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(( Tatiana -> Cesc, Anita || Trox [ROLL FOR FOOD] -> Shepard || Camille -> Henry, Mordekai ))

"Of course I'm independent. That was goal number one," Tatiana stated with a firm nod, broad smile. She felt slightly reassured by Cesc's words.

Taiana's eyes widened brightly, face glowing as she sidestepped Revontulet's embrace of the new Frei joining their gaggle to stick her hand out to Anita. Harrison had most definitely taught her a proper handshake and she was excited to actually use it. She liked the name Anita, it was cute and mousey, fitting the girl across from her well. Brandishing a grin she spoke in the Tamil accented voice, head tilting slightly to the right.

"My name is Tatiana. Nice to meet you, Anita," The Frei chirped. The bangles on his wrists jingled merrily with the greeting. Pleased as punch.

--


"Exactly! It's like the puck drops and they ********' go into lala land. Like they all have their earbuds in. No teamwork, one star team-- until they get their asses handed to them. They've been starting and ending strong recently which is good." Troxel grabbed himself a plate of food, picking at the crawdads smothered in butter and garlic while sipping on his beer. He smiled to himself, lines forming in the corners of his eyes and the dimples of his cheeks. Laughter lines, crows feet. Either way his age was showing.

"Tell me about it. I've got a strong feeling that this tango will end on the better end for us- no jinxing it though," the pilot said with raised brows. The man was a rational, logic driven super being of a pilot however his superstition regarding his team was laughable. Double so that the Game was over by the time they had arrived. Recorded on his DVR at home and the fail-berry in his pocket probably would fizzle and die if he opened the internet application. Time to get a new phone.

"You wouldn't happen to have the score on you would you?" He was actually really anxious about the standings, "Oh, and do you play at all?"

--

Camille looked from Mordekai out the window to Henry. Another green hair streaked wonder. He moved his eyes across the kitchen and furrowed his brow.

"Da' brings up a good poin' we controllin' the portion control of th'mud puppies bu' th' general pot luck? H'feel like we rushed innere an' missed a few steps."

He grinned and leaned back before calling out the window to Henry, " 'Ey! Who is y'all? Cain' rightly see yer face widdal tha' backlit sun, no?"

((Melanie --> Bonfire | Thanatos))

The woman engaged in the conversation with eye contact and active listening, nodding at the mention of his name and smiling with a quick response. "It's nice to meet you too, Xan."

The woman's amber eyes followed the the man's as he looked over at the grey Raevan near the young girl. With a nod and smile, she went back to another bite as she thought. 'So he was a guardian? This would definitely make for an interesting story; straight from the guardian's mouth.' She took yet another bite of her food, listening further to the man's voice.

Looking at what 'salad' he was referring to, she noticed that it was her own creation. "Oh, well thank you kindly. I brought the pineapple salad. It's been in my family for years." she stated, then responded to the latter question. "No, I am not. Just a mere visitor. I thought it would be fun to attend this little gathering and get to meet some new people. Though they are beautiful beings." she stated with a smile, keeping her eyes on Thanatos' sister and Raevan. She didn't want to tell him that she was a reporter just yet, figured she would learn as much as she could in an discreet way.

"How long have you been with your sister and Raevan?" she asked.

(( Anita: Food Tables – Tatiana, Cesc, Melisande, Revontulet, Justin ))

”Every bit helps,” she assured Revontulet with a smirk and a shrug.

Like Cesc, Anita only really recognized the antlered frei from the search. She knew he had been on the bus and was vaguely aware of him looking much different in the presence of the eye; injured and filthy. She smiled at Cesc and bowed her head, twin braids bobbing lazily over her shoulders and hanging down her chest, while taking Tatiana's hand, her grip soft but sturdy. Justin's presence wasn't overlooked in the midst of their greeting, though besides offering him one of the pamphlets all she gave was a quick smile and ”hey”. They would get caught up later, when she wasn't so horribly aware of the discomfort emanating from the sigel of the group (who now appeared to be outright ignoring her presence), her own tightened stomach on the matter, or the lovely frei in front of her.

”Tati—OH! You're Trox's girl?” Anita's eyes lit up as she smiled, bright green beneath her dark brown hair, ”He just – just – mentioned you a second ago. It's really nice to meet you.” This only made the pilot's previous comment of her being an “adopted daughter” even funnier to her, considering she was shaking hands with the real adopted daughter.

