Completed New Year's Party! (Part 2)

[Lorden Ladis]

Lorden shuffled in the doorway, a questioning look set in his wandering eyes.

What, am I supposed to just walk into someone's home? the knight questioned himself. No one seemed to have taken notice of him, as far as the twenty year old could tell. If he really wanted to, he could probably just slip in, and start mingling; the hostess never being the wiser. Still, that would have hardly been polite.

Lorden shrugged mentally.

Bah, have some confidence Lorden, the knight directed himself, taking a step through the apartment's door as he entertained his thoughts. As he walked Lorden's eyes drifted over to where the ham was set up, his stomach urging him to change his course. The knight tore his eyes away from the food.

Have some class, greet the host, he thought, berating his own hungry instics, as he continued looking around the room. The young man raised an eyebrow.

Now, about the host... the knight mused doubtfully. As a thought occurred to the unarmored swordsman, his blue eyes aligned themselves with a new target.

Lorden's azure orbs took in the multi-armed woman, feeling a bit uncertain; of course he was certainly more comfortable with her extra appendages, over the clawed talons the other glaring oddity among the guests was possessed of. The woman had poured wine, and given a toast; if she wasn't the hostess she was a good place to start.

Lorden started his leather clad feet, across the small, semi-crowded abode. As he trotted along, he tried not to stick out too much, or stare too obviously at the woman he was approaching. Of course, it wasn't a long walk, and there wasn't anything non-trivial to worry himself over anyway; and some part of the swordsman did realize this.

After only a few momentary ticks, the knight was within speaking distance, of the brunet he had picked out, as the one directing the party. Attempting to lighten his eyes, Lorden forced an obliging smile to frame itself on his face, as he slowed to a halt near the woman. With a loud yet gentle voice, the raven haired party-goer addressed the Eypharian.

"I'm afraid I might be a bit late. Still, I'm Ser Lorden. I hope I'm not intruding," making sure to keep his voice, as pleasurable to his own ear as possible, the knight paused for a moment, to hopefully allow the woman to grasp his introduction.

Forming an innocently inquisitive look, the raven haired man, took a small breath.

"You would be the host, at least I hope?" Lorden stuck out his dominant hand, as he spoke. Starring at the woman, an odd thought ruffled around in his mind.

I wonder which hand she shakes with... the knight tilted his head to the side slightly, a smile still on his obliging face.

[Aren]

