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Rivener had brightened at the smile, but it had left all too soon, before coming fully into being. "No delicious night? You don't want to see me?" He'd assumed that Roux meant him... Or perhaps, Riv hoped, Roux meant that he was not having a fun evening. It saddened Rivener to think Roux was pushing him away, but given the situation Roux was going through, the Scorpion Frei could understand. "I will go if you say so," he added quietly, not coming any closer.

Aphismet had walked over to the table and hadn't yet noticed Alex. He looked up at Werika and for a moment, paused as he struggled to remember where he'd seen him before... Aph thought he might have caught sight of him at the Partie d'Amour.

"Erm, could I get a Ceasar please?" Aph ordered in a soft, subdued voice, still reeling from the realization that this evening wouldn't be just puppies and posies.

Roux tore his eyes away from the mirror shard once more to look up at Rivener with sad eyes. "Stay." The word came out as a low sigh. His feathers were completely gone, but he still wanted Rivener to stay near him... was it too selfish?

He'd never asked himself a question like that before. The concept now still felt slightly alien. Emotions were raging through him but mostly, underneath it all, it was still rage. Frustraition. There was a lack of something that he couldn't understand. The small reflective shard was his only sense of comfort... well until Rivener had arrived. The Frei had coaxed the only smile out of him in weeks, not that he would know.

A bead of red rolled down the pad of his thumb to his wrist. The glass had cut and he hadn't even realized it.


The music was pleasent, her drink was sweet. Chloe indeed had unwound slightly, feeling a little less anxious and sad from the past happenings and definatly more cheerful. It helped to see all of her friends and to have them wish her a happy birthday. She took another small sip of her drink before shyly nodding toward the two children. "O-Oh excuse me... please.."

She began inching toward the dance floor. Did she dare? She didn't really know how but... well it was a celebration for her.. something We`rika, Ravi, and Natsuki seemed to have worked hard to put together. She wanted them to know and see that she was enjoying herself.

Greatful that she'd decided to leave the shoes and stockings Natsuki had provided off (the dress was long and flowing enough to cover her feet anyway), she set her drink on a nearby table. Standing at the corner of the floor, she timidly began swaying her hips and making small movements with her arms. Instantly her face felt hot and she knew she must be blushing.

She definatly felt a little silly.

We`rika hadn't noticed anyone asking for him. He was busy torturing his friend, especially when he saw him go beet red, staring off in the crowd. The Huichol looked that way. Oh ho ho!

"Now dun was-- huh?" Turning around, he saw a familiar face behind him. Where had he seen this guy before? Well, one man was as good as the next, especially since Ravi was being a stick in the mud. He wagged his finger, giving the black-haired girl a come hither look and then pointed to Ravi devilishly.

"Caesar? Humm..." We`rika pondered, pulling the man with him. Shuffling around the bar, he found a can of tomato juice and a large glass. "Tell me if thi' tas' funny... I can' find a expiration da' on th'can..." He poured the tomato juice with clamato and lemon juice, celery and Worcestershire sauce. "Uhhh.. we dun have celery... Hope ya dun..... ........" We`riak trailed off and squinted his eyes critically. "Yer......... Aphismet, ain' ya?"

Aphismet blinked. This man, Aphi had just seen him in passing at the party, and yet he knew Aph's name? "Err, yes..." he replied, tilting his head in confusion. What was with the eye squinting. "We met at the Partie d'Amour, didn't we? Um, I'm sorry, I have a rotten memory. Your name is..." He didn't like to admit he didn't know, but he had no choice. He knew he would put his foot in his mouth later.

Rivener smiled more at Roux, but it faded into a concerned frown when he spotted the spot of red on the Icy Frei's wrist. Floating closer, Riv peered closely at the mirror shard and noticed its broken edges... "You're hurting yourself," he said matter of factly. "Here," he added quietly, floating over to a table and picking up a few napkins. "You should use these to hold the mirror."

With a seperate napkin, Riv slowly moved to wipe the blood off Roux's skin if he would allow it.

That's when the strange woman walked to them. Riv turned a slightly frowning expression at her. "He's fine," he snapped. He felt he had to protect Roux! From just about everyone.

