#chatzy: lift your spirits

[streetharmacist]

Lift Your Spirits | Luce & Felix

Time: June 12, evening. Summary: “The closest bonds we will ever know are bonds of grief. The deepest community one of sorrow.” - Cormac McCarthy Warnings: Drug use, Sibling death, Grief With: @divineluce

Signalling to the dealer that she was cashing out, Luce finished off the last of her whiskey. She’d made a killing tonight and she hadn’t even bothered to be subtle about it. She had a sneaking suspicion it might have something to do with the time she and Mina had been here. Even drunk out of her mind, she’d realized something had been weird with the pitboss after they’d had words with them. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why. All she knew was, whenever she looked at the balding pitboss, he’d been staring at her in a nervous, almost forced way. Setting the glass on the edge of the table, she sighed. Whatever. Not her problem. Taking the small stack of bills, Luce slid a twenty across the table to the dealer before heading to the bar. The night was young enough, which meant she wanted to get fucked up. Possibly fucked, but… Nadia had called her out on lying last time, which wasn’t something she wanted to deal with right now. And Remmy, they were a fucking mess. She didn’t want to make things worse by hitting them up right now. So, drinks it was. She leaned against the wooden bartop and signalled the bartender, “An old fashioned, please. Mmm. Make it a double.” She said as she took a seat.

Not even the smokiest corner of the Stacked Deck could conceal how the change in Felix’s mood overshadowed the table. The internet had made things much easier to fake. With cards in hand and an empty seat next to him, there would be no such thing. The smiles and banter that usually wafted across the scratched wood were suspiciously quiet. He called when he needed to and relied on the mirrors of his faintly cracked glasses to make the men across from him uncomfortable. It brought him a little joy to see them squirm, but it was inconsequential. He treated the game like a small bloodletting. Collecting droplets as he went and when he felt a slight modicum of satisfaction at his earnings, he cashed out. The annoyed grunts of a table not too far away caught his attention as he stood up. Someone else had seemingly done their own killing that night. As he emerged from the heavy waves of cigar smoke, he was surprised to see who it was. Through core-deep melancholia came a slight smile. The fae wandered to the bar and made a home of the seat next to Luce. “You know me. Jameson neat. I don’t mind if you get a little heavy with it,” he called to the bartender before he glanced over at Luce. “Hiya Luce. Making friends or enemies?” He inclined his head toward the table she had cleaned out.

Resting her hands against the scarred surface of the bar, Luce glanced down at her arms. The bruise on her jaw had faded away, as had most of the marks against her skin. But, a few stubborn yellow patches remained, not entirely healed. She almost wished that they were fresh again, to remind her. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. As someone sat down next to her, bringing the heavy smell of cigar smoke with them, she was dimly aware of the fact they’d said her name. “Hm?” She looked over at the man next to her and froze. Felix. Fuck. Sitting there like some guy out of an old fashioned movie. Of all the gin joints and all that shit... Thankfully, her drink arrived and she took a moment to take a long sip before replying to him. “Bit of both, bit of both. Dealer wasn’t too happy, but the pitboss didn’t seem to mind.” She said, turning in her chair to cast a sarcastic wave in the direction of the Jason Statham lookalike. He stiffened before hurrying off to another corner of the room. Looking over at him, she took in his… less than perfect appearance. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him in an unpressed suit, or with the hints of five o’clock shadow. “How about you?” She asked conversationally, pretending as though she wasn’t startled by his disheveled state.

The fae cast Luce a cursory glance. Hair up, clothes a little rumpled. Felix couldn’t quite tell with the red hue he looked at the world through, but maybe even a bruise or two. See enough broken or mending bodies and some deductions could be made. He would say she looked about how he felt, but really, he imagined they both looked about how they felt. He hadn’t put much effort. Shirtsleeves rolled up, tie loose. Wasn’t enough of a bother to wave his hands over when he went out the door. “The dealers can get pretty cranky here. Think the one you got put with has a reputation for it. Or maybe that’s because I pissed ‘em off last,” he remarked as he gave the bartender a nod of thanks when his drink came. A brow rose over his glasses as he looked at the fleeing pitboss with a dull expression. “But the money comes around all the same so they can’t stay too mad, y’know? It always does.” He turned back and took a long drink, the burn more than welcome. He tipped his glass toward Luce. “Sláinte. Should’ve said that before.” He wasn’t entirely there, scattered as he was. He chewed on the inside of his whiskey-coated cheek as he turned the warm glass. It wasn’t that it felt strange or awkward to talk with Luce, it was just...different. There was a hole there that he couldn’t avoid noticing. It would have been wrong to. “Oh, I’m always making friends,” he said with a sharp grin that lacked any warmth. It weakened some as his shoulders dropped with a breath. “Ain’t gotta talk about it if you don’t want but, uh, Nell told me. What happened.” The drink he took was long and when he dropped his glass, he traced his chin with a thumb.

“True. The house always wins.” Luce agreed before patting the wad of cash she’d tucked into the pocket of her jeans, “Except for when they don’t.” She offered a slightly forced, wry grin as she lifted her glass to her lips. At his words, she tilted her own at him in acknowledgment. “Şerefe.” She echoed. Different words, different languages, but it didn’t really matter. Every language had a word for, “let’s drink.” The liquor was cheaper than she was used to-- her jaw clenched involuntarily. She always kept a nice stock of good whiskey at Bea’s. The last time she’d drank there… Well, it had ended with her waking up in the forest with a headache and a gaping hole in her soul that she’d yet to fill. Staring into her glass, she idly toyed with the piece of orange rind in her drink, using it to stir the ice. But then, Felix’s words trickled in, sending a shiver down her spine. Pain flickered across her face. She’d… He… Nell. Christ, Nell had told him. Where had she been in all of that? Drowning her sorrow away, while her little sister had to bear the burden of breaking the news to those who mattered most to Bea? Fuck. “She did, huh?” Luce said, her shoulder tensing a bit. The last time Bea’s friends had found out, she’d had a screaming match over the internet about it. She didn’t have the energy for that right now. She was tired. Tired in a way she hadn’t even known was possible. “Yeah. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Damn right,” Felix said with a watered down expression of smugness. “House gets cocky sometimes. It’s fun to see what happens when they get taken out at the knees.” He had entertained the idea once of opening his own casino. Of standing at the top of some spiraling staircase that reached up, up, up. Looking out over what he had created. But it didn’t take. A spot like that? It had too much light. It wasn’t a place that someone like him could dwell. The attitude of the underbelly suited him better. Bottomfeeder, some called him. But at the end of the day, he always ate well. Except when he didn’t. It was hard to fill an emptiness that seemed to steadily grow and day by day, it did just that. He couldn’t say for sure and wouldn’t assume, but Luce had lost blood. It would be unfair to compare and as it was, he couldn’t lie and say he understood. No one ever really did, did they? He rubbed idly into his left temple as a smoky quiet came over them. He nodded slowly. “You don’t have to,” he said quietly. “Not really the kinda thing...The, uh, feeling that words can be put to. After a while, it’s just more noise.” Funny sentiment coming from him and he smiled bitterly at the taste. He sucked in his cheek. Opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Opened it again when the thought properly came to him. Took in a drink before he voiced it. “It’s not much, but I’ve got something. It’s better than talking when you want people to listen. Really, uh, hear you when there’s a lot going on and you’re feeling a lot, if you catch my meaning.” He glanced at her carefully. “And if you want someone to, I’m offering.”

“You’ve got that right.” Luce agreed, though the words were hollow. Normally, she would revel in the opportunity to stick it to the Stacked Deck. Then again. Under normal circumstances, she would have been at the poker tables, cleaning them out for all they were worth. But, she couldn’t go there. Too many memories, too many holidays spent around the table, playing cards and egging each other on. She took another long drink from her glass, gulping the liquor down without tasting it. She wanted to drown away the memories, banish them from her mind, even if it was only for an hour or so. She wanted to forget Bea’s death, forget the heavy burden placed squarely on her shoulders. She wanted to forget the way that damned raccoon had leaped at them, tried to attack them. At the man’s words, Luce ran her finger idly around the rim of the glass. “Noise is a good way of putting it.” She echoed. In the wake of her sister’s death, everything felt like white noise. Dull and droning and without substance. Better than talking. Christ. Anything was better than talking. She didn’t do words, except when she’d literally had them beaten out of her. And even then, she hadn’t been able to talk about it, hadn’t been able to tell Adam everything. Regarding Felix for a moment with weary eyes, Luce paused before glancing around. “Mhm, I’m in. But, not here.” Whatever he had in mind, she didn’t want to make a fool of herself in public. That was the last thing she needed.

The fae idled with glass in hand as he waited. The quiet jazz that played through the haze took him back. If his glass could be filled with aged sentiment, it would overflow. Color his cheeks red. But that warmth wouldn’t reach Felix. He wouldn’t give it permission to. It was hard without her there. Bea. The absence had never bothered him before, with how cold his shadows were, but now it numbed. His hand tightened on the glass before he threw it back to finish it off. “It’s like a beehive sometimes.” He said, voice low and without much energy. Behind cracked glasses, he met Luce’s eyes. Tired in a way that tired hardly described properly. Again, just words. Noise. “You got it,” he said as he slid a twenty on the table to cover the both of them. “Bourbon’s free at my place if you don’t mind walking. It’s not too far.” The slight lift of his mouth was lukewarm and melted soon as it came. It was a difficult thing to put energy toward. Most things were lately. He pushed away from the bartop and put minimal effort into adjusting his tie. Night breeze rustled his hair as he stepped out and held the door for Luce. “It’s not too far. Just off of, uh, Amity.” He rubbed a hand over his face as he started to walk, a hand in his pocket.

The easy offer, the easy acceptance. The weariness that radiated off of Felix matched her own and that was what told Luce that she was in safe hands. Drugs weren’t her usual cup of tea-- weed, blue velvet, the occasional pinch of blue mushroom, that was all. Alcohol was her preferred vice. But, she had the distinct impression that whatever Felix was offering was something outside of her typical selection and that had her… interested, at the very least. “Bourbon, hm? You do know how to charm a girl. Thanks, by the way.” She said, in reference to covering their drinks. The two of them were both flush with cash, but it was still polite. Luce’s lips curled into a slight smile. Polite. How trivial. But, he was Bea’s friend… her best friend. He was grieving too, in his own way. He understood how it felt, to lose a light as bright as her sister. The shining star of the Vural family, extinguished with the sweep of a blade. She followed him down the streets without a word, the slight wind brushing against her face. It should have felt warm out, but the numbness that had overtaken her since her sister’s death had cast a dull pallor over the world. Or maybe it was just the alcohol. Either way, Luce followed behind him and waited for him to open the door to his apartment. “Thanks again.” She said as she stepped inside after him. “For even offering, I guess.” Luce added belatedly.

Felix blew a puff of air through his nose. As close as he could get to a laugh as they walked. “I don’t know if it’s the bourbon. I think Carnegie does most of the heavy lifting.” The words came dryly as he cocking his head to the side as if he thought it over. He hummed an affirmation at her thanks. It was a small gesture, a small offering in lieu of everything. Sometimes a covered drink worked better than any slew of words could. He got that. The streetlights highlighted each haunt in the pale skin of his glamour as they walked. Highlighted her haunt too as they walked silently. The town felt empty. Each of their steps seemed to echo. Even if every light turned on at once, one would be missing. And the shadow it cast would be far too great. His apartment was dim as they walked in. Carnegie shifted from his place atop a pile of warm coals. Dangerous? Probably, but the place hadn’t burned down yet. Just as he had promised, he headed toward his full liquor cabinet and grabbed them a set of glasses. “Figured it’s the least I could offer, Luce,” he said as the bottle clinked against the glass. A generous amount for the both of them. He talked as he moved around the space. “The, uh, something I was talking about. It’s called lift. It gets a little...what’s the word, transcendental.” There was a small concealed drawer underneath his desk and it clicked as he pressed against it. Out of it, he retrieved a cone-shaped incense burner and small packed kernels of an indescribable color. “But sometimes it helps to piece together what’s going on here--” He gestured vaguely around the heart and head region. “When your feet aren’t on the ground. I’ve used it a couple times before.”

Entering the apartment, Luce’s eyes were immediately drawn to the glowing embers. As she stared, the coals seemed to shift and she realized that it was a fire salamander, not all that unlike Iggy. This one looked quite a bit older than Iggy, if it was possible to tell such a thing. Something in the eyes, the way it stared at her for a moment, before ignoring her in favor of curling up around a bright coal. “It’s nice to meet the fabled Carnegie in person. My familiar, Iggy, is a fire salamander too.” She said with a nod before she took in the rest of the apartment. It had an old fashioned flare to it-- classic movie posters, tasteful vintage furnishings, and a dark palette. Purple, red, black, the color of dusk. Very different from her own personal taste, but it suited Felix. “I appreciate it all the same.” She said quietly. Crying in Remmy’s arms, crying in Adam’s arms. She was tired of crying, tired of being unable to explain the depths of her grief. She listened carefully as Felix spoke, watching the way he gestured to himself. She gripped the glass he’d poured for her, sipping it as she mulled over his words. “It clears things up? Helps you sort through your emotions?” She asked. Whatever it was, if he thought it could help, she’d take it. “I’m game.” Luce said with an attempt at a smile.

“Oh, he’s real popular. Nell broke into the joint just to feed this guy takis, if you can believe it,” Felix said with an amused huff. As if proud of himself, the salamander feigned a yawn and turned their back to them. The fae shook his head and took a drink. “I think it gave him an attitude. Now he thinks he’s a real James Dean. I’d say he oughta meet Iggy but he might be a bad influence.” He took a moment to shift the coffee table out of the way before he sat down on the monochrome rug, drink and lift both carefully balanced in his hands. “It’s just...I wanna do something and I mean, this--” He paused as he set up the burner and lift on a small board. “--This is sorta my thing. D.A.R.E. got it all wrong.” Another dry laugh. He glanced up at Luce and looked at her for a long moment. He rarely hoped but he hoped that this, what he offered, would do something. Even something small. In his apartment, he could see the slight bruising better. “It does, yeah. The couple times I’ve done it, it’s like you’re being cracked open? Other people compare it to being unzipped and stepping out of their skin. Like you just exist as energy and you can see what makes it all up. It’s different for everyone but the one thing that stays the same is that...” He carefully placed the lift inside and left the top open, the drug ready to be lit. “If you do it with someone nearby, they just get it.” Maybe they could both use that. He swallowed another drink. “You wanna do the honors of lighting us up?”

Luce let out a small huff of a laugh, imagining her sister breaking into the apartment, a bag of Takis in hand. “I can definitely believe it. That sounds like Nell alright.” She said with a small shake of her head. The slight grin that had formed on her face faded though, as she remembered the reality of their situation-- it had been nearly a month since she and Nell had… properly done anything. Laughed. Smiled. Told jokes. Even yelled at one another. Fuck, she hadn’t really been back to the house. More often than not, Luce spent her days holed up either at her cabin or at work, coming up with whatever excuse she could to stay away from the house. “Iggy’s pretty disciplined. He keeps me in line, some days.” She admitted. Her familiar had provided her some amount of relief and reassurance over the past month. The fire salamander was aware of her mental state, knew the pain she was in. He was there to support her, in ways no one else really could. Iggy was the only one who understood. But, as Felix explained what the drug did, described its effect, Luce nodded. Maybe… Maybe Iggy didn’t have to be the only one. “Sounds good to me.” She said and held out a finger to the incense burner. Blue flame extended from the tip of her finger, catching against the strange colored kernels before igniting in an iridescent plume of smoke.

It was pleasant talking about salamanders. A thin string of normalcy in a thickly woven cover of melancholia. But as they settled into their respective positions, the cover shifted and the string was out of sight. Any vague thought of her possibly saying no faded away as blue flame reflected on his glasses and smoke started to rise. As small as lift was, just a kernel of compacted powder that may or may not have been empath bones, it lasted. Somehow purposefully spaced out its breaths of smoke to guarantee such a thing. What it did couldn’t be handled all at once. As the smoke gathered in a colorful yet colorless shroud, something out of space itself, Felix breathed in slowly. “One more thing,” he said, voice slow and steady. “I’m not human.” The way he already felt himself start to separate, he felt it was only fair to mention. Lift didn’t care for illusions as it steadily stripped them away the further it was breathed in. The smoke unraveled and as it did, human illusion slowly gave way to the shadow he wore. It was a substance of vulnerability, of shedding any masks that someone might wear in the light of day. Or in his case, the dark of night. For that reason, he kept his glasses on as he faced Luce. He could already feel the pressure that started to gather. Every repressed thought and emotion. Lift bared one’s consciousness to another. The tension from his shoulders started to dissipate as he released a breath, the motion causing a shift in the smoke as it swirled toward Luce. Slowly, steadily, the fae’s consciousness pressed against thin glass. The crack of armor. “It’ll be a minute.”

The smoke curled around in the room, filling it with colors beyond comprehension or description. But the strange appearance didn’t bother her. Luce was more aware of the space that the smoke filled, the way it curled, the soft heat, the heady scent that filled her nose. She watched as it curled around Felix and was startled to see his face fading. No, not fading. It was as though shadow was bleeding through his skin, pulsing just below the surface. A glamour. Luce looked on as horns, dark and tall, began to reveal themselves. “Huh.” She said, not really sure what else to say as the smoke began to mix and mingle with the air around her. Like incense, lift was thick and cloying as it danced before her. But, when she took in a deep breath, she could feel it filling up her lungs, buoying her. It burned, in the way that all smoke did, though the effect of the drug slowly began to filter through. As she breathed out, Luce could feel the mental barriers and walls built up in her mind begin to dissipate with the smoke. She still felt very much as though she was still in her own head, but… it was like there was more room. Her consciousness, her spirit, it felt as though she roamed beyond the confines of her body. If she pushed a little further, she could free herself. And maybe she could escape the guilt, the grief, the agony. Or at least, she could share it, with someone who could finally understand.

Felix inhaled smoke and exhaled humanity. Each breath stripped it from him, his shadow tinged with impossible luminescence. Luce’s short exclamation prompted a laugh and when it slipped through, the crack in his foundation widened by a fraction. Hands of grief and rage, of loneliness and melancholy, clung to the corners of the walls he created and began to tear them down. Stone by moon-drenched stone. Lift willed the earthly body to split itself open, to free what it was that they decided to confine. To hide away. He was aware of the ground beneath them but as he breathed, in and out, it started to fall away. The coals that Carnegie rested on glowed brighter, warmth and comfort. The warmth had been taken from the world when she had been taken away from them. That thought rang oppressively loud, as though tangible. Tentatively, the shadow of his consciousness crawled out of the rift that started at his chest and reached up his neck to unlock his skull. Freed from its confines and gasping for breath, it seemed to grow as it rose out of him. A construct of every storm by every name that dwelled and accumulated within. It hovered near the smoke as though waiting. The room they were in was hardly a room anymore. It was an open space, a box that unfolded wall by wall as time excused itself. What he and Luce felt, it could not be confined to mere words. It stretched beyond. Further still. Near enough to the point of breakage.

With each breath she took, Luce could feel the barriers crumbling. They toppled over each other, the foundations turning to dust and clouds of smoke that escaped from her mouth. All of her emotions, the sorrow and guilt and rage billowed from her body, filling the vast expanse between the two of them with heat fueled by grief and shame. If Felix’s consciousness was that of shadows and night and of raging storms barely kept in check, hers was that of the lightning strike that sparked a wildfire in the middle of the night. It was rage and hate, mingling together, dancing before her eyes. The emotions sparked and flared, to distract from the darkness that shrouded them. Because light gave way to darkness, fire gave way to ash. Two sides to everything, two sides to her pain. Beyond her anger and hatred, there was loss. Profound grief that she couldn’t comprehend, couldn’t bear to reflect on, so she’d kept it locked away. Now that the barriers were broken, the boundaries stripped bare, that darkness washed over her. It filled the room, spilling out of her in a way words never could. And it was mirrored in Felix’s own shadows. In his own grief. In his own pain.

Every concealed emotion spilled forward, as though a dam were breaking. As if lightning had cracked it open. As Felix looked at Luce, he supposed it had. Every broken thing after a storm created a shadow and in them, he became real. Real in a way he hardly ever allowed in the company of most. And as he supposed, the place they temporarily dwelled appeared to smolder. Like fanning out a deck of cards or tumbling dice, it all became tangible. Laid out on the table as their respective consciousnesses said what simple words could not. What they felt was not simple. Luce’s grief descended the room into darkness and he welcomed it. Encouraged it. To avoid darkness was to avoid an entire half of existence. Each crash of hate and anger and desolation conjured a lightning strike. Thunder rumbled. When the pressure in his head felt as though it would become too much, it opened and starlit rivers broke free from his eyes. Memories in tear drops. The story of them did not play out, but each one held joy. Laughter. Comfortable silence. Shades of pink and red, the colors of a love unspoken but no less real, wandered through the dark. His fingers tightened into his knees. Right before rage laden in sorrow split them in two and the rush came, his jaw tight and near bleeding anger red at the corners. Hate and love, two dancers on knife point, swept across the expanse. It did not cut through Luce’s own anger. Instead, it swept between, encouraged by the storm.

The man-- no, he wasn’t quite a man. Through the storm-soaked beams of starlight that flitted around what had once been Felix’s apartment, Luce was able to make out the image of horns, curving from the inky black. He was shadows incarnate, a man wreathed in darkness. He knew the dark, lived in it, loved it. The flames of her mind, of her spirit, she felt them sputter as droplets of teary rain fell down upon her, crashing with concussive bursts. With each droplet, she could feel a memory of her sister, the moments of love turned bitter by the thread of life cut short. The drops of water exploded into plumes of pink and red, and she knew. She understood. Between the falling tear drops, lightning rang, glimpses of memories flashing through the air. Memories fraught with emotion-- anger, jealousy, self loathing, yes. Those came crashing through, filling the space with bitterness and regret. But, flashes of love, of laughter, of adoration, those streaked across the sky as well. Thin rivulets of water ran down her cheeks, pooling on the ground around them. Endless tears flowed from her eyes until the space below them was flooded and an ocean formed, the two of them floating above it all. Him, darkness embodied. Her, flames in human form. The rain, the lighting, the darkness, the love, the rage, it was all reflected in the dark waters below them. The same image, distorted by the truest depths of grief.

Self-loathing came over Felix in fraught waves. Jealousy even. The kind that drew breath when it came to a sibling. Ruby red, his sister’s namesake, bloomed and crystallized as the thought drifted by. Blood. It was the loss of blood that spilled into the waters. When he caught it in his mind’s eye, it conformed to him in a way that he readily understood. Word for word, the loathing could not be translated. But it could be read. Regret came like the burn of a drink on the back of a dry tongue. Sorrow the tonic and regret the gin. It settled between them like the last drawn out note of a well-used piano, rippled the shared waters of their grief that spilled freely. He looked at Luce. Saw her. Her grief that smoldered, her anger that crashed. Tore apart the earth and the blood that coursed through the path of roots since burned out. 

Any thought of withholding what it was that needed to be felt was gone. Done away with as the smoke coursed through them and blossomed inside their lungs. Begged to be picked and for their pain to be given names. True names that their minds, now open and unraveled, could wrap around. Could look at and know. Could face even if they couldn’t face themselves. Felix’s hand, his true one, touched his fingertips to the fathomless waters that waxed and waned beneath them. The stars, the sun itself, seemed to alight his bones. From his fingers to the jagged edges of his horns. Inside his very marrow, the thought of Bea made a home. A burning shadow he became. Her sun. As Luce would not let him descend into too deep a darkness, he would not let her burn too fast and too great. But for now, they could burn, they could bleed. A symbiosis stitched haphazardly from sorrow.

The two of them sat above the churning waves, threatening to engulf the both of them. But, though the waves crashed around them, a sense of calm washed over Luce. The water, it was just that… water. It was grief, it was despair, deeper than any she had ever felt. But, it wouldn’t drown them. It wouldn’t consume them. Not while they had one another as support. She watched as Felix’s hand touched the water, his shadows dripping from his fingertips and spreading across the top of the ocean beneath them. From his fingers, she saw darkness, yes, but within the tendrils of darkness, she saw glimmers of pink and gold and red, the hues of sunrise. In those glimpses of color, that was where Bea lived. Her sister’s smiling face, cheeks flushed pink, the way her hair and glimmered under stage lights, almost gold, her sister’s brilliant flames alight with red. 

She was with them. With both of them, Luce realized as she looked up to the sky. Around them, the storm clouds and rain drops had faded to ether, the lightning nothing more than the scent of smoke and the inexplicable smell of ozone. Instead, streaks of color filled the air as though painted with the stroke of a large brush. Thick colorful swaths of warmth, like paint across a canvas-- a testament to the love she felt for her sister. The storms had run their course, the fire had raged and burned low, the lightning gone, the darkness banished. And with it all laid bare, the only thing left was love. Pure, tender-hearted love. Perhaps it was tinged at the edges with a sky blue of sadness and regret, but their love for Bea was what remained.

