Welcome to Gaia! ::

Josh was never the kind of person who would think twice about going to a party. Parties brought people. People brought fun. He liked having fun. It was simple enough.

Josh had arrived in front of the recreational center a few minutes later than what the invite had requested. Oh well, it was not like the party was going to leave or anything. The boy hopped out of his truck and trudged to its rusted bed to grab his various necessities. The rickety car groaned at the relieved weight. Towels, sunscreen, floaties, pools toys for LuLu.

That’s right… Where was LuLu?

This would be her first time at a pool and Josh wanted to make sure it would go smoothly for the rabbit frei. His auburn eyes flicked about trying to locate her. She was not in her usual spot curled up around his legs. This worried Josh momentarily until he saw two fluffy ears poking out from above the passenger’s side car seat. Josh strolled over to the door and knocked on the window. “LuuuuuLuuuuu,” he spoke in a sing song voice, “You do not want to be late for the party do you?”

LuLu’s turned to face him. A thin sheet of glass separated his good humor from her furrowed brow. She spat venomously towards her guardian, “Parties are bad. Stuffy. Crowded. Too much.” Josh was taken aback by her sour attitude. “Don’t be silly LuLu. You will have lots of fun!” The boy reached for the handle of the door.

LuLu’s quick fingers locked the door simultaneously. “Noooo.” The raevan seethed quietly. Josh frowned at her antics. Dealing with the girl turned out to be either a ray of sunshine or a fiery hell. “Fine then.” Josh strolled around to the other side of the car to open the door. When he arrived, he had found that LuLu had give the lock a similar treatment. The boy tugged at the handle a few more times but it only awarded him a smug grin spread across LuLu’s face. “I see, I see.” Josh met her gaze once more. Brown bore into purple. Josh still had some fire left in his eyes.

He walked off behind the car.

LuLu relaxed.

She had won! The raevan awarded herself by cracking open a window and basking in the last bits of the summer breeze. Suddenly, the cabin of the car rocked. LuLu frantically grasped onto the dashboard. Her ears then picked up a creak as the sun roof above her opened up inch by inch. The female frei dove to stop its advance but she was too late. Josh’s arms burst through the sizeable hole in the truck’s roof and wrapped around the unsuspecting raevan. With little effort, he hoisted LuLu up through the opening and threw her over his shoulder. He had tried to be civil with the girl but apparently she had wanted the barbarian treatment. Josh was happy to oblige.

LuLu beat her wings and wrapped her small fists against his back as he jumped off of the cars roof with his prize in tow. LuLu mumbled silent threats about how she would expect a new toy or how she would run away again. Josh knew they were all empty though. She would enjoy this party. Even if he had to force her to.

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By the time Josh had arrived at the pool, LuLu’s frantic struggle had degenerated into a tired squirming. Josh glanced around for a moment and took the girl off his shoulder. He looked her square in the eye and spoke, “Now remember, enjoy yourself and make some friends Sweety.” Josh ruffled her braids and sauntered off. Of course, he was going to keep an eye on her. It did not mean that he could not be social though.

LuLu glared daggers into the back of his head.

"Again? Never!"

Kinsey watched helplessly as her Raevan squalled beside her, pressed against the glass window as the bus hit another pothole. She cringed at the dull thump, watching Varun smack his head against the glass unexpectedly. She had warned him about being so close to windows. (Albeit, she was more concerned with germs and other nasty things, but the Frei had hit his head three times now and for whatever reason, her clever little Raevan was absolutely refusing to engage his brain and float a little further back.) Varun whined again and snapped open his wings and fins, shying slightly when he hit his guardian by accident.

"Jesus, Varun, calm down!" The officer sighed and pushed her hair behind her ears. "We'll be there soon, okay?"

Kinsey had finally gotten a day off, and what better way that to spend a scorcher like this one than down by the pool? The leviathan hadn't outright rejected the idea (Kinsey was fairly certain he didn't quite understand what a pool was), so she had decided it'd be a good idea to get him out for some fresh air. Maybe if he cooled off, he'd be in a better mood. Her paycheck still wasn't very impressive, so air conditioning was completely out of the question. A small bus toll to get them down to the pool? Much more doable.

...even if Varun had managed to scare everyone else into the front half of the bus. Kinsey sighed. At least he wasn't trying to take anything from strangers today.

