Open New Year's Party!

[Phaylix Whitevine]

"I may just have to. And, like I said before, my name is Phaylix."

The Vantha nodded at the multi-armed hostess and walked away. Food was the only thing in his mind; the slice of cheese hadn't been enough. He needed real food, stuff that tasted good. And, judging on who seemed to be the caterer, it was going to be. He took to the buffet, tasting everything from nice little crackers to strips of juicy meat, nicely prepared. As he ate, the two who were very publicly kissing in front of the door joined him, also smacking down on the nicely laid-out grub.

He looked at the young woman with the flaming hair, feeding what Phaylix could only conclude was her boyfriend food. He wanted to touch it, to run his fingers through it. But that obviously wasn't the way to start a friendship. He didn't want to get slapped at a party, his first real shindig. So, he sat his plate of food down and leaned against one of the few open spots on the table.

"Nice party. Do you know Sayana? I don't, or at least, not yet. I'm Phaylix, by the-"

He stopped as the caterer man from earlier goes on a rant towards an Akalak man he hadn't seen come in. Phyalix sighed as the little spat ended almost as soon as it began. He didn't like drama, and a party was no exception. He guessed it was his stealthy instincts that made the loud altercation so displeasuring.

The Akalak seemed to want no part of the stuff the caterer was throwing, and the two seemed to come to some sort of agreement. Then, the Vantha watched as the Akalak went over and sensually kissed Miss Sayana.

"Oh Morwen, what is this, a petchin' orgy?" the Vantha said, having no idea how loud he had said it. This party was definitely going to be interesting.

Very interesting.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Orin was glad that his outburst hadn’t caused an actually incident or an altercation. He knew how quickly fights could break out over even just imagined slights. Just the other day a brawl had broken out in The Rearing Stallion, and while Orin didn’t know exactly what had caused it, if rumors were right it was a misunderstanding that got blown way out of proportion. Friends had come to the defense of friends and quite a bit of damage had been done before the knights had wrapped it up. Orin would have never forgiven himself if he had ruined Sayana’s party and destroyed her apartment because of his complete and utter lack of tact. So, when it ended up resolving in a peaceable manner, Orin felt a distinct sense of relief. When Sayana came to his rescue Orin was incredibly grateful. Of course part of it probably stemmed from her desire to have everything go smoothly at her party, but when she wrapped her arms around Aren in a way that looked quite possessive and mentioned having Aren kiss her, Orin could have kicked himself. Insulting the man the hostess was involved with, especially when Orin would have to work with the hostess in the future, probably wasn’t the smartest decision he could have made. Even though Sayana didn’t seem upset or angry with Orin, she could simply be hiding her annoyance. However, Orin was as surprised as anyone when Aren took his apology, and then some. The blue-skinned giant took Orin’s hand in a firm grip, and then went further to grasp Orin’s shoulder firmly. His compliment made Orin blush. ”Th-thank you. That means a lot to hear you say that.” Orin was struggling to come up with something appropriate to respond with probably something about the warrior’s skill and tactical abilities, but Aren had already moved on. As Orin watched, Aren sat on the couch with Sayana and kissed her neck in a manner that was relaxed. Orin hadn’t imagined the two of them would be involved and his mouth dropped open. This seemed like as good a time as any to flee the scene of the crime. Although many people had drifted away, Orin still the remembered how it felt to have every eye in the room fixed on him. And he didn’t like it. It felt too much like the times he had been judged unworthy by the people of Mithryn when Orin had inevitably made a fool of himself. Orin hadn’t enjoyed the reminder that he would never really fit in comfortably. He should just stay by the fire and tend to the food. That would hopefully keep his interactions with the other party guests to a minimum. Turning Orin saw that Garland had come up close to him. Orin didn’t really want to engage in a conversation with the squire, especially since Garland had obviously seen the whole event. So, Orin simply waved at the brown-haired man before resolutely turning back to the hearth. As he walked over, he carefully kept his gaze straight ahead, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes. Reaching what Orin was quickly coming to think of as his refuge, Orin bent to look at the ham. Based on the time it had been cooking, Orin didn’t think it was quite done yet. Which was a shame, because as soon as it was out of the pan and carved, Orin was seriously considering making his escape. He couldn’t imagine anyone would actually want to talk to him after he had come across as so belligerent, ill tempered, and with such poor manners. He just hoped that the few people who knew him knew of his propensity for his words to get away from him. He obviously wasn’t expecting to make any new friends or acquaintances here. Sighing, Orin scooped a bit more of the grease and juice pooling at the bottom of the pan over the top of the ham. At least he knew how to do this.