Soothed by the shimmering pinks and golds, Felix slipped his glasses off and set them aside. His eyes were dim. Contented. He could not view it through blood red lenses, not as the sky and the sea settled. He had to see it clearly and as he did, as he saw the skyline they could look forward to, he wept. The tremors settled. Eased with each and every breath that split between them. The rattle of bone and storm calmed. Where their cracks had formed, their broken bits had ached, the very thought of Bea tended to them. Just as she always had. She was not gone. The very thought of her kept her alive and she would not permit them to fade into ash. The curve of her smile would not allow them to break. The way her hands held them would not permit them to fall, to collapse. To crumble. The dim lights of his eyes shone in answer but did not fall to madness. He bowed his head and ran his hands over his face. Felt the tangibility, the impermanence of flesh. But love and thought did not wither the way that blood and bone did. He clung to that as he lifted his head, rose from the waters of their agony, and looked at Luce. Breathed freely as the smoke started to thin. It felt strange to speak as he opened his mouth, the smoke now faint and tinged with blue. “I--Thank you, Luce.”

The brilliant, tender hues of the scene around them bled into the air around her-- it was warm, warm in the same way that Bea’s arms had always felt when wrapped around her own. It reminded Luce of how it felt when they were children, wrapping Nell up in a tight hug, the three of them together. Her hand rested against her stomach as she took in the colors around them, fingers pressing against the fabric of her shirt. Her fingers pressed against the tattoo that lay there, the tattoo they all had, binding them together. At the thought, Luce could feel the ocean begin to drain away, the water receding until she could feel the cool floor of Felix’s apartment below her. No longer fire incarnate, she was slowly returning to the world, the nebulous, shapeless feelings slowly falling back within the confines of her mind. But, though the ocean was fading from her vision, the soft pinks and gold remained above. Her sister's presence remained. And it was the last to fade as they returned, as the lift ran its course. Looking over at Felix, she was slightly surprised to see his ever-present glasses nowhere to be found. Instead, she could see softly glowing eyes staring back at her from the midst of shadows. She could see tears dripping down his face, and when she opened her mouth to speak, she could taste salt on her lips. The remnants of tears she hadn’t realized she’d cried. “No, thank you.” She said with a watery smile. The pain, it still lingered, still clung to her soul. But, it couldn’t compare to the warmth of love that remained.

[ephrampettaline]

chatzy au log with @cassiegermaine, @ephrampettaline, @freddiewatts, and @thatwhichbindsus

Ephram found it somewhat telling of the Kingfishers' current state of affairs that holding Addie's birthday party at the Soapham Zoological Gardens was a better nod to safety than having the celebration on the grounds of their own manor, but he doubted any of that made a difference to the little girl as she demanded to be pushed in her hippo-shaped cart, not caring that it was a couple of Jacks who were waiting on her hand and foot. 

Besides, Ephram was fond of the zoo himself and always had been; he pushed the paper crown that his niece had bestowed upon him further back on his head as he squinted up at the pair of giraffes that the gardens boasted. "You've always been my favourites," he told them gravely, through cigarette smoke.

“Do you think they recognise you as a relative, darling?” Freddie asked, coming up behind Ephram, a smile in his voice, “Or are you more of a stork overall?”

Ephram stifled a smirk at Freddie's question. "I never answer questions that might incriminate me, particularly when it comes to the matter of relatives," he said, then looked at Freddie askance. "Didn't you get yourself a cup of tea when you dropped off your gift for Addie? The cake's awful good too, have a slice." Ephram nodded over at where Mrs. Hudson was presiding over the refreshments. "She'll be just thrilled to see you." 

He let the smirk through as Freddie was duly dispatched, watching the neat, precise lines of Watts' suit as he sauntered off to collect his tea and cake.

Cassie took the oppurtunity at the local zoo to relax a little bit when it came to business. Not that Cassie could completely forget, considerng a pair of Slapjacks were currently carting the birthday girl around but, it was actually a chance for celebration. Not to mention out in the open and completely public. Addie seemed to be having a good time anyways, and Cassie decided that was what mattered most of all. She was over by the hippo exhibit helping Albie stand on his feet against the glass when the red head peled out in louder laughter. Cassie glanced over her shoulder, frowning at the sight of Freddie watts in the distance. What did he want now?

Freddie sampled a bit of cake, finding it a trifle too sweet, then collected a cup of tea and strolled back over to Ephram, who was still apparently chatting with his countrymen over at the giraffe enclosure. “So what did you get her then?” he asked with a grin. “I’m curious as to whether or not I’ve shown you up.”

"An investment in some real estate in London, which she's got less than no interest in," Ephram said, thumbing at the side of his nose with a smile, "and a pair of new white button boots with a pink parasol and travelling case to match, which only her mother could prevent her from wearing and carrying around immediately."

Freddie nodded his surprised approval with a smile. “Well, all little girls do enjoy property acquisition,” he chuckled, “But those boots and parasol should look darling with the dress I’ve given her.” He smirked, sipping his tea. “It seems we work well together, even when we’re not trying. I’ve given her pop guns as well though - think Cass will approve?”

Ephram blew smoke from the corner of his mouth with a huff. "Are you joking? She won't approve even one fraction of an amount. But whether that's because they're cap guns or because they came from you is the bigger question." Freddie had been bang on the money when he'd said that Cassie didn't much like anybody except Ephram and sometimes he even had his doubts about that. "But since you've brought it up -- how soon until you can have those suits ready for me? I'm getting mightily tired of wearing this one and the other two are already swelling the ranks in Mrs. Hudson's rag bin."

Freddie raised a wry sort of eyebrow. "That rather depends on the figure you want to cut, darling. If I'm to guess at your measurements, then I can have them done in a fortnight, good taste be damned. But if you'd like something befitting your stature and my label, I'll need you into the shop for a proper fitting first."

"In the shop?" Ephram's gaze scanned over Freddie as if he could discern what was in the man's pockets by sight alone as he said, "--don't you carry a tape measure with you, isn't that what all tailors worth their thread do?" If Ephram's assessing look turned up any other interesting discoveries about what Freddie was carrying on him, it didn't show on his face.

"Oh, I'm prepared to work anywhere you'd like, love - but I thought you might prefer to make an appointment." Freddie smiled, a bit shark-like. "I'm flexible, though. After the party suit you?"

Ephram gave a slow blink and nod of agreement. "After the party suits me just fine." 

Cassie wandered over slowly to the giraffe area where Ephram and Freddie stood chatting. She only just caught a few words about tailoring and cleared her throat, "I hope you're as skilled as my brother says." Cassie spoke plainly, "I haven't had proper dress since my husband's funeral. And black isn't really my color." 

 Addie's hippo chariot drove up just then, the young guest of honour gesturing grandly with a toy sceptre for her drivers to stop near her uncle and Freddie, and she said for the other man's edification, "This is my birthday, that means you have to bring me a present, did you bring me one?"

Ephram answered first: "Mr. Watts brought you a present, Addie, you'll see it when you open them. It's -- what's it wrapped like, Freddie?"

Freddie gave a little bow to the imperious toddler, flanked by her courtiers, delighted by her greed. "It's the large-ish one wrapped in purple and gold. Do you see it there?"

Cassie stopped observing Freddie Watts when her daughter rolled up in her special chariot, biting back a smile as she glanced between the pair and the present table that was continously growing. "You should wait a little longer Adeline." Cassie advised. "There might be more friends yet."

Ephram smiled into his shirt cuff as Addie stared at Freddie for a moment, not yet having made up her mind if he was to believed or not. "Looks just like her mother, don't she?" he murmured just as Cassie put in her two cents when it came to the stack of gifts towering behind Mrs. Hudson. Adeline nodded, surveying her bounty, and then favoured Freddie with a smile. "I see it, purple and gold," she said, then motioned her courtiers to drive her towards the flamingoes.

“Just like her mother,” Freddie said sotto voce to Ephram, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, before he turned to Cassie, lifting her hand to kiss it. “Cassandra, darling, how lovely to see you again.”

"Wanna go see the spiders?" Mike asked, running his fingers up her side to imitate them crawling all over them. Ciara cringed, and stepped away, smiling up at her husband playfully.

"Not when hell freezes over. You can go see them by yourself and the snakes too." She replied, pulling her coat thicker around herself. Mike dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Meet by the tigers?" He asked, and Ciara nodded, reaching up to kiss him quickly before he strode off, following the signs to the indoor enclosures. Shuddering at the thought, Ciara wandered along the large mammals section, knowing she had plenty of time to herself to just marvel at the beasts before he returned.

Cassie smiled smoothly at Freddie's greeting, giving him a slight nod in aknowledgement. It only seemed fair, considering she'd all but ignored him the days before. "Right. Because we haven't seen each other in ages." She laughed under her breath. Her hand fell back at her side and she tilted her chin up to look at the pile of gifts for the birthday kid. "It was generous of you to come out. What did you bring the little girl anyways?"

"Here we go. Have you started a ledger for Addie yet?" Ephram pinched his cigarette end cold and pocketed the tiny stub, not having broken the habit from wartime despite it only leaving him with pockets full of loose scorched tobacco. He caught sight of a newly-familiar woman a few animal enclosures down, and narrowed his focus on her, trying to make her out.

"A dress, and a pair of pop guns," Freddie said smoothly. "She seems like a little girl with spirit. And," he added with a cheeky gleam in his eye, "-she is a Kingfisher, after all. Best she get accustomed to the weight of a pistol sooner, rather than later."

Ephram reached over to take Albert from where he was balanced on Cassie's hip, curious to see what his sister's response to Freddie's supposition would be. They hadn't discussed what place Cassie's children might take in Kingfisher business, not formally. Ephram just figured that they'd grow up into the business, the same way he and Cassie had.

"No..." Cassie started, only slightly suspicious when Ephram staunched his cigerette and had that particularly telling pinch in the expression of his face. She blinked largely, a little dumbfounded by the mention of pop guns. "That's wildly inappropriate. Besides. Not every successful Kingfisher carries a loaded fire arm." Her lips were thinnned in irritation, thinking she might just let Addie keep the toy if she were to only use it on Freddie Watts exclusively. "We'll see what she thinks of them." Was all Cassie said instead, hesitating for a moment before handing the baby over into Ephram's searching arms.

Ephram murmured against Albie's soft knitted cap, "--Freddie's nothing if not wildly inappropriate, sister. It's hardly surprising."

"It's one of my better qualities, I find," Freddie added with a little grin.

The hackles on the back of Ciara's neck rose, feeling the gaze of someone on her. Couldn't work in her line of work without making enemies, and as unassuming as the zoo was, there were always people who posed a risk. She turned slowly, unassumingly, and glanced around idly until she caught the source of his inopportune gaze. Ephram Kingfisher, right here, with his sister, his niece, and Freddie Watts. Now wasn't that interesting. She gaze him a small wave, but would not intrude without invitation. She didn't want to look too keen.

Noticing when Ephram's attention seemed to be caught elsewhere, Freddie followed the bigger man's eyes until he landed on Officer Woodman, and narrowed his own for a moment, finally breaking out in a large smile and beckoning her over. "Officer Woodman?" he called, "Join us, love."

Ephram's lips curled slightly at one corner when he realized it was indeed Ciara, but the expression dropped when Freddie -- curse the way the man seemed to notice every fucking thing -- invited the detective over. "Bloody infidel you are, Watts," he muttered.

"If we're going to be working together, darling," Freddie murmured back, still smiling at Ciara, "Your friends need to be my friends too."

Ephram grunted. "I'll keep that in mind when I've got her on my dick."

"Haven't you had her already?" Freddie asked, "My my, love, you're losing your touch."

"Only refining my methods," Ephram said, jogging the baby in his arms a little. "Sweetie." He dropped the grumping and assumed a more pleasant look when Ciara approached, which was helpfully made even more non-threatening by the paper crown Ephram had forgotten he was wearing. "Enjoying the zoo, Miss Woodman?"

Ciara made no comment of her being neither Officer nor a miss as she approached them, charming and as pleasant as she had been before, smiling at the both of them. "I always do. I came to see the newborn elephants. Pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Kingfisher."

She turned to Freddie, offering her hand. "I don't believe we've met, although you clearly know of me already."

Freddie smiled, taking her hand and giving it a polite kiss. "I do my best to keep abreast of the local colour," he said, "Freddie Watts. Lovely to finally meet you."

Ephram watched Freddie being gracious with ill-disguised annoyance, although he kept from sniping at his ... Christ, what was he supposed to call him, anyhow? Ephram sneered inwardly at his own indecision. Friend. He might as well think of him as a friend, because Ephram was discovering to his great discomfort that he'd very much missed having someone he could think of that way. "Newborn elephants, you said? How big does that make em? Tall as me, or short as Freddie?"

Ciara raised her eyebrows in intrigued amusement. "The pleasure is mine. You're a tailor, am I right? Highly esteemed, too." She turned back to Ephram, grinning at his joke. "Smaller than even me, for the moment, although I doubt they'll stay that way long. Cute as this little one, though," Ciara said, pointing at Addie.

"I am, darling, yeah," Freddie said, always pleased to hear that his reputations - all of them, likely - had preceded him. "You should pop round the shop. I've a few shades of silk in that would be absolutely gorgeous on you." Pointedly ignoring Ephram's jibe about his height, he carried on, "And I've heard you're a woman with a discerning eye."

Cassie was at a bit of loss when the dectective came over. What were the chances of that in the city of Soapham? If Ciara hadn't made her interests known the day before, maybe Cassie could have excused it, but now? That was hardly gonna happen. She stood quietly almost behind Ephram and Freddie, keeping a keen eye on the children and the rest of the zoo viewers who mowed around the close animal habitats. Her eyes widened when she saw Addie reapproaching with something hidden behind her back, and Cassie's assumption were confirmed when the little girl pulled out the newly unwrapped pop guns and screamed. "BANG. BANG. BANG. YOU'RE DEAD." She stood, waiting and expectant for a moment before pouting, "Mama, they're supposed to play dead." 

Cassie smiled stiffly, "What did I tell you about waiting?" Addie shrugged pointing the pop gun to Ciara again, "The new friend came!"

Ephram thanked God and Jesus and all the fishes in the ocean that he was holding his baby nephew at the moment, because all around him he could tell that various Slap Jacks were reaching for their weapons when Adeline flourished her new toy guns with attendant shrieks -- and he would have been reaching for his own piece as well. "This friend didn't come over for you, Addie," Ephram said, and Albie, the loudness catching up to him, started to snuffle and fuss.

Freddie chuckled at Addie's little hit, and beamed at the group, winking, "Lovely. I knew she'd like them."

Addie frowned deeply at the news that Ciara's presence was not for her enjoyment alone, and she scowled as well as a young girl could. "But it's /my/ birthday."

Ciara smiled. "I'll be sure to take you up on the invitation to visit, although I am hardly your usual clientele." Her eyes drifted to little Addie then, and smiled down at her. "Hello sweetheart. Mrs. Kingfisher. That's an impressive toy you have there, sweet heart. Are they new?"

Ephram murmured shushing noises against Albie's head as the baby hiccupped, and Adeline pointed one of her new shiny guns at Freddie. "He gave me them," she said, a canny expression on her face. "Because it's my birthday and it's polite to bring a present to a birthday." She graced Freddie with a sunny smile, then shot her guns at a luckless pigeon that happened to be scuttling by.

Freddie grinned down at Adeline. "You're a crack shot, too, love," he told her, "No one will ever see you coming."

Ephram shook his head. "Hellfire," he said, "you're trying to make her as mercenary as you are, Freddie." He sidled a little closer to Ciara. "That man you were with -- your husband? I didn't realize you'd walked down the aisle, Miss Woodman. Mrs. Woodman."

Freddie winked at Addie. "I know a kindred spirit when I see one."

"I'm very sorry for being rude, I didn't know," Ciara replied, with no intention of making up for this rudeness. If the wealthy wanted to spoil their children, they would have to face the inevitable tantrums. She looked up at Ephram with the same intensity of the previous meeting, and nodded. "A few years now. I see him now, actually, I should probably return to him for now. I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

Ephram nodded, saying, "I'd count on it, Mrs. Woodman."

Freddie bristled silently, annoyed by everything about the little pregnant pause shared between Ephram and Woodman, but smiled politely all the same. "Do make sure to drop by the shop, love," he said as she departed, "I'll count on seeing you."

"I wouldn't have guessed she was hitched in a million years." Cassie murmured, giving Addie a pointed look a few seconds later as the girl continued to be loud and disruptive with her pop guns. It was bothering her brother, not that the little red head minded in the slightest. "You think her husband is on everything?" She posed the question to Ephram. "May be the way to cut to the quick with her."

Ephram switched Albie to his other side, hrrming thoughtfully. "I think the husband might carry a badge his own self," he said. "But knowing that she can be bought? I doubt it. She's slick as if the cat licked her." He looked at Freddie. "What do you make of Mrs. Woodman, eh? Since the cat licked you first and slickest."

"I think that anyone so freely able to be bought will always go to the highest bidder," Freddie said. "It's just a matter of appropriate funds."

[ashcaplan]

Ash Vice (Birthday Party Chatzy)

Apologies for any errors in editing. Immo did most of it, and did an amazing job. I just finished it off.

One of the perks of being the 'birthday boy' was knowing that he didn't have to set anything up or clean it after. Ash wasn't enough of a jerk to mess with the whole fashionably late thing. It had never made sense. Less time to socialise with his friends or make new ones that way. He'd arrived with River, right on time, her leading him by the shoulders onto the beach with a blindfold over his eyes so he could get a real look at the decorations and lights only at the perfect moment. He could hear the music, the chattering of voices, the waves lapping the shore. "Enough with the blindfold already. If you walk me into the ocean or make me fall over, I'll be very disappointed," he joked with a laugh in his voice, already reaching up to pull the blindfold away.

River slapped Ash's hand away when he tried to reach up for the blindfold. "Be patient, dude!" she chided playfully. She'd been here helping to set up for most of the day, getting things prepared, and had gone back to pick up Ash once everything was ready. "I'd never walk you into the ocean. I know you'd kill me if I messed up your suit. She guided him to where most of the crowd was waiting on the beach, drinks already in hand and socializing with each other. With a huge smile, she reached up and yanked the blindfold off of Ash's face. "Welcome to your party!"

Milo tugged at the bottom of his tank top. He felt a little silly wearing it, but they were on the beach after all. He glanced up, away from the ocean and grinned when he saw River and Ash coming in together. For the time being, he stayed where he was to give them more space.

Maya arrived a couple of minutes later than she intended to, but she did have a hollow cake to haul in. She parked at the far end of the parking lot, just in case Ash came up for some reason. She wasn't sure it was supposed to be a surprise. Better safe than sorry though. With the cake safe for the moment she made her way down to the beach to join everyone else, stopping first of course for a drink.

Miguel didn't really have a reason for going to the beach, except a friend of his coven - who was just a bit younger than him - had insisted that he needed to go and that no one would mind him at the party. They said that anyone would be happy to have a cute dad type like Miguel at a party. He didn't know about that. But it had been a rough couple of days at the hospital since the new residents had just started, and he could use a way to let off some steam that wasn't drinking alone or jogging alone or baking alone. He could at least drink on the beach surrounded by a bunch of people he didn't know. That was better... obviously.

Grace didn't know who Ash was, but Alia was friends with him, and that meant putting on a pretty white and mint green floral dress, doing her make-up in an 80s style and accompanying her girlfriend to the beach. Anywhere with free alcohol and free blood was good enough for her, and she already recognized a few people she knew. "I'm going to go and mingle. Tell Ash I said hello," she whispered in her girlfriend's ear, kissing her cheek and squeezing her hand before slinking away to get a drink.

Milo noticed someone else who looked a little unsure. "Hey man," he said. "You here for the party?" He assumed as much, but he wanted to make conversation and meet people whenever possible. The guy seemed nice enough, and Milo hated to see anyone stuck without a conversation partner.

Miguel coughed a little of the beer he had grabbed back into the bottle, and some onto the sand. He looked over at the man who had spoken and swallowed hard before clearing his throat. "Excuse me, uh. Hi, yes." He smiled sheepishly and offered a hand to shake. "I'm Miguel. I uh, don't personally know the guest of honor but a friend brought me." He didn't want anyone to think he was just here for the free drinks.

Ciara felt exposed. Not because of the short dark green dress she had picked up specifically to have something to wear for this - most of her summer clothes still being in Reno - not because of the open sky, either, but because of the number of people. After some of the things that had happened recently, she felt just a little more on edge than usual. It felt like half the town was coming, and Ciara couldn't for the life of her work out why her client had wanted to meet here for the exchange. Maybe it was just the most convenient thing for them, but they hadn't even shown yet. The socially late type. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let it throw her, and had already exchanged warm greetings with a couple people before making it to the bar, ever the social chameleon. She could feel the bottled blood behind the bar, human and animal alike as she ordered a martini, her curiosity peaked.

Ash gasped when River pulled off his blindfold. The white lights lit up the darkening sky and there were pastel and white decorations everywhere, mixed in with neon glow sticks and of course, plenty of food and alcohol. "I love it! You and Bella are the best." He gave River a big hug, already helping himself to some snacks and draping a glowstick necklace around his neck. "Please tell me we also have cuban cigars. Sometimes a guy's just gotta indulge." He said, as if that wasn't literally all he did.

River raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes?" she teased. But they'd prepared for all the indulgences. She gave him a quick (and probably awkward looking) wink, guiding the naga over to the bar. "A hurricane and a cigar for the birthday boy," she said. "And uh...an apple juice." She spotted Maya at the bar, leaning back behind Ash's vision and giving her a thumbs up accompanied by a questioning look, assuming she'd know it was about the cake.

Iann was notoriously bad at social gatherings. He became obnoxious (okay...more obnoxious than usual) and therefore often semi-hostile. He hated small talk (even with friends) and found 'socializing' without any purpose was...well, tedious. But hey - Ash Caplan was a cool kid and he promised Grace he'd be there to talk about...something or the other. Shop-talk. He arrived, stomping through the sand and surprised to see how many people were already there. Ciara looking like she wanted to die, Maya at the bar...most people at the bar. It looked like he made it just in time for the birthday-naga to arrive as well. "Who planned this?" Iann asked, sidling up to the bar, and asking randomly out loud to no one and everyone. "It's elaborate. I'm impressed."

Maya got a Hurricane from the bartender before turning to observe the party. It was more people than she'd expected or felt 100% comfortable with. As Ash and River approached the bar Maya watched them out of the corner of her eye. She wished that she could help the uptick in her heartbeat. When River caught her eye she nodded up towards the parking lot. "No idea," she said to Iann who probably wasn't talking to anyone in particular and had just walked up to the bar, "I'm just here for the free booze."

"Can you imagine if Ash did it for himself?" Iann snickered, then put on a bad Louisiana accent. "All this? Fo' me? Hien!"

Grace spotted Iann, at the bar just like almost everyone else was. It made sense. What was the point of these things if not for the free alcohol? She listened in on his conversation, not exactly snooping, but curious about when exactly to jump in. It was truly no surprise to her that he was already poorly imitating what she could only imagine was the poor boy's accent. "Oh, Iann. Have you ever considered a career in comedy?"

Milo chuckled. "I can imagine you're not the only one." He glanced around and waved at someone else he knew. Ash was a popular guy, but Milo was sure a friend or two were along for the ride. That was the way this kind of thing often went. "Having fun so far?" he asked as he eyed the drinks around them. There was a case of Mike's Hard Lemonade that he found enticing. Reaching over, he grabbed one. "Cheers." He lifted the drink slightly before popping the top off. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be here, but starting small seemed like the best bet.

Miguel "Cheers," Miguel repeated as he held his beer up to the other man's hard lemonade. He took a big gulp and smiled. "Yeah it, it has a good energy, you know? Even if I don't know anyone here." He smiled at the other man. "Speaking of which, what's your name?"

"My bad." Milo stuck out a hand. "I'm Milo. It's nice to meet you." He took a swig of his lemonade after, pleased that his little half-toast was being played along with.

Maya laughed. "I think that would have to mean he had any interest in a career," she said in the spirit of good natured ribbing. She didn't imagine Iann as someone with a 'career' per say. "Anyway I think someone at least had to help," Maya added, "I know River was in charge of cake."

Iann looked at Grace and gave the vampire an appreciative whistle, but then looked behind her almost hopefully. Like he was expecting Alia not far behind, but the naga was chatting with others, for now. "Looking good, Gracie." Iann just got a club soda and lime. Anything harder would lubricate his nerves, but also make him 100x more annoying to everyone. Besides, he wasn't in the mood to drink. Iann took a gulp of his soda, then raised his eyebrows in surprise at Maya. "No shit? I thought you'd jump at the chance to make a birthday confectionery, Maya."

Maya smiled, "Did I say I didn't help?" Of course it was more complicated than that given her recent history with River. But Iann, she assumed, knew that River had gotten her anger issues sorted.

Grace rolled her eyes, ordering a cocktail of vodka and fairy blood to get her more in the mood for tolerating this much company. "It's been exactly one day since you've called me Gracie. And here I thought I might get a reprieve."

Ash spotted Maya and came over to give her a big hug from behind, resting his head in the crook of her neck for a moment before straightening up again. "Aw, I thought you were here for me? Never mind. My booze is your booze. Or more accurately, Bella's booze is your booze."

