want to return to "the old ways"
6. UCAS Internal Rebellion --> want the Lumanliscs out of power, attribute everything terrible that's ever happened in Altair to their rule

When Rhea was a young woman (age 15-16), she got pulled in by a mirror demon. Aress managed to get in as well and got her out. Rhea was trapped for a day, Aress was trapped for a week. This singular event shattered Aressthalya's brain and turned her into what she is today. It is not known to any of the other Lumanliscs.
Aress' desires and personality were pushed to extremes. She no longer had qualms or hesitation (loss of impulse control? loss of empathy? loss of foresight?)

[Mirza added Vic and Pari THE GREAT to the chat.]

plum — 07/11/2019 12:19 AM
Vic:
[12:20 AM]
Vic: the circle gets ever smaller

peach — 07/11/2019 12:20 AM
Mirza: okay
Mirza: now that we got through the whole
Mirza: wtf happened to sparrow situation
Mirza: can we please
Mirza: talk
Mirza: about
[12:20 AM]
Mirza: sparrow having feelings for kyros??????
[12:20 AM]
Mirza: like ho ly shit
[12:20 AM]
Pari THE GREAT: NO FUCK U MIRZA

plum — 07/11/2019 12:20 AM
Vic: is there a reason feo isnt in here

peach — 07/11/2019 12:21 AM
Mirza: feo would be like no don't do it

plum — 07/11/2019 12:21 AM
Vic: fair

peach — 07/11/2019 12:21 AM
[Pari THE GREAT has left the chat.]

plum — 07/11/2019 12:21 AM
Vic: awww

peach — 07/11/2019 12:21 AM
Mirza: damn
[12:21 AM]
Mirza: well
[12:21 AM]
Mirza: it's just you and me, vic
[12:21 AM]
Mirza: two gossip mongers

plum — 07/11/2019 12:21 AM
Vic: feels strangely intimate

peach — 07/11/2019 12:22 AM
Mirza: ♡

plum — 07/11/2019 12:22 AM
Vic: you know now that ive thought about it more i can kinda believe it

peach — 07/11/2019 12:24 AM
Mirza: yeah?
[12:24 AM]
Mirza: idk I never noticed

plum — 07/11/2019 12:25 AM
Vic: i mean ive never noticed per se but

peach — 07/11/2019 12:25 AM
Mirza: knew she had a crush on someone but kyros?? I thought it was like
[12:25 AM]
Mirza: ardelean

plum — 07/11/2019 12:25 AM
Vic: yeah idk dude
[12:26 AM]
Vic: there was that one time when we were drinking at my place remember
[12:26 AM]
Vic: she wouldnt tell who she was in love w or whatever
[12:26 AM]
Vic: got real embarrassed about it

peach — 07/11/2019 12:30 AM
Mirza: oh yeah
Mirza: man
Mirza: it would've been amazing if she had said
Mirza: wouldve totally turned the world upside down lol

plum — 07/11/2019 12:31 AM
Vic: it wouldve been so bad
[12:31 AM]
Vic: although tbh we were pretty far gone

peach — 07/11/2019 12:35 AM
Mirza: I woulda remembered
[12:35 AM]
Mirza: you dont forget shit like that dude

plum — 07/11/2019 12:36 AM
Vic: yea but she coulda tried to pass it off you know

peach — 07/11/2019 7:10 AM
Mirza: yeah but its sparrow
[7:11 AM]
Mirza: i've never met a worse liar in my life lol

“Okay, I was a bitch.” Pari said after a moment, finally turning to look at him. Her expression, for once, was not full of derision and instead was crumpled with regret. “How do I make it up to her?”

