Welcome to Gaia! ::

(( Arriving, Popsicle booth (Hazaeline and Xiu) ))

With his hair tied loosely back and dressed in only his inner grey vest (he had left the outer white robe and arm warmers back home), Xiu watched the Summer Beach Party quietly from a distance, his stone wings flicking slightly. The party seemed well underway with many humans and raevans (both familiar and unfamiliar) going about. This was it then. The event he had been both looking forward to and dreading ever since Hazeline received a mail from the lab informing her of the summer party being hosted. On one hand, with a Lab related event of this scale, this was the perfect chance to get to know other raevans he had never met before as well as to catch with those he had befriended in the past.

On the other hand…there was that…troublesome explanation to do to those who had knew him. Xiu wasn’t quite so sure he was…ready for that and had stalled and dawdled about the bookstore until his own guardian had dragged him over and into her car. Perhaps she was right and he was over imagining things. He had read books about people being self conscious before and maybe…this was what he was going through. Maybe the lost of his voice and sudden growth would not be as awkward to handle as he had imagined. Beside him his guardian smiled reassuringly.

“We are here to have fun, alright Xiu?” said Hazaeline reaching out to give the Sigel’s hand a squeeze. “Look, I think I see Lazarus over there by that stall; the popsicle booth, I believe…,”

Blue eyes turned to the direction indicated by his guardian and Xiu was glad to notice the familiar figure of the fiery Sigel. There were a couple of other humans and… a raevan (Varun?) around the booth as well. Regardless, the booth was fairly less crowded than the other stalls. Perhaps he would start out there and work his way to the others later.

Still having his guardian’s hand in his, Xiu floated towards the stall. Once Xiu hung back, feeling unsure but his guardian was firm on this. Gently urging him forward, Hazeline watched as her raevan approached the Popsicle booth.

-------------

Having arrived at the popsicle booth, Xiu gave the fiery Sigel a tap on the shoulder and waved a greeting once he had the Sigel’s attention. Manning the booth was Zeke and Xiu felt himself relaxed a little. He knew the man and wondered if his virus-raevan had grown.

(( Arrival - Drinks booth ))

It was a bright sunny day that matched perfectly with Irvine's mood at the moment. The tall man walked around with big grin plastered on his face. It wasn't his first time in such a place but it was with such a different kind of company! A far cry from the usual crowd of teachers who only talked about relationships, problems and work-- the usual routine he yearned to escape from. He had no doubt heard of the Lab before but the second he had heard about it, a fire had ignited inside him. The passionate Irvine became even more determined and focused on his goal. He wanted to know more.

The usually talkative Irvine stayed quiet for now, fighting his natural urges. After all, he had to make a good impression didn't he? He straightened himself up, flattening his white crisp polo shirt and holding his head up high, his trademark smile not leaving his face for a second. Apparently he thought this would made him look more becoming.

He walked around the beach, the warm sand seeping into his black sandals. He watched the people playing cheerfully along the ocean side, chuckling at the carefree children running around. He brushed his dark locks away and tucked them behind his ear as a bead of sweat trickled down his chin. The heat got to him faster than he thought, perhaps something to cool himself off would be nice. Letting his thumb run on his chin full of stubble, he scanned the place. At last he eyed a booth that seemed to offer drinks.

He headed towards the drinks booth, almost getting sidetracked with the interesting animals in the petting zoo as he made his way. He took a mental note to visit that place later.

(( Oceanside - Tag to Neon, Arana and Chrys ))

While watching Leo, Ronan and Tango all interact and speak, her eyes began to wander a bit. They found the petting zoo once more, where three figures were now departing, and one of them was Zul. At first, she wasn't sure he saw her but he turned and their eyes locked; by his expression, it was obvious he could tell she was uncomfortable and was ready and willing to do something about it, but she gave him a halfhearted smile and waved him on. She would be okay, for now. She was a big girl, she could take care of herself and if she got too uncomfortable, she could just walk away from the situation. If it followed her, well... then she would probably go to him for help.

Either way, she smiled a bit brighter to try and silently assure him that she would be coming to see him soon, when he was less occupied. What a sight, though, and it made her laugh quietly. Zul, with a woman on either arm, he looked like a regular pimp and the mental image of him wearing a fuzzy purple hat with a feather longer than his ribbon sticking out was just perfect.

Turning back to Leo and Ronan, Anita realized she missed half of the conversation but nodded along and smiled as though she had been listening. "Thanks," she responded when Leo said he would give her the photos of Tango the next time he was at the store, giving his hand a firm single shake when it was offered. She could use more pictures of him, so she didn't mind that at all. Then Ronan gave his congratulations and she beamed with pride. Was this how a mother felt prior to birth? Maybe, she couldn't say for sure but there was a certain tightness in her stomach that was building from excitement and nervousness. Sometimes she still wondered if she was truly ready for the responsibility or not, but her own mother had told her several times that no parent really knows what they're doing and everyone wings it.

She would wing it, too.

"Maybe you'll see them around here in a few months," she offered to Ronan, and Leo as well. The resulting Raevan would probably be a lot more photogenic than she pictured herself and there was little fear that they would be so camera shy as to refuse. Plus, when it came down to it, she would like to have as many pictures of her charge as possible. Putting her hands into her trunk pockets, she listened to Leo regale them with his future endeavors and she suddenly felt very useless. Here he was, practicing an art that he could eventually use to live off of and she was selling video games. She loved video games, very much, but there was little hope in her mind that she would be able to get anywhere towards assisting in their development, and so she would likely be stuck in game retail for a lot of her life until something she was equally as passionate about cropped up and there honestly wasn't much.

