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 [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Drake[@Punished GN], Luca[@Fernstone]
[code]Flowers and Canvases[/code][/right][hr]

Sloane continued to stare at her unflinching reflection in Greyson’s aviators, worried he’d worm away if she broke eye contact for even a second. Her left hand remained outstretched, as still as a sculpture, and her lips drew thin as Jack and Finn offered their support of her. The ruckus caused by Stormy’s arrival—the shouting, the static charge that filled the air when Lux was manipulated, Auri proving why she was an ineffective leader, sorry, “guide and mediator” for a second time that night—caused Sloane to snap her eyes away for just a second. Greyson even remained a blurry presence in her periphery, which made what she saw even more startling when she refocused on him. Her hand snapped back to her chest as if she’d just touched a hot stove.

He was crying. Why was he crying? She looked at him as if he were an alien stepping out of the light pouring from his ship or a sideshow exhibition she’d spent a nickel to see, alarmed but incapable of looking away. She could hardly process his justification, let alone think of a way to refute his ideas, as he immediately began acting like he was the victim here. She could see a way that he was, actually, or at the very least understand why he felt that way. The Coven had always assumed the worst out of Greyson and now she had too. Her mouth ran dry.  Perhaps she had been a little too harsh, but she couldn’t take back what she’d said. An apology felt performative if it was in front of a crowd, as if saying sorry was really to boost likability  among peers instead of actually meaning it, but she could catch him after. 

Still, could he wipe the tears away? She wasn’t against men showing emotion, it was just uncomfortable seeing anyone cry. Go to the bathroom. Hide in a car. Hell, hide behind one of Auri’s stupid ferns, judging by the withered plants Sloane had seen they could clearly do with some more water. 

[color=f49ac2]“I'll just remove myself. “[/color]

Good.

Shit.

No, wait.

Her hand reached out to grab at Greyson as he walked by, her fingers nearly brushing the fabric of his clothes. She hesitated and in that moment he was out of reach. She put her hands in her pockets, hiding away her Channeler, and cleared her throat. She heard her name and turned to see Linqian rolling her eyes. In her pocket, her hand clenched itself into a fist. Years ago, Sloane and Linqian had an unspoken competition regarding who could act more inconvenienced by the other's existence. Sloane assumed that eye roll was the first serve of their first set, and she was ready to volley back except Linqian immediately chucked her racket and left the tennis court to chase after Greyson, leaving Sloane to clean up so the next singles match could start.

[color=goldenrod]“Aw man, there goes another. We haven’t even moved the chairs to open up the dance floor yet,”[/color] she heard Sully joke.

His booming voice scared her migraine out of the bushes where it had been foraging and chasing it right back into her skull. Sloane looked at the door, checked her watch, and looked back at the door. Sully was right: the meeting was hemorrhaging people. She caught sight of Drake helping Luca, could read his antsy ‘let’s go’ energy from here, and then looked around at the people who remained. She heard Linqian’s ‘fuck off’ echo through her throbbing head. What Sloane had mistaken for the typical classless vulgarity that came from a stupid fucking bitch like Linqian had actually been sound advice. Yeah, if Drake was about to bounce then it was definitely time to fuck off.

[color=silver]“Oh good, you’re offering,”[/color] said Sloane, practically materializing besides Drake. She didn’t move to help him with Luca’s belongings, although it was obvious that she stole a glance at the prescription bottles. Her eyes settled back on Drake. [color=silver]“I think we have a lot to discuss before we make our next move, don’t you? I’ll buy you dinner seeing as how Auri’s caterer fell through.”[/color] Sloane gestured towards the snack table, empty save for the hardly touched charcuterie Simone had proved. [color=silver]“Yours too, Luca. I’d value your input on a few things.[/color]

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 [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Stormy[@Blizz] [code]Flowers and Canvases[/code][/right][hr]

The relief that washed over Sully when they voted to keep Kali on the island was second only to the relief he felt when Britney stepped through the door. He hadn’t been around when the truth came out, hearing about it instead from Ashely. She had been pretty angry about it at first, although not nearly as angry as the people Britney had hooked up with Apparitions, until Sully came to Britney’s defense with one single question. He’d said, [i]How many of our friends and family would be alive if they had been a, what’s the word, an Abbreviation?”[/i] There was no more room for moral debate. It was simple. She’d saved people. End of story. 

As he slowly moved to give Britney a proper greeting Sully felt a warm tingling in his head that wasn’t his Sully Sense going off. He paused, trying to figure out what it was.  It was the kid who desperately wanted to be popular just for the sake of being popular walking up to his lunch table and laughing at the joke he definitely hadn’t heard. It was the annoying little brother he never had hovering outside of his closed bedroom while he and his friends were inside playing Gamecube.  It was the fly buzzing around the room that survived a million swats. It was annoying. Of course it was Greyson. 

Sully almost jumped in the dogpile before Stormy basically kicked in the door and proceeded to call Britney out like they were about to have a scrap. Auri was quick to intervene, and Sully moved to back her up. Auri was a good egg, she probably would be able to win Stormy over anyway, but Sully always found that the presence of a tall, broad shoulder, rakishly handsome three hundred pound dude made it easier to convince people to take the path of nonviolence. Sully patted Britney on the shoulder as he passed and smiled widely as he stepped over to Stormy. However, as he smiled he also squared up, making himself appear even taller than he already was.

[color=goldenrod]“Stormy! What are you doing here?”[/color] said Sully with genuine excitement that shifted to include a little bit of mustard as he continued. [color=goldenrod]“See that’s how you say it without being dick. Look man I’m glad you’re here so listen: we’re all on the same team. Why don’t you put those lights away, man? People are already on edge enough as it is.”[/color]

Sully turned and looked to the group, his welcoming smile faltering for a second as he watched Linqian leave. Greyson had been no big loss, but he had hated seeing Tayla leave and Linqian going hit just the same. 

[color=goldenrod]“Aw man, there goes another. We haven’t even moved the chairs to open up the dance floor yet,”[/color] said Sully, trying to crack a joke to keep the tension low. The shop felt hot. Maybe Auri had to keep the temperature high like a greenhouse. He opened his arms up wide to offer Stormy a hug. [color=goldenrod]“C’mon man, drop that shit and bring it in.”[/color]