[[closed post: jormanen end denam danne näskelle*]]

[ravkanwitch]

There's something about Dark that reminds Nina of Fjerda – maybe it's the cold and the scarcity. She remembers working long shifts at the cannery in Elling when she was trying to maintain her cover. Everything in that town was worn down and washed out. Even the crystal whiteness of the Ice Court is a bit bland in her memory. While she loves the country of Fjerda itself, somehow (maybe it's Djerholm syndrome; that's a linguistics joke), it all makes her slightly glum. And that's when the brightly colored magazines in the library grabbed her attention. What better time to hold a "slumber party" than now, when the end to Dark is around the corner, but the prospect of winter is still lingering?

Her room has been set up for the party ever since the early afternoon. She pushed her furniture against the walls and moved all of her "stuff" out of the way. With the help of Dionysus and the aftermath of their pinball bet, she set up a spread of juice boxes, grapes, and some really strange but quite tasty Japanese grape gummies. He also provided the jelly for some almond butter and jelly squares that Luo Binghe helped to make – after she promised him that she would spend some quality time with him after the slumber party, of course.

She wasn't exactly sure how to decorate... Festive? Girly? Spooky? A little bit of everything? She hung up a few brightly colored streamers as well as some black streamers and then found all of the spare cushions and blankets in the empty rooms on her level of the mansion. The cushions are laid out on the ground for everyone to sit or lay on along with plenty of blankets on top. She did read that spooky stories are typical at a slumber party, so she's scattered a few decorative bones around the room for a spooky vibe... And then the final touch: she found three strings of fairy lights hidden away in a dusty closet and strung them around the ceiling of the room where they're sparkling away right now. Thankfully, there's been no restriction on that whole "electricity" thing. And then... the wait for the guests to arrive.

[[Let's try this slumber party post this way... For each stage of the evening, I'll post a top level Nina comment. Feel free to respond to whatever strikes your fancy and then interact with everyone else as needed! Hopefully we'll end up with multiple short threads!]]

*Be welcome and wait out the storm, in Fjerdan

Comments

[tallyyoungblood]

"I can't fault your skills, Georgia-la," Tally says truthfully. Tally herself is what Georgia would call utterly rubbish at makeup, so she's impressed by the motor skills.

On the other hand, Gideon looks like any Rusty with makeup caked on: totally ugly. "But they would probably be better used on a more, um, willing and not totally scowl-making canvas?" The corner of her mouth twitches up, and she presses her lips together to keep her face neutral.

[sporesprouter]

Tress doesn't know much about makeup but some things, common sense covers. "I think maybe the colors that work best for Georgia don't suit Gideon quite as much?"

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon snorts. "I'm shocked. You mean this doesn't do it for you guys?" She waggles her thankfully-untouched eyebrows around, and throws Nina an exaggerated wink (because she's the one closest to outright laughing, not because she kind of wants to test if Tally cares.) "Anyway, it's my turn, right?"

[ravkanwitch]

That's it; Nina loses it. She starts laughing, tries to (unsuccessfully) hide it as a coughing fit, then manages to just barely squeeze out a "Yes, it's your turn" before excusing herself for another juice box.

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally does care a little, even though she shouldn't. Obviously Gideon is hung up on Harrow, so it shouldn't matter if she flirts a little with Nina, but still. Tally laughs too, genuine but a couple seconds late.

[ninth_cavalier]

The only people who haven't gone yet are Tress and Nina, who started things out, so Gideon guesses she'll let that go full circle and have her be last. She shifts out of the middle of the circle and back to where she'd been sitting, near Tally. "Tress. Truth or dare?"

[sporesprouter]

Tress isn't exactly unlikely to answer things truthfully anyway, so the answer to the question is obvious, if this is supposed to be an actual game. "Dare."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon smirks at her. "Show us the most fucked up thing you can do with your spores."

[sporesprouter]

She hesitates for half a breath. It's dangerous, but so was climbing onto the roof, and Tally did that readily enough. So she nods. "I'll have to go get most of my supplies. I'm going to need a lot of water, though, if you guys can get some ready while I'm gone?"

[georgianosity]

"What in the name of Baby Jesus' sacred pants are spores?"

[ravkanwitch]

Nina's halfway to saying it's something like the Small Sciences before realizing Georgia probably doesn't know what that is either. "Tress has these things called spores and depending on the type, they react with water in a lot of different ways. She did a demonstration at the talent show."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon gets up to get Tress some water, and doesn't even wash her face in the process, because she's not a fucking coward.

