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[[Ekundayo = Popsicle Booth

Fathle = Petting Zoo

Tags for: Ebony Shade && Koco Pelli]]

Ekundayo opened her mouth to answer and tell Cordelia that she should keep her dark hair pinned back more often but a crisp voice cut in before her. She turned and smiled.
“Ms. Shade,” she said with a small bow of her head. “And it’s okay. I am sorry for messing you up.”
The Raeven let her golden eyes take in the woman’s paint-glazed body. A part of her wondered if it was painful. It must be. Ekundayo turned her eyes and watched Cordelia interact with her guardian. At first, she thought maybe Ebony was upset. Maybe the guardian had had a horrible time. That was one conclusion that Ekundayo came to when Ebony didn’t say much and merely patted Cordelia’s cheek. She floated forward to further apologize for skewing her aim but stopped when her friend spoke to her again.
“…Okay,” Ekundayo replied hesitantly. She focused her energy on the woman. Whatever connection she could make with Ebony was quickly deteriorating as she continued to walk away. But Cordelia was right. All she felt from the guardian was a tired sort of happiness. The purple-haired woman really did seem comparable to her own Faye in the sense that neither of them showed much outward emotion. Ekundayo watched Ebony walk toward the small group of adults over by Alex’s booth before turning back to Cordelia.
“I would love to see your room. I want you to see mine too,” she said with a smile. “Faye can take us to the park.”

--------

Fathle offered one last nod to Alex before turning his full attention to Jezabroux.
“It is a pleasure, Jezabroux. Thank you for your compliments about Ekundayo. I am sure she will be delighted to hear she has an admirer,” he said with a smile. “And I have no connections to that delicatessen. It is owned by a man named Bennet. I merely a very regular patron – Ms. Shade!”
He offered a smile and looked amused at the woman’s recognition of the other man.
“You look battle-worn and glorious, my dear. I apologize for leaving so abruptly earlier but I am glad to have met you again under such… colorful circumstance,” he added with a playful smile.

(( Popsicle Booth --> Beachfront; Tag to Ravi, Storei (mention), & Chrys (mention) ))

Anita recalled, and nodded, casting a glance at the spider Frei. Anastacia had been one of the names she approved of and had told Zeke as much in one of their first text message sprees, the one where she discovered her own developing charge had become a floating head. There wasn't much time to laugh at the memory, as Zeke's tone changed while clarifying about the situation between Anya and Vyn.

"Oh," Anita paused, her brow knitting slightly. So it seemed that Vyn had met with Anya without knowing that she had been the virus Raevan to begin with. It made her wonder if the dark rose's opinion of Anya would change if she came to know what she was; whether she would spurn her or take it in stride. It was so hard to say without knowing Vyn personally. "That's unfortunate," she huffed quietly, a bit at a loss as to what should be said on the matter but she cast Zeke a reassuring glance when then gave way to a freak out and giggles.

A boy.

When Zeke made the motion against his chest to emulate breasts, Anita lost it, cackling like a wild hen and grabbing onto the counter of the booth to keep herself steady. Yes, she would have to seek Zul out when he was more free! He needed to know that the mistletoe baby was going to be a boy! "Oh man, that's just--" she choked out, pausing again to laugh.

Too exciting for words.

"You're gonna have to--! ...Oh," she laughed quietly at herself and hushed up as a male Sigel she had just barely caught sparse glimpses of came over and called to Zeke, prompting the colorful man to give her the 'just a second' hand signal. She nodded, popping the lemon popsicle in her mouth and stare at Tango who, in turn, was staring at her popsicle and licking his lips every few seconds. Chuckling under her breath, she carefully grabbed a handful of ice cubes from the nearest container without disturbing any pops and held one out for Tango. The dog took it gratefully and wagged his tail, beginning to gnaw.

Then the call was made for a gaggle of humans and Raevans to come over to the popsicle booth to get ready for the next game, and it was paintball! Damn, she had missed the signups, she didn't even know there were games! Oh well, though, having her dog here wouldn't have been good anyway, he probably would have chased her or anyone else running around with the guns if she participated. Kneeling down and setting the handful of ice into her cooler with the rest (most of which had melted a great deal already), she collected her things and rested the popsicle in her mouth while waving to Zeke. He was busy, she would leave him be for now. Maybe she could seek Zul out and catch up with him if he wasn't too busy, that would be a nice treat.

