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Javor was still mourning his bird when he heard a delicate gasp beside him and looked over to see a young woman who looked rather like a fish (Marie). She was staring at him with wide, slightly bulbous eyes and an expression that was practically pleading for him to push her into the fire to join his bird in the afterlife. What a devoted young fish-woman.

But he was unable to send her to lands beyond because before he could do so, a short hobo (Izzy) ran up, stabbed his pet bird and yanked it out of the fire. "Ah...that is my--"

Javor stopped and took a step back, a look of utter disgust swanning its way over his face. She smelled...horrific. Like dead frogs that had been soaked in rotten fish after spending a month wedged in a truck driver's armpits. Normally he might try to help the obviously destitute and disease ridden child. But, well, the odor sort of made him want to turn aside and vomit into the fire. And on top of that, she had stabbed his bird (even if it was already dead, and not technically his yet).

"This...thing. We must purify it with fire." He took one step toward Izzy with every intent of throwing her on the fire. But that horrible smell drove him back once more and he looked at Marie flatly.

"You do it."

Since none of his friends or classmates had showed up, Jeremy had struck up a conversation with River, mainly talking about sports, which was a good default for the two of them. His mother didn't really care much about the technical aspects of sports, things like rules or what the positions were called or even the proper names of the equipment -- she very often referred to "scoring baskets" in soccer, but to be fair, the goals did look a little like baskets set on their sides -- but she was better than nothing. They had begun to talk in short, enthusiastic sentences about a wrestling special they had caught on TV a day or two before, when Jeremy noticed two boys (Mathew and Markel) were talking very loudly next to them. Kind of distractingly loud, and that was saying something, because River wasn't exactly one for soft tones. Jeremy glanced at them a couple of times, and... was it just him, or where they looking at him? He wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying, but he got the distinct feeling that they were looking right at him, and it made him a little uncomfortable. River had fallen quiet, seemingly distracted by something going on over by the bonfire, so Jeremy was left more or less alone with these two kids. Were they trying to get his attention or something? Did he have something on his face? The taller kid looked to be around his age, while the other was obviously younger -- yet he was almost as tall as Jeremy. The redhead definitely didn't like that, so he couldn't just ignore them.

"Yeah?" he addressed them in a monosyllabic, teenage boy sort of way. He still wasn't entirely sure of what they were talking about, but he caught 'mines', and that was good enough. "Did you say mines?" Anything they had to say about the mines probably wasn't anything good, but he'd be lying if he said his interest hadn't been piqued.

---

One moment, Rory was warming his hands, the next his attention had been jerked elsewhere. His ears had caught the word 'Usagi' and he had looked up involuntarily. Although he didn't know where it had come from, it didn't take long for him to notice the two Yoshiko sisters not that far away. Ahh, now it clicked. Feeling quite bashful, Rory shoved his hands back into his coat pockets and debated going over to say hello. He didn't want to intrude though, especially if she was with her family... Ah, there was Zelynity. Rory smiled and waved to his pink-haired friend, but still stood his ground. He kept glancing in Usagi and Mitsukai's direction, whether he liked it or not, following a nice pattern of fire-Usagi-fire-Usagi-fire-Usagi-feet-fire-Usagi-feet-fire and so on. The square was starting to fill up, and feeling like the event was less intimate with more people around, he walked over to Usagi and Mitsukai, missing Javor and the bird by just a moment.

"Happy New Year, you two," he greeted the two of them with a smile, his nose already growing pink now that he was away from the heat of the bonfire. He felt a little awkward greeting Usagi's sister too; they didn't really know each other that much, but she seemed pleasant enough. "I hope I'm not interrupting." When he spoke, he could see his breath. Somehow that made him feel even more ticklish. What was going on with him tonight?

Eva arrived at the square long before the bonfire was dying down. In fact, the crowd was somewhat underwelmin. Then again, Nirvani wasn't exactly a bit place. But he figured this was good way to meet some of the other residents, regardless. He'd been cooped up in his lab far too much lately, and he was kind of worried that Eve2 was turning psychotic on him. The promise of a Human assistant was definitely encouraging but he'd decided he needed further Human interaction.

