-- BAD MOON RISING [Ashton]

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

It had taken her quite a while to sort out what outfit she wanted to wear to the party. She had thought about doing a solo costume and going as some sort of super hero, a way to display her love of comic books, but realized that plenty of them had sidekicks or they were at least in groups. With that idea in mind she discussed some possible options with Ashton and decided on a Batman theme this year. This was only her second Halloween; in the past she had never been introduced to trick-or-treating and dressing up so the whole experience was still new and slightly unfamiliar. At least she was going to be with her boyfriend and her friends. That was always a positive thing. She had actually decided to arrive at the mansion early to spend a bit of time with the hosts of the party. It was her best friend, his wife, and sister after all. She wandered around the house for a bit and took in the decorations, enjoying them before the masses showed up. The peace of the house was nice, a decent change from the dorm rooms. It was better than living with Frank or Paula but she missed being in a house. A home.

After self-touring some of the decorations and observing the food from a distance, Lark decided to go ahead and get into her costume. The latex would take infinity to get on so better to start a bit early just in case she got stuck. She just hoped that the size she ordered would fit right. In the bathroom she took a few minutes to figure out how to get in it. Hmm. Eventually she decided what she wanted to do and the outfit slid on with more ease than she anticipated (save for a bit of a hitch around her ass, thank you latex for making even the skinniest of people feel fat). A bit of make-up and the donning of some cute cat ears finished off the costume and she spent a moment admiring her work before making her way back downstairs. She just hoped she did Cat Woman justice. By this time people were already starting to arrive and Lark did her best to mingle until her boyfriend showed up. She was social to an extent but sometimes an overabundance of people could be overwhelming.

Finally she settled herself against a wall near the kitchen and watched people come and go, deciding whether or not she wanted to snag a bite to eat while she waited. Maybe it would be better to hold off but the food was calling, so she broke away from her support to find something small to munch on. She had just finished eating a small snack by the time she spotted Ashton. Her smile brightened considerably as she approached him. "Hey there handsome," She said with a chuckle, leaning up to give him a kiss. "The outfit suits you! I just hope yours wasn't as much of a pain in the ass as mine was." Costumes should not take half an hour to get into, seriously. Oh well; she was wearing it now and it was not too uncomfortable. Even the heels were not much of a nuisance and the fear of falling flat on her face was not heavily present. She turned and looked around at the room before back up at Ashton. "So what are you up for? The food is pretty amazing and I hear Nell did a bang up job with the maze out back." Lark gestured to the back door with her thumb. She was up for whatever, really. She was just happy to be able to enjoy the night with Ashton and everyone else. It was an excellent distraction from life.

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

costume

Halloween was Ashton's favourite holiday. It beat Christmas, it beat birthdays, it beat absolutely everything out of the water. He always spent it with his little brother but Cameron had shown surprising maturity when he'd suggested that Ashton take his girlfriend up on the offer to spend the night at a Halloween party instead. "I can go with my friends," the young boy had insisted, "and then we can go next year, right Ash?" The nineteen year old had nodded mutely and then hugged his little brother in quiet gratitude. Now he was in the bathroom trying to figure out where everything went. A full-body costume was not a new experience for him and so it only took a bit of examination before he'd put himself together. The large cape was probably his favourite part of the costume, though he had to remind himself several times that he'd probably want to be careful in high-traffic areas. He'd be screwed if someone mis-stepped and ripped the costume. What was Batman without a cape? He couldn't wait to see Lark's half of their dual costume, Batman and Cat Woman. He liked his costumes to match those of the people he went with, like when he and his brother had went as Mario and Luigi the previous year.

Having agreed to meet his girlfriend at the party, since she wanted to get there early to spend some time with friends, he checked the clock and decided it was about time he left. "Bye Mom, Dad," he told his parents with a lift of his hand. He bent down to hug his little brother, realising that he needed to stoop less and less lately. His brother would catch up to him soon enough. He smiled. "Have fun, Cam." The boy, dressed as Iron Man, grinned back at him from behind the costume's mask. "You too, Ashy." They high fived and Ashton left, taking his car (that he'd gotten with the help of his parents on his birthday) and driving around until he finally found the right street. He didn't often come to this part of the city and so it was not surprising that he got lost a few times down side-streets until the long road lined with the high class mansions was located.

It wasn't hard to spot, really, all big and white and decked out to the max with hundreds of Halloween decorations. They really went all out, he thought appreciatively, parking his car on the road with all the others and walking up the long drive. There were quite a few people there already and he began to wonder how difficult it would be to find Lark. She saved him by finding him first, though, and he grinned at her as he allowed his gaze to sweep over the costume in its entirety. "Well, hello, beautiful," he returned with a chuckle, returning the kiss with enthusiasm. "Pain in the ass or not, it looks great on you," he said of her costume. "And look at your ears! They're so cute!" He grinned and flicked at one of her cat ears playfully. Bats were considerably less adorable than cats but that was all right. He was fine with allowing his girlfriend to take the spotlight on this one.

He liked the sound of food or candy, seeing as this was Halloween and candy was practically what the holiday was all about, but he'd also come here to have fun. He didn't want to be the wallflower couple that loitered around the dining table overflowing with food the entire night, gorging themselves. "Wait, they have a maze?" He knew about corn mazes and hedge mazes for Halloween but this was just a house! Ugh, rich people. Why couldn't he be rich? The envy did not last long, though, because Ashton wasn't an envious person at heart. "Do you want to go check that out, then? I'd love to see it!" He was like an excited child on Christmas, his face lit up with glee. "Ooh, hang on, though—" He quickly nipped into the kitchen to grab some candies from one of the many bowls, pocketing some and popping another into his mouth. Talking around it, he joked, "For the road. Okay, let's go! I'm guessing it's in the yard, right?" He followed her wherever she led and when they got to the maze he found himself standing on his toes to try and see over the top. "Nope!" he reported cheerily. "No cheating from me~" Shortly inside the maze, he said, "Hey... there's a trick to these... but maybe we shouldn't use it... cause that takes the fun out, right?" He wasn't big on cheating unless he was really, really stuck.

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

She couldn't help but smile brightly at her boyfriend, chuckling at his complement and patting him on the chest. The rubbery feel of the costume was a bit strange beneath her fingers. "Well, thank you. You're sweet. The problem will be getting out of it, I think. I haven't figured out how that's going to work yet." She replied, glancing up and releasing yet another small chortle of laughter when he flicked her cat ear headband, then added a bit of a purr at the end for effect. They were extremely fuzzy and not exactly her style but they suited the outfit well enough. The goggles Cat Woman actually wore had a higher price tag and she was not interested in tossing out a chunk of her savings for them. She had an apartment to find at the end of the year and needed all of the money she could get.

