The Grand Opening! (Open to Anyone!)

by **Khrassvallen** on June 14th, 2013, 4:47 am

Most would be upset by a scolding. But Khrassvallen, he smiled. And it was a genuine smile, a rare thing to be given to a human. It was hard not to be pleased. After all, this woman had a backbone. Most of her kind would be too startled to really do anything. But this Leila, she put her little foot down. He could respect that, no matter the race, Dhani, human, or otherwise. Yet he didn't say anything. Not a word. Khrassvallen only stared and smiled, to the point of making people uncomfortable. He knew he was doing it too, so before he ruined anyone else's precious mood, he mockingly bowed and turned on his heel, returning to the refreshments table.

This part of the yard he'd claimed as his territory. He would let the others eat, but it was obvious that he planned on gorging more. A lot more. And he couldn't care any less if they were insulted or annoyed by that. They were lucky enough he wasn't trying to eat one of them. A lot more people seemed to be arriving, and he was starting to regret even coming. So many humans, that dog that didn't like the smell of him, and with good reason, then one Dhani, all packed in a little acre. Talk about risky for him. There was one thing though, that caught his attention, blocking out everything and everyone. Beef. Maybe he was imagining it, but it was like he could smell it as soon as the finely dressed servant pulled it out of the fancy cart.

Humans and their horses, always discreetly showing off and throwing rank around. It was so completely natural to them now that they all expected it of each other. What would happen to their intricately woven societies if a few strings were just snipped? Would the whole of their entire lives be thrown into chaos? Beautiful, delicious chaos. They needed more of it. He could give them that. But later. There were far more important things than that right now. Like beef. His stomach growled loudly, nearly driving him forward to meet the bearer of food. Khrassvallen forced himself to stay next to the table, though. Patience. His stomach growled again, apparently disagreeing.

Why was the human walking so damn slow? Bring me the food! The servant, as he arrived at the table, balked at the look on Khrassvallen's face. It was too inhuman, too carnal. Too hungry. The Dhani had no doubt now he could smell the meat. It was perfect. His mouth hung open ever so slightly, and he wet his lips with his tongue. The elegant silver platter was placed artfully among the far less grandiose dishes before the uncomfortable human quickly got out of the vicinity of what he thought was just a very strange man. He stood at the table and stared at the meat a while, strongly considering shifting bodies just for the reason being, he could swallow the thing whole. But that would likely result in death by human hands, and he didn't want that. So he had to play along until he was well fed and ready to start playing a completely different game.

Why he didn't just go back to Taldera, he didn't know. It was simpler there, back at the nest. No humans, except the ones he hunted with his beloved family. Khrassvallen picked up a rather sharp knife sitting on the table, twisting it experimentally between his fingers, then looking back at the meat. Some gasps from the rest of the party made him glance over his shoulder. "It isss jusst a kn-," but he stopped mid-sentence, realizing their attention was on a human in a wheelchair, not on him holding the knife. Of course it wasn't him. He was too paranoid, being surrounded by these people. Strength in numbers, which he had none of. He barely paid attention to what any of them were saying, let alone this newest, older woman, but he heard a few snippets. Something about resigning from her post on a council.

Since he couldn't think of a reason that would ever effect him, he brushed it off. Back to the food, which there was now plenty of. His human stomach could be filled more easily than as a snake, or in between, but it was still quite insatiable. Khrassvallen swallowed the mouthful of saliva that had pooled into his mouth as he eagerly made the first cut. And a big one at that. He braced the meat by putting a hand on it to hold it still, completely disregarding the fact that other people probably wanted to eat it and didn't want someone touching it. He ended up with a nearly five inch thick slice of beef on his plate. Khrassvallen licked his greasy palm and fingers, then absently placed them back onto the beef, patting it almost affectionately. "I will be back for you," he told it, before moving around a little closer to the tables.

