If Petal were to take a moment and sit down to sum up her life into a single word, it would be "impossible". How else would a Wraith describe her crazy circumstances? Instead of hunting poor unfortunate souls, she was sitting at a table surrounded by humans and Gifted in an elder Gifted's mansion getting ready to play D&D. The fact that a small blue and purple dragon was the Dungeon Master was simply the cherry on top of this maddening sunday.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, seated at Petal's left.
"Yeah," she sighed, offering her friend a tired smile. "It just kind've hit me just how crazy my life is, y'know?"
"What do you mean?" Indigo asked, seated across from the Wraith.
Petal and Dagon both let out soft chuckles at that, earning some confused looks from the teen.
"What? What'd I say?"
Petal rolled her eyes, letting out a tired sigh as yesterday's events ran through her head.
***
Petal gulped, stiff as a board while she waited to see how her friend reacted. The confused looks were expected, but crossed arms and raised brow were a bit of a surprise. What ended up leaving Petal completely dumbfounded was what eventually left Indigo's mouth.
"So, you're a Gifted that can change color?"
Everyone present stood in stunned silence for a moment, all of the tension blasted out of the scene with the grace and subtlety of a kick to the groin. Sunny was the first to recover, her face meeting her palm as she let out a sound like a cross between a groan and a laugh. Twilight just stared blankly at her sporty friend like she had suddenly grown a second head. When Petal recovered, she could only sputter dumbly for a few seconds before she managed to get her tongue to catch up with her brain.
"What the fu-? Oh for fuck's sake; I'm a Wraith!"
Indigo blinked dumbly at her for a second, then said, "You are?"
"Yes!" she cried, arms up in exasperation.
Indigo looked her up and down with a critical eye a few times, then with a tone flatter than a sheet of paper asked, "This is what a Wraith looks like?"
"Um....well.....yeah?" Petal nodded, her ire dimmed by the girl's almost dead reaction.
Indigo studied her form for a few more seconds, then smiled and threw an arm across her shoulders and said, "Good, cuz I thought you guys would look like something from D&D."
Everyone sported wide eyes and slack jaws as Indigo practically dragged the shell-shocked Wraith into a half hug.
"Y-You're not freaked out?" Petal managed to force out.
"It's...a little weird," she admitted, a hint of fear gracing Petal's tongue. "But after everything else I've had to put up with lately, this isn't all that crazy."
"Right," Petal sighed, a small smile forming on her lips. "Sparkles and I will fill you in later."
"Sounds good," she nodded, then sported a crooked smirk as she asked, "Now, what's this plan you were going on about?"
***
Petal sighed, then picked up a glass of water off of the table and leveled a tired frown at Dagon.
"Could you turn this into booze or something?" she asked.
"I could," he nodded, looking over a few floating sheets of paper with an impish smile. "But I won't be held responsible for giving alcohol to minors."
Petal stared blankly at him for a second, then growled, "I'm not even human!"
Sitting three chairs away from the equally perplexed sporty girl, Sunny looked up from her phone with a raised brow.
"Would alcohol even do anything to you?" she asked.
Petal opened her mouth to snap at her, but froze at the last second. Slowly, her irritation shifted to contemplation as she let the girl's question sit for a minute.
"I....I don't know," she relented, crossing her arms in thought. "I mean, cookies and coffee can give me a rush, so....maybe?"
"I say we test it," Sunny said, a slightly evil smirk forming. "Best to know under secure circumstances than by accident, after all."
"I don't know," Indigo frowned. "What if she's an angry drunk?"
"Or a flirty one," Dagon offered, a knowing side-eye aimed straight at a lightly blushing and suddenly very sheepish Twilight.
"Hell," Petal smirked,. "For all we know, I could end up turning girly again."
Twilight, Indigo, and even Dagon shuddered at that, leaving Sunny to stare at the group in confusion.
"Am I...missing something?" she asked.
"Long story," Petal laughed.
"Please, don't ask," Twilight groaned, face hidden behind her hands.
Sunny raised a brow at that, then looked to Indigo and Dagon for answers.
