Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ekstrom beamed at the sight of her friend and very happily returned the hug. "I'll bring a bell next time, just in case," she said as she let her go. Glancing behind Joy, she gave Gouvernail an equally warm smile as she had the others and returned his nod with one of her own in greeting before turning her attention to the conversation, soon focusing on committing the new names and faces to memory.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," she eventually threw in her two cents in agreement with Blarney, grinning as she moved off to grab the pie that Joy had keenly spotted. "And unfortunately no, just peaches this time. I debated peaches and cherry for a bit. I saw a recipe for it, but mostly didn't want to subject everyone here to a test-pie, so." Her confidence in pies was growing, though, so maybe soon there'd be more variety in her repertoire for them.

She saw Aberdonia as she lifted the container out of the wagon and gave him a smile in turn. "Hey, good to see you. And no, I'm okay, thank you. This is the last one." She briefly lifted what she was holding, and then nodded back down at the basically empty wagon. "C'mon, I'm still setting up but there's a small group by the table if you wanted to mingle a bit." After nodding toward the apparently growing group just nearby, she gestured for him to follow. She sort of passed them in favor of taking care of the pie she was currently holding, though they were near enough that he could step away from her if he wanted to, assuming he did follow.

"I hope it's okay. Boo told me this wasn't too much," she said as she moved around Joy to set the container on the table, quietly enjoying the look of delight on her friend's face. "I didn't have time to make everything but," she gestured toward the baked goods, "these are from my favorite bakery so I can promise they're all tasty. This, though," the scent of freshly baked cobbler wafted out of the container as she opened it. Even if it felt like she was patting herself on the back for it, Ekstrom couldn't help the smile.

"This, I did make. I know it's not cherries but did you want first dibs?"

Looking around the Garde, Nis shook her head in admiration. If she’d thought the place was pretty before, today it simply sparkled and shone. Joy and Nail had either had a very productive conversation with the Code, or the Earth Knight had unlocked something new and interesting. Either way, she wasn’t going to question it. Instead, she wisely kept quiet and scanned the area before seeing where others had left their own offerings of food and drink. Smiling, she carried over the heavy pot, full of vegetable soup and set another bag down that contained bowls, spoons and two pans worth of cornbread. All easy enough to reheat using the Garde’s own resources.

Or I can just rub a couple of sticks together and make a fire, she thought, chuckling. Now, she just had to find joy and pay her respects. Glancing around for the familiar blonde head, the tall Cosmos knight grinned and headed over to where her friend seemed to be presiding.

“Quite the turnout you’ve got,” she called. “Place looks marvelous, as do you!” It was almost enough to make her a little jealous that her own wonder wasn’t big enough for this sort of thing. A table draped in cute little favors caught her attention next and she paused before swooping down and grabbing one. She didn’t exactly have anyone to give it to, outside of Joy and frankly, it seemed rude to ask their hostess to fight her battles for her. No, she’d stand for herself. Tucking the trinket into her belt, she continued to beam gleefully at the other knight.

“You are a force to be reckoned with when you want a thing done, aren’t you,” the question was rhetorical and clearly meant as a compliment. “Tell me where I can help and if I can help,” she demanded. So much work had gone into this, she wanted nothing more than to see Joy succeed. Then, she noticed that she recognized another face and found herself beaming at Ekstrom. “Well! Hello to you as well!”

—----------------------

When the invitation had come, Chariklo and Xibalba had spent an entire two seconds debating before jointly deciding to attend. Neither had been to anything like this since the get together at Celsus’ wonder and both felt the need to socialize without a cosmic threat being involved. And since the invite had mentioned bringing food, Chariklo had gone all out, digging out a pair of ridiculously huge dutch ovens and baking a couple of cobblers in them. Senshi and Squire each carried one as they arrived and scoped out the place.

“Oh, this is lovely,” Chariklo murmured as she sought out a place to put their offerings. Really, it wasn’t that hard to find where all the food was waiting. Depositing the cobblers, she grinned and brushed her lips against her husband’s cheek. “I don’t think something like this could be done at your Wonder,” she said teasingly. “It’s not exactly the most welcoming of places.” She grinned as Xibalba snorted in amusement and let him point out the little table that was festooned with ribbons.

“Those, m’love,” he murmured in her ear, “are favors. Never expected to see th’ like outside o’the ren fairies. ‘C’mon lady fair,” he continued, “let’s go pick some oot.”
Allowing herself to be guided, Chariklo considered this. The invite had mentioned games. So, okay. Sure. They could each favor the other. Scanning over the pretty things, she nearly pounced on one that was very close in color to her own fuku. Granted, it had a fish on it, but that was fine. Given the lack of gull-ish rep in the designs, she’d be happy with a fish. Winking at the knight beside her, she held it up before mock-ceremoniously before making a show of attaching it to one of the golden links on his belt.

