ula;

where: Bubbly Moments

Location: Right Outside of Dance floor

Status: Open ( @darkesthourstarters​​ )

Time: July 4 / Yacht Party

Arthur laughed as he twirled his current dance partner, merely chuckling at himself as he forgets his footing and he nearly trips over himself. As much as werewolves were created to be the natural enemy of vampires, the pack knew how to throw a party. And unlike last year’s 4th of July or even earlier this summer, no one has been found dead yet! Huzzah! At this point the bar was on the floor and Arthur was beginning to unwind, let loose for the first in a long while. But maybe it was too loose. Because the second the stranger let go of his hand and turned to the next dancer in rotation, Arthur immediately stumbled back and out of the dance floor. Thankfully there was someone there to break his fall but his back still hit them with a loud ‘THUD!’.

“Oh shit!” Arthur spun around to face his unfortunate victim. “I’m so sorry for that! Are you alright?”

+

Imani regrets having her back toward the dance floor. Being jostled by Arthur unfortunately has led to her wearing a stain that’s a mix of condiments from her hamburger. “Dammit!” with the one napkin she had on her person, Imani brushed at the area on her top. “I will be okay, I probably shouldn’t have my back towards the action,” she shrugged, and gave up trying to clean her crop top. Finding the silver lining with this scenario, she now had a perfectly good reason to bail on the festivities. Sure she could change out of crop top and still salvage her outfit, with the bralette underneath, however, aside from the free food and entertainment, Imani had no interest in celebrating the fourth of July event itself. Past events have understandably left her uncomfortable and weary about social gatherings on a whole. “Are you okay?” she asked upon realizing that she didn’t know what caused his actions.

who: mirana diaz + OPEN ( @darkesthourstarters ) where: yacht party  when: july 4

“ Everything is fine here, ” she calls out, voice an octave higher than normal, as if she doesn’t have one leg over the yacht’s guardrail, a tear-streaked face, and a life-jacket slung over her arm. “ Uh…” She swallows, trying again for a tone that resembles her normal, snarky one without looking up at whoever approached. “ Great party, right ? Heard there’s celebrities upstairs signing autographs. You should… check them out. ”

+

“Right....” Imani’s brow furrowed, she didn’t believe a single word that fell from Mira’s lips. Her appearance paired with current actions told another story. Instead of minding her business, the Mermaid’s curiosity and concern made her decide to try and help. “No thanks,” she declined the misdirection, as she’s genuinely not a fan of fawning of celebrities. “I’m more interested in finding out if you’re okay.” Mira is doing precisely what Imani wanted to do since she got onto the yacht-- leave. Being a Mermaid has its advantages, because all she has to do is dive off the yacht and swim around to her heart’s content. Mira on the other hand needed the life apparatus to aid with her journey. “You have certainly chosen an interesting way to return to shore.”

~

Vada nodded and smiled, she definitely knew they would figure it out when the time came. One thing she could say was that it was easy co-parenting with Alden. It always had been. He was great at backing her up and she backed him up just as much. It made life easier for the both of them really, even when it wasn’t so easy. “He’s really great so I’m sure we will. He makes it easy to co-parent for sure. He’s always got along with her, always loved her as much… maybe even more than I could.” She couldn’t really talk about the two of them. “We… we get along. Probably better than most parents that are separated.” She shrugged, “god, I make it sound like we were married.” She said pushing her hair back from her forehead, “we just dated like a few months and bam… there’s Remi. Two years later he’s leaving. We had a good thing but now I’m just trying to focus on myself and stuff. I don’t know.” 

Vada really had no clue what the future held for her and Alden. She didn’t really know what the present held being closer to him made it… difficult to not think about the life they had had together. She laughed at her and nodded, “I have a feeling I better tell Alden, Remi’s all his now. We’re never escaping this escape room. Pregaming doesn’t sound like a bad idea though.” She smiled at Imani and raised a brow before, “I think there are a few up the way from here we can hit up.”

