[ORP] It's Always Tea Time: Tea Clutch Feast [Open]

[demon_pachabel]

There would be many continuing their merrymaking even after Western (or most of them) had returned home again. W'dre had no such plans - he'd been invited enough times and declined enough times that most simply considered him asked and did so no longer. As it's own flavor of an after party, meeting his daughter (Faranth, that was something that would finally settle in and require some time to wrap his head around at some point) would be enough.

"Then I'll be prepared to see who tires who out first," of course, he was assuming that at two turns old, Vedra would be receptive to him as a...father. Of sorts. Shards, he didn't know anything about kids. Well, he knew they were small, and at least one person in his wing had once said that just being in the same weyr as one would suck the life out of you......

but they also had not been a fan of kids. Was W'dre a fan of kids? He'd...not been around many in some time except in passing. He hadn't even had strong opinions about them. "Should I arrange to bring anything besides myself?"

My W'dre is also more energetic than he may appear, though her suspicion had not been voiced to him, Dormith confirmed it anyways. Before Wing Drills had become a more constant state of affairs - done out of reminder, than sheer necessity - his bonded had found all manner of high places within and out of the Weyr to climb up and explore with great fervor. He offered up these glimpses to Serenath. Certainly, few saw his boy as he did, but that was perhaps by choice.

What an entertaining feast this was turning out to be! All the better that his W'dre had come down to chat - goodness knew when he would have been found otherwise.

Mx Cherie

 

[ShinosBee]

High above the noise of the crowds and thronging people, a tiny, sprightly blue firelizard winked into existence. Bright green eyes took in the masses below, and after a brief chitter to itself, it tucked its wings tight...and dove. He twisted as he fell, long neck pushing his head this way and that, eyes roving over face after face after face. A slender leather tube was strapped to his chest, and both his arms folded protectively across it as he entered the heady, noisy space at the heart of the party.

He tweeted and twittered as he darted this way and that, weaving under an arm, between dancing partners, over a scampering hatchling, around a table. Briefly the twanging of musical instruments and voices raised in song distracted the tiny envoy, but not for too long. It wasn't his fault that harpers had ever been his favored company...but he had a mission. And one that was very important! The one who'd sent him had had very much food, and there would be MORE food after, he felt certain.

But none of these faces seemed right. None of the voices sounded right, nor the minds felt right. The tiny blue hearkened back to the image he had been presented with—long twisted golden hair, a round (cute? he did not know 'cute', but 'cute' had been in the thought) nose. Bright, sweet, gentle eyes. The blue chittered again, flapping upwards to circle above the crowd once more. 'Gold dragon' had been in the thought too...and that might be easier. There were not so many of them. Not that one. Too pale. Too scary. But...oh!

With a trill of delight, the blue firelizard winked down to the ledge, appearing again right before the relaxing gold with a miniature trumpet of triumph. Here! This one! He swooped in, wriggling along the gold's jaw before perching between her headknobs with another trill. Rider-of-gold! Rider-of-gold! Oh, what was the sounds brown-haired-harper-man had made? He could never hope to recreate them, of course, but surely his noises would draw her! And then she would come, and take the Gift he carried! And he could go home and have all the Food!

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

Though she had no complaints about the view from her ledge, it would have been ever so lovely to be down in the Bowl, socializing and cooing over the babies, but for now, concern and guilt fixed her in place. The soft nudge of encouragement form Serenath did raise her spirits just a touch - it was so very kind of her to think of them, and be concerned - and Hesperith sent back a warm whisper of gratitude. She did hope, with all her hearts, that everything would be well, and sooner rather than later, but she worried so. Her poor, precious Hers!

As she turned her head to croon into the weyr at her rider, a little blue flit came trumpeting out of nowhere, and she chortled in charmed surprise. She had no objections to the tickling along her jawline, or the perch it took up between her headknobs. It was positively adorable, and every bit as welcome as it was unexpected, for even a tiny spot of cheer was appreciated. It had been hard to tell for sure, as quickly as it did its flitting about, but it did look to be carrying something. Hello, little one, she crooned, To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?

They might be simpler creatures than dragons, but there was no reason not to be polite! That, and she was feeling especially lonely for company, what with the party down below. Mine, there is the most adorable little flit here! Won't you come and see?

All the trumpeting, trilling, and assorted other noises had certainly gotten Sylfie's attention, and since it was a flit and not a person, well, that was alright. A firelizard wouldn't mind that she was only in a shift, or that...or that she didn't look quite the same, that a fresh, ugly scar now trailed its way down her right cheek, and much of the rest of her besides. She'd never been vain, she didn't have the confidence for vanity, but was so deeply self-conscious to begin with that being scored was proving very difficult for her to deal with. She reminded herself, regularly, that other riders had received far worse injuries - even Olliah had been badly hurt when her flamethrower had failed - but it didn't help. It only made her feel worse for having the gall to feel sorry for herself, and sent her deeper into her sulking. She wasn't refusing visitors outright - refusal had never been a strong suit of hers - but getting her out, particularly into any kind of a crowd, was going to take time.

