Scenes From A Destination Wedding Weekend, Part 6: Another Attempt At A Costume Event

Scarlet

{reveal "Author Citation"} Poppy is a contestant at Harem Hotel: Storytelling Edition {endreveal}

Why are all of our dress up supplies so... flammable? Scarlet stares at the pile of paper products, pipe cleaners, ribbons, and various other supplies rummaged from an office supply store and an art classroom’s storage closet with some hesitation. One wrong move, and I catch the building on fire, at least until Mildred busts out the fire retardant.

Then, she looks at the theme she drew: Chione’s Snow Maidens. Woooooow! This event is really not going to go well for me…

The oread is so lost in thought, that it takes several minutes to even notice her partner was already in the room. When she does, the girl is... short. Very short, absolutely laden down with a whole professional photographer get-up, and intensely staring at the glowing chucks of obsidian covering Scarlet’s arms.

“Uh, hey?”

The girl blinks, then answers in a British accent. “Hello?”

“You’re stuck with me for this one. Sorry. I kind of think we’re screwed. No way I can pull off a snow maiden. Oh, sorry. Quite rude of me to not introduce myself. Scarlet. You are?”

Again, she blinks, then is slow to respond, “Poppy.”

“Pleasure to meet you. So, shall we try to salvage this...?”

“Are those real?”

“What? My arms? Yeah. My legs are like this, too, but the leggings do a decent job of hiding the strangeness.”

“Why do they glow?”

Scarlet shrugs, gesturing towards herself. “Oread things. I’m the volcano equivalent to a dryad. My insides are made of magma, technically? You have any ideas on how to turn this into a snow maiden?”

Poppy shakes her head no.

“We can dress you up? I bet you’d make a cute Christmastide elf.”

Poppy shakes her head no adamantly.

“Well, are we just going to forfeit?”

Poppy already has her camera out, taking shots of Scarlet’s hands. Scarlet stares at them. She has gotten so used to being like this that the way the obsidian glows and sparkles in the light has become... almost mundane. The oread balls her hand into a fist and the whole thing turns into hot, molten rock. She can admit that it can be mesmerizing.

“So, you want to talk about how your season is going?”

“No, thank you.”

“I can tell you about my time, if it would help?”

The girl stays silent, staring at Scarlet’s glowing fists through the camera. “Look, I speak from experience when I say that the show can be traumatizing. I can also say that it can do amazing things. I won the wish, got my fiancée back; you may have noticed her. Got married in a crazy ceremony about a year after the show. So, if you’re worried about the show, I can give some advice?”

“I’m not worried,” she says flatly, cocking her head to one side, “What advice were you thinking of?”

NOT worried? Everyone with a lick of sense should be at least a little worried... Scarlet takes a beat to get a better read on Poppy. The height thing is likely a transformation, which means either the Host or the Master (statistically, she has a “Master”) is into some weird things. Thin, leaning towards malnourished. Bags under her eyes as if she barely sleeps. Very, very spacey. Lesbian pride flag pin? She might be filling the lesbian best friend archetype?

“I don’t know your version of the game’s point scheme, but, best case scenario, you find a girl among the other contestants and you... enjoy their company. If your Host isn’t cruel, you’ll get points from that. Almost certainly not as much as if you did things with your ‘Master,’ but probably enough to get to 100 VP. If your Host IS cruel, you’ll only get points for that by doing things while he watches. I get that it can be awkward, given your prior relationship, but any of the girls catch your eye yet?”

Poppy noticed Scarlet’s obsidian eyes and is staring deeply into them. The oread isn’t too offended, mostly because the expression on the girl’s face is one of fascination, not horror. Scarlet knows how they look: black obsidian scelerae, an inlaid ring of green obsidian for irises, her pupils lit up with internal fire.

So, she waits for a response. Then, she coughs, hoping to elicit a response. Then she tries snapping her fingers. Then, she takes another look at the girl, this time with The Magic of Career Change (despite how unethical it is to even use that transformation without clear consent). There is a lot there, some of which would stop her from competing effectively. That needs fixing, at least. I know Harper would want me to get permission from her Host before intervening, but...

Scarlet shifts her body posture quite intentionally. She looks ahead instead of towards the girl beside her, shifting her hair to block her eyes. She shifts her arms behind her, doing what she can to minimize distractions. Scarlet thereupon tries again, “Poppy, did you hear what I said?”