+

“That sounds promising,” Imani’s glad that Remi was both parents being a part of her life. The Mermaid has watched enough TV shows and heard stories about how parenting can be disastrous. “As you should, because self love and just taking time to rediscover who you are is very important.” Imani bought into the whole mindfulness message. Self-love was a concept that she easily fit into her routine, though she’s not able to maintain it as she should. “It’s unfortunate that you and Alden didn’t last, perhaps it’s happening this way for a reason,” she didn’t know what that is, but thinking positively about an uncertain situation can’t hurt. Imani chimed in with her own laughter, “he’ll definitely need that heads up,” especially as they’re on the way to pregame. Who knows what will become of them at the escape room.

In no time they would come upon one of the bars in question. Inside they found free seats and placed drink orders with the bartender. As Imani expected, she’s having a great time, and felt the need to honour it with the customary drink salute of land dwellers. Holding up her cocktail glass she grinned at Vada, “cheers!” Imani waited for the soft clink before taking a sip. “You know I honestly don’t know why we people do that,” she gestures with her hands by making fists and bumping them together. “With the glasses, I mean. Like I only do it because I’ve seen people do it, and I’ve never really questioned it.”

Jay laughed at the idea of someone fighting them over snacks. “The two of us are unstable,” they chimed with another laughter. If only they could see the irony of their conversation as they both stumbled their way into the area where the food was kept. They were so confident but they looked a mess, not at all put together. Especially for this little heist, they want to pull. But no one can convince them they wouldn’t be able to do this. “This just means we were meant to steal some food from the kitchen,” they pointed out with a confident nod as they made their way in. They were so close to making their target but then they heard a noise. “Freeze,” she whispered as if that would be enough to keep them hidden. Another whisper, “if we stay still and make no noise we’ll be good.” If only they could see how hard they were struggling to stay still. Finding themselves having to grip onto something as they kept losing their balance. They didn’t make too much noise, but were they the best judge of character in the state of mind they and Imani were in? Jay peeped over to see if they could see who it was. It was Xavier. Shit, did they make eye contact?  They quickly shut their eyes. 

+

Upon Jaylin’s prompt the Mermaid remained still as she could, considering maintaining balance right now isn’t her strong suit. Could they actually get into trouble for simply seeking out food. Technically, they are breaking and entering, but it’s not like they’re going to attack anyone. Food is the motive. Imani moved her head, looking around to identify the source of the noise they heard. At the sight of Xavier she almost waved at him. The vampire was not too far away from where they stood, he stared, and she averted her gaze. “This freezing thing is awesome,” she whispered. “It’s like he doesn’t even know we’re here,” Imani snickered at the thought. Glancing back to where Xavier was she checked to see if he was going to come closer, but he was no longer there.  “We can melt now, he’s gone,” she giggled. “I can’t believe he didn’t see us, like we’re right here, and he was so close.”

The look on Imani’s face was the exact reason Cecilia loved doing this in person. She loved seeing that joy she could bring to someone, especially in a world that has never been very kind to artists. She smiled widely and clapped her hands. “Wonderful! Honestly, I will take anything you can get to me. You’re the first person I’ve reached out to since moving here and I really want to showcase you before adding in others. Of course I don’t want to overwhelm you, I do have some pieces from my previous gallery to fill in any gaps,” she explained. “I don’t have a theme in particular, the nice thing about the Art in Motion setup is it can allow for different areas to have different themes. But I do love your mixed media series if you’re willing to bring those in?”

+

“Yes, I’d love to share those pieces! I’m actually proud that my first mixed media concept didn’t completely fail.” Imani is the toughest critic of all when it comes to her work, and her latest collection wasn’t exempt from it. Sometimes she generally felt as if she could have done more with her pieces regardless of how complete they looked, and the positive reviews she received from her friends. They were always going to be nice about her stuff, which makes her doubt herself more on occasion. Imani couldn't wait to tell her muses that they would be featured in a gallery. “I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity,” in her mind Imani was already mentally shuffling through her pieces and picking out ones for the show. “When can I start arranging to have them brought into the gallery?”