[Jeremy Casing]

Jeremy forced his lips into yet another smile, wary that if he bared his teeth too much he may well end up looking like one of the wild bests he healed for a living. "It's nice to meet you too. Do you know the hostess?" He asked mildly, hand sweeping in the general direction of the rest of the party guests. Jeremy was still not quite ready to face the muddling crowd.

He sipped at the ale again, trying his best not to pull a face at the strong yeastiness that once again sizzled away on his tongue. Those strong golden eyes of his remained fixated on Claudia's face, drinking in every detail of her expression and features. She was pretty, that much was undeniable. Jeremy was not a man that found himself lusting after many women; his work as a Witch was far too demanding to upkeep any real meaning relationship. That said, he could appreciate beauty when he saw it.

You said you'd get her a drink. Those Kelvic instincts piped up again, and so Jeremy, leading with a guiding hand, gestured to Claudia towards the table with the food and drinks. "Do you live Syliras? Do you work, or--?"

After those questions, the Kelvic made sure to keep his mouth closed. Socialisation wasalways awkward for him, and when Jeremy wasn't asking enough questions, he was asking too many. But he was keen to avoid those silences that sometimes hung between two people. At the mere thought of such unease, he sipped again at his ale.

[Sayana]

Sayana was glad as she watched things sort themselves out. Sometimes she wasn’t quite sure how the Akalak would act around others when it came to an insult or a verbal conflict. But this time the situation was diffused with both Orin’s sudden apology and Aren’s forgiveness at whatever had happened. When the blue man came up to kiss the back of her neck, she turned around with laugh. “I told you not to come up from behind,” she scolded but her tone was lighthearted and she didn’t seem distressed. It was getting better. And definitely being in the midst of a party helped. At his teasing question, she answered without a moment’s hesitation, “Nope.” After a quick nod to the cook she turned her head to him and added, “You mean Orin? Not in the least. You should only get jealous if you find me kissing someone, and then you can slap me… nicely.” She gave another light laugh and turned fully around to kiss him deeply on the lips. Even as she kissed him she felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. She should probably tell him soon. And now she didn’t even have an excuse. What better way of solidifying their relationship? She was going to be the mother of a little blue Akalak baby. And yet, why was she so unsure about the idea of settling down with someone? Her face showed a mixture of anxiety and uncertainty. As she quickly got to her feet she forced a smile to her face and excused herself. “Aren, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go talk with a good friend of mine. We haven’t seen each other for a while and I’d really like to catch up.” With that she left to seek out her squire friend, Garland. “Hey Garland, could I have a word with you? Maybe a little more privately?” Sayana asked her friend and nodded towards bunk in the corner. As she sat down on the edge and gazed over at the hearth she couldn’t help but be reminded of fond memories. “Remember that first time you came to my house? It’s amazing how much has changed. You’ve now got a girlfriend and everything. How are things going between you and her?” The Eypharian was really just skirting around the topic that she wanted to discuss. After a bit of a pause she finally spoke up, “So um, Garland. I’m going to be a mother.” She hadn’t told anyone but the shopkeeper at Stormhold Salves, and even then it had been with the intention of aborting the child. Yet she had changed her mind and wanted to keep it. “But I… I don’t know how to tell him,” she continued hesitantly and gave a nod in Aren’s direction. “We’ve only spent two nights together… and a day, I mean a day and a night.” She frowned at the numbers, it was more than she had thought. Perhaps since time seemed to just speed by whenever she was with him. “What if we’re not right for each other?”

