Open New Year's Party!

[Aren]

Aren frowned. In a moment of impulsive affection he had forgotten what such a simple gesture, which most people took for granted, could mean to Sayana. "I'm sorry," He whispered, almost concurrent with her reproach. She didn't seem angry or unduly flustered, but the guilt he felt over his thoughtlessness wore itself on the Akalak's face like a mask, regardless. The Eypharian's counter attack promptly cheered him up, however, as she answered his question rather succinctly, only to be followed with a caveat in case her lips should ever stray. She had managed to make him smile, and at least temporarily forget his foolish mistake, then proceeded to plant her mouth on his. When Aren normally felt Sayana's lips, the kiss always felt passionate, yes, but more than that, free. It felt like a great void he could easily, and gladly, lose himself in, but that didn't seem to be the case now. This particular occasion had started much in the same way, but somewhere along the line it had changed. Was something off, or was he just imagining it? Had she not brushed off his earlier mistake as easily as she'd have him believe? The Akalak wasn't sure, but he had never before felt this feeling of uncertainty when he kissed Sayana, not even on the first day they met. When the Eypharian broke away to go talk to a friend of her's, Aren tried to brush off his imagined misgivings as nothing more than the stress of the Eypharian's current occupation as host of this party. Maybe the topic she needed to bring up with this friend was a delicate one, or maybe they got annoying when they got drunk. Even if there had been something amiss during that kiss, there could still be a thousand reasons for it that might have nothing to do with the Akalak. Shaking his head, Aren tried to brush off this insanity that had overtaken him based on some perceived notion of incongruity. It was ridiculous, and he wouldn't give it another moment's thought. Instead, he stepped around and in front of Sayana's couch and took a seat on the comfortable padding. After a moment of idly tapping his hands on his knees and watching others drinking and eating, he realized that perhaps he should be doing the exact same thing, and he simply had no idea why he wasn't. Promptly erecting himself, the Akalak headed towards one of the kegs of ale, as had been his original destination, which was surrounded by a few party goers. Taking a mug in hand, he promptly filled it, chugged the entire thing down in the blink of an eye, and refilled it. As he stepped away from some of the other revelers so that he didn't interrupt or eavesdrop on their conversations, Aren couldn't help but hear pieces of another dialogue. One of the people Sayana was talking with, a girl with a rather colorful coiffure, was drunk enough that she didn't seem entirely certain as to what the appropriate volume for a private chat was. The Akalak managed to pick out a few words here and there, but admittedly he was too far and there was too much noise for him to make any sense of the exchange. "Pregnant?" Aren mumbled, after hearing a rather poignant word emanating from the girl. It caused him to feel as if he should go congratulate her and the young man she seemed to be with, but of course he wouldn't. He couldn't be certain what the conversation was about, and even if he could be, he had acquired this information rather surreptitiously. Still, the Akalak found his senses unconsciously focusing on the trio, stemming from a curious nature and a sincere belief that nothing he overheard would mean absolutely anything to him.

[Devi]

Devi ambled over to the food table, picking at it absent-mindedly. She had no idea who any of these people were. Well, she knew Garland but he was most certainly otherwise occupied with his varicoloured companion. She would catch up with him later she thought, possibly even to meet with his ‘cute-as-puppies’ girl. Devi smiled a little in recollection of the bizarre description that Garland had first given when seeking out Sayana’s advice.

Speaking of their hostess, she appeared to be in her element flitting between guests – greeting, entertaining and flirting. The Eypharian was a far cry from the weak figure Devi had visited to heal and she was glad for it. That said, she was currently sitting in a quieter corner of her apartment speaking in soft tones with Garland. Although her face still held its happy visage, lines of tension became apparent in her posture and gestures. Curiosity sparked in Devi’s mind but she shook her head of it and looked around at the rest of the gathering.

Still picking at the various foods that had been prepared, she found herself realising how good it was. Devi didn’t cook. She enjoyed food only whenever someone else prepared it. She didn’t even eat regular meals given her busy work schedule. As it turns out, illness and injury tended not to be timely and considerate. Over the last season particularly, food had become simple fuel. She slept whenever she could, which still wasn’t often. It was the kind of disjointed routine that made her truly appreciate a break, particularly when that included food that she could enjoy rather than just endure.

Her eyes wandered over to the hearth where the chef was nursing a large ham beside the fire. She hadn’t noticed him until then, unassuming as he made himself. As she watched, his look of concentration was broken rather suddenly and he started looking around, seeking something. After a moment he strode purposefully towards the main cluster of people in the room. Tilting her head slightly in curiosity, she continued to watch him.

