{SB}Ghost Captains

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Well, at least neither of them appeared to be overly aggressive or threatening Zoe or doing anything odd. If anything, Jasper seemed even friendlier than normal, almost enough to, ironically enough, make Zoe nervous. She smiled and nodded all the same, and walked along as the brother started moving.

And they flanked her. Well, that just made sense. They were supposed to be talking with her and so forth. It did make Zoe slightly nervous: she much would have preferred having Casper between her and Jasper. They weren't doing anything still...

"Um, I'll probably just get something fruity and light. It's much too early to actually drink any, um, alcohol or anything," Zoe nodded, moving her hands down to smooth the light dress she wore. "What about you? Is there something you're thinking of getting?" she looked from one to the other. "And do you like the same drinks and all...?" She knew that some twin related powers melded personalities. She wasn't certain what the case was with these two. She seemed to recall Casper explaining it...

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

Walking on either side of a person was how the twins always walked along with someone, it just felt weird if they could not easily look past someone and see their other half. They did a lot of silent communication it order to avoid upsetting the people they were talking about. Well, that was what they were trying to do but more often than not they still talked about the persona s if they were not there. Work in progress. At least Zoe didn't look like she was about to run and didn't make a fuss about being between the two much taller boys.

"That’s fine with us. If you wanted something with alcohol we were going to have to pull some magic tricks." Jasper admitted, smiling still. Casper nodded in agreement, smiling a little as well as they walked over towards where they could get some drinks. They would treat her with the money that they had...obtained. She didn't need to know where they got the money and it was not like all of it was not there, only a small part of it was not.

"We plan on getting something no-alcoholic as well. The two of us getting drunk can be...risky." Casper admitted. He and his brother snickered a little at that. The shared a glance with one another at her question about the drinks that they liked. "We tend to like the same things. I'm going to bet you want something with chocolate in the mix, right?" Jasper asked his brother. Casper nodded and grabbed a seat at the bar, leaving a space for Zoe in between he and his brother.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Yet again, Zoe was almost tempted to order something alcoholic. It hardly surprised her to hear that the twins were at least somewhat used to it, or at least ready enough to drink it if she'd come to it. But as they moved so that they'd flank her yet again, she couldn't help but wish that she had that little bit of warmth and courage nestling inside her. Instead she had to tell herself that she'd be just fine, even as she ordered one of the lightest, fruitiest drinks on the menu.

"Probably best to avoid risky," Zoe agreed, nodding. She took the seat between them, adjusting until she sat rather primly on it. She even smoothed her skirt out, listening to the brother's conversation. The question had her looking over at Casper. "You're going to mix chocolate with a drink?" she asked. Then she turned back to Jasper. "Is that... some sort of joke or are you getting something to eat...?"

Though now Zoe couldn't help but sit there wondering what fruit juice with chocolate syrup inside actually tasted like.

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

"Only because we don't want you to get into trouble." Jasper said with Casper nodding in agreement. If they did end up getting caught with alcohol, they would likely put all the blame on her or get out of there and leave her with the evidence. She did technically get them in trouble last time they had dealt with her so it would have only been fair. Still, it seemed like things were going pretty well for the moment and they had no plans on just running off from this new possibly cute toy. She was just so tiny and clearly easy to get a reaction out of by how easily she blushed and the words she said.

"Yup, chocolate taste pretty good with fruity drinks. Well depending on what kind you get." Jasper informed Zoe as he moved around a little on his seat to make sure his butt was completely comfortable. Casper slid Zoe a menu of the drinks as he did a quick scan through the options to recall the drink that they wanted. Jasper wanted to pull off a magic trick to make the chocolate syrup appear, but he had an even better idea. Casper quickly caught on to his brother being up to something by the look along and he gave him a stern look to prevent Jasper from doing something that would likely upset Zoe.