"Are we really going to toast to the New Year with that thing in here with us?" Seros' protest was wreathed in bile; his feelings towards Zith in general were even more intense, and a whole lot less philosophical than his brother's. Even now, Aren could sense his Other's desire to go at the winged creature and while he was having trouble not echoing the sentiment, he also knew that wasn't going to happen inside of Sayana's home. Considering that the Zith had more friends than the Akalak would have thought possible, anything that happened in here could turn into an outright brawl, and he was simply unwilling to allow that to happen. "Don't tell me you wouldn't like to have a conversation with that thing in private, maybe about where to find a certain Zith colony?" Seros stated, knowing where to press to get his brother to come around to his point of view. "And if I did, what then? It's not like I can walk into a den of those things and drag the culprit out by the leg." Aren said, trying to fight against his baser nature, although he knew his reason was just an excuse; the truth was he certainly did want to have that talk with this Zith in a position where lying wasn't really an option, and any information he could provide might one day prove useful. "You and I both know that determination and perseverance always finds a way." His darker Other replied, as Sayana came over to offer Aren a cup in preparation for the toast. Watching the Zith head over to grab some food, Aren impulsively moved to block his path. "No, no. Don't do it. This is stupid." He tried to convince himself, but he was already formulating a plan despite his own reservations. At this point his entire focus was on this creature and he didn't even notice that there were still new guests arriving at the party. All he needed was a second to get him outside, he thought, and then he could let that heavy wooden door act as a shield. Allowing the winged monstrosity to walk by him with a nonchalant gesture that seemed to contain a hint of apologetic hesitation, the Akalak dropped the cup he had in hand and in one continuous motion gripped the back of this "Tretchie's" neck and arm and flung him back in the direction of the threshold. Good thing he was a lot lighter than he looked, and that he was just a few steps away from the entrance to Sayana's apartment. Hopefully, his recklessness didn't cause any trouble for the Eypharian, but Aren wasn't thinking entirely straight right now. He just wanted to have a quick chat with this little winged specimen from a race of slavers and rapists, without interruptions, without people coming to the aid of an animal that had little more right to live than a rabid dog. Chasing after his victim, the Akalak promptly shut the heavy wooden door that had remained agape the entire night, and placed his entire weight behind it. He didn't want any of those damn fools inside getting all heroic when there was really no need for concern. "We're fine out here!" Aren shouted. "No need for anyone to be alarmed, go back to the party and enjoy yourselves!" He continued, assuming that the Zith's friends had gotten all uppity the moment they realized what was happening. He hoped his voice carried well through the thick door, but really his problem lay in front of him. "I don't normally do this sort of thing," The Akalak tried to preempt any unnecessary queries that the poor Zith who had slid the last few feet into the hallway might have. "But I'd like to ask you some questions about what one of your kind did to someone I care about... and I suggest you answer them, because if you don't you'll get to see a whole other side of me that's isn't as civilized," Aren threatened, and this was unlike any of the many empty threats he liked to make, on occasion. Bringing one his hands up to about chest level, he began to produce a quantity of Res that oozed out of his upturned palm. "He'll make you feel right at home, I guarantee you," The Reimancer didn't know if the Zith would recognize what he was doing, but he hoped the little beast would at least understand the intent of the gesture: Don't try to run and don't try to lie. Fortunately, none of the people he saw at the party looked like the type to be involved with the knighthood, and Aren hoped this incident would go about unnoticed by them. OOC 1Treach has given me leeway to conclude my attack on his wittle Zithy without input from him, in this particular instance. OOC 2Anything in the Stylized font, either red or blue, are thoughts being voiced by Aren or his Other inside of his own head. Nobody else can hear these.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin Fenix Food Equals Love As Orin had predicted, there was a mad dash to the ham almost immediately following Sayana’s toast. Orin felt bad having interrupted the holiday spirit, but he had told everyone that they should feel free to praise the new year as much and as often as they liked. He just would’ve felt that it was a shame after so much anticipation to have let the ham cool too much. While it would still have been tasty, it wouldn’t have been fresh. However, now Orin found himself barely able to keep up with the rush of people asking for slices. He was careful to keep his fingers out of the way of the carving knife, as always, but as plates and sometimes hands were shoved under his nose, he had a hard time keeping up. Maybe he should’ve plated them himself. One would