Alyssa Taylor Vanadis's Story

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Ram lefted his head and closed his green eyes, soaking up the early morning sun as it bet down on the lake. Cool water sprayed in his face and a constant breeze ruffled his hair. It was perfect sailing weather and Ram had been up since dawn to make the most of it. His one man boat, named 'The Falcon', raced across the lake, skimming across the waves.

Ram opened his eyes as he drew closer to the shore. Standing up in the boat he shielded his eyes from the sunlight glistening off the water and took in the view. There, pretty as a picture, sat Northbay. It fit snuggly between the lakeshore and the hills beyond. He could make out the main street with its small array of shows on either side. There was a large amount of activity in the street, surprising for such a small town and so early on a Saturday.

Then again it was the day of the Lantern Festival. No doubt every spare hand the Elder's could rope into helping was busy putting up decorations. Ram's father Ramsey was a member of the Elders' Council so Ramses was able to get all his information first hand and fresh. The festival was officially an overdue welcome to the Greeks. Unofficially it was to try and calm down the rising animosities between the different groups in the town. As Ram's father had said, if the town could come together and enjoy this one, simple event then they would be one step closer to regaining peace and order.

Ram thought it was a vain hope. He highly doubted that bringing together the whole town into one street would solve anything. Quite the opposite really. Ram knew little of the Greeks but he had grown up with the Norse and his own Egyptian pantheon. He knew enough to understand that there would always be certain individuals who do anything but try to ease tensions.

Shaking such thoughts from his head Ram aimed the boat to shore. A moment later he pulled into the docks, jumping onto the wooden jetty with the ease of practice. He anchored his boat to the jetty, tying it securely. The day may have been calm now but Ram knew enough about Irish weather to know to predict anything. Besides, when you lived in a town of power beings you could never be sure when someone's powers would cause a little mayhem.

Standing up Ram raised his arms above his head and stretched, before straightening out his clothes. With a pleased smile he set off down the wooden walkway, heading towards the Sailing Club rooms and a much needed shower.

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Early morning carpentry was probably not the best way to deal with a hangover, but oddly enough Mack found the rhythmic thud of his hammer strangely calming. Or perhaps he was still drunk from last night.

He had visited Northbay's singular drinking hole, the pub, the previous night. It had started as a causal beer, but three bottles of beer, four shots of vodka and who knows what else later his night had ended up much larger than anticipated. He had woken up this morning still in his clothes, his light still on and his alarm cloak blaring from under a pile of clothes.

Mack had agreed to help set up for the Lantern Festival that night. He wasn't even getting paid, but doing it as a favour to the town. Not that he minded doing it for free. Mack didn't have too many expensive habits and the rent on his tiny apartment over the supermarket was relatively cheap.

"Mack! Can you move the lanterns slightly to the left?" Ebony Aset, aunt of the three Aset girls and member of the Elders, shouted from the street. Mack, standing up on a ladder, nodded down at the woman and moved the lanterns as desired. Satisfied Ebony nodded and wondered off to oversee another part of the preparations. Left to his own devices Mack returned to hammering.

Almost finished he gave one final hammer on the nail, only his attention must have slipped because the next thing he knew a sharp pain erupted in his thumb. With a yelp he jerked his hand back, making him lose his balance in the process. His legs went out from under him, his arms pinwheeling in circles as he tried to grab at anything to keep him from falling.
Unfortunately the ladder seemed to elude him and Mack quickly found himself falling. A gust of wind blew up the street, particles of sand held in the breeze. The wind increased in strength and pressure, directing itself around the falling man. Faster than the eye could follow it had formed into a miniature wind funnel, Mack being safely buoyed in the centre. Slowly he was lowered to the ground. Only when his feet had touched concrete did a movement of his hand send the winds away, leaving a thin layer of sand behind.

'Mack, as much as I'm glad you're not hurt...' The stern voice came from Ebony Aset, her foot tapping quickly as she surveyed the tiny beach of sand that his powers had called forth. She had a broom in her hand, 'I want all this sand gone before tonight.' Thrusting it into his grasp Ebony turned and left. Dusting the light sprinkling of sand off his clothes before beginning to sweep up the street, Mack wished - and not for the first time - that his winds didn't magically summon sand when he called them.

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The view from the hills above the town was spectacular. Asta, pausing on her descent, couldn't help but grin at the landscape. The lake was sparkling in the early morning sun, light glistened off the town roofs and there was hardly a cloud in sight. She could have stayed on the thin track that ran up the hills beyond Northbay all day, but one glance at her watch told Asta that she'd need to open the shop soon. With a last glance across the lake Asta turned and made her way, half skipping, down the track.

Most likely it was the excitement of the coming festival that had seen Asta rise so early and head up into the hills. She often went for walks, but rarely so early in the morning. Coming back down she hit the main street at it's beginning. The entrance to Northbay was decorated with a simple sign which read 'Welcome to Northbay'. Asta passed the sign, entering the main street of the town. She passed people setting up stalls, others hanging decorations and more than one person shouting out loud instructions.

Asta waved happily at Mack as she passed him. Curiously he was sweeping up sand, although where the sand came from Asta couldn't be sure. Down the street she went, dodging in and out of the workers, until she reached the Bookstore.
"Key, key key... Oh, there you are!" She muttered to herself as she dug into her cardigan pockets. The Bookstore owner had given Asta the responsibility of opening the store today and she would have hated it if she'd lost the keys already.

She pushed the door open and stepped into the dark room. The light switch was unfortunately at the other end of the store and Asta didn't fancy wondering through the dark to find it. So, holding her hand out, she summoned a small sphere of light and used it to guide her through.

Ten minutes later, the store lit, open and ready for customers, Asta sat back at the counter with a sigh of relief. From here she had a good view of the festival preparations, but instead of watching the workers outside she picked up her book 'Catch-22' and began to read. The doorbell would jingle as soon as anyone entered, meaning until then she could happily lose herself in Joseph Heller.

Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated, though an unsuccessful attempt had been made on Andrew Jackson 30 years before in 1835. The assassination was planned and carried out by the well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, as part of a larger conspiracy in a bid to revive the Confederate cause... Leslie already knew the information from his book, but he had an oral report for school today, which he couldn't wait for. School had always excited him and he had been up the whole night reading the biography of Abraham Lincoln. He had written about fifty note cards so far for each chapter he read of the one-thousand pages book. "I bet most don't know that William Shakespeare made up the word assassination." The only person that could hear Leslie at the time was Leslie, and that was the person that heard him the most. He was a sociable person, but he did find it hard to talk to most of the other people in town, a majority of them weren't all that bright.

