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[[ Dayo > Dinner Table [Zul, Delia, Cesc, Vivi, Shepard] | Fathle > Christmas Tree [Xan]]]

Dayo nodded, enthusiastically agreeing with Domo’s comment before smiling at Cruz.
“It was nice to meet you too, Cruz,” she said with a happy flush to her cheeks. Her golden eyes turned to look as she felt a gust of cold air fill the room as the doors in the lobby opened. A small smile turned on her lips when she recognized a certain newcomer.
“Delia…” she breathed before she turned to the other raevens and excused herself. “Excuse me for a moment. I would like to say hello to an old friend. Domo, Ren, Ethiriel…,” she said before bowing a little bit before floating over toward the dining table. Dayo was momentarily distracted by the spread of food on the dining table. She slowly approached the small group. There was a beautiful female human and a male human; they both seemed vaguely familiar. There was also a handsome raeven that had little horns and was… more formed than her. Dayo tilted her head with curiosity. How did he become longer? There was also another boy raeven who reminded her of a deer with his horns. Dayo immediately found this attribute about him endearing.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt but… I just wanted to say hello,” she said, turning her eyes to Cordelia. Dayo noticed a strange drop of emotion near the snake. Was something wrong? “Um, I’m not sure if you remember me, Delia. I know it’s been a long time,” she said with a bright smile. Dayo glanced at the other attendants at the dining table. Her mind suddenly combined names and faces.
“And Ms. Vivi! And Mr. Ryan! I remember we met at a park,” she blurted out happily.

---

“A music school?... I may have to make an appointment so that Dayo may visit it. I believe she is interested in learning the cello…” he said before smiling at Xan’s little tidbit about driving in the countryside. “I am a business entrepreneur, and I am an avid antiques collector. And I would have to agree that taking a drive out of the city would be quite relaxing. Is Domo a student at your school?”

((LuLu > Cocoa booth Doucette + Banter + Zul ))

LuLu stared with wide eyes as Dou left her for the wolves.... er, well cobra. Her expression practically screamed 'take me with you!' and, in all honesty, Genie would have been her next stop of the night anyway. LuLu considered the idea that she could still hop a ride with Dou and make a clean getaway from Basil with minimal collateral.

However, now it was too late. The only barrier between her and a conversation with Basil was now chatting it up with another human; one who was not Genie and who was nowhere near the dinner table. Crap, her plans were foiled!

The rabbit reflexively gulped then nearly jumped out of her skin as the obsidian frei saw and took the opportunity to infiltrate her personal space. Her eyes darted to what he had set on the table, a mug and a present, then back up to him. The motion formed a jumpy triangle over and over again until LuLu realized that Basil could no longer be avoided.

Flight had failed her and now LuLu's brain did a sharp one eighty.

Fight.

If Basil was so set on talking, then they would talk. LuLu smoothed herself over with an uneasy breath then straightened up, her lengthier spine formed an even line. Her jaw tilted up to form a strong edge as she listened to his remarks. Basil spoke quick and business like as though they were finalizing a contract. Each comment was to the point until the very last word. That last word caught LuLu off guard.

Please.

It sounded tinny and insincere on his tongue like it did not belong there, or as though he was not familiar enough with using the word to make it ring genuine. Lu's gaze was level with the cobra's as she spoke. She kept her response at a volume reserved for privacy, "I will, too. Coffee. Check the kitchen."

Her eyes flicked around for a brief moment before they landed on Anita, "Anita. She is on the couches." The sigel fought the tremble out of her words. She made sure each one was clear and steady before she said it. Their exchange felt painful, like pulling teeth. The sooner he was gone, the better.

Then a newcomer chose to join their chat and Lu nearly wept with joy at who it was. "Zul!" The baphomet had hardly changed since she had last seen him. His presence was as commanding as ever and served to put the girl at ease. No one could hurt her with him around.

The rabbit practically hopped over to her brother. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight grip before she used his torso as an impromptu fire pole to slide out of site behind his back. Her ears just poked out from behind his shoulder, "I am glad you are here."

(( Harrison -- > Zeke, Doucette, Luka || Camille -- > Mordekai, Josh, Aphismet and Rivener))


Harrison gave a nervous but winning grin to the light based raevan and shrugged. A sheepish flush flew over his neck as he felt a mild social anxiety creep over his spine under the horrendously oversized sweater. But he smiled and drove on anyway. The pilot was kind, nodding and motioning to the gift with his chin.