Where: Caring Claws Vet Who: open @darkesthourstarters What:  Adoption Event

Forty years old and he was starting all over again. The thought was a sobering one. Whenever he’d considered his adulthood, Victor had imagined the perfect family and the fulfilling career; up until just a few years ago, he’d had all of it, but then life had struck – as it often did – and now, here he was: back at the starting line. 

Victor rested a hand against the metal chain link of the pen. “Can I sit with this one,” he asked after making eye contact with one of the workers. As he waited, Victor turned to a person nearby, “have you found anyone who speaks to you yet?”

+

Imani smiled at the guy. “None yet, and I don’t think I’m going to,” she sighed. “I’m just glad to be around them anyway,” she needed a positivity boost, and being around the cute animal. To be honest, Imani wasn’t in the market for a pet because she didn’t see one fitting into her lifestyle. The signage and advertisement on the sidewalk is what initially beckoned the Mermaid to explore. “They are adorable, and exactly what I needed today,” she grinned. “This one already seems eager to sit with you,” she gestured to the animal in the pen with her chin. “Have you had any luck with the others?”

***

   Time Skip

Jays sat up from laying on the floor of Imani’s cabin, “we are missing something,” they mused as they looked over at Imani. It took them a moment before they pieced it together, “we need food! ” Out of all the things they have done while drunk, they acted like this was the best decision they ever made. “There has to be food here somewhere, c’mon,” they got up before encouraging her to join them. “We,” they started, “are two smart people! We can beat the system, we can find the food without anyone knowing,” they weren’t sure if this was hyping up Imani at all, but it sure was hyping themselves up. “And on the very, very, off chance that we get caught - we run. They’ll never know,” they pointed out. 

+

V: omfl

V: jeez okay. im fine & vibing w/ champagne & my head on my shoulders. still breathing. have you checked in on urself?

V: 💊💊ngl u sound like u need a chill pill💊💊

I: really? a head on your shoulders reference in a time like this

V: oh there was a gathering last night 😳

V: omg i tots forgot!!!

V: rofl my bad

I: ha ha

I: no you didn't.

~

“All night,” Vada laughed at Imani but nodded her agreement, she looped her arm with the other. She hadn’t been use to this kind of friendship for some time but it was fun and refreshing. Imani always knew how to make Vada smile when she needed it most. Her being amazing with Remi only made it that much more of a great friendship. “I never have either but I don’t do well under pressure.” She was up for the challenge though, “hopefully we don’t get trapped in the escape room so we can go bar hopping.” Her brows rose at the question of Alden and she shrugged, “he’s good. Remi loves being closer to him and being able to see him whenever she wants really. Although I’m not excited about the day we get asked why we don’t live together like other moms and dads.” 

+

Hearing Vada share about Alden and Remi’s bonding absolutely warmed her heart. “I’m sure that you and Alden will figure it out when the time comes.” It’s certainly not going to be an easy situation to explain to a child, but hopefully Remi wouldn’t be too sad about it. Imani hated the thought of her being sad over something that she had no control of, but might probably blame herself for. “So he’s getting along with Remi, which is awesome, but what about you two?” Imani wondered if there was any hope for the couple. Unluckily, she hasn’t had the opportunity to see the two of them together yet and take a peek at their auras. “We’re probably going to fail the heist because we’re in the same boat,” she chuckled. Considering neither of them were good under stressful situations, perhaps some liquid courage was in order before they headed to The Escape Game. “Maybe we should do some pregaming to mellow us out,” she suggested. “I think there are a couple of bars around here,” it shouldn’t take them long right? At least that’s what the Mermaid assumed.  

I: hey are you okay?