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((Pasha- Maze sign up))

Melisande drifted to the side before heading to the pedestal, to the woman she'd arrived with. "Rivener and I are going to try the maze. I will be back soon!" She leaned down to give Aki's lover a tiny kiss on the cheek, not an air kiss, like she'd offered Rivener. "Walk it, if you have time? Kyou is like you. He always puts so much work into his gatherings." She smiled at Wasa, thinking of the maze the woman had crafted on the shore by the Villa. Over three thousand stones and small rocks, laid out like a mandala in the sand!

She made her way to the maze sign up after a few more words with Wasa, weaving her way through the people around the pedestal. She recognized Sevvie's guardian, and she shied from him without thinking. Distantly, she remembered how upset Aki had been at the man, for allowing dear Sev to end up in the hospital. Melisande dropped her eyes, and focused on the book instead...signing her name with a flourish. The capital M came out with a double side line and an art nouveau set of swirls that framed it like a corona with no effort at all. The word 'and' followed just as swiftly, but on the R, she paused.

Pasha realized she had no idea how to spell Riveners name.

Surely she'd seen it somewhere, sometime. An invitation, a note... The Muse smiled to herself, and wrote his name with as much flourish as her own. Ryvynyr. Of course it wasn't correct, but three Y's gave his name quite an impact on the page...especially with her stylized script.

"Ask what you'd like," she murmured, setting the pen back on the pedestal just so. In truth, she wasn't ready to ask the questions she held. Too many people, and in her mind, she'd made enough of a scene already. "And I will be patient. If you will."

The last was said playfully, though you'd have to be looking at the Muse to know it. Rivener was always so confident, so vibrant...she felt subdued in his company. It wasn't a bad thing. It was relaxing, in a way, to give up the constant smile and shine that others brought out in her. Pasha floated a bit away from the pedestal, towards the dappled shade of a tree hung with delicate lanterns. Patches of sunlight cast giraffe like patterns down her bare arms as she relaxed into the shade.

"You know...Xiu?" She asked, her sweet voice catching on his name. The sun on her hair was brilliant, but only in a patch now and again, like a tiny blazing crown nestled amid the flowers. "And Lucretia?" She had only met the ice Raevan a few times, but she felt foolish focusing her questions on only Xiu.

[[Rivener = Maze Signup ]]
(Tag to Pasha)

Rivener watched still as she did everything: her stopping to speak to the woman who clearly wasn't Aki... where WAS Aki? Melisande seemed to treat this stranger as her guardian, so she must be someone close to her heart. The Scorpion's eyes then pinned themselves to her form as she went to the podium, noting how she chose to float away from Werika. Ah, that meant Sevilin must be around- Riv's eyes would have sought his buddy out if they were not already pinned inexorably on Pasha. The woman bent to write, her penmanship positively hypnotic with its flourishes and decoration. Riv didn't even try to take the pen from her for his own name, interested to see how she'd decorate it...

He smirked. The spelling was all wrong, that was a ridiculous amount of "Y"s, but it made his name look very gothic with all that flourish. The Sigel chuckled as he straightened, inclining his head in agreement to be as patient as she would be. They'd be walking on eggshells together for a while, then.

When she moved to the shadows for relief from the sun, Riv unconsciously spread a wing to shelter her, like a dark parasol. When he realized he'd done it, he flinched slightly and half-yanked the wing back, decided better of it, and spread it back where it'd been. It was such an ingrown reflex now to shelter other Raevans, and Rivener enjoyed it so, that he didn't notice his wing extending sometime. He gave her a slight smirk again.

"I do know Xiu, yes. But Lucretia, I don't. I'm always startled that there are so many of our kin, and that I haven't met them all. Xiu is very nice, very upstanding. I do believe he is ah, seeing Lazarus." This last, Riv leaned down to whisper as though it was a secret. Indeed, reserved as Xiu was, Riv doubted he'd like his relationship announced for anyone to overhear. "I've known Xiu for a very long time, since he was a young-born Frei. Was this the first time you met him?"

((Ebs – Seating Area))
((Tag Aphi, Neon, Arana, Ravi))

What Aphismet didn’t know was that even if Ebony seemed at ease on the surface, underneath she was a bit nervous. These were people whose opinions she did care about and thus didn’t want them to hate her right off the bat. After shaking hands with both Ronan and Leo, “It is a pleasure to meet you all as well.” Nodding in agreement to Aphi’s answer, the Brit also added, “Ah yes, my Cordelia’s over by the barbeque, white dress, dark hair, blade like wings.”

Though she shouldn’t have been relieved like she was at what Zeke said, Ebony was sort of glad that Anya wouldn’t be making an appearance to this event. Cordelia didn’t have any sort of love for the spider Raevan and no matter of trying to convince her before would change it now. And lord knows Ebony tried, but the snake was rather stubborn when she wanted to be. And even if it was a big party, some how she knew that the two girls would end up bumping into one another some way or another and it would only cause trouble. Honestly, Ebony would like to get through at least one Lab event for once without a major disaster happening.

Placing a hand on Zeke’s shoulder, “I’m sorry you can’t stay. Though I do hope you both have fun at the beach together.”