The young woman, whose long hair was messily braided and swept over her right shoulder, limped out to join her dragon on the ledge. She peered up at the tiny blue with shy curiosity, and offered her left arm if it wanted to come down from its golden perch. "Hello there."

Mx Cherie

ShinosBee

 

[demon_pachabel]

Ah yes, the feast. He supposed he had come down from his weyr for some reason. "Dormith and I find it important to at least show up for a while," he admitted, "Though I made no arrangements with any of my wingmates or those I know outside of it." Which, if he was honest, was a very sparse number of people. A few of his lifemate's clutchmates, a candidate over there. Social graces were not one of W'dre's strong points. Vera's suggestions as to things he could plan to bring with him had him frowning slightly, mostly because it sounded like a lot of things he didn't just keep on hand. His stories weren't particularly exciting either.

Yet he held onto these little tidbits he was being given with rapt attention - who knew how he or Vedra would feel about each other when they met face to face. It was like doing a lot of emotional inventory, taking all this new information and trying to figure out where it fit. So far, it was stuffed awkwardly into a box and set on top of everything he wasn't going to sort through so the others could be dumped out and looked over. "I see," but there was an obvious confusion in his eyes. He understood, but....

"I haven't had to take care of someone much younger than me in my life," he answered honestly. She had only been two turns younger than him, not big enough of a difference to really count when he'd been a child himself. "I mostly only see A'dra's experiences secondhand," his Wingleader had just had a baby, did that count for anything?

Serenath's warble caused Dormith to glance up towards where the gold was looking, a shade of curiosity tainting his thoughts. Ah, it did seem the young queen was still on her ledge. Threadfall had been unkind to her and hers, if he recalled. However, not knowing Hesperith himself, he chose to not invade whatever conversation or comfort his current companion was offering her.

Instead, he nudged his way into his lifemate's mind to see what was going on, and perhaps to make sure he didn't start to feel a little overwhelmed by how sudden this all was. So far, it looked like everything was fine.

Mx Cherie

 

[medigel]

"Maybe?" Raelin shrugged one shoulder. It didn't really matter where he was born, it was childish to act like that guy had. "Pissed me off, though. I had to walk away or I'd deck him. He was such a sad sack about it, though, it was a little funny at the same time."

Taking her hand, she said, "Raelin, High Reaches. Saith you probably recognize over there," she added with a thumb towards Cordrath and the assorted throng about him. "Seven turns and two hours late with klah, of course." While still dry, there was a hint of a smile on the redhead's face. "I can drag her over if you want. I shouldn't be the only one bothering everyone here."

demon_pachabel

 

[medigel]

"Aww hush now, I missed you too." Dhawsn tried to wave away the time, beaming. "We ain' goin' nowhere now though, yeah? I can pester yer new goldie back home. Wouldn' wanna take her away from her fam right now anyway." Faranth, though, did Khamaith look adorable.

Glancing at the table of food and drinks, he gave Ezyzu a sly look. "Think we're gonna hafta sneak. Be real quiet now." Momentarily putting a finger to his lips, he then began to tiptoe and slink around people and tables to get to the klah. It looked like the grumpy rider was being busied by a friend, but Dhawsn wasn't going to take any chances on this incredibly important mission! Why, who knows what would happen if they got caught!

As best as one as thickset as this candidate could, he began to ninja closer to the klah, grabbing several cups as he did...

Prism Shine

 

[demon_pachabel]

"It would be a very one sided meeting if she was sleeping through it," though W'dre likely would still have found a sleepy child just as exciting to meet. It would mean a second meeting, and of course with Vera having such limited free time, it was probably ideal to make the most of the first meeting. Which sounded as if it was going to be full of the word no. "I'll try not to. I make no promises," one corner of his mouth curled slightly with amusement.

He wasn't sure if he should have felt surprised or not at Vera's revelation. Despite a few shared ventures, he knew an unfortunately small amount about her. Little more than most would have and slightly less than he did about his own Wingmates. Yet it offered a certain comfort. "Was it...hard to adjust to?" W'dre didn't have any ideas that being a parent would be easy...

Not did he have any ideas that he was going to be a flawless parent. Parent. Shards. The reality of that was going to hit him in the face at some point.

With Serenath settled up against him, Dormith leaned out of his rider's mind to look at her. She seemed content, to a degree. Still, he nudged her cheek with a small kreel. Is everything alright?

Mx Cherie

 

[ShinosBee]

Oh oh oh! Gold was saying Nice words! The little blue all but sprawled upon his perch, sliding partly down towards her eye ridges, rolling and nuzzling and twisting all the while. He had no words, of course, but he could feel her delight, and it made him happy too! She was a Very Nice Gold, he decided, on top of just the one he'd been sent to find. Now, if only she also had food, well! He would just stay here all day, and never mind the task he'd been sent on or the lady he was—oh!

A person was coming! The blue trilled in glee as they came over—they had food? He cocked his head to the side as she neared, scampering down the gold's face (sorry pretty lady!) to balance, nearly-toppling, on his hind legs at the tip of her snout to get a better look. He didn't see any food...but then something seemed to click in the tiny thing's mind. AH! The hair was the right color, but she was hiding most of her face...except! He sprang from Hes' nose like a diving-board, clambering along her arm to poke his little head through the curtain of her hair to stare...at her nose.