The scent of cornbread nearby was strong and Anita glanced at the tables, taking note of the platter, then glanced back to Justin to see him having a bite. In all of the scrambling and preparation today, she'd barely managed to eat anything and her hunger was becoming unpleasant. Once she finished with Tatiana, she'd have to grab some of the cornbread and stuff her face.

((LuLu : Entrance --> Food table --> Arts and crafts table ))

The party was already buzzing by the time LuLu arrived. She was just late enough to still claim it as fashionable. The girl floated past the main entrance and flicked her gaze around to find out were to place her contribution to the festivities. Food was the main attraction of this event and the buffet was bustling with activity. It was hard to miss the crowd.

The rabbit barely managed to sneak by the packed food table as she tried to deliver her bounty. Two stacked cupcake containers brimming with mini carrot cupcakes now adorned the banquet table and, if you looked closely, you could see one already missing from its respective cubby.

The variety and care put into the dishes would be impressive to most. However, the sigel seemed far from pleased. Dips, casseroles, and bakes did not make Lu's mouth water or so much as make her raise a brow in contemplation. In fact, only her own cupcakes seemed all that appetizing.

Yet, a misplaced arts and crafts booth situated near the food soon caught her attention. The faint aroma of creativity wafted from the 5 by 5 square table. It then clicked in the girl's brain that this area was meant for her. She felt as soft thump in her chest before she flitted over. A coo of awe followed her.

((Melanie --> Bonfire | Thanatos))

Melanie nodded at the blinding comment and gave Thanatos a glance when he chuckled, smiling and looking down at her semi full plate, using her fork to run over some of her concoction. She looked back up and paid close attention to the man's words. Close to five years? That was crazy. But now he had his sister and charge to care for. He seemed to be doing well for himself.

The woman looked back up towards where his sister was playing with the Raevan, then back to the man once again when he asked about her "one sided interview". She chuckled a bit about the wording of such a question and nodded. "I am an open book, cowboy." she said, taking yet another bite of the pineapple salad and continuing to giggle softly with a quick shake of her head. Now she had to give him her utmost attention.

((Melanie --> Bonfire | Thanatos))

Melanie smiled as he moved himself closer and winked. He was tall, handsome, and who didn't love a good looking country boy? She kept her composure as he spoke. Was he going to start asking inappropriate questions? He was still a stranger after all, less than ten minutes had gone by since he sat down. Light conversation was alright, but too deep and she figured she would just let him know, as he stated, that she was uncomfortable. "Okay, shoot." she said, as he sat back to think. She took another bite of her mac and cheese and then heard him speak.

Clearing her throat, she spoke up in response. "How long?" she began, squinting a bit as she thought. "Well, I was born in America and moved to Barton as a youngster; but now I live in Durem. So most of my life. I came out here for a visit with my friend and decided I would stop by this party while I was here." she said with a smile, looking into the man's eyes.

"What are their names?" the woman asked, interested in the girl and his charge. She kept her eyes flickering back and forth from the man to the girl and Raevan.

(( LuLu : Arts and crafts table l Domo, Lala ))

LuLu bounced back from the collision a few inches. Luckily, the tumble was little more than a startle to her. Her face was frozen with a slight tension of surprise as she met Domo. "I am fine."

Her wide eyes flitted from him to the paper scraps littering the floor. She could make out shapes in a few of them and noted the were the source of the creativity she had picked up on earlier.

LuLu reached down to pluck away one of the origami figures. Her thin fingers twirled a crumpled flower. "You made these?" Her gazed flicked to Lala. "Or you?" She sniffed at the flower as though she could pick up on a scent others could not. "I like them."

[ Luka >> food tables; Tag: Ren, Meli, Cesc ]

The Satyr's smile flickered ever so gently with mild surprise at the pink Sigel who had called his name. It was his first time seeing her, so, how was it that she knew who he was? As Ren's arms tightened around his own waist in a hug, Luka returned the gesture. "How are you doing sweetheart?" He asked, giving her a peck on the forehead.

It wasn't long before he turned to greet the other Raevans near them. "Hey guys, name's Luka. But, some of you already knew that." He said with a smile as he gave a nod to his fel brother Cesc before turning his attention back onto Melisande. "Who, are you?"