[April Windweaver]

Feeling a bit rejected, April downed her mug full of ale, watching her new acquaintance turn their attention to a very handsome-looking man who had offered her a drink. She wanted someone to offer her a drink. Garland should offer her a drink.

She looked down and realized she had gotten a drink for herself. Oh.

She shrugged and returned to the barrel, pouring herself another mug full of ale while she idly watched the party. It looked like a fight had just about broken out, but was resolved far too quickly. April would have loved to watch. Syliras was far to prim and proper sometimes. You couldn't even knock someone's tooth out without the guards getting as huffy about it. But the last thing she wanted to do was end up in prison. That would break poor Garland's heart, and she couldn't do that.

Another pass by the food table netted her a few more pieces of bread, which she happily devoured without any hesitation. She could probably eat the entire table's worth of appetizers, but she wanted to save room for the main entrees. Already she could taste it in her mouth. The smell was making her go crazy. It was too good, too strong. She took another drink.

She felt her ears burning a bit, and she turned back to see Garland and Sayana speaking with one another. She smiled, seeing how they were getting along. It seemed like everybody here was enjoying themselves so far, and in such an atmosphere it was easy for her to be jubilant. She took another swallow of her drink and hopped over to Garland's side, listening in on the conversation.

“But I… I don’t know how to tell him. We’ve only spent two nights together… and a day, I mean a day and a night.” She said, fairly flustered.

Noone really asked for April's opinion, but she gave hers anyways.

"Well, I mean, you like him right? I wouldn't be worried about it. Just tell him. I mean, when I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to tell all many people as I could! Heheh~" She giggled, patting her belly. It wasn't too visible, but one could just barely make out the curvature.

"I mean, when I met Garland, I thought he'd be another stuck-up knight. But nope! He turned out to be a real keeper! Well, a bit thick sometimes. But he's mine, so I can't complain too much" She hugged Garland sideways, nuzzling her face into his armpit. "So take a chance. Have fun. If things don't work out then, hey, you tried, right?"

[Claudia Blackwood]

Jeremy smiled, baring a little of his teeth as she announced her decision to him. He led the way, walking themselves to an empty table, getting two tankards, one for each. Claudia could never refuse a drink and the prospect of meeting new people. He reciprocated her greeting in kind, asking if she knew the hostess, Sayana. She replied "No, I don't know her personally, I just happened to saw the notice that she posted on the bulletin board, and thought that this would be a great one to attend."

Claudia then flicked up her hand in a casual gesture, saying "Free food and drinks provided" before letting out a kiddish giggle. Judging from her slender and athletic build, one would have never guessed that she was a lover of food. Thankfully, due to her high metabolism rate, and her usual high rate of physical activity, all the food and drink she usually consumed went into fuelling her active lifestyle.

Looking over at Jeremy, she noticed a slight wince as he took a sip of ale from his tankard. She laughed as she said "You drink the ale as if it were wine! You don't take sips of ale!" Claudia softened the laugh into a smile, a bright one as she noticed a frown, with his distinct amber gold brown eyes staring right at her. Taking no offence in that, she mentioned "Hasn't anyone told you that before?" before taking a gulp of her ale from the tankard she had in her hand.

Jeremy then asked her where she lived. She told him that she has a room in The Golden Dragon, an inn in the city. With another casual wave of her hand, she continued "I'm currently unemployed, but I'm hoping to join the order as a squire, we'll just have to see how that goes. And you, where do you stay and work?" After he had asked those questions, he seemed to have kept very silent, as if waiting for her to prompt him with more questions to keep the conversation going.

Claudia turned her head, observing her surroundings. In the corner of her eyes, she could sense a commotion going on. The cook, who she learnt was called Orin came face-to-face with a blue-skinned Akalak, who towered over him. Claudia actually thought they were going to fight there and then.

