*curls up on a giant beanbag in the corner* *munches a s'more*

I love the hearth.

A girl in mom jeans and a cloak remniscent of Little Red Riding Hood opens the door. She's black and white, like old pictures, except for her red cloak, of course. "Wow," she says. "I haven't thought of a CB appearance in years. What do I look like?"

She settles in to a floral printed armchair. She will tell a story, but not yet. 

A slender girl flits into the room quietly and takes a seat cross-legged near the warmth of the fire. The flames illuminate her head of thick dark curls, with slight traces of blue as if it had been dyed but then faded over time. She looks around and smiles at all of her old friends, but doesn't make any conversation except for a few words yet, waiting for the others to arrive.

A girl in a dark green cloak without a hood enters and moves to stand by the fire. She has braided brown hair and an unstrung bow on her back. On her sholder, she has a little green ball of fluff that seems to hop up and down from time to time. She looks nervous and toungue-tied.

A cautious figure enters into the light as she tucks a stray piece of curly, whispy light brown hair behind her ear. The fire illuminates her features that have not seemed to change; she still has the freckles, the inquisitive almond shaped eyes, and the age-old subtle copper fox ears that everyone had grown to recognise. But she is different. Something different shines in those eyes, as if she's learned and experienced much more from her time away, as if she has finally seen the world. But then nostalgia gleams across her face, and she hears a voice whisper in her mind, 

"Welcome home." 

You're all "flitting" in. (Or it feels like that.) I was half tempted to post this in bold....

A short girl, with a longish curtain of medium brown hair that's dyed pink at the ends, barges into the room. Her appearance morphs, and changes again--it's sort of like looking at a rippling pool of water. She changes between stocky and slender and her hair never stays exactly the same, nor do her facial features. 

"Hi guys!" She says, exuberantly. "I've been waiting for Valentine's Day 2019 for so long--and it's not even that day anymore--isn't it crazy? I felt so stressed out yesterday. I haven't been to DtE yet today but I'm hoping to get the chance to see even more people and talk more. But I'll be sticking around here too--nobody's actually shared a story yet, huh? I'll have to see if I can come up with anything."

She dances across the room to take a seat next to Leeli and grab some chocolate.  

A girl with long white hair and black wizard's robes opens the door quietly and slips in. She grins at old friends, and pulls the robes tighter around her body, pulling out a wand. She sits down criss-cross next to Leeli and Leafpool.

"I think that one of the things which makes the Chatterbox-" She waves her hands about, the wand emitting a couple of bright purple sparks. "Itself," she semi-concludes, frowning in thought. "is the fact that we look up to each other. We admire each other. There may be some people who may be more admired than other people, and yes, it feels amazing when you have seen your name on lists mentioning those who people look up to, but there are some who may not be 'popular' who we still look up to. I once saw a thread where someone said that the way to be popular was to be active, and if we're measuring that way, lots of people get left out. And I don't think that's how it works."

She stands up, seeming to be thrilled, almost intoxicated by her words. "If that's all it was, I shouldn't admire Esthelle by these 'rules'. She, when I was on, at least; was never very active, due to screen restrictions. That didn't mean I don't admire her, and look up to her, hoping I can reach a kind of ideal embodied in her through my eyes. I admire Butterfly, for seeing that yes, there are flaws in this view. Some will get left out, and that's not the best part of admiration. The best part about it is that everyone on here has been admired at some point. And truthfully, too."

Her face grew downcast at a thought, but she continued. "I admire Claaws. We don't think the same-" Her voice sounded like she had been punched by old, hurtful memories. "and I wish-I can't force anyone to think the same, but I wish we did think the same. I admire how Claaws is not afraid to say when she's going through a hard time, and reaching out and saying that yes, her life has problems. I admire that she had the courage to do so. I admire it so much. I look up to Claaws."

"There are countless others who may have been overlooked who I look up to in some way. It would take too long to mention them all, but I would like to paraphrase quickly. It's good to have people to look up to. Just because someone doesn't mention your name doesn't mean you're forgotten. I know what some may think 'oh, she's seen her name said as one of the 'popular' people in the past, so it's fine for her to say this'. And what I want to say is this: for the longest time, I didn't know that some saw me like that. It's more of a responsibility than a privilege to have people looking up to you. You should strive to be a better person then, to help them see the good in life, to see God. And it is hard. All of us-the Chatterboxers-are flawed."

"When I first heard that some people looked up to me, I was flattered, and stunned. I couldn't help but think why me? My writing is horrible, there's no reason for anyone to like me. It turns out, we're all valuable. Even when we think different, we can still be friends. Mei-xue and I had a really rocky beginning as friends. Our beliefs are nothing alike. I respect and admire her, and feel that she understands me, sometimes better than I understand myself. We have talked about difficult issues. And we are still friends. I left because it hurt. Perhaps I shouldn't have, perhaps I hurt myself more by doing that, but that was the choice I made."

The silver-haired Chatterboxer bowed, saying, "Thank you for listening. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say, and I'm sorry if I used too many words. Thank you again for your patience and understanding. And helping me to be a better person." She sat down again, trying to hide her face.