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Lina had followed her parents to the little holiday party being held at a small manor just outside of town. However, instead of going inside with the adults, the young girl decided to have fun by herself outside. She plopped down in the snow and made some snow angels with wide skirts and long wings. “What would a taguel angel look like,” she wondered to herself. Deciding to find out, Lina pulled out her beaststone from the tiny drawstring purse at her side. In a flash the thin girl with very light brown hair and pale green bangs was replaced with a much larger than normal rabbit with similarly colored fur. The bunny bellyfloped onto a clean slate of snow. What a sight it must have been to see her flailing and rolling around on the ground.

Suddenly a pungent smell whafted to her nose. “Oh my gosh! They're serving Dad's carrot soup!” Hopping as fast as she could, Lina rushed to the front porch. With both her paws she grabbed the doorhand and turned it to the best of her ability. Who needs thumbs when you were in a hurry! Noticing all of the people around the dining room the youthful taguel began to worry. “It not all gone yet is? Please tell me there's still some of Daddy's soup left!” Lina was in so much of a panic that she forgot to change back to her humanoid form. In the past this soup wasn't popular with the army, but you never know about tastes of this new country.

Velkan wandered into the manor out from the cold snowy day. He quickly shook his head to get rid of the last few snowflakes clinging to his white hair, and then immediately became worried that someone would yell at him for getting the floor wet. Cringing in expectation, he was pleasantly surprised when nobody broke off their conversation to point and shriek at him.

They must not have noticed.

A stupid grin crossed his face as he took pride in the fact that he'd just committed such a heinous crime and had gotten away with it. He moved to take a step into the room to join the party but suddenly stopped, quickly he turned around to face the door, put his hands on it and furiously wiped his boots clean on the mat that had been placed there.

He wasn't a savage after all.

Turning back to face the party the musician took a deep breath for courage and stepped into the crowd, nervously holding one bicep with his other arm. He didn't recognize anyone at the party, however the short girl with the bandages reminded him of the short blonde girl who had kicked his previous band out of the function they'd been hired to play at, so Velkan swiftly decided he'd stay the heck away from that end of the party. He did a double take as he finally recognized someone he knew, Sunil was near the table being accosted by what looked like... a warren of rabbit people.

"Huh, see somethin new everyday." He wondered to himself, "Okay, Velkan you can do this." Taking a deep breath to steady himself the musician walked up to join his friends group and waited for a break in the conversation.

"H-Hi Sunil." He said nervously. "U-hhh ummm uhhh." the laguz began to stutter and stammer as he realized everyone in the group was probably looking at him, everything he'd prepared to ask and say had just flown out his head. "Oh no, I-I can't remember what I had planned to say and everyone is looking at me and what if I say it wrong do I smell okay I mean I took three showers before coming and and and" Tears started to well up in Velkans eyes as he began to panic inside his own head, he shouldn't have come he hated parties. With only one way he knew to save the situation Velkan quickly reached into his coat and produced a bouquet of only slightly squashed flowers.

"I brought you some flowers Sunil!" He practically screamed thrusting them towards the other cat. "Why does this have to be so stressful"


((Image shrunk due to page stretching. Click for higher resolution. -Lethe))

Juniper finally peeled her attention away from the carrot soup when the sound of a familiar gait hit her ears, and she quickly turned from the pot to see little Lina bound into the room... well, to see a shifted Taguel about the size of an average-build man with a fur pattern matching Lina bound into the room. "Of course, dear! What, you think it would all get eaten up that quickly?" Juniper reassured her, hurrying over to her young daughter. She stroked the top of her head for a moment, hands near her ears. "Be a dear and shift back, Lina, all right? We don't want to knock over the table with all the food, y'know? I've done it before on accident, it's no fun." She felt it imperative to get the message across, and fast, but she didn't want to cause unnecessary panic. Lina was still a kid, after all. And she was smaller than her mother.

Juniper kissed her daughter's furry brown head, then tucked her white hair away from her eyes. "So, bowls! Gotta get a bowl." She searched across the table until she had located the cutlery and silverware, removing two from the stack. "Lina, sweetie, I'm gonna need you to take your bowl in just a second!"

"Yes m'am, your total will come to 11 gold. Make sure you take one of the complimentary rolls on your way out, in honor of the winter festival!"