Surprisingly, the incident ended as abruptly as it started, with the two apologising and complimenting each other. What an awkward turn of events indeed!

Her first acquittance, the brightly coloured haired April was standing by herself, chugging down her drink, before pouring herself another. She passed by a table laden with food, snatching up several pieces of bread. She then went on to join up with a man with brown hair, the same one from the kiss earlier. They were having a chat with the hostess, Sayana.

[Holland Rolandus]

He'd bothered not to so much as speak to anyone within the general vicinity. As he'd slowly but steadily made his way in, attempting to cause as little disturbance as possible. Trying not to be noticed, so that he might be able to figure out where Claudia was. Although immediately he could spot her, and he witnessed multiple strange things going on. He could very clearly hear the commotion that went on about the vicinity. He'd even saw the gargantuan blue-skinned creature; Rather unsightly he thought to himself as he continued moving about. Wearing no more then his typical attire, and surely to an event like this he wouldn't come wearing armor. Nor would he even carry with him his Rapier; Although it was his only line of defense when it came to battle. Yet, he figures at first that he wouldn't at all need it nor require it for a simplistic partying event. One that for the most part seems to be about socializing, something that Holland isn't quite accustomed to. Although in this situation he would have to adapt, and step out of his "Shell." In order to get what it was he wanted, and that was Claudia. Yet, upon entry he'd noticed a few unfamiliar faces. Therefore he would only attempt meeting them if they were to approach him first. He begins to stroll about, and waltzed over to Claudia immediately due to the fact that she was the first one he recognized here.

Surely after having spent a night out in the cold at her side he couldn't possibly forget her. Not to mention he even paid close attention to the fact that everyone seemed to have been enjoying themselves; For the most part. He'd attempted to remain inconspicuous. He'd immediately taken notice of the fact that she went on to approach a woman with odd and yet brightly colored hair. Being completely and totally unaware of who any of these people were. Although that did not mean that he wouldn't be able to keep his composure in a situation like this. Regardless of how much he felt a bit paranoid due to the fact that there was a multitude of people here in the vicinity. Although he would take a deep breath, before allowing the breath to exit his lungs and roll off of his lips. So that he might be able to somewhat calm himself down due to the amount of anxiety he felt at this very moment.

He proceeds to approach Claudia from behind. He would make sure that he doesn't get too close for comfort before he speaks. So that she wouldn't freak out and reflexively smack him across the face. He maintains his distance at first, before he parts his lips and begins to speak. "Hey, Claudia! How are you doing?!" He'd spoken and his somewhat deep voice might've been heard by the woman. Hopefully it was and he wasn't risking being smacked across the face; Although he figured that without risk there can be no reward. So he chooses much rather to continue approaching. Only going off of a whim that she heard him, and he simply awaits the woman turning around. A smile crept about his visage, revealing his pearly white teeth.

He feared not, because he had but the slightest glimmer of hope that she would recognize his voice. He shakes his cranial structure from left to right in a swift motion. Leaving his onyx-hue locks to flutter about momentarily, before they'd all fallen back into place. He stood erect, and continued to smile whilst straightening the sleeves of his royal blue garment. The way they hugged tightly at the wrists was certainly odd, but to no avail. Wouldn't do much to change his appearance at all. Or rather that is what he began to think immediately after looking himself over. Hopefully he looked presentable, and now he simply waits.

[Jeremy Casing]

Jeremy allowed himself to release a chuckle. "I don't drink often." He replied softly, investigating the murky liquid in his tankard. The Kelvic mimicked his companion, filling his mouth with the ale before swallowing it down with great difficulty.

