:Ellerie:

:It's been a while.:

:I sit here, back in my room, back from wherever and whenever I was. It's good to be back. Starli's changed a lot, so I guess I have too. But people are always changing, huh?:

:Everything feels the same here. It's like a small town, everyone knows each other and it's a warm community, but there's never anything big changing. I like change but it's so comfy here. I missed it.:

:And I missed... well, everyone. My friends. I don't know where I stand with anyone since Starli left unannounced. ANYTHING could have changed and I guess I just kinda have to go with it. Maybe I'll get lucky and that kind of thing won't have changed drastically. I hope.:

:Everything in my room beckons me to change it. It's so... pretty. Too pretty. I want red walls, purple is too soft for me now. And I want black bedding and a new rug. I can probably get that all done pretty easily.:

:Me and my siblings haven't even really been together in a while. It's a cool dynamic. I wanna talk music with everyone because I have so much new music to talk about. But even more than that I just want to talk to everyone, to get out there and see everyone again and go on the same little adventures I used to. So I guess I gotta figure out how to ask people to do that again.: 

Ever

So APPARENTLY I'm not allowed to have coffee because it has "too much caffeine" and I'll get "too hyper". Like??? Where's the logic??? OBVIOUSLY I'm already too hyper! It's like a double negative.

You see, you nonliving book that Imw turing my unnecessary and rather meaningless thoughts into, it's like a double negative. Or that one scene in Charlotte's web where there's the whole monologue about how less than nothing doesn't exist. I've already reached maximum hyper-ness. So, if I drink caffeine, I'll be at above-max-hyperness, which is not physically possible. That means the OPPOSITE would happen and I'd actually become less hyper than before.

Shawn and Starli did NOT like it when I told them that and kind of looked at me like they look at Ellerie when she talks about why cupcakes are better than brownies or why birds would make better pets than dogs. The difference is that I'm right and those opinions are invalid because they're wrong

She and Meg are the only ones phased by coming back here. I, personally, have been thinking about paprika and how it has a cool name. Does anyone even know what it tastes like? But, in all seriousness, yes, I was gone for a long time. And yes, a lot has changed. I think that Meg has gotten in El's head about the whole change thing. She keeps telling El that the worst could have happened and Ellerie's scared and won't admit it. Or maybe she's not scared and instead is just confused. I don't understand her emotions sometimes.

Me personally, I'm a little scared for the change but I'm excited. There's probably a lot of new AEs and CBers for me to meet! I think that's the part Meg has failed to talk to El about. Oh well!

-Ever 

Hey Starli! I have missed you SO MUCH and I am so happy to see you again. How have you been? How is your life? You're one of my closest friends here and ilysm <3

Also: Writing and I thought it'd be fun if Ever and Ellerie want to join Tempest and Quinn at the cafe? Honestly I think they are a very cute friend group, and I wanna see them hang out lol so if you wanna join we'd love to have you but no pressure ofc! 

*Quinn*

*"*I'm glad you're back, too -- that sounds awful. If you ever need to to talk about it, I'm here, okay? Like, genuinely.*" I feel somewhat emotional, but I don't cry in front of people, so I blink, lean back in my chair, and look over at the present I brought Tempest with a smile. "*You gonna open that?*"*

*

Thanks for waiting! I've had a busy past few days, and I only really had time to make short, quick posts here and there, so I appreciate your patience :]

Also ooh love the lore. Been working on my AEs' Lore (especially Callum's) so maybe I'll post something about that here sometime soon~

!!? I swallowed shampoo today. Don't tell papa. ?!!

Congrats, you've found the Mystery Egg! Post "I know whodunnit" on the Egg Hunt thread.

/Justin/

/^"Yes, I remember Amber," Vir says, petting my dog. "Aww, she's so so so soft... Aren't you beautiful? GoldiSun...? Running circles around everyone, of course. We all dote on her, and she's so sweet. Not too much bother, and she more than makes up for what bother she does cause. She's the loveliest dog that ever existed." /

/"She is pretty great," I agree, remember the adorable puppy. "We should bring Amber and GoldiSun to meet each other one time! I bet they'd have fun- right after Amber made sure GoldiSun understood who was boss."/

