IC Elkwood Town

[Dusk]

LUCIO

"Expensive is one word for extortion." Lucio said bluntly. And extortion was perhaps the best word when it came to the abusive costs of their books.

"Money isn't the only reason to break into someone's house. Maybe I just want to wreck up the place," He said, the corners of his mouth barely upturned. But Lucio could appreciate Edwin's calmness about the matter, even if it was disappointing. The way he had startled upon their first meeting implied it would be easy to fluster him, but that did not prove the case. Lucio would have to keep trying. He just needed to find the right button to push.

"Depends on the party." Although largely in agreement with Edwin's statement, there were some parties which could be fun. The smaller ones where your friends got drunk and made harmless fools of themselves, giving you ammo to tease them for weeks to come.

"You're welcome," the Werefeline said, accepting of his position as an excuse. "But try saying 'no'."

"Hm," Lucio mused to himself following Edwin's tangent about Russ, Russ's workout, and stashed snacks. "I'll pass, but thanks," was his response to the offering of food. He liked salty foods, but he wasn't particularly hungry, and he didn't particularly enjoy plain nuts. They had to be in something, such as bread or a sauce.

Edwin took the lead toward Lucio's dorm, but the man did not immediately follow. Instead, the back of Edwin's messy black hair became a splotch on the scenery as Lucio retrieved his phone from his pocket. He put in his pin and clicked on messenger, immediately reminded of the girl's message from earlier. His brows furrowed, right. Lucio scrolled down the list until he found the number of his roommate. He tapped out a quick message to the other man.

Are you home?

Message sent. The 'are' had been written in lowercase, but his phone had autocorrected it to caps, which was fine. His phone loosely held in his hand, Lucio started after Edwin. He didn't have to speed to catch up with him, his naturally larger steps putting him beside Edwin relatively quickly. It didn't matter if Russ was home or not, and Lucio would have his answer soon enough either way, so it hadn't been necessary to send the text, he assessed. But it did no harm, either.

Lucio was a creature of warm weather. He preferred the heat. Did best in it. But the cool air did not perturb him. It was a presence against his skin, chilling his neck and face, but it did not make him cold, even if he preferred the weather 20 degrees hotter. Their walk was one of even strides and long pauses with sparse conversation, most of which Edwin started. Lucio would've been happy to walk in silence, but he enjoyed talking as long as it was about something interesting. Edwin's first topic was perhaps the most boring one he could've picked. But it was relevant, and Lucio could forgive him being boring this once.

"Same," he replied. So far as projects went, the taller man was largely situated. He still had a few to work on, but they weren't anything he was going to do that day. "Nothing in particular," Lucio said, swinging his arms as he walked. "I'll be working on Biology. I like it, but the professor — Ms Cooper — has a kink for coursework." He shrugged, and the listened to Edwin go over his own favourite subjects. The other man seemed to like all of them.

"Russ is right. I am pretty smart," Lucio said flatly, as if reciting a mathematics problem. Lucio did not lack confidence in his intelligence, if anything, he'd been told he could be a bit smug about it. "I hear you're no slouch either."

"Anatomy is my favourite, personally," He returned. And then he cringed internally as he asked the most basic of questions. "What's your Major?" Best to get that mandatory one out of the way.

Lucio huffed at Edwin's declared costume. He had no trouble imagining the gangly man clothed in black with bright highlights, his natural frame making the bones appear all the more elongated. "Do you like to dress up?"

Unprompted, Edwin declared he was going to order food for their session. Lucio shrugged. He didn't feel particularly hungry yet, but eating was fine. He could always save it. More likely, they were going to study long enough that he would want the food. From what he could tell, Edwin was game to study for most of the day, and Lucio was game to study until he grew bored.

"Sure," Lucio responded. "Whatever you want. I'm not picky." And it was true. As a rule, Lucio didn't lie for others' benefit.

"Sokaris, hm?" Lucio pondered the little lark as it flitted around above its Magi's head. Apparently, the bird was not his fan. Lucio knew he could be a divisive person, but he hadn't done anything to Edwin or his little bird yet. Whatever the bird conveyed to Edwin caused the Magi to laugh, and Lucio tilted his head slightly. It was a satisfying sound, and the look of delight on the other man's face conveyed a pleasant sincerity.

"Smart bird," Lucio said, the crack of a smile on his lips. Edwin was going to die, everyone was eventually.

"I did warn you about sharing your information."

「 @sele @PavellumPendulum 」

Code by wren.

