Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elle turned as someone called through the trees and rose, pulling Lonan gracefully up along with her. A sweet sense of mischief rose up from the woods, but Elle didn't think it was from the elf and the babe. Holding one hand up in greeting to the new arrivals, Elle kept one eye out for the nearby soul.

"Hello, welcome! It seems your stroll has steered you well, then! Won't you join us?" Spreading her hands to the decorations that Drac, Devi, and Lonan worked so hard on, Elle smiled warmly at the pair. Her hand tightened in Lonan's as she waited to see if they would stay, and her eyes moved for a bit to the edge of the forest.

Even if some things had changed, Elle's smile was still Elle's smile. Who was out there?!

She only had to sneak up behind one more tree...and then there was nothing but open space that could ruin her fun. Shauna frowned and sat down behind the tree out of sight of everyone in the orchard, stroking her chin with look of deep thought. How was she going to do this? She could do like in the cartoons and sneak up in a fake bush...but that was dumb, and where would she get a fake bush to hide in? Perhaps she should have thought this out more.

What was she going to do? Just run out there and glomp Lonan? Shauna peeked around the tree for a moment to get a good look at the situation, normally she'd recognize Elle's smile right off the bat but she couldn't see the woman's face! Boy would she be surprised. When the mystery woman looked around as if looking for something, Shauna quickly hid herself once more, catching a glimpse of a purple mouse and a little boy. Oh! It was...what was his name again...Ror! And the mousey girl! She grinned and waved a few fingers in greeting, putting one to her lips to signal for them to stay quiet.

At the introduction, Elle took a step forward, leaving Lonan's side to offer both hands to Akina. "I'm Elle, it's wonderful to have you." She would let Lonan introduce himself, but she shook her hair back and offered the dark winged young man an enouraging smile over one shoulder. Her eyes settled back to the child as she took the woman's hand with her own in greeting. He seemed somehow familiar...

"It's good to meet you both. I feel like we've met before, but..." Shrugging, letting Akina have her hand back, Elle tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and turned to reach behind her. Slipping one of the many garlands they'd woven from the tree branch, Elle held up the crown before the little boy.

Blue, purple, and white flowers knit together loosely, rustling as she lifted it. "Would you like a garland, to celebrate, Brimstone?" Elle was wearing one as well, bright and vibrant against the dark branches in her hair. As she offered, a noise nearby caught her attention, and she glanced toward Chuu and Mirorim...still not seeing Shauna.

"Welcome!" They definately looked familiar. Had she met them at the Halloween party?

Trying to keep her visage as friendly as possibly, Akina accepted the warm greeting from Elle happily, smiling so widely that her white teeth poked out a little bit. She couldn't help it; the girl was just so darn cheery! "If we have met before, I do not recall it, but if so, it's nice to meet you again," Akina mused, knowing that if she did not remember it than it probably never happened. Still, the empath in her could feel a kind of unity between a handful of the creatures here, connecting even to her little Brimstone but surpassing her.

Was it possible that they were all like the fire girl Ilistala that Brim and Akina had met a short while ago? It would certainly explain why the foxgirl Shauna was here as well. Odd. Definitely something to think about, though Akina decided not to waste her time doing it right that moment.

Meanwhile, Brimstone was eying the garland with wide eyes, likely contemplating whether to smash it and then eat it or crumble it up over Akina's head. In any case, the elf hoped to prevent disaster by answering for her son. "I'm sure he'd like one. Brim's just a little bit shy--"

"Give it!" the green-eyed ball of nuclear power suddenly decreed from Akina's arms. Apparently, he didn't like having someone else speak on behalf of him. Rudely, he jutted out greedy hands toward the garland, though he was still unsure of what it was exactly while Akina continued to smile apologetically at Elle.

The stirring of another creature behind this warm, bright-eyed girl grabbed both Brimstone and Akina's attention before another word could be said. Akina heard what he had whispered, but out of courtesy, she said nothing, pretending not to hear anything at all. Grateful that the foreign tailed-woman had intervened on the whispering creature's behalf, Akina's amiable smile returned as she greeted once more, "Nice to meet you, Lonan and Devmani. I am Akina, and this is Brimstone."

Blue eyes recognized the energy of the centaur boy as similiar to that of the angelic Shina and of all the Fa'e, though she had never laid eyes on him in particular before. It was always so strange to her how some many creatures were related and interrelated here in Gaia.

Brimstone only listened to Akina and the television, and it had taken Akina lot of love and her own stubbornness to get this far as it was. So having Lonan chide him was not exactly something that the toddler was going to respond fondly too. Narrowing his eyes, he seethed at the strange man, contemplating ways to strike back. Brim was still too naive to realize that he would lose in a fight against Lonan, and instead, he resolved himself to plot.

Already a bit too curt for his age, the green-eyed Shattered scrunched up his nose at the sight of the garland as if it suddenly repulsed him, issuing a flat, "Ugh. Ugh-ly." How eloquent. Akina was mortified at the behavior of her son, shooting him one of her silent don't-make-me-embarrass-you-little-man glares. The toddler dropped his gaze once more, refusing to make eye contact with either adult.

In his early youth, Brimstone was not yet totally resistant to authority, and with a toddler-sized sigh, he lifted his wispy little voice to offer a grudging, "...I...am...sorry." One green eye raised to his mother for approval, but Akina was not yet satisfied. As if realizing what she was waiting for, the toddler added, "May I?"

After the terrible manners that Brim had showed with Ioyla and Ilistala a bit ago, Akina had really started to crack down on Brimstone's social graces. He wasn't around many people hardly at all, but when he was, he never left a good impression. Brim was just someone that a person had to warm up too... if they bothered to stay around long enough to find out.

Feeling better, the elf again smiled apologetically to Lonan before turning to greet Drac. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she echoed with a smile and nod, waiting to see how Lonan handled the seemingly reformed attitude of the little firecracker in her arms.

Chuu heeds Shauna's silent request, and heads towards the group herself. There's a faint connection easily traced between Ror and many of the people here... it's calming, really. Not as if this one needs something to keep her in a good mood!

"Oh, hello!" she pipes to Elle. "I think I've seen you before. You feel familiar!" She is, of course, talking about the woman's life force. "My name is Chuu, and this is Mirorim. It's nice to meet you. And those are such wonderful flower crowns... you haven't hurt the flowers at all!" Her hands clasp at her chest- how awful it would be if those poor flowers had been harmed!

"Hello," the mirrorchild says shyly, with a ghost of a smile. This woman seems nice!

Elle listened to Lonan's patient explanation, smiling to herself even as she nodded to Chuu in their seperate conversation. They had different ways of teaching, but his was no less effective. Elle simply didn't have the commanding presence to encourage such cooperation!

"Well, Chuu, it's a pleasure! And Mirorim." Offering the boy a nod, Elle settled down more comfortably upon the grass. "Elle." Though she had already introduced herself, Elle repeated her name as she offered the boy a hand. Over the crook of her other arm, spare garlands hung...warm colors and cool. "I have one for you as well, if you'd like!"

As she offered, Elle glanced back again to Akina and Brimstone. She wasn't worried for the drained flowers...she'd only picked those that had seeded, or were ready to. The blossoms were already celebrating their end. But the guardian offered a strange echo...another empath? Her eyes shifted back to the boy with a smile as she put the matter aside for now. What an interesting day already!