Closed 🌺 Exploration [Voice Testing]

[unknownmoirai]

---

She didn't know what to make of this place. The world was paved and bordered with cement while tall buildings set in the skyline. She's been traveling for awhile now but each new city and each new town surprised her. This one was no different. She paused by the park, watching as the children played and smiled. The world was a mixture of dark and light, with buildings blotting out the sun but laughter filling the sweet crisp air. It was a balance that she couldn't disrupt nor did she attempt to try.

There was something here, hidden beneath the city... a story that had to be told and she was searching for it.

It was a tiring walk and she didn't have money for a hotel. She found a seat on a park bench, watching as people past and sirens echoed through the city. A fountain bubbled and curled in front of her while a man with a violin began to play. She didn't have the money she needed but she pulled out a dollar and set it in the violinist's case before retaking her seat on the bench.

Her long hair was tied in two pigtails while a warm jacket covered her shoulders. She didn't need the jacket but there was something comforting in the weight of the material against her skin. A shadow fell over her and her chin lifted. "Can I help you?"


[ooc: wild card for anywhere else in any city/town/whatever.]

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[unknownmoirai]

Her chin rose and her eyes focused on the house at the hill. It looked like any normal home though the loud music could be hear from yards away. "It looks busy and hectic." She looked at Sam with a warm smile. "I'm excited."

She'd never been to a party like this.

"Will you introduce me to some of your friends?" She took his arm ans held herself close to him as they walked closer.

[not_so_smooth]

Sam was about to offer that they could go somewhere else if she wanted but by how excited she looked at the idea of it being busy and hectic he changed his mind. She was definitely looking forward to going to the party.

"Yeah, of course. I- I don't know how many will be here," he said, only slightly distracted by how close she was pressed up against him. "But if they're here I'll introduce you. Just, you know, all standard frat party rules apply."

[unknownmoirai]

She'd never been to something like this but that only added an air of mystery to the excitement and thrill of the party.

Her head turned and she looked thoughtful before speaking. "I don't know what frat party rules are." A beat. "Are they hard to learn?" She didn't want to insult anyone or upset any of Sam's friends. After all, he had been nothing but sweet to her and she wanted to repay him somehow.

Hopefully Sam didn't mind that he was going to have her attached to his side through the duration of the party.

[not_so_smooth]

"Oh, right. Um, don't take a drink from anyone and watch yours all the time. If it's out of sight at any time then get a new one," Sam said. He was perfectly happy with having her stick by his side the whole time. Really happy about it of course, but he wasn't going to assume that she would do that.

"That is... pretty much the main rules of any party."

[unknownmoirai]

She nodded her head. "Okay." She probably wouldn't get a drink unless Sam got it for her anyway. She wasn't unfamiliar with alcohol but she didn't spend a lot of time drinking it and she didn't really know what she liked. It was much easier to trust Sam with such decisions. She trusted him.

She kept her hand in his as they approached the party, staying close to Sam's side. A few heads turned towards her but she didn't seem to notice.

Music blared from inside and people were packed tighter together.

[not_so_smooth]

Sam gave her hand a squeeze. You know, totally as friendly reassurance to let her know that everything was going to be okay. At least he really hoped it was going to be okay. As soon as they were in the party his roommate Leo popped up in front of them.

"Sam!" Leo said, although his eyes were locked on Angel.

"Hey, Leo. This is Angel, a friend. Angel, this is Leo, my friend," he said, gesturing to the other guy.

"Dude," Leo said, meaning "She is crazy gorgeous."

"Dude," Sam agreed.

"Dude," Leo replied, meaning "It's crazy she's with you.

"Dude," Sam agreed, with a "don't ruin this for me" vibe thrown in.

"Dude," Leo said, reassuring Sam that he would not screw this up.

[unknownmoirai]

Her lips curved into a warm smile as Sam's fingers lightly squeezed hers. It was a comfort and one that she hadn't realized she wanted until it was offered to her.

"It's nice to meet you Leo." Another smile though it was quick to fall as Sam and Leo exchanged a few words of their own.

"I'm sorry. Is everything alright."

She wasn't sure what 'dude' meant. It wasn't a phrase she's heard before.

[not_so_smooth]

“Oh, yeah, everything is fine,” Sam said, smiling at her and glad that Leo seemed to understand what was going down. At least a little bit.

“Angel. A perfect name. It’s nice to meet you,” he said, taking her hand and leaning down to kiss it.

“She’s new in town and I said she could stay with us for a while,” Sam said, giving Leo a “don’t screw this up” look.

[unknownmoirai]

She smiled and watched as Leo kissed the back of her hand. It was an unusual greeting but charming. "Oh. Thank you Leo. It's very nice to meet you too." She'd been looking forward to meeting Sam's friends.

"I hope it's alright that I stay with you. I will try and stay out of your way." She really hoped that it wouldn't be much trouble.

"So, what is there to do at this party? I've never been to something like this before."

[not_so_smooth]

“We can get something to drink and then listen to music and dance. Or just talked to people,” he said. Sam kind of hoped that she was more interested in dancing than talking. Sam was pretty terrible at both but he was slightly less of a train wreck when it came to dancing. At least in his own mind he was.