/Vir smiles, and then stands, saying, ^"Anyway, the cookies should be cool by now. Do you want to try them?"^ "Of course," I agree, and we make our way into the kitchen. I'm mesmorized by the way Vir's hair swishes as she walks, so golden and wavy. She really is beautiful. I don't really think I realize how lucky I am to know her- to be with her. She definitely brightens any cloudy day./

/The cookies are more then cooled down, but taking a bite, I find that they are quite good. They are hard, before softening into sweetness on my tongue. I actually like them! I take another cookie, so to have one in each hand. Vir glances at me, and speaks with humor in her voice, ^"Not bad! Maybe we should go into running a bakery or anything else."^/

/"Yeah," I finish both cookies. "J & V's Goodies and Treats." That sounds amazing, not the bakery part, but the part of seeing Vir every day, making sweets together. ^"J and V's Goodies and Treats,"^ Vir echos, and our eyes meet. For that moment, I promise to myself that I wouldn't let Vir go for anything. That thought sort of startled me. I told myself that Vir was not a thing that I could keep for my will forever./

/The moment was broken by a series of blings. We both start, and the glance towards the counter, where I had left my phone. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't go on my screen while Vir was here, but it was blowing up. "'Scuse me," I mutter to Vir, and quickly logged in./

/It was some of the other AE's. Daisy sent me a text, saying, *Are ya done yet??? We're on our way back-* With kissy face. I roll my eyes. V texted me a more subtle, more polite warning, and Alyssa sent me a bunch of emojis - well, Stacy sent me them. She didn't have a phone yet, but Alyssa let her use hers./

/"Everyone is on their way back," I inform Vir as I turn off my phone. "You could leave before chaos arrives, or I mean, you could stay and meet everyone...?"/

@Amethyst, if Vir DOES want to meet everyone, then let me do that part obv :P If not, then you can start to wrap it up? 

aah they really are just too cute together <3 and yayy so cool to see more of his backstory!! (also i've been struggling with the formatting for some reason? hopefully it keeps the bold)

|Arum|

|Kaspar keeps his gaze fixed on the waterfall as he answers my question. His voice sounds strangely vulnerable, which is a tone I'm not used to hearing on him. He tells me about his friend Rafael, who got into an accident right after they'd had an argument, and about how this waterfall had become a sort of refuge for him.|

|After he finishes speaking, there's a pause as I try and find something to say. It really means a lot that he told me all this, because it's obviously such a personal and emotional topic.|

|"Kaspar, thank you," I say, "for trusting me with all of that. That sounds really hard, I'm sorry. I'm glad Rafael got better, and, um, if you ever need to talk about that - or, anything, really - I'm here." I pause for a moment, my gaze wandering over the drifts of snow and swirls of ice. "This place is really beautiful. I can see why you found it so comforting. And I can only imagine what it must've looked like in the spring, when you first found it, with all the birds and blooming flowers."|

^Vir^

^Justin agrees about the bakery. "/J & V's Goodies and Treats,/" he suggests, smiling as if he likes the idea. I echo the name softly, thinking with a flash of humour about all the mistakes we would make and then just the idea of making all those mistakes while watching him, especially since he looks so cute when he's concentrating, especially since he's the most amazing guy in the universe. We look at each other for a moment, and I feel myself sinking into the warm depths of Justin's eyes.^

^Suddenly Justin's phone goes wild, and we both start. He dives for it, scrolling through some texts, but I notice that he has to log in first - which means that he wasn't really going to use it while I was here. He's almost too sweet, except that too sweet in this case doesn't exist.^

^He turns to me. "/Everyone is on their way back,/" he tells me, turning the phone off again. "/You could leave before chaos arrives, or I mean, you could stay and meet everyone...?/"^

^Since I live with Amethyst's other AEs, I'm used to chaos and even in a way like it, but I remember that we've just watched a long movie and it's probably late. I glance at my watch. "I'd love to meet everyone," I say, "but I suppose I'd better be getting home... I feel like I just barely arrived, but it's actually been a while. Give them my regards when they come." Suddenly, impulsively, I slip my arms around him. "Thank you so much for inviting me," I murmur, my head on his shoulder again. "I absolutely loved it..."^

^We stand like that a moment, and then I draw back. "I'll come again, or you can come to my house," I promise. Oddly, I don't mind the idea of leaving before all the other AEs arrive. Maybe it's just because this afternoon was too perfect to share with anyone else.^