While food was a wonderful thing--Lark tended to spend quite a bit of quality friend time eating or sitting around at Timmie's--she was interested in actually enjoying the party in its entirety. There were a lot of things they could potentially get into and that seemed to be a better course for the evening. She would eat and munch in between everything though, that was for sure. Ashton's realization that a maze indeed existed at the house was adorable and she nodded. "Yep! It should be pretty awesome, too. I look forward to getting lost." She did not know if the maze creator had any tricks up her sleeve but even without screwing with their heads there was always a chance at being turned around and spending twenty minutes trying to backtrack. "Sure!" Lark agreed instantly, clasping her hands together. "It'll be fun. So I guess we can do that first." She continued to smile, enjoying his childlike responses to everything. His chipper, cheerful attitude always had a way of rubbing off on her. Just as she was about to turn and make way to the door, Ashton halted and disappeared into the kitchen and returned with candy. "You didn't bring me any? So rude, Ash. I'm hurt." Lark whined and pushed out her lower lip before brushing past him to fetch a little candy of her own. It was not his job to get her things; she was just messing with him.

She ticked her head towards the back door to confirm his question while she finished chewing on a piece of candy. "Yep, right outside. I wonder if they set up anything scary in the maze." She pondered aloud, imagining people with chainsaws and and masks popping out from behind the hedges, scaring the shit out of the guests. Once outside she took in the large hedges and the people waiting in line to go in the mass of confusing twists and turns. It took her but a moment to realize that Ashton was attempting to peek over the bushes. "I wouldn't let you cheat anyway. That's so boring!" Not that she was against cheating herself if it got bad enough but her stubbornness and pride wanted to see the maze through to the end without setting something on fire or having her boyfriend manipulate the branches for them to walk to the exit. Lark willingly followed him inside and picked at a few of the leaves as they walked. She pointed a finger at him and closed one eye. "That's the spirit, babe. I wanna see if we can get through this without any of that."

Lark wandered in a little further, finding a few dead ends along the way. She wanted to figure this out and already things were getting to be frustrating. She sighed. "Okay, you have a go at this direction thing," For the moment she was willing to relent trying to take the lead. Only with Ashton, though. "Maybe you'll have better luck with finding us a route that doesn't end in a forever tall bush." Was this going to be a maze of fuckery? Maybe there was no exit and Nell was sitting somewhere cackling to herself over her master plan.

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

costume

Lark's costume certainly didn't look like the sort of get-up that was easy to get out of, that was for sure. He didn't envy her the difficult extraction process, especially not when he already knew he probably wouldn't have too difficult a time getting out of his own. In his usual effort to be nice, he suggested, "I could always help." It did not take him more than a couple of second to realise how that sounded, especially considering the fact that they were dating, and he ducked his head as he corrected, "Not what I meant!" He hadn't been thinking it then but he was thinking it now and he hoped that Lark wasn't judging him for the fact that his face was turning red as a cherry. He had a train of thought like anyone else's but there was a difference in that Ashton tended to keep any thoughts to himself out of respect for the people he was talking to and because it made him highly uncomfortable in reverse. He never was sure how to react when intimacy became the topic of conversation at parties.

Not many people looked forward to intentionally getting lost, but mazes changed everything. Ashton wasn't the best at puzzle solving and so he was going into this with the knowledge that it was very likely he'd be lost within the first five seconds but that was perfectly all right with him. He stuck with the mindset that losing was fine as long as you had fun doing it. "Should we make a bet on how long it'll take us?" He wasn't the type of person that would suggest a bet with a friend simply to get money out of them—hell, Ashton would bet in candy in the spirit of Halloween if you asked him to. Rather, he was simply looking for a fun way to make the maze into more of a friendly competition. Lark was on board for doing the maze thing, which brought a bigger grin to his face than the one he already wore.

Being rather terrible at taking jokes, that grin faded for a moment when he returned with a handful of candy to Lark's faked offence. "You got here before I did!" he insisted, seeing as it had totally flown over his head. "I thought you'd have already had some! ... or something." He didn't like it when people were upset with him, especially his girlfriend, so he wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings. Lark didn't seem all that upset, though, and after a pause he caught on. "... You're joking, aren't you?" He made a noise of exasperation and amusement toward himself and shook his head. "You have got to stop doing that to me!" He didn't sound serious, nor was he. If he'd had that much of a problem with Lark's humour, there was no way he'd have stayed in the relationship for almost a year. Asha had taught him that continuously forgiving the faults of others didn't always pay off. To him, Lark's humour was less of a fault and more of a trait he was still getting the hang of.

Considering the fact that he was easily frightened (especially by those cheap jump scares!) Ashton was both anxious and excited by the idea of creepy sightings in the maze. He didn't want to get the life frightened out of him in front of Lark, that would be embarrassing (who wanted their girlfriend to hear them shriek like a, well, girl?) but he did enjoy the idea of a surprise. Hopefully he could keep his composure if something jumped out at them. "I guess we're gonna find out!" He figured by the way that she was talking that her friends hadn't filled her in on the details of the maze any more than they had him. It was a comforting thought, actually, that he wouldn't be the only one going in blind.

Ashton wasn't the type of person that immediately turned to cheating the first day that he played a game. He knew friends who would immediately look up cheat codes for their sandbox games to fill their in-game pockets with loads of cash but he preferred to wing it for a while until he felt like the cheats had been earned. So he smiled. "It's not like I woulda cheated right away!" It was more of a last resort type deal if they got hopelessly stuck. But it wasn't going to work, anyway, and so he shrugged it off. Looked like they were on their own! He was content to tag after her for the first couple of turns as they were lead into a series of dead-ends, and then his girlfriend turned the responsibility onto him. He gave her a cheesy salute and joked, "Aye, aye, captain!" He couldn't resist a joke or two. Realising something funny as he led the way through a couple of random twists and turns, he said, "Geez, I'm not staying in character too much, am I?" Some people went all-out with the Halloween thing. He couldn't say he'd spent last year hitting his head off bricks and eating mushrooms, though. Ashton didn't particularly want to be sent to the loony bin! Dropping his voice to try and imitate the good ol' Batman rasp, he was unable to keep a straight face as he said, "Looks like we've hit a dead end." He burst into laughter, unable to help himself, then took a deep breath and recovered. "So much for not ending up in front of a forever tall bush." He'd switched back to normal vocal tones then, mostly to preserve his gut. Laughing hurt.

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

At first, Ashton's offer did not register sexually in Lark's mind; she had only slept with him over the course of their relationship and before they dated her sex life was non-existent. Her perverted comments did come and go but since her initial statement was not intended to be suggestive his response did not seem out of the ordinary. It took until he caught himself that Lark even realized how the entire conversation sounded. She felt her face grown warm with embarrassment. "Yeah, I figured as much," Her voice was quiet before eyeing him and adding with a small, sheepish smile, "But I don't mind, just so you know." Ashton was incredibly adorable and the glow to his cheeks made him all the more endearing. She simply shook her head and gave a half-hearted chuckle to diffuse the slightly awkward air.

