Solana
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Well, hello again!! :3 I actually tried to include every character in this for once (but not the new twins, simply because they live really far away, and Solana just arrived... Hopefully, I didn't screw up anyone's personality too much... So sorry if I did! :3 And, ah, sorry that it's sorta extremely long.............
Ahhh.... Anyways.... I hope you enjoy the next installment of Solana's story!! :33
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While I missed my forest life, it was a strange relief to be immersed in a social experience. Naturally, I was terribly nervous as I rode the plane to Virginia, having never been outside of Pennsylvania or New Jersey before, and, when I came across the mansion, my anxiety only grew.
How many people could fit in there? How many people were in there? Beating thunderously, my heart threatened to burst from my chest, yet, somehow, I managed to push my legs forward to propel me to the door. Before I knew it, my hand had timidly stretched toward the doorbell and pressed it, an echoing gong sound emitting from the building.
Trembling slightly, I bounced on the balls of my feet, trying to chase away the chill of Autumn by rubbing the bared flesh on my forearms. Though my coat covered the majority of my body, the fire had badly singed the sleeves, leaving my arms mostly uncovered. The vampire had even offered to buy my new clothes, but, of course, I couldn’t accept. He had shown me too much hospitality already.
After what felt like an eternity, the tumblers in the lock clicked, and, within a few moments, the door opened to reveal a sullen man with three scars on his face, his expression seeming to be permanently set in a scowl. Once he gave me the once-over, his amber eyes met my own, a look of disapproval filling them.
“We are not interested in purchasing anything,” he growled lowly. Apparently, he assumed my small bag —which held the few memorabilias I had left—contained some sort of cheap merchandise. As I opened my mouth to protest, he cut me off. “Unless you wish to be severely injured, I suggest leaving and never returning.”
Stricken with fear, my eyes widened, and, obediently, I backed away, swallowing hard. With narrowed eyes, he slammed the door on me, refusing to spare me another glance.
At least someone was acting in a way I was used to.
However, from behind the door came shouting, a new voice rising above the man I’d met.
“Who was it?” the new, feminine voice demanded.
“I do not know. I have never seen her before.”
“Griffin, what did she look like?”
“She had abnormally-colored hair. It was purple and blue. Other than that, she was very plain.”
“You’re a moron! That’s Solana, the girl from Pennsylvania!” she snapped, turning the doorknob.
“Well I am sorry. I did not know.”
For some reason, I hadn’t budged from my spot, probably because I’d been too indulged in their conversation to move away.
Abruptly, the door was once again yanked open, this time revealing a clearly angered girl with black hair and... wolf ears. Stunned, my mouth remained shut tight; sure, I had wings, but wolf ears? That was... I’d have said unnatural, but that’d have been a bit hypocritical.
“Solana?” she inquired, lifting a single eyebrow above her red eyes. Hesitantly, I nodded, shouldering my bag more firmly. “Come on in. You can just ignore Griffin. He’s kind of an *ss sometimes.” Nodding timidly, I obeyed her orders, stepping inside before she threw the door shut behind me.
“I apologized,” he groaned from beyond the doorway. “Do I not have a right to be suspicious after everything that has happened?”
Worriedly, I stared at the wolf-girl with wide eyes.
“W—what happened recently?” I asked softly, wrapping my arms around myself. Sighing, the girl turned to face Griffin, glaring at him in the process.
“Why did you have to bring that up right as she walked in the door?” she barked, planting her hands on her hips. As she faced me, she dropped her hands, stuffing them instead in the pockets of her khakis. “Don’t worry about it now. How about you go find yourself a room and make yourself comfortable. Go mingle.”
“Mingle?” I asked, blushing. When she gave me a puzzled look and nodded, I swallowed hard, licking my lips. “Ah, well... I’d actually prefer if you assigned me a room. If you don’t mind.” For a moment, she and Griffin only stared at me.
“Are you serious?” she questioned incredulously, furrowing her brows. Once I nodded stiffly, she groaned. “For heaven’s sake... Fine, come with me.” With that, she brushed past Griffin, shoving him into the nearest hallway, and, as I followed, I avoided his eyes, fearing his words.
“Dining room, kitchen, living room, pool, basement,” she rambled, pointing out each location as we passed by them or near them.
After a flight of stairs and hundreds of feet of hallway, the girl stopped before a door, opening it forcefully and gesturing inside.
