Welcome to Gaia! ::

Thrift store clothes were the order of the day for the young man who skirted his way around the other occupants of the bar, careful not to touch them, though he’d at least learned to be more discrete about his unease. He was by rights too young for the bar, but they were unlikely to check, and if they did he had a fake ID that was really rather convincing.

“It’s been a while.” Said the unfamiliar face of the young man who stopped by your table. He seemed to know you well enough, a casual edge to the way he glanced you over before nodding some kind of approval.

“You didn’t wear those gloves I sent you the other year.” He said, eyes flicking to her hands and back, a small smile creasing his mouth and warming at the corners of his eyes.

He slid a small box next to you, white glossed cardboard, picked up in a hurry most like and closed with a gold tinted elastic tied in a small bow. ‘Something Sweet Confections’ – read the sticker placed into the near center of the box.

“Good timing though, I was just closing the shop, may I have a seat?”

“I had more than I could set on the shelf when I was don’t making them, so don’t feel too guilty.” He said suppressing, if barely the laugh that wanted to bubble out at watching her emotional gears shift without a proverbial ‘clutch’.

“Zac, Zac Bantock” he supplied. “Not sir, not here.” His voice was very quiet when he added the last part. They had more than enough reasons to hide their names without hinting at titles.

“If it’s not red velvet cake, I’ll consider it.” He gave a small open laugh at some joke that was likely more personal unless she’d been there for the great Halloween Debacle of the ‘Red Velvet Youma Cake’ that he’d had to –eat- large chunks of to find the crimson crystal that remained chained to his waist to this day.

“Besides, I should call you mam, I’m younger than you and we’re not…dressed up.” He offered a casual smile as he slid carefully into the booth. “Happy Birthday, Mam.” He blinked to realize that he was still, well…taller than her even sitting down. He’d not seen her in long enough that he hadn’t realized, or thought about the fact that he’d grown in the mean time.

“Why not play along with me, pretend I’m just another lieutenant, see who knows and who doesn’t…” He gave her an amused look.

Suri nodded quietly when she brought up keeping their identities safe, and instead went to work on the small flat box. With special care, she opened the lid, revealing a cake frosted in white with loopy blue cursing that spelled out "Happy Birthday" amidst a spray of frosting flower-petals. It was simple, but it was the end result of an afternoon of baking home alone for herself.

"It's chocolate, actually," she said with a nod as she got out her servingware, cutting off two small squares with an expert's hand. Just as she was about to serve the first piece, she caught the words of the tall blonde approaching their small engagement.

Suri didn't recognize her, but that didn't mean anything: anyone could be a Negaverse agent in disguise, especially when their ranks were growing every day. The hard part was knowing where Suri stood with her: they could be on equal terms as fellow Lieutenants, or she could be looking at a newly promoted General, which drastically altered the social decorum needed for this situation. The gears in Suri's head whirred as she tried to deduce her best plan of action: if she was dealing with a lieutenant and showed too much respect, she might be seen as passive and weak, but the consequences of insulting a high-ranking officer were considerably worse.

Or, a third voice chimed, she could simply treat the other woman as a friend of a friend and leave it at that.

"We've got plenty," was what Suri finally settled on, cutting a third piece and placing it softly on a set of plain paper plates. She seemed stiff, despite her best efforts to remain calm: after all, it had been ages since she'd actually been at a casual event where she wasn't Miss Ellis, science coordinator, to a bunch of students. It was hard to adjust to being at an event where she was around people who, at least externally, appeared to be peers.

"I don't think we've met," she continued, sliding a plate and a fork towards Kess. With her hands free, she began the process of setting her hair back in place, taking the time to smooth down the layers of her hair. "My name's Suri, and you are?"

Indubitably

Ah, okay. Edited as well!

