if you hear any noise it ain't the boys [lady's night!]

[stauncherhearted]

A Nancy's actually just in a pair of jeans and a hoodie when she knocks on Lydia's door. She's got a bag filled with all sorts of necessities- makeup, a dress to wear out tonight, some killer heels. Oh, and of course, she's got booze. plenty of booze, because that's just what Lydia wanted. A pre-party. And even if Rhapsody in Red was pretty chill, who was she to say no to some drinks with a new friend before a night out?

"Lydia! Hey, love! How are you?" She coos, moving in for a hug when the door is answered. "I hope you don't mind, I figured I'd just get ready here. Cooper was in the shower." And as much as she loved a naked boyfriend, it was pretty distracting when you were trying to do your eyeliner and the mirror kept fogging up.

 B Nancy had already sent a text to Caroline, to let her know the plan, and that she was supposed to join them after her shift for a few drinks. The message was passed along to Allison, as well. The more the merrier, Nancy figured, and all these lovely ladies should probably get to know one-another. They were young, pretty girls in a big city, and most of them were relatively new to London.

Upon arriving at the lounge, Nancy claimed them a table with a good view of the stage so they could watch Caroline, and straight-shot to the bar. Though she and Lydia had already had plenty to drink, and Nancy had her never-ending flask in her bag, she didn't know how far along anyone else would be. Plus, drinks. Just, drinks.

Comments

[industria]

Allison arrives late. She doesn't mean to – a bit of family business has held her up and she had to go back to her room to freshen up and look presentable for an outing. It's been a while, it feels like, gussying up like that. With the weather seeming to warm a little, she opts for an olive green jacket over her dress, tying her hair back into a bun with little arrow earrings dangling from each ear.

Looking bashful, she decides to get herself a drink first – a rum and coke to start – before looking for the other ladies. Not that she knows who to look for, unable to immediately spot Nancy. She can't believe her own nerves, starting over again and trying to make new friends.

[stauncherhearted]

"Allison!" Nancy spots her new friend and waves her over to the table. There's a quick introduction, to make sure she knows who the other ladies are- Caroline and Lydia- and she's happy to balance conversations and try to make sure everyone is included.

"Thanks for coming, love! You look cute- I love your earrings. Silver, ain't it?" Silver wasn't exactly something she could wear (gold looked better on her, anyway), but she still appreciated it aesthetically.

[industria]

"Oh –"

Allison doesn't have her wits about her just yet, somewhat dazed as Nancy leads her around, introducing the others with names that she commits to memory by repeating them as she says hello.

"Yeah," she smiles in thanks, lightly touching one ear as she takes a seat at the end of the table. "It's a family thing, as one might imagine. Thanks."

[stauncherhearted]

Honestly, Nancy doesn’t expect anyone to remember all the names. There are a lot of them. Gods know she would have difficulty with it. But she appreciates it all the same.

“They’re gorgeous.” Silver. She commits that to memory- she’s been wearing cheap metals and gold for so long it seems second nature to her.

“Really! Oh that’s great, having some sort of family thing like that.” Hers did, to a degree. If you counted pick pocketing as a family thing. Nancy wasn’t sure if she did.

[industria]

"We're into that kind of thing, being Argents and all," she explains lightly. Never mind what the silver is actually used for! "Family heritage, traditions, etcetera."

Allison stirs her drink needlessly with the straw, ice clinking against the glass. "I mean, I'm not a big traditionalist really. Some rules are still meant to be broken." She smiles, a faint curve of her lips because - hoo boy, traditions got the better of her before.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy nods. "Yeah, that's- something related to silver, yeah?" She's uneducated, but she knows enough from magic that arg-something tends to be silver. She knew that from Bill, as well. He always had to be careful, when he broke into houses. No candlesticks for him, or fancy dishware. Not without gloves, anyway.

She waves her hand to dismiss the idea. "Whatever works for you, love. I'm not here t'judge." Lest she be judged for her general disaster of a life. "My family was never really one for traditions, anyway." Her family, as far as she knew it.

[industria]

"Yeah, Argentum is Latin for silver," Allison explains with a shrug of her shoulder. "And why it's listed as Ag on the Periodic Table. And since all Romance languages stem from Latin and my family has French roots..."

Yadda yadda, talking about name origins isn't exactly bar time talk so Allison instantly drops it, turning the conversation topic onto Nancy instead. "Do you and your friends have traditions, though?"

oh wow I have the boots Allison is wearing in that icon

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy nods. "Huh, you learn something new every day."

She had her rituals, witch traditions and festivals. But now, she had to wonder if she was even going to be welcome at such events. The thought brought a small frown to her face, her brow creasing. "Yeah, we do. So that's nice, at least- my ex and I had a few, actually. Sunday mornings in bed with the dog, drinking coffee. Super simple, but we loved it." She did the same thing with Cooper, now. But there was something different about doing it with Bill- it was one of the few times he seemed so openly affectionate with her. Cooper had no problem being that way all the time.

so cute!

