X-DREAMERS [mission 03: Shadows of an Island]

[Mikasa361]

Quote

XTRA DIMENSIONAL TELEPORTATION TERMINAL

FIRMWARE 1.0.1.4

Finding coordinates... ok.

~

Mission ID: 0103

Participants: Lara, Stan, Temeraire, Enterprise, Reshiram, Utakata, Tien, Xander, Illidan, Sol

World: Earth [Tomb Raider]

Location: Kauna ‘oa Beach, Hawaii

Time: Mid-afternoon

Current Environment: Warm climate, sunny weather

Status: Go

 

This is a companion thread to X-DREAMERS. In an effort not to flood the main topic with game posts (and to experiment with different RP forms, as per the spirit of Freeforms), this is a thread exclusively for off-world missions and other fast paced events such as battles that require a rapid exchange of posts.

 

MISSION RULES:

1. Only characters submitted to missions in X-DREAMERS may participate.
2. Short posts are encouraged.
3. Your character may exit the area and return to base at any time, although they will have a few turns of cooldown and might not be able to resume in the same place they left off.
4. If you are inactive over several rounds, your character will be sent back to base.

 

Flavour text: 

 

"It appears that I have a few things to attend to back at home. See… I hadn’t told many people here, but today’s my birthday, and a few friends of mine decided to throw a rather fancy dinner party... Something…. Isn’t right though. I expressed clearly to Winston not to celebrate my birthday, and I had asked him to tell my friends that same thing. He’s also telling me to bring friends. He never does that. Plus, I have been hearing reports from Winston that there has been quite a stir in the news lately. There’s also a strange presence in the world that I thought would be interesting. Because of this, I ought to be prepared for anything. I’ll need a bit of help. Care to come with?”

 

Our mission starts with a letter from Winston stating that Lara's friends had thrown her a rather fancy party for her 22nd birthday.  Seeing as it's the perfect opportunity to relax, a few agents decide to tag along and loaf off on the beach. Perhaps, though, they might not have as much loafing off to do as they think. This is the perfect opportunity to see what may be going on at Lara's home and crush the issue before it becomes a problem. It's also a good chance to look around for intel. But most importantly- our heroes, especially Lara, may learn that it is rather vital to check the guest list when you're not the one throwing the party, and perhaps hire some very tight security...

 

Mission 3: GO!

Edited September 5, 2019 by Mikasa361

[Mikasa361]

>> MISSION 03: START<<

 

 

Evening approaches. In the light of the lowering sun, the crystal blue water of the beach sparkles. Gentle waves lap against the soft white sand. In the breeze, palm trees sway. Upon approaching the beach, one could find guests dressed to the nines and speaking among themselves, drinks in hand, being served hors d'oeuvres from small silver platters. 

 

Several guests are found at the bar, where the bartender works tirelessly. Some guests dance with each other, and one may even find the occasional couple at a table, looking into each other's eyes. It seems that the air of Valentine's Day has caught on, as there seem to be a few people making attempts to shoot their shot, much to the chagrin of the recipients. 

 

 

Lara Rochelle - Empress

X -  Abort mission | ▢ - Drink from flask

△ - Speech | O- ?!?!?! 

 

Ah, it’s been quite some time. 

 

Something about the balmy breeze, the clear air, and the abundance of foliage in the distance brings Lara back to a time before the dark period in her life started- before the loss of her father, before Henry, back when Amanda was nothing more than a pen pal. She closes her eyes when the breeze hits her face. Ah yes, Hawaii. It’s good to be back. Granted, the many tourists walking around is an annoyance, but of course she had never been a fan of touristy areas in general. 

 

Lara glances over the group, glad that everyone made it here, standing, in one piece. She smiles at everyone before she glances at the mall in front of them. 

 

“So it’s come to my attention that not all of us quite have what we need for today, myself included it seems, so I’m glad we managed to get here a little early. For those of you who are already ready, you’re free to do as you like, we’ll regroup here in an hour. Will having an hour in the hotel to get our acts together afterward suffice? I can do more as needed, we got here in a good amount of time so I’m in no rush.” And quite frankly, I’m rather anxious so the longer we take, the better. 

 

People seem to nod in agreement, she notices Chikako and Evonna whispering amongst themselves. Lara holds back a chuckle- it amuses her how quickly they latched on to each other, it almost reminds her of--

 

…

 

...Not the time to think about such things. Lara wants to have a pleasant birthday this year, and thinking of the debacle that occurred before her birthday last year isn’t going to help that at all. She sighs. “No need to worry about money, anything you get for today is on me. I owe you all, I don’t think I could have done this alone.” She gives them all a warm smile. No, I could never do this alone. “Oh, and after an hour I’ll call on the communicators. If you’re unsure how to use yours, you may ask a veteran agent. Any one of them, including myself, can help with that.” She glances over everyone. “Any questions? Comments? Concerns?” I have many concerns. 

 

Not a word comes from anyone. It seems like some of them just want to get to the bloody party already. Utakata tightens the top on his container of bubble fluid and tucks it away somewhere safe in his kimono. She wonders briefly if he keeps anything else in there, like how some women keep things stored in their shirts or purses. Maybe that’s where her spare Swiss Army knife went. Tien fidgets with his communicator in his hand, seeming to keep close to Utakata. Lara is now curious as to why, he seems like he wouldn’t allow someone within a meter’s radius. ….Neither of them seem that way. Maybe that’s why they get along. Everyone else, though, seems to speak amongst themselves. She notices that Chikako looks more than excited, and she prays to every deity out there that Lara can recognize herself by the time she’s done. “Right then. Let’s be off. If anyone needs help, find me. I’ll be…. Wherever I get dragged to, I suppose. Just ask for me on the communicator, you can dial 2748 on the cube. ...Right! See you lot in an hour!” 

 

The second Lara starts walking towards the mall, Evonna and Chikako grab her by each arm. “Oh, bloody hell…” She mumbles a few things in French under her breath. Evonna snaps back at her. 

 

“Hey. You’re the birthday girl here. We’re gonna make sure you look like a goddess. So no lip, mademoiselle,” she says as she gives Lara a wink. This is the most lively Lara has ever seen Evonna, in the few short days they’ve been acquainted. Lara sighs in defeat and allows the girls to drag her into the mall.

 

“I wonder what sorts of cosmetics they’ll have,” Chikako chirps. 

 

“Oh sis, you’ve got a whole selection,” Evonna replies with a wink. 

 

What the devil have I gotten myself into, Lara thinks to herself.

Edited September 21, 2019 by Mikasa361

[Marcus Pheonix]

Sol listened from the back of the group as Lara explained the situation; wondering how she was in this situation. She had only recently arrived at the Gateway, the home of the XDREs, accompanying Giorno and his friends. Giorno had informed her that one of the other agents was having a birthday party in a tropical part of a foreign world and he couldn’t go; so he had passed his invitation onto her.

They had arrived quite recently, and Sol had been breathtaking. Towering metal and glass buildings loomed overhead, the warm sun, salty breeze and distant crashing of waves made this a city like no other Sol had ever beheld. She had visited the beach plenty of times, and she couldn’t count how often she had travelled to the larger cities of Fiore, but none were on this scale.

 

And now, in this bizarre new landscape, she was being instructed to go shopping; certainly not the thing Sol had expected from the group researching and correcting these anomalies. It wasn’t unwelcome though; like most wizards, Sol travelled on quests with limited gear, and while her chosen dress was fine for those things, the chance to purchase some alternate outfits was appealing.

Though, as Lara pointed out, Sol had no money for this world and would have to rely on the generosity of her host. Which meant she would have to limit her spending; one formal dress for the party and, perhaps, two additional outfits; something a little more casual.

 

As the head of the party departed Sol found her gaze drifting over the others, the ‘agents’ that she was supposed to interact with. The obvious stand out was the large horned purple man; the inner fire in Sol had identified him as at least part demon, but perhaps he was simply in the same boat as her but was unable to manifest a more human form.

Her gaze drifted to a brown-haired man. He was wearing a kimono; the front parted open, exposing his chest. Sol felt a nerve twitch in her forehead, immune as she was to fire, she could still register the simmering heat of the sun on her skin. The man was pale, his skin would blister easily.

 

Sol walked over to him and briskly shut the opening in his gown.

“Someone as young as you shouldn’t be condemning themselves to melanoma. Cover up, if you’re trying to draw the attention of girls no one’s going to notice you next to the demonic purple giant,” Sol said firmly.

 

As she was now close to him, she glanced up at his hair; it looked unkempt, loosely hanging to obscure his eye. Sol reached up and brushed it aside.

“We’re going to a formal affair, you must do something about this hair as well,” Sol said. Steeling her eyes, she grabbed the sash at his waist and began to lead him towards the shopping centre.

 

“This settles it, we’re going to make you look presentable.” Sol declared

[Mikasa361]

Utakata looks around, rather overwhelmed by the scenery. The structure of the buildings is completely different than what he could find at home- forget the fact that there are more of them. He notes that while the air is nice, it’s hotter than he’s used to. And what’s more, there are more people walking on this street alone than in the entire Hidden Village of the Mist. He fights the urge to clam up, attempts to listen, but looks away a little. Trying to distract himself, he tightens the container of bubble fluid resting in the hand of his kimono. None of this, absolutely none of this, makes him comfortable.

 

While he gets the gist of what Lara is saying, and he accepts the card she hands him, he still has no clue what’s going on. His brain only snaps into focus when one of the women, Sol(?), marches up to him and closes the front of his kimono. A vein in his temple throbs. Okay who gave this woman the right—

 

“Someone as young as you shouldn’t be condemning themselves to melanoma. Cover up, if you’re trying to draw the attention of girls no one’s going to notice you next to the demonic purple giant,” she scolds him as if he were a child. Utakata’s eyebrows knit together with annoyance. Sheesh. What is with women and the snippy attitude?

 

“Hey, what the hell? Who says I was trying to draw attention from—?” He almost Trips on himself trying to take a step back. Ah. Graceful, Utakata. And for my next trick…. But seriously! I’m twenty six! Why is she acting like my mom? 

 

Sol looks up at his hair and brushes his bangs to the side, revealing his left eye, which winces from exposure to the light. “We’re going to a formal affair, you must do something about this hair as well,” she says with a huff. He really wants to send her several kilometers back on a bubble. The look in her eyes changes, to an intimidating degree, and she grabs his sash and pulls him towards some of the buildings.

 

 “This settles it, we’re going to make you look presentable.” 

