Open [Annual Summer Banquet] Where there's a will; there's a way

[Ayasi Sylves]

Ayasi finally noticed the man's drunken state. He must have been here for a while. Before she could introduce herself, however, another Inarta joined them. She looked strikingly similar to the man in front of her and they greeted each other in a comfortable fashion. They obviously knew each other.

Ayasi heard the man call the girl Mara. The two must have been siblings. They looked so much alike.

Mara turned to Ayasi and introduced herself, then her brother. The man's name was Raeyn. What a pretty name, Ayasi thought to herself. Too wrapped up in Mara's greetings, she failed to notice the other girl standing next to her.

The other girl was also Inarta and wasn't much older than Ayasi, but she was clearly the shortest of all of them. She was without a doubt from Wind Reach, with her beaded hair and traditional clothing. It seemed she was in a similar situation as Ayasi.

When Mara ran off without warning, Ayasi went to speak.

"My name is Ayasi," she started with a smile, "I just came here from Wind Reach."

The Inarta extended her hand toward Raeyn.

[Haneht]

♛ H A N E H T ♛ ∆ E Y P H A R I A N ∆ W/C: 469 10th, Summer 518AV Night

The banquet was off to a great start, and surely would continue to be just as lively throughout the night. Hearty food and ambrosial liquor, beautiful crowd draped in fine colours and fabric, music; a perfect atmosphere to mingle and make merry with fellow city dwellers.

For Haneht, the banquet made for perfect hunting grounds to go round chatting strangers up, maybe steal a kiss or two from a gorgeous lass or ravishing man if he was lucky. Though, he was frankly more looking forward to catching up on gossip and coaxing juicy little secrets out of the dark. Beast in his belly now pacified and quiet with offerings of tasteful flavours and good wine, the Eyph could now turn his attention to the rest of the banquet attendees, amber orbs roaming the crowd, gliding over with practised ease to groups and individuals that seemed promising of a jolly good time.

Rather than move against the flow of the crowd, Haneht went with it, dancing between varying bodies as he circled the room, bestowing his attention on those who daringly sought it and others who appealed enough to him to warrant unadulterated curiosity. While not as outgoing as the barmaid of the Inn was, he was still very much a social butterfly himself, flashing dazzling smiles and striking up brief but vibrant conversation whenever he so much as stopped. Wine went down his throat like water did a desert nomad’s, and it didn’t take long for the dancer to flush when it was paired with all the running about, cheeks tinted red and eyes glassier than they usually were. The pleasantly warm buzz under his skin did wonders for lightening his already amiable mood, spirits high and floaty as he flitted from person to person, entourage to entourage.

The Inn was notably full of the fiery redheads of Mount Skyinarta, and while never a dull nor uncommon sight, the brunette did not fail to notice a few who seemed quite unprepared for the banquet. Fresh into the city, maybe? He reckoned no one who stayed in Lhavit for a long enough time wouldn’t have caught on to the bustling mountain city’s love for fashion, particularly during celebrations. Not that the Inartas ever lacked in vibrancy or colours, but it couldn’t hurt to dress up a little more!

Legs carried him over to the miniature village of such redheads before he’d even realised it, debonair smile gracing his features even as he tripped on a stray foot and stumbled a little, evidently buzzed and mildly tipsy. As he approached, a passing tray of beverages would see Haneht switching his empty goblet for another with liquid red sloshing against the walls.

“Would this be what they call a flock?“ Jested he, a little laugh escaping himself at his own silly joke.

[Narifa]

10th Summer 518 AV

Raeyn. Ayasi.

Good names, she reckoned. Narifa took no notice of the girl's apparent desire to ignore her, assuming she would rather be speaking with the tallest of their trio. The wine had begun a steady course through her veins, her heartbeat sluggishly chasing after it. It must have been quiet some time since she'd last had a glass of the dry substance, or at least since she'd last had one so strong. Her gaze swept up and down the man, Raeyn, seeming predatory in nature but entirely unintentionally so. He was handsome, she noted, but her radar was being overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and smells around her. She didn't bother committing his pigmentation to memory,.