 

[sele]

Location: Elkwood, Halloween Party @ a fancy campus frat house. | Tag: @Ghostie 's Aura & Rocky, @peach 's Emmy
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Hunter damn well knew he didn't have much for 'good karma' banked, if that shit existed at all. He just wasn't the kind of person who lived the right enough way or with good enough intentions to win anything over like that from the universe – he'd given up on hoping on lucky breaks like that.

His 'good karma' was in people. His brother, his friends – the literal damn goddess dancing with and smiling at him.

Now, he'd been a fun time for a handful of women who were obviously way out of his league for anything long-term, and he sure as hell didn't mind being 'used.' He fully expected that night to pan out the same way. Just the same, he'd ride the high of it in gorgeous company as long as it lasted.

Hunter wasn't from a bad family, or 'the wrong side of the tracks,' or anything else he could have been born to to put a mark on his life. He had good folks and a healthy upbringing. Nah, he'd done it all himself. He just had too much chaos and restlessness in him to sit still and focus well and long enough to fit a slow-paced, traditional system. A bureaucratic office job sounded worse than prison, frankly.

At least he'd just managed to scrape by to get into Elkwood. Did he have a plan for after? He rarely looked that far ahead. Same as that Halloween night – tomorrow didn't matter, only the moment. And the moment shone.

Hunter grinned at Aura's touch of wholesome bravado. She pressed questions directly – with sharp eyes and a glint of charm. That was hot as hell. They discovered that their mutual friends hadn't told either of them much about each other before this – basically – blind date. Only that they each could look forward to a good time.

"I'm good with mystery if you are then, eh?" Hunter proposed through a slanted grin while they danced, catching a glimpse of her gaze when she looked up his way. Let them be their costumes. Let them each be a fantasy through the spectral night.

"A mighty poor outlaw, may-am." Hunter agreed with Aura about an outlaw needing to know how to show a girl a good time. Of course, with his shit-terrible cowboy twang – he played it up for her amusement.

He accepted the air of challenge where she poked friendly fun at him – Hunter looped an arm around Aura's waist, pressing his forearm into her abdomen. Just as swift, he pulled her weight from the floor and spun a half circle before setting her back to her feet.

"Var-mints, may-am." He jokingly explained the necessity for moving her to a new spot. Then, Hunter nodded at said 'varmints' approaching – Rocky and Em. He was gonna start running out of weirdo cowboy slang, but a few good yeehaws and yips were still available, and he could just play the whole (limited) track all over again anyway.

While Rocky handed Hunter the whiskey sour – and noted how he and Aura were out-dancing them – Hunter's grin enlivened. He let his arm slip away from Aura's waist, giving her easier freedom to collect her own drink from Emmy.

"Ye-all, bring me the best dance partner, you best believe we'll yeehaw some circles around'ja." Oh my god even Hunter was in pain trying to keep cowboying, but he was too stubborn to let it go while in this get up. Besides, he was Aura's outlaw now, for however long she'd keep him.

credits

 

[Ghostie]

hh

hh

AURA

Aura was grateful, over the moon that she'd found such amazing people to spend her college years with. Sure she wasn't officially a part of the Punks yet, and she wasn't even sure if they'd welcome her with open arms; but she was elated to know she'd found people she could just be with.

It was by pure happenstance Aura had even met Emelie in the first place! The two had just so happened to be interviewed for their school's question of the day "which was which major do you think the other would be in based on their outfits" and their answers were so wholesome they basically became besties from then on! They also found out they were basically in the same major, so there was that too!

And that moment had led them here, spending a wild, fun and unforgettable night with Georgie before he got eaten, Daphne Blake and a smooth-talking cowboy that she wanted to get to know much better.

Aura bit her lip through a smile as Hunter grinned at her. There was that damned smile again! He knew exactly what he was doing and he knew it was working for him too. If it wasn't broke why did it need fixing? Only thing that needed to be fixed was his terrible southern drawl. But his trying was cute. "Mystery is fun," she started with a small smirk, "we are meeting on one of the most mysterious nights, don't ya think?"

Aura let out a light yelp, her small scream turning into giggles as she was whisked into the air. 'Fucking adorable.' So he was hot and strong. Goddamn outlaws!

She shimmied over towards Emmy, gladly accepting the other solo cup to take a much needed sip of her drink. "Thanks for the drink Daph. Mr. Sterling here kept me in good company while y'all were away fetching the spirits." Aura laughed, mouthing a quick 'thank you' to Em before she took another sip of her drink.

「 @sele @peach 」

LOCATION | INTERACTIONS | MENTIONS

code by wren.

