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Mal laughed, but he followed her sway. "I hope the kind of example that's a little bit of trouble and a whole hell of a lot of fun," was all he said as he hoisted the crate up to set it down and then unload it. He'd packed it just so for a reason; when he was done, wine to one side, beer to the other, cider between, and anything hard was already opened but at least it was there.

"How could I disappoint a lady?" He tucked the crate under the table, out of the way, and turned to catch Misha's hand, gloved or not, and kiss her palm. It made his eyes dance with wicked amusement as he straightened from it.

Mal did make sure to wave at Mercy and Mathilda, at least, when he noticed them. Romancing all of the beautiful was his goal for tonight.



And Rob got a wave, too, before he released Misha's hand. "I thought I heard your name and the word date in conjunction, but it might've been my ears. At least, I hope it was my faulty hearing, anyway."

Lawrence looked at Rodney, at his tragic expression and the worry that seemed to sidle onto his features at the idea that this was some kind of sex party.

And completely lost it, starting as a chuckle that went to full blown laughter, not mocking but genuine, the kind of laughter that relaxed the tension out of him. He gave the other man a hug, consistently endeared by his over-sensitive and caring nature and patted him on the back.

"It's just a normal Halloween party. A bit of mingling. A bit of alcohol. A bit of music sometimes. That's all. Nothing excessive."

And he chuckled again. "Don't worry, I'm used to parties." Perhaps ones a little more snobbish and elitist than here but parties nonetheless.

Managing to suppress her laugh at Mal's not-so-subtle probing, Misha instead managed a demure, little curtsy in response to his kiss. The glove prevented her from feeling the actual warmth from his lips but the pressure registered and she felt a little thrill at the unusual gesture. A kiss to the hand, sure, but to the palm instead of the back of the hand? How creative. Definite shame about the gloves, though.

"Date? Me? Oh, no, Mal," she answered with perfect innocence. "It must be your age starting to catch up with you." The sweet mask slipped and mischief lit her eyes while a smirk twisted her generous mouth. "I'm as free as can be tonight and determined to have fun."

"That's just what I was thinking, too." Misha took a step closer to him and pressed one finger smack-dab against his chest - just above the opening of his shirt. There was still no skin to skin contact but leather to skin was one step closer. Her lips curved further with wicked teasing. "Now, though, I'm thinking I want a drink. How about you?"

Beth reacted to the compliments in much the same way each time--a glowing blush, a touch of pride, and some token words of thanks. She colored a bit at Lex's words. Bold had never been on her mind when she chose her costume; their words secretly pleased her.

Beth had not, in fact, met Rob--not formally, at least. "And here I thought I would have to settle for couch man." She smiled and extended a hand--but not sideways, as if for a shake; her knuckles faced up, delicate hands curled toward the floor. "Pleasure to meet you." She made no mention of his rainbow-haired friend, wherever she was at the moment. She also noted she had parroted his words exactly. She covered her embarrassment with a giggle at his words. There was something in his smirk that made her blush and give him a shy smile. Had it been her comment about midthigh skirts?

Personally, Beth thought that a shirtless Brian was a sight to see, and she was a bit disappointed that Misha had not been more persuasive or Brian easier to sway. "Didn't you want to be twinsies?" She teased lightly. Her expression brightened as Brian reacted to the comment about being Misha's date with laughter. It was something to return to, but not now.

Beth recognized Indiana vaguely, but any response to blowing off by imbibing libations was lost as Misha swept away with him and, more tragically, the booze.

To Sylvia, she joked, "'All shall love us and despair'? No? Too soon?" She was in a surprisingly merry mood. perhaps it was the simplicity of the task before her. Compliment everyone, make sure laughter kept flowing, and balance excitement with attractive dignity. Despite the darkness linked to the holiday, a party was about having fun. Though, Sylvia had a point. "Yeah, I think we're a fire hazard here." She let Sylvia pull her aside, though not soon enough to stop her from noticing two new arrivals.

She waved cheerily at Songtao, even if it ruined her self-professed badass vampire queen persona. She managed to look resplendent and adorable. There was a quiet dignity to her that Beth respected. "Song! She called, still waving. "Lookin' good, sweetheart!"

It was Briiva who hogged the attention--but who wouldn't in a metal-looking robot suit? And knowing Briiva, this was her attempt at being restrained. "You just couldn't resist, could you?" She said, looking on the verge of delighted laughter. "That's commitment to a costume. Wait, is that fire?"

Mal laughed; but his eye caught Asher, too, and that made him grin, a grin of such wickedness and mischief that Misha hadn't yet seen from him. "That sounds amazing. Any preferences, or should I doctor the punch a little and bring you some of that? I just need to do one thing on the way."

Asher was right by the punch bowl. And Mal owed Asher a little something for managing to catch Brynn. He'd been waiting for the perfect time to catch the Hermes Chosen off guard, and since Asher was surrounded by two gents and he didn't remember their names, now was clearly the perfect time.

He grabbed one of the already-opened bottles of -- some kind of liquor, probably vodka since it was a clear bottle-- and went to the punch bowl to add it in. Once that was done (it wasn't even a lot, he'd revisit later with more) and he'd mixed it and gotten two cups of it, he swung by Asher to kiss him on the cheek-- low on the cheek, nearly on the corner of his mouth.

"My hero!" He grinned (no trace of wickedness or mischief now, just good cheer and two cups of punch).

Asher saluted Ed with the fresh glass of punch, and was halfway into a sip when Mal came up next to him -- which meant he almost sloshed the sweet stuff over his striped costume at the attack, barely managed to hop back before he spilled on himself.

"What the ********, man?" It didn't sound angry so much as just surprised, though, maybe faintly confused. He patted at his front, only to find it dry. Thankfully. "What did I do?"

"Aren't you hot in all of that?". Izzy asked, appearing as if by magic by the punch bowl and subsequently, Songtao. The Artemis Chosen was dressed in an outfit she seemed born to wear - a bright orange halter top and same-colored orange hot pants, with a wide belt in a sort of Mod era style. She trotted around in bright orange pleather boots, and peeked into the punch.

"Ah, I definitely got beaten to the punch..." she said, though didn't fully explain what she meant. She had a bottle of orange Fanta soda in her hand, which was the same color as her outfit, and she swished the liquid inside back and forth with some consideration. Izzy thought for a moment, then noticed someone else interested in the bowl. "Oh! Sexy Robin Hood! Were you looking for a drank?"