If there was one thing she enjoyed, it was a good bet. With a fervent nod Lark agreed. "Sounds good! I say...it'll take us at least thirty minutes." Give or take a few minutes. That did not seem very long but she was also confident that they were not going to spend too terribly long trying to sort out the maze. They were smart! There had to be some sort of way to figure out how to find the exit. Not only did they need to have a time estimate but they needed something to bet with. "What do you wanna bet? I would say candy but we have plenty of that here." Her hand gestured briefly to the kitchen, where the smells were so tantalizing. If they both had free access to sweets it took the fun out of the bet, she thought. Ashton's response to her teasing was not entirely unexpected and instead of saying anything at first she merely watched him with an amused expression on her face. He finally caught on and she chuckled. "Yeah, yeah I am." She replied, poking him lightly. Often times the girl forgot that her sense of humor was a bit dry or appeared serious, and did not realize that he was still having difficulty deciphering whether it was a joke or not. "But it's fun!" Lark exclaimed, pouting once again. "Okay okay...I'll go easier on you. Maybe. But only because you're so damn cute." The last sentence was more of an affectionate mumble.

"I guess we will," There was a hint of excitement in her voice, a bit of a smile forming behind her words. She was not opposed to finding a jump scare or two along the way; in the end it would all be looked back on with bouts of laughter. She just hoped that they wouldn't be so scared the wound up running away and getting themselves lost or turned around. Lark could only handle being lost for so long without getting upset or angry.

She was not a cheater herself, so it was good that Ashton did not seem interested in trying to cheat right off the bat. That would be boring anyway and then there was no point in going into the maze in the first place. Maybe if they went past the times they betted on they could try and find a different way to get to the end. "Good! Because cheaters never prosper. Well, I guess they do for a little while." They were found out eventually, right? Either that or, in instances like these, the victory simply did not taste as sweet. She wanted to puff out her chest and claim that they conquered the maze without peering over hedges or burning them down. His salute made her giggle and she slowed her pace by one or two steps so he could take the lead. The hedges were so tall, it made Lark feel small standing against them. With the shadows of the evening shifting over their path it made the maze seem all that more foreboding. She shook her head. "Not really. You should work on that, Ash. I mean, you are Batman." But that meant working on her character as Cat Woman and, although she was a fan of Batman and all of the characters within she did not have a good grasp on his female counterpart. He tried his hand at an impression and Lark burst into a fit of laughter, unable to catch her breath properly. Oh my god. He was not cut out to be serious. She decided to add a bit to his attempt with, "Holy hedges batman! How do you think we're supposed to get through this maze alive?" So it was more of a Robin ordeal but she gave it her best shot. It still made her laugh, though.

Lark turned her head and saw another possible route, lifting her finger in said direction and glancing at her boyfriend for approval. He was taking the lead, after all. "What about that way? I don't think we tried going down there yet." Then again, all of the damn bushes looked exactly the same and for all she knew it would be yet another dead end. She sighed heavily. This was going to be more frustrating than she thought. "Well at least we have sustenance, right?" She asked, flashing him some candy before eating it and taking a few steps back to look down yet another possible row of bushes.

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

costume

He did not know whether Lark's mind dipped into the gutter as his had—if he had known that she'd been oblivious, he'd have probably kept his mouth shut and allowed the comment to stay as innocent as possible. His thoughts might have been able to go there but he did not like making a situation awkward like this. Now they were both red in the face and he wondered what she was thinking. She was quick to reassure her, small smile and all, and she endeared herself to him with the softness to her voice. He didn't know what to say in order to diffuse the situation, for once at a loss for words when he was normally a fountain of babble, so Ashton was content to nod and smile back. Awkward situation averted? He hoped so. It certainly seemed like it, which was a relief.

He cocked his head to the side as he considered the size of the maze (from the one side he could see, assuming that it was square) and tried to figure out a number. He'd never been good at math and he certainly couldn't gauge anything accurately from just eyeballing it. Throwing logic to the wind, he fell back on a random guess and said, "I'll say... an hour! Because Nell." The girl's name was an explanation in itself. She was a fellow Earth elemental and he was no stranger to the magics that they could work with plants. It occurred to him that he could shape the bushes much as she could and find a way out of the maze that way but he definitely wasn't going to ruin the fun by doing that. Why even go through a maze if you didn't plan on actually solving it? Lark brought up a good question concerning their bet. "Uh... I don't know!" Helpful, wasn't he? "Cause yeah, candy is everywhere... and it's not like we can just bet the best ones because we have a choice and everything..." He huffed in irritation. Why did parties have to make things so difficult? Money was a bit of a generic thing to bet with. Still, he couldn't think of anything better. "How about whoever loses has to cover the next date?" It seemed fair enough. They both had jobs, after all. It was still betting with money but it was a little less bland than simply slapping a ten down on it.

He was relieved to find out that Lark was only messing with him, though he did mentally kick himself for not having gotten the hang of it already. It was Lark's sense of humour, his girlfriend's sense of humour, he needed to step his game up! He tended to take everything literally seeing as he was a pretty gullible person and as a people-pleaser he didn't like to feel like he was doing anything wrong, anything that made another person upset. He laughed nervously at first but then cheered up when she agreed not to troll him as hard in the future. He poked her lip with his finger. "I'm cute? Oh, come on. No contest." He grinned and gave her a swift peck on the lips, wondering if she'd be able to taste the red candy he'd been eating. Well, at least it wasn't garlic.

His brother liked to cheat. Cameron was the type of kid that bought a new game and looked up cheats right after it was pulled out the box. Ashton never understood going god-mode, for what was the fun in a video game when you were invincible? It took all sense of accomplishment out of it. That was why, even with the knowledge that he could create gaps in the high hedges to up their advantage, he was not planning to cheat. "They do a great job at prospering, at least as far as my brother's concerned," he said, sighing over dramatically. The smile on his lips suggested that he was not actually too upset about this. "I always wondered why he always beat me at games until I saw him plugging in the cheat codes! But really, it makes you boring to play with. And we're not boring. We're superheroes, no way are we boring." Batman and Catwoman were certified badasses. As far as Ash was concerned they were as far from boring as one could get. He figured Lark agreed, else they wouldn't have chosen these costumes for their getups.

As for actually being Batman? That was a lot harder. He learned this in the test of a vocal impersonation that left him practically leaning on the leafy hedge beside him for support. The twigs poked him here and there but he scarcely noticed as he straightened up, grinning, only to double over again a moment later. "Holy hedges?" It was almost too much for him to take. "I can't, Lark, I can't." Shooting her a look, he thankfully didn't try to use "the voice" again as he jokingly corrected, "Or should I say Catwoman?" Either way, he had lost the ability to can.

