Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure

When Mae starts to run off, Larine is quick to jump up to go after her  Aurora stops the green-haired girl for just a moment, saying something quietly to her. Larine then runs to catch up with Mae. 

By the time Aurora turned her attention back to the rest of the tavern, Malvyn had just headed back to their table. She looks puzzle a moment as she walks back to him.  Passing near the table with the others, she waves and briefly stops. "If you are interested in the music, the stage will be just through the doors on the patio. Our table has one of the best views, if you wanted to join us. Although I'm sure Malvyn already offered." 

She smiles faintly, suggesting maybe she suspected he hadn't. But she moves along to join the Tiefling. "I saw you went over to greet the fans," she says jokingly. "I presume you saw Mae left. I'd hoped she'd come do a song with me tonight. I think though it was better she left."

The responses come quickly enough, and Aspen stills. For just a moment, she doesn’t move at all. Her ears dip low, not sharply, but enough to betray the shift as the pieces fall into place. Arinchu had apparently gone looking for her. Aspen hadn’t been there. Didn't see her when she left. And still, to learn Arinchu was left waiting... A quiet breath catches in her chest before she lets it out just as softly, her gaze lowering for a heartbeat as she gathers herself. “…oh.” It’s barely more than a whisper, but it carries. Her tail stills behind her, the earlier easy sway gone thoughtful and low.

When she looks back up, some warmth is still there, just faded now. Dimmed from internally held frustration over something that shouldn't of turned out this complex. “Thanks.” She says gently to the group, and there’s sincerity in it, even through the small knot forming in her chest. "She shouldn’t be left to wait alone and have to wander on her own.”

Chierhy’s offer draws her attention, and Aspen’s expression softens with quiet gratitude, a small dimple returning. “If you’d like the walk, I wouldn’t mind the company.” It could help keep her mind out of the weeds, from resigning to just head home for the night and reset tomorrow. "Thank you, Chierhy." With that, she turns toward the door, her pace measured but purposeful now. She reaches it just ahead of Chierhy, her hand finding the handle and pulling it open, stepping aside to hold it for her when someone else rushes out.

(Unsure if I'd be overstepping here or making assumptions, but thought this could be a possibility. Player can ignore it if they don't want to interact:)

Aspen startles, ears flicking up sharply, instinct taking over as she shifts her footing to avoid any potential impact. “Oh!” The word slips out before she can stop it, her hand lifting slightly as if to steady her, though she doesn’t grab without permission. The movement, the breath, the tears... She seemed in distress. Aspen’s expression softens immediately. “Hey…” she says gently, her voice lowering on instinct, careful, non-threatening. Not blocking the way, just present. “Are you ok?” Her tail settles low behind her, still now. There’s gentle concern there, quiet and genuine, but not pressing, not trapping her. Just a wellness check prior to potentially extending an invite to walk with them, even if it were just to guide her back to the hall.

From his table, the purple-skinned tiefling watches as Mae rushes off.

"Yes, well, I said hello I suppose." Malvyn answers Aurora and scratches his neck. He then gives her a concerned look. "Why was it better she left? What is the matter with her? There's something more than simply her being mad at me right?" He asks with a worried tone. He realized now he was the only one here from the fourth floor of Dresar hall.

As Mae ran out, she only barely registered someone else by the door trying to get her attention. But what Aspen would see, is not just distress, but genuine fear. Mae's only response is a very brief cry of shock, completely and utterly frightened of Aspen, as if they were going to apprehend Mae. She doesn't stop, she just keeps fleeing in terror, tears dampening her cheeks as she makes a run for it back toward her dorm. As soon as she could, she throws herself into her room and locks the door behind her, then buries herself in her blankets and things, and sobs.

“Oh!,” Chierhy gasps as Mae darts in front of her and through the door Aspen had kindly held for her. A moment of indignation that the cat-eared woman’s grace was suddenly taken advantage of by a stranger passes quickly, as Mae’s apparent upset filters in. Chierhy can’t help but watch Mae's retreating figure for a moment in surprised curiosity, then locking eyes with Aspen in an unspoken question: Did she seem as upset to you as she seemed to me? Whatever Aspen’s reaction, the thought that the girl had been sitting with someone else comes hot on its heels, and Chierhy’s head turns to find the table where she had been sitting, and the Wagaduan notes Larine rising in pursuit. Chierhy tries to make out the woman’s expression and motive for rushing after Mae (Insight: 18+2 =20). She has a gut feeling that Larine is not the cause of the upset, and Chierhy, who had been shifting her body slightly to block easy passage through the door – thereby allowing Mae a clean(er) escape – instead moves out of the way. A lover’s spat? An argument between friends? A friend trying to offer a kind word? Chierhy had no idea, and it was none of her business. She steps out of the way, concern – slight, but present – showing on her face.

She looks back to the others at her table, acknowledging the moment, before taking a breath and facing Aspen again, still ready to accompany her back to Cloudblower Hall. If Aspen so indicates, Chierhy will (finally) pass through the door she has been holding, relieving her of some of its weight as she goes. “I wonder what that was about…,” she offers if they begin to walk.