fandomhighdorms | Raven's Surprise Birthday Party, 6th Floor, Late Friday Afternoon

The sixth floor had been transformed into a proper Winter Wonderland, complete with twinkling lights adorning the walls, and... snow?

Yes, snow. Inside. Don’t ask how it got here. Or why it wasn’t melting despite the fact that the room itself was a comfortable temperature. If someone did ask, the only answer they’d get was a mysterious smile from Karla and a slight waggle of her fingers. Whatever conclusion they wanted to draw from that was fine.

But it wouldn’t be a party without the food, of course, which is why there were several tables with all sorts of (vegetarian-friendly) snacks and drinks, and, yes, a cake. Made by Sookie and not either of the two people organizing this party. ~~Which meant it was safe for human consumption~~. Speakers hidden behind fake trees were playing soft New Agey music, with a few instrumental holiday carols thrown in. Even some of the tinsel from yesterday had been saved and used to decorate.

Come in, relax, and help the birthday girl celebrate her first party in style.

[Bit of OCD ~~coming~~ UP! WHY DO I ALWAYS FORGET THIS? UGH.]

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"And more delicious," Karla said, nodding solemnly. "The ballpit expands and streamers and things start floating down from the ceiling. It's really an amazing sight."

"That is quite a party," Dolf agreed, laughing. "Good work!" He fidgeted a little. "It's nice to have one after last week," he said. "Better for everyone, I think." He only barely avoided using the words 'keeping up morale', but the idea was there.

A little of the laughter faded from Karla's eyes, though she still smiled. "I agree," she said quietly. "Even if people aren't exactly in the mood for a party, it's still nice to have one anyway. Motivates people to try."

"When something bad happens, you have to keep going. Make merry," Dolf said. But he was determined not to sink back into old memories right now, when he could be making new ones, and everyone was trying so hard to move on with themselves. "People here seem to understand."

"A lot of us come from backgrounds where something bad happens often enough to learn that lesson early," Karla said, looking inward for a moment. "The rest? Well, they pick that up after a few semesters, too."

He could've sounded amused, but instead he sounded downright earnest when he asked, "A lot of strange people come here, huh?"

Dolf had always left the joking part of the equation to Leonardo.

"Considering who you run Reserves with?" Karla asked with a laugh. "The answer to that is most assuredly 'yes.' I think this school sees everyone background, home life, and family possible."

"So what is yours?" Dolf asked. "Where did you learn how to make merry? If that's not too--" He made a few complex hand gestures that were supposed to imply personal.

"I'll give you the abridged, party-appropriate version, I think," Karla said, regarding Dolf for a moment. "My parents were killed when I was nine, along with my aunt and uncle. There's no proof, but it's pretty much an open secret that their deaths were engineered." She gave Dolf a humorless smile. "By my uncle. Who also became my legal guardian. Politics."

He frowned heavily. "That's horrible! And no one is doing anything?" Dolf said, sounding vaguely appalled. "If it's an open secret?"

Karla shook her head. "My mother was the Territory Queen, my aunt the strongest Black Widow. With them gone, he was able to take control of the government, putting a puppet-Queen in my mother's place and forming a 'Ruling Council'--" her expression suggested the words tasted bitter in her mouth "--to advise her. He is, of course, the head of the Ruling Council."

"And everyone believes that?"

Somewhere back in history, a famous mathematician was facepalming, and had only a vague idea why.

"No," Karla said quietly. "A lot of people are trying to keep their heads down and their families protected while they wait for me to grow up."

"The worst things happen when people keep their heads down," Dolf muttered, thinking of the monk Johannes, who'd waited until the very last second to let them know what was really going on. And of all the kids who'd just wanted to move on when their friends had been captured.

Karla tried not to visibly wince. Hello, issues. "You don't entirely understand the situation," she said defensively. Then internally winced again. "I'm not saying you're wrong, mind, but..."

On the one hand, it would be nice if everyone who wanted things to change wasn't waiting for her to come and set everything to right. On the other, wasn't it her job? Her respobsibility? On another hand, conveniently borrowed from a friend, Hobart was using fear tactics and whisper campaigns to make everyone too afraid to act, to know who to trust. On the other-other hand, that was just solidifying his power base and making it that much harder for anyone to trust.

"It's...complicated," she said with a sigh. "In the beginning, no one suspected him. By the time he showed his hand, he was firmly entrenched. With reinforcements."

"Sometimes bad leaders wind up on top, and everyone believes they're following for a good reason," Dolf said, quietly. "I don't know the situation, no. But I know it only takes one person to stand up and push some more people to start changing things, no matter how bad it is. They don't have to sit and take it."

"No, they don't," Karla agreed. "But it's hard to be that first person, not when you don't know who you can trust and who is an informant and that your family will suffer for your actions."

"Someone has to be the first," he said, simply. "How long ago is this? How long have they been hiding?"

"Someone does," Karla nodded, "but knowing that I have only a few more years until I can make the Offering and come make the stand instead? I can see where it's easier to not take the risk that will put everything they love in danger."

She had to pause to consider Dolf's question. "I'm not sure," she answered. "I was so young when everything happened and living with the coven. They kept a lot from me. Almost a decade for them since my parents were killed, though it took awhile for Hobart to start really instituting his changes. Say seven, maybe eight?"

Karla had come home from the coven at a young thirteen to discover her world had changed.

"Eight years is a long time for people to just wait," Dolf said. Then he paused. "Sorry, I'm not trying to make you feel bad," he added, as that idea finally seeped into his rather thick skull.

"I think you're underestimating how debilitating fear can be," Karla said. "And it's not like no one's doing anything. But even if they did rebel and take Hobart down, that wouldn't actually fix anything. Right now, he's the only one holding his bullies in check. Remove him and suddenly you've got a lot of nasty people who don't answer to anyone roaming free. At worse, anarchy and chaos. At best? Civil war as they all made a grab for power."

Raven's Surprise Birthday Party, 6th Floor, Late Friday Afternoon

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