It's a Party, People! (Open!!!!)

[Alstroemeria]

Her gaze was fixated on the eagles as they soared through the sky, unaware of what was around her. She caught the slightest glimpse of a red-headed figure, masculine to be exact. Unsure of how to react, she appeared startled more or less. She rose from her seat quickly, brushing the dust off her. “Not the biggest fan of crowds, but I love to talk.” She said giving him the smallest glimpse of a smile. Her intentions weren’t to make him think she was a freak. First impression weren’t the best for her because she had no idea what the others thoughts were. One thing she hated most was when they extended a hand to shake, touching. Something that left her in awe, knowing she couldn’t return the hand. On the other hand, making actual contact with someone, especially of the opposite gender made her feel strange. Alstroemeria was known more for the alone type, but her traits were completely different. In a nut shell, she was two different people that couldn’t possibly fit into one. “It’s fine, I was just about to leave… I mean. I’m alright, I just… Yes they are, they keep me sane. And away from my flustered behavior, I love them. Oh! I’m Alstroemeria. I wouldn’t mind. Come, sit.” She began to pat the other part of the rock to allow him to sit. She gave a smile and then diverted her gaze back to the sky. “Sometimes I wish I was one of them… And I wasn’t what I am right now.” She said in a soft tone. Brushing one red hair back, her gaze appearing to be looking down. The Avora’s habit was always to tell her life story. First of all, no one cared and second of all, why did she even bother? Meria was a rather confusing person after all, she couldn’t help what she was though. As her mother said, we were born the way we were so we might as well embrace it. Her mother must have been wrong because she didn’t know what it was like to be her. No? Why did she even bother debating to herself about this. “Do you think I’m strange?” She asked him in a blunt tone. The Avora couldn’t help but question herself to her own peers, to see how they felt about her. No one seemed to actually care about her so therefore she had to probe into her own business. After all, the key was always to play the devil’s advocate. Something she was really good at. Asking questions at any awkward moment, neither did she care. Unless it was really really important then of course she'd know to shut her mouth. But asking bluntly was a thing about her she just had to face. There were the phobia's, the paranoid moments, the blunt moments, and so forth. She was a strange one yes, but who knew what her persons of Wind Reach thought of her. She was a ginger, she was charismatic, sweet, but a total clumsy girl. So wherever did she ever fit into Wind Reach. She was an Avora one of the second high caste's in Wind Reach. Yet, she didn't recognize herself. In the mirror she finds herself confused. So therefore who was she?

[Reo]

Reo stood at the edge of the world and patiently awaited the return of Layla. He felt his stomach grumble and took another bite of the burnt lizard that Layla had managed to catch this evening, which Reo had absent mindedly burnt. His tongue had grown numb from the bland tastes that he had been subjected to lately. From Cockroaches, to rats, squirrels and tough fish but it was better than soup and bread that was served twice a day to his caste, or at least he fooled himself into thinking it was better than the soup and bread. He was late but nobody would notice whether he arrived late or early and hopefully the proceedings were well under way so nobody would see him sneak in and out.

Silhouetted by the moon, he saw Layla return from her mission, her wings static as she slowly rode the breeze and then with a sudden burst she landed on Reo’s arm and extended a talon. Reo took the twigs and added them to the pile that had accumulated. He gave the rest of the lizard to Layla and then let her fly off. Reo took off his Sontav and hid it inside his bag once again. Reo sat down and started working through the twigs that lay on the floor. He ripped some material from his Katinu and also applied this to the twigs. After an hour of work, Reo looked down on his creation and smiled. He
scooped it all up and ran towards the courtyard of the sky.

When Reo arrived he slowed down, he didn’t want to draw any attention to himself, he immediately decided to stick close to the walls so as he could avoid the large crowd in the courtyard. His plan was simple; he would find either Sira or Aidara, give them the gift, take some food for himself and Layla and quickly leave. He entered, stuck close to the walls and pillars and fought the urge to run straight to the food table. The aroma danced around his nostrils, he could smell the cooked fat of a whale. His mouth watered and his stomach growled louder.

