Ava Apophis's Story

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

Ava was not big on alarm clocks. Even though she had been asked to help with the Lantern Festival set up (some vain attempt to inspire comraderie, no doubt) she just... didn't feel like it. Stretching her arm out, she snagged her cell phone from the bedside table. No messages. There never were. She wasn't even sure why she kept a cell phone.

With a yawn, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, letting the soles of her feet meet the cool floor of the university's boys' dormitory. She chanced a peek at the previous night's affair, content that he was completely out. If her calculations were correct, she had about ten minutes before the lad's girlfriend would be knocking.

What a perfect opportunity to snag his shirt, slip it over her body (sans bra) and tiptoe into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of milk and was delighted to see an already-opened bag of Oreo's on the counter. With each submerged cookie, she watched the minutes tick by on the microwave's digital clock, and with one minute remaining, she licked her fingertips and left both glass and Oreo bag on the countertop.

Ava heard the key in the door, and how convenient it was for her to be walking past as soon as the girl stepped in. Ava feigned surprise, tugging at the bottom of the shirt in a sorry attempt to cover herself. "Oh. Oh my goodness," she stammered. "I didn't realize he had a roommate."

The girl was immediately distressed. "I'm not a roommate," she said, her jaw clenched. "I'm his girlfriend. Who the hell are you?"

"Girlfriend?!" Ava was great at this. "He never said he had a girlfriend!" Except for the time he said, I have a girlfriend. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. He... he bought me drinks and invited me back. I had no idea that-" But the girl was already storming to the bedroom. Ava was satisfied when she heard the screaming and the crashing of what she assumed to be a lamp. Or was it the alarm clock? Either would do.

She plucked a final Oreo from the bag and sauntered out, leaving her bra and clothes behind. Ava was perfectly content to meander across campus in a boy's Pink Floyd t-shirt; in fact, she'd made it all the way back to her brother's place this way. The gaping stares were a bonus.

As usual, her brother wasn't home. She was alone again. After a few fleeting moments of idly walking room to room, Ava sighed. Fine, she thought to herself. I'll go help with the stupid Lantern Festival.

She didn't even bother showering or running a comb through her hair. Really, all she could be bothered to do was throw on a pair of jeans and some flip-flops. How good did she really need to look to help with the damn festival anyway?

Ugh. The sun. And she'd left her good pair of sunglasses at the lad's dorm. All for a good cause, she thought, smiling. She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and marveled at how easily he'd fallen for her tricks. It was only a few beers, some seemingly innocent brushes of the hand, and in spite of his objections about having a girlfriend, he was powerless against those eyes.

Just goes to show you can't trust anyone.

The Oreo's had not been enough to sate her hunger. Glimpsing the time on her phone (9:30AM) she wondered if The Cafe or the Northbay Restaurant would be open yet. She altered her course; the Lantern Festival could wait. The Greeks were probably all over that, considering this whole thing was for them anyway.

She stood outside of the Northbay Restaurant and tried to look in through the windows, cupping her hands around her eyes. The sign outside said they opened at 9AM. Not seeing anyone, she rapped on the glass with her knuckle. Ava knew that Daphne worked here, but not having much relation with the Greeks, she wasn't sure what to expect.

Daphne drove fast... Well the speed limit but she got to work as fast as she could. She spotted Ava at the doors, wondering why the restaurant wasn't open. "Sorry had a late start to the morning." Daphne sighed, opening the front door. She made her way around back and quickly got into uniform. Her phone buzzed to life with 2 text messages. The first one was from Bobby.

“Going to work, you ought to have seen Steph this morning. Any idea what happened? Anyways I’ll be attending I guess, Steph will murder me if I don’t.”

From: Bobby Ceres


Daphne quickly replied with a message.

To: Bobby Ceres

"Oh I'm sure Stephanie is just being her normal self... Or maybe its puberty? And I'm happy to hear that.. Its been a while since we hung out and I figured why not tonight?"

Daphne laughed and clicked send. She then checked her next message.

Dammit! I’m late for work and still hungover, I’ll be at the festival or whatever though, I’ll meet you there with Bobby and Brad even if I have to drag them both. Later.”

From: Stephanie Ceres

To: Stephanie Ceres

"Sounds good. I'm ready for a night of fun. I'm working till 5 so maybe we can meet up at 7?"

She hit send and put her clothes and phone into her work locker. She quickly left the locker room and went out to the front and waited for customers.

