Let's eat cake (For the newly awakened Children)

It had been a week, and Gabby was rushing around her older style house attempting to put up all the finishing touches before-anyone showed up. She had invented all the people she’d been fighting with not too long ago over to celebrate their victory. Well, she tried anyway. The only phone numbers she had were Vera’s and Lori’s. That left Cain, Sagami, and Kogami out of the loop. She’d told Lori to message the other three if she had the numbers. She knew that if she saw the others at school or in the streets, she could invite them over that way. As for Vera, last time they talked, she made it clear that she probably wasn’t going to show up. She invited her in passing, anyway, in case she changed her mind. No matter how it happened, everyone would eventually get the invite. What’s more, she remembered to add her address. It’s not like she had anyone over before, and that seemed like an important detail. Even if they got lost, she was smart enough to mark her house. Though, she wondered if it was appropriate to use large star shaped balloons to do it. Who knew? It definitely made her place stand out against the normal Iwaigodai sky, regardless.

As she put up the last of the red streamers, she stood back and looked at her work. In retrospect, it looked more like a birthday party than a celebration of fighting monsters and kicking their butts with creatures summoned from within them. She didn’t know how else to do this though. It’s not like anyone had told her how to decorate a house for that kind of thing. It was too late to change it, so she let it be. Everyone would be here soon, after all. If they were coming, that is. She hurried to put out all the food she had bought for the event; namely chips, soda, orange chicken, a vanilla cake, with chocolate frosting, and a huge bowl of candy. It was seriously as if a child had done everything. She then waited for them, planning to let everyone in as they showed up.

((I will wait until 12:00 A.M. on the thirteenth to repost. This will give everyone the chance to join. You can still come after that, but you will be late. ;P))

Lorielle rushed slightly in getting to Gabby’s house. Well, slightly was not being descriptive enough. She did indeed run a bit in looking for Gabby’s house, which truly was not hard for her when given the address. It was not often she found a place in Ueitawa she did not already know. So the house was not too much of a problem. She had made sure to bring a liter of a generic root beer that hopefully those who came would come around to. She also had a bag with her laptop around her shoulder, with some music of different flavors for those who wanted to hear different things. Who knew what people would like? The thought made her all the more excited. She had dropped Sagami a line through phone to see if he was available to come, however, Cain she had clearly forgotten to ask for his number was unable to contact him. Kogami, surely knew of the upcoming part, however did not see him in the area, even around the church to tell him where it was. But the house did not seem much like the others. It was old-fashioned to be sure, but it was a bit larger than the others, enough to be noticed. Though that was not specific, and who knows what the others might think if they saw it. Hopefully they would find their way. She would walk up to the door, and knock on it. Should Gabby end up answering, Lorielle would give a big smile and wave, the root beer balanced on her other hand.

“Heya Gabby!” she would say. “I’d hug you, but I don’t want to drop the drink.” It was nice to see her again, especially after what had just happened with the two of them, along with Sagami and the rest. A bit of unwinding could work out for now. Though, Lorielle no doubt had some things to ask and suggest at some point. But in the risk of dampening the mood, she would ignore it for now. The only thing that would matter right now is to have fun!

If Gabby ended up letting her in, she would walk in slowly, and turn back to her before stepping on the floor. “Should I take off my shoes? I dunno if you would mind or not,” she would ask. If she did not mind, Lorielle would give a nod, and put her shoes to the side of the entrance inside before walking in. If not, she would leave her shoes on. Gotta be polite in a new area right?. She would also set her laptop bag next to the entrance until needed. It had been a while since she had visited a friend that she knew decently well. She had been cooped up in her house more often than not, so it may only end up hyping her up more as the day would go. She was also eager to see the others again. She felt bad she could not contact the others, but she did hope they could all show up. ‘Hell, even Kogami can come. Worst case scenario he can always be kicked out…’ she thought.

Looking inside, it looked like a proper bash. Food and decorations galore. She would put her drink next to the others with Gabby’s permission, and turn to her. “Nice place! Can’t wait to trash it,” she would say, before making a small giggle, indicating it was a joke. She would then look at the door, in hopeful anticipation of anyone else who might arrive. She would also have to learn to try and calm down, at least at first. But she could not help herself. Too many things were going on, and she wanted to be a part of all of it.