think they’d been starving the guests instead of feeding them steadily throughout the evening. Then again, Orin didn’t know their situations. Maybe the people here didn’t have regular access to good and nutritious food. Although he found it hard to believe the Knighthood wouldn’t feed the squires well at least. One other possibility was that being drunk made a person hungry. Orin wouldn’t know from personal experience but it did seem when the ale and the wine was flowing at a celebration people began to party with wild abandoned and indulged themselves in all sorts of strange behaviors. At this point in the night, it seemed plenty of people had gotten quite deep in their cups. While Orin couldn’t fault them for that, he did feel the thinnest thread of fear steal its way down his spine as he found himself surrounded by a group of people, many of who had been drinking steadily. He carefully avoided eye contact. He didn’t want to accidently set anyone off. Therefore, it came as a surprise when a man with brown hair offered to help Orin with the ham. Orin furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember the other person’s name. He wanted to say Alexander or maybe just Alex but he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. So he decided not to risk it until he could confirm it somehow. ”Oh that’s too kind of you but I’m being paid for this and it’s really my job. Why don’t you just hang out with the other guests for a while yet, I’ve got everything mostly under control over here. I really do appreciate it though.” Leaning forward, Orin whispered to Alex conspiratorially. ”To tell you the truth, I rather like it back here. I find it only calming for my nerves.” Shrugging, Orin raked his gaze across the rest of the party guests when a lull in the action came. A tall man with black hair and blue eyes had shown up. Orin hadn’t noticed him before the toast, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t gotten here sooner. Orin nodded in approval when the tall man went to Sayana. Obviously he had good manners, unlike Orin. Orin noted with more than a hint of amusement that Holland was still clinging to Claudia. Holland’s flowery language and possessiveness was rather laughable and it surprised Orin that Claudia put up with it. But she seemed to rather enjoy the attention and Orin wasn’t one to judge a relationship where two people were happy. He just found the whole notion of romance to be a silly one and more than a bit overrated. That stemmed from his own childhood, where Orin had seen the damage it caused to his father, who never recovered from his mother’s death. So Orin told himself repeatedly he’d never fall that deeply in love with anyone in his life. Orin was suddenly incredibly glad of his vantage point in the corner. It gave him an unrivalled view of the rest of Sayana’s apartment. So, while most of the guests were streaming towards Orin’s table and the promised hand, Orin quite obviously saw Aren grab Treachery and sling him out the door, closing it behind the two of them in the process. Orin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. As Orin knew from personal experience Aren wasn’t above a little violence and it would be just like him to take Treachery out by surprise, just as he had choked Orin from behind. Calling out to Alex, ”Hey actually could you take over for me for a second? I…” Orin hesitated as he tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for his absence. ”I just need a little break, maybe some air. My hands are cramping.” Maybe that was a little overboard but it was the best Orin could come up with in the spur of the moment. Orin wasn’t exactly known for his subtlety. Hopefully everyone was too focused on the festivities or simply too drunk to care or be paying attention. Hurrying towards the door, Orin wasn’t really watching where he was going. So, he accidently bumped into a table. And that table happened to have an abandoned mug of wine on it. And it just so happened to fall over and spill, right onto Garland. Orin was mortified. ”Garland I’m so sorry! I can’t believe how clumsy I was and I’ll buy you new clothes or something, I mean I’ll obviously make it up to you somehow!” Orin was torn. He didn’t want to just leave the mess there especially since it involved one of the few people he was actually willing to call a friend. But he was terribly afraid of leaving the situation outside unattended. There was no telling what Aren could do in a rage. Not only was he a skilled warrior, he also was a Reimancer. While Orin didn’t really know entirely what that meant, he’d seen the destructive power of it in the woods. Coming to a snap decision, Orin headed towards the door. Calling out a last apology to Garland, Orin felt his muscles stiffen. Absolutely anything could be going on out there. Fearing the worst, Orin put his hand on one of his blades. While pulling it probably wouldn’t change the outcome, it made Orin feel better, more authoritative. Finally coming to the door, Orin pulled it open, an excuse springing to his tongue. ”I’m sorry guys, can’t keep the door closed, got to let the smoke out, you know.” Maybe Orin was better at this whole lying in a pinch than he had thought. However, the rest of his speech died in his throat as he took in what was going on in the corridor. OOCTo Treachery and Aren, I specifically didn't say what was going on to give you two some time to work out your issues