"Yeah, um-" But she was cut off by Daphne's rush to the back. She groaned with frustration, snagging a menu from the hostess stand and flopping down in a booth. She glanced arbitrarily over the food items, not seeing quite what she wanted.

Ava waited somewhat impatiently for Daphne to come take her order. She drummed her fingers on the table, and - Oh! Was that a buzz? She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

No messages.

Phantom vibrations or something. When Daphne reemerged in uniform, she sat up. "Hey, um, can I get some coffee? And some eggs? Oh, and have you got any bacon?"

Where was everyone? Seriously, was everyone working on that stupid Lantern Festival? Good. At least when she got there, she wouldn't have to do any actual work. And with her brother gone, she would most likely be attending alone. If Ava had her way, she certainly wouldn't be leaving alone.

I watched as Ava seated herself at a booth. "Hey, um, can I get some coffee? And some eggs? Oh, and have you got any bacon?" she asked. "Yeah sure, I'll be back in a few." Daphne said, scribbling the order down on her notepad and the racing back to the kitchen. She hung the order on a line which the cooks would read and then make the food. Daphne then went to find the coffee maker and poured a cup of coffee. She grabbed a couple cremes and sugars and walked back into the front. "Here you go." Daphne smiled... The restaurant was dead... She wished she didn't have to wait... She wanted to see her friends.

After a while Daphne headed back to the kitchen to complete the rest of her order. She brought back the eggs and bacon and set them before Ava. "You going to the lantern festival?" Daphne asks casually... It would be a surprise to hear no seeing as basically everyone goes and you'd be crazy no to..

Ava's shoulders seemed to relax as soon as the coffee was put in front of her. She cupped her hands around it, intertwining her fingers, and for a moment just inhaled it. Then, abruptly, she picked up her fork and began stabbing at the eggs to break the yolk. She'd taken a bite of bacon as Daphne spoke.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, chewing her bacon sloppily. She glanced up at Daphne again; did she want something else? After a forkful of eggs, Ava was beginning to wonder. "Why?" Surely no one actually cared if she was going or not.

"Oh just wondering." Daphne replied. She took her hand out of her pocket and glanced at her watch. She should be having a break now. She glanced at Ava. She wouldn't be finished for another 10 minutes so why not get some break time in. Daphne went back to the kitchen and put her tray back and headed for the locker room. She grabbed her phone and saw 1 new message from Amanda.

I was sleeping, you know, not everyone gets up this early. c: I'm totally going, wouldn't miss it for anything.
From: Amanda Cyprus

She smiled and texted back.

"Oh yeah stupid me... Anyways I'm looking forward to tonight! See you later."

She hit enter and slid her phone into her pocket. There was a knock on the door and she went to go open it. It was her boss. She figured it was probably because of her being late to work... "Hey Daphne, since the festival is going on I figured I'd let you off for the day. I have some other waitresses who have nothing going on tonight and they have agreed to take over your shift." he said. She blinked. "Are you serious?" She asked. He nodded. "Well... Thank you." She smiled, hugging him. "Yeah yeah whatever go have fun." He sighed and left. She grabbed her phone and sent out a text.

To: Amanda Cyprus, Stephanie Ceres, Bobby Ceres, Fin Bacchus
Turns out my boss doesn't want me to work today so I have the day off... Anybody wanna hang out?

She pressed send and took off her uniform. She'd probably take a stop at home to change into some fresh clothes. She would've this morning but she woke up too late. She headed out the back and walked through the alley to her car. She got in and it took her about 10 minutes to get home. She headed straight for her bedroom once there and changed into another outfit. "There we go." She sighed. It was still early morning and she was bored out of her mind. She flipped on the tv and waited for someone to reply to her text.

Ava cleared her plate and drained the coffee mug, leaning back in the chair and stretching her arms. The Pink Floyd shirt was pretty comfortable; she wondered if the boy would miss it. When Daphne had gone into the back room, she took this as her cue to slide on out of the chair and slink out of the Restaurant, and subsequently skip out on the check. Shouldn't be on your damn phone all the time. Whatever happened to customer service anyhow? Ava smirked at her own thought, even giggled a little to herself as she broke into a light jog to get as far from the Restaurant as possible.