Tugging Tango along, she departed the booth and hit the sand once again as a cool breeze came with some cloud cover. She sighed contentedly, though picked up her pace when she felt her popsicle begin to trickle down her chin. On the way to the seaside once more, she caught a glance of Zul, though again he was occupied, this time with another Raevan, the black clad girl with cat ears. Maybe in a little while. Impatience was tugging at her and if he didn't free up soon she might have to go and interrupt, but she would try to be tactful for as long as she could.

Letting the dog loose, Tango rushed into the waves again, nipping at the foamy waters in excitement as she folded out her towel and wiped her face clean. Besides the paintball, things seemed to finally be starting to calm down and she could hear the shots ringing off in the distance. Cleaning up the quickly melting popsicle, she took to standing beside her towel while watching Tango until she felt a thick, hard and watery SMACK against the back of her thigh. Letting out a yelp, Anita fumbled with the popsicle until it fell into the sand. "Dammit," she hissed, lifting her leg up so as not to put pressure on it and curved herself to see the 'wound'.

Pink like watermelon flesh. Anita frowned and took the edge of the towel and wiped it off. At the velocity and distance, and especially considering it was paintball, there would likely be a decent bruise there in the next few days. Always something at these Lab beach get-togethers. The first one she got scared and scraped her back up because she thought she saw a ghost. She had to shake her head at that one. Dumb.

(( Petting Zoo => Paintball Field ))




The screaming made her head jerk up, standing abruptly and looking out over the sand. What was going on? Was that--! "Rivener and Eiry," the woman growled softly under her breath, giving her booth a quick glance before taking off like a shot - running full tilt over the white surface of the beach, sand kicking up in her wake. Alex hadn't exactly thought that everyone could get along - but she damn well expected better from the Sigels. Reaching the small gaggle of Raevans, the woman with a lower body put a hand on Rivener's stomach and extended another towards Prajna.

"Stop it," she hissed, eyes dripping with bright venom sliding between the gathered, though skipping over Lazarus; he was actually trying to help, which was a blessing. "What the blazes is wrong with you guys? It's a GAME, the object of the game is to shoot people! If you get hit and you're going to cry like this, don't sign up next time - now break it up!" The Italian bristled, jaw set and her lips pursed; they were all her family and they were lucky she wasn't treating them as such by dragging them by the ears. Where the hell were all the Guardians during this!?

She glanced to Eiry, rather unhappy that he seemed too intent on 'playing' to even notice he was partially inciting the riot. Eyes slid towards Rivener and Varun: two proud males, she could only imagine what transpired other than the paintball attempt. And Prajna - she'd never felt right with that one. Pushing the Scorpion back in a barely gentle manner, she scowled and looked at the gathered. "There are people here who want to support you guys and the Lab." The woman lifted her hands for a moment to stem any arguments or retorts that may have sprung up. "Getting into a brawl over a game isn't what this get-together is about, do you get me? This is for friends and standing together when past events divided us. If you can't have fun, go cool off in the water or go home. You guys aren't children." There was no room for argument there. They weren't. They knew better.

Alex gave one last disapproving glance, waiting. She wasn't leaving until they had dispersed. Who knew she'd have to play bouncer amongst a sea of half-bodies?

((Ty -> beach/ Yuu=drinks booth / Lucia=Oceanside))

Ty brushed his hair out of his face as the announcement came from the popsicle booth that his team had won! Thankfully he didn’t have to worry about being hit anymore, so Ty stood up from his crouched position. Stretching out a little, he walked back to the popsicle booth, the noise from the area hiding the screaming raevans.

Tossing his gun with the others, the blonde saw his sister talking to Aphi – the uptight boyfriend – and he decided to avoid that. Instead he walked back towards the beach and Lucia. Stopping by the blanket and his drink, Ty grabbed his booze and walked over to Lucia and her friend.

