#lovedunexpectedly

it's not that she doesn't believe dawn. quite the opposite, really. she'd be an eejit to assume the world was perfectly ordinary beyond her own private experiences, and a bigger eejit again to suggest that the world could only face one kind of supernatural threat in it's existence. but there's a difference between living the lore and learning about it. experiencing it first hand is the best and most cruel teacher of all, so it seems.

but somehow, thinking of dawn facing all of this is enough to steal the air from her lungs. she's so young... just a kid, really. and all of this stuff just took place, evolved and happened without her permission, without her knowledge. any capacity she had to enjoy a normal childhood vanished the moment she arrived in sunnydale. it's enough to break anyone's heart, really.

" and so... forgive me, i'm just trying to make sure i understand all of this. the order of dagon... are they a threat? are you in danger? "

˚₊‧꒰ა 🤎🚪💛 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ -> ❝ ONE NIGHT I WAS BORED .. in bed. ❞ ellie started - looking over at her name twin. body spread out on the other ellie's bed. before a grin tugged at the corner of her lips. hand held out the bag of m&ms over the side of the bed - in front of bartlet's face. ❝ and i stalked you on the internet. ❞

Potential. Maybe Katrina had potential. At some point. It must have left early, sometime before her teen years, another thing she grew out of. There were only two paths she was going down, and she knew it. If anything, this one has more options. They all suck, she hates them, but they're options.

Sat on a couch in this room that Salvius had referred to as a lounge, Katrina swirls her drink absentmindedly in her glass. Marginally grateful for this moment of unwinding, the room full mostly of peers and tucked away from cameras and reporters. The pre-games coverage still plays on the screens on the walls, but she can look anywhere else. For a moment, she can take half a breath.

Technically, Cleo really shouldn't have any grounds to say that Leia is too young to be getting into this, considering Cleo wasn't much older (and definitely knew far less) about all this when she started than Leia right now. But that doesn't mean she's not about to keep as close and big-sisterly an eye on her as she possibly can without blowing any sort of cover - she's practically still a kid! How could she let her go out there on her own?

"I did do my fucking job!" Katrina says with a perhaps exaggerated scoff, brows furrowing. Some people might think it's not the smartest, an agent out with a mercenary, discussing their escapades. But there's this unspoken sense between people like them, a respect, as well as the knowledge that letting any of this information out would be bad for both of them.

❝ is that intended to be a birthday wish, jester? ❞ stunning white and blue gown —made just for the occasion— flows around the human body in question, green eyes glancing down at it quickly before focusing on cryptic companion. ❝ this does feel like a little much, ❞ she leans in a hair closer, voice a whisper, ❝ technically my birthday isn't even for another month, but father insisted on the... festivities. i am to be indisposed on the day itself for- reasons. ❞ zelda sounds less-than-enthused about the matter, despite the small, tight smile plastered to her face like a mask she's been wearing all evening. just a few more hours of this, a mantra she's been repeating for what's felt like weeks now. she takes a second to scan the crowd beyond pair, wondering where her knight has gone off to. probably getting something to eat. she quickly feels less worried.

"don't worry — i am a-okay. i just need to sit down for a second." lois flashes her a reassuring smile, strained as it was, before she lowers herself onto the couch. jon had been kicking and rolling around the whole day; he clearly wanted to be sent out into the world just as much as she wanted to send him out. but there was still a little over a month to go, so neither of them could get what they wanted. maybe she should review the company's maternity leave package so she could be at home in one of clark's shirts instead of office clothes whenever jon was acting up. "i think i should get paid extra for still showing up this far along."