When they finally reached their stop, Kinsey grabbed her charge's pale wrist with one hand, her beach bag with the other, and all but hauled the leviathan out the folding door, doing her best to avoid the obvious glares. Varun had been as bad as a squalling baby, and at least those were actually cute! But now they were only a few minutes from the rec center, Varun looked less like he wanted to die (or wanted someone else to die, Kinsey wasn't entirely sure) and the day could only get better, right?

Of course, a few minutes later had the harried pair at the center. Kinsey was perfectly happy in a pair of shorts, a bikini top and a pair of sunglasses; Varun was still complaining about the heat. So naturally, Kinsey did exactly what her mother would do; she beckoned her Raevan closer and promptly slathered sunscreen all over Varun's pale face. The redhead shrieked in surprise, wings flaring the moment the cold, slimy lotion hit his skin.

"Whatfor?!" he demanded, trying to struggle out of his guardian's grasp.

"So you don't get burnt, Vars." The concept of a sunburn seemed a little too abstract to try and explain to a cranky Raevan, so Kinsey tried to let the subject drop. "If you'd just hold still, I could finish and you could explore..."

Hearing the magic word, Varun stopped struggling (for the most part) and let Kinsey rub the sunscreen into his skin, the scowl on his face only deepening as he watched people mingle.

Blink's feet slapped against the pavement as he walked towards the entrance of the pool, straps of his pool bag entwined in his right hand. But when he saw the main body of the pool, he gave a meaningful pause.
Is that.... A DJ? And Food table?
Quite suddenly, his plans for the day were much less certain. There hadn't been any announcements about the pool closing, but this was definitely not in the normal pool service. Walking up the to the cashier at the entrance, he inquired about what was going on. Is was difficult to follow the rapid, chattering response fired back at him; after awhile, he was able to discern that someone had rented the pool for a party, but it still open to the public for some sort of business reason.

"So, are you going in or not?" the cashier asked abruptly.

"What? Oh, yes. Yes," Blink replied after a moment, quickly handing over his money and heading inside.

A few minutes later, Blink came out of the changing room, wearing a pair of green swim trunks and desperately trying to get the taste of his spray on sunscreen out of his mouth. This happened every time he used it, but he knew he would absolutely fry on a day like today without it. Walking over to one of the reclining chairs, he tossed his towel and bag onto the chair, then went to grab his goggles out of the bag. Goggles in hand, he began to walk to the pool when something in one of the other chairs made him stop dead.

There was.... a torso. A very NAKED torso. A torso with a pair of abs that made even Blink, a teenage boy, blush. His face reddening further as he went to the pool, he noticed several other torsos poolside, none of them nearly as naked, and without stomachs. Prepping his goggles quickly then putting them on, he jumped into the pool, figuring that would be the best place to contemplate what was going on. To figure out why he was seeing so many of the beings that he had only encountered one similar to them in the past.

“I’m going to be gone for a few days. I’ll have my cell if you need to reach me.” Those were the only words of warning that Kuna had bothered to give her sister before walking out the apartment door with a medium-sized travel bag in tow. She would most likely have to listen to her Keela gripe and complain later about just suddenly leaving her in charge of the apartment like that, but the green-haired woman didn’t particularly care at the moment. She needed a vacation.

She had been planning this for quite some time actually and had already taken leave from work, packed a few things, and even fed Hebi a little extra food to keep him full. As for why she hadn’t said anything to her sister: well, she just didn’t feel like it. Kuna was often one to keep things to herself, and this time was no exception.

The drive up to Gambino was a long one, but it was rather serene in a way. She didn’t at all mind being alone in the car, and the radio was playing some pretty good music the entire way up. And now she was finally here! In Gambino. Ah, it’s been so long, Kuna thought to herself with a small smile as she got out of the car with her bag. I need to visit this place more often. First stop though: the pool.

When she arrived, she was surprised to find the place a lot more spruced up than she last remembered it. Wow, a DJ and catering? This can’t just be a normal thing now, can it? However, she didn’t ponder the mystery for very long and shrugged it off, heading for the pool-side chairs to lay out on.

Along the way she noticed several people that, well, weren’t quite people. For one thing they were missing half of their bodies and floating. For another they all had wings and several other not-so-human additions on them. Huh. Interesting. Kuna had seen many strange creatures around gaia, but these humanoids were quite intriguing. She set her bag down in a reclining chair not too far from where one of the half-bodied creatures and a silver-haired man were and pulled off the light white sun dress she was wearing over her head, revealing an emerald green bikini underneath. Taking a moment to pull her hair back into a low pony tail, she settled down to relax for a bit and enjoy the sun.