Gabby heard a knock on the door. So the first person was here? She went to answer it, and saw Lori standing with her hands full, “Somehow, I expected you to be the first one to show up.” With a slight smile, she took the root beer and brought it inside to the table, “Could you take them off, this isn’t a western style house.” If Lori wore her shoes inside, she would never get the floors cleaned. Thankfully, she though ahead and had slippers lined out for guest. There were three sets. She went over and pointed at the ones that were likely to be Lori’s size. They didn’t look new, but they definitely weren’t well worn. That was the pair in the middle. The one to the left was obviously too large for Lori’s foot. It was about the size of an adult man’s foot; they looked slightly better used, but neglected. The last pair was the odd one out. They had never been worn, and it showed. They were probably slightly too big for Lori, anyway. Gabby was already wearing her own, of course, so her normal shoes were off to the side, next to the wall.

When her friend mentioned trashing the house, Gabby shuttered, “I’d rather my place not become a landfill.” She grabbed a chip from the bowl and popped it in her mouth, “You can make a mess of it, however.” With that, she laughed a little. This was supposed to be a fun event to celebrate them overcoming a beast, so why couldn’t she joke? She had been waiting for anyone else to show up, but there were no other sounds at her door. So this was the result. The first party she had ever thrown was a failure. Well, not a total failure. Lori had at least shown up. She wouldn’t say it was all for not. Before this, her face was obviously beginning to show signs of sadness, and her lips were forming into a pout. That wouldn’t get to her though. She clapped her hands against her face and cheered up, “It’s time to party.” Even if was only the two of them.

This was so stupid.

Cain had no idea what he was doing here, not in the slightest. Since when did he go to parties; parties thrown by girls he hardly knew, which he hadn't even been directly invited too, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to attend? He didn't even know what someone was supposed to do in this sort of situation. Was he supposed to bring something, or dress up, or invite someone else to accompany him?  

Cain let out a deep breath and turned in place before walking down the sidewalk once again. He'd been pacing on a sidewalk not far from, what he assumed was, Gabriela's home occasionally muttering to himself about how much of an idiot he was for showing up. Seeing s no one had called him it hadn't exactly been easy finding out where Gabby lived, though not impossible. Not to mention she'd made it pretty obvious what with the balloons and all.  He let out a sigh and   ran one of his hands threw his hair.  He could either go in or go home, but there was no way Cain was spending another second out on the sidewalk. It was a huge waste of time. So with his stomach churning at the thought he decided to finally walk up and knock on Gabby's door.

"Worst idea of my life." he would mutter under his breath before the door opened.  He wasn't sure who would end up greeting him, or what the proper greeting would even be, so he just decided to give a bow whenever the door opened.

"Uh, hey. Hope I'm not intruding or anything. Just figured I'd swing by and say 'hey' while I was in the neighborhood." He would lie lamely. True, it wasn't impossible for him to be in Iwaigodai, but why would he just happen to swing by when someone was just happening to throw a party? What sense did that make? Wouldn't he just be disturbing their...
Cain resisted the urge to smack the side of his own head in a futile attempt to shut up his thoughts.  They really weren't helping things. Still he wasn't sure what else to do in the situation except be glad that he didn't blush easily.

"Well I guess I ought to get going. You guys are probably pretty busy and all. Sorry to disturb you, have a good night." He would say trying to hide his nervousness. Right now he would like few things more than to turn tail and head home, but running off wasn't really an option. Not since he'd actually been dumb enough to knock.

Lorielle, her shoes off, would now be roaming the food, looking at what she prepared. “Nice work on all of this. It looks great!” she said. She was incredibly prepared by all this. She woul not grab at anything yet until Gabby would mention if at all she was hungry. And if she got to the food first. It was a shame no one else was stopping by. She would take a moment to look at the door, seeing no one show up, and turn back to Gabby. “Is there a curfew for us at all? Cause I have nothing to do tonight or tomorrow, so I can leave at any time you need me to,” she explained. She wanted her to know she was ready to abide by whatever house rules she placed. Order needed to be kept after all.

