Second Floor Common Room; Early Friday Evening [08/22].

[even_bigger_teeth]

There were still peaches in the common room that morning, and fresh ones, too, if Luma's sense of smell was anything to go by (and it usually was a very reliable source). Which meant that she, hair still damp around her shoulders after the shower she took after returning back from some tkme in the woods to get the linger smell of the fish market from class out of her nostrils, and dressed in her faded, yellowing lace nightgown better suited for a girl rather than a young woman in her twenties, was absolutely giddy to discover them.

"Heavenly," she gushed to herself as she plucked the largest one out of the basket on the table, holding it to her nose and breathing in deeply as she sunk down onto one of the sofas. She reveled in it for a few more moments before taking a big bite, the soft and fuzzy flesh tearing away into her mouth all the easier with those sharp teeth of hers, juicing running down her chin that she only bothered to wipe away once it threatened to drip.

And even with the temptation to just devour it right up, she took her time with a happy sigh, before turning her attention to her book.

And likely getting sticky peach juice on the pages.

Sorry, library! Of course it was a borrowed one, too.

[[ sometimes, a scene just gets stuck in your head, you know? Open common room is open! ]]

Comments

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Oh, the porg was going to be so happy tomorrow morning!

(Whoever checked that book back in would be less happy. Oh well.)

"Oh, what are you reading?" Belle asked, poking her head into the common room.

[even_bigger_teeth]

Sure, some of the pages might end up stuck together, but just think of how nice that peach juice would make it smell!

For, like, a few hours, anyway.

Luma had been idly chewing on the peach's pit by this point, rolling it between her teeth and fully absorbed on her book to the point where she almost didn't hear Belle. But her sense of hearing was as sharp as her sense of smell (well, maybe not quite as, and neither as sharp as those teeth), and her ears twitched a little and she turned her head to stare at Belle in the doorway like she was shocked anyone would be there.

(Sometimes, it was so quiet here that she forgot that other people did live here, too).

"Oh," she said, eventually, blinking slowly as if bringing herself back into the world around her, "hello. Um."

She turned the bodice-ripper cover toward her.

"It's a romance. About a time traveling pirate. It's....mostly disappointing. There's a hunter character that's absolutely ridiculous."

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Peaches did smell wonderful. This was true.

"Oh, that's too bad," Belle said, making a sympathetic face. "Some of those romances are wonderful and others...not so much. I've read quite a few worthwhile ones with knights."

And a bunch with mysterious older male leads. Weird.

"We have plenty more here. I'm happy to make recommendations!"

[even_bigger_teeth]

Any with the cursed ressurected corpse of your grandfather's lover who--

--nevermind.

"Knights," Luma mused, thoughtfully tilting her head and idly (futilely) swiping the back of her hand under her chin to wipe away some lingering juice, "could be promising. At least knights won't involve a whole nonsense chapter about downloading a car! A car! Is that something people can do these days, download a car?"

She didn't even know what that meant, which was especially frustrating because she thought she'd learned so much about the Internet from her class!

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Not that Belle had found yet but the library had a very extensive collection!

"How would someone even do that?"

Your book sounded weird, Luma.

[even_bigger_teeth]

It honestly read like someone was just making it all up as they went along!

"I don't even think I understand what download even means," Luma admitted, sighing and shaking her head. "I thought I did! It was for pictures and videos! But not cars! Actual cars, too. I guess it's supposed to be futuristic? And the love interest is really upset that the pirate would do it in the first place....and I'm upset I have to read about it."

It was a bad time all around.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Making up stories? In this economy?

"I've heard of digital piracy," Belle said. "But i still haven't the faintest idea how someone could get a car!"

Who would download such a thing? Monsters!
...wait.

"If you like I could try and find some better pirate options. I know I've read some. "

[even_bigger_teeth]

Luma's nose wrinkled a little.

"I don't know," she said. "This may have just managed to spoil pirates for me for good."

And to prove it, she stuck oit her tongue a little as she just tossed the book aside on the floor as a true sign of her distaste.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"Oh, that's tragic!" Belle exclaimed.

"I'll have to find you something to get that taste out of your mouth. Perhaps something Gothic, on the moors?"

[napking]

Gray was in the process of slowly moving his stuff out of his dorm room to Raiden's apartment, from whence it would be moved to their new place.

