Arturo DeGari's Story

Aden shot Pell an unamused look out of the corner of his eye when she hit him with a pillow. He didn't expect any less behavior from her, but he also refused to encourage it in any form or fashion. As usual, her attention didn't stay on anything for long, and she moved on from his presence to calling Jacqueline into the room.

He offered the newest addition to their little gathering a slight wave as he pressed his cigarette back between his lips. He didn't particularly care what the girls were talking about until he heard his name again, and simply arched an eyebrow when Pell chastised him for his attitude before continuing her conversation.

Aden shrugged slightly and leaned back on his free hand, watching Kyle scurry his way into the room and wave excitedly. Idiot, Aden thought, but perhaps Kyle's enthusiasm for people was addicting even to him. Kyle did a good job introducing himself, and then picking up New Kid's name, which was apparently Silas. Even if the scene was entirely too much like Tarzan, at least Kyle managed and it didn't end up in a fit.

Hearing his name again, Aden glanced over at the girls once more, gathering he'd been asked to tag along to town. Both his eyebrows rose this time. Honestly, he had no desire to do anything related with Ceremony. He wouldn't even attend the damn service if it wasn't absolutely, completely, unarguably mandatory (and it was – he'd tried getting out of it before).

Before he could open his mouth to say hell no, a new person presented themselves at the doorway, and seriously, since when did Pell's room become party central? Arturo Degari, also known as Fiona's fucking guard dog and a general pain in the ass. Aden chuckled softly at Jacqueline's response to the request, so much more eloquent than he could ever manage, before taking a long drag from his cigarette and letting the smoke blow out as slow as he could. With a smirk, he snapped his fingers, lighting up Pell's own cancer stick while he was at it. Normally he would have offered some deadpanned comment about her laziness, but sacrifices could be made in favor of blatantly ignoring an authority figure.

Pell Laveau

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Pell’s distaste for her natural lineage was attempting to fight its way through her expression when she fully comprehended the powwow taking place in her bedroom. It stiffed its own efforts, making it as far as a two rows of gritted teeth. The cherry on her cigarette dimmed and disintegrated. Past supremes must have been rolling over in their graves. Craft was becoming a sullied social assembly. Not that Pell personally took any offense, she more or less hated feeling like she owed reverence and high standards to the governing coven queens before her. It was a force of habit. It was a lingering legacy from Andrea. Her mother. Respect your elders. Embrace your bloodline. That sort of thing. She could hear the romance and sincerity of a nearly forgotten maternal tone in her head, some longed for spirit she would never see again. It struck a nerve.

Why did you have to let him take you?

No, he wasn’t real. No way he could be. Just seemed a little too batshit. Who sacrificed themselves to voodoo divinities anyway? Pell’s thoughts intensified. A curtain hissed as it went up in heated color. Pell nonchalantly pressed a thumb and forefinger to her temple, gaze suddenly sweeping the floor. She was anxious from the abundance of excitement in her room, and as she lifted her perspective so that it could find Fiona’s dog, she maintained this sort of cold temperament with little true emotion behind it. A sigh escaped her throat. Fingers relinquished their pity on her memories and snapped with a distinct ‘pop’. Ashes fell to the pine floorboards, window left bare. The spontaneous fire disappeared and took the curtains with it. The room sort of fell silent as she got to her feet, a slow draw bringing a coffin nail to her mouth so that she could pull the nicotine into her lungs. She inhaled deeply. Her cheeks further hollowed, quiet foot steps tugging the attention of Arturo. Her friendliness dissolved into the mood swing of a fleeting memory. There were those problems with authority again. A mass of thick smoke gushed over Arturo’s face as Pell exhaled and clouded his otherwise wolfish, handsome features.

Her air didn’t change when the tobacco and smog faded. She shrugged, some vague agreement on her cousin’s statement. Like telling a wolf not to howl. Dead silence. She pinched the cigarette and pressed its smoldering remainders into the pale flesh of her palm. Pell was resolute, her skin singed and blistered as a good three or four layers of it blistered and peeled away. “All bark,” she crooned, grabbing a purse and squeezing past Arturo and Kyle, no final looks exchanged with Aden or even Jacqueline, “and no bite.” Poor Silas, must have been terrified at that moment. His country corners, his ironed sweaters and handshake gloves. Would he last a week with Pell as a roommate?

There was no goodbye, no explanation, no beckon for those invited or interested to follow. If they wanted to come, they would. She was through with fine print invitations and congeniality. She just sidestepped and exited, fay lavender hair swaying behind her. Even though she thought to stop, to formally greet the other visitor, a shaggy haired serene individual who had no problem inserting himself, she realized at that point there was no point. The general flock of bedroom guests grew out of hand and attracted more than she bargained for. Or was it her own fault? Arturo had the nose of a bloodhound. Damn! It was her fault.