She would hear a knock on the door, and she did not go to get it herself, unsure if that was proper or if Gabby was supposed to as the one who lives there. If Gabby made a sign at all, she would move to open it, or remain there if Gabby chose to. Outside would be Cain, who seemed to be lucky enough finding his way here. He seemed very nervous about coming inside, and it seemed to bother him. She wondered what it would be like if she grew up as shy as he did. She felt a sort of empathy for him. Whether she was at the door or not she would speak. “Hey Cain! Glad you could make it!” she would say with a smile. She thought it would be best to have him feel welcome and at the very least make him less nervous. She did not want him to worry about her and hopefully not Gabby as well.

He would make the suggestion that he was going to leave, and Lorielle would grab his arm if he was at the door. If not, she would wave at him. “Hey! You better get in here. You came all this way to stop by, I refuse to let you go so easily,” she said waving him toward the house. Hopefully he would come in. It would be better to have more friends join in, especially after the drama that occurred just a week ago. Maybe soon they could get to speak about it in more detail as time went on. But that was for now not the biggest worry. It won’t be until Cain came in and decided to join in on the fun.

Gabby blushed a little when Lori complimented the food, “It’s just store bought, mostly.” The only thing she had made was the chicken, and she wasn’t sure it was edible. The look on Lori’s face was saying a lot about her stomach. Gabby shook her head and handed her a ceramic plate, “You can eat whenever you want. Don’t wait for permission.” If Lori took the plate, she would gladly hand it over, if not, she would set it back down. Either way, she would ponder the question, “There is no set time you have to leave. Stay until you get bored.” Gabby could do whatever she wanted in this house. No one was going to stop her. Her party could go for as long as she wanted or until they ran out of food; which ever came first.

There was another knock at the door, to which Gabby perked up. She went to answer it, seeing Cain at the door. He was late, but he was here. She let a smile onto her face and opened the door wider, “Don’t be silly. Come on in and have some food, at least.” She pointed to the slippers he could wear inside, not letting the door close until he was definitely inside the house. It was like she was daring him to stay. Her eyes were saying it all, ‘Come in, or you’ll never live it down. You weren’t just down here for no reason. You wanted to be here, but you don’t know how to say it.’ As a fellow introvert, mostly, she understood the feeling of not want to be somewhere. But, she how had a few very good friends because of those moments she broke out of her shell.

Cain tried to hide a shiver as he felt a chill run down his spine. It looked like the only other person to arrive was Lori so far. He really couldn't leave or he' look like a heel. Well that and Gabby eyes. The look she gave him said far too much, and what's worse said too much that was actually right. He hated looks like that, but he averted his eyes and pretended he never noticed at all.

"Well, I guess I can stick around for a little while. It'd be rude not to right? Besides it's not like it's every day I get to spend time with ladies as lovely as the two of you." He said with a laugh, hoping to cover how nervous he was. With a quick motion and holding his breath slightly the young man stepped into the house and removed his shoes as Gabby's gesture had indicated.

"Sorry, I didn't know if I was supposed to bring food or not. I can settle up at school if you want, just tell me how much to pay." He said noticing all the food. He felt a little guilty after all this, like he was a freeloader or something. He put his hands into his pockets and leaned against a wall, feeling generally awkward but hoping it didn't show.

"So...nice place you've got here. Really traditional. Seems really...nice." Cain said in a vain attempt to make small talk. He was completely lost here.

“Free food!” she would say with a fist pump in the air. Even better. She would watch Gabby go to the door answering for Cain, and eventually, he relented agreeing to walk in, but not before making a smooth comment about the two, which made Lorielle laugh a bit. “Yeah nice try. Maybe later when I am full from food that will work,” she joked back. At least, she expected it was a joke. In truth she did not know. Cain always seemed to be the sarcastic type. There was probably more to him than meets the eye, but maybe that would come later in the night.

“At least we have a new guest. We obviously have to force him to test the food in case Gabby poisoned it,” she said, obviously meaning it to be a joke, but holding a straight face to see if she could catch them in a trap before she smiled. She would sit down on the floor, cross-legged until everyone decided they wanted food or if they chose to talk about something. Lorielle was very flexible to what could happen. It has been a bit since her Persona spoke to her, though she rarely did as it was. This time would be used to forget that for now.

She would turn to Cain however, considering how h was since the battle. She had not seem him much since then. "How've you been Cain? What with what's been going on I mean," she asked.

