Welcome to Gaia! ::

"There's so many decorations up, it's so busy.." He muttered at one point, the jingling mirth of bells occasionally sounding here and there reminding him just what time of year it was.

When he felt a tug at his jacket, Stryke peered down at the second small kid at his side. Maneki's fingers were latched onto the red fabric, essentially death gripping it at some moments. It was understandable, nor did he push the kid away. "Yeah, go for it." It took every fiber in his being not to snort at the name he choose, with six letters for a naming scheme it was easy enough to get away with. Stryke would have to have a very serious talk with Maneki later about his choice in disguise names, but at least Autumn would get to read it before hand and know what to call him he figured. There were only so many combinations, and if he didn't call attention to it there was little to worry about.

The thought occurred to him he was essentially acting as a walking baby sitter. While he took the responsibility seriously, they weren't in danger. At least in the present moment. The fact hadn't occurred to him when he got a few tag alongs but it certainly was the case now.

His grey eyes traveled around the shopping district giving pause. Stryke had a few extra beetles on him from when he'd still been working on the cafe. If he gave the lot he was with a bit to spend, he reasoned with a bit of searching they could easily find gifts to exchange and a few things to bring back home. Although it was unlikely he'd let any of the younger trolls he'd come with out of his site for long. This undergoing was meant to be a joyous one, but he remained alert to their surroundings, even as he acted like he was just there to hang out.

[+] Kursha Vidari

The yellowblood's enthusiasm came as a surprise to Kursha. He could not think of anything he had done to deserve such a cheery greeting. The last time he had seen Elidae she had been distraught, traumatised by the events at the gala, and he had left her. Not without good reason of course, but in retrospect he felt guilty. He was glad to see she had bounced back from then.

Catching her gaze drift down to his bag, he positioned it around his other side where it would be out of sight. Before he could respond however, a blueblood cut in—one he recognised too. Fancy that. Not minding particularly that he had been interrupted (he himself had interrupted the blueblood's conversation), he gave Azrael a little wave, and turned his attention to the rest of the gathered trolls. Most of them were kids, but a few teenagers stood one. One or two he even...

He had hardly skimmed the crowd when Elidae resumed her greeting. Kursha blinked at her, once more baffled by her energy and then flashed her a smile. He leaned back further against the table.* Play it cool, Vidari. “It's been a while, huh?” he replied, masking his own enthusiasm.

As she launched into an explanation, Kursha nodded along, pretending to be listening. His mind was elsewhere; more specifically, on the bag he gripped in his right hand. It was fortunate that he had come across Elidae. It would save him postage, and having to pen a letter, which was always an arduous task. However it also meant he had to come up with a plan of action right then. At least he had a little bit of time, it sounded like.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm. Elidae tugged him closer and presented him with a pen and paper. He only just managed not to sputter. Tapping his chin, he pretended to consider. “Hm...” he mused, as though debating. He gave the yellowblood a wink. As he reached for the pen though, someone else beat him to it.

It turned out to be Lorata. Thankfully he was too surprised to see her to be very annoyed. Anyway, she returned it quickly enough. All was forgiven. It looked like more trolls were approaching though, and he had better act fast if he wanted to get his name in. Snatching it up before anyone else could (and giving them a healthy glare while he was at it), Kursha neatly filled a line. He then passed it of to Sarcel with considerably less ire and responded to her salute with a lazy two-fingered cross between a salute and a wave.

“How's it going, Serge?” he teased, before ambling away to make for the newest sign-ups while Elidae greeted them. With enough space for them to move easily in and out he returned to studying the other gathered participants.

To his surprise, there were more familiar faces. Standing over by a tiny purpleblood was none other than Alifax Bunsem. Kursha threw him and his companion a wave. Lorata and Alifax of course he had already acknowledged and then the only other troll he recognised made him want to roll his eyes. Eridia. She had gotten taller since he had last seen her, but he was not concerned. He could still kick her a** if it came to that.

The rest of the trolls were unfamiliar. There was a high-strung yellowblood accompanied by a brownblood whose wardrobe choice made Kursha's eyebrows shoot up. The latter seemed to be having an animated conversation with Alifax's purpleblooded companion. Also engaged were a couple greenblooded kids. He kept his gaze moving. Back at the sign-up table, he saw an orange-blooded teen who looked somewhat familiar, as well as a redblood, who was accompanied by two children. His gaze paused on the redblood. Something about him... bothered Kursha. He could not place his finger on what though. He must have had one of those faces.

Disregarding the strange feeling, Kursha returned to his attention to Elidae. Still busy. No matter. While she was preoccupied, he crept up from behind and leaned over her shoulder. “Hm... Are there usually so many?”

*Don't fall off, Kursha.

Caiden was dense, Caiden was nieve, but even he knew what anger looked like. Once, when the brownblood had ran off farther than he should have, CamoDad turned bright red in anger. This teen had red on him, it probably meant something. Maybe all redbloods were mad... Caiden stepped back a little from the redblooded teen. "Um, sorry mister." The child apologized. Anger was scary, red was scary. The purple was pretty tho, so bright! He turned to the purpleblood again and pulled out his blue, red and white paint. "Your color is some combination of these. I just know it! Hey hey! Can i see you again? I want to mix these perfect to match you!" The child went back to being excited, but still gave the redblood his space.

