Welcome to Gaia! ::

Natalia was wearing her recently made (brand new) out fit. The top was much like her mothers only it crossed at the shoulders so it stayed in place easier. The bottom at the top is woven together bits of fabric and at the bottom each piece is not sowed together so there is flow and she can move freely. Each piece is a different color. Her hair and tail is free flowing with the exception of the random braids with various colored ribbons and the bell at the bottom. All her silver jewelry is in place.

Ceres, Sky, and Natalia had met Rhine at his cafe. They decided this was best not only for the mirror entrance but also because Rhine knew more of Barton than either parent.

Natalia clapped excitedly when she heard Rhine say "lets go"- every bell she wore jingled.

Ceres and Sky both chuckled at their daughters excitement. Neither were pro's at children parties and were thankful for Keeta's planning and expertise.

"Keeta," Ceres called out when they arrived at the park. She waved to her sister/friend. With Natalia in hand she quickly hurried over to her.

Sky and Rhine both exchanged a glance... No doubt a look of surprise at Ceres' sudden burst of energy.

Keeta hugged Ceres as she approached, not missing the glance between Rhine and Sky. She would have to wrangle that out of Sky later...

"It's good to see you Ceres! It's been too long." Smiling, she also hugged Natalia.

"Happy birthday! Even if it is a little late," chuckling softly she tapped the girl on the nose before giving Sky a wave and walking over to Rhine. Keeta stood on her tip-toes and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Would you mind getting started on the burgers, love? I'll come over and help you in a minute. I'd love for some to be ready for when the guests start arriving," she gave him a significant look, indicating that she wanted to talk to him.

Looking past Rhine, Keeta noticed what she could only describe as a fairy approaching the ramada. He carried two small packages, that were presumably gifts. It wasn't someone she was familiar with, but then again the invitation had been open. There must be plenty of people from the clinic she hadn't met yet. She smiled and waved a greeting, hoping she hadn't made herself look foolish by misjudging the fairy's destination.

Keeta couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight of this jovial creature. If all the party guests were this friendly and excited the party would be a blast without her even having to try. Somehow though, she knew it wouldn't magically be that easy.

"Don't worry about the invitation. I believe you," she said leaning down to reach for the packages, her blue hair falling into her face slightly. After having met a few porcelin, she was used to people of smaller stature.

"Here, let me help you with those. I set aside this table over here for gifts," she said, indicating a table to his left.

Amena held Nyoka's little hand as they walked, well, SHE walked, Nyoka slithered up to where a small group of people had gathered. Amena recognized Joel, Camille and Miss Keeta, but didn't recognize the others.

"Do you know which ones are which?" she asked Nyoka, looking down at him.

"Nat! Nat!" he said, spotting the girl he had met last time. Yaaay! Under his arm he had a very tiny package.

Nat? Oooh. That one must be Natalia, the other child that the party was being held for. She let go of Nyoka's hand, as he was pulling anyway. She had two packages of her own, and walked over to Keeta.

"Hello, Miss Keeta," she said, smiling. "Is there somewhere to put these? One is for Joel and one is for Natalia" She nodded over to Nyoka. "He has one for Natalia too, but...uhh." she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Well. We couldn't convince him that it wouldn't help," she said, chuckling.

Meanwhile, Nyoka had reached Natalia. "Nat!" he said once more. "HI!" The young boy held out the small gift he held.

Opting for the far less unusual albeit more expensive mode of transportation, Jiao'lan walked from the bus stop, a newly-woven nappy bag slung over her shoulder, with her new daughter, Mi'Ako, nestled into the crook of her arm. The little girl was fast asleep. The movement of the bus and other such motored vehicles always seemed to lull the new Keichancho-Jin to dream land. Besides, flying always seemed to get stares so she had learned long ago not to use that for city-transport.

In her other arm were two gifts wrapped in brightly coloured cloth, tied with twine and garnished with a red hibiscus bloom and a pink orchid respectively. Seeing the table laden with other presents she decided to drop them off first before seeking out the birthday boy and girl for well-wishes.

