champagne for my real friends ; open

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"][TLDR is at the bottom!!]

The morning was cold. Winter had passed, but it was one of those mornings where the season reminded you that it would return. Even so, the sun was beginning to climb the sky, and the world was warming. Birds could be heard in the treetops, and life in the Observatory was waking up.

Sunshine beamed down upon Suiteheart as she exited the large building, but she felt no warmth. She was cold. Not from the weather, but from the lies she told again and again to those she was starting to love like family. Her actions were slowly but surely breaking down every part of her being. It was hard to live a lie, and it was even harder to live with herself because of it. She hated this, but she was too scared of the alternative.

Despite this place being more welcoming than anything she could've encountered, for some strange reason, she could not find it in herself to come clean to everyone. She had broken down and told Bastillepaw, and that was the extent of it. Even as she spilled every single secret to him, she still felt horrible. Foundations built on lies were ones that crumbled the fastest.

But Suiteheart had wanted a new start. And even if this wasn't how she had planned it, this was what fate had dealt her. She had made her bed, and now she was to lie in it.

A tight frown laced its way onto her lips. She needed to stop this. She needed to clear her mind. A walk would be good for that. So, off she went. She tried to stop thinking about how unfair she was being to those around her, but it was no use. She was stuck in bad thought after bad thought.

Suiteheart wasn't sure where her paws were taking her, but she let them guide her. The grass underfoot soon became somewhat rocky, and she realized she was in a part of the territory where she had yet to travel. She kept her eyes on the lookout, trying to soak up as much of this place as possible.

However sure-footed Suiteheart thought she was, it simply was not the case. The rocks beneath her paws were not stuck deeply within the ground, causing her to slip and slide and lose her footing. The white feline crashed to the ground in a spectacular display of curse words and flailing limbs. The sharp rocks dug into her, cutting her up here and there.

"Piece of shit rocks," she groaned as she sat up. As she did this, she noticed the familiar weight of her locket was not around her throat. Panic set in and she scrambled to her feet to search for it. Luckily, the silver heart was there, but it had been severed from its chain in her fall as it had caught on a rock. Sadly, the force of her fall and a well-placed rock had broken the locket's clasp, causing it to open.

Though it could probably easily be fixed, tears pooled in Suiteheart's eyes. This was one of the first gifts Margaery had ever given her, and now, it was destroyed. "No..." She took the locket in her paws and tried desperately to close it, but it would do no such thing. She stared down at the pictures as a bittersweet feeling enveloped her, bringing on a wave of tears.

The smiling faces of she and her wife stared back at her. They had been so young and so happy. The next picture was a group photograph, and it showcased her little family. Her children were grinning and laughing, and the exuberant smile on Margaery's lips broke Suiteheart. Would they ever be this happy again?

Suddenly, a strong breeze ripped through the air. It almost knocked Suiteheart over, but she managed to stand her ground. However, the pictures in her locket were not as secure: they blew out. "NO!" she shrieked, immediately running after them. These pictures were the only physical reminders of her once happy life, and if she lost them... Well, she wasn't sure what she would do.

Suiteheart ran as fast she could, praying the wind would die down. And it did. The pictures began floating to the ground, but...

They stopped at the feet of someone. The observer looked at her fellow member in complete horror while trying to force her tears away. The secret was out. Now, everyone would know.

[TLDR; suiteheart was feeling really upset about lying to everyone, so she went on a walk. while on her little hike, she fell on rocks, and they just so happened to break her locket. a strong wind came along and ripped the pictures out of her locket (they had been dislodged in the fall), causing them to fall at the feet of whoever posts next. because of this, her secrets is out, and she will now tell everyone about how she lied]

[radeken]

Radeken tipped her head to one side, drawn from her thoughts by the nearby commotion. Hotelsuites seemed awful upset over the cracking of her little bauble. Just snag a new one. All things were replaceable, were they not? Though perhaps those pictures weren’t... Wonder what those are.

She watched as they fluttered to the ground and stooped to examine thenbetter. Hotelsuites, Margaret, kids? Uh? Radeken blinked, looking up at the other woman. “[color=#40bf40]Uh...”

Now, Radeken was in no position to judge someone harshly for lying. And really, this lie wasn’t one that brought her any personal loss or harm. It was just...confusing. Why lie about something like this? “[color=#40bf40]So...so what are you up to? What have you been...what’s the motivation here?” Radeken laughed, reaching forward to press a paw down onto the pictures that had settled before her. Partly so they wouldn’t be stolen away by the wind again, and partly so she had some leverage to ensure Hotelsuites answered her question. Even if it didn’t harm her, it still interested her, and when Radeken wanted something, she intended to get it.

[Margaery]

[glow=BLACK,2,300]▶ MARGAERY FOLIE - tags - THE ASCENDANTS - OBSERVER - SHE/HER- FELINE ◀[/glow]

To Margaery, the locket was a promise of their love. She had stumbled upon it by chance one day, dropped by some human who must have been exploring the woods near their old home and, instantly enamored by its shine, just knew that she had to give it to Suiteheart. They had been so young back then, innocent compared to the beings they were now. So much had changed but, through it all, the locket had remained on Suite. Her own rose-shaped necklace rested on her chest presently, gleaming in the early morning sun as she did her rounds. She never took the piece of jewelry off- no, it was much too valuable a gift (in meaning of course) to just remove. In that sense, she and Suiteheart could not be anymore similar.

It was when a sudden flurry of pain accompanied by a stab of distress fell over her that Margaery abruptly halted, her eyes narrowing. Was she... being assaulted? No, there weren't any living souls as far as she could see and the jagged feeling of well, rocks, originated from anything but a feline's paws. What could be causing these feelings that were not her own? And more importantly, why had they come out of nowhere?