"No we agreed on no more 'c.b.', if I recall correctly. Besides, I think you could pull off 'Gracie' with style." Iann looked behind him at Maya and Ash, and forgot to say 'Happy Birthday' to the naga. He turned his attention back to Grace, motioning her away from the bar once Grace got her drink. "So what's this plan you have? With Ciara?" Iann turned and glanced at the witch, who still looked like she pleasantly wanted to die. Pleasantly.

Maya stiffened for a moment when someone hugged her from behind. She'd been distracted by Iann and the woman who's name she couldn't remember. At the sound of Ash' voice though she relaxed. Smiling she turned to look at him, "I can be here for both. Especially considering I was promised a housewarming party where I could beat you at poll which has yet to materialize."

Ash lost track of which parties he was supposed to throw. Nowadays he mostly went to other people's, mostly because Soapberry always had something going on, and he was curious by nature. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Well, there was no house-warming party, but the pool table is still there any time you wanna visit." He'd finally found the cigars, in a big presentation box near the bar. "Aha!" He grabbed one, breaking off the end of it with his teeth and putting it in his mouth. "Now I feel like I really belong in Miami."

Miguel Miguel chuckled softly. Upon the handshake, Miguel felt the elemental power of an antronach. He smiled not only at his luck of finding one of the more rare species of supernatural, but also at the friendliness of the other man. "Nice to meet you too, Milo."

Grace gave a little huff, and then a chuckle. "Very well. I suppose I can't have everything." Iann would simply be Iann. There would be no changing it. She spotted Ciara nearby, but wasn't sure whether she was supposed to say hello or not. There were lots of people around. She settled for a small wave and a smile.

Iann paused, watching Grace waving to Ciara. He looked at Ciara, then back at Grace. "We...can go say hi?" He didn't wait for an answer, and instead headed towards Ciara. He figured Grace would come along, or not. To Ciara, he said, "Hey girl. Come here often? You look so familiar. What's your sign?"

Ephram considered it part of his 'duty' as Sheriff to attend every event in town that was a free-for-all, so even though he hadn't met this birthday naga before, he cheerfully made his way down to the party, shuffling through the sand in velvet loafers until he found a young man with a cigar in his mouth. Clearly the man of the hour. "Hey there," Ephram greeted Ash, holding out a hand. "Ash, right? I'm Ephram, good to meet you. Happy birthday." He held out a huge sack of brightly coloured candy from one of the magical places in town, some of it sparkling, some of it moving, some of it changing colours. "Din't rightly know what sort you'd like, so I got you a variety." Ephram had not considered that a person turning twenty-four might not want a big bag of candy, because in his mind who didn't want candy.

Maya 's smile didn't quite dim, but some of the light left her eyes. It was more complicated than just her coming over. For the moment she was glad that River hadn't approached them yet. Her feelings there were still...complicated for lack of a better term. Luckily though she was interrupted by the arrival of Ephram. It gave her a chance to take a sip of her drink and collect herself.

Ash lifted his gaze to the man who'd approached him. He cocked his head, looking the stranger up and down. "Oh, anyone as handsome as you needn't make an excuse to say hello to me. Ephram, good old Southern sounding name. Nice to meet you." He shook the stranger's hand, then lit both their cigars with a wide smirk. He really did love meeting new people.

Freddie wasn’t even entirely sure that he wanted to be here at all. He didn’t know Ash Caplan - though Iann and Alia had both mentioned him before, and he knew of the family - and the fact that it was being held on Antoinette’s beach was a turn-off all on its own... but it was a party, and really, that was reason enough to at least put in an appearance. So despite Ollie’s snort of derison and refusal to join him - the little Chin was no fan of beaches that were devoid of cabanas and tropical weather - when Ephram had begun to get dressed to go, Freddie had decided at the last minute to tag along for a bit. After all, the worst case scenario still promised an open bar and at least a few people whose company he enjoyed - so why not? And now, here he was - all alone and back in the Eighties. Having kissed Ephram on the cheek and told him with a grin not to behave himself even a little, Freddie had lost track of his husband already, which meant that, first and foremost, a drink was an absolute necessity. And then, he thought, a bit of company wouldn’t go amiss either...

Milo dipped his head in greeting. "Have you been in the area long?" he asked. "I've been in the state my whole life, but it seems like I still find people who can say the same."

Ephram held Ash's hand in his own for a beat longer once the naga gave him the once-over, a slow smile lifting a corner of his mouth. "Well now," he drawled, "I'm a good ol' Kentucky boy -- I was raised up to have manners and enjoy pretty things."

River When Ash left her side to go talk to Maya, River stayed put, taking her apple juice from the bartender and sipping on it through the elaborate silly straw he'd given her, probably as a joke for not ordering alcohol, but joke was on him, because she loved it. Without Ash to steady her, she felt as if she was drifting while standing still. She was scared to approach Maya. She'd said they were cool, but River still felt like shit. Seeing her in person stirred feelings she wasn't sure how to deal with, so as everyone else mingled, River slipped off to go sit down in one of the sitting areas set up with a small fire, sipping rather obnoxiously through her silly straw.

Miguel shook his head. "I've been bouncing up and down the West coast though for my whole life. Born in LA, lived in Portland, Seattle, and now Soapberry." He finished his beer and then failed a recycling bin shot - the glass bottle made a harmless thwup in the sand - sighed, and got up to put the empty bottle in the bin. "What about you? Just a Soapberry kind of guy or?"

Ciara spotted Grace's wave and had heard Iann mention her name, so with a smile she slipped the older woman she was talking to her number and told her bye for now before walking over to join the pair of them. She hadn't seen Grace since the night of the spell, and had caught sight of Alia briefly early. She'd intended to drop by to say hi but the bar had gotten quite crowded suddenly so hadn't yet. Before she'd reached them they'd reached her. When Iann greeted her, she rolled her eyes and replied "It's a 'no entry' sign," before looking to Grace, giving her a much more genuine smile. "You look lovely, Grace."

Ash was sure it was his lucky night. He had barely been at his own party twenty minutes and a handsome stranger was already, dare he say, flirting with him? "Something we have in common then," he beamed. "I'm from New Orleans myself."

Elena did not know Ash Caplan, but she naturally knew of any event that would happen at or near a beach simply because she spent most of her time there. She had already been there, watching as people arrived slowly, setting things up and chatting with each other. The day grew dim and Elena remained separate from the festivities, sitting alone, half in the water, half on the sand, the bottom of her dress getting drenched. As more and more people arrived, it was harder to remain where she was as she was very curious by nature, so she pulled herself away from her solitude. The soaked bottom of her dress stuck to her sand covered legs awkwardly, so she shuffled toward one of the fire pits to dry it off, and there she noticed a familiar person who was sipping very loudly from their drink. "Hi," she greeted casually, flopping down onto an empty seat beside River, "Have you managed to go for a swim alone yet?" Out-rightly asking a very blunt question but not realizing it may be a sensitive topic.

Grace rolled her eyes, probably not for the first time, and definitely not the last, at Iann, but gave an amicable smile and followed Iann over to Ciara, drink in hand. "I do love a woman who freely offers compliments," she answered, knowing it meant nothing but all too happy to indulge in it anyway. "You always look stunning, of course."

Maya sipped her drink and wondered if she should mention the Ephram was married. Maybe she could ask where his husband was. It wasn't really her place, but she could hear the hopeful note in Ash's voice and thought she ought to do something. Then again Ephram hadn't actually greeted her yet and flirting was just flirting. She took another sip of her drink instead.

Iann stood there, and wondered when was the best time to say 'so what were you two planning together?' to Grace and Ciara. It was at the tip of his tongue, but he figured the casual conversation portion of this had to happen first. He just smiled blandly at them both for now. "That's a good one. No entry...cool, cool cool cool..." He drank some of his soda and then finally burst out, "So Grace mentioned that you two talked about, ah, stuff. And...stuff?"

Ephram had never been one to question immediate sexual attraction, much less when it was a party and the sweet-looking guest of honour was the one sending out the vibes. "New Orleans, huh? My sister's from there. Real passionate folks from them parts." He grinned and added, "--good drinkers, too. You warmed up already, or should we get somethin' else? I bet since this is a Bellamy party she's made you a themed drink." Ephram tapped his chin and surmised, "One with somethin' purple in it, or a bar of gold, or a preserved butterfly, to represent you personally."

River 's eyes widened in shock as someone came to speak to her, and she was even more shocked when she saw who it was. "Elena? Hi!" It had been a while since she'd seen the mermaid. They'd only met once, very breifly, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't taken, and a little intimidated, by her at the time. If she'd asked her question a few weeks earlier, River might have still been sensitive about it, but it was amazing how quickly she'd gotten used to talking about her supernatural self. "Yeah, actually. I got in touch with my inner seal and all that." The thought was a little bittersweet, considering the circumstances of her first transformation and her recent breakup, but she swallowed down the feeling with the taste of apple juice. "How have you been? I've been back like 20 times to that grilled squid place, by the way. Surprised I never saw you there again." She froze for a second. "Not that like, I was looking for you or stalking your or something it was just....good, uh....good squid." Wow. "Do you want a drink or something?" she asked, jamming her thumb over her shoulder toward the bar.

Milo "Hey, I was in Seattle for a bit," Milo said. He smirked slightly, but not with ill intentions, as the bottle fell. It happened to the best, but Milo knew his own aim wasn't as great as he pretended sometimes. "Other than that, yeah, mostly just Soapberry," he added after Miguel returned from tossing the bottle. "It's a good area around here." He motioned out at the ocean. "Not much to see that isn't beautiful to look at."

Ash gave a wave of his hand, continuing to slowly smoke his cigar. That was the nice thing about them as opposed to cigarettes. They lasted longer. "I think Soapberry is something of a home away from home for lots of New Orleans folks. We like those towns that are a little out there, I guess." He ate up the compliments. At least he imagined they were compliments. "As a naga and a southerner, I'd wager I'm a pretty good drinker. Let's have another one. The night's young."

Miguel couldn't help but look over Milo after that comment. He was incredibly attractive. "You're right about that," he said with a smile. "It really is beautiful," he said and turned his head to look out at the ocean, instead of at Milo. The sun was setting and it was lighting up the whole sky with reds, oranges, and yellows.

"Thank you. There's no point being stingy with them, is there," Ciara replied, always aware of how she shifted herself slightly for different people. Iann, on the other hand was incorrigible. "We did," Ciara confirmed, looking to Grace. She didn't divulge her clients' secrets easy, so let Grace set the pace of the conversation, although she'd clearly decided to tell Iann."

Elena smiled at River's flow of words as they seemed to spill out from her in a torrent. "It is good squid. I do there all the time but I guess we just miss each other. Funny how that happens, isn't it?" She casually bypassed answering the 'how have you been?' question because she didn't feel like talking about how sad she'd been lately and all her awful emotions, and she wasn't really one to lie about feeling better than she was, so she just didn't respond to it at all. Instead she stood, waving her dress a few more times in front of the fire to dry it more and said, "Yeah. I would love a drink. I feel like something with an olive in it and a little umbrella might be nice. What are you drinking?"

Ephram couldn't tell where Freddie had got off to, but he hoped if it was anything fun the fairy'd be saving it all up to tell Ephram when they got home. That was their thing, to regale each other with tales of erotic adventures; god knew Ephram was looking forward to telling Freddie all about this. "Sounds good, darlin," Ephram said, one hand settling against the small of Ash's back to corral him to another part of the bar. As they were moving, he caught sight of Maya and said, "Oh, hey Maya! You, uh ... havin' fun?" She sure didn't look like it, but then Ephram didn't really know what Maya looked like happy.

River mirrored Elena's smile naturally, glad that she seemed to be overlooking the awkward word vomit. "Yeah, that is funny." She stood with Elena instinctively, not really sure why she's sprung up so readily. All she wanted to do was sit here and avoid people until it was cake time. "Uh, apple juice," she answered sheepishly. "I'm a bit of a lightweight by nature. It's a selkie thing, apparently."

Freddie noticed quite a few familiar faces in the crowd - though thankfully not the hostess - and wandered up to the bar, asking for whatever the signature cocktail of the evening was. Then, taking it with a smile, he headed into the throng, coming up behind Iann, Grace, and Ciara and murmuring with a cheeky sort of smile, “Alright, so which one of you gorgeous creatures wants to point out the birthday boy to me? I’m not sure I’m technically on the list, and I feel as though I should at least make a bit of an effort to ingratiate myself...”

Ash "Darlin'," Ash repeated, already starting to glow. "I like the sound of that." He finished his first drink, putting the empty glass with the rest of the dishes. Ready for the next round. "I'll tell you what, handsome. This place is pretty busy and sooner or later I'm gonna have to spread my charm to someone else, so take this just in case I lose track of you." He hurriedly scribbled down his number on a napkin and put it in Ephram's front pocket with a wink.

Maya turned at the sound of her name. She smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes. She felt nervous for more than one reason. There were things with River and the large number of people and her own guilt that still tried to eat her alive. "Of course," she replied not wanting to let Ash who stood between her and Ephram know about her anxieties, "Although if you're having a drinking contest you have to let a girl from Massachusetts kick both your Southern asses because we can."

Ruby almost hasn’t come. Too many people she really didn’t want to run into could be there. But in the end she’s decided it was better than sitting at home by herself. So she threw on an outfit and headed over. When she got there, she was glad to see there were a fair amount of people there, most she knew, so she was able to slip in, find a drink and a corner, and make herself as unnoticeable as possible. For the moment. She’s have to go wish Ash a happy birthday eventually. And it would be rude not to at least speak to a few others. But for now she was content with her little spot and her very large, very potent drink.

Iann before Grace had a chance to say anything, Freddie seemed to materialize out of no where and be all charming and light-hearted and Iann couldn't help but grin at the fairy. He was so good at that! How was he so good at that. Iann looked around, then pointed with his pinky finger towards Ash. "Ahhhhhh that guy over there. The one making bedroom eyes at Pettaline."

Grace flashed a sincere smile at Freddie, wrapping an arm around him and leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek, as was their usual greeting at this point. "Hello, love. It's always a pleasure to see you around." If nothing else, Freddie always made the room feel friendlier and more comfortable. Grace took a spot at his side for a moment, looking around for Ash to point him out. "Ah, yes. As Iann said... isn't that your husband he's flirting with?"

Milo finished his drink, and rather than try to complete the shot Miguel hadn't made, he strode over the recycling to throw it away himself. "Have you been in Soapberry long then? I know you said you've been all over, but still. A guy's got curiosity."

Ciara spun at the sound of Freddie's voice - much better than the demon's imitation just a couple days ago - and grinned at him too, giving him a quick hug after Grace. "I have no idea-" but was interupted by Iann, glancing over at where Ephram was. The moment his name was mentioned, Malvoth rumbled a little in her purse, like a mobile vibrating.

Elena mused almost wistfully as she looked into the fire, "I used to be a lightweight." Then with one more wave of her dress by the fire, feeling it was gonna get as dry as possible for now, "I cured it by drinking an awful lot, and I mean, a lot a lot. Probably wasn't the best decision, but..." she shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, nothing bad happened." Then she started heading toward the bar that River had motioned towards.

Ephram hooted at Maya's boast, saying, "Hold up now, girl! You're talkin' to a feller from a moonshine family--" he pointed his thumb at himself, "--and a Big Easy naga--" he wrapped his arm low around Ash's hips, jostling him. "That ain't the easy win you're envisioning." Ephram turned his head, lips brushing Ash's ear as he said lowly, "You spread your charm wherever you need to, honey. But I'm gonna be makin' use of this number later."

Ash leaned into the taller man's touch, the slightly controlling intimacy of it, tingling slightly at the thrill, the words that came with it only serving to make Ash incredibly thankful at the certain differences his body came with over that of a cisgender man. That linen suit wouldn't hide anything. "Sooo, about that other drink?"

Freddie looked over to where Iann was pointing and laughed. “Well, then he’ll be getting quite the birthday gift already,” he grinned, “I won’t intrude.” The fairy turned back to Iann. “What about you though, darling? Having fun?” He gave his friend’s outfit a critical once-over, and tugged at the hoodie the other man was wearing, frowning slightly. “What the bloody hell is this?” he asked.

Maya laughed, "Alright and I come from a land of Irish Catholics and repressing your emotional problems in a snowstorm." Her laughter faded into confusion though as Ephram wrapped Ash close to him. Her throat suddenly dry Maya took a too big swig from her drink. She glanced away, not sure what to make of it.

Miguel shrugged and squirmed just a little. "Only a few months. I've been working over at the hospital." He thought about having another beer, but maybe it was time to branch out a little. He grabbed one of the Mike's and popped the cap. "Are these any good?"

Iann "Oh good, yeah stay here. You don't need to wish anyone any happy anything," Iann said, content that Freddie seemed lackadaisical about wishing Ash happy birthday. He pat at his hoodie and shrugged. "It's a sweater! I was cold. The beach is cold..." He looked to Grace for confirmation but, duh vampire. And Freddie probably had some sort of heat-glamours to keep him cute and warm. So he looked at Ciara in appeal, so she could confirm that humans were indeed physically hampered by temperature. "I think I'm getting a cold, honestly."

Ruby watched the smiling crowd from the corner, her eyes lighting mostly on Grace, Maya, and a dark-haired man she recognized but couldn’t place. A grin tipped her mouth as she watched Ephram flirt with Ash, who looked both petrified and ready to go home with Ephram right that minute. She took another long pull of her drink, idly wondering if anyone would be interested in taking her home later.

Freddie abandoned Iann’s questionable fashion choices for a moment to kiss Grace hello and return Ciara’s hug. “And yes, love, that is my husband,” he smiled at her, “- he looks lovely tonight, don’t you think? But so long as little Ash doesn’t think that’s a gift he gets to keep, he’s welcome to enjoy it.”

River "I don't think that would work for me," River said. She honestly was kind of bummed by that fact. Everybody she knew liked to drink socially. Just one drink turned her into an embarrassment. "It's like a predisposition. But uh, I'm glad nothing bad happened to you." As Elena began to walk away, she stayed standing for a moment, not really sure what to do. Did she follow? Or just sit back down and let Elena do her thing? In the end, she quickly scurried after Elena to catch up with her at the bar, deciding that sticking by someone's side made her feel a little less pathetic than sitting in front of a fire alone.

Freddie abandoned Iann’s questionable fashion choices for a moment to kiss Grace hello and return Ciara’s hug. “And yes, love, that is my husband,” he smiled at the vampire, “- he looks lovely tonight, don’t you think? But so long as little Ash doesn’t think that’s a gift he gets to keep, he’s welcome to enjoy it.”

What Grace would give to be blessed with the kind of comfortable confidence Freddie seemed to have about he and Ephram. Grace knew she had a lot to work on. And she was. Alia was a friendly and loving person. It was one of her strengths. Grace just needed to tell that little insecure voice in her head to shut up sometimes. "Quite the treat indeed. I do need to talk to him at some point. But not tonight. I wouldn't want to interrupt his evening." She gave a soft chuckle, glancing to Iann, unable to offer him any kind of reassurance or indeed disagreement about the temperature. "Well, thank goodness I can't catch it." She didn't mean to be nosy, but it was difficult not to watch Ephram at work now that Freddie was looking. "A lovely man, and very charming. I can't wait to meet him."

Ephram made a grand, sweeping gesture towards one of the little stations set up along the bar dedicated to the specialty drinks, saying, "We better git on with it, you're right. My Baptist blood ain't gonna accept such a challenge from a Papist." He winked at Ash, hand smoothing up the naga's side as he nodded at the bartender and three drinks appeared in front of them. "So you here on your own, Ash?" Ephram asked, picking up his glass. "My husband came with me." He looked around briefly, then smiled at Ash, completely relaxed. "Probably gathering up a crumpet of his own to spend the evening with."

Ash was still quivering inside, and not because of the temperature. It might have been March in Washington, but Bella had done a good job of ensuring the beach was kept heated, though whether that was just by heat lamps or by magic, or both, Ash wasn't sure. All he knew was that this Ephram guy could keep touching him all night if he so pleased. "My room-mate, River. She's around somewhere." He half-heartedly looked around for her. "Husband? Well then... how modern."

Maya couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips at Ephram's words. She hadn't been able to reconcile the way Ephram and Freddie talked about each other with Ephram's current flirting. She was used to terrible and unreciprocated relationships from watching too many in her childhood. She did have to say though, "I didn't say I was Roman Catholic," it was a particular issue for her, "Just that I know how to drink them under the table."

Freddie pulled a disappointed petulant face at Iann. “It isn’t that flaming cold.” A touch of concern lit his eyes. “And since when are you getting ill? I was with you all day and you never said a word.”

Elena arrived at the bar with a bounce and a wave, ordering herself one of the themed beverages of the night. No doubt the creation of it was entirely Bellamy's doing. Elena had a quick took around, trying to see if she could spot the petite vampire but so far she couldn't. She did however, spot a few more familiar faces down the bar and was waving at Ephram just as she noticed River started approaching. "Look what I got!" She raised her drink, which was pink and topped with a variety of decorative flowers and a tiny umbrella. "It is very pretty but I don't really understand why they always add these things," she took the flowers off, "It's not like I can eat them."

Iann "Ehhhhh it's fine," Iann said, waving away Freddie's concern (although Iann was clearly pleased to get it). "I hope it's a hex and not like an actual cold. I did sort of piss off a coven yesterday, but y'know. It wasn't my fault." He wasn't interested in the conversation about Pettaline going on over him, but he was mildly surprised to learn that Grace hadn't met Mr Yeehaw Sheriff yet. "So you didn't go to him about the cursed painting? Aw Gracie. I'm touched. You have faith in me."

Grace could bloody curse Iann herself for being so loose-lipped in public. But then again, it was only Freddie and Ciara, both of whom knew about some of her exploits and troubles already. She huffed only slightly. "No, not yet. I have some new evidence to show him." Thanks to Ciara. "But I haven't had the opportunity yet. Maybe when he's done feeling up the birthday boy Freddie can convince him to give me a call," she teased.

Ephram made a sound of recognition. "River! I met her." He shook his head slightly. "I hope the matter she was dealin' with got resolved, poor kid." But he didn't intend to get mired in serious work-talk, and ordered a second drink hot on the tail of his first, raising his eyebrows at Maya's sharp comment. "Awright then," Ephram said affably, again wanting to side-step anything too heavy. He looked back at Ash, moving one big hand to the back of the naga's neck before leaning in for a languid kiss, nipping and then licking at his bottom lip as he pulled away. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself, darlin."

Milo nodded, accepting the information with a smile but without much conversation. He rubbed his hands against his bare arms, wondering again why he let a teenager convince him he'd blend in better with people in their twenties if he wore a tank. Instead everyone was in jackets, and he felt out of place. As he looked around, he couldn't keep his face from showing a quick tick as he found the birthday boy. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him yet, but it seemed unlikely at this point that he would get the opportunity. At this point, though, he was happy with his conversation partner, even if the birthday boy seemed moment away from ditching his own party. Turning back to Miguel, Milo grabbed another bottle. "Do you say you work at the hospital then? That sounds pretty awesome. I'm just a this-and-that guy myself." Most of his income came either from foster money for the teens or the trust his father had help him set up for the center, but that tended to bounce straight back to keeping up the house and paying for food.

Ash gave a snicker. "Oh, come now. We don't gotta bring religion into this. A Baptist, a Catholic and a Jew all walk into a bar could be the opening line of a good joke." He hadn't known River had gone to Ephram for help, but it made sense that she'd gone to someone. It was a small town after all. But thoughts of River left him just as quickly as they had arrived, because Ephram's hand was now on his neck. A firm but not too firm grip, guiding his lips to Ephram's. Ash sank into it, ready to indulge and then some. "No need to apologize..." he just about managed not to stammer. It had been a while since he'd met anyone so forward. "Unless you're just teasin', rather than givin' me a pre-cursor."

River smiled at Elena's excitement over her drink, then shrugged. "I don't really understand it either." She pointed at her silly straw. "This is the presentation I like. Functional aesthetic." She took another loud sip of her apple juice, finishing it and nodding to the bartender for a refill. "So, do you know Ash? Or did you like, come here with anybody, or....?"

Ciara stored that tidbit away for later, not having had it confirmed until now. "He has a point," she said, agreeing with Freddie on Iann's fashion choices. "Don't look at me," she said, her dress only having short straps. When she moved or the wind caught her hair right, her burn scars peaked out underneath, and the tight lines that had broken the curse on them. "Blood witch, remember. I'm as warm as I need to be." And while far from immune from disease, she had a supernaturally strong immune system. Until, he mentioned a hex, and a cursed painting. Reaffirming her decision not to tell him anything. "A hex?" For a split second, Iann might have felt a little static on his skin. "Iann. Tonto."

"Not Catholic," Maya repeated. Her statement was stronger than it needed to be. However considering her personal history it was rather a tame way to say it. As the two men kissed Maya finished off her drink and picked up the one that had just arrived. She found herself vaguely wishing Ryden was there. But a quick look around confirmed he wasn't. She therefore turned her attention to her new drink instead.

Miguel followed Milo's gaze to a couple of men who looked like they were about to go somewhere that wasn't a public party. Well, they seemed happy at least. Was that the birthday boy? "Yup, witch doctor, that's me," he said with a sheepish smile. "Well, modern family doctor with a side of witchery and a skill at breaking curses." His smile grew a little. "If you don't mind my asking, I already know you're an antronach, but what kind of elements do you favor? I always love hearing about people's supernatural upbringing. And if you were raised in Soapberry, well that seems rather unique."