After a brief introduction the dark-haired man quickly seemed quite uncomfortable, turning something over in his mind. Before long he began speaking again, the words rapidly picking up pace the more he spoke.

“So, about before, I don’t know if you were watching, I mean it was pretty loud so I figured it was disturbing people, but it was really all a misunderstanding. I guess I just wanted to say that, well, I was sorry if I disturbed you or you took offense, Aren and I just had a bit of a quarrel to settle and everything should be fine now.”

He let out a rather nervous laugh, his eyes flicking to people’s faces and away again, his posture fidgety. Devi stood and moved to join them. It took guts to make that much of an effort when crowds and strangers made you that uncomfortable. She of all people could appreciate that.

“So, great party right? Everyone enjoying themselves? Good!”

Devi reached the group as he finished speaking and touched him lightly on the arm.

“I’m fairly sure everyone’s enjoying the food most of all. Anyone would think we’ve all been starved at the rate it’s disappearing!”

She finished off a last nibble of bread with melted cheese as though to emphasise her point and then fixed him with a genuine smile.

“My name is Devi.”

[Holland Rolandus]

Holland simply looked at the hand, and cocked an eyebrow at the gesture. So tempted to be rude that it was absolutely insane, but he wouldn't dare be rude in-front of Claudia. Therefore he decides upon giving the man a stern look in the eyes. Before shaking the mans hand swiftly, and letting go in a mere second. Now Holland proceeds to extend his right forearm, and wrap it about the waist of Claudia as he stood beside the woman. Before the wide smile upon his face became dim. He would part his lips, and speak out to the both of the two males.. " My name, Is Holland." Yet, he would say no more to the other two after making that statement, He turned his cranial structure and looked at Claudias oh so beautiful face. Dare another man touch her, and he wouldn't know what he would do. Although the first thing on his mind would be violence; He began to choose not to be violent. Especially being that they are in public with other people walking about. After all, no one wants a brute at the party. He'd begun to speak to Claudia in an incredibly calm tone; As calm as he could possibly be. "Hello, there! How are you doing, Dear?" Spoke Holland in an audible and yet incredibly calm tone. So calm that it was practically odd for him to talk in such a calm mannerism. That was due to the fact that he didn't even know the other male; Yet he'd already begun thinking up ways to combat him if need be.

The smile he once bore upon his visage returned, and once again he delivered that oh so charming smile to Claudia. His gaze never once left her, and he would simply await a response. He was excited to hear that beautiful voice of hers again as always. Hopefully; It would take his mind off of the other male who was present. His digits came to rest upon the waist of Claudia. Before stopping in place, and his grip tightened only slightly, leaving his embodiment rather well close to her own. He continued to think to himself about just how incredibly lucky the encounter was on that faithful day. That rather eventful and bone chillingly cold night they spent together. Although it was a night that was simplistic; It was special in his heart.

To this day he continues to remember the events. Interestingly enough though he did continue to attempt figuring out exactly what that blue skinned creature he'd seen earlier was. Or much rather who all of these people were; Despite the fact that he didn't generally enjoy being around people. He would have to adapt, due to what seems like the fact that Claudia is being eyeballed by people. Not to mention it seems like she doesn't have trouble in the least bit in terms of being social. So he too, would have to adapt to being more social and friendly to people in the vicinity. All he could do for now was hope that everything would go over well.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross A party... Great... Alex wasn't necessarily the ideal party guest. People laughing, yelling, drinking, eating... He never really considered it a very suitable environment. It similar situations, he felt much more comfortable lounging at a nearby table away from buzzing crowds, lost in his own thoughts and wondering when the dreaded nightmare will end. Nevertheless, his patron insisted that the boy attend. "The reason you don't have very many friends to call your own is because you never bother to look for them." The old man said, nudging him out the door. "Now, get that armor off and put something nice on!" Of course, following the directions to the host's domain was not as difficult as he had anticipated, given his knowledge of the city and how many times he's been through it. Of course, more than once he has had to check and make sure that he was headed in the right direction, but other than that, there was no difficulty. With a melancholic sigh, the boy checked over himself to make sure that he was presentable. He didn't have his usual black fedora, having lost it in an accident involving his mischievous Gildling. So today, he let his shaggy brown hair hang loose for all to see, making him feel quite naked... He had always had a fondness for dark clothing, since he thought it spoke about his mysterious personality. All day every day when he wasn't wearing armor, he always had something black in color adorned on his wiry build. And today, it was no different. The door was wide open and the first thing that greeted him was the smell. A mixture of food, wine, and incents wafted out of the door and danced around his senses. Even though he was never one to eat much, he felt like he could eventually build up an appetite. The next thing that hit him was the noise. A few people laughing, talking, drinking and eating... Alex groaned and strolled up to the door. Standing in the doorway, he knocked on the wood, announcing his presence while also silently hoping it would bring him good luck for once. "Uh, hello? I'm here for the party, if it's all right?" He asked, holding his breath. Crowds always made him nervous...