 

“Presentable— What— Wait—“ but it’s too late. He’s already in her clutches. In theory he could go into six tails mode. But with the sheer amount of people, he decides instead to accept his fate. Anything is better than being labeled a freak in this world.

[Pachimew]

Tien knew to expect something different. The Gateway planet, the castle, those had already been a stark and shocking difference from Roshar, let alone the military lifestyle he was long used to. He knew it was going to be different.

 

He hadn’t quite anticipated how different. Buildings soared into the air, utterly unfamiliar--so much glass, and no protection from highstorms whatsoever! It takes Tien long, long moments to tear his eyes away from the ridiculous, stunning things and look at the environment closer to ground level.

 

Sand, and clear water stretching impossibly into the distance, and a startling amount of green--this, Tien imagines, must be what the port city of Thaylenar looks like. Minus the unprotected buildings and quite so much green, of course. 

 

Tien Memorizes it, blinking back into focus just in time for Lara to hand him a card. He’s not sure what this is for, actually. Tien tucks the cube-shaped communicator into his pocket and frowns at the card, running his fingers over the upraised text on it. "...Fractal? What did she say this was for?"

 

"She did not," Fractal replies. “We will have to ask.”

 

Oh. That’s unfortunate. He wasn’t listening to Lara either, so he can’t make a guess at it from context clues. Tien looks up, but Evonna and Chikako are already dragging Lara away. He waves a small, pointless goodbye at their backs and quietly hopes that someone else he knows has an idea of what this card is for, because that was most of the people he knew on this mission. 

 

Tien turns to Utakata, opening his mouth to ask--

 

And a woman--Sol, if he remembers correctly--marches up to Utakata and immediately starts lecturing him. Tien snaps his mouth shut. It’s never a good idea to interrupt a woman who’s decided it’s her job to look after everyone. It’s only when she starts to drag Utakata away that Tien yelps out a "Hey, wait for me!" and follows after them.

Utakata is the last person here he’s familiar with. Tien doesn’t want to lose him. And, if nothing else, at least Sol seems like she knows what she’s doing.

[hikarinomemori]

 

Illidan Stormrage, Lord of the Illidari
<Status: Stable; nervous>
<Location: Hawaii>
<People: Lara, Stan, Temeraire, Enterprise, Reshiram, Utaktata, Tien, Xander, Sol>

 

 

 

Temeraire Rhowa, Warrior of Light
<Status: Stable; in awe>
<Location: Hawaii>
<Current Class: Ninja>
<People: Lara, Stan, Enterprise, Reshiram, Utakata, Tien, Xander, Illidan, Sol>

 

~~

 

Temeraire could only stare in awe at the place. The buildings and people were very different, but the smell of the sea air very much reminded her of Eorzea's own Costa del Sol, complete with the overall pleasant weather. The Miqo'te was over the moon and almost wasn't quite sure where to start.

 

Illidan, meanwhile, was very much on-edge, wings drawn inward both out of insecurity and to make sure he didn't accidentally hit anyone with them. He stuck very close to Xander and could hear strange clicking sounds around them. He didn't like it here - even though the sea air smelled nice, that was all this place had going for it as far as the Lord of the Illidari was concerned. Not to mention he was a seven-foot-tall half-demon freak in the middle of a place that was mostly humans who were, at the most, about 6 feet tall. He stuck out like a sore thumb. "...Temeraire, was it? What are you going to do?"

 

Temeraire heard Illidan's question even amongst the others talking (and Sol scolding Utakata as if she were his mother). "Probably gonna go get a nice dress to wear - I can't be wearing my adventuring gear to a party, after all. Maybe something in red - something I can sneak a knife or two under so I can defend myself if necessary."

 

Illidan sighed. At least this girl isn't afraid of what people think. "Yeah, you do that."

 

Temeraire easily picked up on how nervous Illidan looked and sounded. "You sound more wound up than a bird who's afraid of heights, man. You should probably get something nice to wear, too."

 

"I can't wear shirts. The horns and wings will tear them up. I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb no matter what I do or wear."

 

Temeraire made a sound that sounded like a weird mix between a human scoff and a tiger chuffing - Illidan chalked that up to Temeraire being a literal cat-person. "Get a bowtie, at least. Maybe some nice dress pants, too - I'm sure at least one of the places around here carries some that'll fit - because there's no way you're gonna be caught dead at a party wearing those dingy things."

 

Illidan grunted at Temeraire's half-insult before glancing at Xander. "...I suppose she has a point. If I'm sticking out like a sore thumb now, I'll be the talk of that entire party if I go like this, and not in a good way."

 

"You boys go ahead and do your boy thing - maybe you can chat it up or something while you're at it. I'm gonna see if I can't find a dress."

 

"You should probably catch up with Lara, then."

 

"Will do. Good luck, boys." And then the Miqo'te was running to catch up with Lara.

 

Illidan hated how she called him a boy. "...so... where to start? I can't exactly see where we're supposed to go..." His ears fell a little, similarly to a cat's. "A little help, Xander?"

Edited September 7, 2019 by hikarinomemori

[hikarinomemori]

 

Illidan Stormrage, Lord of the Illidari
<Status: Stable>
<Location: Hawaii>
<People: Xander>

 

~~

 

So he noticed.

 

Illidan looked a little uncomfortable as Xander sized him up and down. Now that he thought about it, he was taller than most people even back on Azeroth (and that was not accounting for his horns). Even though the king was looking over his hands, though, his touch was comforting, to say the least - especially in a world full of things Illidan had never heard of or done before.

 

He could smell the perfume; he knew Xander was trying to mask the stench of the Fel. He kept quiet for Xander's sake, but good grief, the scent of that much perfume assaulted the Demon Hunter's nostrils almost as badly as the Fel did.

 

Upon mention of his hair, however, Illidan wanted to snap. Nobody, and he meant NOBODY, touched his hair without his say-so. That is to say, nobody at all. Call it a side effect of having been around a certain Blood Elf prince too long, but even a single strand of his hair being touched was a berserk button for Illidan, and the expression on his face clearly showed it. Were it not for the two of them being teammates and his own crush on him, Illidan was almost certain he would have throttled Xander by the neck there and then.

 

No words were spoken, however - the facial expression alone spoke volumes. Illidan did not want his hair touched.

[Mikasa361]

Girl Time™ 

 

Chikako is more than elated when she sees one of the other new agents- Temeraire!!! - run after them. She gives her a smile and a wave. “Ah! Hey,” Chikako chirps, “coming along with us?” Evonna and Lara also wave, Lara feeling stiff with anxiety. She has no idea what’s going to happen here, whether or not something might go wrong, but the entirety of the situation has her hairs on end. Lara tries her hardest to make sure she doesn’t show it visibly, but if someone were to check her forearms….

 

Evonna starts looking around at stores. Wow. Some of these stores she’d only heard of, Limited Too? Delia*s? Oh my god… RADIO SHACK? Blockbuster??? None of these exist where she’s from. It's strange to her, but she absolutely loves it. “Okay…. so we’re looking for nice clothes here, so it’ll probably be pricey. Out of courtesy though, we’re not gonna go too far. Besides, Chika and I gotta head back to base after this.” Lara nods and looks at Temeraire.

 

“I assume this is a bit of a culture shock to you.”

 

Temeraire nods. "A bit, yeah. This place reminds me of someplace similar, Costa del Sol, back home in Eorzea, except with a lot of shops and a lot more people. If Gegeruju, the guy in charge of Costa del Sol, saw this place, oh man, he'd freak out and call it genius at the same time." To be fair, it was a bit of a shock, seeing so many shops on one single street - it was like Costa del Sol and Ul'dah rolled into one. She was honestly expecting a resort or two around, as well - after all, that's what Costa del Sol is. "Costa del Sol is a pretty popular place - pretty much the biggest resort in all of La Noscea if not all of Eorzea - but nowhere near as popular as this. ...and, to be truly honest, I'm afraid I'd get lost if I was wandering all by myself." 

 

Lara nods in acknowledgement. “I’m not familiar with your world, but I suppose it’s a good thing if this place reminds you of something from your world. Makes it more palatable.” Right. Distract yourself. 

 

Evonna glances at Chikako, who seems to be looking for any sort of makeup store. To Chikako’s dismay, she can’t even read anything here. None of the characters look familiar, she can’t even tell if it’s writing or some really weird drawing. “I…. what is everything? I…. I can’t read…. this…. stuff.” She is visibly confused by everything here, and Evonna sighs. 

 

“Crap…. I’ll help you, don’t worry. Ah, there’s a store. MAC cosmetics, it’s a familiar brand. Chika, if you want we can look in there after we find these ladies some dresses.” She looks back at Lara and Temeraire. “So! Any idea what you two would want? General style, color, anything?” Lara shrugs.

 

“To be quite honest, I’m not sure. Just…. whatever’s nice, I suppose. I leave it to you.” Evonna nods and looks around. 

 

“Gotcha. Hmm….. I don’t know if there’s a designer store here…. but there’s gotta be something that sells nice stuff… Bingo.” She sees a store just a few meters ahead of them, with a name she just couldn’t bring herself to try and pronounce. But the dresses she sees in the display make up for the fact that she can’t recognize the brand. “That, ladies, is what we’re gonna check out.” She’s impressed, the closer she gets to the window, how elegant some of these items are. 

 

Temeraire's eyes widen. These dresses looked very fancy and wouldn't look out of place in that one clothing shop in Ul'dah - Sunsilk Tapestries, she thinks it's called. To think that just about a moon ago, she couldn't even imagine herself looking at dresses like these. Now she was going to not only be buying one, but wearing it as well. The very idea of an adventurer in a fancy dress would likely raise questions in Ul'dah.

 

Then again, this isn't Ul'dah. "By the Twelve, these look fancy... I'm not gonna lie: the thought of little old me being in one of these is... surreal."

 

Lara blinks. “I’m…. surprisingly not used to dresses like these. I’ve always been in clothes I could run around or bike around in…. These are lovely.” 

 

Evonna grins. “Well hopefully we find what we’re looking for. Why don’t we start with Tem? What would you be looking for?”

 

“For someone who claims to be a tomboy, you sure know a lot about fancy dresses,” Lara teases.

 

“And for someone who grew up in nobility, you know next to nothing about them. So I mean…”

 

Temeraire shrugs. "Honestly, I don't really care much for this sort of thing. As long as it's red, looks even remotely decent, and can hide a knife or two in case I need to defend myself, then I'm fine with whatever y'all choose out." 

 

“I like this one. Her priorities are straight,” Lara says with a grin.