"Seriously," Indigo frowned. "Don't ask."
"If I could, I would delete the knowledge of that incident," Dagon frowned.
"How do you-" Petal asked, only to be cut off.
"I'm the Spirit of Knowledge and Prophecy," he huffed, setting a few sheets of paper down behind his DM screen. "Looking into the past is just one of many tricks I can preform."
"Oh," she nodded. "I guess that makes sense."
"And some things are best left unknown," he grumbled, staring bitterly at a couple of floating goblin figurines.
"I second that assessment," Twilight frowned, aiming a baleful glare at her closest friend.
"Oh come on, Sparkles, it wasn't that bad," Petal chuckled.
"I still have nightmares," she huffed.
"Could be worse," the Wraith shrugged. "It could've been the one were you go to class na-"
"One more word and I'm going to tell Lily to sing Barbie Doll for a week!" she growled, face bright red as she held a hand over Petal's mouth.
Face pale and eyes wide with terror, the Wraith nodded in understanding. Twilight held her glare for a few more seconds, before she pulled her hand away and settled back into her seat. Sunny watched the exchange with a soft smile, shaking her head as she went back to looking at her phone. Indigo did the same, only instead of her phone, her character sheet held her focus.
A similar sheet laid next to Sunny, along with the dice and other such gear one would need to play the game. All of it was arranged neatly in a perfect square, each item within quick reach for easy access. In contrast, everyone else's equipment was gathered in clusters of what could be politely called "organized chaos". The only person that seemed to hold themself even remotely close to Sunny's sense of order was Twilight, though that was not of any real surprise to the prim teen.
Looking for a way to keep her disgust off of her face, she calmly asked Petal a question that nagged at her the second she entered the room.
"Why are you in your human form?"
"Huh?' Petal blinked.
"Is there a point?' she pressed, raising a brow. "Everyone here knows that you are a Wraith and Lady Somnambula seems to be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I fail to see why you need to remain hidden in our presence."
Petal let out an annoyed sigh, leaning back in her seat and staring at the ceiling.
"It's not just for disguises. When I'm like this, Aether doesn't hurt me all that much. It's a little annoying out back, but in here? It's like walking around in a pool of boiling water with heavy weights fused to my skin. Hell, just breathing here is agony in my natural form. I can push it back a bit with my Miasma, but I only have enough to do it for a couple minutes at most."
"It's true," Dagon nodded, floating a gummy worm to his mouth from behind his screen. "The only reason she was able to talk with Lady Somnambula in her natural form was because I was able to push her Aether out of the room."
"You can do that?" Sunny asked, shock plain on her features.
"For a time," he allowed, finishing off his piece of candy and floating another one to take its place. "While I am powerful, even I have limits."
"More like it would be too much effort," Sunny snorted.
"I never claimed to be the Spirit of Ambition, did I?" he smirked, taking a bite out of his snack.
Sunny just rolled her eyes at that before going back to looking at her phone.
A few seconds after that, the door opened and Sugar and Sour walked in. What was made immediately apparent to everyone at the table was that the pair had a story to tell. Both of them looked like they hadn't had a wink of sleep, but while Sugar looked as if she was about to nod off where she stood, Sour was absolutely glowing. The next thing they noticed was that they were wearing backpacks and Sour was holding a few D&D guide books. Sugar's bloodshot eyes scanned the room, making everyone sans Dagon flinch the second they locked with theirs. Sour hummed merrily to herself as she skipped to take a seat next to Sunny. Meanwhile, Sugar staggered over to the seat next to Indigo with the grace of a freshly raised zombie.
Indigo gave the two girls a raised brow.
"Long night?" she asked, lightly elbowing her friend's side.
"You can say that," Sugar groaned, posture drooping.
"What the hell happened to you?" Petal asked, worry heavy in her features.
"I don't want to talk about it," Sugar mumbled, sluggishly pulling her gear out of her bag.
"Oh come on Sugar, it wasn't that bad," Sour beamed, pulling the girl into a quick half-hug.