[Nivel]

The bulletin board was something Nivel was always familiar with so it rarely surprised her. A party from one of her friends appearing on the old wooden board was not something she would ever think would show up. The Mage squire had little to know idea what a party was but she knew it was fun and best of all she would get to see Sayana again. Nivel was busy with her training and adventures and when ever she went to the Rearing Stallion, Sayana wasn’t there. It was clearly just poor timing but Nivel was disappointed every time she missed out on the six armed dancer. When the day came Nivel decided to ride her corgi mount Patcha since walking through the many hallways would take forever with her tiny clay legs. The pycon also had a terrible sense of direction and got lost in the dark labyrinth like hallways quite often, Patcha was usually much better at sniffing out a trail. It still wasn’t easy for the duo to track this event down, the signs that Sayana had left were just out of sight for Nivel and there was too many smells for Patcha to find a clear trail. Patcha’s ears finally picked up and she went bounding towards the sounds of music and revelry, while Nivel did her best to hold on. The Door to the apartment was left open, so Patcha trotted in behind a tall folk she didn’t recognize. Everything was already in full swing, With many talking and enjoying themselves. Nivel was worried for a moment that she was at the wrong event but quickly spotted a few faces she recognized and her worries were laid to rest. “I’m Nivel and this is Patcha and were here for the PAR teeee!!” Nivel announced happily as she entered “…but first someone needs to tell me what one is expected to do at a party?..do we fight something?”

[Claudia Blackwood]

Jeremy said he was from the Mithryn Outpost. He also replied her other question by telling her that he worked as a Phylonurist. Claudia didn't have a clue as to what a Phylonurist was or what they did. But she guessed that they must be something like a nature doctor or sorts, as he mentioned something about regaining the balance between the natural and the urban. She also noticed that that he no longer sipped his ale, instead mimicking her, taking gulps of ale down.

Jeremy then began rolling up the sleeve on his left arm. Claudia was wondering what he was doing, when she spotted what seemed to be a tattoo with a rather complicated pattern on his forearm, all the way up to the crook of his elbow. The longer she looked at the tattoo, the clearer the picture became to her. It had a fish in a pond, with ducks that swam in the water, and birds that squabbled atop the roof of buildings. He left the sleeve up, exposing the tattoo to the public eye. He also seemed to be drinking more and more of his ale, practically almost draining his tankard. She gave him a smile as she spotted that.

The cook, Orin came and introduced himself to the group. He seemed to be rather eager to know if anyone came from the Mithryn Outpost. Apparently, that was where he was born. He also seemed to be very nervous and flustered as he mentioned the incident earlier on between him and the blue-skinned Akalak. Orin insisted that everything was alright now, and there’s nothing to worry about, which Claudia was fine with, as she had no business in that matter anyway. He then asked and answered his own question if everyone was enjoying the party. She replied him anyway. "Yeah, the party has been really interesting so far, and the food you cooked was absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious."

It was then that Claudia heard the door opened and watched as a new figure stepped in. It was Holland. She was surprised to see him here. He was normally not one for social events like these. He seemed to make a beeline for her, approaching as soon as he spotted her. He looked rather dapper in that royal blue shirt he always wore. He greeted her with a "Hey Claudia, How are you doing?" as he approached from behind. She swivelled in her chair, turning around to answer him in her usual cheery voice. "Hey Holland! Fancy seeing you here. Did you follow me here?"

Claudia watched as the men stared at each other, as if sizing each other up before shaking each others hands. Holland then extended his right forearm, wrapping it around her waist, catching her off guard. She blushed a shade of deep crimson, abashed by his sudden action. He then introduced himself to the rest of the group. He then asked how she was doing. She replied "I'm doing well, really enjoying Sayana's lovely party here, the food cooked by Orin here, is great! Try some!" She gave him a bright playful smile, passing him a piece of the delicious bread with the glorious melted cheese resting on top. She then went on. "How are you here? Or rather why are you here?"

