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On the way back to the party, it is mostly quiet between the two of them. Various conversations are happening around them, and it is hard not to listen in to them despite having been at the ritual herself. It is astonishing to Alayna that her experience was nothing compared to some of the others. From passing out to having a panic attack, the burning sensation she'd felt seems almost normal. Then again, when she'd accidentally burned herself the first time, her mind had not been as clear as it was during the ritual. Perhaps she is merely lucky, and the girl wonders now how Kate might have fared during the whole thing.

[color=ed1c24][i]No...I can't ask her about it[/i][/color], Alayna thinks, glancing at the other person as they examine their wrist closely. She searches her mind for a good conversation topic, something to keep her companion entertained, but it's difficult to find a thing to discuss with someone like her. Someone's who's never really taken the chance to open up to the rest of her initiate group.

So, in the end, the two initiates part ways once back at the site of the party, Alayna making way for Kate's parents as they rush over to them, giving them congratulatory hugs. A feeling of envy washes through her briefly at this display, the girl looking away instinctively and scanning the area for her parents. When she spots them at one of the round tables set up for the family of the initiates, she makes her way over, an expression of hope on her face. The expression turns into one of confusion, however, once she spots her small pink suitcase on an empty chair beside her father.

"Now don't tell me you forgot already," her mother pipes up then, her voice strained with exasperation, "You're lucky I checked your room after you stormed off before. You would have had nothing clean to change into, stuck in that sweaty dress of yours."

"Well, at least you still seem to be in one piece," her father adds jokingly, his eyes sparkling as he gets up and approaches his daughter, pulling her into a tight hug.

"And I think what your mother means to say is that we're both very proud of you, darling. We work you as hard as we do because we love you and we know you're capable of so much as a witch."

Alayna has to bite her lip hard not to retort with a snarky comment at her father's excuse. She'd already said all that she had to this morning when they'd fought, and she'd rather not have a repeat of it now and make a scene. Instead, she places her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she hugs him back tightly, imagining that he truly loves her unconditionally as he says.

~

If she'd known that a "possible stayover" meant sleeping outside rather than inside, Alayna would have packed something different to wear. Stuck in a simple white tee tucked into her most comfortable [url=https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H12c525198c434c51a1ddd327391586e0R.jpg]grey pajama pants[/url], she is more than ready to be under the sheets in one of the main house's beds. She'd only ever stayed over once before during one of her summer breaks as a child, but the experience was not one she'd forgotten. It's not every day you got to see some of the coven leaders laid back and relaxed as they were at the time, after all. Instead, the girl knows she is in for a slightly uncomfortable and cold night, surrounded by people she barely knows. Her hand instinctively shoots up then, hitting a mosquito that had landed on her arm.

Oh, yea, and bug spray for the annoying bugs that can't help but love the taste of her blood. She would have walked with that too.

[color=ed1c24][i]Well, it could be worse[/i][/color], is the thought that occurs to her then, spotting Calypso in her onesie. It's a cute one, but it's also bound to catch a lot of attention, and Alayna is certain that attention is the last thing that the other witch desires after her earlier debacle. With the hood up, she would be easy to miss too if it weren't for her familiar damply tangled black hair.  Alayna reaches up to pat her own, now in its usual bun at the top of her head.

At the mention of ghost stories and fishing, the witch's eyes widen. Alayna had never been in the forest, in the dark and this time, before. But...She glances at her hands briefly before smirking. She could always just light the way if needed, right?
Her hand reaches up and bats another mosquito away from her arm, a frown crossing her face as she says, "[color=ed1c24]I'll join for the fishing. Not the drugs.[/color]" She blinks then, catching herself. 

"[color=ed1c24]If...that's okay.[/color]" 

[@KaijuBaragon]