With a little food in her belly, she was ready to help out with the festival, however undesirable a project it would be. She walked briskly, humming indistinctly, while her flip flops smacked against her heels. Strictly for fun - and certainly not from superstition - she hopped over every crack in the sidewalk. She found herself wondering (maybe even caring?) if certain people would be there. The Serrure twins? Were they coming? Those kids knew how to party. What about that Fin guy? Or Antares? A huge grin spread across her face when she thought about Antares. That boy made her tingly all over. If only she could get him to look into her eyes, just for a moment, then he'd be all hers.

Her reverie was broken when she came to the Lantern Festival setup. A heavy sigh escaped her and she placed one hand on her hip, another on her brow to shield her eyes from the sun (ugh, the sun). Ava took a few heavy steps, glanced over at the others who were in place, trying to recognize them with the sun in her eyes.

She saw Mack, to whom she'd never actually spoken, and several of the elders. She was surprised at how the hanging lanterns made her feel. Was it excitement? Was Ava actually excited for this festival tonight? She tried to shake it off by imagining all the others sending and receiving texts or phone calls about the festival, like it was the damn Prom or something. Pathetic, really, she thought to herself.

"Ok," she announced. "I'm here. What do you want?"

The walk to the sailing club, which sat right beside the docks, was short. Ram entered through a side door and flicked on the lights of the dark hall. The place was rather empty for a Saturday, most likely due to the festival. But Ram never minded having the place to himself. He showered quickly, dried and then dressed.

Picking up his bags Ram did a quick check of his cellphone. Finding it blinking, an indicator that he had a message, Ram unlocked the screen and tapped into his inbox to find a text message from Leslie.



Ram paused as he read the message, leaning against the door frame with his bag slung over one shoulder. He felt the sides of his mouth twitch into a smile. Leslie was one of those rare people that Ramses loved to be around. Ram quickly sent back a reply,



Ram assumed that Leslie would understand where he wanted to meet him, after all they often hung out at the docks. The main street of Northbay ran right down to the docks and where concrete turned to wooden planks a number of benches appeared, offering a fine view of town and lake. It was here that Ram now aimed himself, locking up the sailing club after himself and wondering past rows of boats.

It took all of five minutes to reach the spot. Ram took a seat where he could watch the street for Leslie's arrival, dumped his bag by his feet and stretching out to let the sun hit as much of him as possible. From here he also had a fine view of the lantern festival preparations and contented himself with watching as he waited for his friend to reply.

---

The sounds from the festival preparation were distracting. Asta, trying to concentrate on her book, found herself constantly glancing up and out to the street as workers walked by and supervisors shouted out instructions. She knew that the work was all for the festival tonight. She was beyond excited at the thought of the festival, after all it had been over ten years since the last one and she only had fond memories of it. But still, she wished that they would be slightly quieter, it wasn't easy to follow her book when shouts from the street kept making her glance up.

Not that all the distractions were bad. Bryce biked past the shop, giving Asta a wave as he whizzed by. Asta smiled and returned the gesture, although she thought that she might have been a bit too slow for him to see. A moment later Bobby entered the store, the opening door temporarily increasing the sounds from outside before shutting with the jingle of it's bell.

"Morning Bobby!" Asta greeted him brightly, finally giving up on her book. She marked the page and placed it back on the counter.
“Well someones up and early.” Bobby's voice was, as always, quiet, but he smiled as he passed the counter. Asta had known him for a month, the length of time he'd been in Northbay and a co-worker with her at the bookstore. She knew he was shy, but she was pleased that he'd began to open up a bit more around her.

“I could go up and get us some coffee if you’d like, it’d only be a minute and I’d get a discount because of my sister.” His suggestion was a good one. Asta, bouncing up from her seat at the counter, stuck her head into the back of the shop where Bobby was collecting books to restock the shelves,
"I don't drink coffee, but I'd be keen for a hot chocolate!" Asta responded happily. She stuck a hand into her pocket, certain that she'd put some spare change in there. Sure enough she pulled out a note. Waving it for Bobby to see Asta added, "Maybe get some lemon cakes too? My shout."

It may have still been early morning and not long after breakfast, but Asta had a sweet tooth. Her favourite treat? Lemon cakes. The cafe always did the best.

---

Broom in hand, Mack set to sweeping up the sand he had created. He didn't quite trust himself enough to call on his winds to blow the sand out of the street, after all there was as good a chance as any that he would just end up creating more sand. As he swept Mack's eye wondered over those working on the street. There was a mixture of volunteers, elders and people that had just come to have a quick look. Others were just passing through. Mack spotted Bryce cycling down the street. Where he was off to at such an early hour Mack couldn't say.

