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(( Lazarus -> Entrance ))

Lazarus was just on his way back from Jeremy's shop. The older man was worried that he wouldn't have enough small teacups, so the Raevan was sent to fetch more from his home above his shop, just in case. As he walked briskly along the walkway back towards the Lab, with a small tin box containing about twenty or so teacups stacked together, he saw someone familiar right next to a car. Sure, she had a big sunhat and sunglasses on, but he did recognize her new guardian. He noted there was another lady he didn't recognize with them as well. Is she with them..?

"Ethiriel!" He called out. Lazarus knew that she wouldn't be able to see, but Henry would, so he waved at the group as he approached with a little jog. The teacups in the box clinked softly from the motion. "You're just in time, welcome!" Unlike the last time they met, there was an apparent jovial tone in his voice as he spoke. Given the very different circumstances.

The Raevan glanced into the garden and saw that there wasn't a lot of people yet. Good, he wasn't late. "Come on in!" Taking a step forwards first, he led them into the tea party personally.

[[ Melanie → Tea Tasting → Halfway to the food table || Jeremy → Dr. Kyou ]]

The journalist listened intently on the words of this older gentleman pouring her the tea. She loved listening to the tales of others, where they had been, what they had done in life, why they were where they were; those sorts of things always interested her. Probably from the years of stories her old tutors and teachers used to tell her.

As he explained his involvement with the Lab, she delicately placed her empty earl grey tea cup down on the table to accept the new one. "Thank you." she stated politely in between his words, nodding her head and narrowing her eyes just a tad to show she was truly interested in what he was saying. She smiled as he spoke of staying a little longer to help out. "The world truly needs more people like you in it, Jeremy. It's a great thing you're doing for your friend." she said. Whilst he spoke, she noticed the way Jeremy looked at the man on crutches; Melanie realized that her first assumption was correct. 'So that is Dr. Kyou.' she thought as a smirk grew upon her face. This was her moment to get some words in with the great doctor himself, hopefully.

The woman spun around to see all of the new guests that had arrived. Even a couple Raevan had come in. All but some she hadn't recognized. She may have seen them at one time or another, but it had been a year since her last encounter with the lab. One man stood tall, but something seemed off about him, his horns, perhaps? Though she had met others with strange quirks and otherworldly traits in Gaia, but was he...a Raevan as well?

Melanie then turned to Jeremy and spoke. "Thank you so much for the tea and chat, Jeremy. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance; but I think I'll go mingle a bit." she concluded, looking down at her tea cup, watching the water swirl once before downing the small shot-like glass in one gulp. She set the glass down, gave a thankful nod at Jeremy once more before walking slowly towards the food table.

It was then that Melanie stopped by the man known as Dr. Kyou on her way towards the tables. "Sir? Hello, my name is Melanie Devereux. May I help escort you to the food table?" she insisted with a kind and as pleasant a smile as she could muster. She had only assumed he was on his way, as that was the point between where he was and where his destination seemed to be. If she could butter him up, maybe he would be okay for an interview down the line for the papers. Otherwise, just being able to meet the doctor everyone had nothing but good words to say about was enough for her.

Melanie had offered her arm, willing to help prop him up a bit more than the crutches may have, but realized quickly that he may not wish to be helped. Some men, after all, seemed quite content on making their life harder if it meant keeping their dignity and pride. She wondered if Dr. Kyou was one of those men. She wouldn't take offense, she just knew from past experiences how men could be; though she kept the offer there in case he was interested.

((Nell -> Entrance -> very overwhelmed!! -> Tea tasting))

"The..." her voice went quiet for a second as she processed and tried to understand what, exactly, he was saying to her. "Sorry, I'm neither I guess?" there was a hint of laughter in her voice as she admitted that, her cheeks turning even pinker than they were before.

"I just moved here last month and saw the sign advertising the party and figured it would be a good way to get to meet some new people, if I'm being completely honest." Dozens of questions popped into her mind, but she bit down on her tongue to keep from asking them all at once. A guardian? Lab? What did becoming part of it entail? Maybe she should have done some research before coming.

She was about to ask a more general (and hopefully not offensive) question when a few more people started to arrive, and their various appearances and comments made the words die in her throat. You have legs now? And that one has bunny ears that surely weren't connected to her head but....