Everyone, sans Dagon and the two girls in question, watched the brief exchange with slack jaws and wide eyes. If either of the two girls noticed, neither of them chose to react. Instead, they went to work pulling their D&D gear out of their bags, one with much more enthusiasm than the other. When they managed to get their equipment set up, Twilight was the first to reboot her mind.
"Okay, what.....exactly did you two do last night?" she cautiously asked.
Sour just giggled merrily in her seat, a small blush coloring her cheeks. Sugar somehow managed to let out an even more tired sigh before she droned out a response.
"I got Sour her supplies at the mall, took her to my place, then helped her make a character."
"Then gave me the greatest night of my life!" Sour squweed, arms tucked into her chest as she jittered excitedly in her seat.
"You....did?" Sunny asked, looking past her friend at the blunt girl.
"If she says so," she yawned. "My fingers are still a little sore."
"Oh..." Sunny blinked, a small blush gracing her cheeks. "Well....does your boyfriend know?"
"Know what?" Sugar frowned, a sharp shade of venom filling her glare.
"Maybe we can have him join us next time," Sour smiled, nudging Sugar lightly with her shoulder. "It might be easier with four people."
"Four?!" Petal and Twilight gaped.
"Uh...who else was with you guys last night?" Indigo nervously asked.
"My father," Sugar casually stated, looking over the character sheet in front of her.
Everyone froze, the only exception being a lightly trembling spirit of knowledge.
A second later, Sour ecstatically cried, "And he was just as AMAZING AS I THOUGHT HE WOULD BE!!!"
A moment of awkward silence held the room, then Petal broke it by voicing everyone's thoughts in the most concise and direct way anyone there could have possibly managed.
".......What....the....FUCK...did you two do last night?!"
"Play video games with my dad," Sugar flatly stated, pulling a pencil out of her bag and writing something onto her sheet.
Another moment of silence passed, only for it to be broken this time by a howling fit of laughter from the DM.
"Th-Th-The looks on your faces!" Dagon howled, hugging himself as he rolled right off of the table. "Ack! Oh the dirty minds of the young!"
While the spirit laughed and pounded a fist onto the ground, Sour and Sugar looked at the assembled group of mortified girls with confused frowns.
"What is he going on about?" Sugar asked.
"Yeah, did I miss something?" Sour added.
"Um...well....It kind've sounded like..." Indigo nervously chuckled, eyes darting to everything except her two friends.
"What I believe Indigo is trying to say," Sunny cut in, looking to the side as a small blush colored her cheeks. "It sounded like....Um....how should I say this?"
Petal let out an irate growl then barked, "You two sounded like you spent the whole night banging each other!"
The reactions to that announcement were immediate.
Twilight let out a mortified squeak, hiding her heavily blushing face behind her hands as she sunk under the table. Sunny was equally flustered, sucking in her lips while looking at anything but the people at the table. Indigo was suddenly extremely interested in her character sheet, hiding her face behind it with trembling hands and a few small snickers. Dagon's laughter had reached a point that he could only make chocking gasps and if any of them were to look down, they would see that his head was even more purple than it was supposed to be.
Sugar gave everyone present a deadpan so absolute, they were sure a ghost would've been summoned.
"I already have a boyfriend," she flatly stated. "And I don't swing that way."
Petal shrugged at that, but raised a brow when her eyes fell on Sour.
"Are...you okay Sour?" she asked.
Said girl sat staring down at the table, her face shifting back and forth between a sheepish blush and a searing glare. Everyone else noticed, the girl's odd behavior being enough to pull Dagon out of his laughing fit. When Sour noticed, the alternating expressions grew in intensity.
"I-It's fine," she gulped, then bitterly growled, "Like hell I am!"
"O-Okay, calm down," Indigo nervously chuckled, hands up in a placating manner.
"R-Right," Sour gulped, giving Sugar sheepish glances.
Glances that turned venomous as she cried, "I don't swing that way anyway!"
Only for her to turn into a blushing mess again and shakily mumble, "But....I am."
Everyone gave Sunny questioning looks, before a frustrated growl pulled their attention back to Sour.
"Well I'm not! Knock it off Honey Sour!"
