[hr][center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi4wMDhiOGIuVmtGVFNGUkpJRTVQVlZJLjA/raindrop-splash.regular.webp[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/xer3sr5.png[/img][/center]
 [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Britney[@Punished GN] Layla[@Estylwen] Edict[@AtomicEmperor] & Linqian [@Fernstone]
[code]Cracker Island. The Halloween Festival[/code][/right][hr]


[color=7ABBFF]“Some way to greet an old friend, Vashti.”[/color]

Vashti's neck snapped towards the buzzing. Her face was frozen in a horrific expression like the paintings of a paranoid schizophrenic done on acid: her bottom lip curled out and mouth still hung and twisted from her latest “c’mon”, her noses wrinkled and upturned, her eyes buggy and wide as she gave the littlest of the bees a bleary once over, all of which was trying to escape out from the gullet of a toothy crocodile. Her lips unfroze and mouthed “old friend” as if it was the most perplexing thing someone has ever said to her. A reel of old film spun through and played her fuzzy memory, footage of a familiar bee standing in the background like an extra, before the film caught flame and spun loose. Then her mind went oh, oh, oh oh oh as she realized the truth: this bee was obviously just a no good goddamn liar. They weren’t friends.

What kind of psychopath lied about being friends with someone? 

[color=darkcyan]“Oh my bad, bro, I didn’t recognize you. Now buzz, buzz, Layla, buzz, buzz. I gotta talk to my friend Britney,”[/color] said Vashti as she gave Layla a friendly flashing of fangs. Her smile stretched the limits of her mouth as she fantasized about finding a tall building or a cliff and testing the baby bee’s ability to fly after she tore off its wings. 

[color=f4eb93]"I'm not scared of you, either. In fact. I'll kill you here and now if[i] that's[/i] what you want,"[/color] said Britney. 

[color=darkcyan]“See?”[/color] Vashti gestured to the bees. [color=darkcyan]“Toxic.”[/color]

[color=F5388C]"Woah! Woooooah, God Damn, I guess you really embraced life as Emily's pet lizard!?[/color] Vashti twisted her body so that she could see the approaching dead man without turning her back on Britney’s hive.  [color=F5388C]“Clear the fuck off, [i]Nashty Hoor[/i], before someone calls animal control."[/color]

[color=darkcyan]“Good one,”[/color] Vashti laughed fakely at Greyson’s joke and held her hands up as if she were under arrest. She took a small step back, but the storm continued to expand. 
What, were they having a reunion here or something? Linqian was here too. Her laugh shifted and became a genuine cackle as she noted their costumes, [color=darkcyan]“Bro, that’s an amazing costume! You look just like the guy who doesn’t get laid after his senior prom.”[/color]Vashti squinted and, hands still held in surrender, pinched her right thumb and forefinger together until they were just separated by a hair. She began speaking at the same time as Linqian, [color=darkcyan]“Is that why you’re with little dick riding h—”[/color]

Linqian was coming in hot, yelling fuck this fuck that like some fucking ignorant bitch, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that she was coming in cold. Vashti found herself the centerpiece in a snowglobe for the Florida Gators. What the heck was even happening? All she had wanted was one simple private conversation and everybody was acting like she was an absolute sociopath for it. Meanwhile, they’re behaving monstrously like they were complete and total animals. She felt adrenaline surge through her system as her fight or flight system kicked in. A quick headcount, factor in the witnesses, multiple by how much Emily would yell at her, and divided by how many fucks Vashti gave at the moment. Sadly, she was becoming far too coherent for how she had intended to be this evening. 

[color=darkcyan]"—huh?"[/color]

So when Linqian misspoke and made it sound like Vashti was getting invited to an impromptu orgy she got fully distracted by the false promise, noting that the hottie versus nottie ratio was unusually favorable. In that moment of excitement, she didn't notice what Linqian was moving to do. 