The 'cute' nose! Perfect!

He crooned delightedly, pulsing little ripples of affection and glee. He'd done it! He'd found The Cute Nose! That meant he'd get food! With a wiggle, the blue's wings flared, ready to launch! The rattle of the harness about him though, the swaying leather tube below, reminded him of WHY he'd come. Almost sheepishly the blue curled around her arm, head bowed and twitters sounding rather embarrassed. Then, with a quick nuzzle to her jaw of apology, he puffed his chest, offering up the tube...and the contents, three tightly-wound curls of fine parchment, inside.

Meepfur

 

[The_Muffin_Puppy]

The choice was simple. Option one: Let her recent failing at impressing cause her to sulk in a corner when surrounded by the dragons that had found her lacking. Option two: Engage in festivities attempting to relish the fact that she didn't have a dependent who needed her this evening. Gathers at home had always involved some level of babysitting or sibling wrangling. The Weyr held no such responsibilities. Between be damned she would have a good time. Eat their fancy food. Dance to their fancy music. Attempt to sneak their fancy wine when nobody was looking. Ticene was going to have fun if it killed her.

The first hurdle had been getting something resembling finery. Turned out that 'clean' wasn't good enough. Tic had never had much in the way of gather best. Clothes that managed to pass as an actual colour were the best she'd ever managed. When making her way to the celebration she had been accosted by a woman she had met a time or two in her chores in the lower caverns. The older Weyr resident looked as though she was offended by the candidates choice of clothing (That being her usual clothes, but clean) and had promptly steered her away from the festivities. Ticene had been dragged down to where the Weyr kept all their hand-me-downs and made to stand as the older woman rummaged to find something more suitable. Eventually she had pulled out a dark green gown, holding up to the teen and pronouncing it a suitable start. The dress was a simple design, but Tic was certain that the fabric cost far more than she had a right to wear even if it was abandoned by someone else. It didn't fit perfectly, but the candidate chose to ignore the huffed comments about how her self-appointed stylist would have adjusted it if she had been given more time. Instead a brown sash was used to pull the fabric in around the waist. Apparently that would make the loose fabric around the shoulders look more intentional.

Ticene had thought that was the end of it, but apparently hair was the next stop. She had to do something with it! Apparently... Small plaits held her hair out of her face, but left the rest of the wild mess to flow out behind her. It was at that point that Ticene had managed to escape. Thanking the woman for her kindness as she swiftly hitched up her skirt and high-tailed it out of there. Stopping at the edge of the celebration the candidate worked to catch her breath. Well, she certainly wouldn't be starting the event with dancing, that was for sure. Looked like it was food. The impulse to dust herself off didn't work out when Tic thought about how given the dress and her hair she was better off just not touching any of it. Instead she flicked her hands together and began to pick her way though the crowd towards the food, working to keep a pleasant smile on her face throughout.  

[Meepfur]

Oh, how precious the charming little fellow was! Hesperith didn't mind the sliding, rolling about, or scampering in the least, and held carefully still when he balanced on her snout, her eyes a bright and cheerful blue all the while. She was almost disappointed when he dove off to alight on Hers' arm instead. Almost! But maybe the adorably energetic, sweet creature and whatever it carried would cheer her up, even just a little. Hes could only hope!

Sylfie did have a lopsided little smile for their visitor, just a quirk of at one corner of her lips, but it was more than she managed most days. She blinked in some surprise as he peeped through her hair to stare at her...nose?...and peered back at him in turn. She didn't recognize him, and as such hadn't the faintest idea why he might be bringing her something. Her curiosity was definitely piqued. In all his excitement, though, he was almost ready to go before she got a chance to see what he had! Her smile spread, and she gingerly reached up with her right hand to scritch under his chin before removing the contents of the tube. Her movements were slow and careful, as they stretched and pulled at healing wounds and tender new skin, but she wanted to see!

ShinosBee

 

[Meepfur]

Akaris had hardly been able to contain her excitement ever since they'd been told there was going to be a feast at High Reaches for the new(-ish) babies, although for her it had very little to do with the babies and everything to do with visiting High Reaches. She had been fussing about what to wear ever since. Last time she'd seen Rylyrr, she'd been in candidate robes, and that was not a particularly flattering look for anyone (she suspected they were made to be universally unflattering, probably to better keep thoughts where they belonged), and she definitely wanted him to have a better look than that in mind when he thought of her. The green dress she'd worn to the feast for Western's last clutch had been alright, she supposed, but in hindsight, she could have done better! So this time, she'd settled on a deep, pinkish-red outfit trimmed in gold, that showed...quite a lot of leg. But the long wrap draped loosely around her shoulders kept the top somewhat modest, so it wasn't completely scandalous.

At least, not by Akaris' standards.

With no interest in the actual reason for the feast, upon arrival she immediately set to looking for her friend. He couldn't be that hard to find, not when he stood far taller than most people...although she couldn't help but notice, as she scanned the crowd, that there actually were a few figures of similar height. My, my. High Reaches really knew how to grow them, didn't they?

Shaddaling