"I live in the Mithryn Outpost." He began to explain. Jeremy placed his still half-full tankard of ale down on the table beside them and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. His sleeve revealed a complicated tattoo that snaked up the length of his forearm, right up to the crook of his elbow. His gnosis mark displayed a large pond at the back of his hand, and a skinny river than fed into it and ran back up to his arm. The upper-half of his forearm was home to several untidy-looking blocks of various dark colours. Should Claudia look at the tattoo for any length of time, she would probably notice the fish in the pond, the ducks that swam in the water and the birds that squabbled atop the rooftops of the buildings. "I'm a Phylonurist, so I have come to Syliras to try and regain some balance between the natural and the urban."

Jeremy reclaimed his drink, leaving the shirtsleeve rolled up to his elbow. He too turned to glance around the crowd, noticing how there appeared to be two couples in the group separate from him and Claudia. His stomach churned; socialising was bad enough, but physical closeness as something altogether more unfamiliar to the Kelvic. He drank more of his ale, which by now was nearly empty.

A voice caught his attention, and Jeremy glanced behind himself to see another male approaching Claudia and himself. Clearly, he knew the former, and so Jeremy shifted to the side to allow this newcomer into their conversation. A three-way conversation was always more intimidating that a one-on-one discussion. Jeremy considered finding some excuse and leaving Claudia and her companion, but nevertheless he remained where he was. In fact, he extended a hand towards the newcomer and gave his name simply: "I'm Jeremy."

[Garland]

He was glad the situation was diffused so quickly, though he was not very trusting to the Akalak, then again, if people based each other on first impressions, he would have failed being a squire on the first day. He barely knew how to hold a sword properly.

He went over and refilled his mug of ale and looked at Sayana and the Akalak, it seemed that he and April weren't the only ones that were having a special intimacy here. Though their intimacy at the party right now was just a kiss on the neck. Sayana on the other hand was sitting on the Akalak's lap and looked as if she was quite enjoying herself. Was this a position she was accustomed to? These two seem close, then again, in the first two days of him knowing April, they had both seen each other with almost no clothes on, and in Garland's case, all of his clothes were off after the first night, and not to mention that Garland had almost killed April twice.

He went over to the buffet table, where Orin had retreated himself and picked up a few cheese breads and was about to strike up a conversation with Orin. "Hey Or-" He was pulled away by a certain six-armed friend to a corner of the party.

He didn't mind at all, but it seemed like something was troubling Sayana. Which was strange, considering she was happily sitting on her Akalak friend over at the couch. "What's the matter, Sayana? Did something happen?"

“Remember that first time you came to my house? It’s amazing how much has changed. You've now got a girlfriend and everything. How are things going between you and her?”

He raised his eyebrow, she must curious, but it seemed to be a bit more urgent than just plain curiosity. "Don't beat around the bush, Sayana. What's wrong?"

Sayana seemed tense, looking as if she was considering if telling him was a good idea or not. “So um, Garland. I’m going to be a mother.”

Garland gave a slightly surprised look, under normal circumstances he would be jumping for joy, cheering and probably telling everyone about it, but Sayana's worried look betrayed that she had something else on her mind.

"Well... Isn't that suppose to be a good thing? Wait... Was it forced? If so... Well... I wouldn't want to darken the mood of this party." He said with a slight tinge of anger, if this was a repeat of what happened during Sayana's travels than he would find the culprit and... and... he wouldn't know what he'll do.

“But I… I don’t know how to tell him,”

Well, that answered his question, it wasn't force, maybe an accident? He was being a bit too analytically right now, he was going to be a father soon as well, and he was feeling the pressure. He caught the sight of another mother-to-be, half drunk, making a slightly shaky walk towards them. He gave a rather loud sigh at the sight of he beloved.

"Gods, April... I said only a little..." He said to the Sverfa, but he was utterly ignored.

"Well, I mean, you like him right? I wouldn't be worried about it. Just tell him. I mean, when I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to tell all many people as I could! Heheh~"

"I guess that answers how our relationship is going..." He said with a slight grin at Sayana. "It has been... going well... really well... I wouldn't even know what to tell you... I don't even know how many times we-uhh... We should discuss this at a more private time." He blushed a bright red, something akin to the first times he had met Sayana.