Gabby’s face went deep red at Cain’s joke, “Don’t say stuff like that. It’s really unnerving.” She would close the door as soon as he was inside. As he voiced his concern about bringing food, she shook her head, “You don’t have to bring anything to a party you were invited to.” At least, she didn’t think he did. She wasn’t expecting him to. When Lori implied that her food was poisoned, she began to develop a small pout on her face, “I didn’t do anything to the food, besides putting it in a bowl.” She thought for a second before continuing, “Well, I made the chicken, but it was my first time cooking outside of HomeEc. I followed the recipe word for word though.” She would wait for Cain to answer Lori’s question, also wondering how everyone had been since they left the fog-covered city.

Cain laughed as he leaned against the wall, a low and subdued chuckle.  If he thought about it, maybe it was a little twisted that seeing Gabby uncomfortable would make him more at home, but there it was.  Besides it's not like he was being sadistic or torturing her or anything. It was just a harmless little comment.

"Oh, Gabriela, it's like you don't know me at all. My only settings are unnerving or unfunny. It's part of my natural charm." Cain said with a small smirk. He heard their question about his activities and paused. What was he really supposed to say? He met a grey girl, bought a guitar, had a surprisingly bearable chat with another student, and had tried making some sense of everything that had happened to them the best way he knew how...

"You know, just the same old song and dance. Honestly it's rather dull all things considered; nothing like battling blobs of evil out in the middle of nowhere." he said sounding a bit forlorn. It was true, even if it wasn't the whole truth. After all, how was everyday monotony really supposed to compare to fighting monsters? So yeah he was dodging the questions, but at least he wasn't outright lying yet.

"So, what's this I hear about poison? I didn't know that you guys were so diabolic! I've already been challenged to ingesting the deadly and dangerous? Hate to see what happens when a party actually gets wild around here." he said moving over to the food. Despite the reassurance he still felt a bit like a free loader. Not eating however would probably be worse. After all, when someone went through the trouble of setting out food, the least you can do is try it. Worse case scenario you claim it was delicious, B.S. something about a diet or a big lunch, and deal with a little hunger for a while.

“Oh, you cook? News to me. That's very impressive. I usually go for ramen or fast food. I should be as fat as a cow right now,” she said. Which was no lie. If she had not been going back to kendo, as well as walking around, and soon to be venturing into the area that Sagami told her about, she would have some girth onto her. She would have to cherish the good things she had for the time being. Maybe it would soon come back to bite her. The thought made her shudder. ‘Happy thoughts happy thoughts….’ She thought. She was not paranoid about getting larger, but she would prefer being skinny. Just her own personal preference.

Cain certainly knew how to hide his nervous nature. Come to think of it, he acted this way when she found him roaming the club. But she would not mention that out loud for fear of embarrassing him. Though he would answer his question, in that apart from the battle, he was living his normal life. “Well, at least you have not run into anything dangerous,” Lorielle said. Come to think of it, who knows what the others were doing. She said she would see Kogami, but honestly, she was not into the idea, and admittedly did not go. As for Sagami, she had been talking to him every so often, but mostly about casual things. Maybe she was trying to get her mind off of it as well.

“Oh I am sure she did not do anything. She better not because I am about to try it,” she said speeding back to the table and taking a few pieces of candy from the large bowl. Opening the two pieces, a chocolate chew and a hard cherry candy, she would pop both into her mouth, and her mouth would immediately scrunch up. “Gah……Fower….” She managed, shaking her head a bit before moving it to the side of her mouth, trying to hang on to the sudden agony the candy gave her. “Sour. Caught me off guard….” She said. She would take a look at the wrapper of the cherry candy and it proudly boasted “Sour Powers!”. ‘This is what I get for jumping the gun…..’ she thought.

“Your natural charm puts psychopaths to shame.” She said as a passing remark. Her attention then went to Lori, “I cook once in a blue moon. Specifically, when the school makes me or the only ingredient is hot water.” Well, there was that one time she messed up hot water, but that was the microwave’s fault for being too hot, “And there’s nothing wrong with being…” She had to think of the best word in Japanese, “well fed.” Actually, if Lori talked to some of the older women back in Fiji, they would insist that she should eat more. In fact, they would probably force her to eat. Japan was so different in ideas than Gabby had been used to at first, but now she didn’t think twice.

