i know i left a life behind {open}

[Cal Karnstein]

"So, this is Tintagel," said a girl who definitely looked like she belonged here. Cal flopped her gear down on the fountain outside the building proper, staring up at it. Not like she hadn't visited here a few times with her moms, but it was something else being here and knowing she was going to be sticking around for a while. It made her roll her shoulders, feeling the shredded denim slide around her lean body.

Now, the way Cal saw it, there were two ways to go here. She could calmly seek someone out to help her get to the dorm proper, since she only had a vague idea and didn't fancy wandering around by herself when she could take someone else. Easy: just find someone who looked a little out of place, be all charming as a slinky vampire, and bam, new friend.

Or:

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight..~" she began, her voice steady, loud, busting through the crowd around her. She grinned: "Not a footprint to be seen.~" She extended her arms, lowering one to point and wink at a passerby. "A kingdom of isolation,and it looks like I'm the Queen~." Another wink, and she sprang up onto the fountain. The various chains dangling from her shredded black jeans hit one another, adding a metallic sound as she started moving: "The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Couldn't keep it in; Heaven knows I've tried~." She snorted, tossing her head for a momentary aside: "not really," she informed the crowd.

"Don't let them in,don't let them see~" she continued, walking around. "Be the good girl you always have to be~" another knowing grin, but she didn't stop, the song was building too much for that; "Conceal, don't feel, don't let them knoooooooow,~" pause for a half second breath, a look around, a knowing grin. "Well now they knooooooooow~" She was all but screaming it now, hopping down as she moved. "Let it goooooo, let it gooooo~" she was belting, her voice almost louder than should be allowed (benefit of vampire mommy). "Can't hold it back anymore Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the doooooor" she stopped, just a few feet from someone, hopping down and giving them another wink. "And if you wanna hear the rest, I'ma need me a guide, hot stuff."

[Nancy Panic]

By this point, Nancy was used to some crazy goings on at Tintagel. She'd been prepared for that ever since she first heard some of her mother's stories about the place. She knew she could encounter all manner of monsters, gods, and magic, and was more than willing to take that risk in order to be in a place that accepted someone like a shapeshifting half demon, and...well, some adventure could be nice.

What she wasn't prepared for was an older girl with brightly colored hair belting out a song while standing on the fountain. That...it was very difficult to just keep walking by when that was happening, even if all you really wanted to do was get home after a long day of classes. It honestly took her a while to realize that what she was hearing wasn't someone playing music, so much as someone MAKING music, but once she did, she froze in her tracks, staring up at her...was this a flash mob thing? Is that what she was witnessing? Well...probably not, seeing as there was just the one girl...was it a spell? Was this a "Once More With Feeling" scenario, because she wasn't sure if she was ready to sing her feelings in public and...

...oh wait, the girl leaped down and started talking to her....that was just a random performance, then. Probably. That was kind of a relief, even though she was still looking like a deer in the headlights...and it was just then that she realized there was a tuft of fur growing on her hand. Wait, no! Nonono, don't think too hard about that or you'll turn INTO a deer in the headlights! Stop it! She refocused, her hand now covered in skin again.

"I...well I'd be happy to give you a tour, hi, that...that was quite the performance."

[Cal Karnstein]

"Hi yourself, my guiding light, my Polaris, guiding star that you are," purred Cal, grinning all the wider. "I am a sucker for falling a leggy blonde around, Polaris, so feel free," she held out her hands, then seemed to remember that she had gear. That required a snap of the fingers, and Cal was sauntering back, humming her mom's song along as she did. She dove in time with the lyrics, scooping up the well worn duffel and snagging an obvious instrument case, throwing them all onto her shoulders like a crazed Sherpa.

"I'd promise to serenade you, but I don't got a clue where we're going, and I don't wanna end up lost and starving in a corner like a poor little matchgirl. So lead me on, Polaris," she gave a wink, bobbing her head in a "let's get a move on" sort of gesture.