Shutting his book he chuckled, I already know every last detail in this book, yet my teacher still request I read it all by today. Leslie had read the book before once when he was in one of his middle school grades, but his teacher that it would only be fair to the rest of the class if he were to read it again. "His vice presidents were Hannibal Hamlin and Andrew Johnson, he was preceded by James Buchanan and succeeded by Andrew Johnson. Oh! and let's not forget his wife was called Mary Todd Lincoln, who was brought up into a very wealthy family." He joked with himself as he got up and walked out if his bedroom. "I'm using the bathroom!" Leslie called to whom ever was listening in the house. He did have his own restroom in his room, but he didn't like dirtying his up so he just used the family one instead.

Once entering the bathroom he went over to the shower and turned the cold water on, Nothing like a cold shower to get the blood flowing. Some people found it strange he perfected cold showers over warm or hot, but it did, maybe because there was four good facts he knew about cold showers: it's better for circulation, your hair, healthier skin, and mental benefits. Taking off all his clothes in a paced fashion he felt goosebumps emerge as his skin adjusted to the cool air.

Entering the shower he let the cold water flush over his body as he shut the shower curtain. Picking up the shampoo/body wash bottle he squeezed enough in his hand that it started oozing through his fingers. Quickly shutting the bottle by pressing it against his skin he set it back down and tried catching the jell with his now free hand. First he rubbed it through his hair, making sure to scrub good, then on his body. After letting it sit for a minute or two he watched it all off, conditioned his hair, washed that out, then got out of the shower.

When he had gotten out of the shower he had dried off then got the clean clothes he kept stored underneath the sneak then out them on: a white v-neck underneath a black blazer, black pants, white no-shoe socks, and black shoes. When done stressing he looked into the mirror, Wrinkle free. Sliding the vanity mirror open he pulled out his blue tooth brush and tooth paste. Untwisting the lid he pushed out a pea sized amount of paste to his tooth brush and then began pushing.

Spitting into the sink when he was done he put back everything where he had gotten it and walked into the kitchen. "You want something to eat?" Unsure if his brother was home or not he yelled encase to be polite. Going to the fridge he opened it to find almost nothing expect a gallon of milk, bottled water, and Chinese food. I wonder what I choose. Grinning to himself he pulled out the container and placed it in the microwave setting it to three minutes.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Pulling it out he sat down at the kitchen table and began eating. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket he went to the text screen and began typing:

To: Ramses

Hey! I'm about to leave home soon, do you want me to bring you some food?!

From: Leslie

Out of everyone in town he had found his way to like Ramses the best, probably because he was so smart.

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Pound! Pound! Pound!

"What do you want?" Screaming at who ever was pounding on the door he picked the pillow up next to him and put it on top of his right ear as he kept his eyes closed trying to go back to sleep. "Take the trash out for me please, sweety." The voice on the other side of the door was his mom's, soft spoken and kind. Groaning he scuffed at the thought of getting up, "Tell Ram to do it, Mom." This time he was kinder, but his voice still held on to it's irritation. "You know he's out on his boat, Lulu, you took your bath last night so all you have to do is take the trash out on your way to work." He rolled his eyes when he had been called Lulu. He had always hated being called that, but for some reason with him being the youngest his family found it cute to call him that, especially his mother. Even though it annoyed him he had given up complaining for them to stop years ago, for he knew it wouldn't work.

Lucas had been up for most of the night texting a girl that he had already forgotten the name to, clearly she wasn't important enough for him to bother to remember. He liked girls that left impression, she had not been one of them, but regardless he slowly slinkied out of bed. "Fine." Lifeless was his reply as he shuffled to the bathroom in his room to see how he appeared. "Thank you, Lulu." He could hear his mom say behind the door.

Sighing he didn't reply, but just stared at himself in the mirror. Looking himself over he gave himself approval. Every night before bed he'd always put on the clothes he was going to wear the next day and always managed to smell and look fresh and wrinkle free.

Picking up his brush and hairspray he stared brushing his hair back and with ever stroke a brush of a white cloud would follow to help him keep his beautiful golden locks of hair up in a perfect curved shape.

He was wearing a grey t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes, and in his mind he looked perfect. He was a vain person and he could probably had stood there all day looking at his perfections. "You better stop staring at yourself!" Calling most likely from the kitchen he gave the comment a smirk.

Walking out of the bathroom he walked over to his nightstand to get his cellphone then left his room. The hallways was decorated with floral painted walls and pictures of him and his family. The pictures were mainly when him and his brother were younger and he didn't understand why his mom didn't just put recent pictures, Lucas was so much much attractive now than then, but she just kept the old ones instead.

When entering the kitchen he walked over to his mother who was holding a plate of grape jelly covered toast. "You know me so well, and I don't mind if I do." He said as he walked up behind his mom and took a piece from over his shoulder. Kissing his mothers forehead she laughed, "I'm your mother, I have to know everything about you.". Not everything. Giving her a smile full of food and small wave he grabbed the garbage bags next to her then exited the house.

Going around to the back he deposited the trash into their rightful cans with a sigh; he had always hated taking out the trash. It was always to smelly and annoying. Time to go to work.

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"You get the best of both worlds! Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds!" She sang loudly as she swung back and forth in her hammock for a bed singing into a cotton candy colored hair brush. The song was by Miley Cyrus, or Hannah Montana, Ariel might have been at little to old for it, but it happened to make her happy; she was a fan of upbeat songs with fluffy and fun messages, they just caused her joy.

She had woken up hours ago and had already gotten her shower, clothes, and hair out if the way. She had been wearing a pink crepe top, with a pair of black crepe shorts, grey cardigan, black circular sunglasses, and a good chained necklace. Ariel's outfit wasn't here though, but her sisters and she had borrowed it knowing her sister wouldn't mind. The only thing that was missing was make up, which she was going to ask her sister to do for her if she was still home.

"Breakfast girls!" A thick husky voice cut through Ariel's loud music and singing. "Food!" Exclaiming so she turned off her stereo and slipped her feet into light blue converse before skipping gracefully down the stairs humming to the kitchen to eat.

"That was a nice concert up there," commented her father, "how many fans showed up this time?" There was a child like twinkle in his eyes well he smiled down at his daughter as she pulled out a wooden chair then sat down. "Millions of people showed up this time!" Giggling and grinning she shrugged her shoulders in a cute way as her father began to join in on the laughter.

