Dec 29 Nine am.

"Just be home in time for dinner, and be careful," she could hear her father bellow as she hit the door.
"Don't worry dad, I'll be home in a couple of hours, just want to meet up with a few friends and gossip," she yelled back, and slammed the door.

Five hours later...

Ignoring the intense backache, Bree leaned in as she threw the molotov, igniting the horde. She had been killing for hours, and had completely lost track of time. She yelled in triumph as the path cleared, and her group moved forward to the next choke point, the alarm system. Refusing to yield, even as the others yelled at her to slow down, she hit the button, triggering the blaring sirens, and alerting masses of common infected to their location. She yelled "YES, WE ARE IN THE LEAD, *insert the plural word for a female dog deemed inappropriate for a pg-13 setting*U" drawing stares and a warning glare from a not much older man that she ignored.

Then came the griefing. One of the slowpokes in the back began whinging and moaning about how she was 'rushing' even though most of them were keeping up. She countered with farming claims, and activated her mic. "Oh, MY GOD, what is your mental deficiency?!?! If you can't keep up, go back to co-op loser!" and turned her mic off. she smiled charmingly at the manager again, who shook his head. He was used to her by now, and even though he'd never throw her out (again) she got the message. She mimed zipping her lips and locking them, and he nodded.

Her hot chocolate was chilled by now, but she sipped  anyway, unawares. She had pretty much led the team to a victory and she deserved a treat. Then came the thing she hated more than anything else, but it was expected. She had laughed as the one lagger, the most vocal in his complaints had died a grisly death in the back, ignored and abandoned by the entire team. (mostly at her urging)

"That's what we get for playing with a GIRL"

Oh...really? Did he REALLY just go there?
*yelled something about a particular body part the medical term not allowed to be seen here as steering the mouse for him *!?!" she yelled into her headset, ignoring the thump of the manager who had done a headdesk for her benefit. Silly man, didn't he realize she brought life into his dreary, almost empty little 'net cafe?

She went back defib in hand and stood over the hater, his name displayed as Zimmer550, as she held it over his prone body. With a grin, she defibbed him, and waited for the thank you that she just KNEW wasn't coming. Instead, as he came in with the expected 'I thought so!' she began to beat him with her crowbar until he went down again, leaving him as bait for the horde.  At nagging from the rest of her teammates, who were already in the saferoom, she began to sprint, hoping the other team didn't notice her in the back.

She made it in time, and just as the door was in sight, she called up a vote, ignoring the protests of her teamates,


As the last person confirmed the vote, she sang into her microphone as she shut the saferoom door behind her. The last sounds she heard as the round ended, were the screamed curses of someone who obviously had never had contact with a pissed off girl, gamer or not.

"Zimmer550 has left the game."

Life was sooo sweet.

Figaro's family lived in London up in Marylebone.  Mostly a muggle part of town, but there were a few wizard folk around too.  For the most part, like many Wizarding youth, they could dress the part and blend in on the streets of London. 

He'd needed to get out of the house. Away from his mum who had a scroll of after-holiday chores she was bludgeoning them with, and away from Frank who couldn't stop talking about the broom he'd been promised for Christmas come spring.  It was cold, but when his mum lamented they were out of eggs, Figaro jumped at the opportunity to walk to the shops. 

Fig took a meandering route back.  It was around 3 in the afternoon when he passed the windows of Net House.  Figaro didn't know exactly what went on in there.  There were just loads of computers and muggles sat and looked at them for hours.  A few times before, he'd stopped to look over their shoulders.  Some were reading, others it looked like a game, and sometimes he had no idea at all.  He stopped again this time, and for the first time, he saw someone he knew!

He had to stare a moment.  Squinted.  No, it was her.  Brown ponytail, and expressively glaring at the screen.  It was Bryony Bishop.

After only a moment of hesitation, he entered the Muggle Temple of the Glowing Squares and crept over.  It was hushed inside, a bit of pop music playing.  The manager was eyeing him as he snuck over to Bry with his bag of shopping.