[[Rivener - Maze Signup]]
(Tag to Pasha)

Rivener had felt an odd sense of disappointment that those delicate fingers hadn't touched his wing. He had always been proud of his menacing, impressive wingspan, and liked people to admire them... But the wing he'd extended over Meli to create extra shade was the weak one, the one that had been broken one too many times and always felt strained when he flew. He didn't usually like things or people touching THAT one. But Melisande's pale fingertips would have been alright, he knew. She pulled away without really touching though, much to Rivener's chagrin. Her delayed reaction, finally realizing what Riv had meant between Laz and Xiu, was downright adorable though, so it was a trade-off.

She went on to continue talking about Lucretia again, and Rivener just couldn't understand why Pasha kept mentioning her. He frowned in confusion and followed her gaze, finding Zurine among the humans. Surely Melisande didn't mean Luka, so Zurine had to be the one. Riv's frown grew and he turned to Pasha again, pointing at the icy Frei. "Do you mean her? The Ice Raevan over there?" When she gave a sign that yes, that had been the one she spoke of, Rivener lowered his arm and tilted his head in puzzlement. "I only just met her today, but she introduced herself as Zurine, not Lucretia..."

Of course, the Scorpion wasn't stupid: he realized there were quite a few reasons a Raevan would introduce itself under another name. Most of those reasons were not particularly pleasant. Riv had the strangest compulsion to comfort Pasha, even though Zurine's name changing had nothing to do with the flower-haired girl beside him... He smiled as reassuringly as he could, confidence filling his frame. "Maybe after the Maze, we could go speak to her, and find out. Perhaps she just has two names and chose one for you, a different one for me? After all, people call you both Melisande and Pasha, don't they?"

[[Rivener - Maze Signup]]
(Tag to Meli)

Family, Melisande said? Rivener couldn't really wrap his mind around that. Related to Aki, surely, is what the Muse meant. He himself called Eiry "brother" though they looked nothing alike and were no more related than any other Raevan was related to Riv... Perhaps Family in the way Rivener thought of Vyn, who looked like him and felt very close? Whatever the case, Riv figured he shouldn't ask- there was something in Pasha's wistful manner that gave the impression this might be a touchy topic.

Her question about the records was somewhat startling, Riv's attention having mostly been on Meli's hands again as she played with the lantern. He blinked up at her like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't, taking half a second to compose himself. "Ah, I don't see why he wouldn't let you... Do you think this Pasha person will be on that record? Should I only be calling you Melisande, not Pasha? I think most of the time I used Melisande, but which do you prefer?" His real questions nipped at him, wanting to know why she thought she was related to someone called Pasha, why they looked alike... The Scorpion's mind was populated with theories and most were quite farfetched. Yet he held back despite the growing curiosity, not wanting to make the girl more uncomfortable than she already was.

"If Kyou won't let you look, ask Lazarus for them. He'd probably help you. ...Look, I'm really sorry to ask, but why do you think you're related to Pasha? Is she another Raevan? ...Do you think you were re-made, like Gage was?" That was the most likely, Riv thought, but he winced even as he asked. He just couldn't hold it in, and now he was worried he might be drudging up things the pretty female wouldn't like recalling. "You don't have to answer if it's uncomfortable. I didn't mean to ask something insensitive."

((Cesc - Maze signup))
(Tag to Xiu, We'rika, Phiel)

While writing his and Xiu's name in the book, Cesc couldn't help but grin at Melisande's writing that had come before theirs -- her handwriting was not to be believed, so ornate but somehow sweeping and effortless. He then righted himself, moving aside to allow others a path to the podium, and looked back down at Xiu's pad.

"One hand... hm, that is interesting," he said slowly, considering the tactic -- it certainly made logical sense, although he wondered if that meant the maze-goer would simply traverse the entire maze, every dead-end and all, until reaching the exit? On the other hand, it certainly would keep the maze-goer from circling back on himself and repeating any of the same mistakes, or from getting confused and lost. "It's a good strategy. Much better than scattering breadcrumbs," he said with a grin.

Just then, he noted Phiel speaking to him, trying to introduce him to someone. Cesc turned slightly to make sure he did not turn his back on Xiu, keeping the white sigel in the circle of conversation.

"We'rika, this is Cesc; he's Vivi's boy," Phiel said, while indicating the shorter, dark-skinned man beside him. Cesc broke into a welcoming smile and extended his hand to the man.

"Good afternoon, We'rika," the dawn frei replied, his words as crisp and correct as his thick accent allowed, his deep tone pleasant and agreeable. He was unsure of the reason for the introduction -- perhaps meeting another guardian, or member of the Lab staff? "Lovely day. Ah, do you know Xiu, as well?" And he gestured to the sigel beside him.

((Pasha - Maze Signup))

Melisande's smile returned as Rivener discussed her name. She hadn't even asked how to spell his name, and here he was asking her preference! "Whichever you like, really..." she offered, and shrugged her slender shoulders. "Pasha is just a kitten name, though. Melisande is my true name!"

She drifted a bit closer as he continued with his questions, intent on any information the other Sigel could share. Her lips parted as she listened...at first, in curiosity, and then in an 'o' of surprise.

"Re...re-made?" The color drained out of her face. "What happened to Gage? What do you mean...re-made?" Her voice was a whisper, and Melisande's wings closed tight against her back. Suddenly, she looked very small, though she floated no lower than she had.

"I thought we were family because Aki said...there was 'some relation,' once. Doesn't relation that mean family?" Pasha brought one of her hands to her face, fingers curled as she bit at the end of her thumb while she thought. The tension in the slender Sigel was painfully obvious.

"Rivener?" His name had the tiniest bit of hope attached to it as she sought her answers, her voice nearly breathless.