But he didn't want to sit. Instead, he stood and watched, rather bored, eating his plate of beef with his free hand. Silverware at this point was the last thing on his mind. And he knew it would get some entertaining reactions from some of them, seeing him eat with his fingers with so many obvious socialites around. A trio of older women in particular were watching in open mouthed disgust, possibly even horror. To them, this was savagery.

by **Philomena** on June 18th, 2013, 8:34 pm

Flow NoteI'll be taking over Leila's coordination role in this thread, if I can be of use to anyone, please let me know.

Notably also - if you have a fair score in Auristics and are looking for things, let me know. Or a very good score in observation.

Professor Hurston drew himself another flagon of ale, and quietly drifted back toward the tables, smiling breezily at the various students and general bonhommes who circled around him.

"Well, you know, I think it was Duvall who said, A side of beef is like a charge of cavalry - it can end with either glory or disaster, but nothing in between. Of course, with my wife overseeing it I .. eh…"

A rather crass looking follow was hacking off a lump of the meat that would have delighted a Zeltivan wedding. The low people of the city, indeed, were growing perfectly disgusting with age. The man had hacked off… god, here in the city, it would have been a small fortune. And was laying into it as if he were a dog at a corpse.

"Well. Then."

Mrs Hurston, noticed - Mrs. Hurston always noticed - but she understood the essence of such an interaction: That to appear upset was to confess to one's own wealth. Wealth was power, and power was best implied rather than expressed. The man, whatever sort of pig he was, was not worth her notice. She turned back to the hostess, who had bowed and introduced herself. Mrs Hurston with a condescending kindness bowed just her head to the woman.

Leila nodded again, "Madame, Do take the head of the table won't you? I'll be running about: you better than I know the trouble of playing hostess. It would be my honor to abdicate the hosting responsibilities to you."

Mrs. Hurston smiled with a kindly fatigue, "I am the servant of my city, as we all should be. If I can be of use, child, I will be honored to do so."

She turned then with the grace of a cloud, and proceeded to the table, settling quietly at the head of the table, to look at her guests with the quiet manufactured interest of one who allows but does not request interaction with the low people - the benevolent queen descending amongst her people.

"A good day, and tidings, I hope, of a wonderful spring, Citizens." the address - Citizen - was old fashioned, and of historical origin, egalitarian and archaic, at once conveying a belief in general equality, and implying the breadth of her education. She looked a bout… yes, a student of her husband's department. Polite nod. A too young, and socially unpleasant professor of the Vulgar Wing of the university looking far too thrilled about her bottle of wine. A cold nod, but not rudely so, simply devoid of emotion, carefully controlled so as not to actively encourage interaction. Strangers.

With the approach of Maria, though, the tenor of the party changed - this was no longer simply a folksy get-together. It was an event containing one of the most powerful women in the city. Several officers of the Wave Guard drifted in toward the corners of the party, keeping an eye on things, their armament looking strange amidst the almost universally unarmed people of Zeltiva.

What she did not do was get a plate of food, or a drink.

by **Tallis** on June 18th, 2013, 11:18 pm

The food on Tallis’ plate sat cold and forgotten as he watched in amazement as Leila’s humble Grand Opening evolved into, quite possibly, the event of the season. As the Hurstons waded into the party, he watched as the common folk of Zeltiva scrambled towards the powerful figures like moths to a flame. They clamored over each other, trying to bask in the glory that was Emily Hurston, yet too afraid to approach her.

Unlike the rest, Tallis was rather uninterested with the Hurstons. He had never cared for politics and aristocrats. As far as he was concerned, these were people who masked their true intentions under sweet words and were more inclined to speak the language of money, using their silver tongues to line their gold coffers. They were an impractical sort. Even the food they brought was impractical. Yes, beef was a delicacy and, for some people here, this could be their first and only time having some. However, the money it cost to prepare and obtain such a delicacy could easily have bought enough food to keep all the people here satisfied for days. The beef was a symbol of the Hurstons’ power and wealth. It sickened him, but Tallis had to admit, their skills at manipulating the masses were impressive. Influence could be an asset as strong as magic.

