Welcome to Gaia! ::

What's a party without food right? Well don't you fret, because the Lab has got you covered! Three long buffet style tables have been prepped and primed for such an occasion and are covered with a bevvy of treats, snacks, meals, and other goodies as from end to end. Hot food, cold food, veggies, fruits; this thing is laden with anything and everything - so long as it has a harvest or Halloween flair. Dotting the scene are also appropriately themed decorations and if the table hasn't yet buckled from the assortment of food, then the copious addition of festive garlands, paper ghosts, black cat figurines, mini scarecrows and tiny pumpkins just might help! If you're signing up for a game you'll find the appropriate forms on a table to the left of the potluck set up. No one will be tending, so feel free to sign up as you please.

((Arriving ))

The crunch of newly fallen leaves beneath Zeke's shiny black dress shoes as he and Anastacia made a quick beeline to the event barn was invigorating, but not as much as the cool evening air after such a lovely fall day. There was the barest hints of a breeze through the vineyard and surrounding trees and had he not been rushing to get his Raevan into the heated barn before the cold made her ill, he would have taken his time climbing the dirt trail to the well lit building a few yards away. Given it was a party and that he was fashionably dressed, being fashionably late wouldn't have been a problem in his mind. But Anya came first, and the adult male kept close by the Raevan's side even as they reached the barn doors and took their first steps inside as staff and guests of the event.

"You all right Anya?" The vet immediately asked, watching the spider queen give a little shiver and shake off the cold as she removed herself from the vicinity of the doors. She had given a slip of tongue earlier because of his extremely out of ordinary appearance, but now she remained silent again - more so to take in the scene they had just walked into than anything else at the moment.

They had been here earlier, of course, helping to set up this thing. Well, that would be a half truth. Zeke was here helping to set up this thing, while the spider queen lounged around and watched, barely taking interest into what the Lab Staff and their Raevans were doing. Lifting, she decided, heavy or not, was not her thing and the staff seemed to be getting along fine without her. In fact, they had. Now that the day had become evening, everything looked better than it had in the day. Lights were on and sparkling, the fog machine billowed a thick curl of moisture around the end of her ribbon and Zeke's tidy shoes, music played over everything, and in the dimmed light most everything - from food to decoration to games - had an eerie shadow to it.

She wasn't impressed by any stretch of the word, but even she had to agree that to some degree it was...nice. A little more than okay, even. Had she not still been ignoring her guardian for his transgressions last month, she believed she would have considered giving him a clap. Not on the shoulder of course, just a clap of her hands. Once. But given the circumstances, she continued to ignore him and instead slipped farther inside, eyes turning over everything that wasn't lost in her always present fog.

Since he was ignored again, Zeke sighed, but like the Frei turned his attentions to the building. Immediately his eyes lit up beneath his now uncolored bangs and a grin spread across his face which had been removed of all his piercings. Whereas Anya had decided on nothing but a faux fur boa and wearing her hair without her bun for a "costume", Zeke went all out. Gone were the bright colors of his hair and shiny metal piercings in his face and ears. Instead there was au natural hair color and a face pecked with small pinhole punctures and very light discoloration where the rings and bars had been. His usual colorful attire had been left at home for the evening as well and Zeke's costume was a neat and tidy black three-piece suit, complete with a red handkerchief in his breast pocket that served as the only color on his person other than his eyes. Topping it all off was a careful, neat styling of his now black - and unhappily for him white-kissed - hair the vet thought he looked suave. Definitely different for sure, and he couldn't wait to see some old friends to see their reactions to his one night transformation.

For now however, since it seemed he hadn't been late at all and most were yet to arrive, the vet stepped inward after his Frei, fully ready to immerse the both of them in the Halloween spirit; Lab-style. First thing was first of course: checking on Anya and getting the Frei's chilly weather effects so they could be hung in the coatroom for her. She might be floating around as bold as brass now but he wouldn't know for sure until he got a good look.

(( Cruz & Anita -- Arriving ))

In the cool evening air of Autumn, their breaths puffed out in small white clouds and curled toward the steadily darkening sky. The moon was already out, a waning crescent and large at that, colored a harvest gold and large against the sky which was working on surrounding it with clouds but not entirely snuffing out its bright light.

A pale hand waved to the driver of a dark green station wagon before shutting the door with a resounding thunk which echoed easily across the quiet vineyard. A hatchet was swung over one shoulder as a figure clad in a red flannel shirt rolled up to the elbows approached a figure clad in a long red hooded cloak accentuated with ribbons. The one in red was reaching into the backseat, pulling out a large wicker basket covered by a white cloth. It was gently hooked over an arm, fingers only partially covered by cut-off gloves with long nails curling around the side of the basket protectively. The other door was shut by the one carrying the ax and a chuckle left both figures as their ride went in reverse down the dirt road before turning around.