“Well, this is fun, but we should really find our host and say hello,” she said. “It’s only polite.”

—---------------------------------

For his part, Xibalba was more than pleased to be there. He liked the few Earth knights he’d met in the past and he hoped to feel the same way about the mysterious (to him) Joyeuse Garde. So, while Chariklo joked and selected a favor ribbon, he studied the ones available and grinned. One had already caught his eye, red and gold as he was. And while the rampant golden lion was no molossian hound, it was near enough. Taking it up, the burly squire considered his wife and throttled down his first instinct to simply stick it down her cleavage. Sure, she might laugh, but then she’d murder him for making their little silly games public.

Privacy was always better for such things until they had a better idea of the dynamics here. So, instead, he reached out to turn her slightly, once she’d attached her own favor to him. Eyeing her carefully, he opted for the placement that he knew would please her most. He carefully tied the small ribbon to her belt, right beside Babylon’s little Never-Go-Out and the medal she’d received from the games on Celsus. Once he was satisfied that it was firmly secured, he nodded in satisfaction and smiled.

“Aye, let’s be findin’ them. Ah want t’say a wee hello,” he rumbled. One advantage of being reasonably tall was being able to scan the landscape. And while he was itching to explore, Chariklo was right. Manners first. He saw a likely looking Earth Knight standing around and talking to some other people. Pointing her out discretely, he seized his wife’s hand and headed over.

—----------------------------------------------

Orcus had, originally, intended to simply ignore the magical invitation that appeared one day. Except, everything about it called out to her Ren Faire loving heart. The writing, the parchment, the very name of the place where all this fun was supposed to occur. She was hardly any kind of cook, though. And the idea of making something to share with who knew how many people did not appeal. But that was what grocery stores were for. She could hit up the bakery and deli counters. Everyone loved charcuterie, after all.

When the time came to go, she just followed the directions and blinked slowly upon arrival. The place was a little more ruin-y that she’d have expected, though not by much. Overall, it looked like the sort of scene that every ren faire tried (and ultimately failed) to create. Humming a little under her breath, the tiny senshi of drowning wandered, taking in everything and everyone. Depositing her bags of food, she eventually found the favor table and absently picked up a darker ribbon with a fish on it. It would do. And as she didn’t have a lord or lady fair to give it to, she quirked her lips in a half smile and pinned it to herself. She could be her own Fair One. Feeling satisfied, she began to wander, wanting to look at everything while people were still in the Arrive and Gawk stage of things. It was her first time visiting another’s place like this and she wanted to enjoy it.

Movement nearby caused her to turn and look and she realized that she knew at least one person here. Sort of. Strolling sedately, Orcus came up beside Maus and waved to catch his attention. She couldn’t parse the look on his face, though. But did it really matter? He was familiar and he was an Earth knight himself. She felt reasonably comfortable in assuming that he could explain simple stuff to her. “Hmm, long way from rat infested and abandoned buildings. Found any new and interesting graffiti lately?”

Maus was busy loading up two plates. If he had known what a thorough waste it was to make sure that everything on Grieve's plate was touching and leaking gravy and sauce into every other item, he might not have bothered making such a meticulous hash of it. He glanced up, however, on being approached, and offered up a somewhat wan smile.

"I don't know," he said, making a somewhat dangerous gesture (given his plate-laden hand) towards the keep and gatehouse. "It looks pretty abandoned to me. Haven't seen any rats, but I am informed there's mice around here somewhere." And then, somewhat belatedly as he lifted up the crust of a blueberry pie and inserted a couple of cocktail sausages followed by several green beans and a generous shake of hot sauce, before replacing the cover over the wasted effort at a culinary landmine: "Nice to see you around." There was, here, a very delicate pause. "Did you bring your cousin?"

---

Joy, in the meantime, was just about to attempt bouncing between all her new arrivals and also eat a few forkfuls of pie on the go when she was derailed not just by Nis arriving - and therefore requiring a hug - but by the pleasant realization that Nis and Ekstrom were acquainted. Nail dipped his head at her in his habitual silent greeting, apparently unmoved, although to be fair half his attention was on giving Grieve a look of suspicion from across the bailey, with the air of a dog who's watching the mailman very, very closely but who has already been warned not to bark.

"No help needed, right at the moment, but have no fear that I will press you into service the instant you are required," she said cheerfully, which was as much a threat as a promise. "I was about to introduce you two," she added, visibly pleased, "but looks like I'd be behindhand. You'll forgive me for readily for abandoning you for a minute, then, while I go make the rounds."

And she was off, then, to do so, Gouvernail trailing along in her wake like the shadow he was, as she went to circle around to those she had not yet said hello to.