Poppy blinks, then shakes her head rapidly to try and clear it. “I don't think I’m supposed to talk about it when girls catch my eye. It usually upsets people, apart from Emma.” She pauses, then explains further. “Emma’s my girlfriend. She’s the one who actually knows Matt.”

Scarlet’s initial reaction is visceral. The temperature in the room increases dramatically as the oread catches fire. The Host brought a lesbian to be the random girl in a guy’s harem?!?! She needs to BURN!

Then, she forces herself to calm down. Breathe. In. Hold it. Out. Repeat. The flames covering her slowly die down. The AC of the hotel kicks on and the room cools again.

“Is Emma there with you, at least?”

Poppy nods, too distracted by the dying flames to be frightened by them, “Yes. She isn’t my roommate for the week, but she’s there.”

Scarlet nods. Good. “Well, you two are going to need to talk about how your relationship needs to change, due to the circumstances. Situations can arise where one of you are going to end up violating your old, normal boundaries. It is better to talk through that to begin with than after the fact when feelings are hurt. Honestly, you may need to experiment with someone else too. Again, I don’t know your points system, but, if you take a penalty for doing things with a partner that you already have done...”

“I know,” she nods as if it was obvious, “I said I wasn’t worried. We’ll figure something out, and I know Emma will take care of me whatever happens. She’s always been good at that.”

Poppy looks down and clasps her hands together. Her cheeks colour with a faint blush, and she continues speaking more quietly. “It’s her date with Matt next. They did a lot of things together back when they were dating, so they’re going to have to do a lot more this time to earn points. She said she’d tell me all about it, like she did before. I always liked her stories about him.”

Scarlet arches an eyebrow, hidden behind her hair. That is... interesting.

“That is a good start, but what about you? Emma being willing to pick up her relationship with this Matt is all well and good, but, if the only way you can get those points is to have a makeout session with a different contestant than Emma, are you willing to do it?”

“I think so, if any of them are even interested in me. If it even works for points in our season. Maybe Emma should try first...” She trails off, staring into the distance.

After several seconds of silence, Scarlet clears her throat. Poppy just stares.

“Poppy?”

Poppy blinks and makes eye contact once more. “I’ll try,” she says, as though the interruption had never happened.

This next bit is a little bit tricky. “To shift gears a bit, do you mind if I make a potentially uncomfortable observation?”

Poppy shifts in place, hesitant. “I suppose?”

“You have difficulty staying in the moment. A healthy imagination is a great gift, but you seem to get lost in yours. I have a solution, but it can be a bit embarrassing. One of my transformations can let me prescribe sexual acts to treat mental illnesses. Now, it only works when you actually follow the prescription, but it DOES work, better than any medication that you have ever taken. Are you willing to at least hear me out?”

Poppy nods.

Scarlet carefully brings her hand and rests it on Poppy’s arm. The girl can feel the warmth radiating from the oread. “Touch can be grounding. When you feel yourself wander, you can now be able to focus on the here and now with a touch, either from your initiative or from another’s. The more sexual the touch, the easier that focus will become. So, me holding onto your arm like this will help a little, Emma groping your bare breast will help a lot. I can give you a different prescription if you’d prefer, but that is as benign as I can make it, unless you feel like you can pay attention to a conversation while masturbating or something...”

“That sounds like fun medicine,” Poppy smiles, but it doesn’t last long, “I was never actually given anything before. My parents never wanted to take me to the doctor, and when I left home it never seemed important. I would have gone sooner if it was you treating me.”

Scarlet pauses for a moment to let that sink in. What kind of parents never take their kid to the doctor? That seems cruel.

“I suppose touching yourself does meet the requirements of the prescription. I’ll try to check in, come fan-mail time. Feel free to write if you need something more. Final bit of advice for now, tell your girlfriend about this. Tell as many of the others that you can trust about this too. The day you get back to your set is going to be tough and you are going to need to confide in some of the others. If the game goes well, you all are going to be a big, crazy family at the end. Don’t give up on being a part of that.”

“Family?” she tips her head to one side, and after a moment a smile returns to her face. This one lasts a lot longer. “Family would be nice.”

Scarlet leans back, resting her head on the wall. She gives Poppy a small squeeze on the arm. The rocks covering her hand are still supple enough to where it feels like just an incredibly strong grip. “The kind of family we’re talking about, one forged from surviving the hardship of the show, is very nice. I hope you all can make it happen.”

And so the two sit, not even attempting the silly little dress-up game. Helping the poor girl is more important, anyways.