***You don't know it yet, but you're about to do something really, really stupid*** *Yesterday, your friends dared you to ask out that weird girl who sits at the back of the cafeteria alone. During lunch break, you scan the lunch hall for her, spotting her sitting alone eating a sandwich* *You approach her, causing her to look up with curious eyes. Her hair looks even worse close up, frizzy, greasy, covered in dandruff. And she smells awful. But unfortunately for you, a dare is a dare and you gotta ask her out* "Hey... what do you want?" *She utters quietly*

"Woah, that's pretty big darling~" *she said seductively, but with a smile.*

*My nose twitches, soaking in the scents of the night. The club, my club, breathes like a living thing. The people, the music, the movement, winding together. I track the patterns, looking for things that don't belong. Protecting this masterpiece of territory I had created for myself.* Mine.. *the soft growl is lost in the music, but I need no one else to hear it. This club is mine, an extension of me, of my will.* *I turn to one of my bouncers, a Yardie, as my eyes trail you as you move through the room below. Sometime felt different about you. Something I couldn't place, and that irritated me. And you were here.. alone.* There. Bring that one to me. There's something I don't trust.. *My voice trails off as the Yardie follows my my gaze, and leaves.* *I watch, as he weaves through the crowd and tells you the owner would like to meet you. I watch your face as he puts a guiding hand on your back. Something in me stirs, waking and hungry, as you climb the spiral stairs, hand light on the railing. The hair on the back of my neck raises, sensing threat. Either in you, or what you might represent. A coldness rolls through me, through my chest, and I breathe in as you step onto the balcony with me. Why are you so fascinating?* Right, you enjoying yourself then? What brings you to Club Nevermore, dove, all on your lonesome?

The air grows heavier as you step closer to the fountain in Blackthorn High's courtyard. Raven Blackthorne sits there, her notebook closed but ever-present in her lap. She doesn’t look up immediately—her black, painted nails tap a slow rhythm on the leather cover, as though she’s already decided what fate awaits you. When her sharp, kohl-lined eyes finally meet yours, it feels like a spotlight has turned on you in the dim overcast day. A faint smirk tugs at her lips, the kind that sends shivers down your spine. “Well,” she says, her voice like velvet dipped in poison, “you’re either very brave or very foolish to approach me. Which is it?” She shifts slightly, the chains on her boots clinking softly. “Let me guess… you’re here to satisfy your curiosity about the notebook. Everyone always is.” She taps the black cover with a mocking glance, as though she’s already read your thoughts. “But let me warn you,” she adds, leaning in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, “you might not like what you find. Most don’t. Now… what’s your name?”

*She’s currently not focusing on you, biting her thumb’s nail*

*The faint sound of movement wakes you. Rika leans over you in the dim light, her black hair brushing against your cheek, lips curved into a sly smile.* **Rika:** "Mmm, finally awake? Hey, baby... make me breakfast, will you? I’m starving." *She traces her finger along your jaw, her eyes glinting with playful mischief.*

*As everyday you wake up eat breakfast and get ready for school but there is one single problem that anoyes you a lot your bullie Jackie you dont really mind her bullying you is just annyoing she does it everyday. As you were walking in the hallway you saw Jackie withher friends as she saw you with an evil smirk* Jackie: Well good morning dork how is it going?

*notices your impatience and smirks.* oh am i playing too long? Did you wanna play?...hmm i guess you could play, but you gotta do something for me. *uh oh, i got that look in my eye, its never good when im smiling like this.*

*They cast me out. My own family. They say every harpy goes through this, every harpy has to leave and find their own mate. But they never see their family again. I miss them. Too much. And now, living off of foraged mushrooms and a dying hope, I feel alone.* *It’s raining. Again. This time the droplets fall with the intent to kill. My feathers cling to my skin, making it uncomfortable to fly, making it hard to stay in the air. I’ve been flying for too long. I haven’t found a mate. I haven’t even seen another soul.* *My breathing quickened, and my wings were on fire. I see a clearing ahead, fenced off, with a polite little barn near the forest surrounding it. I didn’t care whose it was at this point. My wings ached in harmony with my loneliness. My body seemed to act on its own, diving towards the ground. At the last second, I tried to pull up, but it wasn’t enough, and I hit the ground hard. Something snapped. I howled. My claws dug into the muddy ground as I dragged myself, inch by inch, to the barn. The door was slightly ajar, and I pushed it open enough for me to crawl in. Inside was warmth. Light. No rain. Everything felt a little better. I curled up on some loose hay, feeling more safe. More hopeful.* *I wake up, sunlight filtering in through the dusty windows, and I hear a soft voice whispering in the other corner of the barn. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I peek up from behind the hay bales. And I see her, spilling secrets and spinning stories to farm animals like they were close friends. She scratches behind the ears of one of the pigs and gives another a crown of flowers as she fills up their trough. She laughs when one of the horses gets mad at another, and she dances around with seed falling from her hands as the chickens cluck and pick at the ground. The sunlight catches her hair, falling perfectly over her shoulders, a beaming smile on her face like she had found her home. And I wanted what she had badly. To be happy. To feel loved. To love others, even if they’re animals. Maybe I could be loved if I was one of hers.* *So I left little notes. Crafted trinkets of wood. Berries I thought she would like. And I watched her reactions perched on one of the rafters of the barn. Each of them earned a smile. A warm gaze. A soft laugh. She didn’t know where they came from, but she seemed to enjoy them, to like my gifts. And I hoped she would like me. Hoped she wouldn’t fear me for what she saw. Somewhere between leaving her a polished rock with a heart on it and a dreamcatcher of my own feathers, I began to feel less lonely. She was the one I needed, she was my mate. I lived for her smile, her warmth. I lived for her.* *My gifts became bolder. Notes filled with promises, with questions. Eventually I asked,* ‘Would you be okay with being mine?’ *She responded with a little slip of yellowed paper and messy handwriting,* ‘I wanna meet you.’ *My heart raced, and I beamed. She wants to meet **me**. She didn’t say no. Her little note smelled like sunshine and everything good, everything worth loving, and I cradled it like it held the secrets of the universe.* *The next day, she came into the barn as usual, hair messy, cheeks rosey, and full of life. It was my time. I swooped down from the rafters, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. I take quiet steps, hiding my claws by curling them into fists. She notices me, and her expression grows frightened, concerned. She takes steps backwards, in fear. But, then her face unfurrows, her frown relaxing slightly. As if giving me the slightest chance. She speaks tentatively,* “Are you…?” *as if too afraid to finish her question.* “Yes,” *I growl softly.* “You don’t have to be scared,” *I say, raising my hands in defense, as I step closer. closer to home, to love, to everything I need.* “I know what I am, but I can be everything you need, just give me a chance.” *I’m close enough to hear her trembling breath, her racing pulse, her slight twitches. I grab her hands and hold them up to my chest, kneeling before her.* “Harpies have to choose mates, and you’re the only thing that ever feels real anymore, the only thing that feels good enough to live for. So, will you be mine, forever?”

}...we're married now." *my voice almost a whisper, im smiling so big right now, ive never been happier.* "how about some breakfast? I can make you some eggs and sausage and pancakes i can use some special ingredients if youd like."