“Here you are. Make yourself at home. I know it isn’t terrific, but, hopefully, it’s okay with you. I’ll check in with you in a little while. It wouldn’t hurt for you to talk to some people, you know.”
“Um, before you leave, what’s your name?” I asked quietly, refusing to meet her eyes.
“I’m Akira; nice to meet you. See ya later.” As she bid me farewell, she pulled the door shut behind her, leaving me alone once again.
As I peered the quaint room, I realized that her words had been right. The room wasn’t terrific; it was perfect. Compared to the other ‘homes’ I’d known, this place, this little bedroom, was a little slice of heaven in my mind.
Yawning, I fell backwards onto the bed, unintentionally sighing in content as I curled up onto the fluffy material. After eight years of sleeping on rotting wood, this downy surface comforted me in an unusual way, forming to my body and soothing my aching limbs.
As I closed my eyes, exhausted after having avoided sleep on the journey, the bed beneath me lulled my mind into a peaceful slumber, one that, for the first time, I didn’t fear waking up from.
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“Solana!” Akira’s voice called through the door, startling me from my sleep abruptly. “Dinner’s ready. Come down and meet some people.” Once she finished speaking, soft footsteps led away from my room, creaking down the stairs until I couldn’t hear them anymore.
With a groan, I sat up on the bed, rolling my stiff shoulders and letting out a yawn. Only a few hours had passed, but, already, I felt more refreshed than ever before. Without a second thought, I rose to my feet, dismissing the dizziness that swept over me and immediately brushing through my hair with my fingers.
“You’ll have to get it over with eventually,” I whispered to my reflection in the vanity adjacent to the bed, exhaling in a sigh.
Before I could change my mind, I strode out the door, pulling my coat around me tightly as a chill washed over me, and, swallowing hard, I set off to the dining room, terrified to face so many people.
When I stepped inside the huge room, my heart froze in my chest. Almost twenty people occupied the seats, chatting with one another casually.
It was one of my worst nightmares.
“Good, you decided to show up,” Akira shouted from the head of the table, slicing through the conversations and drawing attention to me. Slightly overwhelmed, I nodded, blushing profusely and knowing that, with my terribly pale skin, my embarrassment was obvious.
“Good evening,” a petite, blue-haired girl called as she rose, moving toward me. “My name is Colette, and you are Solana, correct?” Nodding, I bit my lip, unsure what I could say. “It’s very nice to meet you. We weren’t sure what you preferred, so you can choose from the array of foods we’ve prepared. Do you eat meat?”
Swallowing hard, I licked my lips, eyes darting around the room nervously.
“Ah, no. I—I’m actually a vegan,” I answered softly, her eyebrows rising in response.
“Why are you all so insistent on eating plants?” a green-skinned girl demanded, rising from her seat and drawing everyone’s eyes to her. “They are practically my relatives, ne vous comprends pas? Next, you’re all going to want to eat me!”
“So you are a vegetable!” a red-haired girl shouted, pointing accusingly at her.
“Non, I did not say that,” the green girl replied, flipping her white hair as she shook her head. “I merely said that I—”
“You just said you’re related to them,” the other girl snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Narrowing her eyes, the plant-girl exhaled in a huff, and, practically steaming, she strode briskly into the hall, nearly running into me as she did so. After a few moments of awkward silence, Colette spoke up.
“Oh, yes! I’m terribly sorry we don’t have much variety for you. We do have salad. I hope that’s alright,” she answered sincerely, clasping her hands before her. Smiling softly, I bowed my head an inch.
“That’s perfectly fine. I’m used to not having much eat. Ah, thank you, though. Very much.” Even with my words, she seemed apologetic, but, still, she led me to a seat, positioning me right next to a girl with blonde hair and... rabbit ears. This really shouldn’t come as such a surprise to you.
“Your hair is so cool! It’s like a sunset! Or a rainbow! Well, not really a rainbow since it’s missing the red and yellow and orange and green. Does pink count as red? Anyway, I just love it! Is it dyed?” a girl with a blue ponytail interrogated quickly, her words rushed together. Caught off guard, I could barely form a sentence in response.
“U—um, no. It... it’s not dyed at all,” I stuttered, timidly reaching for the large salad bowl. Beside her, another blonde girl stared at me with unwavering bedroom eyes, her outfit nearly making me blush for her.
“You’re really thin. Don’t you ever eat? I’m almost jealous,” she purred, her voice automatically sounding seductive. Blushing yet again, I only bowed my head more, giving up on the salad; I wasn’t hungry, not anymore, not with my stomach churning like it was.