Pari would know what to do. And she was free-- he'd checked with her personal assistant. Or rather, he'd shot Sparrow a text to ask if she knew if Pari was up to anything, and she'd said no, and that was good enough for him. He'd risk her criticism of his strange fashion choices and emotional stupidity and in exchange for expediency. There was no point in hiding any of it from her anyways, not if they didn't do something quick. It was for this reason that he knocked firmly on her door this Thursday evening in some of his finest (read: "artsiest") party couture without bothering to try to clean up the black eyeliner that had turned his face into a raccoon. (edited)

peach — 06/29/2020 2:13 AM
The door to Parisa's room opened quietly and a member of the staff stood on the other side. She looked at Vic once, then again, the second time with more alarm. "S-sir?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:14 AM
"Oh, don't give me that look. Is she here?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:17 AM
"Princess," she called hesitantly into the room. "Vic is here to see you."
"Send him in and leave." Pari's voice echoed. The girl gave Vic an obedient curtsy and stepped inside, waiting for him to enter before taking her leave.
Vic ventured through the princess' suites, walking past the common area and her sunroom before following Pari's voice into her enormous bathroom, where she was wringing her hair out in the skin she used to condition it in whatever essences the staff brought over. Today, the whole place smelled of roses and camphor. Pari squeezed the last droplets out of her hair before tossing it over her shoulder, then turned to Vic and froze. "What the hell are you supposed to be? (edited)

plum — 06/29/2020 2:20 AM
He heaved an enormous sigh as he crossed the threshold. "I was /supposed/ to be hot. Forget about it."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:23 AM
"In what universe? Vic, you look like a drowned lemur." she gave his outfit a once-over. "... wearing Lady Gaga's cast-offs."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:25 AM
"Thank you, exactly what I was going for." He stood there, arms at his sides with palms pointed towards her. "Anything else you need to get out of your system?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:27 AM
"Just one tip: try to go for less of a kindergartener-raiding-mommy's-makeup-bag look next time." Parisa snorted. "Mala's gonna kill you."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:28 AM
"I took it from you, actually, so if you want to get mad at me for that now, go for it."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:29 AM
"No, I'm glad I could contribute to this work of art." she took a seat on the edge of her hairwashing tub, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is that it, you just wanted me to rate your look?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:31 AM
This actually got him to crack a bit of a grin, but he quickly sombered again. "No, um... I kind of need your help."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:32 AM
"Of course you do. What's up?"

"You know-- well, you might not know-- but anyway the sophomores were throwing that dumb after-finals party tonight?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:34 AM
"Yeah?" She crossed her arms. All of the parties went through Pari's radar, but she was notoriously choosy about which ones she attended. The sophomore post-finals bash certainly wasn't worthy of taking a spot in her schedule. "What about it?" (edited)

plum — 06/29/2020 2:35 AM
"Well I went, clearly."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:36 AM
"Like /that/? Jesus, Vic." (edited)

plum — 06/29/2020 2:36 AM
"Well, no! I looked better on the way out!" He was quick to protest.

peach — 06/29/2020 2:37 AM
She didn't look like she believed him. "Okay, so? You went to the party..."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:38 AM
He swallowed, fidgeting with his phone. "God, this is really embarrassing."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:38 AM
"What, did you puke on someone? Dance naked on a table?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:41 AM
"No... I might have started hitting it off with someone. And then found out that someone was indulging me as a joke. And someone has video of it."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:42 AM
Her eyes narrowed. "What happened, exactly?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:45 AM
"Well. You know how I mentioned that mystery crush like a week ago? I guess I misread the whole stupid thing."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:46 AM
"Vic, who was it?" she asked. "If you're being all coy because it's a guy or something, you can stop. I guessed a long time ago. And my brother's /gay/."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:46 AM
"Lucifer's gay?" He paused. "I guess that makes sense."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:47 AM
She paused, realizing that this was probably a secret. "Shit. Don't tell anyone, I don't think he wants it out there yet."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:50 AM
"Oh, it's fine, I won't tell. I kinda always wondered."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:50 AM
"Back to you," she said pointedly. "Who's this mystery crush and what did they do?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:53 AM
"Okay, first of all, it might've been Vinny Sonders, so hoorah, you were right, I guess. I mean, kinda."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:54 AM
"Vinny Sonders is a total fuckboy." She said in disgust. "He thinks /muscle tanks/ are the epitome of fashion. I'm pretty sure he still uses the word "swag" unironically."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:56 AM
"Okay, well sue me for thinking he might've had some depth to him!" He threw his hands up. "You know, like when someone's /so/ straight you get suspicious?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:57 AM
"No." she said flatly. "I find that people are exactly what they present themselves to be, just a lot more stupid than they think they are."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:00 AM
"The point of the matter is, it was a prank. And it was really kind awful. Like, I don't care, I should've known, it's whatever," he purported, with a growing expression that said he might have cared a little bit. "I just don't want everyone talking about the stupid video at school tomorrow."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:02 AM
"What happened?" She asked for the third time. "I can't fix it if I don't know what went down. Tell me everything you remember."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:07 AM
"I was just in some corner, he came up to me and I thought it was just us. He said he'd noticed me like," Vic's cheeks were hot. "Whatever, noticed my interest. The whole time, I thought he was flirting. Turns out he was just making fun of me. Then he /actually/ mocked me, and he brought you all into it, and then he and his dumb friend ran off with the stupid recording."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:07 AM
"What do you mean, he brought us into it?" her eyes slanted further.

