created to create.

“You made it!” Herc grinned as he stood up from the iron outdoor patio furniture he’d been sitting on so he could properly greet them. In the hot Californian sun the ice in the pitcher of water was starting to melt despite being shaded by the large parasol. “Sorry I got here a little early and already browsed through the menu…” he explain sitting himself down again. “I’m tempted to try this Double Bacon Loaded Cheese Fries.. what do you think?”

“I made it,” Pascal repeated with a grin. Though she’d been in Elise for awhile, she hadn’t made many friends. She was okay with that, she kept to herself, but at times it got a little lonely. She was glad she’d met Hercules, someone that wasn’t just nice to her but was willing to make plans and show up. “I think it sounds greasy,” she said, honestly, taking the seat across from him. “But that is American food for you.”

Norma switched her phone off with a decisive click and rubbed her eyes.  “Okay.  I seriously need to stop crushing on perfect strangers on Instagram.  This can’t be healthy.  Or even ethical.”

“But it’s so much easier to stare at pictures than it is to actually approach them. Or even send a message.” Mauve shook her head. “I don’t think anything is wrong with it. If someone was crushing on my Instagram, I’d feel so... special.”

“Okay before you say anything, if you touch me right now I will end you. I’m running on 3 hours sleep and 3 litres of caffeine, do not test me. I’m perfectly happy to get in a fight purely for the hit of adrenaline.”

“You sound like my sister,” Dion stated with a nervous laugh. Don’t get him wrong, he loved Tatiana, but sounding like her wasn’t necessarily a good thing. “Would a macaroon help? They usually cheer her up.”

“I wouldn’t have assumed so if you hadn’t given that disclaimer. Now I’m wondering.” Tatiana was only kidding, though with her non smiling expression and dead serious tone, people would likely question that. She took a sip from her water bottle before giving an actual answer, placing it ack on the table in front of her with a thud. “No thank you. I eat enough dessert with my brother baking nonstop, and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth as it is.”

“When I tell you it’s uncomfortably hot I mean it is worse than Satan’s asshole out here. I’m not happy. Not one bit. I need the weather to get its shit together. I need the weather to be comfortable not unbearable.”

“Tell me about it.” The sun may not be beating down on her so bad if Tatiana was willing to wear even one clothing item that wasn’t black as night, but she wasn’t about to give up on style because her legs felt like they were about to start a fire. “It’s not even fucking June yet, either. You better prepare for what’s in store.”

Torin looked up from the canvas that stood in front of her, still blank as it had been for the last half hour. She’d hit a bit of a creative block, something that didn’t happen often. Colors usually floated everywhere, inside her head and in the world that surrounded her, she always knew what to mix to make it feel right, to showcase her emotion. Today however she wanted to just dump blue paint and nothing else. Nothing else made sense. The distraction Sorrel was offering was more than welcome, and her eyes lit up, stomach growling at the sight of the pie container, suddenly remembering she’d forgotten to eat lunch.

“Wow this is so fancy and elegant. I feel so out of place” Herc chuckled, reluctantly holding a glass of champagne. “I hardly recognize anyone in all this formal wear.”

“What do you think of my ‘formal wear’?” Pascal did a small twirl, ecstatic to show off her dress. She was ecstatic about everything today. “I colored it myself!”

“I forgot how much this thing itches,” Cass muttered, scratching idly at the hemline of her dress as she manoeuvred through the crowd after checking in with what minimal security the gala had. Now she had to track down Reagan again, and that was an ordeal in an of itself considering, well, everything about who Reagan was. The birthday girl went wherever the conversation took her. It was endearing. Usually. Now, it was stressful, considering how many of these people were strangers. She’d have to ask one of the wait staff when they came around. With a sigh, she made her way to the drinks table in search of refreshments, only to find someone in her way. “Could you move? There’s no point to serving refreshments if no one can get to them.”

All of her friends were here. Almost. It was wonderful. The only thing that could make it better was if Maddox was here too. She’d dyed a galaxy tie and handkerchief for him so they could match, if he did happen to show. She knew he wouldn’t, of course, but --- there was nothing wrong with hoping. Or being prepared. A bit lost in her thoughts and more than a little overwhelmed at the options in front of her, she hadn’t noticed anyone approaching until the woman spoke. “Oh, Cass! Hi!” Pascal offered a bright, cheery smile, her gaze briefly pulled away from the array of refreshments. “You look so pretty! Everything here is so pretty, and I cannot make any decisions!”

“Oh my gosh is that a lemon cake?” Reagan asked practically beaming as she looked at the yellow and purple cake present before her. The give away was the lemons decorated ever so neatly on it. the blonde was practically jumping for joy seeing everyone dressed up and enjoying themselves. it’s the vision she had for this party and to see it come true made her heart so happy. “Would it be bad if I snuck a piece now?”

“Not at all. It is your day to do whatever you want.” She seemed happy. Pascal was glad. It was her birthday, after all. No one should spend their birthday sad or alone --- she’d been there, and it wasn’t fair. “Oh! I brought your gift.” She lifted the bag in her hand, as if she’d suddenly remembered she had been carrying it in search of her friend. “Should I wait to give it to you or would you like it now?”