Dorms & Apartments, Ch 2

[TwentySided]

Chitin - Apartments - ΨΩΦ Floor

"O-oh, right, um how to explain this." the changeling spoke out loud, "Well okay the best way I can describe it is that an aura is like colors, colors and textures I guess. They are emitted from everyone and depending on your emotions at the time, they have a discernible color and feel when near them. For example," the changeling said looking around the party, "Her," Chitin pointed toward Lens, "she has a yellow aura meaning that if I were to guess she was in a very ecstatic mood, and that if I were around her, I would feel a warmness around her maybe a bit light headed if I hung around her too long. Oh, and her" Chitin continued pointing to another mare, a pegasus talking to Chroma, "Her aura is violet, so nervousness and uncertainty, maybe a hint of anxiety. Being near her would cause shivers, like when you are sick to the stomach and can't stand straight. You," Chitin turned back to Ivy, "Yours is green, a rich viridian, like that of joy but maybe a bit of nervous undertones. It's a nice mix of both the warm and the cold, like a chilled breeze during a sunny day. If that makes any sense."

[Morningglory]

Lens seemed to hear Chitin speak, even though she was across the room where it was impossible to to do so. She looked over at the two and waved enthusiastically, but did not attempt to approach them. The ponies near her droned on and on, but she did not attempt to leave that spot because it seemed to her that things were going well, and it had been some time since she'd seen Ivy smile. She turned back towards whoever Chroma was talking to and pretended to be interested, while internally rolling her eyes so hard they might fall out of her head.

Ivy waved back slowly, then turned back towards Chitin. "So, joy is green? I'd have to say you're right on spot there. Happy and a little nervous. That sounds right." She said, her cheeks still flushed, "It sounds wonderful when you put it like that. You flatter me." She murmured and looked down at her hands. "That's probably one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me. I can't see or feel auras, but I know I like talking to you."

[TwentySided]

Chitin - Apartments - ΨΩΦ Floor

"The feeling is mutual." Chitin replied. "I cannot lie I was rather nervous coming here, both the party and the university in general. After all my kind does not have the best reputation in Equestria. For good reason in some cases. But I don't know after talking to you, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable here." Chitin could feel himself becoming flush as he spoke. He had never really felt this way before, then again the idea of friends was rather foreign a concept as well. Was this friendship? "Thank you Ivy." the changeling finally said, hugging the mare next to him.

[Knight Tyrfang]

Delightful Payne Jr.
Dorms & Apartments - ΨΩΦ Floor

"Yes, I'm one of the ones overlooking this." Payne said, looking over the crowd again. "Is it homier? I wouldn't know, I don't live on campus."

[Lucy Took]

"You don't? I'm surprised, I thought you'd be living here with the other members of your group. But yeah, it is homier" Chroma replied. "For one thing you have living rooms, I kinda miss having a place outside of my room to just chill. At least Lens's room's become a home away from my home away from home." he continued, moving a little. "Lens, do you want some punch?"

[Morningglory]

Ivy immediately stiffened, and felt a hot blush working its way up the back of her neck and ears. Though she had lived for a while with Lens, physical contact was still something of a novelty. She blinked a couple of times, and let her arms and body soften, letting her arms slowly wrap around the changeling hugging her. She let her chin rest against his shoulder and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. A slow smile crept across her lips, and she decided firmly that this was something she could definitely like. She let out a small contented sigh and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she could see Lens across the room, staring at her and grinning behind one hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Lens was so busy watching them that she had only barely heard her boyfriend call her name and turned to look at him with a dazed, giddy eye, "Huh, what?" She said, barely coming back to focus between her absolute excitement for Ivy, and her absolute boredom with whatever else was going on. She reached her hand out the window and dumped the rest of what was in her cup outside, then brought it back in in one fast, fluid motion. "Oh! Yes, I would love to get something to drink. I just dropped mine. Shall we?"

[Morningglory]

Serenade finished a slow spin about to look around the room until her gaze came back to rest on where Booster had been, but was no longer. She looked around for him in confusion, her eyes peering between all the other ponies that had arrived, but couldn't spot him. As she turned just a little to her right, her eyes finally fell on him, and saw him clearly talking to another mare. She chewed her lip for a moment, and felt her heart drop a bit. She shook her head, chiding herself. It was foolish for her to be so attached. It was true, he had saved her, but she couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that tugged at her. She turned away quickly so she didn't have to look and walked as fast as she could in the other direction. So fast, in fact, that she didn't see the rather large zebra hybrid that she promptly walked into, despite the fact the mare was a good head or so taller than her. She shook her head, and looked up at the mare, trying her best to look cordial. "Oh! Oh, hi there. My name is Serenade and I'm one of the members of this sorority. Are you enjoying the party?" She asked politely with a smile, her hands clasped low in front of her in a sort of curtsy.

