[[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

[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."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina was holding her breath until Gu Xiang cut the tether with the knife; she's seen similar things before, done with the Small Sciences, but it reminds her of The Dar-- Aleksander more in a way. Merzost. The literal translation is "magic" but its double meaning is "forbidden".

She'd normally feel slightly embarrassed about whatever clothes Tress discovered under her bed, but she gives her a grateful smile instead. "Thanks. That was impressive. I don't know if I could top that with either a truth or a dare."

[tallyyoungblood]

"That was bubbly-making, Tress-la," Tally says, doing a little bit of truth slanting. It was bubbly-making--she knows her tattoo is whirling right now--but it was not bubbly as in fun. She's grateful that Gideon reassured her a little. She probably saw stuff like this all the time in her necromancer world. "Yeah, I think maybe you win?"

[sporesprouter]

"Thanks, I think? I'm not sure it's exactly a game you win... That's only the third time I've actually done that."

[thepurpledanger]

"Here," says Gu Xiang, and passes over a juice box and a little plate full of almond butter and grape jelly squares. "You need to get your strength back if you're going to win Spin the Bottle, too."

[ravkanwitch]

"Tress, just so it's fair... maybe you can ask a truth of me while you're recovering and snacking. I'm the only person who hasn't gone yet." Nina thinks it'll be awfully anti-climactic, though.

[sporesprouter]

She sips on her juice box, thinking. "Okay. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do with it?"

[ravkanwitch]

"Back home? I could do so much political espionage with just one day." Nina muses on the question a little more. "Here? ...I'd get all the good gossip. Perhaps prank a few people."