Welcome to Gaia! ::

(( Claire & Cadi -> Mordekai & Aina, in the lounge ))

Claire trailed in behind Mordekai and Seabiscuit, pink-cheeked and cheerful. Who knew that turning traitor could have been such fun? Although she was fairly wet, luckily it was only her outermost layers. She was nowhere near as soaked as he was but the top collar of her turtleneck was certainly wet thanks to his surprise snow avalanche, as was her hair; her coat, gloves, and scarf had kept her safe from most of it. She glanced around the room for a glimpse of her niece, noticing Ethiriel a short distance away, talking to Cesc and another very lovely Raevan whom she had noticed had been her partner-in-crime during the snowball fight. There had been no sight of Henry throughout, and she fished her phone out of her purse, hammering off a quick text to Aaron: No sight of Henry although Ethiriel is here, he must have had to work tonight.

Another scan of the room gave her what she was originally seeking; she saw Cadi sitting over by the fireplace, next to the grumpy-looking man she had filled in for in the snowball fight and the woman who had called the end of the fight and handed out the prizes (her own stuffed into the coat pocket). She stripped her outer layers off and draped them over the back of the couch where Mordekai and Aina were chatting (she would be delivering belated hugs and kisses to the tiny Frei in a moment) and raised her hand to wave her niece over.

Cadi, for her part, had nodded silently to Gabe's reply, and admittedly it made her feel a touch better that she was not the only one present at the party in this position, but there was little time to think on it as the snowball fight participants filtered in rather quickly. Then there was the sudden appearance of a devastatingly beautiful woman next to them, chatting so eagerly; she took a moment to let Gabe reply first, pulling bits of her own anxiousness back as she was apt to do at parties.

"Got to take advantage while everyone is out playing," Cadi replied to Vivi with a smile after a beat; the sudden increase of people in the room was beginning to spike her anxiety, the only indication of which being a slight curling of her fingers around the soda can in her hands, and she had a feeling that most of them were going to make a beeline for the fireplace. Around the other side of the lovely woman talking to her, she noticed Claire a short distance off, waving to get her attention, and her heart leaped at the familiar sight. She paused to drain the last of her soda, and she quietly stood up. "Ah, looks like my aunt came back in, she's waving me over - if you'll s'cuse me." She nodded pleasantly to Vivi and waved towards the chair she had just vacated. "You should warm up, it's cold out there." Finally, she turned to Gabe, and flashed him a different sort of smile than the cheerful, semi-anxious one she gave to Vivi - one that said that she hoped he found some peace and quiet in this quickly-filling room. "Happy New Year, man - take it easy." As she passed through, she tossed the can into a garbage can, and she grabbed a few napkins once she caught sight of how soaked her head was. "Hey." She held them out, which Claire took gratefully. "How did you do?"

"Decently enough, got a few good hits, turned traitor, you know - the usual." She patted her head dry and grinned at Cadi who replied with a soft "heh", itching the back of her hand nervously. Once she was satisfied with her dry job, she crumpled the paper napkins and tossed them into the same receptacle Cadi had put her empty can in, and eagerly, excitedly, turned to address Mordekai and Aina. The tiny Frei looked so dozy, snuggled up on the couch, that her heart gave a contented hum in her chest, but she addressed the older man first with a laugh. "You certainly took a beating out there. But I think you also dished it out well enough to make up for it." At last, she turned her sights on Aina and lowered herself to fold her arms over the back of the couch, leaning over just a touch to address her, smiling all the while. "Hello sweetpea, how are you tonight?"

(( Aina, Mordekai, Seabiscuit --> Lounge, Claire and Cadi ))

The noise inside the cabin was pleasant, but it was still too much for Mordekai to relax for long. With Seabiscuit and Aina resting on top of him, though, he didn't have much room (or cause) to move. He shrugged his shoulders to loosen the blankets around him to wrap around the Frei and his pup instead - and when he noticed Claire walk their way, with someone he didn't recognize, he smiled brightly for them both.

"Sure did," Mordekai laughed - he poked out his tongue then gave Claire a cheeky smile, "Couldn't let you off easy when you switched sides on us, eh?" He tilted his head toward Cadi, waving; Seabiscuit glanced up, too, whining quietly. "'Ey! 'M sorry, don't remember seein' you around before."

Aina blinked and rubbed her eyes a bit in an attempt to wake herself up at the familiar sound of Claire's voice. With a sleepy giggle, the pomegranate smiled warmly at Claire under her pile of blankets. "Hi, Miss Claire... 'm okay... oh," she pulled one of her blankets off from around her shoulders, then held it out to Claire - "Did the snow make you all cold...? Do you wanna blankie?"