He stood looking for Aidara and could not find her anywhere; she must have been ill-disposed. Reo heard some talk about a competition that was about to commence, he saw the crowd and assumed that Sira or Aidara would be embroiled in the centre of the crowd. He quickly made the decision that he would wait for them to become be less preoccupied. So he slowly started to look for the closest source of nourishment. If he could find any other Deks, he would find food. All the while he clutched his gift tightly to his chest.

[Sira]

Sira watched the crowd's reaction to her announcement with no small satisfaction. As expected a lot of the lower caste, especially the deks, jumped at the chance for more food and endal rations, but even a few of the upper castes looked like they were ready to join in on the fun. While everybody settled and the tables were set up and loaded with food Sira busied herself with arranging the gifts into an easy to manage pile. Once the party was over she would have the things brought up to the aerie, but until then they would remain where they were. Idly, Sira wondered what was taking Addy so long. She knew she had gone off to tend to Eoin's wound, but it was just a minor cut and should have taken only a chime to heal it good as new. Sira sighed and stood back up, peering out into the crowd. She didn't see the healer or chef anywhere, but it was a large crowd and it would have been easy to lose someone. Still, she wanted Addy's presence for some reason she didn't understand. Sira joined with the crowd, mingling and offering meaningless hellos and thank you in response to all the random well wishers. She knew she needed to start the contest first, but Sira wanted to find Aidara before that. Sira began asking if any had seen the healer or her patient and finally got an answer from a random avora she didn't know. "I saw her leave with that man who brought the cake." Sira frowned and muttered a thank you to the man before turning and making her way back over to the food tables. Why did this bother her so much? She was just tending to his wound... but then again she could have done that here and been back at Sira's side in seconds. But.. what did it even matter? It wasn't like Addy hadn't run off with random men before. Why did this bother her so? Sira arrived at the table's and called for everyone to sit. "Okay everybody! We're gonna be starting the contest soon so if you want to participate please take a seat in front of a plate! You'll have ten chimes to eat as many slices as you can, and you'll start on my go." Sira waited as each of the participants took their places, but her focus was on the crowd rather than the tables in front of her. Where was Addy? Why wasn't she back yet? After a moment Sira realized she as frowning and quickly put on a smile, pushing the disturbing feelings to the back of her mind. Just because Addy wasn't there to help her host the party didn't mean everyone else had to suffer. Sira took a deep breath to calm herself and after everyone settled she held her hands up above her head signaling for attention. "Ready... BEGIN!" Sira's hands came down officially signaling the beginning of the contest, and though she still wondered where Addy was she fought down the feelings of jealousy and kept a smile on her face. She was the judge, after all, and had to make sure nobody was cheating and hiding food or anything. Of course Addy might pick up on the feelings trickling across their bond, but Sira made no direct attempts at contact and Addy had no way of knowing the jealous feelings involved her.

[Taln]

Sarye's gentle voice sounded in his ear, but he never got the chance to reply. Drusilla spoke up with that tone the Dek was coming to know. Her S's and R's were more pronounced meaning she was edgy. He fought the urge to squirm in his seat, not liking the situation one bit. The Chiet had spoken first, but the Avora asked a question that held the red haired woman's fate in his hands. He'd heard the Symenestra hunting and she was not someone to trifle with, when angry. Anxiously, he looked from one to the other, his mind racing for the right thing to say. Violet eyes clashed with blue ones and Taln felt the chimes tick by. There was no other solution for it; he'd have to go by caste. "Drusilla Avora, Sarye Chiet is a friend and a kind woman. She means me no harm-sister." The tall man finished the sentence in Symenos, hoping the familial term would calm her ire. His nervous emerald glance flicked between the two, not sure how to appease them. "Sarye Chiet would you like to join as well? There's plenty of food." The drudge loathed the tension, but it was up to the ladies how they wanted to handle the situation. If they wanted to fight or get along, it was entirely their choice and there was nothing a mere Dek could say or do to change that. Taln was stuck sitting between them with one on each side like a pair of bristling honor guards. Suddenly Sira spoke up and began the contest! He was more than happy to get his mind off the women's tiff and just be doing something else. Besides, since when could he pass up an opportunity to eat as much as he wanted to?!

