Wishful Night [open to everyone!]

Kayla bobbled a paper lantern in one hand and picked at her food with another as she lounged back on a lonely bench. The whole square was packed, crowded with students and townspeople alike, but she'd never felt quite so alone as she did in this sea of people. They were all couples here, or groups of friends, all chattering and laughing and yelling. So obnoxious. She let her head fall back and stared up at the stars. Red and orange streamers were strung up everywhere for the occasion, threaded with hundreds of those stupid lanterns that now illuminated the courtyard. Professor Breton had been running the whole House ragged to get them all finished in time for the festival. Every time one crossed her vision, her paper cuts seemed to burn. I never want to see another lantern ever again. As if on cue, the paper lantern in her hand caught a stray blue spark from her finger and burst into flame. Kayla poked it away and let it bounce along the ground, pretending not to notice.

What am I doing out here?

There were games, pumpkins, a Ferris Wheel and a promise of a fun time, but she just felt sick looking at it all. The lights made her eyes hurt, the din was giving her a headache, and the greasy fried food they'd handed her was making her stomach churn. She pushed the soggy plate away, not even glancing at the half-eaten pile of mush that might have been barbecued chicken once. Just the smell of it made her want to throw up, but she couldn't summon the motivation to stand up and throw it away.

She closed her eyes, letting a sigh slip from her lips as electricity rippled down her face and neck. Somewhere off in the distance she could hear the loud PINGPINGPING that signified some lucky winner at one of the stall games. Her mouth tailored off into a half-frown. I should just leave.

Hosa watched the crowd of students pass down beneath her as she sat on the roof of a building. A small smile tugged on her lips as she watched the night life of the festival go on beneath her, happy for the work that the Autumn house had done. She had ended up helping stringing up some of the paper lanterns thanks to her ability to turn into a bird and get into the higher places; like she was now. While she was happy with how the festival had turned out, she cared little for playing any of the games or anything like that.

She took a bite out of the pink cotton-candy which she had held in one of her hands, the other hand sporting her as she leaned on it. Her legs were crossed in front of her, having decided not to hang her feet off like she might of normally done, not wishing to easily get anybody's attention from her perch. Her gaze lingered for a flicker of somebody she knew, so that maybe she wouldn't have to spend this festival night alone. Her gaze flickered to the cotton-candy in her hand. She was half surprised she had manged to get it up here; it isn't easy holding cotton-candy when you are a bird, but somehow she had manged to do it. She was rather proud of herself of that.

Chuckling softly, she glanced back down at the crowd of happy chattering students as they went from attraction to attraction, some by themselves, some with others; maybe with a date, maybe just with a friend. Either way, there were having fun while she just sat here. "Maybe I should just go have some fun down there..." she muttered softly to herself, wondering why she was really just staying on the roof.

Alex ran through the crowd, her face the picture of excitement. Practically bouncing from attraction to attraction. Never stopping to participate of course, she had to know all of her choices first, to see everything before deciding what she liked best. As much as the festival thrilled her she couldn't stop until she had found that perfect thing. Whether it be a prize to have won after a hard fought "battle" with one of the many games or simply the most thrilling ride of her young life. She knew it was only a matter of time before it revealed itself to her.

Temporarily out of breath, she stopped to lean against a nearby wall "This place amazing..." she said quietly to herself. Taking the whole festival in again, the beautiful lights and decorations making her prolong her short rest just to admire it all. Once of course she heard the tell tale ring of some lucky winner earning his or her prize she had to see it, taking off once again through the crowd. Her perfect thing could be just around the corner after all!

Well, this was certainly exciting. Ashleigh loved looking at all the lights blinking brilliantly, almost like stars in the night sky. Of course, it felt more satisfying to know that it was her house that had put all of this together. When they had begun to construct the festival, she had been more than happy to help by running all over the place, tirelessly carrying things from here to there, every which where. She couldn't even decide where she wanted to go now. There were so many things to do, after all! Games, rides, food, you name it, it had already been named, right now. Just because she had been there for the creation didn't mean the luster had worn off; far from it, in fact. Luckily there were many nights to experience everything the festival had to offer.

Practically sprinting from area to area, the sight of someone sitting alone on one of the benches caused the purple-haired lass to stop so hard she almost flew forward onto her face. Whipping around, she recognized this girl. She didn't really know her name, but the brownish-haired girl was definitely in her house. She had been helping with putting everything up, though the two had really spent most of their time in different areas, and a cursory memory placed that face to their fun little adventure overseas. She looked rather burned out, a half-eaten plate of food basically discarded at her side. Well, that wasn't any fun! Making her way over, Ashleigh tapped the girl on the shoulder and waved, smiling brightly. "Hey hey! You're in Autumn, aren't you? I knew I saw you when everything was being set up. What are you doing over here though? There's so much other stuff to do!" Personal space and introspective brooding were mysteries, truly.

OoC: Make friends Kaylaaaa

At the tap on her shoulder, more electricity rippled down her arms, and that cloyingly excited voice made her heart drop into her stomach. She turned her head, fighting a scowl, to see her. A bright thousand-watt smile, hair dyed a deep purple, that cheery undertone that made her want to vomit all over again. Kayla vaguely recognized her, but the Ashleigh she knew from Greece had looked as grumpy and miserable as she had. She decided that she preferred her that way, meeting her again. The girl's excitement only made her feel worse.

Kayla bit back a snappy remark and looked away, off towards the Ferris Wheel where students were gathering. Mainly couples. Too many couples. That made her feel even sicker. "Not really one for games," she answered, tasting the own bitterness in her tone. She should have stopped there, but for some reason, she continued. "My sister would have loved it here, though."

OOC: Sleepy-kun: Posting pure drivel since 2009.

If there was any bitterness in the girl's tone, Ashleigh didn't recognize it. After all, who could be unhappy in such a happy environment? No one, that's who. "Oh, you have sibling too? My brother would hate it here. Always shut up in his room reading or something. It's really boring, if you ask me. This is so much more fun!" Maybe if she wasn't so sickeningly enthusiastic all the time, she could've realized that perhaps the last thing this girl wanted was to go hang around a carnival with her. But she was, so she didn't. "Hey, games aren't the only thing here! The rides look really fun too. You know, you'll regret missing out if you spend all night on that bench." She was itching to get a move on, but she felt as if she had to at least try to get Kayla off of that bench and into the night's fun.

A small shadow flickered from behind one of the carnival games. This game, like many others, had stuffed prizes of all shapes and sizes. The smell of fried everything swam through the air, with a deep sugary undertone. Teenagers were wandering about, most in small groups. A few were hanging out on their own, eating the many types of food they had. The small shadow was one of these people, with a tall cone of blue cotton candy peeking out of the darkness. A flicker of gold could be seen, long, singly braided hair reaching to whoever this person was's waist.

Another small movement, this time within the prizes. Unluckily for one of the two people there, namely the young girl and the manager of the stand, the manager had seen this movement. They walked up to a line of Hello Kitties, and parted two to look behind them. One Hello Kitty blinked, and watched the man idly. Another, a few cats down, stood up and stretched. A soft voice, muffled by fluff, came from within the first HK.
"Hello, sir!" The older man jumped back, surprised. He looked around, expecting to see a little girl speaking to him. Instead, two Hello Kitties were waving at him. Oh, you would have expected him to have a heart attack when he saw that. The manager yelped and backed away. "Sir, are you okay?" They asked, both standing now. The man ran, the Hello Kitties sat back down, and quiet, feminine laughter could be hear from a certain shadow.