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((Cesc --> tasting area to planting area | Ethiriel ))

He felt almost guilty, stealing Ethiriel's expression of joy for himself. Cesc hadn't noticed it before, but he realized suddenly he really had never seen the tea Frei as content as she was at that moment; even in their outings together, there was always a touch of reserve in her that he had always attributed to her natural delicacy. But here, and with that smile, she was still refined as ever--but now the sweetness of her spirit seemed unbridled.

"Henry, hello! Allow me to steal this lovely lady for just a moment..." Rhedefre could not help but smile as he took Ethiriel's hand, still carrying her teapot in the other. "Ethiriel, I cannot remember if I said before, but it bears repeating: you look singularly beautiful today." There was an earnestness in his voice, a sense of true admiration, that made the compliment ring true rather than polite.

"I have your gift here, but I know Aina and Claire would love to present it to you and say hello. May I take you to them?"

((Cesc --> tea tasting to planting | Ethiriel))

Cesc gently pressed Eth's hand in return, his thumb sweeping over her knuckles. Her gesture brought a smile to his face, his ears swiveling toward her and perking upward. He let out a soft laugh at her reply to his compliment. "I'm sorry we haven't gotten more time together today, but I'm glad you got a chance to try some tea. How was it? Any I should sample?"

Being made of tea, Cesc guessed that Ethiriel would be rather knowledgable on the subject--although he had recalled from her visit to the bakery that she was not much interested in tasting food as of yet.

They approached the tea-potting table and Cesc lead Ethiriel close to the people there already. He turned slightly, leaning near to Ethiriel's ear to let her know who was around: "We're at the tea-potting table now, with Claire, Aina, Duncan and---" he paused, suddenly realizing he never had introduced himself to Ivy. "--actually, one moment."

He straightened, looking toward Ivy. "I'm so sorry to have been rude, miss-- I am Rhedefre and this is Ethiriel."

(( Claire & Ivy --> planter table with Aina, Duncan, Ethiriel, and Cesc ))

Claire's cheeks colored at all the sudden, positive attention and she smiled brightly. As much as she had been doubting coming to the tea party in the days preceding, what had transpired had most definitely made it worth the trip. She had to remember that this was going to be a joyous thing, the birth of her Raevan; and already there were a few of them eager to meet them, likely as much as she and Aaron were. The thought was heart-warming. Cesc's smile was gentle, Aina looked so excited, and finally it was sinking in for Claire herself. As Cesc offered up his own congratulations, the blonde woman nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, thank you all very much. I'm sure they would be happy to know there are people so excited to meet them." Already her mind was abuzz with questions about what the Raevan might look like, their gender, their demeanor, how would they get along with Cesc and Aina and Ethiriel? The questions stopped mid-flow as Aina excitedly thrust the teapot at her, and Claire gaped at the lovely arrangement, taking it carefully between both hands. Her throat tightened a bit as a swell of emotion came on, and she hugged the teapot to her chest, smiling very gratefully at the tiny Raevan balanced in Duncan's arms, and she easily rolled off of Cesc's statement with a small, affirming nod. "I know they will. I'll be sure to let 'em know." Her attention was snagged suddenly as the stag Raevan at her side spotted Ethiriel and excused himself to find her, to present the teapot.

"We'll keep it nice and comfy until the time comes, don't you worry, sweetpea," Ivy chimed in to keep the conversation flowing. "Might need some replanting in the garden eventually but we can make a nice spot for it."

"My garden does need a lot of work," Claire conceded with a shrug and a laugh, her hand resting under her chin in thought. "I'd like to shape it up before the Raevan comes." She had quite a few plans, but it all came down to the same question - where to start?

"Could do with some input I'm sure, but you get enough 'a that from me." She turned fully towards Duncan and Aina now, wearing an inviting smile. "I'm sure your garden is a sight to see, given the way you've brought it up the few times we've talked together, Duncan. I'm eager to see it, that's for sure. Hope you'll show me around if we get the opportunity, Aina. You probably know the place like the back of your hand." She winked at the pomegranate Raevan, eliciting a soft chuckle from her daughter; her mother was always a fast one for settling in with new faces. She felt a shifting at her side and soon enough Cesc had returned, this time accompanied by a familiar face.