[color=darkcyan]“[b][i]WAH!![/i][/b]”[/color] screamed Vashti in surprise as Linqian grabbed her wrist. The immediate shock of the cold was replaced by the searing heat of pain as the left sleeve of her costume began to stiffen as Linqian’s grip threatened to inflict Vashti’s hand with frostbite. Rationally, in this moment a person would want to get away from their source of pain as quickly as possible. However, in this moment, as with most any other moment, rationality wasn’t really something in Vashti’s kit. Thunder rumbled as the rain picked up, the storm continuing to expand and begin to threaten to encroach on the rest of the festival area. No, she had little to no rationality, but what she did have was instinct.

[color=CD5C5C]”Fuck right off before I shove my knee up your fucking crocodile ass.”[/color]

And instinct told her that those words would be Linqian’s last. 

Linqian was close enough to feel the shift in Vashti’s body as her muscles tightened like a coil, getting ready to strike. The murderous intent was clear in Vashti’s eyes. There was the presence of something else too as her pupils momentarily became elongated and narrow as her eyes shifted to a putrid yellow-green before returning back to their normal bloodshot brown. She grinned, more a baring of teeth really, her tongue licking her canines hungrily. Linqian would see that her magic was hurting Vashti; she would also see that the woman did not care. Vashti couldn’t be to blame for anything that happened next. Linqian had just put her hand in the mouth of a crocodile. 

Britney’s words bounced off of Vashti’s ears—if Emily was getting her ass kicked, then that just meant she was weak and unworthy. This was so, so, so much more vital than anything else in the world. Her free hand shot back and twitched in anticipation, overwhelmed by the bountiful buffet of options: even frozen meat was still meat. Snapping in her knee would’ve been poetic, while slicing open her stomach until her blouse matched the red of her hood would be beautifully artistic. No, no, no, both were too intense too quickly. For hurting Vashti it was clear that Linqian wanted the long, personalized experience, but there simply wasn’t time! Like bobbing for apples she would have to be quick if she wanted the prize, and there were just so many other juicy McIntoshes around that she couldn’t savor a sour Granny Smith like Linqian. 

A simple tracheotomy then. The snow danced around her nails as they flashed through the air towards Linqian’s throat. Just moments prior Sabrina had stepped forward, her last name leaving her mouth at the same time Vashti took her swing. The intensity faded from Vashti’s eyes as her trajectory slowed down and diverted. If Linqian had made the mistake of standing her ground instead of backing down the hit would connect. However, it was no longer a lethal, spine-severing slash, but a mere painless and playful pat-pat of the cheek followed by Vashti wrenching her wrist free of Linqian’s grip with ease. She backed away from Linqian, smiling, her hand rubbing her wrist and trying to warm it.

[color=darkcyan]“No need, Ms. Vanburen, no need! We're just fooling around,”[/color] said Vashti, chipper as ever, to Sabrina. Then she turned to the remnants of Sycamore.

[color=darkcyan]“But god, you all are so fucking lame now. Lighten up, lighten up. It’s Halloween! I was just joking around with you, Britney. It was a prank, bro, a prank,”[/color] said Vashti with a little witch cackle, backstepping, body still tensed and ready to strike if anybody tried anything. She grabbed the massive stuffed bear off of the ground, its fur heavy with snow and rain, and slung it over her shoulders as if she were carrying a wounded soldier. [color=darkcyan]“I know when I’m not welcome. Which reminds me, if you see Sloane tell her to drop by the manor again tomorrow. Emily should finally be free.”[/color] 

Vashti smiled at a private joke and took a few more steps back into the darkness of the bad weather.

[color=darkcyan]“Love your costumes by the way. Very cool. Very, very recognizable. Real easy to spot even in this weather. Anyway, I hope you all have fun tonight. [i]I know I will.[/i] Party like there’s no tomorrow, bros,”[/color] she said, her voice falling flat. She became little more than a crowd surfing stuffed bear as she slipped back into the safety of a  group of festival goers. A voice rumbled from the crowd like distant thunder as the rain continued, showing no sign of giving up just yet. It said, [color=darkcyan]''Be seeing you. Be seeing you [i]real[/i] soon.”[/color]