Her father placed a plate in front of her with cut up eggs, sausage, and pancakes. "I wanted to cut my own food this time." Sticking out her bottom lip as she picked up her fork then stabbed it into her pancake. "Your my baby, so let me baby you." Telling her this he kissed her forehead then poured maple syrup onto her cut up pancake including the piece on her fork. It didn't take long for the pucker to turn into a huge smile as she popped the tiny square into her mouth, chewed it up, then swallowed. "Is Alyssa still home?" Ariel shrugged her shoulders as she patted her mouth with her napkin, "I'm not sure, Daddy." Telling him this he ran his fingers through her hair, "Well, I hope she joins us for breakfast."

The food on her plate was gone soon, for a small girl she could eat. Ariel enjoyed everything she'd ever eaten, and from the small amount of memory she could recall she even liked grapes, but with her being allergic she wasn't allowed to eat them anymore. She could barely remember one time eating them as a kid then having a reaction to them where she almost died. The doctors had told her parents if she got to close to them she'd get really sick and eating them would be fatal, but she still liked the taste of them though.

Looking down at her empty plate another pucker sizzled to her face. "Would you like some more?" Asking her with a British accent mocking Oliver Twist Ariel did her best not to laugh even though she wanted to, all she did was nod her head with her lip still out. "Then here, honey." Setting another big plate of cut food in front of her she clapped her hands with joy and began eating again.

Tony was whistling softly was he walked down the sidewalk, watching with mild interest as people started putting up decorations. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go to the festival tonight, though he was sure his father was expecting him to be there. Maybe he'd go if he could find somebody who wanted to go with him, it'd be no fun to go alone. Speak of the devil, his phone made a small chime, vibrating in his front pocket. Digging it out with one hand he looked down at the contact, frowning as he noticed it was Dehiliah. Opening the message he read it:

Hey I know its your day off but do you want to do something today?

Tony smiled, thankful she hadn't asked him to come into the store on his day off. This was perfect timing as well and his thumbs typed a quick reply.


Sure, we've got a few hours to kill before the festival, what'd you want to do? Btw, you're going to the festival tonight, right? Did you want to go together?

That didn't sound too forward...Right? Tony couldn't help but like his boss and he enjoyed spending down time with her at the bridal shop. He hadn't known a lick about sewing before he started working there, but now he was making alterations. The woman was a magician when it came to clothes and it had rubbed off on him. How sad was that? A big guy like himself sitting in a dress shop, adding sequins and buttons to virgin white fabric. It made him laugh.


I'm about a block and a half away from the restaurant, we could meet there.

Tony sent the text about thirty seconds after sending the first one, pocketing his phone as he looked up towards the sky and then down at his watch. Oh yeah, they had plenty of time to kill before the festival started. All day actually. Tony wouldn't have minded coming into the shop for a few hours, kill some time and make some money. The bridal shop didn't get very busy, so it was mostly just him and Dehiliah hanging around and making dresses. The man had to admit that he was getting pretty good at putting stuff together, though he always had the boss supervising and correcting.

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"Ariel!" Alyssa was upstairs, standing in the doorway of her room, obviously distressed. "I don't know what to wear! Help me!" She called down into the kitchen. Ducking back into her room she rummaged through her closet, pulling out shirts, pants, and shoes to lay out on her bed. Despite her confliction on what to wear she couldn't help but feel her stomach growl, begging for food. Slipping on a pair of running shorts and a tank top she dashed out of her room and padded down the stairs, throwing her wet hair up into a bun on the top of her head.

Alyssa slid into the kitchen, giving her father a kiss on the cheek as she walked past. Slipping into the seat next to Ariel she smiled, puffing out her cheeks and sticking out her tongue at her sister. "After breakfast you have to help me pick out what i'm going to wear tonight."] Alyssa stated, eyes widening as her father gave her a plate of pancakes. "Thanks daddy." She chirped happily, cutting off a piece and dipping it in syrup before popping it in her mouth. "Ariel, babe, you're not wearing any makeup?" Alyssa asked, a little surprised. Ariel always wore makeup, not in an over abundance though, but just enough to enhance her natural beauty.

In between eating breakfast and talking to Ariel, Alyssa pulled out her phone, shooting a quick text to Calypso.


Hey! You up yet? Listen, the festival tonight, you and Julian are going, right? Lets meet up at the pub later, have a few before they let the lanterns go tonight!

"I don't know what to wear! Help me!" Chewing her food as fast as she could she tried to reply, but before she could her sister had already come into the kitchen. "Good morning!" Telling her sister up on arriving. "After breakfast you have to help me pick out what I'm going to wear tonight." She was told as Alyssa took a seat next to her. "Sure thing, I'd love to help you!" With a voice filled with honesty she was thrilled her sister wanted her help with fashion because most of the time it was Ariel that needed the help.

Looking her sister over she could tell she had just gotten out of the shower probably by how her hair was still wet, but she was still extremely beautiful regardless. Ariel had always admired her sister for her natural beauty and how she seemed perfect at absolutely everything and anything. With dazed eyes she watched as water ran down her sisters neck, thinking if that were her the feeling would be annoying. Ariel liked most things, but she hated the feel of one or two random water drops rolling down her skin, especially her neck. "And since I'm helping you, I'd like it if you helped me as well." Ariel was pretty good at picking clothes for other people, but when it came to dressing herself she found a struggle, like the outfit she was wearing at the moment she had seen her sister wear and that's how she knew she wanted it.

"Ariel, babe, you're not wearing any makeup?" Being questioned she touched her face, she almost had forgotten. "I was going to ask you to do it for me if you didn't mind." Doing makeup wasn't Ariel's strongest point, far from it. She had been ok at doing it, but it always came out much better when she had her sister do it for her. "I don't even see why I wear makeup anyways, it's not like anyone notices it." Ask she spoke she played with the maple syrup by using her fork. Even though the words seemed a tad sad her voice was full of joy. Ariel might have wanted the people she liked to like her back, but she knew she was so much younger than most of the kids they went to school with, so in the end she understood why, but maybe one day another group of random strangers would come on shore with more kids around her age. "Unlike you I'm not the prettiest." Looking up to catch her sisters eyes she grinned of sweetness. "Ariel, you're beautiful! You know this..." Doing his almost daily rants about something, this time it being Ariel's appearance, she spaced out but gave the appearance of listen.

"And that's how you'll make some lucky boy or girl very happy one day." Finishing with a string fatherly voice. "I've never once brought home anyone, Daddy, that's not going to change." Taking his hand in hers she gave him a reassuring look. "I love you for trying though."

