the devil says "oh no, she's up"[open]

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

"Aww, thanks. Most people say I'm an acquired taste. Or only moderately obnoxious. Or that I grow on you; y'know," Lorelei shrugged, which, of course, led to more flinching. Really, she should be better at that by now: she'd been injured long enough that getting used to it should have just been part and parcel to the whole experience.

For now, she giggled as she all but plowed into Tori. "S'alright. I'm pretty sturdy," she said, swelling slightly, looking anything but given her dainty frame and slight build. "But, yeah,' she looked around, "this is definitely the right hall. Just a matter of following numbers," she pointed at a set. Lorelei paused to look up and down, confirmed the right direction, then started down that way.

"It takes some getting used to, the whole school. I memorized maps and stuff so I know most of the tricks. There's actually some secret passageways and stuff, mostly magical in nature, but there's some that just require taping the right location. I'm still looking for a special room that only opens up when you need it or maybe somebody's literal skeleton though I do think I found a painting that you could look through the eyes..."

[Victoria Heart]

Tori shrugged at the implication that it was odd that Tori liked her, that she was an "acquired taste". "Well, so is alcohol, but that hardly stops it from making everything a bit more fun, wouldn't you say?" she quipped, winking. "I'd say the same applies to you, in my humble opinion." Her smile faded ever so slightly when she realized the girl was flinching again...this was one of the weaknesses Imagination had. Sure, her mother could revive one of her friends if his will to live remained, but the problem with these sorts of injuries was that, unless the magic used was meant specifically for healing, will had very little to do with whether or not that happened. Cells didn't have wills of their own to work with, and much like you couldn't bring sentient life to something that had no will, you couldn't close nonlethal wounds.

Fortunately her brief mourning of her few weaknesses didn't last long, as Lorelei continued to be far too amusing as the skinny girl tried to appear bulkier than she was. "Oh I see that," she teased, chuckling as she let her go, and soon she caught sight of the room numbers that were likely to lead to the one she had aimed to get to in the first place. Well, she had been right. Having company was just so much more preferable.

"...oh that sounds fascinating..." You could practically see the wicked glint in her eyes, the part of her hungry for any and all thrills longing to find that painting and see what secrets those open eyes could reveal..."I'll have to see what I can find as well. I've heard many a tale about the strange happenings around here..." Her smile almost faded as she thought she saw the precise room number coming closer...well she did have class...and besides, it wasn't like she wasn't going to see Lorelei again. She was pretty determined to make sure that wasn't the case, in fact.

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

"I'm not a big fan of alcohol,' Lorelei admitted, shrugging. "Just not my thing," she'd had a bit, just not enough to really find all the joy in it. It probably didn't help that at nearly every other family reunion someone got drunk and started trying to fight. Happened when there were three dads for six kids and all; which is also why they often tried to arrange holidays so that people got in rotations or something (poor Gwen, really).

AT the numbers, and at something of an ending. "Oh!" Lorelei nearly jumped, digging into her pocket. It was an awkward motion to be sure, particularly since it made bracelets clack against one another and involved some twisting that was quite obviously painful. But eventually Lorelei came out with her phone, awkwardly holding it in her hand. "You can totally put your number in this mobile thing and I can talk to you whenever! Then we could check out paintings or whatnot or just get tea or something. That is, if you want to hang out with me some more."

Smiling, Lorelei extended the phone toward Tori, not quite wanting to show that she hadn't a clue how to put numbers into the thing yet.

[Victoria Heart]

"Hmm, fair enough, but you get my drift, I'm sure." The fact that she had focused mainly on the alcohol rather than the comparison was a little irritating, but not enough that she lost her patience. "Just because someone's quirky hardly means they can't be likable."

She stopped as they made it to 117B, and it worked out quite nicely, as Lorelei was clearly reaching for something...oh, it was her phone...that she was calling a "mobile thingy"...gods, she was adorable. "I would absolutely love to give you my phone number." She accepted it, and started adding her to Lorelei's contacts, and as she typed in her number, she noted, "Fun fact; most modern inventions started as an idea from Wonderland. We have a day every year, my mum's birthday, in fact, and we essentially send ideas to other worlds. I always wonder if these phones were one of them..."

