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Kari barely registered the incoming collision before Ella’s arms encircled her tightly. For a moment, she instinctively stiffened-her mind racing to identify who was there, where they were, and the impact's origin—before she heard the voice. 


[color=e77fbf]"[i][b]Kaaaa-rrriiiii![/b][/i]"[/color] recognition suddenly clicked. 

"Oh!" The sound escaped her as she half-laughed, Ella's grip squeezing the air from her lungs. "Hi, Ella,” Kari managed, her voice soft against her friend's shoulder. 

Her arms instinctively responded with a hug, even if she couldn’t move much else. 

“I missed you too. I can't feel my ribs, but I missed you." Then Nora joined the hug. Kari’s eyes widened briefly as a second pair of arms wrapped around her. 

"Oh my god—" she exclaimed breathlessly and surprised as the group hug intensified. "Okay-okay, the ambush worked," she said, trying and failing to wiggle free. 

“You two really nailed the surprise." The bass vibrated through the floor and her shoes as she tilted her head to look between Ella and Nora. 

"Also, hi, Nora,” she added, smiling warmly now that the shock eased. Her eyes briefly darted to Ella when the topic of drinks came up, a decision seemingly promising future trouble. Kari opened her mouth to reply, but Lupe moved first.[hr]Lupe watched the entire ambush unfold like someone witnessing a natural disaster that happened to also be extremely entertaining.

The moment Ella barreled through the crowd, yelling Kari’s name, Lupe’s grin widened into something wickedly delighted.

“AYYY—!” she barked out a laugh as Kari disappeared into a wall of enthusiastic affection. “Look at this! The cavalry arrived!”

When Ella pulled her into the hug too, Lupe didn’t even resist — she just leaned into it, one arm hooking around Ella’s shoulders while the other ruffled Kari’s hair with exaggerated affection.

“Damn, mami, you’ve got a whole fan club tonight,” she teased, eyes sparkling as she rocked slightly with the music. “You bring these two everywhere, or is this a special event package?”

When the group hug finally loosened enough for breathing to become optional again, Lupe stepped back half a pace — though she kept one arm casually slung around Kari’s shoulders like she’d claimed her spot.

Her gaze bounced between Nora and Ella with immediate approval.

“First of all,” she said, pointing between them, “Ten outta ten entrance, mami. No notes. Very dramatic. I respect it.”

She gestured broadly around the warehouse.

“And second of all, you picked the right night to show up. The whole place has been going off since like ten.”

At the mention of drinks, Lupe’s grin sharpened.

"Oh, what's a party without drinks, mami,” she declared, already removing her arm from Kari’s shoulders and gesturing toward the folding-table bar. "Come on, rookies. Field trip." She didn’t really wait to see if anyone followed, just pivoted and weaved her way through the crowd with the same effortless confidence she had earlier. A few people greeted her as she passed—someone bumping her shoulder, another trying to hand her a half-empty cup.

Lupe ignored all of them.

“Nah, nah,” she chuckled, waving them off. “Professional at work.”

The makeshift bar looked exactly like it sounded: a folding table, two coolers, a plastic bin filled with ice, and a chaotic assortment of bottles that seemed to have been donated by someone’s older sibling with questionable taste.

Lupe hopped onto the edge of the table as if it were her own.

“Alright,” she announced, grabbing a stack of red cups and quickly setting them down with practiced ease. “Y’all are in luck.”

She opened the cooler, grabbing a bottle, then another, and finally a neon one that glowed oddly under the strobe lights.

“I make a 'special' mix, Mami," she said, voice suddenly conspiratorial. “House recipe.”

She poured without measuring.

Vodka.

Something fruity.

Something intensely blue.

Then a splash from a bottle that looked like it had been repurposed multiple times.

Lupe shot a sly glance at Nora and Ella.

“Don’t worry,” she said sweetly. “Only about... twenty percent dangerous, mami.”

She then shrugged before she slid two cups across the table toward them.

Then she poured another, offering it to Kari.

Kari watched the process quietly, head tilted, eyes tracking each bottle as if solving a chemistry puzzle that really shouldn’t be solved.

When Lupe slid the cup toward her, Kari raised an eyebrow.

“Only [i]"twenty"[/i] percent?” she echoed, tilting her head.

She took the drink, swirling it to see the colors blend.

“That seems cautious for you.” Kari rolled her eyes.

Her mouth curved into a slight smile as she looked toward Nora and Ella, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Don’t worry,” she added softly. “Lupe’s experiments are usually... survivable.”

A brief pause.

Then Kari raised her cup slightly toward them.

"[i]Usually[/i]," she said.