Freddie rolled his eyes. “Oh, good,” he said, sipping his drink (which, much to his annoyance was rather tasty - bloody Bellamy) “-a hex. Which coven did you annoy? It’s not Blackwater, is it? They still owe me a favour, and I’ve been thinking of it a bit as ‘Iann’s Bail Money’ - so I’d hate to have to spend it on a headcold.” His eyes drifted back over to where Grace was watching Ephram be delightfully sexy, and he smiled proudly. “He is. I’ll introduce you personally, if you like, darling.” And when Iann rather indelicately mentioned their friend’s personal troubles, the fairy reached up and flicked him sharply on the ear. “Oi” he said, “We’re at a flaming party, you plank - let’s save the curses for later, yeah?” Freddie glanced back to Ephram and Ash, wondering just how badly Ash was panting for his witch by now - and then turned back to the others, smiling at Ciara. “You’re a bit quiet, love - is everything alright?”

Ephram chuckled. "Nope. I ain't the teasin' sort. I'm more like to get straight to the meat of the matter." He pushed his thumb firmly against the soft yield beneath Ash's jaw, against his throat, and said, "Pre-cursor." Turning to the bar, Ephram said to Maya, "Oh, you think you're gonna slip em past us? No way, girlchild. I'm'a catch up with you before you even know what's sky or sea."

Iann was unfazed about mentioning the cursed painting. Freddie was an art conartist (haha) and Ciara was involved, Iann surmised, so why be all clandestine? Not like Yeehaw Sheriff was looking to arrest anyone. And cursed things cropped up in Soapberry all the time - take himself, for example. His eyes widened in some excitement when Ciara chided him. "Ayyyyy so it IS a hex! You can tell, Ciara? Can you unhex me?" Iann held out his hands in protest, grinning at Freddie. "What? Is that a party rule? No mentioning curses at parties?" He was being obnoxious again, he could feel it - and it was evident by the constant chides and eye-rolls from the far more dignified trio. Oh god. Iann drained his drink. "I'm getting a refill. Who wants one?"

Elena sipped her drink, from a straw that was sadly very straight and boring compared to River's one which curved and circled round back. It looked so fun, albeit a bit noisy. "Nope, I never met him before. Which one is he? Actually, there's a few people here I don't know. Well, I know most people by sight even though I don't know them well, but I've never even seen Ash before. Is it weird that I came to a party for a person I don't know? I came alone too, just to make it even stranger, if it is strange. I just feel like, I basically live here. I must be invited automatically. Besides, I'm not going to pass up free drinks." She waggled her brows and took a long drink from her straw. The flower she still had in her fingers because it was pretty afterall, but she'd just prefer it not be in her drink, so she moved forward and placed the flower into River's hair, moving a few of her strands in the process, "There," she marveled delightedly, "Looks much better on you."

Milo looked at Miguel in surprise. He'd not met many people who could pick that up instantly. The witch knew his fellows. "Curse breaking seems like quite the full skill on the side. Do you ever do ER work? I imagine it could come in handy sometimes, if you can figure out that's what the cause was. Myself? I've got a few water related marks myself." He held up his hands, although the glyphs weren't visible in his human form. "Some are directly related to rivers or more general water. My feet are both storm related glyphs." He shrugged. "I know it's a little specialized, but I've always been at home in Washington, and it's a rather rainy place."

Iann added belatedly. "And it wasn't Blackwater, but thanks, Freddie. That's so great, man," Iann said, patting Freddie's shoulder, very obviously touched by what he considered Freddie's generousity.

Maya smiled as the first Hurricane started to sink into her system. "Oh, really? If you keep getting distracted by pretty boys I'll have no problem kicking your ass," she replied. She forced herself to focus on the competition in front of her. "Of course," she smirked almost lazily, "I've been known to get distracted myself."

Miguel chuckled. "No no, that's useful, especially if you live in the Pacific North West. And that's exactly what I mean by culture and magic integrating, though I guess in this case it's plain geography and magic." He smiled and drank his hard lemonade, which was pretty good. "The curse breaking and the medicine go hand in hand," he explained. "I'll very rarely do a rotation at the ER, mostly I do the day to day kind of stuff. Talk to people about their blood pressure and diabetes risk, and in places like Soapberry, break curses."

Freddie sighed theatrically. “No, Iann darling, it isn’t a party rule - it’s a basic playing-well-with-others sort of a rule. We don’t bring up the unpleasant, frightening and otherwise off-putting circumstances of our friends when we’re out getting squiffy.” He handed off his empty glass. “And yeah, if you’re going, I’ll take another.” He batted his eyelashes. “A double, please, love.”

Ciara looked up at Freddie with a gentle smile. "Why wouldn't I be?" The real Freddie was definitely preferable to the demon one, was all. She looked at Iann sidelong, unimpressed. Sighing, she pricked her finger with her thumb nail and drew a drop of blood to the surface, and pressed it to the inside of his wrist. The blood glowed briefly before vanishing into his skin, her finger already healed. "That'll pause the effects in you for a while, but I don't have the equipment to unhex you with me. You'll just have to deal with it until later." It wasn't a severe hex, or she might have been more concerned. Her eyes caught a figure on the far side of the beech, and smiled apologetically at the three of them. "I'll be back soon, my client has finally arrived." She stepped into the crowd and linked arms with a tall man with blue tinted skin and let him guide her to a more secluded spot to talk.

Ash nodded, still a little woozy from that kiss. It had been good, and taken him unawares, bringing out a slightly flustered side of him that hardly anyone had ever seen before. "Yes sir. Good to know." He gave a quiet, throaty laugh, drinking away at the concoction Ephram had placed in front of him a few moments before. "I look forward to it. Let's not make my darling, definitely not Catholic friend over here embarrassed." He slipped an arm around her shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry, I don't expect everyone to kiss me."

Iann "I owe you," Iann said to Ciara, watching her work her magic. She was so damned adept at it, so natural and yet there was that balance ingrained into it. It wasn't just a word or a wave of her hand - it was push and pull. Give and take. Goal and sacrifice, in its own small way in this instance . He touched his wrist, and watched her leave gravely, then turned to look at Freddie, all smiles. "Anything for you, Confetti," he said, giving an 'alright alright' nod to Freddie's instructions. Gah, how on earth he could manage at a party without bringing up unpleasant, frightening or otherwise off-putting circumstances was beyond Iann. Fetching Grace's for a refill too (if she offered it), Iann trudged back to the bar, shouldering his way past Ash, Pettaline, and Maya to place his order.

Grace was glad of Freddie. Alia had a natural talent for making genuine connections. Grace was good at shmoozing, and that was about it. "Thank you," she told him pre-emptively, and thanked the glood in her glass for keeping her from visibly reacting when Ciara cut her thumb to cure Iann's snotty disposition. "Ciara, you're too good for all of us." She shook her head. "Have fun with your client."

Freddie met Ciara’s eyes, and returned her soft smile. “I have no idea, darling,” he murmured, “-but I thought I’d ask all the same. Just in case.” He watched her go when her client beckoned, then leaned in a little closer to Grace as they waited for Iann to return with fresh drinks, and pointed at a rather good looking pair of men off a little ways. “Do you know who he is, Grace love?” he asked, nodding at the one in the shorts. “I don’t think I’ve seen him before...”

Grace shook her head at Freddie's question once Ciara was out of earshot. "I've no idea. But Ciara is a respected business-woman. We can't get all over-protective now, can we? She has to make a living."

Milo "I'm sure it's still a good skill to have," Milo said. "I've always had a certain level of envy for you witches. A flick of the wrist and a dabble of power or leaves or whatever... Bam, you have something completely unique and super useful." Milo let out a chuckle as he saluted Miguel with his drink. "Mine's more... momentary. Small. I don't know how to explain it." His eyes wandered across the bar again as he watched the chatting unfold around them.

River pointed down the bar to the last place she'd seen Ash, not surprised that he was still there but surprised when she saw the Sheriff with his hands all over him. Her brows furrowed in confusion but she shrugged it off. "He's over there. We're roommates." At Elena's confession that she'd come alone, River shrugged. "Nah, I don't think it's weird. I'm jealous, actually. I don't think I could go to a party full of people I didn't know. I'm barely comfortable with a bunch of people I do know." She looked down at her drink for a moment, only looking up again when she felt Elena's fingertips on her hair, she felt a chill run down her spine as goosebumps ran down her arms and neck. "Heh. Thanks," she laughed gently, pushing hair over her other ear. "Take that drink. I wear this flower better than you," she tried to joke, feeling it probably fall pretty flat.

Iann looked around the party, his eyes eventually falling on Ruby sitting alone with what was basically a super-gulp of alcohol. "That better not be all-booze," he said, feeling a little odd when he looked at her. Not because of Ruby herself, but just the memories from the blobs. Out of all his memories, that one resonated the hardest for Iann, and he didn't really understand why.

Ephram had gotten a 'sir' out of Ash, without prompting no less. He felt a thrum of pride go through him; Freddie had sure been teaching him well, during their own bedroom forays. "Don't you worry none, Maya-girl, we'll keep the hands to ourselves. For a while. In front of you." Ephram laughed, tapping the bar. "Keep em coming till one of us calls uncle," he instructed. "Our individual states' honour is at stake here!"

Freddie shook his head, and pulled a face at Grace. “Oh good lord,” he chuckled, “-I’m not talking about the man with Ciara - what do you take me for? - she can more than look after herself. I being entirely selfish and talking about those two.” He pointed subtly at Miguel and Milo. “Specifically, the sweet-looking one in the shorts.”

Grace corrected herself quickly, looking in the direction Freddie had been pointing. "Oh." She narrowed her eyes, trying to discern if there was anything familiar about him. "No, I don't believe I know either of those two gentlemen. Why?"

Maya straightened a little. Clearly they were only interested in each other. It wasn't entirely surprising she figured. Her lazy smirk disappeared. "I mean, don't stop on my account. I've seen a lot worse," she said before picking up her drink again, "Or better depending."

Freddie “No reason,” Freddie grinned. “I just rather like the look of him - and since my Ephram will likely be too tired to manage me tonight, I’m working out a Plan B.”

Miguel laughed gently. "Pure inner elemental power compared to borrowing from a leyline?" He raised an eyebrow. "I know which one I'd prefer." He shrugged. "But I've never been an antronach so mybe I can't compare the two." He sighed a little, but kept smiling. "I guess if we're talking pure power, a fairy or a nymph would win. More malleable and not dependent on glyphs or leylines."

Ash waved his hand. "Now now, I already told this one I'm going to have to spend time with other people. It's okay. I'm not the kinda person who ignores everyone else when I get the chance to get laid." He winked in Ephram's direction. "No matter how handsome and charming the suitor is."

Elena gave River a confused look and then realized rather slowly that she was talking to the drink. "Oh," Elena laughed, pointing to the drink in her hand, "Oh I get it, but the drink can't actually respond to you, especially because I'm drinking away it's life right now." And to emphasize that, she took a long drink, reducing the drink completely. "More!" She slapped her hand on the bar jovially, setting down her empty glass and requesting another one just like but this time with a fun silly straw and minus the flower. "Ash is your roomie though? That's so cool. Roomies are nice. Mine is Iann. I think I saw him over there somewhere, talking to someone about something," she shrugged.

Milo nodded, his head bouncing as he thought for a moment. "To be completely honest, yeah, they've probably got us beat. But what's the saying? You always want what you can't have?" He'd been around that block a time or two in other ways. "I probably shouldn't drink too much," he admitted. "If the teens see me too wasted, I'll never hear the end of it." His opinion could change before the end of the night, but Milo figured he should slow down before he got too far ahead of himself, weak drinks or not.

Ephram snorted at Maya's comment, turning against the bar so his hips leaned against it and he could look around at the party. "What're you, training to be an Olympics judge? Wasn't for your benefit anyhow." He scrunched his face at her, grinning, and nudged Ash. "Don't feel like you gotta stay, darlin. I'm real good at trackin' down what I want, and you need to enjoy your party. I mean, hell--" Ephram gestured around, "all of this for you! Would be a crime if you din't enjoy it to the fullest."

Grace finally understood, and it was probably a good thing a vampire couldn't blush. "Well, he's rather handsome, and if you don't mind sharing and being shared, then I say go for it." Grace found Alia across the room, meeting her eyes with a smile. "I've only got eyes for one, lucky for me. I don't have your confidence."

Miguel finished his drink, took a step toward the recycling bin, and got a 2 point shot in. "You're probably right, I should slow down too so I can go to work tomorrow and not get picked on by residents." He smiled at Milo. "Want to go find the snacks?"

Maya smiled in a self-deprecating manner, "Just naturally judgmental." She picked up her drink again. If she was going to pull off this whole cake thing she would need to talk to River. A feat which was proving more difficult than she expected. "And clearly it wasn't for my benefit, if it were someone would be making out with me and I don't foresee that happening considering it ain't my birthday yet," she added.

Ash gestured to Ephram with a smile. "There? See. We like a nice understanding man. I like to enjoy the fruit's of everyone's labour, and not always sexually." He had almost finished his drink already. And his cigar. "I should find River. Or Bella."

Ephram nodded. "I'll stay here for a minute," he said, lifting his chin in Maya's direction. "Been a long time since I had a Sourpuss." He chortled, addressing Maya to say, "Unless you got somewheres to be?"

River Instead of getting confused or frustrated by Elena explaining the joke, River found it rather endearing. And when she ordered her next drink with a silly straw, River laughed out loud. "You're cute," she said before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened at the suddenness of her words, and the awkward moment made her attempt to occupy herself with something that wasn't making eye contact with Elena. She glanced at her watch and noticed the time. "Shit," she hissed. "Sorry, I have to uh, take care of something. I'll see you in a bit?" She pushed herself away from the bar, leaving her drink as she glanced down the bar, still seeing Maya there. She'd have to suck it up and talk to her at some point, and she was already late for the time she wanted to bring the cake out. She took a deep breath as she strode over, stopping at Maya's side, giving a quick wave to Ash and Ephram. She kept her distance from Maya, giving her a few feet of space. "We should....?" she left the question hang, seeing as Ash was right there.

Milo chuckled. "Snacks sound good. They must be around here somewhere." He glanced around and saw a couple of baskets over on the other end of the bar. "Think that could be it?" he asked. There were all kinds of people around, and they could do a bit of mingling on their way through. It wouldn't be the worst way to catch up with a friend or two along the way.

Iann returned with beverages, handing them carefully but easily to Grace and Freddie. "There you go, you two. Drink up, booze is free. Grace I got yours with a little fancy blood, if you wanted. Don't worry, it's in its own separate shot glass if you don't want it."

Freddie looked at Grace, his smile going a bit softer. “Oh, believe me, love,” he said, lowering his voice so that it was just for the two of them, “-I’ve only got eyes for one myself; the sort of eyes that matter. Sex is just... fleeting. And fun. But there’s only ever one person that I want to kiss goodnight.” Talking to Grace inspired a level of openness that Freddie didn’t often experience, and he let some of his own vulnerability show through. “Confidence is often harder won than it seems for people like us, eh darling?” He looked over at Alia then, golden and gorgeous, not far off. “You should hear how that one talks about you, though,” he said. “Like you set the stars alight, just for her.”

Maya saw River out of the corner of her eye. She felt herself stiffen more than she recognized herself doing it. "As it turns out I do," she replied to Ephram with a cheeky sort of smile. She wasn't supposed to be bitter or judgmental at this party. She should be happy. Picking up her drink she headed up towards the parking lot, "I've put the thing on wheels." Tonight wasn't about her and River, she reminded herself, it was about Ash and he deserve a good surprise.

Speaking of River, she had just arrived. Ash gave her a smile, glad to see she'd been enjoying herself. "Don't lose my number," he said in Ephram's direction, planning tto accompany River somewhere before he caught the implication she already had plans.

Freddie took the drink that Iann handed him and leaned up to press a kiss to his friend’s cheek. “Cheers, love.”

"Could be." Miguel started toward the baskets. As he walked he nodded at every witch he saw, his family coven was wide and deep, and even if a witch wasn't actually a part of the Falling Leaf coven, they still knew someone in it, still knew who Lupita was, still nodded when Miguel nodded at them. Miguel took no joy in it, but it was familiar and a little bit comforting.

Elena simply said, "Thanks," in response to River saying she was cute, not finding it an awkward thing to say in the least because of course she was cute, in fact, she was more than cute. It was a little unfortunate that River had to run off to take care of something, but Elena paid it no mind. She sipped her drink and looked around to see if she recognized anyone nearby.

Grace listened to Freddie's words. Still working on her original drink and enjoying the lack of awkwardness that Iann usually brought to the table. "It's nice, if you can see things that way. I'm just not that sort of girl, I suppose... not with Alia, anyway." She couldn't contain her smile at the thought of Alia talking about her like that. "I do the same. We're both just as smitten as each other, which is how it should be."

River followed Maya out to the parking lot, keeping her distance. When she saw the cake, she smiled, and was glad that Maya was being all business for the moment. "Awesome. How do I get into it? And I think you're gonna need to like, wheel me out. And announce the cake and stuff." She smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, I'm sorta playing this by ear."

Maya "I have a step stool," Maya replied. She got the cake, carefully, out of the back of the car. "The top is just cardboard so no problem pushing that off," she explained. After pulling the step stool out too she helped River into it. Then Maya wheeled the cake back down to the beach. Once she was close enough she caught the eye of the people she knew and nodded before she began to sing, "Happy birthday to you..."

Freddie “Most people aren’t,” Freddie said with an easy smile. “And admittedly,” he chuckled, “[there’s a healthy amount of possessiveness going on at the same time, so we’re not entirely selfless in our sharing.” The fairy took a sip of his drink. “Ephram once threw me over his shoulder and carried me out of the inn, as a matter of fact.” He smirked. “Iann wasn’t thrilled - but I rather enjoyed it.”

Ephram got himself a bourbon sour and settled in where he was, catching sight of Freddie talking to a tall high-society looking blonde. His husband looked so good with her, sleek and immaculately groomed, and Ephram kept his gaze locked there even as he automatically joined in with the birthday song.

Freddie nodded at Grace, smiling. “Smitten is one of my favourite words. ‘Besotted’, too. I’ve been besotted with Ephram since the day we met.”

Grace touched her glass to Freddie's, her smile just as soft as his. "Well, don't we make a right pair? A pair of besotten fools."

Elena noticed Ephram further down the bar and essentially pranced over to him, whispering to him, "I don't know the words to this song." Even though it was rather simple and straight forward. "Are we all supposed to sing?"

Freddie clinked back, meeting Grace’s eyes, a wonderful sort of understanding in the air between them. “We absolutely are,” he agreed, “And I can’t think of anything I’d rather drink to.”

Ephram was delighted to find Elena suddenly arriving at the bar, pulling her into his arms so her back was settled against him and she could watch the proceedings as well. "Don't worry," he whispered back," you can just hum whatever you want and then scream yay! at the end. Then I'll teach you the monkey version." He chuckled, rubbing his face playfully against the crown of her head.

Milo was pleasantly surprised at just how many people Miguel seemed to know. "Is there anyone you don't know?" he asked. He had his own connections too, but Miguel seemed to have twice as many. It was fairly impressive, if a bit intimidating when Milo had lived here his entirely life.

Iann "Aren't you two sweet," Iann said to Grace and Freddie, before checking his watch. "Anyway, wow look at the time..." he mocked up a wide yawn, and stretch, clapping Freddie on the shoulder. "See you back at the Inn, man. Grace, say hi to Alia for me, hm?" He was about to make his escape but then a gigantic cake was wheeled out, pushed by Maya. The cake was huge, and Iann marveled at it. Big enough to fit a person, he thought jovially, not bothering to sing along. He'd done that at the Grace-Alia party; once was enough.

Grace smiled, sipping her vodka, already pleasantly buzzed thanks to the fairy blood mixed in. "I quite agree."

Elena happily allowed herself to be embraced by Ephram, settling herself comfortably in his arms and clapping her hands at the sight of the very large, very impressive cake that appeared. She did hum, it wasn't the tune of happy birthday, and what it was exactly even she didn't know. "There's a monkey version?"

Ciara finished her discussion five minutes later with a lighter but more tightly stuffed purse, feeling an inch more relieved now that was one thing dealt with. She slowly returned to the party as a huge cake was wheeled out, coming to a stop to watch curiously, and joining in with the song absently even though she still hadn't met the host of the evening. A couple people behind her had had a few too many, and definitely weren't joining in on that song but something else entirely in loud rambunctious tones. One of them stumbled and knocked into her, knocking her into the person in front of her. Before the last dregs of her drink even managed to spill, she caught it with a little magic, pulling it back into the cup. "Sorry," she whispered with a smile, gesturing at the duo behind her, "some people have already had too much fun."

Ash had stopped flirting just in time for there to be a song. He didn't blush at attention. In fact, he revelled in it. Like Ephram had said, everyone was here for him. Even those who had just stopped by for the free drinks and free food and the chance to hook up. He gave a gracious smile. Ash wasn't a stranger to being surrounded by people. He made a habit of it. This time though, it felt different. These people actually knew him, and they actually liked him. Not just because he was charming and rich, but because of who he was as a person.

Ephram nodded emphatically, enjoying the sound of Elena's undulating hum and the feel of her body settled against him. "The monkey version is only for if you're good friends with the person, though," he said. "Say, you ever seen a monkey? Like, a real one?"

Iann was always interesting to see how people reacted to their own birthday. Grace and Alia were immersed in each other, in the celebration of each other, together. Ash Caplan looked pleased like he expected all of this, like this was exactly how he'd wanted it to go. But on top of that, there was something simply beaming about the expression on his pixie-like face. Iann couldn't help but smile slightly; someone's genuine happiness was always a little infectious. He touched his wrist absently where Ciara had touched him, and looked on. He figured he might as well stick around for the cake-cutting before ducking out.

Freddie didn’t sing, just watched as the enormous cake was rolled out, idly wondering if whoever was inside it - because there had to be somebody inside it - would be naked or not when they jumped out. And then he glanced at Iann, knowing that his partner had cake-jumping aspirations of his own - jumpee, not jumper - and laughed softly, hoping to see him sputter adorably with envy.

Milo paused as the music to watch what was going on. The birthday part of birthday party seemed to be underway, and he looked on with a smile as the cake was wheeled out. It was a positively massive cake.

From the corner, Ruby sang quietly, smiling at the general feeling of happiness in the room.

Elena shook her head, "Never, not in real life. I've seen them in pictures and videos but never a real monkey in person. Well, I think I saw one in the park one time but it could have been something else, and it was moving so quickly I couldn't get a good look at it anyway. I don't think I could say the monkey version though cause I don't even know Ash. I know he is River's roommate and that is all," she sipped at her drink.

 Ephram "Naw you don't gotta learn it for THIS party, but it'll be useful in the future for when you wanna sing to your friends." Ephram dropped his chin to her shoulder and mused, "I ain't ever seen no real monkey my own self. That feels wrong somehow."

Just then, someone bumped into her and she felt something cold slosh down her side. Ruby made a noise of surprise and turned to see the woman who had been talking with Iann and Freddie earlier turning to apologize. “It’s alright,” Ruby said, shaking the liquid off her hand. “It’ll dry.” She wipes her hand - the other held a drink - off on her neon shorts and held it out. “I’m Ruby, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met.”

River crouched down into the cake and felt it rumble along on the wheels as Maya pushed it along. Was this even a good idea? She was deliberately making herself the center of attention, even if only for a moment. All because Alia made a joke and she thought it would be funny. It wasn't that she was scared of stealing the spotlight form Ash at his party or anything like that, he knew how to be in the spotlight no matter what. No, she just didn't want the spotlight at all. But it was too late now as Maya began to sing and the crowd joined in. She waited for the song to be over, humming it quietly and nervously to herself from inside the cake, and when it finally ended, she took a deep breath and pushed the cardboard top off above her head, throwing her arms up in the air and screaming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" at the top of her lungs, deciding that if she was in it now, she might as well commit.

Elena "Why is it wrong?" Elena asked but before she could wonder about it too long, the song ended and out from the top of the cake burst River. Elena started in her surprise, nearly spilling her drink in the process. "Ephram! Look! Look!" She waved her hand forward, wiggling her body against him with excitement, "It's River! In the cake! She's jumped out from the cake! That's so fun!"

Iann "Holy shit," Iann said, slightly startled when River jumped out of the cake. He looked around the crowd, to see if a) everyone was seeing this; and b) that was actually River and not the doppleganger or anything. Turned out it was actually River, and Iann looked from Maya to River, to Ash and then back to the cake, taking it all in. Then he turned to gawp at Freddie, his eyes wide. "That-! That was - ! That's what I wanted, that's my idea!! They did it..." Iann slowly applauded, joining in with everyone else.

Maya was glad she wasn't the center of attention for long. As soon as River had emerged from the cake everyone was focused on the selkie. For her part Maya slinked back to the bar.