“Why are you so pale?” another black-haired girl demanded softly, her eyes flashing red momentarily. “Don’t you have a heart?”
“No, I—I, ah, definitely have a heart,” I responded quietly, my eyes flickering around the table as I hunched even farther forward.
“Then, are you a vampire, as well?” a small girl with black and purple hair questioned politely, seeming to be genuinely interested. Immediately, I shook my head, concerned by her use of the words “as well.” Vampires. Apparently, there were more than one.
“What are you, exactly?” Griffin questioned abruptly from the other end of the table, his large wings revealed now that he had removed his coat.
“I—I... Well, I’m a, ah... I’m a cloud nymph,” I answered in a small voice, sinking in my chair. At that, a boy with slightly curly hair, a cap on his head, and rather feminine features lifted his head, his eyes wide.
“OMG, you’re a nymph? Me, too! That makes us, like, almost the same! I mean, I’m a water nymph and you’re a cloud nymph, but we’re basically the same species, right?” the girl with the ponytail blurted, bouncing in her seat. Was she on a sugar high, or something?
“What does a cloud nymph do?” a man with black wings and blue eyes questioned, seeming intrigued. Licking my lips, I inhaled deeply, struggling to remain calm.
“Well... um... I can fly,” I muttered, averting my gaze yet again.
“How? Do you even have wings?” a girl with very long black hair and pale eyes asked, offering a kind smile. Swallowing, I nodded, feeling sheepish. “May we see them?” Blushing, I shrugged, folding my hands in my lap.
“Please?” the water nymph pleaded, her form visibly rocking back and forth on her chair. “I’d love to see them. I mean, we already have three people with wings here, but they’re all different, you know? I bet yours are, too, and, even if they aren’t, I still really really want to see them.”
Though I’d never say it outloud, I kind of wished she’d stop talking.
Sighing, I nodded hesitantly, rising to my feet and unbuttoning my coat. However, my fingers froze at that, trembling. Not many people had ever seen my wings, not intentionally.
“You don’t have to hide here,” the girl beside me whispered, her ears twitching as she smiled. With her kind words, I let out a deep breath, nodding as I revealed my wings and closed my eyes.
“They... they aren’t really anything special,” I mumbled, cracking my eyes open to stare at the table.
“I think they’re pretty cool, but they don’t look very strong,” the red-headed girl stated, unfurling her wings. How did I miss those before? "I wish Sam wasn't such a wuss. He'd get a kick out of those!"
“Ooh, they’re very nice,” the girl with pale eyes admired, staring intently at them. Before my eyes, her appearance completely changed until I was staring at an exact replica of... me. Laughing shortly as she admired her work, she shot me a grin, a look I hadn’t seen nor felt on my features in quite some time. After a few seconds, she changed back to her original form, leaving me nearly speechless.
As I started to shrug my coat back on and cover my extra appendages up, a soft hand on my arm interrupted me.
“Solana, you really don’t have to cover up. You’re among friends, now,” the rabbit-girl insisted, her pink eyes wide. Nodding, I stopped, draping my coat over the chair instead.
“So where did you come from?”
“Can you fly fast?”
“How do your wings support you?”
“Do you like it here?”
“I wish I could fly.”
Their words swarmed into my head, mixing together so I couldn’t distinguish whose voice was whose.
Overwhelmed with my head pounding, I covered my ears with my hands, squeezing my eyes shut.
“Guys! Um, I think you should leave her alone, maybe,” the rabbit-girl suggested, loudly at first but growing softer, silencing their words. Satisfied they had taken her proposition, I removed my hands, opened my eyes and shot her a grateful half-smile.
At least a few of them—the guy with the hoodie and the one with the cap—hadn’t been so meddlesome regarding my life. For that, I was extremely thankful.
Once everybody settled down and directed their conversations to other points of interest, I sighed into my chair with relief.
If this was how it would always be—tons of intrusive questions and too much conversation—I would certainly regret my decision to join this club. But I still hoped that, as time progressed, they’d all be more like the rabbit-girl. I could learn to live with someone like her, and, maybe, in due time, I could make some friends.
Maybe.
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There you have it, folks! I sincerely hope I got the characters' personalities at least semi-correct... Please, constructive criticism is welcome, and, if you have suggestions on how I could represent your characters better, PLEASE let me know. :3 Thanks, you guys!!! :33