"Well I notice." Alyssa leaned over to kiss her sister's cheek reassuringly. "And anybody who doesn't notice is an idiot." She explained around another mouthful of pancakes. Alyssa polished off the flap jacks on her plate quickly, taking the dishes over to the sink and rinsing them off before loading them into the dishwasher. Rubbing her hands together she smiled, hoping to get her sister back into her regular cheery mood. "Cute outfit, by the way." The older sister praised with a wink, grabbing Ariel's hand and dragging her upstairs. "Thanks for breakfast daddy!" Alyssa called down, almost forgetting.

Alyssa almost hadn't made it home last night, staying late at the pub to help clean up. Technically this wasn't her home anymore, she had moved out a few years ago and had lived on her own. Just recently though she had moved in with Calypso, splitting rent with her best friend and living in a small condo down the road. She liked coming back here though to check up on her sister, make sure she was holding up alright by herself. For the most part, Ariel was a pretty clever and strong girl, Alyssa knew she could hold her own for the most part.

"Alright, these are the three that I've picked out so far. Alyssa said as they walked into her room, the shirts and pants laid out on her bed. The first was a cream colored cardigan she would wear over a white tank top, black leggings, brown boots, the second was another cotton pullover with grey and brown hex tile designs, grey high heeled boots, and the third (her favorite) a white low cut sweater, blue jeans, gray boots, and all with matching hat and gloves. Outfits "This one?" She asked, holding up the third outfit against her body, placing the flat boots on the ground in front of her. "I cant believe I didn't take these with me when I moved." she muttered with a small giggle. "I guess I had to leave you something to wear, huh, little mermaid?" Alyssa teased.

"Are you going to invite a boy to the festival tonight?" Alyssa asked nonchalantly, looking at herself in the mirror as she started to change into the outfit she had been holding up to see how it would look on her. She didn't plan on doing anything with her hair, she'd be wearing a hat anyways, so she'd just let it dry and maybe fluff it out a bit once it was. "How about that boy Antares? He's cute."

"Cute outfit, by the way." "Thank y-" Before she had time to finish he arm had been grabbed and she was soon lifted from her sit. At first the startle from the unexpected uprising causes her to almost fall, but by the consist moving forward she had managed to keep herself balanced and trotted up the stairs behind Alyssa.

When reaching the too of the staircase Alyssa had slowed down on the pulling and they both walked into her room. "Alright, these are the three that I've picked out so far." Walking over to the bed Ariel looked over the clothes and felt the soft fabric of the white low cut sweater. Glancing between each outfit then back up at her sister is was mentally picturing which would look the best in her, concluding the third would look the best on her sister she opened her mouth to speak, but Alyssa beat her to it. "This one?" Grinning like a cheshire cat Ariel nodded her head, "That one would look perfect on you!" She got the chance to say. Ariel missed that, the knowing what the other one would say. Even though Alyssa came back frequently she still wished she hadn't had left. "I cant believe I didn't take these with me when I moved." Muttering so she then let at a giggle, "I guess I had to leave you something to wear, huh, little mermaid?" Nodding her head Ariel giggled back at her sister's tease.

"Are you going to invite a boy to the festival tonight?" She shrugged her shoulders unsure of what she was going to do. "I don't know yet, I want to go, but I don't want to go alone and I rather not bother anyone by asking." Ariel hadn't been to a festival since she was six, and she did really want to go. The thing was she had a problem when it came to asking people to do things for or with her if she thought it'd be out if their way, she just couldn't do it no matter how bad she wanted to. Ariel was a busy person that had lots of friends in town, but normally no one really asked her to do anything with them, which was fine by her.

"You'll look really beautiful in that!" Exclaiming so to her sister she bounced on the ends of her toes and quietly clapped her hands. How about that boy Antares? He's cute." Ariel's overjoyed experience stopped as a blush gif her hard across the face at the sound of his name. Shaking her head and away the overwhelming feeling she let out a puff sound. "He's older and smarter than me; he's probably going with someone way awesomer than me," take a small pause she pulled her cellphone from her pocket and pointed at it, "besides the only way I'd ask would be through text so I wouldn't get rejected in person, and the only way I'd text to ask is if Freyja herself came down into this room, took my phone, and texted him for me." Ending her retort with a giggle she knew the following was absolutely impossible, therefore she would never ask out Antares. Ariel had liked him for awhile now, and of course Alyssa knew that, she was her big sister, but Alyssa also knew Ariel was to intimidated by him to ever do anything about it.

Fin woke up sprawled across his bed with his forearm laying across his eyes to block out the sun that was peeking through his window. Though it wasn’t the sun that had woken him up, it was the beep that had just signalled out from underneath a pile of clothes that seemed to span his whole floor.

He laid there for a moment staring at his ceiling, not quite ready to get up, he only laid there a moment before a grin stretched across his face and he rolled off his bed onto the pile of clothes on his floor. Just lying there was way too boring, and he was way too curious about what the text was about. It took him a solid five minutes to find his phone that was impressively buried, though for the achievement of finding his phone the state of his room suffered. hHs room was messy before but it was now a wreckage site.

He got up to leave his room with his phone in hand and took a glance back at the state of his room, though only for a moment before shrugging it off thinking to himself that he could clean it later. Though that was a blatant lie, seeming as Fin’s idea of cleaning was putting three things away and then getting distracted by something he found. Walking through his place Fin read through his new text from his sister Daphne, smiling to himself as he remembered today was the belated festival to welcome the Greeks. He couldn’t help getting excited, all he wanted was for the day to hurry up.



After typing quick reply, Fin threw his phone onto the nearest ledge he could find without really thinking about what he was doing. He did this all the time and never learnt. Sometimes he would lose his phone for months at a time, or he just wouldn’t get around to charging it. Anyone who knew him at all knew it was incredibly unlikely for him to have his phone on him and let alone have it charged and on him.

He took a quick shower and dressed for the day before heading out the main street, excited to see all the decorations people had been working on. He walked through the main street with an uncontrollable grin on his face. The whole place just looked so festive and everyone seemed to be around working together to make the place look great. Plus they couldn’t have picked a better day, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Tonight was sure to be a good night, hopefully with plenty of alcohol, though he could fix that if it became an issue.

As Fin walked on he became aware that he was no longer just walking on concrete and the whole ground seemed to be scattered with sand. He looked up and seeing Mack had been given the duty of sweeping up the sand he made his way toawrds the guy. “I swear sleep in and you miss all the fun,” exclaimed Fin when he gained Mack’s attention. “What happened here?” he gestured to the sand scattered all across the street, an expression of curiosity and confusion spread across his features.