[Renol]

Renol chuckled a little bit, nodding, “I know exactly what you mean. I can only take so much of a press of people before getting away is necessary.” he bowed his head to her she stood from her spot. Renol watched to see if she wanted to shake hands first. He wasn’t a man to offer a handshake first. She wasn’t the only Inarta who didn’t like physical greetings. He had found that out more times than one so now, he waited until the other person extended their hand before accepting it. So, when she didn’t he didn’t think anything of it. He listened as she continued on, flashing a quick, reassuring smile to her as her sentences ran together a bit. She seemed a little flustered, but that could happen to anyone who didn’t like being in crowds when they were at an event like this. The sheer amount of people here would drive even the most active socialite to the brink of hysteria. So he simply smiled to her, nodding as he listened. Well if you were about to leave, I don’t want to keep you from the festivities or anything.” He looked up once again as he sat down on the rock near her, leaving some space between them to make sure he wasn’t intruding into “personal space”[color=red] “It is a pleasure to meet you Alstroemeria. I have to say, I like your name. It fits you well it seems. But yes, eagles are quite good at keeping people sane, it seems. I have to admit that, without Fereo, I probably would have been a bumbling oaf by now. But there are times when that creature drives me insane as well. So… be glad that these eagles don’t constantly nit-pick at you like the larger ones do.” He chuckled a little bit, looking over to where his Wind Eagle sat. He smiled to the bird, chuckling at a retort that his friend had obviously shot back to him, before looking back to her and following her gaze upward once more, “I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks that. Perhaps you were once in a previous life. You never really know. That could by why you’re drawn to them so much. But still, what is wrong with what you are now? “ He looked back down to her. She was well dressed and well kept, so she was obviously of one of the higher castes. But he knew that that often didn’t matter for people. Everyone aspired to be something else at some point in their life. It was the nature of things. He didn’t think it odd for her to daydream of such things. Her next question did catch him a little off guard, though, his head cocking to the side for a moment as he processed what she asked. It was quite sudden and out of no where, so he wasn’t prepared for the question. Renol blinked a few times, thinking for a second, “Well, truth be told, I just met you. I haven’t had a whole lot to go on just yet. But, so far, no… I don’t think you’re strange. What have you said or done that would bring me to that conclusion? Voicing a desire to be an eagle? That is hardly strange behavior. Even I, an Endal, wish that I could be other things. Often, actually. So no, that isn’t strange at all. An no, you’re not strange. At least to me, anyway. I could be strange myself, though. Who knows these days…” He chuckled, more to himself than anything, as he looked to the floor of the courtyard. There were probably some who would call him strange. Many people had heard about the incident during the hunting trip last fall that had seen him wounded by the huge bear. Many thought him idiotic and strange for standing up against such a massive creature. Then there was the fact that, until recently, he had nearly been a shut in while he had been healing to full strength again. Not many people had seen very much of him for a long while. So many thought that was strange. So… he figured he might not be the best judge of strange vs. not strange. But still, personally, he didn’t find her strange.

[Drusilla]

Drusilla quickly picked up on Taln's uneasiness, and felt ashamed. She had only been worried about his safety. Hanging her head she apologised, "Forgive me Taln...I was afraid she might harm you. I'll keep my distance." With that Drusilla began to return to her chair. She hated parties. Back on the outskirts of the celebration, she had time to think. Among all the Inarta here for the first time in a while, she could tell how much she didn't fit in. Drusilla wondered why she fawned over Taln so much when she had left her family, her siblings. They had been so young when she had left... There was no doubt they wouldn't remember her. Maybe she should of stayed and help raise what Ava had given her life up for.... The birth of the twins. Although Symenestra genetics called them 'full blooded' their mother had been an Inarta. Drusilla sighed, what was it about her coming birthday that always made her think of them? It was always around this time of year she missed Kalinor in some odd way, even to the point that she wanted to go home... If only to see if she was remembered at all. She had been so young and running away from her fears. Choosing flight only delays the inevidable fight. Now fully grown, Drusilla felt no fear at the thought of her stepmother. She had seen the world and learned there were things much scarier than that woman. Absent mindedly Drusilla nibbled on a piece of fruit, once again in a world of her own. She was slowly getting ready to go to that fight she had run away from.

