Welcome to Gaia! ::

[Ethiriel and Leo > entrance – LuLu, Luka, Cruz, Ekundayo]

While Jeremy’s presence was hardly acknowledged by Ethiriel other than a small tilt of her head, her chin rising just a little, before her attention was immediately upon their small group. Leo was a little more attentive, watching closely as the man gave thanks and invited any questions.

Cruz’s nickname fell on Ethiriel’s ears and she was quick to nod, her eyes closed as he made introductions. This Lulu’s scent was strong, somewhat reminiscent of the inks used in Leo’s prints – in fact, nearly on point – and then, beneath that, rested that of a small, warm blooded creature. She had never become acquainted with a rabbit, so it only held that much familiarity. ”It is a pleasure, Miss LuLu. You have a talent for introductions, dear Cruz.” she said, a swarm smile curling the corners of her lips.

”It’s a pleasure, LuLu, and yeah – Secret Santa. I’ll have to go back out to get ours, ” Leo said, his eyes giving the rabbit a once over, smiling at her curtsey before giving his particular attention to Luka once his name was called. He nodded, relaxing a little. Great, I’ll be sure to hunt him down.”

Once the satyr’s breath carried her name, Ethiriel’s expression softened and she extended an arm. ”Dear Luka, your company has been sorely missed,” she started, withdrawing her arm when he announced his departure, eyes opening just a tad as she continued to hold onto Leo’s arm, though in the meantime she offered her arm to Cruz, instead. As tender as Luka’s voice had been, he was quick to move on but she couldn’t fault him. It had been a long time since they had last ‘saw’ each other, and for all she knew he had a previous engagement. Lulu’s nod was unnoticed by her practically visionless eyes – though they did widen at the rabbit’s sudden call across the room.

The newcomer, introducing herself as ‘Dayo,’ carried with her the scent of a cloudy day, along with that of a fowl; most welcoming. Ethiriel offered a nod and smile. ”A pleasure.”

Leo offered his hand to the lady, his lips still tugged at the corners. ”Good to meet you, ‘Dayo. I’m Leo, and this is Ethiriel,” he offered, introductions never really having been the Frei’s strong suits. She was kind and overall welcoming, but she wasn’t very charismatic. It wasn’t long before Luka was back in the company of their small group, but with his attention on LuLu, Ethiriel felt no need to interrupt.

[Elai>Christmas Tree----> Revoltulet and Domevlo]

"Well, perhaps, later I can talk with your guardians and arrange maybe a group trip to see the Christmas lights display in Durem. I know my charge, Luka, will be very excited to go this year with some new people haven't seen it before." He gave both Revoltulet and Domevlo a warm smile.

"The Christmas light display is where they take Christmas light garlands and light up the trees in the park. They even make building and pictures out of different lights too. Last year, they had a row of nut cracker soldiers made from Christmas lights." The man explained. "It's good to go at night. And, it's a great place to take photos as well!"

It was somewhere he always took Luka when the holidays rolled around. It made for a good Christmas card to send to his own parents. "It's quite fun to go to even if it isn't your first time going. They change the lights every year."

[Revontulet --> Christmas Tree with Elai and Domevlo]

Upon the mention on Luka's name, Ren's wings lifted and fluttered with unrestrained delight. "I want to see the lights with Luka," she said, her voice almost a coo as she spoke.The frei lifted her hand together, just under her chin in an almost pleading manner. It would be so wonderful to see the light frei again. They shared much in common despite their differences and she valued the friendship with the satyr that she hadn't seen since the bus ride out to find the doctor - which were not the best of circumstances to enjoy another's company.

"And Domo must come too," Revon prompted, moving closer to the gray male with curiosity. She did not move so quickly or so far that she ostracized Elai, it was simply that the youngster was interested in exploring the new frei she'd never met and his peculiar look.

[Doucette --> Hot Chocolate Bar towards Trox, Zeke and Lulu]

The redheaded guardian milled by the cocoa bar idly, a finger slowly tracing the rim of her peppermint flavoured beverage as she watched the people mill about. Although she felt a little bit like a stalker, she was enjoying watching the people talk animatedly with their friends, the Lab get togethers always feeling like a family reunion as if everyone hadn't seen each other in ages.

As her gaze traveled about the room she spotted Zeke entering and gave him a little wave and a smile before continuing to peer about, silently greeting the people she knew, such as Trox and Lulu, with a wiggle of her fingers, but not wanting to interrupt the conversations that were already in progress. Hopefully she would be able to speak with all of them later in the evening, and, if she was lucky, even make the acquaintance of some new people at the party.

