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[[ Eiry - Pumpkin Carving Tables ]]

Like the dampening of a flame underneath an outstretched hand, Eiry and his fiery wings seemingly shrunk in size underneath the presence of his brother. There seemed to be nothing but disapproving frowns from his brother, lately, no...not just lately, but all the time. As far back as he could remember, the frowns of annoyance and displeasure were there, but growing more and more common. He gave his sibling a disheartened and pouting frown, glaring somberly at him from underneath the shameful hang of his head as the scorpion doled out his usual speech on his stupidity and childish nonsense.

But stand against it, he did. Eiry stood solid, forcing himself to deny his instinct to slip into intangibility. It was his way of being stronger, of not allowing his cowardice show by falling into intangibility by way of expressing his want to disappear from the conversation. Hearing Rivener follow up his harsh words with a momentary jump onto Eiry's side, the ghost sigel gave a visible flinch as he jumped again into his berating of the younger of the two. He was tired of always being blamed or yelled at, and half of the time, Eiry didn't even understand what he was doing so wrong to make others so irritable.

"I'm not a...I'm..." Eiry tried to say in his defense, but his words wilted and he grew silent.

When Alex came up to them, pressing herself into the collective of half formed bodies, Eiry finally lapsed into intangibility, frowning at Alex in a way that spoke of the hurt already implemented by the evening's situation. The damage was done. There was no way that Eiry could continue on in his happy celebration of his favorite holiday without feeling like a complete child, not when he was feeling watched and judged and quietly ridiculed behind backs and fingers. He winced away from Alex's beckon, instead dropping his head lower and holding his elbow with the worried knead of his fingers. He watched her guiltily from underneath the hang of his bangs, opening his mouth to try and say something before letting himself fall silent. For once, the loquacious sigel had nothing to say.

[[ Pumpkin carving table ]]

None of this was, to be quite frank, what Varun was expecting when he came to the party. He expected to dress up as Jack Sparrow (one of his favorite pirates, even if something nagging told him that he should like to eat pirates, which seemed like an entirely ridiculous notion) and find Kinsey dressed up as…what had Alex called the octopus man? Davy Jones? Yes. He would find his woman as Davy Jones, he would bring her home, and he would let her have a piece of his mind, disappearing for days like that. But there was no Kinsey, there was Prajna with someone else, there was Anya whom he didn’t understand, and there was Rivener he was being forced to trust.

There was also Basil, and Cordelia, and Cruz, and Eiry, and it was all quickly becoming far, far too much. The Leviathan’s had swam and he gave a low growl, wings flaring straight out and vibrating against the air. Small flakes of dying skin drifted away and the rumble was followed by a soft keen, bright green eyes fixed on the Scorpion as the Spider Queen retreated. None of this, I understand, he hissed, waving a delicate pale hand in dismissal. Unlike the others, Anya. Now Basil, and Eiry. Feh, time for this, I have not. Giving Rivener a cool look, he shrugged and tossed his head. Good you came, problem sorted. I have…other things, now. That was as close to thanks as Varun felt comfortable giving.

Eiry, wait! I have question, he called, brows furrowed as the Frei carefully tried to extract himself from Rivener’s presence. The Sigel may seem all charm now, but the Leviathan knew, oh he knew… And he did not need to be reminded, either. That aside, the spectral Sigel was someone Varun remembered, when he met Kinsey for the very first time. Perhaps such a knowledgeable Raevan would know where his woman had run off to. Someone must be keeping track of those things, surely?

((Delia – Treat Bobbing // Ebs – Outside))

For perhaps the first time ever since the basilisk had met Basil, Cordelia shot the snake boy a most sinister look. Though indeed angered by the other’s seemingly callous words, her silver eyes were mostly hurt by his inconsiderateness. “Maybe to you Baz, but not to me.” she pouted, reminding herself that he was still young and tended to forget things easily. Did she even tell him about this? Delia couldn’t remember, so maybe he wasn’t the only one with memory problems.

