BIZARRE. ⁽ᵃᵘᵗᵒᵖˡᵃʸ⁾

     there’s  something  about  holtzmann’s  company  that  puts  her  ON  EDGE.  her  zany  attitude  and  outgoing  humor  is  a  stark  contrast  to  the  type  of  person  lyra  usually  wants  to  hang  around  when  she’s  alone  and  trying  to  UNWIND.  (  but  the  fact  of  the  matter  was,  she’s  been  trying  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  make  new  friends  and  be  more  accepting  of  humans.  it  hasn’t  been  easy.  )

     lips  curl  up  in  a  smile  after  beer  bottle  is  placed  back  on  it’s  COASTER.  though  her  expression  is  innocent  enough,  her  words  have  bitterness  laced  within  every  syllable.  ❛  i’m  sorry,  jillian  —  did  i  ever  ASK  for  your  opinion  on  my  drinking?  ❜

oh,   boy.   though those lips are smiling   ———   thorns lay behind them.   before lyra even responds,   holtzmann knows she’s misstepped,   even unintentionally.   some kind of glint in those icy eyes.   

THERE’S A REASON SHE INTRODUCES HERSELF BY LAST NAME.   it doesn’t break bones or serve as efficient firepower,   but when utilized in moments like these   ??   like that   ??   it still manages to sting. 

RECALCULATE.   change your approach.  

          ❛   ———   wanna bet on whether that was a WAILING SPIRIT or someone practicing OPERA   ??   if it’s the second one   ...   i think they’re failing their class.   ❜

                “ good.  last  thing  anyone  wants  is  such  a  topic  of  interest  getting  LOST  IN  TRANSLATION.  hey,  if  you  really  got  faith  in  the  idea,  i  can  tag  along. ”

          ❛   heeeeeey.   i was just makin’ sure we’re on the same page,   capiche   ??   and i dunno if i’d say FAITH,   but.   there’re more CONVOLUTED methods to summon shit.   i’ll do it for her.    ❜   

she thrusts her arm his way,   supple leather the BARRIER between their hands.   little thought is given to whether holding hands is something he’s even COMFORTABLE with   ;   impulsivity and physical contact are her SIGNATURE.   and before he knows it,   she’s DRAGGING him along behind her.

❛   STRAP IN   !!   it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.   

          ❛   and i’m DOWN with this hypothetical situation   !!   don’t get all SHOCKED on me,   just answer the question   !!   ❜

          ❛   if you DID murder me,   how would you   ??   hypothetically.   inquiring minds wanna know.   and also   ??   how you answer determines how good of friends we really are,   so.   keep that in mind.   now shoot.   ❜

          ❛   what’s a BOOB JOB like that cost,   eh   ??   ❜   it’s entirely in jest,   GOOD-NATURED.   though with her   ...   you never really know.