In his mirth he had not noticed the alternate route but his green eyes found it when Lark pointed it out. Exhaling normally and trying to get a hold of himself to be serious again, he looked back the way they'd came and then to the dead end. Was she sure? Damned hedges all looked the same to him but he decided to trust Lark's instinct and nodded. "Yeah! I mean, no, no, I don't think we did. Let's try it!" What could it hurt? It was pretty safe to say that they were already quite lost and so there was no harm in continuing on. It was better than standing still. "Uh... nope." Another wall. Drat!. He turned around and gestured to another opening before walking toward it, opening and popping a blue candy into his mouth. "We are so lost," he said unnecessarily around the sweet, tucking it into his cheek so that his words were understandable.

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

She nodded and accepted the bet with a smile, patting his arm instead of offering a handshake to seal the deal. Thirty minutes compared to an hour? Hopefully they could move through fast and at least get to the end before the sixty minute mark hit. This was all in fun but Lark could not help but be competitive. "And if it's in between our bets, whatever the number is closest to makes that person the winner." She offered, ensuring that if they hit the forty minute or fifty minute mark there would not be any 'uhh' moments as they tried to decipher who won. Ashton fumbled to try and come up with betting material, Lark mulling ideas about in her own head without saying much of a word. "Yeah," She said with the enthusiasm of someone lost in thought. Coming up with something more exciting than candy or money was no easy feat. At least her boyfriend did manage to spice the monetary route up a bit. "Date sounds good," She agreed with a nod, then added, "And the winner picks where the date will be? Then it's a double prize." Lark held up two fingers and waggled them back and forth for emphasis. Not that she cared where they went, and she did not think Ashton had qualms over it either, but at least it added to the bet.

Her sense of humor was twisted, something she thoroughly enjoyed using with most people she was acquainted with. Josh was easy to bounce back and forth with because they were similar in that aspect, something she could truly appreciate. Nell and Pacey also seemed to be able to catch on decently well. As for Ashton? Well, it seemed he was still learning the ropes of Lark-speak and that was fine by her. She had a temper but she could be patient. In fact his reactions to her comments were cute and did not bother her in the least. Lark withdrew her lip as he poked it, like a snail would retract after being touched, and exchanged the pout for a smile. "There's plenty of contest--" She attempted to argue before he kissed her. That halted her thought processes entirely and the argument was lost. The taste of candy was on her lips and she instinctively ran her tongue over them afterwards. "Not fair, distracting me like that," Lark whined, looking the opposite of frustrated. In fact, there was a smile betraying the tone of her voice.

Being one that liked to prove to the world that she was capable of doing anything she set her mind to, Lark avoided taking shortcuts or "the easy way out" if at all possible. There was a lack of satisfaction. It was hard to boast and show off your accomplishments when it was half-assed. "Well, your brother is still a kid," She pointed out with a smile to match his own. Everyone was different. Who was she to judge? It was not her life so they could do what they wanted. Besides, Cameron was, as she said, still young and in her opinion they were still learning how satisfying it feels to accomplish something on your own. Lark puffed out her chest. "Damn straight! We're the most interesting, fun superheroes of all time. Now if we could just conquer the bushes I think we'll be okay." Her dark eyes continued to scale the leaves and branches that towered overhead, feeling less and less certain about finding their way out. "It's like kryptonite, only in bush form. Our weakness!" She feigned feeling weary, her knees buckling a little as she trudged forward. It appeared as though she could not take another step before pulling herself together and laughing. It was hard to stay composed throughout this entire conversation and she watched with watery eyes as Ashton leaned into the hedge for support. They were so ridiculous. Lark wondered if anyone else wandering the maze could hear their crazy bouts of laughter, wondering if they had been trapped in the maze a bit too long.

"Catwoman, yes," She breathed, holding her side to contain the spurts of pain created from laughing so hard. She loved that they could act like this.

It was nice to have Ashton at least give her suggestion a chance, considering the fact that he was taking the lead. Then again it should not come as a surprise. They more or less turned this into a team effort. Maybe two heads would be better than one, or it could potentially send the entire attempt to hell. She willingly followed him down her new found route, but again the dead end smacked them in the face. She groaned, frustration bubbled up in her chest. "You think?" She snapped, her words clipped. It was not his fault, and even Lark knew that. She was simply agitated at the situation. It took her a moment to take a breath and turn to him with an apologetic frown. "Let's just...try another way." Instead of apologizing, she took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze before pushing onward to find yet another route. Watch, that one will end in a dead end too. Her lips pursed together at the thought. Instead of finding what she assumed they would find, she saw a bush in the middle of the path that split said path in two. She glanced at Ashton. "Should we split up and see where they go? And then if one winds up in a dead end that person can backtrack and go down the other way." That sounded like a better idea than both of them hitting another wall of leaves and branches.

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

costume

Bets had always been a fun and important part of his childhood, even if they were over silly things like who decided what was to be eaten for dinner or who had command of the television at seven o'clock. He liked the adventure that was to be had in a guessing game and as he was not someone who hated losing, he did not mind if the victor was his opponent. He placed bets to have fun, not necessarily to cause problems. "Makes sense, yeah! ... And if it's forty-five minutes we can always play rock, paper, scissors," he laughed. There was a definite halfway mark in between their bets and he had not missed that. He might not have liked Math but the basics were not beyond his understanding. "Or we can split! Either way works for me!" His cheerful and nonchalant tone clearly displayed his willingness to compromise and his lack of fear when it came to losing. He liked Lark's suggestion and his green gaze lit up as he grinned. "Yeah, good idea! As long as we don't get too ridiculous. I'd sell my soul and all but I kind of need it, don't ya think?" Northern Lights was way out of his price range—way out of both of their ranges, he assumed, at least when it wasn't a special occasion. There were plenty of other nice restaurants, though, and a date didn't always have to be a dinner date anyway. Ashton would be just as happy to go bowling or hang out at the mall. He was relaxed like that.

Interrupting someone in the middle of a sentence was considered rude but somehow Ashton couldn't bring himself to feel guilty as he grinned at her, the mischief a light in his eyes. He really did think she was adorable but of course, he was biased, he was her boyfriend. A lot of people probably agreed with him, a fact that failed to alarm the Earth elemental. He was not jealous or possessive and he trusted Lark enough that other guys didn't bother him in the least. She had plenty of guy friends but he didn't see them as threats. He saw them as the friends of his girlfriend was all. It helped that her best friend was married. "Who said we were playing fair?" He tried to look as innocent as possible but his lip trembled briefly with the suppressed laughter. No longer able to hold it, he let it out with a shake of his head. "I love you," he chuckled, his tone light and airy.

He knew that Cameron was young, he knew that he wasn't going to be all concerned with morales and accomplishments. He didn't need anyone to tell him this, though he was not the type to get offended and merely nodded his agreement. "I always convince him to make his own file instead of playing mine. I used to hate it when I'd go back to a game only to find that he'd turned god-mode on and raced through it." There was no challenge in a game when nothing could touch you. Ashton was guilty of level-skipping on a few games when they really had him stuck but he didn't make a habit of it. Now, Mario Kart... ah, his brother didn't need cheats for that one. Cameron was a pro at good ol' Mario Kart. "That's the saddest weakness ever for an Earth elemental," he remarked, glaring at the bush he'd just been leaning on for support as if it had plans to murder him in his sleep. He was playing it all up for dramatics of course. "Like being allergic to grass... or pollen." He wondered if that was possible. Had they ever mentioned it in class? He looked as if he was suffering from some kind of a headache as his brows furrowed and he narrowed his eyes in thought. Can't remember, he realised with a mild frustration that was quick to evaporate. Oh well. He didn't get angry. Even Asha'd only managed to bring out his wrath for all of about five minutes.