"No fun." Jasper muttered but then was in a good mood right away when his brother ordered them a strawberry and banana mix fruit drink. "You should try it, Zoe. The strawberry and banana in the drink taste so good when you add chocolate to it. Helps balance out all the sweet with a bit of bitter and it is just perfect." Casper suggested to Zoe as he pointed to the drink that he had order for him and his brother. Jasper was meanwhile setting up for his little trick while Casper was talking to Zoe.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe found herself flushing as the twins insisted that they didn't want to get her in trouble. She was tempted to point out that she could drink, but that was probably what they were referencing. She would get in trouble for getting them drinks, after all. She supposed it didn't really matter as to the details: she didn't want to get in trouble regardless.

Instead, Zoe opted to focus on the drinks. She wrinkled her nose as mention of syrup, shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I mean, if I didn't like it, then I'd just have an entire drink that's no good. Plus, um, I like things... plain," though she did like chocolate, and Alice was doing a good job of expanding her palate, at least a little. Still, Zoe didn't figure that she should really mention it.

"Maybe I could take a sip of yours when it gets here?" she suggested, again figuring she could at least meet the twins partway. "That way I'll know if I like it? If that's okay with you, that is. My power shouldn't work through my spit or anything..." no, it only seemed to exist in her skin. Like a frog. Such a wonderful comparison to make, really.

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

"Sometimes you have to suffer through things you don't like in order to be a better person." Jasper said, nodding his head in a sage like manner. Casper nodded his head in agreement and gave his brother a few snaps as if they were at some poet little gathering. The brothers didn't' actually know what those things were called but they had seen them in movies and how people would snap when they thought someone said something deep. It was the classy way of clapping or something along those lines, but neither of the brothers cared that much to look to deeply into it.

"You can try mine. If you are not worried about indirectly kissing me." Casper said, teasing a little bit. Jasper snickered at those words and during that time he just pulled the chocolate syrup out of his jacket, not trying to do a magic trick with it anymore. He just wanted to have their sweet treat now and also figure out Zoe a little more. "Eww, don't say spit. Such a gross word." Jasper said as he made a face when Zoe said that her power should not affect them through her spit. They were not worried about her power at all, but Jasper didn’t like the word spit.

"Say salvia, that will really get him covered in goosebumps." Casper whispered near Zoe's ear. It was a test to see if she was willing to tease someone as well when it was something that she had been just informed that they didn't like to hear. They had to wait a little bit before their drink was ready so they were running a quick test in the wait. They would also pay for her drink once she ordered one, because they did suggest getting drinks. Only fair that they pay..

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe did have to agree with Jasper's comment. She too had suffered through quite a bit, and she couldn't help but think that she'd come out a better person. Of course, that hadn't really involved simply drinking something that didn't sound altogether appetizing. Zoe wasn't about to explain that to the twins or let it get in her way.

Besides, she had other more pertinent things to be concerned with. Such as Casper attempting to tease her. She gave him a flat stare. "You know I'm not interested," she told him, fidgeting, pulling her hands closer together, folding them slightly. Again though, she was reminded that the rather pretty boys likely would have been precisely the type that attracted her before. And yet again she was drawn by how similar they were to Devyn...

...in all the wrong ways as well as the pleasant ones. Zoe literally raised a hand up to push Casper back as he got close, just barely touching him skin-to-skin. "Please give me my space," she asked, her voice trembling only slightly. The drinks arrived, and Zoe nearly lunged for hers, reaching for it like it would save her from drowning in the twins' attentions.

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

"Obviously, I was just teasing you." Casper said with a small snicker. Jasper snickered as well but the two backed off since she seemed to be fine with being a stick in the mud. They had thought for a second that there was a little bit of hope to have some fun with her, but they were proved wrong. She was still giving them interesting reactions but they knew they had to be careful when it came to this girl. They were not worried about her power but because she was female and smaller than them they didn't want to get into any trouble if she assumed they were trying to 'force' themselves onto her.

She was a lesbian and she already made that clear the last time that they talked, but the brothers were still slightly curious just how much of a lesbian she was. She could have been bi or still just confused on what she wanted out of life. They were just looking for some fun and it was just too much fun to just ignore the reactions that were so easy to get out of the older girl. "Alright, I'm done." Casper held up his hands in innocence as he gave her the space that she wanted. He even got up to sit next to his brother to add to that space that she so desired. Jasper just snickered but did stop leaning in closer to Zoe.