And as if on cue, the one person with the greatest amount of influence appeared. Maria Satterthwite entered the yard, a broken figurehead trying to maintain control. If there was anyone with influence, it was this woman. Sadly, her power was dwindling. With her body in its current state, people began to question whether she had the capacity to be Lord of Council. Respect for the woman kept the guests in place, speculation about her fueled the wave of murmuring. Frankly, Tallis didn’t care. From what he knew the true powers behind the decisions being made were the University and the Sailor’s Guild. She had considerable de jure power but little de facto power. As she announced her retirement, Tallis couldn’t help but agree with what she had said. Zeltiva could use a leader with a backbone and a vision for the future.

As the Lord of Council’s speech concluded, Tallis moved to take a seat. With the tables set up in an inverted-U shape, he moved to take a seat on the edge of the table on the right-hand side. He was a tick too late and a weather old sailor moved into the seat. Unphased, he took the seat on his left. The old man gave Tallis a curt nod and Tallis returned the silent greeting with his own nod. There was something familiar about the old man, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it just yet.

Settling in his seat, Tallis tried to catch Ricky’s eye, but the Wave Guard was clearly too engrossed with the woman beside him. Were they a couple? They had to be. There was no way Ricky was getting that friendly with a woman who was a mere friend. Deciding to do a bit of investigating, Tallis tapped into his Auristics. He hoped that no one would notice the way he intensely stared at her. Filtering out the sounds of conversation, Tallis set his focus entirely on the woman.

As the sounds closed out and the sight of the woman filled his field of vision, an aura slowly came into view. It was beautiful! A blue colour reminiscent of the summer sky, but… there was something a bit different about it. Peering deeper into the light blue aura, Tallis could see faint swirls of a darker blue aura. How was this possible? How could one woman have two auras? Unless… Staring ever more intently at the aura, Tallis saw the woman lay a hand on her stomach and watched as Ricky placed his own hand on top of hers. As they exchanged glances, the woman’s aura bloomed even brighter and the darker swirls of blue flashed within her aura. A sudden thought exploded into Tallis’ mind. Shifting the Auristics onto Ricky, he willed the aura to come into focus. It was a dark blue, the colour of the ocean. The flashes of the second aura that he had seen from the woman were a mix of the colour of Ricky’s aura and the woman’s own aura. It had to be a child. The woman was pregnant, and with Ricky’s baby.

Blinking away the Auristics, Tallis fell back into his chair and let out a weak laugh, attracting the attention of the old man sitting beside him. He wasn’t particularly good at Auristics and analyzing the auras had made him quite tired. As his eyes came back into focus on the real world, Tallis mumbled his findings out loud, “So she’s pregnant. And Ricky’s the father… what a lucky man.” The words were weak, almost a whisper, but the old man beside Tallis had heard them. He had noticed when the mage had seemed spaced out, and he had wondered what he had been looking at across the table. Now he knew.

by **Castor Riley** on June 20th, 2013, 11:21 pm

The slab of beef the Hurstons had brought was being treated with quite some reverence from the guests, and no one dared appear as greedy and glutonous as to be the first to take a slice. In the meantime, Castor looked for something to enjoy the beef with. He saw a bottle of wine had been added to the table's drinks, and was sorely tempted to grab himself a glass. However, he still felt ashamed for the disgusting grog he'd brought along, and had resolved to drink as much of it himself as he could, just so no one else would have to. He sighed as he drew himself another mug of Kelp beer.

He braced himself and took a great big gulp of the green liquid. He wondered why he was doing this to himself, but the alcohol in it was quite potent, the buzz beginning to feel pleasant and to cover the horrible taste, giving an answer to his unasked question. Castor listened as Ricky introduced himself to Sain, or rather as Telion introduced them, while Ricky tried to swallow the food he'd stuffed in his mouth. The sight made Castor smile, as he listened to the man's response, curious to learn the new arrival's identity.