Dating a Fire elemental had its occasion drawbacks, like when Lark's temper acted up and she snapped at him for his simple statement. Ashton blinked in surprise and flinched back, alarmed by the harsh tone she'd taken. "Woah, I—I didn't mean—" He was obviously flustered as he stumbled over the words, the beginnings of an apology that he didn't manage to form at first. "It's not like I mind," he said after a brief pause, ducking his head. What did I do? As someone who didn't like to make others upset, having his own girlfriend bite his head off was not a very pleasant experience. Still, Ashton was a forgiving and rather selfless guy and he was quick to nod in agreement, anything to move away from the tension. "Yeah," he said, his words a little softer than usual but not overly wounded. He wasn't aiming to make her feel guilty. Fires had tempers, he knew that, if anything it was his fault for stating the obvious, right? Anything to place the blame on himself. It was easier to accept a bad situation if he could take responsibility. He wasn't good at holding others to their actions. His lips twitched into a smile when she took his hand and squeezed it, taking this as a sign that they were okay. He returned the pressure, saying nothing but trusting her to understand it.

They ran into a fork in the path and he stopped dead. Choices, he whined to himself, wondering if they'd end up taking the wrong way and getting totally lost again. He didn't mind the idea of losing the bet but he didn't want Lark to get too upset if getting out took too long. She suggested that they split up and he thought about it for a second or two before he nodded. "That might be a good idea. I guess we'd better be careful to remember our steps, huh?" It would suck if they got lost down their separate paths and couldn't find each other again, after all. "I'll go... left?" He said it as a question in case she had other plans. Ash himself had no preference.

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

"Rock, paper, scissors it is," Lark concurred with a brief nod, smiling at him. She enjoyed betting with people, especially when the end result usually made both parties happy in the end. Either way they went on a date and there was fun to be had. The competitive side of her wanted to win just for the sake of winning but beyond that Lark was not particularly picky with anything else. It was simply comforting to know that her relationship with Ashton was so laid back. She nodded again when he suggested that they could possibly split everything, which was also fine by her. Going dutch was never an issue; being one who took care of herself a lot of the time it was no problem to pay her own way. Ashton did a lot for her, she felt, and taking up her end on occasion was no skin off her back. "Your soul is kinda priceless," Lark commented, looking thoughtful. "So we'll need to save it for something a bit bigger. Like a vacation maybe." She eyed him, chuckling. Hawaii was heavy on her mind by this point and she could have sworn she could smell the salt of the ocean. One day. And she could only hope Ashton would want to tag along.

It was good to have a boyfriend that did not have jealousy issues. Lark had a few close friends, three-fourths of them being male. A lot of her acquaintances were also male, something she hardly ever thought about. Nell was the only female she was remotely close to. Raine was there, and Devin's girlfriend Sandra was fun to be around but she did not hold a heavy attachment. Ashton had a whole slew of friends but Lark was never bothered. She trusted her boyfriend as much as she trusted Josh, and that was saying something. She thought on Ashton's question for a moment before dropping her shoulders. "No one," She muttered, keeping up the act until he began to laugh and she followed a few moments later with giggles of her own. "I'm glad someone does. This face is not easy to love." She joked as her finger poked at her own nose, still smiling. It was not an attempt at fishing for complements, merely playing around. Lark was not so insecure in her appearance that she needed constant reassurance that she was pretty. She bumped his side affectionately. "Love you too."

She never really did play a lot of video games despite the fact that several people she knew enjoyed them quite a bit. She chalked it up to the fact that, when she was young, being without a sibling to play with took the fun out of it. Not to mention that her interests drifted elsewhere and so video games were not exactly part of her childhood. Briefly she wondered if games would be a involved in her future whenever Carter was old enough but that would be a long time and anything could happen between now and then. Lark taught herself not to think too far ahead. There was too much room for things to change. "Well at least you came up with an agreement. Does he at least respect it and let you have your own game?" She asked, genuinely curious. Lacking a sibling who was old enough to have conversations with and do things for themselves, she was not knowledgeable on some of the dynamics that were created. Carter was going to make quite her life quite the adventure in that regard. "That would be fucked up if you ask me," To have allergies to your own element? Was that actually possible? With fire it was difficult to tell considering plants weren't made of flames. "Unfortunately my element doesn't save me from pollen. Well, unless I set everything on fire." She lamented, tilting her head back with a sigh.

Her element definitely had drawbacks, like her infamous temper. The instant she took a snap at her boyfriend a twinge of regret caused her to retract, watching as he fumbled about his words. To her it made sense to feel a bit of frustration, but she directed it at the wrong person. Whoops. Her expression did not betray her guilt--aside from her slight frown--but Lark certainly felt it. Ashton was such a sweet guy. Had it been anyone else her response would have been different. She tried to formulate a sort of apology but nothing came of it. He seemed to understand and forgive anyway, the pressure on her hand reassuring. I'm so incredibly lucky, She thought, realizing that he really was the best person for her.

She used the time between then and finding the fork in the road to settle herself, at least enough to focus on finding the right path out of the maze. Decisions, decisions. Left, or right? Something poetic and almost lyric-like formulated in her head but she let it simmer for now. Lark nodded. "Yeah, I just hope that one of these actually leads somewhere." There was a bit of frustration in her tone but it was brief. "Sure. And I'll go right. I've got my phone on me just in case the path splits too far for us to hear one another over the bushes." She pulled the cell out of her pocket and waved it around for proof before putting it away. As she shifted off to the right she gave Ashton a brief wave and disappeared behind the bush before saying, "Good luck!" And pushing on through the row of bushes ahead. They seemed endless, their matching colors making it damn near impossible to tell if there was a turn or a dead end until you were right on it. After a minute or so she found the dead end and grunted aloud, clenching her fists. "Dammit!" Lark exclaimed aloud, contemplating whether or not an attempt at burning the bush down would be futile. "Ash!" She called, standing on her tiptoes but not nearly reaching the top of the hedge. "Ash, you there? I hit a dead end." This maze was all fuckery and she swore under her breath that Josh was not going to hear the end of this one.