 

Evonna chuckles. “I think I can make that happen. Lemme just poke around.” She immediately makes a beeline for some of the long dresses. “Hm… Red, can hide knives. Honestly there are a few looks I can see on you. ….Oh hello? What’s this?” She takes something off the back of one of the racks. “....Hm. I mean, the slit up the leg is a look…. Still, I’m not sure about the style of the bodice… Nah.” She puts it back. Seeing nothing fitting the mold there, she scampers to another rack. Hm… Evonna takes a red spaghetti-strap dress off the rack. “...Hm…. I mean, I guess the uneven skirt is a look. It’s nice. Thoughts?”

 

Temeraire looks the dress over. "I, uh... It looks nice and stuff, Ev, but I ain't exactly a fan of spaghetti straps. They're just plain uncomfortable to me."

 

Evonna nods. “Gotcha.” She places it back on the rack and moves towards the back of the shop. She pokes through a couple racks before something yet again catches her eye. 

 

“Ooh… I do like a good strapless… It looks big around the skirt which can hide things, but the slit there makes knives accessible. And it’s red.” Evonna takes it off the rack and holds it up. “Up to you. I think it’d look nice though.”

 

Lara looks at it. “....It’s a very classy number. Elegant, I’d say.” She shifts her weight to a foot and looks the dress up and over a few times. “...Well, what about you, Temeraire? Thoughts?”

 

Temeraire's eyes had widened and a long gasp escaped her throat the moment she saw this one. "Oh, yeah, now that's more like it! This one really just... speaks to me, y'know?" A nod of satisfaction. "This is the one."

 

“Hell yea,” Evonna replies. She’s now very gleeful to be helping make these girls look like Goddamn Goddesses for this party. She looks at Lara. “...You’re next.”

 

Lara’s hairs stand on end. “Well you need not be so ominous about it!” 

 

“I mean, have you been looking,” Chikako asks with a raised eyebrow. “Could’ve been poking through the racks here.” Lara blinks.

 

“How old are you?” She sighs and puts her hands up in defeat. “Anyway, fine. Let’s take a look.” 

 

Evonna grabs a purple satin dress off the rack. “This one?” Lara shakes her head.

 

Chikako finds a light, silky blue frock on the rack. Nice for some other occasion, but again Lara shakes her head. “This woman is hard to shop for,” Chikako murmurs under her breath. And so the two girls take some time looking, picking a dress, only to have Lara shake her head. For a woman who had little taste in nice clothes, she sure had some high standards.

 

Lara shakes her head. “No, no, these won’t do… none of them really speak to me.”

 

Temeraire, for the most part, had been staying out of it because she felt she had bad fashion sense (especially considering that most of her time was spent doing adventurer things - mostly killing things to keep people safe). But seeing this was sad, so she'd started glancing over the racks, as well.

 

Then she spoke up. "I, uh... Sorry if it sounds like I'm butting in, but... maybe this one will work, Lara?" It was a beautiful navy blue sleeveless dress, similar to the one Temeraire had chosen, except this one's skirt wasn't nearly as wide and Temeraire's dress at least had some semblance of a sleeve on it. "I... I understand if you don't like it - my fashion sense is pretty bad."

 

Lara takes a minute to look at it. She walks up to Temeraire and carefully takes the dress from her to take a better look. It’s very elegant indeed, and she very much likes the slit up the leg. It’s tastefully done, she has to admit. It reminds her of something her mother would have worn, only just a little less conservative. 

 

“Well… Would you look at that? That’s a lovely one, isn’t it?”

 

“...Where did you find that one, Tem?” Chikako gawks at the dress. “It’s really nice!”

 

Lara looks it over one more time, and checks the size. “Ah! That will work just nicely.” She gives Temeraire a warm smile. “Thank you, you certainly have an eye for these things.”

 

Temeraire face goes from nervous smile to practically beaming. "Well, it seems I've got a talent helping people, huh? Whether it's pushing back an Amalj'aa raid or picking out a dress for a party..." She laughs, a little bit nervously - sure, she liked protecting the people of Ul'dah from the Amalj'aa, but all the deaths that came with it... It was honestly disheartening.

 

But today wasn't the day to dwell on the past. Temeraire tries to take her thoughts off of her own home, and starts thinking about the jewelry she'd wear with her dress. She was sure she could cobble something together, but one thing she'd never take off was her earrings. Those were a gift, after all - or, at least, she considered them so.

 

“I think that’s a good thing,” Lara says with a smile. And I’m sure she’s very good at it, Lara thinks to herself. “Now, I’ll take care of these dresses.” She grabs them both and hurried to go pay. Evonna grins at Chikako.

 

“Now we need you to work your makeup magic.”

 

“I don’t need much to be honest,” Chikako replies, “I just need a couple small things. These two are lovely ladies, they really don’t need much at all. Although,” she remarks, “judging by that braid, Lara could use a trim.” 

 

“...Yeah. Likely.” Evonna says with defeat. “Good thing we have time after this, right?”

 

“Oh yeah. Big time.” 

As soon as Lara finishes paying for the dresses, Evonna drags Chikako and the other girls to MAC for a quick cosmetics run. As soon as they finish up Lara grabs her cube. “Right,” she says. She activated the cube and pokes at one of the sides. “Alright, I’m all set here. Meet me at the front when you’re finished.”

Edited September 9, 2019 by Mikasa361

[Marcus Pheonix]

Uta's Mum has got it going on

 

Quickly they were inside the shopping centre, the sudden wall of cold air startling Sol.

‘I guess they must have the equivalent to a frost lacrima here’ She thought.

Glancing behind her she realised that another person had followed them, a boy with curly brown hair. The look on his face conveyed a strong sense of nervousness, Sol assumed he must have followed along before he could be left by himself.

 

Her face softened slightly, as she felt a small pang of sorrow for the boy.

“Come along young man. Shopping can be a lot of fun! Now...” Sol trailed off, she examined the inside of the building they’d arrived at.

Shops and boutiques lined the walls, there were multiple floors and even some small eateries scattered around. Sol was once again struck by how startling this world was in comparison to her own. But shopping was a universal constant, and she could already see multiple clothes stores.

 

“Now, we’ll start with clothes for the boys, and then I’ll get something and finally we’ll take you to a salon to get your hair sorted out,” Sol stated, though she didn’t know where a hair salon was. With her free hand she absent-mindedly ran her fingers through her own hair, momentarily considering having her own hair taken care of at a salon. She begrudgingly shelved that idea, they were borrowing someone else’s money, Sol was already planning to get 4 outfits, 5 if the new boy wanted to dress up as well.

 

“I suppose you’ll want something that matches your style of wear?” She asked the boy who she was still secured in her grasp.

 

Utakata looks around, none of the culture shock settling down yet. In fact, with this crazy woman dragging him around, his head is continuing to spin. He wants to shove her off and say “get lost”, but he’s already overwhelmed. He glances behind him at Tien, who had followed the both of them here. Tien shrugs apologetically at him. 

 

He sighs, gaining a little bit of a grip. “Sure…? Can you quit manhandling me?” Perhaps he could’ve said that more politely. And, perhaps, he could’ve said please. But he hadn’t wanted to, considering she just dragged him off like that. He looks back at Tien, who seems to have gotten distracted by something and is practically walking backwards to get a look at whatever it is. “I mean…. who died and made you my mother?” 

 

That, perhaps, was a mistake.

 

Sol raised her eyebrow at him.

“You should never take a tone like that with anyone.” She said sternly, pointing her finger up at him.

“And if your mother were here, I'm sure she’d agree with me. Now. If you don’t want me to really start acting like a mother, you’ll turn around and walk into this store,” she finished.

 

Sol released her grip on his waistband but instead moved behind him and grasped both his shoulders. Sol began to steer him into the nearest shop, which had the look of a formal-wear boutique. 

 

He really hates the grip on his shoulders. One could even say it makes him seethe. Utakata feels the vein in his temple throb again. “This is not what meant when I said stop manhandling me,” he mutters under his breath. And my mother would agree that my hair is just fine. But he takes a few steps forward towards the store. And by the look of this place, he can tell he’s not gonna like what he sees. But to avoid Sol yapping his ear off for an hour, he moves forward. Looking at the display, he doesn’t see anything on the figures that looks interesting. He does see a very odd frilly shirt, which makes his stomach lurch. What the hell do people wear here???

 

Still. He decided to look anyway. Perhaps he can find a way to run away once Sol is looking away. But doing this requires a great level of skill….

 

Sol moved to the lineup, there were several formal shirts of various size and colour. They looked like they would go well with a cummerbund and possibly even a cravat. Sol grabbed a few different colours and draped them over her arm; examining Uta up and down.

 

“Hmm, we can try these. But let’s move on to something with a more slim-fit,” she said, somewhat absent-mindedly. The other boy had wandered off, but that didn’t phase her too much, her current goal was to get Bangs-boy dressed.

She moved onwards and picked out several pairs of slacks, belts, suspenders, ties, bow-ties and even a cravat.

 

“Here, try these on,” She said, pressing the pile of clothes into his arms.

 

“Slim fit—” Utakata doesn’t just want to sneak away. He wants to run away. These clothes already feel heavy. But he sighs in defeat and walks into the changing room.

 

He absolutely does not like the first outfit. Something about it feels hot and heavy. He hates the feel of it. Looking in the mirror, it’s acceptable, but nothing can shake off just how uncomfortable this is. Men wear these here? They find these comfortable? 

 

Utakata steps out to show, a rather irked expression on his face. “Guys wear these,” he says, “I don’t get why.”

 

“Because they look good, that’s why. And I must say you look quite fetching. We just need to fix up your hair,” Sol said with an approving nod.

“But there are plenty of other stores to check out. If none of these are comfortable there’ll be more that we can visit. Get them changed and put them back. While you were in there I saw another shop that looked good just a few stalls down”. 

 

Sol waved him back into the changing room and walked over towards the women's section in the store. There were several mixes of dresses and suits that would certainly fit the bill for formal wear for a party. Sol made a mental note to come back and try some on once she had secured something for Bangs. As she turned back around to return to the changing rooms she saw the boy who had wandered off.

 

He gave her a small wave, adjusting something in his other hand. “Is, uh...is there anything I can do to help? Also, where’d Utakata go?”

 

Sol smiled at him and leaned forward slightly, though due to the height difference she still had to look up. “Well, if you can think of anything formal for Utakata to wear that looks good on him that would be a big help. A second opinion is always valued. He should just be getting out of the changing room now, this way,” Sol said kindly. She took the tall boy’s hand and led the two of them back towards the changing rooms.