LuLu fluttered agitatedly as she watched Josh throw their belongings on a beach chair and retreat towards the party’s guests. Now it was just her and the striped bag sprawled a few feet away. So she was alone. It took the raevan many minutes before she felt comfortable enough to move. The party had just started yet the place was already buzzing with activity. Eventually, she glanced around for any familiar faces.

LuLu first caught sight of fins snapping open and close. “Varun…” She whispered over her breath and began to float towards her fishy acquaintance. LuLu’s ears were filled with the sounds of water splashing and the rattling of her wings.

LuLu smiled delicately at the male raevan, “Hello.” She approached him slowly. She was still aware of how intimidating Varun could be. Her face was already flushed from the sun and the heat. It could have been mistaken for a shy blush. LuLu was probably due for another coat of sunscreen soon. Even though she was dressed from ribbon tip to ear tip in a sundress, bathing suit top, and a sun hat there was still the chance she could end up with a red tinge by the end of this outing.

Josh chose to occupy himself by exploring the pool side. He slipped his feet into the cool water and shivered in joy at the feeling of the chilled liquid. This was the perfect way to spend the last few days of summer. People watching at the side of a pool, what could be better? The boy slipped on his glasses and discretely scanned the area. He caught sight of a particularly attractive pair of women. His eyes drifted lower and soaked up all that was to be seen. A lovely bikini and a equally lovely…. ribbon?! Josh grew red with embarrassment and quickly moved his gaze upwards towards the ladies’ faces. He was mortified to see that it was Lucia and her guardian. He was even more horrified when Lucia turned and called out to him. He gave her a chaste wave and called out, “Hello you two!”

Ash slumped over as she walked down the sidewalk. Her hand resting lightly on the tissue that was up to her nose to keep the blood from causing anymore damage to her light blue shirt and tan pants that clung to her skin. It's too hot! Why did I decide to go for a walk now!? She mentally beat herself up as she rested in the shade of a nearby building, going through here bag. She pulled out a green tank top and a pair of shorts. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. She sighed and she slowly walked into the nearest restroom.

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When she finally emerged from the sweatbox of a restroom, the heat didn't feel so bad. Her nose had stopped bleeding and she was feeling great! Her dark skin glistened with tiny beads of sweat as the breeze came to cool her off. She began to pull her short black hair into a ponytail, when a glisten caught her eye. Ash realized that there was a pool across the street with a fair amount of people hanging out there. She smiled as she crossed the street and strolled up to a cashier. "Is this an invitation only party?" she ask flatly, the heat putting her in an uneasy mood. The cashier flashed her an angry glance, but quickly replied in a monotone voice, "It was reserved, but anyone can use the pool." Ash glance inside and decided that this could be pretty fun.

After dealing with the cashier, Ash was able to get a full view of the pool. They have a DJ! And snacks! She sprinted to where the water was kept and downed a bottle. As she reached for another, she was shocked by what she saw. There were floating people! Ash wanted to get a better look so she positioned herself in chair to watch. Don't stare, don't stare. She told herself as she lowered her eyes to her water bottle and took a sip.

Yuurei glanced up as she heard a vaguely familiar voice call “Hello” toward her and Lucia. After spraying herself with tanning oil, the blonde got off the chair, leaving her bag and towel on the chair. She remembered the teenager’s face and walked over to him. What was his name though? She had been busy with the mechanic that evening. It started with a J. Jake? Jack? Jeremy? -- no too long. Jim? Wrong vowel. John? Nope, but it’s closer...JOSH!!! That was it! “Hello again, Josh. How is your car working?” Yuurei said with a smile. Her oiled skin glowed in the sun. ”I haven’t seen you in a while! Did you finally get your raevan?”

Lucia grinned and sipped her drink as Rivener explained his growth. When the sigel complimented her glasses, she grinned and struck a pose, pushing her lips out and then smiling. ”Thanks. I try,” she smiled at him, ”but I didn’t know you’d be here!” She turned to Aphi and scowled playfully. ”Actually I don’t like water or the heat.” Her scowl morphed quickly into a smile: ”But I love big sunglasses and people,” and showing off… “so I figured I’d stop by.”

The kitten unconsciously leaned her head towards Rivener’s hand as he played with her hair and “sat” herself down at the foot of his chair. ”What have I been up to? Ummm -- Oh I started making and modifying some clothes. I met one cool other raevan -- Vyn -- while shopping and I got the idea to modify clothes there. It’s a lot of fun.” Lucia grinned, wishing she had worn some of the clothing she moded. ”What have you been up to? Other than growing all sexy.” She smiled, having fun joking around and playing.