Bernedett, having recovered from the rude man's earlier interruption, and the arrival of the Hurston couple, rejoined the conversation. Ricky noted the faux pas of using another's name without offering one's own rather bluntly, as Telion's exasperated reaction showed. Castor butted into the conversation at that point "Ricky, this is Bernedett, we all met at the door. I believe you brought that 'gumbo', correct?" Without waiting foor confirmation, he went on "So what do you do in Zeltiva, Mr Ferald?" Castor listened to the man's reply. He soon had to tear his attention away, however, as Mrs Hurston glided over to the table, taking the Leila's seat at the head. Castor was put on edge, instantly. He felt insignificant in the presence of one such as her, so when she acknowledged him with a polite nod, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. He had had no idea she even knew who he was.

Just then, another round of gasps and ripples of excitement went through the gathered crowd; another guest was arriving and Castor looked curiously on to see who it was. He had never met the woman in the wheelchair before that day, but he realised with shock that this must be the Lord of Council, Maria Satterthwite; the only paralysed woman he knew of that could ellicit such a response from the assembled guests. Seeing Ricky get up, and ignorant of the proper etiquette, Castor copied the man's bow awkwardly. He was flushed with embarassment though, as he reaised that it might only be the prooper response for Wave Guards to have. He took his seat once more, listening attentively as she made her announcements. Maria's announcement of her resignation was not an event he had been prepared to be in attendance for when he'd come made his way to the potluck, and he took another big gulp of his beer, for once caring only for the alcohol and ignoring the taste, as far as that was possible with one as foul.

As he considered the new information, he scanned his surroundings absently, gasping as he noticed the state of the beef; the foreigner was in the process of licking his fingers, after hacking off a very excessive hunk of beef. He then used these same fingers to pat the beef in a manner he could only describe as affectionate. Or disgusting, both words came to mind. Castor sat there, dumbfounded, his stomach growling at the injustice perpetrated. As much as he may want to, he simply could not bring himself to eat any beef after that display. The sight of the man eating the extravagant meal with such off-handedness was revolting to Castor, who decided, in any case, that it was time he excused himself from the table and greeted Mr Hurston.

Thus, Castor stood up once more smiling to all present at the table and approached Mr Hurston's group. He waited until there was a lull in the conversation, before speaking up, giving a short, polite bow and extending his hand for a shake. "Professor Hurston, sir! It's such an unexpected pleasure to see you at this gathering! I don't know if you would remember me. I am Castor Riley, a student in the department. I'm researching the Denvali Disaster? I was wondering, sir, if you might have a moment to discuss my thesis, if possible" he said, deferentially, the excitement of meeting with his esteemed professor quickly outshining his disappointment at the tragedy of the beef. He looked up at the man, a look of deep respect in his eyes.

by **Ricky Maze** on June 27th, 2013, 7:51 am

oocSince Bern hasn't the time to post I'll go ahead and move our thread along.

Ricky felt a bit out of place even though he had already covered his post this morning, as worked out with his superior for the intended purpose of attending this party. Still even though he attended as a guest he felt that he more so belonged with the rest of the Guard that watched Maria as she attended this wonderful event. Ricky watched as his good acquaintance Castor stood to make his approach to Mr. Hurston, a grin on his face as he thought the librarian bold to approach a man of such stature. He looked over to Telion with an eased smile on his face, which then lessened as she had a bit of a frown on her face. "What's wrong love?"

"Maybe..." She paused as she fiddled with the clam chowder with her fork, "We should wait for a better time to tell her, she's quite busy after all and it could surprise her in the wrong way." She expressed to him in a low nervous voice, a sincere expression on her face when she looked at Ricky.