“Did you need any help cleaning it up?” Fin asked, when remembered that Mack had been sweeping up the sand. He hadn’t much to do that day, he had to work a few hours at the restaurant over lunch but that was about it. So he had plently of time to fill in and he really did want to help out and not just rely on other people to do everything.

He looked over Mack’s shoulder to see Delilah walking through the town seemingly taking a look at the decorations being put up. He immediately started walking over towards her, hoping since she was Greek and this was her first festival that she would be as excited as he was. “Talk to you later Mack,” Fin said over his shoulder at the last moment, completely forgetting his offer to help out.

“Dehlilah!” Fin called out grinning, “I take it your shops not open today then?” He caught up to her and began walking with her through the town. He wasn’t particularly close to Dehlilah but they were both Greek so they knew each other and from his point of view got on well.

“They town looks so festive and amazing doesn’t it?” He asked a wide smile lighting up his face as he faced forward still taking in all the decorations that had already been put up as well as the ones that were yet to be set up.

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Calypso had been up for a while lying on the couch brainlessly watching whatever was on the television, occasionally changing channels when she felt a surge of energy. While everyone else looked to be out and about on that Saturday morning she had nothing to do. Ever heard the expression ‘no post on Sundays’? Yeah, well Northbay was such a tiny town there was no post all weekends, plus a post office wasn’t something so important that it needed to stay open when there was a festival on so she had no work. Her roommate and her best friend (excluding her twin Julian) Alyssa hadn’t come home last night, she was either at her parents’ place or off somewhere with a one night stand, either way though this meant Calypso was alone. She also was definitely not going to go help set up the festival, helping out and getting involved with the community was not something she would ever voluntarily do.

Speaking of the festival, Calypso found it hilarious that it was put on in order to try and soothe inter pantheon tensions since she could not remember a festival in Northbay that hadn’t ended badly or at least stirred up more drama than it was worth. This time would of course be no different though, her and Julian would be around to make sure of that. Not that she’d discussed it with her twin, but she knew he’d be up for it causing some drama.

Calypso decided it was probably time to get up and do something when her she heard he phone beep from what seemed to be the kitchen. Switching off the television she pulled herself to her feet to go investigate who had texted her. She smiled though when she read Alyssa’s text and quickly sent off a reply.



Calypso was already dressed for the day in a simple patterned dress and so throwing her phone into her pocket she headed to her room to finish her hair and put on some makeup. Soon enough she was walking along the main street, not interacting with anyone she passed but rather walking very slowly, watching everyone go about putting up their direction. She loved watching people, she found it fascinating to watch how every single person was different in how they walked, talked and just generally held themselves. Calypso was so absorbed in her thoughts she hadn’t even noticed that she had walked right pass Ava until she heard her call out. "I'm here. What do you want?" Calypso looked over her shoulder and eyed the other girl a playful smile already forming on her face.

“Wow, Ava Apophis helping out?” she said sarcastically truning around so she was standing in front of Ava, a small smile tugging at the corners at her mouth. “Considering what everyone’s saying, what a brave move.” She said offhandedly, shrugging it off. Calypso turned her back to her, seemingly looking at the decorations. She was bullshitting about people talking about Ava, but while the burnette was always good for starting up drama sometimes she needed a slight push.

"Oh come on Ariel, don't be such a baby. Just text him, the worse thing he could do is say no." Alyssa tried to encourage her. Standing in front of the mirror she dropped her hair out of the bun she had put it in earlier, shaking it out effortlessly. "If you want, you can come hang out with Calypso, Julian, and me...We're hitting the pub before the lanterns." She looked at her younger sister's reflection in the mirror then turned around to face her. Walking over to her, she took her hands, smiling. "Step into my office." She said in a sing song voice, taking her to the bathroom and sitting her down on a stool.

Digging around in the counter drawers Alyssa picked out a pink and white eyeshadow, brow mascara, and a soft pink blush. Picking up a brush she twirled it expertly in the pink shadow. "Close your eyes." Using the brush she spread on a thin layer of the pink to her eyelids, humming as she did. Next she used the white on top of the pink, adding definition before adding the brown mascara to darken her long lashes. Grabbing a larger and fluffier brushed she used it to apply the blush to her cheeks, tickling her nose as she finished up. "There you go, squirt. Whatcha think?"

Alyssa gave a compassionate smile to her sister, kissing the top of her head."Who am I kidding? It looks great, Ariel. Text me later if you want to hang out okay. In the meantime, text Antares. I'll see you later babe. Alyssa said good bye to her sister, smiling the entire time as she collected her belongings from last night and heading downstairs. "Bye dad!" Sliding out the front door she dug around her purple handbag for her keys, grabbing them. Coming to the curb at the end of the driveway she unlocked the door of her Gold Pontiac Grand Am. Sliding into the driver's seat of her car she pushed the key into the ignition, pushing the gear stick into drive and taking off down the road.

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Yeah sure, that's fine by me. Almost there.

Tony text'd back as he read her response, chewing his lower lip as he put his phone away, coming around the corner. Up ahead he saw Dehiliah and Fin talking idly. Dehiliah turned her head, as if looking for someone, and as he met her gaze he lifted a hand and waved, smiling. What was about to happen next, he never would of expected. Tony had been carelessly walking down the side walk, minding his own business, and before he knew it, eyes going wide as he spotted a girl on a bike, was on the ground. Tony's legs got caught in the bicycle, though the girl who had run into him he been quick to help him get untangled.

She was frantically apologizing, though it only caused his head to pound harder than it had been. Shaking the blurriness out of his eyes, he looked up, staring up at large brown eyes. Familiar brown eyes. Oh Gods, why was he being punished like this? Why?! "No, no. Its okay. I'm okay, really." Tony scrambled back, only giving himself more of a view. His eyes went to her shirt and then back to her face. "Know me? Uh, no, I don't think we've ever been, uh, properly introduced." Gods he was a bad liar.

Tony stood up, hissing as he lifted his hands, looking down at his now raw and scratched palms. Other than that though, he felt fine...Physically. "Are you okay?" He asked as he saw her also red looking palm. The quicker he got out of this situation, the better off he would be, but something was pulling at the back of his mind as he watched her swiftly pull down her shirt so it covered her skin. That perfectly smooth and soft to the touch skin-Get your head out of the clouds Tony! He scolded himself harshly. Wiping the grit off his hands and onto his jeans, Tony was itching to get as far away from Jade as possible. "Listen, I've got friends waiting on me. So if you're okay...Then I'm gonna get going."