[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

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Ashton was about to grin and thank her for not wanting to sell his soul when she amended her words, deciding that a vacation would be a good enough thing to seal the deal. He tried to look affronted, though the fact that he was smiling and holding back laughter gave him away before he even opened his mouth. He was meant to be a jokester but the poker-faced jokes always seemed to be beyond him. Oh well! He didn't mind too much, so long as he had fun. "So a plane ticket is worth my soul? I feel so loved." Though it was not actually possible to sell one's soul—that he knew of—he wondered what it would feel like without it. Was your soul what gave you a conscience or your life? This was a very important question in Ashton's mind. He didn't want Lark turning him into a shell of his former self so that she could sun herself on the beaches of Hawaii, thank you very much! Realising that he was drifting off in thought and getting distracted, he shook his head to clear it and smiled. "Ah, sorry! I zoned out for a second there." Ashton was prone to bouts of distraction and so it was nothing new. Hopefully Lark would understand that he wasn't bored or disinterested. He really did just get side-tracked in his own mind sometimes.

Though he did figure that she was joking, Ashton was still quick to argue with Lark. "I don't know, I find it easy to love..." Then again, with Ashton being one of the more accepting and accomodating members of society, this wasn't exactly something to brag about. He'd give almost anyone a chance. He'd even given Asha a chance when they'd been on opposite sides of the alliance, though he'd learned his lesson there for sure. Now he tended to avoid the Fires and Thunders to the best of his ability. He didn't like confrontation, didn't like making enemies, but he also wasn't stupid enough to think that he could befriend any of them. It was both against the alliances and not a very good idea. Fires could burn him to a crisp and even though his element had the edge on Thunder, he wasn't confrontational. He was glad that Lark switched sides or he probably would never have given her a chance in a relationship. Not because she was a bad person but because of Asha and all the bad experiences she'd brought him.

Having a little brother could be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, they fought often over things that siblings tended to fight over. This led to their parents being dragged into the mix and Ashton being scolded more harshly thanks to the fact that he was the older brother and he shouldn't be arguing with Cameron. It wasn't exactly fair, especially not when Cameron was the one in the wrong, but Ashton was an accepting dude that tended to give in eventually to avoid getting into too much trouble. On the other hand, he loved his little brother. Despite getting off to a rocky start when they were both younger and the issue of jealousy had been involved, the brothers were close and tended to do a lot together when Ashton was home. He couldn't imagine his life without Cam to be both a bother and a friend at times. He smiled at the thought. "Sometimes," he said. "And sometimes he doesn't. I try to be mad, but... well, I'm sure you can guess how well that works out, huh?" He laughed. Ashton wasn't good at that pesky little thing called 'anger'. "I mean, he's my little bro. Can't stay mad at him forever." He'd usually get frustrated and give his brother the silent treatment for about an hour but Cameron's wide-eyed apologies always tripped him up in the end. "Kid's too cute for his own good. I guess I can't blame my parents for siding with him a lot of the time." His Dad had always been more fair and understanding than his Mom but they both had their good and their bad moments.

As he thought harder on the subject of elemental allergies, something occurred to him and he furrowed his brow. "Can you be allergic to fire?" This was a very important question, in his opinion. He'd never heard of such an allergy before but maybe as a Fire elemental his girlfriend had more knowledge on the possibility. Or maybe not. Either way, he figured that it couldn't hurt to ask. "That would be a real bummer. Every time someone smoked or lit a match or you went camping or... wait, wait." He stopped, looking a mixture of enlightened and alarmed. "How do you think they handle allergies at the school? Like, you can be allergic to grass and stuff, and it's everywhere on the lawn." His mind was in the process of being blown and as a result he had a rather baffled expression on his face. This was where his mind went when it wandered. "And water, too, you can be allergic to that. Not sure about electricity and air... or, well, wind, really, but..." Anyone who called the element of Wind 'Air' was in for a scolding from those who knew what they were talking about. Wind was the movement of air, nothing more.

Though he detected the frustration in her tone, Ashton had accepted that it was not him she was angry at and so he was calm to counteract her slightly soured mood. Ash was patient and didn't mind that they were lost, something that would hopefully help them get to the end eventually. "Yep, same here. It'll be almost like having walkie-talkies," he laughed as he held up his phone before waving back and nodding. "You too!" He went down the path that he was meant to be taking, feeling uneasy about the places where it branched off. It was more convoluted and complicated than he'd been expecting and he nearly walked straight into a bush when he was trying to concentrate on all the turns he'd already made. Blinking in alarm and staring at the leaves for a long moment, he took a couple of steps back and turned to the right where the next opening was found. He was only a couple of steps down this new path when he heard the faint but discernible sound of Lark's voice. "I hear you!" he assured her, then realised something. "I'm still in the clear but, uh, I'm kinda... lost?" Whoops. He'd been concentrating a little too hard on remembering the way. Just like over-studying for a test and then completely blanking the morning of, it felt like someone had done a number on his memory. "I mean, I can find my way back I think! Or, um, hope..." He realised for the first time how dark it actually was in the maze, how quiet it was when no one was talking. It was eerie, actually, and he shuddered. Don't be a chicken... The thought didn't help much. He was easily scared. Shit.

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

As much as Lark wanted to go on a vacation and escape Maple Hollow for a while, she was not quite sure it would be worth anyone's soul, if it were even possible to do something like that. If it were then maybe the souls of her enemies would be enough to cover the expenses as opposed to those she cared about. Unfortunately it was not possible so she did not dwell on these thoughts for very long. "Awww, your soul is worth at least four plane tickets, Ash. Don't you think?" She teased lightly with a smile. To her, his soul was definitely priceless and worth ten thousand or more vacations put together. But perhaps she was biased? She did not let the silence bother her in the least, completely content. It did not seem strained or awkward so there was no need to break the quiet. She enjoyed it sometimes; the comfort she felt merely being in Ashton's presence was enough. So content Lark was that his comment almost startled her. "It's fine! I was kind of off in thought myself." What those thoughts were she was not quite sure, considering a lot of them were random and fleeting.

Lark chuckled and patted her own cheek; it was nice to know she was not hard on the eyes, even though insecurities about her physical appearance were rarely present. "Well, thanks. You're sweet." She avoided being overly mushy by refraining from the whole 'I love your face too' response; Lark figured Ashton knew she found him adorable, considering she told him fairly often. He really was though.

Imagining Ashton mad was like imagining the sky being purple. He was such an easy going and happy person and Lark could not recall a time where he was truly angry. It was a benefit in their relationship, that she knew for certain. It made her incredibly appreciative as well, knowing that her temper could not throw all of this down the drain in five seconds flat. For her all it took was a comment, a snide remark, or even an irritating situation to bring about the temper. Fires reminded her of a bull fight. All it took was a little prodding and a red cloth to set them into a frenzy. "I'm sure it works out so incredibly well," Lark replied with a knowing smile. She enjoyed Ashton for who he was though and was glad he did not seem intent on changing. "But I guess that's for the best. You're family so it's best to stay on good terms with them if you can." She said this as though her family were tight-knit and she held no bitterness. It was indeed the opposite but for her boyfriend's sake (and anyone else who knew of her family problems) she tried to keep things private. Hiding the negative feelings took a lot of work but she was managing. There was a faint fondness to her expression as he talked about Cameron, remembering her own half-sibling who she was trying to bond with. "He is really adorable. Runs in the family, I think. But I guess sometimes they know they're cute and try to use that to their advantage, huh?" Some kids simply knew that they could bat their eyelashes, pout, and suddenly the world was at their fingertips.