Instead of her habitual red stripped bikini-esque top, Jiao'lan opted for a red v-neck, peasant-y, button up blouse with a flouncy hem, decorated with gold threading that still covered her not-so-toned mid-line. Nine months on, nine months off didn't quite hold true for her species, but it had only been about a week since she had given birth so she wasn't ready to 'bare-all' yet. She had worn far more in the way of fabric clothing since she had become pregnant and given birth than she ever had in her life!

But, naturally, the rules of what is decent were far different in Gaia.

The smell of grilling burgers and hot dogs, however caused the infant's eyes to snap open, small sniffing and cheeping sounds announced that she was now awake. Jiao'lan smiled to the little girl as she grabbed one of her mother's flight feathers and began to chew on it.

"Heh...how about you try your tail instead, hmmm?" She asked the infant as she pulled the long tail between the little girl's legs and brushed the side of her cheek with the tip of it, which stimulated the rooting reflex. She latched into it instead, and cooed contentedly. Jiao'lan smoothed her feather out and rearranged it so it wouldn't get pulled or twisted as she moved before scanning the far taller crowd, to try and spot a familiar face or two.

Nyoka let go of it as Natalia took hold. He grinned brightly, his tiny fangs showing.

"Nat! See!" he said.

After their last encounter, where she used her hands to "see" Nyoka, he had been very confused. Momma Imbri and Auntie Maggie tried to explain that she couldn't see him, like most people could. Auntie Maggie had said that she and Imbri wore glasses to see better.

Which had inspired him to find a pair of glasses for Nat! Now Nat could see like him too!

(Auntie Maggie and Momma Imbri had, of course, tried to explain it didn't work quite like that, but the understanding was, sadly, just out of Nyoka's reach)

Already a whole bunch of people had arrived and Keeta was starting to get into a mode of effiency. But first...her own children. Her eyes cast around the area looking for them.

Joel had finished making his "castle" (which really amounted to a large pile of shapless shand), and was now heading over to where Natalia was. It seemed she was visiting with a boy who was part snake! This child was unfamilair, but at least seemed to know Natalia, so that was a good thing.

Camille on the other hand had wandered back to the ramada from the fountain. She hovered around the support pole, peeking around the corner at the growing crow of unfamiliar faces. It was unlikely she would approach without the encouragement of a trusted adult.

"Thanks Ceres," Keeta said with a smile, satisfied for the moment that her children weren't getting into trouble, although she did want Camille to enjoy the party. She stepped away from Ceres to deal with the other new guests, not meaning to be rude, but needing to move on.

"Sky, right now I think the best thing you could do is either help Rhine, or direct people with gifts to set them on the table over there," she said, pointing to the table where the fairy had just placed his gifts. Her attention was immediatly diverted by a small voice next to her though. She turned and her face broke into a smile when she saw Amena.

"Hi! I'm glad you could make it! You can just put those on the table over there with the other gifts. Thank you! Oh...and..." Keeta's voice dropped lower at this point.

"If you don't mind, could you see if you can convince Camille to join the rest of us here?" She nodded towards where the small girl was standing and watching from the pillar. "I know she likes you."

At the voice of the fairy, Keeta turned and looked at him again with a smile. "No...I don't believe they are allergic to anything..." Keeta said, her glance flickering over to the oddly wrapped packages. Now she was curious as to the contents.

"I don't believe I've met you before today. I'm Keeta, the mother of Joel, one of the birthday children. He's the one over there with the same color hair as mine," she said, pointing in the direction of the child.

"It's nice to meet you.....?" Keeta said, the pause at the end being for him to fill in his name. She offered her hand to the fairy to shake.

While she was conversing with the fairy, she noticed a familiar figure approaching. Jiao'lan! And she had brought Mi'Ako! The child was barely a week old and was already attending her first birthday party. She hadn't expected her friend to be able to come having just had the baby and all. Although she couldn't blame her. It probably felt good to get out in the world again. Keeta just hoped the meeting wouldn't be akward. She had been witness to the birth and things had been rather rough. Keeta had gone home feeling rather shaken up and then she had had to explain to the children why they had been unceramoniously deposited at Ceres'.