Welcome to Gaia! ::

Victor leaned forward against the pic-nic table, looking out across the green grass and the rippling blue lake beyond. He had decided to invite some of Riley's friends, and their families, to join them today. If no one chose to come it could simply be a nice outing for the family. However, he did hope to meet a few more guardians and he knew Riley would enjoy having kids her own ages to play around with. Luckily he hadn't told her anyone was coming, not wanting to disappoint her if no one showed up.

So, Riley was busy bothering Mikael and Runeh. Or...well, getting pushed around by the two of them. Mikael had her in a headlock while Runeh gave her a complimentary noogie despite her kicking and shouting in defiance. Learning self defence seemed of little use when it came to the twins, who were bigger and out numbered her by one. But obviously such a situation was common, for neither Victor, Liam, nor even Kai tried to stop it. It was all good fun, really. Sort of.

When the Escalera's had recieved the invitation Manuela had been over the moon. Sure she didn't really know how to swim, but surely someone there would be able to help her. She and her mother had read over the instructions, and since it was a little too far to walk they had planned a series of bus rides that would take them close to it.

Now as they exited the bus Manuela skipped down and onto the grass tailed by her mother. The child was wearing a black tankini, covered up only by a pair of jeans. She had wanted to go barefoot, but on Estelle's request had donned sandals for the occasion.

Estelle on the other hand, was dressed in something unusual for her, a tshirt and knee shorts, with her braided hair down and uncovered. She was excited for this, it would give her a chance to talk to some of the other parents, and getaways like this were things the kids would remember.

Kisala was, thankfully, asleep from the drive over. Though Shiori much preferred not to drive if at all possible, she knew that it was sometimes necessary, and this lake house was rather far away from the areas she was used to.

She had pulled the toddler out of her car seat, somehow managing to keep her asleep in the process, and walked towards the house. This was the right address, and she saw a few others gathered about, some of whom she recognized, if vaguely.

Kisala gave a yawn and stretched out, opening her eyes and peering sleepily about her. Her little face lit up with excitement when she realized that she was not in familiar territory-- she was certainly up for a bit of exploration!

She had on a bright yellow swimsuit with an orange skirt attached to the bottom and green water-wings. Shiori didn't particularly like the colour-scheme herself, but it had seemed to please the little one, and really, she didn't care so much about it.

She was herself in a deep green two-piece with a pair of loose white pants over it. She'd have to get wet if Kisala did, and she didn't want to get her regular clothing wet. Besides, the swimsuit showed off her tattoos nicely, and she was quite proud of them.

"Hello there," she said, spotting the group of young men, women, and children slowly gathering around a picnic table.

Antony was feeling rather underdressed again in his long blue swimtrunks and blue tank top, but Shade had dressed him again. It was getting irritating when his father did that. He nodded at Riley, then smiled brightly and waved as he caught sight of Manuela, letting the smile stay as he looked around.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

"Hey, Victor," Shade said, waving at the one brother he knew. "I was going to teach the kid how to swim while we're here. That okay?"

"I know, I'm just that kind of guy," Mikael said, puffing up like a rooster before Runeh shot him down with a simple, "Yes, Victor's plans were very nice...and Liam's connections are quite wonderful." So much for this being Mikael's doing.

Victor had finally stood up, drifting over to greet the guests. He nodded Shade with a friendly gesture of his hand, "By all means, feel free. Riley knows how, for the most part, so she can help. Or any of us can assist as well." He offered a smile to all the other adults, "Welcome to the lake! I'm Victor and I'd like you all to make yourselves at home. We've got food over on the tables and some games and toys scattered about for the kids. There's a dock down there on the shore, so feel free to have a swim."

Kai hovered next to Victor, looking far more reserved then his elder brother. Which he was. "Um...if any of you don't wish to get wet I'll take the toddlers in the water. I dont' mind."

Riley hugged Manny tightly and then let go, taking a bouncing step back from excitement. "Lets go get in the water!" she suggested with shining eyes.

Kisala babbled delightedly as the other children moved around her, reaching about for whatever passed her by--particularly if it was anything shiny. Absently, Shiori pushed the child's hands down lest she hurt someone and moved forward, bowing respectfully at Victor and the others,
"Greetings. Thank you for allowing us to come. I am Shiori Tonbo of the Order of the Dragon, from the Peridot clan."

She felt very formal amongst all these who seemed to know each other, but she didn't want to be rude,
"And this is Kisala."

The little girl squirmed, trying desperately to get out of her adoptive mother's arms, but Shiori held her firmly-- if she let Kisala go now, there was no telling what mischief she'd get into before she was caught. There was too much open space for it.

She looked towards the lake thoughtfully, then decided to wait. Let Kisala socialize-- or at least watch the bigger kids-- a bit, then she'd take her to the water.

"Off with the shirt, kid," Shade said as he tugged his own off and headed for the dock.

Antony nodded and pulled his own shirt off, a bit reluctantly. He wasn't sure he wanted to learn to swim, but the water was almost blue, which made it a good thing. And as he had once read somewhere, Princes should excel in all manners of sports, including swimming.

Or maybe he had made that up, he wasn't sure. "Can we swim with you, Manuela?" he asked as he caught sight of the two girls. "Riley?" he added a bit belatedly.

Harper wriggled with great discontent. "Let me go! I wanna go!" He squealed, flailing at the other kids running off. Sighing, Sunny knelt down and strapped the poor boy with water wings, before pushing him toward the other kids.

"Don't drown." Sunny muttered passively, glancing back at his sister. "Ashley, make sure your son doesn't die. It's a little too early on in life for him to sacrifice himself to your abundant laziness." With that, he turned toward the other parents and then instantly looked at the floor. He backed up about two steps, gripping his other hand tightly, and then looked toward the kids. "How fast do they grow?" He asked, quietly, it wouldn't be surprising if nobody payed attention to the question.

Ashley, muttering something about nature still, began making her way toward the water to keep an eye on Harper.

Harper, looking like that stupid blueberry girl in Willy Wonka after she ate the gum she wasn't supposed to, wobbled slowly after the others. The ridiculous water wings were practically as thick as he was, and he was getting REALLY ticked off with each passing second. "I wanna come TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..." He informed the others, though, of course, they likely knew.