Tuah rushed to the party once he was able to, and apparently Tuah came at the peak moment of the party when he saw someone jumping out of the cake (was it Iann's idea? he's been wishing for it for quite some time from what he understood). Looking through the crowd, he scanned for Iann before making his way through the crowd. "Hey, sorry I'm late," he gave a quick kiss before turning towards River and Maya. "That's quite a surprise. Did you plan it?"

Ephram "Good Lord!" River busting out of the cake was unexpected, and Ephram was sort of glad that he hadn't worn his service revolver. "That's real fun, yeah," he said to Elena, then loosened back up and laughed. "You're friends with River, huh? She looks real cute. Like in Singin' in the Rain."

Ash hadn't even expected someone to be inside the cake, let alone River. She was the introversion to his extraversion. This didn't strike him as her sort of thing. That much attention on her, that many people, it was her worst nightmare, and still she was doing it. For him. To give him a surprise, something to smile about. "Oh wow." He was probably blushing now, but not from embarrassment. With love. He walked over to her, wrapped her up in his arms and held her close. "That was the best surprise ever. I love you girl."

Ciara shook her head and magicked the drink off the woman in front of her with a flick of her hand. As far as alcoholic drinks went, there were much worse to have spilled on you. "Ruby... Ruby Deveraux, by any chance? I've heard only good things." It was a unique enough name that it wouldn't surprise her in a town like this. "Ciara, it's a pleasure to meet you." They were interupted by River - River? - jumping out of the cake, and while she was distracted for a moment, Ciara remembered River's social awkwardness well enough to be surprised.

Milo let out a deep laugh as someone popped out of the cook. He wasn't sure they'd met before, but Milo was pretty sure it must have been Ash's roommate. If he didn't have a significant other--and based on previous conversations and his encounter with the other man earlier--a roommate was the best explanation. It certainly was a funny encounter. He started clapping on her behalf, letting out a low whistle for her efforts.

Freddie took another sip of his drink, waiting for the the crowd to get all the way through the birthday song, and indulged in a bit of people watching. Absent-mindly noting whose jewellery might be worth pilfering if he’d had a mind to (he didn’t, but old habits died hard) and whose arse was cute. Whose outfit was appalling (other than Iann’s), and who should be avoided (ah- there was Ruby). The fairy raised his hand slightly to give his ex-wife a little wave and a smile, then let his gaze flit off again in search of the man from earlier in the delightful floral shorts, as suddenly the cake erupted - at which point Iann began to sputter. And it was every bit as adorable as Freddie had hoped. “I know, love,” he said soothingly, his eyes sparkling wickedly, “We’ll get you one too, sometime, yeah? Maybe for that holiday with the trees? Or the one about presidents?”

"Singin' in the Rain?" Elena's face scrunched up, brows coming together and full lips forming a confused frown, "But she's not singing and it isn't even raining."

Iann looked up when Tuah appeared at his side and gave him a little noncommittal grunt, but he didn't stop Tuah from kissing his cheek. "No, I didn't plan it. Clearly other people in this town also have brilliant ideas. And the follow-through. Kids can do anything, huh?" Iann commented neutrally to Tuah, then squinched his face at Freddie. "/My/ birthday! Alia said she'd handle all the planning for me. I should remind her..." He tapped his finger to his lips.

River climbed out of the cake with the help of the built in step stool, an awkward smile on her face as she sort of stumbled but not quite when she landed, thankful to be on solid ground again. Ash was upon her as soon as she touched down, giving her a huge hug that she returned with the same intensity. "Sorry I'm not a stripper," she teased. When the separated, she put a hand on his blushing cheek. "Love you too, dude. I'm glad you liked it."

Ephram kissed those perplexed brows with a soft chuckle. "A girl jumps outta a cake in the movie, it's a really good movie."

Freddie laughed again. “I thought we’d decided that you wanted no such thing as a party for your birthday,” he accused Iann good-naturedly. “You all but begged me not to give you one! Or am I just not invited to this little soirée of Alia’s?” The fairy grinned. “You know if I pout at her, she’ll let me come anyway.” And then he turned to Tuah - because it would be impolite not to - and said, “Hello, Tuah darling; how are you? Iann mentioned earlier that you were back.”

Ash chuckled, helping River up over the top and down onto the ground. "You're crazy, honey. But you're better than any stripper."

Tuah hummed at the mention of Iann's birthday, remembering the sort-of plan that Alia had hatched for the event. It certainly would be interesting. He didn't think he'd have the courage to do so if Iann's birthday would be attended with these so many people, and he was glad that Alia had agreed to do it privately. "I'm going to grab a drink. Do you want anything?" He asked, before turning his attention towards Freddie and gave him a polite nod, then turning his attention towards Iann.

Elena still frowned a little, even after his soft kiss to her brows, but she moved passed her confusion by saying to him, "Watch it with me later, and then you can teach me the monkey version of the song."

Iann "No, Tuah, I'm fine. Say, Ruby's over there; go say hi to her, hm? She's been worried sick about you," Iann replied to Tuah, hands stuck in his pockets as he waited for Tuah to head off, before turning to look at Freddie, eyes getting rounder. "Noooo god I don't want a party like this. I just want the cake, and like you, and Alia and Grace of course. And a couple other people."

River smiled slyly. "Thanks. Seems like you don't need a stripper tonight anyway, the way the Sheriff was feeling up on you," she said playfully, glancing over Ash's shoulder to where she'd last seen Ephram, her smile fading quickly when she saw Elena all but wrapped up in his arms, him placing a soft kiss on her forehead. She didn't know why she was so disappointed. It wasn't like she'd tried any moves on her or anything, but she'd been kinda of hopeful, and in her naive mind if Elena was flirting with someone else, it meant River was already out of her mind. Ugh, she shouldn't even be thinking about this sort of thing. She'd just gotten out of a break up. Should she really be flirting at all?

Grace gave a little snicker at Iann's mini tantrum. "Don't worry, darling. I'm sure someone will jump out of a cake for you one day soon." It struck her that she didn't even know when Iann's birthday was. It wasn't the type of thing anyone mentioned just in passing, and she hadn't exactly checked his ID. "Maybe Tuah can be convinced."

Ephram said "The movie has real nice songs too. It'll be just one big ol' sing-along, how's that sound?"

Ash gawped at River's words. "You saw that?" But then, what she'd actually said hit him. "Wait he's a sheriff? Like badge and gun, handcuffs and all, sheriff?" Ash glanced around the room, looking to lay eyes on the handsome man again. "Well, he can arrest me any time. What can I say? I go months without any intertest, and then, boom."

Freddie “Fine,” Freddie said, pretending to huff. “Something small then.” And then he grinned cheekily. “But I still want something lavish and glorious, and you promised to give it to me.” He gave Iann a playful sort of nudge. “Never dangle a party in front of a fairy, darling,” he winked, “We don’t get over that sort of thing.”

Maya looked up from her new drink. "There is actual cake there," she piped up, "If anyone has plates you can cut off pieces of it. I did spent a minute on it."

"Ah, yes. It's good to be back," Tuah replied with a polite smile on his lips, before turning his attention towards Iann, "Well, alright. I'll be at the bar if you need me." The treatment was to be expected, though he couldn't help but feel a little pout threatening to appear on his lips. But before he could pull such a face, Tuah wore that polite smile of his and squeeze Iann's arm before making his way towards the bar. He made his way towards Ruby first, and whoever was with the other. "Hey," he greeted, a gentle smile now on his face.

Iann grunted at Grace's comment, and then couldn't help but smirk slightly at the vampire. "Maybe Alia will do it? She's the most excited about the idea..." Grace properly teased and the Tuah comment deflected, Iann clapped his hands once at Freddie. "Oh yeah!! Okay. You're the only one I'd trust with a party for me anyway." Because god knew a party for him was mortifying. Iann was banking on Freddie finding the right balance.

Grace smacked Iann on the arm. "If Alia is jumping out of a cake for anyone's birthday, it will be mine, and since our birthdays are so close together, I doubt that's going to happen."

Bella had been rather busy making sure that food and drinks were all in heavy supply around the party, not having actually made it to much of the event because of this. When she finally did arrive it seemed Iann was with Freddie which looked like a bad option, Ephram and Elena seemed to be getting on well, Tuah was with Ruby which seemed an awful combo and it looked like River was in a cake being admired by Ash. So for now Bellamy just headed down the beach from the main building and took a seat on the sand watching everyone.

River nodded. "Yup. He helped me once before with my parents stuff. Nice guy." She chuckled at Ash's lewd insinuations, but she kept her eyes on Elena for a little longer than she should have, tearing them away to look at Ash again. This was stupid. She reached up to touch the flower in her hair, thinking about yanking it out, but instead leaving it be for now. She'd caught herself in a mirror on the way up to the parking lot, and she'd liked how it looked. That's the reason she told herself that she kept it there, anyway. "So, what do you think of the whole shabang?" she asked, gesturing to all the decorations and the people. She just hoped he was having fun.

Miguel smiled a bit. "Yeah, my coven is pretty big." He nodded his head. "Though most witches know us, most of us are further south. Kind of a Mexico to Southern California kinda coven." After the song ended and a girl jumped out of the cake and Miguel wanted a snack. Eventually he found a basket with different kinds of fruit in it and picked up a mango.

Milo looked at Miguel. "You know we were looking at snacks? I think I'm going to pop over and get a piece before it's gone." Glancing back to see if Miguel was following, he moved up toward Maya. "Did you make this?" he asked. "It looks really good. Do we have plates or should be pull it straight off the cake?" The latter felt a bit unsanitary, but it was a beach party after all.

Ash draped an arm around River's shoulder, hugging her close. "Nice guy, good flirt..." He chuckled, still a little embarrassed about that whole thing going down in front of Maya, but glad at the implications at least." Something was on River's mind, and he doubted it was whether or not Ash was getting laid tonight. "I wouldn't worry, sweetie," he whispered, following her eyeline to Ephram and the other girl he was flirting with. "He's a bit of a player, but he already pretty much said he's coming home with me tonight."

“You filthy liar,” Freddie teased, “You just know you can manipulate me, whereas our Alia is likely resistant to your charms.” The fairy caught Grace’s eye and gave her a grin. “And besides, I was talking about the party you said you were going to throw for me - I mean, bloody hell... do you never remember any of our conversations?”

"Oh bloody hell then," Grace answered, playfully exasperated. "Well, just make a google document or something. With all our birthdays and ages."

River blushed immediately when Ash noticed her staring at Elena. "I'm not...worried," she said incredulously. It was obvious denial. A flat out lie. She raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean I should sleep in the RV tonight?" she asked with a smirk.

"This is getting way too complicated. Documents on google? I don't even know what that means," Iann laughed, and scratched at his head, glancing over at Tuah's back for a moment before looking at Freddie and Grace. "Ah...well, cake's been cut, so I'm gonna head out, hm?" He clapped Freddie's arm, and nodded at Grace. "Have fun you two."

It was starting to get darker and Miguel had eaten some snacks and drank beer and hard lemonade and he had thrown Molly a couple snacks that wouldn't hurt her dog tummy. The two of them walked along the beach looking for firewood, it would be nice to make a beach fire, so people who were getting cold as the sun went down would be able to stay warm and enjoy the night a little longer.

Danny headed into the party, just in some brightly coloured shorts, Steve hopping along behind him. Immediately he made his way over to one of the few people he recognised. River. Whoever she was with he did not recognise at all but grinned when he saw her. "You look like you're doing better," he said simply, looking between the two to make sure he hadn't upset either with his presence.

Ash shrugged. "Uh, we didn't get that far yet. I don't know if he wants me to go to his place, or with his husband, or what. I'll keep you posted though." He picked up another drink, and lit a cigarette. It was a bad habit, but he already had plenty of them, so he figured he would just let himself continue. "I'm gonna mingle."

Bella leap up the moment Ash seemed to leave his companion that she didn't recognise, her heels left behind in the house but the rest of her ensemble in tact. "Happy Birthday," she smiled as she reached him, immediately linking arms.

Drink in hand Maya walked down the beach. She stopped just before she ran into someone else. "Sorry," she said with an embarrassed smile before asking, "Are you making a fire because I could really go for one about now." Her outfit, with its crop top, was not made for post sundown. She could definitely go for a bonfire and was pretty certain she wasn't the only one.

Freddie said goodbye to Iann, then turned back to Grace with a grin. “Shall we get another drink and have a little wander round, darling? Or do you think Alia will be ready to murder me by now for monopolising you all night?”

Ash beamed as he saw Bella. "Hey! I hadn't seen you all night. I was beginning to wonder if you had ditched this after all the effort you took to set it up," he teased. "It's awesome, by the way. You and River did an amazing job."

Charlie knew they were late. It was already darker than they'd intended for it to be. It wasn't hard to find the party, so they sauntered over to the group. It felt cheap to grab a drink first thing, but the beer was right there. They paused and looked around for who all they knew.

Grace dismissed Freddie's concerns with a wave of her hand. "Alia isn't jealous like me," she chuckled. "Let's have another drink, have some cake, and you can introduce me to that handsome husband of yours."

Miguel nodded. "Yeah, I figure a lot of people could use a bonfire and a place to sit and get warm." Molly grabbed a big stick and trot toward Miguel, tail wagging. Miguel took the stick and pet her head. "If you want to help, we're making a pile over there." He nodded toward where he had a good pile started.

Bella shrugged her shoulders as she wandered with him. "Was just trying to keep food coming but I guess I didn't have to worry, someone brought a whole cake," she laughed. "Besides, I didn't really know like more than half of the names you said to me so honestly I don't know like eighty percent of the people here." Some she recognised from meeting them once or twice. Whoever had come out of said cake was definitely not someone she knew but at least she was getting a moment with him. "I'm glad you're having fun. I'm sorry I couldn't come out sooner."

River nodded as Ash announced he was gonna mingle, her attention quickly stolen by Danny. She gave him a wide smile. "I am, thanks!" It was easy to dismiss her feelings in all this excitement. Plus, she was becoming sort of numb to them as the days went by. "How're you, man?"

Maya got distracted for a moment by the do trotting over towards them. She was easily distracted by dogs. Turning back to the man she flashed a smile, "Yeah you got it. You got a name or should I just take credit for the idea?"

Ash chuckled. "Maya, I think. She's a baker. River must've put her up to this. The group of you are like an unstoppable force." He shook his head. "You shouldn't be apologizing. I should be apologizing that you have to spend so much time backstage at a party you organized. Come have some fun, lady."

Charlie saw Danny and River over by the bar and headed toward them. "Hey all," they said as they moved closer. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything if I squeeze in."

Miguel chuckled and smiled. "My name is Miguel, and this is Molly." He had an inkling that she was more interested in Molly than him. That was okay, Molly was very charismatic, and he knew it.

"Dude, I am always down for a beach thing, I heard about it from some guys at the pub, this shit will definitely be getting out of control. Open invitation is open for trouble," Danny said as Steve nodded wisely beside him. "I'm heading to the ocean the moment that I get too warm from the glorious beer belly I'm about to give myself. You seen any around here? None of the bud light shit," he commented, Steve turning his nod into the shake of a head. Fortunately Charlie approached and Steve gave them what he could of a smile to show they were welcome.

Maya said hello to Molly. She then smiled at the man in front of her and held out a hand for him to shake, "Maya, responsible for the cake and happy to help with making a bonfire."

"Oh yeah, I met her," Bellamy said. She'd interacted with her once or twice but she supposed she had become distracted with other things. "I don't know if we're a group if one person doesn't really know the other two but you've certainly amassed a wonderful group. What fun is there to be had that I have been missing?" she questioned.

“Perfect,” Freddie said, holding out his arm for Grace to take and heading for the bar. They freshened their drinks, collected a bit of cake; which, the fairy had to admit was very good - Maya was quite talented in that regard - and the two of them began to meander their way through the crowd toward the last place Freddie had caught a glimpse of Ephram. “Do you think I should be jealous?” he mused light-heartedly to his friend, “I mean, I am forty, and Ash is...” Freddie laughed, not actually in any way insecure about his physical appeal. “God, how bloody old is he? I was too distracted by the girl hopping out of the cake to count the candles.”

River jabbed her thumb toward the bar. "Open bar. They have like, a lot. Not that I know what any of it is," she said with a smile, laughing a little at Steve shaking his head at Danny. "Don't go too crazy." When Charlie approached, River gave them a welcoming wave. "Charlie! Hey! You both missed me jumping out of a cake, by the way."

Ash exhaled, taking in the whole thing. He had eaten so many miniature burgers and watermelon icepops that he couldn't even fathom the thought of tackling his own cake, but he was sure that would pass in a few minutes. The thing looked amazing, Miami Vice themed and everything. "I have some great friends. I really just sort of let that sink in tonight. As far as what you've missed, just people hanging out, having fun, Ephram and I made out a little..." He threw that one in casually.

Upon shaking hands, Miguel knew that Maya was another witch. He grinned at her. "That's kind of like a secret handshake when we do it, huh?"

Danny looked over at the bar, grinning at Charlie when he gazed back. "Probably for the best, I prefer my girls that come out of cakes to possibly be down for me. You're only down for my sisters, she thought Miracle was hot," Danny told Charlie with a wink, knowing Charlie had met his littlest sister.

"Jealous?" Grace repeated. It didn't seem like it was in his nature. "From what I've seen, a bit of flirting and meaningless sex is normal for you too, so as long as you're both happy with the arrangements, I don't see why you should be jealous at all." Unless it was an age thing. But that hardly made sense. Ephram wasn't exactly young himself. He must have been closer to Freddie's age than Ash's. "He's twenty-four, Alia said."

"That's me," Ruby nodded to the woman who introduced herself as Ciara. "And nice to meet you too." She wondered who Ciara had met that knew her, but she couldn't help but smile at the comment. "Thanks. I-" And then Tuah was there and Ruby was left speechless for the span of a good few seconds before she threw her arms around his neck. "Where the hell have you been???" she said, squeezing him hard.

Bella laughed. "Who here hasn't made out with Ephram a little," she smirked, giving him a nudge. "Who else you intending to make out with? I mean, birthday boy can take his pick, right?" she giggled, leading them over to a bar.

Maya always felt a little awkward when someone immediately identified her as a witch, "Uh, yeah, I suppose so." She smiled and took a long sip from her drink. "So do you know Ash or..." she asked, hoping to get the attention away from her personal discomfort.

River hit Danny on the arm, blushing at his words. "Dude!"

"Damn," Charlie shook their head. "That seems like it would have been entertaining. Did you do a dance with it?" They grinned, knowing the idea was a little outside River's comfort zone. They could respect that. They could also respect the description of Danny's sister, although they didn't figure it was probably best to make any sort of comments of their own about her carefully. "Did she do anything about this?" Charlie asked. "More importantly, is that something Miracle would have been down for? If so, you'll have to let us know next time she's in town."

Ash snorted, not exactly unflatteringly. "You're asking me if I have a list? I flirted with this cute guy Milo at the grocery store the other day, so if he's still here..." Ash looked around for him, but to no avail. "To be honest, sex and relationships and stuff aren't that big for me, just every once in a while I get a little antsy and get the urge to fool around a little."

"I mean she's pan or something," Danny said knowing that Miracle was at the perfect age where they couldn't perfectly define their sexuality. "But she's also on the other side of the planet and I'll big brother out and say you can't bang my sister and toss her to the curb. She probably wouldn't let that happen either and her familiar is a spider so...I wouldn't advise it." Looking down to Steve the wallaby sighed, understanding Danny in and instantly and hoping off to get him a beer. "But I don't think she was mad about being considered gorgeous, we're quite a vain family, species, you know, all that stuff."

"No ah... a friend actually brought me here. I've never actually met Ash." Miguel shrugged and started back toward the stack of wood.

Freddie laughed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, darling,” he said, “I’m only teasing. Not about Ash’s age -” he chuckled again, “-I genuinely had no idea about that. I know next to nothing about him - “ Freddie glanced down at his outfit and grinned, “-other than he’s quite fond of the 80′s. The rest though, was just a wind up. I know very well what I bring to the table.” He winked, “So mostly I was fishing for compliments.”

Bella scratched at her neck when Ash mentioned Milo, knowing the guy didn't like her and wasn't really sure how their last meeting had totally gone. "Well Ephram is the perfect person to fool around with, but he's also a heartbreaker, so don't let me worry too much about you," Bellamy squeezed his arm tenderly. If Ash wanted to screw around that she could wholly support but love hurt, and Ash was far too elegant and confident to be brought down by it as she had been so many times. "Pina colada," she requested of the bartender as they made it there. "I can't believe you don't have your tail out."

Charlie snorted. "Somehow I doubt River's the hit and quit type." They winked at River as they spoke, not necessarily mentioning their own habits. They'd mostly brought themself into it just to see what Danny's reaction would be anyway. They raised a brow as Steve grabbed a beer. "Where I can get one of him?"

Danny Immediately Danny wrapped an arm around River, giving her a gentle squeeze as Charlie's words affected him. River knew how sensitive he could be about what he was and what Steve was to him so when Steve returned with the beer and handed it to Danny the marsupial hid behind River too as Danny tried to remain calm. "He's...the best," Danny merely said, giving Charlie a smile.

Ash was grateful for Bella's concern. It was nice having people to look out for him. It wasn't something anyone had ever done before. "Don't worry. I'm not looking for a husband, just a bit of fun." And that spot was already taken. He glanced down at his human legs. "Eh, I thought about it. I could have my tail out, but then I couldn't wear the suit."

Maya smiled, "A friend, what's it like to have one of those?" She picked up some driftwood as well, actually helping with the firewood as she's offered. After arranging the wood she pulled a lighter out of her pocket and started a bonfire.

Tuah returned Ruby's hug, though he was careful not to crush her. "I'll tell you when we get back, hm," he promised her, the gentle smile still on his lips. "I know I have a lot of explaining to do, to you and Iann. And to others too, but both of you especially." After a moment he continued, "I'm sorry for leaving for so long." Tuah then turned his attention towards others who were with them at the moment. "Hi," he smiled politely, "I don't think we've met. I'm Tuah."

Bella "I am desperate as hell, always looking for a husband," Bellamy joked. It was not exactly true but Bellamy had never denied she enjoyed companionship and romantic companionship helped with her loneliness, except on evenings like this when she didn't imagine Miles would be around. "True, and fashion is quite important at a theme party, you looked completely dashing, no wonder someone locked lips with you."

Grace settled next to Freddie, planting her arm on his muscular back. "You're a big softie. Another thing we have in common." She definitely must have been tipsy. "Don't tell anyone I said that." Not that it was much of a secret any more. She openly adored Alia every chance she got. "What's a guy like you have to fish for compliments for?"

"Not a real friend so much as a covenly connection. I wouldn't know what having a friend feels like," Miguel said with a small smile.... Once the fire was going he pulled out a blanket and sat on it with Molly against his leg.

"Well, I wouldn't know what a covenly connection feels like, if that helps," Maya replied. She sat down on near Miguel and his blanket, but not quite on it.

Charlie realized they may have said the wrong thing and took a sip of their beer. They weren't sure how to continue on the saem topic, so they figured it might be best to move away. "I never got to meet the rest of your sisters. They're all younger than you, right? Or did I get that wrong?" Charlie knew they'd talked about it before, but at very least it was something to say.

Ruby pulled back, looking over to where Iann stood among the crowd. "He's mad. But it's just because he was worried. But I guess you already know that." She patted a hand over his chest, then his face. "Don't be sorry, and... you don't even have to explain. I'm just glad you're okay..." Memories of a delusion shared with Iann flickered through her mind, and her eyes drifted back to where Tuah's lover still stood, pointedly ignoring him. She patted Tuah once more, letting out a breath. "Damn it's good to see you... just..." Ruby shook her head, grinning despite herself. "Nevermind," she grinned, turning towards the woman she'd been speaking to when Tuah showed up. But she was gone. "Damn..." Ruby sighed, hoping she hadn't seemed rude.

"One is older," Danny told her. "We're all pretty close in age except Miracle though, between the five of us we're all within six years, and then it dips down to Miracle who is twelve years younger than me," he described, definitely finding a focus for his words able to ease his thoughts.

Charlie smiled. "I still don't get the sibling thing, but cheers to you guys." They raised their glass in a toast and took another sip of their beer. "How's the tattoo treating you, by the way? You know your way around aftercare, but still."

Danny did know about aftercare but he only did it about half as much as he should. "I think it's looking okay," he said, holding up his arm to show the tattoo they had done. They were quite good and the watercolour part still looked pretty legit. "You two bring cozzies?" he asked.

River felt her chest tighten as Charlie said something about Steve, and felt weirdly honored when he hid behind her. But thankfully Danny handled it okay, her putting a hand on his arm for a moment for support, then removing it when the subject was glossed over. She stood silently, observing the conversation between the two of them. She found herself doing that often when she was part of a group of more than two. She felt involved just by listening, hoping that other people didn't find that creepy. "Cozzies?" She finally joined in, cocking her head to the side.

Charlie smirked and shook their head. "Merm. I don't own any kind of suit. We can still go swimming if you're not feeling offended by boobs." To them it wasn't a big deal, but they knew it was best to check first.