Quincy, after carrying the groceries out to the park and waiting for Alaura to set up the blanket, was sprawled out across the blanket. With his arms behind his head and eyes closed he took in a deep breath through his nose, letting it out slowly as he soaked up the sun. Opening one eyes he lifted his head slightly, looking to Alaura as she spoke. "I'm worried about her, she stays cooped up in that house, or at the funeral home.. I hardly see her anymore. It's been five months since their break up, Terrance... and she's still distraught. It breaks my heart..."

Rolling on his side he opened both eyes, looking up at Alaura sympathetically. Groaning with effort he sat himself up, leaning forward and looking down at the grass, picking at it as he listened. "I'm not saying she didn't care about Gwyn, but maybe she's not upset about that. Break ups are rough, yes, but it's almost been half a year... Jade might be stressed out about something else." Quincy suggested with a shrug. "I can tell she still loves Gwyn and I bet its tough for her to see her around town."

Quincy laid back down, taking the cigarette he always kept tucked behind his left ear, placing it in between his lips. Alaura didn't like being around the smoke so he reframed from lighting up around her, but the cigarette had been burning at his ear. His hands itched to pull the lighter out of his pocket and light the end. "Alaura, can I ask you a question?" Quincy started out slowly, voice muttered around the unlit cigarette.

Before Alaura could answer him though, Liam had showed up. He had brought this upon himself, telling Alaura to invite him along and all."Hi Liam, I'm doing fine, thanks for asking." Quincy greeted in a mutter around his cigarette.

Clicking the send button she winced. She didn't text him to often, but when she did it was always full of unsure statements, dots, and the ending love you. "I think I'm going to die!" She told herself quietly. Fear of the horrible word no rumbled within her, something she did not like, but with the two of then being kind of close friends, or at least she thought, he'd say yes and want to spend some time with her.

While Ariel had been typing she realized Alyssa was talking, missing most of it she caught the ending, "Step into my office." Quickly cheering up from her nervousness she did what her sister said with a smile and entered the bathroom. "Close your eyes." Being told so as she was sitting down on the stool. Shutting her eyes she felt relaxed as the brushes swooped here and patted there. I wonder what Antares will say... She wasn't the type that got nervous to often, but sometimes she did and she defiantly did not like the feeling.

"There you go, squirt. Whatcha think?" Looking into the mirror she saw how her eyes and cheeks were glowing from the pinks that's had been applied. ."Who am I kidding? It looks great, Ariel. Text me later if you want to hang out okay. In the meantime, text Antares. I'll see you later babe. Ariel giggled at her sisters reaction to what she had did, "Thank you, I look very pretty." She was pleased with what her sister had done, because Ariel knew she couldn't have done better, but soon her happy mellowed down, "Bye love you, Alyssa." Sometimes Ariel wished her sister didn't have any friends so they could spend more time together; Ariel just hated seeing her sister leave her, but she had a life.

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"You know me too well." He watched as Ramses picked what he wanted and started to eat. Grinning he dipped another onion ring and took a bite. "As your best friend it's my duty to know you. If I knew nothing about you then well... I would be a terrible best friend." Leslie had known a lot about Ramses, they had become pretty close ever since they were kids, but Ramses had always been closer to Ronan until two years ago when Leslie had returned from America.

"I'll treat you something tonight at the festival." With food lodged in his mouth all he could do was shake his head no rapidly. "You know when I do something for you I want nothing in return, but your happiness." "I could shout you a ride on the Ferris wheel." Grinning he let the nudge push him over some before returning to his normal sitting potion. "You're talking to a guy that stayed like three days in the Cinderella castle... not the manliest thing I've ever done, but rides are always fun." Knowing his friend as well as he did he probably wouldn't want to ride any rides, but Leslie would force him to. "I haven't been to a festival since I was fourteen, so you have to ride every ride with me and at least pretend you're enjoying it." With a light hearted voice every word he said was true though, Ramses would ride all the rides.

Buzz, buzz! Reaching his pocket he pulled out his phone and read the text from his brother. Now you're awake. He thought to himself and began to type:



"It was Ronan asking if I was helping at the festival, are you?" As he asked he began taken off his jacketed and then his swear soaked v-neck. "I picked a horrible day to wear black. Joking as he fanned his shirtless self with a napkin. Looking out across the lake the water looked tempting, but he had no swim clothes with him, I could just swim in my underwear, it's not like I've never changed in front of him before. "I'm going for a swim." Standing up he began talking off his shoes, socks, and pants as he was walking towards the end of the pier. Stopping he took in a long breath before jumping in.

Splash! When first entering he opened his eyes to look underwater as a few fish swam by. It was calm and quiet down there, but he needed air so he popped his head back up to the surface. "Come in, the water feels amazing!" Shouting he pushes his arms to keep him afloat and maneuvered himself so he could see Ramses.

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Mack was shaking his head as a pair of helpers moved a beam of wood into place,
"Watch where you're..." He started to warn the pair before, crash! the beam hit another pile of poles and sent them rolling across the road. Luckily most of the street was blocked off from pedestrians so there was little need for Mack to run screaming after them. Instead he simply pointed after them to the pair that had caused the crash.

A moment later a voice made him turn and he found Dehlilah Cyprus standing behind him.
"Um, hey I didn't want to interrupt but um can you ask the girl, my friend ran into if she's ok?" She sounded nervous, or perhaps she was just breathless from running across the street.
"Jade. Her name is Jade." Mack said. He felt uncharacteristically defensive of Jade. He was a friendly guy, he didn't take too many things to heart and was easily able to brush off most insults. But the crash this morning had almost cost Jade her babies and in his eyes Dehlilah had been more concerned with getting Antonio into the restaurant than caring for the hurt girl. Still, the fact that she was here asking after Jade meant that Mack's voice wasn't cold, it was simply lacking its usual warmth.

"I would have helped, but I didn't know if you'd want us... To put our noses in your business," Mack wondering who 'our' was meant to be, Dehlilah and Antonio? Mack shook his head slightly. He was about to argue that it had only been 'his' business because he had been concerned, but decided to hold his tongue. He liked Dehlilah well enough, from the little he had seen of her around town. Besides a moment later she looked over her shoulder. She said goodbye, placed a hand on his arm and added "Thanks, seriously," before leaving.

After she left Mack turned back to the set-up, shaking his head as he saw that in the few minutes his attention had been elsewhere all chaos had erupted...



