(no subject)

[deathbyjumprope.livejournal.com]

Who: Anyone and everyone, including some unexpected guests
What: Halloween party, oh yeah!
When: Saturday night
Where: Destiny Islands

Selphie adjusted the hat of her witch costume and surveyed her work. Well, okay, maybe Tidus and Wakka had helped out a little, but this was her idea to begin with! Mentally, she went down the list.

Decorations - check! There were ghosts and bats hanging from the trees, along with the occasional hung skeleton and a vampire or two lurking in the shadows - all fake, of course, but who cared? This was for fun! There was also a cutout of a werewolf up on one of the decks, made to look like it was howling at the moon. She took a peek at it; it would look great in silhouette!

Background noise - check! The boys had set up some soundtracks of scary noises for the background, and set them to play on repeat for the night. She counted it off on her fingers: there were supposed to be ghoulish wails, bat noises, the occasional werewolf howl... She shuddered violently as a shriek rang out, and gave a devilish grin. They'd done better than she'd expected. This party was going to blow everyone away!

Music - check! There was a stereo set up to play some Halloween music, just for today. A pile of CDs sat on the table next to it, waiting for someone to pick one and put it in to play. She trotted over and picked up the first one, but didn't play it yet. That could wait until more people were here.

Food - check! There were two tables set up that were almost completely covered in food. There was a bowl of gum ball eyes - Selphie plucked out a green one and chewed on it happily - and bowls of chocolate, one with a hand sticking out of it that was supposed to grab you when you went for a piece. She couldn't wait to see their reactions when it did! There were cookies with all kinds of festive Halloween shapes, from black cats to witch hats to pumpkins, and... deviled eggs decorated like little devils? Whose idea was that? Well, she decided, if they were the same person that had done those spider cupcakes, they weren't too bad.

Drinks - check! There were coolers decorated like treasure chests spread out around the party area, filled with all kinds of drinks. She would have liked if they creaked when they opened or something fun like that, but that was something they hadn't gotten to do, unfortunately. Maybe next year.

Bonfire - here, she hesitated. It wasn't quite dark yet, so they only had the firewood so far. She was really looking forward to lighting it, but... she didn't have a way to light it. Tidus or Wakka were supposed to bring matches, but they'd left to get into costume or something. She just hoped they came through.

Still, everything else was perfect! And with everyone coming back, they'd have a blast tonight, she decided cheerfully. She just hoped they all had great costumes... Hey, that was an idea! Maybe they could have a costume contest later on! Grinning, she made a mental note and went to sit down as she waited for someone else to show up.

Comments

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song whirled on the owner of the voice with a startled smile. Here was someone much more interesting than Sephiroth, in her opinion.

"Lilith! I thought you left with Josiah! Or did you sense that I was trying to get myself in trouble again and fly back to rescue me from Sephy's wrath?"

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

A faint smile appeared on her face, but it almost appeared strained. "Make no mistake about it - I did leave with Josiah." She glanced at Sephiroth and pursed her lips, a wary look appearing on her face. Obviously, she didn't exactly approve of all of the present company. "I doubt he'll risk upsetting any of you, at least this night."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"Probably not." She spared a glance back at Seph, as if to silently ask him if that was true, but she was speaking again to Lilith without waiting for a response.

"So why are you back, really?" A flash of concern made it through her sugar-induced cheerfulness. "Is Josi alright?"

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

She lifted her eyes slightly to peer a bit more closely at Sephiroth before casually dismissing him, turning her attention back to Song, her smile vanishing.

"Not quite so dire," she murmured. She then began walking away, a quick nod of her head signaling for Song to follow her.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song shot one last look at Sephiroth, gave a nod and a slight wave of her hand in fairwell, and quickly followed Lilith. She was already nibbling at her bottom lip in her usual gesture of uncertainty, and had to remind herself that Lilith was almost never openly cheerful, and this behavior from her could just mean that everything was normal.