((Vivi-> lounge, Cesc & Shep --> entrance)

"Yeah, I brought an extra sweater, just in case," said Cesc with a shake of his head. With a moment of hesitation, he scooted back inward, away from the general view of the partygoers, but still half-exposed.

He reached up and behind him, grabbing onto his damp shirt between his shoulder blades. With a flicker of his feathers, his wings and antlers seemed to short out, the tangible feathers turning into an almost holographic light. He tugged on his shirt without thinking twice, pulling it up and over his head. A line of water snaked down his naked back, and his shoulders and elbows and fingers were all red from cold.

"Rhede!" Shep yelled, half-laughing. "Are you getting naked here?"

"Thanks for the broadcast!" said Cesc back, fumbling as he spoke to pull on his new, beige sweater over his cold limbs. He took his old, damp sweater in one hand and then picked up another package from where he had left it on the floor. He smiled with some embarrassment over at Ethiriel: "Ah--I've got a birthday present for you, actually…"

Vivi took Cadi's offered seat by the fire, picking the camera back up, stretching out her legs and taking a look into the camera's viewfinder. She smiled over at Gabe, and held out the camera for him to see.

"Oh my!" She said with a smile. "Is it that you are with Ethiriel? She seems to have had it in for you…" Her smile became warmer, gentler. "She is quite lovely tonight, a welcome change, n'est pas?"

((Cesc--> Eth and Zurine))

"Nonsense," said Cesc with a grin, his cheeks and nose still pink. He smiled over at Zurine, hoping to include her, as well, even though he was giving the gift. Beyond, Shepard swiped the camera open on his phone to take some pictures.

The present was wrapped awkwardly and poorly with stiff white and gold wrapping paper, glittery snowflakes leaving sparkles on Cesc's palms. For all the stag's artistry with cakes and confections, he still had that streak of boyish stupidity that didn't alert him that a soft, nonrigid present like this should have been put into a bag instead of wrapped with paper. "It's your birthday, even if you didn't want it shouted about--we have some cocoa, someone brought some cake, we'll have some champagne, and now you'll have a present."

His smile tipped upward even higher. "Should we embarrass you and sing 'happy birthday' really loud?"

((Cesc--> Eth & Zurine))

"Well, any time you want it--and besides, birthday presents are for the birthday girl, not for the one gifting," said Cesc with a smile. He stopped speaking then, waiting for Ethiriel to unwrap her present.

Inside the glittery paper was a soft infinity scarf, made of a soft cream faux fur. After the cold outside, the scarf seemed extra-cozy, and the fur was thick and lush. It was difficult to stop touching it, really, and, since it was modeled after real fur, there were subtle variances in the cream coloring. It was a cozy, elegant thing, simple and pretty.

"Happy birthday," said Cesc warmly, his smile earnest and happy.

( Zurine --> Cesc and Ethiriel )

The sight of that bare back had been enough to make Zuri's face go a little awkward, her cheeks flushing soft blue as her poor mind grabbed hold and just ran with it like a kid with scissors. That little line of water -- she could just imagine it frosting over with a touch, creeping up in a fine filigree and leaving behind goosebumps --

Her eyes went wide and she straightened her back, realizing belatedly that she had completely lost the plot there for a moment. The blue in her cheeks deepened and she looked between Cesc and Ethiriel for a moment, trying to unwrap the cotton wool from her brain and figure out from context clues exactly what the hell had transpired while her mind was skidding along helplessly in the gutter.

Birthday. Scarf. Gifts. Zuri felt about as dull-witted as she had ever felt in her life. Damn it, it was Ethiriel's birthday. And gifts were happening, and she had absolutely nothing to give. She was tempted to pat herself down, but lifted a hand to fuss with a strand of her hair to try and disguise the scramble of thinking. The silver bangles on her dainty wrist jingled, and she had an idea. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, but it was an idea, and she was going to run with it when she wasn't going to interrupt their moment.

((Ethiriel --> Cesc and Zurine))

The sound of Zurine's bangles jingling hadn't gone unnoticed by Ethiriel, who turned enough to pass a glance -- she had no idea of the curious thoughts that went through the owl's mind. Once Cesc voiced his concerns, the silver Frei looked back at him and smiled.

"Your present is a little... special. I've been wanting to give you something for all the good you have done in my life."

As Cesc offered his hand, Ethiriel took it daintily in her own, doing her own mindless mapping as she ran her fingers over the top and palm -- it was a bit selfish on her part, wanting to relish the moment, but with the stag and bird's curiosities piqued, she knew she would have to rush. Splaying his hand out, she picked his middle finger as it was the closest to being symmetrical, wrapping her forefinger and thumb around it like a tourniquet. There was a moment of silence, concentration clear on Ethiriel's face, and after a few moments she then held his hand in both of hers, showing her work.

In place of her own, a silver, branched ring wrapped around Cesc's finger.

"So you will always have a piece of me."