Though her smile remained doggedly on her face despite everything, one of her hands slowly crept up to fidget with the end of one of her braids that escaped the up-do they had been in. Well, meeting people is what she was hoping to do, and the (horned) (tailed) man had invited them in so nicely, so with a quick nod of thanks to Lazarus she went a bit further into the area the party was in.

A quick scan of the area showed only a few people mingling around, and after a moment's thought she headed towards the table that was covered in more kinds of tea than she knew existed. It was a tea party, after all.

(( Kyou -> Dining table | Melanie // Laz -> Tea Tasting // Jeremy - Tea Tasting | Nell ))

While Kyou stopped to catch his breath, a woman in glasses came up to him. He would love to be the gentleman and offered her a hand shake, but his arms and hands were kind of stuck at the moment.

He couldn't help but offered a polite smile at her offer, however, he shook his head in decline. "Ah, that is very kind of you Melanie, but I want to try and make it on my own." Kyou didn't meant it in a way that he was prideful, but he wanted to put in some effort to achieve something. It was something that his physiotherapist had taught him during their sessions. He started on this journey on his own, he wanted to finish it himself.

And of course enjoy the rewards of victory later.

He did however, realized one problem. "Perhaps umm... you could help me carry a plate and some cakes when we reach there?"

Lazarus looked sheepish as Henry mentioned about his legs. Oh yeah, the last time they met he was still a Sigel. Now he looked fairly human. Dressed in a cornflower blue pinstriped shirt with short sleeves and dark grey jeans. He's just missing his wings, but with the addition of a tail. He took Henry's hand in a firm hand shake before laughing softly. "Thanks. It's a long story." He didn't felt like it was the appropriate time to delve too deep into that at the moment. "Thanks, yeah I feel much better lately. Things are beginning to look up."

That was when another guy he don't recognize came up to say hi to the duo. He took it as his cue to go and finish his task. "Well, I'll go drop these off at Jeremy's station first. I'll be back in a bit okay?"

Jeremy was just checking the temperatures of his teapots when a rather intimidating figure approached his table. Being six feet tall himself with not a hint of a hunch on his posture, the older man had considered himself to be a tall person. However, this woman's eye level is almost exactly as his. His mouth formed a small 'o' before any sound came out of it. "Oh uh, welcome! My name is Jeremy." He smiled politely as he offered her a hand to shake. "Can I interest you with some tea?"

Seeing that there's someone at the tea tasting table, Lazarus tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as he went round behind the table. Then gently he placed the box of teacups on a table right next to all the others.

((Cesc --> entrance; food table))

Cesc entered a party that was already bustling, his eyes bright as he arrived and looked around. He'd had the day off from the bakery and, halfway through his morning workout, suddenly remembered the paper invitation that had come some weeks ago and summarily been forgotten on top of his desk. The short notice to Vivi and Shepard drew some disappointment (only from the former), but soon enough he was showered and told to put on a button-down (Non, the t-shirts, they will never do! Do you wish to look like the bums?) and shooed out the door.

So there he was. No bakery gift this time, dressed in a light blue checked shirt that broadened his shoulders and drew attention to his forearms with the sleeves rolled up, his stubble trimmed close, his still-wet hair curling in the summer sun. He looked around briefly-- there was Ethiriel, but her attention was being dominated. And Laz, looking far, far better than the last time he'd seen him, and a host of humans he didn't recognize… oh, and Tatiana, looking to taste some teas with Jeremy! And Lulu!

Rhedefre smiled broadly and made his way over to the food table, where he spied the rabbit Sigel. He needed to great a few people -- Dr. Kyou and Lazarus at the top of the list-- but he would not encroach on their conversations.

"Lulú!" Cesc greeted cheerily as he approached, holding out one arm to either pat her shoulder or give her a hug, should she move forward for it. "How excellent to see you. You look beautiful today, my Lu chef."

(( Ethiriel & Henry > entrance | Nell, Laz and Oliver))

Henry immediately picked up on Nell’s nervousness, and to a lesser extent, her confusion. He opened his mouth to respond, but just as he had, Oliver had come calling to he and Ethiriel. The nurse’s open mouth morphed into a smile, and he offered a wave before turning back to the confused woman.