[April Windweaver]

April had been drinking as the events had unfolded, her sight blurring into a murky, muddy mess of colors and shapes. Her brain failed to connect voices to faces, and though she could feel an air of impending danger, she disregarded it and continued to walk forward into the crowd.

She quickly lost sight of Garland and stumbled through the chaos of colors and braced herself against a nearby patron to steady herself before moving on to the food table. Or at least, what she thought was the food table. It was actually just the couch. It took her a few moments of caressing the fabric before she realized it, turned around, and then stumbled into a wall before sliding down.

Her throat felt dry, so she took another drink of her ale, downing the last drops and feeling the comforting sting send waves of fire through her veins. She giggled, bumping the back of her head against the wall. She didn't flinch, however, and only gave a loud hiccup before she attempted to get on her feet, her hands grasping against the wall. Occasionally, she lost her grip and would slip a bit, but after some determination she was back up and again wandering in a drunken haze through the chaos if the new years party.

She felt a fierce hunger in her stomach, and made miraculously made her way over to the food, where she ate feverishly. Despite the others crowding in around her, she managed to keep herself at the front of the pack She would devour one serving by the time her hands got a hold of another. She was eating for more than one person, and was eating with such ferocity that only a few minutes had passed before she eventually got fed up with eating and decided to start wandering around again.

She saw Orin making his way outside, and something in April's brain told her it was a good idea to follow. So she did. With her adept (awful) sneaking skills, she crouched down behind Orin and followed him to the door, her vision just clear enough for her to keep track of him through the mess of information that flooded her senses. All she knew was that something was going on outside with a Zith and another patron. She had never seen a Zith before. She wanted to meet them. And then maybe touch them. Not in a weird way. Maybe a weird way. Whatever way.

[Nivel]

OocI intruded because I can and you made no procautious against it..I hope thats okay Nivel was confused at Sayana’s emotional reply to Garland, the heavy subject matter the dancer was talking about flew right over the head of the pycon. How the actions of others had anything to do with treachery was also quite confusing. Did the Order wrong Sayana in some way. was it furry people…was it people with wings? All of this tall folk business made her tiny nexus throb in bewilderment. Although it seemed like Sayana was trying to be more courteous to the guest she didn’t particularly care for, so Nivel wasn’t going to question her reasoning just yet. The Pycon was far to interested in this new ritual involving a beverage called wine. Sayana retrieved a bottle with some red fluid that looked like the stuff that occasionally leaked from humans when they received an injury. Nivel wasn’t sure if it was the same thing but it still made her un easy at the thought of drinking another creatures internal fluids. Regardless the multi armed dancer filled a glass for her and Nivel felt it would dishonourable to refuse. She hesitantly slipped one of tendril like tails into the drink and was pleasantly surprised. It had the same pleasant sensation that the other drink but was a bit more smoother and made her feel a bit more cheerful. This was especially good after the recent drama that just unfolded. Sayana made a speech about all the people that were lost in the ancient tragedy that Nivel had previously studied about in the archives. It was a moving speech that caused nivel to squirt a bit of the wine from her horn in sadness. Nivel was luckily standing on an empty trey so there was no threat of staining the table cloth. “That was a great speech Sayana and I like this uh..Wine” Nivel complimented casually Nivel spotted a few people tapping there glasses together and Nivel attempted this with an invisible glass held in her tail. “Kling” the pycon mimicked the sound the glasses made as her make believe glass collided with Sayana and a few of her friends in her vicinity. Nivel wanted to make a speech too but the enormous blue man decided to bully poor Tretchie and the mage squire was having none of that. The Blue tall folk threw her furry friend out the door and slammed it shut behind them, he hollered back that they were fine but Nivel knew they weren’t. The pycon lept off the table landing in a tumble and bounded for the door. She had to weave through the feet of the other party guests and the crowd that had formed around the door but she was eventually able to get to her destination. The blue man must have forgot that a four inch person was present who was more attuned to slipping under cracks than she was at opening doors. She flattened her body and slipped through it as she had often done when a door was in the way. What she saw on the other side was the blue man producing res against Tretchie’s furry chest. “Unhand that Squire!!” Nivel bellowed in a disturbingly low and surreal voice for a creature her size. She shape shifted herself into a more monstrous form almost subconsciously, with a gaping mouth full of clay teeth and other sharp spikes forming out of her body in places there weren’t before. "Or face the wrath of Nivel the Mage squire of Sera Grey" The door was swung open by one of the party guests not to long after her little threat.