She was younger, but part of Hufflepuff, and they were pretty familiar with each other.  Not like the best of chums, but frankly just being in Hufflepuff was enough for Figaro to feel like he had your attention, affection, and access to chats if he felt like it.

"Bishop, didn't know you lived around here.  What. Are you doing. I knew you were muggleborn, but not this muggleborn..." 

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" the voice ooozed throughout the mostly quiet-internet cafe. Following up on the voice, Daisy poked her head between the space beside the computers to get a better look at the stiuation. Before eaves dropping she was midgame in an intense asskicking kind of game. She was all blam blam boom bam guk. ugh.. lost oh no.... then yay win again. The series of the whole game revolveda round her either dying or getting lost and her friends attempting to protect, save, and pulley her along to get her bonus points. But that wasn't how she saw it. These games gave her a rush and a motivation for a new character building. See she had been thinking the character she had lacked the most experience in was the tough badass mofo type. But things were bout to change..... and change they would.....

She smacked her hand on the table and stood up, craning her head over slightly  "WHAT? YOU WANT A PIECE?" she shouted threateningly at the hufflepuff boy. He likely had no clue what was going on.. or why he would be a source for anger. But to Daisy... he was an enemy. A fiend. Somebody who was just trying to mess with a young innocent girl, attempting to bully  her around and push her down. Nuh-uh. Not on her watch! She had just axed a guy (in game), No freaking way was she going to go easy on this pipsqueek...... Lenore slowly rounds the table on her nemesis. A muggle hater. The fool..... if only he knew what he was up against.. she thought to herself, slowly enacting the narrative flowing through her mind. She let her hand slide across the tables for dramatic purposes, but it only seemed to engage severeal customers into a fit of cursing, scolding, whatever.  But she didnt care. 'cause thats how badasses rolled. Besides, she had only one thought in her mind ... "if only he knew..."  she voiced aloud in a slow drawl.

Daisy grabbed him by the front of his shirt, smooshing it in her hand as if she would break him in half. She glared into his eyes.. or tried to. her eyes squinted slightly and she puckered her lips out,furrowing one brow down while the other just idled... yeah.. she WAS a bad ass. Without even a seconds thought she swiped the cup of ice cold hot chocolate that sat neglected and held it overhead threateningly  "DARE ME. I WILL. 'cuz this shit will be BURNING your FACE. YEAH"

Bree had pretty much been in her own little zombie killing world. Out of the corner of her eye she had seen someone enter, but didn't pay much attention to them, she was obsessed with winning against these losers. Minus one it was gonna be tough, but she was sure someone would show up, especially since she had been sending out invites like craaaazy. Nobody was gonna beat her guild, NOBODY. She looked up when she saw someone come up, and was about to tell them to stfu and not interfere with her groove, she she saw who it was. Oh.

She had seen Figaro around, how could she not? He was older, and kind of cute (if you liked blonds) and def higher on the social ladder than her in school. She smiled and was about to say something, when he went and said IT.

"THAT MUGGLE?"

"What do you MEAN by 'THAT MUGGLE'? And so help me if you start off with, "I'm NOT racist, some of my best friends are ____" so help me god I will shove this mouse so far you'll be shooting a connection cable out of your nose" she yelled, her chair tipped over on the floor behind her, headphones now dangling around her neck, arms crossed over her chest, the screams of her teammates forgotten as she went to idle in the new round.

"Noooooooo!" she squeaked, hopping and down to reach the cup Daisy held in the air. "That's miiiine! I neeed it!" she whined loudly, her hands reaching up and clenching and unclenching.

"Besides...it's not even hot anymore..."

Holy sh-!  Out of the corner of nowhere, some girl had grabbed him, pushed him, shouted at him, and was threatening him with some kind of crockery.  And Bryony was on her feet shouting as well.  What in the mother of Merlin was going on?!  He barely had time to register the tall, skinny girl grabbing him was Daisy Attaway, some fourth year.