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

When they were far enough out of earshot of both Sephiroth and any of the Refugees, Lilith pulled out a black folder from seemingly nowhere and handed it to Song.

"He would have come, but he was a bit preoccupied," the succubus said quietly. Probably a lie, probably not - it was always hard to tell with her.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

As quickly as worry had formed, it was replaced by curiosity. She only hesitated long enough to tilt her head at the folder's cover before opening it, obliging Lilith's desire for privacy by keeping it carefully turned away from the other party-goers, even if none where near enough to see it anyway.

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

Inside of the folder were notes written about various worlds on the most farflung reaches of known gummi space, including one or two worlds that they didn't know about. The notes included any observations about odd occurrences, missing people, and strange activity - the amount of notes was staggering.

"He picked up where the other boy left off," Lilith explained, crossing her arms and looking away. "It's not much, but for all of those worlds none of you can make it to, he's trying to assist you as much as possible." She gave a lift of one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "It helps, I suppose."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

She looked up again at Lilith, the question apparent in her eyes before she voiced it. "The other boy?"

Her gaze drifted back to the notes, scanning for answers there even while she waited for Lilith to explain.

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

She smiled slightly. "One of your former leaders? I'd imagine his current marital status keeps him from exploring as many worlds as before."

The smile vanished and she looked away, a distracted look in her eyes, as if trying to figure out a puzzle of her own. "Every world has its own... nuances, Song. Its own problems, its own mysteries. But something is tying them all together nowadays, something that you all no doubt are aware of." She nodded towards where Kairi was still off enjoying the party. "Something that will no doubt get worse."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song nodded, but couldn't stop the corner of her mouth from twitching in something that could have been either a frown or a humorless smirk. "That's a fact that is rather hard to ignore these days. What..." she faltered, catching herself and seriously considering leaving the question unasked, but she'd already started, and she couldn't deny wondering.

"What is he doing out there? Gathering this information is useful, but if that were his only reason for going, I don't see why he couldn't have just said so..."

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

She didn't meet the woman's eyes.

"It's not the reason he left, Song."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"And you're not going to tell me what is," she concluded.

Song sighed and looked away briefly, not annoyed, but... wistful, almost.

"Well. Thank you for bringing this. It's nice to see you." She touched Lilith's shoulder. A simple, friendly gesture to remind the succubus that Josiah wasn't the only one Song cared about.

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

Lilith looked back at Song, her face carefully blank. "It's not my place to tell you." It never has been, was left unspoken.

She didn't flinch away from the light touch as she may have months ago. Instead, she only shook her head. "I'm only back to deliver this. I leave after the party." There were still words she would never say, even after everything.

Still, she glanced back at Song and offered her a small, if not overly warm smile. "He keeps his promises. And it looks like the same applies to me now."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song had no problem returning the smile.
"When you go back, do remind him that I'll be very displeased if he gets himself in too much trouble out there. I respect his wish to do this alone, but there's something to be said for having your friends close by. But then..." she waved a hand as if to dismiss her own request, rustling the white feathers of her costume. "He knows that, I'm sure. And at least he has you."

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

"It has been interesting, I'll say that much at least." Of course, those were stories for another time.

She looked a bit startled by that last part, and quietly said, with only the slightest bit of smug knowing, "But he doesn't have you." She shook her head. "But I'll tell him regardless."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

In a reflection of Lilith's own reserved mannerism, she didn't show any reaction to that, but she felt it.
It was strange, how different the thought of Josiah felt in comparison to the thought of Orpheus. Her feelings for Orpheus were of desperation, almost need, often more painful than pleasant...
But Josiah made her want to smile, or even laugh, whether he was close to her or far away. She, who studied her own psychology so carefully, still couldn't determine why this was, or what it meant, and she was almost afraid to try.

She was smiling again when she responded. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Sometimes I'm tempted to fly off again myself."

