#ig it does

I thought someone was roleplaying Grim in my inbox because of how that first Anon's ask was phrased 💦

MAN. If Miss Raven were Jade's interviewer ajdbasdailasdas you'd have to hold her back from bonking him with a clipboard she'd probably try to be all professional about it? Whereas Jade gives roundabout responses to prolong the interview, just to push her buttons.................

HLABDBABILDASDI ANYWAY, IT'S PIE TIME.

***Credit for Miss Raven's artwork goes to @shimmeryspark!***

Imagine this...

I’ll sneak in to leave my present, then I’ll leave before anyone notices me. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. He doesn’t need to know I was here.

Raven clutched a gift box to her chest, keeping it guarded as she wove by rowdy party guests, her head low so as to avoid detection. The box was teal and dusted with golden powder, tied together with a bow that glistened like sunken treasure. She had used the ribbon to secure a small bunch of preserved flowers atop the box, which gave off a faint, pleasant aroma.

And inside? A bottle of her latest concoction: Second Skin. The enchanted ink started off with a base of green-blue with an intense purple shift, and when imbued with certain ingredients and a dash a magic (trade secret, shhh!), its colors were ever-changing. Peacock blue, emerald, turquoise, deep violet, gold--it reminded her of the tail of a mermaid, his other form.

How easily he sliced through the waves, how the light reflected off of his sharp angles and flickering fins. A mouthful of sharp teeth, the glimmer in his eyes. Deadly beauty from the deep.

She could see him in the distance if she strained her ears and listened for his musical laughter. He was decorated in whipped cream, an unfettered, yet gentle smile at his wistful lips.

Enjoying himself.

Raven furiously shook her head. No, don’t think of that. Focus.

She ducked behind a leaning tower of presents and, steadying it with one hand, plopped her box down at its base. 

There. Now I just have to...

“Raven. You’re here.”

She jumped, almost stumbling into the gifts. Her head snapped in the direction of the voice--and thankfully, it wasn’t the birthday boy, but Silver.

Perhaps it was his penchant to attract the forest critters (and her being a bird), or perhaps it was his overall reserved demeanor, but Raven had always found Silver to be safe. Someone steadfast and kind. The perfect fairy tale knight--maybe even a prince.

“You startled me, Silver-senpai.”

“I apologize. I thought you might have been someone suspicious from the way you were sneaking around.” He raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that you were already acquainted with Jade. It’s not as though you’re sneaking in uninvited to the party, so I don’t see why you’d...”

“SHHHHHH!” Raven hissed, pressing a finger to her mouth. “You’ll summon him if you speak his name out loud!”

“He’s not a demon or a monster. Jade has assured me of that.”

“Yes, he is!! You have no idea what he’s capable of...!!”

“Oya, to think that my own guests would be gossiping about me behind my back. It is a rather troubling notion.”

“You see? We should drop the subject before Jade finds... out... Raven’s voice slowly trailed off as horrible realization set in. “... He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

Her heart sank as a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

“How good of you to join my birthday festivities,” Jade murmured.  His voice was a croon, the sort of tone put on to soothe others--or coax them into a false sense of security.

Raven flew away, slamming her back against the wall that was Silver’s chest. “I-I’ve completed my delivery, so I’ll be excusing myself now!”

“Wait.”

This time, it was Silver who placed his hands on her shoulders. His touch was not as firm as Jade’s, and it carried a reassuring quality to it. Raven’s stomach fluttered--and at once, she understood why the birds of NRC campus flocked to the sleepy student.

“Before you go, you should do Jade the courtesy of wishing him a happy birthday.” Silver produced a pie from a nearby table and held it out to her. “I’ve already had the first hit. Now it is your turn.”

“Fufu. An excellent idea, Silver-san.”

“What?! You want me to pie him!?”

“... Is there any other way to properly wish someone a happy birthday?” Silver stepped back and bowed. “Then, I leave it to you.”

She froze, staring incredulously between her two upperclassmen and the pie. Between a rock and a hard place (and the door that she desperately wished she could throw herself through).

“Well, Miss Raven? I am waiting.”

“Um...” Raven shyly glanced at the ground. “Jade, c-can you...”

“Yes?”

“C-Can you bend down?!”

A moment of silence elapsed. Then a low chuckle slipped out from the eel, his shoulders shuddering with laughter.

“I-It’s not funny!” Raven insisted, stomping a foot. For a second, she dropped all pretenses of maturity. “I-It’s too hard for me to reach your stupid face like this...!!”

“I never said that it was.”

To her surprise, Jade drew himself down--almost like a lithe cat, stretching out his long limbs. A few centimeters was all the distance left between them. So close, she could make out the golden ring set in his left eye, see the sparkle of the light as it reflected off of his earring. His long lashes, the glisten of his lips, the warmth radiating off of him...

Raven reddened. Maybe that wasn’t such a good suggestion after all.

Jade chuckled, tucking his black stripe of hair behind one ear. His gaze locked with hers, and his lips parted. “... Will this suffice for you to ‘reach my stupid face’?”

“I-IT WORKS JUST FINE!!” Raven stammered. She instinctively shoved the pie at him, unable to stand staring him right in the eyes for prolonged periods of time. At this distance, it wasn’t so much of a throw as much as it was pushing the pie right into him.

Raven carefully rolled her hands, smothering every bit of Jade’s face with whipped cream. She took her time to meticulously smear it on, as though she were a painter, the pie was her medium, and Jade was the masterpiece to be put to canvas. Then--just for good measure--she smothered him with the pie a second time, leaving his face as an almost indiscernible, just a white cloud of cream.

She pulled back with an empty platter and let out a triumphant huff, pleased with her work.

“... If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you were intentionally trying to suffocate me with sweetness,” Jade mused, wiping a blob of cream off of his lower lip, “but sweetness, I find, is not your weapon of choice. Words are, yes?”

“What is your point?”

Raven suddenly felt a slight coolness on the tip of her nose. A white blob made itself known in her periphery as Jade withdrew his finger--he had cheekily left a dollop of whipped cream on her.

Wasn’t this just on...

Her face deepened--and her throat seized.

“Then I will simply have to steal those words away,” Jade declared with a snicker.

He looked absolutely ridiculous in that birthday jacket, and so uncool with a face full of whipped cream. Even so, Raven’s stomach churned. A movement far more tempestuous than what she had felt for Silver.

There were so many things she wanted to say to him, and not nearly enough time to blurt them all out. And so, holding the words close to her heart, she recited them only to herself.

Happy birthday, Jade.

"Oh, right. The poison. The poison for Frisk, the poison chosen especially to kill Frisk, Frisk's poison.