Work Text:
Walking through the first year’s barracks, Scylla laughed to herself at the drunken antics of the young cadets who had gotten into their peers’ liquor. She found the source of the party in a small room unsurprisingly belonging to the Bellweather unit with a few additions. The bright auburn sprite, Craven, sat between another cadet’s leg, chuckling to herself and engorging on some crackers while Raelle wiped her cheeks and nose with a wet paper towel. Having come upon what must have been the tail end of their night, Scylla took in the other recruits' conversations, catching the leader of this unit in a playful argument with another cadet. She smiled at their innocent escapades, distracted by her own memories until the others noticed her presence.
“Look!” Tally exclaimed, leaning next to Raelle’s ear to whisper something that made her friend blush scarlet red.
“Yep, yup, thank you, Tally,” she bashfully giggled.
“So, this happened,” Scylla smiled, not trying to hide her amusement at all.
“Yeah,” Raelle, sighed, going back to wiping the lipstick from her friend’s lips.
“She’s alright, right?”
“Yup, she’s lucid, just drunk, look,” Raelle began, “Where are we?”
“Our dorm,” Tally responded through another mouth full of crackers.
“What are we eating?”
“Goldfish!” she brightly exclaimed, popping one in Raelle’s mouth.
“What are we drinking?”
“Water,” she chuckled.
“Because we drank?”
“Vodka!” she laughed.
Raelle guffawed with her and turned back to her girlfriend, “See, she passed the test. What’s up?”
“Well, I was going to invite you over-”
“Oooh,” Abigail teased.
“Abigail,” Collar warned.
“But, I can wait until tomorrow,” Scylla continued.
“Did we scare her away?” Tally whispered.
“You know what, I would love to join you tonight.” She stood up and threw the paper towel at Abigail. “Your turn, Bellweather.” Raelle placed her hand on her partner’s back and wheeled them around to escape the barracks.
“You look like you had fun?”
“Yeah, we did,” she chuckled, pecking her temple but instantly interrupted by other cadets who passed them by. Scylla rolled her eyes and intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of her hand. Raelle blushed and clung to her arm. “So, did you go to the Pageant when you were in basic?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t as eventful as this one, but it was fun.”
“Who was in your unit?”
“Oh, two other girls, a fixer and a knower,” she noted, avoiding colliding with another unit.
“Hey,” Raelle changed course, “Come on, I know a better place than this.”
“Okay,” she chuckled.
They slipped past the other units until they found their way to the staircase. Raelle led the way up to three more flights of stairs, breathless giggles that echoed against the cement walls. She momentarily checked behind her as if to assure herself that this macabre siren was still at her heels. Scylla couldn’t help but let a joyous smile stay plastered across her face while they ascended to the roof, tripping up the steps until they found the door. Raelle swept her hair from her eyes and opened the door.
‘Entrez-vous, s'il vous plait.” she politely requested.
Scylla blushed, turning her head away to study the loose gravel roof. She meandered to the edge of the building, peering over to the six-story drop. She scuffed her boot against the rocks, staggering backward when she felt Raelle tug her back with her arms wrapped tightly around her waist in a vice embrace. They let out a loud laugh that echoed across Fort Salem while Scylla tried to regain her balance. She turned around and gripped her surprisingly strong biceps, leaning over to kiss her. With the burning taste of vodka on her lips and tongue, Scylla pulled away.
Raelle covered her mouth after reading her expression, “So, what did you have in mind?”
The young necro played with the hem of her girlfriend’s black shirt, “I mean, I just wanted to spend some alone time with you, but not in this state.”
“It’s the vodka breath isn’t it?”
“And you’re drunk,” she added.
“Okay,” Raelle nodded, brushing her thumb across her back. “Um, so do you guys still party after Pageant?”
“Like, second-years and up?” she inquired and earned a nod. “Well, yeah, but I just like to walk around campus when everyone else is too busy getting drunk. For instance, the big party going on with the Bellweather Unit.”
“Ah, so you decided to crash it?” she joked, instantly regretting her words as she saw Scylla cringe. Raelle placed a few meaningful pecks against her lips and cheek. “Wait here, I’ll be back.”
Scylla watched her disappear behind the door, curious as she waited on the roof, listening to the playful yelps and screams that echoed across Salem as all of Massachusetts partook in the Pageant’s festivities. She found it ironic that humans celebrated this day seeing that not only did they still enslave witches, but they looked down on her people with fear. Scylla glanced back to the door when it flung open, Raelle standing proudly with a bottle of liquor.
“Come on,” she beckoned, closing the door behind herself and locking it. When Scylla stood her ground, she held out her hand. “I don’t bite but Cadwells does.”
Ramshorn chuckled at the poor joke and joined her, backs pressed against the locked door. She glanced at the half-finished bottle, watching as Raelle rubbed off the lip before handing it over to her girlfriend.
“How many did you get your hands on?” Scylla asked.