Mack sat back, enjoying the cool beer in his hand as he watched the cordons open and the first residents enter the festival. Mack was at one of the stalls set up outside the bar, fairy lights twinkled above his head and the setting sun was caught and held by the string of mirror-like, plastic crystals that were twined around a nearby lamp post. Soon enough the whole street would be lit by the fairy lights and street lamp, creating a magical setting for the night's festivities.

Mack's hangover of the morning was well and truly gone. In fact, if he found the right people he wouldn't be against making an event out of tonight. He finished his beer and signaled for the bar keep who passed him another. He popped it open, appreciating the tsk of goodness being released.
"To a good night." He said to the bar keep, tilting his bottle in a salute. He returned his gaze to the street, took a sip and leaned back, waiting for the night to begin.

Calypso returned Julian’s wicked smile as she waited for Ava’s answer, she knew the girl would of course want to hang with them, but calypso was more interested in they she responded to their friendly taunts. "I'm certainly not afraid of either of you gits," Calypso gave a grim smile to the brunette are her response, it was hardly surprisingly and rather expected but she shrugged it off. “Don’t blame us then if you fall behind.”

Calypso couldn’t help the bark of laughter that left her as Julian read out the text he had received from Jade. “As if she sent that,” she shook her head slowly, if she ever began caring about others, the first feeling she would have would be pity for the girl who had just asked Julian to man a kissing booth. “Seems like someone in this town was actually dumb enough to fall for your harmless stoner act,” she laughed out in response to the text he had received, though her comment only caused another ripple of laughter.

After slowly regaining normal breathing patterns after her outburst of laughter calypso was able to her the tail end of what Ava was saying. "Tell me, Calypso," she purred, "Would you pay for a kiss if I was in the booth?" Calypso slowly looked the brunette over waiting longer than really necessary, so much so it became a bit awkward. She then raised a brow, her expression a mixture of questioning and daring. Though when she spoke her tone was flat and disinterested, “Never Love, I don’t believe in charity.”

In truth, the only time she would kiss the brunette in front of her was in a drunken stupor. That wasn’t an insult, Calypso had a lot of drunken memories and experiences but when it came to her sober way of thinking she was incredibly picky. That and she felt nothing in the form of lust for Ava, though that didn’t mean a drunken night was out of the cards for them.

Calypso notice in the distance Mack putting up barricades to keep people out of the main street as the final decoration were about to be put up. “I think we better continue the chit chat elsewhere guys, or else we’ll be moved,” she said to Ava and Julie nodding over to where Mack was.

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Calypso headed back home to yet again watch some more TV, inviting Ava and her twin to join her in her exciting afternoon, before returning to the main street where the festival had begun. Though she reminded Julian about having a drinks at the bar, and again extending the invite to Ava.

Arriving at the festival she wasted no time looking at the decoration or any of the stalls like many of the others, already having her directions implanted into her mind. She cared very little about some stupid decorations like many of the idiots residents in Northbay. She kept her head down, and headed straight for the bar where she hoped at least one of her friends was already waiting for her with a drink in hand.

In reality Calypso found the bar vacant of anyone she was meeting up with. Sighing she took a seat and promptly order a drink hoping Alyssa didn’t make her wait very long, anyone who knew Calypso knew she didn’t do patience or waiting, she was way to self-centred for that.

As absolutely tempting as it had been to join Calypso in an afternoon of TV-watching, Ava had already made up her mind that she'd be spending the day alone. It was not without a heavy heart, however, that she walked away from Julian and Calypso and when she stepped into her empty apartment, she felt her spirits fall.

She continue the ritual of pushing open her brother's bedroom door, only to feel the disappointment of seeing his empty bed, disheveled, exactly as he'd left it. There was no suitcase, no evidence that he'd been home even for a moment. Ava couldn't help but feel angry at him. She slammed his door shut and didn't even wince at the sound of what was most likely a picture frame falling off the wall.

Ava checked her phone. Nothing. She tossed it on the couch and resigned to a long, hot shower with the radio on full blast. By the time she stepped into the steam-filled bathroom, a half an hour had passed, and she felt no better. She set a blow dryer to work on her hair, combing it through with her fingers, and staring at the emptiness in her reflection's eyes.

A lantern festival. Ava was probably the only one who didn't give a shit. It was difficult for her to feel any sort of enthusiasm without her brother to revel with her in the glory of chaos.

After twenty minutes with a hair straightener, another fifteen for makeup, Ava snagged clothes off the hangers and padded, barefoot, into the kitchen. A shot would make her feel better, right? "Down the hatch," she said out loud, and tossed the tequila straight back. She'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the burn.

Finally fed up with her own self-pity, she grabbed her phone, a pair of flip flops, and made for the bar where Calypso said she would be. It was, after all, only a short walk from her apartment (a fact she was sure to keep in mind while researching places to live).

She saw Calypso and Alyssa through the windows. Where was Julian? For a moment she paused, chewing on her fingernails. This was potentially a bad idea.

And it was that thought exactly that propelled her through the doors and straight up to their table, where she took a seat without even asking. "I can't imagine you're plotting without me," she said, not a hint of jest on her face.

Odessa smiled with her mouth closed and swallowed her food before laughing at Fin and his pantomime of book reading. To look at him one would think that he’d actually read something before which Odessa almost doubted seeing his strict aversion to it. Pushing away her now empty place she nodded happily to his question and grinned brightly at the handsome boy next to her. “It was delicious and I could probably eat two more plates’ worth, but a girl’s gotta watch her figure. Saving room for festival food is very hard, but totally worth it.” Odessa explained, patting her flat and firm midsection, her thoughts drifting to the festival that would be starting quite soon. She had to work that night but not until ten or so she’d definitely get to enjoy the best of the festivities albeit she’d probably be enjoying them alone as per usual. Unless…

“Speaking of the festival, what are your plans for later? I was gonna go stag but if I can rope someone into braving some rides with me I think all the better, right? What do you think, want to meet up later? I’ll win you a stuffed animal if you say yes.” Odessa offered, her big blue eyes slipping into puppy dog mode, of course if he said no it wouldn’t be that much of a disappointment. Odessa was a divisive personality and most people either hated or loved her, her and Fin has always seemed to get along just fine so she was confident in the fact that they’d probably enjoy each other’s company. At least for the evening and if they could gather up more people, well the more the merrier.

“Anyway, if you’re up for it, let me know. I’ll be at the pub probably, or you can text me.” The greek girl offered confidently, another smile gracing her face as she reached into her bag and pulled out money to pay and tip for her meal. “Well, I’m off. It was excellent as usual; I’ll see you guys later.” She finished brightly, taking her leave of the restaurant and heading back to her small apartment to shower and change.