Ekstrom couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out of her at Joy's response, and she offered her a very generous slice of pie while bowing her head politely. It felt playful but still appropriate. All of the food was, in a sense, an offering to their hostess, after all. "I feel like I should come find you to ask more questions after you make your rounds," she said as she handed off the pie and eyed the growing crowd. She spotted familiar faces here and there alongside noticing that Aberdonia had been caught in conversation primarily elsewhere, and she waved or nodded in greeting to anyone she happened to lock eyes with before going back to cutting equal portions of the rest of the pie. A familiar voice had eventually caught her attention and she looked up, blinking at Nis curiously for a moment before she finally recognized her, and she beamed in turn.

"Wow, look at you!" she said, moving to give her a little hug as well before nodding to Joy just as she left to fulfill her hostess duties. Turning back to Nis, she asked, "Pie?" before continuing what she'd been about to say earlier. "You look great, by the way. How've you been?"

Kua'kua was about to open her mouth to protest over the concept of cold coffee - she did not typically enjoy cold anything - but the words were instead swallowed in a startled yelp as a clawed hand fell upon her head. She glanced upward and her shock melted into a smile, timid though it was. Maus, wisely, immediately darted away to follow Grieve's order, which was given with such authority that Kua'kua herself almost followed him automatically. Only Grieve's attention kept her rooted in place.

"I...I am not sure," Kua'kua admitted, looking down at the favors clutched in her hand. The one she had picked for herself, and the one Maus had slipped between her fingers, studying them. Then she looked back up at Grieve, a shy but somewhat impish smile on her face.

"I would offer this to you," she said, holding out her own favor to Grieve, "but I think you would derive more pleasure in doing the fighting yourself." Kua'kua's eyes darted back over to Maus, who was chatting with someone Kua'kua did not recognize. It appeared that the number of people he knew had just increased by one. Or two, if you counted Grieve.

"Maybe you should give me yours," Kua'kua said, looking back at Grieve, her smile growing a little more confident, a little more impish. "See who is more...worthy, or whatever the correct word is. You or Maus." She didn't really understand this whole 'chivalry' business, but she understood that there was going to be competition, and that when someone gave someone else their little token, that meant that that person now fought for the person they had given their token to. She was surprised by Maus' token in her hand, but she knew one thing about Grieve, and that was that she was, as far as Kua'kua knew, always thirsting for a fight.



Blarney's attention was focused on Gouvernail, his voice more gentle than he had been expecting. Always a place of beauty, he said. Blarney nodded in response, and then Joy was flouncing away to the rest of her guests, and Gouvernail was following her, like she was a sun and he nothing but a little lost asteroid that had gotten caught in her gravity. It was - sweet, but also sad, somehow. Bittersweet, maybe? Something.

Blarney shook his head and turned his eyes away from the Gardes past and present. He was going to ask his sister if she wanted to swap favors, but Edam's attention was already onto Aquitania, the little Chibi he'd met during StarFest. Deciding that was better than her attention on him - maybe she could make a friend! - Blarney glanced around, wondering if anyone else he knew had showed up, like--

Halia!

Or, rather, Aruna. He recognized her even though she wasn't facing him; it was odd that she hadn't come over to say hi, since they'd had plans to meet up at the event itself. Who was she talking to? For just a second, a trick of the light made Blarney think it was Khaz, but--that was impossible, since Khaz wasn't powered.

Was this a stage of relationship grieving that nobody had told him about? Thinking you saw your ex in every crowd of people? If so, Blarney was not a fan. He was trying very hard to keep from wallowing, to keep from letting his every thought be tangled up in Khaz, their relationship, and everything that had gone wrong with it - and whoever that guy was, he wasn't helping Blarney's case on that front, so he turned away. He could catch up with Aruna later.

"Sure, I'd be happy to," Blarney said, his attention turning back to Green Chapel as she spoke, jarring him out of his reverie. "I'm not sure I know a lot of other people here yet, but we can go make friends together!" Blarney grinned and linked his arm through Green Chapel's and began to lead her away into the nearest throng of people. "That was a big part of my M.O. as a new Page," he explained, over the chatter, "just--talking to people. As many people as I possibly can, y'know? Ask 'em questions, get to know them, see what you can learn from 'em." Blarney paused, then forced himself to add, in respect to his unwilling mentor, "But, you know, you get to decide what kind of Knight, what kind of person you are, will be. Don't let someone else decide for you. It's important."



Edam blinked in surprise: pirouetted? In the face? Twice? But she barely had time to react before the child was yanking her along, nearly dislocating her shoulder as she did. It was a whirlwind - they nearly collided with a young man, not a Knight like them, but a Senshi like Aruna, by the looks of it. The two of them shared a whispered conversation, and Edam saw as they pulled away that the girl had an additional favor clutched in her hand.

