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((Pie-eating contest))

Jupiter gingerly picked off all off the pecans that had decided to stick themselves to his face. Ewww, he wanted napkins, and a drink would be nice too. His stomach already felt full but he persevered, eating each and every pecan and gobbling up the last of the crust. Urg, another pie ahead. This would be the halfway point so Jupiter decided to eat his second favorite flavor of pie that was up there, apple. Taking the pie and setting it before him, Jupiter paused, either gathering his strength or delaying the inevitable. Then, picking up a slice he took a large bite, starting on the next obstacle in his way to victory.

(( 225+38= 263))

((Pie eating contest))

Jupiter gave himself a break, telling his aching stomach that it would all be over soon. He watched as the blond female raevan started on another pie. How was she eating so much so quickly?? Without even getting messy! Suddenly self conscious, Jupiter took some of the water that they had been given to drink and used it to wash his face of the pecan filling. There was quite a crowd gathering and Jupiter didn't want to look like a slob in front of them, although it hadn't been his fault that the pecan pie had been cooked improperly. Still, once his face and hands were clean again he proceeded with the apple pie. He realized it was probably bad to use all his water to clean himself and not to drink, but Jupiter couldn't have stood it anymore.

((263+84=347!!! biggrin ))

(( Beach Bar ))

Craning her neck to see where Kyou was pointing, her eyes brightened with recognition as they lit upon the Incubus Sigel. "Ah! I remember him from last year! He was serving drinks with Rivener." Alex could remember details down to the finest grain, but ask her for numbers or important dates and she was utterly useless. She laughed a little as Isi started yelling; someone was going to need a hug and a glass of water when it was all said and done. "Poor Isi. Poor Eiry. Hmm? Tsu?" Wasn't that the one Natsuki...? Oh yes. Remembering the pirate and talk of booty from Halloween, it was all she could do not to laugh out loud at the memory. It was best to not come across as crazy.

Turning back to the doctor, she smiled warmly. "I'm a zoologist. I've been living in a house on the Barton Cliffs for about two years now, while I conduct my studies." Alex always felt a sense of pride with her work, finding it comfortable to talk about, which put her slightly more at ease. Her expression softened from pride to pleasure at his acceptance of her proposal, looking as content as a cat with cream. "You think so? That'd be great! I wouldn't mind driving out, especially for that. It's a date, then!" She nodded to herself, adding with a grin, "It'll be nice to get out with good company."

[[Pie Eating Contest]]

Rivener had finally managed to get ahold of himself when the girl began throwing him looks that HE himself used to throw at people. A graceful hand was running through the dark ponytails as though drawing Riv's eyes to it, and the Scorpion couldn't help but do just that, admiring the dark locks. As dark as his own, really.

Riv somehow retained enough awareness and composure to avoid another stuttering debacle, instead smiling at the girl in a sultry fashion (a reflex he was normally not prone to with females). "Lucia? That's your name? ...Very pretty," he added as an afterthought, although by the way he looked the cat-frei over, he might be insinuating something else. "Can I take your picture?"

He was NOT flirting, Riv told himself. He was just... talking. Nicely. To a girl. And asking for her picture. ....he'd better change the topic quick.

"Who's your guardian, is it someone around here? Maybe I know him or her..." Rivener raised an eyebrow, still smiling, tilting his head forward.

...NOT flirting.

Aphismet was cheering Isi on and noticed Eiry coming closer, cheering as well (albeit a little eerily). How nice that the WilloWisp came to encourage his guardian, Aphi thought, suddenly wondering where Rivener was. The chef had been about to glance over his shoulder when Eiry suddenly lunged.

Aphi's eyes shot open wide and he swore under his breath, reaching out to pull the Raevan away if he could. "Eiry!" Aphismet berated in addition to Isi's threats. "What's wrong with you? Doing that to your own guardian in front of everyone? You can be so cruel. Go find Riv," Aphi ordered in an attempt to get the Minty Frei out of everyone's hair for the moment, but doubting that it would be as easy as all that.

[[Pie Eating Contest]]

Rivener was getting the hang of this, talking to a girl without hating her. It had only ever been Vyn before, but she wasn't really classified as a "girl" in Riv's books. She more like "sister", and that was a whole class all its own. This Lucia though, she was most definately a girl. That coy smile, that spark in the eye, that innate grace...

Lucia's words answered Rivener's inward question; she was a very young Raevan, probably quite new. By the sound of it, she hadn't met anyone else before today. Her agreement to be photographed caused Rivener to grin happily. See, it wasn't flirting at all, she was just being friendl-

The pose she struck then erased that entire train of thought from Riv's mind. She WAS flirting. She was flirting with Riv, and the Dark frei didn't mind. Actually, it was rather flattering. Riv would never ever admit that it was catching his interest any more than that.

Lifting his camera, Riv framed her in the lcd screen, smirking up at her occasionally with half-lidded eyes. A click of a button, and Riv had a perfect picture of Lucia. "All done," he said. "And for the record, I'm glad you came, too. It's very nice to meet you." A sultry grin, and for a split second Riv wondered if it would be just as nice to kiss a girl as it was to kiss Roux. Maybe even nicer?... N-not that he'd try, though. Of course not.

[[Pie Eating Contest]]

Rivener blinked twice without replying, going over his situation in his mind. Ok, now this was- maybe- flirting. He couldn't say "Oh of course you do", that would be too blatantly flirty. He couldn't say "NO" as a defense because that would probably anger Lucia. That was something Rivener didn't want happening. He wanted her to like him. Riv wondered why, really. It normally shouldn't matter.

"Have a look for yourself," Riv offered instead, a good compromise. He put the camera on review mode and selected the picture he'd just taken, bringing it up on the screen and floating over to the girl's side to show her.

Rivener could have just handed over the digital camera, but this way he got to stand very close. He smirked, deciding to ignore the fact that this would most likely be considered blatantly flirty as well.

(( Pie Eating Contest))

She was hoping Rivener would say she was pretty. She always loved being told she was pretty. Rivener was pretty, but he hadn't prompted her to compliment him. She was disapointed when he didn't say anything like that, but figured maybe she could get another compliment from him another way.

Lucia looked at the screen and tilted her head to the side, trying to decide if she liked the picture, and accidentally leaning her head on Rivener's bicep. She started to pull away and decided that her head was comfortable there. She tensed, hoping that he wouldn't pull away and remove her makeshift pillow.

Running her fingers through her fine hair she smiled and looked up at the dark frei. She decided that she liked him. He was dark, like her. "I like it! You're really good at taking pictures." She loved looking at herself and Rivener had captured her very well. Her eyes flashed, like a cat's in the dark.

((Pie Eating Contest))

Lucia blushed slightly at the compliment and inside she was glowing. She really liked that word. Gorgeous. She smiled widely, her shiny teeth were a rare sight for she rarely was elated enough to show her teeth in happiness.

"Thank you. You're pretty too." Pretty didn't seem like the right word for Rivener, but it was the closest one she could get from her vocabulary.

When Rivener said he had to go, however, her face fell slightly. "Oh . . . okay." She plastered on a happy look, but she wanted to know more about this raevan who felt so similar to her. So unlike her experience with Roux or Pasha.

Her eyes told her real emotion, but she did her best to masque it. "I'd love to talk to you sometime soon," she said sincerely. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper as she said, "Bye, Rivener."

She debated whether or not to float over to her embarrassing pie-covered guardian and decided that she liked the comfort of something familiar. She stayed behind and to the right of her guardian, smiling at Pasha, trying to catch her eye and give her silent support.