— marry the night.

To say Chloe was a morning person would be a lie—Chloe was an anytime person; she had way too much energy at any given moment, so it should’ve been really no surprise that it was basically the crack of dawn and she was already hammering on Ophelia’s door. “Ophi!” she practically sing-songed, tucking her long waves behind her ear. “Wake up! I have an idea.” Normally, she would totally just let herself in, but presumably the door would’ve been locked overnight... Either way, Chloe didn’t think to check. “Come on, it’s super important!”

“Yeah, you do. I was a wizard before I started training here.” Only at Polaris would a magic trick be considered lamer than lame, especially considering it was possible for anyone to do. Growing up forty-five minutes outside the princess gambling capital of the United States, Liam knew his card tricks. He pulled out a stack of index cards, focused on them slightly, until a breeze of wind lifted them out of his hand and transformed them into a deck of playing cards. Grinning, Liam fanned them out and with the slyest of smiles, offered, “Pick a card. Any card.”

“And you’re a literal wizard. Dude, the irony,” Kristy grinned, watching with wide, expectant eyes as Liam prepared his trick. Magic was magic, it was kind of just the norm, but it always made her happy to see people perform the things they were good at, so she watched with genuine interest. Eyes shining, she studied the cards for a moment, before finally tapping on the back of one. “That one,” she decided, smile stretching onto her lips. “Wow me.”

“Oh, hey. Yeah, okay.” Lowell kind of just stood in place for a moment, because for a second there he was sure Kristy was gonna need his human ladder help. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had sought him out to help retrieve something off a top shelf. But entertainment? Lowell floundered for a second more before his free hand bumped against his jeans pocket and remembered the deck of cards he had stashed in there earlier. Pulling them out, he shrugged in Kristy’s direction. “Do you play rummy? Or euchre?”

Being the size of a human mouse, Kristy could never help but marvel at people like Lowell, something she proceeded to do without shame for a moment. “Did you, like, grow?” She questioned, nose wrinkling slightly. Finally, Kristy released her grasp on his sleeve, watching as he reached into his pocket. Considering pretty much everything made her happy, her eyes shone in excitement at the deck of cards Lowell produced. “Ooh, okay, so I’m gonna be honest,” she paused, leaning in as if to tell him a secret, “I have no idea what the heck euchre is. But rummy? Dude, hit me.”

Gabriel was so used to being Mr. Optimistic, that it was a little difficult for him to process that he was apparently talking to Mrs. Optimistic. It wasn’t his first time talking to someone who saw life the same way he did, but it was still refreshing. “Anything’s possible,” he echoed, nodding his head. Meditation was something he knew a lot about. As someone with a multitude of neuroses, he was helpful to just relax and turn his mind off for a little bit. Not that he would ever admit that to his sister. If she knew how much he liked relaxing, she’d probably try to get him to smoke. He nodded his head at her, not even realizing that she had been looking for his mark. “Yeah. Libra,” he confirmed, staring down at his wrist. It wasn’t even something he paid that much attention to, but it was definitely something he wore as a badge of honor. “Would you rather me ask about your constellation or the bad memories you don’t want to relive?” He questioned with a soft, sympathetic look. 

A smile graced her lips at Gabriel echoing her sentiments. No matter how long she’d been here, Juliet would never quite tire of how genuinely nice it was to have people share in her optimism. After a lifetime of having it stifled, of her having to hold it back, it was just a very nice change, so despite not even knowing this guy, she was already grateful for his presence. Of course, bringing up his constellation probably wasn’t the smartest move, considering she associated her own with negativity, so while Jules nodded along, she found herself wincing at the question. “Libra’s cool,” she commented, nose wrinkling in thought. “What if I said neither?” Her head tilted, though she wasn’t actually going to keep it from him; it was marked on her ankle anyway. “Scorpio,” she eventually shrugged, expression instinctively apologetic. “I promise I don’t, like, completely suck,” Jules chuckled dryly. “It’s just... You know. Honestly, I don’t even know why Scorpio. Family thing, I guess.” She couldn’t help but quickly add, “I’m not like them, though.”

GABRIEL: I can't be so sure about your intentions or your plans. You're not totally reckless, but that doesn't mean you aren't reckless at all.

GABRIEL: I might not be wild, but I can still pick up on sarcasm.

KRISTY: Don't you think a little recklessness is good sometimes, though?? A sense of adventure.

WESLEY: Is Stella his girlfriend?

WESLEY: He'll be alright. You have enough fun to cover your entire family.

KRISTY: I don't think so. I think they're just besties, but like what a weird pairing, right??

[...]

BLAIR: How are you today?

STELLA: I'm upset about my shirt, Blair.

BLAIR: Oh.

BLAIR: You're donating it to me.

[...]

BLAIR: Thank you, Stella. I'll be sure and take good care of it.

STELLA: Precisely. It has to remain in the family.

[...]

BLAIR: Why don't you donate it?

BLAIR: Oh! That's really sweet. I'm sure it makes an awesome fashion statement.

BLAIR: Are you sure?

STELLA: I mean, it's a burn mark, it doesn't really make a fashion statement, but you've always been able to pull off that adorable trash chic you wear.

WESLEY: That makes sense. If you want to shit talk your brother then you should have the right to do so.

WESLEY: I mean, if he's enjoying life then he must be having some version of fun.

WESLEY: Oh God. There's no hope for him.

KRISTY: Exactly. He totally talks shit about me with Stella, I know it. Which is super valid, he's allowed an outlet.

GABRIEL: If you say so.

GABRIEL: I can't be so sure about you.

GABRIEL: I know the feeling. Sometimes I eat way too many almonds.

KRISTY: You can't be so sure about me?? What does that even mean??

It was refreshing to talk to someone who didn’t think he was a delusional mess. Believing that he could help everyone was kind of ridiculous, but he wasn’t willing to give up his dream of saving the universe just yet. “Well, I’ve been told it’s a bit of a pipe dream,” he shrugged, shaking his head. His eyes followed as she scooted away from him, immediately noticing how polite she was. He was used to being the most polite person in any conversation he was in, but maybe he’d finally met his match. “Sometimes. Some people meditate because they want to focus on a particular thing. Maybe they want to unlock a memory or something, but I do it to focus on nothing.” He’d never really thought of talking as a way to clear his mind. He wasn’t the type of person to just have a meaningless conversation. What would be the point of that? But technically, since he wasn’t really teaching her anything, this conversation wasn’t all that serious. “Gabriel,” he responded, extending his hand to meet hers. “It’s nice to meet you, Juliet.”

“Anything’s possible. I mean,” Juliet shrugged, motioning around them, “Especially around here.” One thing Jules loved about this place was the fact that she was surrounded by likeminded people; it was nice to converse with someone sweet without it being expected of her to right away want to blow him up or something. Man, if her parents hadn’t disowned her already, they totally would’ve if they could see her now. Truthfully, she didn’t really know much about meditation, but she nodded along with his explanation regardless. “I like the focusing on nothing thing. I can’t even imagine any memory I’d willingly want to relive,” Jules frowned, though her expression became more cheerful in response to his introduction. Politely, she shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” It was the curious part of her that had her scanning her gaze over the visible parts of his body, searching absently for his mark. “Libra?” She questioned, head tilting slightly. Honestly, she kind of envied him; then again, Jules envied anyone who wasn’t Scorpio.