When each new troll came into the croud Caiden took a moment to look at them, to see all the colors they wore. He wouldent be able to remeber their faces for the life of him, but there colors he could remember. When a troll with long dreadlocks looked at him Caiden waved and smiled. Maybe that teen wanted to be friends too. He was wearing camoflaush, Caiden loved that. He would definatly need to introduce himself later.




Lots of spelling/grammer mistakes. Will fix when not on ipad

With his name on the page, Hazmas looked around, grinning. The cheer was infectious and there seemed to be quite a crowd, many of whom he recognized. Azrael was there, as was Kursha and a bunch of others he'd seen at the Gala. While he was excited to see his blue-blooded sleuthing buddy again, an enormous "Proceed with Caution" sign flashed in his mind at the sight of the older greenblood. Yes, proceeding with caution around Kursha would be a good idea.

Taking a moment to straiten his duster and satchel, Hazmas started toward Azrael, eager to to check in with him but stopped when something caught his eye. A familiar glint in the corner of his eye that led him to turn his head and freeze. The glint had come from a familiar pair of goggles hung around the neck of a certain troll he'd been looking to avoid.

'Eridia....' Hazmas stared, stunned by the fact that she'd kept his gift. The last thing he expected her to do was keep the goggles let alone wear them in public. Once the gears in his think pan unfroze, the greenblood remembered the high-blood's letter and felt the bottom of his stomach plunge into what he could only guess was the abyss of Alternia's core. Quickly, he turned up the collar to his duster. Maybe she wouldn't see him? Maybe she'd be too busy with the event or her latest bit of bully-bait and he could slip over to Azrael unnoticed? Not likely, but there was always hope... right?

Suddenly, there was a small orangeblood beside her. Frossa recoiled ever so slightly, holding a hand to her chest as she blinked furiously as he berated her with questions. My, so bold! And was that a threat? Surely not, he seemed much too... simple minded for that. Simple questions with obvious answers. So often did she forget she had the appearance of one his own age; but the mind was far more developed. Frossa tilted her head, smile faint. She was about to chide Caiden for even questioning if the colour she wore was her own when Alifax, to her pleasant surprise, spoke up. Her smile sharpened. She assumed it was to defend himself from being clambered upon like some common beast. Good for him! Alifax was hers, after all. She had earned that seat, and it wasn't to be just given away.

"Now now, Alifax~" Frossa reached up to pat his tense upper arm daintily, making a soft cooing noise in the back of her throat to ease his nerves. "The poor dear just wants to paint, see? Pay no mind to his vernacular simplicities."

Turning back to Caiden, Frossa shook her head patronizingly. It was her job to educate her social inferiors, after all. "My companion here and I share a unique bond. He's not some beast to be bestrode upon." She let out a light tssk tssk. "But maybe one day you'll find that special someone to carry you around, too! Or to carry." She brightened and laughed, puffing out her chest to show off her symbol. "Moving on, yes- it is a marvelous hue, isn't it? I can't blame you for your forwardness. Please, do go right ahead." Her tone had sweetened some, and she peered curiously down at the paints Caiden clutched. Really, she couldn't help it if lowbloods found her alluring beauty so inspiring that it drove them to act so madly. She batted her eyelashes at him.

Speaking of which- she let out a happy giggle, looking up at the other painter in her life as he showered her once more with compliments. "Oh, Amonee!" Frossa bounced on the backs of her heels, clutching one hand to her plump cheeks to giggle at his praise. "Aren't I always, darling~? Lovely to see you again. How is your work going?" As she gushed to Amonee, Frossa cast a sharp look over his shoulder in Nucleo's direction. No greeting? How impertinent. She wanted to believe he hadn't seen her yet, but she knew better. Amonee, whom he seemed to arrive with, was clearly addressing her. What, was he hatched in a barn? The nerve. The corners of Frossa's mouth twitched, but her beaming smile never once faltered. "You all know one another?" She asked pleasantly, not particularly caring one way or another.

More and more trolls had filtered into the area, some joining the forming circle, adding to the buzzing excitement growing in her bloodpusher cavity. A mottling of nondescript lowbloods, a speckling of cool, and two other adorable purplebloods (as expected of her caste). Frossa studied the other landdweller from afar, admiring Eridia's choice of attire- their caste was always dressed so exquisitely. But her attention was much more drawn towards the seadweller who had settled next to Alifax. She had never really met a seadweller before, let alone held a conversation with one. Frossa chewed on the insides of her cheeks, bashfully sideyeing Lorata.