[Eoin]

Eoin was wrong to underestimate the Inarta, to continue his poking and prodding at the logs, expecting not to be burned. Aidara seemed to ignite with a soft fire, her words firm but not biting, the signs of frustration growing more prominent with every syllable. She asked him to stop his formal tone with her, one that he was entirely unaware of, a survival tactic that had long been ingrained in his nature. She persisted, questioning the obedience and regret behind his gaze, but never did his eyes leave her. Every word she spoke was true, her hands reaching in and splitting him apart to reveal the grotesque innards within, exposed. Mentally, he recoiled, a sense of disturbed dislike in the face of such a revealing conversation. It was a nostalgic feeling, a much gentler version of his interactions with his sister. For a moment he was overwhelmed with the emotion of grief, but it came and passed as routinely as a bird flies and feeds. His posture remained statuesque until summoned, a weary hand that beckoned each slow, purposeful step.

Strangely enough, his hand moved to lightly cup her shoulder, a notion that seemed natural for the situation that never did come quite so easily to the man before, came easily now. After a pause, a time for his fingers to take in the soothing sensation of another’s heat, he spoke.

“You did nothing wrong.” Eoin wasn’t one to share more information than necessary, so it was expected that he would simply address the questions one at a time, and nothing more. “Please continue being yourself.” That was true, Aidara didn’t need to worry about him, her refreshing presence was more than enough. She could alleviate his heavy heart if for a moment, pluck the words from his mind with the gentle hands of a seasoned gardener, and most importantly, he was starting to truly believe that she had his best interests at heart. The Avora was beginning to trust.

His hand fell from her shoulder, his gaze mimicking as the next question waited to be addressed. The difficulty was not in revealing the answer, but in choosing one. It was with a sense of haunting that Eoin remembered the crippling nightmare he experienced earlier in the year, one where his fears dominated him, just as it did in the now. Wishing not to burden Aidara, he contemplated his decision, how to best express the idea, overanalyzing every detail with persistence. With a slight distant look to his eyes, he made his choice.

“I’m afraid to be taken advantage of.” The Avora was not sure if the answer would satisfy her, but he was honest, genuine, truthful. It was spoken with lingering emotions, ones that spoke of past experiences of trust broken. “I am afraid of what you seem to do so easily.” Eoin met her gaze, cutting his words short.

oocI had so many issues with this reply, but I'm excited to see Addy get frustrated with him. Sorry to keep Aidara frozen for so long, the creative block took a while to get past.

[Aidara]

And it was simply as easy as that. Avoiding Eoin's gaze as he spoke, in fear of his answer as well as what she might see in his eyes, Addy was forced to listen carefully to the tone of his voice. Marking the inflections as well as the pauses and sighs, it was clear that what ever the man was trying to say was a difficult confession. That he was trying anyway, despite what lack of comfort he felt, gave Addy a tingling feeling that shivered down her spine to her toes. Sincerity did that to her.

"You can't live your life afraid, Eoin."

The words came easily to her lips, the weight on her mind lifting easily under the man's reassurances. It seemed like a quick change between her emotions, from being irritated to calm understanding, but it really was that easy with her when you were honest. The woman might tend towards the dramatics but that didn't mean that she was unreasonable.

"I could never be anyone but me. I've tried, and it didn't work out." A wry smile twisted her lips and she tilted her head as she gazed up at Eoin. "I was always miserable to be around and I was on the verge of ruining my relationships with those that matter when I finally snapped out of it."

