overture

“Yes, this is my fifth cup of coffee of the day.” she replied, “I am aware it’s not yet lunchtime, but it’s been a long day already. Do not judge me.”

“I’m not judging,” she said-- hands raised in feigned defense. “That never really does anything for me. I think I’m immune.”

Tessa could remember a time where she could barely grab and hold Rocio, then Auntie Roc, by the hand. The woman had been a constant pillar of her trips up to Hollow Grove as a child, so it was only fitting that she become a permanent fixture now that Tessa was a resident. A warm smile fell over her face. “I don’t know, I think I’ve been there. Kind of hard to turn down eight corn dogs, right? You, especially, should understand.” She bumped lightly into Rocio’s side, a soft giggle on her lips as she did. She’d never known the other woman to turn down food, not that that was a bad thing. She leaned in a little to the other woman’s touch, hoping for a little comfort, despite the happy memories. “No, I think he did. Or, at least, he knew you loved me enough to suffer through them.” She was quiet for a moment, wondering what her father would’ve been doing right that moment. She wondered if he’d be on the Ferris Wheel with his wife, or running around with Levi. Maybe winning one of his grandchildren a prize in some game. God, she missed him. “Oh, my father would’ve killed me if he’d seen some of the things I’ve done. Remember that cliff diving photo I got someone to take in Greece? Never sent it home. I wasn’t about to sent my father into cardiac arrest.”

@rocioparadiso

Rosabelle found that she really and truly enjoyed spending time with Rocio. There was always a good conversation to be had with the werewolf and, in truth, she had latched onto her a bit. “I know its just a six pack but I figured it was just a good way to start.” The witch put the six pack of beer in the sand before taking a seat next to her friend. “We can always go to an actual bar once the sun sets. I just always thought it would be fun to drink beer and watch the sunset on the beach.” she explained, grabbing a bottle and cracking the top off with the bottle opener she kept on her keychain. After taking a sip, Rosa let out a hum of contentment. “I dont think I’ve ever come out here.”

“This is very romantic,” she joked with a low chuckle, toes digging into the cool sand. “We can, I could probably drink about eighteen of these before even feeling anything,” Rocio sighed over dramatically. “I missed my fun hangover days by being turned at thirteen. Not that there was much of that when I was born. Not unless you were Jay Gatsby.” Instead of using the keychain Rosa did, she was able to pop the top off with her thumb, using a bit of her strength to do so. “I love this-- I should take up painting.”

“I mean, it’s going to be some kind of deception, right?” Kara answered without even looking towards the woman who had spoken, “Like in those videos where they sort of reveal how they did it - distracting your attention on something else so that they can, I don’t know, pull the coin out of their sleeve or something. Hell, maybe he even took it from the volunteer’s pocket without him knowing because he was doing this ‘hey look at this shiny thing over here’ deceptive tactic, right?” She finally cast her eyes in Rocio’s direction, popping another piece of cotton candy in her mouth and letting it melt on her tongue as she observed the magician. To be fair, she was well aware that it wasn’t magic at all - but it was still entertaining. Or hey, the guy could have some real strange skill. Who was she to say how he could live his life? “I like to think it’s legit. I mean, he could have the power of disappearing and reappearing shit as he pleases - and he decided to be a street performer as a result, his life long dreams come true.” 

“He could be a witch,” she pointed out, one finger pointing in his direction. “Power of conjuring? Is that a thing?” She’d met her fair share of witches in her time but still saw no rhyme or reason to the development of their powers. “He’s not though-- you’re right, it is kind of deceiving. Trick of the mind or whatever.” As she said this she waved her fingers around, trying to make her voice a little spookier. “I was a magician’s assistant for a year, learned a few things. I could teach you, if you want.”

Tessa just chuckled as she moved closer to Rocio, looping one of her arms to hold her’s, pulling them together. “Hugo? He was walking around with corn dogs earlier. God, I love fair food.” She bumped lightly into the other woman’s side, giggles still leaving her lips. “Hey! I was born with that laugh. Can’t help it.” She paused a little as they moved forward in the line, moving to hold her hand as she walked closer. “Do you remember when I came for the Founder’s Day when I was twelve? You really helped my father’s poor stomach by taking me on the rides, you know.” God, she missed her father, but Rocio was family, so she was a comfort.

The remembrance lanterns had always been something that Noah cherished, even if he didn’t much enjoy being there. It was a special moment to reflect on those he’d lost over the years, those who had died at his hand alone, those he’d never see again. Each year he made sure to scratch his wife and children’s names into a square of paper to launch into the sky with the rest of the lanterns, but this year another name was joining the rest. Madge Knight.

Family had always come first for him but in the end, who had he really protected? They were all gone, every one of them - save for his siblings and Jonathan, and that had little to do with his efforts. 

He was watching the lantern he’d released fade into the distance along with the others lighting up the night sky when he bumped shoulders with someone and murmured a distracted apology. 

She’d never been good with grieving. Rocio had a hard time taking anything seriously and though throughout her years she’d lost quite a few people she cared about, coming to terms with it and dealing-- it wasn’t in her wheelhouse. Dominik though... it was different losing Dominik. She’d known in the last year or so that things had gone difficult after he’d been kidnapped but it didn’t matter-- he was still family. 

For the most part she remained quiet as the lanterns were lit, trying to keep tears at bay. She barely noticed anyone around her, much less Noah Blackwell colliding with her. “It’s okay--” she nodded at him, mustering up some sort of sympathetic smile. They’d both lost someone that night after all. “This sucks right?” It was all she could manage, her way of coping. There was no need for false pretenses here. “Everyone always looks at you with all that pity.”