plum — 06/29/2020 3:08 AM
"He was just talkin' shit, Pari."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:08 AM
"Do you have the recording?"

plum — 06/29/2020 3:09 AM
"No, but I'm sure it's started making its rounds. Or if it hasn't, it will soon. The hell am I supposed to do? He's in my stupid chem class tomorrow. I can't go to that class."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:10 AM
"Vic, what do you want me to do?" She rested her elbows on her knees. "Stop the video from circulating? Ruin his life? Run him out of the country?"

plum — 06/29/2020 3:11 AM
"You actually have ideas for all of those?"

peach — 06/29/2020 3:14 AM
"I mean, give me a day." she shrugged easily, expression taking on a wicked gleam. "Vinny's dad works for an engineering firm. I can have him demoted and transferred. His sister goes to big-name music school in America. Her reputation tanks, the family gets to deal with international backlash and she'll never find a job in the industry again. Vinny's started applying for colleges. It'd be easy enough to block him from getting a seat in Atherdale. If I can get my hands on that video, we can prevent him from getting a seat /anywhere/, especially if he shit-talked me or Kyros."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:16 AM
"Any clue onnn how to stop literally everyone from seeing that video?" He shifted his weight on feet. "Like maybe we could discredit it, right? Or um... make people talk about something else..?"

peach — 06/29/2020 3:17 AM
"Oh." She frowned. "If that's it, then yeah. Easy enough to discredit him. But I need to know what he said, first."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:18 AM
"All of it?" He cringed.

peach — 06/29/2020 3:18 AM
"I mean, yeah, that would be the place to start."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:24 AM
"Um, I don't remember it /all/, but... after he did his little shtick he basically just laughed in my face and said a lot of dumb shit about the way I dress and the fact that I'm always "chasing after the big kids" and "desperately mooching off of your limelight" or whatever."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:25 AM
Her expression contorted into a terrifying amusement. "Wait, seriously?"

plum — 06/29/2020 3:25 AM
"... yeah?"

peach — 06/29/2020 3:31 AM
"Vinny said that?" she sneered. "Vinny, who's been trying to get Kyros to hang out with him since freshman year? Vic, he's totally jealous."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:31 AM
"Of /me?/"

peach — 06/29/2020 3:34 AM
"You've literally been Kyros's friend since you were a baby." she dismissed. "God, it's so easy it's almost unfair. I'll just ask Kyros to cut him down really bad in front of everyone. And I can just shit talk his outfits for a couple of weeks and any time someone sees that video, the only thing they'll be able to think about is the pot calling the kettle black. God, Vinny's such a limp dick."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:35 AM
He laughed at her choice of words. "You were so ready to run his entire family's lives into the ground."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:37 AM
"I barely ever get to do it. The last time was that bastard, Kaynor." her eyes were dark with hatred, but she pushed herself off the tub and descended the stairs toward him. "No worries, Vic. It's easy enough to fix. And if you want the video down, I mean, where's he going to distribute it? Twitter? Just file a complaint with Mala's name attached and you're golden. It'll get passed around our school, probably, but again... he'll just look pathetic."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:39 AM
"Thanks... I'm glad you're on /my/ side."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:41 AM
She paused, standing next to him, and said, "Don't listen to limp dick Vinny, by the way. If I didn't want to hang out with you, you would know. Same for Kyros."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:42 AM
"You'd for sure tell me if I was annoying?" He asked, a rare moment of doubt flashing in his eyes.

