Holly Bennett

Sabiyya dialed Holly. Before the last tone, Holly answered.

"Holly, it's Sabiyya. What are you up to?"

"Oh! Sabiyya, you called at the perfect time. You have to get over here." Holly sounded plenty excited.

"Sure thing, but where is here?"

"Oh, right. Um... just meet us at my place. I need to freshen up anyway. See you soon!"

Holly hung up before Sabiyya could get any more out of her. No matter, she had the outing she was looking for. Still, she would have liked some clue as to what to dress for. Athletic wear? Beach wear? Hiking gear?

No, come on. This is Holly we're talking about. It's a fifty-fifty split between a bar and a club.

Sabiyya went to her dresser and selected an outfit accordingly. She dressed as liberally as she felt comfortable with - still a tad modest by many standards. After this, she loaded her personal bag with common necessities as well as some items intended for less pleasant encounters. An unfortunate obligation, but one that at least lent her a greater sense of security.

A little touch-up in the bathroom mirror and she was set. By the time she disembarked the metro, over half an hour had passed since her call with Holly. Nearly ten more minutes were needed to reach her home. Sabiyya hoped that Holly and whomever else weren't waiting on her. Then again, in her defense, Holly had been the one to skimp on details.

Walking the hall in Holly's building, muffled thumps from bass-y music leaked into the passage from at least two flats. The latter of the two was the residence Sabiyya sought. She knocked on the door, only to immediately wonder if anyone would even be able to make it out in the music. She was reaching into her pocket to simply call Holly when the door bolt clicked open and someone pulled it open.

"Sabiyya, right?" the woman pointed at her with a quizzical look. It wasn't Holly, it was her goth friend.

What was her name again?

"Yep, and you're... Taligi?"

"Hey, not bad." The woman stepped aside and allowed Sabiyya in. She and Taligi had only met a small handful of times before. Having Holly as their common friend was about the only thing that crossed their paths. Even so, the impression Sabiyya had of Taligi was a positive one. Plenty of people were familiar with the goth stereotype - the gloomy, antisocial downer that dressed in as much black as humanly possible and practiced satanism or something. Taligi did meet a few of these qualities - largely inexpressive and black-clad - but otherwise she defied the caricature. It was rare that she would turn down any sort of social activity, and in the few encounters Sabiyya had with her, she came across as one of the sweetest people she knew of; even if her tone was flat. What's more, her Polynesian heritage upset the pasty-visage element of the archetype.

Inside, Sabiyya was surrounded by a warm lighting arrangement and the upbeat music ricocheting off the walls. A pair of personal bags sat on the table in the dining space and a conversation could be heard deeper inside the flat.

"Holly and Chegal are still getting ready," Taligi said, returning to the place on the couch where she had been sitting until answering the door. She picked up her phone and returned to what she had been doing. "We don't see much of each other, Sabiyya, how are things with you?" she asked over her device.

Sabiyya sat herself beside Taligi on the couch and engaged the other woman in conversation. They made small talk to fill the time until Holly and Chegal joined them. When they did come out, Sabiyya was moderately impressed. They had both styled themselves up to be even more beautiful than usual.

"Sabiyya! I'm so glad you could join us." Holly gave her a brief embrace. "And look at you, dressed perfectly for the occasion. You know Chegal, right?"

'Know' was definitely a stretch. Where Sabiyya's acquaintanceship with Taligi was little to none, her familiarity with Chegal was lesser still. She was sure they had met no more than once, and remembered nothing about Chegal apart from her being a firefighter.

"I'll have another introduction if I may," Sabiyya admitted.

"Sabiyya, this is Chegal. Chegal, Sabiyya. You can get better acquainted on the way." The unofficial group leader opened the door and motioned for the others to file into the hallway.

"Um, Holly, you didn't really mention where we're even going tonight - or what we're doing for that matter," Sabiyya said as she followed the other woman's direction.