As soon as Lori popped the candy into her mouth, she looked like she was going to be ill, “I didn’t poison it, I swear.” Words were beginning to escape her friend’s mouth, to which she could finally hear her complain about them being sour. Gabby put her hand against her own forehead and sighed, “Don’t scare me like that. You’ll turn me into a nervous wreck.” She then looked at Cain with suspicion, “You aren’t going to pull the same thing, are you?”

Cain gave a deep bow when Gabby mentioned his 'charm.' It was possible she was insulting him, but even if that were the case he was going to take it as a little good-natured ribbing. He raised his head and glanced over at Lori with a reasoned look in his eye.

"Yeah, I guess staying safe ought to be our number one priority nowadays. I ought to be jumping for joy that I didn't end up getting attacked by gorgons or something on the way over!" Cain said enthusiastically, though in truth he felt the opposite. Sure things were safe, but it was so boring. Part of him was sure he should know better than to essentially ask for trouble, but the world was so dull and he'd finally gotten an actual taste of excitement. How could he just forget about all that?

Cain looked around for a bowl and served himself some of the chicken Gabby had made. It smelled all right to him, so how bad could it really be? He popped a bit into his mouth and chewed silently as Lori apparently ate some candy she wasn't ready for. He would've laughed, but Cain suspected that spraying half chewed meat across the room was bad manners. So he simply watched the scene unfold with an amused expression, only speaking when Gabby asked him a question. He gasped and showed a face of pure hurt, as if Gabby had just kicked his new kitten.

"Why, it's like you don't trust me at all, Miss. Aithne! I'll have you know, I thought the food was delicious." he said shaking his head in a forlorn disappointment.

“Really now? I have only lived in here and England. Maybe I should stop by and check it out,” she said grinning. Though she would frown when it looked like Gabby was worried. “Sorry..! I don’t do surprises well,” she said. She would run to Gabby and give her a quick hug in apology. “I don’t like trying to take people as a joke. Better to take people seriously than in a joking manner, instead of joking, and they turn out to be serious,” she explained. She was a good enough friend to be able to explain that to. Actually, perhaps Cain was as well. She had reason enough to know she could enjoy the guy. And he clearly had a knack for comedy, something that was always nice.

Lorielle would quickly recover from her sour attack of sour, and move towards the chicken that Cain slowly ate. She would try a piece and tilt her head as she chewed. After swallowing her food, she would look at Cain. “Maybe he just does not have the acting skills…..on second thought, don’t show us if you do. If we all get heart attacks it better be from the food, not because we tried to prank each other,” she said. It was a joke for the most part as her smile would imply. But who would want to die from stupid stuff right? They just conquered horrors of the night that many people may not even dream of. And by whatever god there may be, they were going to celebrate. Funny, she has never thought about religion. But if Nyarlathotep gave them these powers, are they a god?

She would think for a bit and sit on the floor. Though she would soon shake herself out of thought and turn back to the other two. “I miss the cold,” she would say. Winter had recently come to an end, and it was rather upsetting to Lorielle. It was most of the reason to even be outside. “Maybe we should plan a trip to the beach or springs. That would be fun,” she said smiling at the thought. She would look to the both of them for their opinions on it all. Who would not want a day to take a load off? Some people do it in different ways, but it’s the beach right? Maybe not the springs, but somewhere in the water would be nice.

“I don’t think you’d have any problem with a couple of gorgons. We have our little friends, remember?” Well, they weren’t little, so much as very large. It would surprise her if anything could take them on. Now that she thought about it, there were five people besides herself that been in that dream. This left one very strong idea in her head, ‘What are the chances we aren’t the only ones with this power? I mean, I don’t know if it’s likely, but it’s possible.’ She wouldn’t voice her theory unless the atmosphere of the party called for it. As she had been thinking this, Lori had hugged her and spoke about joking and seriousness. It was a conversation she never expected to have with her friend.

She blushed again, “Thank you for the compliment, but it doesn’t change the fact that you have the personality of a snake.” By this point, she had picked up the idea of mocking other people all in good fun. It was still strange to her for this to be how people who were on good terms to interact. Just to prove she was joking, she stuck out her tongue. As for winter, Gabby didn’t miss it. She liked the snow, but not the cold. In fact, the cold was her enemy. The one thing she missed most about Fiji: warm days all year long. A beach, however, “I’m in.”