<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>Timestamp: 28° Teressa, 81380 Where: The Panic Room. in the early evening Who: Mich Zappharin and Kokuteju Cecisofi Notes: Private for Kattius </td></tr></table> The cold drink flowed down the teenager's throat as the rock music beat into his ears. Giving a breath of relief, Mich Zappharin set down his glass of water on the table, glancing at a magazine rather coldly. He looked such a loner, thw tall 'dragon sitting on his own at the side of the club, only his books to keep him company. He wore a smart white shirt with the top button undone under a blue sleeveless jacket, and ignoring the fact the colder weather was coming, he still wore a pair of shorts. His green hair sat messily on his head, glasses sliding down his nose. The 'dragon hastily pushed them back up again. With a sigh, he glanced over his glass to teh crowds around him. he didn't like the Panic Room much. He had been forcibly dragged down here a few times, and he had made a habit of it. It was just too loud, to active. How were you meant to study in here? Opening a science book, he grumbled as he read a chapter on acid rain.
There was an amused noise as another ‘dragon slipped into view. She was a stark contrast to the one seated at the table, even without the obvious comparison of their gender. In comparison to his height, she stood an inch less than four feet, and yet battled through the throng of dancing people with ease. It was not hard to miss her, under the blaring lights, for her pelt was white and despite already giving off pale blues, greens, purples and pinks, she seemed to glow with colour beneath the multi-coloured strobe lighting. Her long, crinkled skirt of a black colouring, trimmed with turquoise sequins and with the stitched motif of a butterfly flying upwards to stop somewhere around her left thigh, swayed as she walked, her heeled boots clicking on the floor, although they were drowned out by the rock music that was blaring out from the stereos. Her upper clothing was a halter-top, a dark purple in colouring, tied around the neck and, save for a strip of material running beneath her wings, devoid of a back so that the insect wings could move freely and without pain. It revealed her torso rather well. On her hands was a pair of fingerless fishnet gloves, a light blue in colouring. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“The Panic Room isn’t for studying, Mich,"</span> Said Kokuteju as she appeared at the table and took her seat, observing the pile of books with her purple eyes. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“It’s for dancing, for singing, for hanging out with friends and for generally having a fun time. Studying is strictly prohibited."</span> She stuck her tongue out at him at the last sentence.
Mich rolled his eyes at the female feydragon, and not lifting his eyes from the page, said, <span style='color:green'>"Doesn't say that anywhere, Koku."</span> The 'dragon looked up, smiling at the short girl, <span style='color:green'>"But then again, I've never known you to lie."</span> Sliding his books over to teh side of the table, teh teenager had another cooling sip of water, before setting down the glass. For a moment, he just gazed at the female, girl next door, and one of his best friends. A light blush tinged his ears, before he sat up straight, grinning in an odd, embarrassed way. WHY did he always blush around Koku? After a second, head drooping, the 'dragon muttered, <span style='color:green'>"So... whatcha doing down here, Koku?"</span>
<span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“You don’t have my amazing sense of sight,"</span> Informed Koku, although she was grinning to show that she was joking. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Oh, you assume I don’t lie. For example, I could say that I think you’re terribly mean, but that would be a lie, would it not?"</span> She smiled as he blushed, but didn’t note on it. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I bullied Takonas into telling me where you were,"</span> She answered in reply to Mich’s question. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“He told me, after I left a couple of bruises on him."</span> She grinned again, showing she was lying, very simply because whilst she could have lobbed a piece of ice at the boy and landed a couple of punches on him, she wouldn’t have done so because he was her friend. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“The question is,"</span> She said, realising she hadn’t exactly given Mich a straight answer, <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“What are you doing here?"</span>
<span style='color:green'>"Oh, the lads started dragging me down here. They said I needed to get out more often - again. I started coming down soon after on my own. I've made a bit of a habit of it, actually. Anything's better than being dragged off by the ankle,"</span> Mich smiled and chuckled at the feydragon, before looking to the stage. Clapping filled the club as the live band started moving their instruments off-stage, and a host hopped up on to the stage beside the band with a microphone. Standing up, he grinned and said, "Alright, everybody! It's Gaipui Night, it's nearly time for... KAREOKE HOUR!" Cheers filled the club, and the 'dragon grinned, "Alrighty! So, anyone who wants to sing, come up to the stage now and get ready to muder - I mean, sing your favourite songs!" Mich couldn't help but giggle at the "murder your favourite songs" part - it was most people did on Kareoke Night, he had learnt very quickly. Mich turned to Kokuteju, and smiled, <span style='color:green'>"Why don't you go up?"</span>