And as an added bonus, she thought Lorelei wouldn't mind if she added a photograph of herself there, so she snapped a quick selfie, and added it her shiny new contact. She handed her back her phone, then whipped out her own. "Would you mind if I snapped a photo of you? That way I can add it once you text me or call me."

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

Lorelei's head bobbed as Tori insisted that she got her drift. She did, pretty much. Plus she totally agreed with quirky not meaning unlikeable: Lorelei liked to think she was pretty much proof positive of that idea. People seemed to at least tolerate her, if nothing else. Well, when they weren't stabbing her, that is, and that was only the one time.

"Awesome!" she said, grinning. "And I think I read something about that. Like, you throw the inventions to imagination or something." Lorelei still got excited at the mention of the actual idea of Imagination with the capitol letter and everything. Really of all the homes, Wonderland sounded by far the most interesting... though Lorelei might think that because she was brimming with Imagination and that was literally a weapon where Tori was from. Not that Lorelei would have a power fantasy or anything. Oh no, definitely not the overly imaginative, scrawny girl who was the daughter of one of the strongest knights in existence and one of the best queens ever, not her.

"They take pictures!?" gasped Lorelei. "I mean, yeah," she tried playing it off, waving her good hand, "I totally knew that. Pictures,' she let out another laugh. Then she gave Tori a beaming smile, even raising a hand to wave at her. She at least understood pictures, at the least.

[Victoria Heart]

Tori chuckled at her description, not even because she got anything wrong, just the wording. "That's essentially it, yes!" It seemed like Lorelei had a particular fascination with her homeland, and it was just...kind of nice. People didn't really talk a lot about the real Wonderland, just the book version. "Mum told me she got so bored with it when she was a kid, but it's really so fascinating to watch, especially when I know I might very well pay witness to seeing that seed get planted and grow into some new advance in technology around here. Like, I can't wait to see what comes next, not even because I have no idea, but I want to see the kind of impact it'll have. Screw the idea that us magical people can't be futurists, you know?"

And speaking of, apparently Lorelei didn't know that you could take photos with these phones. Talk about enjoying the affect of modern technology, the girl's enthusiasm was somehow even more infectious now than it usually was...even if she tried to pretend she didn't know. Oh that sweet girl.

"Lorelei, it's fine. It's honestly kind of amazing you didn't know, I just got to see the look on your face when I told you...to be honest, you're making my day right now." It was a weird thing to say, but it was rare she ran into someone who was so openly enthusiastic, that wasn't trying so hard to seem above it all, and GODS was that far more interesting than a LOT of people she encountered, at least in the Wonderland elite circles. This, this was the sort of thing that made her want to take a break from her home, get the chance to meet other types of people.

She took the photo, and beamed. "Oh that's perfect...I'll definitely be texting you soon, Lorelei..." And, well, why mess with a good calling card? Before she left, she decided to demonstrate one of her basic Imagination tricks. It paid to have a mother that grew up in Victorian England and happened to love flowers. Tori devoured everything she could read on the flower language that time period had developed, and for Lorelei, a white camelia seemed like the best, if only for the sentiment of "you're adorable".

"'Til we meet again," she said as she handed over the flower, and headed towards her class.

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

"I can't imagine being bored with something like that,' Lorelei said honestly. The whole concept of Imagination and seeing things created for the first time really sounded amazing to her. And while she only sort of got the idea of magical people being futurists, she did sort of think that made sense too. "Some people just say magic is science we haven't figured out yet. They probably haven't talked to my dad though," which had her chuckling, looking a bit nervous. Dad had definitely not been thrilled to find out that his daughter had been studying magic, let alone when Lorelei showed actually potential and started using her gifts.

The nerves translated pretty well int oa smile too, as Lorelei beamed at Tori, glad to get a picture taken and all. The bit about not knowing had her turning a bit pink. "Well, I mean, I haven't been here that long, and, like, my home was pretty more medieval..." she trailed off, not sure if they'd taken the picture or what. Oh, wait, there it was: the phone made a noise. Hopefully it had caught Lorelei when she was actually trying to make an appealing face.

Then a flower, which had Lorelei letting out a slight squeal. "Yes, definitely," she said, nodding. "Text me whenever!" Lorelei would definitely have to figure out how texting worked proper. For now, she studied the flower, considering. was it awful that some part of her wanted to dissect it? She walked off, lost in absent thought and ideas.