"You think they'll like the cookies?"

A firm nod was given by the one clad in red, a bright smile curling their lips. A loose green ponytail hung from the side of the hood, a white ribbon tied just around the tip as it escaped over their left shoulder.

The woodsman held a hand out to little red riding hood and a larger, clawed hand was placed delicately in the palm. The two journeyed down the dark and lonesome path toward the large barn and the closer they got the more they took notice of the ominous fog looming out of the open doors. They also took notice of two unfamiliar silhouettes standing off to the side, seemingly having left a brier patch as one was plucking stickers off of the other but it was easy for them both to tell one of the figures was a Raevan, and a Frei at that. Unfortunately, with the cookies time couldn't be wasted; even with the time it had taken to drive out to Barton from Gambino they were still warm and if they could let a few people grab some before they got cold then it would be worth it.

Green eyes peeked out from beneath the shadow of the red hood, locking on to the dark figure that was the cobra Frei. They memorized certain details, finding his appearance and wings interesting, and deciding that this Frei would be approached later if given the chance, unless said Frei did not approach him first. Fin-like wings shuddered with excitement, though quickly curled back against the silky red fabric in an effort to keep warm.

"I think this is where we're supposed to put 'em..." a female voice spoke from a mouth dotted with fake scruff, which seemed to have been drawn on with eye liner. Curly brown hair was pulled back into a low and somewhat frizzy ponytail, bangs hanging in her hazel green eyes. Torn up jeans hugged her hips and were hidden beneath tall work boots halfway down her shins. The thickness of the flannel shirt hid her bust somewhat, but there was no hiding Anita's true gender.

Cruz, on the other hand, pulled off the feminine role surprisingly well even if it was unintentional. Truth be told, he actually didn't know a thing about the story of Little Red Riding Hood, didn't know how Anita's costume tied into his own. He had just picked it between the two costumes because he liked the look of it better and that was that, no questions asked. The mistletoe Frei's rune pulsed nervously as they approached the table. The barn seemed completely empty and it wasn't any sort of location he had seen before. It was drafty and covered with hay, but the area where the food sat was quite warm and he allowed himself to relax more once they came next to the tables.

Anita quickly went to work, uncovering the basket of 'goodies'. They had made a batch of jack-o-lantern shaped sugar cookies (complete with orange icing and black face details) and chocolate cookie bats with white fangs and eyes. They were laid out on plates, her hands quickly ridding them of the tin foil that protected them and kept them toasty. By the time the four plates were placed, Cruz's basket was practically empty, save for a very small black wolf plush tucked into the corner, but by the looks of things there were snacks and candy galore that he could fill it with and they could take home to share.

"There," Anita grinned with a hand on her hip, the other keeping the hatchet hooked over her shoulder for added effect, "What do you think?"

The crocodile Frei scrutinized the layout of the cookies for a few seconds, his lips just barely parted enough to reveal his sharp white teeth, before he reached a hand over and slightly adjusted the way a plate was facing, pulling his hand back for a moment, and then plucking a particularly precarious bat from off the side of the plate and held the tip of a wing up to Anita's mouth. Without batting an eye, she gripped it with her teeth and her companion let out a throaty rumble of a chuckle. Finally he let himself gaze around the area fully and he took note of two figures he hadn't noticed before; a black haired man dressed in a suit who was thoroughly unfamiliar, and a black clad lavender haired spider who thoroughly was.

"...Ana" he whispered quietly, drawing Anita's attention to the spider femme.

If she was here, Anita deduced, then Zeke was not far. It took a few seconds, but it dawned on her as she saw the well dressed man turn to the side. Zeke... was colorless. If that wasn't a startling Halloween costume, Anita didn't know what was.

[Arriving -> Namini & Prajna: Food Counter; David: Wine Tasting]

Once the car came to a secured halt along the bumpy dirt road leading into the festival ahead, steely eyes turned to the two glistening blue gazes in the backseat and David let out a final hiss of protest, “Do I really have to wear this? I could really just drop you two off and be on my merry way. You know, go back home where my beautiful bed is waiting for me and—“

Namini stuck her tongue out at her older brother before spreading her arms towards their beloved and beautifully decorated Frei, “No way David! I worked really hard to put us all together AND I even made snacks for everyone to share! You’re Prajna’s guardian too, so you got to come.”