Her features softened, and she shakily whimpered, "I...I'm sorry Bitter Sour. B-B-But...."
Everyone except Dagon gave Sour worried looks, but a reassuring look from Sunny kept them from panicking. As if on cue, Sour's left arm wrapped itself around herself in a half hug. A look of shock flashed across her face, before a small scowl took its place.
"I get it," she grumbled. "I just.... I'm sorry."
Her features softened, a sad smile gracing her lips as she used her free arm to complete her self-hug.
"I know..."
A moment later, a dazed frown flashed across her face, her arms falling out of the hug as she clutched her head with a groan.
"I hate it when that happens," Sour mumbled, her voice now holding its familiar echo.
"What...just happened?" Indigo asked, looking past Sour and Sugar to give Sunny a raised brow.
"Romance is an....interesting topic for Sour," Sunny sighed.
"Understatement of the year," Sour huffed. "To sum it up, I'm bi, but both halves of my personality are divided on that. It's a huge pain in the neck."
"I think we all noticed," Petal cringed. "Queen knows I'd have a hell of a time finding someone if I had to deal with that."
"Wraiths date?" Sunny, Sour, and Indigo blinked.
"Kind've," she shrugged. "If two Wraiths like each other and there is enough food for them, they can share hunting grounds and Nests. It doesn't usually last that long, though."
"Interesting," Sugar nodded, a small thoughtful frown gracing her lips. "So Wraith's have romantic impulses."
"Not really," Petal chuckled. "It's more like roommates than anything. Aside from our kids, Wraiths don't really do the whole lovey-dovey thing."
"Yet you care for Twilight," Sunny pointed out, lips pulled up into a small victorious smirk. "Is that not a sign of love?"
"I....guess?" Petal allowed, gaze shifting down and face turning thoughtful.
Meanwhile, Twilight gave her friend a warm smile, the hints of gratitude she gave off licking at the Wraith's senses.
Before the topic could be explored further, the dinning room's doors flew open, announcing the presence of the last two members of their party.
"Sup everybody?" Lemon chuckled, sauntering into the room like she owned the place.
"Must you open doors like that?" Stygian sighed, shoulders slumped as he glared at the rocker. "If any of the walls get damaged, Sour may not be allowed to have friends over for a while."
Lemon flinched, giving the mentioned girl an apologetic smile, as she took a seat next to Petal.
"It's fine," Sour smiled, waving off the girl's worry. "Mom put enough repair and reenforcement runes into this place to block a nuke."
"Still," Lemon sighed. "I'll try not to make a habit out of it."
"That would be greatly appreciated," Stygian sighed, taking a seat next to Sunny.
Lemon snorted at that, rolling her eyes at the emo boy's light barb.
"Was Meadowbrook able to help you with your problem?" Dagon asked, munching on another gummy worm.
"I.....think so?" she responded, lips pulled down into a thoughtful frown. "Like, I won't know until I walk into the training rooms, but I think It'll be easier for me to get my Gift to work now."
"That's great!" Twilight cheered, looking around Petal to give her friend an encouraging smile.
"Good to hear," Petal smirked, nodding in approval . "Keep it up Boom Box."
"Totally on it!" Lemon chuckled, giving them a thumbs up.
Her bright smile got even brighter when she got a better look at what was on the table.
"Dudes! Are we playing a game? SWEET!!!"
"Yeah," Indigo nodded, then cringed when she added, "But....I don't think you brought your gear, right?"
All of Lemon's enthusiasm fell out of her like an anchor off the side of a boat.
"Damn," she grumbled, slumping into her seat.
"Not to fear," Dagon chuckled, waving a claw over his head. "I have you covered, my dear bard."
As he said that, some dust pooled and swirled out of the far corners of the roof and floor. He tightened his claw into a fist and the dust compressed itself into a fully functional set of dice and unpainted replica of Lemon's figurine. Twiddling his claw, colors slowly started to form onto the figurine. After examining the figure with a critical eye, he nodded in satisfaction, added numbers to the dice, and floated them over to the girl in question.