Elena liked the idea of a sing-along party with Ephram and she beamed at him. "Don't forget about it!" She said pointedly at him with a gleaming grin, "Now I'm going to get cake!" She bounded away from him then, going towards the table where they were serving out slices of cake and she helped herself to one of the bigger slices. She was about to go back to Ephram but noticed there was a bonfire starting, and she did love the smell of burning driftwood. It gave off such a beautiful scent and she liked to think even the color of the fire was different. So she moved towards it and sat down on a blanket, right next to a man and his dog. "Hello," she greeted him happily. "Want some cake?"

Tuah excused himself to head back towards Iann and Ruby pushed a bit into the crowd to see if she could find Ciara. After no such luck, she moved over to the fire to warm herself up a bit. It was less crowded here too, and it gave her a chance to people watch a bit more. "Great party, isn't it?" she said to the other few people standing around.

"Yeah, swimmers?" Danny asked with a raise of his brow. "Bikini...the other ones girls have that come with a weird assortment or names?" he suggested as he looked at River. "Offended by boobs? Nah, I don't think they'll do anything offensive."

Miguel looked up at the bubbly... merm, he thought as she brushed his leg. "Sure ah! Hi, I'm Miguel," he told her with a quick sheepish smile. He always felt like he had to be a bit bumbling, it usually made people more trusting faster. At least outside of work, no one liked a bumbling doctor.

River perked up with recognition. "Ooooooh, okay," she nodded. Then gestured toward Charlie. "Same here. I don't have a swimsuit." She really did want to swim, feeling the heat from the magically heated beach starting to get to her, a little too warm for her liking. She knew the ocean would be nice and cold. But there were so many people here....she didn't know if she could get naked in front of them all. "Are you two gonna swim?"

Ash perked up. First, Bella had mentioned his tail, then someone had mentioned bathing suits and swimming. "Are we planning on going in the ocean? Because I'm not offended by boobs, as long as you're not offended by... tails."

Charlie glanced over at River. "We could head over to the dock to ditch clothing," they suggested. "It's not well lit over there, and you could get in the water before coming back over."

Bella watched as Ash became distracted, taking her drink as she watched him head in their direction and awkwardly following him. It was one of those moments most people experienced at high school or a new job where one awkwardly stood on the outside. She was sipping her drink and trying to work out if she was actually involved or not, not wanting to speak in case she wasn't but not wanting to completely remove herself in case she was.

"Why would we leave? It's a private beach?" Danny asked with a raised brow.

Freddie let out a soft sort of chuckle, and leaned into Grace’s touch just a little. “I think that you and I may just have one another’s numbers, love,” he murmured, a gentle smile tugging at his lips, as he turned his head and brushed a kiss across her cheek, “-but I promise not to breathe a word.” A sparkle of mischief lit his eyes when he pulled back again. “And I don’t generally have to fish, no,” he told her, “-but I haven’t been told how pretty I am in at least the last half-hour or so, I like a bit of a regular top-up.”

Elena smiled at him and at Ruby who had just moved towards the fire to join them as well. "My name's Elena," she greeted him, taking a bit of cake onto her fork and licking some frosting from the side. "It is a great party. I think I like it most of the parties that I've been to, but I'm biased because it's at the beach and I just love the beach. Aren't driftwood fires so beautiful?"

Ash glanced back at Bella, noticing her hesitation. "Do you swim? Do you want to swim?"

River shook her head at Charlie's suggestion, setting her jaw with with determination. "Nah, I'll be okay. Thanks." She knew Charlie's intentions were good, and she really did appreciate it. Ash seemed excited about swimming too, so since the birthday boy was into it, it seemed like the decision was made. Hmmm, she wondered if Elena would want to swim....

"Uh yeah, I swim," Bella said. She wasn't a great swimmer but not needing to breath helped and most knew she liked the water but she also wanted Ash to have a good time and she didn't want to burden him with being her caretaker amongst the group. "I'm good though, you guys go swimming, you really don't need to leave and go to the docks if you want to be naked though. I mean yeah there are other people's beaches if you head further along this one but Jamara is pretty isolated, no one is going to see anyone."

Miguel cut the cake into small pieces before popping a piece into his mouth. He nodded in agreement. "The salt in the wood makes the fire more blue and green. It really is pretty." His eyes were on the flames, which danced in peculiar colors.

Charlie nodded, not wanting to push. If River felt comfortable with the undressing requirement in front of people, they were happy River's comfort level was going up. "I'm down whenever, especially if the birthday boy is in."

Ash hesitated. He wanted to be a good host, and he hadn't been swimming in a while. Spring was starting to come, which meant the water might just be warm enough to be tolerable, but leaving Bella by herself after all she had done felt like a dick move. "Are you sure you don't wanna come?"

Elena said "Is that what causes it? I always wondered what it was. I just always imagined it burned blue because being so long in the sea it just started to soak in the colors found there. I guess burning blue because of salt makes more sense than that though."

Ruby: "They are beautiful," Ruby nodded, taking it upon herself to sit down near the other two. She missed the beach back home, so the familiar warmth of the fire and the smell of the sea was nice. Ruby smiled over at the man as he commented on the flames. He was right. She turned back to the fire, pulling her knees up and propping her chin on them.

Ruby: EVERYONE GO SKINNY DIPPING WE'LL WATCHHH ))

Bella nodded her head, rubbing his back with a smile. "Enjoy, I'll watch and admire your tail with my delicious drink," Bellamy smiled, happy to watch Ash enjoy his other friends and join those who were clearly quite aware of one another and had a more Earthy feel to their enjoyment of it. "I haven't seen a naga swim before so it'll be interesting."

Miguel "If you think about it, it's just another way to explain the same thing," he said with a soft smile. Molly leaned her head more on his leg, letting him know that she was tired. He looked over at the new girl and smiled. "Hi, I'm Miguel." He was getting used to introducing himself a lot, that's just what happened when you moved somewhere new. But so much in one day, that's what you got when you went to a party.Ash nodded, accepting Bella's words as sincere and not the go-but-I'll-be-mad-about-it kind of vibe. He kissed her cheek and finished his drink, already starting to take off his white linen suit jacket and the pastel t-shirt underneath. "Alright, I usually get to know people a little better before I get my junk out in public, but here we go."

Bella wasn't upset, she took his kiss with a smile and leaving him with his friends, finding herself a place among the sand with her drink. If she appeared upset it wouldn't be about Ash. Likely his tail would put a perfect smile on her face.

"Ruby," she said, nodding since she was too far away to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you. And I think I like Elena's reason for the blue just as much as the science answer," she grinned. "I know you from somewhere, don't I?" Ruby asked Miguel.

River broke away from everyone, spotting Elena farther onto the beach by a fire with Ruby and someone else she didn't know. In a move only facilitated by the confidence afforded to her by her cake stunt and the fact that she was about to strip down naked (the anticipation was sort of delicious), she walked over and put a hand on Elena's shoulder gently. "A bunch of us are about to go swimming. Did you wanna join me? I mean, us?"

Danny "Damn, so you all get to be naked and I'm the idiot who actually wore boardshorts," Danny sighed, he could get naked if he felt like it but his shorts weren't exactly hiding anything but graphic details. Once he got into the water fabric would cling to everything.

Charlie laughed at Ash's unabashed remark. "Sounds like an invitation to me." Charlie started moving toward the water ad they took off their blazer, not really caring that their clothing would get wet if they moved down too far. They removed their top as well before looking back at the group. There was weird energy that Charlie would considered closer to the bedroom than to a swim.

Elena had her mouth stuffed with cake when River touched at her shoulder and introduced the prospect of some late night swimming. Even though she'd been scared to swim in the open ocean, she was fine staying close to the shoreline, and knowing others would be with her she felt it would be too much fun to miss out on. "Sure!" She said, but since her mouth was full it was a bit muffled. She swallowed her cake, licking the frosting from her lips and then handing the rest of the cake to Miguel. Elena moved to stand, brushing the sand from her dress and without a moment's hesitation she just pulled it over her head, discarding it on the sand where it landed near where Molly was laying. "Come on," Elena grabbed River by the hand and basically dragged her toward the water.

Ruby saw Charlie leave the other group of people that was across the beach and pull of their top. She found herself watching, admiring their tattoos, as much as she could see them in the semi-darkness. Ruby's own tattoo - done by Charlie - had healed well and now sat bright and colorful along her right shoulder and back. Ruby looked at Miguel as Elena got up and ran off with River. "You goin' swimmin' too?" she asked.

Miguel nodded. "I don't think it's a HIPAA violation to tell your own patient that you're their doctor, but..." His broke into a smirk. It had taken him a minute to recognize Ruby, but the name and the face together made him think of the day she came into the hospital, a little loopy from blood loss, but nothing a pint of lactated ringers couldn't fix.

Miguel watched as a gaggle of youth ran into the ocean naked. They looked like they were having fun, but it also looked like it was starting to get too late for him and his old man sensibilities.

Ash wasn't exactly shy. He didn't really so much mind other people seeing his surgery scars either. It just usually took a little while before people were comfortable with that kind of platonic intimacy. He piled his clothes up neatly, just about covering himself with his hands before he transformed, letting his long, black tail spread across the beach. "Now I know this isn't the kind of eyeful you were all hoping for, but this is how I swim. Mostly. So this is what you get."

"Honestly none of these eyefuls will do much for me, you've got parts I'm not into, they're got parts I'm into but am not the kind they'd be into so no eyefuls for me," he said, not liking the idea of sexualising someone who wouldn't approve of it. Sure, River and Charlie were attractive but Danny wasn't about to start thinking anything of that. "Just skin to water fun for you lot," Danny grinned at Ash. "I'm Danny by the way."

River felt her breath hitch at how suddenly Elena stripped her dress off, not even getting time to process it as her hand was grabbed and she was pulled toward the water. She was able to kick her shoes off before she was dragged in, and once she was about knee deep, she reclaimed her hand with a joyful laugh and started unbuttoning her shirt, throwing it and her pants behind her on the beach. The only reason she wasn't being as bashful as usual was the presence of so many other people doing the same. Once she was stripped down, she sank into the water a bit more, to cover herself.

"That's where I know you from..." Ruby said. "The hospital. I spend way too much time there," she blushed a bit.

Ash snickered. "We're just having fun, man. Nothing sexual about it. And I'm Ash. Nice to meet you. Usually I'm not naked when I meet someone for the first time." He laughed and slithered toward the water, way faster than he'd have been able to move with his human legs.

"How long have you been there?" Ruby asked again. "I was there for a couple of weeks about... two years ago now. ICU. Died a couple of times," she huffed, feeling suddenly melancholy. But the laughter and the movement of the others called her attention, and she smiled again. "That water is probably freezing," she laughed.

Charlie finished getting undressed and waded into the water. They went in past their waist before actually shifting. "Nice trick!" they called toward Ash. "Not all of us can do that on land." Seeing that Elena and River had moved into the water, they headed back toward the group.

Danny Heading towards the water with him Danny grinned. "I mean, less you can make it sexual," he said as he spotted Elena with River. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, knowing River had been so upset about her break up. He didn't say anything though, merely moved his eyes between Elena and Ash. "All good, you've got like a model face, you being naked is like art in life or whatever, where people do art in like...places," Danny said, not totally smart enough to be talking about what he was. "Happy Birthday too."

Miguel shrugged a little, but Molly had moved so she was leaning on one of his arms - it was a lopsided shrug. "It'll be like that sometimes." He listened as she told him about her past experience at the hospital. "Oh I'm sorry to hear that, I haven't been there that long, only a few months." Miguel looked back at the youths and stared at the naga for a little longer than necessary. It was hard to see in the fading light, but it looked like the birthday naga had a very familiar set of scars. Nice,Miguel thought to himself. And he's so comfortable with his body... That was very nice and encouraging to see. Miguel would never be so casual about undressing in public, but it seemed like a lot of the LGBT youth were getting more and more well adjusted.

Once in the water, Elena's legs morphed together, turned gray and were replaced by her dolphin-like fin. She dipped beneath the water completely, wetting her hair and seeing more legs and also a snake tail? She swam towards them, surfacing quietly beside Danny to look at Ash. "I've never seen a naga in the ocean before," she stated with a smile, casually wrapping her arms around Danny's waist as her tail and depth of the water meant she could only float atop the water's surface. "You must be Ash. Happy Birthday! I tried singing along but I didn't actually know the words."

Ash openly admired Charlie once they transformed. He'd never actually seen a merm up close like this before, and he'd never seen Charlie like this. "But I bet you're better than me in the water." Elena too, for what it was worth. He smiled at Danny, playfully flattered. "Did you just call me a model? Well, this might just turn sexual after all."

Ruby merely hummed in answer. She didn't mention that sort of thing often, especially at such a happy occasion. So she let it pass. She watched the people in the water for a bit longer, and almost got up to go over. But it was warm here by the fire, and Ruby was enjoying watching more than anything.

"Love, you're gonna pull my shorts down," Danny joked, knowing that with everyone else naked his shorts were sort of silly and hoping that she'd get that he was merely teasing her by the lightness of his words. "Neither," he agreed with her though, laughing that she didn't know the happy birthday words, sinking down into the water until her arms were around his neck, standing so her own tail was on display in the shallow area. "She is dynamite in the water mate, swam from some fucking nasty things in there when those creatures got out, tough as fuckin' nails," he complimented her before winking at Ash, happy that his compliment had impressed the naga.

Charlie swam up to tread water next to Danny and Elena. They smiled at both, laughing a little as they thought about the last time they'd ended up swimming with Elena. It had ended up with a nice conversation in mermish that they didn't get to speak in often enough. But surrounded by everyone else, they figured English was best. "How's swimming with two appendages instead of one?" they teased Danny. It was the kind of get together Charlie didn't do very often, and they intended to enjoy it.

River watched as Charlie and Elena shifted their legs, and thought about shifting herself as well. But if she did, she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone anymore. She didn't know if that was a pro or a con at the moment. She dove under the water with Elena, following her over to the group. She went over to between Ash and Charlie, putting her arms around the two. Her chest was tight with subconscious embarrassment from being naked, but she knew nobody in this group was going to judge her, and being on a private beach far enough away from the rest of the party now helped a lot. River listened to Danny complimenting Elena and felt herself smiling like an idiot.

Danny frowned at Charlie, seeming to be confused. "But...I have three appendages?" he responded quizzically before grinning with laughter. One of the few dick jokes he felt was not too offensive to make amongst present company.

Charlie raised an eyebrow and frowned at Danny as River swam up. They returned an arm around the waist without really thinking about it. "That was bad, dude. I think we should all pretend you didn't make that joke."

Elena glanced between Charlie and Danny after his comment and she returned with, "But landfolk have four. Two legs and two arms."

River chuckled. "He's talking about his dick," she explained. She felt comforted by Charlie's arm around her waist. It helped steady her nerves, seeing as the two of them had swam together before. It was almost like a weird kinship.

Ash burst into laughter, lightly splashing Danny with his hands. "But of course the only cis guy in the water's gotta make the dick jokes."

Charlie "I wasn't counting arms," Charlie said. "I ignored them for the sake of a joke, but I should have known better. Instead I just set him up for the awful one he made back.

Danny swayed Elena so her tail moved in the water. "Yup, we have four," Danny agreed, nodding at Charlie with a little laugh, happy to encourage Elena if it made his own bad joke fall away. "Clearly I'm feeling very insecure amongst you all, so beautiful and naked," he said back to Ash, egging his ego on as he often did most everyone. "Let's head deeper," Danny said, pulling Elena through the water until it was up to his chest, and in turn her own, looking back at the others. He hoped this wasn't to far for her, not wanting to make her fearful in front of the others. "Exactly, you set this up, mate," he called to Charlie.

Ruby bid goodnight to Miguel as he rose to go home, and downned the rest of her drink. The laughter from the water kept pulling her attention, but Ruby felt a bit like an outsider wondering if she could come play. Finally, realizing she was either going to go in thewater or go home, she got up and padded over, heels held in her hands. "Is it cold?" she asked as she got close enough.

Charlie was about to counter Danny's comment when they heard Ruby call. "Not super cold," they said, "but Danny's probably the best indicator for what you can handle. I don't notice it much."

Ash lifted his head, turning his gaze toward the shore as Ruby came closer. "Ruby! Hey!" He waved her towards the water. "It's not too cold. Come on in. I haven't seen you all night. Last time we met, I at least had the decency to go in the bathroom before I took off my pants."

Elena found that landfolk humor often times went over her head. She'd lived under the sea for so much of her life and was still just getting a grasp on their sense of humor. She kept her arms wrapped around Danny's neck lightly as he started to pull her deeper into the water. The waters were pretty still, and so far they hadn't gone too deep to cause her any anxiety.

Danny hadn't ever seen a picture of Freddie's ex but when Ash said her name Danny knew who it was. He didn't need to be rude, he wasn't that kind of guy so he smiled. "It's alright, bit nippy, maybe cross your hands over your chest at first, love," he told called out to her, still swaying Elena from one side to the other.

Ruby hadn't met Danny, but figured he was guy swimming with Elena, since he was the only unfamiliar face. "Fine, fine..." she called to Ash after nodding to Charlie about the temperature. "Hold your horses." But she was grinning now. After just a moment of hesitation, Ruby stripped off her clothes and waded out into the water. "Holy shit that's cold! You're all a buncha liars!" she laughed, splashing water towards Charlie and Ash.

Ash laughed, swimming toward Ruby and curling his tail around her waist. "Better?"

Charlie slid to duck away from the splashed water. "You did get your info from a bunch of seafood." And Danny, but they didn't want to single him out again. "You should have known to keep that grain of salt with it."

Danny: "Women are naturally colder than men...probably should have considered that," Danny said, scrunching up his face. His Mum had told him that it was to prepare for childbirth, and it was why women suddenly felt crazy hot when they hit menopause, their bodies were rising to the same temperature as a man's. The world made shit hard for them. Walking himself and Elena bit closer to the group he got a better look at Freddie's ex, she had the same dark hair as him. "Sorry about that, love," he said kindly, leaning his head to one side. "Have you met my backpack?"

Elena laughed at Charlie's words, especially the part about the grain of salt, because the ocean was full of salt. That was a joke she could get behind. "Backpack? I'm not a backpack! I'm Elena and yes we've met a few times."

Ruby: "Better," she said, reaching down to stroke over the smooth scales of Ash's tail. "And I guess that's what I get for trustin' you lot," she said to Charlie, but it was with good humor.

River was completely fine in the water, not even noticing any nippiness in the water. But the truth was she would be fine in arctic water, so she wasn't a good judge. The last time she'd seen Ruby get into the water they'd both been used in a spell to cage a Kraken, so this was a good change of pace. She was acutely aware of how quiet she was again, just observing the conversation, shrinking back from it. Detaching. The thrill of the act was starting to wear off, and she felt herself sinking back into the water.

"You're not my backpack?" Danny asked Elena, turning back to look at her. "I should take you off then?" he asked, shaking her more vigorously than he had been before.

Ash giggled as Ruby stroked his tail. "See, if you take me home it's like having a pet lizard and a boyfriend all wrapped up in one."

Ruby stroked Ash's tail again. "Who said I wanted a boyfriend?" she teased.

Ash laughed, playfully squeezing her a bit tighter. "Touche."

"Though you can come home with me if you like..." Ruby continued.

Elena laughed and held onto him tighter, "No! I'm not a backpack. I'm lichen!" His shaking caused the water to splash roughly around her tail.

"Oh no, lichen, that is probably poisonous, I don't know, sounds dangerous" Danny said, falling backwards into the water, knowing that pushing her under couldn't possible go wrong, it wasn't like she couldn't breath under the water.

Charlie laughed as they watched the relationships around them unfold. It was endearing to see people interact. Noticing that River wasn't saying much, Charlie turned toward her. "Enjoying the water?"

Ash winked at her, uncurling from her and stretching out in the water again. "See, Riv? We joked about being each other's wing-man tonight and look what happens? I go months without any offers, to multiple offers in one night."

River snapped her head toward Charlie when she heard them speak, not really expecting anyone to address her. "Oh, uh, yeah. I was starting to overheat on the beach, actually. This is nice." She smiled at Danny and Elena playing around, flinching a little when Danny fell backwards into the water with the two of them. Everybody interacting made her feel a little jealous. She wished she knew how to be that comfortable in a group. Ash's words were bittersweet to her, but she smiled wide at him anyway. "I don't think you need me on that front," she said with a smirk.

Elena The water splashed over her and she was submerged with a laugh. Her tail flailed in the water and she released her hold on Danny's neck. She pinched his butt and swam away with a gurgling laugh, moving through the water towards the others in the group. She surfaced, squirting water from her mouth out and aiming it at River, feeling in a very playful mood now.

"You don't have to if you've got previous offers," Ruby smiled, treading water a bit as Ash untangled himself. "I haven't had an offer in six months or more, so welcome to the club."

Danny "Oi," he said when she felt her pinch his butt. "That's not paying fair, little lichen," he said, though laughing as he watched her squirt River in the mouth with water.

Ash gave Ruby a smile. They'd both been in a pretty weird situation together and come out on the other side. That made him trust her. A different feeling than what Ephram had stirred up in him, but equally nice. "Everyone wants a piece of the birthday boy. What can I say?" He shrugged. "I'm just teasing. I don't know what's gonna happen. The other person is a little pre-occupied right now. They have my number." Not that it would do any good when his phone was over there on the beach.

Charlie swam back as Danny and Elena splashed about. "Glad you're feeling better now then. Was it just being out in the heat for a while?" They could understand River's dilemma, although they didn't deal with temperature weirdness very often. It had happened before, and they were sure it would happen again. Charlie also tried not to look like they were listening in on Ash's conversation. It certainly seemed like he was a popular dude tonight.

"I'm up for a threesome," Ruby told him, almost completely serious. If the third was Ephram , though could be awkward. But otherwise... Ruby was up for some fun.

Ash laughed so hard be practically snorted, but it wasn't unkind, just shocked. He draped an arm around Ruby's shoulder. "Pssh, in that case, say no more."

River nodded. "Yeah. The heat spell on the beach was killing me." She tried to shield her face when Elena suddenly squirted water at her, and she let out a giggle. River didn't giggle, so it was a rare sound to hear. She responded with a splash, then aimed a splash at Charlie, letting out a more deep, River like laugh.

Ruby looped an arm around his waist, feeling the place around his waist where skin turned to scales. "Who's your third party, hm? Anybody I know?"

Ash had just been playing. Not entirely not-serious, but not serious-serious. Unless Ruby was really up for it. He revelled in the attention, probably more so than he should have. "Well, I haven't exactly asked him what he's in for, but I met him at the bar. Name's Ephram."

Danny could hear the conversations around him and watched River giggled, he focused on that, what Freddie's ex got up to wasn't any of his business and he focused on tuning it out. He wasn't a gossip, this was her business. "You have lichen poisoning now, River," Danny informed her with a smirk.

Ruby nearly choked on a mouthful of water as Ash named off Ephram. "Why does that not surprise me?" she laughed, coughing a bit. "I'm afraid that threesome's not gonna happen, hon. Ephram's my ex-husband. Could be awkward.But... Ephram in's for pretty much anythin'. So if you take him up on it, it'll be a good time."

Elena didn't shield herself from the splash, but let the water hit her, she was already thoroughly drenched so being splashed was nothing but fun and she splashed back at River. "Lichen isn't poisonous!" She dipped her mouth into the water and squirted some at Danny too.

Charlie "Hey!" Charlie protested, putting their hands up to defend themself before giving in to splash back. "I don't see how I did anything to deserve that." Realizing that their hands made a puny splash, Charlie slid around and dipped slightly below the water in order to get their tail up high enough to slap it down and send a small wave of water in River's direction.

Ash just stared at her for a moment before laughing again. "Well, my goodness, apparently I sure know how to pick 'em, don't I?" The benefits of a small town, he supposed. "Well, I'm just here to have a good time, not get in the middle of anything, but like I said... who knows what'll happen?" He swam back just far enough to give her a little splash, joining in on the fun.

River giggled again, feeling herself blush as she made the noise. "I'm poisoned? I need an antidote!" she play acted, her voice slightly dramatic and teasing. Then Charlie splashed her with their tail. "Hey! No fair!" she protested.

"Ain't nothin' to get in the middle of," Ruby assured him. "We're on good terms. I just don't think either of us wants to have sex with the other right now." She splashed him back, squealing a bit as water flew everywhere.

"Would you really tell us if you were trying to poison us?" Danny asked Elena, watching as Charlie protested the splashing that was happening. "Oh no," he let out as River worried of poison. "We are not going to the hospital again."

Elena protested again, "Lichen aren't poisonous! They're harmless and live on rocks and things!" She swam around, splashing with her tail and squirting water at them when they weren't looking.

River continued to splash fight with Elena and the rest, finding herself close to her after a bit. Instead of splashing her again, River put a hand on her arm, sliding it up to her shoulder. "What are you doing after this?" she said, the words spilling out of her mouth like a waterfall. She'd picked up on the directness of Ash and Ruby's conversation, and decided to take a page out of their book.

"I could see you living on a rock, all wet and sandy and -," he stopped, because sad Elena wasn't something other people had seen. Beautiful crying Elena on a rock mourning wasn't an image quite so recogniseable. "You know...naked," Danny instead said. "I wish there were caves around here, stupid fancy people beach."

