Better Left Forgotten

Astarte swallowed some of her drink and tilted her head, "Why hide it?"

Assuming a taxi arrived, Hector and Eduj got in and gave Hector's address.

Mustering whatever strength he had left in his body, Grimm tried to squeeze off another shot at the noise while working his lips in silent prayer.

And so Taiyo heads to her room, prompting the other two to follow if they don't do so willingly.

*Euryale nods to Mrs. Shikasu & heads up.*
============================
"Because drugs are bad."
============================
*He gets the shot off, but if he hits anything, there's no indication. Something like a knife, but wider, stabs into his abdomen. In a few seconds, he starts feeling cold, & like large chunks are being torn out of him, from deep within.*

Taiyo's room is a lot like her dorm room pre-break in although with more posters of cats with inspirational sayings.

OOC: Oh, look at that, a soap box...

"Pot isn't that bad," Mortal replied, "It is like... less bad than the wine I'm drinking."

"She is right, actually," Sab said, "There are very few detrimental effects, mostly dealing with short term memory loss, and only in extremely high doses."

"Sab and I did a group project on the effects of drugs once," Mortal clarified, "It is less addictive than caffeine, and doesn't harm any major organs, or lead to any kind of diseases, even with heavy, and prolonged usage."

"It was thought to be like tobacco, but, oddly enough, it helps with cancer treatment, it doesn't worsen it," Sab said.

"Wait... then why is it banned? I thought all those things were rumors spread by pot heads," Gabe said.

"Well, it took a while to actually prove a lot of it, since, as you said, it is banned, but most medical studies support the pot heads," Mortal said.

"And the ones that don't are usually quickly shot down one way, or another," Sab added, "I've... uh... actually wanted to try some ever since that project, but it still seems kinda scary to me."

"Hm," Astarte contemplated for a moment, then just leaned back and sipped contentedly.

Grimm tried to grab the object stabbing into him with his shaking hands, gritting his teeth hard.

OOC: That totally read like convincing dialogue, & not a commercial.

*Grimm cannot move. Eventually, footsteps approach. The object in his abdomen retracts momentarily, which doesn't help his situation at all.*

<Well, what did I tell you? Your God has no power here. But I'm no atheist. I think he's afraid of us. And if you think death will set you free, that's not true either. And to think, if you'd made it back into town, you could have made my job difficult. But I guess you were never voted Most Likely to Succeed, were you?>
=======================
*Aroma just frowns.*
=======================
*Euryale tries to hide how lame she thinks the decorations are with a Bad Poker Face.*

Taiyo is not amused and begins gathering some clothes from her dresser.

*Eve looks around the room*

<You really like cats, don't you?>
===
*Cameron gets in as well*

Sab frowned when she noticed Aroma judging her and said in a defeated voice, "Or, uh maybe not. I don't know... It is probably silly."

Noctis walked back out, running a hand through her hair, "You know, I could hear you..."

"Is that your way of offering?" Mortal asked.

"No, that wasn't what I was doing at all," Noctis said.

"Lame," Mortal said, "I mean, wine is nice and all, but I'm ready to really relax."

"There, are beds if you want to relax," Noct said, "Besides, what would Sab and Aroma do? Watch?"

"Sab wants to try some," Gabe said.

"No, no, I take it back, I don't anymore," Sab said.

Noct looked between Aroma, and Sab quizzically.

"I... don't mind you know," Astarte said, glancing from her glass to Noct and back. "If you smoke. It's fine."

Grimm furiously thought the following, and would force it out in words if he could, 'I will only be His'.

<Ha. Better hope IT doesn't hear that. It might bring you back until you've learned your lesson. What a tool.>

*The thing stabs into him again & resumes what it was doing until Grimm feels hollow inside. He quickly loses his feeling in his extremities, his hearing, & finally his consciousness, in rapid succession. The last thing he is aware of is a blunt object colliding with his temple.*
=========================
*Aroma wasn't frowning at anyone in specific, so she just looks confused & scratches her head. She starts to say something, but glances at Mortal & Noctis, & closes her mouth.*
=========================
"Cats are...cute...do you need any help?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Noctis asked, even more confused. Sitting down she said, "I smoke, it isn't a big deal, I don't do it often, and I wasn't even doing anything drug related. Mortal, quit saying things and confusing everyone."

Mortal just shrugged, and took a long swig of wine, an action mirrored by Gabe.

Sab put a hand on Aroma's lap, and let out a sigh, "So... Am I the only one really scared about tomorrow?"

Taiyo: "I sure do. I'm all right. Unless you want to pick something out for me."

"I am, but I feel better with all of you here."
==========================
"Surprise me. Although...maybe later tonight, we could take some pictures? Not like that. I don't have any, & my parents want to see who I'm with, too."

Taiyo: "All right."

Taiyo picks out a few more outfits, trying to lean away from going too overboard with the animal print.

Taiyo: "And done."

<Cats can be cute.>

Astarte finished her glass.

Assuming the cab took them to Hector's place, they got out and went inside.

*The next morning, probably everyone in Noct's apartment hears Aroma scream from the kitchen.*
===========================
*After hearing a knock on the door, Euryale looks through the peephole & opens it.*

E"Where have you been? Thiera was looking everywhere for you."

N"Yeah, she was pissed. But she told me what you guys were doing, & I want to come along."

*Euryale folds her arms.*

E"I don't know. We don't need someone we'll have to watch, to make sure he doesn't run away."

N"I was looking for Roatha. My phone must have died."

E"'Must have.' Couldn't be that you were just ignoring it."
===========================
*Thiera calls Azuma.*

Azuma: "Hello?"

<Might as well let him come along.>

OOC: Boxblocking son of a bitch...

Mortal practically trips over herself as she wakes up, and scrambles off the sofa to check on what Aroma is screaming about.

Noct vaguely hears something, but doesn't want to wake up yet, and so snuggles back with Astarte.

Gabe, and Sab both groggily come out of their rooms, and look towards the kitchen.

Astarte shot up in the bed with wide eyes and grabbed Noct's shoulder, "Did you hear that?!"

Noct jerked awake, but took a second to come to full alertness, looking around confusedly, "Wha- whats going on?"

E"I guess."

*Euryale pokes him in the chest hard enough to almost knock him over.*

E"But DON'T do anything like that again. Understand?"

N"Yeah, yeah...."

*Euryale grabs him by the collar.*

N"I mean, 'Yes!'"

*She lets him go, & steps aside to let him in. Once he does so, she closes the door.*

E"Where's Taiyo?"
===========================
T"Good morning, Azuma. It's me, Thiera. We're getting ready to go. Are you almost ready?"
===========================
*Aroma points a trembling finger at the open doorway. She herself is pressed up against the corner cabinets, knees up to her chest, & an arm wrapped around them.*

"The...the masked man! He was...st--standing right there! When I saw him, he r--r--ran off!"