“I didn’t really know what to get ya so I hope this will suffice for now,” He tilted his head, glancing down at the BDU camo helmet bag emblazoned with his flight patch on the center: name, former rank and class of aviation in bright gold letters. “I’m new to this.”

Harrison said preemptively, gesturing to the room at large. “Recently captured a soul. waiting to introduce a new one of y’all into the community. Kinda nervous about how it’s gonna roll out,” he said as he drummed his fingers against the bag, “Anyway, let me know if you like it. I uh… got a card in here too…”

The pilot dug around, scrunching his face as he did so, crows feet deepening at the corners of his eyes in concentration. He pulled a card out of the side pocket and held it out to Luka between two fingers. It was his civilian identifying “business” card. Outlining the medical flight company he moonlit out, his aviator ratings and contact information. He didn’t honestly feel comfortable handing it out, but Camille had convinced him to attend this event for the benefit of the unborn raevan. So he damn well was going to network.

“Take that, call me up sometime if you’d feel comfortable with that. I’ve got questions about how Frei-hood is treating you and things like that,” Now he was seriously embarrassed. Way to point out just how much of a nerd you are, Trox.

His attention was called away and he bid the satyr a pleasant evening and turned his head to the brush of curls and freckles. Hey that was a familiar sight. An easy grin befell the pilot’s face, single dimple quirking and his entire face sort of lit up. Doucette was no stranger.

“Hey, Doe,” He called and nodded. He didn’t even think to consider she’d be present. Of course she would. Ren was sort of a social butterfly in her own weird sort of way.

He flushed at once again being reminded he too was going to be a guardian. Ah, s**t man. He rubbed his face and made a noise of anxiety, “I know, I know. I wish it were sooner rather than later. This wait is seriously driving me up a wall… Fingers crossed it’s soon though.”

—

Camille waited, watching in anticipation with his tongue to the neck of the tequila bottle. This thing wasn’t going back to the table un-emptied anyway. 1 point to Oral fixation. He held his breath, eyes widening at the large gulp the other cajun took before roaring out a laughter, stumbling backwards into the bar making all the bottles jump and slosh a bit. His prosthetic was as useless as a limp crutch. He degraded to tiny snorts of laughter, face going red and tears burning the corner of his eyes.

“H’tolju!!” He hollered, slapping the table and pointing with one finger around the tequila bottle, “Shi’ could’ clean y’M16 bettuh than any CLP!”

He then swigged, hiccuped, choked and coughed on the tequila simultaneously. Talent, friends, it was a gift. His face was as red as a tomato, washing the freckled complexion to a Rudolph luminosity. He took a few deep breaths, holding the tequila back out to Mordekai and gesturing for the flask back. The alcohol was definitely hitting the tiny man’s system with full force.

“It’s m’ life’s blood, y’figger?” He was still laughing intermittently with tiny hiccoughs to calm his throat and diaphragm. Brow furrowed to a creased peak, “Don’ worry, h’won’ hold nothin’ agains’ y’. It’s m’ personal poison ~”

He waved his hand at Mordekai’s efforts and smiled, scrunching his face and facing Josh but acknowledging the other coonass.

“S’alrigh’, Mordie. This feller here is’ responsible an’ dignified folk. ’S like Troxel, y’know th’pilo’?” He snuffed his nose and glanced over at Mordekai, “Only drinks on hockey nigh’s an’ weekends.”

There was a grave expression for a moment before Cam turned back to Josh and nodded at him, raising the bottle of tequila, revoked from being offered back to Mordekai, and toasting Josh, the well natured man, “Y’r a good man, feller.”

Cam nodded solemnly, alcohol definitely taking it’s effect and he grinned back at Mordekai, tongue once again stuck to the rim of the bottle. 2 points- nil now.

“Ye, he’s youngen lookin’. Trox, yenno th’pilo’,” He took a swig, keeping the neck on his bottom lip as he spoke in wonder, “Nearly forty. Ah well, Dey don’t call it th’infantry f’nothin’~”

He settled the bottle down on the table, leaning closer and pushing the tequila closer to Mordekai. He wants his flask back now. Then he’s being addressed. He scrunched his face, giving the fellow bayou boy a look of betrayal at disclosing his identity- all in good play of course. He rolled his eyes out towards the direction Mordekai called to.

