[COLOR=TAN][hr][sup][h1][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XkgVbMq.jpeg[/img][/center][b][center][color=1C1C1C] H A V E N[/color]
[color=D2B48C]H A V E N[/color][/center]
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[indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=SILVER][I]The Beach[/I] - [I]PRCU[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b]Welcome Home #1.026:[/b] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Unexpected Turbulence[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Rory [@webboysurf], Pallyx [@Bartimaeus], Calliope [@PatientBean], Gil [@Roman], Lorcán [@Lord Wraith] [/I][/COLOR][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [COLOR=SILVER][I]A Shorebird for a Day[/I][/COLOR][/right][/SUP][/INDENT][/COLOR]

[indent] Haven couldn't deny the way her heart fluttered as Rory came to stand next to her. His blue eyes were like a wide open sky. The way she had to tilt her head back a bit to see them when he stood this close gave her the same sensation as the freeing moment when her feet first lift off the ground. It was a feeling she hadn't felt towards a person before.

Then he was complimenting her, in his own bashful way. Her smile widened as he did so. When it came to compliments, Haven didn't blush and shy away. Instead, the rush of heat that would have gone to her cheeks spread from her shoulders to her the tips of her wings and toes as he gestured to all of her. [i]Wings.[/i] The nickname he gave her years ago had once been an insult to her long before her time at PRCU. When he said it now, it made her proud to have it.

Rory had turned his attention away from her, which gave Haven's skin a chance to cool as she turned to smile at Aurora. In her peripherals she could see that Rory was wiping sweat off his forehead. An implication that he had also experienced the same heat wave that she had. The thought made her wish that Rory hadn't given up the effort so quickly.

Unfortunately, she also noticed the subtle way that Rory's face fell when Aurora asked about his brother. She glanced over at him, before Aurora turned to her now. Haven nodded. [color=tan]"I could be out there all day if I wanted."[/color] She responded before Aurora, as Haven expected, turned her undivided attention onto Lorcán. She glanced between the two, a knowing smile growing on her lips before she decided to give them their space.

She turned to Pallyx, who was already sipping on the cider Rory had handed over. [color=tan]"I don't know why I grabbed this."[/color] She held up her seltzer. [color=tan]"Cider is way better."[/color] Pallyx's eyes were on the other three at the coolers, undoubtedly thinking what everyone else thought when Lorcán and Aurora were speaking to each other. She could even hear Calliope and Banjo discussing it where they sat. Haven simply shrugged, and decided to down half of the seltzer just to finish the drink quicker.

She lifted the drink to her lips, the coolness of it refreshing. Her head turned as she continued to chug, to watch as Rory approached the two shy lovebirds. For a moment she wondered why he hadn't thought to join her and Pallyx. Although it seemed like he had an idea, and was set on accomplishing it before something distracted him.

[color=04cf3a]"Hey Red, Hot Shot over here just reminded me... there's this senior dance after the Homecoming Trials. You want to go?"[/color]

Haven nearly choked on her drink. Her wings flared behind her as she tried her best to swallow what she had left. She lowered the can away from her, her left hand coming up to wipe away the bit of seltzer that dripped from her lips. Then she gave Pallyx a thumbs up, in case her sudden reaction caught her friends attention. In the distance she could hear Banjo's cackle, and Calli's mention that Rory was at least trying. Trying to what, though?

[color=#fe650d]“[i]Bro[/i], [sub]I don’t know what you think you’re doing[/sub]-,”[/color] Haven could hear every word Lorcán was saying as she quietly coughed to clear her throat, [color=#fe650d]“-[sub]But I’m pretty sure you’re doing it wrong.[/sub]”[/color]

She recovered from her shock just in time to hear Lorcán's words to Aurora. What did Aurora think of this? [i][sub]She won't say yes, right?[/sub] ... She has every right to say yes if she wanted to. Suck it up.[/i] There was no reason for her to get jealous like this. Pallyx sucked in a breath beside her, and Haven glanced towards the trio in time to see why her friend had cringed.

As someone who has always had to pick herself up, Haven thought that Lorcán didn't need to know that she also witnessed his fall. She could already hear Calliope and Gil on the way to help him, whether he wanted it or not. So Haven turned her eyes away from the scene. Almost desperate to hide her own reaction to Rory's question, anyways. Why had he asked Aurora?

[i]Why am I letting this get to me?[/i] She thought. These feelings for him hadn't even taken flight until last year, and he wasn't the only one on her mind these days either. The reason she hadn't been with anyone in Blackjack before was because they were her friends before anything else. So if Rory wanted to take someone else, then she was happy for him. She could handle it, like she had handled many disappointments before.

The hardest part of having enhanced hearing was that even though Haven was trying to mind her business, she could hear everything Calliope was saying to Lorcán as she helped him to his feet. [color=F796A9]"You and I both know he meant well. You're smart, you're attractive, and you are one of the sweetest guys I know. Whether or not Aurora sees through this thinly veiled attempt to get the two of you together, she likes you too. It's a girl thing, trust me."[/color] Suddenly her heart felt much lighter. She breathed a soft sigh, and finally moved her eyes back over to Rory. He hadn't said "with me" when he asked Aurora. He would have said them, right?

[color=c75834]"What would we do without 'er, huh?"[/color] Pallyx chimed in beside her, having caught onto the situation as well. Haven's returning smile expressed her own relief. She turned towards Calli, Gil, and Lorcán and decided to adopt Pallyx's cheerful disposition. [color=tan]"Thanks, mom and dad."[/color] She teased Calli and Gil. [color=tan]"Maybe get a water for Lorcán, too. He might have had enough drinks for the day."[/color] Hopefully joking that Lorcán was drunk would save him from explaining why he fell over to begin with. Maybe her jokes would hide the fact that she'd been as upset as the fire bender as well.

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