Luckily for her Lazarus did remember and this made the smoky girl’s sour mood disappear instantly. With fondness, Cordelia hugged the Sigel’s arm tight and nodded her acceptance of his idea. As long as they were fine with her just cheering from the sidelines while they had their fun then Delia was happy.

Pulling away while Laz got himself ready to play the water game, Delia could only giggle as he removed his beard. Honestly, she thought he looked much better without it anyway. The Incubus had such a strong and handsome face that it seemed such a shame to hide it behind all that hair. What person came up with that kind of style beard anyway? “Goooo Laz!”

She physically cringed when Lazarus’s face collided with the water. It was only natural with her condition, though she couldn’t help wondering how it would feel if she was able to do that. A tiny flare of jealously was set then, but the snake didn’t allow it to fan anymore than that. Instead she cheered as loudly as her wispy voice could manage and clapped excitedly when the elder Raevan emerged from the watery depths victorious.

Too caught up in the moment, Delia didn’t register the prize of fruit the Sigel was offering to share with them then. Excitedly, she bobbed up and down, her black rune pulsing rapidly. “Yeah yeah! Your turn Basil! Good luck!” Encouraging the younger serpent with a bright smile, the black Frei gently gave the other a push forward towards the bobbing tank.



“You are always pretty. Do you know that?”

David’s words froze her to the spot like a chilled winter breeze, even managing to bring a bright reddening to her tanned cheeks as well. The way he looked at her wasn’t one of lust or longing, merely one of appraisal, like one would if they were staring at a beautiful piece of artwork or a precious gem. Though his words seemed a bit slurred, no doubt due to alcohol, she couldn’t help but feel like he was finally giving her a bit of insight to his true feelings. Yet there was still that nagging in the back of her head, the warning light going off and reminding her what he did at night. He was an actor after all and a good one at that if memory served correct of him being one of the more popular hosts for the Queen’s Collection. The caveman was use to figuring out what it was exactly that women wanted to hear to make them happy.

Ebony might have accepted his reinforcement of his prior assessment on her beauty if David hadn’t ruined it by tapping her nose and laughing. Thus the warning light went off louder in her head. She narrowed her eyes. Was he making fun of her?! And here she was worrying about him and all for nothing. Yup she’d been right, it would have been better if she’d just left him alone after all.

With a sigh touched with a bit of annoyance, the Brit roughly brushed his hand away from her face. “I knew it. You are drunk. I’m going to go before you say anything else dumb you’ll regret.” Carefully she began her descent from the top of the haystack, disappointment coloring every part of her face. What exactly had she been expecting anyway? Truly she had to be a masochist; there just wasn’t any other explanation.

((Shepard == middle of room; Vivi == Pot luck table))

Oh! Vivi thought, to have had this man in the circus! How well he would have fit. To have been able to see him once, roaming the crowds after all had been seated and the lights had gone low, to flow through them like an apparition, to hear him speak and inspire them all to wonder and awe.

Vivi heard his compliments with a wide smile. She was determined to make a friend of him now. Inside, she already considered him to be special, even though hardly a moment had passed from their greeting. This was how she decided things, all based on the whisperings of her mercurial heart, and this one she heard gladly. He was too thrilling to let by as one of the many, no matter what the faults that lay behind that cloak and behind that skin – even if he were wicked… especially if he were wicked.

That skin! Like he was wrapped around a sun! He could not be human. Vivi was unsure if it was his costume or the feel of his so-warm skin, but he gave off an aura of being more than human – a Raevan, perhaps?

“Aa~” she murmured admiringly, taking in his costume, his physique, his aura. “Such a gentleman, to humor and to compliment! But I see you do not know the French, and I must be a little sad – for, you see, the best compliments to a gentleman are certainly those that are French.” She looked up at him with her bright, heavy-lashed eyes and dipped into a slight curtsy. “With permission, I will teach some words. N’est pas, it means, ‘is it not so?’ And, enchantée, it means, ‘I am pleased to meet you.’ I am Vivi.” She dipped her head. "And the Raevan to whom I will be a companion – it is unfortunately that he or she has not yet been born, you see.”