And thus, he decided to attend the bonfire. At the very least, he might get to have a conversation with someone he didn't build--not that Eve2 or Evan could hold a proper conversation anyway.

Still, the fresh air was nice. Even if it was faintly tinged with smoke and...the acrid smell of burning feathers? Huh. Weird.

Eva hadn't been at the celebration long when an unfamiliar young woman bounced up to him, proclaiming it a happy new year. Which, really, Eva couldn't argue with that. He was just a little startled because he didn't know this girl at all (well, he didn't know anyone, so that wasn't a shock) and he wondered, for a moment, if she had mistaken him for someone else.

But it didn't really matter. A greeting was a greeting, even if it was possibly meant for someone else. Besides, the atmosphere at the square was pretty festive and happy. She could just be attempting to be friendly as well--and that was a rather nice gesture. He had to repay it in kind, of course.

Eva smiled at the young woman who'd approached him. "It certainly is," he agreed. "At least so far, anyway. Though i do hope it continues to be one. "I'm Evander Rosenthal. I don't think I caught your name?"

Javor wasn't sure about this fish girl. She seemed a bit on the daft side--but hardly surprising when one considered her appearance. Her taste in clothing certainly left something to be desired. He half expected a rainbow pony to prance up and start talking to the dead pigeon, before wisking them all away to a magical rainbow land. Of course, that didn't happen because the poor pigeon was suddenly flung into the air by the garish hobo girl (boy?). Javor watched it with mild interest as it sailed through the sky on one last voyage, trailing a small stream of smoke behind it like a charred falling star.

"Ah...it escaped."

Now was about when someone ought to push the hobo into the fire. She'd stabbed his bird and then threw it. The poor thing. At least she didn't have to try to defile its corpse with her putrid, stinking hands. Though, she supposed that, in her defense, she had freed the poor thing for a final voyage.

Perhaps he should thank her.

Then push her into the fire.

“Pst. Give me your scarf, peon. I’m cold.” Amie whispered over to her brother, hands already groping for the scarf.

“No.” Alec immediately denied and batted the greedy hands away, but they kept coming back with vengeance.

In the end, it quickly escalated into a slap fight between the two siblings. That is until a voice cut right through the middle of their shenanigans. “Stop it.” Anneliese glowered at the two, instantly causing the two to have their hands snap straight to their sides. She couldn’t believe that Alfred had to get sick now of all times. He was the one who was supposed to take these brats out, but no, she had to be the one stuck babysitting now. “Get out of my sight before I throw you two into the fire.”

That was their cue. Scram. The two younger Dahls immediately scrambled to find someplace else they could argue, and said place ended up being behind a group of boys [Jeremy, Matthew, and Markel] Amie hissed out to the guys. “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Peasants, don’t you dare move from there, or else the ogre will ******** kill us.” In spite of his intimidation of ‘OHGAWDPEOPLE,’ Alec couldn’t help rolling his eyes at his sister’s exaggeration because her ridiculousness was just…. ugh. Of course, that earned him an angry jab to the gut by a pointy elbow and an unhealthy reminder to keep his exasperation to himself.

Anneliese narrowed her eyes at her stupid siblings before stalking off to plop down on an empty bench. That was right. She wanted no part with anyone, and that included the people with the weird hair colorings, homeless clown mayhem, or dogs. Especially dogs.

(( OOC: I’m just slowly adding in the others. Waiting on Coma’s arrival before much else. :] ))

River didn't snap out of her fire-induced daze until her wife addressed her and grabbed her arm. For a split second, she had forgotten that she hadn't come alone! Sometimes she could be so spacey~ She smiled up at Zhi, briefly wondering if it was comfortable to always cling to her arm like that, she was a couple inches taller, afterall, and she always wore those fancy shoes! "What other couples?" she laughed absentmindedly, not really taking Zhi that seriously -- what did mingling even mean anyway? Sounded strange, like running up to someone and tickling them before running off again. ...Actually, that sounded really fun. Still, she let Zhi hold onto her arm and scour the square for new couples to hit on, while she watched Jeremy and his new friends~ "What, found some?" she snapped back to earth and followed Zhi finger. She was pointing to a younger couple, kind of fancy-looking, but River Park was not the kind of person to let that discourage her! "Wow, that guy's tall! Wonder if he's taller than Alex? Hahah, they should have a tall-off. ...Okay, let's go," she said, about to go marching right over to Michael and Anna but stopped herself as she realized... who was the tall guy's wife? There were a couple of young looking women hanging around him, which one was she supposed to woo again?