Perplexed, she decided to follow the instinctual desire that came after the pain, equal parts curious and confused as she wandered closer and closer to Radeken and Suiteheart. Even the mere idea that she and her wife's bond had managed to return evaded her until she arrived at the scene, blue eyes widening as she felt that familiar, comforting presence that she had taught herself to live without.

Though she'd love to simply relish in the warm feelings that were associated with her wife, she realized quite quickly that something was amiss. Firstly, the locket was broken, off of its chain and stuck in the open position. Secondly, it appeared that Radeken now knew too much.

Where Suiteheart had felt guilty about lying, Margaery was simply tired of it. A master of facades, she had surprised herself by not wanting to maintain this one, partly blaming her own sensitive heart for getting too attached to her new clanmates. Now, being Margaret struck her more as a chore than anything else. She supposed the cat was out of the bag now, and as much as they'd both like to keep their secrets secrets, pictures didn't lie.

[color=#b14767]"You've caught us," Was all she said, her voice weary and slightly strained. Her mind was still occupied by the aching assumption that the bond was back and she cast a sideways glance at Suite, wondering if she was thinking and feeling the same. [color=#b14767]"I guess it's time to introduce the real me. My actual name is Margaery Mikaelson-Folie, I suppose it's a pleasure to meet you... again." At least she was trying to find humor in this slightly worrying situation.

How were her clanmates going to react? Would they hate them for not being up front? For being, dare she say, too faced. [color=#b14767]"And Suiteheart..." An ounce of pain could be detected in her words, [color=#b14767]"Don't worry about the locket."

It hurt her to say that. She had never even imagined the thing breaking in the first place and truth be told, she was inwardly rather upset. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes but she willed them away- Suiteheart was already sad, she dared not add to that turmoil with her own feelings.

[BASTILLEPAW]

[div style="background-color: white; width: 100%; font-family: Georgia; color: #576a6e; text-align: center; margin: auto"]BASTILLEPAW AURELIUS  ✧
the ascendants — kuiper corporal — tags

[div style="line-height: 110%; word-wrap: break-word; text-align: justify; color: black; padding-top: 10px; font-family: Georgia; text-size: 6pt"]
"Gods, I knew those names sounded like complete bullshit," Bastille muttered as he was suddenly just there, though the fact that he had heard Margy speak seemed to indicate invisibility kicking off, not teleportation. He hadn't even noticed it activate, honestly; he could barely think through his headaches these days, and the lack of sleep and stewing anger didn't really help. Nevertheless, he could think about Suite and Margy -- that was, Suiteheart and Margaery. Margae, she'd started to say that one time, and it certainly made sense now. Both of those names seemed more suitable, and he imagined the inclination for Suite to sound right and not Hotelsuites was because Suite was a real nickname. "I was honestly going to be depressed if Margaret was actually your name, it's so drab."

Bastille tilted his head, studying the locket curiously, but he didn't look very surprised or scandalized by all of this. Sure, Suite had barged into his room to confess her dirty little secret, but it wasn't something he hadn't assumed. They were terrible fucking liars, and completely transparent literally all of the time. The only thing that really intrigued him were the pictured children, though that interest was fleeting.

[Luciferr]

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]As Radeken's paws came to hold down the photographs, her heart absolutely sank. The laugh Rad emitted cut deeply for some odd reason, and Suiteheart had to avert her baby blue eyes. What was Suite up to, the wolf had asked. And that was indeed the question, but all words escaped the white feline.

She didn't want it to happen like this. She wanted to be able to come clean in an easy setting. She didn't... Truth be told, she never thought she would get to this point. When she joined, she thought she would only be here a few days, but now this was home. "Please, I need those b-back."

And then along came Margaery. She expected surprise, confusion, anger, but there was nothing of the sort. Suiteheart didn't even have time to process the fact that their bond had been restored. No, she was too busy trying to retrieve her most prized possessions. Suiteheart let her gaze linger on her wife, noting the tired air around her. And when she heard the chocolate point speak, she knew there was no going back.

Steeling herself, Suiteheart nodded. She forced back sadness, beating it back into the deepest corner of her being. Instead, she presented an emotion that was something akin to confidence - or perhaps arrogance. "My name is Suiteheart Mikaelson-Folie. Not Hotelsuites..." And then her facade fell; she was reduced to equal parts weariness and regret. "Please, I need those pictures back. They're the only thing I have from my old life. My kids... They're gone. That's all I fucking have."

She turned her head at Margaery's next words, opening her mouth in protest (she would worry about the locket until she could fix it). However, before she could speak, Bastillepaw was on the scene. Her ears flew backwards at his words, and that was when she realized she forgot to tell him her true name. "I'm sorry," was her only response. He had understood her when she confessed to him, but she still felt like an asshole for hiding it from him -- from everyone -- for so long.

Eternalwar padded forward next, and the words she inquired left Suiteheart silent for a few moments. "I was running. I didn't want to be Suiteheart anymore," she explained, knowing the excuse was poor at best. But it did ring with truth. "I've done a lot that I'm not proud of... And when I found this place, I only intended on staying for a few days before moving on. I was looking for my family," her eyes flickered to Margaery, "I wanted to lay low. I didn't want this to come to anything, and I sure as hell wanted to fade into obscurity once I found my wife and children. But I couldn't. This place - it's home." She took a breath, hating that she was rambling. "I don't know. It's fucking stupid, and I'm fucking stupid. I just - I wanted to stop, but I couldn't."

She couldn't because she had been scared. Of what, she would rather not say. Disappointment maybe. But it had been so long that she truthfully could not remember all the reasons she had been running around under a false persona. It disgusted her since day one, but maybe there was some sick part of her that enjoyed lying straight to someone's face.

"Thank you though, Etty... It means a lot."

[Luciferr]