peach — 06/29/2020 3:45 AM
"You're being annoying."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:47 AM
"Hey!"

peach — 06/29/2020 3:49 AM
She bumped his shoulder with hers and said, "The only bad thing is that you're gonna get outed. Do you care?"

plum — 06/29/2020 3:51 AM
"I mean, kinda. It wasn't really supposed to be a whole thing, at least not yet... it would've been nice to experiment in peace, you know? Don't want all the ladies to think I'm off the market all of a sudden because of some douchebag."

peach — 06/29/2020 3:53 AM
She frowned, thinking on it. Preventing Vic from being outed would be harder once that video started circulating. "It'd be easy enough to deny that you're into guys and make Vinny look like a desperate loser, but I don't think you want all the guys to think you're off the market either."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:54 AM
"This is balance is harder to keep than I expected."

peach — 06/29/2020 4:00 AM
"I mean, I could just set you up on a blind date with a girl so that everyone knows you're still available."

plum — 06/29/2020 4:00 AM
He raised his eyebrows. "Got anyone in mind?"

peach — 06/29/2020 4:01 AM
She scrutinized him. "Ina has a little sister in the grade below you. Know her?"

plum — 06/29/2020 4:01 AM
"I've heard of her..." he offered.

peach — 06/29/2020 4:02 AM
"She's cute, kind, open-minded. Idolizes Sparrow so she's a good kid. And you can get rid of her easy after the first date because she's so sweet."

plum — 06/29/2020 4:03 AM
"Man, that was so wholesome until the last sentence."

peach — 06/29/2020 4:04 AM
"All I mean is, she's easy to get rid of." Pari shrugged. "And hey, it's not like you're the love of her life. She'll find a dude, or a chick, or whatever. She gets the experience and you'll get to showcase your availability. Win-win."

plum — 06/29/2020 4:05 AM
"Yeah, it's not the worst." He agreed. "You think you could actually set it up? Won't she wonder why you're asking?"

peach — 06/29/2020 4:05 AM
"No, I'll just drop a hint that you're looking to mingle." she shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

plum — 06/29/2020 4:06 AM
"Alright," he allowed. "I know you have your ways."

peach — 06/29/2020 12:30 PM
"I do," she agreed blissfully as he followed her out the door.

plum — 06/29/2020 1:12 PM
"By the way... can I borrow something to get this off?" He motioned to his face. "It's enough that all your staff had to see me looking like the Winter Soldier."

peach — 06/29/2020 1:19 PM
She glanced at him again and laughed, pointing back at the bathroom. "Yeah, go to the vanity and there'll be a pad of makeup wipes."

plum — 06/29/2020 1:26 PM
"Thanks," he muttered, going to retrieve them. He returned with a much fresher face, heaving another sigh as he came to a halt in the bathroom doorway. "Did you have plans?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:02 PM
"No, but by that multitude of sighs I'm guessing you want a distraction?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:06 PM
"Please. I'm trying to avoid adding that memory to the 2am embarrassing memory playlist. Do you even have one of those?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:07 PM
"What, an embarrassing memory playlist?" she leaned against the back of a divan in the center of her room. "Vic, the trick to not having embarrassing memories is to never be embarrassed. I have no shame. It makes life a lot easier."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:07 PM
"Well, it's not for lack of /trying./"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:08 PM
Her lips twisted to the side as she thought on his plight for a moment. "Yeah, I guess it sucks to not be one of the most powerful people in the world. Glad I'm not you!"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:12 PM
He rolled his eyes with a good-natured scoff. "I do an okay job, I think. I'm not actually that worried about people in general, it's more like..."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:13 PM
She waited for him to continue, swinging over to the other side of the divan and settling on the cushions.