 

[Ghostie]

hh

hh

ROCKY

Seeing the chemistry between Hunter and Aura was so palpable, it was hard for Osborne to understand how he didn't see it coming like Em had. She was so in tune with the chemistry between others that it was a wonder how she was a light magi and not a love magi. It was a bit scary how good her skills were. The obvious attraction between Aura and Hunter was just another example.

"Goddamn you're the worst sounding cowboy I've ever met, Sterling! Aura's gonna have to teach you how the drawl is done being a country native and all." Rocky teased, taking a swig of his drink as he swayed slightly next to Emmy. "C'mon Daphne, we can't let them out dance us!" He feigned a worried expression as he spun Em, lightly tugging her into him so he could plant a kiss on her head.

"What plans did we have for the rest of the night when this is all over? We thinking huge after party with these guys, small after party with just us and maybe a few of our dudes or just chilling and getting some food?"

「 @sele @peach 」

LOCATION | INTERACTIONS | MENTIONS

code by wren.

 

[sele]

Location: Elkwood University dorms. | Tag: @Dusk 's Lucio.
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The walk from the picnic table toward Lucio & Russ's dorm was a stroll through more than just the crisp autumn chill. It felt cliché as hell to consider somebody in terms of 'enigma,' but Lucio was a difficult read. From one moment, Lucio seemed perhaps as imperturbable as any mirror-still mountain lake. Possibly just as cold – not necessarily in a cruel way, though? Crisp. To the point.

'Maybe I just want to wreck up the place.' Oh.

That comment had caught Edwin unexpectedly enough as a pebble suddenly playing staccato with his step. Edwin had only given Lucio a side glance at that with an uneven (and uncertain) acknowledging grin. Well, of course it was a joke (right?), but it'd not been anything Edwin had expected from his surface take on Lucio yet.

What complicated that process to attempt to get a read on Lucio's nature even more, of course, was that Edwin was in his own head about how he himself seemed to his new study partner. He had started off with as poor an impression as anyone could make. There was a silver lining to that, though: Surely he couldn't come off worse now, there was only up!

Ultimately, it all would be what it would be.

To Lucio's other brief replies, Edwin offered similar notes of acknowledgment – a nod, a glance, an accepting shrug here or there. Although they were newer acquaintances, and though Lucio's personality notes were yet more difficult to discern, Edwin did gather a sense for why Lucio and Russ probably got on.

Lucio was brief, to the point, and seemed even-keel. Russ wasn't exactly verbose nor dramatic either. That contributed to Russ's charm in Edwin's mind – he was steadfast, stable, and didn't make constant social demands. It was so relieving to be able to just exist near to someone when they hung out without an anxious expectation to fill their time with small talk. They could just be, and still hold such a sense of companionship.

Was that how Lucio and Russ coexisted, too? Edwin was brought solidly back to Lucio in the present moment by the chase of tensing goosebumps that caught Edwin a little off-guard following Lucio's direct instruction:

'But try saying `no`.'

His grin remain an uneven slant, but it was more genuine this time.

"Yeah. No, you're right." He'd agreed candidly on an oddly relieved exhale; as though he'd only then realized that saying no in life was an option.

Their resumed silence for awhile felt a little less intense than an earlier bout of it – in the sense that, at least in Edwin's head, the initial awkwardness was blunted by time and left behind at the picnic table a little bit. It became something more familiar to his default.

Edwin had pleasantly perked at the notion of someone else who went way too hard on their projects like he did when Lucio confirmed all of his bigger assignments on the semester were completed. He'd given Lucio a cheerier side glance, then reeled that back in with a lazy, single-shoulder shrug.

"Ms Cooper!" Edwin blurted the professor's name on a short laugh after Lucio had mentioned her. "I had her one semester, she has to have an army of TAs, no life, or," Edwin paused only to weigh how in the hell else Cooper managed to grade everything. "Both." Yep. Both. Had to be both. Edwin broke into what might initially seem an unrelated tangent.

"You know how many shots they limit you to at the coffee shop in one order? Eight. You know which professor drove me to discovering that? Cooper." In a way, it might have seemed like a strangely fond memory by the light way Edwin recalled the experience.

"Anatomy? Cool." He'd actually meant it, though it probably came off as conversational politeness. "I'm in engineering. I considered the biomedical route, but what I really love is aerospace engineering."

Edwin's glance pulled skyward into the gray above. It didn't matter that there were swollen clouds looming low – he still felt a thrill at a quiet dreamer's possibilities. He came back to earth, dragged by another hint of a shrug tensing into one rangy shoulder.