[Garland]

He was not at all happy with the party right now, not even the smell of the cooking ham would distract him from the guilt he felt between choosing his friends, he looked at Sayana and the cup of wine he had in his hand. He didn't really feel like drinking right now. He was about to give his cup to April, but he saw that she was too intoxicated to even know where she is going. He sat down his mug of wine on the table, he sighed and sat down on the couch.

He was feeling horrible, he should just leave honestly, he didn't want Sayana to feel bad about the Zith, but he didn't want the Zith to feel bad about being kicked out. He sighed and just laid down on the couch. He didn't feel like making a toast, he didn't care if he was being rude, anything he did now can't make the situation any worse.

He saw that April was trying to find her way to the food table, with little difficulty. She was busy feeling around the place for the table. He just covered his eyes and listened to the noises of the party, he listened to Sayana's toast.

"Happy new year..." He said quietly and solemnly. He heard Orin say something about the ham being ready, he gave a small smile, he should probably have his hands full right now.

He heard the door slam shut and then he looked up, it was probably a guest leaving early to avoid any more drama, smart of them.

He closed his eyes again and waited for the party to be over. He didn't have much of an appetite right now. He felt something wet land of his chest, he looked up with a startled look on his face, he looked at Orin and then smiled warmly. "Don't worry about it, like I've told Sayana, ale wouldn't be the last thing that spilled on my clothes." He laid back down but watched Orin silently, he saw that Orin held on his knife, Garland wasn't worried that Orin was going to do anything reckless, but getting a weapon at a party still seemed a bit... curious.

And the April showed up, sneaking up behind Orin well enough even though she was drunk as a horse right now. He sat up and went beside April. "Whatcha doin?" And then Nivel stormed towards them. "Nivel?"

He had something to say to the party, and now would be a good time to say it, it might bring the blue giant back inside, and hopefully defuse the situation

He went over to Sayana, and the others. "I actually have something to say." He looked over to the blue Akalak. "You need to listen up, because this is important."

He looked at Sayana, with a small bow. "I'm sorry for earlier." He turned his attention back to the crowd of people. "I would like to celebrate the new years, new beginnings and more importantly..." He looked at April. "New life, I would like to announce that April and Sayana are pregnant! And I'm excited for both of them." He looked over to Sayana. "And I would like to talk to you privately later, if that's alright?"

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex's shoulders slumped when Orin declined his offer to help. He was hoping to have something to do besides mingle with any of the party guests. The fact that some of them were to drunk to even think straight only made him feel even more miserable in his situation. "All right, if you say so." He was less than a second away from retreating back to his isolated little spot before he just so happened to glance some commotion out of the corner of his eye. When he snapped his head up to observe, he saw the large Akalak pushing Treachery out of the door into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind them. Despite the man's muffled reassurance from behind the door, Alex immediately began to think the worst. Surely he wouldn't try killing the Zith with all these people around? He was suddenly caught by surprise when Orin suddenly changed his mind, leaving his post and hurrying towards the door, but not before clumsily knocking a drink over and spilling it onto one of the guest's clothing. All right, this is getting a little too suspicious. Sneaking away from the ham and pushing through the crowd, the boy began to follow Orin to the door. Before he could make it, though, one of the guests announced that April, one of the more intoxicated guests, was pregnant. He stopped, just about to congratulate them when Orin suddenly pulled the door open, revealing the Akalak and the Zith in the hallway. At first glance, it seemed like a simple interrogation, but as he examined more closely, he noticed the Akalak holding something in his palm. After a few seconds of studying it, he noticed that it seemed rather ethereal-looking and very unnatural. Alex's eyes widened in realization, and a single word echoed in the privacy of his mind. Magic... Without another thought, he bolted toward the pair. "Hey!" The boy shouted out to the Akalak, pointing. "Hey! You!" He stopped in the doorway, his hand gripped tightly on the hilt of his sword. He had no idea if the magic the Akalak was using was threatening, but his own nervous paranoia denied him the decision to take any chances. "All right, that's enough of that. Stop what you're doing, or I'll haul you off to the Tank." He challenged. Truth be told, the boy was quite nervous. The Akalak could probably break every bone in his thin body with ease. Alex swallowed and hoped that it wouldn't come to any of that...