[Nancy Panic]

The funny thing about Nancy being surprised was the fact she probably COULD literally make her eyes get bigger than her face if she really wanted to. Fortunately right now she was too busy blushing to think of doing something quite that freaky. She never thought she'd wind up being called a star, let alone by someone she was literally just meeting. And the fact she just kept on going with the compliments, like...this wasn't the least bit what she was used to. Sure, she intentionally made herself pretty, and she had gotten compliments before, but this was...wow. Even Tori would say the other girl was laying it on thick...and Nancy wasn't at all sure how to feel, other than making herself stammer out, "Th-th-thank you..."

"And...um...yeah, of course, I mean, I'd love to hear you, but you don't have to, I, I, I'm just happy to help in general..." She cleared her throat, willing herself to not stammer, she thought she had outgrown that! She had worked really hard to! "Oh, um...do you need help with all of that?" She motioned towards the bag and the instrument case. "And d-did you have anywhere in mind?"

[Cal Karnstein]

Jeez, this girl clearly didn't get enough compliments. Cal knew the school had a surplus on sexy people (plus one with Calpurnia Karnstein on campus), but you'd think someone would've pointed out that the blonde with legs up to half past shake it honey was pretty gorgeous. "Hey, I just call it like I see it, Polly," why yes, she literally gave a nickname based off her nickname.

Cal readjusted her grip again, pulling her gear into a comfortable position. "oh yes, Polly. I'm a freakin' wilting daisy right here,' she rolled her eyes, gesturing with her head, "and I need to head toward the dorm. Unless you're figuring I could set up a pop up tent in the quad somewhere. Get awfully chilly, but I suppose if I had a decent pair of legs wrapped around me, I'd warm up quick enough."

Another toothy grin, a wink, and Cal was gesturing for Nancy to get a move on: she really didn't know precisely where the dorms were, after all.

[Nancy Panic]

Nancy offered a sheepish smile at the nickname and the continuing compliments. She really needed to relax, she knew that, she just was so not used to such overt compliments, least of all ones that were about her body...but...okay, just complimenting her legs, that...that was fine, right? She could handle that. It wasn't like it was that sexual and anyway, it wasn't like she was such a prude even if it WAS, right?

Although the double nickname made her realize, crap; "Oh, I should probably get your name...and I'm Nancy, though Polly's fine. Or Polaris. Either nickname's fine, I'm totally cool with nicknames," she stated, as she reached for the duffel bag in an offer to carry that out. She'd have done the instrument case but wouldn't it be just her luck to drop that, and gods only knew how expensive whatever was in there was...and there came a much more overtly sexual implication, and she was pretty certain she was literally turning pink now.

"Oh...um....yeah dorms, I..." She kind of felt like she was about to faint like a heroine out of a Gothic novel, but nope, stay strong, she wasn't going to be prudish about this, she wasn't going to be prudish and make a total fool of herself. "Wow, you are...very open, huh?" she blurted out as she started leading her towards the girls' dorms.

[Cal Karnstein]

"Nancy, got it," said Cal, nodding. she flashed another toothy grin, noting the pink taking over poor Polly now. Yep, pure little Polly Polaris Nancy whatever her name was. The girl clearly didn't get flirted with nearly enough, and if all the pickings were this cherry here, Cal was going to have a field day. She could almost feel a primal hunger at the thought, as if her vampire bits were getting all tingly and perked just thinking about it.

"Open. Incorrigible. Wanton. Sexy. Take your pick,' offered Cal, shrugging again. "Just don't see any point in holding back. You're gonna figure out what you wanna do with me one way or the other, Polly," she gave the girl another wink, before looking around. "Total honesty: been here a few times. Just don't know quite the lay of the land is all. Hence needing my dear sweet Polly to guide me,' Cal sidled over, bopping Polly with her hips and leaning over for a quick peck on the cheek.

"And you lemme know if I'm too much, aye? I can definitely pull back to just a wee bit uncomfortable for ya," she said, adding another wink and a nudge with her elbow. She did still have her gear, after all, or she'd probably have hugged Nancy by this point.

[Nancy Panic]

She nodded...and realized she didn't get a response in regards to the other girl's name. She blinked a couple of times, and then asked, "...and you are? Sorry, I just don't think I got your name..." Rather than a name, she got adjectives for her statement that she was very open. Well at least she admitted to it, and well, she supposed she kind of got what she meant by wanting to lay her cards on the table. She couldn't relate at all, but... and oh, wow, that was a kiss on the cheek. That was almost sweet but also really surprising...although probably not as much as it would've been with literally anyone else.