The feydragon chuckled at the mental image of Lysane, Midet and Takonas forcibly dragging Mich to the Panic Room by his ankles. She wondered if the three boys – particularly Lysane and Takonas – had enough strength to drag him, but she had no doubt that they would have eventually made it. Before she could reply to that, the host had popped up on stage. Kokuteju had laughed at his announcement of murdering their favourite songs, as had Mich, very simply because it was true. She didn’t make a habit of going to the Panic Room on karaoke night – in fact, her trips there were often random and tonight was one of the few times she had gone with a purpose, which was to find Mich – but she knew the chaos that came from them. On occasion, and she knew this from experience, you could find people that could sing, but she also found that a lot of them would show off quite a bit. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Me?"</span> Queried Koku. She had no excuse for not going up, because she had a good voice for singing, especially as it was one of her trades, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Mich. In fact, she’d tried to find him to tell him something important, but it seemed they were trapped amongst the people of the Panic Room right now. She shook her head. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I’m not going up there. Not… not on my own, anyway. And what would I sing?"</span>
Mich snorted playfully at the feydragon as one of the first victims went up on stage to sing a song, <span style='color:green'>"Oh, come on, Koku. You're brilliant!"</span> Lowering his voice and blushing sligthly, he looked away, and muttered, "And... I dunno what you could sing, but I'm sure it would be good." Biting his lip, he slowly turned to the feydragon, and muttered, <span style='color:green'>"Well, do you want water or lemonade or something? My treat. You can think about your kareoke career then."</span>
For once, the feydragon didn’t have a comment to make on what Mich had said. Instead, she sat and listened to him over the noise of the ‘dragon that was wailing away on stage, and turned her head to look at the stage when she felt the blush rise to her cheeks. She murmured something that sounded like his name, although she was speaking too quietly for it to be heard clearly. Upon hearing his offer of a drink, she turned her head to face him again, watching him with the one eye that was not obscured by her mass of her hair. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Um…"</span> She trailed off in thought, before coming to a decision. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I’ll have water, thanks. It’s good for my cryokinesis, I guess."</span> Kokuteju reinforced this by concentrating on Mich’s glass of water, causing a stream of the liquid to rise from the glass and move in a circle, before allowing it to drop and focusing on Mich, her humour coming back to her. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I guess I’m going up, then?"</span> She went silent for a moment, before suddenly coming to a decision about something else, and giving Mich a grin. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I’ll go up and sing if you do, Mich Zappharin."</span>
Rustling some changein his pocket, Mich smiled as he watched the steam rise from his glass. He turned, when Koku's suggestion hit his ears. He simply froze. Every muscle froze, every joint, even his mind froze. Stamping down a food to prevent himself from falling forwards, he whipped around. His glasses were literally beginning to fog up, his ears and cheeks brigth red, and his teeth gritted. <span style='color:green'>"What?"</span> he hissed, <span style='color:green'>"I do NOT sing, Koku, EVER. I can't even hold a note! I even avoid books on music!"</span> He slammed his hands on the table, as if to symbol that was that. Some heads turned to see what was happening, but most just shrugged it off.
Kokuteju wondered if she had made a bad move in suggesting that Mich should go and sing karaoke. She remained silent, keeping her eyes focused on him, although she was trying to get rid of the nervousness that had overcome her at his sudden outburst. She’d forgotten his short temper, and she couldn’t tell whether she’d angered him or embarrassed him or, worse still, both. Regaining her wits, the feydragon continued. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Has anybody ever told you that you can’t hold a note?"</span> She asked, raising an eyebrow at him, her earlier fear having quickly disappeared. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I’ve never heard you sing before. I hear Lys singing all the time. I even hear Konas, on occasion. I’ve never heard you sing, ‘though. I’d like to. You might not be as bad as you think you are."</span>
Mich glared at Koku a moment, before his face softened at her shocked expression. Maybe he had been a bit too harsh. He started just gazing at her, feeling his cheeks going even redder, until she said the comment. Coughing, Mich glared at her again. <span style='color:green'>"Yeah. Sure. My sister, my brother, my GRANNY, have all told me I stink,"</span> he hissed, before coughing and standing up straight. Rubbing one arm, he looked away form her, and muttered, <span style='color:green'>"But if it's the only way I'll get you up on stage, I guess I'll do it."</span>
The feydragon had stopped looking at Mich as he had burst out at her again, although she blamed herself for provoking him rather than blame him. Her eyes were watching the floor again and her head was turned away, the red tinge of embarrassment gracing her cheeks. Upon hearing the comment he made of wanting to get her on stage, she looked up, forgetting that this was not going the way she had planned. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Mich…"</span> She trailed off, wondering whether or not she would apologize. It was obvious she was going to have to get up on the stage before they could get out of there and she told him what it was she wanted to tell him, but it wasn’t necessary for him to go up there with her. She was probably just making him miserable. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Why do you want me to go up there? You can hear me sing anytime that you want. I’d sing for you if you’d just ask. But why must it be in front of the entire population of this room?"</span>
