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Vashti never imagined in her life that she’d ever go to a Red Lobster, let alone be excited to go to one. She also never imagined someone that looked like Herik would give her his number, but the slip of paper that was carefully tucked into her pocket was proof of the impossible. The mild awkwardness and tension of riding in a car with an almost stranger was released as she asked, [color=darkcyan]“So does the Coven tend to get trapped in elevators a lot?”[/color] Their car banter was playful and light, and she was so juiced by the entire surrealness of it all that she could easily ignore the voice in the back of her head. It was telling her that now was the time to tell him about the Leviathan, but she wasn’t going to kill the good mood. 

She hummed along with the dumb, sacchrine pop song that was playing on the radio as they pulled into the parking lot half-full of minivans with out of state license plates. She had to restrain herself from skipping as she followed alongside Herik into the Red Lobster. Surely the duo stuck out as they were led to their table past the sea of Midwestern families, some of their faces so sunburnt that it matched the crustaceans they were ferociously cracking open and devouring. Vashti didn’t mind. In fact, she found it hard not to smile as a tanned teenage girl drooled over Herik only to then gawk at her. She winked, stuck out her tongue, and jumped as she nearly walked into Herik as the host stopped them at their table. 

[color=darkcyan]“Honestly, this place doesn’t look that bad,”[/color] said Vashti as she settled into a chair. The decor, while cheap, didn’t have the tacky abrasiveness of what she imagined the inside of something absolutely awful like an Applebee’s would have, and it was hard to resist the smell of fried food. Her stomach growled as she grabbed a menu and thumbed through it. Family meal deals for just $8 a person? Endless shrimp for twice that price? She didn’t realize that her internal monologue shifted to external as she gasped, [color=darkcyan]“Wow! This place is amazing! How could any other seafood place manage to stay in business?”[/color] 

They ordered drinks. Vashti had a brief dilemma where she had to fight with herself over trying to get one over the eagle-eyed server by having Herik order her one of those shrimp cocktail sauce cocktails just to see how they managed to incorporate seafood with booze. Obviously, Herik was old enough to buy a drink—what, he had to be like twenty four? Twenty five?—but she decided against it. It would be a major bummer if she ended up getting him in trouble. She’d be fine with a Coke. 


"Oh why hellooooo there, [i]friends[/i]?" Vashti turned and gave Emily a confused look. Why had she said [i]friends[/i] like it was a question, and why’d she get so dressed up to eat at a Red Lobster? Plus, it was a white dress. The girl was basically painting herself as a target for rogue splatters of cocktail sauce. Vashti softened her look into a welcoming smile. In the car, Herik had talked to her about the other members, Emily included. She felt like he’d kept saying [i]they aren’t as bad as they seem[/i], and so Vashti believed it. "So this is your idea of fine dining?” Hey, she’d been the one to suggest seafood! “Interesting."

"Well, I think we have some things we need to discuss…” 

[color=darkcyan]“Yeah the apps. Should we be bad and get the mozzarella sticks or do the artichoke dip?”[/color] interjected Vashti quietly, her nose buried in the menu yet again as the other two discussed who else was coming. She barely heard it. [color=darkcyan]“Wait![/color] She flipped the menu around, her eyes shining bright with wonder, and pointed at a picture. [color=darkcyan]“They have a lobster pizza!? We have to try that.”[/color]

Vashti was met with blank stares. [color=darkcyan]“Sorry, what were you two talking about?”[/color]