This was perhaps not the most efficient way to go about this, but that thought hadn't occurred to him, even though carrying his stuff was exhausting even when it was just a giant trash bag full of Squishmallows. Hence his stopping by the common room for a break on his way from his room to the stairs. With a giant trash bag full of Squishmallows.

"Oh, hey. Oooh, peaches."

[even_bigger_teeth]

"Hello," said Luma, idly, not wanting to pull her eyes away from rhe page until she finished the line she was currently reading, which then made her want to continue until she finished the paragraph, and then maybe the pa--

She waved a hand dismissively.

"Yes, someone left them, I think. They're quite good."

Unlike this book.

Ignore the fact that she still hadn't looked up from it.

[napking]

Hey, a time-traveling pirate romance sounded great to Gray.

"Hope they're not planning on picking them back up later," Gray said, already moving to grab a peach. "Because they are gonna be disappointed."

[even_bigger_teeth]

It really wasn't, Gray. There was a whole section about this prehistoric wolf tribe that Luma found particularly frustrating and offensive, and now she was just hoping that instead of wooing the lighthouse keeper, he ended up just dashing his stupid time-traveling ship on the rocks and getting eaten by sharks.

"Then they probably shouldn't have just left them out like that," Luma reasoned, in what she figured was perfect, inarguable logic.

Finally, she lifted her head, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Could you toss me another one, please?"

They were delicious, but she was comfortable. And she did say please!

[napking]

Maybe the time-traveling pirate could romance a shark. Gray didn't judge.

"Sure," Gray said, tossing her a peach. "Have we met? I'm Gray." Now that he was moving out and all.

[even_bigger_teeth]

Something something Zora Prince.

Luma caught it easily, although the claws retracting did help with that, and she realized,only a second too late, how that was going to mess up her manicure.

"Oh, dammit," she murmured with a sigh, looking down at the peach in her hand, claws digging in and making her hand even sticker. Her claws pulled back in and she frowned at the peach slightly.

"You look familiar," she then said, taking a bite, continuing to talk before chewing more. "We may have had classes together...I'm Luma."

A hesitation, chewing, before she added, "Eleanor's sister."

She was a bit loathed to have to lean on that in conversations sometimes, but she did find that it helped with a lot of people so far.

[napking]

Gray didn't bat an eye at the claws. He knew plenty of people with claws. And he guessed he could see the resemblance to Eleanor. "I'm Raiden's brother," he said, nodding. "If you know him."

There was not any resemblance between them to be found.

[even_bigger_teeth]

Luma squinted a little as she tried to place why the name was familiar.

"He has the brunch place?" she guessed, thinking she needed to better with names around here. But when you were used to only really caring about the people in your own family, it was sometimes difficult to make the extra space.

But Gray having a brother did spark her brain on something else that she was now pressing to ask him.

"Do you ever have people telling you that it must be so nice and easy having your brother here?"

Or was that just what people said to her all the time?

[napking]

"And the pizza place," Gray confirmed, and then groaned. "All the time. And he's only here to keep an eye on me, y'know, so it's kinda annoying."

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"Hello Gray!" Belle called out. "Have you been doing a lot of cleaning?"

You looked like you were carrying so much trash, Gray!

[napking]

How dare, Belle? How dare? This was not trash, this was clearly precious fluffy babies that did not fit well in a suitcase!

"Moving, actually," Gray told her. "I graduated, so." He shrugged. "High school's over! For everyone." Aw, he'd liked high school.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Hey, college could be fun too! Complete with fewer accusations of being jailbait.

"Oh, will you be moving with your brother?"

That place would be so pretty. So, so pretty.

[napking]

Gray would always get accusations of being jailbait. One of the first things his fated mate would say to him was a suspicious, 'How old are you?'

"That's the plan," he confirmed. "And then...I dunno. We'll see." He was going to have to get a job, 'and then.' No one tell him yet.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

An eternally youthful complexion!

"Well, I'm glad you're staying."

Belle had also graduated and then just bounced back, so. She probably ought to get an additional job at some point.

[napking]

"I dunno," Gray said. "We'll see. It doesn't feel like time to leave yet, but I miss the rest of my brothers sometimes."

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"It ought to be easier to visit them without having classes to worry about?" Belle ventured.

"Or will you still be taking some of those?"