[unknownmoirai]

Her lips parted and her smile widened. "I'd love to dance." They could get something to drink later. She wasn't a big fan of alcohol anyway but she loved to dance.

Her hand grabbed Sam's and she pulled him onto the dance floor, her arms circling around his neck as her hips began to sway with the music. "This is fun!" It wasn't a technically complicated dance, it was more or less swaying but she was having fun anyway.

[not_so_smooth]

"Yes. Yes this is very fun," Sam said, nodding for a moment while he still tried to get his brain to register what was happening. Reaching out he reached his arms around her waist to move with the music with her, glad that she didn't want to do anything too crazy. This was about the level of dancing that Sam was comfortable with.

"I'm glad you decided to come with him. To the party."

[unknownmoirai]

Her smile widened as Sam's palms glided around her waist and began to move to the beat of the music. It was a little too fast for the slow swaying pace they had begun but it was comfortable and she didn't want to dull the moment by trying to keep up with those around them.

Her hips brushed against his as she closed the distance between them and lightly leaned her head on his shoulder. "Me too."

She hadn't expected to have fun in this city. Even if she can't stay, she's happy to have this time here.

[not_so_smooth]

Sam was having a great time dancing, mostly because of Gwen. He even stopped being super self-conscious about his dancing after a bit and just had a fun time with her. The only time that things seemed to have gotten tense was when he went to get them both a drink and came back to find some other guy trying to dance with her. Gwen had let the guy know the person she came with was back and she was so sweet about it the guy just moved on. It was amazing.

By the time the party was winding down Sam was slightly buzzed. Whether that was because of the drinks or Gwen he couldn't tell.

"Hey. Hey. You ready to go home?"

[unknownmoirai]

She'd been having fun and enjoying herself. There were times when it looked like conflict might arise but Gwen always smoothed it over. She was here to hang out with Sam and that wasn't going to change. She continued to relax as the party continued and by the end of it, she felt more than a little buzzed.

She leaned forward as Sam spoke and nodded her head in response.

"Yeah. Let's go."

[not_so_smooth]

Sam took her by the hand and pulled her out of the house and into the cool night air. It was a little bit sobering in a way, making him feel more alive. He'd had more fun at that party than he'd ever had at a party before and he knew that was all because of Gwen.

"So what do you think? Should we do that again sometime?"

[unknownmoirai]

"Yeah. If you'd like too. I really liked dancing with you."

She smiled at him, the cool night air turning her cheeks a darker shade of pink as they walked towards the streets. "Where are we going? Do you live close?" She hadn't asked before since she was going to end up at his place but now she was wondering how far they'd have to walk.

"It's a little cold tonight."

[not_so_smooth]

“We can go to another party soon. There’s always a party someone at college,” he said. Of course he hadn’t cared too much about that sort of stuff before but now that he had someone to go with...

“Oh, yeah, we’re not too far. Like half a mile. Here, if you’re cold,” Sam moved a bit closer and put an arm around her, holding her a bit closer. You know, to keep her warm.

[unknownmoirai]

"I thought you were supposed to learn in college." She leaned against him, stumbling just a little bit as the world tilted at odd angles. She doesn't have any practice drinking and the effects have left her a little light headed and giggly.

"Thank you Sam."

Her head rested on his shoulder as she followed him to his place. "This is much warmer."

[not_so_smooth]

"Yeah but you have to party in order to blow off steam. You can't just study all the time. You have to have fun so you know how miserable the studying actually is," Sam joked. At least he was mostly joking, what he'd said seemed like the sort of deep thing you came up with while tipsy. Or just when you were in college and thought you were smart enough to think really deep thoughts.

"Good. I wouldn't want you to be cold."

[unknownmoirai]

She laughed, her voice muffled as she nuzzles against his side. "I like studying." She had been intended to be part of the Keepers and all they did was study. It was something that she loved though this was a lot of fun too.

"I'm not cold with you."

Gwen followed him to his apartment and only when they arrived did she ask, "What about your roommate? Did we leave him behind?"

[not_so_smooth]

Sam couldn't quite to reply to the warm comment just because he was too focused on how she felt against him and how she was cuddling against him. She felt really warm herself, or maybe she just made him feel warm with how he felt about her.

"Oh. Uh. Leo is out. For the night. All night. So it's just you and me."

[unknownmoirai]

"Alright."

She wanted to look at them while they talked but Gwen didn't think she could walk, talk and look at Sam all at the same time. She was feeling a little dizzy and the world felt a little disjointed. "I didn't scare him away, did I?"

She miss-stepped and stumbled a little, falling against Sam as she steadied herself. "Oh. I'm sorry."

[not_so_smooth]

"Are you kidding? I don't think anyone could be scared of you. Everyone at that party wanted to be your best friend," Sam said. He'd been slightly jealous of it all at first until he realized that while she was very polite to them she clearly wanted to spend most of her time and attention on Sam.

"And I think you're a little drunk," he said with a laugh, stumbling a bit with her as he tried to keep her upright.

[unknownmoirai]

She hadn't notice how many people had wanted her attention. She'd been polite but her focus had remained on Sam the whole evening.

She laughed, her voice bright and warm as she clung to Sam's side. "I think I'm drunk too." She wrapped her arms around his neck and met his gaze with flushed cheeks and a giggly smile.

"Is your place close? I'd really like to lay down."