It was true. Addy had been a snarky, moody witch only a few seasons ago, picking fights with her Sai along with anyone else who would stand still long enough to become the target of her wrath. Though Eoin let his hand drop, Addy slipped from the table on which she sat, closing the small gap between them and enveloping the larger man in a hug. Even though her arms barely reached all the way around, her fingers barely touching each other on his back, she gave him a tight squeeze before letting go.

"If you expect this to work, whatever 'this' is" a wild gesture between their two forms to make clear that she meant their relationship, "you also have to be yourself. It's not fair to me, or anyone else for that matter, to only get half of you."Quieting to let her words sink in, Addy simply watched him. It was always hard trying to figure yourself out, especially so late in life but it was a necessity none the less. Those who claimed to have the perfect life were lying to themselves as well as others, and had just gotten good at hiding their flaws from everyone. As a friend, it was hard to sit by and watch Eoin struggle with himself, and it was something Addy never had to deal with before. Sai was as self confident as they came and had rarely shared these open hearted moments with her twin when she did struggle. Sira had come into her life after this transition as well, and Kovac was no where near ready to accept his flaws. So, in a way, Eoin was Addy's first.

Knowing enough about the man to tell that too much truthful and emotional crap would start to overwhelm him, Addy made an executive decision. "Your hand is well past cared for and since I am one of the main attractions of this party people are going to start to wonder where we have gone. How about we go back and see what kind of mischief Sira has stirred up?" Giving him an easy smile Addy held out her hand with the fingers splayed, the perfect position for Eoin to entwine his own fingers with hers.

Little did Addy know that Sir ahead most definitely noticed her absence and found it more on the irritating side than anything else. Happy that she had reconciled things with her new friend, the healer flounced back into the party with Eoin in tow, completely unaware of the slight drama that she had caused.

Immediately picking out Sira's fiery top from among all the others, Addy rushed over to join her at the head of the eating contest. She left Eoin in the crowd, hoping that he would take their recent conversation by heart and participate in the contest and lighten up a bit. Either way, the little woman had soon reattached herself to Sira's side, clapping and shouting down at the excited crowd as they prepared for the contest.

"Are we ready to start?" Green eyes lifted to Sira's golden ones and only then did Addy notice the emotions so well veiled behind her eyes. She couldn't pinpoint it exactly but her smile wavered only for a moment before she regained control of her composure.

I'm in trouble, aren't I?

[Sira]

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Had Sira's reaction been anything other than what it was, anything at all, Aidara might have just passed it off as Sira simply being irritated at the fact that she had been left to host the party alone. But that wasn't what she got from Sira's reaction, which was absolutely nothing. Sira didn't even register the question as she shouted for the contest to begin. She acted as if she hadn't even heard it, and though her smile was played across her face Addy knew there was something wrong. Would she know it was because of Eoin? Probably not, because Sira had already given Eoin her blessings that night in the bedroom. So that couldn't be it, could it? Certainly not. Sira must have been mad about something else. Maybe Sai had done something to piss her off and Sira didn't want to talk about it in front of everybody, or maybe it was just the hormones. Hormones were always a convenient answer to any sort of problem with pregnant women, and it was so easy to blame it on that than to recognize the actual problem, which at that moment was little more than a dark seed growing in the back of Sira's mind. But it was already sprouting it's roots and, and it would only grow as Addy and Eoin continued to water the plant. Sira surveyed the contest, watching with golden eyes as hungry people scarfed down more food than their bodies would normally hold all for the sake of even more food later on. The seed in the back of her mind was buried as her smile turned genuine. How could someone be unhappy when there were so many happy people. Her arm found it's way around Addy's waist and all seemed to be well again, at least with the kelvic. "Contest is going good," she commented as she watched a particular dek shovel down fillet after fillet of whale meat. He was doing so well he even appeared to have his own groupies, though they didn't appear to like one another. Eventually one left, Drusilla as Sira recalled from earlier, but Taln seemed happy enough with his food and it looked as if he might even win. There were plenty of hungry people, though, and Taln had his work cut out for him. It was still anybody's game. "So who are you rooting for, Addy? Did Eoin decide to join in?" Sira couldn't see whether or not Eoin had joined the competition. There were so many people crowded around the tables that some of the contestants were obscured from view. Sira could only assume that if Eoin joined the contest Addy would probably be rooting for him since they were so close. Sira hadn't really picked a specific person herself, but she did think it would be nice for one of the deks to win. They had the most room in their bellies anyway so they were of course the smart choice. OOCOkay, so anyone in the contest please make your eating posts now. If Taln is the only one who posts then I'm gonna give him the win in my next post, but feel free to compete. That's the whole point. Next competition will be starting soon. Word Count502 Words