[industria]

A soft smile graces her face and Allison leans onto the table, a chin in her hand with her arm folded over the surface. "That sounds sweet. Really – cozy." Dogs seem to be a popular topic of conversation these days and Allison tilts her head to the side. "So, what kind of dog did you have? Or do you have another type of dog now?"

Kenzie is the brand. I got 'em at Macy's like 5 years ago but they're amazing

[stauncherhearted]

"It really was." She misses Bill. Every day of her life, and it shows on her face when she thinks about him. She loved him. Loves him, even. But she had Cooper now, and he was, in a way, much better for her.

"Domino, he was a Bull-Terrier. Real sweetheart." He'd died shortly after Bill was arrested.

Nancy laughs. "Hah- no, just a boyfriend now. And a cat." Juliet was a brilliant cat. She'd followed Nancy across the city in the middle of the night, when she'd made her escape from Midnight territory.

[industria]

"Domino," Allison repeats softy. It would be hard to miss the hazy fondness on Nancy's face and the sound of it in her voice. There is a lot that she doesn't know about her new friend but perhaps she might uncover it one day.

Leaning closer to Nancy, she chuckles into her glass as she lifts it to her lips for another drink. Already, she feels warm and more at ease with her new surroundings. "Are you a dog or a cat person? Or both?"

[stauncherhearted]

She's got to smile, hearing Allison say the name. "Yeah. He was the sweetest boy. Always greeted me with kisses and a happily wagging tail." So did Bill, generally. He loved her so much, despite how young she had been when they'd gotten together.

She should visit him, she thinks. But it'd been so long, and he'd smell Cooper all over her.

"Both," she confides. "When Domino died, I thought I'd try my luck with a cat, and she and I have been getting along brilliantly. Cooper likes her a lot, too, which is helpful. Yourself?"

[industria]

"Well. Funnily enough, I had a similar conversation with some guy I randomly met," she laughs, shaking her head. "It's like a universal, ongoing debate, isn't it? As for me..."

She gives this consideration, squinting her eyes thoughtfully as lifts her chin. "Dogs, for sure. I love their constant affection and eagerness to see their humans, you know? I never had pets growing up but I've always liked them better."

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy chuckles, shaking her head. Odd, maybe even ironic. But it really was a universal debate, Allison was right about that one.

"I hear that." She smiles- oh Bill was almost always happy to see her, and Domino, too. She had always tried to spoil her, even though Bill hated it. "Yeah- I never had a pet. Bill always did, though, and I guess that was close enough or something."

[vampire_barbie_girl]

After getting settled down with a drink, Caroline turned and smiled at the woman Nancy had introduced as Allison. "So, where are you from originally?"

[industria]

Allison ends up sitting next to Caroline and she turns in her seat to address the other young woman at the table. She takes a sip through the thin red straw before answering her question. "I'm kind of from everywhere. The States, mostly, but my family has roots in France."

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline nodded. "I grew up in Virginia, a little place called Mystic Falls. No one has heard of it," she adds with a grin. "My family was pretty much all from there, one of the founding families, in fact."

[industria]

"I thought you sounded American," Allison comments, nodding. So does she, really, a workable French accent only coming out when she speaks her family's traditional language. "I moved here from Beacon Hills, California. So, your family was around there during colonial times?"

[vampire_barbie_girl]

"No, the town's not quite that old, though the Forbes family was there before the official founding in 1860." Given the area's long ties to the supernatural, Caroline sort of wonders why the family's decided to stay there anyway.

[industria]

"Still pretty old though. I'm not sure how old Beacon Hills is, but I think that it's a younger town for sure." She hadn't even been there for very long but had come to think of it as home base for a while. And here she is, trying to plant new roots. "So, you've got a long history there? Any fun traditions?"

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline laughs. "When it comes to tradition, Mystic Falls has most other places beat, I think. We had a few different festivals every year, plus of course the regular high school stuff. My favourite was the Miss Mystic Falls pageant but I'm probably biased because I won the title."

[industria]

Leaning back in her chair, Allison takes a good look at Caroline and nods knowingly. "A beauty queen? That does not surprise me," she replies, completely genuine and kind. "I'm sure you were awesome during each round. You seem like you would've had a lot of poise."

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline grins. "Thanks. I was convinced the entire time that my best friend, Elena, was going to win. It was a shock when they called my name instead of hers."

It's so strange to remember those days, when everything had felt like a competition for her. A competition that she always lost - usually to Elena. It's crazy how much has changed since then.

[industria]

"If you worked hard for it, I'm glad that you won." Allison doesn't entirely understand the hubbub surrounding beauty pageants, having never been part of that world in her life, but hey, if it makes another girl feel good, then why not?

[vampire_barbie_girl]

She had worked hard, volunteering for pretty much every committee in town. Not to mention high school. At least she hadn't had to deal with vampirism back then.

"So what's Beacon Hill like?"