Mich gave an exasperated sigh, cheeks till red as he sat down again. Lifting his glasses off his nose, he rubbed the steam off his glasses and glanced up. He knew that she wanted to be a singer, and kareoke could have been a good first step for her. Looking away again, he said, <span style='color:green'>"Well... you like to sing, right? So why not try singing to a big audience?"</span> He then looked around, pusheding his glasses up his nose, <span style='color:green'>"I'll go up to sing on my own first, so you can see how bad I really am - but first... is the walking mouth about?"</span> <span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>By 'Walking Mouth', Mich means Kalli. xDD</td></tr></table>
Embarrassment at her own stupidity caused the heat to rise in Koku’s cheeks again, the little patches of red showing through her pale fur. Of course it would be Mich, the ever intelligent one of their group of friends, that would know what would be best for her aspirations. For him to understand her like that, well, Kokuteju took it as a compliment. She did, after all, like Mich, and that was more than likely one of the reasons why. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“I’m sorry,"</span> She said, apologizing for her previous stupidity at not realising why he would want her to go up, and also for her comments towards him. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“You’re right, it would be good for me…"</span> She trailed off, realising that trying to make him back out of it might cause further aggravation in the ‘dragon. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“You mean Kalli, right? No, I left her back at the dormitory. I don’t think she’s here."</span>
<span style='color:green'>"Good,"</span> Mich sighed with relief, <span style='color:green'>"if she had seen me, I wouldn't have heard the end of it. Alright then, it's settled."</span> Mich then smiled at Koku, and stood up, saying, <span style='color:green'>"But first... I believe I was going to buy you a drink of water, Miss Koku?"</span> Jingling the change in his pocket, he chuckled as he left the table, thinking about what he should sing... He was going to hate himself in the morning.
<span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Indeed, you were, Sir Mich,"</span> Replied Kokuteju, addressing him as if he were a knight from the favourite stories of his. The feydragon smiled at him as he left to purchase the water for her, and then she turned to looking at the table, lost in her thoughts. The night was not going the way that she had planned. If she had had her way, then they would be walking through the grounds together, rather than be sat in here preparing to sing. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Maybe I shouldn’t have forced him to sing,"</span> Murmured the feydragon. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“After all, nobody else would want that. I wouldn’t want it, either. Maybe I shouldn’t have even come here. I see no reason why he should think the same way about me… maybe the blushing means he’s embarrassed by me?"</span>
The coins clattered onto the table as Mich picked up the icy cold glass of water. Holding it in his hands, he walked back to the table, weaving through the crowds. He stared at his reflection in the water. He was still clueless about what to sing, but he was sure he could think of something. Or just run now. But, shaking his head, he finally found the table. Smiling with a tiny blush on his cheeks, he set the glass of water in front of his friend, before sitting down and taking a sip of his own glass. However, he noticed something. Koku didn't look all that enthusiastic. His smile slipped away, and he looked at her, head tilting. <span style='color:green'>"Hey, Koku. What's wrong?"</span> A thought leapt into hsi head. It had been him! He had pushed her into kareoke. Blushing furiously from anger at himself, he bent over and whispered, <span style='color:green'>"You know, you really don't have to do the kareoke if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion."</span>
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>Sorry about the late reply. I’ve been busy with NaNoWriMo. :P</td></tr></table> <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“W-what?"</span> Stammered Koku, immediately flushing red as she wondered if Mich had overheard as he’d returned to the table. She gave him a small smile in thanks for the water and took a sip from it as she realised what Mich had said. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“No!"</span> She cried out, shaking her head at Mich’s comment. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“No! I didn’t mean that! I’ll do it! I’ll sing! I just…"</span> She trailed off and shook her head, realising how much of an idiot she sounded and changed the subject. <span style='color:#CCCCFF'>“Do you know what you’re going to sing?"</span>
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>Major apologies for teh late reply... By teh way, do you WANT Koku to do that kareoke? Or Mich at least?</td></tr></table> Mich sat back on his seat, and gave a nervous chuckle, <span style='color:green'>"No clue, my friend."</span> He lifted his glass, and slowly sipped some of the water from his glass. He paused, and seemed to think, before setting down his glass and looking at Kokuteju. <span style='color:green'>"So, shall I go up and get this embarassment over with?"</span>