Krishna normally didn't come to this particular bar, but tonight it was showing a pay per view of a special soccer match that he wanted to see. Their lager selection was horrendous, but he eventually selected an appropriate beverage before settling in to watch the game. A sudden movement from an overly enthusiastic fan--of the other team, he noted sourly--made him take a step back... and into the counter where the party was taking place. His beer splashed on the table, near the cake but fortunately not on it. The florist turned to be sure he hadn't ruined anything and recognized the birthday girl immediately.

"Suri," he greeted simply, with a nod of acknowledgment. Clearly some sort of party was going on--one to which he had not received a text invite since they had never shared phone numbers during her attempt to recruit him.

He gave a curt nod to both of the others as well, a freckled woman and a blue-haired man, but made no efforts to extend a greeting. Instead, he pulled a napkin from the nearby holder and placed it over the spilt lager. He wasn't going to apologize for something that was clearly not his fault, but she was worthy enough for him to at least correct it.

Zac leaned back in his seat and flicked a gaze between the beer and the young man who spilled it, he didn’t –really- need an introduction, he’d corrupted him for better or for worse. “Did you finally get your flower shop cleaned up?” he asked without an explanation for how he knew, perhaps a passer by?

“We could sing, might be amusing.” He tilted his head at the fork sticking up and down in her cake contemplative. “Singing before or after more beer becomes involved? Hopefully people will be –drinking- it rather than sloshing it.”

It was a light tease if a pointed one, regardless of where blame was felt to lie.

“Krishna wasn’t it?” He supplied. He knew the man from his flower shop, and a very brief run in with Sailor Tsui, there had been talk and corruption amid the demolition of the flower shop. “When did this become so –tense? It was more relaxed when it was me walking over here, that’s rather terrible.”

Krishna noted the cheer of the blonde lady and was going to ask her which team she supported, but the mention of his shop made his attention focus on the blue-haired man speaking to him. How did he know of his shop? Had he been there? The florist did not remember him, and it showed in his voice as he answered, "It is well enough; only minor repairs remain. Do I know you?" Overly blunt, perhaps, but direct was how he operated. The jab about his spilling of the drink, no matter how light-hearted, made him huff in response, "The cake was unharmed."

"More to drink? Sounds good." Alchol tended to make any situation better. Krishna could only hope that would be the case now. The rainbow-haired man used a finger to beckon for another lager for himself. He was not going to sing, however. One had to draw the line somewhere.

Normally, the ruckus and the spilt beer would cause Suri to wheel around and tell off the clumsy lout, but as she spun to face her would-be verbal assailant, she instead found a brother at arms, and some of the worry melted from her face. "Krishna," she responded warmly, patting him on the shoulder and motioning for him to join the group.

She began cutting yet another slice of cake when Kess brought up that they hadn't sung yet, and she paused, furrowing her brow. True, etiquette dictated that they sing before cake, and yet...well, most of her arguments to the contrary were centered around not wanting to be the center of attention, when clearly she had put herself there in the first place by bringing cake to a dive bar. "We can sing," she relented, "But first, alcohol. Definitely first." If she was going to get embarrassed in public, she was at least going to have a buzz going on.

And then entered Venice, or at least her boisterous greeting. Suri veered over the small grouping of people and looked at the dark-haired woman, all at once feeling threatened and in awe of her vintage look. Normally, the low intimidated feeling that washed over her would mean that she hence ignored the other presence, but she knew Kess and Kess knew Zac, which clearly meant that they were all something for Chaos, even if Suri was not the best at guessing who was who.

But yes, introductions were in order, and Suri swivveled her chair around so she could address the group. "Krishna, this is Zac, this is Kess. Kess, Zac, this is Krishna." She offered a glance back to the other woman, biting her tongue. Be nice, be nice, be nice. "Want to join us? We have plenty of cake." The move was spontaneous, outgoing, and something that on a normal day would make Suri's skin crawl.

Being perfectly honest, it still made Suri's skin crawl, and when the bartender came with their drinks she took a good, long sip of hers. This was good for her, she told herself. Branching out, meeting people. It was what she was supposed to be doing. Besides, after a few more drinks it shouldn't feel too awkward, right?