What she hadn't expected was the girl assuring her that she could tell her if she was going too far. It almost made her feel bad for getting so bewildered, like she was expecting to get attacked or something...her expression softened, and she even managed a chuckle at her winking. She then gingerly took the duffel bag. "It's fine, I was just surprised, and...well I'm just generally nervous about everything. It's kind of a problem...I should probably do something about it, I just...never got around to that."

She then cleared her throat. "Okay, so, you've been here before, that's good, we have something to work off of." She glanced around to see if there was anything she should point out to newcomers. "There's a pretty nice fountain around that way, if you're interested in that sort of thing...but that's closer to the boy's dorms, which is kind of lame now that I think of it...but here we go, we're almost at the girl's dorms. Do you know which one you're in?"

[Cal Karnstein]

"Well, you just know how to ruin a surprise, don't you, Polly?" asked Cal. She let out a sigh that was far heavier than it needed to be given the situation. "Cal," she said, raising a hand up to jerk a thumb toward her chest. Just in case there was someone else around and all. She flashed that fangy smile again, before shrugging.

"No need to be nervous around me. I'm super handsy and obviously sex in torn jeans, but my mommas taught me what the word 'no' meant about the time I turned six," she bobbed her head. Soon Polly was pointing out various locations to her, and Cal twisted and turned, looking to them in turn. Fountain, check, knew some of the location. Didn't hurt to have a general idea of where the boys 'dorm was either. Never know when that kind of information might be necessary.

Speaking of necessary information: "Oh yeah," said Cal, patting herself down for a few moments. 'I totally wrote it down..." she tapped her pocket, hearing and feeling the crinkle of paper. "Oh, hey," she thrust her hip toward Nancy, "feel like getting that out for me?"

[Nancy Panic]

Surprise? Her name was supposed to be a surprise? Nancy wasn't sure if she really understood that...but still, she muttered, "Sorry...but it's nice to meet you, Cal." She did notice that Cal's canines were a bit longer than average, but despite her typical cowardice, that didn't really surprise her. So Cal was probably at least part vampire. She was part demon, it would be just flat out hypocritical to get all hung up on that.

As for Cal's attempts to make sure she understood boundaries, well...the effort was appreciated. Nancy wasn't sure it helped very much, but it was certainly there. "Oh it's not like I think...no, that's not what I meant at all, I'm just...naturally like this. In many situations. Like I said...but that's nice to have confirmed, I suppose."

...especially when she had to go fishing in her pocket...she swallowed. "Yeah, yeah, of course, I'd love to help..." It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's totally fine, she kept repeating in her head as she reached into the pocket, pulling out the paper, and offering Cal a sheepish smile before she moved her attention to the paper. "Um, great, I think I know where this one is!"

[Cal Karnstein]

"Naturally? Hope you just mean this is how you are and nobody's put a curse on you or something,' Cal offered. She felt like she should be giving this girl confidence lessons or something along those lines. Though technically fishing something out of someone else's pocket probably counted toward that.

And there it was. "You know in some cultures, we'd be engaged," drawled Cal, winking. She leaned over to check the paper, which did have all her housing information and whatnot put on it. She did recognize some of the details: she wasn't a complete idiot, after all. "Awesome! So now you know where to find me when you need to scratch that itch."

Another fangy smile, and Cal was nodding. "C'mon then: 'cuz I still only have this vague idea where that is. So you're going to have to take the lead for a bit."

[Nancy Panic]

"Oh no, it's just how I naturally am, my last name is literally Panic for that exact reason..." She then smiled sheepishly, as her mind rushed with the idea that perhaps this was a curse, a metaphorical one anyway. She couldn't imagine a worse existence than being created by a god just to wreak havoc, only to cause yourself some crippling anxiety, after all, least of all when it passed down to your daughter. Sure, Nancy was far happier and better off than her father ever hoped to be, but the fact remained, her anxiety issues were at least partially genetic.

Nancy blushed at the engaged comment, but managed to not squeak or stammer, so she considered that progress. She could focus on the room number itself, not on the fact that she was implying they'd be having sexy times in that dorm room. She wasn't even sure how she felt about that. Was Cal just one of those people who made you question your sexuality, like damn...but no, she was a one crush at a time kind of girl, and she had a wannabe Jedi to (maybe?) win over.