”Well, you see….” he started, hovering a hand over Nell’s shoulder for permission before resting it. ”It’s okay that you’re just here! Don’t think it’s not! This is Lab 305, and Ethiriel over here is a Raevan – created by the good Dr. Kyou.” He honestly didn’t know the extent of what she knew, but he figured he’d give the rundown of what he had learned over the years. ”From what I’ve understood, they come from bottles – essences and souls. Then they’re made into Freis, which is what Ethiriel is. Then they grow stomachs, then legs! Ethiriel isn’t a prominent example right now as she has her wings and ‘horns’ hidden. It looks like Laz,” he says as he passes a glance, ”…doesn’t have his wings anymore. Unless he’s learned to hide them like Ethiriel.”

Meanwhile, Ethiriel still had most of her attention on Laz – she had offered a nod of her head to Oliver as she was already in conversation, but she knew Henry would greet him properly once he finally got closer.

”I am glad to hear that. I had been wondering over your health since the last we spoke.” She smiled, meeting her eyes for a brief moment before Lazarus dismissed himself. She offered a small nod and a wave as he left. She then allowed her attention to drift; she had caught Cesc’s scent but it was mingled in with the others, so instead she offered her attention to Oliver, instead.

”It is a pleasure to meet with you again ,Sir Oliver. I hope you have been well.”

(( Claire & Ivy -> Entering ))

"Claire, don't fuss with your hair." Ivy gave her daughter a sidelong glance and swatted her hand as they made their way towards the cafeteria's outside terrace. The scent of the cakes and teas were evident as soon as the two entered, and the pout that had crossed Claire's lips from her mother's reprimand was quickly wiped away. There was already quite a crowd, and Claire was relieved to see that she and her mother had dressed appropriately; she had decided on a light cotton sundress and borrowed one of her mother's hats, while Ivy stuck to palazzo pants and a blouse. While it was not necessarily hot outside, Claire was beginning to feel a little hot under the collar from nerves, and she felt extremely aware of the bandages on the back of her neck, the one patch on her cheek, and the ones binding her right arm. Her burns were healing nicely but the thought of inevitable stares and questions made her quite uncomfortable. As though responding to her anxieties, a dull thump of pain radiated up her arm from the burn site.

"Maybe I should have stayed home," she muttered under her breath, quietly she thought, but Ivy redirected her gaze from the array of treats around them back to her daughter with a critical eye.

"None of that talk. You've got somethin' to do today, so you should do it. Might as well enjoy yourself while you're here," she replied with a nod. "Come on, let's go. You promised your mother a good time, let's go have one." She gently took Claire's arm and redirected her further in.

"Yeah.. I know. Sorry, Ma." Her mother was absolutely right - she had been in a funk for a very long time, culminating recently with her soul capture. She tightened her grip around the handle between her fingers, where the silver suitcase swung with her gentle movements, the contents protected from the outside. She had touched base with Zeke and had everything in order to turn in, now she merely had to wait.

And, as her mother said, enjoy herself while she was here.

(Cesc --> food table | Lulu, Mel, Dr. Kyou, Zul)

Cesc smiled at Lulu with true affection-- he did not know the rabbit well, but her air of youthful and playful exuberance did all that was necessary to recommend her to the stag. He genuinely liked Lulu, genuinely wanted to be near her-- as he suspected many others did, as well.

"You flatter me. You're more beautiful every time I see you. Maybe you can come look at my closet sometime and style me so I can be closer to your level? I will pay you with our treats! " Rhedefre laughed at her next quip, holding up both hands. "I'll do my best to keep young!"

He turned then as he heard someone address him, and immediately a name and face from the previous year matched themselves to the woman before him. He remembered the somewhat awkward measures of their first meeting without much pause; he smiled instead and nodded. "Of course, Melanie! I'm Rhedefre, or Cesc, if it's easier. How do you do?"

Something caught the stag's eye then and he turned more, catching sight of the doctor himself just at the corner of his vision. The stag's heart leapt into his throat, but immediately he forced himself to calm-- look, the doctor was here, he was well, he'd just seen Lazarus out and about and healthy… no sign, no evidence of the last time he'd seen them.

Except the lack of wings on Lazarus' back…

"It's beyond a pleasure to see you out and about, sir," said the stag, his voice low and earnest. "I-- hope everything has been well."

So preoccupied was the stag that he didn't hear Lulu's voice, or see the arrival of one of his closer friends at the affair.