“It’s Kah-Mee,” He grinned looking back to Mordie because, he’s good people, and he understands the weird name game the cajuns play, “ No’ Kah-Meal~”

He stumbled, leaning very heavily against the bar, both elbows propping him up behind his back and throwing Aphismet and Rivener a winning smile, flush high on his freckled cheeks.

“Hey y’all. How kin h’help you? Merry Chrismus by th’way!"

((Zeke --> Cocoa Bar --> Trox and Doucette, with eyes on Zul))

"Get me some rope and a step ladder and we'll see how many people start gathering under me!" The vet playfully swatted at the hand that poked him square in his middle, not making contact but sticking his tongue out at the short woman for good measure. It was clear that the veterinarian was now in his element. With good company about Zeke positively glowed, bouncing on his heels even as he made room for Trox to slide into the conversation.

"You two have met? Great!" As much as he liked doing introductions, it was nice to see - and by extension know - that Guardians had met or happened upon each other in the time since Zeke let them out the door with their empty Soul Glasses and Fel Essence receptacles. Judging by the friendly air between Harrison and Doucette, their meeting had gone favorably. Again he looked around for Ren, wondering if the pilot had met her too, but was drawn back at the mention of Trox's "little one". Zeke had to work at keeping his face even. Part of his reason for coming was to get Duncan and Trox together in order to take them back into the belly of the Lab to see their developing Raevans. Flicking his gaze to the tall pilot as the other man spoke in reply, the raver began to wonder how he would react to seeing what was waiting for him beyond the keycard-locked double doors at the very end of the hall. "The wait's always killer, but trust me, once they're born you'll wonder where the time goes pretty quick. It was like that for me when Anya was born. Heck it's still like that even now."

She'd be four this spring and time was like sand in a sieve. Ren had to be about a year old now if he remembered right, or close to it. Knowing what he did and having seen what he had of the Hamsa Frei still within her tube, Zeke was certain he'd be calling up Trox pretty damn soon to give him the good news at this rate. It wouldn't be so for Duncan however, not at the rate the Pomegranate was growing. He supposed that was a tree soul for what it was worth, as the two men would see soon enough. Looking around for Duncan now instead of the Aurora Frei, Zeke again did not see his friend in attendance. However, his search was not unrewarded. Zul entered with all the regality the Sigel naturally possessed, greeted some people he knew - and Zeke spied Cesc and Shep among them - before moving along to a spot near to where he, Trox, and Dou were situated. Zeke turned and made to call to the Sigel, but an unfamiliar female Raevan was soon wrapped around and then behind him so it made him hesitate. Zul kept interesting company! All the same, he gave Trox a nudge and pointed to the three-horned Raevan.

"I found your second Secret Santa. That's Zul over there, see him?" He then fixated his sunny smile on Dou again, to properly explain the derailment of the topic at hand and extend the offer he had to Harrison a short while before. "I'm helping Trox find his Secret Santas. If you need any help finding yours, I'm happy to oblige!" Dou wasn't carrying anything, but perhaps she had been like him and left hers in her car in the rush to get inside and party. He'd have to make a rush out there in due time; she was his Secret Santa after all!

(( Hot Cocoa station with Banter and Lulu ))


"Lu," he greeted the rabbit Sigel with a mixture of undecided emotions: surprise, a touch of guilt for not seeing her sooner, and an impressed sense of pride that she was a Sigel. Zul wasn't terribly surprised, seeing as they weren't born that far apart, but he was extremely happy for her. It meant she was doing well -- at least, that's what he hoped it meant. "Are you...okay?" He turned his head, blue eyes turned downwards in sharp relief over his shoulder at the female behind him, subtly stretching his wings as another barrier between her and the Cobra. Was she hiding? From Basil? The guy was harmless, insofar as he knew, but then again...

The demon flicked his attention back to the Cobra, brows narrowing slightly. If he hadn't thought something was off before, he clearly did in the strange fish-hook grin, the way his expression darkened, those eyes holding razor blades that his words did not. No, Zul was almost entirely certain this was not Basil, but someone wearing his skin. He'd seen something like this before, but having not heard Basil actually speak before, he couldn't be sure if it was a similar situation as was with Lucia.