The breaks in what would be spiral stairs if not for grand landings every tenth step found Pell catching a doe-eyed redhead in her arms. Static music pooled in their brief haphazard clinch. Pell furrowed her brow, suddenly shrugging the girl away. Madison’s silhouette swayed and vanished in the distance. Pell noted the dangling headphones as she mused, “You should tell her to fuck herself if she even looks at you. Scampering away like a kicked puppy will only encourage her.” With a heavy breath Pell grabbed the girls fists and unballed them in spite of the fresh injury on her own hand that had started to slowly throb. Her expression softened. A half-smile yanked at her mouth and released a toothy grin, “You know there’s no class today, right? It’s Ceremony.” She laughed, nudged the girl and continued on her way out. When she passed the ancestry room, Rowe of course was isolated and binging on whatever, mumbling and sinking into a couch cushion.

“You’re going to get fat,” she called wayside, satire in her voice, twang on its extremity, “Throwing things and eating bread isn’t really a real regiment.” Apathetic to everyone, she kind of rolled her eyes. She made her way outside, sun scattering over her skin as she hopped down the front stairs and let the rhythm of her walk catch in her swinging hips. A pair of white sunglasses were pressed onto her face as she looked into the horizon, happy to just get out of the ‘house’ and get some shopping done.

Jacqueline watched her maudlin cousin storm out of her own room, just as the dark haired boy entered. She sighed heavly. It didn't take much to set Pell off, it never has and there were countless times Jacqueline run off after her before she did something foolish, but quite frankly, Jacqueline wasn't sure she was up to the task at the moment, she gotten very little sleep, which made for very little patience. Arturo put her in a nasty mood, and while she meant to met up with her to shop, she wasn't about to do it at the moment, not until she calmed a bit.

"There party in here or do you all just live in the same room? The dark haired boy asked and Jacqueline looked at him.

"You must be new." She mused aloud. He was a handsome one, a dark sort of handsome that got girls in trouble. Not unlike Arturo, only as far as Jacqueline was concerned, this lad was accessible and not soaked in magic.

"Dz'is be my cousin's room, now dz'at she's gone, I suggest everyone who does not live 'ere. Vacate. comme maintenant" She said and the tone on her voice, whether they all spoke French or not, told them she meant, 'Like now.'

She gestured to the door before walking out herself. "I am Jacqueline by dz'e way." She said offering her hand to the new boy. " Jacqueline Lavaeu-Ayers. My friends call me, Jacq" She told him.

The new kid, Silas, struck up an easy conversation with Kyle, and Aden didn't blame him - Kyle was easy to get along with. The boy genuinely liked people, was easily excitable, blah blah blah. Silas seemed to take to his friendly demeanor minor faster than he had to any of the others. Which was slightly ironic, if only because Kyle was probably the least normal person around the metaphorical dinner table. But, to each their own.

Pell lost her cool as quick as the flames that struck up in the room. Aden settled back on her bed, leaning on his forearms, watching with an amused smirk around his cigarette as she tried her damnedest to keep it together. He wasn't sure what had set her off, wasn't even sure he cared, but perhaps her 'practicing control' pitch had been true after all.

She was gone in a wave of smoke to the wolf's face that brought a grin to Aden's ever so stoic expression. He probably would have pulled that one himself if he had left first. That was the reason why he hated Pell just a little less than the others - she had just as much problem with authority as he did.

Jaq was talking to a guy he didn't know, someone who showed up just as the drama was descending, but she had a good point mixed in her accented english -- they were crowded in a room that wasn't theirs, and as the main room holder had made her very dramatic exit, it was only fair that they follow after her.

With a sigh, Aden pushed himself off the bed, pulled his cigarette from his lips and smirked at DeGari as he passed. "Trust me. If we wanted to burn the academy down, a couple of cigarette's are the least of your worries." Just as he was about to leave though, a thought occurred to Aden. He had no where to go. Back to his perch, where Mr. B would undoubtedly find him again, or into town with the others. With a sigh, he shot a look over his shoulder. "Hey, Zombie Boy, I'm going on that tour with you."

//sorry I was gone so long, my grandpa died and I needed some time with the family. I have caught up on the posts since I left and will try my best to remain active.

Rather than going around making friends or dealing with ceremony -whatever the hell that is- Bambi decided to scurry back to her room and pretend she never met Madison. Pretend that the lavender-haired beauty had never seen her... Pretend she was home with her kid brother making fried ice-cream sandwiches.

She shuffled past many people, rather embarrassed that she had been so clueless. -Coward. say thank you to that nice girl. she bothered to tell you there wasn't class; which is more than I can say for the rest of these freaks.- Her mom's voice whispered in her ear.

"Shut up, bitch. You aren't even real." Bambi whispered to the voice scratching away at her sanity. She already had to listen to the booming voices of an entire school, the last thing that Bambi needed was a scolding from her dead mother. She ran outside of the crowded school. Bambi nodded at the occasional student -If only someone had bothered to tell you whether or not attendance at this so called ceremony is required. Looks like you will have to start up a conversation.- Her mom jested, causing Bambi to stop in her tracks. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Pell, dragging along another girl she didn't recognize. Having already bothered Pell once today, Bambi went in search of someone else, anyone else...