“I know I snagged two, Abigail got one and I’m pretty sure the beer came from Moffet, Barbette I know followed us with tequila, and I think Amigaunt got their hands on some harder liquor. Yeah, it’s been an interesting night, to say the least,” Raelle chuckled. She twiddled her thumbs, watching Scylla sip from the bottle. “I know you had some other fun in mind, but do you want to talk or other things?”
“Sure,” she shrugged, taking a long swig as she tried to figure out what she wanted to ask. “What did you think of the Pageant?”
“Boring. The actors hammed it up. But I had fun when you showed up,” Raelle ended with a genuine, but leery, smile. “How were you able to go?”
“Well, I was given a bit of extra free time after class, so when I heard that the Bellweather unit found their way on the trip, I thought I’d pay you a little visit,” she smiled, finishing with a peck on her cheek.
Raelle blushed at the gesture, but thought again, “Are second years allowed to just leave the fort?”
“No,” she responded with slight annoyance to her inquisitorial remarks. “But Doctor Izadora permitted me. Know, I have to say, compared to the other girls, you can hold your own.”
“You’re not a real Cession-Girl unless you’ve made your homebrew,” she joked. “But my constitution isn’t the only thing I learned back there.”
“What else did they teach you?” Scylla cheeky asked, glad to have fully pivoted away from their previous conversation.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not that sexy. My dad taught me how to do celestial navigation, it’s something humans do to, you know, navigate at night.”
Scylla leaned into her and gazed up at the stars, watching as they twinkled against the nearly black sky. Raelle pointed to Polaris and Acrux as the north and south stars, using the constellations for reference. Her partner tried to follow her gaze, lazily taking in the information. Something about her knowledge about those stars made her feel surprisingly safer with her. Every time she watched her train or mess around with her unit, she was reminded just how much power she harnessed, yet she had no idea. Just having her hand wrapped across her back she could feel the sheer force of energy exude from her. Scylla continued to nip from the bottle for a few minutes before it was taken from her.
“What?”
“Do they sell snacks somewhere on the fort?”
“Nothing that isn’t in the mess hall. Why feeling a bit homesick?”
“Yeah, I’m mostly just tired of the bland food here,” she smirked. “Luckily I got a package from my dad.”
“Did you smuggle food on base, Private Collar?” Scylla demanded by poorly mimicking Quartermaine.
“Yeah, I did,” she taunted with a brief kiss. Raelle pulled away laughing. “I was going to say something, but decided against it.”
“Dish,” she pleaded, wrapping her arms around her torso while slyly reaching for the bottle of vodka.
“I can’t, it’ll sound so ridiculous.”
“Come on, you can’t just leave me hanging?”
“Anyway,” she segued, sliding the bottle out of reach, “my dad got me some potato chips in a care package with… some other stuff.” Raelle produced two bags of Mister Bee chips. “I got the salt-n-vinegar and original. Pick your poison.”
“Wow, so, is this your vice?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she joked, opening up a bag for herself. “I was rationing them, but this seemed like a good occasion to indulge in a bit of sin. What’s your vice?”
“Other than pretty girls from the Cession?” she successfully flirted. “Um… well, I loved these things called pinky skulls and skogsbar when I was little. They sold them everywhere on- where I grew up.”
“When was the last time you had it?” Raelle asked, offering one of her salt and vinegar chips.
“No thank you. I think the last time was… oh wow, when I was ten. Yeah, that was the last time I had it,” Scylla recalled, closing her eyes and snuggling into her abdomen, feeling her girlfriend’s stomach pulse and shift as it digested the booze and chips.
She could feel her heart push blood through her veins quicken when Raelle threaded her slim fingers through her hair, gathering her brown locks in her palm and gently dragging her short nails back down her scalp. Scylla closed her eyes and clung onto her partner, tighter than she normally would have.
Sliding her hand down to her back, Raelle whispered, “Hey, let’s go back to your place.”
“Mmhm,” she nodded, leaning up to kiss her.
Collar chuckled and kissed her back, tasting that same burning spirit on her lips that first made her girlfriend cringe. She stood up and unlocked the door, helping her lightweight partner to back down to the ground level, taking a quick moment to leave the booze in her dorm before going to walk Scylla back to her dorm. The older cadet closed her eyes to fend off the buzz that lingered in her head from the vodka. She knew she would feel at least slightly hungover from tonight, but nothing as horrible as her first year at the Pageant. Scylla took Raelle’s hand once she returned, leaning into her for warmth while they braved the harsh chilly night. Trekking through the lamps, the young couple found their way to the Shipton Dorms, taking their time up to the fourth floor, Raelle opening the door for her partner.
“Stay,” Scylla suggested as the door closed.
“I’d love to, but I can’t,” she smiled, helping her unbutton her jacket.
“Only to sleep, I always have trouble sleeping when you aren’t here,” she pouted. Raelle chewed the inside of her lip and chuckled, only considering her request after Scylla said, “Craven and Bellweather will be fine.”
Collar tipped her head back and sighed, “Fine, you got me!”