 

“Here,” Utakata said as he came out with the next one. Thanks I hate it, he thought to himself. It was slightly lighter, but still didn’t feel right on his frame. He couldn’t even explain why it made him uncomfortable, and it was also quite scratchy. “Yeah, um…. not a fan of this one either. Still too heavy.”

 

Tien leaned forward and touched the fabric of the jacket, tilting his head slightly. His nose wrinkled. “Don’t think I’ve felt any clothes like this before. It feels scratchy.”

 

“Hence why I don’t like it. Scratchy, heavy… not my type of fabric at all.” He scratches at his collar. “And hot.”

 

“Hmmm.” Sol frowned. She rubbed the fabric between her fingers, it did feel rougher than the kimono he was wearing.

“Very well then, we’ll go to another shop and check out if they have any silk suits. Honestly it’s rather surprisingly there aren’t any in here,” Sol declared. 

 

Utakata nods at that point and slips back into the room to change into the clothes he’s most familiar with. Ah… sweet comfort. He comes back out and sighs. “Okay…. Let’s get going.” 

 

Reaching out she grabbed Utakata’s hand, Tien’s still in her other, and led the two of them out of the store.

 

[Marcus Pheonix]

Shopping and Matchmaking

 

Utakata sighs as he’s being led to yet another store. Lovely. I haven’t been dragged around this much since I was a little kid, he thinks rather bitterly to himself, I just wish she could get off my ass so I can find something I like. Really feels like she’s picking things according to her taste here. Or to get us all to blend in. And if Illidan is allowed to stick out like the purple sore thumb he is, god dammit why can’t I wear a kimono? I understand this one may be a little worn, but a nice elegant one? He looks around at the next store they’re in. This doesn’t look the least bit promising.

 

He walks up to one of the jackets and reaches to touch the sleeve. In response to the odd texture Utakata furrows his brow. He shakes his head, not liking it one bit. It’s not…. Smooth enough. No. He doesn’t think he could wear one of these cursed things. The dress shirt Sol had him try on in the last store was tolerable, but it’s too much between the culture shock and likewise. 

 

There’s a light tug on his arm, and Utakata glances over to see Tien rubbing the loose sleeve of his kimono in one hand. It’s almost the same motion he makes with his rocks. 

 

He raises his eyebrow, concerned. Tien glances up to meet his gaze and flushes, releasing the sleeve. “Sorry,” he says. “I wasn’t--wasn’t sure what your clothes are normally. It’s...slippery.”

 

“Oh no, it’s alright. I, er… prefer soft or smooth clothes, I guess.” He finally admits the truth to someone outside of his immediate family. “None of these suits feel right.” 

 

Tien nods understandingly. “I can’t wear anything that scratches or has an irritating texture. A lot of formal clothes were right out, it made things frustrating when…” he trails off, shakes his head a little, and picks back up with, “at any rate, I could mostly be excused because I’m darkeyed.” He half-smiles, an expression with an odd tinge of bitterness at the edges.

 

Utakata blinks, unsure what any of this means. “Dark eyed? I’m not sure that’s something we worry about where I’m from. Do you want to explain?” From his bitterness, it’s… not a good thing. I wonder…. But if he decides he wants to say it, I should leave the option open.

 

Tien’s mouth twists in what looks like an attempt at a smile, but only ends up as a grimace. “Maybe later.”

 

Sol turned to look at the two boys. She had just grabbed a nice crop top and shorts for herself to wear when she didn’t feel like wearing a dress. This store wasn’t exclusively formal, unlike the previous one.

 

She frowned at the obvious glum expression on Utakata’s face. He had yet to accept any of her suggestions, in her opinion almost all of the clothes had looked excellent on him.

She sighed.

 

“Look, instead of just moping there, why don’t you work with me. I’m going to get you something nice to wear, so how about working with me?” Sol offered.

 

He nods, just wanting this whole thing to be over. “Yeah, just… I have one request. Can we just... stick to my culture? This is a lot to take in and I just need something to keep me grounded. The suits may have looked nice, but...” It just doesn’t feel like me. And with that he lets out the rest of the air in his lungs. There. He said it. Most of it. Somehow being open about things is a freeing thing. Will he do it more often?

 

Nope. 

 

Instead he looks over at Tien, who is fidgeting with a rock again. I wonder if I should get something like that…. it’s not like I can just blow bubbles in public all willy-nilly… would not work out well at all. Instead, he just looks around at all the suits that could’ve looked nice had he been from here. One step at a time. One step at a time.

 

“Yes I’ve been trying to find something similar to what you’re wearing but more formal. I’m experiencing a bit of culture shock myself, but fortunately the clothes don’t seem to be too different from what I usually wear. However, if we do get you another kimono then you must swear to wear it properly at the party... none of this open chest look. And also you should cover up while we’re outside, your skin is so pale, if you don’t cover you’ll be red and blistered in a heartbeat,” Sol finished. Accompanying her statement with re-adjusting his clothes once more to cover up the open chest.

 

Utakata puts his hands up in surrender. “Alright alright, I give. That’s something I can do.” Nothing I haven’t done before. That part is just a matter of preference. I can wear it how I like when I’m not at this party. He looks down at his kimono, the one he hadn’t replaced in six years. Damn… this old thing’s stuck with me for that long… the texture just isn’t the same as how it was when Mom made it. Hopefully if we find a nice one it’ll be in much better shape than this thing. “Yeah,” he reaffirms, “I’ll work with that.”

 

“Also,” Sol continued. “If we can’t find anything of your culture that would be more presentable than what you have now, i’m going to put you in a suit. So trying and note down which ones you prefer”.

Sol led the two of them to the counter and bought the casual clothes she had chosen for herself with the card that Lara had provided. Fortunately the clothes weren’t too expensive.

 

“We’ll also definitely be fixing up that hair too,” She said over her shoulder.

She then turned to address the girl at the checkout.

“Excuse me, but would you know any stores that have similar apparel to what... my son is wearing right now?” She asked. Leaning in she added “He’s a bit of a recluse, doesn’t go out much and wears the same thing all the time”

 

“! H-hey—” 

 

As Uta began to talk the girl chuckled. She was quite cute, Sol thought. She had short cut chestnut hair and bright blue eyes.

 

“Well I think those clothes look really good. I love Japan, I’ve been there a few times,” She stated, looking Uta up and down. “I love the traditional style clothing, something I’ve loved to explore as a kid.” 

“I think the store just past the food court has them. Though they only do them custom so they’re a bit expensive. You have to get your measurements taken and they make it,” She finished, pointing down the mall. “Though that takes a long time. If they need to they can adjust a pre-made one if you’re in a rush.” 

Sol glanced at Uta who wasn’t saying anything, she gave him a hard thud on the back.

“Say thank you, looks like I won’t have to force you into a suit for tonight,” She said.

 

She almost knocked the wind out of him. Utakata gives her a dirty look, but flashes the clerk a smile. “I appreciate the help. And don’t mind my…. mother…. she means well but gets a little pushy,” he adds while teasingly shielding his mouth from Sol’s view. 

 

Sol gave Uta a coy smile. “Well if you had brought more when we came here I wouldn’t be so pushy,” she retorted. She didn’t know how much longer he’d been at the gateway than herself, but she assumed he had more clothes.

 

The girl leaned forward and addressed them. “Oh are you tourists? I get off in a couple hours, I could show you around if you like?” She offered. Sol now noted a definite blush on the girl’s cheeks. She herself could feel the fire inside her resonating slightly at the obvious affection the girl had.

 

While he picks up on it, Utakata doesn’t want to get all flustered that someone is actually attracted to him. But he glances to the side anyway. “Ah, I mean we’re going to a friend’s birthday… but I’ve been told plus-ones are okay to bring along…” SMOOTH, moron. Smooth. Perhaps part of him thought she was attractive, from the way her hair frames her face and the way she shows enthusiasm when she talks. She reminds him in demeanor of… Don’t even think it, he chides himself. Instead, he focuses on the freckles dusted across the young woman’s nose.

 

Sol actually raised her eyebrows in mild amusement and surprise at Uta’s response. A little obvious there, she thought. The girls blush was now far more evident as well. Sol felt it best to step in.

 

“But unfortunately it is a rather close knit group, probably not the best thing to bring someone you’ve just met. How about you give us your number, and you can show my son around once the party is over?”

 

He puts two fingers to his temple. Somehow, some way, it’s like she’s the hot headed version of my mother. “Maybe that’s better. I think they said we’ve got a few more days here after the fact.”

 

A wide grin spread across the girl’s face. And she hastily scribbled a number down onto the back of the receipt she’d just printed. “Okay... call me later. If the party’s no fun, I can show you around instead,” She offered, accompanied by a wink. 

 

Sol took the receipt between her fingers and waved it slightly in front of Uta’s face.

“I’m sure he’s looking forward to it. Now come on son.” Sol led Uta and Tien out of the store waving kindly to the girl.

 

When they were out of site she leaned in towards Uta, “Well, well casanova, a date on your first day here... Though I’m concerned. Do you even know what a phone is?” Sol asked.

 

“Uh…” his voice trails off. “...How mad will you be, on a scale of one to ten, if I said no?”

 

“Well I wouldn’t be mad, but it would be kinda difficult for you to call her without a phone. I guess you could use a payphone,” She suggested.

 

A what….? Utakata thinks to himself. But he figures  that likely she’ll show him what she means. ...Still, it bugs him that she acted like he was her child… the fact that she spoke for him several times…. Just like mom, he thinks.

 

As they walked in the direction towards the food court, she glanced back at Tien.

“So, we now know what Utakata will be wearing, do you have any thoughts on what you’d like to wear to the party?”

 

“H-huh?” Tien blinked.

 

“The party,” Fractal provided, hopefully quietly enough that the other two wouldn’t overhear her. “She is asking what you’d like to wear.” 

 

“Oh, uh--” Tien cocked his head to the side. “I was just going to go in my uniform, actually…is that a problem?” He really, really hopes not. Utakata’s been having enough trouble as it is, and the sheer amount of people and noise on top of all the new things to look at is draining Tien’s energy fast. He doesn’t think he can take much more of this if he wants to be in any shape for the party later.

 

Utakata looks over at Tien and gives him a half smile. He can tell Tien is not feeling up to this, and he gives an understanding nod. He knows that he can’t really do much more shopping either, that he just wants to get the damn kimono and go. “That’s a good idea. It’s a nice uniform as is. No need to spend any more money than we have to.” And frankly, my energy’s going too quickly. I think Lara said something about having a place to stay while we’re here…. I wonder if I can just crash in my room...

