[b][u]2:55 AM
Aquarius Apartments, Bazar Quarter, Poseidonis[/u][/b]

[color=orchid]”What?”[/color] said Karen, immediately freezing mid-push step. They had been dancing for a good few minutes, and she had almost forgotten her entire reason for going to the party to begin with. It had honestly just felt [i]so[/i] good to cut loose a little and not worry about her responsibilities.

But that was an incredibly selfish way to feel, wasn’t it? She wasn’t a normal girl. She had an obligation to help people if it was at all possible—she was the Wizard. She was Lady Arcana. If she didn’t do something to help that woman, there’s no telling what could happen.

Glancing to Ophelia, Karen frowned. She seemed to be having fun, but there was simply no helping it right now. [color=orchid]”Ophelia, listen—I just saw a girl over there that needs my help. That Atlantean woman over there has been slipping her drugs and,  well, she isn’t looking so hot.[/color]

[color=fff79a]”What? Karen, we jus-”[/color] Ophelia started, before she threw a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the girl. The world spun a little with the movement. The girl really wasn't looking too hot. Plus, if it would put Karen’s mind to rest then there wasn’t any harm in just going over to check it out.

She caught herself on Karen’s shoulder as she nearly tripped over her heels trying to stop dancing. She was starting to feel some of that alcohol too, she realized. It took a second to steady herself, but she managed to put on a more sober front.

[color=fff79a]”Okay, let’s go check on her,”[/color] Ophelia said, nodding towards the girl.

This had better not take too long, this party had just started getting good. Plus, she had a feeling it’d take a while to get Karen to come out with her again. She wasn’t about to waste her time babysitting some ho who couldn’t hold her liquor. Although, Ophelia herself hadn’t proven necessarily the most stellar judge of character throughout her lifetime. Her ex lovers may have been assholes, but they were at least hot assholes. Or rich. 

[color=orchid]”Thanks, Ophelia,”[/color] said Karen, relieved that she wasn’t going to have to explain everything to her. She had an excuse in mind, for how she knew—she was going to claim it was just one of her magic powers. Most had no idea what Homo Magi could and couldn’t do, so it’d probably work.

Immediately making her way towards the girl at the bar, Karen reached out to interpose her arm between the two women. [color=orchid]”Hey, I think she’s had enough of whatever you’ve been giving her.”[/color]

The college girl looked quite confused by this in her wired state, while the local woman seemed quite clearly irritated at the intervention. Upon giving Karen the once over, however, her frustration seemed to melt away. “Oh? And what about you, then? You looking for a little fun, sweety?”

Karen immediately suppressed the reflexive frown that was desperately tugging at the corners of her lips. This woman was obviously suspicious, but she was offering her drugs—precisely what she wanted. She needed to play things cool.

[color=orchid]”I really haven’t had much of anything tonight, so I wouldn’t mind,”[/color] she said, forcing a smile. The girl behind her looked rather incensed that she had stepped in and apparently stolen her woman, but as she opened her mouth to protest, Karen shot Ophelia a glance in the hopes that her friend would take the girl somewhere safe in her stead. 

Ophelia’s first reaction was to be a little peeved Karen interrupted their dancing just to get drugs. Her second reaction was to catch on to the scheme. She took the college girl by the arm, and gently began to turn them towards the bathroom. She paused a moment at Karen’s ear.

[color=fff79a]”You sure you got this, honey?”[/color] She whispered.

[color=orchid]”I’ll be right behind you, don’t worry—just get our friend some air,”[/color] said Karen. 

[color=fff79a]”We’ll be in the bathroom, make sure you save the good stuff for me, baby.”[/color] She said to both the man and Karen, giving them an exaggerated wink. 

As she walked with the woman to the bathroom she cast a glance over her shoulder back at Karen. Ophelia was usually the one who took point distracting people or dealing with narcotics or other illicit goods in most of the situations like this that she’d encountered before. Karen really didn’t seem like the type to have a lot of experience in those fields. Maybe she was underestimating the girl, but she couldn’t help herself but worry. 

[color=orchid]”Yeah, the party’s been kind of slow,”[/color] Karen continued, flashing the older woman a slight pout in the hopes that she would forget all about the girl Ophelia had just led away. [color=orchid]”You have anything that might spice things up a little for me?”[/color]

She didn’t exactly look like it, but Karen [i]had[/i] been lying about herself to people for some six years now. While her skill in the art of subtly might have gotten a bit rusty (as evidenced by her bumbling into Mal’s dorm room), she still had quite a few tricks up her sleeve.

The older woman smiled, her rose-colored lips glistening in beneath the overhead lights. “Perhaps. You’re going to the university, I take it?”

Karen nodded. [color=orchid]”Yup, I only arrived a little over a week ago, so I’m still getting used to this place. It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?”[/color]

“Indeed,” the woman said just a little too sweetly, extending a slender finger to trace the length of Karen’s arm. “It is unlike any other place on Earth.”

Resisting the urge to back away at the unwanted contact, Karen forced herself to endure it until she had the pill in hand. [color=orchid]”Still, I had expected a little more from this party, you know? I tried dancing for a while, but…”[/color]

“Not quite your speed, hm?” asked the Atlantean, chuckling. “Well, perhaps I can help with that.”

Reaching into her purse, she removed a small red pill, round in shape. Extending her hand towards Karen, she briefly flashed a few of her pearly-white teeth at her. “I think this will [i]more[/i] the alleviate your boredom, dear.”

Taking the pill from the woman’s hand without a moment’s hesitation, Karen stared at it curiously for a brief second before seemingly placing it in her mouth. [color=orchid]”...Thanks!”[/color]

The woman seemed convinced, and why wouldn’t she be? The pill was clearly gone—Karen had used a vanishing charm to cloak its presence within her hand. For something so small, it required only a second of concentration on her part.

She then spent a few more minutes making small talk with the woman, before excusing herself to go to the restroom. Weaving her way through the crowd, she pushed open the door to the girl’s room, hoping that Ophelia would be waiting for her with the other girl.

Ophelia stood beside the girl, leaning against the wall, scrolling on her phone with one hand, holding a handful of the girl’s hair in the other. The girl herself was leaned over the toilet, puking into it. Ophelia looked up from her phone. 

[color=fff79a]”Karen, thank god. How’d it go? Can you hold this girl’s hair, I need to get a damn drink.”[/color]

[color=orchid]”No time, I have one of those pills,”[/color] said Karen, moving towards the sink. Placing her finger to her ear, she muttered quietly. [color=orchid]”Hear that?”[/color]

Ophelia tied the girls hair up with a rubber band before joining Karen at the sink. 

[color=fff79a]”Hear what?”[/color]

[color=orchid]”Ophelia,”[/color] whispered Karen, glancing to her roommate, [color=orchid]”this party is about to get a lot wilder. You might want to go back to the dorm.”[/color]