The Causeway, Sunday Morning/Afternoon

[lockestheway]

It was that time of the year again: spring break, with its travels to far away and exotic locales! Like Brazil.

Teachers and students had been asked to assemble at the causeway as per usual. Their portal would be leaving early on into the afternoon, so there was plenty of time to pack up your things and hurry on down to catch it.

So, the question remained: was everyone ready for some fun in the sun? Or was there still too much bodyswappy freaking out to be done?

Stay tuned.

[[ gather all, gather around! ]]

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[life_inshadow]

"Everybody's wrong." The body was Surreal; the body language ... really wasn't. "And, uh, hi. It's Tara."

[endsthegame]

Ender blinked, but he hid it quickly. "Hi, Tara," he said. "I see you've been cursed with it as well." Beat. "I'm still myself, for the record."

[life_inshadow]

Tara blinked back. "Yeah, I can tell," she said. "Um, it's -- the aura thing. Yours looks right. Some people don't."

She sighed. "Maybe it'll wear off the second we leave the island."

[endsthegame]

"I don't think it'll last much longer than tonight, anyway," Ender assured her. "Hopefully the frayed tempers will go with it."

[life_inshadow]

Tara considered saying she wasn't mad, decided it wasn't worth it. It also wasn't entirely true.

"How bad have people been freaking out? Besides me, I mean."

[endsthegame]

Ender took a deep breath. "Warren and Topher switched," he said, "You can imagine how well that went down."

[life_inshadow]

"Well, yeah, I talked to War -- Topher-in-Warren," Tara said, a bit confused. (Mostly because she didn't really know Topher.) "But -- oh. Karla?"

Tara felt the name covered so many horrifying possible scenarios.

[endsthegame]

And there went that air again.

"Am I too much of an optimist for hoping it'll blow over by tomorrow?"

Because after looking after Ben for the past two weeks or so, he wasn't looking forward to this one.

[life_inshadow]

Tara shook her head. Vigorously.

"I spent all night at the shop trying to find a reversal spell," she said. "Nothing. there's, um, this thing that might do it, but it's really hard to get on short notice. Besides, it might not even work."

Island magic was special, Tara had found. It didn't play by the same rules as magic in her (or anyone else's) dimension.

"So ... if you're an optimist I am too."

[endsthegame]

Ender quirked a little smile.

"So," he said, "Any plans for Rio, once fortune has swept in and taken this mess away from us?"

[life_inshadow]

"I don't even really know anything about it," Tara admitted, running a hand over her forehead. Surreal's forehead. Whatever. "Carnivale, I guess? I, um, kind of forgot to read up."

She looked sheepish.

"What abotu you?"

[endsthegame]

"I don't know yet," Ender admitted. "I've been in Brazil before, and the carnival will certainly be interesting - you should go. But I think I'll enjoy the peace and quiet first."

[life_inshadow]

"Peace and quiet are good," Tara agreed. "Besides, it feels like time to get off the island. It's being all moody."

[endsthegame]

"Amorous, you mean," Ender said. Only a little dryly.

[life_inshadow]

Tara felt as if she was going to blush, though Surreal's complexion probably made that less obvious than normal. (Ender seemed fairly nonthreatening, but he still counted as a guy, and talking about sex to guys was weird.) "Well, uh ..."

She found her boldness, quirked her lips in a smile. "Amorous implies there's love in there," she finally asked. "Doesn't it?"

[endsthegame]

"Fair point," Ender said, "But 'lustful' doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?"

He lived with Ben; 'embarrassed about talking about sex' was not really something he was unfamiliar with, and he wasn't really big on gossip anyway.

[life_inshadow]

Tara shook her head. "The euphemism sounds nicer, yeah."

[endsthegame]

"Besides, I feel like we're only saluting Shakespeare by burying it under pretty language," Ender said, and if he sounded slightly merrier for it, it was because talking to Tara was nicely uncomplicated in comparison to everything else right now, and he found he was enjoying it.