Edam frowned, glancing over her shoulder at the young man. She had no idea how old he was, but she knew he was way too old to be handing out his favor to a little girl like Aquitania.

"Who was that?" Edam asked, bewildered and a bit breathless. However energetic normal children were, it appeared magical children were even more exuberant. And strong. "Wait, are you planning to--duel, or whatever it is we're going to do here? Against--adults?" Edam frowned more deeply - she didn't love the idea of a child fighting adults, but she didn't especially love the idea of a bunch of adults fighting a child, either. Where was Joy? Surely there was some sort of contingency plan for child attendees, right?

The message and everything had been foreign, but he could tell enough that it was a gathering! If they were all like Antisana, then it would be alright, wouldn't it? Arakahn had told him to lie low and not get involved, which he knew made sense, but at the same time, it seemed like it would be good to see how more people interacted. The more he knew, the less likely it would be that he offended someone or crossed some sort of line he had no idea of.

So, with a few things readied, fruits and prepared teas just in case the things offered weren't something he could eat without getting sick, as he had already gotten sick with some of the cuisine on earth, he was curious about what a sleeping bag was. The words he both knew, but it seemed odd that the fabric roll looked more like a pillow and not like a bed or something to sleep on.

Part of him fretted still, shifting from foot to foot anxiously as he arrived with Antisana nearby. Their arrival seemed to have happened in the midst of things, and he worried if they were late or if maybe he had misunderstood something. But as he looked over the banners and then Antisana, he held one out that seemed fitting and smiled.

"I think this should go to you? I'm not too sure, but it looks like people are giving them out. I... hope that's okay?" Looking around, his ears drooped slightly as he saw so many others socializing. While he wanted to join the others, he was still a bit too worried about things to do so just yet, at least without Antisana helping him figure out how best to navigate things with other humans. The last meeting he'd had with one, Londonite, hadn't gone as smoothly, and he'd kept to himself for a bit while living in the cabin.

Sailor Liriope of Growth

Well, Liri was lucky the other Senshi- Solaris- was personable. Although she hadn't gone seeking others from far-away planets, it had definitely occurred to her that they might not be in a mood to be friendly. Liriope had always thought she was quite nice and sweet herself! But it had been difficult when she'd first arrived. Others probably had a similar experience... But judging purely from her appearance, Solaris had not just arrived from her world. She was beautiful and shimmery and peppy and just like Liriope could hope to be one day.

...When the recovery was going better than it was at the moment...

Or when it was going at all. Solaris must have so much to share on such developments... But this didn't seem like the time or place to deal with all that. It was to be a lively occasion, if the invitation was anything to go by. And Liri wouldn't want to be the one to bring it down.

She laughed softly as Solaris' wings flicked. "I go back and forth on how visible I wish my 'identifiers' were," Liriope admitted. The pointed tips of her small ears were mostly obscured by her hair, the high collar of her Fuku almost completely covered the greenish moss spots along her shoulders, and the way her top fell across her hips made her twitchy deer tail invisible. Sometimes she wished she was just from Earth and didn't have such markers.

Others times she wanted someone to know what she'd experienced- and the nonhuman parts of her were good markers.

Since Solaris had pointed out another Space Senshi she recognized, Liri gave her a little acknowledging wave as well. It did make her feel just a bit better attending knowing other DSS were near. "I'm Liriope. It's nice to meet you." And when her pretty blue eyes found the shuffling feathered creature at Solaris' shoulder, Liri's smile widened. "And Vellus. I don't mind sharing, as long as he knows better than to eat them."

"Oh, and, er, speaking of sharing, I suppose..." She hadn't really known what to do with the pretty green-and-brown-and-gold banner she'd collected from nearby. Tarra wasn't here to 'fight' for, and Liriope didn't feel compelled to fight for herself, either... "Um... will you accept this? We've just met, but to look like that, to have those-" Liri gestured slightly to the wings of Solaris' fuku. "I know you must've experienced a lot. ANd had to try very hard. Maybe it would be okay if I tried very hard for you this time?"

Kaefaux

Grieve took Kua'kua's offered favor before would could turn into won't. "Eh, it's pretty enough." In return, she dangled her own in front of the smaller senshi. "We'll trade, but you better be a proper badass, got it? No slacking off to chat with bugs."

The idea of competing with who she assumed was the little Earth Dweeb getting her food right now earned a sneer and a snort. "Only losers compete with losers, babe. But yeah, I think I'll bully his a** a little." Her urge to bully Earth Knights had been suppressed by Joy's general ability to not be a loser or a cop, and Nigh Nigh was too dead to eat s**t, so it'd be nice to indulge a little.