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After a shower and a tiny nap, Odessa finally decided to get ready for the festival and quickly dressed in a bright blue summery dress that played up the blue in her eyes. Applying a small amount of makeup she slipped into a pair of sandals and headed out the door. Hopping into her car she drove the five minutes to the pub and parked in the employee parking lot and took in the sights of the fest. It had really come together and it actually had the ideal effect of making Odessa feel welcomed. Not wasting another moment she quickly entered the festival grounds, obtained her lantern and wondered where on earth she should start.




Julian couldn’t help but join his sister in her abrupt laughter; the thought was really quite ridiculous. A good majority of the people in town either hated him or were afraid of him he doubted they’d be happy to see his face behind the kissing booth. Of course that only made him want to take part, he was always one for subverting the expectations of others and what better way than to be charitable, helpful lad. Thinking it over for a brief moment as Ava flirted shamelessly with his sister he quickly came to the decision that he’d just ignore the text. He’d rather make a mark in a more distinctive, exciting fashion, something he was sure he and Calypso could do with their hands tied behind their backs.

“Think I’m going to have to pass on that.” Julian murmured to himself as he slid his phone back into his pocket and smiled innocently at Ava’s assumption that she was the only one capable of persuasion. Every time Julian opened his mouth he had the opportunity to change someone’s mind, their actions or feelings but he didn't exactly relish the thought of using it to make people kiss him and pay him for it at the same time. He did have some principles to many people’s surprise.

Julian took his sister upon her invitation to come back to her place and spend the afternoon watching mindless television. They’d lay around like Jones town victims and have beers until it was time to meet with Alyssa and perhaps Ava. Waggling his fingers in farewell to the pretty brunette before him he smirked. “We’ll see you later then. Don’t keep us waiting, we’re extremely impatient.”

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Hours later he followed his sister to the pub and immediately headed for the bathroom; he’d already had a few beers and knew that once he broke the seal he’d never be able to go back. Julian took his time while in the restroom, whipping his hair out of his face and smiling grimly at his own reflection as he washed his hands and dried them. Straightening the plain, slightly too small, black t-shirt he had on he left the restroom and spied Calypso now joined by Alyssa and Ava both. Coming up behind the three girls he quickly and quietly joined them and he signaled for a beer.

“Now don’t you worry your pretty little heads, I’m present and accounted for. Guy can’t visit the men’s room without getting his picture put on the back of a milk carton?” He replied in greeting a broad grin crossing his handsome face as he grabbed his beer and took a swallow. Resting his arm on the back of his bar stool he glanced around the pub and took in the scene. Julian figured that most of the bar’s usual patrons were out among the crowded festival, buying their beer from vendors who charged way too much.

Turning back to Alyssa he looked her up and down appreciatively before leaning forward and approving of her makeshift plan. “I personally vote for all of the above.” He said with another smile, this time a bit more intimate for Alyssa’s benefit although he wasn’t as keen on inviting Tut or Mack. He liked Mack just fine, even found himself slightly attracted to him but Tut was another story. They didn’t exactly get along and the last thing Julian wanted or needed was competition.



Ronan stopped outside of the festival and took a deep breath. He only had a about an hour before he needed to report to the kissing booth so he’d have to entertain himself somehow, as he had that thought his stomach rumbled, deciding to let him know that the he skipped lunch. Recalling that he’d worked straight through in a hurry to leave he figured his first stop would be to one of the many food stalls. As he entered the fest, received his lantern and made his way to the nearest vendor he stopped abruptly. Of course he couldn’t eat festival food now, he was going to have to get up close and personal with people in less than an hour and the last thing they probably paid for was an onion kiss or something.

Sighing he instead made his way to one of the beer vendors and grabbed himself a pint before taking a moment to take a look around the festival. They’d really done it, it looked spectacular, the last festival had been when he was twelve and he thought it spectacular then too. With his mood brightened he decided that exploration was his best bet. Trekking along the midway he watched as people won and lost at carnival games, little kids with cotton candy as big as their heads and couples partaking of the many rides afforded to them.

Pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose he took a large sip of his beer and looked around for any familiar or friendly face. Most notably, his brother, his mother and Viona. Not seeing any of them he shrugged to himself lightly and followed the sound of live music. It was there that he found a spot and swallowed the rest of his beer as he listened to the strains of the Irish folk music coming from stage. For a moment he felt relaxes and at peace, taking his glasses off he tilted his head to the slowly darkening sky and lost himself in the music. He had a feeling tonight would be fantastic and if it wasn’t he’d just drink until it was.

Alyssa let a small smirk curl the corner of her lips as she heard Ava from behind her, turning in her bar stool and leaning back slightly as she spotted her friend. "I can't imagine you're plotting without me," Ava was seated with them now, their group slowly growing as the night progressed. Now all they needed were a few good drinks, cute boys, and a motive to stirr up the small town of Northbay. "Nice of you to join us Ava, I thought for sure you had disappeared." Alyssa teased, taking another swig from her open beer.

“Now don’t you worry your pretty little heads, I’m present and accounted for. Guy can’t visit the men’s room without getting his picture put on the back of a milk carton?” Alyssa nearly jumped out of her seat as she heard Jullian from behind her, listening to the rustle of his clothes as he slid into the bar stool next to her, signaling for a beer. Alyssa's smile brightened, stretching ear to ear as she turned to face Jullian more openly. "Can't be having you run too far away from me before I go looking for you." Alyssa winked, leaning forward as he did. "“I personally vote for all of the above.” The young man murmured.

Alyssa laughed softly, sipping from her beer and then setting the almost empty bottle on the bar counter. "Well, if we're getting wasted, we're doing it properly." She stated simply. "Two shots of patron, please." Alyssa motioned to the bartender who had taken her beer bottle and thrown it away before getting out two shot glasses and pouring the clear, but powerful, alcohol into the small glass. Alyssa took one shot in her hand and the slid the other towards Jullian with a nervous laugh she quickly masked by knocking her shot back.

The booze burned at the back of her throat, but it slowly numbed to a warm tingle as she slammed the shot glass on the counter, shaking her head at the bitter taste. "Oh yeah, thats the good stuff." Alyssa took off her hat, laying it on the bar top and running a hand through her straw colored hair, brushing it over one shoulder and untangling a few strands from her earrings. "So, how are you enjoying the festival?" Alyssa mused with a casual grin. "I dont see why they put on one in the first place, they think it'll 'bring the town together' but I think it's only going to stir things up more." Alyssa admitted.