He didn't weigh their interaction down with probably obvious explanations about his skyward leaning. Edwin had realized awhile ago that he probably had an aerospace bias for being a wind magi with a bird for a familiar. There was undoubtedly more to it than that, but these were the easy elements to quickly clutch.

Edwin considered the direct ownership Lucio made about his own intelligence. He tested how that felt when he replied to Lucio noting that Russ had also told the guy that Edwin was no academic slouch either.

"Ha – yeah." Okay, not the best performance, but Edwin wasn't completely talented at shunting direct praise upon himself. He wasn't particularly skilled at anything direct about himself, really. His interests especially.

'Do you like to dress up?'

A jolt of adrenaline itched through his skin at the question – it investigated his personal preferences, and he had no compass yet to properly read if Lucio thought costumes were stupid or not. Edwin was a social chameleon, and he had no colors to hide himself into.

"I uh..., well it's just silly fun. Sure, I think it's okay." He fumbled. What he felt was that yes, Halloween was the best holiday in the year, and he privately lamented adulthood only in the sense of lost freedom to be ridiculous and accepted for it.

"It's nice to be something else sometimes." Braver, scarier, funnier, more attractive – any number of other traits that didn't always fit in the right ways with everyday life otherwise.

Regarding food, without input on type from Lucio, Edwin nodded. He'd figure something out. Pizza was the usual obvious for most in college he'd discovered, but chow mein called to him.

Sokaris, the little blackbird with a streak of white, darted around more frantically, 'yelling' at Edwin through musical trilling. The omens of doom he'd mentioned to Lucio, of course. No one should so fondly smile while notions of death were sung over them, but Edwin adored his familiar, and was also acquainted enough by now with his songs of ruin.

"I – oh."

Edwin tumbled back to earth again, though he still carried hints of that fond expression he'd given to Sokaris while he considered Lucio – chiding him again for giving away too much exploitable information. So maybe he should swing the topic back to Lucio?

"Biology, anatomy – wait, are you in biomedical engineering? Oh." He'd seemed oddly hopeful, like he might have almost discovered another genuine point of relation – like how they both had already finished major projects in advance. But he punctuated his hope.

"Going into medicine maybe?" Edwin probed. "Haha, I heard about one professor who tested some premed students by showing them a video of an explicit c-section. Hunter was in this class, right? Just some basic course, but people were talking about their career goals and a bunch said they wanted to be doctors. Next class? Video. Honestly, I wish I could have seen their faces – Hunter laughed so much telling me."

While he spoke, Edwin wandered into the dorm building with a comfortable familiarity – he'd been there numerous times to hang out with Russ. He knew his way to their door that his feet just took to muscle memory toward it without much thought.

Meanwhile, pulled out his phone to browse for a food option – but then he was staring at his reflection in the dark, dead screen. Oh right.

"When we get in, mind if I charge?" Meaning, did Lucio have a cord he could borrow? He also decided to test being more direct. Lucio was an example for this, and Edwin was caught between his usual withholding about his interests, and being a social chameleon.

"I like Halloween." He randomly declared. It was simple, it was dumb. He still felt inwardly a bit proud of himself anyway.

credits

 

[sele]

Location: Elkwood, Halloween Party @ a fancy campus frat house. | Tag: @Ghostie 's Aura & Rocky, @peach 's Emmy
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Aura was into the mystery approach – that encouraged Hunter. They were halfway into the personas of their costumes, and half themselves. It was some novel, liminal place Halloween allowed people to exist. He couldn't have hoped for a better set up, honestly.

"You're right. Or uh. Yes may-am." He initially agreed as Sterling, but remembered his cowboy get up.

Her excited shrill that sparkled off into giggles with the twirl was music to the damn soul. Didn't hurt that the sight – scent, touch, all of it – were alluring, too. Hunter's smile was genuine, beyond flirtatious games or whimsical teasing. Shit, she actually made him feel almost boyish – don't look too eager, Sterling.

With the arrival of their mutual friends and the offered drinks, Hunter peeked an amber glance up over the rim of his cup. Mischief caught his look toward Rocky and Em with the affirmation he'd been good company in their absence. When he lowered the drink, he made some goofy impression of a proud, gentlemanly cowboy.

More so while his friend trolled how incredibly shit his cowboy act was. Hunter tipped the front of his hat with his middle finger toward Rocky.

"Thank'ya, pard-nur." He clicked his tongue with a wink at Rocky, followed by a kiss to the air his way.