Instead, she found her vision being swept up by the slight stumble and the tipsy exhale of the stunning man who'd crossed her path before. He sidled up to their group, flashing a dazzling smile, and proceeded to make fun with one of the most ridiculous jokes Narifa had ever heard.

In her growing intoxication, the woman's brain decided it was also one of the funniest. She had just taken a sip from her glass, the bitter wine on it's way down, when she began laughing. To say the liquid went down the wrong pipe was an understatement. Narifa's eyes watered as she choked. She doubled over, coughing and giggling at the absolute absurdity of the situation. When she finally regained control of her breathing, the Inarta's eyes glittered with a devious sparkle.

She angled her head to face the newcomer and croaked out, "Aren't you what they call a choking hazard?"

Of course, those were the first words that any of the three people there heard her say, and her normally bright and smooth intonations were unfortunately absent. A dribbled of liquid spilled down her chin with one final cough. A litany of Nari curses dribbled down alongside it. The traveler politely excused herself for a moment, only to seize a staff member by the arm a second later. She aimed a truly sunny smile at him. Then she plucked the handkerchief from his chest pocket and stole back to the little gathering, dabbing at her lips and various other parts of her figure, hoping the drink wouldn't leave a stain.

Narifa stepped back into her vacated spot next to Haneht, an amused lift in her step and in her face.

"Well, quite the introduction. I would ask for your name, sir, unless you would prefer to be called choking hazard from this point on?"

[Raeyn]

Without hesitation Raeyn took Ayasi’s hand and pressed his lips against her knuckles. “My pleasure.” He said.

It was those two words that instantly pinned his attention. Wind Reach. the home of his ancestors. A lang he knew of only from stories. It was all she needed to say for Raeyn to realise she was someone he certainly wanted to spend his evening talking to. Such a rare occasion it was that he found someone who caught his interest.

He was quick to adorn Narifa with a similar gesture, not quite quick enough it seemed for another being of magnificence joined their little gaggle of redheads. This one though, a golden mica between their flames of red. An outlander. One which Raeyn could have only read in books before, so very few of his kind resided in Lhavit. But his desert heritage was as unmistakable as the stunning features of his face.

Raeyn often felt awkward in crowds. But as the outlander joined them, he had never felt quite so shy in his life, even with all that help from shots a’plenty.

Narifa seemed as socially tragic as he was. Although her oddness was endearing whilst Raeyn stood there, not quite knowing what to make of the situation, scratching the back of his neck with the one good hand like an idiot. No, Raeyn was never great with meeting new people. He always made better second impression, than he did first.

[Ayasi Sylves]

Ayasi thought the other Inarta woman was intriguing. She didn't speak much, but there was something unexplainable about her that caught the eye. Perhaps it was her mysterious nature.

Raeyn grabbed her hand and gave it a feathery kiss. The gesture was unknown to her and she blushed, awkwardly removing her hand from his grasp. She noticed that the man was gazing at her, trying to read her, it felt. Ayasi ran her thumb over her wrist, trying to think of a conversation.

“Aren’t you what they call a choking hazard?”

Narifa spoke and her words immediately spiked Ayasi’s interest. She watched the Inarta spill wine from her mouth and stumble around for a bit before landing next to a tall man with a particular fashion sense.

Today seemed to bring new, unfamiliar people. This man was ridiculously handsome, but his six arms were nothing Ayasi had ever seen before. Compared to Raeyn and his white hair, this six-armed man was infinitely more intriguing. It made Ayasi wonder how many more interesting people she’d meet during her stay in Lhavit.

Ayasi turned to Raeyn, searching for the answer to a question she didn’t even have. Her bluebird was bouncing around on her shoulder, so she swatted it away. It flew off through an open window and she silently cheered at having less distraction.