Lemon examined the items Dagon crafted for her, eyes just as wide as her mouth. With stars in her eyes, she gave the grinning spirit an equally brilliant smile.
"Dude! THAT WAS FREAKIN' EPIC!!!"
"You flatter me," he chuckled. "And here's a copy of your character sheet."
She continued to study her dice, almost oblivious to the sheets of paper set down before her by the spirit's colorless telekinetic will.
"I suppose my job is to supply food and drink?" Stygian asked, tone just as flat as his expression.
"What makes you say that?" Dagon asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"I do not have a character, nor any knowledge of how to play this game," he stated, his brow slightly raised. "I would assume that would exclude me from actively participating."
Dagon, Sunny, and Indigo traded sinister smiles, before aiming them at Stygian.
He blinked slowly at them for a few long seconds, mild irritation creeping onto his face.
"You have got to be kidding me," he grumbled.
The trio chuckled impishly in response, a small stack of jet black paper, dice, and figure floating out from under the table beside the spirit in a clear colorless aura.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" he sighed.
A soft click from the dining room's door was the only answer he needed.
"Thought so," he bitterly spat, slumping in his seat.
***
"So, what kind of campaign is this?" Indigo asked, hands behind her head and leaning back in her seat.
"Nothing too different from Sugar's, honestly," Dagon shrugged. "It will be set in the same world she created, but will not be cannon to the story you have all crafted."
"Unless we all change that," Sugar cut in, pouring herself a glass of water from a pitcher.
"Then it will not be cannon," Stygian sulked, trying to glare a hole into his character sheet.
"Well aren't you just a ray of fucking sunshine," Petal huffed rolling her eyes.
His glare shifted away from his character sheet in favor of the mouthy Wraith.
"I just hate waisting time, and that is exactly what this is," he frowned, jabbing a finger at his character sheet.
Petal wanted to respond with something colorful, but a hand on her shoulder and worried look from Twilight stopped her.
Taking a deep breath, she gave him a small frown and said, "Look, like it or not, we're all stuck here until the Professor over there decides to let us all out."
As she said that, she nodded her head towards Dagon.
"So, the way I see it, you've got two options. "You can either sit there and be a dick to everyone or try to make the most of it."
Stygian held his glare, mulling over Petal's words while he tried to sear holes though her head with his eyes. She could tell that he knew she was right. She could taste that he hated that she was right. Taking a reluctant breath, his features softened and he slumped in his seat.
"Let's get this over with," he sighed.
"Excellent!" Dagon cheered. "Now that we are all on the same page, let us begin our grand adventure."
As he said that, everyone present felt a faint tingle was over them. Petal had the most open reaction, flinching and looking around for the source of the sensation. The feeling was similar to light static, but slowly shifted to something akin to a form-fitting warm silk cocoon.
The....fuck is.....going on?
"You all sit at tables in a tavern," Dagon continues, a dramatic flourish coloring his tone. "The sounds of clinking glasses and banter fill the room as you each enjoy some food and a few drinks."
A second after the words left his mouth, the very sounds he described started to fill the room. At the same time, everyone's vision started to fog. The warm silk feeling became much more soothing, easing the worry that had started to fill the group of teens.
"The smell of tobacco, oak, and spiced cider hung heavy in the air, giving the dimly lit tavern a friendly rustic feel," Dagon continued.
On cue, the very smells he described reached them, the odd feeling from before much stronger.
"Sparrow Hawk's party sat in a far corner of the room, deciding on how to better spend the spoils of their last adventure. Little do they know, another party has been watching them from further in the bar. One that had a need for their reported strength for what was to come."
When he said that, the ambient sounds and smells he had conjured became more pronounced and a sudden dizzy spill washed over them all. Everything started to turn blurry, new colors slowly bleeding into their surroundings, while most of the colors present faded away. As the lighting started to dim, the haziness that filled their heads became too much for them to handle, their eyes slowly drooping shut against their wills. Before the effects fully hit Petal and Twilight, they offered confused glances at the spirit responsible.
A reassuring smile from him was the last thing they saw before everything went black.