Zul let the question hang in the air between them, considering. His world hadn't narrowed to a point as the Cobra's had, but he was certainly trying to sort things out, his brows knitted over his cool blue stare. All his experience had taught him that people - and Raevans - always held on to who they were at their core, unless their soul was unable to be saved. He'd seen it in Ekundayo and had dealt with the repercussions of being ostracized with Domo and Zurine. He knew for a fact that Basil hadn't lost himself - Alex would have told him - so why did he get the unshakable impression that this was not the same being Genie had taken home all that time ago?

There were too many walls between them. He didn't know Basil well enough to figure it out, and it was obvious his presence was not welcome, indicating well enough that whoever this was was not a fan of his stare. Fine. He'd use some other tactic to make sure there was no danger from the reptilian male.

"Ah. Careful, your mug is slipping." A hand extended briefly to tap the mug upwards as though to stop it from falling, allowing him a brief brush of his fingers against the other's chin. In that moment, the Cobra would be the only witness to flash of Zul's eyes, the blue lost to a blackness that mirrored no light before the sky blue resumed its puzzled placement. There'd been no falling sensation, no feeling of sickness in touching the other -- no sick aura, just the lingering sense of this is wrong. Unlike Lucia, he wasn't possessed. Unlike Jazz, he wasn't drugged. Zul had no answer for it. Resting both hands on the gift under his arm, his brows narrowed slightly in thought at the Cobra. "No, I don't think you can help me," he said at length, his words weighted, "but if you need help, seek me out -- I'm a regular around the Lab." The demon wasn't trying to be affable, but thinking of the Raevans that were no longer amongst them, those who showed signs of trouble...well. He didn't want that happening if he could intervene. "My name is Zul. Merry Solstice to you, stranger."

Turning his body and eyes back to Lulu, he dipped his head to his sister. "Lu, I dearly wish to speak with you, but I need to find Genie to give her something. Would you like to accompany me, perhaps arrange a cup of coffee tomorrow?" It was the least he could do to offer Lulu an out, but he did not feel she was in danger. If anything, Zul had the impression Basil's demons were a more private type.

[Doucette -> Zeke, Trox, Luka, Lulu, Basil and Zul]

Deep in her chest, Doucette's heart was pinching. That pained, sorrowful look with hints of pure terror caught from her beloved bunny sigel had the red head turning away from Troxel and Zeke, teetering slightly in her haste to move back towards the pair and perhaps in some way help Lulu. Thankfully she was somewhat saved in this endeavor, the demon coming to her rescue and certainly commanding the situation in a way that the human would not have been able to manage. Surely the freckled guardian would have been able to do little more than put her hands on her hips and hope that the threat of Genie would be enough to have the cobra backing down, but since that would not have swayed Ren, she was feeling fairly certain it would not have worked with Basil either.

Snapping her mouth closed with an irritated click of her teeth and a frown written in all of her features, Doucette finally turned back to Zeke and Trox, her expression softening somewhat thought the worry lines remained between furrowed brows.

Now she felt like a right awful person.

Distracted, she refocused on Zeke, sure that he had said something moments ago. Something about rope?

Like a tape being put through slow motion the conversation slowly picked up pace and she could almost hear the whir of her mind as the pieces of the puzzle were finally put into place. "I am sure the whole Lab would be lining up from a little peck from you." she managed to reply, sure it wasn't nearly witty enough to be involved in this lovely banter they'd been having.

It was Troxel's comment however, that truly broke her from her mental distraction, the Irish woman's freckled features breaking into a humorous you're joking, right? sort of expression. Best she didn't tell him how long it had taken for Ren to be born. What sort of walls would the poor man be climbing at that point?

"Patience is a virtue," Doucette said instead, choosing diplomacy over teasing.

Secret Santa's

Oh! That's right! There was a secret santa event going on tonight. Having put her present under the tree in order to prevent it from getting lost, Doucette had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be giving the man a gift. Thankfully she not only knew her secret santa, but she felt confident in her ability to pick out something for him. Whether the redhead hit the mark for the raver or not, apparently this was the moment of truth!

Hadn't Ren been by the Christmas tree earlier...?

[Revontulet -> Lobby with Cruz, Dayo, Domo and Eth]
[Moving to -> Cocoa Table with Zeke, Trox, and Luka]

With the indication that the crocodile was leaving the group, Ren's wings stilled and drooped, hanging listlessly upon her back and seeming to pale in colour somewhat - though that might have been a dimming of the glow from her rune.