Lucia smiled brightly at the good friend comment. She was happy to know that she still had friends who liked her. And the rest could maybe come around eventually. If not, she liked Zul enough for him to be one of the select few friends she had.

Lucia hugged Zul with one arm as she looked out at the water. The conversation had become too serious for a day of fun. She had made him laugh with Ty’s expression, which was really great to hear. She didn’t remember hearing him laugh too much when he was helping her heal. As a larger wave rolled on the shore, Lucia remembered dipping her hand in the warm water. It wasn’t hot – like the time she had been forced into the hot showed. It wasn’t ice cold – like the water with the drinks with it. It wasn’t full of chemicals – like the pool from last summer.

”Have you ever been swimming in the ocean, Zul?” she asked quizzically. She wasn’t sure if the warm salty water would be nice or not. As Ty walked over, the frei’s eyes lit up a little.

”Ty! This is Zul. Zul, Ty – my guardian’s brother. You’ve been swimming in the ocean before -- do you like it?” Ty, she knew, surfed at home.

His bright green eyes examined the frei whose arm was around Lu. He looked pretty bad a**, but didn’t seem to be harassing or taking advantage of her. ”It’s a beaut – or awesome!” he replied, mocking her Gaian English slang. ”You should come surfing with me some time.”

----------

”I’m sure!” Yuurei said lightly, waiting for the kabob to finish. She looked at the brightly colored vegetables on a stick heating up on the grill. As it finished quickly and was handed to her, Yuu took one end of the stick and gently bit into a red pepper. ”Wow!” she said appreciatively. ”This is good!” she eyed a mushroom before slowly sinking her teeth into the fungus.

The slightly grilled skin had a bit of crisp to it, but the vegetables were still juicy. Patting the napkin to her lips as she held the kabob on one hand, she looked at Aphi with a smile. ”Thank you! Do you need a drink or anything? I’m going to get one.”

[[ Paintball Field, tag Rivener, Prajna and Lazarus ]]

The banshee shriek had startled Varun from his apparent state of shock, his wings fluttering as he tipped his head to observe the screaming match about to erupt. Halfway to warning Prajna off such a foolish endeavor, he had no idea he was being hunted until he had already been caught. Startling violently, the Leviathan roared in anguish as his wings and fins shot outward. And then he realized who's hand was wrapped around the scruff of his neck and his undone hair

"Let me go," he hissed, ribbon twirling as he flailed wildly. It took a moment for him to realize Rivener wasn't done yet, but by the time he shouted "Prajna!", it was too late, and the Scorpion had captured his friend as well.

"Let Prajna go!" Varun raged, striking wildly at Rivener's body. "He had nothing to do with it!"

Suddenly Lazarus appeared, and while Varun did not recognize or know the Sigel, he was, apparently, grateful for the cavalry to arrive. He couldn't rescue Prajna on his own, especially when he was being held arms length away from the captor. "It was not Prajna's fault, he insisted firmly, pale hands trying to pry Rivener away from his neck.

((Delia=Popsicle Booth -> Petting Zoo // Ebs=Petting Zoo))

The snake gave a squeeze back to the hand and nodded. There wasn’t any real reason for them to get involved over there. After all with such a big group of Raevans already, Alex surely had her hands full. If they joined, even just to watch, Cordelia had a feeling the Italian might end up giving them a lecture of some sort as well. Besides, looking at Ekundayo now, she could tell the girl was greatly disturbed and somewhat upset by the actions going on further down the beach. Thus taking the lead, Delia totted the eagle Raevan along to their guardians who happened to be together oddly enough.

As they floated over, Delia couldn’t help raising a grey eye to the sky that seemed to be reflecting not only their color, but also the high strung emotions of the current event participants. Strange, Ebby said the weather was suppose to be sunny and dry ALL day. Had her woman been wrong? And if so, was it really going to rain? The thought of that helped to drop Cordelia’s mood down along with the cloud girl by her side. She quickened their approach to their guardians, a safe harbor from anything and everything the two Freis did not like.

“Eirdirsceol would be quite pleased you thought that.” Ebony replied as she crossed her arms, obvious disapproval marring her tanned features as she looked out to Alex once more. “He lives for it and loves making all kinds of mischief. Not really sure how Aphismet and his lot manage to live with the perpetual prankster. Course that’s not to say he’s bad or anything. Sweet kid really, just wish he didn’t have to scare people half to death most of the time.”

