#opalsstart

ROSE STOOD OFF to the side, away from the commotion of the party and partly in shadow. she held a glass of champagne delicately between her fingers, occasionally taking small sips. the new prodigies were so nervous, she thought as she watched them. some stood talking with opals, hands fidgeting in front of them. some drank freely, clearly uneasy about the feeling of joining a secret society. she couldn’t blame them really, she remembers her jitters on the first night. 

they were going to learn so much ( and hopefully also no find out about poppy ). god, poppy. who had to miss her ceremony as a diadem. who’s been gone for –– god, thinking about it made rose yearn for a way to help. when she first joined the society, and her own predecessor, philip greeves, told her about the disappearances and the murder, it had piked her curiosity. that’s what always got her in trouble, anyways. after learning more, finding out details about the past, well, rose had begun to think that poppy was no coincidence. this was planned, as were the others, and the secrets they’ve tried so hard to keep were coming to light. 

philip told her when she’d called him after poppy’s disappearance, told her don’t snoop, don’t get caught up in that business, if you start digging were you shouldn’t bad things will happen. 

but this was her family. all of them were. and they deserve better. they deserve to go through this process with poppy by their side. no one is going to take any more of them away from rose, and she’d go far beyond her limit to figure out why poppy was gone, and if she was alive. ( god, she better be alive, please be alive ).

it’s not like anyone knew about her investigations anyway. ( beyond mia, rhys, hollis, and philip, of course ) –– most people assumed her article and her successful investigation was a one time ordeal. if there’s ever been a time to put her mind to work, it was now. she needed to get poppy back, for herself and for her circlet. but there was still so much left to solve, so many questions left unanswered. 

why did poppy go missing? were they planning to pick all of them off? why this year? why now? how much did they already know? are they out for revenge? why - why - why –––

     it’s  a  lot  to  take  in  ---  the  evening,  it’s  purpose,  the  location,  the  society  itself.  not  one  to  typically  take  a  step  back,  she  finds  herself  behaving  out  of  character  by  standing  at  the  edge  of  the  elegant  room  watching  others  mingle.  she’ll  get  in  there  soon,  work  up  the  nerve  to  do  what  she  does  best  ---  life’s  one  big  networking  opportunity,  after  all,  and  this  might  be  the  grandest  there  is.  she’s  determined  to  keep  her  wits  about  her  to,  to  not  be  made  a  fool  with  liquor-loosened  lips,  but  nerves  have  her  downing  one  glass  of  dom  perignon  and  then  another  and  another.  

     someone  approaches,  joining  her  side  ---  she  can’t  tell  if  they’re  there  to  size  her  up  or  if  they  too  feel  hesitant.  “  this  is  . . . ”  she  trails  off,  searching  for  the  right  words.  she  normally  always  has  to  work  this  hard,  but  she  usually  never  lets  it  show.  perhaps  with  all  the  masks  in  the  room  this  evening,  her  own  seems  to  be  slipping  just  a  tad.  “ i  don’t  know.  i  think  i’m  rendered  speechless.  i  can’t  believe  this  exists.  that  i’m  here.  ” 

-- fright night . @opalsmedia​ .

the thespians were already very, very intoxicated - the production of a midsummer night’s dream looming over each of them as november got closer. the minute rehearsal wrapped, strathmore’s oberon whipped out a flask and the cast had piled into his car to pregame.

the flashing lights outside of the castle, the tight crown against their scalp, and the alcohol already flowing through their body left jaden light and flowy. first stop was the candy table, dropping a few hi’s and head nods on the way over, pulling jello shots off of the rotating plates as they made rounds. a few of their fellow thespians fell off of the impromptu conga line pretty fast, eventually leaving jaden alone by the time they reached the end goal. coincidentally, an opal wandering around it. “hey - trick or treat, huh?” the smile on jaden’s face as they brushed against the society member was out of character. at this point, everyone in the society had seen most sides of jaden - unfortunately the one’s they’d been introduced to didn’t usually include a smile. 

somewhere in the opals manor // featuring;; open

            there’s something that’s so comforting about sitting in the manor. as a protege he doesn’t often get the opportunity, but he had needed to borrow an old textbook from one of the older opals and had some time before his next class started, so he had decided to sink into one of the plush, overstuffed chairs found in one of the common rooms to flip through some readings he needed to do this week. it’s tedious work, as business writing isn’t usually meant to be enthralling. there’s impatience itching under his skin, telling his mind to wander from the boring work in his lap. his eyes ache behind his glasses, his knee bouncing with the heel of his shoe thumping against the rich hardwood. he’s looking for an excuse to do anything but his homework, so with a sigh he slowly shuts the book and stands, stretching his arms over his head with a silent yawn.