The Aftermath
Ava Evans is entering her second year of study at the University of Britechester. She's well settled into her new home, she's looking into adopting a cat, and unrest is rippling through her family. As the Heir to the Espinoza Dynasty, Ava now needs to decide how she's going to deal with the disruption- does she back up her Aunt Vanessa as the Matriarch, or does she come to Aunt Arabella's defense? There's no good option, it seems, and it's not a decision to be made overnight...
Ava had been making herself at home in Britechester, slowly adding more of her own artwork and clutter pieces to her small apartment. She was in her second year of university now, and quite enjoying her studies.
Her love for the violin had only grown, and she was strongly considering a career as a Musician- though her degree would also offer her a path as a Floral Designer, which also sounded appealing.
Comfortable as the apartment was, though, it felt a little bit empty. Growing up, she'd always had her sister and a dog to keep her company, she'd never truly been on her own. And after a year of living alone, she was a little sick of it.
She was away too much for class to offer a dog the amount of attention it would need, but she could get a cat!
And after the recent blowup in the family, she needed something to distract her in the days before term started.
After some research and getting some pet supplies, Ava arranged for an adoption evaluation at the apartment from the same shelter Ella had adopted Pudding from. She decided to get a kitten, so she would have a cat that could stay with her for years to come.
The kitten was introduced to her as Gucci, but it didn't seem to respond to that name and Ava wasn't particularly obsessed with it either. If this works out, she thought, I'll change it to something better.
It didn't take long for Ava to become completely obsessed with this tiny little creature. The way the kitten waddled and bounced around the apartment was absolutely adorable.
After playing with the kitten for a little bit, Ava had made up her mind to adopt it. "I think I'll call her Bubbles." She decided.
The papers were signed and the adoption agent went on her way, and Bubbles was officially Ava's. A little bit of company for the cold winter ahead.
Later that same day, Ava received a call from her mother. Alyssa wanted to come over and visit, and Ava gladly accepted. She wanted to show off Bubbles, for one thing, but she did also miss her parents a lot.
Henry had accumulated a lot of fame recently from his video game releases, and it was hard for him to come and visit without drawing a hoard of paparazzi to Ava's front door. So he had stayed on the down-low, mostly remaining in Hopewell Hills except for family gatherings. Ava missed her dad, though, even though she understood why he didn't come. He supported her from afar, at least- he called her every night to see how her day had been.
Alyssa, thankfully, had no such issues. Famous artists didn't attract the same kind of paparazzi attention as video game developers.
Alyssa arrived at the apartment a couple hours later, and Ava hurried out to greet her. "Glad to see you, Mom!"
"I'm glad to see you too, Ava. How have you been holding up?"
"Oh, you know, same old. Winter term's starting up pretty soon here. I adopted a cat today, though! Come in and meet her, I named her Bubbles."
After Alyssa met Bubbles, she and Ava sat down to talk. "I wanted to see how you were doing, after the drama at Harvestfest dinner last week." Alyssa told her. Ava sighed, shoulders slumping.
"I just can't believe that Aunt Arabella actually left. I thought we were all in this dynasty thing together."
"We were." Alyssa shook her head. "We were supposed to be, anyway. I'm trying to talk Vanessa down, I can't disagree with Arabella's position I'm afraid. But I just wanted you to know that this doesn't change anything about our family's position. You are still Vanessa's Heir, and your father and I are not leaving."
"Why was Aunt Vanessa so angry in the first place?"
"The Charm family wronged our father long ago. The Magic Realm is a very close-minded place at the moment, I'm afraid, but it seems they've wronged Peter as well, so I don't see Vanessa's logic. But that's for me and my sisters to sort out amongst ourselves, my hope is that you and your cousins will not be dragged into it any further."
"It's a shame that Lis got caught in the middle." Ava frowned. "I should give her a call, later."
"I think that's a lovely idea." Alyssa agreed.
After Alyssa left, Ava spent some time practicing for the big Debate Showdown at the end of the week. She was determined to come out on top this time, she'd come so close last term!
If she could just get her skill a little higher, her argument a little tighter, she'd be on top...
Ava worked Saturday and Sunday nights at the Britechester Childcare Center, looking after the infants and toddlers whose parents had to work or were attending night classes. As she was leaving for work that evening, though, the entire building suddenly went dark. An electrical failure! Ugh!
That was what she got for cheap rent, it seemed. This building was always full of problems.
But that was future Ava's problem. After making sure Bubbles had food and water and could still use the litterbox, Ava left for work. Maybe the power would be back on when she came back?
Unfortunately, there was no such luck, and the lights were still out when Ava got home. She thought about just going to bed and trying to wait it out, but it was way too cold for that to be any more than a passing thought. So, she joined the rest of the building in trying to repair what they could. Goodness knows Mr. Lin wasn't coming all the way from Tomarang this time of night.
With a little teamwork from the residents, the power soon came back on. Ava took a couple more minutes to clean up all the tools and scraps lying around in the aftermath, then finally headed off to bed.
Ava spent most of Monday morning catching up on chores and starting on her first assignments of the term. She'd decided to take three classes over the winter, a lighter load to account for all the holidays. Two photography classes and one violin, both subjects which she quite enjoyed.
Of course, she had to spend time playing with Bubbles too! Her new kitten was very energetic, but mostly entertained herself while Ava was busy.
In the afternoon, Ava was pleasantly surprised by a visit from her friend, Haikili Kealoha. They had been friends in high school, and... sort of unofficially dating? since Ava had entered college. They had gone out a few times, and were definitely attracted to each other, but they hadn't made anything official yet.
Maybe this week, she'd bring up the subject.
The two of them never really did a lot of talking, though, caught up in the heat of the moment when they saw each other. He had a magnetic charm, an alluring aura that Ava could never quite resist. Their relationship was certainly a steamy one! They could never keep their hands off each other.
Eventually, though, they sat down to share an actual conversation. "What brings you over, Haikili?" Ava asked him. "I wasn't expecting to see you until the weekend."
"I had business at Foxbury, so I thought I'd swing by on my way home." Haikili answered. "I had something to ask you, anyway, about this weekend."
"What is it?" Ava asked, heartbeat picking up speed in anticipation. Maybe Haikili would ask her to be his girlfriend, rather than her bringing it up?
"I'm renting a place in Mua Pel'am for the weekend. You want to come spend a couple days with me?"
Ava was a little disappointed it wasn't the question she was anticipating, but promptly agreed anyway. "That sounds nice. I'd like to get out of the cold for a couple days."
"It's usually pretty rainy this time of year, but I'm sure I can arrange a couple clear days."
"How would you-?" Ava's question was interrupted by Haikili pulling her in for another kiss, and she quickly forgot what she had been asking.
After Haikili left, Ava resumed practicing violin and working on her homework. She had something to look forward to at the end of the week, now. A little getaway would do her good, and she had debate practice tomorrow.
There was plenty to distract her from the current conflict in her family.
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