 

Sol nodded in agreement with Utakata.

“It certainly suits you, and I think a uniform is akin to formal attire. I’m already concerned that we’re spending a bit too much. Bathe before we go to the party and give it to me, I’ll get it nice and clean for you,” Sol said, giving the shy boy a somewhat uncharacteristic thumbs up.

 

Tien offered a small smile in return. “Thank you.”

 

“Ahh, that must be the place,” She said, indicating towards a far more oriental looking shop.

“I think with your pale complexion, you’re going to want something rather striking. Red would be a good choice. Or perhaps a bright green?” Sol suggested, as she began browsing the various materials hanging throughout the shop.

 

Utakata pokes his head throughout the pre-made ones, looking for something that could be adjusted within an hour or so. Hmm, he thinks to himself, these have very nice material, far better than I could ever hope to find at home… wow. What kind of silk...

 

Tien glanced around the store, making an absent grasping motion with one hand as he remembered the feeling of Utakata’s kimono. He’d said it was old, so something with a similar feel but new would be...more slippery? Maybe not as soft, he wasn’t sure. Tien wouldn’t have wanted it to be his only layer--maybe the lining of a jacket--but to each their own. He wandered off to a section that looked somewhat close to what the others were looking at and shuffled through some of them, pausing every so often to examine the patterns more closely and run a hand over the fabric.

 

Oh, there was a nice one. A vibrant red, with bright gold woven through in the form is delicate leaves. Too fancy for Tien’s normal tastes, but very pretty, and probably appropriate for the party. He picked up a sleeve and rubbed the fabric against his palms. Yes, it matched the general feel of Utakata’s kimono.

 

Smiling, Tien took it from the rack and threaded through the store, making his way back to Utakata.

 

He raises his eyebrow about a quarter of an inch when Tien approaches, but smiles when he sees just how excited the young man looks. He seems excited that he found something. Utakata looks at the red cloth in Tien’s arms, noting the gold pattern woven into the fabric. He gestures for Tien to hold it up in front of himself. Upon looking, his eyes widen. That’s… Wow. I’ve never seen something like this at home. 

 

Sol explained their purpose to the clerk at the checkout, who nodded and stepped out from behind; a measuring tape held in her hands.

The two walked over to Utakata and Tien, who were holding a stunning red and gold kimono in their hands.

 

“Oh, that looks nice,” Sol commented. “Take that one off and hold out your arms so she can take your measurements. Do you think this is one you’d like to wear?” She inquired.

 

“It’s…. Really nice, I have to admit.” Uh…. wait I have to ditch…. Okay. Utakata pulls an arm out of each sleeve and allows the top of the kimono to fall. And, as instructed, he holds his arm up to allow the employee to measure his waist, shoulders, and height. He’s suddenly self-conscious of his thin frame being shown to several people. Agh. It’s bad enough my mother would say I dropped weight… But he sighs and allows the lady to do her work. 

The lady worked swift, years of experience guiding her fingertips. As she measured Uta’s limbs, Sol took the kimono and held it out in front of her. It had a very nice design, and the material was nice and smooth; there was no reason for Utakata to complain about it.

 

“Well I guess we’re going with this. While they’re making it, we can take you to the salon and get that hair washed,” Sol said, folding the kimono and laying it on the counter.

 

Utakata sighs. Perhaps he needs to get something to wash his hair with, that soap he’d been using wouldn’t be a good idea to put in his hair. “....Alright. But we’re not chopping it.” 

 

Sol gave his hair a small flick, “We’re at least cleaning up the edges a bit, and they can brush it behind your ear. It’s so disrespectful to be covering an eye in public,” Sol snapped.

 

“Wha---” He rolls his eyes. Excuse me lady, I happen to prefer my hair like this. 

 

“You’re thinking that you prefer your hair like that. Well too bad, going to a formal party means stepping out of your comfort zone a little, you have to make some sacrifices,” Sol said, crossing her arms as if to end the discussion. 

 

Utakata restrains himself from snapping back. This woman is dancing, rather happily, on my last nerve, he thinks to himself. Seriously, it’s hair. It’s not a goddamn hat. 

 

The burst of pride Tien had felt earlier at picking out something nice faded rapidly as Sol and Utakata got into another argument. Well, “argument” was a generous description. He frowned slightly, tugging at a chunk of his own hair. ‘Step out of your comfort zone…’ Tien really hoped she wouldn’t turn her determination on him. 

 

With that, Utakata sighs, represses one last eye roll, and turns to Tien, a small smile returning. “Oh, um… Thanks, Tien-kun. I appreciate that you found this kimono.” He carefully slips back into the top of the kimono he’s wearing and tightens the belt. “Seriously, you chose a really nice one.” 

 

Tien blinked at his name. He didn’t know what the additional syllable after meant, but it sounded affectionate. He grinned, making a small sound of affirmation. “I’m glad you like it.”

 

“He certainly did. Now let’s get out of here while they start making it. I need to buy a dress for myself to wear as well; so we can pick that up too” the trio left the shop to their work and made their way back down the mall towards the salon Sol had noted before.

 

Sol dumped Tien and Uta off, organising a wash and a light trim of Uta’s hair.

“Would you like to get your hair done up as well Tien?” Sol asked.

 

Tien tugged at his hair again. “Uh...no, I think I...I think I’m fine.” 

Sol glanced at his hair. It was somewhat wild and looked like it had been a few days since its last wash, but would probably take a lot to tame. Maybe she can try to take care of it before they head out.

“Very well then, just stay here while I go and get my dress” She said.

 

Sol left the two and headed back up to the first shop they visited; where Uta had tried nearly all the suits she’d selected on and protested all of them. She returned to the particular dress that caught her notice and brought it up to the checkout. In truth she had been hoping to purchase one additional outfit, but her guilt at how much they had spent outweighed her longing for new clothes. She returned swiftly back to the salon, praying that Utakata had managed to keep his head.

 

Upon returning she was relieved to see zero damage had been done to the store or staff, and he was begrudgingly lying with his head in the sink as they washed his hair.

 

As soon as he’s finished at the salon, Sol hurries them along to pick up the kimono--picking up Tien along the way as well, who seems to have found something new to fidget with--and upon Lara’s call, they head up to the front to meet her.

[Mikasa361]

 

 

Lara feels like a damn goddess. Something about how the dress highlights her best features, how Chikako did the most amazing job not only convincing her that the braid was unnecessary, but made her hair soft, shiny, and free of dead ends. Thankfully she had convinced the girls that minimal makeup would suffice, especially considering she’ll probably wipe it off halfway through the party due to sweat. Looking ahead towards the beach, Lara takes a second to scope out the guests. She sees a few of her colleagues from her major in school, the few that actually got along well with her. There are other college friends, she even sees an old professor somewhere in there. None of her father’s family, she thanks the heavens nobody even bothered to try and invite them. And closest to the group is, she smiles in relief, Winston. 

 

Winston gives them a polite wave as they approach. “Welcome.I was looking forward to seeing you all.” He gives Lara a warm smile. “And welcome, Lady Croft. I hope your birthday is going well.”

 

Lara embraces Winston briefly. “Thank you, Winston. Everything is going alright thus far.” She lowers her voice, the feeling of dread once again settling in her bosom. “And I hope it stays that way.” With that she lets go and looks Winston in the eye.

 

“Hence my letter,” Winston remarks, shaking his head. “I am glad you showed up with friends. If anything else, at the very least enjoy the party. It seems as though the guests are enjoying themselves.” Lara furrows her brow when she notices Winston does not say “we”. 

 

“And yourself?” 

 

“I’m quite well, Lady Croft. I am very much enjoying myself.” He smiles. “Well, I hope you all enjoy the party.” He says as he steps to the side. 

 

Lara turns to face the group, slightly worried that she hasn’t heard a word from Stan since the shopping trip. Is he alright? Did he get mugged? Is he off gallivanting somewhere else on the island? ...Did he up and bounce? She sighs, not wishing to worry herself sick. Instead, she smiles at the rest of the group. “Right then. Feel free to mingle, gather information. Be prepared for anything, but try to enjoy yourselves. And please, for the love of god, do not get extremely drunk. Lord knows the kinds of trouble that would come about that.” She rubs her temple. “Anyway, off we all go.” Lara concludes as she walks forward. Winston goes back to his chair and takes a sip of water. 

 

Lara hopes, with every fiber of her being, that nothing goes wrong today.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Mikasa361

[Mikasa361]

 

ウタカタ - Hierophant

X -  Flee ▢ - Drink

△ - Chat o - ??????

 

He does feel pretty good about the new kimono. It looks great, it's nice and smooth, and not particularly heavy. If he dares to admit it to himself, he has to admit that he likes this one better than the one he usually walks around in. In fact, he thinks this is the best he's felt in a long time. 

 

...That doesn't last very long. 

 

He takes note of a tall blonde woman who appears to have taken a fancy to him. Oh no. That's never good. Utakata sighs and tries to see if he can hide his face. Maybe if he can find a place to hide-- why did he think a red kimono was a good idea? He sticks out like he would had he gone into Version 2. 

 

Well done, Utakata. She's very lovely, you should talk to her. 

 

I will. Make sure. You never. Get pork belly. Again.

 

What's a good sixty more years? 

 

You think your next host can cook like me?

 

I've learned how you cook. I can teach.

 

Yes, but would they be more willing than I am to talk to a giant slug in their head?

 

...

 

That's what I thought. With that, he tries to pretend he didn't notice the woman. But damn, if he could turn invisible, he absolutely would. He feels a tapping on his shoulder, and he holds back every urge in him to spew foul words. He turns around and takes a good look at her. She's slim, pale, a smile crossing her scarlet lips and a sparkle in her bright green eyes. ...Average, he thinks to himself. Not my type at all. Not that I like a chase, but... And yet she misinterprets his glance-over as checking her out, because she gets a little bit closer. If someone wasn't standing behind him talking and drinking, he'd back away quickly. Agh, figures. 

 

Oh come on. She's quite fetching. 

 

The hell are you talking about? YOU want to talk to her? I'll GLADLY introduce you. 

 

Sure thing, hehehe...

 

You're a hopeless thing. Still, he does think about it for a second. Maybe if he released and held a mini version of Saiken, she would be repulsed and run away. But he promised that he wouldn't make a huge spectacle with Saiken. Maybe not to Lara herself, but he certainly would have to answer to her had he been up to those kinds of tricks... The woman gives him a small wave as she steps just a little too close into his metaphorical bubble. 

