Back Again

Tahi wandered into the lounge, travel weary. She had tagged along with Kal as he checked up on a city they had helped earlier that year - and then on the way back, they had been waylaid in the neighboring country, which was on the brink of a civil war. Tahi shuddered - she had had to shut out her magic completely - or else be overrun by the terrors that were slowly tearing the country apart. But it was a mortal affair. Purely mortal - and the rules said that her lady set out for her and her brother clearly stated that they couldn't interfere. They could try and protect the innocent where they could. But the people, and not some supernatural savior, were the ones who needed to fix the country's problems.

Kal had stayed behind to do what little he could - but he sent Tahi back on her way, saying that there was something happening at the Athenaeum that she'd want to be there for - and grumbling about some promise to Amaranth, he said he'd show up in time for whatever too. Tahi wondered what he was referring to as she dropped her travel pack onto a couch, unpinned her cloak, and unlaced her travel leathers (the ones that bound her chest back, so she looked more like a boy). Yes - lessons were starting up - but she'd missed lessons before - and goodness knew she'd attended more lessons than he had ever did. ((She doesn't know about the ball yet)).

She sat down, clearing her mind, and letting her eyes fade to a pale white as she listened for the sounds of the Athenaeum. It seemed more lively now. There must be more people around, she thought - curiously. If there was one thing she hated, it was being out of the loop. Maybe she would go find Calla, or Amaranth. She needed some good old fashioned girl time to get her out of the funk she was in. Then she could get them to dish about all of the new people...

Calla happened to wander in just as Tahi thought about her. Her face lit up excitedly as she hurried over, nearly tackling the girl as she did so.

"Tahi! I missed you so much!" she squealed.

She was not exactly excited about the masquerade, mainly from the colour of her dress. Purple wasn't exactly her colour...maybe Tahi could change her mind for her.

"Calla!" Tahi returned the hug with just as much fervor - so happy to see her friend again her spirits had already lifted substantially. "It's great to be back!" She released Calla from the hug - realizing that she was still in her sweaty travel clothes. "Oh. Sorry - I'm a mess. I just got back a few minutes ago. I was going to go change in a minute - but first I was going to try to find out what was going on around here. Kal told me I'd want to come back for some strange reason. I mean, I know that lessons have started, but - He's skipped more lessons than I have - so that can't be the reason..." She trailed off with a puzzled shrug. "What's going on here!?"

She picked up her travel leathers, which were strung out on the couch, and placed them in her pack, along with her cloak, before flopping down on the couch.

Calla giggled. "I'll go with you to the bathhouse if you want. I was actually about to head over there. And there's going to be a masquerade ball," she said, answering her question.

She sat on the couch, waiting for her to squeal and exclaim how excited she was. The lack of excitement was evident on the Charis's face.

"A BALL?!!!!" Tahi's face lit up - all previous negative thoughts banished in an instant! She had only managed to catch the tail end of the previous one, thanks to a certain BROTHER of hers, but seeing as he sent her back for this one - he had just earned major points back.

"This is great! I've been itching to dance, ever since I missed out on the last one - and AH - WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR!? I could wear the pink dress - or maybe the blue one - or, oh - what about that gold and red one from the indus.. And I'll need a matching mask... Hmm.. I'll have to make one I guess. Or We could go SHOPPING! Oh - Amaranth will want to come too - and maybe some of the other girls as well" She stopped her happy babblings, noticing the look on her friend's face. She didn't seem too pleased...

"C'mon Calla - aren't you excited too?"

"I would be...if Amaranth would have just let me get a blue dress," she stated, hugging her knees and averting her gaze. "No, instead, I have to wear a purple one that doesn't match my wings at all. It's going to look horrible. I just hope Lord Hermes isn't there to see it. Then again, I might not even go."

She was dead serious on this. She wasn't very happy about it. Amaranth picked out the dress for her against her will, claiming that if she wore blue, everyone would know it was her. As if her wings and eyes didn't give it away...

Tahi turned her head to the side wearing a puzzled expression. "Why would you want to hide who you are?" she asked, confused. "If I'm at a party, I WANT everyone to realize that the gorgeous girl they're drooling over is me - don't you?" She asked. "Besides, with my skin color, it's pretty obvious who I am."

"I don't want to, but Amaranth insisted I go with...," she paused, shuddering, "purple. I don't have anything against the colour, but the dress just clashes too much with my wings. I found one that was beautiful, and the colours were similar to my dress I wore at the Ceremony..."

Okay. That really didn't tell Tahi why Calla or Amaranth wanted to hide her appearance at all... Maybe she would ask Amaranth later... Calla seemed... Upset.

Tahi tried to use her best big sister voice. "In some cultures purple is the color of royalty. And while I know just how much you love blue - I personally think it's important to embrace all colors of the rainbow. And blues and purples happen to go very well together. I have several purple and blue dresses in Kal's... I mean MY closet. I hope you're not calling ME out of fashion?" She added with a look that, while playful, dared the charis to argue with her.

She stood up from the couch in one fluid motion. "C'mon. Show me the dress, and then we'll talk fashion, 'kay?"

Calla sighed and led her up to her room. She wandered to her closet and pulled out the dress. It was very beautiful, but the shade just didn't quite compliment her wings that well. She laid it on her bed and leaned against the wall, glancing up at Tahi.

((you saw it, right? I posted it on dA. O3O))

Tahi looked at the dress - an approving look on her face. Amaranth knew what she was doing when it came to fashion advice. "I think it looks lovely" she said, picking the dress up, and running her fingers up and down the silver trim. She placed the dress in front of Calla, and stared for a good moment.