The black haired woman was now approaching Ravi. Perhaps his nod was more of an invitation to conversation than he thought it was! She asked his name with a rather pretty, feminine smile, and Ravi felt his face returning to a more natural color. "Yes," he answered, giving the woman a peculiar look. Was there something she wanted?

The song in the ballroom changed, and Ravi remembered all to quickly where he was and why he was there - why, he was at a party, celebrating, and furthermore acting as a host. He shouldn't be sulking - he should be smiling, greeting entrants, and otherwise making sure that the attendees were enjoying themselves as much as they could. Since only one of those actions were simply tended to by the antisocial scholar, he got straight to the point with the woman before him.

"You're having a good time, I hope? If you're hungry or thirsty we have an open bar and some rather tantalizing hors d'oeuvres available, if I do say so myself." A distant yet distinct smile teased at the corners of Ravi's lips. Was it so wrong to be proud? His self-produced dishes would make grown men cry and five-star restaurants close voluntarily in shame. Well... perhaps that was an exaggeration. Regardless, the food was there, it was delicious, and since Ravi refused to eat the food he had made for others, somebody had best eat it!

A different kind of blush lingered on Ravi's cheeks when the young woman before him made her compliments and thanks. He wasn't really used to appreciation, so it made him feel both bashful and accomplished at the same time. Thankfully, the heat from this sort of flushing was much more bearable than the kind We`rika had caused, and he had no answer returning the woman's look with a calm one of his own.

Soon as she mentioned dancing, however, Ravi was once more thrown for a loop. "Dancing?" His blush disappeared, replaced by a complexion growing steadily paler. "I..." He shook his head. "I won't be dancing tonight. But you could always request a song of Natsuki." Nothing more he needed to add, right? Ah, wait, he had forgotten to ask one of the more basic questions for a host. "What's your name, Miss?"

There! He had done it all, and he'd done it without being too sarcastic. As a host, reticence was unacceptable... but you can only change so much in a short period of time.

Ravi's mouth thinned into a frown as the woman proceeding to lead him into a guilt trip. Oh, Ravi knew one of these conversations when he heard one, alright, but he wasn't familiar enough with the woman to suspect her of intentionally planting such an arm-twisting conversation piece. He didn't even know that Alex, as she had introduced herself, was familiar with Chloe. Why would a stranger try to guilt him? Why... unless he truly deserved to hear the harsh reality of the situation.

Ravi glanced inside the ballroom. It was easy to spot Chloe, as she was the only one there with brilliant pink hair and a flowing white gown. Her dancing was - well, as a former dancer, Ravi could hardly ignore the girl's slightly jerky and awkward movements. She looked like she wanted to dance, but nerves were keeping her from really feeling or hearing the rhythm. He returned his gaze to Alex, and then uttered softly, "Should... you mean I...?"

He... he didn't want to intrude. Nor did he really want to dance. But maybe Chloe would have a better time if she had someone by her...

Roux didn't move away from Rivener, in fact he seemed to want the attention. He held out his hand, though he still refused to let go of the mirror shard completely. When the stranger arrived a little of his good old self shown through. His eyes narrowed hostily as she spoke to him, thankful for Rivener's answer for him.

He didn't want to deal with trying to get this two-leg to understand right now. The ever-constant struggle with words was always in the back of his mind.


Traveling carefully along the side of the wall, Parfait soon made it to a safe looking location. Indeed, there was only one set of shoes back here. It smelt a little funny, and the floor was a little sticky, but it would do.

There was a high counter in front of her. Curiosity got the better of the young Gwee and she padded forward, absently rubbing agianst We`rika's ankle as she went, giving a light. "Arut?" of curiosity.


Chloe continued shuffling on the dance floor. The music was nice, at least... she wasn't too embarassed being out here alone.

Well that was what she told herself at least. Really her face was faintly red as she looked down at the dance floor. The dress swayed and flowed around her as she made her awkward movements. The only dance she was honestly good at was the Robot.. and she was NOT about to do that here, goodness no.

She glanced up and managed to catch Ravi's eye, recognizing him and giving a small wave.