Charlie let out a laugh at Danny's comment. "That is the nature state to be on a rock," they said. Treading casually for a moment, Charlie glanced around, but they were far enough from their usually haunts that they weren't sure where the closest caves were. "Might be out of luck on that one." They purposefully ignored River's comment, keeping their attention solely focused on Danny to give the illusion of privacy.

Danny "I think I could be quite beautiful, just naked on a rock, covered in water. Though I might get mistaken for like a werebear trapped on a rock with all of this," he said, running over the thick hair on his chest that was knotting together because of water.

Charlie shrugged, her shoulders dipping slightly higher above the water. "There would probably be worse sights. And hey, insulation. Hair is a very important part of life above sea." Below it got a little tangled, but they were trying to be encouraging. "Do you have a particular pose you'll strike? Disney or pinup?"

Elena shrugged her shoulders beneath the water, languidly rolling over to her side, "I don't know. Probably something, but I never really know until I'm doing it. Why? Are you doing something fun?"

Danny "I wouldn't be sure of either, you should show me some perfect mer-poses, though Ash is the model here, I've already decided as much so perhaps I'll need his help," Danny teased, looking over to the man and the woman he had been flirting with before turning back to Charlie. "He might be too busy though."

River 's shoulders slumped slightly. It was clear Elena hadn't picked up on the insinuation. A lot of options of what to say were still vague and awkward, so she opted for the direct, if not slightly lame, response. "I mean, hopefully you?" She felt a knot form in her stomach. This was so not her. What was she doing??

Danny heard River and held back a laugh, focusing so very hard on Charlie and their tail, trying to count the scales on it. It was direct but just cheesey, which admittedly Danny loved. Didn't mean it wasn't funny. Eventually he just moved closer to Charlie. "I think I need some poses now."

Elena laughed lightly, not in a teasing way but in a genuinely amused and flattered way. "Well, you're not wrong there. I am fun. In fact," and she moved towards River in the water slowly, "I can be very fun."

Charlie glanced over in River and Elena's direction and nodded. "I think that would be a great idea." They grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him away from the potentially lucky selkie. "Would it be easier to post back up by shore?"

Danny wasn't going to go too far, with how River had been and how Elena was he was cautious but Elena deserved her fun and so long as no one was upsetting her he didn't feel like he was breaking any of the promises he'd made her. "Yeah, lets head to the sand, keep your tail on though, I can't be a lichen without the perfect imagry," he said. Plus he liked their tail, it was really quite breath taking. Different to Elena's by a mile but amazing on it's own.

River felt the knot in her stomach tighten as Elena moved toward her, but her hands naturally found themselves on her hips, feeling the blend of skin and tail there. "I don't doubt that," she said in a low voice, finding it easier to speak now that the first hurdle had been jumped over.

Charlie nodded and began swimming up. The sand didn't irritate their tail much to rub together as long as their was still watcher to help sooth the microscopic cuts. "Do you have a particular pose in mind to be the perfect lichen? It seems like the kind of thing one might just flop on their back for, but I bet you could be more elegant if you wanted."

Dani had arrived late. Fashionably late - or so they liked to think. Their black suit wasn't very aligned with the theme, but they walked over with confidence nonetheless. What they hadn't expected to find was a group of partygoers in the water with an apparent lack of clothing. The nudity itself didn't bother them in the slightest, but the scene certainly cued a bit of awkwardness from their position on the beach. "You know," they called out towards the water, loosening tie slightly, "when I was told there was a theme, I didn't expect nudity to be a part of it."

Danny "Me? Elegant?" he asked, laying down on the ground beside his friend. They were so chill, Charlie was much cooler than him and it was nice she was keeping him company while the others flirted. "You think very highly of me," Danny grinned, laying back and making a starfish position. "Is this good?"

Charlie nodded with a smile. "It's great." They looked up at the yell to see someone they didn't recognize walking toward them in a full suit and not the kind Danny had inquired about earlier. "It is a beach party, after all," they called back. They leaned over to poke Danny's belly. "This is where your face would be if you were a real starfish. I think it works better where it is, though."

Danny "My abs are definitely better looking than my face," he laughed, looking over at the new arrival. He recognised them from Halloween, obviously they were party acquaintances.

Charlie laughed at Danny again before motioning to the person on shore. "You should come in," they said. "I mean I could come to you, but my clothing is way over there. Depending on your preferences, that could be a weird first conversation.

Elena raised herself out of the water a bit, just enough so she could rest her hands on River's shoulders, pulling the other towards her to press a kiss against her lips. "Come on then. I've had my drinks, I've had cake, and now I'll have you." She fully intended on taking River back to her room at the hotel, figuring it'd be more than fine since now that Tuah was back, Iann would likely stay with him.

Dani blinked out at the person in the water and couldn't resist the slightest laugh. "My preferences are fairly open, but seeing as all the fun is out there, I suppose I can't refuse." After walking over to a table, they began to strip their clothes, folding them neatly but leaving their boxers on their person. They would have had no issue with stripping completely if they hadn't had a husband to consider. A minute later, they were stepping into the water, shivering briefly as they adjusted to the cold. "So, what have you all been up to then? Seems like I missed the bulk of the fun already."

Charlie glanced back out at the water, amused to see how well River and Elena seemed to be getting on. Once Dani joined the water, Charlie held up a hand in greeting. "There's been the promise of tomfoolery, but not that much in public eyes, so I'm sure that's a record for a beach party. "Ash is probably still around here somewhere if you try to find him later. The rest of us are mostly just floating."

Dani chuckled at Charlie's answer. "Yeah, these things usually get pretty wild. Probably best we haven't gone too crazy. Yet." At the mention of Ash, they nodded. "I'm sure I'll run into him at some point."

Ciara hadn't joined in with the water play for a number of reasons, in no small part because those that had were very young and while she was working on it, her body still looked weakened from her fight in January. Instead, she was enjoying the warmth of the fire, and watching the full moon ripple on the water. Blue moon, she thought idly. The vastness of the ocean was something she'd never get over, having so far from any sea for most of her life. Entrancing, magic in its own right. As she watched, she idly played with the blood in an abandoned glass nearby, making it dance and twist to the rhythm of the music still beating through the sand.

Ash had fun splashing around with everyone, and it seemed River was making some progress on her getting over Rye plan too. After a little while splashing around, he decided to get out of the water and go talk to some of the people who might not have been as comfortable stripping down and swimming around. He kept his tail out, draping a towel around his shoulders and drying himself off. He wasn't looking for anyone in particular when he spotted Maya nearby, and someone he could only assume was a witch twirling around blood in her glass wordlessly. "Oh, cool trick."

Maya had decided against getting in the water. She told herself it was because it was too cold, which it was, but she knew that it had more to do with her general discomfort in crowds. Things in Soapberry, the something like family she was finding here, felt too good to be true. And then of course there were things with River. Instead Maya sat by a small bonfire, giving Ash a smile as he emerged from the water.

Seeing as everyone was getting out little by little, Ruby let herself float a bit more, lying on her back and watching the full moon up above. It was so big and so bright, it was nearly hypnotizing. But Ruby knew better than to let herself become too distracted in the water, so eventually she turned and waded back to the shore, snagged a towel and wrapped it around herself before grabbing her clothes and moving back to the fire. She plopped down next to someone already sitting there, careful not to jostle them, and pulled her dripping hair over her shoulder. She squeezed it out and ran her fingers through it so it could start to dry. "I can't tell you the last time I did that..." she said idly to whoever might be listening.

Ciara looked up as she spotted the guy Iann had pointed out earlier with Ephram and smiled up at him, then her eyes slid down his tail, momentarily amazed. She'd seen naga tail sheddings, and a naga with a tail from afar, but this was different altogether. "Thanks. You're the birthday boy, right? Ash? I'm Ciara." She glanced to where he had looked before, the young woman who had made the cake, nodding a small greeting there, too. The blood crystallised into a dozen pieces that spun and rotated before returning to their normal crystal state. "Seemed a shame to let it go to waste - ferret blood is such a little more unusual than most at these kinds of places."

Maya glanced up as someone sat next to her. After half a second she recognized Ruby, who she had met on New Years. "Last time I did that one of the guys thought it would be real funny to steal my clothes," she replied, "So you know, I kicked his ass."

Ruby snorted at Maya's comment. "Did he fall in love or learn a lesson?" she asked, adjusting the towel around her so it didn't slip.

Maya shrugged, "Little of both I think." She took a sip from her drink, watching the waves and the people still in them. With the sun down it should've been cold, but someone had arranged for magical heat lamps for the beach.

Ash shook his head. "Stealing clothes is no fun. We're all about consent here, and stealing clothes means you can't consent to, you know, not be naked any more." He gave an endearing chuckle. "Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you." He turned his attention to Ciara. "Ash. That's me! Ferret blood is delicious. I'm partial to rabbit myself though. Can you do anything else with it?" He asked questions with the wide-eyed nature of a child in science class.

Ruby hummed. "As it should be." She watched the flames for a moment, letting the easy feeling of being slightly drunk settle over her. She wasn't wasted like she had been at New Year's, merely pleasantly buzzed. Looking over at the woman Ash was talking to, Ruby grinned to herself. Though it turned into a slight grimace at the talk of blood. But to each his own. "Haven't seen you around," Ruby said to Maya. "You been okay?"

Maya "Yeah, he didn't get invited out with us much after that," Maya replied to Ash. Of all the things that had happened to her though that incident didn't rank even in the top 100. "Um..." she turned to Ruby. Had she been okay? Well, not entirely given everything with Shaw and its still lingering effects. But this was Ash's birthday party, not her pity party. "Yeah, I've been alright," she said, "I've been working a lot and some stuff came up I had to deal with." Maya shrugged and hoped no one would ask anything else about it.

Ciara glanced at Maya with a smirk on her lips. "He had it coming." Ciara wasn't much one for physical violence, when magical violence came so naturally, but she could respect it in anyone. She looked back at their apparent host with a smirk on her lips. "Can I do anything else with it?" She repeated in amusement, a glint in her eye. She hadn't had much, but enough of the buzz had rubbed off on her that she was more than happy to show off. The blood congregated into one large droplet that rippled above the palm of her hand. It shimmered briefly before she dropped it into a new cup and floated the cup to his hand. "Given it's your birthday. Go on, give it a taste. I promise it's not poison." There was a little danger in the smile on her lips, a little challenge too, but then, there often was.

Ash gave Maya a sympathetic but casual look. He wasn't usually the overbearing sort when it came to his friends. He figured if they needed him, they'd ask. "Well that sucks. I hope it gets better soon. At least for tonight you can distract yourself, huh?" There was enough alcohol, cigars and beautiful people around for that. He cocked his head at Ciara's offer, edging closer and holding the cup she'd magically placed in his hand. Man, he loved witches. "Well, I've put worse things in my mouth," he said with a wink, downing the blood without a moments hesitation. "Oh! That's... it's just like rabbit blood, so fresh!"

Ruby nodded as Maya answered, but didn't press. She was glad to hear that Maya was doing okay, despite working so much. Ruby had her own 'stuff' going on, but didn't care to think about itmuch tonight. She'd much rather sit here and admire all the pretty people and soak up the general feeling of happiness that floated around. She turned to watch what what Ciara and Ash were doing. "I love magic sometimes," Ruby murmured. "Sorry for earlier, by the way," she said over at Ciara. "It was completely rude of me to get so distracted..."

Maya waved off Ash's concern, "Don't worry about it. It's all settled. Anyway you're right, it's your birthday. There's cake, there's booze and I'm pretty sure you're monopolizing all the pretty people at this party, but I can forgive you for that." She did spare a thought to Ryden, almost wishing he were here but quickly deciding she wouldn't hold his attention anyway. Maya was content to sit and soak in the company for as long as it lasted.

Ash held up his hands with a faux innocence. "Hey, I'm not Monopolizing anyone. There's plenty of pretty people to go around."

Ruby grinned. "It is his birthday... so he can have a pass for tonight I guess."

Ciara watched his reaction with a knowing amusement. It was one of her most common party tricks, and usually impressed anyone who drank blood. She couldn't shift something into the taste of something she'd never experienced for herself, but she'd had a fair amount of practice with most common animals by now. most common blood types, too. "Anything else you want to try? You are the man of the hour, after all, and I didn't bring any other gift." She looked back over at Ruby, and smiled at that pretty southern twang. "Don't worry about it. Besides, he was very distracting looking." And vaguely familiar.

Maya laughed, "I said I forgive him for it." She wasn't looking for that out of this party anyway. With Soapberry becoming something like home and its residents becoming her friends and something like family she didn't feel the same need for closeness in that manner.

"He's a good friend that's been gone for awhile," Ruby said. "Seein' him was... unexpected." But good. She wondered how Iann had reacted. Not well, if she knew him at all (which admittedly she really didn't).

Ash: "Oh, come on now. Y'all are gonna make me blush." And Ash didn't blush easily. He wanted attention. Sometimes he craved it, but tonight was more than he ever could have expected. Flirting and kidding around was all well and good, but there was also a sincerity to the whole thing too. It was nice, if a little overwhelming. "Honey," he said to Ciara, "I'm from New Orleans. We've got witches all over the place, but you might just be the most fascinating one I've ever seen."

Ruby smiled back at Maya. "Alright, alright... point taken," she laughed as well. Ruby felt almost the exact opposite of Maya lately. She'd been in town for over two years, and had never really been bereft of affection. Until recently. Recently it had been pretty much nonexistant, and if Ruby was honest, she was lonely. But she would never press anyone into spending time with her. That was utterly beside the point. So if companionship like this was all that would come from tonight, Ruby would take it. And be happy.

Maya laughed again before faking offense, "Now that is going to take a little more to forgive. Most fascinating witch you've ever seen, I made you cake." She smiled immediately afterward making clear she didn't actually mean it.

Ash draped an arm around Maya's shoulder. "You're my favorite baker if that helps." He smiled. "Just kidding. There's room for everyone. I can appreciate both cake and blood in equal measure."

Maya didn't flinch this time when Ash wrapped an arm around her given that she knew it was him. "I suppose I can live with that," she replied smiling. In truth she didn't think of herself as particularly interesting when it came to her magic. Circumstances had meant she didn't explore it much after the loss of her parents. What she could do now was mostly what she had learned before the age of eight, augmented with a few experiments here and there.

"All the more reason to get distracted," Ciara replied to Ruby, smiling warmly. She really didn't mind, and was oddly glad her magic tricks hadn't scared the human away. Looking back to Ash, she cocked an eyebrow. "I'd have introduced myself earlier if I'd known the host was so interesting himself," she replied smoothly, but Maya's retort caught her ear and she looked over, curious. "I should have known. That cake was magical in its own right," she complimented.

"And more with the flattery. If that cake doesn't give me a cavity, all this sweetness will." Ash was going to need to give River and Bella a proper thank you for this. The whole thing had been amazing. Many of the guests he'd never met before tonight, but he was definitely glad to know them now. "So you do blood magic. That's pretty rare, right? That'd explain why I hardly know anything about it. Does Naga blood do anything cool? I mean, I've got plenty," he half-joked, practically offering her his wrist.

Maya shook her head, "Well, it technically wasn't this time actually. I was short on time and had to do some building too. Plus I like to warn people before they end up under the influence and that's a bit hard at a party like this."

"True," Ruby replied to Ciara. "Though his boyfriend might kill him before I get to see him again..." She was kidding. Mostly. But who knew how Iann would react to Tuah's return. Hopefully with lots of makeup sex.

Ciara: "I didn't mean that kind of magic," Ciara replied to Maya truthfully. She was trying to be careful about what magic she let near her for that reason, but the cake had been excellent regardless. "It is," Ciara confirmed as his drink shimmered again in his hand, "But then, so are naga. I've never used any, myself," she eyed his wrist as he offered it, but shook her head lightly. "I know it makes for powerful speed and agility potions, for making someone silver tongued and sly. But it depends on the person it comes from. What kind of person they are, what they believe, what they desire." She didn't break eye contact with him as she spoke, hardly even blinking. People were always curious about this, and she was always happy to answer.

Ash was blissfully ignorant about who this Tuah person was, and was thankfully ignorant about the fact they were talking about Iann's sex life. He raised his glass to the stranger who had come home to his boyfriend and hoped they had a good time. Ciara was effortlessly charming and fascinating, happy to talk about her magic, which meant Ash was happy to listen. And happy to experiment, if the situation called for it. "Maybe some other time then," he chuckled, withdrawing his hand again. "I'd say I'm definitely silver tongued. Not sly. Honest. Fast and agile? Definitely. Ruby can vouch for me. Just a few days ago we had to run away from someone tryna eat our brains! Soapberry is so weird sometimes."

"It's true," Ruby said to Ash's comment. "He's hella fast. And we've both still got our brains. Mostly," she grinned.

Ephram had been obliged to go somewhere quieter and talk to dispatch at the station about various boring things he should have taken care of beforehand, so really he had nobody to blame but himself. Making his way back to the bonfire, he noticed that the folks had mixed around somewhat but that didn't stop him from joining them. "Still sulking?" he teased Maya, dropping down cross-legged next to her. "The cake was real pretty -- I ain't had none of the eating one yet, it's like to be done now, huh?"

Maya turned as Ephram sat down next to her. "I was not sulking," she protested although to be fair she sort of had been, "A little confused initially, but not sulking." She gave him a smile. "And thanks, there might be some left, but I can't guarantee it didn't get sand in it from wheeling it down."

Ash chuckled. "Well, as much brain and heart as before." As Ephram came over, he commanded attention. Even if Ash hadn't been flirting with him earlier, Ash got the impression he still would've. Ephram was just that type of person, with that type of aura. "Hey," he greeted with a nod. "What'd I tell ya? I'm being charming."

"Whaaaaaat, you got no experience catering a beach birthday?" Ephram shook his head in mock disappointment. "And here I was thinkin' that woulda been a regular occurrence for you." He looked up at Ash's greeting, giving him a wolfish, hungry grin. "Darlin," he said, "you ain't tellin' me nothin I din't figure out already."

Maya laughed, "I'm more not used to baking cakes people jump out of at beach parties." She also didn't cater really. Mostly she kept to the kitchen, preferring to be away from the eyes of everyone.

Ciara tilted her head in surprise. The things she had seen in this town made nothing else compared. Her eyes moved from Ash to Ruby with a smile on her lips. "I'm relieved to hear that, you're both much prettier with your skull in tact." She stood up a moment later, as Ephram was settling in, holding up her drink. "I'm getting myself another drink, can I get anyone else one?" She asked the group.

Ephram took a surreptitious glance at Ciara, not having expected to see her ... well, socializing. He liked the look of it, though. Nudging Maya, he said, "Maybe you should consider it, girl! You could have a profitable future in the empty-cake business. I mean a naga would fit in one real nice." Ciara got up, and Ephram hurriedly said, "I could use a drink," just in case it seemed like he was ignoring her. A little bit avoiding, maybe, but not ignoring.

Ash admired his glass, just a tad too empty. "Sure. I'll take another one." Pretty. She called him pretty. It really shouldn't have surprised him at this point. He had been quite the hit with the older men and women at the party, and now he was literally standing in the middle of two of them. "I hope you didn't lose my number," he teased to Ephram (who he'd also noted with a twinge in his stomach, had called him darling). "Because I might've met someone else." He ran his fingertips over Ruby's back with a harmless grin.

Maya almost said that she was thinking of opening her own bakery. She had long ago learned to be careful with dreams though. They so rarely came true. There was a moment where her expression softened and she looked almost nervous at Ephram's suggestion. Luckily before it could go on too long the witch, who's name Maya didn't think she'd caught, was asking if anyone wanted to another drink. She looked up and said, "I'd love one if you've got an extra hand."

Ruby had just come back from putting her clothes back on, and stepped up beside Ash. The naga ran his fingers over her back. “Well, I’m not one to break up a done deal,” she grinned, waving warmly at Ephram.

Ephram grinned at Ruby, leaning over to hug her briefly. "You of all people should know how fast I work, woman," he said, putting his hand over Ash's against Ruby's back, folding the naga's fingers into his palm. "And I got no intention of lettin' this one finish his birthday without gettin' /my/ number."

“That I do,” Ruby said, hugging Ephram back. “I told you you’d have a good time,” she stage-whispered to Ash.

Ash was definitely not going to blush. Nope. It wasn't going to happen, he told himself. Enough alcohol and good cheer had left him loose-lipped and loose-tongued, and he was just going with it. "Hey, I got enough room in my phone for everyone's numbers, and enough room in my bed for... well, at least three of you, but one at a time, huh?" At least there wasn't any awkwardness between Ruby and Ephram. She'd been right when she'd said they were on good terms.

Maya rolled her eyes with no malice behind it. "You all are going to at least let me get out of the middle of this sandwich before you start making out again, right?" she said because somehow she'd ended up between Ash and Ephram. "Because it'll be as awkward now as it was when I got roped into Spin the Bottle in high school. Even if everyone here is prettier."

Ephram gave an impressed whistle at Ash's comment, laughing, "One at a time sound a good way to start, although now I'm curious bout just how big this bed is." He groaned at Maya's complaints, wrapping his arms around her and planting a smacking kiss on the side of her head. "Nope," he said with satisfaction. "It's your fate to be peanut butter'n jelly, sorry."

Dani fixed their tie as they approached the group, sporting a grin at the familiar faces. “What’s this then? You all look awfully cozy. Have I been missing all the fun?”

Ash chuckled playfully at Dani's arrival. "Finally, someone who doesn't wanna sleep with me."

Ephram glanced back at the bar as Dani arrived, wondering if Ciara had decided to slip away when she got the opportunity. The thought made his stomach sink for a moment, but he didn't get up and go to the bar the way he wanted to. Instead he chortled at Ash's comment, remarking, "You must know that struggle too, huh Dani?"

Maya had to laugh as Ephram insisted on wrapping his arms around her, keeping her in place at least for the moment. "Ewwww, cooties," she complained and screwed up her face in over-exaggerated disgust. Opening her eyes again, and expression falling into a smile, she saw Dani standing above them. "Hey," she greeted Dani before asking, "Didn't someone say they were getting more booze?"

Ciara caught Ephram's look, a small twitch in the corner of her mouth. He wasn't the only one who was doing a little bit of avoiding. "Sure thing." None of them specified, and when Maya commented if she could hold them all she grinned. "I used to bartend, carrying many drinks is easy." When she returned, the four of them had suddenly gotten a whole lot more tangled up in eachother, with Ruby and Maya in the middle of it all. Unsurprised despite herself. She slid back down into kneeling on the far side of Ash from the touching pile, the skirt of her dress riding up a little again, putting the relevant drink in front of each party, Ash's infused with real rabbit's blood. She flashed a smile at the newcomer, Dani, recognising them from the other night.

Dani Smirking at Ash’s welcome, Dani stepped up and placed a kiss on each of his cheeks in greetings. “Not that I find you any less attractive, love. Happy birthday. And apologies I haven’t quite fit your theme,” they said glancing down at their suit, “but I hope you’ll understand, it wasn’t my style in the slightest.” Then, turning to Ephram, they shrugged, amused. “More or less.” They waved to Maya and Ciara as well. “Hey to you too.”

"Thank you, darlin'," Ash said, greeting Ciara at her return with a nod and a smile. "Well, I appreciate you anyway," he said to Dani, kissing their cheeks in return. "And no need to apologize. I wouldn't want anyone to dress in anything they weren't comfortable in. The theme was just for a bit of fun, and feeling self conscious all night ain't fun, is it?"

Dani smiled at Ash, nodding. “You’re absolutely right about that.” After a glance at the bar, they added. “I think I’m going to grab myself and drink and then join you lot.” They winked. “Sit tight.”

Ephram rubbed his nose against Maya's shoulder, saying with satisfaction, "You make such a great cootie rag, though!" He let go when Ciara returned, taking his drink and watching the other witch as she re-settled into her seat, the shift of her dress along her thigh making him draw in a sharp breath and take a deep swallow of his drink.

Maya "My hero," Maya said to the returning witch as she received her drink. To Ephram she laughed and said, "Oh my god, this is exactly like high school." His sharp intake of breath didn't escape her though. Considering all the people around she didn't ask about it, but catalogued the reaction away for later.

Ash figured he wasn't the only one a little tipsy, so he really thought nothing of the intermingling that was going on. "Gosh, no. I was so unattractive in high school," Ash shuddered. Being the Jewish trans kid mid-transition definitely made even the rich, charming kid something of a social outcast.

Ruby was occupied with watching Dani walk off. She held a huge crush for them, but would never act on it considering they were married. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t look. She leaned a bit against Ephram, enjoying the warmth coming from both sides of her. She glanced at Ciara too as the witch came back, smiling as she heard Ephram’s reaction. But she kept quiet, enjoying the banter and the laughter.

Ephram snorted. "I had long hair and wore church donation box clothes," he offered. "High school sucks no matter where you're at."

Maya smiled, "Oh, I was a hot fucking mess in high school. I'd 110% already be fighting or fucking someone by this point in the night. I was just talking about the whole cootie thing and how horny all of you are." She paused, glancing out over the water. "And the beach part too. We used to go down to the beach to drink a lot."

Dani nicked a bottle of vodka from the bar before returning to the group. Not wanting to break up the arrangement, they chose to plop down between Ruby and Ephram. “High school? Shit.” They took a quick swig of the alcohol. “Worst three years of my pre-adult life.”