With Rocky and Em joining to dance, Hunter's glance sparked back toward Aura. "We gonna let them even think they got a shot?" He challenged.

Hell naw.

Hunter shifted his drink to the hand farthest from Aura and reached his free right toward her to take. Once her fingers smoothed into his palm, they'd ride the beat again together.

"Plans?" Hunter scoffed. That was probably all Rocky even needed. When did Hunter have plans? He laughed to punctuate the point and raised his hand over Aura's head to spiral her through a golden twirl.

credits

 

[Ghostie]

hh

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AURA

Aura let out another light laugh at the cowboy's atrocious accent. His goofiness was something she was enjoying, glad they could all let go for the night. She and her friends weren't college students for the time being — they were a ragtag bunch made up of a fierce fantasy goddess, a quick-thinking fashionista, a confident cowboy and (sorry for Rocky) a damsel in distress in a raincoat. Tonight was their night of imagination — and a bit of fascination.

She wasn't sure how much help she could give Hunter with his accent considering she never had to fake hers. She was a Tennessee native born and raised. "Hey, the man's trying Rock. And you can't tell me he isn't funny." Aura took another sip of her drink as the two guys poked fun at each other.

Slipping her hand in his with a smirk, Aura couldn't help but shake her head. "I love Em, but she knows we're both a little competitive." She swayed to the music with Hunter once again, briefly looking towards Rocky once he asked about the night's future events. For once, Aura hadn't really been thinking that far ahead. She was too busy enjoying the moment. Too busy to notice the green eyes scanning her body as she danced with Hunter.

Across the room, Austin Kroll stands against the wall — idly people watching at first until his eyes land on the almost glowing silhouette that was Aura Crescent. It'd been a little over two years since the two had broken up. The whole ordeal was abhorrent — and that was putting it mildly! Seeing him would be fate's cruel twist to the knife in her gut. He knew that, yet he still made his way over to the woman and her group of friends.

"I don't know, maybe we should—" Aura started to voice her opinions about their after party plans until her voice basically caught in her throat once she realized who the man dressed like Billy Loomis was.

"Is that Aura Crescent?!" Austin put a smile on his face as he interrupted her. She knew it was fake, but damn he always was an amazing actor. "It's been a long time Lovette. The last place I expected to see you was at a college party." He dismissively looked her dance partner up and down as he sipped his drink. Aura noticed.

Aura would've audibly groaned, but she didn't want to show her friends just how much it bothered her. So instead she put on a smile, but she couldn't help the slight hint of acid in her tone as she spoke. "Austin, hi! You always did know how to spoil a good time." She chuckled dryly, trying make her comment sound sarcastic(ish), but only came off as her being a bitch. Oh well, it was what he deserved.

"Friends, this is my—" she wished it was socially acceptable to refer to your exes as mistakes, "old friend Austin. Austin this is Emmy, Rocky and Hunter." Aura gestured towards each of her friends as she introduced them, speaking the words 'old friend' through gritted teeth. Why was it always so hard for her to hide her facial expressions?

"Old friend?" Austin chuckled with a nonchalant nod of his head. "Get a load of this girl," he nudged Hunter's shoulder with the same hand he held his drink in as if they were close friends — even though he knew that was the last thing he and Hunter Sterling would ever be in this or any lifetime. He took another swig of his drink. "Too embarrassed to refer to me as your ex?" Austin looked back at Aura and she shrugged with a nod.

"Eh, you said it, not me." Aura sighed, rolling her eyes as she downed the rest of her drink. She needed it.

「 @sele @peach 」

LOCATION | INTERACTIONS | MENTIONS

code by wren.

 

[peach]

Emmy

Emelie swayed in time with Rocky, her body pressed in his, breaking away only to spin when the dance called for it. Giggles irrupted from her lips behind and between kisses from her favorite boy. " Look at this chemistry, Rox. We can't be beat." She laughed warmly, wiggling her hips to the music.

She tilted back her head, craning her neck to look back at whatever weirdo had showed up and ruined the vibes so early in the night. " Ohhhh brother… This guy STINKS." Emmy groaned, rolling her eyes deeply and hanging lazily onto her lovers arms. " Take a few steps back, EX." Emmy hissed, waving her hands in annoyance at Austin.

Emmy stepped over towards Aura and put an arm over her, stepping authoritatively between her and the strange man. " We're having a really wonderful night and sorry, five's a crowd you know? Gosh, I'm really sorry." Emelie lied, making a condescending pouty face at Austin.

「 @Ghostie @sele 」

Code by Jenamos