#doefect

[ ★ ] a photo exhibition seemed like as good a place as any to unwind after being thrown into a new world! he hadn’t been to one in so long because of his roadtrip with noct, so he pretty much felt like a kid in a candy store among the different styles of pictures and arrangements. talk about fanboy alert!

another great thing about being in galleries was seeing all the people who were as into photography as him. this time around he had his sights locked on a brunette stranger across the ways, looking just as engrossed in the art, if not more!

➼┊ That’s easily how he has found himself with a new companion, and she seemed nervous, as anyone would be in an unfamiliar situation. Still, he was here to try to help her

       ❛ By the looks of you, you’ve never actually been in this sort of situation, have you ? ❜ Was it insulting to assume, just by looking at her, that she has never had any sort of training in her life ? Maybe ...  ❛ I have a spare bow and a spare sword, but they aren’t easy to wield ❜

     Unflinching even visible tension around her shoulders given as her fingers  tap ,  tap ,  tap against her arm ,   the girl attempts to cover her temper with thin line on her lips and sharp gaze at the threat.  Every second passes by ,  bad goes to  worse  since  DANGER rolls from the woman’s recognition that’s not supposed to be there.  Hell , Rachel knows everyone from the Bay  ( she doesn’t )  but she’s never seen Nosy Jane before.

     If Nosy Jane knows her ,  then   ( PRICE )   possibly can’t be far off ,  and Rachel absolutely can’t have that.

               ❝     Move.    ❞        Cold evasion of comedic revelation chosen when the blonde walks past the stranger ,  shoulder purposefully bumping against to make a point.  She pauses with a contemplative look before she attempts to grab the camera from unsuspecting hands and delete the evidence herself  ——  it was a  quick ,  messy decision that she’d rather not do ,  but fuck decency if the life she built around will fall just because of Nosy Jane posting photos of anything related to Amber on the internet or shit.  So she tries throwing the damn camera on the ground with force to  DESTROY  everything ,  just as she left Arcadia Bay as destroyed as her missing mother.

               ❝     See ?  Already taken care of.  Have a nice day.    ❞

     And Rachel retreats behind her walls as soon as she turns around ,  calculative and fast on her heels  ( fighting hard not to bolt right there and then — )  to lock herself in her own little world within her apartment.

       she’s been running back and forth from her home all day, each time carrying new items. things ranging from cupcakes, to streamers, to giant pool noodles fill her arms, a giddy grin on her lips. to outsiders, it may look as though she was throwing a HUGE party for a multitude of people -- but that was only half right. in truth, she is throwing a party, but it’s only for two. it’s a very special day, in her eyes at least -- and screw anyone who thought otherwise. her partners birthday only came once a year after all, and she hasn’t been able to participate in it for a long time. the thought stirs something painful in her chest, but she’s quick to shake it off. they couldn’t go that far back in time, not far enough to fix the gap in their lives without each other. that was fine though. she has every intention to make up for it. not only that, but to make max’s birthday the best one it can be. it’s going to be a glamorous event -- just for them.

with this goal in mind, and a strong enough determination in her heart to replace the momentary ache she had felt, she pushes onward. she’s never thrown someone a birthday party, but she knows HOW to party and what a good one requires. for good measure, she’s acquired some extra things just for fun. a few silly things she would never want for her own birthday, but thinks max might like. speaking of max, she should be home anytime. chloe had sent her out a few hours ago with a simple request -- to pick up some bad movies for later. she would be surprised if max didn’t have SOME suspicions that she was up to something, but if she did, she showed little indication of it ( a mercy to a very obviously plotting chloe maybe, but she’ll take it. )

by the time chloe returns home for the final stretch with her last haul of goodies, she’s already got most of the decorations and goofy activities set up. she hopes max appreciates her favorite -- pin the tail on the shithead president. just glancing at it is enough to earn a chuckle from her, proud of her own clever idea, but she needs to focus now; she’s almost out of time!

she’s laying out the cupcakes on a table in her best attempt at the shape of a deers head, but it  resembles something out of sesame street instead. it’ll have to do though, because the click of the front door has her racing to finish up before turning around to greet her bewildered partner, a smile lighting up her own features. nailed it.

❛ oh, you should see the look on your face right now. totally photo worthy. ❜ she teases, a hint of nervousness in her tone. it’s hard to tell whether she likes or not -- but going off her dazed expression, she guesses it’s a yes. ❛ i sorta went nuts with.. all this, ❜ she gestures to the room. ❛ but fuck it, right? it’s your birthday and you deserve something awesome, so why NOT make the whole house look like a huge frat party was happening here? ❜ she isn’t sure if what she’s done qualifies as awesome or not, but there was always next year, and the year after that to get it right. regardless of whether max appreciates her efforts or not, she’s happy with that knowledge alone.

Rooting through the garbage was nothing new for Dice to get his food. What was new was the fact that he hardly had to fight off raccoons or stray cats and dogs for it in this city, which was a huge surprise, not that he would complain and invite bad luck his way. People tended to be wasteful, so with any luck he’d be able to find a bento with a huge portion still uneaten. 

The gods smiled on on him, finding a barely eaten package of convenience store sushi. Eyes sparkled and mouth watered as he reached to pick it from the trash, only for the gods to frown on him at the last minute as two black paws grabbed it first. Looking up, a raccoon came face to face with with him before dashing off. Without haste, Dice chased after it, accidentally bumping into someone as he made a dive for the critter and catching it. 

Her ballet is rusty— she has never been particularly skilled with the dance as far as she’s concerned, but given that she hasn’t been able to practice in ages ( as a human, that is ), she thinks it’s fairly justifiable. Muscles need time to rebuild, skills need time to be relearned, though the phantom pains that linger in her feet remain. Practice has helped her make progress on that, though, however lonesome that has been; Ahiru tugs on the laces of her slippers as she finishes up her stretches, peering up at the other girl with a warm smile.