[Lorden Ladis]

Lorden raised a brow as he heard what was going on, glancing between the host in front of him, and the loud banging of a door. The knight had only just begun to introduce himself, and for a moment, he almost drug his attentions back to the attractive woman before him. He even began to ignore the congregating crowd, and some nonsense about ham. It was only when he heard someone all but scream a hasty threat, that his eyebrows instantly cocked all the way up to the top of his face.

"All right, that's enough of that. Stop what you're doing, or I'll haul you off to the Tank," the voice was shrill and nervous, and hardly sounded like it belonged to a knight. Lorden was more than a bit confused. With a conflicted sense of manners, the swordsman turned wearily back to the woman he had addressed a moment ago.

"I'm sorry, but things seem to be getting... out of hand. If you understand me," the knight gestured behind him, as he spoke in an apologetic tone.

Beginning to grit his teeth, Lorden turned to the open door; his heart almost skipped a beat as he glanced at the ridiculous scene unfolding. A monstrous bat... thing, the large blue creature, and a ruffled man, who Lorden severely hoped was only pretending to be a member of the Order, to quell the chaos; for all of Syliras's sake.

Why the petch... Everywhere I go. Am I cursed? What did I do? Please gods, tell me, the knight was practically shaking his head as he tried to walk calmly into the crowd. Lorden nudged the party-goers aside gently, even prompting them verbally if he had to.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Yes do move," the knight commanded, till he came to step out into the hall. With a raised brow, he glanced at the man, who appeared to have flung the threat of the tank, as if it was some light slap on the wrist.

"I don't know who you are, but unless we have someone dying here, I don't why in the Hai the Tank came up," Lorden's voice trailed off, as his mind and annoyed eyes, drifted to face the general direction of where the two creatures, who appeared to be center of the whole ordeal were.

"In Syler's good name what have you two been doing, that's so interesting to everyone here?" the swordsman said, trying to sound somewhat dignified, even through his trepidation, as he addressed the two monstrous forms before him. Lorden looked around, feeling the need to assert his authority.

"If none of you've guessed, I'm Ser Lorden Ladis. And I was really hoping to have a good time tonight," as the words left his mouth, his eyes continued to bounce around the crowd, before coming to settle expectantly, back on the Zith and Akalak. Lorden gulped. Gods he hoped he didn't come out of this bruised... or missing an eye. Petch, he'd be happy if he could just walk.

[Phaylix Whitevine]

Phaylix killed his good, probably expensive wine in a few more gulps. It was good, probably grape. It was better than anything he'd ever tasted before, besides peach nectar. There was nothing better

He stretched his back, vertebrae popping delightfully. He moaned softly, enjoying the popping sounds. He set his cloak down on the back of the sofa, folding it over three times. He may stay a bit longer, if someone would just simply talk to him. As he sat the cloth down, he noticed the April woman, drunk off her ass, stumble over and sit down, rather hard. He noticed she smelled horribly of ale, and he needed to get outta there effective immediately. He covered his nose and moved towards the middle of the apartment once more. Just then, the Squire man took Miss Sayana and announced, his voice loud and decisive, she and April were with child. Phaylix audibly snickered. The woman, who must've had an innumerable amount of alchol, was going to be a mother? She'd be lucky if her baby survived her reckless, selfish behavior.

Thinking about this left a horribly bitter taste on Phaylix's tongue.

He was going to go help this April up, keep her from making more of a jackass of herself than she already did, but the blue warrior took the winged creature outside and shut the door. He called out that everything was fine, but the Vantha didn't believe it for a second. He probably was kicking the Zith's teeth in as he spoke.