A low hum rose in her throat as she thought on his question. That was one to truly ponder considering she never thought about it before. "I have no clue," Lark admitted after a moment of thoughtful silence. "But that would be incredibly annoying, wouldn't it?" Like he said, all it would take was a lit cigarette or a campfire and suddenly there was a sneeze-fest going on. She did not have any severe allergies that she knew of and hoped it stayed that way. Just as she attempted to say something, Ashton continued on his thought process and her mouth slowly closed, a small smile crinkling her eyes. "I honestly don't know. Maybe we should ask some of our teachers about it? They probably know all about some of this stuff." Like elementals with allergies. It was such a random topic to discuss but she enjoyed the little rabbit trails they tended to take with their conversations. Kept things interesting for sure. He was certainly the more talkative of the two and Lark tended to follow his lead when it came to chatting simply because of that fact.

"Just like walkie-talkies," She agreed, the smile she felt twitching on her lips mixing with the agitation. It was difficult to roll around in anger when Ashton was around, really. At least not without feeling immensely guilty. Wandering through the maze alone did give her an opportunity to settle down some, but not enough for when she reached the inevitable dead end. Luck was not on her side. At least Ashton was not so far away that he could not hear her calling and she felt a small wave of relief. "Okay good!" Lark called back, standing on her tip-toes as though she could see over the hedges. No such luck, of course, but it was a subconscious response. Hearing the word 'lost' was certainly not the one she was hoping for and she sighed. "Shit," She muttered to herself before calling out, "Okay, okay uh...I'll try and find my way to you, actually! Don't go anywhere!" Considering she hit a dead end and had yet to make any turns it would make more sense for her to make an attempt at finding her boyfriend. Quickly, Lark turned on her heel and began the trek back to the fork in the hedges, hoping that she could find him. How many turns did he take? And how many options were there? Ugh. She groaned inwardly and turned the corner to make her way towards Ashton. Well, hopefully. "Do you remember what turns you took at all?" Lark called out to him again, wondering if he could at least recall a left or a right that could help her in the search. If not, then who knows how their maze attempt could end up?

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

From his vantage point on a third floor balcony overlooking the backyard, Joshua felt like an eagle perched in its nest as it spied on potential prey. It was difficult to see some of the shorter of their guests as they wandered through the labyrinth that was Nell's maze but he made a habit of memorizing the costumes of his friends and targets so that he could lock on each time something interesting was going on. He leaned on the railing, the bright blue turtleneck as eye-catching as it was uncomfortable. Not a big fan of sweaters, it was at least worth it for the one night. Shades hid his gray eyes as they inspected the man twists and turns of the maze, gears in his brain turning as he tried to plot out his next move. He had spent the past ten minutes trolling people inside of the house and now he felt like doing a little collaboration with his wife.

He had watched Lark and Ashton enter the maze but had quickly lost interest when they seemed intent on staying lost in a certain part of the maze for a while. It was complicated and convoluted and they certainly weren't the only ones getting turned around but Joshua was waiting for the people that got closer to the end. A flick of his wrist caused a burst of flame in a random part of the maze and he grinned as the guests he'd started shrieked, the sound faint but still reaching where he stood. The fire had not done any harm, not so much as singeing the leaves it touched. He liked the ways he could use his powers now, the advanced elemental techniques at his disposal. When he turned his attention back to his friends, he watched as they separated from one another and his lips slowly curved into a smirk. Perfect.

Pressing the button on the walkie-talkie (they could have used their phones but where was the fun in that?) he lifted it and spoke. "Hey babe, I think I've got something." There was a trace of devious excitement in his tone. "Lark and Ash are off near the center—do you see them? They've split up." It didn't take a genius to figure out the logical move, from a troll's standpoint at least, but he said it anyway for effect. "Let's see how they feel about actually getting split up, eh?" Lowering the device, the fingers of his right hand played with the chain around his neck as he kept an eye on their two friends. Lark came across a dead end that Joshua had already been aware existed and he saw Ashton pause, wondering if they were looking for one another. Now's your chance, Nell, he thought with delight.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell had spent most of her night looking after the maze. It was made up entirely of hedges and trees and flowers -- any form of vegetation that she could freely change around whenever she saw the opportunity arise. Of course, she liked to keep track of people in there so she didn't block off guests who'd spent a good amount of time searching for an exit. That was very unfair, and it kept everyone from the tour and the food. She was at least a merciful labyrinth master in that aspect. However, she did take great joy in rustling the leaves to terrify people. Her maze was a living, breathing honeycomb.

She had gone to get some punch and food downstairs and talk to a few guests, taking the time for a short break of terrorizing people trying to find their way through the dark labyrinth. It was hard to believe that the woman who'd dressed as Dora the Explorer was responsible for the monstrosity out back. She even stayed in character whenever she could, slipping in Spanglish and asking people to help her find nearby objects such as the cauldron. It was fun for her, and it hadn't really cost much to put the costume together. Though she did go out and buy a bag, because that felt like a necessity.

Heading back up to overlook the maze, the walkie buzzed with her husband's voice and she took it out of the side-pocket of her backpack. Josh had apparently gotten something, and she took her time to swallow a cookie she'd been eating before saying, "Give me what you got." She opened the door to one of the balconies and stepped out to see a bunch of people wandering around her maze. He informed her that Lark and Ashton were in there and she took a moment to pin them down and said, "Batman and Catwoman? Got 'em." They definitely had separated, but it looked like they were hitting dead ends on both sides. She smiled as she said, "Un momento, por favor," before erecting a hedge between the couple, shifting the rest of the hedges to adjust so that neither of them would be able to find a direct path to each other. Her eyes glinted with pride before she said into the walkie, "Divided and conquered." Sorry guys. It was going to be fun, watching them figure this one out.

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[ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH]

costume

That she was completely and totally willing to have stupid little conversations with him like this was one of Ashton's favourite things about his girlfriend. Though he was incredibly social and had a lot of friends, some people were put off by Ashton's silliness and saw him as more childish than the amusing guy that his friends took him as. A people pleaser, Ashton wasn't all too happy with this view on him but it was not enough to make him change. If it worked for Lark and all his other close friends then it was worth it to be himself. They allowed the soul-selling conversation to fizzle out and then lapsed into a silence which he broke, a silence which didn't seem to offend Lark at all. Ashton smiled at her, relieved. "Happens to the best of us, huh?" he joked lightly, chuckling. He also liked that she thought he was sweet. He tried to be, even if it didn't always succeed. Ashton didn't want to ever be known as the bad guy. Hell, he was Batman. A freaking superhero! He had to live up to a reputation no matter how bad he was at voice-acting!