Ash lifted his glass. "Here's to not being as big a losers as we were in high school."

Dani raised the bottle in kind. “I’ll drink to that.”

Ciara smiled at the thanks, catching Ephram's eyes when he gasped but not adjusting her skirt in either way or shifting herself to give him more to react to. There were so many reasons that was a bad idea, and her eyes slid back to the rest of the group, listening to them describing their highschool experience. It wasn't something she could relate to nor wanted to add to, having been homeschooled right up to the second she'd become homeless. When Ash raised his glass, Ciara smiled and lifted her glass too. "Me too."

Ephram had lapsed into his own thoughts for a moment, recalling being sent to prison instead of graduating and having to do his GED on the inside. So when Maya settled against him, he pulled her in a little closer and kissed her smooth brown hair before raising his drink to Ash's toast.

Ash took a healthy sized swig of his booze, mentally worshipping Ciara for infusing it with rabbits blood. "Perfect. Now, speaking of horny, what do we say to one of you takes me home tonight and the other tomorrow."

Dani took another swig from the bottle to complete the toast, savoring the burn and coming back from it with a smile. “That sounds like a fun plan. You might have to squeeze in some time for me as well. You’ll have to let me entertain you a bit as an obligatory birthday gift.”

Ephram gave a warm, low chuckle, gently letting go of Maya and getting to his feet. "Reckon that's my cue," he said, finishing off his drink and holding out a hand to Ash. "C'mon, darlin -- nobody gave you the birthday spanking yet, now did they?"

Maya burst into peals of laughter at Ash's words, which only got worse when Ephram spoke. She did miss the warmth next to her, but quickly decided the entertainment was worth it. Besides she knew better than to ask for more than she was given.

Ash was definitely blushing again. No matter how many times he'd told himself he wasn't going to. Ephram was just the type of guy that threw you for a loop. He gave an overexaggerated gasp, letting Ephram lead him to his feet and taking his hand. "Wait, who said tonight was your night, mister?"

Ruby grinned at Ash. “First come first serve,” she said to Ephram, teasingly. “Unless you got your eyes elsewhere...” Ciara was very beautiful, after all.

Dani With Ephram departed, Dani found themself leaning over slightly towards Ruby. “And what’s your plan for tonight, hm? We need to get together again, you know.”

Ash waved to Ruby with his free hand. "Well then I'll be sure to make him give me your number. Goodnight everyone."

Ephram gave Ash a self-assured laugh, pulling the slighter man close and tugging him away from the others. "Come on now, darlin," he said, "As if you'd say otherwise."

Maya , unable to help herself, wolf whistled at Ash and Ephram. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Ruby waved at Ash. “Have fun you two,” she grinned. “And yeah we need to,” she replied to Dani. “And unless you and Sam have split up, I guess I’m gonna go home alone tonight.” It was an obvious tease, but one Ruby couldn’t help making.

Ciara smiled as they left, a small knot in her stomach distangling as they did that had nothing to do with the evening and everything to do with the calming demon in her purse. She scooted a little closer to the other three, taking a deep drink for her cup. "Are you sure about that?" she asked Ruby teasingly, then looked to Maya. "I'm sorry, I never did catch your name?"

Maya turned at someone talking to her. "Maya," she replied and put out a hand for the other woman to shake, "And I don't think I caught yours either."

Ruby smiled as the pretty witch sat next to her. “You offering?”

Ciara took Maya's hand, feeling that familiar flick of witch magic at the touch. "Ciara. Do you make cakes for a lot of big events, then?" Her eyes flicked back to Ruby's with a smirk. "Depending on how you play your cards, maybe."

Maya had learned to recognize the touch of another witch. "Sometimes," she replied. It seemed that people were pairing off, leaving her alone. She didn't mind though. As long as she could sit by a fire and watch the waves surrounded by people who cared about her, but not as much as they cared about each she felt comfortable. It was actually better than the usual way her life went.

Dani Ruby’s tease prompted a slow chuckle from the professor. “I’m flattered, darling, really. But unfortunately I’m your case, we’re bound to by marriage as well as magic, so I highly doubt we’re going to breaking up anytime soon.” Dani was glad to see that Ciara had taken an interest in Ruby. She was a dear friend to Dani, and while they didn’t feel sorry for their inability to sleep with her, they did want her to enjoy herself, especially now that she was officially uncommitted.

Ciara looked at Maya. She'd seemed a little disconected to everything, had done the whole evening, from stepping away from the cake the moment she'd rolled it in to the way she'd only opened up a little with Ephram teasing, but Ciara didn't know if that was an artefact of the evening or an artefact of her personality. Besides, it was far from her place to ask. "That's fair. You have a lot of talent there." Her eyes returned to Dani, curious about the mention of magic bonds. "Is your partner a witch, then?"

Dani Dani nodded at Ciara, an irresistible smile on their face. “Yes, an earth witch. He owns Meadowsweet down in Grieselle. Technically it’s a flower shop but we have an apothecary as well.”

“A girl can dream,” Ruby told Dani. “Though I’m glad y’all are doing good.” She smirked at Ciara. “Let’s see how it goes.”

Miguel Everybody was pairing off and going home together. Which was wild to see. Miguel had slept around in college because med students tended to study hard and party hard. But it had been awhile since he was flirting with anyone very much... beside none of the people left seemed interested in him. That was okay. He would go home with Molly, his constant friend, and then wake up early and go for a jog to get out any frustration.

Milo wandered back down the beach. He'd headed back up to the parking lot for a while to check up on the kids. A couple were still at home and the rest were out with friends. When he came back, he was surprised that people had cleared out so much. He looked around to see if he knew anyone still there.

Maya had never been much for crowds. Especially after everything with Shaw they made her anxious. Growing up in a relatively small town and with a tragic story she was well used to people staring at her. One of the things she'd liked about New York was the anonymity of it all. Anonymity which wasn't possible in a town like Soapberry Springs, so Maya did her best to stay out of the spotlight. As Dani, Ciara and Ruby got to talking she turned to look around and spotted a man she'd met earlier in the night by himself. "Well," she called catching his eye, "Come sit with us. We have to replace the people we lost to horniness"

Miguel looked up and smiled. The antronach was back! “Hey Milo, welcome back.” His smile wavered a little. “Though everyone seems to be heading to bed,” he said with an inuendo in his voice.

Ciara smiled at Dani, seeing the way their face lit up. She was a romantic at heart, and loved hearing people describe their partners. "You share a business? I've heard good things about Meadowsweet." She looked at Ruby, and ran a gentle hand down her shoulder with a smile. Maya had turned to talk to someone else.

Dani shook their head with a chuckle. “We don’t really share it, no. He opened it up practically out of high school, but I help out whenever I can and retrieve some harder to find materials for the apothecary. Officially I’m a professor at the university. As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s a busy gig.”

Milo nodded knowingly. He shifted from side to side, not sure quite how to respond. "I'm sorry you got left alone in the process," he said. "Have you been keeping yourself entertained while I was gone?" His eyes roamed the other man as he considered the outcome of the night for everyone around them. It certainly seemed like it was an exciting moment for most involved. While he hadn't necessarily considered it to begin with, he wondered if tonight should hold the same for himself. "Want to grab something else to drink?"

Miguel had only two drinks so far, and one with a lot less alcohol in it. It only made his stomach feel warm and his limbs feel a little heavy. “Ah, yeah, sure if you want to,” he said with a shy smile.

The drink Ruby had had earlier was still sitting well with her. She felt light and ready to just... say fuck it and go for broke. “Anybody know any good drinking games? Are we too old for spin the bottle?” she grinned, leaning a bit into Ciara and glancing at Maya.

Milo smiled and headed toward the bar. The selection was starting to look a bit picked over. "I see rum and beer. Anything in particular you'd like, Miguel?"

Miguel had already had a beer so... “I’ll give the rum a try,” he said. He followed Milo over to the bar, leaning on it and smiling in his direction. “Since everyone else is going home and uh... kissing, would you want to go home and kiss?” His cheeks were a little pink as he said it. He wasn’t great at flirting but he could be blunt.

Milo picked up the bottle of rum and then almost dropped it. He looked back up at Miguel with wide eyes for a moment before he managed to get his composure back together. "Yeah, um... I mean, that could work." He knew he wasn't the smoothest when it came to things like this, so he hoped that would be enough. "If you don't mind, though, I might need a shot or two or this before we go." He let out a nervous laugh. "It's, ah, it's been a while."

Miguel Miguel smiled and blushed a little more. “That’s fine! That’s uh that’s great actually. I mean, it’s been awhile for me too.” He took the rum and poured a few shots for the two of them. “You’re very very handsome,” he said softly. Just in case he hadn’t made it clear how attracted he was to Milo.

Ciara listened to Dani intently, curiously. Explained their confidence with the vampire that one time. "A professor? That's very impressive. What are you professor of?" Ruby pressed close and Ciara pressed back too. "Mmm, as tempting as that sounds, I should get going soon." Ciara let her eyes slide appreciatively down Ruby's exposed legs before back up at Ruby herself. She wrapped her hand around Ruby's waist and serruptitiously tucked one of the number cards into her pocket. Ciara stood up and dusted off her legs, making sure to take her empty cups with her. "It was nice seeing the three of you. Goodnight."

Milo ducked his head, pretending he was looking at the bottle. "You're not so bad yourself," he said. Milo found a couple of shot glasses and filled them. He wasn't actually sure the last time he'd done a shot. Most of his drinking now--not that it happened that often--was a glass of something he could sip around the kids or take slow if he knew he needed to be home by a certain time. As he handed one of the shots to Miguel, he said, "Should I come home with you? Some of the kids are at home, and I don't want to put you in an awkward situation."

Miguel “Yes! Yeah,” he said immediately. He took downed a shot easily, a throwback to end school. And took one of Milo’s hands and gave it a squeeze. “We can walk to my house, it’s not far, and I don’t think either of us would be good to drive.”

Maya stood. The party had basically devolved into couples leaving just the few of them who hadn't paired off sitting around the fire. "So I'm going to head home before I'm truly the last person not getting fucked on this beach," she announced more than anything. With that she downed the rest of her drink. While she probably technically could drive she decided it would be better to get a ride. Pulling out her phone she dashed off a quick text to Fane asking him to please pick her up because 'kids were drinking here' and an amused smile to herself. Maya gave a mock salute and said, "Good luck getting lucky everyone," before walking off towards the parking lot.

“Nice meeting you too,” Ruby said to Ciara, not missing the note tucked into her pocket. She looked up as Maya walked off as well, giving her a wave that she wasn’t sure Maya saw. But realizing she was going home alone again, Ruby decided it was time. And she got up, smiling at those still left, and went home.

[writermuses]

Il Più Felice || Micalessah || June 9th, 2017

This is a Chatzy for Micah and Aless’ DPA where they discover she is pregnant with their first baby.

Alessandra: It must have been around 7pm when Alessandra heard the front door open. It hadn't been long since she had waved off Jameson to work with a ready packed dinner in tow. Brianna was already in her pajamas getting ready for bed, in her room tidying away the remains of the day. It must have been simultaneous, the lifting of each blonde females head in the house at the sound of the car keys, still it was Brianna who was faster, already racing down the stairs before Aless even made it out of the bedroom where she had been putting clothes away. The warm gaggle of voices put a smile on her face as she attempted to catch up with them, finding them in the lounge room wrapped in a cuddle. Leaning down she kissed Micah's forehead and then Bri's before dropping onto the lounge next to them. 'Are you hungry? Shall I put some dinner on for you or shall we wait until this monkey is in bed?'

Micah: Coming home to the warmest of welcomes every day was always one of Micah's favorite things. His arms were already spread wide for hugs before his daughter got to him. He headed back in the direction the little one had run from, Brianna now in his arms wondering how fast she must have come sprinting when Aless was further behind. Knowing that Aless hadn't been feeling well, he decided to stop on the way home for some fresh flowers from Petal Pan, Elfie pulling out an interesting but simple arrangement that would tower over Brianna which had been amusing Tallulah, who was around Brianna’s age. He’d flopped onto the couch and was telling Brianna that he had brought something home for mommy when Aless slipped into his arms. The sound of her voice instantly relaxed him and he returned her kiss, Brianna giggling and demanding kisses from both of them. Before he could answer her questions, however, his stomach growled loudly. “I didn’t get much of a break today.” He spared her the gory details and leaned in for another kiss. “How are you feeling, my angel?”

Alessandra: As Micah's tummy rumbled and Bri burst out into giggles at the sound, Aless couldn't help but chuckle, slipping her hand down to softly pat it as she returned his second kiss. 'Ah! Penso di avere la mia risposta. I will put something on, hmm?' Slowly drawing herself back from his warmth, she smiled a little. 'Still tired, I almost fell asleep in our design meeting today, luckily everyone was too engrossed in their screens to notice. Would you like a drink?' With a last kiss, she wandered towards the kitchen, pulling out a plate and his saved dinner from the fridge, reheating bits and pieces while he spent time with Brianna. When the home-made mushroom and aubergine lasagne was all set out for him on the kitchen island with a cup of ice ginger and lemon water, a small cup of milk out for Bri, she called out for them. 'Are you on call tonight?'

Micah: With a chuckle and a nod to her Italian comment, he pulled her back in for one last kiss before muttering “Thank you” back to her in Italian. He carried Brianna on his shoulders to the kitchen’s island, setting Brianna next to him and pushing the milk to her, waiting for the unprompted “Thank you, mamma” before he answered her question. “Labor and delivery might need me tonight if anyone needs surgery, but it was looking good when I left.” Micah took a moment to bow his head and say grace before digging into the food. Those words danced in his head, the faces of the three quite pregnant women in his hospital. It was a light night, but everyone was on time and in good spirits. Then his thoughts trailed to the future, dinners like this, more children at the counter, and he thought back to their wedding and the reception’s interrogation over when they would be having children. Medical things never bothered him and he found himself counting along, his head tilting to the side as he chewed. “How long has it been since the honeymoon and your last cycle?”

Alessandra: Aless smiled at Bri as she thanked her, moving around the bench to press a kiss to the blonde locks of her daughter, reaching over to touch a hand to Micah's back as he spoke, listening. Just as she was about to move back into the kitchen Less heard his question and paused, a little surprised and how forthright it was, especially in front of Bri. Knowing it was just his Doctor ways, she brushed it off and moved to the fridge and the calendar she had there with both Micah and Jameson's shifts written in it, birthdays and events for them all. Flicking back and forth with a furrow between her brow, it took her a moment to truly count before glancing back across to him, her voice a little dreamy. 'It.. it was before the wedding. Two weeks before.'

Micah: He could see that he’d startled her and he smiled apologetically, not meaning to switch into “doctor mode” on her. He watched her thinking, his pulse thumping as he waited for her reply, already excited about the prospect. As soon as he had his answer he popped out of the chair. His smile from ear to ear, “Car ride?”

Alessandra: turned towards him as he popped out of the chair, reaching out to take his hand as her own heart raced. 'To the hospital? Now?' She glanced from him down to Brianna who was triumphantly licking her milk mustache off her lip and not really paying attention to them at all. Aless hadn't expected anything quite so fast... was that possible? Could she really be? Swallowing, she started nodding, squeezing his hand. 'Let me just get my bag, we'll go. '

Micah: “I’ll do the test myself, in and out and then we’ll know.” He took her hand and pressed her fingers to her lips. He looked at Brianna, “You wanna play doctor and give mommy a checkup?” Brianna immediately perked up, not really understanding the conversation until that point. He’d headed to the car, buckling Aubrianna in while they waited for Aless. “Ready?” He bounced in his own seat with excitement, reaching across the console for her hand and leaning over to kiss her.

Alessandra: was in a bit of a daze as they headed towards the hospital downtown, not quite sure what to make of everything yet. When he took her hand and looked over at her as he drove, she couldn't help but smile back at him. 'Of course it's exciting... but I don't want to get my hopes up. It could be something else.' she squeezed his hand, thinking it might be the stress of everything over the last two months with the wedding planning and juggling work and being a new Mum. Glancing back at their little one, she lowered her voice as she looked back to her husband. 'We're not saying anything, are we?'

Micah: Though Micah knew that technically she could be right, he thought about the batch of sickness and the exhaustion and their inability to keep their hands off of each other. He couldn’t help but be hopeful. “I don’t want my hopefulness to cloud my medical judgement, but, thinking about it, I think we have some signs.” Micah looked at her, her eyes on Brianna, “After the test, I don’t see why not. You’re extremely healthy and you have me. But if you don’t want to tell anyone until you’re showing, I would understand.” Parking the car they walked through the employee only entrance and toward his office. “Do you want me to put Brianna in the care center while we’re here?”

Alessandra: couldn't help how her smile widened when he said 'and you have me', his unshakable belief in medicine and faith comforting her even though she knew the reality of miscarriage was almost 1 in 5 women. 'It would break my heart to tell her and then for something to happen. It would be a heartbreak on a heartbreak I do not think I could handle, Micah.' Lifting his hand up, she kissed his knuckles, closing her eyes as she rested her cheek against them before letting go so he could park safely. Bundling up Brianna out of the car and watching her race excitedly ahead towards the care centre, making Less laugh. 'I don't think we have an option. Amore! Stai andando a giocare? Non saremo lunghi. Vengo a prenderti presto, eh?' The Italian was directed at Brianna as she found the door to the care centre and stopped only to give Micah and Less a cuddle before heading in and calling out. 'Ci vediamo presto mamma e papà!'

Micah: It was Alessandra’s choice to keep it a secret, but Micah was certain that if Aless was pregnant that they would be fine. He kissed Brianna’s head and told her firmly that she was to lay down at 8pm with the rest of the children, even if they would be back shortly after. He kissed her and he and Aless walked hand-in-hand to his office, which had its own bathroom and lounge area. Aless certainly wouldn’t be the only patient he’d helped in his office, now or down the road. He slipped out briefly and popped in with a kit and a tablet. “I brought you the fancy bandaid options,” He winked as he rolled up her sleeve, warned her for the prick, and inserted the needle to take a small amount of blood before entering her information in the system and printing a label for the vile. “Full work up, Mrs. Cartwright. If you’re sick and not pregnant then we’ll know what bug you have.” He placed a pink Hello Kitty bandaid over the little prick and kissed her ‘booboo’. Again, he slipped out, passing her a small bottle of apple juice from his mini-fridge, before he took the vile in the lab and came back to Aless. “I have to take your blood pressure and the like for the rest of the chart, if that’s okay with you. Luckily, when your name is on the building your labs get put to the front of the line.”

Alessandra: couldn't help but laugh when she saw the bandaid options, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his jaw as he distractedly got the syringe ready. Even though he was used to performing the procedure, Aless wasn't used to be on the other end of it, tensing a little as he placed the needle and keeping her gaze firmly fixed on his face to clear her mind. Once the Hello Kitty plaster was firmly in place, she sipped on her apple juice and waited for him to return, wandering around the office before taking a seat in his chair, smiling at all the pictures of Brianna. When he came back, she dutifully held out her arm. 'I hope I'm not pushing anyone back in the line who needs to be first?' Watching as the cuff inflated and then slowly released, she mused mostly to herself. 'On new years eve I never thought I would go from engaged to married to pregnant quite so fast.'

Micah: “Your test practically runs itself. We do many in a day.” It was true, but he didn’t want her to feel bad about getting ahead of other tests. The way he saw it, there should be at least one or two perks to having your name on the building. “The lab tech will call in the results in ten to fifteen minutes. We’ll be able to put it on speaker phone so that we both can find out together.” Micah placed his hands on either side of the office chair and bent down to kiss her before he took a half-leaning-half-sitting stance against his large desk. “Are you upset that life sort of happened all at once for us?”

Alessandra: smiled at the kiss, her fingers finding his shirt and holding him there a minute before letting go, running her fingers over the needle spot to rub away the dull ache. 'Upset? No! No of course not!' Standing up, she gently urged his legs apart a little so she could stand between them, putting her hands on his shoulders and smoothing her fingers over the muscle there. 'Micah, if it comes back positive, I will cry from joy. All of it, everything is just happiness after happiness. From tonight, this... even down to the littlest thing in our lives.' Smiling a little, she leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his lips. 'Besides, I have been in this far longer than you, il mio cuore. I had to wait for you to catch up hmm?'

Micah: His laugh filled the large office and he relaxed into the feeling of her hands on him. Micah’s strong arms wrapped tightly around Alessandra, holding on to her before his palms pressed into her back, lower and lower until his fingers were at the top of her ass. For all the time he had spent attempting to be a responsible boyfriend he felt more boyish than ever for that wound up sexuality now being allowed to be expressed whenever and wherever. “I deserved that.” He laughed. Though he’d known he was attracted to Alessandra immediately he had been extremely cautious to allow himself to label their Monday dates as a relationship because of his history of loving people more than they loved him and not wanting to have Aubrianna feel the heartbreak of losing another mother. Aless had been patient with him and as he looked at her, listened to her voice, experienced the world by her side, he couldn’t be more sure that he’d finally found his little piece of heaven on earth. “At least you’ve give me a lifetime to make up for being such a slow turtle.” Picking her up he spun her around and sat her bottom on his desk. Laughing as he leaned in and placed his hands on her neck and used his thumbs to tilt her chin to up to him so he could steal a kiss.

Alessandra: 'A very wonderful, handsome, funny slow turtle. My slow turtle.' As he set her on the desk, she sat up straight as her eyes closed. Whenever he touched her neck or throat she always felt a little shiver of pleasure run up and down her spine. With her body flexible under his fingers, she met his lips easily for the kiss with her own hands sliding onto his torso and around to his back to pull him closer. 'The best things in life take time... a good wine, the right rise in a fresh dough, ancient oaks, mountains and rivers... and you. You are all the more wonderful for it.' Stealing another kiss, she smiled up at him. 'Will we tell everyone when we're at Byron?'

Micah: He listened to her speak, a string of lovely comparisons in which she included him, but his mouth was busy trailing soft kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Micah’s fingers ran up her thighs, caressing the soft skin that he now had memorized. He took in a deep breath, knowing the exact familiar scent in her hair. It was the same that stretched across their pillows in golden waves. A hum of satisfaction passed his lips as she pulled him closer and he kissed his wife muttering an ‘I love you’ on her lips before he stole another. He didn’t want to think of his family, his mind on one thing, but he also loved that she was already thinking about the possibility of the little glimmer of hope being true. “Yes, all the more reason to celebrate on our little vacation. You think we can make it that long?” Just as he looked at her, a big goofy smile the phone rang. He punched the answer-speaker button, “Doctor Micah Cartwrights office.” The technician on the line had a soft voice, “I have the results, sir. Are you ready?” Micah had already reached for Aless’ hand. “Are you ready, Angel?”

Alessandra: returned each of the kisses happily, her legs curling around the back of his to hold him closer. Smiling at the thought of having to hold onto the news, Less shrugged lightly. 'I think we can.. we have our happy little bubble and I know you love a good prank, I'm sure we could turn this into a cheeky surprise for everyone?' Less jumped a little when the phone rang and her heart started beating instantly faster. Taking Micah's hand, she squeezed it, looking up at him as she spoke loud enough for the technician to hear. 'We're ready.'

Micah: With a chuckle, Micah nodded. She wasn’t wrong, the Cartwright boys were known to be pranksters. Holding on to Aless’ hand he listened intently for what felt like an eternity, but as soon as the words were out of the tech’s mouth Micah was ‘wooing’ and his arms wrapped tightly around Aless in a hug. He scooped his wife up and spun her around the office with glee. After catching his breath, he laughed and kissed her. “I love you so much.”

Alessandra: kept her gaze on Micah's as they waited, her hand tightening on his until the voice sounded. Positive. Before she could even process it, Micah had her up and flying around the room, his burst of joy infectious. Laughing, she returned his kiss and wrapped one arm around his neck to hold on, her other one reaching for the speaker phone. 'Thank you!' Hitting the speaker button to hang up, she turned her attention back to her husband, touching her forehead to his for a moment, the smile breaking out into an bright grin. 'I am going to eat so much food...' Shaking a little, she found her feet if only to step back enough so the could put their hands softly to her stomach. 'I love you, all three of you.'

Micah: “I’ll make you all the food you want. All the food, foot and back rubs, anything you’d like.” He chuckled as he placed his hand over hers, his excitement truly too high to think of anything to say. He’d seen so many friends through their pregnancies and if he had one regret, aside from never being able to find Aubrianna’s biological mother, it was that he hadn’t been able to watch her grow in the womb. As a devout Catholic he saw pregnancy as a real miracle, to be part of such a miracle was something he couldn’t put into words. Instead, he was already rushing into the excitement of this new future for them, “I think some celebration is in order! Shall we go home, eat come gelato on the deck and have some dancing to old records? You’re going to have to pinch me through every Sunday dinner until we are telling people.”

Alessandra: laughed. 'You know that's entirely impractical, I'd have to let go of you sometime or other.' Still trembling a little, she didn't respond straight away, just bringing him in closer and resting her forehead to his with her eyes closed. 'I want to remember this. I want you to remember this. Right here, this moment our new world began.' With a soft kiss to his lips, she had to break it from the smile that just kept breaking out on her lips. 'Okay... yes! Gelato and I think some Jerry Vale?'