"I mean, when I met Garland, I thought he'd be another stuck-up knight. But nope! He turned out to be a real keeper! Well, a bit thick sometimes. But he's mine, so I can't complain too much, So take a chance. Have fun. If things don't work out then, hey, you tried, right?"

April then nested herself under his armpit. "A nugget of truth from her otherwise drunken state. It's true, you should just tell him if you love him, and if he loves you back, he will be fine with it." He said and wrapped his arm around April. "And if you want, I can tell him later. Don't be so worried. Honestly, when I first found out this little minx was carrying a child, I was worried that I might not be a good father, since... well I didn't have one so I wouldn't know how to act, but then I look at April, now I'm not worried that I might turn out as a bad father, now I'm more worried about April, in fact..." He turned to look at her. "You shouldn't even be drinking, let alone drunk."

He gave a smile. "Heh... I think I might have to step up and be the responsible one in our relationship." He gave a small smile and kissed April tenderly on the lips.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love Orin had been lurking in the corner until he heard two words: Mithryn Outpost. Garland had briefly stopped by but was pulled away by Sayana to have a serious discussion from the looks of it. So Orin had been hiding out here until now. Head shooting up, Orin tried to identify exactly who uttered those words. Scanning the faces, Orin noted the arrival a tall, dark haired man. He made a beeline directly to the beautiful brunette girl who seemed to be attracting quite a bit of attention from the men at the party. Garland, Sayana and the girl with the color-streaked hair seemed to be deep in a serious conversation, while Aren had been left behind on the couch. Orin couldn’t help feeling just the slightest glimmer of satisfaction about that. He would really have to get over his unreasonable dislike for the man, but for now Orin was perfectly happy to let things lie as they were. Finally, his eyes settled on the tall, sharp feature man who had his sleeve rolled up to display his forearm. Orin’s eyes widened in shock. There was an image on his arm. Squinting to get a better view, Orin saw that it looked a little like a pond, although he couldn’t begin to imagine what those strange blobs were. However, he was almost certain that this man was the one who had declared he was from the Outpost. Orin was indecisive about whether he should approach him or not. After all, it wasn’t like the people of Mithryn had treated him well. However, this particular man hadn’t been a part of that, as far as Orin knew. Orin had never even seen him before, let alone met him. And maybe they could bond or something. This was a party and it was rather awkward and lonely for Orin to be here not talking to anyone. Perhaps he could even help fix the first impression he had probably made of a rude fool. Making his way to the cluster of people, Orin steeled himself for the coming conversation. He had his fingers crossed that he would be able to restrain himself at least slightly if his words got away from him. Ducking under some of the cloth hanging down, Orin finally arrived. Standing there silently, he waited until the silence stretched too long even for him. Finally, he blurted out, ”So, you’re from Mithryn? Me too, I mean, I grew up there but I live in Syliras now. How about you?” Suddenly realizing he had failed to introduce himself Orin ran a hand through his hair in agitation. ”I’m Orin! Sorry, I probably should’ve started with that. It’s nice to meet you. And you too,” Orin added, directing this at the two companions, the beautiful girl and the black haired man. Rubbing his hands together, Orin debated with himself whether he should try and explain the earlier outburst. They probably were all judging him for it and maybe it would be good if he defended himself. Of course, for all he knew drawing attention to it would just make it worse. Orin settled on the most neutral course of action he could think of, which was to apologize for any imagined slight. ”So, about before, I don’t know if you were watching, I mean it was pretty loud so I figured it was disturbing people, but it was really all a misunderstanding. I guess I just wanted to say that, well, I was sorry if I disturbed you or you took offense, Aren and I just had a bit of a quarrel to settle and everything should be fine now.” Orin laughed nervously, trying to diffuse any possible tension. He was well aware he had been babbling and probably just made everything worse. ”So, great party right? Everyone enjoying themselves? Good!” Orin was seriously starting to regret his decision to make his way over here. But it would look even worse if he left now.