 

"Well hello there, I don't think I've seen you around before." Utakata picks up that she has the same funny accent that Lara does. He glances at Lara, who's not too far away. But she's focused on a young woman, of a darker skin tone, her hair in many tiny braids. They seem to be having a great time catching up, and from the hugging and excited squeals, they seem to be best friends. Good for them, he supposes. They seem to be having a better time than he is currently. Unable to hide his discomfort, Utakata decides to respond. 

 

"Uhm.... Hi." Smooth move, grace. You're so very charming. 

 

And perhaps that could be true in different circumstances. But with the many people in the area, this woman being a little to into him, and just overall culture shock, he has no idea how to act. She starts asking him questions, and all he can do is give half-assed answers. He VERY much hates this sort of small talk, and the fact that she's getting closer and closer is very awkward. 

 

"And maybe, I was thinking, we could slip out and get some drinks? Just us." Utakata feels his heart leap into his throat. But he takes a deep breath and takes a step back when he notices the person behind him left. Thank slug. He shakes his head. 

 

"I'm quite alright, thanks. Listen, it was a pleasure meeting you, but I gotta..." He glances at Lara. Hm... "Wish Lara a happy birthday! It's been ages since we've talked." That couldn't be further from the truth. Without a further word, he hurries to Lara and the woman she's talking to. Said woman turns around and smiles. Lara waves as well. 

 

"Oh! Hello. Are you one of Lara's fellow agents?" Utakata holds back the urge to gulp. She knows? But he nods. "Ah. Alright, that would explain why we've never been acquainted. My name is Anaya. What can I call you?" 

 

"Utakata."

 

"Pleasure meeting you."

 

"Everything alright, Utakata?" He nods, glancing at the woman from before. She looks rather pissed off, but it seems she's moved onto the next guy. Thank. Slug. He sighs. 

 

"Let's just say I made an acquaintance." Lara glances over at the blonde. 

 

"Oh, her? ....I don't even know who the devil she is, to be honest." 

 

"I think she was in my major," Anaya says, "But she failed first year because she just couldn't handle the workload. I heard she spent more time drinking than she did in the books." She scowls. "I'm sorry she was harassing you. I recall she doesn't have many personal boundaries." Utakata shakes his head again. He's uncomfortable, but at the very least Anaya seems sensible. And quite attractive, if he has to admit it to himself. Lara seems to have good taste in friends. 

 

He smiles, and allows himself into the conversation for a tiny bit. Perhaps he can be social for just a little bit before he gets some sake.

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Mikasa361

[hikarinomemori]

 

Illidan Stormrage, Lord of the Illidari

<Status: Stable; nervous>

<Location: Hawaii>

<People: Lara, Temeraire, Enterprise, Reshiram, Utakata, Tien, Xander, Sol>

 

 

 

Temeraire Rhowa, Warrior of Light

<Status: Stable; uncomfortable>

<Location: Hawaii>

<Current Class: Ninja>

<People: Lara, Illidan, Enterprise, Reshiram, Utakata, Tien, Xander, Sol>

 

~~

 

Satisfied with the dress, Temeraire started doing a little bit of window shopping - a thing she typically did in Ul'dah when she needed a break from all the adventuring. However, nothing had prepared her for the sight of Illidan sitting outside one of the stores with a bunch of boxes in varying shades of red next to him. "What are you doing out here, Illidan?"

 

"Waiting for Xander to finish."

 

"And you aren't in there talking with him... why?"

 

Illidan turned away from Temeraire. "I don't want to talk about it."

 

Temeraire picked up one of the boxes next to Illidan, curious about why there was so many of them. "What's all this, then?"

 

"Chocolate. Trust me, I know the smell."

 

"Who from? I mean, not to sound like I'm prying, but you don't come off as the kind of guy who would just up and buy a bunch of chocolate."

 

"Just some weirdos who thought it'd be a good idea to approach a demon and ask him to 'be their Valentine' or something."

 

"Oh." Temeraire sheepishly looked down, then looked back at Illidan. "...can I have some of it?"

 

"For Fel's sake, you can have all of it, Temeraire - I don't want any of it. Just don't eat it all and get sick on me."

 

Temeraire shrugged, sitting down next to Illidan and looking at another box. The box itself was heart-shaped, and the felt ribbon on it was labeled with some sort of brand name - it was a shame she couldn't read whatever language these people wrote in. Opening the box revealed an assortment of different kinds of chocolate.

 

Temeraire closed the box again, deciding to eat the chocolate later, and looked at Illidan. It didn't take the Echo to see that he was in a very bad mood. "You look upset, Illidan. Can we talk about it?"

 

"I don't have much to say." Illidan scoffed and crossed his arms.

 

"...it involved Xander, didn't it?"

 

She'd hit the nail on the head. "Okay, yes, it did. Happy? I had one chance with him and I loused it up."

 

Temeraire raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think your relationship with Xander is doomed?"

 

"Because what I said shoved him away just like it did with my last crush."

 

And I thought I was a social wreck, Temeraire thought to herself. "...there's your problem, then. Those last three words."

 

Illidan gave Temeraire a skeptical look - what did this have to do with his previous crush? "How does Tyrande factor into this? She isn't involved."

 

Oh, great, he has a name to this previous crush. "You're right. She isn't. Xander is. Think you can figure it out from there?"

 

Illidan thought for a while, but was stumped. "I don't get it. What am I failing to understand?"

 

"You're failing to understand that Xander isn't Tyrande. Xander is Xander. Tyrande's in the past - that's over and done with - and you need to stop comparing them when they're not related at all. Stop treating this relationship as if it's your relationship with Tyrande."

 

Illidan mentally facepalmed - the answer had been right under his nose and he hadn't realized it. "...I was missing the point until now, wasn't I?"

 

"Big time. I ain't a relationship expert, but if you want him back, you could start by apologizing and being yourself."

 

"You're crazy if you think being myself is going to help. Because being myself means being a jerk." And the last thing I want to be is a jerk, he added in his thoughts.

 

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't take the Echo to see that being with Xander makes you happy. And happy people don't act like jerks. They laugh, they share things about themselves, and they have a good time - which is what I'm sure you were doing before Tyrande came up as a subject."

 

"Yeah..." Illidan sighed. "I messed up really bad. I guess now all I can do is apologize and hope for the best. The worst thing he can do is deny it."

 

Temeraire smiled a little. "Yeah. Why don't you meet me in the hotel later so I can help you with the bowtie?"

 

"...that'd be nice."

 

~[Much, much later...]~

 

"It doesn't itch, does it?"

 

Illidan sighed. "I wouldn't have chosen it if it did." He was wearing the dress pants and bowtie, though he was still in a bit of a sour mood. He'd also snuck one of the boxes of chocolate that Temeraire hadn't claimed as her own - maybe it'd make it a little easier to apologize to Xander...

 

...aaaahhhhh I'm getting all sappy, he thought to himself.

 

Meanwhile, Temeraire looked (and felt) as if she were a goddess. The dress suited her nicely, she was wearing her signature earrings (as always), she'd managed to cobble together a decent necklace from scrap metal (thank the Twelve she was a goldsmith!), and she'd managed to hide both of her daggers and her tail under her dress.

 

It did not stop her from feeling awkward, though. She looked fantastic, but felt very much out of her element. "Trying to find Xander?"

 

"Yes... but I'm not having much luck. Maybe if I'm lucky he'll find me first. What about you? What are you going to do?"

 

"Probably try to enjoy myself, though I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do..."

 

"You're not going to get plastered, are you?"

 

"Hells no! I hate it when I even get tipsy, let alone drunk! ...are you implying that you are?"

 

Illidan stammered. "N-No! I don't even know where it is... Goddess, I'm very out of my element here..."

 

"You and me both..."

[Marcus Pheonix]

Mama vs Men: FIGHT

 

‘Sigh’ This was so tiring. Sol thought. There were nearly eight men surrounding her as she sat alone at a small table. There ages varied, some looked as young as Tien, some looked to reach their thirties and, to her horror, one looked older than her. Apparently Lara’s birthday coincided with a day of romance on this world, and Sol was regretting the low-cut of her dress. She hadn’t really been paying attention to what the men had been saying, either. There were now 7 drinks on her table, all offerings from the men, who were currently arguing with one another that they had seen her first and piling on higher and higher lies.

 

Glancing past them her eyes landed on Utakata and she smiled. He looked so good, his hair had been cleaned up and the new Kimono looked striking. She was glad they had convinced her to get one, it worked so much better than a suit. He even had his chest covered, thanks to the painfully complex knot Sol had crafted before they had headed to the party.

 

It seemed she wasn’t the only one who found him attractive right now, as a young girl had wandered over. She watched as he walked away from her, leaving the girl rather cross. Sol glanced up at the men surrounding her. How should she get away from them, men are far more lecherous things than women, and they likely would follow if she were to leave.

 

She turned her attention to the drinks laid around her; there was wine, cider, but mainly fruity cocktails of varying colours. She leaned forward and sniffed them; the cocktails seemed well made.according to her superior sense of smell. Grabbing the first in reach she took a sip, paused and proceeded to down the entire drink. The men surrounding her fell silent as she reached for the second cocktail and repeated the same action.

 

Six drinks down, she turned her attention to the wine and Sipped it slowly, looking down her glass at the men, who were now showing signs of bewilderment. She finished the glass and grabbed the bottle of cider, and held it out to the man who’d purchased it for her.

 

“Thank you but I'm not a fan of cider. Would you happen to have a light instead?” She asked, batting her eyelids. The man, taken aback, suddenly seemed eager to be singled out and reached into his jacket and pulled out a small red lighter. The other men glared angrily at him, assuming the same.

 

Sol clicked the lighter and a small flame came out. She gave a rather unimpressed look at the small size of it, then shrugged and in one motion sipped the fire, as if through a straw, into her mouth. The men stared aghast at her as she drained the contents of the lighter. As she swallowed the final flame she exhaled two brief streams of fire from her nose. The men had all backed up, now staring at her in mild horror.

 

“Does anyone else have a lighter?” Sol asked, extending her hand. The men gave various answers of no, accompanied by head-shakes.

“Well, I guess I should go find one,” Sol said. She stood and walked past the dumbfounded men, fortunately, none of them followed her.

Her eyes drawn to Uta, who was now talking with their host, she couldn’t help but notice a girl in a wheelchair with light red hair.

 

The girl seemed to be fast asleep, concerned Uta walked over to her. There was a thick blanket covering her lap and her breathing was deep and even; she was fast asleep.