[Aidara]

The cold distance that met her question made Addy physically take a step back.

Sira? She probed again, her mind voice tentative as it seeped into Sira’s own consciousness. Still, that icy silence continued. Crossing her arms as if to ward off a cold that was physical rather than mental, Addy tried to keep her composure in front of the party goers. Composure was key when in the eyes of the public, that much Sai had taught her.

Addy was an emotional woman. The years had neither been kind nor horrible to her, and she had lived a happy life filled with average luxuries and an above average dedication to those she loved; mainly, Sairque. However, the last year had shown Addy many life options, forcing her to choose and break away from the comfortable “norm” that she had submerged herself in. She and Sai were no longer bound by hip, she had found Sira and was now elevated to the rank of Endal. Not only did she fulfill those duties, but also those required of her at the Infirmary.

Sira might be emotional because of the baby she was carrying, but the changes in Addy’s life had caused the woman to blossom into what she was now: Fiercly loyal, extremely passionate, beyond determined and overly emotional. Yes, these days Addy tended towards the dramatic. She liked to think that it was part of her charm, for more often than not it was cute.

This was not cute. Sira wasn’t wrong in assuming that Addy would just write this off as another hormonal rage; the woman was taking being pregnant to another level. Either that, or she was just finally allowing herself to feel comfortable in her new home. Addy was well aware that no one was perfect, and frankly she had been amazed when Sira hadn’t many outbursts or runins with either of the women during her stay in the Twin’s Aerie. Maybe, just maybe, this pregnancy was what Sira was really like.

Immediately feeling bad for even considering that Sira had been hiding her raging bitch side from her, Addy couldn’t help the blush that crept to her cheeks. Turning her face away and pretending to take stock of the gathered mass of gingers, the healer did her best to regain control of her face. Of course Sira wasn’t secretly this way. Just because she was a Wind Eagle didn’t mean she had to be as unstable and as cocky as the rest of them, just like Addy wasn’t as pretentious as the rest of her caste.

“Contest is going good.” Sira’s amused tone took her by surprise, as did the long arm that snaked around her waist, resting just below where Addy had tightly clamped her arms down not a few minutes earlier. Worried that maybe she had sent some of her less than complimentary thoughts across their bond, Addy glanced quickly at Sira’s face, worried for what she would see there despite the happy tone.

But the woman’s smile was genuine as she watched the crowd pigging out, a fond glint to her eye. It was like she was watching her children stuff themselves… or maybe she was picturing their child in that crowd, one day. Either way, Addy’s doubts disappeared as quickly as Sira’s stony silence had, the fact that it had even happened at all quickly forgotten as the festivities swept her up again.

“I don’t know where Eoin went. I bandaged his hand and came to find you. I told him to join the fun, but who knows if that is going to happen or not…” It was true that Addy hadn't any idea that the stoic man had been the source of Sira's cold shoulder, but the guilt Addy felt at the attachement she was starting to feel for the man left her resisting the urge to look more closely at the individual redheads below to find the Avora in question, Addy instead turn her face up and nuzzled Sira’s ear.

“This is turning out much better than I expected! Who is that, down there? The one with the never ending stomach?” Addy pointed at Taln as he inhaled the food. “I think I’m going to place my bets on him. The others don’t seem to stand a chance. It looks like he needed food anyway.”