Prajna scowled and then turned to its younger owner, scrunching its nose in disgust at the demand, “No. David can really stay like. Sleep in car. Namini and Prajna have fun.”

But the curly brunette shook her head defiantly and ordered both Naos out of the vehicle, to which both Frei and brother sighed simultaneously.

Sometimes, Prajna thought, this girl was just so difficult to please, though the Star was happy to be out of the small confides of the car. After closing the door, Prajna stretched out its soullessly black wings, which seemed to have a new design to them; in between some of the blackened feathers, there seemed to be crimson ones here and there, creating a kind of speckled look to Prajna’s wings, a pattern that made the feathers look almost reptilian. The new found red on its back matched the scaly turtleneck and bracers the androgynous soul was also adorning, the costume so unlike the more modern styled clothing it usually wore. Prajna shook its feathers again, unused to the new weight to them as it watched Namini crawling about the backseat of the car, taking out her trays of treats. It would offer help…but at the end of the each bracer decorating the Frei’s arms, there seemed to be three giant claws extending past Prajna’s pale fingertips, which made it difficult for Prajna to be of much help.

So the Star folded its arms behind its head and stood aside, now distracted by its exotically styled hair as well. Prajna did a last check on the spiky mohawk Namini had styled for it, still adjusting to the new shortness of its hair. At times it missed its long locks, but then it would refer back to the terribly sad expression Varun had possessed when he last visited and the Star would miss it less. Prajna also made sure that the blood red paint that extended from its hairline to the bottom of its eyes, painting the entire upper half of its face crimson, had not smudged or dripped on the way there. Would the Star have to be checking up on these things all night?

There came a small complaint from the inside of the car and then Prajna watched as Namini almost threw a plateful of brownies into David’s arms.

“Stop whining, David!” Namini scolded maternally before closing the door with her hip. Prajna couldn’t help but smirk when it glanced over the two in their full glory; Both dressed as cave people, they somehow pulled the rugged, ancient look off very well. Namini had put her tight curls up into two odangos, with flowers around them and wore a one sleeve leopard dress, a tattered black sash around her waist and a necklace made of bones around her neck. She looked quite adorable for a character that was known to be brutish and dirty. David, on the other hand, seemed rugged enough… but definitely in a model kind of way. The man had been forced to wear a headband that had fake bull horns protruding from the sides, his jet black hair sticking up from behind it like burnt leaves. His torso was also adorned in a similar manner to Namini’s, except that, instead of having a leopard print dress, his lower half was covered by a long loincloth-type skirt that came to his knees, also with a black sash around his waist, and his chest was almost completely bare, aside from a faux brown animal vest he wore open, exposing his athletic build. Together, the Naos looked as if they had just stepped out of some History channel discussing the prehistoric era.

Finally Namini flashed Prajna one of her trademark smiles and asked, “Ready to have some fun Prajna?”

The dinosaur nodded enthusiastically and then followed its guardians over to the main event table, where a few newcomers were also walking over to. Prajna’s bright cerulean eyes clashed so intensely with the ruby face paint that it hoped a familiar face, like Vyn or Varun, would be able to immediately recognize the Star through its eyes alone. There wasn’t much else to really go off of, with the way Prajna was so exquisitely dressed. The spunky redhead spotted a few Freis, noting their ribbons and wings, but the faces were new and unappealing to it. Unbeknownst the Star, it had just glanced over Basil, its newest ally, though the Cobra had been so darkly clad, Prajna thought perhaps it was some new Raevan, boring to the Star tonight. Namini and David approached the table and placed their goods alongside the others, the younger of the Naos immediately impressed by the assortment, “Look guys! They have everything! Don’t let anything go to waste~!”

Namini giggled excitedly but David was unamused. He hoped no one would notice him in this ridiculous get up; He didn’t even want to be here but… Namini had weaseled him into this. Unwrapping a few plates of brownies and cupcakes that were made to look like mashed potatoes, turkey legs, and peas and carrots, David looked up and spotted something more his style down the table. With an affectionate pat, the older Nao separated from the group, heading to the wine tasting portion, “If you need me, I’ll be drinking the night away.”

Namini pouted but let her brother go off, knowing full well he was probably much too old and disinterested in things like bobbing for apples and stuffing one’s face with candy. Namini turned and regained Prajna’s attention, “Let’s try not to cause too much trouble tonight though, okay?”

She smiled again and Prajna couldn’t help but smirk, giving its appearance the ultimate velociraptor type of smugness. Trouble was all Prajna knew…