 

Sol snapped her fingers a few times in front of the girl’s face.

“Hello, can you hear me, we’re at a party, it’d be best not to sleep through it,” She said in a soft voice by the girls ear.
The girl didn’t wake, Sol wheeled her over to one of the tables and made a mental note to check up on her later.
I wonder who invited her?

 

She walked over to Lara, Uta and the woman Lara had been with.

“Well the companies been a bit dull so far but the drinks have been good,” Sol said.

She held out her hand towards Lara.

“Happy birthday, my names Sol, I only joined recently so I don’t believe we’ve met,” She said kindly.

Edited September 20, 2019 by Marcus Pheonix

[Mikasa361]

 

ウタカタ - Hierophant

X -  Flee | ▢ - Drink

△ - Chat | O - ??????

 

He sees Sol make her way over, seeming to have escaped a reverse harem. Good grief, he thinks to himself, are all people in Lara's world this crazy? Still, he gives her a smile and greets her with a wave. He does appreciate her efforts on him, after all she did make him look very nice. And for him, looking good seems to coincide with feeling good. Utakata then looks at Anaya, who seems to have glanced at him quite a few times within the past couple minutes of conversation. Is it because of the colors of the kimono? He does feel somewhat more confident in this outfit, which surprises him more than anything considering he felt just fine in his usual kimono. Maybe he should get a few new ones, considering that one is a little too worn for his liking now. 

 

Sol starts introducing herself to Lara, while Lara turns to her and happily starts a conversation. 

 

Leaving him with Anaya. She's nice enough, but he doesn't know all that much about her besides the fact that she's Lara's friend from school and she studied something that took a lot of time and dedication. He isn't even sure what engineering really is, and he feels he would insult her if he asked. So Utakata sighs. "So um... I'm not sure what to say." Anaya shrugs.

 

"That's alright. Although between you and me, you seem to be one of very few people I'm willing to make conversation with." 

 

Utakata raises his eyebrow. "Why's that?"

 

Anaya frowns. Her voice lowers. "There are just so many people Lara and I don't know. Whoever invited all of these people, either they don't know Lara at all or they're up to something. That would explain why Lara's been visibly anxious."

 

"You know her well. I guess that makes sense considering you've been friends for a while."

 

"I'll be honest. I know her better than most of the people here. Which concerns me." She shifts her weight to one foot, similar to what he sees Lara do. Utakata raises his eyebrow, noting that these two women have a few similar speech habits, though not many. "But... I'd rather not talk about that now. Can I get you a drink?" Utakata gives her a half smile. 

 

"Is this your way of saying you'd rather chat elsewhere?" He nods. "In which case, I suppose I could use a drink, hopefully the bar isn't super crowded now that Sol left it." 

 

Utakata follows her towards the bar, leaving Lara to deal with Sol. 

 

 

Lara Rochelle - Empress

X -  Walk Away | ▢ - Drink

△ - Chat | O- MATCH

 

Lara knows Anaya enough to know when she's genuinely attracted to someone. So when she sees the change in posture and the way she gives him that One Specific Smile, Lara knows more than enough to know maybe she should be the proper wingwoman. 

 

Alas, she has no idea how to do that. 

 

So when one of the new agents makes her way over, Lara feels a surge of relief. 

 

"Happy birthday, my name's Sol, I only joined recently so I don’t believe we’ve met,” the woman says, holding out her hand to shake. Lara takes it gratefully. 

 

"Pleasure to meet you, and thank you. Were you the one who cleaned Utakata up? Not bad," she adds with a wink. Then she smiles and crosses her arms under her chest. "Anyway, I hope you're having a good time thus far." 

 

She notices when Utakata and Anaya walk towards the bar, and she gives a knowing smile. Looks like the antisocial butterfly made a friend today. 

[Pachimew]

 

The party is...well, it’s a party; lighteyes-style. Tien’s not usually invited to those. He’s attended a few of them, but not really as a true guest. More of a tagalong. There to watch people, take mental notes on the politics, gather gossip that might indicate useful information…

 

Make people think better of Amaram for sponsoring a darkeyed nobody…

 

Tien shakes his head sharply. This isn’t the time to reexamine that issue. Tien’s relationship with his commander/mentor/parental(?) figure/whatever-Amaram-actually-is-to-him is not something he wants to stand around thinking about at a party.

 

That said, he does find it ironic that he’s managed to gravitate to someone who holds a similar role now that the party’s going full swing. Tien sneaks a nervous glance at Xander before quickly looking back at his cup. He’s not actually sure what’s in this, but he’s pretty sure it’s alcoholic.

 

Should he make conversation? He wouldn’t normally, but X-DRE’s organization is a lot more...casual than Amaram’s army. 

 

Also, there are some girls eyeing him and Tien’s already seen several of the others get accosted. Maybe they’ll leave him alone if he’s already talking to someone. 

"So…" Tien starts awkwardly. "Uh…" What would Fractal want to know? "What’s your homeworld like?" he blurts out.

[Pachimew]

 

Tien mumbled a thanks in response to Xander's compliment and nodded through the ramble about his home, absentmindedly reaching up to pet the horse’s side. Who brought a horse to a party? Who let people bring a horse to a party?

 

Not that Tien was complaining. This one seemed nice enough--he wasn’t chewing on his hair instead of just sniffing it, for example--and he was soft and gave Tien something to do with his free hand.

 

While half of Xander’s words went in one ear and out the other, Tien noted his expressions more carefully. The fondness in face and tone spoke of great love, nostalgia, respect. Good traits in a king.

 

Part of Tien's mind started wondering how that could be exploited, and if anyone had ever tried. He probably shouldn't be thinking about that, but he couldn't really help it...and it wasn't like Xander could read his mind, so he let his thoughts trail off on that path until the mention of such heavy reliance on magic set him wondering how their magic worked, exactly. It sounded like such a tenuous way to live; Tien's powers were fueled by Stormlight, sure, but even that couldn't last forever. What happened if they found themselves in a situation where they couldn't use it? Did they have any skills to fall back on? 

 

"...been rambling. Was there something in particular that you wanted to know?"

 

Tien blinked. "Ah--no, not really, I was just curious." Fractal rang impatiently on his arm, and he glanced at her. She had questions, clearly. Was he comfortable telling Xander about his spren…?

 

...The way things had been going, he’d probably find out anyways. Tien stopped petting the horse and rotated his arm so the pattern that was Fractal faced Xander. "Fractal might have something, though."

 

"Your mages sound like Edgedancers or Truthwatchers," Fractal said without hesitating. "Users of Progression. Are there any others? Or all they all simply focused on bringing life?"

[hikarinomemori]

 

Illidan Stormrage, Lord of the Illidari
<Status: Stable; TEMERAIRE YOU'RE DEAD>
<Location: Mauna Kea Beach>
<People: Temeraire, Xander, Tien, Yosuke, Sieghorse, Milk Cream>

 

 

 

Temeraire Rhowa, Warrior of Light
<Status: Stable; go get em Illidan>

<Location: Mauna Kea Beach>
<Current Class: Ninja>

<People: Illidan, Xander, Tien, Yosuke, Sieghorse, Milk Cream>

 

~~

 

Temeraire looked around, completely uninterested in the party, and then saw that familiar blond hair. "There's your king, lover-demon."

 

"...aww no, Temeraire. I may suck at socializing but even I can tell that interrupting someone else is rude. I am not about to be seen as impolite just because of my eagerness to apologize."

 

As Illidan spoke, Temeraire spared another glance. The one Xander had been speaking to was now preoccupied with someone else. "...no need to be impolite, Illidan. I see your opening."

 

"Wait-- what?!"

 

"Break a leg, lover-demon." And then Temeraire took Illidan's hand and brought him over. After they were close enough (but not too close), she turned around and pushed him towards Xander before darting off to join up with Tien and his new, um... friend. (No really what is that strange animal? It looks like a baby coeurl...)

 

Illidan was not amused by Temeraire pulling him towards Xander without his say-so. "Temeraire! Goddess dammit..." She is so dead later! This was not going to be easy. Illidan couldn't help putting one of his hands to his face. Goddess-damn cat. He pulled his hand away before speaking, trying (and failing) to sound confident. Even with his confident air, his nervousness was as plain as day. "H-Hey, Xander..."

 

S***, this is going to be hard...

[Pachimew]

 

 

So Nohr...ian? Nohrian magic could be stored inside of objects, rather than needing a spren-focus. Of course, Tien hadn’t seen any spren at all in the other worlds; it was likely they were unique to Roshar, and everywhere else needed a system that didn’t involve them.

 

Xander inched his sword out of its sheath, and it glowed with light. Tien’s eyes widened. Shardblades, Fractal especially, had their own magical flair, but nothing so dramatic as that. What powers could this Siegfried hold? Was it similar to a Blade, or--?

 

Xander broke off and looked behind him. Tien followed his gaze automatically. A boy around his age was petting the horse’s neck, looking adoringly at it. Tien almost would have thought he’d snuck in, except that his outfit, though messy, did match that of the waiters. 

 

"Oh, I’m sorry. Is this your horse?"

 

...He was kind of pretty.

 

Oh no, Tien thought, horrified with himself, no no no no no, I can’t start this again. 

 

"Yes, he is."

 

"I love him." The earnestness in his voice was--NO NO NO COME ON, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF. "Seeing another animal here makes me feel a bit better, you know? I’m glad I’m not the only one who brought their pet to this event." 

 

Not...the only one? Tien blinked. He would have noticed an axehound, wouldn’t he? Unless the other boy was talking about a tamed mink or--

 

Something headbutted Tien’s leg with an odd, unfamiliar sound. He dropped his gaze to stare at a small creature with black-and-white fur, now circling around his legs.

 

He had no idea what this was. Tien went very still. It probably wasn’t dangerous, but he still didn’t want to hurt or annoy it on accident. 

 

"You two don’t look like the usual crowd. Not to say you didn’t follow the dress code, but most people aren’t cool enough to bring animals to these things." 

 

Tien nodded vaguely, eyes still on the odd animal. Fractal slid down to the ground to investigate, buzzing curiously at the creature. He caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and jerked his head up.

 

"I’m Yosuke, by the way." The boy--Yosuke--winked, extending a hand. Tien felt his cheeks heat up and internally cursed himself. "How about you two?" 

 

"Xander," Tien’s companion introduced himself, shaking Yosuke’s hand. The boy nodded, then turned to Tien with an expectant grin.

 

You’re fine, Tien told himself, knowing it was a lie. You’re fine. You’ve handled things like this before, crushes don’t get in the way of being cordial, oh dear Almighty why are you such a mess?!