The drinks showed up and the siblings happily took them, with Casper paying, and Jasper already working on pouring chocolate syrup into their two fruit drinks. It was easy to see that they were actually excited for the beverage because as soon as it was ready that were already taking a large sip of it through the straws, only stopping when their brains were hit with the cold. "Brain freeze." The brothers said in unison as they rubbed at their temples. "Do you still want to try it?" Casper asked as he once again moved to sit on the other side of Zoe, taking his drink and handing her a clean straw.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe supposed she should have noticed that it was teasing. She couldn't help but frown slightly at it though, feeling that perhaps they should have actually been a little more teasing and a little less... flirty. She didn't know how else to put it though, and Casper was giving her some space. She could certainly appreciate that. It felt odd though, but now male attention had actually started to make her feel uncomfortable. It probably didn't help that she was very much in love with someone else.

The drinks arrived, providing a much appreciated distraction. Zoe did the near lunge, taking a sip of her own, nearly giving herself a brain freeze. She only managed to pull off as the two brothers spoke at the same time.

Zoe couldn't help but giggle at that. She then almost immediately flushed at her giggle, as if she shouldn't have been doing it. Still, she nodded at Casper's question, moving to grab the straw with a "thank you" before leaning in to take a sip. She hesitated a moment to get further permission then sipped.

Only to pull back, making a face. "Yes, that's--- I'm glad I didn't try it on my own." Too sweet, definitely, and Zoe didn't like the mix. She took a sip of her own drink, glad to get the other flavors out of her mouth.

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

Even with her laughing at their pain, it was a cute giggle and it was kind of their fault that they had gotten a brain freeze. Plus a lot more people would have been walking around with black eyes if the brother's beat up someone every time they laughed at them or disagreed with them. As it were, they were actually in a pretty good mood and didn't really feel like beating Zoe up. They didn't actually enjoy fighting people, but they would do it in a heartbeat if someone started something or they could not keep control of their anger.

People were foolish to upset one of them, but just had the desire to pay hospital bills if they upset both of the brothers. Casper offered her his drink at any rate and gave her the nod of approval when she still seemed hesitant about trying his drink. He was thankfully that he had gotten her another straw because he had a feeling that she would have been odd about drinking directly after him. At least she was not worried about backwash, and Casper was sure he did not do it. At least if he did it was not on purpose and just the usual amount that occurred when you took a drink of something. "Aww, darn. She does not like it." Jasper said, but it was not all that big of a deal.

They liked it, it was sweet and had just the right amount of bitter to balance it all out and it was just perfect. Plus it reminded them of something, but they didn't really know what it was. It was just a good feeling when they tried the treat that made them happy. "How is your drink?" Casper asked, taking his back and taking a few sips at it. She might not have liked it but they were not going to waste it. Yet, they were curious as to what she had tasted like if she didn't like their sweet and bitter mix.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The twins took Zoe's rejection of their drink in stride too. All their taking her habits and responses in stride was actually starting to relax Zoe somewhat. Maybe she didn't have to be quite as on guard as she thought she did. So far it had just been a few questions and a few teases; Zoe endured worse with several of her friends.

"It's quite good," she said, nodding. She tilted it so that Casper could take a drink. "I usually go for lighter drinks and foods," she said by way of explanation, nodding slightly toward the drink. "This is just a sort of light citrus mix? My... my stepsister ordered it for me once," she flushed slightly, remembering Ava. It had been some time since she'd given her any thought, and just realizing that made her nearly feel horrible, though at least she could fight off the tears.

"Did you want to try it?" she asked, figuring that she could at least make the same offer they'd made her. It wasn't as though she expected them to like it any more than she'd liked theirs, of course.

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

The siblings were enjoying their drinks and thought Zoe was crazy to not have liked it, but then again she was a foreigner, right? She had an accent so she obviously was not native to the USA, but then again the boys could not say for certain that they were. They recalled how they had a hard time understanding people and people understanding them when they were kids. They had broken English at best for a few years and only got better at it because of their circus family helping them out.