She blinked at the sudden roll of papers and water bottle being thrust at her. Accepting them, “Oh, um, thank you.” Ebony gently unrolled a piece and opened the bottle to dampen the paper with. She was just about to start scrubbing at her shorts when she stopped and thought twice about that. It would have looked odd with Fathle standing right there, so instead the Brit went to wiping the dried paint from her exposed skin. “Technically, since you left, this would count as our third meeting.” The lavender haired female gave a teasing smile before craning her head to view the slowly darkening skies. “But yes, I hope so as well. Would be a shame for the event to end earlier than expected.”

Once her stomach was paint free finally, the woman began on her shoulder, which thankfully wasn’t smarting anymore. Gotta love nanobot technology. Without them, Ebony would surely be in a more rotten mood because of the pain that would have built. “So how did your little errand g-g-GO?!” The last word jumped due to a cold pair of hands surprising the Brit as they wrapped around her arm, Cordelia hugging her guardian’s arm as she normally did when she wasn’t feeling good or just wanted to hide so to speak.

[[Paintball field (Rivener) <Varun, Prajna, Lazarus, Alex, Eiry>> // Drinks Booth (Aphismet) <Yuurei>>]]

Well, this was a beautiful ********. Rivener felt his temper rising again when Lazarus came by to try and break things up, quickly followed by Alex... whose words had more of an effect than Laz's had. The Scorpion considered just letting the two Frei go and forgetting about all this before it became even more of a scene, but then Prajna had to go and dig its idiotic little nails into Riv's wrist, as though Rivener would ever have anything to fear from the androgynous Snack. That alone was enough to have Rivener's wings snapping open again, but he held back with nothing more than a rustle of the leathery limbs.

Fingers let go of both Prajna and Varun, Riv jerking his wrist out of the Star-frei's grasp. He sneered at Prajna with barely contained irritation; whatever he'd thought of the frei before, it was al wiped clear now and replaced with bright bold red letters: OBNOXIOUS. If only Riv knew for sure that it was a boy or a girl... Then he'd know how to react. Punch in the face? Or just a cold shoulder? He'd have to settle for the cold shoulder for now.

Ignoring both arrogant and annoying Frei, Rivener turned to Alex and sighed, actually managing to look contrite. "Sorry Alex. My temper got the best of me." He'd offer no excuses, no Varun was on my team and shot me! or Prajna's being a haughty, snobby b***h!... Alex was right, Rivener was the elder out of them and should have held himself in check. "I'll just go, then. Sorry to you too Laz." But there'd be no apology for the two brats, that's for damned sure.

Before he could be cornered into offering said apology, Rivener floated away from the gathered group, passing by Eiry and giving the other Sigel a pat on the shoulder. "Looks like you'll have to find some other game, bro. No more yelling here."

Ugh, Riv was frustrated now. Both at himself and at Prajna and Varun... Usually he'd go to Zul for comfort, but with their current tiff... Hm, maybe now would be as good a time as any to try and make up. Red eyes scoured the sand for the familiar demon, hoping he'd be alone and ready to talk.

Aphismet grinned at the praise the vegetable kabob garnered from Lucia's guardian. The chef had to admit he found it rather tasty too... Maybe he could sneak some vegetables into the pickier members of his family and friends if he prepared it like this. He made a mental note, so he'd remember to check later.

Yuurei asked if he wanted a drink, seeing as she was headed to the bar. Aphismet's smile broadened and he shook his head, motioning to the hollow coconut nearby. "Very kind of you, but no thanks, I'm still nursing this one."

Aphi watched the blonde walk away and snatched his gaze back before it wandered too low, blushing lightly. Wah, all these women in bathing suits were starting to wear on the white-haired man's self-control. He supposed he should seek out the one he WAS allowed to ogle: Alex. She was currently negotiating amongst a gaggle of Raevans, and Riv was moving away? Guh. Aphi sighed, slightly embarrassed. He should probably have been keeping a closer eye on Rivener...