[sporesprouter]

Tress returns not too long afterwards, carrying only a small aluminum case about the size of a matchbox and a silver knife. "All right. I'm back."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon brings back a large bucket she'd found in Nina's bathroom, and sets it down in front of Tress, eyeing her materials (especially her knife) with interest.

[sporesprouter]

"Thank you," Tress says as she sits down with the bucket to her side. "Before I start, just a couple things. It's going to look worse than it is, but it's still not the safest thing, so I don't want to keep this going for too long." She sets down the knife, an arm's length away from her. "So after, oh, um... five minutes... if someone could cut the tether with this knife. You'll know it when you see it."

[ravkanwitch]

"Cut the--" Nina is about to ask, but Tress said you'll know it when you see it, so she shrugs. "Don't worry, we've got it."

[thepurpledanger]

"I can do it," says Gu Xiang. She takes the silver knife with care--perhaps surprising care, for anyone who knows her even a little--and holds it at the ready. She knew that it was a good idea to bring knives to the party!

[sporesprouter]

"All right." Tress opens the small box and carefully pulls out three rich black spores, setting them down before closing the box again and setting it at her side opposite the water. She realizes at that point that she didn't think to bring her water dropper, but it isn't strictly speaking necessary. She takes a deep breath and dips a fingertip into the bucket, withdrawing her hand and moving it over the spores, at which point she shakes a drop of water onto them.

She watches, setting her hand back on the edge of the bucket, even as she feels her throat beginning to dry. The spores, bubbling and writhing, seem to almost melt before ballooning in size to about the size of a fist. Tress glances away from the mass for a moment, casting her gaze around the room briefly. It lands on a small rodent skeleton used as part of the decoration. Nearly as soon as it does, the blob of midnight black goo pulses and starts to reshape itself to the form of that skeleton, but looking more as if it's made of tar than bone.

Tress cups her hands and scoops water out of the bucket to her mouth several times, drinking almost greedily. Her gaze goes vacant and the small midnight form cocks its head and runs in a small circle before pushing itself up onto its hind legs and looking around the room. It then drops back down and skitters under Nina's bed, moving... not quite naturally.

What Tress meant by 'tether' makes itself rather clear. A thin black line, almost insubstantial, stretches from her mouth in the direction of the creature. Her skin already looks drier, and her form in general almost seems to be withering. She takes no notice, sitting and staring sightlessly into the middle distance. She, at least, knows what bargain she made.

[thepurpledanger]

Gu Xiang watches Tress start to wither, and her heart jumps into her throat until it feels like she's swallowed a frog. With one decisive slash, she cuts the tether with the silver knife, and then she sets the knife down in a rush and grabs Tress by the shoulders. "Hey! Are you still in there?" she asks. Her eyes are wide and intent.

[tallyyoungblood]

This is, without a doubt, the scariest thing Tally's ever seen. For all that Crowley's supposed to be a demon, his magic seems totally harmless. This is the stuff of horror movies. She reminds herself this is Tress, nice Tress, and she's done this willingly, but it's still majorly creepy-making. Tally digs her nails into her legs, trying not to look scared, but she's gone pretty pale.

[sporesprouter]

Tress blinks a few times, shaking her head a bit as she comes back to herself. "Was that--" she cuts herself off, her voice raspy. She goes back to the bucket, drinking even more quickly (and admittedly a bit more messily) than she did before the whole thing started. As she drinks, her appearance returns to normal, far more quickly than would have been expected. She ultimately straightens and pushes some wet curls out of her face. "Was that five minutes?"

[thepurpledanger]

"I don't know what a minute is, how should I know?" says Gu Xiang, a little sullen.

[georgianosity]

"Sorry," Georgia says, "are we all just going to ignorez-vous how utterly deep into the realms of bonkerosity that was??"

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon hadn't really known what to expect when she'd made this dare, but it hadn't been that. She catches Tally going very still next to her, and runs a reassuring palm up her back without turning to look at her. "Hot damn," she says, admiringly. "That was, in fact, fucked up. And bonkerous."

[sporesprouter]

"Fair enough," Tress says, nodding. "You did it exactly right, Gu Xiang, don't worry. And Nina, there are some clothes under your bed, kind of stuck up in the corner. In case you were missing anything."