[Lucy Took]

Chroma took a look over at Ivy. "Yes, a drink" he said, mentally rolling his eyes at his girlfriend's lack of regard for privacy. But then again, they were in public. And it was pretty cute that Ivy had accepted Chitin so fast. "Spiked or not?" he said, setting a cup aside for Lens and pouring a not cup for himself. "And as sweet as they are, keeping an eye on them probably isn't a bad idea. He's still a changeling after all. I don't mean treat him differently, or keep him from Ivy, just that any sudden romance with an emotion feeder should be watched from a distance just in case he's feeding on her."

[Morningglory]

Lens waved her hand at Chroma for a moment, "Changeling, right. That's a thing. Yes... our little tulip is growing up so fast." She said disinterestedly, waving her cup in his general direction before snapping back to attention. "Spiked. And I'm more worried about her fleeing in terror when he touches one of her plants. That's a thing, you know. I saw some jack wagon grab the leaves on one of her plants, and that boy hit the floor like a sack of bricks... what was that guy's name... something something McSackofbricks. Granted I might have given him that name, but it fits, you know?" She said, shrugging, "Besides, do you KNOW how real this all is? Totally unscripted! A shut-in meets the pawn of an evil empire! This is cinema GOLD! He'll thaw her frozen heart and they'll learn to love again in the shade of tropical trees, poisonous flowers, and carnivorous plants! It's enough to bring a tear to your eye..." She sniffled.

[Lucy Took]

Chroma played the gentlepony and filled Lens's glass. "You have a point about her holding her own." he replied, chuckling at the Len's interpretation of Ivy's protectiveness." He took a sip of his own glass. "As for that movie. If you want to make that a movie I'd be happy to story board that. But Chtin would need to be a Changling prince and Ivy just released from a greenhouse prison or something. Gotta make it even crazier so people don't laugh at it not being a real story. Just go all out fiction."

[TwentySided]

Chitin - Apartments - ΨΩΦ Floor

Holding onto the mare, the changeling felt warmth radiating around him. Whether it was from him or Ivy he couldn't really tell. Letting go, Chitin could still feel the warmth from his flushed face, trying to hide it with just a bit of a transformation, "T-thank you Ivy. You don't realize how much this actually means to me. After all my kind tried to invade your nation only a little over a year ago. Afterwards, well...lets just say we heard a lot of things when we were hiding. None of it nice. But for someone to put that aside, to actually hug me back, knowing full well who I actually am...It really means the world to me Ivy. Again. Thank you."

[captain_borgue]

Serenade finished a slow spin about to look around the room until her gaze came back to rest on where Booster had been, but was no longer. She looked around for him in confusion, her eyes peering between all the other ponies that had arrived, but couldn't spot him. As she turned just a little to her right, her eyes finally fell on him, and saw him clearly talking to another mare. She chewed her lip for a moment, and felt her heart drop a bit. She shook her head, chiding herself. It was foolish for her to be so attached. It was true, he had saved her, but she couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that tugged at her. She turned away quickly so she didn't have to look and walked as fast as she could in the other direction. So fast, in fact, that she didn't see the rather large zebra hybrid that she promptly walked into, despite the fact the mare was a good head or so taller than her. She shook her head, and looked up at the mare, trying her best to look cordial. "Oh! Oh, hi there. My name is Serenade and I'm one of the members of this sorority. Are you enjoying the party?" She asked politely with a smile, her hands clasped low in front of her in a sort of curtsy.

Kimi was off in her own head, trying to figure out how to actually socialize with everypony else at the party, when somepony literally bumped into her. "Oh, hello. I'm Kimi, I was curious about the sound of this new sorority thing. I'm just, not very good at parties, I guess. The Halloween one was kind of a fluke, I honestly had no idea it would be as popular as it was," Kimi said, before chugging another spiked punch.

"So if you don't mind my asking, what brings you here? To this group, I mean?" Kimi asked, hoping that if she managed to strike up a conversation, she wouldn't have to awkwardly stand in the corner drinking.

[Morningglory]

Ivy rolled her eyes at her roommate, and slowly backed up so she could look at Chitin, who appeared to be smiling almost as hard as Lens was. "Chitin, I believe that other ponies should be taken at face value. You've done me no wrong. I don't see why I should view you negatively. From what I've seen so far, you're kind, and honest. Those are both qualities I appreciate in other ponies. You haven't given me a reason not to like you." She said with a smile, "I think we could be great friends, if that's what you want." She said, feeling herself becoming a little bashful. "What is WRONG with me! I'm giddy as a school filly!" She thought to herself, pulling her long red hair over her shoulder. "Have you chosen a major yet? Maybe we'll be in some of the same classes. I... I would like that. We could even study together, if we're at least taking similar classes."

Lens turned back towards Chroma, "OOOOO! I'd like that! And we'd have to get some cute little Greco-Roman style dress for her to wear as the isolated princess. I could see it. It would be totally AWESOME! This is one of the reasons I keep you. That and all the other reasons!" She said excitedly, nuzzling his nose with the end of hers. "So... I'm thinking about joining this whole Greek dealie. You know what I mean? There's a whole lot of boring here now, but I bet I could get a whole reality TV show thing going on in this place. Totally better than TV when everyone's just being themselves. And if I get in on it, I'm totally going to get Ivy in on it too. What do you say, puddin'?"