A bit further up the street Mack spotted Viona Jarlson, the descendent of Thor and apparently another festival helper. Of course he knew her, most people knew everyone in the town, but he wouldn't call them friends. In fact he tended to avoid her. It was a silly reason really, after all she couldn't help her ancestor as much as he could his. Still no matter how he looked at it there was little he could do to end his fear of lightning. And since she was able to control lightning, he naturally avoided her.
He turned away, his eyes landing on another new arrival to the festival helpers: Ava Apophis. Mack had never spoken to Apep's descendent so he didn't know her too well, but he was still surprised to see her here, offering help.
"I'm here. What do you want?" She announced. Mack glanced over his shoulder to see if one of the elders would direct her. Seeing no one nearby he took a step forward, beginning to draw out his hammer. Except before he could reach the girl Calypso appeared.

Mack wasn't able to catch what was said between the two as Fin Bacchus suddenly appeared on the street.
“I swear sleep in and you miss all the fun,” He said before sweeping a hand at the covering of sand, “What happened here?”
Mack shrugged, a sheepish smile appearing on his face.
"I almost fell off a ladder. Had to call some winds to save me and..." He nodded at the sand on the street. He couldn't help that his winds naturally wanted to turn into sandstorms, it was just a part of his power.

“Did you need any help cleaning it up?” Fin's offer brought a smile to Mack's face,
"Yeah, that'd be... Mack's sentence trailed off as Fin's attention was drawn to something over Mack's shoulder and a moment later Fin left with a promise to talk to him later. Shaking his head and giving a 'what can you do' shrug of his shoulders, Mack returned to his sweeping, hoping that next time someone offered help they weren't distracted by a pretty face.

“What a way to start the day.” Odessa replied to Fin with a bit of a shrug as she watched the commotion play out. She watched as Layla and a few others came to the girl’s aid. The crash had looked pretty rough and it seemed like Tony couldn’t get away fast enough. Odessa vaguely noticed as the rest of the group went in to be seated without her apparently. It wasn’t as if she was unused to being excluded and it seemed like Tony probably needed a minute to collect himself anyway. Walking in after the other Greeks she took a moment to look around and take note of who else had decided to have breakfast in town this morning.

As she walked up to the counter and took a seat, she smiled at the other waitress on duty whom Odessa knew from the pub. Quickly she ordered a ham and cheese omelet and a side of wheat toast before slipping out of her thin cardigan and tucking her sunglasses away in her bag. She was positively starving and the breakfast bar she had forced herself to eat at 6:30 this morning was long gone. There was also the small fact that since she burned so much excess energy that her appetite was usually ravenous. She supposed it paid to be an Ares kid, the metabolism was out of sight.

Digging in to the steaming plate that was set before her, Odessa felt like she was in heaven. Food was one of her loves and she had never been the kind of girl that worried about what other people thought of her. So what if she could eat an entire pizza by herself and she thought salad was a curse word? There wasn’t anything wrong with that.




Julian had only had one customer all day and it had been Izzy Dias, who as a rule of thumb he was quite fond of. Of course he greeted her as Your Highness and flirted shamelessly with her until she picked out what she wanted and took her leave. Watching her walk away he was reminded of a certain night they shared that he wouldn’t mind reliving again. There was always the festival later for all that, of course by then there’d be a plethora of people around who he might take a shine to.

Lazily resuming his position behind the counter he went back to his magazine and started thinking about food. He never ate breakfast…or lunch for that matter, he just didn’t have the patience to wait for it to cook or to even go to a restaurant and order anything. For this reason he tended to live off candy, beef jerky and beer. Your typical diet of a twenty-one year old bachelor.

It was then that he heard the jingle of the bell signaling the arrival of a customer, more than happy to break up the monotony he looked up expectantly only to come face to face with Layla, his co-worker and her cats apparently.

“Oh, it’s just you. Hey, it’s been dead. Enjoy.” He remarked casually as he let his feet drop to the floor with a thud as he leaned in to take a closer look at the felines on the counter top. Julian was a fan of animals and often respected them more than most people. Plus he was a shape shifter after all; he spent half his time wandering around in one animal form or another, his favorite being the domestic house cat.