 

Damnation. There was the storming trade-off he’d been anticipating. He’d wondered when the other shoe would drop.

 

X-DRE’s casual setup had made him more comfortable, able to interact with people lightly and open-heartedly. He’d let himself relax, let some of his acts slip away. Tien was (or had once been) at his core, a cheerful person, basically optimistic, compassionate, open. In a single short week, he’d started to return to that.

 

He was letting his emotions show. He was letting himself feel and show his feelings.

 

Too much.

 

Fine. If Tien needed to hide in order to control himself, fine. He took a mental step back, reached inside himself for a familiar mask, let it settle over him like a veil. He couldn’t change his face right away without it being obvious, but he could maybe do it in pieces--later. Later. Away from Xander. Let Yosuke think it was a mistake of the lighting if they moved. 

 

"Telinar Mevani. Nice to meet you." Calm voice. Steady. Thank the Almighty. Firm handshake and let go. He was fine. He glanced briefly at Xander and hoped the man would go with it. 

 

In a moment of terrible, terrible timing, Temeraire popped up next to him seconds later.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Pachimew
color-matching

[Marcus Pheonix]

It's not fun being Han Sol-o
 

Sol watched Uta go with a raised eyebrow; she turned her attention back to Lara.

“Yes, I couldn’t bare to have him wander around in that mouldy old bathrobe. And now look at him; a girls number at the shops and casually strolling through a party with another young lady,” Sol sighed. She wondered if she’d ever be able to experience that form of agape in her life again. As her mind wandered back, to several decades ago, she felt a small tear slide down the side of her face.

 

Blushing in embarrassment she wiped it away, “Oh look at me, I'm such an old grandma just the sight of some kids bonding brings me to tears,” Sol chuckled lightly to herself.

 

“I may not look it but I'm a fair bit older than you. Which I don’t think those boys over by the bar realised. But truthfully, I feel like I shouldn’t even be here. It’s your party and I barely know you, or anyone here. The one I know most us Utataka but I only learned his name this morning. My guild has hosted several celebrations but I've always just been the one standing at the back observing, making sure everyone else is having a good time... participating is, kind of unusual,” Sol admitted. She shook herself, she was getting far too emotional.

 

“I must say, you’re looking very fetching. Seems I wasn't the only one playing the stylist this afternoon,” Sol said, pleasantly trying to change the tone of the conversation.

Edited September 22, 2019 by Marcus Pheonix

[Mikasa361]

 

Lara Rochelle - Empress

X -  Walk Away | ▢ - Drink

△ - Chat | O- ! Friend!

 

Lara figures it's perhaps not the best time to bring up just how strange Sol's shedding of one singular tear was. And perhaps she figures it's best not to pry, she knows now what happens when one tries to pry. So she instead smiles and shakes her head. 

 

"You're more than welcome, Sol. You're doing just fine. I do hope you can have a good time here, I'm sure it's a bit of a shock. It is remarkable, though, that anyone could manage to get Utakata to catch the eyes of women." And at Sol's comment on her attire, she grins, feeling her face flush. She still isn't used to being called "fetching" or anything similar, probably considering she's more used to being caked in grime from the exposed shoulders of her tank top to the toes of her boots. "Ah! Thank you. I'll admit I did have a bit of assistance, including a trim and perhaps three little stylists." She looks down at her dress. "I do feel like a bloody goddess in this attire." 

 

Then Lara takes a look up and down at Sol. Is she really as old as she says? The woman ages very well. "You look very lovely as well. I'm not surprised you're catching attention. Although if it gets too irksome, let me know and I'll scare a few people off." Lara says with a chuckle. Conversation is nice. She actually appreciates it, considering she now feels just a little less anxious. 

 

Now if her damn boyfriend could show up, that'd be great.

 

 

 

ウタカタ - Hierophant

X -  Flee | ▢ - Drink

△ - Chat | O - Oh god Tien no

 

His conversation with Anaya was just kicking off when he soon stopped talking. He catches Tien in a conversation with who he assumes is one of the waiters. He seems to give the boy a different name, and seems to be passing off Xander's horse as his own. He can just feel the second hand embarrassment as he walks past, and even with Anaya trying to catch his attention again, he stays quiet until they make it to the bar. He sits down, sighs, and puts two fingers to his temple. Anaya raises her eyebrow at him.

 

"Are you okay, Utakata?" 

 

He shakes his head. "I could just feel the embarrassment back there." 

 

"Erm... Alright," Anaya says. She orders a glass of wine, then turns back to Utakata. "Do you want anything?"

 

"If there's sake, I'll take some."

 

Anaya grins at him. "I like your taste in alcohol," she states before turning to the bartender and ordering a bottle. Wow, he thinks to himself, Someone likes her sake.

 

 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Mikasa361

[Pachimew]

 

Well. This was a thing that was happening now. Tien shot a sidelong glance at Xander as he left with Illidan, faintly wondering what all that was about. He considered asking Fractal to tail them, but that would be a stupid idea; Xander knew what she looked like, for one thing, and Tien did have some respect for others’ privacy, for another.

 

Also, there was a cute boy talking to him and he had to focus on not being a total mess. He’d find out what it was all about eventually. 

 

Yosuke leaned towards him, and he instinctively leaned back slightly. "Sooooo, Telinar. You don’t seem like the kind of person to hang out with a, ah what’s a nice way to phrase it." Yosuke waved his hand in a circular motion. "Snobby? Yes, snobby crowd. What brought you to this party? And you!" Yosuke pivoted to look at Temararie. "I think I would have remembered seeing someone with as great of sense of fashion as you. How about you? What’s your name and how did you get dragged into this lovely mess with the rest of us?"

 

Tien brushed his hair back with a slight snort, automatically tucking his bangs behind his ears. He could act the part without Lightweaving, but Light would help. Fade the brown from his hair into pure Alethi black, make his freckles less noticeable, that was easy enough to pass off as the lighting. "Oh, you’d be surprised. I’ve been to a few functions like this before, though usually, ah…" His nose wrinkled. "Usually not in, let’s say, quite as nice a position. I’m here because I work with the guest of honor."  He nodded in Lara’s direction. "She extended an invitation and I didn’t have any reason to refuse."

 

He wasn’t quite sure if he was regretting that or not.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Pachimew
color-matching

[hikarinomemori]

 

Temeraire Rhowa, Warrior of Light

<Status: Stable; a little nervous>

<Location: Mauna Kea Beach>

<Current Class: Ninja>

<People: Tien | Sieghorse | Yosuke>

 

~~

 

"Oh, my fashion sense ain't that great. Nonetheless, I'm Temeraire. I'm here for... pretty much the same reason as Tien, here. Lara invited me, and I had no reason to say 'no'." Temeraire listened as Tien spoke. "Oh, so this isn't your first time at a party either, eh? First time or not, though... I can't help but feel a bit out of my element." Sure, she could dress the part, but other than that, Temeraire was sure that she stuck out due to her ears alone.

[Eto]

二番隊

.

.

 

He had looked away for just a second.

 

How is he so fast? Kuu murmurs to himself under his breath, scanning the area around them quickly for any signs of the elusive bounty hunter that had formerly been standing right beside him and Dennis, guarding the caviar for the job that he had insisted on taking. It paid a lot, was Rufus' explanation, even though Kuu is still confused as to why they require that much money. His share of the money had been sent back to his barracks, and then subsequently dumped into the sewers when no one could figure out what to do with multi-universe currency, until Dennis found him dumping bills into the Seine one day and subsequently put a stop to it with the explanation 'That's like 200 euros Kuu, don't'. Perhaps he was lucky that it was Dennis who found him and not Rufus, as he's almost certain he would have been eviscerated otherwise. Speaking of -- 

 

"I'm going to look for Rufus," he announces, preparing himself as he looks across the horizon. Where would the bounty hunter most likely be? Districts, narrow alleyways of England, and then -- 

 

Ah. 

 

The giant mansion -- that could be it.

 

"Stay here," he adds as an afterthough, though it is not so much a command as it is a resigned acceptance that they will probably fail this protection meeting, considering where one went, the other two usually followed. With that thought, Kuu uses Shunpo to teleport himself directly into the middle of the hall, appearing in a blink of black light.

 

And just in time to see Rufus sneak up behind an unsuspecting human and trip her, slamming her face into the pie and the table, by extension. Ah -- of course, exactly why he came. Damage control.

 

Kuu knows how to comfort humans -- he thinks. They are not so different from the Shinigami of the Soul Society, with the exception that they died much more easily. But emotions and words -- they were all the same, were they not?

 

He knows exactly how to help this situation -- and the pie-covered lady, who is quickly beginning to get over her shock and enter the realm of 'upset'.

 

Kuu grabs one of the treats from the waiters scurrying nearby, a strange, egg-like item, cut in half with some sort of mustard filling. 

 

"Enjoy your hor d'oeuvre, sir," the waiter says. "Bon appétit."

 

"Wo ist die Toilette," Kuu replies. How exciting, he was speaking European! 

 

He uses Shunpo once more, appearing beside the lady before anyone else could, at the speed of light. The woman is blinking, wiping pieces of jam from her eyes, and trying to retain the finer parts of her dignity. Around, people are beginning to grow concerned, with equal dirty looks shot at Rufus' retreating back and concerned glances in their general direction.

 

He can deal with his retreating boyfriend later, Kuu decides, and instead kneels down beside the lady.

 

"Don't cry, ma'am," he tells her. "Some people choose to take their bad day out on others."

 

Then, he holds out the 'oar deverreee'. "Egg?"

[Pachimew]

 

Tien glanced over as someone let out a small cry. Some woman had just been tripped straight into her food. The man who tripped her snapped out something he didn’t quite catch and strode away, barely bothering to acknowledge her and certainly not apologizing. 

 

Tien frowned, feeling a sharp, instinctive dislike for the man. Only half-listening to the continuing conversation, and keeping his attention on the woman long enough to note that someone had come to reassure her, he watched the man move to the end of the table and start picking up silverware and store it in his coat. His...black coat with a pink feather collar…

 

Hm. Now that Tien thought about it, this man--was he a man? The left hand was covered, like a safehand; no, no. This wasn’t Alethkar, or even Roshar. Best to go with man. At any rate, he very much did not look like he belonged here. And he definitely hadn’t come with X-DRE. 

 

He leaned towards Yosuke without looking away, carefully keeping track of him. "I think that man is stealing." Tien hesitated for a moment. "...We should do something about it."

Edited October 7, 2019 by Pachimew