Evelyn directed the customer in question to the stand near the door, stashing their payment away and out of sight as she did so. She was left with a small tip and a cheerful goodbye, something that she had not quite yet grown accustomed to. Ever since her relationship with what remained of Cloak had gone south due to the mix-up of recent months, she had lost most contact with the members of her previous organization. It had been an odd transition, mornings where she would wake up at dawn purely out of conditioning and habit, awkward shambles out of bed and into the streets as to not wake the slumbering Blossom. (That is, on the mornings that Blossom had been able to wake at all.) There had been a change in the time that she had been gone, a shift that had displaced everything that she had made for herself. Her work relationships were gone, Blossom moved with a new kind of energy, boundless and sometimes even desperate, as if she needed to carve some kind of progressive movement into her being. There were days where Evelyn contemplated if this had been a better change to the looks of pain and regret that she would drift into in those silently breathless moments where she thought Evelyn could not see. Those moments where time stood still and Evelyn wished more than anything that she could know, that she could understand what had caused that pain in her friend's heart to root and spread.

So came the weeks of pretending not to see the cuts and bruises, faking innocence to her trips to the local clerics after a bout of reckless behavior, extinguished candles by her bedside forgotten by the overcoming fatigue taking over, and everything else Blossom would not see, would never know. Evelyn needed to find herself again, just as Blossom did, but she worried all the same in those moments of solitude. Bills and necessities never stopped, all the same, so Evelyn had thrown herself into work for the local bakery, as a way to get by and as a way to give back to the community that she had found some sort of foundation in for the first time. Sure, there had been days where she could feel his hand on her shoulder again, the moments she screamed as a burly customer sheepishly apologized for what he did not do, but she was recovering. She was almost happy and fulfilled and whole.

Once more her eyes glanced to the window beside her, taking note of the people making their way through the snow hand in hand. There were families happy to be reunited again, faces she recognized from the battlefield and her own medic tents, a sheepish wave of acknowledgement to those who peeked into the establishment to spread their seasonal greetings. A gentle and calculated touch, ready to pull back at a moment's notice, alerted her to the presence of her employee at her side. He was a rather scarred, gruff, weary man, his hair grown too far for its own good over his own eyes, to hide the stories that lay inside, who spoke rather little. Still, she could see the words that grew caught in his throat, the things he meant rather than what he said, and she knew he was good. He gestured towards the window she was gazing from, thumb extended to the manor, a hoarse grunt his only word to her.

She stood there for a moment, contemplating what it meant for her, before giving a small nod and making her way to the door, mouthing a word of thanks that he only responded by turning the sign of the establishment and taking the tray of rolls with him to the back. Evelyn could hear her heart pounding as she assimilated into the crowd making its way through the festivities, trying to hold her own breath as she rationalized what she was doing. It's fine, she told herself, you'll know someone there, you're bound to know someone. You need to find your way back, you need to be yourself again. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the tracks in the snow in front of her in response to her own thoughts. She could feel her skin crawl at the thought of her own memories, hating herself for regretting to have done the right thing. Even if someone had owned her for that time.

Still, she could not wallow in her own misery for long as the sting of the winter weather forced her through the snow and into the doors of the manor after some time. An embarrassed thank you was exchanged between her and the man who took her coat. She was rather unaccustomed to the treatment, though she supposed that's what passes for normal for the rich and famous. A darting glance between each of the guests there confirmed her fears: She knew absolutely no one here, the best was Sunil, a passing acquaintance from her own work who was already wrapped up in his own conversation, and Dietrch who Evelyn would never live down screaming in absolute terror after being introduced, unable to stop the association between him and...someone else. Sure, Blossom had caught her gaze, but she was already mid-conversation...Besides, something felt...off in her as she gazed into her direction, as if she was standing where she should not in doing so.

Maybe this hadn't been the best of ideas after all.

“Um... Do I know you?”

Even though the rabbit was transformed, Sunil was able to understand every word she said. It was weird. Normally, Laguz speech couldn't really be understood unless the individual either knew the language or extensively studied it. And yet, the rabbit was speaking in a way that even non-Laguz or Taguel could understand. Interesting.

"I'm Sunil. I'm a friend of Juniper and Yarnya -- I mean Yarne." the cat introduced himself.

“Dad's soup is the best! There's no way I'd miss out some, This is the first time he's made it since we came to Learania.”

"Enjoy your dad's soup! I bet that's his favorite dish too!"

So the rabbit was the daughter of Juniper and the green-haired Beorc? Hm, he could see the resemblances. But it was weird. She looked to be a little younger than Juniper. There might be something to explain that, but he didn't particularly want to dive into that sort of topic that might end up being awkward for the family.

So instead he listened to Velkan freak out a little more.