“I like the cats. They give the place a certain je ne sais quoi. Anyway, catch you later.” Julian finished as he gathered his things and headed for the door. He and Layla didn’t exactly get along great. They weren’t enemies by any means just two totally different types of people and if he wasn’t mistaken he made her uneasy.

Decided that he would leave his car at the store for now he decided to walk the rest of the way into the center of town where all the preparations were taking place. What better time to scope out what could be the event of the century? As he pulled out a crooked cigarette and lit it with the black bic he kept in his pocket he found himself in front of the pub. “Nah, too early. Not that much of a degenerate.” The tall, lanky boy said to himself out loud. His smooth baritone, comforting and soothing even to his own ears.

It was then he spotted his sister and Ava and with a crooked grin he walked over to the pair, overhearing most of their conversation on his way over. Tucking his hand into the pockets of his jeans he leaned against the wooden pillar holding up a booth still in the process of being assembled.

“I was just about to ask the same question.” Jules replied in greeting as he took a drag from the still lit cigarette dangling from his pouty lips. “I plan on getting properly wasted and I just can’t do it on my own, it’s not nearly as fun.” He finished with a cheeky grin and a wink in Ava’s direction.

"It's strange for me to be here, is it?" Calypso gave a small sly smile as Ava noticeably let her eye’s rove her body. “Strange, out of characters, bizarre, odd” Calypso replied counting out each adjective on her fingers as she spoke them, “Take your pick Love.”

"And what about you? Playing helpy helperton today, are we?" Calypso replied with light laughter, “Helpy helperton?” She questioned playfully. Though before responding to the actual question she paused for a moment as she looked across the street for a moment thinking about what to tell the brunette. She had been on her way to see her brother, who was most likely working, but she didn’t need to tell Ava that. “Not on your life, a may be a natural born actress, but let’s leave that role to one of the extras. I was just one my way to buy a fish from the pet store, I’m hoping for a black goldfish, probably name it Julie. What do you think?” She gave the Ava a wry grin and she told her the story about getting a fish.

"Are you going tonight?" Calypso paused for moment seeming to think about whether she was going to go or not, but rather she was thinking about Ava’s brother being away. It was obvious, at least to her, how close Ava was to her brother and Calypso had her suspicions about Ava’s true personality coming out around him. “What, afraid to make a decision with your brother away?” Calypso asked flippantly before she heard another voice speak out from behind her. “I was just about to ask the same question. I plan on getting properly wasted and I just can’t do it on my own, it’s not nearly as fun.”

Of course Calypso knew the voice anywhere, and so she just rolled her eyes playfully not turning to face him yet, still addressing Ava. “Of course, no way I’d ever miss out so much potential drama.” She answered with a grin knowing Ava would have completely agreed with that statement, though Calypso would have still said it if the recipient of her comment hadn’t agreed. “Besides I’m not about to the let people think that we have grown complacent.” This time Calypso looked over her shoulder at Julian giving him a full view of the mischievous glint in her eyes and the sly smile of her face. Of course the ‘we’ she had mentioned was her and Julian, her partner in all things manipulative, dramatic and chaotic.

“And you Julie, aren’t you lucky you and I are meeting up with Alyssa at the pub before they let the lanterns fly.” She said addressing Julie’s early statement, a small but real smile lighting up her features. She loved her twin brother and was always glad there was one person out there who knew her through and through.

“You’re welcome to join us if you want.” Calypso said offhandedly to Ava seemingly not caring, since she knew neither Julian nor Alyssa would care if the brunette came with them. Though then her face twisted from uncaring into a daring smirk and her voice changed tone to match. “That is if you think you can keep up Love.”

Julian smiled brightly at his twin at the mention of Alyssa and the pub, he could care less about lighting a lantern and setting it loose but he did care whether or not they enjoyed themselves. Tonight would probably involve some sort of mischief, ample amounts of alcohol and apparently two very attractive girls to distract him. At least if Ava decided she wanted to join them, which judging by the way she kept looking at his sister and himself was a distinct possibility.

“Complacent, us? If only, imagine how boring that’d be. The thought makes me shudder.” He replied with mock fear, his heavy lidded blue eyes going wide with fake shock. Turning his attention back to Ava he watched her quietly, a lopsided grin splashed across his face as she asked to bum a cig. Digging for the crumpled pack in his pocket he pulled them out and produced a single cigarette. Stuffing the pack back into his front pocket he took a step closer to Ava, obviously appreciating her presence and held out the smoke for her to take.