plum — 06/29/2020 2:14 PM
"I don't know, the context of it all. I wasn't ready to talk about it with everyone. And by everyone, I guess I just mean the crew."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:16 PM
She patted the seat beside her, waiting for him to come over before asking, "Am I the first one to know?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:19 PM
"Yeah, basically," he scoffed. "I mean, I was gonna tell you first anyway, but."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:20 PM
Pari tried to tamp down the satisfaction she felt at his answer, but she couldn't deny that knowing Vic would turn to her first stroked her ego some. She pressed her lips together and gave him a short nod. "Well... you know everyone will be nice about it? I don't think anyone would make it a big deal except for Sparrow, and she'll probably make you cookies or something, so it's not a bad idea for her to know."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:27 PM
"Well, Feofil's family is all like conservative Catholic Russians, so... And Kyros was just kind of a wild card to me. I knew Sparrow would be chill, and Mirza honestly probably doesn't care."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:29 PM
"Kyros is a good guy." she said. "He'd make fun of you for your hair and your makeup and your clothes, but not because you wear makeup or choose certain clothes. And he's definitely not homophobic. And Saskia's best friends with Lucifer. I dunno if she knows that he's gay, but I have my doubts that she'd care. She's also been looking after you since you were a kid." (edited)

plum — 06/29/2020 2:31 PM
"I know. I also don't know what my mom's gonna say. If anything, I think she'll just tell me not to tell my grandparents." He said, then mused after a pause, "And I promise I really was killing the eyeliner before shit went down."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:32 PM
"Well, we'll never know, unless you have pictures." she noted. "... Vic, don't worry about the gang. We've known each other since we were kids. I promise you this will pass like a fart in a windstorm."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:34 PM
"Interesting metaphor," he laughed, unlocking his phone and finding the photo app before showing her a selfie he'd taken with Delaney Cox as they rolled up to the party. "See? It was tasteful. Rockstar."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:41 PM
She scrutinized the picture for a moment, then said. "Mm. Wings aren't symmetrical but it's a good first try. Delaney, though. Someone tell that girl to stop laying it on so thick. Her eyes look beady."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:44 PM
"Listen, at least she tried," he took a second look at the picture. "Although yeah, that is a really questionable shade of orange. Her face looks like a construction zone."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:47 PM
"Yeah, that spray tan? I'd rather go for a regular tan and risk the skin cancer than look like that."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:49 PM
"At least I could be confident she wasn't upstaging me in the looks department." He decided.

peach — 06/29/2020 2:49 PM
"Yeah, standing next to her you look like a 7 at least." she agreed. "Was the party fun, other than Vinny?"

plum — 06/29/2020 2:50 PM
"Excuse you," he tucked his phone away. "I'm definitely at least an eight. And meh. It was fine. My expectations weren't super high to begin with."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:51 PM
"Seven point four." she bartered. "Asymmetrical eyeliner. And hey, we can do something that'll be more fun than that stupid party."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:52 PM
"Not a hard thing to do," he looked to her. "What'd you have in mind?"

peach — 06/29/2020 2:53 PM
"We can always go bother Kyros." she suggested. "I think he's just studying or prepping for something or whatever. Or we can go play that VR zombie game."

plum — 06/29/2020 2:55 PM
"Oh, I forgot that came out last week."

peach — 06/29/2020 2:55 PM
"Miz hasn't let me forget." she rolled her eyes. "But whatever, it looks fun and I like shooting things."

plum — 06/29/2020 3:51 PM
"Let's go kick some zombie ass, then!"

The next morning, when Parisa slowly drifted awake, she found herself tucked between blankets and Feofil's warm body. His arms were laced around her, his legs tangled between hers, and her head was pillowed into the groove of his neck. She lifted her gaze, letting her eyes fall upon his slumbering features.

Pari gently, and with great reluctance, pulled back. As his eyes blinked into focus, then slowly moved down to meet hers, a flush warmed her cheeks. “Sorry,” she blustered, scooting back. “Morning.”

"Oh my god," Rhea breathed, jumping up as well and hurrying towards them. "Oh my god, please stop."