"Nononononononononononono! I-I didn't find them for you! I-I wouldn't do that I mean I just bought them from that little shop that grows them on Demodulates Street, it's called ummm L'Amour En Rose!"

And that's starting to sound like a love confession. Awk-ward~Time to tune out briefly and look around at the guests. As steam started gushing out of the white cat's head, Sunil's blue eyes scanned the rest of guests at the manor. Blossom was talking to some new guy, Gangrene was in the corner doing whatever mad jesters do, Died-Rich man was pigging out, and -- wait, that's a face he hadn't seen in a while. It was that cleric person that he used to know that started working at a bakery recently. What was their name again? Ever? Even? Eleven?! Eleventy-seve-- no, that's way off. Right! Evelyn! That's the name he was looking for! He raised an arm and waved at her.

"Hey Evely-- grahbajksbd."

Velkan's hands were suddenly all in the blue cat's face, followed by more shrieking.

"They're a bride! I mean a bribe! Nothing more! I-I started an all Laguz band we're called "The Cat's Pajamas!" we need another person or two to round out the numbers! I'M NOT TRYING TO DATE YOU."

Sunil waited a moment or two before bringing his hands up to take hold of Velkan's flailing arms (seriously, he could claw someone's eyes out with those things if he wasn't careful) and slowly moved them away from his face. He made a sad expression as he bit his lower lip.

"R-really?" Sunil's voice quivered at just the right moment. "I thought we had something special, Velkan. Sniffle." He brought a hand up to shield his eyes. "You're such a meanie-head."

... Okay, he couldn't keep this farce going. Sunil wasn't entirely sure of it, but the new female rabbit just had this look on her face, like she was enjoying this a little too much. If he went any further, she would probably start spreading rumors or writing weird fanfiction or do some shipping without the handling. He lowered his arm and flashed a cheeky smile.

"Kidding~ Two things, Velks. One, why "The Cat's Pajamas!"? If it's an all-Laguz (and probably all-Cat) band, then why not something more fitting like "The Cat's Meow"? And two, I don't play any instruments. I can't join a band if I don't play any musical instruments."

To say she was surprised that Sunil remembered her would definitely be an understatement, a hand shot up to awkwardly wave in return as she gave it her best smile underneath the small bit of panic as his attention was averted by...an interesting public display. She just tapped the bridge of her nose, trying not to make a display of the whole thing while humming to drown out what she was hearing. "A lover's spat is none of my business I supp-" Her self-rambling was cut off by the sharp impact to her chest, the victim of the smaller woman crashing into her at what felt like terminal velocity as she struggled to keep her balance. Small or not, that was one beefy amazon that just plowed into her, albeit with all the love in the word. Her features instantly softened, as if she was back at work going through her usual motions. ...That's right, here it was just all natural, words coming just as easy as the smile spreading across her features.

"Yes...! I am rather cold, but it's good to see you, I'm sorry I just thought-" She straightened out her postured, giving herself a small bit of reassurance before giving the best reassuring grin she could muster up. "I thought I was just intruding on this whole thing. Cloak was one thing, but you guys here at the manor all have your own history together. Mr. Anders, my employer, thought I needed some fresh air and let me off for the night. He's...an interesting man, I'll certainly say that." Her face lit up, bright as day, at the mention of Dietrich, more embarrassment clawing its way from the grave at the reminder of her own behavior, but a glance at the man stuffing his own face was enough to remind her that he probably didn't even remember the incident. "I am happy to see you, despite of it all."

"And I'm also happy to meet your friend, it's a pleasure Mr. Willard." A hand of welcome was slightly extended before pulling back too quickly to be noticed as her body reacted to his presence, reminding her to take it a step at a time. She certainly didn't want for her own load of mess to bungle up this little meeting, not after the first few times anyway. Her thumb drummed the side of her palm as she attempted to turn the subject around. "I'm glad that we have another person suitable for the job around here. Maybe Abel's crew is looking for a new hand? I'm sure they need the help, reconstruction's been tough." She glanced off to the crowd forming, her features becoming tired years beyond what they should.

"For all of us."

Dietrich had migrated away from the table with a plate of food-- deviled eggs, little meatballs, and a few empanadas, one of which he reached over to wave in front of Blossom's nose, then poked into her mouth mid-sentence. "Hey. Hey, eat this," he said, letting go of it once she'd bit down, and then he flashed Evelyn a grin. "Well, well... it's been a while," he teased, his eyes mischievous. "Took your sweet time coming back around to me." He was certainly a transformation from the Dietrich she'd known before-- sober, stocky, with a confidence befitting his noble heritage and a roughness utterly defying it. He leaned in, wiggling his brows at her suggestively... then crossed his eyes and blew a little raspberry just to catch her off-guard! His eyes twinkled as he stood upright again, snickering softly. "It's good to see you again, Evelyn."