Ayasi had unconsciously sidestepped behind Raeyn while her bird flew away. It wasn’t that she was frightened, no. She was overwhelmed. Lhavit still seemed so new, so vast. These unfamiliar faces caused her to feel anxious. She knew Raeyn was wiser, more experienced, so she naturally stepped behind him.

[Haneht]

♛ H A N E H T ♛ ∆ E Y P H A R I A N ∆ W/C: 426 10th, Summer 518AV Night

The miniature village of Inartas in this corner of the Inn consisted of a man, red-faced and inebriated himself, a woman with an impressive mane and similarly intoxicated air, and a sweet, youthful looking one with innocent eyes and a precious little bluebird perched on her. She seemed the only one still sober.

Lips curled in amusement, low chortle escaping him when the smaller Inarta woman with thick, fiery locks ornamented with little glass beads choked and spluttered ungracefully, wine spilling past peachy, petite lips. If dancing failed to work out for him, he may at minimum be guaranteed a chance at comedy instead. Take dying from laughter up a notch or two. He would be a serial killer.

The glass was lifted to his lips again, free middle arm patting apologetically at the back of Narifa’s small figure to relieve her of the sudden choking fit, returning to his side once the last of it had subsided and she excused herself momentarily. She returned swiftly, with a handkerchief produced from pockets not of her own. “Heh. Choking hazard,” he parroted, a whisper of a laugh directed to none but himself. “Haneht. Though, choking hazard sounds fine, if the lovely lady so wishes,” he introduced, confidence exuding and six shoulders rolled back, a playful wink aimed at the dainty glassblower. “What of yourself, and the rest of you?” He addressed the other two, who’d seemingly gone silent with his arrival. Must be the arms. Or the height. They were awfully small - adorably so - and Haneht so wished to pick them up like the little falcon fledglings they were.

A rush of feathers skirted across the corner of his vision, out an open window and into the cool, fresh air of Lhavit’s streets. Hazy eyes flickered over to the only other male of the trio, then to the short-haired pixie taking refuge in the man’s shadow. The bluebird he recalled seeing perched on her shoulder moments ago had disappeared. Likely, out the window. Focus shifted to the man instead, a handsome thing with skin splattered in stardust and a streak of silver in the sea of red cascading down his shoulders. He quietly noted that the other’s arm was in a sling.

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” a pause, the glass of wine shifting to another hand, contents sloshing and threatening to spill. Perhaps this had been a wrong time to intrude, he conjured, offering the meek pair the gentlest of his smiles should any one meet his gaze, in hopes of loosening them up.

[Narifa]

10th Summer 518 AV

"Haneht? A pleasure. Although, I'm sure this isn't the most pleasurable of circumstances to meet in," Narifa grimaced down at the stained rags she'd deigned to enter the banquet in. Her beads clacked together as she shook her head, letting the momentary embarrassment have its way before brushing it off. She glanced up in time to catch the gorgeous man's wink and she grinned in response.

"Quite the nickname, then. I'll keep it in mind. I'm Narifa," The shorter girl stuck out a now dry hand, awaiting the customary handshake. The fact that Haneht had six arms had failed to register upon their first interaction. An obvious blanch appeared on her face as she realized she'd made another mistake. With another bubble of tipsy laughter, Narifa waved her empty hand in jest.

"Do you have a hand that you prefer I shake, sir Choking Hazard?" Narifa had, for the most part, forgotten that the other two were still standing there. She didn't worry too much, for their demure facades would come down soon enough. Or she'd climb over whatever walls they thought they'd built. Whichever option was the most appealing when the time came.

With her hand still flopping about between their two figures, the Inarta drained her wine glass and plopped it down onto the nearest empty tray. The buzz she had going was a pleasant one, and it would be the most she drank tonight. She had to get home still, and one didn't stumble around drunk in the night when they weren't familiar enough with their new home.