"Simply elated," she chirped to Lorata's question, flashing her a friendly smile. Rocking on the heels of her boots, she craned her neck to look back up at Alifax after returning Kursha's wave. She recognized him as the commander from that night back when they tried to exterminate those rebel vermin. Alifax had given her a (rather dull) account of that night, and the one at Awassi's hive, but hadn't really elaborated much on their relationship. Tucking her small hand into the nook of his elbow, Frossa gave Alifax a light squeeze, wondering how badly he wanted to step away from the flock of children he towered above. She indeed thirsted for more gossip on each and every one of the trolls Alifax had dirt on- she was parched. Any information to make this exchange a little more... fun. And so many participants! She couldn't wait until the game began and the real action started.

He winked at her. That smile. Elidae was definitely charmed. She opened her mouth to say something, but someone jumped in the conversation before she could utter another word.

“Wha- Sarcel?” Elidae said in disbelief, another fondly regarded troll appearing to her other side. Only this time, without being summoned? Or so she thought. Where did she come from? No matter. Elidae was on cloud nine. “Whoawhoawhoa! Heeey!" Elidae greeted with her infinite enthusiasm. Last time she spoke with Sarcel was at the Royal Gala, and definitely left that on good terms. Before either Kursha or Sarcel could pick up the pen, however, a charming Lorata Gorgos made her appearance and stole it, dazzling Elidae once again. It was okay. She could steal it if she wanted to.

"Ah, Lorata! Such a pleasant surprise to see you! And- oh wow, th-thank you so much!" The yellowblood stammered. Lorata's high opinion meant very much to her; if the seadweller thought her idea was great, then it must have been so. "I really hope you have fun!" Elidae called out to her, overhearing the darling purpleblood ask others if they were excited. Looking down she noticed Kursha eventually scrawling out his name, then passing it off to Sarcel. Pressing knuckles to the side of her lips, Elidae tried her best to suppress the giddiness overwhelming her. Even with her flushed cheeks pained from the sustained smile she wore since her set up, she could hardly complain.

Although a bit saddened by Kursha's sudden absence, she was quick to bounce back when she realized how many trolls were beginning to materialize at her table. A peculiar redblood approached, accompanied by two seemingly timid children. She greeted them all warmly, inviting, saying her small thanks for the participation (and insisting to take a candycane). An orangeblood, she-oh, was that Nahori? Elidae hadn't the slightest clue, she didn't know that orangeblood she met as a child well, but that outfit sure was fashionable and adorable. However, before the yellowblood could compliment her on it, the other girl bumped into the redblood. Ah, another time then. After the fellow yellowblood child signed up, Elidae noticed the list was getting full. Almost too full.

In the midst of all this, she felt a sudden presence in her personal bubble. Blankly looking up from the table, Elidae stared ahead. She then craned her neck and-oh, hello Kursha! With raised brows, she gave him a questioning smile before returning her gaze down to the long list of participating trolls. Surprisingly, she did not mind his close proximity. Not surprisingly, it also made her nervous. Either way, she thought about what he asked for a moment. “Hmmm! … well…” After a pause, she produced a sheepish smile. "I've never really done this before, so I'm really not sure!" After a laugh, she gave him a humorously dramatic and stiff grin. “We'll see! I think this is a good amount though!”

For the second time, Elidae's attention towards Kursha was interrupted by Azrael. Biting the inside of her lip, she forced the corners of her mouth to pull up in a faux smile. "Yeah, it is a lot." She agreed, nodding her head. "It'll all be good!" She reassured herself. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she tried to shift her thoughts in a different direction. Yes, of course. All the trolls. So many trolls! While she remained nervous about running such a thing to basically promote herself, she remained excited as ever. "Be right back~!" Grabbing the sign up sheet, the yellowblood practically leaped away from the crowd, disappearing inside the shop.

It was a good few minutes before she returned, the festive hat absent and replaced by her signature yellow ribbon tied in a bow. The list was also gone, presumably stowed away.

"Hmm! I think... I'm done for the night!" Placing her hands on her hips, she stood there thoughtful for a moment, debating with herself. She glanced at the greenblood, donning a simple smile. Now that he was here, right in front of her... she considered asking him if he could find the time to do something with her, maybe? Previous encounters with Kursha were definitely out of the norm. And few. At least, here in the shopping district, it was a little bit more friendly...? Instead, or at least for now, she attempted to bring light to a previous subject. "Sooo... what brings you to New Hemisect?" Before he could answer her, however, Elidae already jumped to her most plausible suspicion. Or rather what everyone else presented themselves here for. "Twelfth shopping?" She questioned innocent enough, though the frolicsome tone made it highly suggestive.


show spoilerhide spoiler



Green Minuet


Melancholies


saihen
mention!


KitsuneAura
mention!

Alifax wasn't really one for intentional antagonization of people who'd remember his face, but at the same time it was within the rules of the game, right? Either way, once he'd set Frossa free to terrorize the other short-looking trolls around, he actually...stepped to the side. And waved at Elidae. (Thankfully he did not attempt a smile, this time.) "You're playing, too?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Actually, wouldn't it be better to ask which gift Frossa was interested in taking home? That way he at least had a strategy, since he wasn't sure that he wanted anything out of this himself. None of these boxes looked big enough to be containing weapons - although he guessed you never really knew. But he wasn't a hoarder, unlike his potential moirail.