"Hello, Ethiriel, it's good to see you," Claire chirped in, just short of Cesc's introduction to her mother.

"Oh! Sorry about that, got so caught up in conversation earlier!" Ivy laughed jovially and surveyed the two of them. They certainly cut a nice impression together, she had to admit, and what a gentleman to help the tea Raevan out in such a way! She smiled approvingly. "Pleasure to meet you, Rhedefre, I'm Ivy, Claire's mom." She held her hand out to shake Cesc's. "Heard quite a bit about you from her and Aaron, Eth, it's nice to meet you at last! Don't mind if I call you Eth, do you?"

((Ethiriel > planting table | Cesc, Claire, Aina, Duncan, Ivy))

At Claire’s voice, the silvery Frei’s smile softened and she gave a nod, but it wasn’t until Ivy responded that she let go of Cesc – she gave his hand another squeeze, honestly not wanting to let go but manners came first. She searched for the to-be-guardian’s mother, and upon finding her, offered her usual manner of kisses to each cheek. ”Only good, I can hope. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Ivy. You may call me whatever you wish.”

Shortly, Aina offered her own greetings in the form of hugs, and Ethiriel wrapped her arms carefully around the pomegranate’s back, careful to avoid her wings. ”Hello, my dear one,” Ethiriel said, lifting Aina up in her arms. ”Yes, he did. He must be very good at finding things, isn’t he?”

She then turned to face Claire.

”I hear the three of you all have a gift for me? I cannot fathom your kindness.”

[[Justin | Food Tables -> Planter Table -> Fisher, Amity, Kris]]

Justin saw someone sliding closer and closer as they talked. He figured it was just a regular party-goer, but it soon became apparent the man was eavesdropping. As Amity and Kris wandered towards the table, he hung back for a second. "You know," he said conversationally, "-eavesdropping isn't exactly good party etiquette. If you wanna talk or something, none of here bite. C'mon, come make a tea planter and tell me about yourself." This whole couple of sentences was imbued with an easy-going confidence Justin never really felt but, hey, fake it 'til you make it, right?

He made his way over to the planters, too busy being nervous to notice if Fisher followed. Watching how eagerly Amity picked out her plants, he smiled. "I wonder if Ronan would want to invest in one of those silly looking child backpack leashes. Or tie a jingle bell in her hair." He chuckled and picked up a pot before setting it down and picking up another. Would his raevan like plants? What kind? What colors? Justin felt himself freeze and then, hurriedly, just... threw some stuff in a pot.




[[grey teapot - second row, third from the left. Plants: string of pearls, prickly pear, pincushion cactus]]

((Anya --> With Laz and Riv
Zeke --> Inside the Lab itself))

"Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't." This was unfortunately in the former category and without much practice on her part, effectively 'snipping' the strands and balling them up to be tossed away was proving difficult. She did manage to get her right hand free, at least, when the Valsaros complimented her. "Possibly, but like I said, I haven't used it much."

She had never really had a reason to after all.

When Laz mentioned demonstration, she quickly became concerned up until he mentioned eye contact. Blowing stuff up was a willy-nilly sort of thing wasn't it? What would looking someone in the eyes achieve? Well, if anything, she was at least certain Laz wasn't going to set her on fire. Why not?

"Okay..." There was still an edge of caution in her tone when she said the word, meeting Laz's red gaze with her own lavender one. She tried to fixate her spider eyes on the older Raevan as well, but alas they would not move. In the end her extraneous eyes were hardly a factor.

There was a brief moment where Anya was about to speak, to ask him what this eye-locking power of his was given the lack of anything happening to that point. Before she could, Laz's expression shifted and so did everything else around him. Suddenly there was nothing else in the world but Laz, his gaze, and a peculiar sensation that the world had gotten a few degrees warmer. Or was it just her?

"Kiss your own hand."

There was no hesitation in her movements when she heard those words. Her right hand raised like it was on a string and she pressed her lips to the back of it. When Laz released her, the surprise was not only in her sharper extremities but in her face and the wideness of her eyes.

"What was that?"