Simple proximity with Cruz was cherished, not only for his affable nature, but also because he was happy to let her touch him. His promise to see them later, (or as she was keen to think of it with the look directed at her, that he would see her later), the aurora's spirits perked once more and a warm smile settled upon her lips as he reached for her hand. "I will look for Cruz soon," Ren replied, her lashes brushing her cheeks as she turned her gaze and leaned into him for a close hug.

Although many of the raevans at the party were wearing warm clothes, despite being indoors, Revontulet was a significant portion skin. With the warmth of the lab and the generated heat and merriment the moonstone's pale limbs were radiating a comforting warmth. Although not quite the level of a hot stone massage by any means, it was quite different from her usual less-than-room-temp makeup.

Dayo's good-bye also brought a sad expression to the girl's sharp features, though she did not know the eagle as well and thus did not seem to droop with disappointment at her departure. "We will talk again soon?" Revontulet asked hopefully, sorry she had not said more to the girl while she'd been there. Jealousy at Cruz's closeness to the brown one had somewhat coloured her opinion, but now she regretted the opportunity lost and wished to make a better impression later.

Once Cruz and Dayo had departed Ren moved back to Domo, casting a glance to Eth as well. Would her guardian come? Should Ren help her in some way? Hesitantly the girl reached a hand out to the woman, her fingers brushing against the other's wrists as a sort of greeting. "We will look for secret santa's now," she said softly to the tea frei. "You can come as well." The offer was genuine, as evidenced by her fingers remaining upon Eth's wrists.

Should she have chosen to join Domo and Ren, the aurora would take the tea frei's hand gently, as Cruz had.

The brush of Domo's fingers against her hand pulled her attention towards the unicorn and she smiled widely at him, happy that he did not seem so disinterested in her touch anymore. "Anita?" Revon echoed, looking thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head with a small frown. "You should have asked Cruz, Anita is his guardian. But I have not seen enough of her to recognize her..."

Casting her gaze about, as if she could locate a sign which would direct them to Anita, Revontulet was startled to see Doucette waving at her and motioning something towards her. For a long moment she stared at her, expression neutral, in hopes that the woman would stop playing charades and simply come over and tell her what she wanted instead of playing a child's game. This, apparently, did her no good, for the redhead continued to gesture wildly towards the Christmas tree and then at Zeke.

Ah. She wanted the secret santa gifts?

"I will help Domo find Anita, but first I must give Doucette her things. Will you join me?" Ren looked between Eth and Domo expectantly.

((LuLu > Cocoa booth>Alcohol table>Dinner table Banter + Zul>Genie ))

LuLu's merely stared at Banter from behind her makeshift shield. She let Zul be the center of the conversation as she sunk into the background, towards safety.

The idea of having a solid body between them did wonders to calm her frayed nerves. The cobra was not the typical definition of scary. He did not look like a crazed ax murder. On the contrary, he appeared relatively normal aside from a few roughened edges. That is what made the rabbit so hesitant around him. He was full of uncertainty. From behind his level gaze, she could not tell when he was calculating or when he would snap again.

So, LuLu played it cautiously.

The sigel nodded at Zul's offer. Her hand squeezed his arm before she slid away, "Please. I will get Genie's present then join you." He eyes flitted over to Basil, "Goodday." She could barely contain the smirk threatening to break free on her face as she floated away. Freedom!



Her venture to find Josh, the elected present holder, was relatively short. She gave her guardian a nod as she snatched up Genie's gift. They exchanged a few brief words composed of short sentences containing far to many 'yups' or 'mhms' and not nearly enough substance. Mostly about how they were enjoying the party thus far.

At last, LuLu tucked the gift under her arm. She balanced it precariously with her gift bag from Cruz and Anita before she floated to Genie.



She arrived at the dinner table as Basil had mentioned. Her eyes darted around in search for the woman. She idly wondered if she should wait for Zul first. However, that is when her eyes caught sight of the woman. "Miss Genie!" Her mouth worked faster then her brain.

After realizing what she had done, Lu closed the distance between them and held out her gift invitingly, "For you." In her hands was square box just barely thicker than a good novel. It was wrapped in a rich red paper. Metallic swirls stood out from the paper in an intricate design which twined around each side of the gift. A golden bow was placed tidily on one of the corners.