They also had to keep in mind that they were young boys so that might have been why they had different taste then her. Yeah, they were pretty sure those two reasons had to be why she didn't like their treat at the first sip. "Casper did say that you eat like one of those girls that are afraid to put on weight. You should know that you have a good body the way you are now and you should not worry about putting on some weight. Guys like some meat on their girls...and I'm pretty sure girls do too." Jasper said after Zoe talked about going for the lighter things.

The Emory's didn't understand why anyone would hold themselves back from enjoying food when food was just so damn good. There was talk about a step-sister, that had a blush along with it that had the brother's sharing a quick glance and leaning in a little closer to Zoe to whisper. "Are you into that lesbian incest stuff?" Jasper asked, with Casper nodding his head in agreement and wanting to know. There was an offer to try it that again had the brother's sharing a look and debating if they wanted to try it. "Not worried about us having guy cooties?" Casper asked, teasing a little but he and his brother take their straws and dunk them into her drink to get a quick sip.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"I'm not!' Zoe protested, unable not to sound a little put out about it. "I just don't like heavy foods!" She had to frown, remembering how she'd essentially been told to put on weight by various doctors. She was working with her girlfriend on it, which was definitely one of those times when having a girlfriend who specialized in cooking worked to her advantage. Zoe took another sip of her drink, trying not to pout too much and only mostly succeeding...

...if only because the pout turned to shock. "What? I don't--" her eyes went wide. Did they know, somehow? It hadn't really been--- she didn't want to go there, not with them. "What? No, I don't--" was she stuck on that. Zoe sighed, holding the drink out for them to take a drink of the light citrus mixture. "I don't believe in cooties, and I should point out that you'd pick up lesbian cooties from it."

There, a way of flipping it on them and reminding them that she was "off limits." So there.

[Casper & Jasper Emory]

Both the brother put their hands up when Zoe protested about not being one of those girls that was worried about her weight. They both knew that she said that before and while they wanted to believe her, she was a very tiny girl. That and she just had the kind of personality that the brother felt like a few words could break her down crying. It was wrong to judge, but it was just out of habit and really everyone judge other. It was just part of human nature and happened without really any control on someone’s part. "Easy there, if you eat you eat." Jasper said with his brother nodding in agreement.

They were not going to fight it out with her on the matter of her eating or not, that was her choice after all. The way she reacted when they asked her if she was into the lesbian inset stuff had the two of them smirking. Something new to poke at her with? "You just started to blush when you talked about your step sister and her getting a drink for you." Casper said as he chuckled a little, so very tempted now. "So we just assumed that maybe you had a crush on her. One that you could never tell her even if she was your step sister because you felt it was wrong. Yet how you yearned to kiss her, for her to touch you, to feel her skin rub against yours and go down-" Jasper started to say, going further with it and even putting some passion in his voice before his brother stopped him by covering his mouth.

"Don't mind his imagination." Casper assured Zoe, but he was thinking the same thing as well and that was why he had a smirk on his face. The brothers looked at one another and blinked several times as she brought up lesbian cooties. Was that a thing? It would not affect them because they liked girls and guys and if it just made them just liked girls, that was not big deal. "Pfft, lesbian cooties would not be that big of a deal. Not worried you will pick up bi cooties from us?" Jasper asked, teasing a little. She might have thought she was off limits, but no one every fully was in their mind. Not off limits for teasing anyway.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

they said easy there, but they were still teasing and pushing her. Zoe's eyes narrowed again, and that only continued as they kept going. They didn't know precisely, but their guesses and teases were remarkably on point. Zoe could feel her face flushing further. She was certainly glad that the details of her manifestation were not public knowledge. The things DL would do to her if they found out would be utterly devastating.

So she should certainly not give the twins any more reason to believe that there might be more to what they were teasing than what thee was. Thankfully, Casper was already moving to defend, or at least deflect.

And she had her teasing comment to work with as well. She could rally: she dated Alice, after all, and Alice could handle herself well. So could most of Zoe's friends. It was just a matter of rallying: "I'm not worried," she insisted almost airily, "as I've already tried boys and found them to not be to my tastes, even ones that think they're as charming as you two," she ended with a smile and reached for her drink to take another. She was tempted to point out that ideas like cooties were silly anyway, but she didn't want to take things too far. Already she was wondering if she should have tried to direct the conversation in more meaningful directions...