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

"Enjoying myself?" She raised an eyebrow. "Like I said, life is never dull around you Refugees. I can always expect something of interest to happen."

She glanced towards the night sky, another faint smile on her face. "It's hard to stay in one place once you know that there is more than one world out there." Not that Lilith had ever been bitten by wanderlust, but she had known enough mortals to know that this was true.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song wasn't going to argue with Lilith about whether or not she was 'enjoying' herself. The demon seemed to be in a good mood, by her standards, and that was well enough.

"Is that why you still choose to follow Josi around even though you're free now?" She had been wondering about that, since the two of them left. She had half-expected Lilith to sail off on her own as soon as she got the chance.

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

"I'm free from the grimoire, yes," Lilith replied smoothly with a raised eyebrow. "But I'm still bound to him." She didn't sound bitter, just stating a simple fact.

She walked away a few steps, kneeling to pick something up off a small bench standing just a handful of feet away. "That reminds me..." She turned back to Song, a book in her hands. "He asked me to give this to you. It was something Calum found at the Star Market, but it seems more appropriate for you to have it."

If Song would flip through the book, she would find pages worth of spells regarding memory and dreams, written in neat calligraphy and sometimes with small sketches in the margins.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"Does that bond force you to stay close?" She'd thought it was essentially the same as what Ryuu and Aaron shared. One's life tied to the other's, regardless of how many worlds apart they were. It worried her to think that it might instead be another form of imprisonment.

The book, however, made her eyes light up with almost mischievous excitement. She indulged herself by skimming over a few pages right then and there, and had a feeling that she'd be up late into the night studying it.

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

She shook her head. "No. It's just..." She paused, and seemed a little lost for words, something she quickly covered up with a mild shrug. It was still hard for to accept the ideas of "friendship" so she just waved off the notion. "It's more convenient this way. Besides, someone needs to watch him and make sure he doesn't kill himself."

She only smiled knowingly at the look on Song's face when she began paging over the book. Of course. Just like he had predicted.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"Ah. Well, that's the truth." Of course, Song being who she was, she fully suspected that part of the reason was simply that Lilith liked the company, even if she was too stubborn to admit it. Perhaps it was just as hard for a demon to admit to actually caring that much as it was for a Nobody. She fondly remembered long hours of badgering Axel for such an admission... Luckily for Lilith, she didn't feel it necessary to do the same to her.

Anyway, there was a more immediate idea on her mind. It would be nice to send something back for Josiah... she'd been thinking it even before receiving the book, but the book made a convenient excuse. The problem was that she didn't have very much on her that would make a decent gift... except one thing. She wasn't sure if it was right, and she was almost afraid of the significance, but if it was presented casually... just a token of whatever sort of friendship they had right now, perhaps it would be all right.

Tucking the book in the crook of her arm, she reached back somewhat hastily to unclasp her necklace and sort through the rings. The one she removed was a sterling silver band that widened into a roaring lion's head. She'd been wearing the necklace day and night for at least six years now, and all of the rings had sentimental value, but the lion had the least. It seemed about time she did something meaningful with it.

"Here. Give this to him," she pressed the ring into Lilith's hand. "As a thank-you gift for the book."

[lovely-fatale.livejournal.com]

Lilith watched Song curiously as she removed the ring from the chain around her neck, and then glanced down at it once it was placed into her hand. It was an odd little piece of jewelry, and Lilith didn't particular indulge herself in learning about human customs, so she didn't say anything about the ring itself.

Instead, she tucked it into a pocket on her cloak and nodded shortly. "It seems I've gone from being an accessory of the grimoire to a courier." There was a note of amusement in her voice as she pulled the hood of her coat back up.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song laughed slightly at that. "Well, would you feel better if I gave you something too?" She was mostly joking, and knowing Lilith, she didn't expect a 'yes', but she would happily come up with a gift for her if she thought it would actually be appreciated.