When Tia got up that morning she was in a beautifully good mood. She didn't bother to lounge around in bed as she usually did; instead she got up to knot her hair on top of her head before getting a quick shower. As soon as she was towled dry she took her hair down and brushed it until it fell in loose waves down her back. Today was a good day and she had an urge to put a little more work into her appearance than usual. She had plans and with those plans came the possibility of having to impress and nothing but the best would do. 

She grinned at the thought of going out with John today. Meager as the task of finding a phone might be, she was excited to get out and see the new place they took port in and possibly, if she could convince him, to make a stop to go get her new pets from the pet store she had found online. 

She dressed in the floor length dark green sundress she had brought back from home and her mama's necklace along with her gold bracelets jingling at her wrists and then her triple roped charm anklet. From a hidden department she pulled a wad of cash, counting out the bills she would need and slipping it into the deep pockets she had sewn into the dress as she stowed the rest away. She'd go barefoot, the dress was long enough.

She tucked the key to the room in her other pocket and left, letting the door slam behind her as she moved through the hotel's brightly lit hallway. The heat she felt passing by an open window made her smile. This hot weather she could handle even if it made her feel a little home sick. Not as bad as Houston, but then she had wanted nothing more than to go home and she had been so close. But now there were other things on her mind, other opportunities to take and things to see, ideas and traditions to bring back home to improve her work. 

She found John waiting outside the hotel as soon as she stepped out, standing so tall amidst the other people it would have been hard to not see him. And in her second to look him over she remembered his secrets and his weaknesses and she couldn't find it anywhere in her to not feel endeared towards him. She smiled when he caught her eye while she easily dodged people to get to his side. 

Abysmal. That was the only way Drizella could think to describe the god-forsaken ship that she had somehow managed to find herself on.

In her first couple of days, even weeks, she hadn't thought the place was too terrible. A touch confusing to navigate around, but there seemed to be plenty of places for her to pass the time, and plenty of people to pass the time with. The boys were hot, the girls weren't as hot as her, and everything had seemed to fall into place perfectly. She had actually been happy there -- well, maybe not happy, but certainly content, which was a rare enough state for her, especially while sober.

And then the weeks had gone by, slowly, languidly, and Driz found herself despising the ship more and more as the days went by. Each luxury began to seem a little more common place, each activity and event seemed even lamer, and it was almost as if the alcoholic beverages were getting weaker and weaker as well. Either that or the bartender had finally caught onto the fact that she was exceptionally under age, but she figured that he was far too dumb and far too impressionable for that. A couple winks, some flirty smiles and she could get herself any drink that she wanted without qualm, and judging by the look on the poor man's face every time she paid him a visit, she didn't think that he planned on cutting her off on any time soon.

In any case, Drizella was growing increasingly bored with the ship -- the people on it included. None of them really stood out to her at all except one, one who she planned on getting to know much better, granted that he allowed her to do so.

Which was exactly why she had invited John to join her in the Mist Lounge, already a couple drinks in with a pleasant buzz spreading throughout her body. It was part boredom, but largely pure curiosity. He interested her, which was quite a feat, seeing as people usually didn't interest her quite often. Driz couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but there was something about him that she wanted to see more of; she supposed it also didn't hurt that he was hot and tall, very tall, and Drizella was well aware of the whole theory behind proportions.

She really wasn't even sure if he would show up to meet her at all. Her invitation had been admittedly rather vague, just a note taped to his cabin door telling him to meet her at the bar, just saying that she wanted to 'get to know him better'. Now, she was pretty aware of what that usually implied, but honestly Driz wasn't even sure that that was her main motive. Because she actually liked John, not just to look at -- at least, she thought she did. She wasn't really used to actually liking people just because they were nice, or funny, or sweet, but whatever reason he had become one of the few guys on the ship that she could actually imagine herself being friends with. It was rare when she found an attractive guy to actually talk to and not just fuck, and Drizella figured she might as well make the most out of the situation.

"Tia, doux, venez ici."

Tia settled herself beside her mother, getting as close to her as she was allowed. She was so sick, looking worse than she did yesterday and it frightened Tia but her mama was still in here, another day that Tia was relieved for. She still needed her mama, her laugh and voice and hair and smell. She didn't want to let go, not yet.

Her mother reached for her hand and she gave it to her willingly. She couldn't hold her hand properly, she couldn't squeeze her fingers in comfort for fear of hurting her mother.

Oh, what had happened? Her mother's beautiful color was all but ashen and rotten. The whites of her eyes yellow and the gentle brown color Tia had found comfort in countless time were dull and staring. 

"Soyez bonne." She rasped. "Soyez bonne."

Tia nodded, her throat too tight to say anything, only moving closer to her mother's deathbed because there was nothing else she could do. Medicines didn't work, praying didn't work, being a good little girl didn't work. Her mother was rotting away to nothing, nothing, nothing. 

Suddenly, her mother's grip on her wrist tightened. "Soyez bonne." She said again. 

Tia nodded, still unable to speak. 

"Soyez bonne." Her grip tightened still, unnatural for her decaying body and Tia felt her skin bruise. Her mother's nails dug into her skin, blood welling almost instantly, red against her yellowed nails. 

Horrified, she tried picking her mother's fingers away but they broke off in her own fingers. Screaming, she tried to yank back, to get away, please, Mama, no,  

But her mama held tight with her remaining fingers, reaching for Tia's face with her other hand while her skin melted away, maggots burrowing in her eyes, and repeating "Soyez bonne" in an endless rasp and Tia couldn't escape, couldn't leave her mother, but Gods please let me go! And suddenly, without teeth, her mother's mouth was awning open to consume her -

She woke up frozen in her bed, her body paralyzed.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe.

With a soft sob she forced her body to move, the muscles feeling strange and unknown and stiff in her body as she threw back her covers, stumbling in the dark over the night table. 

Hands grappling in the dark for anything else to trip her, she fled the room and into the hallway, the light blinding her and scaring her. Her feet took her as far away from the nightmare as possible, down the stairs of the hotel and down another hallway, turn after turn until she didn't want to go any further because she couldn't draw air and the pain was unbearable. Her hand grasped her shirt tightly in a fist as she fell into the nearest wall, landing hard on her ass, her chest heaving as she gasped. 

Her mama hadn't looked like that. Her mama hadn't looked like that. Her mama hadn't looked like that. 

I've got in no specific order

Flynn

John/Kovu

and Jack

to answer for paras

Paras owed to me

John

And paras to start

Flynn