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love A touch on his arm signaled the arrival of the red haired girl who seemed to be friends with Sayana. Devi, her name was. And she masterfully complimented Orin’s abilities. When the brunette added her compliments, Orin felt like bursting with pride. However, he was also more than a bit wary. Pretty women talking to me, pretty women talking to me… was the only coherent thought Orin could seem to muster and it wasn’t all that coherent to begin with. It circled around and around in his mind until he felt like bolting out the open door and making his mistake, no matter how silly or unforgivably rude that might have been. In his experience, any time a beautiful girl gave him attention of any kind, it was usually to set him up for more humiliation later down the road. So he was a strange mix of elated and terrified, but mostly he was speechless. Then, he realized, that any time he wanted he could plead the excuse of the ham to get out of any situations he felt uncomfortable in. Blushing a furious red, he thanked everyone for their kindness. ”It’s really too nice of you to say, but really, the food’s nothing special. I hardly know what I’m doing and it’s all pretty basic stuff. But, again, thank you, it means a lot.” Running a hand through his hair, Orin attempted a smile, unsure how successful he was. ”Well, it seems rather unfair, I mean not actually unfair, but you know what I mean, that you all know what I do but I don’t know what any of you do!” Holland had put an arm around Claudia, Orin thought her name was, in a rather possessive manner. She blushed as deeply as Orin ever had and it made Orin grin a real grin. Obviously those two had a history together. Orin wasn’t sure how he felt about Holland. He seemed a bit detached from the proceedings, although he was being polite enough. Claudia seemed incredibly good-natured though. Orin wished them happiness together, assuming that they both wanted it. An announcement from the door made Orin glance over his shoulder. He was dressed in dark clothing with shaggy brown hair and he had a rather wiry build. Orin debated whether he should invite him to join their group but decided against it. For one thing, there were already quite a few people here in this cluster, and Orin didn’t know if his rudimentary social skills could handle any more. But Orin also wasn’t the host of this party and he figured Sayana would handle the situation whenever she got around to it. She seemed to still be in discussion about something or other in the corner. Orin supposed it must be rather serious. Orin was incredibly glad he was watching the door, because a dog happened to wander in. Orin at first guessed that the scent of meat had brought it in from the cold. He supposed a bit of new year charity to a stray animal was in order and he almost broke away to see if the ham was ready to cut off a bit for the dog. However, a voice suddenly popped up from the dog and Orin was startled. It was good his hands were empty, or he might have dropped whatever he was holding. Peering more closely, Orin saw a small figure riding the dog. It was one of the most incredible sights he had ever seen. The creature was tiny, probably smaller than Orin’s hand. It had large batlike wings where ears would normally go, a line of spikes where it’s hair would normally be, two tails that looked clawed at the end, actual claws, and a catlike face. Other than that, it had a vaguely humanoid shape. Whatever it was, it seemed friendly enough, although obviously didn’t have that much experience with gatherings. Pointing at it, Orin called to his group, ”I’m not the only one seeing this, am I?”

[Jeremy Casing]

A male voice talking about the Mithryn sparked interest from Jeremy, and he realised that the voice was directed at him. When he turned to face the man who had spoken, Jeremy realised that he did not recognise him. This was no surprise; the Kelvic usually kept to himself, dealing only with the farmers and other residents as and when his services were needed. "Yes, I do." He replied mildly, a slight smile on his lips. The fact another Mithryn resident was here gave the Kelvic some sense of relief. As he had done with all the individuals he had spoken to, Jeremy extended his hand in a greeting to the newcomer. "I'm Jeremy. Nice to meet you, Orin."

Another gulp of his ale, and Jeremy had finished his drink. He placed the empty tankard on the closest table and then returned to the conversation. Orin appeared to be apologising for something, and Jeremy smiled tightly to show that whatever had happened had been no issue for him. "Yes, it's a..." he paused to think of the right word: "Successful party, for sure. I'm just unused to being around so many people." The final sentence had been spoken quietly, as an explanation to the people Jeremy had found himself around and to himself as well.

A redheaded woman had joined their group, and Jeremy extended a polite smile to greet her. Her comment about the food sparked an enthusiastic nod from Jeremy, "very true. I'm no real fan of ale, but that bread is very impressive."

His golden eyes flashed back to Claudia, and the male beside her as he spoke his own introduction. The first genuine smirk cracked onto Jeremy's lips as he regarded the dark-haired male, placing his hand possessively onto Claudia's waist. And so the male displays his dominance over the group he narrated silently in his mind, stifling a chuckle by camouflaging it into a cough. Jeremy had no interest in such men, who appeared to claim their women as prized possessions and would not let their treasures socialise with other males. Having spent a fair amount of his time amongst protective and testosterone-fuelled bulls and goats, Jeremy could recognise the signs fairly quickly.

He turned his attention back to the larger part of the group, nodding to Orin and the redhead beside him, "Hello, I'm Jeremy." He greeted the latter, before turning once again to the other male, who had commented that he did not know what any of the others did for a living, "I work on the Mithryn as an animal handler."