---

"Ah, bye," Rory managed to get out as Mitsukai left; before, he had simply been smiling and listening like a good conversation partner. Did he chase her away? He didn't mean to! After watching her walk off and fretting slightly, he turned back to Usagi just in time for her apology. "Oh, no, it's fine," he shook his head quickly. "I understand little sisters," he offered with a smile, though in reality, his own sister wasn't the most logical being around. "I'm fine, thanks. My Stocking Day was quiet... Typical bachelor things," he replied, quite unaware of his friend's distress. He rather liked New Year's, and just being out with everyone relaxed his mood. "What about you? Did you spend it with your family?" For a brief moment, he was a little jealous -- it must be nice to live on the same island as one's family, no holiday travel to worry about. "Can't believe it's almost a new year already. Do you have any resolutions?" Maybe it was a boring topic, but he was genuinely interested. "It's always nice to end a year with a little bit of contemplation," he added pleasantly.

Anna found the crowd to be a real drag, none too exciting, no one that caught her attention that wasn't paired off with someone else. And her husband, Marie, and her two lovely boys had finally made their way to the square. She chuckled, though her eyes narrowed spitefully as a little girl (Lyra) coo'd over Michael like Anna once did.

‘Foolish girl, he wouldn't dare cross that bridge... again'
The thought flickered through her mind as her glaze landed bitterly on Marie for the briefest moment. That's when another set of woman looking at her husband hit her attention. ‘What in the name of the goddess?'

Apparently before she made her way to the bar, she needed to make her way to him. Despite her current disdain for Michael, the man belonged to her. Tucking the little white furred Bap under her arm, Anna moved across the square and planted herself beside Michael. Her eyes flickered vacantly towards the blue haired kid but she offered a sly, knowing smile before purring at her husband, "Miss me yet?"















Ohgoddess, ohgoooooodness.

Marie stared still in a shocked disbelief of the situation as the hobo girl (girl?) insisted on her foul fowl. "Of COURSE I would buy you a san-"

THE BIRD WENT FLYING! Well, with the help of an overzealous Izzy. She had enough time to look at the reanimated bird and around at their small gathering crowd before it landed in a newcomers hair. Ohdear...

Hopefully Izzy would be fine with fending off Javor if he decided to make good on his threat of purifying the poor hobo with fire (if he could drag himself close enough) while Marie rushed to help remove the pigeon. As soon as she stepped away from her spot though, the boy(Sani) continued flaring forward and knocked Izzy into the flames himself!! WHY WAS EVERYONE BURNING?!

Her long blonde hair flipped back and forth as she didn't know who to help. Luckily the decision was made when the bird fell from the boys head. HOBO GIRL! Marie's hands dove into the licking flame and latched around her wrists, pulling her back. In the process, her hands burned slightly, her sleeves and wrist band flower as well as the ends of her hair the wind threw foward singed.

"Can we PLEASE get away from the FIRE!" she snapped, dragging the hobo a few feet with her.



















'YES!'

The boy(Jeremy) awknowledged the mines(and in this, them) and Mathew turned with a friendly smile towards him. "Yeah, mines. Bay here loves them, don't you Bay?"

A cheesy grin plastered itself across the boys face. It wasn't his best approach at a new friendship, but it would do. "I like them, but I prefer the mountains. We live right at the base of them, and I've already staked out the base and about 20 yards up! I'm Mathew, by the way. And this Markel, but I call him Bay."

He extended his hand to the boy confidently, eyes shifting in a questioning manner from him only when someone else popped up talking some weirdness. Two someones, a boy and a girl. Ah well, the more the merrier. Mathew loved crowds, 'sepcially of peers!!