((LuLu > Cocoa booth [Luka + Dayo + Dou]
Josh > Cocoa booth [Luka + Dayo]))

Dayo's energy was contagious. LuLu could not help but giggle softly at the complement and give the other girl's hand a soft squeeze. She cooed her own comment, "Your hair looks soft." It was not as direct. However, it was a compliment in the rabbit's book.

She also caught Dou's wiggle of fingers and wiggled her ears to return the gesture. She would have to visit her human companion later.

Their short venture towards the cocoa booth was about to come to an end, but Luka interrupted their travel to hand a small box to Lu. Her head tilted to and fro as she weighed the package. The smile fell from her face, "But I already got something from Ms. Anita...." Shock suddenly crossed her features before it contorted into a flush of embarrassment and anxiety. Luka had decided to give her a gift, too!

LuLu felt helplessly unprepared for this turn of events. The last thing she had expected from Luka was a present outside of the standard Secret Santa event. A small mantra filled her head.

I do not deserve this. Why is he doing this? I do not deserve this.

It repeated over and over until the rabbit released her hold on the two frei. She wrung her hands together helplessly then reached out to capture the box with her trembling fingers. "I will." LuLu punctuated her words with a firm nod before she slipped the small box into her other gift bag.

Lu would open it on the way home.

The sigel let loose a few tense puffs of air before her nerves subsided. She needed to calm down. Obviously, she was getting more hung up on their history than Luka was. Heck, this was practically an olive branch! Isn't that what she wanted? This was a sign that they were moving forward.

I do deserve this... and so does Luka.

It was true, they both deserved the comfort provided by closure and forgiveness. She was then finally able to lean in and wrap Luka in a hug. At first, it was tense; all locked limbs and spaced chests. Yet, after a few seconds she melted into the embrace until she was nearly draped over the satyr like a omfortable blanket. She mumbled in his ear, "Thank you, Luka."

Her eyes seemed misty as she pulled away and the girl busied herself with rubbing the irritated feeling away. LuLu gave Dayo an apologetic look as she took Luka by the shoulder and directed him to Josh.

The boy perked up once he spotted LuLu had brought someone his way. Her guardian's attention was momentarily pulled away from Anita. His voice was warm as he greeted them, "Hey! You know Lu? Or is she causing trouble?" His jaw fell open in mock horror, "Am I going to have to get the baby leash for tonight?!"

He could only snicker at Lu's grumble.

(( Cruz Lobby with Leo, Ethiriel, Ekundayo
Anita Hot Chocolate Bar with Josh, Justin, Trox --> Lobby Center ))

The approach of the scruff-bearing man Anita was previously on the fence about in terms of familiarity approached. As soon as he spoke, he put her doubts to rest. Anita's eyes lit up with recognition and she laughed. Her expression quickly turned smug as Josh detached himself and set about making some cocoa. "Ah, yes," she held her arms out to present all of the surrounding people, Justin included, "my collection of menfolk."

She turned back to Josh with a grin and gave him a firm nod, "Little cupcakes." Though Josh seemed to be keeping it casual, his thanks caught her off guard. It caused her smile to falter, building back more gently a few seconds later. "It's no problem," Anita glanced to LuLu as she separated from the group, "I'm glad she's happy, too." Unfortunately she missed most of Josh's initial speech, up to when he was greeting Ian. Anita was sure to give the man a smile and acknowledging nod but then he seemed to duck out without much of a word. She managed to catch his glance and it made sense to her. For some reason, probably just due to how the guest turn out happened, she was surprisingly popular tonight and the bar was getting a bit crowded -- as Justin joked about. With that in mind, she returned her grin to him and gave him a playful shove. "I'm fine, and I'll hog anywhere I damn well please, thank you, sir."

Her name rang out again. Anita's head was practically on a swivel. When she caught sight of Trox she stared blankly at first, blinked, then brightened and laughed. She gave an enthusiastic wave back. To be fair, though, it was getting pretty crowded and, s**t, she hadn't even gotten herself a drink yet. Startling Ian completely distracted her. As much as she was able to smile and laugh she could feel a headache coming on from her empty stomach. Maybe sugar wasn't the best thing right now anyway. "I'ma grab a bite and head over to the couches if y'all wanna chill or somethin'," she noted to Josh and Justin, giving them both a humored wink, a click of her tongue, and made a pistol with one hand. Her trip to the dinner table was quick, just long enough to grab one of the warm bowls of pumpkin soup. She was sure to gesture to Trox, as well, just catching his eye and pointing toward the couches to indicate her destination if he wanted to chat before heading there herself. No one else was seated yet and the tables were starting to get a lot of traffic so it was best to stay out of the way for now.