Then, in the following minutes, half the damned party accompanied the two out, arguing. It was at this moment, watching a blue-eyed man with a pronounced voice, that this whole ordeal was a waste of petching time, at least for the Assassin. He hadn't made any new friends, he hadn't gotten drunk off his damned rocker like he'd planned, he probably wouldn't even get to sneak any leftovers to Recluse when the party was over.

Sighing, the man took his cloak from its spot on the couch and slipped his thin figure into its familiar depths. He leaned against the couch. As soon as the shyke was done, he'd thank Miss Sayana for a "wonderful" night, and hightail it to his own apartment, where a warm bed and a book awaited.

He sucked in a sharp breath, waiting, already rehearsing an excuse from his absence from drama central.

[Aren]

As Aren eyed the Zith before him with his most menacing glare, he heard a distinctly inebriated voice coming from somewhere. Before he really had time to identify the source, however, he suddenly felt what he thought was his perch giving way. No, that was impossible. He could see that the door opened OUT into the corridor, so how could someone be opening it by pulling it IN from inside the apartment? Wait, no, it couldn't be. "This thing... opens both ways!?" Was Aren's only thought as he felt his body tilt backwards in direct response to him having placed his weight against the heavy wooden door. Just barely managing to stick a leg out behind himself in an awkward pose, he balanced himself precariously between his overextended front foot and his now load bearing rear foot. His hands had gone up in an instinctual attempt to stabilize himself, and there was now an orb of glossy, transparent substance floating above his palm somewhere near his eyebrow. As he stood there, the Akalak looked back out into the corridor, spotting not only the Zith but also... something else entirely. What the shit was that thing? He didn't know, but he was glad he wasn't standing there anymore, because just looking at it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Syliras might have a serious rat problem. They're mutating, or something," Seros offered his take on the abhorrent creature. Looking around, Aren noticed that he seemed to have burst in at a rather inopportune moment. There was a guy, who smacked of being a knight of the particularly shrieky variety, looking at his emanated Res like he had just seen a horde of mounted Yukmen coming at him and he was almost wetting himself at the thought of realizing that they had learned how to ride. There was the pregnant girl who had come in with Sayana's "friend" that had taken the side of the Zith. What was she doing behind Orin? And then, of course, there was the cook himself, who had started all this unnecessary hubbub by worrying about the smoke being caused by his damned ham. "You don't look like you could haul a sack of potatoes, let alone-" Seros barked back at what he was fairly certain was one of those annoying executors of truth and justice in Syliras. Fortunately, Aren stopped him before his brother could voice the extent of just what he thought of this bean pole who looked fit to burst into tears at the mere sight of anything more dangerous than a house cat. Hearing what sounded like a reasonable voice making his way through the assembled onlookers, Aren breathed a sigh of relief, right up until the man announced that he was, in fact, a knight. His words seemed so poignant, too. Was he a special kind of knight? Did he outrank this other guy? Was the other guy not even really a knight? Such questions were all eclipsed by the announcement which cut through the cacophony of excited sounds and curious murmurs which had followed the Akalak's re-entry into the party. April was pregnant, but who the hell was that? Oh, it had to be the other girl whose discussion he had overheard. And then, of course, Sayana... was also pregnant!? Aren's eyes opened wide when he realized there was probably only one Sayana at this particular gathering, and that their relationship meant this pregnancy business could very well be his doing. Reabsorbing his Res back from whence it came, the Akalak propped himself back up to a more stable posture using his arms, and then he turned to find the Eypharian's face on the other side of the crowd which surrounded him. "Is it true? Are you...? Am I...?" Aren asked, clearly in quite a bit of shock as he slowly headed in Sayana's direction. They hadn't been together long, and it was possible he wasn't the father, but the questions had been asked merely as the product of an addled mind struggling to center itself after this incredible news.