---

A light came on, a low hum started up, and it was done. Gone were the Essence vial and Soul Glass into specially designed compartments in the tank, now there was only science, magic, and time to pass before a Frei would one day come out of it. Zeke couldn't help but grin as a few bubbles floated to the top of the liquid filling the chamber. It would act like embryonic fluid as Claire's girl or boy developed within.

As he watched the tank fill, Zeke leaned back against the closest countertop, unable to stop himself from wondering what the Bitter Honey and Leshy would combine into. He hadn't the foggiest idea about Leshies, other than what Claire had told him. She had mentioned them looking like old men, so maybe this Frei-to-be was destined for boyhood. Gender aside, honey combining with a forest spirit was sure to attract all the bees. He hoped Claire's garden was ready for that!

Speaking of the blonde woman he had parted ways with, Zeke pulled out his cell and had already started to text her the good news. She HAD wanted updates after all, so why not start now? Halfway through the text he stopped himself. Why tell her, when he could show her, in a manner of speaking? As soon as the idea went through his brain Zeke decided it was a VERY good one and so he cleared out everything he had written and went straight to the camera.

"Say cheese!"

A jingle that served as the shutter sound went off and the picture was saved. Zeke went through the motions and a few seconds later the picture - along with a quick message that read "And here we go!" - was on its way to Claire. The grin he wore stretched a little farther and he was all to eager for a reaction. Why wait for a reply? And besides, a watched pot never boiled! Far be it from him to do anything that would delay the Leshy Raevan's growth anymore than it had to be.

"You keep an eye on this one for me, okay?" The tank next to the newly activated one was occupied by a fully formed Frei. Shadowy as the water and murky lighting made developing Raevans appear, this male-figured Frei was the darkest shadow he'd ever seen in there by far. He - or she or they - was one of Dr. Kyou's personal projects and a fast grower besides. Zeke put his hand on the tank's glass briefly, feeling the warmth before turning away to go back out to the party. Besides seeing Claire again, he still had so much mingling to do!

----------

Eventually Anya would make her way over to the planting station, drawn by the activity she had seen there throughout the party. She finds herself torn between a solid red teapot and a blue one with an oddly square shape, but decides in the end to go with the red teapot. As she moves down the line, Anya becomes even more indecisive with the selection of plants offered. She finds her eyes going back to the cactus and succulent plants more and more so she focuses there, trying to pick between the options. At the very least the string of pearls is an easy pick for her. There's something charming about the spherical 'leaves' and the way they dangle off the side of her teapot.

To pair with it however...She likes the light green succulent but in the end it's the pincushion cactus that wins over all the rest. It's squat and round and to Anastacia's eyes, it pairs nicely with the string of pearls. Not only that but the fact it looks like the very pincushion she has back home is also a very big deciding factor.

((Ethiriel > planter table | Aina, Cesc, Claire, Ivy, Duncan))

”Oh, the best there is, my dear Rhedefre,” Ethiriel added with a slight smirk. She made no attempts to meet his gaze but it was obvious that the smile was for him.

The Frei’s attention was grabbed by Claire shortly after, and she gave a polite nod as the guardian-to-be took her hand in hers. Her milky green eyes tried to find the pot, or at least the one holding it, but instead she focused on the silver rings decorating her own fingers. Ethiriel listened carefully and made sure to focus on touch. As Claire gave her guidance, the silvery Raevan took a little charge to feel each thing just a tad longer than her allowed time, but she still allowed her to show her fingers where to feel.

”Oh, my dear friends… it is far too much! Thank you all; it means so very much to me!” Ethiriel said, her brows knitting upward along with the curve of her lips. ”If only there was something I could do for the lot of you… Thank you, I really mean it.”

((Nell > planting table))


On her way out of the party, Nell remembered the mention of a planting table and made a short detour to take a look and see what was going on there. Her eyes lit up when she saw the wide variety of plants and pots, just the thing to liven up her new apartment a bit! After a moment of deliberation she made her choices, and soon she had a new plant tucked carefully in the crook of her arm as she made her way home. Hopefully it was a good choice, lavender was always good to help calm you down, and the string of pearls plant was just too pretty to pass up.