The presence of the dog-riding Pycon caught Jeremy's attention, though for entirely different reasons to what he expected most of the other guests. An animal! One of Caiyha's own creations. Already the Phylonurist felt better, more confident, knowing that if worse came to worse, he could share the company of the dog and have a silent conversation with Nura. "No, you're not." He muttered in reply to Orin's question, another smile faintly pulling at his lips.

[Treachery]

The bulletin board was not something Treachery paid much attention to. It was just there to him with bit of papers appearing and disappearing at will, written requests for whatever scribbled across them. But this time it caught his attention, or more accurately a single badly written note that seemed vaguely familiar had. Not one to ignore his curious nature, the Zith had furrowed his brows, straightened his posture and gone to investigate. It wasn't long before he spotted the signs and followed them cautious of what he may find. Getting closer to the gathering, the Zith's sensitive ears picked out voices of all sorts; females and males alike. None of them he could recognise. Bewildered, Treachery stopped a corridor or two away from the location of the celebration. Pulling on the signs from where it had been placed he sniffed it trying to place the scent. It was familiar. He knew whoever had put these up, or at least had met them before. But who? The paper was frowned at sternly as the Zith tried to match a name or face to the smell. Unable to he returned to eavesdropping on the party. It was easy to tell it was already in full swing by now. Talk of pregnancies and fights were the most he could pick out of the mess of common. Heh, sounded like his sort of celebration. Bemused by the topics of discussion, Treachery's attention immediate shifted when a familiar clay person on a large rat trotted past where he was loitering. Her name was Niv-something if his memory served correctly. She had been present at the hunt. Nibbling his lip, Treachery mentally balanced out the risk of being rude before shrugging and following the little Pycon as stealthily as he could manage. Peering around the corner of the corridor, the tail end of the riding rat had disappeared through an open door emitting noisy chatter and mouth watering smells. Keeping his booted footsteps light, the scent of food practically dragged Treachery down towards the corridor by his nose. Nervously flattening himself against the wall, the Zith stuck his head into the door way to assess the situation. The Pycon had made quite the entrance, vague comparable to her one at the hunt, drawing attention of a few men. But it was her pronunciation of 'Party' that really caused Treachery to pay attention and then start giggling. Then chuckling then full out laughing before a hand slapped itself over his maw muffling the sound. He didn't know why but it was just funny and he couldn't stop. Trying to calm himself down, the Zith leaned heavy on the door frame breathing through his nose. After a few chimes the laughter went and his lungs efforts returned to normal, leaving him slouched in the door frame cloak covering his wings nicely with any cover he might have had shot dead. Giving the wing-eared squire a small wave and a smile, the Zith wondered smoothly over to her. “Hello Nivel. I may come in too, yes? To Par teee too?”

[Nivel]

Nivel’s odd voice didn’t carry quite as well as she had hoped, with all the music and chatter going on. Though a few did take notice of her for her surreal looking appearance but for the most part they just gawked at her like she was a hallucination. One Tall Folk seemed to have taken extra interest in Patcha and the canine shared the interest. Without any instruction form her rider the corgi trotted over to the strange man with her tail wagging ever so slightly and her tongue hanging out of her perpetual grinning dog face. Nivel was at a loss for words since Patcha was more likely to run away from people than seek them out. The tiny Kelvic began sniffing the strange mans leg as Nivel clumsily dismounted. “Oh my mount seems to like you” Nivel said with a gentle pat of Patcha’s head. “I’ll let you too get acquainted” Nivel turned her head to the table covered in platters of food “I want to see if they have any clay or maybe tea.” Nivel skipped over to the table with her tails saying behind her in unison, then sent out her hands like grappling hooks and pulled her self on to the table. There was much food there but she spotted nothing suitable of a pycon. One of the guests had poured themselves a strange murky looking beverage into a mug, Nivel had never seen this kind of beverage before but it intrigued her. I looked to here like there was mud in it but there seemed to be a large concentration of bubbles that made it clear it wasn’t just muddy water. She found an abandoned cup with the fluid in it and without a second though she slipped on of her tails into the mysterious fluid. She couldn’t really taste the concoction but it definitely left her with a strange sensations she couldn’t describe. “WHAT is this Stuff, it feels MAAAgical!” Nivel announced loudly with bewilderment. She slipped her whole body into the beverage to feel the full affects and she giggled from the tickling sensation it left all over her body. “Oh Hello Tretchie!” Nivel cheered as her furry friend walked up to her “have you tried this stuff it’s the best thing EVER!”