The manager over the by the counter had risen to his feet and said, "Oi! Quiet down! None of that!"  And then grumbled something about teenagers.

Figaro felt like he'd been Confunded because none of this made any sense.  He had one hand up reaching and deflecting the cup of coffee, the other on Daisy's hand gripping his collar.

"I didn't even say that!" he hissed.  He hadn't said 'that muggle', like Bryony was in a knit about.  He'd clearly said, 'this muggleborn', as in, she was deep in her natural environment of computers and whatever it was she was doing on them.

He didn't want to actually start a fight with two fourteen-year-old girls, but this was rediculous.

"You lot been taking crazy lessons? You need to relax.  I'm your friend, here.  You're going to get us booted out and then how would you ... do... whatever this is.  With the buttons and the lights."

If Daisy didn't let go of him on her own, he'd pry her fingers off.  And swear to god, if they dumped coffee on him...

"YEAH!" She insisted "That cable, up your nose!" she repeated vaguely. She was suddenly hyped and invigorated by the intensity of badassery. MAN it felt so goood. Just the scenery was enough to get her psyched. Manager-- threatening on cue. Customers, sitting aghast. It was sooo AWESOME! In fact.... cables through the nose... didn't sound half that bad. The ideas and images began spinning in her head. The prospects... the pleasure..... ohhhhh. This was SO much better than burning faces! She lowered her hand with the cup slighty  as if resigning the prospects of that idea and turned to Bree grinning with this new revelation.

"Let's do it! I'll hold 'im done!!" she chipped cheerfully.. perhaps a little too happy given the situation. "We'll teach him a lesson alright--- to not mess with us muggles" she insisted, ignoring the fact that she was not a muggle and the closest she was to a muggle was her step dad.

The muggle hatin git, fearful for his life attempts to sway his attackers of his innocense. Friends she laughs.... what a foool. Soon enough Lenore would do more than just any old harm.... she would mutiliate his body and make him wish he never had lungs to speak of such evils done..... and then almost on cue she began to laugh, stiffling her laughter to not completely appear like a loon.... although perhaps that was already too late. mwahahaha

The girls were not backing off, and Figaro was not naive enough to think the wouldn't escalate this.  He'd been hit in the mouth and smacked too many times to underestimate brutality in insane little packages.

He pried Daisy's fingers from his shirt front and put some distance between then.  The manager up at the counter was staring at them with a glare that Figaro knew as, 'you have about two seconds before I....'; that, and everyone else in the shop was either glaring at them for disturbing the peace, or keeping their eyes glued to their screens in annoyance.

Figaro was not above causing a ruckus, but he rather preferred to be in charge of the ruckus.  These two were going to get the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes called on them.

"I didn't say that!" he emphasized again with a perturbed hiss.  "You two are totally barmy and I'm going to skiv off out of here.  Good bloody luck..."

Any other time Bree would be amused. Setting Daisy off was so predictably easy...and just a little bit creepy. Apparently her 'character' was some kind of serial killer this week. Or mad scientist who often killed his subjects for the greater good of 'science'. Same difference, really. But...her dignity was at stake. She was just about to ask if he was insulting her father, and the 'House of Bishop', when she felt a sharp nudge at her back. She sighed and shoved backwards with her back without turning around. Figgy had brought backup, great.

The nudge turned into poking, then tugging and she finally spun around, ready to swing and found herself facing a wall of plaid. Lovely. Who knew the guy was that tall? Seriously, you'd never be able to tell from that little stool behind the counter.

"All right, you've had your warnings, out with all of ya...Don't make me call your parents, ladies" he made it clear that Bree and Daisy were anything but, reasserting her lifelong assurance that men stood up for other men...even when they were mini versions.

"I SHALL RETURN!!!"  she yelled triumphantly from outside the glass doors, and picked up her purse from where it had been thrown out the doors after her. Fool.  She'd be back tomorrow, and she'd be PREPARED.