Riff raff street cat [Cait Shelter social]

Koji's hunch was correct. Bonnie indeed had a good ghost story to tell. A little too good.

He listened raptly as the woman launched into a tale, his fur prickling as she detailed the mysterious behaviour of the dark haired woman. It seemed that the environment reflected Bonnie's tale too. At the mention of the rocking horse, Koji could have sworn that the wooden chairs began to creak loudly too, as though matching the sounds of that rocking.

When Bonnie slammed the table, Koji flinched, his ears shooting upright and pulling against the hood in surprise.

The suspense was enormous. Koji attempted to predict what was to happen, latching onto all the hints Bonnie had sprinkled across the tale. There was only one logical conclusion. Was the creepy woman her mother?

Too intent on trying to predict one step ahead, Koji, like the rest of his guild mates, was not prepared for Bonnie's scream. Everyone responded similarly. From Topaz's shriek to Orion's cursing. Koji had steeled himself enough to only flinch violently, no noise coming from his mouth. the only indication that he was thoroughly spooked being his twin tails – now completely fuzzed up like two bottle brushes.

Silence prevailed afterwards, even Orion's admonishment trailed off.

Koji looked around, suddenly noticing that the patch on the floor previously occupied by Topaz was empty. Then, he looked up. And saw his brother clinging to the wooden beams on the ceiling.

A hearty belly laugh exploded forth from the exceed, his entire body shaking with amusement. He slapped his knee and then clutched at his stomach, gasping for air. He wasn't sure whether it was everyone's dramatic reaction from Bonnie's ghost story, or the fact that Topaz's escape had been the last straw to unlock his laughter.

"Good heavens Bonnie. You tell one mean tale!"

Bonnie Belle Notorious B.I.G. Orion Prima

A soft thump and Topaz was back on the floor. He pulled himself up from all fours and gathered himself.

“Wow!” He began with the chipper tones of his voice restored. “That was a pretty amazing story, Bons!” His arms were up overhead, sprawled with his usual, characteristic excitement. It was like he was completely unaffected by the story – but then again, all of the effects seemed to have skyrocketed him from his previous sitting spot.

With all of the scare spent, he was okay to frolic about as usual.

“I know that was only one ghost story, but... what's next?!” he asked, seeming to want to jump to another activity entirely. It was clear he was just avoiding the possibility of more frightening stories, but it was a good a time as any to suggest something else.

“Impersonations?”

For the first time, Bonnie seemed human. At this Koji's smile, did not fade, even after he ceased his laughter. The exceed strode over and patted her shoulder paternally with a large sleeve-covered paw. "I don't know about the others, but my poor heart can only stand so much spookiness for one night." Topaz agreed, in his own way, ostensibly taking the reigns for the night's activities an throwing out another suggestion.

This time Orion volunteered, assuming a caricature that left Koji none the wiser as to what exactly he was impersonating. The exceed stared at the now-stoic man pensively before venturing a wild guess.

"Bonnie's evil twin?"

Bonnie Belle Notorious B.I.G. Orion Prima

At Orion's impersonation, Topaz started to giggle This giggle transitioned into full-on laughter with Koji's guess. He was found holding his side on the floor after Bonnie's, response, however. Her obliviousness seemed to have really gotten to him.

“I'll do one!” Topaz sat right back up with a hand in the air. He looked about for something to lean against and decided to just use a wall. He got as comfortable as he could. His legs were sprawled, hand down his pants and his expression read like he did not have a care in the world. His eyes were half-masted as he asked, “huh?” randomly with as rude and gruff as a tone he could muster.

“I like dogs. Think I'll get one someday,” he said, the conclusion barely able to hold itself together without unravelling into a fit of laughter.

It was great to see that his guild members were bonding so well. In the face of all the adversity the world threw at him, the fact that his members found joy in the simplest of things was wonderful.

Koji watched as Topaz began his impression, which was easily guessed by Orion. Koji was about to protest the man giving his brother a bottle of the booze when the problem resolved itself – in a way. Too inebriated, the man tripped over his own feet and landed on top of Bonnie.

The whole scene was so comical that Koji had to stifle his laugh behind a paw.

"You two okay?" He attempted a straight face.

Bonnie Belle Notorious B.I.G. Orion Prima

Welp, all Topaz ended up doing was watching Orion wipe out. He was all for taking possession of that half-empty bottle. It felt like a challenge, after all. Surely he could rise to it. Fortunately, his fall onto Bonnie interrupted the whole thing.

The booze was a great finishing touch. He wish he'd thought of it. Though, the impression was good enough. Only one seemed to have a bit of difficulty with it.

“Success over all!” he cried as he threw his arms into the air. This was while Bonnie and Orion were having their moment.

Thankfully Bonnie remained perfectly fine – in fact demonstrating her strength by shoving the man away from her – a feat which did not go unrecognised by the guild master who arched a brow at her. This was something new about the enigmatic woman. He resolved to keep a closer eye on her in the future.

Topaz celebrated. Orion attempted to sit his ass on a chair. Everyone was having so much fun. To the extend that Koji seemed to regret the fact that he was not as involved as he could have been.

Tapping a paw on his chin, Koji mused out loud. "How about a round of 'never have I ever'?" As he spoke, he strode past Orion towards the collection of bottles which the man had been generously helping himself to. Retrieving a bottle for each of his members, Koji laid down the rules.

"One sip for every thing you have never done." A feline smile crept up to his face. "Bonnie, you start."

Bonnie Belle