“I have no idea.” he chuckled. “I did – but then I dropped it.” he said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “If you could hold this plate I can run back and get you some?” he offered, handing the plate to her. 

“Oh my god, you’re so cute I’m literally going to go throw up.” Rocio scrunched her nose up at him, two seconds away from reaching out and squeezing his cheeks. “You don’t have to do that. Now-- the question is-- are you gonna eat all of that or just give ‘em away? Cause I have a big appetite.”

Tessa eagerly waited in line for one of her favorite Carnival rides–The Twister. Truly, she likes all of the fun thrill rides, but the Twister held a special spot in her heart. She could remember making her dad ride it until he threw up… Honestly, she wished he were still around so she could tease him about it. Still, she didn’t let the memory discourage her from riding it. As she made her way towards the front of the line, she realized that the person behind her would probably be stuck riding with her. She turned around, offering them an easy smile. “Are you a screamer?” she asked, referring to how people respond to the rides. “I tend to laugh a lot when the adrenaline hits, so apologizes ahead of time for how that sounds.”

The line was the worst part of it and she’d been more than obviously antsy as they waited. “I just ate a giant corn dog so I anticipate nothing will go wrong.” Founder’s Day was Rocio’s favorite, she looked forward to it every year and the questionable rides were her favorite. This was her fourth turn on the thing, only now joining Tessa for this round. “I’ll tell you how it sounds,” she told her, far too familiar with the strange laughter that seemed to escape her on these things. “Like one of those crazy clowns in one of those B roll movies. It’s kind of terrifying.”

Mark opened his mouth to argue but quickly grinned at the woman’s clarification. “Thanks. I could say the same about you.” he said before imitating her action and clicking his tongue just as she did. “Actually, I did – and Chloe almost killed me because I spent far too much time styling my hair.” 

“Oh nooo--” she drew out the word as she shook her head. “I wore this two days ago, I sprayed a little febreze on it just in case you know.” The smile on her face made it impossible to tell if she was actually joking. “How’d you two even get onto your outfit anyway? Did you hit on her?”

💀 an urgent text

[ rocio  → tessa ] TESSA[ rocio → tessa ] TESSA[ rocio → tessa ] SOS[ rocio → tessa ] i repeat SOS[ rocio → tessa ] drop literally everything you’re doing [ rocio → tessa ] jonas brothers are going to be in Boston in TWO WEEKS[ rocio → tessa ] how are we going to get there?

🥇 a supportive text

[ rocio  → tessa ] you’re going to be fine[ rocio  → tessa ] don’t think of it as a blind date[ rocio  → tessa ] mostly because i’m going to be there incognito spying on you[ rocio  → tessa ] also make sure you wear a push up bra and some hoops [ rocio  → tessa ] is this a little much?

“Can you believe that?” Mark said in shock to the person standing near him. He took another sip from his flask as he stared indignantly after the woman who was just walking away. “She rated my outfit a 9.5 out of ten. That’s just ridiculous.” 

“Tragic.” Was all she could say at first, watching the woman’s retreating back before wondering if she should clarify. “I mean her, not your outfit. It’s--” she made an okay sign and clicked her tongue. “Looks like you put a lot of effort into it.”

“I asked for one corn dog but they thought I asked for eight and gave me eight. I didn’t know how to correct them so I got it all.” he explained as he tried to convince the other to take one off his hands. “It’s actually delicious. You should have one.”

“I mean I’m not going to say no--” before she even finished her sentence she’d grabbed one from him and bit into it. “How’d they get eight from one.” She said mid chew though she shrugged it off. “Got any mustard?”

Colton had made the error of giving in to Aurora’s pleading and let the five-year-old have both funnel cake and cotton candy. The combination of overly sugary treats had turned her into the energizer bunny running on absolute max at full volume. Standing back watching her jump up and down in place next to a carnival game, watching the person in front of her try to win with captivated excitement. “I’ve clearly made a huge mistake.” He laughed softly, shaking his head slightly.

Slowly Kara picked off pieces of her cotton candy and slipped it into her mouth, though her attention was captivated by something more than the sweets she was ingesting (and might regret later…but that was a problem for future-Kara). Her eyes were fixated on the show before her in an admirable attempt to catch the magician showing the secrets behind his tricks, but when he managed to again to make the coin appear from behind someone’s ear…she just shook her head. 

“I give up. How the fuck does he do that?” 

rocioparadiso‌:

Dash had been floored as he watched order half the menu but that had quickly transitioned to look of pure amusement. How he’d forgotten a wolf’s appetite though, was beyond him. “Oh no, no no no. No judgment here. I mean this is the first time I’ve witnessed something like this and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I can appreciate a girl with an appetite.” He said with a chuckle. Dash pushed his french toast around his plate looking at her plate of bacon for a minute. “I don’t know, are you going to eat that?” Dash challenged nodding to the bacon.

Despite the fact that she’d already been there a good twenty minutes, she still felt like she could have eaten a week’s worth of food, breakfast was her favorite and she figured it had something to do with it. Rocio actually paused her chewing, eyeing Dash as if ready to fight him, fork in her hand leaning towards his. “Yes.” She told him firmly. “Are you actually doubting me?” As if to prove her point she grabbed another piece of bacon and bit it happily. “Y’know..not that I ever think about getting married but if I do s’gotta be to someone that can cook.”