[Morningglory]

Kimi was off in her own head, trying to figure out how to actually socialize with everypony else at the party, when somepony literally bumped into her. "Oh, hello. I'm Kimi, I was curious about the sound of this new sorority thing. I'm just, not very good at parties, I guess. The Halloween one was kind of a fluke, I honestly had no idea it would be as popular as it was," Kimi said, before chugging another spiked punch.

"So if you don't mind my asking, what brings you here? To this group, I mean?" Kimi asked, hoping that if she managed to strike up a conversation, she wouldn't have to awkwardly stand in the corner drinking.

Serenade felt herself wringing her hands, and put them behind her back. "Oh! I joined because I'm friends with River. She's the cute little pony who's engaged to Tarnished. I think he's around somewhere, but I'm not sure..." She said, glancing around, but coming up empty. "And it's ok. I'm still trying to figure out this whole party thing. I mean, this is only the second party I've ever been to that didn't include caviar and rich old stallions stuffed into too-small tuxedos. And were those ever... boring, actually. Now that I think about it." She said, giggling. "You probably got one of the invites, right? Well, we're glad to have you." She said sweetly, a red lipsticked smile and bright blue eyes lighting up her whole face.

[Lucy Took]

"I do like Greco-Roman costumes." Chroma noted before returning the nuzzle. "And Greek groups are known for toga parties, I'm sure you could turn one of those into a blast. The reality tv bit though....I wouldn't recommend causing drama for the sake of drama. Just interviewing people once in awhile and asking them weird questions could bring out more interesting sides to them without going through party small talk. So back to the point...I'll give joining some thought. If it means we can be neighbors it's a huge bonus. Maybe we can even share an apartment with Ivy."

[Morningglory]

Lens nodded, "Silly Chroma. I wouldn't start drama. I would just observe. Although interviewing them throughout the year sounds like a good plan." She said contemplatively. "And I do like togas. So much better than wearing pants. We could totally swing a toga party some time." She said with a rakish grin, "And I'm liking this idea of sharing an apartment more and more. Ivy would probably want her own room, and I don't blame her. She likes her privacy. I found that out the first time I tried to be neighborly and do her laundry with mine... Yeah... that could definitely work! Who the heck would we have to talk to to make that a possibility?" She queried out loud.

[captain_borgue]

Kimi couldn't help but smile back- this Serenade girl was just so... cute. Like a cartoon character or a puppy. "Well yes and no, I received an invite, but it was more Dean Hannibal who encouraged me to actually come here. I'm majoring in psychology, and she had said it would be an excellent opportunity to observe," Kimi said, feeling herself lighten up. "I'm not usually the party type- ponies seem to find me somewhat intimidating. In the past, I used that fact to my advantage, but I'm trying this new thing where I make an effort to get out of my comfort zone. It's a little daunting," Kimi said. She felt a little relieved to hear her say it out loud, like maybe this party thing wasn't such a big deal after all. "And since I live just down the hall, I guess I wanted to see who the new neighbors would be."

[TwentySided]

Chitin - Apartments - ΨΩΦ Floor

Chitin blinked as he watched Ivy's aura alter again, this time from the chilled green to an airy pink, embarrassment? Had he done something wrong? he must've to make Ivy embarrassed. She had just said such nice things though. Why was she embarrassed to say them? "Uh, um..." the changeling stuttered, feeling strange, he had no idea how to handle this. He wanted to answer but he didn't want to make matters worse. He had already done something wrong without knowing it. "I'm, well I'm studying psychology. But, I don't really know if those coincide with Biology...I, well I'd still like to study if that's at all possible, even if they aren't in shared classes." Should be back track? How could he the conversation had already moved on. Hug her again? She was happy then. Usually repeating actions of affection yielded greater results in his experience. A following up kiss yielded more love from the partner right? Would another hug yield more happiness. Chitin felt himself getting flustered as he thought, his face burning, he had screwed up but how? Why when it was going so well?

[Lucy Took]

"We don't have to talk to anyone, at least not yet." Chroma said, moving to the end of the table where a stack of papers were that he noticed when he greeted Payne. "Looks like we have to fill out this form asking to be accepted." He glanced over it, reading the instructions on it, knowing that there was a significant chance that Lens wasn't going to do it herself. "Then I think we have to be interviewed by the current members and maybe their adviser." He pointed to various places on the form. "But at least it seems like we have a chance to say where we'd prefer to live if we get in. I like the big apartment idea myself. Then we could still have Ivy and another person or two and still have our own space. Much as I'd love to share with you having separate rooms is probably best since we both have different sleeping schedules and classes that require us to have pretty big cameras we'd rather not store in the art lockers. Oh, and the big apartment has a good sized living room. Perfect for balancing privacy and together time."

[Lucy Took]

River-Party

River watched the party start to warm up, keeping the cookie try replenished and watching Booster going to get the music. Things were starting to fall into place. She poured herself a glass of the rum punch and then poured another glass for her fincee and went over and handed it to him.

"Relax, Repute. It's working out so far. Look, we even have people looking over the sign up forms."