"That's fine, I know where this is anyway." She headed towards the room, and already found herself getting nervous with the potential silence. "So...um...that really was a great performance...I get the feeling you're from Arendelle?"

[Cal Karnstein]

"Hey, you should lean into that. Start a riot grrl act," suggested Cal, chuckling at the thought. "Or maybe you should look into writing. I'd love to read something by Panic, if only so I could go around telling people that shit."

She noticed the blushing, made note, wondered what was going on there. Nancy hadn't quite told her to quit, but she also wasn't giving off signals to indicate that she was all that interested. Maybe she had some sweet guy who was sweet on her. Sometimes those were adorable. And hey, if it didn't work out, that super out there friend was a great one to turn to in those guy hating moments.

What? Cal was opportunistic. It was the vampire in her.

"Got it in one," she replied. "Elsa and Carmilla's daughter, not Anna and Kristoff's, or Olaf's. God bless him, he tries," she paused, licking her lips. "You, uh, you be careful if you run into someone who mentions having a snowman for a dad. He takes... getting used to. Good kid, but he's still figuring shit out right now."

[Nancy Panic]

...huh...those didn't actually sound like terrible ideas. Nancy smiled a little, feeling strangely at ease as she said, "Well technically my mother's a Panic. She uses her birthname while she's writing, but hey! And a lot of her stories were inspired by this place, so might be something to look into to...but you might be right there. I'll admit, I usually went by Miller back at home, but I don't necessarily have to here...it's part of why I came."

Now that Nancy really thought of it, despite her initial misgivings, she could maybe really use a friend like Cal. Someone as nervous and insecure as her, someone as open and confident as Cal...it kind of made sense. Hell, she considered Tori one of her friends, and she felt like even if their mothers weren't best friend, she'd still feel that way for that exact reason. Cal was just a lot more hyped up and...maybe she could work with it. Maybe she'd help her be a bit more daring...and the flirting was flattering, at least. She wasn't sure if she'd ever pursue it, just because of her own crush, but...well, you never knew. She supposed she was open to the idea.

Nancy nodded when Cal confirmed her suspicions...and oh, yeah, Mom had mentioned Carmilla ("One of the few vampires I can tolerate", she remembered her saying...and didn't Dad have a fight with her once? Like a literal cat versus dog fight?), and that explained the fangs, definitely. "Oh cool. Dhampir, right? I guess we kind of sort of have something like that in common, my dad's from the Underworld. We don't like to talk about it, but he is."

But then Cal started warning her about some kid who she supposed would've had Olaf as a father, and she raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing "figuring shit out" translates into something I should be careful about?" She always had a weird paradox about dangerous things, she realized. Genuinely dangerous things didn't bother her nearly as much as social situations, just because she knew, logically, all she had to do was turn into an appropriate animal and she'd survive most dangerous encounters. There wasn't much you could do about social anxiety with that.

[Cal Karnstein]

A Panic? Definitely something there, something niggling at the back of Cal's mind. Hadn't one of her mothers been somewhat involved with that family at some point? she seemed to vaguely recall a boatload of drama involving, like, literal Greek gods and satanic trios or something along those lines.

"Here's definitely supposed to be a place to cut loose a little. I actually wanted to make sure i wouldn't be damaging people when I did that," she chuckled. "Because believe it or not: I didn't want to create that kind of splash. Rather use the whole raw sex appeal thing I got going on. And the secret vampiric magicks I have at my beck and call. Don't worry: I only use them through catchy nicknames and continual flirting. so you should be totally fine, Polly of the long legs."

A wink, and yes, she was well aware of the title for her name, and the story nudged that memory of hers yet again. She just shrugged it off for the moment, almost literally. They were stepping into the school proper, and Cal wanted to play at least a little attention. "Just... be careful if you meet a guy who seems reserved and maybe a little... arson oriented. Flaming but not in the fun way. Something like that," she shrugged, then looked around. "So, what's the quickest way to get from the girls' dorm to the boys'? Or should I mostly just lay with my own kind for the best success ratio?"