“I suppose I can part with one, for a friend.” Julian said charmingly, his voice a low rumble, as he regarded the girl in front of him. Pulling a lighter from his other pocket he produced a flame for Ava. He was nothing but a perfect gentleman after all.
He took this opportunity to glance at his sister, another wicked smile crossing his classically handsome face, as he noticed the slight change in her demeanor. “I don’t know, Calypso, takes a special sort of person to hang with us. Fearlessness, a sense of adventure, an I don’t give a fuck type of attitude...what do you say Ava? Think you can handle it”Julian finished, cocking his head to the side and casually observing the brunette through a curtain of his flyaway blond hair as he finished his cig and deftly flicked it away.

It was then that he received a text, taking moment to fish his phone out of his pocket he quickly glanced at the message before rolling his eyes and furrowing his brow. He knew Jade, they weren’t extremely close but he supposed he liked her well enough, but a kissing booth? Him? She was aware that most everyone in town detested him and his ancestor, right?
“Listen to this.” He said, preparing to read the message aloud.

Hey everyone! I know this is super last minute, but I was supposed to work the kissing booth and get it organized, but... something came up. I have the following time slots that need to be filled, and I would love you forever if you could take a shift? 6:00-6:30, 7:00-7:30, 8:00-8:30, 9:00-9:30, and 10:00-10:30. The thirty minutes between each time the booth will hold raffles- the money goes to the school playground! Martha will be taking care of the raffles, so after your thirty minutes is up you're free (: Let me know, guys! Again, thanks so much!

“She wants me to man the kissing booth, which has probably got to be one of the worst ideas ever, yeah? Should I do it? Imagine one of those prissy old women, always railing against Loki, standing in line so I can kiss them for charity. Mum would be so proud.” Julian finished with a laugh, certainly entertaining the notion, at least for now.




Ronan pushed his glasses off his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, he could already feel a bit of a headache coming on, probably from his hangover rearing its ugly head yet again. Sighing he pushed away from his desk and went to retrieve more coffee, knowing that if he didn't he’d probably pass out at his desk and completely miss the lantern festival after which his mother would make his life hell. She took her responsibility as an elder very seriously.

As he trudged back to his desk, two reporters were waiting to hand over their articles and photos to be proofread and confirmed before being published. Flipping his glasses back onto his face he sat down with a plop and looked up at the two people standing over him. “Well, let’s get on with it then. Although I will remind you we have deadlines for a reason.” He said a bit tersely looking at the clock, they were really cutting it close and he didn't relish having to rush through and make sure everything was as it should be.

For the next hour and a half he worked steadily making sure that every article, column and picture in his care was properly confirmed and ready for publishing. When Ronan finally handed off his finished projects he decided to call it a day and finally took a moment to look at his phone.

To: Ariel, Asta, Julian, Leslie, Ronan, Bryce, Chione, Ramses, Fin, Daphne, Izzy, Stephanie.

Message: [GROUP MESSAGE] Hey everyone! I know this is super last minute, but I was supposed to work the kissing booth and get it organized, but... something came up. I have the following time slots that need to be filled, and I would love you forever if you could take a shift? 6:00-6:30, 7:00-7:30, 8:00-8:30, 9:00-9:30, and 10:00-10:30. The thirty minutes between each time the booth will hold raffles- the money goes to the school playground! Martha ((NPC)) will be taking care of the raffles, so after your thirty minutes is up you're free (: Let me know, guys! Again, thanks so much!

Frowning slightly at the thought of having to kiss strange people, he weighed his options and quickly texted back.

To: Jade

Sure thing. I can do the 8-8:30 slot for you if you’d like?

Quickly he pressed send, and figured he’d face his decision when the time came. He knew his mother wanted him to be a part of the festival and it had hurt her feelings a bit when he begged off because of work. Ronan figured he’d kill two birds with one stone. Help out a friend and make his mother happy…every boy’s dream. Sometimes he swore he was the most boring person on the planet.

Scrolling further into his phone he smiled shyly as he read the text he received from Viona.

To: Ronan

Hey, I better see you at the festival tonight~

Taking a moment to think about what he wanted to say to the friend he’d had a crush on since they were teenagers he deftly typed out a message before sending it on it’s way.

To: Viona

Of course I’ll be there; I’ll be manning the kissing booth apparently. If you’re lucky I’ll give you one for free.

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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.

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.