"I personally think it looks FINE with your wings - but there are always other options if you want to try them? Have you discussed it with Amaranth? I know she has a lot of temporary dyes, and other cosmetics" she added, giggling as she remembered the time when she was eleven and she had dyed her hair green to match her eyes. The looks on Kal and Mnem's faces were priceless.

((Yup - just saw it - really pretty... I'm still debating with Tahi - but I want to finish Kal first))

Calla frowned. "There is NO way anyone is putting dye on my wings. I refuse."

She looked at the dress and sighed. There was just no way she'd win. She dropped back onto her bed, setting the dress down next to her.

"I don't even see what the point is, trying to hide your identity. It's not like we can't easily figure out who everyone is anyway. I might not even go, since I don't even have a mask," she stated, looking up at the ceiling.

Tahi frowned. "Come on grumpy gills," she said with a mischievous grin - quoting something she saw while in the mortal world with Kal. "It'll be fun. It's not really about hiding your identity - it's about finding a super cute mask ((like my mask. I still have my mask from senior prom all those years ago as you can see in the picture I posted in the chat forum)) , flirting, and HAVING A GOOD TIME!" She pulled Calla off the bed, and twirled her around playfully.

"I don't have my mask either - so we can go shopping for one together. Maybe Rai and Zeph, and some of the other girls need to go too! And I know where my brother keeps his coin purse!" she winked.

"And who knows, maybe we'll figure out what to do with your wings then. What about scarves? I have a lot of scarves in my room - all different colors. Or glitter. I love sparkly things!" She dragged the charis down the hall to her own room. Peeking inside she checked to see if Severa was in. If her roommate was in the room, things could be difficult - and they might have to relocate to Kal's room.

She wasn't in for the moment, but she could be back at any second... Opening the chests at the foot of her bed, Tahi showed Calla her immense scarf collection.

Calla sighed slightly, watching Tahi pull out all the scarves. "I'm not really a fan of scarves. They're too...constricting for me," she stated. She wandered to the window and stared outside.

"Think we can go shopping soon? I've been stuck in here too long," she said quietly.

((hello.. mind if I join in? ^^))

((lol go ahead. XD it's open. C: ))

Tahi gave the Charis a knowing look. She couldn't stand being confined for too long either. "Yup - we could go tomorrow if you wanted to. But not tonight. I need a good long soak first - and I have to figure out what dress I'll wear so I can pick out a proper mask! And maybe we can go ask Amaranth her opinion on your winds too," she added, stuffing the scarves back into her trunk.

"So what do you feel up for? Dress or bath first?" She asked.

"Um, I'd rather bathe," she admitted. "I've been training all day."

She laughed quietly as she waited for Tahi before they left for the bathhouse. "So where did you go this time?"

((TAHIIIIIIIIIIIIII..............do you have MSN yet? ;A; ))

Tahi nodded. She much preferred to be clean before trying on dresses. "Let's go then," she said as they walked into the hallway towards the baths.

Tahi's expression saddened a bit when Calla brought up where she and Kal had been - but she fixed a false smile in place as she replied, "Oh, just around. You know how my brother is with maps. We were just checking up on this little town in Ionia, but then we went back through Assyria..." she wasn't going to mention that Assyria was on the verge of a breakdown, and that was why Kal was staying a little longer.

((I'M WORKING ON IT... It looks like I can use my email to sign up for Windows live - is that the right program?))

Adonia had just been heading to her room to pick up some clean clothes after her training session when her roommate Calla came bursting out of the room being towed along by another young woman with very long light hair and disappeared into another room down the hall. Not wanting to be nosy, she went into her room. As she gathered her things before heading to the baths, she saw the gown Calla had left on her bed and took a moment to look at it. "Its a beautiful gown" she said to herself eying the silver detailing. "This must be her masquerade gown." She finished gathering her thing and went out into the hallway to see both girls heading the same way. "Oh hello!" she said with a small bow. "Heading to the baths as well?"

((gotta go - and YES TIA I finally have MSN - so you better PM/Note me your email))

((I'll tell you on dA. ;3))

Calla looked at Adonia and smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, want to come with us?" she asked her roommate.

She felt that she was luckier than Tahi, since she had things in common with her roommate. She looked up at the fifth year, making sure it was okay with her, though she knew it probably was.

donia replied with a grin. "It would be my pleasure. It will give us a chance to get to know each other better!" she gave another small bow to the other girl smiling and saying. "I don't believe we've met before. My name is Adonia. I'm a third year siren warrior of Hera. Pleasure to meet you."

Tahi nodded as well, her green eyes lighting up with curiosity as she sized up the new girl. Tahi hated being out of the loop, and was glad she finally got to meet the new people at the Athenaeum.

She grinned at Adonia, "The more the merrier! She gave a fake courtesy, which was rather hard to do in her travel clothes. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm Tahirah, but my friends call me Tahi. Fifth year warrior of the lady of the hearth, and resident gossip of the Athenaeum!" Tahi surveyed her dismal appearance with disdain, taking in her ruffled hair pulled back into a ponytail, and the sweaty marks covering her tunic from wearing the brace that bound back her breasts. "Forgive my appearance. I've just gotten back from a long trip with my brother - and I'm a mess! That's why the sooner we get to the baths the better!" She exclaimed, pulling a fresh dress - a frilly blue and purple pastel full length creation - as well as undergarments, oils, soaps, and a set of towels into a small bag.

She looked to the two girls. "Ready to go?" She asked.

((Should we make a new one in the baths or just keep going?))