He didn't mind that he was unable to retain anger. It was better than an inability to be happy or a refusal to express human things like grief. He didn't like being sad—no one did—but he'd prefer it to being unable to let anyone know when he was feeling for them or even upset over something that had happened to Ashton himself. Anger was, in his opinion, a fairly negative emotion. It didn't mean he disliked people who expressed it, only that he preferred not to do so himself. "Yeah," he agreed. After a pause, he told her, "We didn't always get along, you know. Cameron and I. I... I used to get jealous of him a lot when my parents would take his side." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed to admit his own short-comings. He knew that he had flaws like anyone else but acknowledging those flaws aloud was hard. And to his girlfriend, no less. He didn't know why he was telling her, really. Trust, perhaps. He trusted a lot of people, trusted too easily, but he didn't usually share the negative stuff. His features broke out in a smile as he continued, "Everything's okay now, though. But I always keep that in mind when I'm mad." Family's always there for you. He remembered the car accident still, long ago as it had been. He'd almost lost part of his family to that accident and it had taught him to respect his parents' protective natures. "Oh, definitely! Wish I could still pull that off. Think it would work?" He widened his eyes and pouted at her, the laughter in his face as he tried not to break the illusion. Batman pouting? Okay then.

He nodded. Allergies sucked in general but being allergic to your own element or to an element that was popular for use in the Academy would certainly be a hindrance. Lark suggested that he take his question to the teachers and unlike some people who might have dropped the curiosity there, he decided to make a point of it. He didn't care much for learning in school, not when it was stuff that didn't interest him, but the Earth elemental felt that this was pretty important. "Actually maybe the medical wing would know better." They probably carried a stock of allergy pills, cold medicine, and all the other basic over the counter stuff for the year. Not everyone was from Maple Hollow so they couldn't always get things in a pinch. He knew they had Advil at least, for he'd been given some once when he'd tripped and banged his head into a rock with all the grace he was known for. It had hurt like hell. "Hey, you think Josh would know?" He ended up in the medical wing often enough that he was aware of the Fire graduate's volunteer work. "Maybe we could ask once we get outta this place..." Little did he know that the Fire was actually plotting to fuck their shit up, along with his wife as they stood invisible to the maze-goers on balconies above.

Lark insisted that she had it handled and Ashton, lost as he felt, didn't feel as if he was in much of a position to argue. He nodded, almost forgetting that she couldn't see him, but thankfully also called out, "Okay! Be careful, though! Try not to get turned around..." Because wouldn't it suck if she tried to take the turn that he'd gone down and accidentally ended up going back the way they'd came? He wondered how easy it was to actually get confused by maze pathways. As he waited nervously he brushed his hand against the bark of a tree and his lip twitched. Nell did a really good job of this. He was easily impressed but his friend definitely had talent with her power. Elements were wonderful things. Ashton thought that he heard branches rustling and he glanced over his shoulder, chewing his lip. Did that bush just move? Am I seeing things? "Um... no..." He was a bit ashamed of himself for not keeping track as well as he probably should have but it didn't matter now, no use crying over spilled milk. He knew the way he'd came from at least to some degree and so he started trying to head back, though he was soon confused. He could have sworn there'd been an opening there before... "This doesn't feel right!" he called to her. "What do we do? Do we split up?" He didn't want to split up. The maze was freakier on his own and what if one of them found the exit long before the other? Oh, he didn't like how this was going. They shouldn't have separated to begin with!

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

OUTFIT.

She nodded, smiling back before drifting back off into thought again. Ashton was talkative and around him Lark tended to be even more so but there were times when she decided it was not necessary. For her this was normal, of course. She did envy his personality on occasion though, like when it came to temper. He was so upbeat and did not dwell on negative things for very long, something she was not always capable of doing, even at the best of times. Lark did not resent who she was, but an occasional reigning of her temper would be nice. She eyed her boyfriend with fondness. "That's normal, I think," She concluded, leaning against him. "Jealousy sucks but we're human and it happens to the best of us." Even people like Ashton seemed to be susceptible to those bouts of envy. With Carter, she hated her mother enough to feel more pity than jealousy. He would have to be raised by a woman who did not have the decency to walk away from Frank at the start instead of waiting and left their family to crumble. At least he let it go and did not allow himself to become bitter towards Cameron. "That's good. I'm glad that you two get along so well. I hope me and Carter are the same way." He was too young at the moment to judge that fairly so she was not going to anticipate anything negative just yet.

Ashton was pouting now, and Lark could not help but giggle. "It would work on me, I know that," She replied, poking his lip. All that boy had to do was look at her and smile and she would pretty much do anything he asked. If Josh had asked a favor she would do it too, as she would with several of her closer friends, but with Ashton it was on a slightly different level.

The conversation was random, but now she was just as curious about the whole allergy ordeal. She never thought much on it. Probably because she never broke out in hives when she conjured her Fire or began sneezing. "Hm, yeah they probably would," She agreed. "They probably deal with enough sick students to at least have some idea." It would be incredibly odd for an Earth student to have an allergy to pollen or grass but anything was possible. Better to ask and gain a little information than go around wondering, right? Ashton's suggestion did cause her to think. "You know, he might. If we actually get out of here we can definitely ask him." Emphasis on if, because at this point it seemed pretty far fetched for them to find the exit. Every twist and turn ended in a dead end or more turns. Just the thought was agitating. The conversation on allergies was at least a temporary distraction from the feeling of confusion and disorientation. "If not...then maybe Avery. And if not that...then I guess we can see if any teacher knows." But starting at the medical wing was probably the best idea.

Lark had a feeling that they were already turned around but she supposed that if they were already that lost it made no sense to sit down and give up. Might as well try. She called back with, "Okay! I'll try," And tried to gather her bearings but with little to no luck. Every bush was the same, other people seemed just as lost, and she was angry about the whole situation. As she found her way down the path that Ashton had previously taken, he called out to her and seemed just as unsure about where he was as she did. Fuck. What were they supposed to do now? Lark heard a faint rustling as she pushed on ahead and barely caught sight of a bush shifting in front of a once open path. She growled. "Dammit, guys!" The girl ran a hand through her hair and seethed. Bushes didn't move on their own, not unless she fell down a rabbit hole and the world was all sorts of screwed up. Nell... Unless they had someone else messing with the maze. That was possible too, but it didn't matter. All she knew was that she was separated from her boyfriend. "I...I don't know." Lark replied, sounding as uncertain as she felt, the frustration still settled in her chest. "If we split up too much we both might be lost by ourselves for a while...but I don't really see what else we can do." Burning down the bush might be an option, but with Josh possibly lurking around who knew what he had up his sleeve. It would be a waste of time and energy. "Ugh, fuck it!" She exclaimed angrily, kicking the bush with great force. "Can't you move the bush or something? Just one cheat." Just. One. Before she tried to set the maze ablaze.