He really wanted to tell Leila now, the urge to shout had been surpressed long enough to a small breaking point but he kept his excitement contained. Now of course he found that it would only have to be locked away even more until Telion thought of a more appropriate time to tell Leila, a time when she felt ready to speak with Leila about the surprise they had. "If that's what you want Tel, then I'm more then happy to accept it. Whenever you feel ready, then I'll be ready with you." He expressed his thoughts with a hearty grin, which in turn made her sincere expression a warm relieved one. "'Til then let's eat, 'specially if yer plannin' what I think yer plannin' for the night." He mused with a chuckle, Telion also giggled a little as the two went back into their eating. Of course they would both interact with whoever else decided to greet and socialize with them, and they would do so as a merrily couple that kept close to one another.

Next to Tallis the man had taken his seat with his attention focused on where Ricky and Telion sat, his interest mainly zoned in on the two as they interacted. When he had taken a sip of his Kelp Beer he had brought with him, he immediately inhaled and choked a bit as the words the Stormwarden whispered filled his ears. Ricky. A full grown man and a now a father to be, how time seemed to just fly by for the man. "That's m'boy." The man would chuckle in a low mumble, most definitely just low enough to where Tallis could make the words out... were he to pay attention to the man. Indeed this man had a connection with Ricky, a connection that had long been lost for many years. Except now, for on this very day; Burten Maze had returned to his home once more. Home to see how his son had been, after eight long years of being away.

"Ricky's words.", "Ricky's thoughts.", "Telion's words.", "Hannah's words.", "Other's words."

by **Khrassvallen** on July 1st, 2013, 12:22 am

The beef on his plate was short lived, but it hit the spot. He felt that, for now, he was full. Khrassvallen belched quietly under his breath, a consequence of eating so quickly. He always swallowed too much air when he ate with a human mouth. It was a messy business, and he licked what grease he could off his chin, then wiped the rest on the back of his hand. That, he cleaned up with his tongue as well, and sucked his fingers clean. Another belch, and he felt finally relaxed. But now what to do? He'd gotten what he wanted from the party, and he wasn't interested at all in socializing. It was only his first day in the city. He'd heard enough names tossed around and seen the subtle politics to realize this wasn't his sort of shindig. Rich people mingling with poor people, and the nobody's metaphorically kowtowing to the somebody's.

He wished they'd get thrown into a hole, tossed some sticks, and be forced to fight to the death. See how superior some of them were after that. Then the nobody's would be somebody's and the somebody's would be dead. A fine way to sort out who should be on top, and a fine example of why he should never be given authority over humans. Khrassvallen rubbed his boot on the grass and absently chewed on his pinky nail, watching an animated conversation at one of the tables. Everyone was so happy and sociable and peachy. And drinking some disgusting looking beverage that smelled like kelp. Who in their right mind would ever drink kelp, he had no idea. Obviously these people.

Sometimes human had such horrible taste. But he felt that now it was time for him to leave. He was full, and he wanted to find a place to bed down. Khrassvallen looked back at the beef he'd done a fine job of ruining, a bit of longing in his eyes. If only this stomach was bigger and this mouth could unhinge. If only. He ran both hands through his hair, tousling the short brown locks and making them stand on end. Off I go. And so, without any thanks to the hostess, he traipsed right out of the party, sucking at a spot between his thumb and index finger where some grease had run and been missed. Whoever cooked that cow did a petching fine job.

OOCAnd that, ladies and gentleman, is how much Khrass just don't care! But seriously, there's his exit, since all he wanted was some good food. Enjoy the rest of the thread, and looking forward to meeting everyone IC again.

by **Vanari** on January 15th, 2014, 12:06 am

Ricky Maze

Observation	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP

Lores :

Khrassvallen

Observation	+3 XP
Interrogation	+1 XP
Logic	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+2 XP

Lores :

Tallis

Observation	+2 XP
Intelligence	+1 XP
Investigation	+1 XP
Auristics	+1 XP

Lores :

Annalisa

Observation

+1 XP

Lores :

Notes :

Open The Grand Opening! (Open to Anyone!)