"I hope that works out for you, it sounds like it'd be pretty fun. Get to basically be your own boss and all," she shrugged at him sort-of-apologizing for having asked, but her eyes darted from his towards the waves when he mentioned she was photogenic. Out of the three of them, Tango and Ronan beat her by miles. "What do you do, Ronan? If you don't mind my asking," since she was already beat by one of her customers, she might as well see just how beat she was by a man who sprang out of the water and looked like a model, despite his assurances that he wasn't one.

((Oceanside - Tag for Snoof and Arana))

Leo shook his head, "I won't be participating, but I most definately will take photos." He then pulled out a small, pockets-sized notepad, handing it to Ronan with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm not a stalker," he said with a laugh.

Turning his attention back to Anita, his expression softened. "It's more of just a passion. Even if I didn't become professional, I'd still do it." Leo knelt down again, stroking Tango's face. "I'm actually a little paranoid of it, really. Like when you make a job out of a hobby; once it's work, it's no longer enjoyable, you know?" He stood, arching his back to get the kinks out.

"That's a very large occupation change, Ronan. Very interesting, though. It must be great to get to work with animals."

Glancing at his watch, Leo took another look around the beach. People had shifted around, switching activities. The petting zoo had settled down a little, along with some of the other booths. "Would either of you like a drink?" Leo nodded towards the drink stand, shouldering his camera strap. "On me."

[[Drinks Booth -> Oceanside]]

For a start, Isi never really liked starting or keeping up conversations, unless they were with members of his family. As soon as Rivener and Aphi meandered away from the booth, Isikoro did little more than pout at the Drinks booth for another two minutes, order a drink for himself and for Eiry from Kyoupi, thank the Doctor, and sullenly leave the booth to dodge the rest of the crowd until he and his ward found themselves at the beach front. it was quite easy dodging them, Isi found, which was a surprise to him considering that he was hobbling along with the gracefulness of a one-legged runner. Behind him, Eiry followed with the obedience of a page, carrying both his and Isi's drinks as they made their way to the ocean side.

"You wish to sit your weary self down?" asked Eiry after taking a long sip from his mint-flavored drink. He kept his eyes on their surroundings, surprised to see so many raevans milling about. There were a scarce few he recognized, and fewer still that he was honestly acquainted with. Shyness aside and curiosity abound, Eiry watched them all with the silent unblinking gaze of a stone statue, keeping himself a few feet behind his guardian.

"Yeah," Isi said, scouting out the beach for a spot that was out of the way of the sun. Not too far away from the waves was a large pile of driftwood, under which he could sit and tuck himself into the shadow. He made his way to that spot and hid himself in the shade, his crutches lying beside him in the sand. "Can I have my drink, Eiry?"

"If I relinquish your drink, may I fall free to the whim of the wind and wander?" returned the raevan. There was a hopeful hint in his voice. Of all the raevans he was seeing about on the beach, one in particular caught his eye, the red-haired beauty who was entertaining another woman, the ever beautiful Vyn. He hadn't seen her since the trip to the theater, and it was since then that he had received a letter from her he hadn't yet brought himself to reply to. He wished to thank her. So, shoving the drink into Isi's hands, he very calmly nodded a goodbye to him and floated away, his ethereal wings fluttering in the breeze as he drifted over the sands.

((Approaching Popsicle Stand, redirect to Drink Booth))

At the scorpion’s less than stellar greeting, Cordelia couldn’t help but pout. Hadn’t they gotten past all the awkwardness? She thought their last meeting had gone swimmingly well, but maybe she was wrong. Zul’s greeting was of course much more of what the girl had been hoping for from both males, yet being the young, one track minded Frei she was, Cordelia couldn’t easily push aside Rivener’s highly distracted and negative expressions, leaving a tainted nature on the demon’s hello.

With her own distractedness, Delia uttered a soft hello towards the unknown human woman. Unknown because she wasn’t listening carefully to Zul, not that she really cared since a strange human wasn’t top priority in her book. Before the black snake could even utter another sound though, she was being dragged away and the Sigel stalked off on his own. Immediately the energetic female started fidgeting around to see where the other was going before finally slithering her arm free from Zul. Flashing a fond smile, she quickly patted his tanned cheek, her silent apology and promise to see the baphomet later before dashing off after Rivener.

It wasn’t hard to find the Sigel again, yet she was a little unsure whether she should approach him now or not. Delia had lots of experience when it came to expressions and body languages, having had to embellish her own a lot when she couldn’t speak English. Rivener’s muscles were tense and his face showed tired exhaustion, which usually meant high-strung emotions being bottled up, a familiar sight to someone who lived with Ebony Shade.

Slowly and carefully, the female Raevan floated up to one side of the scorpion. “Riven?” she asked quietly, her smoky voice nearly a whisper. There was a brief pause before she continued, a dark nail aimlessly tracing over a still wet ring on the bar counter. “Are you okay?”

[[Oceanside --> Popsicle Booth]]

Thoroughly enjoying herself in the presence of such great, eclectic company, Lette returned the female Raevan's soft hello before being turned away and led off to sign up for games. Laughing at Zul's response to her request for protection she left it be, preferring to take the time between moving areas to scope out those that were at the beach. Man. Such a large amount of people had arrived, Raevans and humans alike, while she had been chatting with Zul and Riv, the latter having disappeared to some random place. "Wow. There sure seems to be a lot of Raevans. Makes me wonder why I haven't heard of y'all before now. And a lot of humans as well. In fact, there seems to be just about an even ratio of humans to Raevans. That's interesting." Glancing back to the direction Zul was leading her, she caught site of their destination.

"POPSICLES. That sounds heavenly right now. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was. What's your favorite flavor, Zul?" Eyes fixated on the tantalizing icy treats, she wondered at who the man behind the counter was.