Vince, for his part, couldn't help laughing-- between the cats' misunderstanding and the arrival of his beast-shifted daughter, he could scarcely keep hold of his plate! Vince himself didn't tend to eat his own soup these days; he'd really brought it for any taguel who showed up, or any laguz who might like it. He ruffled Lina's hair, though, the moment she shifted back, then ladled out some soup into the bowl Juniper had picked up, and smiled as he saw his precious girl take it. "You know, these parties already seem a bit more exciting than the ones at the Ylissean court," he murmured to Juniper. "... Except the time Sumia punched Chrom in the face, I guess."

He patted Juniper lightly on the tail before leaving her to chat with Yarne! "So, Yarne, you adapting to Learania well? I imagine this is something of a struggle for you, given your..." He paused-- how to put this nicely? "Your tendency to feel isolated. I just wanted you to know you're always free to join us for dinner, come say hello, what have you," he explained, smiling.

Gangrel, meanwhile, had finished collecting what he wanted, and was languidly reclined sideways across an armchair, holding a chicken bone stripped bare of its meat and chewing the end of it in surprisingly sharp teeth-- god, did Grimleal just sharpen everything about themselves?-- as he focused his red eyes on the exchange between Evelyn, Blossom, and Dietrich. Perhaps it would be better to engage himself with new people. His old allies had come to see him too much as a friend, being scary and regal around them just didn't have the same effect it used to.

The host had become... distracted.

As such, he hadn't been in the den when people started arriving, but he finally thumped down the stairs, wings folded tightly to his back, straightening his coat-- today, a rich red with white trim, in the spirit of the season. He reached up to run his fingers through his hair, mussing it a little-- preening in the mirror halfway up the stairs for a moment-- before he finally tromped down the last few steps to join the party!

The Hawk King brightened-- Dietrich was there, Sunil, several of the new crop of arrivals... and Evelyn! "Hey, everyone! Sorry I'm late getting down here, welcome to the party! Make yourselves at home," he announced, then headed into the kitchen. He had a pair of mitts on when he came back out, carrying a hot dish with a seasoned trout, filleted and cooked to pink perfection, and set it on an empty hot-dish pad on the table. "Glad I got to this guy in time. Just barely blackened," he murmured, and shot Sunil a wink; he was confident the cat would be on it like white on rice.

"Can we use that? Oh and you don't need to worry about not being able to play an instrument! Lots of people can't and they're in bands. So I brought these! See! You have options!"

Wow, Velkan actually came prepared for once. Sunil looked between the kazoo and the triangle before reaching for the kazoo. Of the two, this seemed the most fun to play with. With the kazoo now in his possession, he placed the instrument between his lips and started to play a little song and dance.

Seemed legit.

Around that moment, Tibarn had arrived and was going to be bringing in new food. From the kitchen came an all-too-familiar scent. No... he couldn't have... Sunil thought and immediately stopped playing. He held the kazoo in one hand as he reached for his plate with the other before he shoveled what was left of his food into his mouth. The poor cat choked a bit but managed to chew and swallow his food by the time the Hawk King returned with (just as he suspected) freshly-prepared trout.

The moment Tibarn had winked at the cat and let go of the plate, Sunil vanished. Not even a second later he was seen again at the other end of the hall where Tibarn had set the plate, carefully selecting which portions of the scrumptious fish he wanted to feast on. The blue cat was fairly picky when it came to cooked fish, but he trusted Tibarn's judgment. After all, the Hawk knew what the Cat liked. Once he had selected the finest filet (don't worry, he left enough for the others), he was immediately back in front of Velkan and beside the Taguel. Was that a glimpse of the sort of speeds Sunil could reach if he was serious, or was it some more of Sunil's shenanigans? The world may never know.

"Sorry 'bout that. Where were we? Oh right, kazoo. I'll have to think about i--"

"KITTIES!"

Sunil's ears perked at the voice as he glanced towards the source of the noise. Oh, it was a girl(?) coming around the table and -- oh dear.

"I think that wolf wants to play with us!" He began to quickly savor and eat the fish, desperately hoping he could finish before the wolf would pounce him and make him lose his treat.