(( Arrival - Lobby ))

Keeping true to their past history, Isikoro Delaran and Eirdirsceol arrived to the holiday party, fashionably late, with an emphasis on fashionably. Back at home, after the weeks of downtrodden silence and debilitating depression, Isi had taken it upon himself to do everything within his power to cheer up his hollow eyed pale ward. Ranging from failed baking experiments to hard copies of every paperback Eiry had worked and worn his way through, Isi tried everything to lift his spirits (pun not intended). Their participation in this event was another attempt on his part to cheer his ward, and it was one of Isi's most desperate. Eiry had agreed to go on one condition, that they both dress up nicely. Of course, "nicely" has a very different meaning when it comes to Eirdirsceol.

Isi arrived in a decorated waistcoat, a cotton buttoned up shirt, and a long coat with tails. Underneath his stiff and twitching frown, the first indicator to his extreme discomfort, was a cravat, tied loosely by Eiry in their home hallway while they bickered about it's necessity. Swinging into the hall once Eiry opened the door for him, phasing through at first and opening it from the other side for his guardian, Isi paused for a moment and leaned upon his crutches to adjust his loose fitting high waist trousers. He was already regretting this decision, and when he noticed just how much he stood out from the average dress of everyone else in the party, Isi tightened his grip on his crutches and shot a withering glance towards Eiry. There was a fake beard in his pocket that he was refusing to wear, and a greeting sticker on his lapel that read, "Ebenezer Scrooge".

Eiry, on the other hand, was dressed in a matching ensemble, though his were of a pale white palette versus Isi's dark and miserable tones and he had no trousers. He was holding himself with extreme nervousness, his shoulders pinched in tight and his wings tucked close to his back and upon his lapel was a matching label that read, "Ghost of Christmas Present". He was also regretting this decision, though it was more of the overall decision to come to this party in the first place. There were people here that he wasn't in good standing with, people whose recent memories were of terror and fear, and although it had been a couple months since the summer horror, Eiry still felt like it was yesterday. The loneliness that had germinated in the nightmare forest had only grown since then and despite Isi's efforts to combat it, it was still prevalent. It could only grow stronger here.

"This is a terrible idea," grumbled Isikoro, looking around with both hope and dread for familiar faces. He glanced down at his ensemble one more time before he hissed to his companion bitterly, "You owe me a day of dressing up like a slob, no, a week! for this!"

"It struck me as a good idea to dress up adequately for a Christmas party, but..." Eiry's eyes were faster than Isi's. He had already spot out a couple faces he did not want to interact with, people that he would rather not be in the same room with. Zul was seen in the crowd, as well as others, and despite the few faces of friends he could spot, like Cesc and Alex and Anita, he couldn't weigh the promise of their friendship against the infinite terror of perhaps confronting any of his enemies. Eiry's stomach was churning like old milk and he floated a few inches backwards towards the door. "...You're right. This is a terrible idea. We should go."

Isi, sensing his raevan's slow retreat, reached out for him, letting go of one crutch so he could snag Eiry's sleeve and pull him forward again. "No. We made a deal. If I have to deal with even showing up dressed up as an old man, then you have to suffer the party favors. Come on, Aphismet is here. See? You've got family here."

Eiry's gut dropped. If Aphismet was here, then... "All the more reason for me to fear," whispered Eiry, now maneuvering himself behind Isikoro, his red eyes widening with quiet terror. His brother was here. In his chest, he felt the rift, the fight, between himself and Rivener tear again into his heart and his mind threw his memories back to the forest and the breaking of their brotherhood. He immediately hid his face, as if that would help him hide from Rivener's awareness, and turned his eyes desperately to Isi. "Please, please...Please, can we just go?"

Isi set his jaw. It was a motion that Eiry was quite familiar with. Isi had set his foot down, and there was no arguing with him now. Besides, there were other things that Isi wanted to do besides cheer up his ward at this party. He knew that Lazarus and the doctor were in the back of the building in a dimly lit room, sitting in silence. This party needed familiar faces and strength, and as a part of the Lab's staff, although as just a part-time worker, Isi felt all the more compelled to make a good appearance. He again, looked at Eiry warningly, before he sighed and gestured with his head.

"Just stay close to me if you don't feel like socializing, Eiry. But I'm telling you, there will be people here glad to see you were able to make it."

Eiry, nodding his head in defeat, slunk close to him, his wary gaze glancing back over his shoulder towards the party. Even so, he felt like he was in the wrong place.