While everyone acquainted themselves, or became reacquainted, Cruz was more than content to smile and listen. He hung on to all of their words, met their eyes on occasion, nodded, but kept his mouth closed. Luka retreated briefly to convene with a human, likely the guardian Elai he spoke of often but neither Cruz nor Anita had seen or met before. His return announced more successful gift exchanges and that just made Cruz smile more. What a nice thing to do, get gifts for people you didn't know. That was so exciting.

The two Lu's discussed their situations as a new face arrived. Cruz's lips finally parted and he stared with keen interest at the flowing haired brunette that called over to Luka as LuLu took her leave. For several moments he wasn't sure what was being said anymore, all he could do was take in the features of this new frei; her vibrant eyes, her feathered wings, the gorgeous mop of hair that hung and flowed so low, and oh, the curve of her lips with their slight blush. Beneath his sweater, the mistletoe frei's rune pulsed like a heart beat. It was only when he realized Luka was now gone, as well, and it was just the three raevans and Ethiriel's human that Cruz came back to attention.

Introductions were happening! Now that Cruz's hands were free they hovered a bit uselessly at his sides. His elbows bent, fingers slightly stretched, as Leo and the new raevan shook hands and -- Dayo? That was her name? Gosh, he hadn't even heard it said prior to Leo spilling it. For a second the croc looked lost but, as an opening presented itself, he floated closer to the other three. Though he stuck close to Ethiriel, one hand lightly resting on her arm, his other outstretched toward Dayo with a calm gentleness. His green eyes were bright with curiosity and awe as they continued to drink in the gold of her irises.

"Hello," he offered with a low but pleasant rumble, "You're Dayo? It's nice to meet you. I'm Cruz." The frei's smile softened, his lips parting enough to reveal the subtle points of his reptilian teeth. "You're very pretty," Cruz offered with a slight incline of his head. His fingers gingerly wrapped around Ethiriel's arm as his hand slid down toward her wrist, eventually pressing their palms together so they could comfortably and subtly tangle their fingers. He wanted to do that with Dayo's hand, too, she looked exceptionally soft, but he would refrain until he was certain how accepting of physical contact she was.

{{Hot chocolatey -> lobby || Anita, Ian, Zeke}}

"Queen of the rougher sex."
Justin stuck out his tongue petulantly at Anita's playful shove, then watched as she sauntered off. Ah well. He'd follow shortly. Turning back to the counter, he looked over at one of the other men. Iran. They were here under similar circumstances, so he immediately felt an odd kinship with him. He finished his hot chocolate with a sprinkle of peppermint pieces and turned to the florist.


"Hey, Ian, right? I'm Justin. We seem to be here for sort of the same reasons. That is, I occasionally help the Lab with tech support." He offered his business card to Ian. "I'm about to follow her on over, but if you come too, I'd love to hear about your business. Nice job here, by the way. The flowers look gorgeous." Justin smiled whitely and nodded, turning to move into the crowd. The sooner he was moving, the sooner he could sit, out of the crowd. Suddenly, he wished he were shorter. Unnaturally short. ITt was probably airier down there, considering that almost half of the people attending didn't possess legs. Justin was so lost in thought as he moved that he brushed roughly against Zeke, almost spilling his cocoa.


"s**t! Sorry, Zeke. Didn't mean to bump into you -oh. Oh wow, nice get-up. You never disappoint. I gotta run, though." He pointed to the seats: his current goal. However much he wanted to stay, Justin moved on, loathe to chat more. He needed a breather. Perhaps Zeke would join them for a bit. To be honest, his journey had become less of a 'sit down with Anita' thing and more of a 'get out of the crowd' thing. It was a little overwhelming. Goal! With a sigh, he sunk down into a chair. He had managed to beat everyone else here.

While he waited, he sipped his hot chocolate (which was, in fact, perfect), and fingered his gift. Inside the package, next to his secret Santa was a silly little girl he'd gotten once he heard Anita was coming.

[Revontulet --> Christmas Tree with Elai and Domevlo]

The aurora's lips broke into a warm smile at the other frei's dubious question, nodding her head just enough that a little strand of hair fell from her up-do and curled gently against one striking cheek bone. "It will be nice to meet Domo more. I would like it very much if you come."

With a small ripple of her delicate wings she moved an inch closer to the gray one, reaching her hand out to brush against his upper arm. The movement was slow and deliberate, careful not to scare the other if he wasn't interested in the contact. Ren was all too familiar with people moving away from her hand, so she waited expectantly to see if he would allow her fingers to land gently upon his skin, just under where his t-shirt ended.

"And Luka must come...and you as well," she said, turning back to smile at Elai, the expression faltering only slightly when Domevlo called her innocent and she turned a bemused expression back to him. Innocent was not a word Doucette would have used for her, but the newborn would not correct him. "Thank you Domo."