She shook her head, still smiling. “And now you must tell me – is it considered impolite to ask the name of a god? I must know with whom I have the pleasure.”

-

Shepard grinned as his cowboy hat came down over his eyes and Anita dipped out of sight. He’d seen her stick out her tongue, and he’d seen that strange look on her face when he’d started talking in his fake-Southern accent, and it made him feel, well …he didn’t quite know the word. Like he’d had a first drink and his brow had loosened out of its faint, constant frown. Relaxed, maybe? Ready to laugh. And he did laugh as he flicked his hat back up and looked around to find Anita– where was she? It wasn’t more than a moment before he caught sight of her, doing her strange mimic-keep-away dance behind him.

“Girl, yer gonna hurt yerself,” Shepard said, amused. “Gotta know though – ya put that costume on in hopes of findin’ a fattened-up wolf, or ya come with one ready made?”

((Josh: Food buffet ; LuLu: Outer edge of the room ))

LuLu glanced around the room once more. She weighed her gaze heavily on each attendee before she gave her response. She shook her head softly, her braids swayed with the motion, “No. I only know a few.” She then peered up at Wasa. Her slender brow was quirked into a curious arch. She had never been asked that question before. The frei’s wings gave a small flap as they settled down against her back. The rabbit cooed softly at the human, “Oooohs.” She punctuated her sentence by forming a “U” shaped trench with her palm.

The raevan then shot a gaze back towards Melisande. She had not gotten an answer yet and was becoming a bit antsy. Perhaps the sigel was nervous about saying hello? LuLu could relate to that fear. Meeting new raevans could definitely be a challenge at times. The rabbit had probably “struck out” just as many times as she had gotten a home run. Nevertheless, there was strength in numbers and LuLu would be sure to have Pasha’s back should any trouble arise. A cuffed arm reached out and took the muse’s hand. LuLu gave a bright smile as she began to pull Melisande along towards the various event and food tables everyone was centered around.

She untwined herself from her elder once they arrived. LuLu’s lavender eyes darted around in search of the purple haired frei from earlier. She released a despondent huff when the spider was nowhere to be found. The rabbit turned her attention to Meli, “I am going for a moment. Call me if you have any trouble Pasha.” LuLu was unsure what trouble the muse could get into. However, she still extended the offer. “I will not wander too far.” With that said, the rabbit floated off towards the edge of the barn in search of Anya.

Josh’s face grew three shades brighter when Namini grasped his hands and threaded her fingers through his own. Copper eyes glinted in the light as the widened in surprise. Those eyes could not help but fall upon the girl’s smile, or rather, her lips. They loomed so closely to him it was almost as if the girl were intentionally trying to tease him. The boy cleared his throat with a rough cough and laughed away his nerves, “Everything has been going good enough. How are things on your end?”

Josh’s smile only grew as he watched David make his exit. Now the only thing that could have put a damper on his night was leaving the building. Things seemed to be looking up for the teenager.

[Melisande - Pumpkin Carving Table]

Pasha started a bit as Lulu tugged at her, but the Sigel floated along without any resistance. It was becoming frustrating trying to make out the world through the milky fog of her white contacts...she gave the Frei's arm a little squeeze of thanks for the assistance. The Muse's other hand quested out blindly, patting for Wasa and guiding her along as well.

It was surprising how different the new area smelled. Tantalizing aromas of food were mixed with something much more...vegetable? Patches of orange colored her pale vision, and the Sigel gazed at the pumpkin carving table with wide eyes. What was all this?

She blinked and dipped slightly in the air as Lulu excused herself, gracefully pausing in a new half curtsy pose. "Thank you, Lulu! I hope to see you again!" Pasha turned her face toward where she assumed Wasa was, and tilted her head.

"Have you introduced yourself to Doctor Kyou, yet? He is..." Pasha's head was still tilted, as she listened. She heard a low chuckle, and smiled, pointing sightlessly towards a few figures near the barrels. "There!"

Something in the Muse's tone suggested it was polite to introduce oneself to the host of a party. Pasha was used to offering such little cues for Wasa...even if it had been a long time since they'd had occasion to associate.

((Zeke and Anya -- By the Storage Room at the back of the barn))

The Frei kept moving along the wall until she could go no farther. The back end of the barn came into view and forced her to halt, which in turn caused her to double over. The area was quiet and without bodies of any sort, but the Frei didn't notice or care. What she did care about was the hurt in her hands, the hurt in her chest, and the overall swirl of emotions within her that made her feel like she wanted to spew bile.

How had a night that was supposed to be fun - or in Anya's case, a bore fest that she would just put up with - so quickly spiraled into this? She didn't even begin to think on it, but would later when she was calm and there was nothing left in her but pain and anger. In the meantime she leaned against the wall she had come upon in her haste, looking at her still shaking hands and groaning as she heard Zeke's voice behind her.

"Anya!" Zeke came to a stop a few steps short of where the spider queen was. Concern had doubled on his face during the jog from the pumpkin tables to this spot, leaving him looking nearly distressed. His eyes roamed over his Frei's doubled over form and even though her wings were aloft in that 'stay away from me' posture, the veterinarian still cleared the small space between them to be at her side. "C'mon let's find you a place to sit down..."

The door to the storage room was just to the right of them. It wasn't the most ideal place but at least it was somewhere the Frei could sit down without being detected or accosted by others. There were plenty of chairs still inside and it was heated, so the only problem now would be getting the Frei in there. Easy on paper, not so much in practice. When the vet went for the doorknob, Anastacia rounded on him.

"What are you doing?" Her month long silence towards him had now been broken for good and she glared at him with all her hurt and rage. Zeke paused with the door ajar, not withering under that ire-filled gaze, but unhappy to see it all the same.

"Opening this so you can go inside and sit down," he said simply, giving the Frei another reassuring smile. As before, it did little to quell the spider queen and her negative feelings and in fact only ignited her hatred toward the vet's "stupid" smile.

"I don't want to go in there!" She just wanted to stay put, here, where it was dark and she could curl up until her hands stopped aching and shaking. If she moved, she knew, she would draw attention to herself and attract more imbeciles and their ilk toward her like she was some sort of side show freak. She bared her teeth at the very idea and pressed against the wall. She was staying put.

Zeke let the doorknob go and turned his body back toward his ward. His eyes ticked over her before turning over the now-dispersed crowd and those who hadn't come over, but were still present. His smile faded into a neutral line, but slipped upward again into a small smile when he looked back at the spider queen.

"Do you want to go home?" The answer surprised him.

"No!" Had anything else happened the Frei would have been leading the march out ages ago. But not now and the reason was elementary in her head - she moved and attention would be brought with only more eyes being cast upon her if she made her way toward the barn's doors now. No, she would not submit herself to that and would instead wait until the entire party had cleared before she would make to leave herself.

"W-Well...Are you sure, Anya?"

"Yes." It was spoken on an acidic tone and Anastacia glared harder at her man. What part of 'no' did he not understand? Why was he so damn dumb? She pressed herself further against the wall, grumbling under her breath at her guardian before turning her eyes down at her hands once more. They continued to leak still and the sight alone made the spider queen's grumbling transform into an unmuted, shaky half-whine.

Zeke dropped the subject fast at that sound, eyes widening at such an unfamiliar noise coming from his Frei before reaching out to take her hands. Anastacia saw the movement and pulled her hands away from him, but cast her wings out toward the vet as a means of defense.

"Don't touch me." It was hissed and she meant it, but while that sound was threatening, Zeke wasn't deterred.

"Anya," he said gently, "let me see."

"No! Go away!"